Chapter 48

※This contains a slightly shocking episode. Please prepare yourself mentally.

"Hey, show me some magic."

At the bustling dinner table with his family of eight, Al, who had just enjoyed a hearty meal of venison, was repeatedly asked by Gabi to show off his light spells. He watched the light intently, never tiring of it, and every time Al cast a spell and the light shone, Gabi let out a sigh of admiration.

"That's amazing. How did you learn magic, Lord Al?"

"Well, my grandpa was a mage. I learned from him."

Al's grandfather had a talent for magic and, in his youth, was an adventurer. Later in life, he served as a mage in the Rain Border Baron's knight corps. Al, too, had begged his grandfather to teach him spells.

"That's so cool..."

Gabi whispered enviously. To become a mage, one naturally needed specialized knowledge. For example, spell books were written in ancient script, so one had to be able to read and write it. There were also many pieces of knowledge known only to mages, and to learn these, one could hire a private tutor, study at a middle school, or apprentice to a mage like Reta. However, all of these options were quite difficult for the average person.

To hire a private tutor, one needed both financial resources and connections. To attend a middle school, one needed a recommendation from a local influential person. To become an apprentice, one had to be prepared to work for several years, or even over ten years. Al's family, though poor, had the status of a knight and the village lord, passed down from his great-grandfather and grandfather. When he was young, he could learn magic from his grandfather, and after entering primary school, from his teachers. This was a very fortunate situation.

Even if one had the opportunity, learning magic required a strong will and innate talent. Of course, becoming a mage meant gaining great power and being respected socially, so many people dreamed of it. However, it was generally said that only one in ten people had the talent to use magic. This was true even for the children of mages. The harsh reality was that even with effort, the lack of talent was more likely, and only a few people could maintain the high motivation to continue.

In Al's case, the trigger for his desire to learn magic was a major incident when he was very young.

Al apparently had a twin sister. The reason he says "apparently" is that he was very young and doesn't remember much. What he remembers is a young girl with slightly lighter blonde hair who called him "Aryu" with a lisp. Her name was Ingrid, but the young Al couldn't say it properly and called her "Gry."

The major incident occurred when Al and Ingrid, along with a few servants, went to a nearby forest. They were probably around three years old and had gone to pick wild strawberries. As they walked through the forest together, one of the servants suddenly shouted, "Goblins!" Al and Ingrid held hands and tried to run, but their young legs were too slow, and they were quickly caught. Al was knocked out almost immediately.

When Al came to, he was on someone's back. He couldn't tell where he was, but he soon realized it was his grandfather. It seemed he had been rescued from the goblins. His grandfather was walking busily, and the surroundings were filled with fierce cries, not just from humans. From his grandfather's hand, glowing arrows were being fired, felling the goblins. Looking around, he saw his father and the village guards fighting, but he couldn't find his sister.

In those days, battles with monsters and barbarians were not uncommon, especially for those living in border regions. The attack on Al and his family was one such incident, and it was likely that Al was taken to the goblin nest as food. Being rescued was a very fortunate event.

Al was bedridden for a while due to shock and the injuries he sustained. His sister's bed, which had always been next to his, remained empty, and a few days later, it was removed. Even at a young age, he realized that his sister would never return.

His grandfather gave him a magical artifact he had found in an ancient ruin and told him stories of his adventures. In these stories, the terrifying monsters, barbarians, and difficult puzzles were always solved by his grandfather's magic. The young Al was captivated by the magic in his grandfather's stories and gradually recovered.

Al took out the pendant, which had recently begun to emit a faint light, from his chest. This was the mysterious magical artifact his grandfather had given him. The incident itself had occurred over ten years ago. His younger sister, born a few years after the incident, was now about the same age as Gabi.

If he told Gabi about his younger sister, would she be angry? Gabi was looking at the pendant, wondering what it was. According to his grandfather, the framed magical artifact had been adorned on a statue of a goddess. It was unclear how much of his grandfather's story was true, but Al gently told Gabi the story he had heard from his grandfather while looking at the pendant.

-----

The next morning, Al set out for the hot spring cave with Gabi, who had agreed to guide him. The path was barely passable, and the terrain was similar to where they had hunted deer the day before, with many undulations. Without a guide, it would have been impossible to find the way. There were also places where water was gushing out, and at one spot, steam was rising. It smelled like rotten eggs, and Gabi explained that near the hot spring, the water pooled to form a small, clear pond.

At times, they heard rumbling sounds from the ground, and it felt as if the ground was slightly shaking. According to Gabi, this area had always had such sounds, and earthquakes were frequent. There had been a few strong ones just a month ago.

Al had never encountered such phenomena and had only heard about earthquakes. He proceeded up the mountain slope with a sense of unease.

Just before noon, Al and Gabi arrived at the cave known as the hot spring. However, Gabi tilted her head in confusion.

"The cave has collapsed!"

Part of the cave's ceiling had caved in, and the soil above had fallen inside. Al and Gabi hurried to the entrance. The cave was not completely buried, but the remaining hole was just large enough for them to crawl through. They called out loudly, but there was no response from inside.

"I'll go in and check. Gabi, wait outside."

Al attached his backpack to a small, hook-shaped transport spell disc and cast a spell to improve his night vision.

"Be careful."

"Yeah, it's fine. We might encounter goblins around here. Gabi, be careful too. If I don't return by mid-afternoon, go back to the village and talk to the mayor without hesitation."

"Got it."

Al smiled and waved to reassure Gabi, then returned to a serious expression and entered the hole.

Thank you for reading.

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On 2023.5.22, "一目置かれる" was corrected to "敬意を払われる."