Chapter 7

Reincarnation of the Great Mage in the Hero Party - Chapter 7 (7/280)

Chapter 7

While Bell Quirious was opening his eyes, his younger sister Seri was almost finishing her third year at the elementary division of the Rivarden Magic School and preparing for her graduation exams.

When Seri returned to the mansion for the summer vacation, Rain bought a book from a bookstore and sat in the carriage with her.

Their mother Brim had given birth to a younger brother Bran (who is now three years old), and she had been pestering Rain to come home this year, so he had no choice but to return.

"Big brother, look at this! I'll show you how much my magic has improved!"

"I'm reading, so be quiet. 'A noble must be arrogant and act with confidence and certainty in everything'... Hmm?"

Be arrogant?

It's okay to be arrogant?

Rain couldn't help but smirk. There's no need to train for this. After all, Lin lived exactly like this.

– Lin, if you keep acting like this, you won't have any friends in the future.

How bad was it? Pride would scold him like this throughout the journey.

– A man should be cute. Who would find someone like you, who is so full of himself, cute?

So, after being reborn, he tried to become a slightly different person... but now, it seems he has to live like he used to, whether he likes it or not?

The road back to the Belwin mansion was noisy with the sound of rain.

The summer rain, which had started a week ago, was pouring down heavily, pounding the carriage roof.

"Hey! 'Introduction to Nobility'... Is this strange book more important than Seri?"

Seri puffed out her cheeks, but Rain's eyes quickly scanned the text, and he only moved his lips to answer.

"I need to take drastic measures since I have to go to school soon."

"..."

"You've been following the proper path of a noble magician, but I've been walking the wrong path."

"Big brother, that means you're special!"

While praising Rain, Seri somehow shrugged her shoulders as if showing off.

"Alright, I don't know how a noble should treat other people. It's like a short-term intensive course. If you understand, be quiet."

At this, young Seri Ludovic only tilted her head. All she knew was that Rain was more special than anyone else in the world.

– Mom, why doesn't big brother go to school?

– Rain is special. There's nothing for him to learn at school.

Rain was a prodigy. Didn't he explain all the magic Seri asked about more easily and perfectly than the school teachers?

Seri was called a genius at school, but she was just reviewing what Rain had taught her.

'Is there something big brother doesn't know?'

Thinking it was a joke, she narrowed her eyes, but then the carriage suddenly stopped, and the siblings' bodies briefly lifted off the cushions before sinking back into them.

"It hurts! What are you doing?"

When Seri got angry, the guardian knight Swan, who was driving the carriage, bowed. His cloak, soaked with rain, hung limply.

"I'm sorry, miss. We just noticed that the road was flooded..."

"Flooded?"

Apart from the sound of the heavy rain, other commotions were boiling outside the carriage. Men's shouts, women's sighs, children's cries.

"What's happening?"

While flipping through the pages expressionlessly, Rain asked.

"The river has flooded. They are building a dike, but we will try to find a detour quickly."

"Are there no mages?"

"There are people in robes, but they don't seem to be using much power. Perhaps the head of the house should come, but it's not something you and the miss need to worry about."

At that moment, Rain was on page 127 of the book, and the section he was reading was "Duties of a Noble."

"A noble has the duty to care for the subjects of the territory they rule... The lord is like a father to the subjects, and must care for their pain as a father would for his son."

Rain frowned.

I don't understand why nobles have to do so many things. I don't know if this status is a badge of honor or a chain of bondage.

"Y-Young master?!"

When Rain suddenly closed the book and jumped out of the carriage into the rain, Swan was startled and leaped off the horse.

"The rain is cold and harsh! Your body will be harmed, how can you...!"

In an instant, Rain's black hair and black silk robe were soaked, and his clothes were drenched in muddy water. The flood, which had not been seen for a hundred years, was large and fierce.

"Is this Siastulrika?"

"..."

"It's our family's territory, isn't it? Don't I have a duty here?"

* * *

"What an unbelievable... Has such a severe flood ever happened in our lifetime?"

"Hey, you guys! Instead of talking, bring more dirt!"

"It's no use, grandpa! Look, the dirt we just piled up is already collapsing!"

At the ford where the muddy water had risen to the knees, the men building the dike with dirt and sandbags stepped back, shaking their heads.

"What are the mages doing?"

"How should I know! Those people are incompetent, to say the least!"

The Imperial Magic Alliance had placed one or two civilian relief mages in each small town, but they were truly ridiculous for being useless when needed.

"Stop and come up! It's too dangerous! We'll all be swept away by the flood!"

The women who were fetching dirt in baskets shouted to the men as they saw the flood becoming more violent. But the village chief shook his head.

"If the tulips die, we'll die too! We need to sell them to get food, don't we?"

"But we'll die if we keep this up! Seek higher ground!"

"We'll die if we can't stop this!"

At that moment.

While the woman was arguing with the village chief, a child swimming in the ford, which had risen to chest height, was swept away by a sudden surge of water.

"My goodness!"

"Uncle! Our child!"

The men, who had tied their waists with ropes, managed to avoid being swept away by the flood... but that was all. The flood was so violent that they couldn't even think of swimming to save the child.

"Mages, mages! What are you doing! Save that child! How can you do nothing!"

"Shut up! Do you think coordinate equations are a child's play? How can we cast magic on a target moving so fast!"

In this situation, telekinesis magic should be used.

To use telekinesis, one must calculate the coordinate equation, interpret it, and twist the equation to intervene in the natural order and grab the child...

The problem was that the civilian relief mages the Magic Alliance had placed in small towns were so-called stray mages who couldn't join the Magic Tower or the court.

"What can we do, we...?"

In the midst of chaos and panic, a boy quietly walked into the scene.

His black hair, drenched by the rain, and his eyes, which shone more beautifully than a ruby, were visible through the strands.

"Child! Where are you going!"

In the pouring rain, it was hard to gauge the surroundings, so people didn't notice the magical crest on the boy's back.

A red eye drawn in a black circle.

The crest belonged to the Ludovic family, one of the five magical families in the empire, which had influence in the central region.

"Before the dike collapses and... "

Before the man could finish his sentence, a brilliant light bloomed on the boy's palm, forming a precise magic circle.

The magic circle consisted of three layers of rectangles.

The runes inscribed were: Quet (闋), Du (阧), On (鞰).

Earth attribute magic is given the properties:

'Quet (闋): to close',

'Du (阧): to rise',

'On (鞰): to build'.

The mathematical formula used for the incantation is 'Campbell Page's Polynomial Theorem'.

Rumble...

The ground shook, and a miracle appeared. Those present were speechless.

Du (阧), the ground on both sides of the ford, which had been swaying like waves, suddenly rose like a cliff, and On (鞰), formed a massive embankment extending to the horizon.

Quet (闋), the natural waves that could not be resisted even by building the dike were isolated in an instant.

"Huh?"

"What?"

The men, who had been grabbing each other's collars and shouting, stopped and blinked their eyes blankly.

"What... is this?"

"What just happened...?"

"Is a high-ranking mage here? Where?"

The shock of the event was naturally greater for the mages than for the ordinary people who didn't know magic.

The precision of the magic was almost perfect. The rising ground even caught the child who had been swept away by the flood and returned him to the shore.

"Mom, mom!"

The woman, who was hugging the drenched child and sobbing, bowed repeatedly to Rain.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

The black-haired boy, who had been watching the scene in the rain, yawned and turned to walk towards the road where the family carriage was.

"I set a time limit, so this unsightly mud wall will gradually sink when the flood ends. It's my first time doing this, so if it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

The young man who had tried to stop the boy earlier looked up at the mud wall blankly and then turned to look at Rain again. Only the woman and the young man clearly recognized the situation.

"How did you do that in one go...? You, no, no, who are you...?"

The boy paused for a moment, thinking about how to answer, and the content of the book flashed through his mind.

A noble must be arrogant.

No, it's okay to be arrogant.

There's no need to smile brightly like Rista; it's okay to act like he used to.

"Just a noble passing by?"

So, he waved his hand dismissively without looking back.

But because of that, the young man clearly saw the magical crest of the noble family embroidered on the back of the boy's robe.

"Mr. Ludovic...?"

* * *

"Is it okay to just end it like this?"

When Rain returned, Swan asked cautiously.

"Hmm?"

"You could have made sure everyone knew about your heroic deed."

As magic power flickered in Rain's eyes again, the rainwater that had soaked his body and clothes separated and floated in the air. It was an incredible level of magic control.

"The people in the territory will be grateful to you, and through the mages, the news might spread, and perhaps the Magic Alliance would award you a commendation."

Rain raised an eyebrow, not understanding.

"Helping the people in the territory as the son of the lord is just fulfilling a duty. Why should I receive gratitude or a commendation for that?"

It was a matter-of-fact statement, devoid of any ulterior motives.

Swan's eyes widened with a deep, warm thrill.

The family guards, mostly selected from the people in the territory, looked at Rain blankly and then bowed one by one.

"Our young master..."

"Mr. Rain..."

The moment a person decides to dedicate their life to someone is not always a dramatic story.

When a person sees the hidden sincerity in another's words and actions, they are moved to kneel with all their heart.

"I will serve you for life."

Meanwhile, Rain, unaware of the guards' and Swan's feelings, was smiling contentedly for a different reason.

"Wow..."

Being a noble might be better than I thought. I acted as rudely as I used to, but the reactions are completely different.

* * *

The village of Kiriten in Siastulrika was a crossroads on the way to <Rainbow Garden>, a place where adventurers, merchants, and all kinds of travelers occasionally stopped.

However, with tourists flocking to see the embankment that an unknown high-ranking mage had built in a day, the village prospered greatly in half a year.

A young man in the village said it was Rain Ludovic's work, but no one believed that the Ludovic heir, known for his incompetence, could do such a thing.

"Did you hear that?"

"What is it?"

"Mr. Ludovic has submitted an application to <Delaiten>. The rumor is widespread in the south."

"Oh, he's just going to embarrass himself. If I were him, I'd make all kinds of excuses not to go."

At that moment, the bartender slammed a glass on the table, and the merchants fell silent for a moment before bursting into anger.

"Are you crazy...?"

"– You merchants don't know. Embarrassment? Our young master?"

"What don't you know, you people? The rumor is that the Ludovic heir is somewhat lacking. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The merchants clicked their tongues, and the young man suddenly laughed. The villagers working in the tavern also smiled meaningfully.

"Ha ha! Then, merchants, if you're confident, let's make a bet."

"What kind of bet?"

"I bet the tavern that Mr. Rain will graduate at the top of his class with overwhelming results. What will you bet?"

* * *

"This year, we have many excellent applicants."

Magic University, <Delaiten>.

In the professor's office of the magnificent main building, where a dragon's diamond statue elegantly wraps around the exterior wall.

Seven professors sat around a round table, reviewing the application documents that had flooded in from all over the empire.

"Perhaps they are at the two extremes. Christa Warden, known as the genius of the century... On the other hand, Rain Ludovic, more famous for the nickname 'Disaster Prince'."

Rain Ludovic...

He has never attended a magic school, won a competition, or taken a magic level test. He is a virtually data-less entity.

'At the age of seven, he appeared once at a family meeting but showed no talent for magic...'

That's why his nickname is "Disaster Prince."

Not a talent (才) bestowed by heaven (天), but a disaster (災) bestowed by heaven (天) on the Ludovic family.

How such a vessel could be born to such excellent parents is a mystery. One professor sighed.

"There's no need to check who will be the top