CH 7

“Haa, that’s annoying. It would be convenient to use a warp…”

A soft mumble tickled Nathan’s ears. That was true. An Archmage like Melkiel didn’t have to walk because he could use the warp to jump through space.

“Then can’t you use it…?”

Nathan said cautiously with curiosity. Melkiel stared at Nathan (멜키엘이 그런 나단을 흘겼다 >>> look down on, stare, “Are you an idiot?” kind of vibe). A second sigh escaped his mouth.

“…Let’s think a little bit about who this is all for. Do you think we are doing this for me?”

“Ah…”

The two of them left the academy through the back gate. Aurora Academy was on the top of a mountain, and the two of them walked down a straight path to one side.

“From now on, Nathan will go to Rupelham as often as he does at home. The Swordsmanship Department goes to Rufenri (루펜리), the village next to Rupelham. Isn’t this Nathan’s first time going to Rupelham?”

“…Yes. It’s my first time.”

“Warping is easy and convenient. Taking you with me is as simple as drinking a glass of water. But if that’s the case, will you be able to visit there by yourself next time? So it’s important to try to memorize all the paths you’ll be using from now on. A village for swordsmen and a village for wizards are very different…”

“…Yes, thank you.”

“That’s good. A person who knows how to be grateful for the little things is a good person.”

“……”

A white hand patted Nathan’s head a couple of times. Nathan didn’t know what to do, so he kept his mouth shut. As they walked down to the bottom of the mountain, the road divided into five branches on the open field. A sign was placed in the middle of the road. Before Nathan could even read the sign, Melkiel entered the third path. Nathan hurried to follow him in his footsteps.

After walking for about 20 minutes, this time a beautiful lake appeared. At the end of the road was a lake. On the shores of the lake, there were boats that could fit two or three people, and Melkiel boarded and waited for Nathan. Nathan stumbled and carefully climbed into the boat.

Melkiel, who waited for Nathan to get onto the boat and take a seat, tapped the boat with his wand. Nathan’s gaze descended upon his wand. Then he saw a magic circle drawn on the ship. Melkiel opened his mouth.

“[Wind, guide this ship to its intended destination!]”

The voice that spoke those words was somehow mysterious. It must have been Melkiel’s voice he had heard a while ago, but it was just strange. It sparkled in gold as if a magic circle responded to the voice. Then the wind began to blow on the shore of the lake where there was no wind.

Creak (끼익).

The boat moved by itself. Nathan’s eyes widened at the strange sight. The wind kept blowing from behind them and the boat headed forward even when no one was rowing. This was magic, Nathan inwardly admired. It just was a little magic, but it was enough to give him a new shock.

“Rupelham is located on an artificial island above the lake. Of course, it won’t be visible now. For security reasons, they put recognition magic on it.”

“I see.”

“The next time you go to Rupelham, you can go like this. All boats lying on the shores of the lake are engraved with magic formulas. When you recite a spell, the wind carries the boat to your destination.”

“Yes, yes. That’s awesome…!”

“Oh my, are you already so excited?”

There was a smile in Melkiel’s voice as he said that.

“Come on, we’ve arrived.”

With those words, Melkiel’s figure, who was sitting on the bow, gradually faded. Nathan jumped up from his seat in surprise. The boat shook briefly and water splashed. Looking at it now, not only Melkiel but also the boat was rapidly becoming cloudy. Nathan closed his eyes tightly as he saw his feet blurred. It was because he was afraid for a moment that everything would disappear like this for a moment. Soon after, Nathan’s body also faded.

“Ahaha…!”

It was the sound of Melkiel’s laughter that opened his tightly closed eyes. Carefully looking ahead, he saw Melkiel turned his body, grabbed the wand, and held back his laughter. Seeing this, Nathan called for Melkiel in a slightly hoarse voice.

“…Professor.”

“Ahem, it’s been a while since I’ve reacted like this…”

Melkiel laughed a couple more times and then straightened his reclining body. By then, Nathan was no longer looking at Melkiel.

“So this is Rupelham…”

Of course, he had heard from Melkiel a while ago that there was an island on the lake, but Nathan was surprised because he didn’t expect it to appear so suddenly. The island looked normal at first glance, but it also didn’t look like that. It was beyond his common sense to see the golden trees soaring high through the buildings and those who flew through the skies on thin broomsticks.

“Yes, this is Rupelham. Those who cannot use magic can’t come to this place.”

Rattle.

The boat settled on the wharf. Melkiel got down first and reached out to Nathan.

“There is a risk of falling, so hold my hand and get off.”

“…Thank you.”

Nathan took the hand as he got off—the boat really wobbled and he almost fell. But his tightly held hands supported him, so he didn’t fall into the lake. Nathan’s face turned a little red with embarrassment.

The people standing at the entrance of the village wore stylish robes and held a wand like Melkiel in their hands. They saw the two of them and tried to block them, but this was resolved when Melkiel tilted his robe slightly to reveal his face. They immediately bowed their heads to greet Melkiel and returned to their seats.

“First of all, I will deal with Student Nathan’s business. The road is complicated, so make sure you follow me so you don’t miss me.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Nathan followed Melkiel and looked around to watch the streets. Nathan, who was born in Korea and had never left there, found this street amazing.

‘Occasionally, among the foreign photos I saw on the internet, there was a place similar to this one among countries with beautiful scenery… Which one was it again? Was it Colmar (in France)? I think it’s similar to that.’

Rupelham was a pretty village that looked like something out of a fairytale. Nathan asked while looking around the streets.

“Are all the people here wizards?”

“Not necessarily. Some people come in because their companion is a wizard, just like Student Nathan.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

Come to think of it, Nathan was not yet a wizard. Nathan swept his hair out of the way, which was left loose after he left in a hurry that morning. Then, a question suddenly arose, and Nathan mustered up the courage to ask Melkiel a question.

“By the way… what is my business?”

“Oh, I forgot I didn’t tell you. Student Nathan has become a student of our Magic Department as of today. So what do you think you need? If it was the Swordsmanship Department, you’d need your own practice sword and protective gear and… what else was there? Anyway, you should prepare what you need before school starts. Most of the students would have already finished their preparations, but Student Nathan did not prepare anything due to the sudden incident, am I right?” (갑작스러운 (sudden) 전과로 인해 (past, records?))

“…That’s true.”

“So, we’re going shopping today to buy what you need for the Magic Department in the future.”

“I see…!”

Nathan’s heart began to flutter at those words. What were they going to buy? As expected, a wand? Were they going to buy a staff? Would he ever have a wand as wonderful as Melkiel did? The excitement made Nathan’s steps even lighter. Melkiel glanced at Nathan and put a smile on his lips.

“Hmm, since a dressmaker is near us, we’ll have to stop by there.”

“A dressmaker?”

“Robes are the life of a student in the Magic Department.”

“Robes? You mean the one Professor is wearing?”

“Yes.”

“Does the robe mean something?”

“No, it’s just to show off.”

At those words, Nathan tripped. Melkiel clicked his tongue when he saw Nathan’s face tinge with bewilderment.

“It wouldn’t have mattered that much in the sweaty Swordsmanship Department.”

Whether or not this was true was not known to Nathan.

“Clothes are the first indicator to recognize the person wearing them. Even if a person wearing shabby clothes is a powerful wizard, people will doubt his or her ability. However, the way someone dresses raises some expectations, no matter how poor the person’s ability may be. From the start, you’ll be judged differently.”

That was plausible. If Nathan was an archmage and Melkiel was an ordinary wizard, people would not believe Nathan and doubt whether he was really an archmage. On the other hand, looking at Melkiel dressed in a nice robe, even a small amount of magic would look great.

“…I guess so.”

“And I hate seeing my students being looked down on by others.”

When he said that, Melkiel stopped at the place where it was written <Lily’s Dressmaker>. The door to the dressmaker opened by itself without Melkiel opening it. The bell hanging on the door made a clear sound, announcing that guests had arrived.