A wizard and a spirit tamer had shown up in the small island village.
But that didn’t mean their everyday life changed dramatically or anything happened.
A single 2nd-circle wizard exiled here and a beginner spirit tamer who had just contracted the lowest-level spirit were far too insignificant to surprise the world.
“Start!”
“Water Ball! Water Ball! Water Ball!”
“Please, could you spray the water over there?”
At Elina’s count, Patrick and Ben each summoned magic and the spirit.
Whoosh!
“Ah, teacher! You can’t spray like that! You have to spread it evenly!”
“I told you, I don’t know how to do that!”
The Water Ball Patrick used exploded in midair and poured down onto the crops, which had just grown about a hand-span, and immediately the kids started nagging.
“If you give too much water to one side, they might die!”
“That’s right! You’re supposed to water a little over a wide area! Look at this, the ridges have already collapsed. Let’s rebuild them!”
“Okay!”
Meanwhile, where Ben was in charge, cheers erupted.
“Can you spray the water lightly and broadly so the plants can grow well?”
“Yes! Yes!”
The spirit Ben summoned created tiny droplets like a mist and sprayed them over the plants. The crops, meeting the unexpected drizzle, didn’t have their leaves or stems snapped; rather, they seemed to show off their freshness as if delighted.
Patrick and Ben were busily watering the field because the evening’s wager depended on each of their results. The children had each sided with whoever they chose and formed cheering squads!
— Loser makes the pizza!
— Yay!
Suddenly craving pizza since waking up, Patrick had roped the kids into it. But this was unexpected.
‘If I’m not careful, I’ll lose.’
Patrick glanced sideways at Ben, who was chatting with the spirit while sprinkling water in a friendly way. Seeing his student relaxing while he was pouring out mana and chanting on the brink of death filled him with rage.
“You’ll lose like this! You bet on me, didn’t you? Try properly, teacher!”
“Hold on, I’m trying too! No choice, Water Ball! Water Ball!”
“Ah! Not there!”
“I have a plan! Do you understand an adult’s deep thoughts?”
“What are you talking about, really!”
At the kids’ shouts—which might have been encouragement or pressure—Patrick’s spell struck the wooden tub placed in a corner, not the field. The wooden tub for collecting rainwater wasn’t large, so it quickly filled halfway and sloshed.
Clatter, clatter, clatter!
The kids on Ben’s side, anticipating Ben’s victory, cheered when they saw Patrick abandon watering the field to fill the tub, then dash over there.
“Wow! The teacher gave up!”
“I think the teacher will make pizza!”
“Uh, guys. Why don’t we just make it ourselves...? I don’t trust the teacher’s pizza...”
But Patrick hadn’t given up.
“This is adult wisdom, you little brats! Wind!”
Patrick scooped a bucketful of sloshing water from the tub, hurled it into the air while casting the new spell. A strong wind came from somewhere, hitting the water mass suspended in the air, shattering it into tiny droplets that fell onto the field with a rush.
“Wow! Our teacher for sure! Best trick!”
“I said it’s wisdom, not a trick!”
“Anyway, you’re the best!”
For Patrick, who couldn’t layer spells, this was the perfect move. Of course, it was too exhausting and hectic for a wizard’s magic.
Ding—
“Huh...?”
Patrick faltered, feeling the victory come; it was mana exhaustion.
“Ugh!”
“Teacher!”
Again, Patrick was a 2nd-circle wizard. He couldn’t spam spells infinitely. But thanks to playing with the kids and using magic to the limit each time, his limit had grown from about twenty casts—when he first arrived—to quite a bit more.
‘I guess this is as far as I go...’
“Teacher! Open your eyes! Why do you always faint!”
‘I haven’t lost yet, you little brat.’
“Oh, today you’re not fainting?”
Having fainted so often, Patrick had learned the wisdom to stop just before unconsciousness.
As Patrick’s defeat became certain, Ben also staggered. Just like Patrick, Ben couldn’t keep summoning the spirit endlessly.
— The winner is... huh? Teacher? Teacher won?
— What? Why?
— It’s real! Teacher won!
— Really? Really? Oh? It’s true! I won! ...This is the teacher’s ability, you little ones!
— ...You didn’t even realize yourself...
Though the ridges had collapsed here and there, Water Ball itself wasn’t that powerful a spell, so the kids’ small hands quickly rebuilt them. In the end, Patrick won the wager! The match had been a mess, but in the final victory, Patrick prevailed.
“Hurry up and knead the dough, you little rascals!”
“Please light the fire.”
“Why? You haven’t finished kneading yet.”
“You need to light the oven in advance to keep the temperature steady.”
“Oh?”
Ben and his companions who lost the wager were busy making dough, making tomato sauce, and fussing, while Patrick approached the kiln left in a corner of the yard to light it.
The kiln had been here from the start, but this was its first use. After repairing the roof, he had cleaned around the house when he had time, but he hadn’t dared use it alone. He had roped the kids into making pizza because he didn’t feel confident doing it by himself.
‘I’ve never used the built-in oven; now it’s an authentic wood-fired kiln.’
Though unfamiliar, it wasn’t difficult. Remembering scenes from variety shows where they made pizza, he neatly stacked firewood to the left of the kiln and lit it.
“Should I pick some basil?”
“Yeah!”
“Arugula too?”
“Sure!”
“I brought ham from home!”
“Let’s put that on last after it’s baked!”
“And cheese powder goes on at the end too, right?”
“Of course!”
As Patrick was about to boast about how perfectly he’d lit the fire, he felt something amiss from the kids’ chatter.
‘What are they talking about?’
He checked the kitchen situation: the kids were trying to make a traditional wood-fired pizza. They were rolling out the well-fermented dough thin, and suggesting to add the prosciutto—thinly sliced, salted raw ham—after the crust was baked!
“Wait, everyone stop what you’re doing!”
At Patrick’s urgent shout, the kids froze and turned back.
“Why?”
“What’s wrong?”
Ah—
Italian-style wood-fired pizza? Fine. Great. He was someone who liked that too.
‘But it’s not what I wanted this morning!’
What he’d craved upon waking was not a light, authentic wood-fired pizza, but the overloaded, topping-heavy Korean-style pizza with cheese dripping, mountains of toppings, and a stuffed crust with cheese and sweet potato!
‘My favorite is Wild Wild Steak with half-and-half Black Tiger shrimp and double cheese edge plus oven spaghetti on the side, but that’s impossible here.’
Patrick, thinking of his favorite menu more complicated than any magic incantation, clicked his tongue and compromised with reality.
“I’ll show you a new level of pizza.”
He rolled up his sleeves and started kneading the dough himself.
‘I wish you’d just leave it to me...’
‘Why even have a wager if this is how it goes?’
The displaced kids grumbled internally, exchanged glances, and quietly slipped outside—they might as well go play now that it had come to this.
“Go on.”
But Patrick concentrated. Luckily, the kids had prepared plenty of ingredients.
“First, boil the sweet potatoes.”
Since the oyster business had brought some prosperity, the quantity and quality of cheese the kids brought had improved recently. Still, for kids, sweet potato in the crust was best.
“Let’s ditch the arugula. Where did I put the potatoes—ah! There’s bacon too... Should I skip it? It’d be a shame. No, why save it? They say ghosts who die eating well are pretty.”
He hesitated whether to keep it for himself, but thought the kids wouldn’t eat much, so he decided to use the bacon too.
‘Where’s the pan...’
Planning an American-style pan pizza, he fetched the flat pan, oiled it thoroughly, and was ready! He spread the dough thick, piled on tomato sauce, cheese, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and every topping he could get in his kitchen.
‘This is the perfect combination!’
Now came the wait.
Unsurprisingly, Patrick’s pizza was highly praised by the kids. The overflowing toppings and the twist of sweet potato puree inside the crust! The kids, who had never imagined pizza tasting sweet, had sparkling eyes, and Patrick’s topping-overload pizza became a delicacy among the residents of Dunbrook Island.
“So this is the pizza made by the wizard, huh?”
“Ha ha. Yes. The toppings differ by household, but it’s quite fun, right?”
“It really is. Ha ha.”
The village chief served the newly made pizza to the merchant Oren—who had returned to the island for business—amid smiles. Dunbrook’s oysters were said to bring many repeat customers. They were large and flavorful. Each time the merchant came, the villagers grew richer, and the level and volume of orders the villagers placed with the merchant were also increasing.
“Oh, and about what you asked for.”
Having devoured four slices of pizza in an instant, Oren pulled several books from his coat and handed them to the chief.
“Oh! Spellbooks?”
“Yes. But unfortunately only 1st and 2nd-circle spellbooks. It’s hard to get higher-level ones even with money. If I get to a larger city, I’ll look.”
“Thank you, Oren!”
The chief carefully took the spellbooks.
He had heard that wizards were always studying and researching to reach higher levels. Those who neglected research and study only regressed, so he guessed that their teacher must have been feeling anxious.
Patrick hadn’t asked for them. That made the chief’s kindness all the more touching.
‘He’s always working hard for our village...’
From Patrick’s perspective, he could have said, “Me? Really?” but if the recipient feels they’ve received grace, there’s no need to correct them.
“Now that you can study again, how happy you must be. The chief always takes care of the villagers’ needs!”
“Ha ha, you flatter me!”
The two exchanged compliments that would make Patrick frown if he heard them.
“So you’re telling me... to study?”
“Yes, teacher. I hope it helps you.”
Seeing the chief’s pleased expression and Patrick’s embarrassed face, Ben silently grabbed his belly and rolled around laughing, as if about to die from hilarity.
“It seems like someone else’s problem, doesn’t it? You have to study too.”
“Spirit tamers don’t have to study like wizards, you know?”
Ha—damn. That spirit should have been mine.