Chapter 88

This is the latter part.

August 26th.

Arno Knowles and I, Jamie Reston, set out for the village of Rasmor, which is 25 km from the town of Kilnareck, to investigate the hometown of Zacharias Rockhart and Sharon Jakes.

However, when we entered the road leading to Rasmor from the Alz Highway, we were quite surprised. We had hired a guide when we left Kilnareck because we were told that the road was hard to find and it would be better to have a guide. Indeed, without a guide, we might not have found the narrow path, which was so thin that it could almost be called an animal trail.

When we asked the guide, he said that during the summer, the grass grows quickly, and since there are few wagons passing through Rasmor, the road becomes indistinguishable from the grass. He said that in other seasons, it would not be as hard to distinguish, but it still did not seem like a village that supplies alcohol to the big city of Alz.

After entering the narrow road, the mercenary guards increased their vigilance. However, the guide laughed and said, "At most, there are some stray dogs wandering around," showing no signs of being on guard. When we asked him in detail, he said that the Rockhart family regularly exterminates the monsters in the area, and it is not very dangerous for adults to walk alone.

Around 3:00 PM, we arrived at Rasmor.

My first impression was that it was a typical pioneer village nestled among hills, with a pastoral and peaceful atmosphere.

When we asked the guide about the inn, he said that the only tavern in the village also served as an inn, and he led us there.

Upon entering the village, we saw neatly maintained roads and small irrigation ditches, which seemed to be used for daily water needs.

The houses were standard for a rural area, and the villagers looked at us curiously.

Upon reaching the Black Pond Inn, we sighed with relief at having safely arrived at our destination. After a short rest, we went to the lord's manor to arrange a meeting for the next day.

When we told a man in his fifties, who seemed to be the head of the guards, that we were here as a herald for the next day, he said that the lord would see us immediately.

Thinking it was a characteristic of a rural knight's domain, I followed him to the lord's office.

The lord who greeted us was a sturdy man in his thirties, who looked like a typical knight. However, he had no roughness and welcomed us with a smile. When we tried to greet him according to court etiquette by kneeling, Lord Masaias Rockhart stopped us.

"As you can see, my Rockhart family is like the mayor of a rural village. My father, the previous lord, was a commoner who became a knight. I'm afraid we don't know court etiquette as well as you do."

After saying this with a smile, he invited us to sit on the sofa.

I sat down humbly.

When he asked about our business, I told him, "Your son has been admitted as the top student."

I thought he probably didn't know the results yet and wanted to surprise him, but he only nodded slightly, as if he already knew.

"Is that all? I don't know the customs of the academy, but I don't think you came all this way just to inform us of the admission results."

When I asked if he already knew the results, he told me that a guard he had sent as an escort three days ago had returned and informed him.

I understood that a seasoned soldier could easily overtake us.

Then, I decided to honestly tell him the purpose of our visit to the village.

"We were dispatched by the order of the Mage Guild. Our mission is to investigate your domain."

The lord asked, "What kind of investigation?"

I decided to honestly tell him what the guild had ordered.

"It is very rare for the top and second students to come from the same region. Moreover, I have heard that Lord Zacharias and Miss Jakes are foster siblings. The guild suspects that there is some factor here and has ordered us to investigate."

The lord's expression stiffened for a moment but then he smiled.

"You can investigate, but it's just a rural village. However, even if the top and second students are from the same hometown, I don't see why it would require a special investigation."

"If it were just the top and second students, the guild would not have ordered an investigation. Your son is considered a genius that comes once in a thousand years. Moreover, Miss Jakes is already a talented individual with the skills of a graduate. It seems unlikely that such two individuals would be from the same hometown by coincidence. If the environment can produce such geniuses, the guild wants to use it as a reference for the future development of young talents."

The lord laughed heartily, as if it were an interesting story, and said, "I'm sorry, but it's just funny to think that this place might be an environment that produces geniuses."

Then, he promised to cooperate with us.

"I will cooperate as much as I can. It would be good if you find a secret, but even if you don't, we're not hiding anything. Hahaha!"

He then allowed us to enter the manor and conduct interviews with the guards and villagers.

The next day, we began interviewing the guards and villagers. When we asked if there was anyone like a sage, everyone tilted their heads and testified that there was no such person. As we continued our investigation, the unique aspects of this village gradually became clear.

As mentioned earlier, the literacy rate was abnormal, but the living standards in this village were not those of a pioneer village. Toilets were installed in all areas, and high-quality soap was distributed free of charge to every household. The soap was not as luxurious as the kind that noble ladies fight over, but it still seemed to be of high quality.

Moreover, the village had a public bath. I was surprised not only by the existence of a public bath but also by the fact that it was free for the villagers. In reality, the bath was managed on a rotational basis, and the labor was the admission fee, but when I first heard about it, I couldn't believe it.

The villagers used the public bath at least once every three days.

At first, I didn't notice, but all the farmers in this village were clean. I didn't see a single dirty person like those in typical rural villages.

The characteristics of this village were the good security provided by the self-defense force led by the previous lord, the well-developed education provided by the school, and the good hygiene due to the free distribution of soap and the public bath. The villagers pledged their loyalty to the Rockhart family, who had created and maintained this situation, and the relationship between the lord and the villagers was very good.

Moreover, the food situation seemed to be good, as the children ran around energetically, and the adults drank together in the evening, looking very happy.

I began to think that this place might be a kind of utopia.

We conducted interviews for about ten days but could not find the reason for the birth of the two geniuses.

The only possibility was a female elf named Lydiane Dupre, who had tutored them. She was a magician who had graduated top of her class from the Tilia Magic Academy and was a genius herself, possessing all four elements.

Indeed, if they had been tutored by an excellent teacher from a young age, they might have achieved excellent results at the academy. However, children who take the entrance exam are all tutored by excellent private tutors, so it was difficult to say that this was the decisive factor.

We decided to change our investigation method.

We abandoned the hypothesis that an excellent teacher had led them and began to look for other factors.

First, we decided to follow the actions of the boy, Zacharias.

When we started the interviews, a lot of information came in.

He had been going out to various places from a young age. The most frequent place was the distillery, where he often visited and came up with new ideas.

The next most frequent place was the blacksmith's workshop of Bertram, the village blacksmith. Bertram was a dwarf blacksmith who made many things other than weapons, such as hand pumps and distillers.

I applied for interviews with Scott, the head of the distillery, and Bertram, the blacksmith.

Scott was a sturdy man in his forties who was drenched in sweat when we met because he worked in the hot distillery.

When I asked him about Zacharias,

"Master Zack was a very curious child. When the blacksmith Bertram and the guard Garland talked about making distilled spirits, he always followed Garland. I always wondered what a four or five-year-old child could find interesting, but according to Garland, it was Master Zack who persuaded the lord to expand the distillery. Well, he was a genius, so maybe he felt something we couldn't. By the way, the name 'Scotch' was given by Master Zack, who knew about my hard work."

When I heard this, I felt a slight sense of discomfort. However, I couldn't pinpoint what made me feel that way at the time.

Next, I talked to the blacksmith Bertram. He looked like a typical dwarf blacksmith and gave me a suspicious look when I entered his workshop.

When I explained the situation and asked about Zacharias, he became even more wary.

"What do you want to know about Zack? In short, he's a genius. I can't say anything more than that as a blacksmith."

I asked him to tell me anything and tried to find out what he was interested in.

He was interested in all aspects of metalworking and came up with many ideas. The most surprising thing was that Zacharias was involved in the development of the hand pump. At the time, he was only four years old, just learning to speak clearly. A four-year-old child had come up with ideas for the development of a machine that had never existed before.

After saying this, Bertram had a look of regret for a moment. I noticed this and felt that there was something else. I continued to ask questions, but he did not reveal any significant facts.

Then, I investigated Zacharias's involvement in the differences between this village and others. There were signs of his involvement in the spread of toilets and the establishment of the school, but no significant facts were found.

The only story I could hear about the village's development was that Nicholas Garland, the most knowledgeable of the guards, had been the driving force behind it. The development of soap, the production of distilled spirits, and the establishment of the school... all of these were done by one guard, a soldier.

I wondered if it was true and applied for an interview with Nicholas Garland.

When I first talked to him, he gave me the impression of a calm and gentlemanly person, but he did not seem particularly talented.

The interview with Garland was not very productive. He was not a talkative person, and his speech was hesitant, so it took a whole day to confirm each fact.

From the interview with Garland, I concluded that it was unlikely that this person had carried out all the reforms. However, when it came to who had done it, strangely, only Garland's name came up.

I learned that Zacharias and Sharon had two more childhood friends.

Both were children of guards, and the Rockhart family called the four of them the "Zack Quartet."

Both were one year older than Zacharias, one was Melissa Marlon, and the other was Dan Jakes, Sharon Jakes's brother.

Melissa, called Mel, was a red-haired, energetic girl who had sword skills superior to those of an average soldier. Of course, I couldn't tell as a magician, but when I asked the mercenary guard why he called her a "frightening girl," he replied, "Her skill level is probably over twenty, and her swordsmanship level is around twenty. In terms of mercenaries, that's a seventh-class level. She could make a living as a mercenary at that age."

When I asked the guards, I learned that the previous lord, Gowan Rockhart, was a famous swordsman who had been training her since she was young. I once saw his training, and it was so intense that I felt pain, but she did it with a calm face.

The other boy, Dan, was also clearly abnormal.

His sword skills were inferior to Mel, but he could use a bow and was also good at hiding his presence. When I asked the mercenary scout for his impression, he replied, "He's a professional scout. He's at a level where he could become an adventurer at any time."

An eleven-year-old child could do the same work as an adult adventurer or mercenary. It was so abnormal that even when Zacharias showed adult-level magic and Sharon showed graduate-level magic, it didn't seem strange.

The "Zack Quartet" called the four of them were so precocious.

I couldn't believe that the environment could produce such geniuses. Well, there is something that comes to mind. There was a rare swordsman, Gowan Rockhart, and a genius magician, Lydiane Dupre, who tutored them. If someone who didn't know them heard this, they might think it was possible.

Indeed, if dozens or hundreds of people were tutored and only one or two geniuses appeared, it would be understandable. However, it was abnormal that all four, born at the same time, were geniuses and could continue rigorous training from a young age without being forced.

Thus, I stayed in Rasmor for nearly a month but could not identify the reason for the birth of the two geniuses, or rather, the four geniuses. It seemed that they were born in the same place at the same time by a divine arrangement.

September 20th.

We left Rasmor.

By then, we had blended in with the villagers, and they held a farewell party for us at the inn the day before we left. The lord and the guards also appeared, and regardless of their status, they expressed their regret at our departure.

They also gave us souvenirs such as Scotch and soap.

October 6th.

We returned to Doctus.

We had compiled the investigation report in Rasmor and the towns along the way, and submitted it to Councillor Isherwood on the same day.

The councillor seemed a bit in a bad mood and hesitated to talk, but we had to report.

"...In conclusion, our investigation did not find a reason for the outstanding talents of Rockhart and Jakes in Rasmor. The details are summarized in the report, so if you have any questions, I will come and explain them at any time."

Councillor Isherwood showed no interest in our report and was just flipping through it casually.

Reston and I took this opportunity to bow and leave the councillor's room.

The next day, we received a request from Senator Wargman, the head of the Education Research Committee, to explain the report, and Reston and I went to his room, nervous about explaining to a high-ranking senator.

Senator Wargman seemed to be in a good mood and asked questions about the report, particularly interested in what Zacharias had done.

"So, he was giving his opinions among adults from a young age. I see..."

I thought the senator had made a mistake. He had called the childhood of a ten-year-old child "young age."

I found it a bit amusing that even a sharp senator like Wargman could make such a slip of the tongue.

"...So, the conclusion of your report is that it was a coincidence that two magic geniuses appeared in the same place at the same time, correct?"

I replied, "From the investigation in Rasmor, that is the only conclusion we can draw. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the tutoring by Ms. Dupre, his private tutor, produced the two geniuses."

The senator shook his head quietly.

"I have never heard of Ms. Dupre from Professor Laspede. So, that line is not possible. You have done a good job. Take a rest."

The senator gave us a three-day special leave.

Reston and I thought we hadn't achieved much, but we gratefully accepted the leave.

■■■

After we left, Piers Wargman opened the report again.

The page he opened read:

"...The longer one interacts with Zacharias Rockhart, the less one seems to recognize him as a child. In particular, the words of the veteran guards, blacksmith Bertram, and distillery head Scott suggest that they feel he is an equal adult, or even a superior. When this was pointed out, the guards and Bertram had expressionless or displeased faces, while Scott had a look of understanding. This is based on our impression and is not a confirmed fact. However, it is certain that the boy showed his genius from a very young age, around four or five. Whether this is due to a congenital factor or an acquired one could not be determined