CH 5.43

The Blacksmith, the Magician, and Winged Bird*

Translated by Mlzkzr

Edited by Mlzkzr

(TN: The kanji used in the title can also mean happily married couple)

Once, when I was saying goodbye to my blacksmith mentor, Azvald, the fucking Dwarf-shishou, he asked me what I was going to do next.

At that time, I think I answered that I intended to learn swordsmanship and magic.

And I remember Asvald saying something like, 『You can borrow the power of spirits, why magic』.

I didn’t understand what he meant at the time, but in hindsight, he must have had some knowledge about both spirits and magic.

I realize the words of the male employee at the town hall the other day, in my first week in Odine.

When all of the mages I met with the intention of applying to become their apprentice told them that I wanted to learn magic, their eyes more or less became tinge with hostility.

Both Asvald, the master blacksmith, and Kaeha, the master swordswoman, initially turned down my offer of an apprenticeship.

But even so, the reason I clung to them, begged them, and became their disciple was because they didn’t hold any kind of hostility toward me even though they had refused.

Of course, it’s not just that, I fell in love with their skills and felt a sense of destiny, but even so, if they had hated me from the bottom of their hearts, I would not have thought of forcing myself to become their apprentice.

Maybe, surely, probably.

…… and that’s why I can’t seem to get an apprenticeship.

In Odine, the land of magic, there are two ways to learn magic.

One is to study under one of the magicians, which I gave up on earlier.

Only when a magician has trained an outstanding pupil does he attain the position of a mage, a position of great honor.

By increasing the number of excellent magicians, they are seen as having contributed to the world of magic.

In order to return the favor they received from their master, the apprentice then shares the knowledge gained through their own research with their master after becoming a full-fledged one.

Of course, this is a one-way relationship, and the knowledge acquired by the master through their own research will not be given to their disciple.

Of course, many teachers will pass on their own research results to their disciples and leave them to future generations, but there are exceptions among them.

For example, there is a story that a mage who had multiple apprentices left everything he had researched to one apprentice and nothing to the other apprentices.

Well, even if it wasn’t in the world of magic, it was a story that could be found everywhere if there was a teacher-student relationship.

Even though the knowledge gained by the apprentice is shared with their master, it is quite normal for the apprentice to keep one or two skills secret and hidden.

And another way, the second method, was, yes, to attend the three magic academies in Odine.

The first of the three magic academies is the Academy of Military Magic, where students not only learn magic, but also study tactics to apply it to warfare.

The second is the Academy of Anti-Magic Tactics, where aspiring magicians who plan to work as adventurers learn magic to fight monsters and how to protect themselves.

The third is the Basic Magic Academy for those who cannot enter the above two magic academies.

First of all, the Academy of Military Magic is a school of magic to supply the countries of the small states group with magicians as a fighting force, which was also the purpose for which this Odine was originally built.

It is, so to speak, the most important school of magic here in Odine.

However, it is said that only those who have citizenship in the small group of states can enter this military magic academy, and after graduation, they are required to serve in the military for a certain period of time in the country where they have the citizenship.

Of course, the salary paid to the magicians is not comparable to that of ordinary soldiers, and they are treated with respect as important personnel and rise quickly through the ranks of the military.

In short, it was an elite course that allows no mishaps, making it an institute of magic that has no relation to me.

Next is the Academy of Anti-Magic Tactics, which is a magic academy that trains magicians to be adventurers, and after graduation, students are required to be active as adventurers in the group of small nations for three years.

Well, at this point, it’s a place that has nothing to do with me, but to explain it simply, just having one magician in an adventurer’s team greatly expands the tactics of the team and stabilizes their actions.

However, magic is a special skill that cannot be used without the aptitude, and there are not many people who have them.

Therefore, there was always a shortage of magicians among adventurers, and in fact, I knew not a few adventurers, but only a few of them were magicians.

The small states took notice of this, and by training magicians as adventurers in Odine, they attracted adventurers who wanted magicians as party members to the group of small states.

They have them work within the group of small nations, greatly reducing the damage caused by monsters.

Lastly, the Academy of Basic Magic does not have post-graduation stipends like the other magic academies, but instead, the tuition fee is significantly higher.

And the content being taught there is, as the name implies, only the basics of magic.

If they want to gain further knowledge about magic, they will still have to seek a master after graduation.

In other words, none of them were subtly clear, or rather, the content was disappointing.

If I just want to satisfy my curiosity about magic, the Academy of Basic Magic is the best choice, and the high tuition fee is not that much of a problem for me.

Nevertheless,…… yes, I’ve come this far, and when I’m told that there is only one choice I can make, I feel somewhat frustrated that I would honestly have to choose that.

And above all, I don’t feel any kind of a chance encounter.

Well, I think that’s how it’s going to be.

Even if I don’t study here in Odine, I am sure I will make friends with excellent magicians in other places, and just knowing that I have an aptitude for magic is a sufficient accomplishment.

That’s why, in order to deal with this deflated feeling, let’s do some blacksmithing for the time being.

Anyway, I have to stay here for a while and wait for contact from my acquaintance, the elf Airena.

Since it’s a city dedicated to magic, the demand for weapons and armor is probably low, but it would be fun to mass-produce daily necessities such as pots and knives, or even nails, going back to the basics.

As I can’t help but become sulky, I visit the blacksmith’s union in the town of Odine.

I had no idea that this time, a fateful encounter would await me there.