“Why is there someone here who shouldn’t be?”
Prochi strode toward me and stopped directly in front of me.
Then he stroked his beard and stared intently at my face.
Without realizing it, I took half a step backward.
‘Did he figure it out...?’
Demonic Energy.
An energy similar to mana that was used when casting Black Magic.
Unlike mana, it carried a distinct, alien sensation. A sufficiently experienced mage could detect its lingering traces even when no Black Magic was actively being used.
But....
‘There’s no way he could have noticed.’
I was currently connected to Lerajio.
However, I had maintained only the faintest possible link, just enough to remain aware of his existence.
Even that connection had been carefully concealed with Black Magic.
‘Damn it. Is this what I get for dealing with a famous mage?’
I unconsciously ground my teeth, then raised my head with a composed expression.
At the same time, I opened one hand and hid it behind my back, ready to cast magic at any moment.
If necessary, I would sever my connection with Lerajio and escape instantly using magic.
As long as I was not caught in the act, I should be fine.
I could come up with some excuse afterward.
“What do you mean by that?”
When I calmly asked him, Prochi furrowed his brow and examined me with his toad-like eyes.
“Hmm....”
His hand, which had been rapidly stroking his beard, suddenly stopped.
Prochi tilted his head and stared at me in silence for a moment before shaking it.
“...Never mind.”
Then he abruptly turned around and climbed onto the stage.
‘What was that? Did he not notice after all?’
In this kingdom, Black Magic went beyond being merely taboo.
Anyone caught practicing it could be summarily executed on the spot.
If Prochi had truly detected my Demonic Energy, there was no chance he would simply let the matter go.
And yet his expression gave me no clue as to what he was thinking.
“Pleasure to meet you, you bunch of chaff. I’m Prochi Maeda. My specialties are water, fire, and wind.”
Prochi spoke from atop the stage.
As his dry voice echoed through the hall, the children began whispering among themselves.
“Chaff? Even so, isn’t that a little....”
Some glared at him, their pride wounded.
“His specialties include three elements, including both water and fire...?”
Others were shocked that Prochi could wield three different elements.
And then....
“I’m sure Lord Prochi was irritated after seeing someone of low birth.”
There were even those who sneered after hearing what Prochi had said to me.
Everyone reacted differently.
At that moment, Prochi rolled his frog-like eyes toward the crowd and spoke.
“Do you have something to say?”
I followed his gaze and saw a chubby boy whose golden hair was parted down the middle.
Despite his round figure, his eyes were remarkably sharp.
“Yes. I thought I must have misheard your specialties.”
“You piece of chaff. Are you deaf as well? I said water, fire, and wind.”
“That makes no sense. Three elements are one thing, but wielding both water and fire at the same time?”
His objection was not entirely unreasonable.
Ordinary mages generally possessed one element they were particularly suited for.
Those called prodigies could wield two.
And those worthy of being called geniuses could handle as many as three.
If Prochi was a genius, then being able to wield three elements was hardly strange.
‘But it’s different when those elements naturally oppose each other.’
Just as actual water and fire could not coexist easily, the elements mages were born with tended to follow similar principles.
“Tsk, tsk. Your capacity is every bit as small as your talent.”
The boy’s face reddened.
Prochi slowly raised one hand.
The loose sleeve slid downward, exposing a skeletal arm.
‘Why is he so thin?’
A mage of his standing should possess more wealth than he could ever need.
Mages truly were impossible to understand.
At that moment, three magic circles appeared around Prochi’s raised hand.
The circles glowed in different colors before producing a sphere of fire, a sphere of water, and a sphere of wind.
“Multi-Casting...? With different elements?”
I heard the children behind me muttering in disbelief.
Being capable of Multi-Casting alone was enough for someone to be called a genius.
Yet Prochi had done it using entirely different elements.
Even the word genius seemed inadequate.
“Does that answer your question?”
“…….”
The lecture hall, already quiet before, fell completely silent.
Prochi looked around at the children, then clenched his fist.
The three spells scattered and vanished into the air.
“...I’ll assume that settles it. Now it’s time to find out just how pitiful your talents are.”
Prochi pointed one branch-thin finger at the boy who had questioned him.
“You there. The stupid-looking one. Come up here.”
“Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?”
“...My name is Etro. Etro Reiser.”
“I don’t care what your name is.”
Etro glared at Prochi for a moment before rising from his seat and walking onto the stage.
Although he looked slightly nervous, he still straightened his back with confidence and looked Prochi directly in the eye.
“Good. Put your hand on this orb.”
Prochi pulled a Crystal Orb from his sleeve and held it out.
Etro silently placed his hand on top of it.
A moment later, the orb emitted a faint light.
Prochi examined it.
“Water affinity.... Of the branches within it, Ice Magic should suit you best.”
“Me?”
“Yes. It’s faint, but you possess some aptitude for Ice Magic.”
Prochi spoke in a completely flat voice.
Etro looked down at his own hand.
“Go back down. You’ve all seen how this works now. Anyone can come up next.”
One after another, Prochi called the children forward and told them which elements they were naturally suited for.
Their talents differed, but every time, Prochi shook his head and described them as insignificant.
“Next.”
Eventually, my turn came.
“Hmph. I don’t even need to see it. His talent will obviously be garbage. He doesn’t even come from a mage’s bloodline.”
Frenchel’s sharp voice came from behind me.
I ignored him and walked onto the stage, staring curiously at the Crystal Orb.
‘An orb that identifies your aptitude....’
It was quite an interesting Artifact.
It had to be exceptionally rare.
‘Things like this really remind me that I’ve been reborn.’
In my previous life, I had known virtually nothing about Artifacts.
Artifacts were the exclusive possessions of nobles.
I had never used one, much less had the opportunity to examine one.
‘So this thing is going to tell me what kind of talent I have....’
I had already severed my connection with Lerajio.
There was no chance of anyone discovering that I was a Black Mage.
“What are you waiting for? Put your hand on the orb.”
Prochi urged me impatiently.
I slowly placed my hand on the Crystal Orb.
A faint light began glowing from within it.
“Hmm?”
But the reaction that escaped Prochi’s mouth was completely different from anything he had shown when the other children touched it.
“This is...?”
‘How long am I supposed to keep doing this?’
Prochi stared listlessly at the Crystal Orb.
He had been checking children like this for years now, yet he had never once discovered anyone whose talent truly satisfied him.
‘Another wasted trip....’
Prochi let out a quiet sigh.
At that moment, the child whose turn had come walked onto the stage.
Platinum-blond hair.
A pale face.
And brilliant blue eyes resembling gemstones that looked unusually calm for a child his age.
‘That boy.’
He was the one who had caught Prochi’s attention when he first entered the hall.
Among all the chaff carelessly leaking traces of mana, there had been one boy from whom he could sense absolutely nothing.
Concealing the traces of one’s mana was not particularly difficult.
But it certainly was not something an ordinary child who had only just begun learning magic should have been capable of.
If a child had come here claiming to want to learn magic, yet gave off no trace of mana at all, there were only two possibilities.
Either he possessed absolutely no talent.
Or he was already skilled enough to keep his mana perfectly contained.
Prochi had naturally assumed it was the former and approached the boy.
But once he had drawn closer, he sensed the faintest possible trace of mana, as though it had suddenly appeared.
‘Damn. It was simply too weak for me to notice at first.’
Chaff among chaff.
Prochi had reached that conclusion and promptly lost interest.
“What are you waiting for? Put your hand on the orb.”
Prochi held out the Crystal Orb with an irritated expression.
The moment the boy placed his hand upon it, light began seeping from the orb.
“This is...?”
Prochi’s eyes widened.
The result was absurd.
He had not told the children, but the Artifact possessed another function.
It could measure the level of talent they had already developed.
‘At least the early 3rd Circle?’
That alone was unbelievable.
And yet....
‘Summoning Aptitude?’
Prochi abruptly raised his head and stared at the boy in front of him.
Summoning Aptitude was a talent possessed by those capable of forming contracts with beings from other dimensions through their own bodies.
Priests and Holy Knights who devoted themselves to religion and borrowed even a fraction of divine authority possessed such an aptitude.
So did the rare Spirit Summoners who formed contracts with spirits.
It was exceedingly rare for people with that kind of aptitude to become mages.
No.
One could practically say it never happened.
For one thing, they generally lacked talent for Elemental Magic.
And there was little reason to deliberately choose a more difficult path when they already possessed another one suited to them.
Of course, it was not unheard of for children who wanted to become mages to possess Summoning Aptitude.
Those children naturally abandoned the path of magic once they learned the truth and chose another path instead.
The boy standing before him might do the same once he discovered his aptitude.
‘But...!’
Prochi stared at the child, his eyes trembling.
‘How did someone with Summoning Aptitude reach the 3rd Circle at such a young age?’
Prochi’s eyes widened as far as they possibly could.
Now he understood why he had been unable to detect even the slightest trace of mana earlier.
The boy had been concealing his talent.
‘Talent great enough to defy his natural aptitude...!’
Gulp.
Prochi swallowed without realizing it.
This was the talent he had spent so many years searching for but had never been able to find.
Something he would not trade even for a mountain of jewels was standing within arm’s reach.
“...What’s your name?”
“Kano Seikri.”
Prochi repeated the boy’s name silently to himself.
“Ignore your aptitude and....”
He clenched his fist, suppressing his excitement.
“...keep doing what you’ve been doing. Not bad.”
The lecture hall immediately erupted into noise.
Until now, Prochi had shown no interest whatsoever in any of the children.
Unable to contain their excitement, the children began talking without even bothering to lower their voices.
“What...? He has more talent than me?”
“He only said ‘not bad.’ He never said Kano was talented.”
“Then what’s his aptitude? Why didn’t he tell us?”
Kano stared silently at Prochi for a moment before leaving the stage.
Prochi merely turned his head and gestured for the next child to come forward.
“…….”
Eventually, every remaining child completed the aptitude test.
“Before the next lesson, each of you will study one basic spell corresponding to your own aptitude.”
With those final words, Prochi left the hall without so much as saying goodbye.
“W-what...?”
“Is it already over...?”
The children stared blankly as Prochi leisurely walked out of the lecture hall.
The moment the lecture hall doors opened and Prochi stepped outside, the parents waiting there immediately crowded around him.
“Greetings, Mage. I am....”
“Mage, from House Mayton....”
Prochi walked through them as though he were accustomed to such scenes.
His eyes appeared to be searching for someone.
Then he suddenly stopped.
“Kano Seikri.”
“……?”
“Are Kano Seikri’s parents here?”
One person stepped forward.
Striking golden hair.
Cold eyes.
Yet his resemblance to the boy made their relationship unmistakable.
‘That child’s....’
Roat stood before Prochi and spoke.
“I am his father.”
Prochi stared at him for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“Are you, by any chance, a Holy Knight?”
“That is correct.”
Despite the sudden question, Roat showed neither surprise nor confusion.
He merely looked curious as to why Prochi had mentioned his son by name.
“I have something to discuss with you about the boy. Spare me some time.”
“About Kano?”
“That’s right.”
Prochi answered calmly.
But the burning desire in his eyes was impossible to conceal.
Roat quietly studied Prochi’s expression before slowly nodding.
“The boy....”
Prochi set a teacup down in front of Roat and continued.
“Possesses extraordinary talent for magic.”
It was tremendous praise.
But Roat did not look surprised.
He merely studied Prochi as though trying to determine the old mage’s intentions.
“So I would like to take him as my personal disciple.”
“Your personal disciple?”
“That’s right.”
Roat quietly closed his eyes, apparently considering the proposal.
Seeing this, Prochi immediately continued, almost as if urging him toward an answer.
“Of course, the path will not be easy. But becoming my disciple would grant him an extraordinary opportunity.”
After keeping his eyes closed for a moment, Roat slowly opened them and looked at Prochi.
Then he spoke quietly.
“I intend to leave every choice regarding Kano’s future to Kano himself. You should speak to him directly.”
“Hmm....”
Prochi let out a low hum.
He had not expected Roat to refrain from accepting immediately.
At last, Prochi drained his tea in one gulp and set the cup down on the desk with a sharp tap.
“Very well. I’ll ask the boy himself. I doubt he’ll refuse.”
“...I hope so. Then I’ll take my leave. Kano is waiting for me.”
Roat stood without hesitation.
Prochi stared at the face of the man who had risen before him and given him a slight bow.
Clench.
Beneath the desk, Prochi curled one hand tightly into a fist.
“Then we’ll meet again.”