Sword, Magic and Academic Society

Vol. 1 - Ch. 62 - Mage's Embryo (1)

"Cough I assume you're self-taught from your style. But you're sincere in your practice. Since when did you start practicing archery?"

"Err...A bit over a month."

"...Impressive. You should be able to broaden your horizons by polishing the finer details and honing your senses. Specifically, by figuring out 'grip', 'drawing distance', and 'tension', you’ll see improvements in your accuracy and rapid shots."

Kiana-san commented and proceeded to explain some of the finer details of archery.

This was quite an unexpected boon. Royal Academy, astonishingly, didn't have a single bow expert among its teachers despite having all that sparkling facilities and tools. Well, the Academy was renowned for churning out exceptional knights in this magical world and would have likely placed secondary, if not tertiary, emphasis on ranged weapons such as bows.

And she was right. I had just been going in blindly in my archery practice, and I did feel I was approaching my limit. I politely expressed my gratitude for her tips and asked if I could disturb her again the next time I had a chance.

She accepted with a smile. Maybe she was quite a friendly person once you took your time to get to know her, eh?

It took barely five minutes of effort to listen with my ears and grasp the essence with my head, but it all boiled down to 'form' requiring nothing but repetitive training.

"By the way, didn't you come here to be Dew-san's apprentice? What's your goal?"

Huh? They didn't hear from Godorfun?

It had been one thing after another today and some were really helpful that it completely slipped out of my mind, but my goal was the longing I had been silently carrying in my heart ever since my awakening— Emission Magic. I wasn't really expecting him to outright light the path for me, considering Godorfun never specified it, but even a tiny bit of hint would be enough to make me persist in my dream.

I brushed away the flattering smile from my face and earnestly faced Dew-san. I did my most sincere bow and pleaded to make me his disciple.

"Commander Dew-san! I am a complete dud when it comes to attribute conversion. But I want to learn emission magic no matter what it takes. There's just one and only one reason— it's awesome. Yes, this is all there is to it. However, I won't hesitate to sacrifice anything if it means I can get my hands on emission magic. Godorfun-sensei hinted that the key to my goal is in your hands. So please take me in as your disciple!"

Dew-san's brows knitted together at my words, and after a momentary silence, he replied, "Hmm~...Impossible."

......Alright, I already saw that coming when Godorfun said he would just put up a recommendation. As for whether he would accept me as a disciple, he would interfere no more. But I haven't come here to give up just because he denied me once.

I mentally counted the cards up my sleeve and hopped into the negotiation expressway.

"I’m fully aware of your hectic schedule, Commander Dew! This is why I’m willing to receive my training on time when you're free and it doesn't impose upon your schedule. Also, I would like to insert here that there are some plus points for you too. I can help you out in your clerical work within my capabilities! My private tutor has thoroughly instilled in me his 'Bainfause style clerical work art', which I’m sure would be of help to you! So I beseech you to reconsider my proposal!"

I brought out the name of Schord — at this point, he’s already my go-to reason to breeze past such situations — and bowed my head once again.

I played out my first card— my experience in handling tedious work that had often been pushed to me by my colleagues in my previous life. I mean, I wasn't nicknamed 'AI-kun' for nothing, which they used to call me in mockery and contempt. No doubt repetitive work like this could be done by anyone, but that didn't mean they could outpace me in the same work they found it a pain in the ass all the while.

Dew-san's mouth curved into a grin. Oh, have I scored a homerun right off the bat?

"That would really be a lifesaver~! No shit, I was confused as to 'What the heck was that old man planning?'... but I see it now. Sir really lived up to his reputation! Alright, you’ll be my little assistant from today onwards! Even better, how about you also start living here?"

He said with an ecstatic expression— similar to the signature expression of that loathsome chief whenever it was time to push tedious work to his subordinates.

Oh! Perhaps, I just scored a world record instead of a simple home run? Dew-san continued,

"However, there's a bit of a problem. You see, even I don't have any talent in attribute conversion. And I have neither researched — in an attempt to find a way that may allow it — nor have knowledge of it. I’m just as clueless as you, and I have no interest in finding out as well. So that's it! Well, I believe we can do something about it, huh!"

...I had already anticipated this… umm, to some degree. Nothing would happen even if I started insulting Godorfun now, despite my mind internally screaming "That old fart has now done it now! I’ll definitely give him a sound beating one day!"

I pulled out my second card that I had thought of for a situation like this.

"I have a stomachache. So, can I go back?"

???

"Wait, the emission magic that you want — which relies on the so-called attribute conversion talent — shall I take it as some kind of magic to defeat the opponent?"

I eagerly nodded at the words of Dante-san.

"Hmm... We're talking about Sir Godorfun here after all. Someone whose actions are layered with underlying meanings. And I think I have a guess or two about it. If Sir has gone out of his way to send you here, there can only be that..."

Dante-san spoke in a monologue of sorts, crossing his arms.

What, what? Don't tell me this uncle with an unkept beard was really hiding a secret? As I eagerly awaited Dante-san’s next words with a teeny bit of hope, Justin-san continued from there.

"You mean scouting magic utilizing outer mana operation? But even if you somehow gained the skill, you can't do it without training your mana operation. Furthermore, purposefully exposing him to the Knight Order earlier and involving him in its work should also be another reason, no?" (T/N - Outer mana operation is basically about how capable someone was to handle mana outside their body)

His words pushed me into despondency. So it was that... I mean, I had noticed the importance of mana operation, and I was thinking of putting it into my training regime if today's visit ended in futility. But I wasn't keen on the idea of using my valuable time to help out with some tedious desk work just to learn about mana operation from this distasteful manager (Dew-san).

Think about it, what was my goal? I had decided to live a whimsical life and never turned back to look at desk-type labor. Didn't this go against my ideals?

I had already learned some aspects of this world from my classes in the Royal Academy, and I had confidence in my self-learning ability, just like with the bow, so...

"Is Dew-san's scouting magic that impressive?"

Knowing the futility of it all, I decided to ask just in case.

"Yes. In fact, I may even go as far as to say no one can beat him when it comes to it in this kingdom. He can easily grasp what is everyone talking about or what they were doing in this huge military post if he got serious."

"Peeping is a crime, you know?"

A retort reflexively escaped my lips after listening to Dante-san. And on hearing that, a blue vein popped out on the man’s forehead again.

"Who’re you calling a peeping demon, you smelly brat!? Do you think there hasn't been a magic tool to prevent this!? It's useless indoors unless you're talking about some oblivious countryside! It's strictly for the outdoors! You are really asking for a beating!"

Bursting out in laughter after hearing my comment, Justin-san followed.

"Well, we can't just drive him away empty-handed when you have been officially ordered to train him, now that he's a member here, albeit temporarily, right? And if you ask me, Sir must have seen his talent in scouting magic that shouldn't lose to yours, and that's why he did all the preparation to send him here. A talent of this caliber will surely be another lifeline to this kingdom during emergencies.

The strategic value of having one more person capable of using scouting magic — when it's solely based on your unique ability — is truly unfathomable. Furthermore, this will also halve your burden, since you are the only one this kingdom can rely on so far."

So this lousy, sloven person was actually the one-and-only monster among the already extolled Knight Order?