Chapter 31

Robson was born in the outskirts of the capital. In this country, the term "outskirts" refers to the land surrounding the outer walls of the city, a dangerous place where monsters might appear.

In the outskirts of large cities, poor people who have moved from the countryside often settle and form slums. The capital was no exception, and a large slum existed there.

Robson, born in that slum, did not know his father, who had apparently died when Robson was born. Until he was six, he lived with his mother. When he was six, his mother died of illness, and he was taken in by the Mage Guild, where he grew up as a servant.

Robson got used to life at the Mage Guild, and when he turned nine, thanks to the efforts of Councilor Isalco, a novice mage named Ricardo came to live in the servants' quarters.

At first, Robson thought Ricardo would be as arrogant as the other mages, but Ricardo spoke politely to the servants and never mocked them. However, he frowned at the food served in the servants' quarters and ate it reluctantly. To Robson, having proper meals at noon and night was enough, but Ricardo seemed unsatisfied.

When Ricardo started going outside the city to hunt creatures like headbutting rabbits and bring them back, he began to cook using the meat and bones. The first time Robson tasted Ricardo's cooking, he thought the food he had been eating before was garbage. It was that delicious.

Robson was delighted to learn the basics of cooking from Ricardo. He was so grateful that he wondered if it was okay to receive such valuable lessons for free. Ricardo became friendly with the servants and talked to them casually. However, sometimes Robson felt that Ricardo's way of thinking and acting was different from theirs. Perhaps, he thought, those who would become mages in the future were different from them.

One day, Ricardo offered to teach Robson and the other servants. Robson joined Ricardo's study group from the beginning. He learned the basics of magic and the methods for controlling mana, and started practicing.

Ricardo taught them patiently, but he was also a strict teacher. He would explain things over and over until his students understood, and rigorously checked their comprehension. By the time Ricardo's mage certification exam approached, Robson, Sydney, Nicola, and Domenico had mastered the basics of mana control and could successfully cast low-level magic. Robson shed tears of joy when he first successfully cast the "Ignition" spell.

Ten days after Ricardo passed his mage certification exam and left the capital to see his family, Robson was instructed by the receptionist Liliana to meet a mage named Omero at the Alchemy Bureau.

Liliana's instructions were simple: meet the mage Omero at the Alchemy Bureau and follow his instructions. Robson went to the Alchemy Bureau and visited the room where Omero was conducting his research. He knocked on the door, received permission to enter, and went inside.

"You're late. Come with me now and carry that bag," Omero said, pointing to a leather bag on the workbench.

"Understood," Robson replied, shouldering the bag.

Omero was a young mage in his early twenties and belonged to the Elder faction, which valued the preservation of old traditions. Many mages came from families of mages, and Omero was no exception. Robson followed Omero without knowing their destination.

Omero walked quickly out of the Mage Guild through the South Gate and headed towards the area where noble residences were located. At the edge of the district with noble residences, he turned east. Carrying the bag, it was difficult for Robson to keep up with Omero, who walked briskly without considering Robson's small size.

The Royal Bizer Academy came into view. It was a school for the children of nobles and wealthy merchants, and the Mage Guild was known to assist in its education.

Omero entered the school and went into the elementary education building, a three-story brick structure. In the hallways, students around Robson's age were walking.

"Good morning, Mr. Omero," several students greeted Omero as they passed by. Omero briefly returned their greetings and continued down the hallway.

The sound of a bell rang, signaling the start of class. The students hurried into their classrooms.

Omero reached a classroom on the second floor, took a deep breath, and entered. Robson followed and looked around the classroom, which had about thirty students.

"Let's continue from where we left off, starting with catalysts. Distribute the catalysts I brought," Omero instructed. Robson distributed the catalysts from the leather bag to the students.

Omero began his lecture on the basic principles of magic. The content was familiar to Robson, as he had learned it from Ricardo. As he listened, he felt a sense of unease. Ricardo's teaching style was different. Ricardo explained the phenomena and effects caused by magic logically, while Omero seemed to be merely reading from a textbook.

This kind of lecture was the most boring. The students struggled to keep their heavy eyelids open. Sensing this, Omero stopped reading from the textbook.

Robson was relieved, as he had been struggling to resist the hypnotic waves emitted by Omero.

"Have you understood so far... Any questions?" No one raised their hand, so Omero started asking questions.

"What is the difference between a catalyst and other objects?" Omero pointed to a student, who stood up and answered, "Whether or not it contains a catalyst."

After asking a few more questions and getting answers from the students, Omero continued, "Correct. Next, what is the term for the effect a catalyst has on mana?"

This question had not been covered in the lecture. Omero called on several students, but none could answer.

"This is basic magic. Don't you know it?" A student raised his voice in protest, "We haven't learned it yet, sir."

"You should know this as common knowledge."

"Really?" The students started to murmur. One of them spoke up with a smirk, "You said it's common knowledge. Does that mean everyone in the Mage Guild knows it?"

"Of course."

Omero, thinking the student was referring to mages, replied, "If that's the case, the person who carried the bag should know it. You there, can you tell us?"

Omero realized he had been set up and felt annoyed.

"No, this guy... The answer is 'Attribute Excitation.'"

Before Omero could say Robson was not from the Mage Guild, Robson had already answered.

"Wha... That's correct." The classroom buzzed with excitement. Omero seemed to take an interest in Robson and asked, "What is the incantation for fire?"

"Fanah 'Fire'."

"Name four representative high-level spells."

"Flame Arrow, Water Blade, Wind Slash, and Spear."

The students whispered among themselves.

"Isn't he just a porter... Maybe he's a novice mage."

"Maybe."

Robson had answered without thinking, but he felt a mix of pride and embarrassment at being mistaken for a novice mage. He was grateful to have joined Ricardo's study group and deeply appreciated Ricardo.

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A few days after Robson visited the Royal Bizer Academy, Ricardo returned to the capital with his family.

At the port, they were inspected by soldiers, but his mother and brother had obtained identity papers in Delb, so there were no issues. Serge and Pamela were allowed in unconditionally because they were with their parents. When they obtained the identity papers at the Delb government office, they had a certificate of guarantee from the mayor of Unius Village, which made the process easier.

As soon as they entered the capital from the ship, his younger brother and sister started to get excited.

"Wow, there are so many impressive buildings."

"The road is made of stone."

Serge was amazed by the buildings, and Pamela by the stone-paved road.

They secured a place to stay first. It wasn't a very luxurious inn, but it had a dining room on the first floor. They prepared a four-person room, with Serge and Pamela sharing one bed.

That night, they ate dinner at the inn's dining room and went to bed early to rest from their journey.

The next morning, the family went out together. They bought vegetable soup with plenty of root vegetables from a street vendor that opened early and then toured the capital.

While sightseeing, they also did some shopping. They bought three pairs of underwear and two sets of clothes each. The clothes were secondhand, but the quality was good, and the whole family was happy. Pamela was especially delighted with the cute clothes she received.

After walking around and getting hungry, they entered a restaurant known for its seafood dishes and ordered the most popular hot pot. Although it was getting warm, they saw other customers eating the hot pot while sweating.

The hot pot that came out was a bouillabaisse-like dish with plenty of seafood. Ricardo served the ingredients and soup into individual plates, and they started eating. His brother and mother thanked him.

"I've never tasted sea fish before."

"It's really delicious. Thank you, Ricardo."

The broth from the seafood was delicious. Despite the capital being close to the sea, the consumption of seafood was surprisingly low, apparently due to underdeveloped fishing techniques and the use of small nets and fishing rods.

After finishing the hot pot, they went to a square near the shopping district.

"Everyone, wait here for a moment. I'll go consult someone about what to do next."

"Shouldn't we greet Ricardo's acquaintance as well?" Julia asked worriedly.

"No, it's better not to go in a large group. Mr. Bernardo is likely to be at his shop at this time."

Ricardo gave his mother two gold coins and a few silver coins, telling her to return to the inn if he was late.

He hurried to Bernardo's shop and asked a clerk if Bernardo was there. The clerk, who recognized Ricardo, informed Bernardo, who then appeared from the back of the shop.

"You're back early. I thought you would stay longer in your hometown."

"I had to return to the capital with my family due to some circumstances."

They were led to a reception room, where Ricardo explained what had happened in his hometown.

"That must have been difficult."

Bernardo mourned the death of Ricardo's father.

"I have a favor to ask. I want to rent a house for my family. Can you tell me how to go about it?"

Ricardo thought there would be a real estate agent.

As expected, there were merchants called "intermediaries" who handled rental properties.

"I can introduce you to an intermediary I know. In return, I need you to help with the magic-imbued rod. Customers have been asking for it repeatedly."

Ricardo agreed to the magic-imbued rod and was introduced to the intermediary. He didn't sell the rod on the spot to avoid suspicion, as it would be strange to have it without visiting the Yogul territory.

He sent a servant to fetch the intermediary, who was a thin merchant named Cesare. Cesare introduced several rental properties, mostly near the shopping district and the port. Considering Ricardo's workplace at the Mage Guild, the port was a bit far, so he decided to rent a small house near the shopping district.

However, he thought it would be unwise to decide alone, so he took his family to see the house before making the final decision. It was about a thirty-minute walk from the Mage Guild, and the rent was four silver coins per month, a reasonable price. The house was about ten years old and in relatively good condition. It was a two-story building with a kitchen and a dining room with a fireplace on the first floor, and a large bedroom and two smaller rooms on the second floor.

They could move in immediately, and he was shown a nearby well. Ricardo went to the shopping district and bought bedding for the family, arranging for it to be delivered to the new house. With this, they had a place to live together in the capital.

The next day, Ricardo and his brother went to a mixed forest along the Crem River, cleared the weeds, and collected about five bags of fertile black soil into burlap bags, storing them in a storage crystal.

They then visited the land Ricardo had purchased in the outskirts. The land near the coast had a moat and a fence completed.

The foreman, Romano, and the workers were building a small house and a workshop where they could stay and work.

"Foreman, it seems to be going well."

"Of course. With the foundation and wood prepared, it should be completed in fifteen days."

The simple house would be completed quickly.

In front of the unfinished house, there were three plots of land, each about an acre, enclosed by a fence. Ricardo and Antonio inspected the plot closest to the sea, where weeds were growing.

"The soil here isn't very good," Antonio said, examining the soil.

"We're not doing agriculture here, but experiments, so this will do."

Ricardo instructed them to dig holes. He borrowed shovels from the foreman, dug five holes, and poured the fertile black soil into them.

From a pendant-type storage crystal, Ricardo took seeds extracted from the fruit of the magic tree Kumiri, which he had collected in the magic realm, and planted them in the black soil. After watering them, he sprinkled the "Life" catalyst and cast the "Germination" spell.

The Kumiri seeds sprouted, and the seedlings quickly grew roots, absorbing nutrients from the black soil. The Kumiri grew rapidly to the size of an onion. The growth paused, and the onion-sized Kumiri pulled its roots out of the black soil and ran around the enclosed land. Realizing it couldn't escape, it moved to a sunny spot and sat down.

Antonio watched the Kumiri with wide eyes.

"So this is a magic tree... It's a strange creature."

The magic tree Kumiri is rarely seen outside the magic realm, so it was Antonio's first time seeing one.

"When it grows, it can reach the size of a human head."

"Is that so? What do you plan to do with it?"

"Use it for experiments."

Ricardo planted more Kumiri seeds in the remaining black soil and used the "Germination" spell to make them grow. The Kumiri seemed to have a clustering nature, gathering near where the first one had sat. The five onion-sized Kumiri moved their roots and collected the surrounding weeds. The weeds would likely be decomposed by enzymes at night and absorbed as nutrients by the Kumiri.

Ricardo wrote down the observations in a prepared notebook.

"Hey, what's that?"

Romano's voice came from behind.

"These are the magic trees Kumiri that will be kept in this experimental enclosure."

"What... You plan to raise magic trees here? Isn't that dangerous?"

"The Kumiri won't grow that big, so it's safe."

After convincing the foreman, Ricardo and Antonio visited the experimental enclosure daily to observe the Kumiri. They also started raising five more Kumiri in each of the other two plots.

The first Kumiri grew to the size of the ones Ricardo had seen in the magic realm in about five days, showing incredible growth potential. However, it required a significant amount of nutrients, and the weeds in the one-acre plot had been completely consumed.

Ricardo and Antonio had to cut the weeds growing outside the moat and feed them to the Kumiri.

Ricardo cut the pot part of the grown Kumiri and grafted branches from the Shuram tree, which bears fruit similar to apricots. He named this grafted tree the "Apricot Magic Tree."

He made about five of these Apricot Magic Trees. Interestingly, the grafted Kumiri stopped running around as much.

The fruit of the Shuram tree is valuable as its seeds can be used as catalysts. However, the tree bears few fruits and is sensitive to environmental changes, making the seeds expensive.

Ricardo wanted to experiment with combining the vigorous life force of the Kumiri with the delicate nature of the Shuram tree.

The Apricot Magic Trees grew well and bore many fruits after four months. However, several issues arose, causing problems for Ricardo and his team.