Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Don’t Forget the Promise Made at the Adventurer’s Guild 

Not long before Suimei met Lefille, he was standing on the main street of the royal capital of Metel. For the purpose of returning to his own world, he had departed from the Kingdom of Astel’s Royal Castle Camellia and entered the city. The first thing he’d done was head straight for a clothing store. He purchased clothes for the purpose of walking around town without drawing too much attention, and was now much more relaxed. 

“Alright, no matter how you look at me now, I’m just a completely normal citizen.” 

After confirming that he blended perfectly in with the people around him, Suimei let out a sigh of relief. It had been quite uncomfortable to walk around in his school uniform in the middle of a town that looked like it had come straight out of medieval Europe. People all stared as he passed by, and their gazes had been what sent Suimei immediately to a clothier. He had originally intended to sell his schoolbooks first, but he changed his plans and instead used the money he’d received from Prime Minister Gless to pay for his new outfit. 

Suimei used the other young people walking around town as a reference and bought something to match what they were wearing. They were normal clothes, certainly, but they weren’t very comfortable to wear. That was a palpable downside from modern clothing, but Suimei had to suffer it for the sake of blending in. 

“So, next is the Adventurer’s Guild…” 

As Suimei adjusted the sleeves on his new outfit, he began heading towards his next destination—the Adventurer’s Guild. His goal now that he’d taken care of his clothing was to obtain identification papers. He was glad to have left the castle and set out on his own, but in his current situation, he was no different than a vagrant. Staying that way would pose difficulty after difficulty in his travels. 

Much like the modern world, even this fantasy world had its own concept of identity. However, unlike the modern world, people could only judge one another on the basis of identification papers and outer appearance. A lack of proper proof of who you were—namely, the identification papers—was a far more lethal mistake here than in modern society. 

Since Suimei was still in the planning phase of leaving Astel, papers weren’t something he necessarily needed right away. That being said, he also knew that if he could find a way to obtain them, he should go ahead and do it. According to the books from Camellia’s library, unlike other guilds, it seemed that the Adventurer’s Guild allowed anybody to register. 

The other guilds, such as the Merchant’s Guild and the Craftsman’s Guild, generally required prior experience and a referral to join. The Adventurer’s Guild had no such prerequisites. All that it took to join was the clothing on your back, although not literally. Basically, as long as they had the ability to do the work, anybody could join. 

However, to prevent it from becoming a job with no guarantees, if a member wasn’t trusted, they would only be assigned menial work. Since most of the jobs that came through the guild were the dangerous sort, it was only obvious that normal people had no business joining up. Suimei had had the option of going to the Mage’s Guild instead, but they were drafted for military purposes in the event of national emergencies. And that wasn’t something Suimei wanted to be involved with. The obvious choice, then, seemed to be joining the Adventurer’s Guild in order to get his papers. 

I ended up following the standard route in the end, huh? 

Suimei was absentmindedly thinking of such things as he walked down the street, eventually arriving at what seemed to be the Adventurer’s Guild. In front of him was a building that, much like the other buildings in the area, was two stories tall and made mostly of wood. On the front of the building was a large placard with the words “Twilight Pavilion” written on it, hung above the door like some sort of restaurant or bar. In front of the door stood two guards in plate mail. The construction of the building didn’t differ greatly from the others in the area, but it was far, far larger. 

This city from another world was surrounded by a twenty meter high wall to defend against invading monsters and foreign aggressors. Because of the wall, the size of the city itself was restricted. In order to make things work, buildings were quite depressingly crammed together and each building barely had enough land to stand on. Seeing the amount of space granted to the Adventurer’s Guild, one got a sense of just how important it was to the country. 

While looking at his surroundings, Suimei could see that—unlike the other neighborhoods he had been walking through—this part of town was marked by rather dangerous-looking folk here and there. They were just like characters out of games or anime. There was everything from armored men dressed like warriors to slender mages wearing robes much like Felmenia’s. There were even men carrying swords as large as claymores. In modern Japan, every single one of these people would have been arrested for violating sword and firearm control laws. But here, apparently, this was all quite normal. These weapons were merely tools of the trade. 

Suimei found this all a little comforting. Just being here, he could savor a slight tingle of excitement in the air. And to get that just standing in the middle of town was impressive. After observing all these people and his surroundings a bit, Suimei headed for the door to the Twilight Pavilion. The two guards standing on either side of it said not a single word to stop him as he approached, so he felt he must have made it to the right place. One of the guards then gave Suimei a nod and raised his hand to invite him in. Taking them up on it, Suimei opened the door and headed inside. 

This establishment, which was the sort frequently talked about in fantasy worlds, had a layout that suggested it had formerly been a tavern. In addition to what looked like a medieval-themed bar, there were also counters to purchase general goods and assembly areas. It seemed perhaps the tavern had become the Adventurer’s Guild over time. Pondering that possibility, Suimei headed further into the building. The Twilight Pavilion was extremely close to what he’d imagined it would be. 

In the front, there was a reception desk where clients seemed to be consulting with the guild staff, along with a bench for people to sit on while waiting. Off to the side were what appeared to be informational pamphlets, as well as a bulletin board with requests pasted all over it. The rest of the large hall did indeed look much like a tavern. There were tall, circular tables and lower, long ones for larger groups. In the far corner was a mountain of oak barrels. Despite it being quite early in the day, more of the dangerous-looking types like he’d seen outside were noisily guzzling down what appeared to be beer and wine. 

It’s still the middle of the day and they’re all getting drunk. It’s not even like there’s some sort of event going on. 

Suimei stared on in either shock or admiration, or perhaps a mix of both. He then took a more detailed survey of the place as he walked around the room. When he arrived at the long bench before the reception desk, he spotted instructions along with writing materials on a table. Suimei had a quick read, then followed the instructions and headed towards the end of the queue. That was where he met the crimson-haired girl, Lefille Grakis. 

When Suimei gave his name at her request, she quickly bowed her head in response. 

“I see. Suimei-kun, right? Sorry for imposing and getting you mixed up in my incomprehensible revelation.” 

“No, I don’t really mind. Are such revelations something people often get from the Church of Salvation?” 

“They are. I go to church quite a lot, and I receive one from time to time. I’m usually left to interpret how to act on them myself, so it’s rare for the oracle to be this definitive and concrete about something. I wonder what the deal is with that…” 

“Hmm…” 

As Lefille sighed about her ordeal, Suimei mumbled a bit in what was neither admiration nor indifference. He recalled that the church’s oracle had been the one to implore the country to take action against the Demon Lord. But apparently individual people received such revelations as well. Suimei couldn’t tell whether such scattered guidance was simply the whims of a god or the hobby of this so-called oracle. When he thought about it, as long as the oracle wasn’t an outright scam set up by the clergy, it was entirely possible that they were receiving some sort of insight from a paranormal existence using spiritualism as a foundation, or perhaps it was closer to divination or fortune telling. 

“But there’s no way to tell what will come of such a revelation, right?” 

“That’s quite true. It bothers me that I honestly have no idea what the Goddess is thinking.” 

“Isn’t that a little risky to say?” 

“That thickheaded bishop isn’t here. Also, the Goddess would surely forgive such a small?” 

“Next in line, please!” 

In the middle of Suimei and Lefille’s conversation, someone called out from the reception desk. When they both glanced around, the person who had been on the other side of Lefille was now gone. It was rather obvious who the next person in line was. 

“It seems it’s my turn.” 

“Looks like it. Take care.” 

“Same to you. I hope that your commission gets resolved quickly.” 

When Suimei bid her farewell, she returned his kindness as she walked towards the reception desk. 

“…?” 

Suimei wondered exactly why she would say such a thing. After a small conversation with the receptionist, Lefille began filling out some paperwork and then was led through a door further into the building. He could imagine she was going for an interview of some kind. The receptionist then called out for the next person in line again, which was Suimei, so he stood up and approached the counter. 

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild Metel branch, the Twilight Pavilion… Um, is this your first time here?” 

“You can tell?” 

“I saw you walking around earlier and getting a good look at everything. Everyone acts like that their first time here. So, what is the nature of your request today?” 

“No, I would like to register please.” 

When Suimei said that, the receptionist looked like she’d misheard him. 

“…What?” 

“Sorry. I would like to register as a guild member, please.” 

“U-Um, could you please repeat that one more time?” 

“Like I have been saying, I would like to register as a guild member, please.” 

Was she really that hard of hearing? Even after Suimei repeated the same phrase three times, the receptionist looked confounded. She began to rub her brow, and after a short while, let out a grand sigh as she began speaking in a polite yet irritated tone. 

“Listen… I’m sorry, but are you aware of where you are? This is the Twilight Pavilion of the Adventurer’s Guild.” 

“I’m aware. Is there something strange?” 

“Um, everything is strange, isn’t it?” 

“…?” 

Suimei could feel a cold breeze blow as a frosty change came over the previously approachable and polite receptionist. He had no idea what was going on. As if to shut Suimei down completely, she even threw in a warning. 

“If you’re screwing around, I would like to ask you that you put a swift end to it. I don’t have so much free time that I can afford to stand here bantering and listening to your jokes.” 

She had suddenly gotten angry. Why? It was strange. According to what Suimei knew from the novels he borrowed from Mizuki, registering at a guild was supposed to be a quick and easy affair, and he should be able to go about his business immediately afterward. Certainly things never went as smoothly as they did in fiction, but he’d just seen Lefille go through the registration process without any issue. What was so different in his case? While Suimei was trying to figure out what he must have done wrong to irritate the receptionist like this, he noticed the presence of someone approaching him from behind. 

“Hey, kid.” 

“…?” 

Whoever it was addressed him in a bold, angry voice. When Suimei turned around, he was met with the sight of a large man, easily ten to twenty centimeters taller than he was. He distinctly looked like a warrior, and wasted no time laying into Suimei. 

“Yeah, you. You just said you wanted to register, right?” 

“Y-Yeah. I did…” 

“Thought so. If you admit it was a joke and knock it off right now, I’ll let you off. So get out of my sight and go home.” 

It was another warning, or rather, a final warning. The veins on the man’s forehead were protruding visibly as he vented his anger at Suimei. Poor Suimei, however, still didn’t understand what the problem was, and there was no way he could leave like this. Registering at the guild was his first real step into this world. It was something he had to do no matter what. And to that end, Suimei took an amicable attitude with the man before him rather than doing anything to further stoke his ire. 

“No, I really do want to register, just like the girl who was in line before me did.” 

“Are you seriously saying that, you little punk? You think you and that spindly little body can do the same work we do, huh?” 

“Yes.” 

He thought that much was clear. If Suimei did not have at least that much confidence in himself, he wouldn’t have come here in the first place. This would be an entirely different matter if he were joking around like these people were suggesting, but that wasn’t the case. It had to be said that Suimei appeared to be slight even compared to the other mages present, but it shouldn’t matter that he was thin. What this man was saying still didn’t add up to him. But it seemed he’d chosen the wrong answer in responding to this man. He only irritated him further, and his anger poured out of his mouth even more forcefully than before. 

“Hmph, don’t screw around and bark out such stupid shit, you brat! This is a place where warriors and mages gather! It ain’t a daycare for punks and brats like you who know nothing of fighting!” 

“Hmm? Even I have experience fighting…” 

Suimei was deep in thought. As he tried to defend himself, he finally realized what was wrong. He honed in on what the man had said about warriors and mages. It was certainly true this was the kind of place where such people gathered. That’s exactly why Suimei had come. The problem lay in just how these people judged those who fit into those two categories. That was the important point that he had overlooked. 

“Warrior and mages, you said? I’m also… Aha!” 

As he repeated the words that came out from the man’s mouth, Suimei finally stumbled upon the heart of the matter. Just earlier that day, he had bought brand new clothes to blend in as a perfectly normal citizen. He was dressed like an average person who enjoyed their peaceful life within the city walls. In other words, he certainly didn’t look like a warrior or mage. 

Imagining what he would think if he saw someone dressed like this waltz into the guild and ask to register, these people’s reaction to him was quite reasonable. This was another world. Unlike where Suimei was from, the people here could only judge others by their external appearance. He’d completely forgotten that, and come here dressed inappropriately because of it. 

“Damn it, it’s the clothes… I completely got carried away with the clothes I bought…” 

It was far too late for Suimei to backtrack now. Thanks to his oversight, he was faced with the hostile gaze of the man in front of him, and the relentless, pitiless eyes of the surrounding crowd. 

Currently, Yakagi Suimei’s situation could be explained in a single phrase: “not very good.” The previously cheerful receptionist was now scowling at him in annoyance. The man before him was practically shaking he was so angry. And even the surrounding crowd—guild members, by the looks of it—were slowly gathering as they bantered back and forth with one another and made fun of him. 

Ugh, I managed to screw this up magnificently… 

Suimei let out a groan when he realized the grand extent to which he’d messed things up. He’d completely and utterly overlooked his appearance. Certainly, once it was pointed it out to him, it seemed only obvious. He had chosen to look as ordinary as possible, and he’d inadvertently taken on the image of someone who truly did know nothing of fighting or violence. On top of that, he also had the typically slender figure of a Japanese man. He couldn’t blame any of them for thinking he was kidding about joining. 

Suimei’s lack of understanding with regard to this world’s standards had completely backfired in his face. In his own world, fighting techniques and tools were a dime a dozen. Being bigger and having a good build were only slight advantages. And being used to that mindset, he’d unwittingly walked right into a trap of his own design. This was, without any doubt, a blunder on his part. 

But nevertheless, he still couldn’t just give up on registering and back off like they were asking him to. He had to obtain identification papers, and he was also hoping to find some proper lodgings as well. But after this, going out and buying a weapon and a new change of clothes likely wouldn’t do him any good. Everyone would remember his face after this incident, and they’d likely refuse him all the same. Suimei was trying to concoct a plan for how to break out of this deadlock as the angered men encircled him. 

“Hey, punk, you have confidence in your skills, right?” 

“I believe I said so earlier, but I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” 

“I see. In that case, I’ll put your skills to the test.” 

The man’s anger seemed to have reached its peak as he said those words and reached for the large sword on his back. Seeing this, the receptionist suddenly started to panic and tried to stop him. 

“P-Please wait just a moment! No matter how far he…” 

“It doesn’t matter. This guy said he came here to seriously register, right?” 

“I-It is strictly prohibited by the guild for a member to carelessly resort to violence against a citizen!” 

“Don’t worry. This ain’t just careless violence. Besides, the guild only prohibits violence against regular citizens. But this guy’s a registration candidate, remember? There shouldn’t be any problems if we have a little test right here and now.” 

“That… might be true, but…” 

“You’re serious, right, punk? You’re okay with this, right?” 

“Well, yeah…” 

Suimei did in fact agree with what the man was saying, but he was still unable to stop himself from sighing. This had panned out exactly as he expected. It had escalated to the point that force was going to be his only option to get out of a situation like this. Now it was only a matter of how exactly he should deal with this man… 

Well, it’s not like those fanatics from the Holy Inquisition are around here. This is a world where magic is used in the open, after all. There’s no reason to completely conceal it… 

Over the past few days, Suimei had had a change of heart concerning how exactly he should carry himself while in this world. At first he’d assumed that he would need to conceal his magicka just as he had done in his own world. The people of this world, however, saw magicka on a regular basis and weren’t startled by its mere existence. That meant he could use it freely to a certain extent. If he was faced with magicka, he could defend and counteract with magicka of his own. 

While he was here, there was no need for him to deny his identity as a magician. Moreover, this world didn’t have the Holy Inquisition—an organization of zealots who believed only the miracles brought by their splendid god could be allowed, making them natural enemies of those who called themselves magicians. So the more Suimei thought about it, the less he felt the need to hide who he really was. 

It seemed the only thing he really had to worry about was having his techniques stolen by mind-reading spells and the like. However, considering how far behind the development of magicka was in this world, he had no reason to think that would be an issue. Thus, Suimei came to the conclusion that using his magicka cautiously wouldn’t pose any problems. 

Naturally, he would feel better if he could resolve the current situation peacefully. However, when he thought about it, facing off against a guild member was the perfect chance to clear up all the misunderstandings and break through the deadlock he found himself in. As Suimei resolved himself, the man lowered his gaze at Suimei like he could scarcely believe what he was dealing with. 

“Punk, what are you just standing there stupefied for? Do you have no sense of danger?” 

“It’s simply because I’m not in a dangerous situation.” 

“Do you not see me, punk?” 

“I do.” 

Suimei responded in a cool manner. To him, this kind of threat was absolutely nothing compared to what he’d been through. He’d witnessed true scenes of carnage and felt overpowering pressure and oppression at their sight. The man standing before him hardly compared to master swordsmen from Suimei’s world in terms of ability. Also, compared to the fanatical hatred from the magician hunters who held blind, terrifying faith in their gods, the hostility he felt from this man might as well have been a pleasant breeze. 

When he thought back to being surrounded by large groups armed to the teeth with firearms or facing off against the grotesque beings known as apparitions, it was true that he felt comparatively no danger now. 

The man standing before him just didn’t stack up against those experiences. Suimei would freely admit that wasn’t exactly a fair comparison considering the extreme and ridiculous things he’d been through, yet nonetheless, he still wasn’t intimidated by this man. 

But just how did this man feel after seeing Suimei’s calm composure? Did he think he was just staring down an insolent brat who knew nothing of the world? Or perhaps some punk who thought that he could win through sheer bravado? As Suimei was used to concealing his identity, he was always completely suppressing the mana leaking out of his body, meaning he gave off no sign of his powers. That surely wasn’t helping now. 

“Hmph… I’m starting. Show me you can stop or dodge this?” 

The man spoke like a teacher announcing the beginning of the test. It seemed that, despite his unmistakable rage, he truly did intend this as a test of sorts. Contrary to Suimei’s expectations, this man hadn’t completely lost his cool. While briefly entertaining such frivolous thoughts, Suimei began focusing on the matter before him. 

The man grabbed the sword on his back and intended to swing it down as he drew it. That would make the timing and trajectory simple to predict. Suimei focused on the hilt of the man’s sword and began optimizing his mana with the intent of deducing everything in an instant. Then, as though simply brushing aside an insect in the air, Suimei snapped his fingers. 

“Buugwhaaa?!” 

A surprised shout filled the room as the air exploded lightly. It was a scream that was in every way unflattering. After the small air explosion, the man flew backwards onto the floor as if his body weighed next to nothing. The sword, which had been the focal point of the explosion, had slipped out of his hands and flew even farther than he did. A moment later, the sound of the sword hitting the ground rang out over the man groaning. 

“Ugah! Wh-When… F-Fuck! Wh-What just…?” 

He seemed to have lost track of what had happened after the abrupt impact. He looked around and slowly got his bearings. 

“Wuh…?” 

Suimei could also hear a stupefied gasp from the receptionist behind him. She hardly seemed the same irate woman that had scolded him earlier. Regardless, it was surely because she had no idea what had just happened. There was no way she could. It seemed the crowd shared her surprise. Everyone in the room was staring at him with wide eyes. After a short while, the receptionist finally spoke. 

“Um, just what was that?” 

“Magicka.” 

Suimei answered without a hint of arrogance in his voice. After collecting himself, the man held his head in pain and looked up at Suimei. 

“Magic…? Without chanting or a keyword…?” 

“Yeah.” 

“R-Really…?” 

“Well, yeah. You saw it for yourself.” 

Suimei gave a frank reply as the man looked at him for confirmation once again. Seeing him like that, Suimei came to the realization that Felmenia’s reaction would be standard here in this world. It seemed that the ability to not only invoke magicka without a chant, but also to omit the keyword used as the activation sequence for magicka itself was truly something shocking to these people. 

Liturgical magicka, in some cases also called courtesy magicka or ritual-type magicka, was one of the many systems of magicka. Though it was called that, it was completely different from magicka systems like numerology or astrology. Rather, it was the term for the type of magicka which was invoked simply by performing a specified action or by properly reciting a chant. 

In modern terms, it was also called manual magicka. To react in a predetermined way upon the use of an action or chant was inherent to the behavior of many types of magicka. Summoning magicka was an extreme example of this. The circular dances of Sufism, ninjutsu, yin-yang ceremonies, and Buddhist seals all fell under this category. Essentially, all magicka that activated in such a fashion could be classified as manual. 

That included the magicka Suimei had just used. It was strike magicka that he had performed the proper ceremony for beforehand, and tied to the action of snapping his fingers. With that, he could perform the specified gesture and activate it at any time. It was plain, simple, and effective, which made it easy to use. And deploying such simple magicka without requiring a keyword was completely normal to Suimei. 

“Then you’re…” 

“Yeah. I apologize for not saying so sooner, but I am indeed something like a mage.” 

When Suimei apologized for his late introduction, the surrounding crowd broke out into surprised murmurs. 

“A mage? With that kind of appearance…?” 

“I’ve never heard of magic without a chant or keyword…” 

“Hey, don’t tell me he’s actually some kind of amazing mage…” 

Uh oh… 

He’d gone too far. All he’d done was snap his fingers like always. In terms of magicka, performing a spell with a simple action like that was a popular trick, so Suimei never thought of it as something amazing. He’d also had to choose an attack that wouldn’t seriously harm his opponent in an enclosed space, so this was just about his only option. While ignoring the reaction of everyone around him, Suimei turned back to the receptionist and shrugged his shoulders. 

“Do you not believe me?” 

“N-No, it’s not that I don’t believe that you can use magic… But if you’re a mage, why aren’t you wearing a robe or carrying a staff? Are they not indispensable tools for a mage?” 

Huh? 

“Are they really so important that all mages are expected to carry them around?” 

“No, that’s not exactly what I mean… but it is the general trend among mages.” 

“Then there’s no problem, is there? It’s not my style to carry around crappy antiques like any stereotypical mage would.” 

Perhaps because of the way he had said it, the receptionist was now simply staring absentmindedly at him with her mouth agape. And as if to reprimand him for saying something ridiculous, she finally snapped. 

“I-It isn’t ‘your style?!’ Aren’t they tools necessary for accurately controlling your mana and defending against magic?!” 

“Well, it’s true that robes are on the classy side, but there’s no real reason to carry a magic staff, right? It’s common to use magickal tools to assist with complex spells, but it’s natural to just use your body for the minute control of mana. Only third-rate magicians can’t do that.” 

“Oh, come on…” 

As Suimei rattled off his harsh take on the matter, the receptionist let out a groan for some reason. Just how strongly was she determined to hold on to the belief that robes and staffs were absolute necessities for magic wielders in this world? Felmenia hadn’t used a staff, so Suimei hadn’t thought it mattered all that much, but apparently it was a big deal. 

Certainly in ancient times, the staff was an indispensable tool for magicians. According to history books, this dated back to ancient Egypt where they wielded staffs carrying characteristics of the gods as a symbol of authority. In Celtic civilization, the staffs used by the druids were also quite famous. In the modern age, one of the most frequently mentioned examples was Mather’s Lotus Wand. The origin differed between systems of magicka, but it was true that magicians augmented their strength using staffs as magickal tools. 

It wasn’t as if Suimei hated such old-fashioned things. He also wasn’t making fun of the traditional methods passed down since ancient times. But he was right in that such a thing was wholly unnecessary for a modern magician. After all, magicians were the type to go against the flow to chase after mysteries. 

Suimei was from a world driven by the advancement of science. Magicka had to learn how to grow and adapt as well. Magickal staffs had been replaced by magickal guns. Robes had given way to suits and jackets. It was true that tradition was important, but it was equally important to think of blazing a path to the future. But despite however natural it might be to him, he’d caused an extraordinary misunderstanding with the receptionist. 

“I’m quite sorry. I truly did not realize that my appearance would be such a big deal.” 

As Suimei apologized and timidly bowed his head, the man he had just fought answered in a slightly flustered manner. 

“N-No, it’s fine. I also jumped to the wrong conclusion. Sorry.” 

“I truly appreciate you saying that… Can I assume you no longer take issue with me registering?” 

“Yeah. If you’re a mage, then I don’t got any complaints. I’ll leave the rest to her.” 

Suimei walked up to the man and held out his hand. The man took hold of it to pull himself up and then pointed at the front desk. Following his finger with his eyes, Suimei looked at the receptionist. 

“So, how about it?” 

“O-Of course. There are no problems with regards to your registration. I apologize for having been so impolite.” 

“No, there is no need to humble yourself so… It was my fault for creating the misunderstanding in the first place.” 

The receptionist bowed down while humbling herself, feeling that she’d failed at her job for not properly being able to judge Suimei’s abilities. Suimei responded politely and tried to lighten the mood, but she only apologized again. With this, the surrounding crowd dispersed and the guild hall returned to how it had been before. The man he had just fought also gave him one more apology before going back to what he’d been doing. 

“Um, then I have a blank form for you here. Please fill in all the necessary items.” 

With that, the receptionist pulled out a piece of paper with fields to enter personal information needed for the registration process. It wasn’t much, so Suimei didn’t have any trouble filling it all out. Using the nearby quill pen and inkwell, he quickly finished filling in the form and handed it back to the receptionist. She then briefly inspected it. 

“Suimei Yakagi-san…? It may be impolite of me to say, but that’s certainly an unusual name.” 

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” 

Suimei returned her statement with a wry smile. It was indeed something he heard frequently; “Suimei” was an unconventional name even in Japan. He couldn’t help being amused hearing someone comment on it even here. 

“So, Suimei-san, please let me confirm just a few things with you. Would it be correct to list your occupation as a mage?” 

“Yes.” 

“On that note, what attribute do you use?” 

“…Um, do I have to specify?” 

“Collecting such information is standard procedure. This is all personal, of course. We won’t make any of it public.” 

“Hmmmm…” 

“Is something the matter?” 

The receptionist tilted her head to the side, puzzled by Suimei’s reluctance. For her, asking such a thing was completely natural. When Suimei thought about it, he recalled a conversation he’d had with an excited Reiji and Mizuki when they’d first started learning magic. 

They’d said something ridiculous along the lines of the attributes a mage could use being determined at birth. Since he’d heard that from two people who could use every attribute, it seemed like complete nonsense?but regardless of how Suimei felt about it, it was perfectly reasonable for the guild to want to know what kind of magic its mages could use. A pensive expression on his face, Suimei came up with an answer. 

“My specialty, well, it would be the fire attribute…” 

“Fire, you say? But the magic you used earlier wasn’t attributed to fire…” 

“Y-Yeah… I can also use magic with the wind attribute.” 

“I see. Suimei-san uses two attributes, correct?” 

“Yeah, well…” 

Suimei could only be vague, but the receptionist gave him a great smile. It was true that he was especially good at magicka using the fire attribute, but there wasn’t a significant difference between that and his use of other spells. Unlike what Reiji and Mizuki had suggested, Suimei could freely use all types of magicka. 

His actual specialty was Kabbalah numerology, which took all of the world’s matter and phenomena and interpreted them as catalogs of numbers and numerical formulas, making it possible to peruse them as if they were in a book. By combining this with magicka, he could manifest the true essence of the numbers, be it fire, water, lightning, or solidifying liquid. With the correct spell and the requisite amount of mana, it was possible to recreate any of the world’s matter and phenomena as magicka. In the world Suimei came from, magicians would generally never speak of the magicka systems and attributes they were unable to use so as to not expose their own weaknesses, but… 

Attributes, huh? 

Ever since arriving in this world, Suimei had had a feeling that these people placed far too much importance on this aspect of magicka. It was true that for magicka, the traditional four elements or the five elements of wu xing were important components of elementary theory. With them, it was possible to intuit basic relationships and correlations, such as the water attribute being effective against the fire attribute, but that in no way meant that someone who could use the fire attribute couldn’t use the water attribute. 

Of course people had natural affinities for certain types of magicka, but fundamentally all humans had the potential to handle any attribute. There were individuals who weren’t particularly talented with certain magickas, thus they might choose not to use certain attributes. It was similar to how most people would prefer to light a fire with matches than flint. Everyone can use flint in theory, but it’s much easier to use the matches. 

Thinking of the match and flint as different systems of magicka, the act of creating fire could be accomplished in many ways. It could be done by borrowing the power of a devil, god, or some other paranormal existence. Or as Suimei did, it could be done by using mystical numbers to manifest the fire. The results of using the stars or tarot cards for divination could bring about the flame. It was also possible to create it using runes or yin-yang techniques. It was simply a matter of the user’s preference. 

So if there was a magicka technique someone had aptitude for, they would be able to manifest whatever attribute they desired. Attributes weren’t meant to be off-limits to magicka users. For Suimei, who had touched upon many different systems of magicka as a modern magician, there were certain attributes he found hard to handle, but that was the extent of his limitations. 

That being said, if everyone here used the same system of magicka, they would be restricted by that. It was possible to conceive that certain attributes would be out of reach for certain people that way. By that logic, Suimei could start to understand how this world thought of attributes in such a black and white manner. It was very likely that the magicka system used by Reiji and Felmenia was the major, if not the only, magicka system in this world. 

“By the way, Suimei-san, are you able to use recovery magic?” 

“R-Recovery magic?” 

Suimei raised an eyebrow at this sudden question. The receptionist once more made a confused expression and continued. 

“Oh my, are you perhaps not aware of it?” 

“No, I do know of it…” 

He understood what she was saying, but the nuance of the phrase “recovery magic” was just too vague to him. He knew of healing magicka and spiritual treatment from back home, so he was a bit stumped at her choice of words. 

Suimei could guess that healing magicka was an important ability for an adventurer, which would explain why the receptionist was asking about it. The ability to heal oneself and others during battle was certainly a desirable power. Throughout history even in his own world, the number of magicians capable of using strong healing magicka was chronically insufficient. 

“…Yeah, I can use it. Well enough that I won’t fall behind, at least.” 

“I understand.” 

Suimei gave her a nod, and the receptionist finished filling out the form. She then cleared her throat and began speaking in a business-like manner. 

“Ehem, excuse me. Well then, after this, we will have Suimei-san evaluated and appointed a rank between F and S based on ability. The explanation for the rank you’re assigned will be given by the person in charge of such matters afterward. Suimei-san, could you please go through that door and take a seat in the next room? We will be with you shortly, so please be patient.” 

With those words, she turned around and waved her hand towards the door behind her. Following her instructions, Suimei headed through into the room beyond. 

After being told about the upcoming evaluation by the receptionist, Suimei headed further into the guild hall and took a seat in the hall he found himself in. It was illuminated by what looked like lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and had something of a slightly lonely feeling. It reminded Suimei of something… A hospital waiting room in the middle of the night. 

Despite being in another world, Suimei stewed on the strange, nostalgic feeling this room had inspired in him as he sat and waited. Before long, the door at the end of the hall opened up and someone came out. It was a girl with soft and wavy light brown hair. Similar to the receptionist, she was wearing the guild staff uniform. She walked over to Suimei and cocked her head to the side. 

“Um, Suimei Yakagi-san… Right?” 

“Yeah… That’s right.” 

When Suimei gave an agreeable nod, the girl put on a brilliant smile. 

“Please excuse me. I’m the one in charge of guiding the new guild members. My name is Dorothea, and it’s a pleasure to meet you!” 

“L-Likewise. I’m looking forward to working with you.” 

Suimei responded as politely as he had with the receptionist to the energetic girl who saluted him. While remarking internally how different she was from the others in the front, Dorothea began speaking with a candid smile. 

“Oh, don’t feel the need to be formal. We’re similar in age and everything, so let’s be friendly and casual with each other.” 

“…Is that alright?” 

“It’s fine, it’s fine! It’s easier this way anyway. It’s my job to make sure our brand new guild members who are about to take the evaluation feel at ease, you know? Well, from the looks of it, that may not be necessary for you, Suimei-san.” 

“Y-Yeah… Well, once again, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“The pleasure’s all mine!” 

When Suimei agreed to her request, Dorothea replied with a burst of energy. She enthusiastically urged him to come with her, and then began walking slowly down the passageway. Suimei followed. After a few steps, as if she’d suddenly remembered something, Dorothea turned around and asked Suimei a question. 

“Um, I had a look at your registration form. You’re a mage who can wield both the fire and wind attributes, right?” 

“Yeah, well, more or less.” 

“Heehee. Being awfully modest, aren’t we? Didn’t you just send Roha-san flying using magic without chanting so much as a keyword? I think that makes you, mister, a super skilled mage.” 

“Not at all. It all happened so suddenly that I lost myself in the situation and used it by accident.” 

Suimei responded to Dorothea’s smile with a harmless smile of his own. 

“Well, just like you saw, Roha-san is quite quick-tempered. Recently that kinda thing has been happening a lot, and he likes to just charge into the mess. There’s no stopping him. I’m afraid it was quite rude to you, Suimei-san. I’m sorry.” 

“…Do people screw around and play pranks that often here?” 

“Yeah, they do. There are innocent people who march right up to the reception desk, the kind of people who admire adventurers but don’t have a shred of talent or experience. And there are those who only want to join the guild to leech off of the benefits that come with membership. I guess it’s a side effect of the hero appearing. Over the past three days, the number of these incidents has increased several fold…” 

It must have caused quite a lot of trouble to the guild members. There was a sigh mixed into her voice here and there as Dorothea explained the situation. It was certainly believable that the hero summoning, which was performed because of the attack by the demons on Noshias, would suddenly inspire those who may have been cowering in fear previously. Suimei wasn’t sure how the people of this world commonly viewed the hero, but if it was anything like the blind devotion he’d witnessed in the castle, the hero’s very existence would be a huge morale boost to the side of humanity in the battle to come. It was a powerful enough effect that it had even produced a fever of sorts here. It was good on the whole, but it was quite troublesome for the guild and was the primary reason for the incident at the reception desk earlier. 

“So are there many adventurer hopefuls gathered where we’re headed?” 

“Nope. You’ll be the last one receiving an evaluation this morning, Suimei-san. I doubt any of the other candidates are still hanging around.” 

“I see…” 

While Suimei was nodding, Dorothea changed the subject. 

“By the way, Suimei-san, did you catch a glimpse of the hero during the parade?” 

“Well, yeah, I did see a bit of him…” 

He couldn’t exactly admit that he knew the guy and had seen him off. There was simply no reason for him to say it. With stars in her eyes and a gentle sigh, Dorothea continued. 

“He’s called Reiji-sama, right? He carried himself so marvelously that I can’t even describe it. As one would expect of a hero, I’m sure. I hear the heroes from previous summonings were similar to him in that they were the very embodiment of earnestness and righteousness.” 

Dorothea came to a casual stop and closed her eyes. She was probably remembering the parade. It seemed she also found hope from the image of the hero burned into her mind. Suimei, who hadn’t grown up in this world, didn’t know if the hero was a universal symbol of hope or not, but that certainly seemed to be the case for this girl. It seemed likely her opinion was shared by the public at large, so Suimei decided to ask. 

“Do you think that the hero will defeat the Demon Lord and the demon army, Dorothea?” 

“If the hero’s extraordinary powers are as great as the people say, I do think it’s possible.” 

“People are talking about him?” 

“You haven’t heard, Suimei-san?” 

“It’s a bit embarrassing to admit, but no, not really.” 

Suimei wasn’t actually embarrassed, but he thought it would be easy to pretend to be out of the loop. It was likely the whole city was talking about Reiji. And if the look on Dorothea’s face as she talked about him was any indication, the people here held the hero from another world on the same level as fairy tales. Dorothea seemed to find Suimei’s lack of knowledge on the subject unusual, but proceeded to explain. 

“Regarding the hero’s power, there are only the descriptions from history books and stories people have told, passed down through the ages. The few times that the word has fallen into crisis, a hero has been summoned to save us. The fights that those heroes took part in were terrifying. There was the one who fought a giant who was so tall that it could reach the heavens, but the hero split the giant clean in two with a single swing of a sword. There was another hero who cornered a tyrant gripped by insanity by flying through the sky on the back of a black beast. And one who struck down a previous Demon Lord with a holy sword. There are all sorts of stories.” 

“Hmm…” 

This got Suimei’s attention. Not only were the contents of these stories interesting, but it was something that had a great deal to do with Reiji and company. There was no way that he wouldn’t be interested in something that involved his friends. He would have to investigate more later. 

“What do you think, Suimei-san?” 

“Hmm?” 

“About the hero defeating the Demon Lord. Do you think he can really do it?” 

“…I wonder. If the current hero truly possesses the power you just spoke of, then it may just be possible. Though I do wonder if it’s truly like that.” 

“You mean… you think he can’t do it?” 

“No, I just think it’s too naive to assume that the mere presence of the hero will make the difference between defeat and victory. I also think there’s something strange about people giving up hope and deciding they were doomed in the first place…” 

Since Suimei had intimate knowledge of the circumstances, he was filled with anxiety. A battle was not such a casual affair that receiving some boost in power would be enough to achieve victory. Suimei closed his eyes as he worried about such things, but Dorothea puffed out her cheeks indignantly. 

“It would be better not to say such things outside. The hero is on the same level as Alshuna-sama’s envoy. If the people from the Church of Salvation heard you, you would be in for a long sermon on all kinds of things.” 

“Haha… I’ll be careful.” 

This wasn’t the first time Suimei had been threatened with a sermon; Lefille had also said something similar. It seemed that for the people of this world, a sermon from a member of the Church of Salvation was considered a serious punishment. Suimei started to think he’d have to keep such thoughts to himself in the future. After her stern warning, Dorothea’s expression returned to normal. 

“Well, it’s just as you said, Suimei-san. The people from the guild are not so optimistic either… Well, returning to our previous talk, because of the hero’s influence, the number of applicants to the knights, the army, and our Twilight Pavilion have all multiplied quite extraordinarily over the last few days compared to normal…” 

“So that would explain why the receptionist got all tense and tried to turn me away when I came in dressed like a completely normal civilian.” 

“Yup. Suimei-san, I think you should at least get a staff. I don’t know how things will go after you receive a guild card, but a hopeful who isn’t even carrying a weapon asking to register at the counter was certainly unprecedented.” 

“I’m sure. I’ll have to think about that.” 

Suimei was truly embarrassed that he’d caused such a scene because he hadn’t thought things through. He felt like an out-of-place country bumpkin incapable of reading the room. While Suimei was lamenting his mistake internally and bowing his head a little in shame, Dorothea put her hands on her hips and thrust out her chest. 

“It’s fine as long as you understand. So it’s all good.” 

Dorothea exclaimed this with complete satisfaction. 

“So, Suimei-san, do you have any other questions?” 

“Just one more. What exactly will I be doing for an evaluation?” 

That was the main thing that had been on Suimei’s mind all this time. In the novels Mizuki had shown him, when the visitor from another world registered for the guild, they would usually just place their hand on a mysterious crystal ball that would measure their ability. Was that really how things worked here, too? As Suimei was wondering about this, he saw a glint in Dorothea’s eye like she’d been waiting for him to ask this all along. She answered him with gusto. 

“Naturally, it’s a fight!” 

Suimei failed to see how that was the natural conclusion here. 

Shortly after Suimei heard what the evaluation would be from Dorothea, they passed through another doorway into a large room that resembled the interior of a gymnasium. 

“I see. The reason the building is so big is because of this facility.” 

“Yes. This is the largest guild office in the country, after all. We at least have to have a proper place for training.” 

“A training ground, huh? But it doesn’t look like there’s anyone here.” 

Just as Suimei had said, the spacious training ground was completely empty. After being told the number of applicants had increased dramatically as of late, he was quite sure he’d see a few of them here. Contrary to his expectations, however, the closest presence he could sense was in a room further into the building. 

“The second training ground is used for evaluations in the morning, so there won’t be anyone training at this time. I believe the person who was evaluated before you is in the next room filling out the required documentation.” 

“I see.” 

Suimei gave an indifferent reply when he suddenly felt that something below his feet was out of place. He lowered his gaze and decided to ask Dorothea about it. 

“Hey, the flooring here… Isn’t it a little weird?” 

“Yes, I’m surprised you noticed. This training ground was built using an advanced magic-resistant material. Spells get thrown around in here a lot, after all, so the place was designed to stand up to that.” 

“A magic-resistant material?” 

“Yes. It was a very recent discovery, actually. This is about the only place in all of Metel that has it, you know.” 

“Huh. To think such a thing existed…” 

Suimei paid no mind to Dorothea, who was acting excessively proud, as he admired the material. Instead of her, he was looking down at the floor with deep interest. The materials that made up the flooring and even the walls looked like nothing but ordinary wood and stone, but apparently had magic-resistant qualities. 

Since his own world also magickally treated materials, it didn’t strike him as all that unusual. But for a material to be resistant against mana without having a spell applied to it was quite interesting to him. As he continued to admire it, Dorothea once more welcomed him to the training ground and spread her arms out wide. 

“Like I said, this will be the place where we hold your evaluation. We’ll pair you up with a guild member of our choosing and hold a match right here. After observing the way you fight, we will assign you an appropriate rank.” 

“Hey… Theoretically, just theoretically, is there an evaluation method that doesn’t involve fighting?” 

“That’s an interesting question. In return, let me ask you this: is there a simple way other than fighting to evaluate you?” 

“Okay, fair enough…” 

“So you understand, right? Then?” 

While Dorothea was trying to move the conversation forward, a presence on the other side of the door further into the room started to move towards them. With the sound of the door opening, a single figure emerged. After spotting Suimei and Dorothea, the person in question called out to them with a voice like the clear ringing of a bell. It was a pleasant sound, and her voice wafted all the way over to them like a gentle breeze. 

“Could that be… Is that you, Suimei-kun?” 

“Ah, Grakis-san. It’s been a short while.” 

The person at the door was the woman Suimei had become acquainted with earlier under rather odd circumstances, Lefille Grakis. Suimei gave an odd reply as she walked over with her vivid, shiny, long, red hair swishing behind her at every step. After closing the distance between them, she looked a bit puzzled. 

“Why are you here?” 

“Well, it seems I will be taking an evaluation to determine my rank.” 

“Oh…? But weren’t you here at the guild to put in a request for a job?” 

“Ah…” 

Suimei finally realized the misunderstanding she was under when he saw her surprised expression. When they’d parted ways with each other at the reception desk, her parting words were something to the effect of: “I hope your commission gets quickly resolved.” Suimei now finally understood why she’d said that. 

“No. In fact, I’m a registration candidate myself. And… despite how I may look, I’m a mage.” 

“Is that so? You weren’t armed, so I just assumed you were here to make a request…” 

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that… Really sorry. I will be more careful from now on.” 

“Why are you apologizing so much?” 

“…It’s nothing.” 

The conversation naturally drifted in that direction. Lefille had been under the same false impression everyone else had. The phrase “just deserts” came to mind. After hearing the same thing from multiple people now, Suimei was just sinking further into regret. Seeing that the two of them recognized each other, however, Dorothea spoke up. 

“Do the two of you know each other?” 

“Not really. We just met in front of the reception desk earlier.” 

Dorothea gave an understanding nod to Lefille. Suimei then jumped back into the conversation. 

“Grakis-san, what about your evaluation?” 

“Yeah, I just finished up with it a moment ago.” 

“How was it?” 

“Well, about adequate, I would say.” 

She said that with a glint in her eye and daring smile on her lips. By the look of it, it seemed her evaluation had been far more than just adequate. She didn’t show a single sign of exhaustion, and she wasn’t even breathing heavily. Noticing that, Dorothea made an expression halfway between astonishment and bewilderment. 

“To call your performance ‘about adequate’ with those two as your opponents… They’re both quite skilled guild members, you know.” 

“Is that right? I just carried myself and fought as I usually do.” 

“Just as usual, huh? It’s a real shame you won’t be staying in Metel, Lefille-san.” 

Hearing these words from Dorothea, Suimei casually turned towards Lefille. 

“Where are you headed, Grakis-san?” 

“Ah, that’s?” 

“Ummmm, I’m sorry to interrupt, but… it’s about time to start your evaluation. Do you mind?” 

It seemed that Dorothea was pressed for time, and she cut off Lefille in the middle of her reply. They had spent quite a lot of time talking since entering the training ground, after all. 

“Yeah. I’m ready at any time.” 

“Understood. Then… Rikus-san and Enmarph-san! If you will!” 

Dorothea raised her voice as she called towards the next room over. In response, two people walked through the doorway. One was a man who appeared to be a warrior, carrying a two-handed sword and wearing leather armor. The other was a man carrying a staff in one hand and wearing robes—a mage, no doubt. These were surely the opponents that Dorothea had been talking about for the evaluation. 

“Two of them?” 

“From here, we’ll have you fight against one of them. Rikus-san is a warrior, and Enmarph-san is a mage. They’re both very different in their strengths and abilities, but they’re both quite skilled and should serve well in measuring your aptitude.” 

“Hmm…” 

While Dorothea was explaining, Suimei had been scrutinizing the men who were still approaching from a fair distance. Their mana, presence, and prowess. He couldn’t sense anything from either of them that would put him on guard. They made their way over to Suimei in no time, and immediately the one who looked like a warrior began speaking to him in a curt tone. 

“So, you the newbie?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Name and occupation?” 

“I’m Suimei Yakagi. I’m pretty much a mage.” 

Suimei ended up replying in a very blunt manner to the man’s high-handed attitude. The man, who Suimei assumed was Rikus, glared at him in response. 

“Ah? What’s with the ‘pretty much?’” 

“It’s just a matter of my personal preference. Nothing of note, really.” 

“Huh, is that so?” 

Suimei wasn’t sure why Rikus had taken such a haughty tone with him. He was probably irritated that Suimei was talking back to him, but still, this man had started it and was being excessively rude. The mage called Enmarph, though silent, was also giving off an atmosphere like he would electrocute anyone who dared to touch him. As Suimei continued to asses the duo, Rikus turned towards Lefille. 

“You. You’re still here?” 

“Yeah. I was just talking to these two a bit.” 

Rikus had been making a scary face reminiscent of a Nioh, but after his short facial spasm passed, he turned his glare on Suimei. 

“You. Do you know this woman?” 

“Huh? Well, you could say that…” 

Before Suimei could explain that he had only met her in passing earlier that day, Rikus began muttering to himself. 

“I see… A friend, huh? Is that so…?” 

“Um…” 

“You’re friends, right?” 

A turbulent atmosphere had come over Rikus, and he was smiling at Suimei strangely. When Suimei looked to the side, he noticed Enmarph was giving off the same vibe. Putting that and the conversation from earlier together, Suimei realized what was going on and turned to Lefille. 

“Could it be… these are the two opponents you defeated, Grakis-san?” 

“Indeed, it’s just as you surmised. These are the very two… It feels a bit strange to apologize here, but sorry.” 

“I thought so…” 

It was exactly the situation Suimei had expected, but being right didn’t particularly make him happy right now. 

In short, the situation hadn’t changed much since the incident at the reception desk. The number of people involved and the cause were different, but Suimei was still getting a raw deal courtesy of a misunderstanding. Confronted with the outburst of anger and hostility from these two guild members, Suimei let out a long sigh. First the prime minister, then the reception desk, and now this. Today was shaping up to be an unlucky day for Suimei, largely spent undeservingly under someone’s hateful glare. 

Suimei had so far intuited that the two guild members standing before him were the opponents that Lefille had defeated during her evaluation. Normally for an evaluation, an adventurer from the Twilight Pavilion would fight with an applicant while offering their guidance. It was meant to be a humbling experience. It was also typically only one person. However, for her own gratification, Lefille had asked to fight both of them one after the other. 

Of course, the result was obvious now. Suimei glanced to his side. Apart from the thin blade and light armor she donned, Lefille gave off a sense that she’d come from a noble upbringing and lived an extravagant lifestyle. But despite that impression, seeing the two men cursing at her, it seemed she’d beaten them with plenty of room to spare. And since it seemed she’d said all she had to say on the matter, Suimei turned to the two guild members. 

“So now I just have to do the same, right?” 

Suimei had no reason to let the unjustified hate and hostility being directed at him get him down. Rikus sneered at Suimei’s confident attitude as he answered his question. 

“That’s right.” 

“And the format of the match?” 

“It’s a guild match. There’s no need to adhere to any formalities. We fight, then we’ll give you our evaluation. Just that.” 

“By fight, you mean as a normal bout, right?” 

“Yeah. However, in the guild evaluation match, we use training swords. Since you’re a mage… Ah, I heard you don’t use a staff anyways, right? Hmph. If you have a weapon on hand that you want to use, feel free to whip it out. But you’re not allowed to kill or seriously injure anyone, regardless of whether it’s with magic or a weapon. Not that you’d be able to do that with us as your opponents. Right, Enmarph?” 

“…It won’t be an issue.” 

Those were the first words Enmarph had spoken this entire time. He seemed to be a quiet person. Even though his face radiated anger, his voice didn’t waver in the slightest. 

“But… didn’t you just lose? Both of you, no less.” 

“Shut up, Dorothea! Don’t fucking make fun of us!” 

“Eeek!” 

Dorothea let out a shriek when faced with Rikus’s thunderous yell and Enmarph’s silent pressure. She then turned towards Suimei and stuck out her tongue like it had all been on purpose. Not that she’d needed to add more fuel to this fire… 

“So, which will it be? We’ll let you pick.” 

“Which one, huh…?” 

There was no reason for Suimei to think about it too hard. It wasn’t like he was hiding his magic like he had been when he first arrived in this world. He’d seen fights between Reiji and the knights at the castle, but watching and participating were two different things. It would make sense to get some experience fighting in this world while he had the chance. Lefille was about to leave anyway, so it would only be the three of them left in the room. In that case, Suimei could quickly bring everything to an end without a fuss. If he handled this correctly, he might be able to do something about the reputation he’d established for himself at the reception desk. 

In that case, this is a great opportunity. 

Little did Suimei know he was about to pour even more oil on the fire himself. Dorothea’s assistance in that regard was wholly unnecessary. 

Suimei finally spoke up and addressed Rikus, who had been glaring at him all this time just waiting for an answer. 

“Well then, while it is a little presumptuous of me… I will take both of you at the same time.” 

“…Oh-ho?” 

“What?!” 

With Suimei’s declaration, Lefille let out a curious inquiry while Dorothea let out a surprised yell. The two men he’d addressed, on the other hand, were obviously quite stirred. 

“Huh?! You want to take both of us on at the same time? Are you serious right now, you punk?” 

“Yeah. I’m not in the habit of making bad jokes.” 

Suimei gave a rather unabashed reply, which only made Rikus’s already bad mood worse. 

“If you had the ability of that woman there, it’d be one thing, but do you really think we’d both fall to a single mage? Don’t get so damn cocky just ’cause you sent one guy flying at the reception desk.” 

As Rikus was channeling all of his anger into words, Enmarph was also silently boiling over and glaring at Suimei. As expected, both men were quite prideful. But there was nothing Suimei could do about that. He could still be considered a child, and here he was boasting before two experienced guild members. Of course they wouldn’t take it well. But the feeling in this case was mutual. Suimei was getting tired of being yelled at. With the increasing tension the air, Dorothea cut in timidly to try and calm the situation. 

“Um, Suimei-san, are you serious about fighting both of them at the same time?” 

“Yeah. That’s what I’d like. After this, I still need to go find a place to stay for the night and somewhere to eat, so I’d like to end this quickly.” 

“Um, that’s not what I meant?” 

Before Dorothea could finish, Rikus’s irritated voice cut her off. 

“Are you that confident you can finish this quickly?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You sure talk big.” 

“Look, this is about the size of it. Just as you both have your pride as guild members, I have pride in the path that I’ve walked up to this point. It isn’t good for your health to be humble all the time, after all.” 

“Brat… Being an idiot who can’t judge their opponents’ abilities will take a merciless bite out of your rank. If you take back your joke now and pick one of us, I’ll forgive you just this once.” 

“I have no intention of doing that. Also, I haven’t done anything that requires your forgiveness.” 

“…Then I don’t wanna hear you whining about how this goes later, you hear?” 

“Thanks for the warning, I guess.” 

As Suimei shrugged his shoulders, Rikus began grinding his teeth and turned towards Enmarph. 

“Tch… Enmarph, we can’t stand for being underestimated by these brats anymore. Let’s hurry up and beat the crap out of him.” 

“…Got it.” 

After confirming the plan with Enmarph, Rikus returned his glare back towards Suimei like he was trying to stare a hole right through his head. The air still bristling with tension, the two men headed to the center of the training grounds. 

“Suimei-kun… Those two are quite skilled fighters, you understand. Is this really alright?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You have confidence you can beat them?” 

“Yes, though I’m afraid my appearance makes it look like that’s unwarranted.” 

Lefille let out a gentle laugh at Suimei’s self-deprecating remark. 

“That’s true.” 

“An immediate agreement? So mean…” 

Lefille responded so quickly that Suimei reflexively rattled off a joking retort. The two of them had a good laugh together. 

“Heehee…” 

“Hahaha.” 

Unexpectedly, she and Suimei got along quite well. As he was casually thinking about how Alshuna’s unfortunate guidance had brought them together… 

“Either way, facing the two of them at the same time lines up with my goals. It’s perfectly fine by me.” 

“I see. In that case, I don’t have any objections.” 

Lefille nodded quietly, then turned towards Dorothea. 

“Excuse me, but would you allow me to observe this fight?” 

“Eh?!” 

Suimei blurted out a strange, surprised noise. Why would she want to observe? This development ran completely counter to Suimei’s plans. 

“Well, I don’t mind… But perhaps we should ask Suimei-san?” 

“Huh…? Well, no, I don’t particularly mind either.” 

“Then why did you gasp like that? Your face was twisted all like, ‘Buwuh?!’ You know? Bu-wuh?!” 

“I just… I just wasn’t expecting that. I was merely surprised.” 

“Yeah? Even so, you’re acting kinda strange…” 

Dorothea cocked her head to the side, and Lefille gave a satisfied nod upon getting permission to stay. 

“I’m glad. I will be intently watching your fight from the sidelines, then.” 

It seemed Lefille was completely intent on staying. Surely her interest as a swordswoman had been piqued by his claim that he could fight against both of them. She was going to watch his fight now, but that didn’t change the rest of his plan. While mumbling to himself in his mind, Suimei followed after the other men to the center of the training ground. 

“Well then, are you ready?” 

At Dorothea’s signal, Rikus pulled his sword silently from its sheath and Enmarph took a stance as he pointed the jewel on his staff towards Suimei. Following their lead, Suimei took out his black gloves—the gloves of discord—and put them on. He then removed his vial of mercury from his pocket. Rikus had no idea what it was and asked out of curiosity. 

“What’s that?” 

“I’m just getting my weapon out.” 

“Huh?” 

Surrounded by curious gazes from all sides, Suimei popped the lid off the vial and began pouring its contents, the indispensable material needed for his alchemy, on the ground. It seemed mercury was a fairly unusual substance in this world, and Lefille knit her brow as she studied its strange, silver brilliance. 

“Silver… water?” 

“It’s mercury. Have you never seen it before? 

“No, this is my first time.” 

Lefille squinted a bit as she stared at it. 

“Is it some kind of drug?” 

“Nope.” 

While Lefille was questioning Suimei, the last drop of mercury fell from the vial onto the floor. When it fell into the puddle with a tiny splash, Suimei concentrated his mana and began his spell. 

“Permutato, coagulato, vis existito.” 

[Transform, coagulate, become power.] 

A small magicka circle formed and began expanding on the ground at the center of the spilled mercury. The circle’s mana was emitting a dark red light. While manipulating his magicka, Suimei could see four people and four surprised faces out of the corner of his eye. It was probable they were surprised he’d formed a magicka circle without having to draw it, just as Felmenia had been. 

“Alchemy…” 

Suimei heard Enmarph speak up. It seemed he was at least able to recognize that much. As if urged on by the circle below it, the mercury stretched out like clay and rose up, spread out and moved into Suimei’s hand in the shape of a sword. 

“This, you see, is my weapon.” 

Suimei finished answering Lefille’s question by demonstrating the final product. He now faced his opponents and concentrated entirely on them. He was wearing neither his coat nor suit, but a fight was a fight. Setting the small talk aside for now, Suimei gripped the mercury katana in both hands and took his stance. He saw Rikus looking at him with suspicious eyes. 

“Hey, you… Didn’t you say you were a mage?” 

“Didn’t that look like magic?” 

“A mage using a sword… Actually, can you even use that thing?” 

A familiar question. Felmenia had asked the same thing. It seemed mages and warriors were two mutually exclusive callings in this world. Mages were the rear guard, warriors were the vanguard. They were stuck on those stereotypes. That meant Suimei, who was different from their image of both mages and warriors, was a bundle of surprises to them. 

“Well, to an extent.” 

“Is that so?” 

Suimei grinned at Rikus. There were no more questions to ask at this point. As Rikus spat out his last annoyed words, Dorothea took her chance to herald the beginning of the match and raised her hand. 

“Well then… Begin!” 

The very moment Dorothea said the word, Rikus lunged at Suimei. It was a simple opening move. He started with a strong step and followed up with a splendid diagonal slash. Suimei returned the slash with one of his own. 

“HA!” 

Rikus snorted out a laugh. Anybody who was watching this scene would have judged Suimei’s decision was poor. It was obvious when comparing their physiques, or even just the size of their arms. Suimei would be overpowered and pushed back. Thinking so himself, Rikus was unable to stop his laughter from escaping his mouth, but the next several seconds wouldn’t play out as he imagined. 

In the brief moment where Rikus’s and Suimei’s swords clashed, Suimei suddenly dove forward and to the left. He pressed his arm against his body as his sword was pushed behind him and then raised it over his head. He was now standing behind Rikus to his right with his sword fully brandished above him. 

“What?!” 

Rikus’s stance was all wrong since he’d just gone from a frontal contest of strength to suddenly having his back taken. When he’d yelled out over-enthusiastically and attacked, he threw all of his weight into his sword to strike, but now without a target, he was simply falling forwards. It was the result of Suimei’s technique, which met an incoming diagonal slash with one of his own, warding off the enemy’s blow while breaking their stance. 

At the end of his technique, Suimei immediately turned around. He had no intention of standing around like an idiot and waiting for Rikus to make his next move. Before him now was Rikus’s defenseless, wide-open back. Normally this would be where Suimei cut him down while making a speech about this being the price for letting his opponent get behind him, but he wouldn’t get the chance this time. Behind him, a tiger’s jaws were opening wide. 

“Oh Wind! Thou art the power of eternity who crushes all! Strike the enemy before me with your rage! Wind Fist!” 

“Secundum moenia, expansio localis!” 

[Second rampart, local expansion!] 

Suimei reacted without even mourning the loss of the attack he would no longer get to take on the man in front of him. With the air coiled up into the form of a tyrannical fist flying towards him, he activated his defensive magicka. Specifically, it was the brilliant golden fortress’s second rampart—a shield against spells. 

“Wha?!” 

Suimei couldn’t actually tell whose surprised voice that was. He kept his sword pointed at Rikus, and, opening his stance, raised his left hand out towards Enmarph behind him. With his hand as its origin, the golden magicka circle immediately deployed itself to protect him. The fist of compressed air smashed into his shield and scattered to all sides as smaller whirlwinds. The magicka circle didn’t even creak as everyone took a moment to collect themselves. With a bitter, twisted face at being so embarrassed right at the start of the fight, Rikus got back into his stance and faced Suimei. 

“Tch, using such a weird sword style…” 

“I was taught at a neighborhood dojo.” 

Suimei spoke with complete composure. 

“What?! What was that magic?!” 

Enmarph however, had suddenly gotten lively and began making an uproar. Suimei looked at his surprised face with narrowed his eyes, and skeptically revealed an answer he thought was only obvious. 

“…It’s defensive magicka?” 

“I’m not asking about that! Just now you?” 

“What? Did I do something strange?” 

Enmarph was completely dumbfounded. So much so that he wasn’t able to articulate himself in his surprise. The golden fortress was defensive magicka. It was a magicka Suimei had created to protect himself against all types of attacks. He would even call it his masterpiece. But no matter how you looked at it, it was defensive magicka. The only other thing to be surprised over would be the magicka circle he’d used to deploy it. But Enmarph had already seen that—Suimei had summoned one out of thin air when he manifested his sword too. There was nothing new to yell about. 

“Strange? Everything?” 

As Enmarph was too stimulated to form any coherent thoughts, Dorothea spoke in his stead. 

“But, Suimei-san, that magic you used just now activated without the mediation of any attribute!” 

“That’s because it doesn’t use an attribute. If we’re being honest, isn’t it useless to apply an attribute to defensive magicka?” 

Attributes were simply dead weight when it came to defensive magicka. Fundamentally, to defend against an opponent’s magicka, one would defend against the particular spell, or even defend against the cause of the magicka itself. It was true that applying an attribute would increase its defensive power against magicka of the opposing attribute, but attributing a defensive spell to an element also created a weakness in that it would then easily be overcome by a stronger element. It was more potential risk than reward, so it was generally considered bad practice in Suimei’s world. To Enmarph, however, this was world-breaking. 

“Ridiculous! There’s no way it’s useless! At its very core, magic is something that takes shape only after mediation of an attribute! Magic that can be invoked without the mediation of an attribute is just…” 

“Yeah, what’s that? Mediation of an attribute?” 

No matter what nonsense Enmarph spouted, Suimei was having difficulty grasping the meaning behind his words. Magicka wouldn’t activate without meditation on an attribute? Just what did he mean by that? Attributes were an indicator used to classify magicka into categorical types. It wasn’t some essential power or component used to invoke magicka. It wasn’t, but? 

“Suimei-kun, all magic is a manifestation of power borrowed from the Elements. Without hailing the power of the Elements, there would be no magic. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to be. So how is it that you’re able to use magic in defiance of that?” 

Lefille had a scrutinizing look on her face, but her astute question revealed what Suimei needed to know. He’d finally gotten to the bottom of this apparent mystery. 

“Ah, aha! Of course! Okay, okay, I see. I finally get it now… The magic here isn’t bestowed by the elements. The elements are just used as an intermediary for invocation, and your mages can’t do anything without them.” 

Lefille’s attentiveness had indirectly cleared that up for him, and he now saw exactly what was causing the confusion. At first, Suimei had thought that the magic of this world was nature magicka, just like the kind he could find anywhere back in his world. 

Nature magicka used the power of nature to bring forth magicka, or used magicka to bring forth natural phenomena. He’d seen a strong resemblance to it in the magic of this world, so he’d just assumed they were the same. It was a misunderstanding on his part. Now that he’d gotten a look under the hood, so to speak, it was more like a counterfeit of the nature magicka he knew. 

Suimei recalled the first magicka he saw used in this world, the magicka used to open a door in the castle. The porter had used an element to do it, which had struck Suimei as excessive and odd. After all, even if he’d been using nature magicka, he still should have been able to directly manifest the power to push or pull. That easily would have been enough to open the door. But instead, he’d conjured a breeze to push against the door to move it, which was the height of wastefulness in Suimei’s eyes. At least, that’s what he’d thought at the time. That was only true if he was actually using nature magicka. 

But now he realized that the porter couldn’t use magic at all without the wind, and that was what had made it outwardly similar to nature magicka. The “Elements” that they referred to here weren’t just elemental attributes, they were the eight elemental powers they had to implement to be able to manifest magicka in the first place. This was why all magicka in this world was associated with an attribute. 

“People just kept saying things like ‘the Elements are absolutely necessary’ and whatnot. It was kinda convoluted, so I didn’t get it. I mean, why would you make your magicka more complex and time-intensive to cast like that if you don’t have to? It’s simply bothersome and idiotic.” 

“Wh-What the hell are you saying…?” 

“Nothing, it’s not important. Applying an attribute for the sake of defending is just difficult, is all.” 

It seemed that in this world, the typical chain of mana, spell, defense simply didn’t work or didn’t exist. Instead, they added a step and used mana, spell, Elements, defense, and they were locked in to that chain. This was why chants were so long here, and why these people were always surprised when the chant was omitted. 

My goodness, to think it was like this… 

It had been the same way with Felmenia, but Suimei hadn’t actually sat down and studied the magicka of this world yet. In Suimei’s world, grimoires—esoteric books on magicka—were something not aimed at beginners. It wasn’t like someone could pick up magicka just by reading one. They weren’t instruction manuals. They were serious tomes for serious learners. Just reading one properly required a fair amount of time and resources. 

That was why Suimei hadn’t attempted to study magic here. He’d assumed it would take too long to decipher anything on the subject, and decided it was better to spend his time studying this world, its nature, its legends, and the history of its magic instead. That’s why he’d restricted himself to those books when he visited the castle library. 

Also, part of Suimei wanted to embrace the simple joy of discovering magicka in the middle of a fight. He was anticipating mysteries that he still knew nothing about to move and excite him… Today, however, there would be nothing of that sort. 

“Well, whatever… Let’s continue. We were both taken by surprise, so that makes us even. You don’t mind, right?” 

When Suimei prodded him with these words, Enmarph began angrily chanting. 

“Oh Wind! Thou art the power of eternity! Become a circle—the circle of tyranny! The uncountable destruction born from the air, rush towards my enemy with your righteousness! Loud Tyrant!” 

Enmarph’s keywords for the spell—Loud Tyrant—rang out through the room as he shouted them. With Enmarph as its center, a vortex of wind rose up into the air in an instant. Then, as if all the air in the room was affected, several other whirlwinds began forming around it. Unlike the single fist of a whirlwind he’d shot at Suimei before, this was a barrage of wind. Using the power of numbers, he intended to arrogantly overwhelm Suimei’s shield. However… 

“Secundum moenia, expansio corroboramentum!” 

[Second rampart, strengthened expansion!] 

That was Suimei’s defensive magicka. The golden magicka circle began to shine much brighter than before as the storm of oppressive wind rushed towards it with violent turbulence. Individually, each strike carried more power than his previous attack, and there were ten or twenty this time—no, more than that. It was a continuous, rapid-fire bombardment. 

However, as each whirlwind struck the golden rampart, they would vanish in an instant. This happened over and over, each and every time. Not a single breeze of the whirlwinds was able to reach Suimei. After a while, the last whirlwind dissipated and the wind died down, leaving dust from the floor flying across the entire room. 

Suimei cast a cold gaze at Enmarph as if to imply he was bored. Enmarph was not only no longer able to speak, he could no longer even move his hands. He was simply frozen in place with his staff still pointed at Suimei. There was a moment of silence in the still room, but then Suimei heard the sound of someone kicking off of the ground with all their might. It was Rikus. 

“Don’t get…” 

“Cocky” is what he surely was going to say. He had his sword ready in both hands and was leaping right at Suimei. He’d waited for the exact moment Enmarph’s spell ended, and timed his attack accordingly. But he wasn’t anywhere near fast enough to catch Suimei off guard. Suimei moved the arm he’d had pointed at Enmarph towards Rikus, then expanded the first rampart. 

“Primum moenia, expansio localis!” 

[First rampart, local expansion!] 

“…cocky, damn it!” 

Both men yelled, and sword and rampart collided with an ear-splitting shriek like metal gears violently grinding together. Rikus’s sword met Suimei’s shield deployed in full anticipation of his attack. But it was completely meaningless for a sword to strike a castle rampart. That applied here as well. Suimei’s defensive magicka circle didn’t show any signs of buckling, but Rikus’s sword was nearly blunted from the collision. 

“You’ll never reach me like that.” 

“Ugh, hrrgh…” 

Rikus was simply standing there glaring at his opponent after his attack, a truly ridiculous sight. Seeing Rikus’s anguish as a perfect opportunity, the moment Rikus shifted his grip on his sword, Suimei took a graceful stride to the left of Rikus, whose strike had now completely missed its target. Then stepping around to Rikus’s side, Suimei snapped his fingers strongly with the intent of defeating him. 

“GUAAAAAH!” 

With the sudden burst of power at his side, Rikus was sent flying. Without even watching how far he went, Suimei shifted his stance and faced Enmarph. Enmarph was still standing there with his staff pointed at Suimei, and as he was about to start chanting again… 

“Are you sure you wanna do that? Your magic won’t work, you know…” 

“Ugh! Even so?” 

He was still going to go for a magicka battle. Suimei saluted Enmarph’s spirit internally. While Enmarph began chanting with zeal in an attempt to strike down Suimei, Suimei also began his own spell. 

“Buddhi brahma. Buddhi vidya.” 

[Awaken power. Along with great knowledge.] 

“Oh Wind. Thou art the power of eternity—blow fiercely!” 

Modern magicka and magic. They were prepared in different ways, but victory would surely be determined by the speed of chanting. However, before a magician who used the Notarikon of the Kabbalah, magic that required time to mediate with an attribute was simply the height of stupidity. Comparing speed alone, it was obvious the mage would lose. 

That was assuming, however, they were casting spells of the same strength and level. 

“Gale!” 

The first to finish and invoke their keyword was not Suimei, but Enmarph. Surprisingly, he’d gone with a short chant that only required two or three verses. However, that meant a weaker spell, which had no chance of harming Suimei. So why had he bothered setting up the timing like that? The answer to that question became apparent soon enough. Enmarph’s mana, which built up into a gale, was blowing in from behind Suimei. 

So you can do it after all… 

Feeling the cold premonition behind him, Suimei flashed a warped smile. Enmarph hadn’t been looking for a head-on magic battle; it was a tactic. He was risking everything and leaving himself completely defenseless to attack Suimei from a blind spot. Suimei felt like credit was due for that, and the words of admiration he let out were the rest of his spell’s chant. 

“Buddhi karanda trishna!” 

[Thus, surrender yourself to the sweet voice’s thirst!] 

“Trishna,” meaning thirst, was a word used ceremoniously in over five religions. Thus, it was simple to use for magicka and a very powerful word in Sanskrit. When used in Suimei’s magicka, it carried the mysteries of Esoteric Buddhist systems. A magicka circle formed below Enmarph’s feet with a completely different structure than any circle he’d seen before. It was a magicka circle that embodied thirst. 

“Not yet!” 

With a flash of determination, mana began to flood out of Enmarph’s body. He intended to resist the spell by forcefully overpowering it with his own mana. This was a last resort taken to defend against magicka when backed into a corner. In general, before unknown magic, it wasn’t a bad choice. Unfortunately for Enmarph, the magicka Suimei had used was that of Kalavinka’s sweet voice. It wasn’t a direct attack, but one designed to suck all the mana out of its target. In other words… 

“Wha? GAAAAAAAAH!” 

As he screamed, mana was being released from Enmarph’s body at an accelerated rate completely out of his control. Before long, once all the power drained from his body, the mage fell to his knees. 

“OOOOOOOOH!” 

Suimei then heard a war cry from Rikus behind him. He had been splendidly blown away earlier, but seeing how quickly he charged in now, he was clearly trying to cover for Enmarph. But nevertheless, Suimei did not lose his composure. He spun around and tossed his mercury katana into his other hand. As he twisted and kicked up dirt like a whirlwind, he turned to strike in an instant. Compared to the heavy sword Rikus was using in both hands, the blade Suimei swung was a flash faster. 

“Guh, ugh…” 

Stopping his sword right at Rikus’s neck, Suimei declared his victory. 

“And with that, I think we can call the match mine, can’t we?” 

There wasn’t a single protest to be had. 

As Suimei slowly withdrew his mercury katana from Rikus’s neck, Rikus fell to the ground and exhaled roughly. Behind Suimei, Enmarph was also still sitting on the ground with an exhausted look after having all of his mana forcibly drained from his body. Verifying their conditions, Suimei quietly undid the spell and released the mana holding his mercury katana together. Like watching it be made in reverse, it spilled to the floor as a liquid and then channeled itself right back into Suimei’s vial. As the present guild staff member, Dorothea had been attentively watching over the fight. And after witnessing his two opponents fall, she turned to Suimei with a grand expression of admiration. 

“Wow… You really defeated both of them…” 

Dorothea was a bit stunned at this unexpected outcome. As for Lefille, who had been watching at her side, she was shooting a very serious, intent stare Suimei’s way. It felt almost like it would pierce right through him, so he was relieved to see it fade into her usual gentle smile. 

“Wonderful!” 

A single word of admiration. It seemed that the atmosphere in the air was flipped on its head in an instant. Dorothea then stepped towards Suimei. 

“Suimei-san, that was a spectacular fight. There aren’t many who could defeat both Rikus-san and Enmarph-san at the same time. Even among the guild members currently in Metel, there are only a handful of people.” 

“Thank you, but it was only because my strategy worked out in the end.” 

Suimei was humbly implying his victory had been by chance. Dorothea gave him a sly smile as if to say she didn’t like how he’d put it, then took a jab at him. 

“Again with the humility… As I suspected earlier, you’re quite a skilled mage, aren’t you? Even in the Mage’s Guild, I think you’d be considered top-tier, right, Lefille-san?” 

“Yeah, I’m not familiar with the strength of the members of the Mage’s Guild in Metel, but surely your skills are something else.” 

“…So, compared to the amazing mages you do know, how was it?” 

Suimei was really asking how he stood up to the mages of this world. He had called them idiotic and haughty before, but that that was strictly in reference to their technical approach. He still didn’t have a clear picture of what the ultimate mages here were really like. 

Technique was important, but if someone had enough mana and poured an increased amount of it into a spell, just about anything could be menacing—large-scale magic in particular. 

In addition to that, the Elements or whatever would play a major role in determining the strength of a mage, dependent on the amount of mediation they provided for their spells. This all pretty much applied to combat, but? 

“So you’re interested in that kind of thing, huh? I knew it! Suimei-san is a boy, after all…” 

“W-Well, yeah… So?” 

“Heehee. If you ask me, I think you’re quite good. It may not be much compared to the S-ranked mages of the Twilight Pavilion, though…” 

Dorothea’s voice tapered off towards the end of her sentence. She seemed to be suggesting that comparing his performance just now to that of an S-rank mage would be presumptuous. In that case… 

“Got it… By the way, how would the famous White Flame from the castle compare to those S-rank mages?” 

“Lady Stingray? Her Ladyship is more famous for her research than her strength in combat. I don’t think she can really be compared to those who make their living by constantly facing life and death situations, you know?” 

“Hmm…” 

Dorothea was proudly boasting of the Twilight Pavilion’s guild members, and Suimei was completely absorbed by what she was saying. He wouldn’t say that Felmenia was skilled, but as a mage, her talent was quite promising. He certainly didn’t think of her as a top-tier mage, but to hear someone suggest she wouldn’t hold up favorably against mages who actively participated in combat was certainly an interesting take. 

“So what do you think, Grakis-san?” 

“…I didn’t think you were the type to be so fixated on strength.” 

“I’m not. I just want a point of reference. Just a general idea of my level. It’s normal to be curious about how you stack up, isn’t it?” 

“Mm, that is true… This is merely my opinion, but… Purely based on people I have witnessed myself, the amount of mana I felt from you wasn’t enough to surpass the stronger mages. As for the destructive power of your magic, what you showcased just now doesn’t serve as a very good point of reference.” 

“Destructive power, huh?” 

As expected, much like in nature magicka, these people put an emphasis on that aspect of magic. The magician feared most in Suimei’s world, Wolfgang, had immense magicka that would certainly spoil the mages here. So comparatively, just how much destructive power was there behind the magic of the highest ranking mages? 

“Of the stronger mages I mentioned earlier… There are some who can blow away entire forests or towns with a single spell. Though it may be somewhat discourteous to say so, comparing your magic to such feats… I can’t really say they are on the same level.” 

“For example, if we’re talking about Geo Malifex-sama from Nelferia, I hear she can crush an entire battlefield all at once. But when we’re talking about people like that, it’s just one outrageous thing after another…” 

“Mm, yeah…” 

Suimei had gotten a fairly good grasp of things at this point. In his current state where he had yet to ignite his mana furnace, it seemed there was a fairly large gap. It wasn’t like these top-tier mages could flatten mountains or destroy entire peninsulas, but they still had a terrifying amount of destructive power. Granted, even in his own world, there weren’t all that many people who could do such things, but that wasn’t the point. 

“Thank you very much. This has been most informative.” 

“Don’t mention it. I wouldn’t have you thank me over something so trivial.” 

“Please. I’m still very ignorant and have a lot to learn.” 

Suimei returned a bow to Lefille. Dorothea then cocked her head to the side and continued talking in wonderment. 

“Nevertheless, who exactly are you, Suimei-san? You’re able to fight that well, but I’ve never once heard your name before. Just where did you come from?” 

“Oh, uh, I’m… well, from pretty far away… If I said from the east, would you understand?” 

Suimei recalled the maps from the castle as he tried to answer. In preparation for a conversation like this that would test his knowledge of geography, he’d studied the maps quite thoroughly. As far as he could tell, Astel didn’t have much in terms of diplomatic relations or even basic information on the lands to the east. That made it the perfect answer for a question like this. 

“I see. It’s true we don’t know much about the eastern part of the continent. Then is your magic characteristic of the kind they use in the east?” 

“Well, yeah.” 

Suimei tried to sell a lie as the truth, but it seemed to pique Lefille’s interest. 

“Characteristic magic, huh…?” 

“Is something wrong?” 

“No, I was simply admiring the splendid techniques that you displayed. Destructive power aside, the speed of your invocations and your defensive abilities, needless to say, were all excellent. There is still much of the world that I don’t know of.” 

“Well, yeah…” 

She was certainly right. They were techniques from another world, however, so the phrasing might have been a little off. Dorothea then turned to Lefille as if she’d suddenly remembered something. 

“Now that I think of it, you’re headed towards the Nelferian Empire, right, Lefille-san?” 

“Hmm? Yes, that’s right.” 

Dorothea confirmed Lefille’s destination with her, which turned out to be a large coincidence for Suimei. 

“Hmm… Are you going to take up activity in the Empire, Grakis-san?” 

“Yeah. From here, I plan to take part in activities at the Twilight Pavilion while commuting to the Magic Institute in the Empire.” 

“The Magic Institute… If I remember right…” 

The Magic Institute. According to the documents Suimei had read, it was a large institution in the Empire that served as a magic think tank. It gathered students from Astel, Nelferia, and Saadia to research and develop magic, and had the added benefit of keeping the balance of power between the three allied countries equal. 

“Since I’m not particularly familiar with magic, I was hoping to start studying from scratch so that I can strive to improve myself.” 

“You want to learn magic?” 

“Yeah. Up until now, I’ve never seriously made an effort to study it, after all.” 

Suimei nodded when he heard this, but Dorothea let out a sigh as she began talking. 

“Someone as skilled as you, Lefille-san, surely would have contributed greatly to the guild here in Metel. It’s truly a shame that you’ll be moving to another branch. But I still have hopes for our new mage, Suimei-san!” 

“I’m sorry, but once I’ve finished up here, I intend to head straight for Kurant City.” 

Dorothea looked at him blankly for a moment, her face flush with pale dread and disbelief. 

“WHAAAAAT?! What about helping our guild out as Metel’s shining star of a newbie mage who’s carrying all of our hopes and dreams?! Weren’t you going to show the mages over at the Mage’s Guild what’s what with a little wham, bam! And what about receiving a title from Twilight-sama?!” 

Suimei was wondering just where her overactive imagination had taken her. 

“No, unfortunately.” 

“No waaay! To think that we finally got some new members who exceeded our expectations after so long, but you’re both just up and leaving…” 

“Sorry. I also have things to do.” 

“What’s a girl to do? Since the both of you are headed towards your goals with such unshakable resolve, there’s nothing we can do to stop you.” 

“Well, my final destination also happens to be Nelferia.” 

“You too?” 

“Yeah. I have a lot of information I need to gather, and I though the Empire would be the best place to do it.” 

“I see. I don’t know when it will ever be, but I’m looking forward to our paths crossing again.” 

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it too.” 

“Well then, I should be going. Suimei-kun, your fight was enlightening.” 

With those as her parting words, Lefille turned around with a sweet, elegant air and her red ponytail swaying behind her. Suimei caught himself staring as she walked away, and Lefille seemed to notice his gaze. She stopped and turned back around. 

“Is something wrong?” 

“No, it’s nothing. Take care.” 

“Yeah. Thank you. Well then, see you.” 

With that, Lefille exited the training grounds. Suimei watched her elegant figure as she left and shut his eyes… Considering who it was, there should be no problems leaving her to her own devices. She didn’t seem like the type to gossip, so he would leave her be. It shouldn’t be an issue. She also happened to be headed to Nelferia, so at the end of the day, rumors about Suimei wouldn’t spread around this area. After watching Lefille leave, Suimei spoke to Dorothea without shifting his gaze. 

“Well then, I’d like to ask something simple. With this, what would my rank be?” 

As she couldn’t see his face, Dorothea was a little on edge as she looked up at the ceiling. 

“Um… Let’s see. You did win a decisive victory over both Rikus-san and Enmarph-san at the same time.” 

One of them was acting like a petulant child, and the other was just silently staring at Suimei. Rikus was the one who had his face turned away, and Enmarph was grinding his teeth. Both were duly mortified after two crushing defeats in a row. As Dorothea glanced back at them, she took on her persona as a proper staff member and spoke in a business-like manner. 

“Normally, I believe a C-rank would be appropriate, but you certainly have the abilities to take on activities as a B-rank. I believe that will be most suitable.” 

“Hmm…” 

Hearing this unexpected evaluation from Dorothea, Suimei unintentionally let a note of surprise. It seemed she was giving him the status of B-rank. He’d expected about that much, but it was still a rather high valuation. And then, as if extremely pleased with her evaluation, she put on a brilliant smile and turned to Suimei. 

“Amazing, right? You’ll become famous in an instant, Suimei-san.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Yeah. I guarantee it.” 

Dorothea thrust out her chest proudly, as if enthusiastically telling Suimei she would personally see to it. If a new member received a high evaluation like that and had a meteoric rise to success, it seemed only obvious that his name would spread, but… 

“However, that would only happen if you and the other three who were present spread rumors about what happened here today, right?” 

“Even if we don’t spread rumors, any B-rank suddenly appearing would easily become famous?” 

Dorothea couldn’t understand what Suimei was suggesting and was idly talking it out to herself. By the time anyone realized it, Suimei, who hadn’t been looking at them, was suddenly wearing a well-tailored jacket with long coattails. Next, they were all afflicted with a sudden, callous pressure that froze all their muscles to the point they nearly began convulsing. Rikus, who noticed this quickly, glared at Suimei with hostility. 

“…You punk…” 

“It’s alright. I won’t become famous. Just a moment ago during the evaluation, I was completely and utterly defeated by the two of you and received a very befitting D-rank. The three of you will convey these facts to the other guild members. I am simply a completely normal, second-rate mage without a single redeeming quality and was just happy to join the guild… Right?” 

“…Huh?” 

Dorothea couldn’t understand just what was going on, and stood there completely dumbfounded. Rikus and Enmarph were gripped by the tension in their bodies from the overwhelming pressure seizing them. From the atmosphere alone, they could guess what was about to happen—what they’d just been told would become reality. That was precisely what Suimei intended. 

“I must apologize a little to the three of you. Nevertheless, I’ll be entrusting you with relaying the correct message here.” 

“Like it’s going to?hrggh, ugh…” 

“Ah…” 

Suimei turned around and held his hands to their heads. And just like that, he invoked his magicka in the blink of an eye. Rikus who had jumped towards him with the intent of stopping any violence, and Dorothea who had just been standing there completely dumbfounded, were unable to offer up any resistance as they fell under Suimei’s magicka which was designed to grant his desires. 

The two of them did not have any strong innate resistance towards magicka. This result was a matter of course. Then, after falling under the effect of Suimei’s magicka, their eyes lost focus and stared blankly off into space. And just like that, they stood stock still without moving. The only one who hadn’t fallen under Suimei’s spell was Enmarph, and he could only demand to know the reason for this as he shook in fear. 

“…Why?” 

“Hmm? Why, you ask? It’s just as I said. All I want is a suitable rank.” 

“Ridiculous. The better your rank, the better the jobs you’ll get as a guild member. What do you intend to do by throwing that away for yourself?” 

As Enmarph asked him this, Suimei just stood there indifferently. 

“No, I don’t really intend to do anything.” 

“What…?” 

“I simply prefer things this way. I’m not interested in any more fetters to bind me.” 

“Fair enough… but…” 

An increase in rank would mean a proportional increase in the burdens placed on him. As his senior as a guild member, Enmarph could certainly understand this point. To Suimei, an increase in responsibility from the guild wasn’t what he wanted, so he was taking action to prevent that. 

“For the time being, I just wanted to increase my experience fighting against the people of this world, even if it was only a bit.” 

“This world? You…?” 

“That’s not something you need to know.” 

Anyone would have picked up on the strange nuance in those words. However, Suimei cut his question short curtly. There was no need for a complete stranger to know his situation. But then Enmarph burst into a fluster of words. 

“But even if you do something about all our memories, it won’t matter. The guys I talked to earlier about what happened at the reception desk all know about you, right? Just because you deal with us?” 

“That’s right. But it’s not like anyone will closely examine the matter. If anything, the results that come of this will have a greater, stabilizing effect on my reputation. What happened at the reception desk will simply be written of as some kind of fluke, and people will move on. Isn’t that right? Humanity is filled with people who only like to demean others. If they don’t know someone’s actual situation, instead of believing that person is strong, they would much rather think that they’re weak.” 

Enmarph had fallen silent, or rather speechless. It was like his voice had been completely stolen away. His eyes were opened wide like he’d just seen something completely unfamiliar while staring right at Suimei. Suimei felt just a little bit of sympathy for him and continued the conversation. 

“Well, when all is said and done, I will simply be known as a mage who knows nothing of the world that ran his mouth a bit at the reception desk. It’s an easy enough story to swallow, right? I’m known for my self-confidence, after all, so I don’t think people will have much trouble buying it.” 

“…Just what are you intending by becoming a low-ranked guild member who doesn’t take requests? No matter how many requests come into the Twilight Pavilion, jobs that you would be able to make a living off of are?” 

“There aren’t any. Certainly. However, in that regard, I have also already planted the seeds. Regardless of the number of requests, if I say that I know recovery magic, then I’ll be called on for jobs, right? The power to heal people, no matter where you go… There’s always a deficit of people who wield it. If you don’t remember hearing about it… I can do much more than that.” 

While bragging, Suimei took a step forward. To Enmarph, that one step must have felt like the approach of the devil. 

“Tch, did you think a mage like me would so easily?Ugh!” 

As Enmarph fixed his posture, he suddenly realized something. 

“You’ll fall for it. You’re completely exhausted, after all. Right? Kalavinka’s sweet voice is just that kind of magicka.” 

“Ah…” 

Magicians fundamentally have some resistance towards magicka. A certain level of it is required to touch upon the mysteries, after all. Also, assuming that they regularly expose their bodies to the magicka of others, it’s necessary to research methods of protecting oneself from potential curses and the like by making it difficult for magicka to be applied to themselves. But it’s not like that resistance can be maintained at all times. It, naturally, is dependent on the state of one’s body and mind. So what could Enmarph possibly do after being completely drained of his magicka? 

“It’s just a strong suggestion. There’s no need to worry, and there are no after-effects. You’ll go to sleep, and after you wake up, everything will be exactly as I told you. You’ll even retain your honor. There isn’t be a single disadvantage for you.” 

Suimei was a magician. If he were to fight against the mages from this world, it was inevitable that magicka would be fired back and forth between them. On top of that, Suimei also desired to test his regular fighting ability. Managing both of these things would prove to be difficult. However, if he refused to fight against mages and stuck to warriors, his chances of analyzing fights with other mages would decrease. This was counterproductive to his goal of obtaining more information. And finally, to seal their mouths, in the end, mages were resistant to magicka and would have to be thoroughly exhausted of their mana for him to apply his magicka on them. So to meet all those conditions… 

“I see… That’s why you?” 

“Yeah, that’s why I had to fight both of you at the same time.” 

Suimei sharpened his gaze to the point that it felt like it could cut the very world in half, and held his hand up to the mage’s head.