Chapter 9
I had established a routine for training days.
Morning academics and afternoon skills, followed by physical enhancement and mana manipulation training.
I had another recent addition to my daily schedule.
It was going to the training center's library to read books during the personal time given after finishing afternoon training.
When I first learned about the library's existence, I looked for various things with the thought of filling in some common knowledge about this world, but now what I read was fixed to one type.
It was none other than books about magic.
Thud.
As I placed the books I had brought on what had become my regular seat, Leaf, sitting across from me, raised her head with curiosity.
"What kind of books do you have today?"
"Basics of Magic. Pact-based Force Magic Forms. The Correlation between Devils and Magic."
"Ugh... they all sound so boring."
"I know, right?"
All the books I've seen recently were like this.
The nature of mana, how magic worked, how pacts with devils were formed... things like that.
In contrast...
"Today too?"
"Ah, hehe."
Leaf covered her face with the book.
As if her face wasn't already hidden enough.
Unlike me, Leaf was reading an ordinary novel.
Apparently, it was about a girl who came to the imperial capital and got involved in a romance with a prince who snuck out of the palace to enjoy secret outings?
Naturally, their love was hindered by the limitations of their social status.
But in a twist, it turned out the girl had High Elf blood flowing in her veins, allowing her to overcome the status gap and achieve love with the prince.
The reason I knew the ending was because this wasn't the first time Leaf was reading that book.
"Aren't you tired of it?"
"No. It's fun every time I read it."
Haa, Leaf… I know there aren’t many popular novels in this library, so you’re just killing time by reading that one to death. No need to force yourself to lie.
On the first day, I thought we might study together.
She was really consistent in her dislike of studying.
Even during morning academics, she just attended and immediately fell asleep.
Right, if Leaf liked studying, I wouldn't have to struggle through this dead knowledge and could quickly extract magic by sucking up living knowledge.
But when I asked Leaf for advice about magic, her answer shattered my expectations mercilessly.
— Magic?
— Yeah. I'm curious about how to use it.
— Um... you just call your friend's name with the desire to see them, and they come and do it?
At that time, I had momentarily forgotten.
Leaf was a Spirit Summoner, a fellow oddball like me.
And Seir…
[Excuse me? Don't I provide significant assistance?]
Oh my.
I guess I won’t ever get a heads-up.
If one called a devil's name, they came.
It seemed that when I, the pact-bearer, think of her name, a signal automatically went to Seir.
That's true.
[Then show a bit more reverence to me, pact-bearer.]
Of course. I always worship you. You’re da GOAT…
[Goat...? A goat? While it is a symbol of devils, I'm not a goat. Hello? Pact-bearer? I ride a Pegasus, you know?]
It seems you know some modern slang, but you don't know GOAT, huh?
You need to study up on modern slang a bit more, my Patron Devil.
I casually acknowledged Seir's words, gave her some praise, and then focused on reading.
"Is it like this?"
I tried moving mana as the book instructed.
Not Seir's mana, but my innate mana.
After failing to cast basic magic with Seir's mana, I recognized the need for innate mana.
Indeed, demonic mana felt different from regular mana.
Anyway, I tried practicing the light emission spell, which they say was the first basic magic one should learn.
As a ball of light formed above my hand, I tried moving it around.
After a while, my mana was quickly depleted.
Since I had just started building up innate mana, there wasn't much of it.
Well, it didn't matter since my main power came from the mana obtained through my seal anyway.
I closed the book I was reading and asked Leaf, partly for a break, "By the way, is it still the same these days?"
"Huh? What is?"
"Rei, I mean."
"Ah... yes."
Since that day, Rei had been avoiding us.
She talked during team-based exploration training or group battle training, but only that much.
She was doing the bare minimum cooperation-wise, so it was hard to speak up.
"How about we go out together on the Sabbath and talk?"
"Should we?"
The training center operated on a 6-day week.
The last day was a rest day called the Sabbath.
But the training center didn't rest on the Sabbath; rather, it was busier that day.
They close the training grounds and buildings completely for inspection and maintenance during working hours.
And the training center being closed means the cafeteria was closed too.
In other words, we had to eat out.
Getting some fresh air outside the training center and eating good food might put Rei in the mood to talk.
It's quite a plausible idea, but...
I’m flat broke.
That was why I was planning to solve tomorrow's meal by going to the inn where I had some money set aside.
But I didn’t have to pay with my own money, right?
There was also the option of borrowing.
"Leaf, you'll come too, right?"
"Ah, I, I have a prior engagement..."
"I'm going alone?"
"...Hehe."
Are you trying to gloss over it with a laugh?
Unfortunately, it worked.
"Alright. I'll try going tomorrow."
"Okay!"
"But what about your prior engagement tomorrow?"
"Ah... that..."
She seems to have difficulty talking about it.
I told Leaf she didn't need to force herself to say anything and reached for the second book.
I need to create it by the exam at the latest.
Rustle.
Rustle.
Only the quiet sound of turning pages echoed in the library.
§
The Sabbath arrived.
The chirping of birds could be heard from outside the window.
The bright sunlight illuminated my feet, tickling them.
How comfortably and deeply did I sleep?
Usually, I felt groggy after waking up, but today, my body felt unusually refreshed.
Well, I have been accumulating fatigue in various ways.
After finishing training, I would do additional reading or experiment with mana and such.
It had been days of going to bed late and waking up early.
Well then, let's slowly... oh.
A cold sensation hidden in the comfort ran up my spine.
And my body also started running, throwing off the blanket as if tossing it away.
"Ah..."
And the time I confirmed on the clock on the first floor of the dormitory.
1:20 PM.
I overslept.
§
I quickly returned to my room, got myself together, and came out again.
I glanced and saw that Arthur wasn't there, which meant other people must have already left the training center.
Thinking that, I dash out of the training center.
Without even having time to savor the air of freedom outside, I ran towards the downtown area of Res Limen.
The training center was located outside the walls surrounding Res Limen.
The suburb formed outside the outer city wall was where the inn I was staying at was located.
It was a place for those who were pushed out because the inside of Res Limen's walls was too expensive.
Naturally, since this suburb wasn't built under thorough planning, the roads were complicated, and the buildings were disorderly.
An even bigger problem was that because the suburb was located outside the administrative reach of Res Limen's city hall, a third zone, the public security wasn't very good, and it was very common to see people walking around with hoods, and such pulled over their heads.
In other words, finding Rei here would be an extremely difficult task.
One could say it was practically impossible.
"I’m screwed..."
I didn't have any techniques like spreading mana to sense presences or anything like that.
As they say, if one's head is dumb, the body suffers.
With no other choice, I initiated the best I could do: aimlessly wandering around.
How long did I walk like that?
During that time, due to having eaten so well at the training center, my stomach started growling pitifully after skipping just one meal, and I came out to the main street.
Should I go to the inn and eat something first?
While the suburb was complicated, the area around the road connected to Res Limen's city gate was neatly organized.
If one tried to build structures recklessly through unplanned development there, the city hall would send workers to promptly demolish them.
Creak.
Entering the inn to the familiar sound of old hinges, the owner's head at the counter turned towards the door at the sound.
"Hmm?"
"It's been a week. I came to eat. It's a bit late, but is that okay?"
§
Clatter, clatter.
The sound of the spoon scraping the bottom of the plate also scraped away the silence in the empty inn.
"What's the matter? Did you get kicked out or something?"
A familiar voice.
The inn owner's truly heartwarming tone, who I've been indebted to since coming to Res Limen, welcomed me.
"What are you talking about? It's the Sabbath today."
"Ah... was it?"
"'Was it,' you say? Just looking at it, there are no guests, so it's obviously the Sabbath."
"Don't you know?"
"Know what?"
The owner created a somewhat serious atmosphere.
I put down the spoon that was scooping up the nearly-finished soup and listened attentively to the owner's words.
"The slave traders have come."
"...Slave traders."
My voice was so emotionless that it surprised even me.
Slaves.
Just hearing that word made my teeth chatter.
But it wasn’t enough to make me have a fit or fall into panic out of fear.
Calming my rising emotions, I asked again, "It's not a particularly new thing."
"That's true. They're guys who come quite often, after all."
Res Limen was a city of mysteries, but along with the mysteries it held, it also had deep social shadows as dark as those mysteries.
Citizens living inside the walls were protected by city law and the city hall, but the suburb wasn’t.
Naturally, various crimes ran rampant, and that included human trafficking.
"But this time, the scale is quite large."
"How large?"
"As far as I know, they seem to be spread all over this area."
"...Does the city hall just leave it be?"
"They must have greased some palms."
The owner shrugged, saying how would he know the inside story.
Res Limen was aware that slave traders came to the suburbs to buy those who became slaves due to debt or to catch runaway slaves.
After all, runaway slaves coming to Res Limen were as numerous as illegal immigrants to the United States.
City air makes you free.
If one stayed in Res Limen, a free city-state, for a year and a day, they became a free person
whether they were a slave, a serf, or whatever.
It was unconditional.
Ignoring this custom was denying the legitimacy of Res Limen, and thus an act of turning Res Limen into an enemy.
Not only the slave traders but also their backers could never maintain their original lives after turning the city of cities into an enemy.
Freedom came if one endured for just one year.
So naturally, there were people escaping to Res Limen in search of freedom every day.
It was beneficial for Res Limen too.
As the population increased, tax revenue increased, and talented individuals increased as well.
In fact, the suburb was also a talent farm for Res Limen.
Therefore, the city hall tended to restrain the excessive activities of slave traders.
"Even if it's the suburb... if slave traders run wild openly, the public security force should move, right?"
"How should I know?"
"I understand for now. The soup was good too. Please deduct it from the money I've set aside."
"Forget it. I can give you one meal for free. More importantly, how is it? Next week is the exam, right?"
The midterm exam would be before the 2nd week's Sabbath.
The exact name was the Completion Qualification Exam and Provisional License Exam.
Naturally, both academic and skill exams were taken, and if one passed both, they would be given a provisional license.
"I'm sure about the academics, but the skills are a bit ambiguous."
"Everyone fails there."
"No, I'm confident about passing... it's just my team members."
"What, is there a problem? Did you fight?"
"Fight... not exactly."
I was about to explain what happened with Rei to the owner, hoping to get some advice.
However, just as I was about to open my mouth properly.
A commotion from outside interrupted our conversation.
"Catch them!"
"If you lose them, consider this month's salary gone!"
"Request backup! Request backup!"
"Contact Lord Malebris! Tell him we've found them!"
People were running down the main road in front of the inn, shouting loudly.
As the owner said there were quite a number, their footsteps echoed noisily.
As the mixed noises gradually faded away, the owner clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk tsk. These adults, trying to catch that small child..."
"Did you see?"
"Yeah. It was quite a small kid."
With an uneasy feeling, I got up from my chair and asked, placing my hand between my waist and chest:
"Was it about this height?"
"Hmm, seems about right."
"...Wearing a hood?"
"Isn't that natural for a fugitive?"
"...The hood color, it wasn't gray, was it?"
"Huh? Did you see it too? I guess you've become a proper mage"
"..."
As I fell silent for a moment, the owner's expression subtly changed.
"You, perhaps that child..."
"Shit!!"
Crash
Bang!!
"H-hey, Roman!"
"Sorry! It's urgent!"
I dashed out of the inn, ignoring the owner's call.
Even as I ran in the direction they disappeared, doubts and skepticism bubbled up in my mind.
Is this right?
It might not be Rei.
I don't know the circumstances?
But opposing thoughts also arise.
If I can make those damn slave traders eat shit, that's good too.
What about the exam without Rei?
What about the bet?
These two types of conflicting thoughts collided, creating intense internal conflict.
And the last thought that came to mind.
The words I had said, We're a team.
Recalling those words, for some reason, my steps quicken.
"How much could I have seen..."
Even while saying this, I was moving my two legs with all my might.
She was a comrade.
Even if we hadn't even seen each other's faces yet.
I couldn't let someone I know be dragged away by slave traders without knowing why.
As my resolve firmed, the conflict faded away, leaving only an analysis of the situation.
Neither of us knows the roads around here well.
Roughly drawing the pursuit route in my head, it felt like they were just running aimlessly.
But I believed that Rei would choose the most efficient path than anyone else.
Even if she didn't know the way, Rei had intuition.
The intuition that never failed, even during exploration training.
A route to shake off those guys...
It was impossible to catch up to Rei at my speed.
So, I predict and preemptively occupy that route.
Spreading wide the map of the area drawn in my head, I imagined Rei's expected route, heading towards a place on that route where I could get there first and wait.
The moment I came out of an alley, I saw a gray hood flash by in front of me.
I reflexively shouted, "Rei!"
A small figure stops abruptly.
I had hoped it wasn't her.
"...What? Why are you here..."
"I came after you. But suddenly, what's all this about? Phew... let's get out of here first and then talk."
I approached Rei with a sigh of relief.
Rei seemed to be in a fidgety state, unsure whether to ignore me and go or move with me.
"You... no, forget it. I don't know why you came, but just go."
"That's a bit harsh. I followed you all this way."
When I stood my ground and didn't back down, Rei clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Tch, I said just go."
At that moment, Rei kicked off the ground and rushed towards me.
What's this?
Is she trying to attack me?
As I hurriedly tried to take a defensive stance, Rei grabbed my collar and pulled me strongly.
Right after that.
A dark hand passed through where I had been standing.
"...What's that?"
It was mana that felt alien yet somehow familiar.
Completely different from Rei's or Leaf's mana, but somehow similar to Seir's mana that I used.
Yes, it was demonic mana.
"Leave now, even at this point. I don't need your help. Get out quickly while I buy time."
"What?"
Before I could hear a proper explanation.
Without needing to hear it, the reason was visualized before my eyes.
A mage appeared, emanating the same mana felt from the dark hand.
Inscribed on his black robe were letters I'd never seen before.
It was an outfit that anyone could tell belonged to a Devil Sorcerer.
Lady Seir.
[I am watching, pact-bearer.]
The first Devil Sorcerer I've encountered other than myself.
I immediately sought Seir.
This is an opportunity.
If I experience this guy's magic, the path to my own unique magic might become clearer.
It should be the same for Seir, who said I was her first pact-bearer.
"Who's that guy?"
"What else? Someone like you."
"That's not what I meant."
"...Someone who came to catch me."
Understood.
As Rei released my collar, I immediately regained my balance and prepared for an attack.
However, the man leisurely spoke first.
"Beast-folk are indeed troublesome. Unnecessarily good intuition."
A chill ran down my spine.
This guy was the real deal.
Unlike the mages I dueled with at the training center, this mage had a kill count.
His murky, metallic voice was filled with malice and killing intent.
And his eyes turned towards me.
"I was going to start after clearing out the interference."
"He's not an interference or anything. He's not involved."
"Is that so? Well then..."
As if he never intended to have a conversation from the start.
Rei and the man were ready to move at any moment.
The hand was launched.
It was as fast as a bolt from a crossbow.
Rei extended her leg and kicked the flying hand towards me.
Crack!
With a sound like metal striking metal, the hand bursts.
As if it wasn't just mana compressed, the hand scatters into pieces of flesh on the ground.
In contrast, Rei's leg, wrapped in silver mana, remains untainted.
The man spoke with a mix of admiration, "Indeed. What an unreasonable magic. Magic that breaks magic while being magic itself."
Yet he didn't seem troubled at all.
He lifted his robe and pulled out his hand.
In that hand were fingers.
Mana envelops the fingers, transforming them into the same floating dark hands as before.
And the fingers the man pulled out weren't just one.
"Tch!"
In an instant, the multiplied dark hands target Rei.
The moment I saw Rei's movement range become limited, unlike before, I realized.
The one aimed at me was for confirmation.
It was like a test pitch thrown to gauge the strike zone.
Whether I was included in Rei's defense range or not.
Whether I was a threat to him or not.
After deciding I wasn't particularly threatening, he focused his power on Rei.
Ignoring me?
Fine then.
I didn't mind that much.
It wasn't unforgivable.
It wasn’t like this was the first or second time.
I benefit from him letting his guard down after all.
But.
Will my patron devil forgive this?
[A pact-bearer of a low-ranked Devil, daring to...! Kick his ass, pact-bearer!]
She says she can't forgive this?
This won't do.
You're going to have to make some compromises, my Lady.