Chapter 16

When the door opened, a counter was right in front of him.

Tō had only about two tatami mats worth of space to move around. In exchange, the walls were all shelves, allowing him to check most of the items without moving much.

The shelves, like those in a bookstore, were densely lined with what seemed to be items on paper.

The shelf marked with a plate that read "1 silver coin ~" had papers lined up vertically, crammed together without regard for neatness.

In contrast, the shelf marked with a plate that read "1 gold coin ~" had papers displayed in a flat arrangement.

When he took a deep breath, the scent of ink, paper, and wood faintly wafted up to him.

"Really relaxing. What a nice shop..."

It felt like being in a small bookstore in the middle of a forest, making him feel very comfortable.

As Tō was lost in the shop's atmosphere, the entrance door was suddenly opened with a bang.

"Excuse me!"

"Huh, what?"

"Oh, it's not Tō, it's Kā. What a coincidence!"

The one who opened the door was Ester.

She was pretending to have met by chance, but her words were completely monotone. It was clear that she had come here after reading Tō's movements.

Did she realize I was gone from the inn? Still, she realized it pretty quickly.

How did she realize I was gone from the inn...?

Tō was curious, but he felt it might be better not to know.

"I'll ask anyway, why did Ester come here?"

"Of course, it's because I want to learn new magic."

"Hmm."

When she said that, he couldn't outright deny it.

Tō accepted her explanation for the moment and asked,

"Ester can use magic?"

"......"

Why is she silent? Tō stared at Ester intently.

"You can't use magic. ...Why are you here?"

As Tō questioned Ester with his eyes, a voice with little inflection came from behind the counter.

Turning around, he saw a girl so beautiful that he was momentarily stunned.

Her lustrous dark brown hair, white skin, and green robe. The girl, with sleepy eyes, was looking at Tō.

The girl had pointed ears.

"An elf?"

At Tō's murmur, the girl nodded slightly.

Elves. A fictional race known in Japan for their longevity.

At Tō's words, her sleepy eyes became even sleepier.

As Tō stared at her ears, they twitched.

"...What?"

"Ah, sorry."

Did he stare too much? Tō quickly averted his gaze.

"I wanted to learn magic, so I consulted Ester, and she told me about this shop. Is there anything you can teach me...?"

"...Right. Then, first, place your hand on this."

The girl took out a black mat and a transparent orb from behind the counter. The transparent orb resembled the crystal he had seen at the guild recently.

"Is that for soul appraisal?"

"No. This measures magic power. Our magic books are perfect. But without magic power, you can't use magic. I won't tolerate baseless complaints."

Her words were filled with absolute confidence in her products and a hint of anger.

It seemed that in the past, someone without magic power had bought a magic book, couldn't use magic, and complained that it was a "defective product."

"I made sure they can't make baseless complaints again."

"..."

Tō shuddered at the implication of what happened to those who complained.

Ester leaned in close to Tō's ear and whispered,

"Elves are long-lived. Despite appearances, Lily is incredibly strong."

"Despite appearances, that's even more worrying."

It was obvious.

Lily's ears twitched proudly.

(So elves really are a long-lived race.)

She looked younger than Tō, but with elves, appearance doesn't necessarily equal age.

She might have the air of an innocent girl, but there's also the possibility that she's a terrifyingly cunning and experienced magician who has lived many times longer than Tō.

I need to be careful not to offend Lily. Tō made a mental note.

"What happens when I place my hand on it?"

"If you have magic power, the orb will light up. Also, it will show which attributes you have an aptitude for."

Lily poked the black mat with her finger. Looking at the mat, Tō couldn't see any special mechanisms.

"What if the orb doesn't light up?"

"Goodbye."

Lily pointed her finger, which had been poking the mat, towards the door.

Her direct attitude made Tō chuckle involuntarily.

Tō, a wanderer, was known as an inferior being in Ealgard.

Placing his hand on the crystal, he might face a sad future where the light doesn't turn on.

"...Alright!"

Determined, Tō placed his hand on the crystal.

As soon as he placed his hand, a faint white light began to emanate from inside the crystal.

"Oh, it lit up!"

"You did it, Tō!"

Ester, peeking from behind, exclaimed happily.

The light slowly filled the crystal.

When the crystal was filled with white light, the same color of light appeared on the black mat.

The light spread from the bottom of the crystal, forming a circle that resembled a magic array. From this circle, light extended in four directions, creating smaller magic arrays.

"Wow, no way..."

Seeing the magic arrays, Lily let out a small exclamation. Tō was more captivated by the fantastic light floating on the mat.

The light eventually extended lines to connect the small magic arrays.

○

/ | \

○—○—○

\ | /

○

When everything was connected, curved lines linked the outer circle.

This entire process took about 10 seconds. For Tō, it was one of the most moving 10 seconds of his life.

"Does the light turning on mean I can use magic?"

"...Wait."

Lily lightly tapped Tō's hand and quickly removed the crystal and mat from the counter.

She fiddled with something under the counter, but Tō couldn't see what she was doing from his position.

"...Normal. But, something's wrong. It's impossible... to have all attributes."

Lily, who had straightened up, said with a somewhat relieved expression,

"It's broken."

"Wait, did I break it?"

"Don't worry about it."

"But... "

"Degradation over time. It was just bad luck."

"Is that so? But, shouldn't there be compensation...?"

"It's fine. In exchange, buy a lot."

Lily pointed to all the product shelves. It seemed Tō had received permission to purchase from her.

"Does this mean I can use magic?"

"Hmm."

"Great!"

"But, it's unclear how much I can do. If it doesn't work, I won't accept complaints."

In other words, using magic would be a trial-and-error process. However, in any world, no one knows everything they can do from the start. Everything starts with trial and error.

Tō agreed and immediately scanned the product shelves.

"To get permission to buy from all the shelves from Lily, Tō is amazing."

"Hmm, isn't it normal to be able to buy if you have magic power?"

"Even with magic power, you can only buy items for attributes you have an aptitude for. For example, I only have an aptitude for non-elemental, so I can't buy items from other shelves."

"Wow, Ester can use non-elemental magic?"

"Sort of. But, non-elemental magic is specialized in self-enhancement, unlike other elements. It's quite unimpressive in appearance."

"But, self-enhancement seems like a versatile attribute."

Tō scanned the shelf labeled "non-elemental."

There were indeed no flashy-looking magic spells. However, if he were to wield a sword in battle, they would all be useful spells.

Of course, they would be useful for more than just swordsmen. Vision and hearing enhancement spells would be essential skills for a scout.

Tō picked out four spells that seemed useful for combat: <<Strength Enhancement>>, <<Hearing Enhancement>>, <<Vision Enhancement>>, and <<Smell Enhancement>> and placed them on the counter.

There were eight types of magic other than non-elemental: fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, spirit, and space.

The cheapest among them started at 5 silver coins. Spells like <<Ignition>>, <<Water Supply>>, and <<Drying>> were useful in daily life.

First, Tō picked up the daily life spells <<Ignition>>, <<Water Supply>>, and <<Drying>>.

Next, he picked out the relatively cheaper combat spells: <<Fireball>>, <<Waterball>>, <<Rock Needle>>, and <<Air Cutter>>.

As Tō looked at the basic four-element shelves, his eyes were drawn to the high-priced items at the top.

"<<"Flare">>! The price is—!"

Tō's eyes widened at the price.

10 gold coins. It was far beyond his reach.

"Is this <<Flare>> really strong?"

"<<"Flare">> is an advanced spell. Beginners lack the magic power to use it."

"...I see."

Strong magic wouldn't be so easily obtainable.

Though he was quite interested, Tō decided not to buy <<Flare>>.

From the other types of magic, he placed the light spell <<Lighting>> and the darkness spell <<Blind>> on the counter.

There was only one item each for spirit and space magic.

The spirit magic was <<Spirit Summoning>>, and the space magic was <<Space Break>>. Both were framed and displayed.

The names sounded impressive, and Tō considered buying them, but the price was 100 gold coins each!

It was a price that made one wonder if they were even for sale.

The total cost of the magic spells Tō decided to buy was 10,000 gold.

He paid with one gold coin and immediately asked Lily how to use the magic books.

"Activate the magic by channeling mana. Once activated, the magic is imprinted on your soul."

"Can I use it without the magic book?"

"Yes. After use, the magic book disappears. No resale of used books."

"Got it. Thanks a lot. I'll come back if I need anything."

"Hmm."

Tō thanked Lily and quickly left the shop.

"Tō, are you going to learn magic now?"

"Yeah, but what about you, Ester?"

"I'm free right now. I thought I'd watch Tō use magic."

"No, let's work."

"It's a rest day today!"

"Oh, right."

No matter how he tried to refuse, she seemed determined to follow him.

Ester had already learned non-elemental magic. If he had any trouble using magic, she might be able to help him.

○

In the shop "Magic Books Lily," the shop owner, Lily, was troubled.

In her over a hundred years of life, she had never seen a "Nonette" with aptitude for all nine attributes.

Even Lily, who was confident in her magic, was a "Quintet" with aptitude for five attributes. One of those attributes was one she had developed over a long period of time.

"What is that boy?"

Most people with a talent for magic are "Duos" with aptitude for two attributes.

Ester, who came to the shop, was a "Solo" with aptitude for only one attribute. She could use magic, but was considered to have no talent.

Among those with a talent for magic, one in ten thousand is a "Trio" with aptitude for three attributes, and one in a hundred thousand is a "Quartet" with aptitude for four attributes.

"Quintets" with aptitude for five attributes make up less than 0.1% of the entire magic user population.

The maximum number of attributes Lily had ever known was a "Sextet" with six attributes, and there was only one such person in the world.

That person was Lily's master, known as the Great Sage of the Forest.

The boy called Tō had three more attributes than Lily's master.

Moreover, he had light and darkness, two attributes that counteract each other, which Lily had never heard of.

"But, it's unknown how much magic he can use..."

Even with aptitude for all magic, it doesn't mean he can use all of it.

The ability to use magic depends on aptitude, training, level, and magic power. Most importantly, it depends on theory and imagination.

No matter how much one trains, levels up, and accumulates magic power, if the theory and imagination are lacking, the magic won't have its full effect.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how he develops."

However, his potential is still young. How he will grow in the future is unknown.

(If he tries to delve into the depths of magic...)

Then, I will delve into the depths with him. Lily smiled.