When I looked at Prochi, he raised a finger and pointed at the teacup sitting on the table.
“It’s valuable tea. Have some before you leave.”
“I’m fine.”
“I went to the trouble of preparing it for you.”
“…….”
I never expected to hear someone talk about thoughtfulness when that someone looked like a witch and threw the word chaff around at every opportunity.
I walked back over, picked up the cup, and looked inside.
My face was faintly reflected in the rippling yellow liquid.
‘But....’
I slowly raised my head and glanced at him.
‘Something about this feels wrong.’
Nothing Prochi had shown me so far suggested he was normal enough to care whether someone appreciated his hospitality.
‘And now, all of a sudden, he insists that I drink his tea?’
I had grown up in a poor commoner family and become a mage only through sheer luck.
On top of that, there had hardly been a place I had not wandered through while pursuing my training.
As a result, I had developed several habits purely for survival.
One of them was never thoughtlessly eating or drinking something another person gave me.
It had not been a matter of choice.
It had been a necessity.
If you ate something a stranger gave you and fell asleep afterward, you could wake up stripped of everything you owned.
You might even lose your life.
And if you did, there would be no one to complain to.
‘That’s what the streets are like.’
Of course, now that I had been born into this body, there was little chance of anyone abducting me....
“Why aren’t you drinking it?”
His huge, unreadable eyes were fixed on me.
I lowered my gaze slightly and noticed that Prochi had clenched one hand into a fist.
‘There’s no harm in checking.’
“Of course I should drink something you personally prepared for me, Mage.”
I brought the cup toward my mouth.
‘Lerajio.’
Without actually drinking anything, I touched the rim to my lips and quietly drew out a trace of Demonic Energy.
Only the faintest amount.
I lightly pressed my lips against the rippling liquid.
Then, while slowly exhaling, I watched Prochi.
“…….”
He continued staring at me blankly, apparently unaware of anything.
A thin trace of Demonic Energy slipped into my breath and spread through the tea.
“This tea tastes wonderful, Mage.”
I pulled my lips away from the cup and smiled innocently.
“It’s rare tea. Even nobles have difficulty obtaining it.”
“I didn’t know you enjoyed tea.”
“Everyone ought to have at least one refined hobby.”
I quietly watched the surface of the tea.
At the same time, I naturally filled the area with Mana Residue to conceal any trace of Demonic Energy.
‘There’s almost no chance he’ll notice such a tiny amount of Demonic Energy, but....’
There was no harm in being careful.
I casually blew across the surface of the tea.
A moment later, the liquid reacted.
“……!”
I had only checked as a precaution, but what I discovered was far more surprising than I had expected.
‘Pre-set magic...?’
What a ridiculous old bastard.
I had expected a sleeping drug or poison if he had tampered with the tea at all.
But he intended to implant magic into my body?
‘Analyze it.’
The moment I gave the command, faint ripples spread across the surface.
Information regarding the magic contained within the tea flowed into my mind.
‘...This old man is completely insane.’
There were two spells inside the tea.
Chase, a spell used to track a person.
And Shock, a spell used to render someone unconscious.
Shock, in particular, was powerful enough to keep someone from waking for roughly an entire day.
“Hmm....”
I silently stared at the teacup.
I had no idea what Prochi was plotting, but I had no intention of falling for it so easily.
‘Lerajio, stop the spells from activating.’
Tiny mana sparks flickered across the tea’s surface.
If I destroyed the spells themselves, Prochi might notice.
That would greatly increase the risk of exposing my identity.
Instead of destroying the magic, I covered it with Demonic Energy and suppressed only its activation.
‘Wait. Leave Chase alone. Suppress only Shock.’
The tea rippled once, then became still again.
“You don’t seem particularly fond of tea.”
Prochi muttered quietly.
To me, his voice sounded almost as though he were urging me to hurry.
“It’s just a little hot.”
I drained the tea in one gulp.
Clench.
I saw Prochi’s fist tighten.
“Then I’ll be going, Mage. Thank you for the tea.”
“Very well. I’ll be waiting for good news.”
I left the room.
When I opened the door, warm sunlight spilled over me.
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
‘Looks like I’ve gained another nuisance.’
Why had he tried to place those spells on me?
I shook my head as I started home.
‘I don’t know what you’re planning, but I won’t let things go the way you want.’
As I walked along the main street, I continued thinking about Prochi.
‘If he planted Shock in me, then at some point he intends for me to be unconscious....’
I could think of no reason Prochi would need to knock me out.
The tracking spell did not make any more sense.
‘Could he have discovered my Black Magic?’
The thought crossed my mind, but if that were true, there would have been no reason for him to use such a complicated method.
A thirteen-year-old child practicing Black Magic—and the son of a Paladin, no less?
Claiming that a random stray dog was a Sword Master would sound more believable.
‘If that isn’t it, then what...?’
One thing was certain.
There was another reason Prochi wanted to take me as his disciple.
I frowned.
I was already busy investigating the Black Mages, and now another suspicious matter had been added to my problems.
I looked up at the sky.
There was not a single cloud in sight, and the clear blue expanse gave off a refreshing feeling.
My eyelids gradually began to droop.
“Yaaawn~”
I opened my mouth wide and yawned.
‘Have I been thinking too much?’
No matter how old my mind was, my body still belonged to a child.
Whenever the weather was pleasant or I spent too long thinking, drowsiness would quickly overtake me.
‘I should hurry home and sleep.’
I trudged along sleepily and eventually reached home.
When I entered the garden, I saw Prel tending to the yard.
She had been watering the flowers with a watering can.
The moment she saw me coming through the gate, her face lit up with a smile as bright as fresh sunlight.
“Kano!”
Before I could even answer, Prel dropped the watering can and rushed toward me.
“Yes, Mo—!”
Before I could say, I’m home, Prel’s arms wrapped tightly around me.
‘I can’t breathe...!’
I say this all the time, but....
My mother’s love always felt far too overwhelming.
Literally enough to suffocate me.
“Did you come home early today because you missed Mommy?”
“B-breathe...! M-Mom...!”
Prel recoiled in alarm and released me.
“Oh my, are you all right, Kano?”
She carefully straightened my thoroughly mussed hair as she asked.
“The Mage said I could leave early today.”
“Really? Then let’s spend the day together. Oh, right!”
While fixing my hair, Prel suddenly seemed to remember something and clapped her hands.
“We received a message this morning saying one of your friends would be visiting today. Why didn’t you tell Mommy?”
Prel smiled with the freshness of summer grass.
“My... friend?”
I blinked in bewilderment.
Friend?
I don’t have any friends.
Roat’s household was located in Biflin, south of the kingdom’s capital.
Although Roat had received a noble title, his family had no generations of accumulated wealth behind them.
All he possessed was a modest home with a garden that the kingdom had granted him.
“So this is that guy’s house...?”
Etro blinked as he stared at the residence before him.
“Yes. This is indeed the residence of Sir Roat, the Paladin.”
The Butler who had accompanied him bowed as he answered.
It was certainly a spacious and pleasant house by a commoner’s standards.
But from the perspective of a noble, it was almost painfully modest.
‘His magic was good enough that I naturally assumed his family was supporting him.’
Magic books were so expensive that even nobles found their prices burdensome.
Even the finest parchment treated with Spirit Spring Water lasted only half a year.
Because of that, magic was usually passed from father to son, then from that son to his own son....
Most magical knowledge was inherited through generations of a family.
If someone like Prochi offered instruction freely, there was at least an opportunity to learn.
Otherwise, chances to study magic were exceedingly rare.
Of course, one could hire a Mage as a private tutor, but few mages were interested in working merely for money.
And even if one could be found, the cost would be astronomical.
There was a Royal Magic Academy, but students could not enroll until they were fifteen.
In practice, for someone Etro’s age to study magic without being born into a mage family, their family had to be exceptionally wealthy.
That was why Etro had assumed Kano came from a rich household.
But the sight before him shattered that assumption.
“Ahem. You contacted them properly, didn’t you?”
Etro straightened his clothes, trying to appear unconcerned.
When he buttoned the burgundy jacket he was wearing, his belly, which looked nearly as large as a small hill, became even more prominent.
“Yes. I contacted them this morning and received permission. Shall I ring the bell?”
“No. I’ll do it myself.”
Instead of answering, the Butler bowed and stepped back several paces.
Etro rang the bell beside the entrance.
JINGLE.
The bell swung widely from side to side, producing a clear sound.
Before long, a Maid opened the door and bowed.
“We were informed of your visit. Please come inside.”
With the Maid’s guidance, Etro entered the property, crossed the modest but carefully maintained garden, and approached the house.
“Madam, someone from House Reiser has arrived.”
“Ah, please let him in~”
A bright voice came from beyond the door.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing a woman with golden hair darker than Kano’s.
“Hello! You must be Kano’s friend. I’m Kano’s mother.”
“What? Ah... yes.”
Etro had been about to offer a greeting according to noble etiquette, but instead he simply stared at Prel in bewilderment.
Unlike the nobles who constantly wore manners and pretense like masks, her complete lack of formality left him at a loss.
“Dinner will be ready soon, so sit down for a while. Oh, right, Kano’s room is upstairs! He’s probably taking a nap. Would you mind waking him for me?”
“……Yes. Understood.”
Etro stared at Prel as she wiped her hands on her apron and returned to the kitchen.
“She’s... preparing the meal herself?”
No matter how he looked at it, that was not how the lady of a noble household normally behaved.
“A-ahem. I’ll go in first. Bring the gift we prepared.”
Hiding his confusion behind a cough, Etro gave his Butler the order and headed upstairs to where Kano was.
Once he reached the second floor, finding Kano’s room was easy.
A plaque bearing the name Kano hung on the door at the far end of the left hallway.
‘She told me to wake him, so it should be fine to just go in.’
Etro carefully opened the door.
Light from the corridor pushed back some of the darkness inside.
The room was large but plain.
There was a bed, a desk, and shelves filled with books.
That was practically everything.
There was not even any furniture in the middle of the room, leaving the space almost barren.
“So he’s a hard worker.”
Most of the books lining the shelves were about magic.
Etro even recognized several whose contents had been so difficult that he himself had given up trying to read them.
Then he noticed an elegant case sitting open atop the desk.
A Wand rested neatly upon the soft velvet lining.
At its center, a green Control Stone shone brilliantly.
A Wand was an important possession for any mage.
Some Wands could even allow a mage to manifest magic beyond their normal capabilities.
“Hmm?”
Etro’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at it.
He had seen that Wand somewhere before.
“This is....”
To a mage, a Wand was no different from a comrade who accompanied them through the battlefield.
Touching another person’s Wand without permission was therefore considered extremely rude.
Even so, Etro could not overcome his curiosity.
He picked up Kano’s Wand.
During Prochi’s lesson, Kano had been too far away for Etro to clearly see what his Wand looked like.
So he had not been able to identify it.
Now, Etro’s eyes widened.
Egott’s signature was engraved near the end of the Wand.
It was the fifth model in the Wand series created by Egott, the master craftsman who had been granted the title of Baron for his genius in Wandcraft.
“Dallion’s... Tear?”
At that moment, Etro’s eyes sharpened.
He abruptly turned toward Kano, who was sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of the world around him.
“Don’t tell me you....”
GRIND.
Etro’s expression gradually twisted.
“You’ve been using a trick like this all along...?”