Chapter 7: The Sage
About a week had passed since then, and with Regress’s help, I continued to climb the ranks, leading to days that felt monotonous and unchanging. During this time, Doodle Valley welcomed a new guest.
When I was called into Yarzak’s room, I found Yarzak, Stroman, and two strangers waiting. One was an elderly man around sixty years old, dressed in robes, and the other was a slightly plump middle-aged woman around forty, clad in armor.
“Ah, Sensei. We’ve been expecting you,” Yarzak said.
“Uh, yes. What’s going on?”
I asked, already sensing that these two had something to do with me.
“Yes, these two have come from the Federal Army to instruct you—no, all of you—on combat techniques.”
“Ah, from the Federal Army?”
“Yes, this is Mr. Spells. And guess what? He’s a Sage from Spelt Province!”
“A Sage? That sounds impressive.”
“It is! There are only four Sages in the entire Hodgkin Federation.”
“Ho ho ho. Well, I’m just an old man who’s good at magic and a bit too fond of logic.”
A Sage, it turns out, is a title given to the top graduate of the Chiron Magic Academy in the Wilbrand Holy Kingdom. Each country sends its most talented individuals to the academy, but it’s rare for someone to bring the title back to their homeland.
Even Yarzak, who is also a mage and a graduate of the Chiron Magic Academy, seemed a bit nervous in front of such a senior figure.
“And this knight here is Ms. Mainui.”
“A knight, huh?”
“Yes, she’s a knight from the Sternberg Knight Order of the Federation.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Mainui, the guardian knight of Sage Spells.”
“A guardian knight?”
“Yes.”
I’d heard that in the Federation, even people like me and Pardomikhov are assigned guardian knights. Similarly, it seems that Sages also have a guardian knight who is always by their side.
The two of them had come primarily to train the trio of Kikijima, Nishina, and Sakuragi. Specifically, they believed that Sakuragi, who had a high-level spirit named Seitai, had a high chance of reaching the celestial rank. Nurturing such a valuable talent was considered a crucial mission for the nation, which was why Sage Spells had been chosen.
However, I couldn’t help but feel a bit complicated, considering how close the trio had become to Regress recently and how much they’d been learning from him.
On top of that, the two also brought some news.
“Well, it seems that Disaster has disappeared from the headquarters of the Ligerland Republic.”
It wasn’t the kind of news I wanted to hear.
“Well, it’s fresh information, so it’s not like anything’s going to happen immediately. It’s quite a distance from the Republic to here, after all.”
“But they’ll come, right?”
“Probably. One of them came just the other day, didn’t they?”
“…Yes.”
According to Spells, even if they were targeting me, it would take them at least a month to get here. It seemed that the information about me joining the Federation had already been made public, but Gordon wasn’t the type to stop just because of that.
“…This doesn’t feel good.”
“Well, no. But it’s just one of the hurdles we’ll have to overcome.”
The man known as the Sage spoke as if it were no big deal. But for me, it was anything but. I’d never imagined that adventurers would come all the way to this rural area just to target me. But now, the whereabouts of those who held a grudge against me were unknown.
I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.
The priority now was to train the trio to a certain level. In this world, there’s a concept called “level,” which go up to ten. The higher the level, the more experience is needed, and the harder it becomes to advance. After the eighth level, it’s particularly challenging, so someone at the seventh level is considered a seasoned veteran.
Currently, the trio is at the fourth level, but the goal is to get them to the seventh. If Sakuragi, who has the spirit Seitai, performs well, she might even reach the celestial rank.
Then, Nishina hesitantly spoke up.
“Up until now, we’ve been learning a lot from Regress… Could he join us too?”
Ah. The kids had really grown attached to Regress. They’d been having so much fun training with him recently, so I completely understood Nishina’s feelings.
But the two newcomers didn’t know who Regress was.
“Who is this Regress?”
Mainui asked.
We explained that about a week ago, an adventurer named Regress had come to town and had been teaching us various combat techniques.
“Regress… Hmm, I’ve never heard of him. Mainui, have you?”
“Sorry, I’m not that familiar with adventurers either.”
The two naturally became wary of this unknown adventurer, but when Yarzak and Stroman assured them that he was trustworthy, Spells became interested and suggested we go meet him.
We found Regress quickly. He was outside the town gates, tending to a bonfire. He was probably using some corn he’d gotten from helping out at a farm, roasting it over the fire.
“Ah, so you’re Sir Regress,” Spells said as he approached Regress, who was checking the corn.
Regress glanced at Spells and smiled happily.
“Well, well, Lord Sage. So, the Federation is really going all out, huh?”
“Hmm. You recognize me?”
“Sort of. And you must be the Spear Princess.”
“Spear Princess?” At those words, Mainui’s eyes twitched. That must be her nickname. Regress seemed amused as he watched her reaction.
“But… being called the Spear Princess is a bit harsh after twenty years.”
“It’s just what people call you.”
“Well, I suppose.”
“So, who are you?” Mainui asked, clearly annoyed.
Regress didn’t answer. Instead, he took the corn from the fire and took a big bite.
“Mmm, mmm. Freshly picked is always the best. Sorry, but I only have enough for myself. I’d love to share, but…”
In the tense atmosphere, the only sound was Regress munching on the corn. Unable to bear it, I finally spoke up.
“Uh, well… Regress is more of a traveler than an adventurer, right? He’s probably just traveling the world, looking for fun things—”
“Hahaha. Sensei, you’re so kind~”
“Hey, don’t tease me.”
I tried desperately to cover for him, but Regress just laughed it off.
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After watching our exchange, Spells rummaged through his bag and pulled out a wrapped package.
“Mind if I borrow the fire for a bit?”
“Go ahead… Oh, dried fish? Nice.”
He unwrapped the package, revealing several dried fish. He took one and placed it on the metal grill over the fire.
“Ha ha ha. I love this stuff.”
As he said that, he pulled out a flask from his bag and popped it open. Immediately, the sweet scent of alcohol filled the air.
“That smells good… Rice wine?”
“Yep, yep. You know your stuff. Rice wine goes well with dried fish.”
As he said that, he poured the wine into a bamboo cup. The rhythmic sound of the pouring echoed around us. The aroma of the roasting fish began to waft through the air. Even I was tempted, and I’m sure Regress felt the same. He stopped eating his corn and kept glancing at Spells’s hands.
“How about it? Want some?”
“…Is that okay?”
Guh… As expected of a Sage. Perfect bait, perfect timing, perfect words. In response to Regress’s eager question, Spells said, “Of course,” and pulled out another bamboo cup from his bag. He poured the wine and handed it to Regress.
Regress took it and gulped it down.
“Mmm. Good wine!”
“Of course. It’s from Enma.”
Regress’s admiration seemed to please Spells, who then took the roasted fish, split it in half, and offered one piece to Regress.
“You’ll need this too.”
“Absolutely!”
Regress took a bite of the fish and nodded appreciatively as he sipped the wine. Spells watched him with satisfaction, then took a bite of his own fish and drank some wine.
…What the hell is going on?
We were left staring, mouths agape, at this sudden and mysterious interaction.
“Well, let’s leave it to Sage Spells,” Mainui said after a while, calling out to us.
There was no point trying to join in on the cheerful drinking session between the two. Reluctantly, we decided to take the students to the cafeteria for lunch.
As we ate, I couldn’t help but feel that the scene we’d just witnessed was from a completely different cultural world. It wasn’t the kind of interaction you’d often see in Japan. I couldn’t help but ask Mainui, who seemed completely unfazed by the two.
“Sage Spells is… a bit unusual, isn’t he?”
“Fufu. Yes, he is. But you’ll find that many intelligent people are a bit eccentric.”
“I kind of get that. Regress also has a similar vibe… Maybe they’ll get along.”
“Yes. He’s a rather mysterious person, too.”
Even so, Mainui seemed to have a lot of trust in Spells. She seemed to think that Regress would be fine, as she happily dug into her mountain of food. As I watched her, I wondered if she’d been thinner in the past.
“…Sensei.”
“Hmm?”
“That’s rude.”
“Oh, right.”
“Staring at another woman like that in front of me…”
“Huh? That’s what you’re worried about?”
“Of course.”
“Hahaha…”
After lunch, we headed out to find some nearby monsters for Mera’s meal. The two were still drinking and talking, but we quietly made our way into the forest.
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