Chapter 27
(Kyle Calendar
Year 503: Age 10)
Talent
Acquisition ④: The Birth of
Solis Magic Corps
Translator : PolterGlast
"Takuhir, not
again!"
Father yelled, his
face contorted.
"Yes, three more
people have been confirmed to have aptitude as mages. That makes a total of ten
now."
"You...
you..."
Father was speechless,
half-exasperated but also slightly pleased.
In the short time
since the first archery tournament, I had already introduced seven people to
Father, and they were now mages employed by the Solis baronial family.
~The First and Second~
It started three
months ago, after the first archery tournament ended.
Regarding Christoph
and Carleen, who had shown great talent despite their young age, I told my
parents that the operation would begin.
"There's a saying
that exceptional talent with the bow is a sign of being loved by the wind. I'd
like to perform a magic ritual on these two to confirm their aptitude for wind
magic."
That's what I proposed
to Father. Well, from his perspective, such a convenient story...
"Don't waste
money," he cautioned me, but he gave his permission.
The results were as
expected; both of them were confirmed to have aptitude for wind magic.
"Takuhir! Is that
true?!"
"Yes, they are
the first mages in the Solis baronial family."
Father was overjoyed
at the discovery of the first mages within the territory (Sarah, the earth mage
Mother brought, was originally a mage from another territory). The two were
immediately hired by the baronial family with high salaries.
The two were still
young, and sending them into combat was discouraged, but they were given
opportunities to learn alongside my brother and me, and their treatment as
vassals of the Solis baronial family while they learned was guaranteed.
"Me... a vassal?
Really?"
"Thank you very
much. If I work, it will help my family's finances! But, are you sure it's
alright?"
The two were hesitant
but gladly accepted the unexpectedly generous treatment.
~The Third and Fourth~
Riding that momentum,
a few days later, I also proposed aptitude confirmation for the two who had
placed high in the citizens' division (2nd and 8th place). They also underwent
the aptitude confirmation ritual.
Actually, both of them
were already on my list, so it was a completely fixed race.
Following the
tournament results, they (Gale and Gold) were officially enlisted as archers
and became members of the Solis archer unit as combat mages.
~The Fifth~
Claire was already
actively working as my right-hand. In fact, she was the first candidate I was
able to discover.
When I found her name
on the list, she who had been working so hard in familiar places like refugee
support and archery range management, I was so happy I jumped for joy.
Since there was no
basis or reason for her, I had her undergo the aptitude confirmation without
telling my parents, intending to inform them later, along with the others I
found.
"To think I had
such power... Now, I can finally repay your kindness!"
Claire cried tears of
joy at her own magical aptitude.
"Claire, you've
already repaid me enough. So, please don't worry about it."
She seemed very
grateful for being hired from the orphanage in the first place, but I wished
she wouldn't mind it so much.
Besides Claire, we
also employed many children who were old enough to work from the orphanage,
where she was the leader among the older children.
Now, the work at the
archery range and the executive committee has become a valuable source of
income for them.
In fact, there are
several other mage candidates in the orphanage.
The orphanage in the
town of Est is quite large compared to the size of the town.
This was because my
parents were enthusiastic about rescuing orphans, and care was taken to ensure
sufficient support funds reached the institution.
As a result, orphans
from surrounding territories also gathered... and were taken in by the Est
orphanage.
There should be around
100 orphans there now.
To make ends meet,
they worked hard from a young age.
For them, proper jobs,
the kind of good treatment and permanent employment I provided, were very
scarce, and they were very grateful for their employment.
~The Sixth and
Seventh~
The sixth was Elan.
He was already brought
in as an assistant to the executive committee.
"Really? You're
offering me a job?"
When I first spoke to
him, he looked bewildered, as if he couldn't believe the sudden offer. That
questioning look on his face was memorable.
He was from the poor
district of Est, and he came to the archery range every day with the aim of
getting even a little food for his family. Such a person diligently carried out
the unexpected good fortune of a job (executive committee assistant) and ran
around earnestly.
"Elan, you don't
have to push yourself so hard! Let's go home."
"Ah,
Takuhir-sama, I'll go home in a little while."
"I appreciate
your hard work, but take it easy, okay?"
"I'm just so
happy to have a job..."
That was our usual
exchange.
To give Elan, who
worked hard until late every day, a change of pace, I had him accompany me to
the outskirts of Est.
As an attendant for my
inspection of the flood control construction.
Flood control
construction was underway there in preparation for floods.
Hundreds of soldiers
and laborers were working, and in one area, earth mages were using magic to
excavate the land.
Elan, who was watching
the earth mages with particular interest, I asked,
"Do you have any
thoughts on the construction?"
"I think this
embankment is for the flooding of the Olgu River. If that's the case, I think
this is dangerous."
"Why do you think
so?"
Raymond-san
interjected gently from the side.
"If it stays like
this... the water won't escape! Instead of simply scraping the surroundings and
piling up the soil, we should create a waterway for the water to escape and
then excavate the soil from there."
Normally, when spoken
to by the steward, he should have shrank back and become too nervous to answer
anything.
But regarding the
construction, he was surprisingly resolute and stated his opinion.
"Takuhir-sama,
may I borrow him for a while?"
"Yes, I'll
entrust him to Raymond-san."
Raymond-san must have
felt something in the opinion that he, who had no prior knowledge, stated so
confidently. He introduced Elan to the earth mages, and surprisingly, Elan's
opinion was adopted in the construction.
The earth mages, while
surprised at Elan's ability to accurately read the terrain and make appropriate
proposals, evaluated his opinion as valuable.
Elan really didn't
come back for a while (several weeks). Even after the construction in that area
was finished...
With this background,
permission for Elan's aptitude confirmation was easily granted.
"I'll check on a
few others who show similar signs as Elan."
At this opportunity, I
executed the "while we're at it, how about ○○ too?" operation.
As a result, Elan and
Mary were both confirmed to have earth mage aptitude.
Mary was discovered
working as a receptionist at the archery range that was built in the town of
Mars, and I immediately brought her in.
In her case, there was
no real justification (excuse) for her to undergo the ritual.
If I had to say
something, it would be that she was just there along with Elan, just happened
to be around.
If asked for a reason,
that's all I could say.
In the history book,
she was from the town of Mars, and this year was her year of death.
Probably, in the
[previous history], she had become a victim of the flood.
But the [current
world] is different.
She had become someone
who would protect the town as an earth mage.
Along with her, I
reported Claire, whom I had also discovered this time, as a set, reporting
three people at once.
When I introduced them
to my parents, my mother was the happiest.
"Now, at the most
needed time... thank you so much."
Mother seemed to want
to say something, but she swallowed her words and gently hugged me.
"I'll entrust
Elan and Mary to you, Mother. Please help them thrive as earth mages."
Yes, originally, the
earth mages involved in the construction were relying on the assistance of
Mother's family, but with Viscount Gorman's dispatch requests, Baron Cornell
was in a very difficult position.
With this, his
family's honor would be upheld, and there would be prospects for the
construction to proceed here as well.
Mother was very happy.
As a result, after a
few months, the civil engineering construction progressed rapidly, and the
delayed progress was quickly made up.
Furthermore, Mother
took care of them and educated them, looking after them like her own children
outside of work as well.
With such a
background, I had successfully identified seven people and had them serve the
baronial family.
The introduction fees
(gold coins) I had already received from Father [5 times the ritual fee in gold
coins x 7 people] amounted to a considerable sum.
"From now on, if
I find any candidates, may I proceed on my own responsibility?"
Father no longer
uttered the words "waste of money..."
"It's about
time..." "You have been a great help. From now on, do as you see
fit."
Mother overwrote the
words Father was about to say with different words.
Seeing Father like
that, my heart ached a little, but in the end, I completely ignored him and
followed Mother's words.
~The Eighth, Ninth,
and Tenth~
Since the accuracy
rate was too high, which could arouse suspicion, I deliberately mixed in some
failures this time.
"The first time
is practice, so choose any attribute you like."
I told the three with
the face of a mischievous child.
"It feels like a
waste..."
"Practice, you
say..."
"Are you sure
it's alright?"
I explained to the
hesitant three.
"Actually, I got
carried away, and things have been going too well so far...
If I succeed ten times
in a row like this, I think the people around us will become a bit wary.
I'm confident that all
three of you have aptitude, but to deceive them even a little, I want to create
a case of failure."
Yes, I was being
honest, but I was aware that I was saying something incredibly suspicious
myself.
"So, I'd like you
to cooperate just a little before the real thing."
"If I/we can be
of help, we'd be happy to!"
Sasha was originally a
refugee.
She lived in the
remotest village in the Estol territory, and her farmland was completely
destroyed by the drought three years ago. She had come to the town of Est with
her family seeking work.
As part of the refugee
self-sufficiency support, she worked at the reception center and has been doing
various jobs ever since.
Rosa worked at the
infirmary in the town of Est.
The infirmary provided
free treatment for the sick and injured (medicine was charged).
It was operated with
support and donations from the lord and provided nurses during wartime.
I had secured her
during the tournament, citing the reason of preparing for any unexpected
injuries.
Bart was from the same
orphanage as Claire.
He was admired by the
orphans as a caring older brother figure to Claire, who was the leader, and his
popularity rivaled Claire's. Bart himself looked up to Claire like an older
sister...
After their planned
failures, they successfully confirmed their aptitude as a water mage, a holy
mage, and a space-time mage, respectively, and they took their first steps into
a new world.
※
And then, I reported
to Father that I had successfully found and brought in ten people.
"You can do as
you like now."
Father, who let out a
scream-like voice and gave up, gave a wry smile.
In a short period, the
Solis baronial territory, which had previously had no mages, suddenly came to
possess ten.
Of course, it was
necessary to prevent the eyes and rumors of other territories.
It would be
troublesome if it were misunderstood as an unexpected threat, so the matter of
the mages was kept secret as confidential information, except for Gale and
Gold, who belonged to the military as combat mages.
The other eight,
excluding the two, were brought in as those who would directly serve the
baronial family.
Officially, they were
attendants to care for Mother, my brother, me, and my sister, but in reality,
they continued to engage in the operation of the archery range and as members
of the regular tournament executive committee, just as they had been doing.
This was the beginning
of the Solis Magic Corps, which later came to be called one of the Solis Three
Corps, alongside the Solis Archer Corps and the Solis Iron Cavalry Corps.
~Reference: List of
Mages~
①Wind Mage Christoph (3rd place in the archery
tournament) Attached to the Lord's Manor
②Wind Mage Carleen (9th place in the archery
tournament) Attached to the Lord's Manor
③Wind Mage Gale (Runner-up in the archery tournament)
To the Standing Army
④Wind Mage Gold (8th place in the archery tournament)
To the Standing Army
⑤Fire Mage Claire (Executive Committee Leader) Attached
to the Lord's Manor
⑥Earth Mage Elan (Executive Committee Assistant)
Attached to Mother
⑦Earth Mage Mary (Executive Committee Assistant)
Attached to Mother
⑧Water Mage Sasha (Executive Committee Assistant)
Attached to the Lord's Manor
⑨Holy Mage Rosa (From the town's infirmary) Attached to
the Lord's Manor
⑩Space-Time Mage Bart (Executive Committee Assistant)
Attached to the Lord's Manor
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