Chapter 19

The first sight of the capital city was truly magnificent.

To the west, the Chetel Bay stretched out to the South Central Sea, and the sandy beach lined with well-maintained port facilities and small fishing boats came into view.

Beyond the bay, there were impressive buildings that far surpassed those of the border city of Delb. The capital, surrounded by rivers and forests, seemed to have many sturdy wooden houses built with abundant timber.

Of course, large fireplaces and tall chimneys made of brick were built to withstand the cold winters.

The roads were wide, and several stylish carriages were passing by.

When Ricardo got off the ship, soldiers were waiting. They seemed to be inspecting to prevent suspicious individuals from entering the capital. He joined the queue and waited his turn.

"Alright, you may pass. Next."

When it was his turn, he stepped forward and showed the identification card issued by the Delb office.

"Hmm, an apprentice magician. Isn't it a bit early for the magician's exam? What brings you to the capital?"

"I have been sent by my master to deliver something to my fellow apprentice at the Magician's Guild."

"Hmm, your fellow apprentice is at the Magician's Guild... Very well, you may pass."

Perhaps because he presented a proper identification card, he was allowed to enter the capital without much trouble.

According to the information from Patrick, the Magician's Guild was located about an hour's walk northeast of the port. Three roads extended from the port, heading northeast, east, and southeast.

Ricardo chose the road leading northeast and started walking.

The road he chose seemed to lead to a commercial district. Cargo carts carrying goods from the ships docked at the port kept passing him, heading to stores or warehouses.

The road was paved with stone, giving a sense of the capital's grandeur.

Monta, the young wise beast, poked his head out of the shoulder bag and looked around.

"Monta, this is the capital. Do you understand?"

Monta tilted his head slightly.

"Kyu Kyu" (Oh... Is it delicious?)

This young wise beast didn't seem to understand the capital.

As he continued down the road, various shops came into view. Starting with grocery stores, fish markets, and meat shops, followed by hardware stores, pottery shops, and tool shops.

Then came tailor shops and second-hand clothing stores, and finally, shops selling catalysts and weapons caught his eye.

Unlike the small shops in the border city of Delb, these shops were larger and had a wider selection of items. Many customers, about a dozen, were looking at the price tags of weapons and catalysts on the shelves.

He remembered the three magic rods he had brought. Thinking about converting them into money, he took them out from the storage crystal in a secluded spot, wrapped them in a cloth, and put them in the backpack on the cart.

He entered the shop and checked the selection of catalysts and the prices of magic rods.

Several magic rods were displayed on the shelves behind the counter.

"What's this? A second-grade magic rod for 48 gold coins... Flavio's magic rod was second-grade. I thought it would be first-grade since it costs 52 gold coins."

Ricardo realized he had misunderstood the value of magic rods.

At the end of the shelf, there was a sign that read, "Fourth-grade Yuna Bolt magic rods are sold out."

"Wow, the magic rods made by Yuna Bolt are popular, huh."

Ricardo muttered.

At that moment, a nearby girl covered her mouth with one hand and turned her back. Her shoulders were shaking, clearly laughing.

The proverb "It's a shame to ask, but a greater shame not to" came to mind. He decided to ask.

"Did I say something funny?"

When the girl stopped laughing and turned around, she said,

"Sorry. Yuna Bolt isn't a person's name but a special type of magic rod."

Ricardo felt his face turn a bit red. To him, the girl looked like an older sister, about five years older, but to a Japanese person, she would be around the same age as his daughter.

"I see. I didn't know that."

"Are you a magician?"

The girl, looking at the sheath on Ricardo's back, asked.

"I'm an apprentice magician. I came to meet my fellow apprentice at the Magician's Guild."

"Hmm... I'm Tania, a magician at the Magician's Guild."

"My name is Ricardo, from Delb in the Fabius territory."

Tania looked around.

"Did you come alone?"

"I came with a merchant part of the way, but we parted ways."

He wasn't lying.

"Really, that must have been tough. Who are you here to meet?"

"My fellow apprentice, Massimo Valerius."

Tania's face darkened.

"Ah, Massimo. I had high hopes for him."

It seemed that Massimo and Tania worked in the same department. When Ricardo asked about Massimo, he learned that Massimo's research paper had been highly evaluated, and he had been selected as a researcher in the Refinement Bureau to study magic.

Initially, Massimo's research was highly anticipated. However, except for the research on the "Molten Flame Bullet," his other research was not going well, and many people had given up on him. Ricardo thought this was natural.

Recently, Massimo had stopped doing research and was cozying up to the Elder faction, flattering the faction's board members and the children of nobles.

The once self-centered and introverted Massimo had started flattering others. Was this growth?

"Better than being a recluse, I guess."

At that moment, Monta poked his head out of the shoulder bag and begged.

"Kyu Kyu" (Rica, I'm hungry)

Ricardo's name had been shortened to "Rica." While it felt a bit strange to him, he had to accept it since it was Monta.

"Wait a moment... Here, some dried grapes."

Ricardo handed over three dried grapes, which Monta caught in his small hands and threw into his mouth one by one. The soft dried grapes seemed to be chewed directly.

"Hey, that."

Tania looked surprised.

"Is there something wrong with my pet, Monta?"

"What's wrong... He's a wise beast, isn't he?"

This time, Ricardo was surprised. Tania was the first to realize Monta was a wise beast.

Tania looked at Ricardo's face.

"You look surprised, but I heard his telepathy. My magic control is quite high, you know."

Ricardo learned for the first time that the level of magic control was related to telepathy.

"Hey, isn't that Ricardo?"

A familiar voice called out, and Ricardo turned to see Bernaldo, with whom he had traded magic rods, standing there.

"Bernaldo... Is this your shop?"

Bernaldo smiled and nodded.

"Yes, to be precise, I've retired and handed the shop over to my daughter and son-in-law, but I occasionally sell items I've personally acquired here."

"Could it be that the magic rods I sold...?"

"Yes, they're sold out, as you can see."

Bernaldo pointed to the "sold out" sign.

Ricardo looked at the sign and tilted his head.

"I heard that Yuna Bolt refers to special magic rods, but the ones I sold were ordinary."

Bernaldo looked disappointed.

"Yuna Bolt refers to magic rods completed with a single magic coating."

Tania explained.

"You're from Isarco's...?"

Tania nodded.

"I'm Tania Caldroni from the Refinement Bureau."

"Oh, Isarco boasts about having an excellent subordinate."

Tania smiled happily.

"Could it be that you, Ricardo, made the Yuna Bolt magic rods?"

"Half right. He processed the materials into rods, and his master did the magic coating. That's why they didn't look as good as Yuna Bolt magic rods."

Tania nodded, remembering the magic rod Isarco had.

Bernaldo turned his gaze to Ricardo.

"By the way, did you make any more magic rods after that transaction?"

"I focused on studying for the exam, so I only completed three."

Ricardo took out the magic rods wrapped in cloth from his backpack and showed them to Bernaldo.

"Wow, they're beautifully processed. Did Master Matou do the processing?"

The way he addressed "Matou" had changed from "Mr. Matou" to "Master Matou," probably because of the profit from the magic rods.

"No, I used magic to process them, which is why they look so clean."

"Really? I didn't know such magic existed."

Bernaldo was impressed.

Ricardo felt a tingling sensation on his back. Tania was looking at him excitedly.

"Wait a moment. Even I, who work in the Refinement Bureau, don't know such magic."

Tania's voice was loud, and a few customers turned to look.

"Let's go to the back of the shop."

Bernaldo led them to a reception room used for large transactions. The room had a fluffy carpet, stylish table, and sofa, with beautiful pottery displayed by the window.

Tania seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"You said you used magic to process the rods. Is that true?"

"It's not a big deal. Let me show you."

"Really... Please do."

Ricardo borrowed a piece of firewood from Bernaldo, took out a catalyst for earth magic, and cast the "Magic Lathe."

"Amril Kujureura Movafar"

The firewood floated and started spinning.

"In this state, you can process the wood cleanly by touching it with a chisel."

He didn't take out the chisel, as it would scatter a lot of wood chips.

"I see. There are similar tools that craftsmen use, but you're using magic to replace them."

Bernaldo was impressed.

On the other hand, Tania was staring at the floating, spinning firewood with wide eyes. The magic words used were all familiar, and the amount of magic used was at a beginner level. However, the combination and usage of the magic words were something she had never seen before.

Bernaldo's interest had shifted to the three magic rods.

"These magic rods are beautifully processed. How about 6 gold coins each?"

"Sure..."

If the price tag for Yuna Bolt had been left, he might not have agreed so easily. But since Ricardo didn't know the market price of Yuna Bolt at that point, he was about to accept the offer, which was double the original price.

"No, that's too cheap."

Tania stopped him. She knew that if a top-notch magic craftsman were to make a Yuna Bolt magic rod, it would cost more than 10 gold coins.

Ricardo's magic rods, while slightly inferior in quality to those made by top-notch magic craftsmen, were genuine Yuna Bolt magic rods.

For some reason, Tania and Bernaldo started negotiating the price.

"Young lady, you're quite a skilled negotiator. How about 9 gold coins each?"

"Well, that's a fair price."

Ricardo was surprised that the magic rods he made in one night were worth 9 gold coins each.

Later, he learned that when a top-notch magic craftsman took on the task of making a Yuna Bolt magic rod, they would prepare their body and magic, focus on the magic coating, and then take a few days off due to exhaustion.

In the end, it took a few days to make one magic rod. It seemed that Ricardo couldn't complete one in a single night.

Ricardo realized, belatedly, that the sixth benefit he chose in the "Benefit Selection" was extremely useful and impressive.

He thought about becoming a magic craftsman for a stable life but didn't really want to. By this time, he had found the study of magic itself interesting.

Bernaldo, who had negotiated the price with Tania, looked troubled but was secretly pleased. The magic rods Ricardo brought were not only well-made but also had beautiful snow patterns that, although simple, were perfectly aligned. They seemed likely to fetch a high price from the children of nobles.

Ricardo received 27 gold coins from Bernaldo and put them in a pouch.

"Thank you, Tania."

"It's fine. I just helped a junior magician. But be careful with that much money. You might be targeted."

"I understand."

She seemed to be worried about him as a junior. She was a kind girl.

Bernaldo carefully examined each magic rod and instructed an employee to wrap them in a cloth and store them.

"Do you have a place to stay in the capital?"

Ricardo shook his head.

"No, I just arrived today and haven't decided yet."

"Then, why don't you come to my house? It's small, but I have a room for guests."

Ricardo hesitated but decided to accept the offer.

After parting ways at the shop, Tania returned to the Magician's Guild and went to Isarco's office.

Isarco, who was organizing documents, smiled when he saw Tania.

"What brings you here?"

"Today, I met a young apprentice magician who came to visit Massimo."

"Massimo... And?"

"He seems to be Massimo's junior, and he was using a magic spell that Massimo doesn't know."

Isarco stood up from his chair in surprise.

"What kind of magic?"

"It's an earth magic spell, and he uses it to process wood."

Isarco narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Can you demonstrate it?"

Tania nodded and took out her rod. This rod was a cheap one and not a magic rod.

She prepared an earth catalyst and cast the "Magic Lathe."

The rod started spinning in the air, and Isarco approached to observe.

"In this state, you can cut the wood with a blade. ... Interesting."

Unbeknownst to him, Ricardo had become a figure of interest to the board members of the Magician's Guild.

2017/2/23 Typo correction