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Translator: Lizz
The setting sun lingered at the edge of the mountains as if about to fall into darkness, casting its final glimmer as it struggled. With one hand raised to shield his eyes from the glare, Leon walked along the path where the trees cast deep shadows. The oppressive heat of midday had abated, and a pleasant, cool breeze had begun to blow by dusk. The heat of the day seemed to have passed its peak.
Beyond the thicket of camphor trees, fields tended with great care by the villagers spread out, and ready-for-harvest vegetables were peeking out among the leaves. Further beyond, thin smokes from cooking dinner could be seen rising, and the faint aroma, carried by the gentle evening breeze, stirred Leon’s hunger. Perhaps hungry, a livestock kept by some household somewhere let out a plaintive cry towards the setting sun.
All of these evoked a sense of nostalgia, but they did not make Leon quicken his pace. At the age of twenty-four, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a partner, but with his profession, it was difficult. There would be no one waiting for him when he returned home, and preparing a meal for just himself was too much trouble. He was thinking of stuffing himself with something to appease his hungry body and going to bed as soon as possible when he noticed a small figure ahead of him. The sunset cast a shadow on the person’s face, making it difficult to make out his features, but it was easy to guess who it was from the way he was sitting on a rock and puffing on his pipe.
Almost as soon as Leon noticed him, the other man also seemed to notice Leon and held up the small pipe in his hand. He did not take his eyes off Leon, which meant that he was waiting for him.
“What are you doing here, grandpa? Have you finally been kicked out of your house?”
As Leon approached him with a light-hearted remark, Orga, one of the elders of the village of Lille, mumbled something that sounded like a swear.
“Do mages have to spend all day being snarky to live? That must be why you are hated.”
“It’s the opposite. We get snarky because we are hated. …By the way, isn’t it almost dinner time? Don’t tell me you hurt your back and can’t walk.”
In a village in Lavarta, where the profession of mage was frowned upon, one of the reasons why Leon, who was a mage in his own right, albeit with less than third-rate ability, could get along so well with the villagers was because of old man Orga’s… back pain.
Leon was at the age where he was about to enter the most important phase of his career as a mage. He was about to enter the prime of his working life, but there was no sense of ambition about him. His features were not bad-looking by any means, and if he put on a charming expression, he would look much better. However, there was always a shadow hanging on his face, and his eyes always seemed to be staring into some dark abyss in front of him that others could not see. His dark red hair, visibly burned by the sun and bleached by the cold winds blowing at the mountain’s foot, was left unkempt and had grown down to reach his back. Combined with his worn-out clothes, he gave the impression of being more weary than his actual age.
However, no one in Lille paid any attention to his ‘un-youthfulness’. Leon did not think anything of it; he was actually rather grateful to the village for keeping silent about it. For this very reason, he found it fortunate for himself that Orga had a back problem, even though he did feel sorry for the old man.
Leon, who possessed a talent for healing that was rare among mages, was also responsible for a kind of work similar to that of a healer in this rural village, where there were no proper doctors or physicians. The opportunity had come when he helped Old Orga, who had aggravated his chronic back pain while hunting in the mountain and was unable to move. He had relieved his pain and carried him home. Old Orga felt indebted to Leon for that one incident, and since then, had taken a liking to him.
Old man Orga, stubborn but sincere and gutsy, was kind of an advisor to the village. Thanks to him, the villagers felt that they could not neglect a man whom the old man treated as an equal just because he was a mage. Of course, this was in normal times when no problems occurred.
“Nah. My back feels fine, thanks to you. But well, mister mage, you have a visitor.”
“A visitor? Gateau?”
The unexpected words made Leon’s eyes, which always seemed tired, widened. Gateau was the only acquaintance he could think of who would visit him. However, the last time he was here, he had told Leon that he would soon be going on a mission far away from here. So, while he mentioned the man himself, he thought it would not be him. But then, who else could it be?
“That lackadaisical knight was just here last week. It’s a more familiar face.”
“Familiar?”
“I’ve grown old. I couldn’t remember right away.”
Leon grew even more confused.
Old Orga stood up and rushed him.
“Just go home. Knowing you, you’d keep wandering around forever if I didn’t say anything.”
With that said, he turned on his heel as if to say he had done his job and started walking toward a house with smoke rising from it while kneading his shoulders.
From the old man’s demeanor, Leon could tell that it was not an uninvited guest at least. If so, it would be better to hurry as he had told him to. Deciding so, Leon said thanks to Old Orga’s back and walked quickly toward his house on the outskirts of the village.
Heading further north from the densely populated area, he took a narrow path that resembled an animal trail into the forest. After a while, a shabby hut came into view. Half-buried in the trees, the hut was being swallowed by the darkness as night began to fall. In that darkness, there was indeed a figure standing in front of the door. From a distance, only the outline of the body could be discerned, but it seemed to be a young man. He didn’t look thin, but he didn’t have the well-built physique of a knight like Gateau.
From Old Orga’s indication, he had guessed that his guest did not seem to have come to harm him, but one could never be too careful. Gently placing his hand on the hilt of the dagger he carried at his waist, Leon quietly moved toward the man while holding his breath. Perhaps sensing his presence, the man turned around. It was too dark to make out his face; Leon’s whole body tensed up involuntarily,
“Master!”
The man exclaimed without hiding his delight.
Leon was instantly taken aback by the unexpected call and the innocent tone. The man ran up to a stunned Leon; he looked like a puppy.
As the man came closer, Leon could see that he was about half a head taller than Leon, and he looked more fit than he had appeared from a distance. The other man seemed to know him, but even as Leon looked at his face as he approached in a friendly manner, he could not tell who he was.
“It’s been a while.”
The man who came up to him said, bowed deeply, and smiled. His dark, wavy hair gently swayed.
When he smiled, the impression he gave off instantly became childlike. And that youthful face triggered a memory.
“…Could it be Dariesh?”
The face of the boy in his memory was not at such a towering height, and his features had been so gentle that he could have easily been mistaken for a girl. The face before him now was still gentle, but it had the masculine look of a young man. Even so, it still retained traces of his childhood.
“Yes. It’s been a while, Master.”
The young man nodded resolutely in affirmation. At that, Leon could feel himself breaking into a smile.
“It’s been a long time, really!”
He clapped his former apprentice on the shoulder in joy.
Yes, it was just as Old Orga said. A familiar face. However, he had grown so much that he didn’t recognize him immediately.
Leon urged Dariesh on, opened the door and entered the house. He fumbled for a lamp and quickly lit it. And then, the young man’s figure became clearer.
His dark, wavy hair and calm hazel eyes were no different from Leon’s memory. However, there were dramatic changes about him; his body had grown large, and his face, though still gentle, was now masculine and carried a hidden sharpness.
“You’ve grown so much. …Come to think of it, how many years has it been?”
“It’s been two whole years since I came to see you before joining the Iron Fortress, I think.”
“That long? So it must have been four years since you left.”
Leon remembered thinking how much Dariesh had grown when he came to greet him two years ago. Now, he was amazed at how adult-like his face had become in just two years, the swift passage of time and the rapid growth of children marveled him. As he was lost in these thoughts, Dariesh, feeling embarrassed, apologized.
“I haven’t kept in touch for so long…”
His body has changed a lot, but his seriousness has not changed, apparently. Leon felt relieved and laughed, amused that even after growing so much, that part of him hadn’t changed.
“It’s okay. The Iron Fortress must keep you busy. I’ve heard the duties and studies are tough.”
Neither confirming nor denying it, Dariesh simply smiled vaguely.
Dariesh was the most successful apprentice Leon had ever taken. Although he had potential by nature, he struggled to master the ‘manipulation technique’ of weaving magic, and he had come to Leon after being considered talentless and passed around by various mages. Dariesh was twelve at the time. When Leon took him as an apprentice, Leon had been even younger than Dariesh was now, and was just starting out as a mentor. Not even knowing left from right, he taught him desperately, never imagining that the timid boy would grow into such a distinguished mage.
Through Leon’s unconventional teaching methods, Daroesj successfully learned the art of magic manipulation and developed his latent abilities. By the age of fifteen, he was admitted to the town’s mage guild, and although he left Leon’s side as soon as he joined the guild, he continued to improve his skills rapidly. Two years later, he earned a recommendation to the Iron Fortress, where all the elite mages of Lavarta gathered.
The Iron Fortress was a magic research institute under the direct control of the royal family as well as an organization of mages. They devoted themselves to studying magic and, in times of emergency, accompanied knights to the battlefield. Even outside of wartime, they were sometimes deployed to maintain public order. Given the nature of such an organization, Leon did not press for more details, assuming Dariesh couldn’t share much with the general public.
However, this raised the question of why he came here. Once joined the Iron Fortress, Dariesh shouldn’t have been able to leave the capital for personal reasons, nor should he have the time.
Sitting across the round table and looking at Dariesh again, Leon noted that the pure smile of joy at their reunion had faded from his face, replaced by a hint of tension.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re just here to see an old face.”
“…Yeah.”
Leon closed his mouth as Dariesh nodded in confirmation. He felt both a fear of hearing more and an eagerness to know.
Dariesh tore his gaze away from his former mentor and looked around the room, which was not large. It was a narrow, run down thing, but to him, it was once his place of learning.
This small hut was once used as a storeroom. The door opened into a living room with a small fireplace, a small round table, a shelf filled with food and miscellaneous items, and a small pot carelessly placed on the fireplace. The room was sufficiently lit during the day because of a window, but the back of the hut was even smaller and darker. There was only a small room that served as a library and a bedroom that could barely fit a bed.
“Master, where is your current apprentice?”
When the apprentices came, the living room became a classroom for study. But at the moment, there were no study tools or books for children to use. There were only Leon’s personal belongings, scattering around messily. Dariesh must have noticed that the room was not intended to welcome anyone in.
“One finished learning a few months ago, and now there’s just one left.”
“Do they come here?”
“No, I go to them.”
“You go to them?”
“They’re from a noble family. It will end soon though.”
Upon hearing this, Dariesh fell silent again with a thoughtful look on his face. Staring at the face of his former apprentice, Leon speculated. Was Dariesh planning to recruit him, given his concern about whether he had any apprentices? It was unlikely that the Iron Fortress would be short of talent, and even if they were, they wouldn’t come looking for such talent at a run-of-the-mill private school. Then, why? Were they looking for some different sort of personnel?
“Well…”
“…What is it?”
“I know it’s really impudent of me to suddenly come here and ask for this after not contacting you for two years…”
Tension and anxiety appeared on Dariesh’s face. It gave a painful impression.
“Ah.”
“Could you take on an apprentice?”
“…Huh?”
The unexpected request made Leon frown.
“I would like to ask you to take on a live-in apprentice.”
A live-in apprentice, which meant they would learn while residing here. Leon himself learned magic in this way, but since no one would come all the way to become an apprentice under him, a third-rate mage, he had only taken commuting apprentices so far.
Yes, Leon was third-rate. The Iron Fortress, where top-notch mages gathered, should be able to find any number of other excellent mages.
“Is it okay if I ask about the circumstances?”
Leon asked cautiously. It would be problematic if he couldn’t refuse after hearing them. However, he couldn’t just abandon his former apprentice, who seemed to be in such distress.
Dariesh, who had been biting his lip while waiting for an answer, quietly began to speak. His hands, clasped on the table, had turned white.
“A few months after I joined the Iron Fortress, a boy from Seldia was brought in.”
“Seldia”, Leon muttered involuntarily. They were a nomadic people who rejected settled life. Their disregard for national borders had led to frequent disputes with Lavarta, and their way of life and culture, which were somewhat different from those of Lavartans, made them an object of contempt within the country.
“He was only ten at the time… but he was said to possess incredible talent. He was rumored to be a rare mage. That was why we decided to take him into the Iron Fortress from the orphanage.”
This was unusual. Basically, the Iron Fortress does not ‘educate’ mages. Its primary focus was on ‘research’ and ‘combat.’
“That’s very impressive.”
It meant that the boy had shown great talent in some way.
“Yes. However… No matter how much the mages of the Iron Fortress try to teach him about magic, he refuses to listen. He doesn’t even speak properly or make eye contact. He completely rejects them. When they try to force him to learn, he lets his power run wild. Even when they explain the dangers of letting his power run amok, he still has no desire to learn. Whether they try to persuade or force him to learn, it’s the same.”
“He rejects and loses control, over and over again?’
“Honestly, it’s a wonder no one has died.”
For the top mages of Lavarta to admit defeat, just how much potential did this boy have? It’s terrifying.
“It’s been almost two years since we took him in. He’s already twelve. He’s past the age for learning the basics. Despite likely having the strongest power in Lavarta, he can’t control it and has no desire to learn. It’s too dangerous.'”
Leon was somehow reminded of the past. The young man before him had once been on the verge of being abandoned as ‘too old to learn the basics’. If he couldn’t master it by this age, the boy would be deemed useless.
“The Iron Fortress has concluded that he will never be able to use magic. However, as he is now, he’s like a powder keg that could explode at any moment. And that powder keg is a threat to the country. So… they decided to dispose of him.”
In a muffled voice, Dariesh uttered the word ‘dispose’. Leon understood that it didn’t mean mere expulsion or deportation. It was the same as discarding a useless tool.
But what could Leon say about it? Could he blame the Iron Fortress for being inhumane? Did he, a third-rate mage who couldn’t even get into the Fortress, even have the right to do so? If that boy went rogue after leaving the government service and harmed ordinary citizens, what could someone like him do?
“It’s unavoidable. But… I wondered if that is really the only way.”
Leon nodded slightly. Given Dariesh’s earnest and kind nature, it was only natural for him to think that way.
“When I was twelve, everyone around me gave up on me. They thought I could never become a mage. Many teachers abandoned me, but you were different. I am now a mage because I was able to meet you.”
“That was just because my teaching method happened to suit you, and you had the desire to improve. It won’t work out for everyone. There are probably those who failed because I was their mentor.”
“Even so, there’s still a possibility, right?”
Seeing Dariesh lean forward, Leon sighed. He already knew what he wanted to ask of him. Honestly, he felt like running away.
“The best mages in this country couldn’t do it. So, we might as well take a chance on the last possibility. Either way…”
The boy would be killed.
Dariesh didn’t finish the sentence. Those words were a lethal weapon. If they were thrust at him, he couldn’t say no, could he?
Taking a deep breath, Leon looked up at the moon visible on the edge of the window frame. Then he turned his gaze back to his former apprentice and nodded weakly.
Silavin: And by popular demand, we have the winner for the 3rd JP Poll! Truth Weaver!
*Applause*
Was neck and neck with Sylvia Of The Fortress.
Anyways, this will be posted every Tuesday at 3PM +8GMT. Any change in schedule will be post on the Discord. For now, enjoy!
p.s- I don’t think that are many images for this one. Regardless, do note that all photos from the Light Novel will only be posted in the Patreon. It’s a little troublesome to post it here.
