Chapter 65
“But the money…”
Wands are far more expensive than other artifacts.
I was the kind of person who could snap a wand costing dozens of gold with ease.
I had no idea whether I’d need a wand worth hundreds of gold coins.
“Naturally, the school would cover the full amount... I’d like to say that. But the price of a wand that would suit you isn’t something even Reinhardt can easily shoulder.”
“Huh?”
Am I supposed to earn it myself?
I doubt I could earn that much even if I worked for ten years.
“Thus, the remainder has been assigned to Karnarov and Valentine.”
“Where is Valentine?”
“It is Professor Isabelle’s family. You should thank them later.”
“Okay.”
So it was Isabelle’s family.
By the way, how rich was Karnarov?
If they were giving out things like this, they must have money to burn.
I checked my schedule.
[Rainwood Magic Tool Shop xx.xx…]
It was right after the semester ended.
“Ah, I read the book you gave me. It was quite a shame that the translation had stopped partway through, though.”
“Huh, you saw that?”
“Yes. It was a fascinating subject. I’ll have that friend translate it next time.”
...Wait.
It can be translated?
“A friend?”
Honestly, the fact that this man even had a friend was more shocking.
“Yes. There’s someone with unique magic who can translate any language fluently. They’re such a miser that I don’t usually commission them, though...”
Karnarov seemed quite interested.
...If they ever found out I was from another world, I might end up as a book runner.
As long as the pay was good, I didn’t mind.
“Shall I get you more?”
“If possible.”
Hmm.
I’d have to charge them dearly later.
Karnarov paused for a moment, then brought up another topic.
“And I have a proposal.”
“What is it?”
“Would you become an errand runner for the family?”
“…Pardon?”
“Each time you complete a mission, you’ll receive a fair reward, and if needed, you can even request equipment.”
Hmm.
So that meant I’d have a primary source of income.
“What kind of missions?”
“It depends on the situation... though there’s a chance combat may arise.”
Hmm. Was I going to be doing the hunter work I used to do in the real world here, too?
I didn’t know who I’d be fighting, but hunters catch criminals and monsters alike, so it didn’t really matter.
It probably wouldn’t be a problem.
“But why me?”
“You follow the proper path, yet you do not hesitate to take a life when necessary.”
Hmm. Had he seen through me?
Doing hunter work naturally made one numb to such things.
No matter how much of a monster it is, in the end, when it dies, it’s still a life.
Many people quit hunting because of that.
Dealing with villains was even harsher than that.
“What you’ll be doing from now on is, above all else, the most important thing. We must hunt demons.”
“Demons?”
“They are our main enemy.”
Come to think of it, the system had reacted very sensitively to demonic energy.
As soon as it sensed demonic energy, it had gone berserk, saying it had to be destroyed.
In that sense, this probably wasn’t unrelated to me either.
“You really are an outsider, it seems.”
“I suppose so.”
Karnarov didn’t seem to care much about my background.
In any case, he’d seen through my full strength.
At my current level, if I played my variables right, I might be able to beat an A-rank.
I guess this level was exactly why jobs came my way.
“If you give me a fat signing bonus, I’ll do it!”
“Of course. I’ve prepared something generous. In fact, that was the biggest reason I wanted to entrust this to you.”
“What is it?”
“I’ll teach you unique magic.”
“…Pardon?”
“What? You’ve been using it quite well until now.”
...Huh?
“Oz Caster, Inventory.”
Karnarov gestured and opened a subspace pocket.
My world collapsed.
* * *
Karnarov seemed to think I was some hidden child of the Karnarov family or something.
No matter how often I denied it, it did no good.
‘You possess a circuit. I won’t ask how you came by it, but that is a spatial circuit passed down only in the Karnarov family.’
‘I’m telling you, I’m not!’
‘There’s no use denying it.’
Even after several days, we still hadn’t reached a conclusion.
“Now even I’m getting so confused I can’t tell if this is unique magic or whatever...”
“Huh? Yumia’s unique magic?”
“Does this look like unique magic to you too...”
“Yes. Of course. By the way, you broke another wand...”
“Why do you think it’s unique magic?”
“Why, because... you can tell at a glance, can’t you? The circuit glows. It’s just surprising that there’s no mana circulation, but there are types like that too.”
Until now, I had only thought it was a trait I got from the Tower.
But now that I look at it.
“Is it really unique magic?”
Had I been the only one misunderstanding it?
I felt like a lunatic who had mistaken unique magic for a trait.
“I’m telling you, it is unique magic. Stop saying weird things and, here.”
Aris stuffed a piece of fruit into my mouth.
It went crunch, and juice burst out.
I had gone to the school market yesterday and bought some summer fruit.
They looked like pears, but had a crisp, jelly-like texture and a sweet-tart flavor that was a real delicacy.
Overall, they were as sweet as tropical fruit.
I’d kept them cool by putting them in the icebox inside my inventory on the way here.
And I had stopped by the western forest and given a few to Adrian.
“...But I wish they were a little colder.”
They weren’t bad, but fruit like this was best when it was ice-cold.
I’d forgotten to replace the ice in the icebox, so they’d ended up as fruit merely chilled in cool water.
“How would that even work in summer?”
“There’s something called a refrigerator.”
“...We’re not going to have to do that construction project again, are we?”
Unfortunately, this time it would only take a bit of setup and plugging in the cord.
Installing air conditioners was kind of fun, though.
“I’ll buy one when I go back to Earth later.”
“Let’s do that!”
I should swap the power strip for a higher-capacity one.
And run the mana stone generators more too...
“Ughhh. I want fruit too...”
Linia came out of the bedroom.
Linia always slept on a futon laid out on the floor.
I felt a little sorry for her, so when I briefly stopped by Earth, I bought something similar to a giant dog cushion.
It was round, huge, and fluffy.
Which was why she never thought about getting out of it.
“Linia, isn’t that for animals!?”
“Whether it’s for animals or people, as long as it’s comfortable, who cares... I want one of those air-blowing devices for my family home too. Could you give me one?”
Linia rubbed her eyes and said that.
She really didn’t care that it was originally an animal cushion.
“I can give you one, but it’s a bit expensive and needs fuel.”
Or ask me to make more mana stone generators.
“That doesn’t matter...”
But doesn’t she care that she lost her top rank?
She was the type with stronger scholarly zeal than competitive spirit.
“Yumia, me too!”
This customer needs one too, it seems.
I was starting to feel like a salesperson.
I might have to talk to Robert about this again.
I also had to sell spices again.
Busy, busy.
For reference, Robert was currently melting inside a scorching hell called the dormitory.
“By the way, didn’t you say you had a schedule today, Yumia?”
...Wait.
“Ah.”
Today was the day I was supposed to buy a wand!
“I forgot ittttt!!!”
‘Ride the wind!’
I leaped out the dorm window.
“Please use the front door instead of the window!!!”
The window is more fun.
At this rate, I just needed to head to the carriage stop at the school market.
* * *
“How was the carriage ride?”
“It was extremely comfortable.”
“Mind your decorum.”
Honestly, at first I thought a magic tool shop would be a small place.
But this wasn’t a shop; it was a store.
“I-is all of this a magic tool shop?”
“That’s right.”
[Rainwood Magic Tools]
It was so ridiculously huge it reminded me of that furniture store with the cheap, delicious hot dogs.
A very large, stylish building appeared before my eyes.
Though the design was medieval-style.
“Don’t be nervous. You’ll be coming here often from now on.”
Isabelle’s gentle voice guided me.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, a first floor that looked like a museum spread out before me.
“Are you Professor Karnarov, who made a reservation?”
Because of my height, I couldn’t really see the counter staff, so I wandered around looking at the displayed wands and artifacts.
[Information cannot be accessed.]
For reference, Observation Eye was useless again this time.
...How expensive a place had I come to?
I looked at one magic tool.
It was a pocket-watch-shaped magic tool.
A comment was written below it.
[Time several times faster than everyone else. James.P.Millennium]
What the heck does that mean?
Then I looked at the price tag.
[570 G]
...I stepped away from the magic tool.
So you were an expensive little thing.
“That is a clock made by James of the Millennium Marquis House, our shop’s finest artisan.”
“Oh.”
A neat-looking employee in a tailcoat bowed to us.
“Everything is ready. Please come this way.”
In the room we entered.
An old, seasoned artisan was waiting.
The room smelled of wood.
He must have been in the middle of work, because materials and tools were neatly arranged on the desk.
He turned only his gaze toward us and said brusquely.
“What brings you here?”
“I’d like to have a wand made for this student.”
“A student’s wand? I’m certain I told you that wand production would be handled by someone else...”
“Hmm. I thought you were the right man for the job.”
“I have my own pride as a man.”
He didn’t back down even a little before Karnarov.
I glanced at Isabelle.
Isabelle smiled and led me over to him.
“At least appraise the student first, James.”
He looked at me and flinched in surprise.
“...You said this was the student?”
“Why do you ask?”
I could feel his gaze through the monocle.
“H-how can someone this young have dragon blood... No. No, that’s not it. This strange feeling is...”
“Heheh.”
I didn’t know what he meant, but it felt like a compliment, so I was pleased.
He turned to face me.
“I promise. I will use all this old man’s skill to craft the finest wand in the Empire.”