Chapter 40

After that, it was just simple treatments.

When night fell, the healers exchanged the greeting, "Thank you for your hard work," and returned to their lodgings.

I should go home too.

Not to the slums, but to the cabin in the forest.

I want to prepare something to eat on the way. I might catch some fish along the way.

I close the door with a click and turn on the light.

I don’t need the light if I use magic, but since it’s there, it would be a waste not to use it. I’m afraid of being charged for the oil later, though.

I sit in the chair and ponder.

About the clinic I observed today.

In the end, I couldn’t figure out how to use the spells just by watching.

I thought they might do some training at the meeting, but it was just a discussion of the holy scriptures. I thought I might understand something by watching the treatments, but all I saw was them placing their hands and reciting prayers.

I’m completely stuck.

I lean back in the chair, feeling drained. As I look at the ceiling, a sigh escapes me naturally.

“Ah, if only I could ask questions...”

If I showed myself and asked various questions, it might work. The healers can do it. I don’t want to think that I can’t do it just because I can use magic the same way they do.

Maybe there’s some innate ability required, but I don’t even know that.

I’m in a bind.

I asked people because I was puzzled, but my worries weren’t resolved.

I flip through the holy scriptures casually, turning the pages.

The old-fashioned text was just a story of a saint, as usual.

However, as I read, one line caught my attention.

It was about a saint named Forte healing a man who had suffered a complex fracture in a rockfall accident.

“He was tested by the rolling stones. Saint Forte healed the man whose limbs were broken. ‘This arm was made for you by God,’ Saint Forte declared to the man and immediately left. The man embraced his crescent-shaped arm joyfully.”

Clearly, the arm was left bent.

And the man was happy with his deformed arm.

Is this story a fabrication? I don’t know.

But I realize something.

Yoshino looked proud when she saw the man’s bent arm.

I thought she was happy about being able to heal the injury.

I thought she was boasting, “See, I can heal even such injuries.”

But what if it’s not that?

What if she was recalling this line from the holy scriptures?

What if she was happy about recreating a scene from the holy scriptures?

So what?

Even if that’s true, it just means she had a strong faith. That’s all.

But something feels off.

I can’t figure out what it is.

I close the book with a click.

I’ll go to bed now. Tomorrow, I’ll ask Gustav various things.

“Anyway, give me all the information you know.”

“You’re a new kind of thief, aren’t you?”

Gustav’s retort is refreshing.

“Why are you asking me about magic and spells? I don’t know much about them.”

Gustav says this with a bewildered face, which is reasonable.

He’s right. But I have my reasons.

“...Because Gustav is the only one I can talk to right now...”

That’s right. I can’t reveal myself. If I do, it might reach Baal. I want to be as cautious as possible.

Besides Gustav, the only others I could reveal myself to are Hailo, Riko, and Nixki. And I don’t know where Nixki is. Hailo and Riko don’t seem to know anything.

By process of elimination, I came here.

Even if I pout, Gustav’s bewildered face doesn’t change. He doesn’t seem to have a compassionate heart.

“About the difference between mages and spellcasters...”

He sighs and ponders. After a long time, he finally speaks.

“Is it okay if I explain it from the perspective of ordinary people?”

“Yes.”

Even that is appreciated right now.

“First, mages, spellcasters, and healers are all people who can do something with magic. You’re a mage, right?”

He looks down at me and states this.

“What’s the difference between a mage and the others?”

“A spellcaster or healer is called that if they can use spells or rituals.”

“So, a mage can’t use either?”

Like me.

“That’s a bit different. Ah... Even we find it hard to distinguish...”

Gustav stammers, looking puzzled.

“It seems that those with strong magic can emit magic around their body... or rather, they can, right?”

“Yes... something like this?”

I spread my magic throughout the room, coloring the air lightly. It turns a bubble-like color, though I didn’t intend it.

“...What?”

Gustav’s mouth opens wide in shock. Did I do something strange?

“Hey, that’s not the range of magic, is it? You’re using magic to color it, right?”

“No, I just colored the magic...”

I stop Gustav, who is hurriedly repeating questions, and ask him to continue explaining.

“So, if you can emit magic, you’re a mage?”

That means a mere healer can’t do this.

“Yes, yes, but... no, that’s strange. Did you know this already?”

Gustav is still flustered. What’s going on?

“I’m asking here because I don’t know much.”

“No, that’s right, that’s right...”

He’s trying to calm down. Gustav takes a water bottle from his waist and drinks it in one gulp.

Then he spits it out.

“Ah...! Cough, cough!”

“Take it easy, or it might go down the wrong way.”

I reach out to pat his back, but I can’t reach over the counter.

What should I do? Gustav suddenly looks like an old man. No, he was already old.

After a while, his coughing subsides, and the wheezing stops.

“...Mages can emit magic around their body. Got it...?”

He’s trying to keep a straight face, but it’s pointless.

“Yes, so why are you surprised?”

“The range of magic a mage can emit determines their rank.”

“Is it... fingers?”

“Did you know that? One finger, two fingers, then it increases to five fingers, which is one hand. If we were to name it... what would it be?”

I’m at the level of three fingers, and it’s “moreover.” I’m probably at the level of one or two fingers. That’s my guess.

“One finger means the range is about the width of a finger.”

Gustav spreads his left hand to show the length.

“By the way, I’ve never heard of anyone with the range of one arm.”

“Huh?”

Wait, in my case.

“Now you see how unconventional you are...”

I shake my head silently.

“Well, in the southern territories of Nerg, it seems a noble’s son was born with one arm... so maybe it’s that kind of era.”

Gustav mutters, looking far away, perhaps in shock.

What should I do? He really looks old.

Gustav clears his throat and tries to drink water again, but the bottle is empty. He shakes it to confirm there’s no water left and puts it away silently.

“Mages can control the magic they emit. That’s what ‘magic’ is.”

“That’s what I always use.”

“Yes, in contrast, ‘spells’ and ‘rituals’ are cast by reciting something.”

“...So, spells and rituals require incantations or prayers, while magic doesn’t?”

Gustav nods.

“Yes. I don’t know the details, but that’s how it is for us who don’t have magic.”

“So, whether someone is called a mage depends on the amount of magic they have, and what they can do determines if they’re called a spellcaster or healer...”

It’s a simple classification when summarized.

“That’s right.”

“Then, how many mages are there?”

If there’s a healer who is also a mage, it means...

“There are very few. In Essen, there might be fewer than fifty.”

He looks at me with a piercing gaze.

“Among them, your magic is abnormally strong. It’s better not to stand out too much.”

“Yes. But if necessary, I’ll use as much as I need.”

I flex my bicep in response.

However, it’s best to avoid unnecessary trouble. I won’t show off.

I’ll use it only when necessary.