Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter Pr

Prologue: The Magician Yakagi Suimei 

Felmenia Stingray was one of the proud court mages of the Kingdom of Astel. Born as the second daughter of Earl Stingray, she was a girl of noble lineage who was brought up without ever knowing want or hardship. After discovering her high mana capacity as a child, she took to studying magic under an old man known as the sage. Even as a young girl, she was considered a genius who peered into the abyss of the ways of magic. 

Ten years passed as she studied magic with the sage. Under his tutelage, Felmenia plumbed the depths of magic that were ordinarily said to take thirty years minimum to comprehend. 

“From this point on, there is nothing more I can teach you. Using your wits, discover your own way of magic,” he’d told her at that point. 

And after that, Felmenia’s life became quite busy compared to her time studying under the sage. For the caliber of her magic research, she was appointed as the youngest initiate of the court mages. The amount of regular work entrusted to her could not even be compared to the invitations to evening parties, unfamiliar jobs, and tea parties with noble ladies she received. Ever since she left the sage’s cave where her time was exclusively devoted to the study of magic, her life had been nothing but a series of new learning experiences. 

Her busy life left her with little time for sleep and brought her hardship like she had never known, but it was so fulfilling that she hardly minded. She already felt a great sense of accomplishment. She felt alive. She was no longer a little noble girl trapped inside a cage like a bird; she felt like she was making a difference as a vital cog of her country. And so she continued her busy but rewarding way of life. Several years after parting ways with the sage, Felmenia made a major discovery. In the middle of one of her jobs as a court mage where she’d been tasked with subjugating a major threat of monsters and demons, she came upon the truth of the flame that was unbeknownst to man. 

Yes, at the tender age of fifteen, Felmenia arrived at the truth. The true flame that all fire desired to be. She discovered that which could burn all things to ashes—the white flame. After trembling with joy for a moment, Felmenia reported this to her teacher and His Majesty the King. She even received words of high praise from both of them for her grand achievement. 

But it wasn’t just the white flame she’d discovered. That was the moment she also discovered value in herself. This was what she truly desired. It was the validation and self-worth she’d been chasing all along. It spurred her forward, and she resolved herself to continue to forge down the path of magic. 

From that point on, Felmenia continued in her magic work, amassing a great number of achievements for her service to the kingdom. From defeating demons in the north, to exterminating an enormous monster enshrined in the desert, to reforming magical scholarship within the country, to her appointment within the Mage’s Guild, which served as a platform for even more academic change… For nearly everything she did, she was showered in admiration from anyone and everyone. The gratitude of the people, the envy of her colleagues, and the words of expectation hanging over her from her father and mother were all the greatest honors she could imagine. 

That was how Felmenia had lived until now. Her prodigious life of achievement eventually earned her the recognition of being the foremost mage in the kingdom, made all the more remarkable by her young age. 

But even Felmenia, who prided herself on being the kingdom’s strongest mage, was unable to lift a single finger against the young man standing before her now. 

The full moon shone down from a darkened sky decorated by the glitter of the stars in the king’s favorite courtyard of Royal Castle Camellia. It illuminated the young man dressed in black, who proceeded to mock her scoldingly. 

“My goodness… Surely it’s in poor taste to stalk someone like this. That’s behavior befitting the pitiful and foolish stray sheep who know nothing of the truth and providence of the world, you know?” 

This young man who spoke in unfamiliar terms to her was one of the good friends of Reiji, the summoned hero. But unlike the young woman who’d also arrived with them and consented to participating in the Demon Lord’s subjugation together with the hero, this completely plain young man had rudely refused the king’s request and demanded to be returned to his own world. 

With a perfectly straight face, he’d claimed to be a normal person. He said he had no special powers worth mentioning, and for that reason, refused to fight against monsters, demons, or evil. And he especially scorned the idea of being sent after the Demon Lord. Insisting he wouldn’t fight, he demanded to be returned home with all sorts of colorful language. That was a few days ago, after which he’d proceeded to lock himself in the room he’d been granted. 

Overcoming the confusion and fear threatening to crush her after being suddenly summoned to this world, his female friend had loudly announced that she would accompany the hero on his quest. But not this young man. He continued to insist on being left alone and sent home. It was a joke. He was a coward. And a selfish one. How could he even call himself a man? Not just the high-ranking castle officials like ministers and generals, but all of the castle staff down to the lowliest maid and soldier ridiculed him mercilessly behind his back. 

But… what was the truth of the matter? 

Felmenia bet her pride on her white flame, the perfection of fire magic. But it was woefully insufficient to win against this young man, who had dispelled it with a mere snap of his fingers. And now he stood over her, overflowing with tranquil mana that was so overwhelming it felt like it might just turn her to ice. 

“Now then, little miss mage. Is it my turn yet?” 

It was in that moment that Felmenia Stingray learned what her self-worth really amounted to. 

This young man was strong and clever. His plain appearance was a lie. A disguise. He was so sly that the people who looked down on him with pity and scorn were the true fools. He was not to be underestimated. 

No, this young man was a monster who resided far deeper in the abyss of the ways of magic than the sage who taught her. He possessed many secret arts within him that she was no match for as she was now. He had such absurd skill and knowledge that it seemed he could take out even the hero who’d received divine protection in the summoning ritual, all with ease and a scornful laugh. 

There was no mistaking it. He was a mage at the summit of his craft. 

“…Who are you?” 

Felmenia asked him that in a trembling voice. The young man fiddled with something atop his hand with a bored expression and replied to her flatly. 

“The magician Yakagi Suimei.” 

That would be the first time he properly introduced himself.