chapter 19
19 – Innocent Boy (2)
“As expected, the village is crowded.”
The village was something new to me after living alone with my mother for a long time.
No, I didn’t come to the village much in the past either.
My grandmother and I had to walk on a mountain path for a long time.
I vaguely remember that as I got older, I couldn’t go to the village as often, and a part of my heart felt like it was stabbing me.
“…I will definitely find it and ask.”
As I reflected on one of the reasons I left home,
While mourning her grandmother, who had to die alone and lonely, shivering in the cold.
“Oh, there. Stop.”
I was faced with a security guard blocking me.
There were quite a few small scars on their faces as they held long spears and swords.
The armor they wore wasn’t as good as those of the knights… But I wonder if they covered all the parts that needed to be covered.
“If you have an ID card, take it out, or anything that can guarantee it is fine.
If you have money, you can use it to get a temporary ID card.”
The man wearing a sword, stroking his short but thick beard, approaches with a grin on his face.
I looked at the book I was holding and tilted my head.
“But that…”
Spread out and cover to practice.
The covers and yellowed papers that were worn out from carrying them around.
As he looked at it closely, his eyes began to become filled with doubt.
“Where did you get that from, young friend?”
Gently tilting the window,
Putting your hand on the handle of the sword.
The two smiled softly at me.
The eyes didn’t look like that at all.
“Oh, that… That…”
“No, you don’t have to be that nervous.
There is an original owner – if that’s the case, you can tell me now.
But don’t make a hasty move. Huh?”
Before I knew it, security guards were approaching from behind.
Maybe they think I am not the owner of this book?
“Well, I… Am a wizard.”
So, I tried to suppress my trembling voice and gently opened the book to those who approached me.
What are you doing? Before they could even say anything, they started a fire in their hands.
“Like swallowing a piece of coal,
Like sliding on a small tree branch.”
I thought something too big might have the opposite effect, so I tried flicking the fire in a size that would fit in my hand.
Their eyes that looked at it changed from small and sharp to round and soft.
“You – “
“You can do other things besides this. So…
Like water droplets on the ceiling of a cave,
Like a clear sound coming from a well.”
Their expressions widened even further when they instantly extinguished the fire floating above their hands and immediately showed water droplets floating around.
It didn’t stop there, it showed several things.
For example, lumping dirt and rocks together, picking them up and throwing them away in an instant,
Something like making a little white snowflake fall from under your hand.
So then I put away the blades and everyone, including security guards and visitors, gathered around me and got busy watching.
Of course, there was more fire magic, and the number of different types was much less than that of my mother…
“I never thought a wizard would come to our village!”
Nevertheless, people called me a wizard.
Receiving cheers and exclamations.
***
“I’m sorry for doubting you earlier.”
Once the commotion was over, I was introduced to the village by the guard I first met.
With his hair tied back long, his impression was sharp, but at the same time, he felt very comfortable.
Should I say that it feels like seeing my mother?
It was scary, but at the same time it gave me a strange sense of security.
“It’s rare to have a magic book at such a young age.
Especially these days, with everyone heading to the capital, it’s become harder to see them.”
Small shops and small children seen while walking down the street.
I inadvertently caught my eye as they chased each other down the street while their parents watched.
“They’re troublemakers, right?”
Did he notice that I was standing there in a daze?
He laughed bitterly once, as if he couldn’t stop him, and took a deep breath to yell at him.
“No… That’s… Nice to see.”
I gently stretched out my hand to stop the children from scattering.
Things I couldn’t do.
The scenery I had always wanted to see was unfolding before my eyes.
However.
“Wow, he’s such a big brother!”
“Uncle Saunders, who is this person?”
With just one word, I could immediately feel my location.
My body is smaller than a security guard, but too big for children.
I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the fact that these people, whom I almost thought were friends, looked up at me.
Somehow I got older and grew up again.
I thought I would be young forever, but maybe that was because I grew up with a mother who was always beautiful and tall.
“Whoa, whoa, guys. Please clear the way. I have to guide the guests to the chief.”
With my back slowly being pushed, I passed by the children.
The children’s wistful sighs that came from time to time held me back a little, but
I guess I soon lost interest, as the sound of people running and playing happily on the road continued once again.
“I heard that wizards have a bit of an eccentric personality.”
“Yes?”
I was startled by a sudden voice and looked to the side to see him grinning and scratching his rough beard.
What does it mean to have a bad personality?
“I was joking. Actually, I was half serious.”
“Eh? Oh, that’s – “
“hahahaha, you’re naive. It means you have a good personality.”
In the end, he burst out laughing and slapped me on the back several times, and I couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly while scratching my head as he wiped away tears.
As someone who is not used to interacting with people, I was not used to so many things happening in such a short period of time.
“No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t look like you’re from here. Right?”
“That’s right… Actually, I’ve only been studying under the teacher so far…”
In response to the question that came in, I said, as I talked to my mother,
Following the red dragon’s advice, I naturally brought out the words I had made up.
“I thought so. He doesn’t look or dress like a wizard these days.
Well, I’ll have to talk to the chief about the details.”
Did you agree with what I said?
Or is it doubt?
Looking at me with an ambiguous face, he stretched out his hand.
The security guard suddenly appears in front of me, knocking on the door of a neat brick house and closing one eye.
“Don’t be too nervous.
You just have to answer the questions well. “Sir, the wizard.”
Immediately in front of the opened door, I swallowed a large amount of accumulated saliva.
And surprisingly, what appeared was not an old man with white hair, but… A woman?
Of course, she looked older than her mother.
“Ah, Saunders Guard Captain.”
I thought for a moment whether the rule my mother said applied in this case as well.
I called the man next to me the guard captain and sighed –
Wait a minute, guard captain?
“Chief Luther, today we have a special guest.
He’s a young boy – he uses magic very freely.”
I thought it was just an ordinary expense.
A captain with a sly smile on his face.
I couldn’t believe it.
All the security captains in the novels I know must have been lumpy, right?
As expected from my mother, are novels and reality different?
I had thought about it to some extent, but I couldn’t help but shake my eyes slightly at the current situation, which was so different.
“…A wizard?”
“I think you can ask and answer directly.
You probably know more than me, so let’s see for yourself whether he is a ‘hero’ who can solve this situation or not.”
He shrugged his shoulders, patted my head once, and waved his hand at me.
“Then, please take good care of our chief. Young wizard.”
Before I could say anything to the guard captain, another voice immediately caught my ears.
The middle-aged woman who gently touches my shoulder and says hello is –
“Welcome to Ruzek Village.
My name is Olivia Lutaire, and I am the acting head of this village.
Is it okay if I ask the noble wizard’s name?”
He greeted me very politely.
He was wearing simple clothes, but the way he greeted me seemed like a noble from a story.
I too had no choice but to answer while placing my right hand on his left chest and bowing my head deeply.
“Ban, nice to meet you.
My name is Russell, so… I should say a wandering wizard – no,
So, wizard…”
But is it because I am not mentally prepared?
I was left speechless at the fact that I was meeting another person formally for the first time.
At the same time, my face turned bright red.
“You are a wizard. I understand.
Now, before we talk – of course, I completely trust the Saunders Guard Captain.
Can you show me some magic?”
I was so embarrassed that I didn’t know what to do, so I squeezed her hand and opened it, breaking into a cold sweat.
Unlike me, she asked questions gently in a very calm manner.
Perhaps that energy resembles her mother’s warmth and tranquility.
“Yes, that is…”
Just like I did at the entrance to the village, I once again floated various magics in my hands and then dispersed them.
Her face seemed to slowly turn red as she watched the flames flash in her hands, the water splash, and the dust fly.
“You really are a wizard. At such a young age.”
“Thanks to my teacher…”
It was quite difficult to accept the praise that came straight away.
After repeatedly experiencing the strange feeling of the tingling sensation spreading from the center of her face, the corners of her mouth began to lose strength.
“Then there is something I would like to ask you.
On behalf of the village, as the acting head, I would like to ask…
Could you please clean up the pollution spread by the demons?”
Without even a moment for me to control my emotions, a request was made right at the front door.
The eyes facing me had a bit of moisture and desperation in them.
It was just as mom said.
So, just as I was about to accept it.
“Oh, of course, I’ll have to explain more.
I’ll give you more details with a map inside, so please…”
I opened the door wider and followed the hand that let me in, heading into the brick house.
It felt like her story as a wizard was beginning, and her heart started pounding.