Chapter 13

◈ Chapter 13 – Another Mage

"Are you talking about me?"

The question slipped out before I could stop it. I'd never been in this situation in my past life, so I couldn't hide my fluster.

"Did I do something wrong?"

I peppered the Head Instructor with questions as I followed him.

"Or did I do something right?"

He didn't answer a single one.

"Guess it wasn't something good."

I hadn't exactly done anything lately that would earn his approval. So it had to be bad.

"It was Kinzo who burned the flowerbed. And thorns are weapons too, aren't they? I was just testing if they'd catch fire when..."

"That... was that brat's doing?"

"Yes... that's right."

"Tell him he's got a meeting with me tomorrow. If I see him today, I'll probably kill him on the spot."

The Head Instructor finally opened his mouth. Walking behind him in the dark was deeply uncomfortable. Better to take the blow now than later, I figured.

I asked again. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You're too loud."

"If you'd just tell me what I did..."

By then we were standing in front of his office. He opened the door slowly, which was unusual. The room wasn't empty. A man who had been lounging inside stood up to greet the Instructor.

"Ah, you're here."

He wore a white military uniform. A golden lion emblem sat on his left chest. The 7th and 8th Divisions and the trainees wore navy blue. The Special Forces wore black. White meant the Knight Order. And a golden lion instead of a silver one—that meant the Imperial Knight Order, the elite of the knights.

"Did I do something that warrants punishment from the Knight Order instead of the Instructor?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Mago. Drop it."

The Head Instructor cracked a joke himself. I saluted the Imperial Knight, making sure it was crisp and proper.

He returned it loosely.

"Sit down."

The Instructor said, taking a seat first. That struck me as a bit odd—shouldn't he let the knight sit first? I wanted to ask, "Aren't you lower in rank?" but held my tongue.

"He was my teacher once upon a time."

As if he could read my mind, the Imperial Knight answered and then sat down after Mago. I was the last one left.

"Let's start with introductions," the Head Instructor said, gesturing at the man. "As you know, he's a Knight. More specifically, a Golden Lion. Imperial Knight Order. The cream of the crop."

The man introduced himself. His name was long and complicated—I didn't catch it properly. It felt awkward to ask him to repeat it, so I just let it slide. But the last part stuck.

"Trainee Mago."

That much I heard clearly. I realized this man had come here knowing my name.

"Anyway," Mago continued, "I thought this guy could teach you something, so I called him in."

"Teach me what, exactly?"

"About that thing you wrote in your report."

"Ah..."

"That's right, Trainee Mago. I'm a mage. A detection mage. I think I can help you. What do you think?"

"Ah, thank you so much for your help...!" I stood up and bowed from the waist.

Meeting a teacher right when I needed one. I expressed my gratitude to the man.

"Haha, you're much more polite than when we first met. You must really want to learn, huh?" He let out a genuine laugh.

"Yes, sir. And thank you, Instructor, as well."

"Trainee Mago. What does it feel like when you read mana?"

At the direct question, I was about to say lake, but stopped myself. I gave it some thought. Kinzo was the only one who knew the specifics of "lake." No one else did yet. I hadn't gone out of my way to hide it, but I also didn't want to just blurt it out. The limits of the lake could easily become a weakness.

"What do you mean by 'feel'? I'm not sure," I said, choosing to play dumb.

"Don't you see something like an image?"

"An image?"

"In my case, it's a desert. And from what I know, others see a bamboo forest swaying, or the faint vibrations of the earth. Images vary a lot."

He revealed his own first. If even an elite Imperial Knight was this open, it probably didn't matter.

"Ah. For me, it looks like a lake."

"I can never follow what you mages are talking about," the Head Instructor said, shaking his head.

"Instructor, I'm not a mage."

"No, if you can detect mana, you're a mage. And a damn good one at that," the knight countered.

"No, I'm not...!"

"Yes, you are."

"Why do you keep calling me a mage? I don't want to be one."

"Because you have the talent for it."

"Then why would a mage pick up a sword?"

"Both of you, drop it."

The Head Instructor pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped in. "Looks like there's been a misunderstanding. Mago's got talent for magic, sure, but she's even better with physical combat. I forgot to mention that."

I heard him praise me for the first time, and it felt weird.

"What? She can detect mana, and she's even better at fighting than that? Most mages can't even manage detection."

"Then I guess she's doubly blessed."

"Hoh..."

I felt awkward and was about to turn my head away when the knight got back on track.

"Anyway, you said you wanted to learn detection magic. Can we start with that?"

"Yes, sir."

"I see a desert. More precisely, a sandstorm. Mana feels like grains of sand and dust blowing in the wind."

"Must be a chaotic feeling."

"Compared to your lake, yeah. A lake is the symbol of stillness."

"Are there any limits?"

"I figured you'd ask that. Duration, range, number of uses. All of them."

"Ah..."

"Don't look so disappointed."

"Sorry. What are the limits?"

"Duration is about two hours and forty minutes."

My eyes went wide at just that.

"Range is around three hundred meters. I can use it four times a day."

Range and frequency. It was beyond what I'd hoped for.

"How do I..."

"Get familiar with it."

The knight cut me off, like he knew exactly what I was going to ask.

"Get familiar with it...?"

"The forms we have to concentrate so hard to summon—they already exist in the real world. A desert. A lake."

"Yes."

"Just go to that actual environment. Feel it. Get familiar with it. That makes reading mana easier. And the easier it is, the faster you improve. For you, Trainee Mago, training at a lake is the path to growth."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"It's a good thing it's a lake and not something like a snowy mountain. I can probably find a nearby lake..."

"But it'll take a while. Getting familiar with anything takes time."

"I don't have time. I've only got two months."

"Two months might be enough. But you can't just go to any lake. 'Nearby' won't cut it. The Empire has designated areas where mana gathers in high concentrations—we call them Mana Gathering Places. You need to find one with a lake landscape."

"Where is it?"

The knight leaned in closer.

"Join the Knight Order, and I'll tell you."

"What are you saying...?"

"Join the Knight Order, Trainee Mago. I hear you're currently the top student."

"I'm going to the Special Forces. And what makes you so confident in me anyway?"

"I'm not confident in you. I'm confident in the Head Instructor. I've never seen him go this far for anyone—sending me a letter, praising your talent right in front of you. Not once."

"I have no intention of falling back to the rear."

At that, the knight's expression hardened.

"Trainee Mago. We don't 'fall back' to the rear. We protect His Majesty the Emperor."

His tone turned forceful, like he'd had his pride stung by that same argument too many times.

"Killing is easier for me than protecting."

"If that's how you feel, then I can't force you."

He shifted his weight back into his chair.

"I've told you enough to show respect to the Head Instructor. Trainee Mago, the rest is up to you."

His voice had gone cold, a door slamming shut. I remembered that this narrow-minded attitude was exactly why I hated the Knight Order, but I bit my tongue.

"In a situation where we need to strengthen the military by even 0.1%, what difference does it make if I join the Knight Order or the Special Forces?"

"To reassure His Majesty, that 0.1% needs to be in the Knight Order."

"Wherever I go, I'm still a chess piece for His Majesty. Are you saying His Majesty favors the Knight Order over the rest of us?"

"That's not it. I'm saying the closer you are to him, the better."

"Close... Most citizens can't even lay eyes on His Majesty, let alone get close. So are you saying that those millions of people who aren't by his side are constantly exposed to danger? While His Majesty is too busy filling his close circle..."

"Trainee Mago, what are you—!"

"Never mind that. Tell him to focus on front-line supplies instead."

"Mago!"

The Head Instructor finally stepped in and barked.

"If that's what you believe, then I guess we have nothing more to discuss. Trainee Mago, you'll have to find the Mana Gathering Place on your own. Head Instructor, I'll take my leave."

The knight gave his respects and turned his back. I just kept my head down.

"Trainee Mago. Aren't you going to salute your superior?"

I muttered a curse under my breath as I stood up. I snapped to attention, then threw him a salute that was even sharper and more aggressive than the first one.

You'll get more courtesy than you deserve. Now get lost.

The man walked out and closed the door behind him.

"The Imperial Knight Order doesn't know a thing. They have no idea how many soldiers die on the front lines. All they do is spout nonsense."

I tried to defend myself, even if it sounded like an excuse.

"And how much do you know to talk like that?"

"I know better than anyone! I've seen it all too clearly!"

"You're stuck in a training camp swinging a wooden sword. What the hell do you know?"

There was so much I wanted to say. All of it. But I couldn't. Not now.

---

"Mago. You not sleeping?"

Kinzo's voice drifted down from the top bunk.

"Not yet."

"Why'd they call you out earlier?"

"They found out about the flowerbed. You've got a meeting tomorrow."

"..."

"Did you rat me out?"

"No."

"You totally ratted me out...! Who else would have?"

The bed creaked as he sat up in a huff. I kicked the underside of his bunk.

"Keep still."

"You're acting really weird today. Are you sure you're the one who aced the written exam?"

"Yeah, I aced it. I became top student to get into the Special Forces. But what does it matter where I end up? Damn it. The more crap like this happens, the more I realize I need rank."

In the military, it was simple. If you felt wronged, you climbed higher and crushed those below you. That was the whole game.

I don't know how long passed after that short exchange with Kinzo. Sleep wouldn't come easily. To make things worse, a torrential rain started.

The translucent window flashed blue, then the thunder rolled in moments later.

I decided to step outside and get some air. It was surprisingly chilly with the rain falling in the dead of night. I leaned against the railing, staring blankly at the downpour.

I stretched out my right hand, letting the raindrops fall onto my fingertips.

Plink. Plink.

Each drop pressed against my skin and slid off. Every single droplet created a ripple.

Like throwing a stone into the middle of a lake.

The blue ripples spread outward...

Farther and farther...

"Huh?"

My vision flickered like a broken light—clicking on and off.

Black-and-white. Then color. Over and over and over again.