“The morning sun… is yellow.”
That was my first remark upon arriving at the Shifrin Magic Commune.
“What, you had time to sleep, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. As adventurers, we’re told three hours of sleep is plenty.”
“No, I was dealing with you two at the same time! So my fatigue is doubled!”
Besides, I have this tiny body. It’s pathetic to say it myself, but…
“I thought I cast Healing Magic, but I’ll do it again.”
“It’s not that kind of fatigue!”
“The Adventurer Guild is in sight. That must be it.”
While the buildings in the Ruanko Theocracy were all based on white,
this place, as expected, was based on black.
There were also many buildings that looked like witch’s mansions.
“It seems crowded at this hour.”
“Indeed. What do you want to do? Shall we head into the dungeon immediately?”
“I don’t mind, but we need to gather information anyway.”
Yeah, it’s lively. Not in terms of noise, but in terms of the number of people.
There’s not much private conversation. I wonder if that’s because it’s a country primarily for magicians.
“Deles, I just remembered I have to give you that.”
“Ah! Right, here, here.”
I took one out of my Item Box.
Was it the Blonde Magical Girl Porter Curse Doll Deluxe?
“Congratulations, Eve-chan~♪”
It said nonsensical things as usual, so I put it back.
When we went to the Hero Exclusive Reception, three groups were already lined up.
As we discussed before coming, there were parties with two magicians.
“Look, that party over there has four magicians.”
“They look small. Not as small as Deles, though.”
“There’s a magic school here, so they might be students from there.”
I see, practical training, perhaps.
As I was looking around, thinking that,
about twenty people, too many to be called a group of magicians, were gathered in a corner.
“What is that?”
“Welcome, Hero, Cleric, Porter.”
A middle-aged magician spoke to us.
The staff he was holding was thicker and longer than the others, looking powerful.
“I am Hero Nina. Excuse me, but what is that?”
“Ah, they are young magicians who are at a loss for where to go.”
“Are there that many?”
At first glance, forgive me for saying so, but they looked like children from an orphanage who had taken refuge.
“They graduated from magic school aiming to become adventurers or court magicians for nobles, but they weren’t picked up by parties, and they don’t have the power to form parties themselves. Naturally, they don’t have the power to go solo either, so they’re waiting for someone to pick them up.”
“That’s a waste. The school isn’t free, is it?”
“If they have considerable magic power or special abilities, there are scholarship slots, but such students usually have their destinations decided upon enrollment… My apologies. I am Miro, a prominent figure at the Adventurer Guild in Shifrin’s capital, Nonon.”
He took out a bundle of papers with something written on them.
“This is a list of those children. If you find any good ones, please consider them.”
“You do that sort of thing too?”
“Yes. Many adventurers are semi-retired. Seeing you all, I intuitively felt you were looking for magicians, so I’ve been meddling.”
He seems like a nice person.
Nina flipped through the papers casually, and then her movements stopped at a certain name.
“What is this?”
“Ah, everyone is surprised at first, but they are quite the type with a complicated past.”
“Nina, what’s wrong?… Wh-What, an Illusionist?!”
The name of an Illusionist, a rare profession, appeared!
“His name is Anju, and he’s an 18-year-old Illusionist.”
“Is it because training takes time, so people avoid them?”
“That’s right. It’s not just that it takes time; training is considered impossible.”
Miro glanced towards the back of the magicians’ gathering. However, I couldn’t tell which one was Anju.
“Are you familiar with the legends about Illusionists?”
“Deles, in that continent…”
“Yes, it is said, ‘Pass an Illusionist down to your grandchildren,’ because training takes so long.”
“Hmm, what I heard was, ‘An Illusionist, seventy or eighty, is still a snot-nosed kid.’”
“So they only become properly battle-ready at ninety years old. I remember hearing that at church too.”
It seems they need an incredible amount of experience to level up and don’t learn proper magic until they’re quite high level. However, that’s where the true strength of an Illusionist lies.
“In Anju’s case, while a normal Illusionist would be level 50 at ninety years old, according to research, he would need to be 250 years old.”
“That’s hopeless then. No wonder no one would team up with him.”
“Yes. Even after three years of study at magic school and practical training, he seemed to have only reached level 2 just before graduation, and that’s his current state.”
Normally, anyone would have given up on becoming an adventurer by now.
“Is there any hope?”
“A Daifugo or an S-Rank party, or perhaps an Empire or a major power, would need to possess a large amount of the ‘Level Up Fruits’ said to exist on the Shamanias Continent and be willing to give them to him without hesitation…”
“There’s such an item?!”
“Yes, Porter-san. However, there’s a 5% chance of death.”
“If he drank a lot of those, he’d die.”
Although there are no Level Up Fruits, this seems like a perfect fit for our party, doesn’t it?
“Can we meet him?”
“A-Are you sure? Reaching level 3 will probably take ten years.”
“I want to talk to him.”
Miro went busily to the magicians’ gathering. From the back, a boy with dead eyes, disheveled, gaunt, and short appeared. He had brown skin and dark blue hair, but it was long and messy, as if unshorn. His clothes looked like he was wearing rags and were dirty. Was he truly eighteen?
“What is your name?”
“…Anju.”
“Your age?”
“Eighteen.”
“Your grades at school?”
“Graduated as the top Illusionist. Though I was the only one.”
So, top of the class, but also the lowest rank.
“Alright, how much?”
“Oh my, oh my. It’s common for them to be sold to brothels.”
Indeed, a boy like this could probably be sold to men too.
“I won’t do such a thing. I’m a Hero, you know.”
“Do you have any prospects for leveling up?”
“There are… some possibilities.”
He stared intently at Nina. Was she perhaps using a skill or something…?
“Alright. However, if he is later sold to a brothel, you will be punished.”
“I told you I wouldn’t do that.”
“I generally don’t take payment. I only accept what you feel is appropriate.”
I handed him a gold coin as a token of my appreciation.
“Thank you. Anju, this time for sure, don’t be sent back.”
“…I’ll just get bored and abandoned anyway.”
“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? Rest assured, I, Nina, will protect you.”
Yeah, I know that reassuring nature well. But if he likes me too much, I might end up in a terrible situation in my bed at night. …Is that something only I would think?
“If anything else comes up, please let us know.”
“Ah, thank you for your trouble. We’ll ask at the reception about the dungeon.”
Before I knew it, Clarice was brushing dust off his clothes. Anju-kun, it’s hard to say, but he still seemed wary, or rather, not trusting.
“Don’t worry. Now that you’ve come to my Nina Starlights, I will make you a full-fledged Illusionist.”
“…Even though it takes 250 years?”
“We’ll discuss the details at the inn. For now, there are things we need to do.”
Finally, it was our turn at the Hero Exclusive Reception. First, I handed over my Hero Porter card.
“…Well, transport of requests! We’ll guide you right away.”
“Deles, I’ll continue with the conversation, so you go ahead.”
“Understood!”
I was guided by another free receptionist and threw the blonde, crazy-doll-like woman into the item shelf.
“Ah, I heard I could take some with me.”
“Take as many as there are members in your party.”
“Then, three… no, four, I guess.”
Even with a 3% activation rate, it’s not like having them is a bad thing. In fact, I was saved by this one’s existence, and indirectly, Clarice’s life too.
“Thank you. The reward for the achievement should be recorded in a few hours.”
When I returned, the conversation seemed to be over.
“Deles, stand over here for a moment.”
“Yes? Uhm, like this?”
“Stand at attention, take off your hood, alright… Anju.”
He stood next to me. Ah, this is!
“Hmm, is Anju’s slightly taller?”
“The amount of hair also matters, so they’re about the same, aren’t they?”
“Stop that! Anju-kun feels sorry for you too!”
“…I don’t care about that sort of thing.”
“I’m sorry. I’m Deles, 19 years old. Shall we get along?”
I felt happy, like I had gained a younger brother.
“…If that’s an order.”
“It’s not an order! We’re companions!”
“Companions? …Really?!”
He finally showed a slightly happy expression.
“Then let’s go. They’ve also introduced us to an inn, a Hero-use one for a four-person party.”
“Does it have a bath?”
“Of course. It’s probably spacious. Shall we go together?”
…That’s right. Just like my former fiancée, Ric, used to do for me… I’ll wash this slightly smelly Anju-kun in the bath. Yes, he still seems confused about the situation, so with that, we’ll surely become good friends… I hope! Maybe!
