Ch.3131. Druid Gathering (3)

After successfully improving my relationship with the elders who had been wary of me through a “gift” of one bottle of high-grade brandy from the Dehue Viscounty…

“The official Druid certification will take at least a week to process. So, I was wondering if you might like to stay at our Wild Circle Tower in the meantime?”

“Yes, I would gladly accept your hospitality if possible.”

Drona Malkaden, who introduced herself as the current Druid Circle Leader and the 74th Wild Circle Leader, showed me kindness as a fellow wild magic specialist by offering me a place to stay while my certification (provisional name) was being issued.

And having secured a place to stay for the time being, I… looked with interest at the structure of this Druid Circle.

The Druid Circle is a special facility existing in an artificial pocket dimension created within another dimension (the Great Forest) using nature magic. It consists of three circles specializing in Wild, Nature, and Celestial magic, along with a Druid Circle headquarters that unifies these three circles.

Each circle’s headquarters is a tower made of materials deeply connected to the magic they practice. These magically constructed towers are about 10 stories high, and while they don’t appear particularly spacious from the outside, like the circles themselves, their interior spaces are larger than their exteriors.

Additionally, near each circle’s tower are facilities related to their respective magical disciplines.

For example, near the Wild Tower, there’s a large-scale ranch where various magical beasts are raised. Around the Nature Tower, there are forests separated by developmental stages, and near the Celestial Tower stands a rocky mountain perfect for observing the night sky.

Thus, the Druid Circle, boasting a scale beyond what I had imagined, was an organization with considerable size and organizational power, contrary to my mother’s description of it as merely a “social gathering.”

Certainly, looking at the relationships between formal druids, calling it a social gathering isn’t exactly a lie… but at the same time, it’s not a simple organization that can be treated as merely that.

According to an ancient book I found in the Druid Circle’s library, the Circle was originally founded as a community established by druids who gathered to cooperate after the fall of the ancient empire.

The world immediately after the empire’s collapse due to various calamities was incomparably more dangerous than it is now, so even druids of at least intermediate level, with few exceptions, had to join forces to survive.

And as time passed, after the chaos in the Western Continent was somewhat contained, druids who had realized the principle that unity brings strength restructured this community to build an organization that could protect druids’ safety and rights while preserving the mysteries of nature.

That is the history of the Druid Circle that I now seek to join.

The Druid Circle is fundamentally an organization dedicated to protecting the mysteries of nature, and to ensure this protection isn’t hindered by the secular world (kingdoms), the Circle maintains a certain relationship with the secular nation where it’s located (the Frankish Kingdom).

For example, druids registered with the Circle receive treatment equivalent to nobles of the Frankish Kingdom, and furthermore, if they manage a natural environment, they can be treated as lords who claim that entire natural environment as their domain.

Additionally, heirs of druids who possess their own territories, such as myself, are treated as minor lords… noble heirs of lords in the Frankish Kingdom, so I shouldn’t face many political disadvantages.

Meanwhile, having heard this far, I suddenly wondered:

What if there were those corrupted by the lust for power or consumed by greed who abandoned their duties as druids?

In reality, magic towers, which serve as magical educational institutions in this world, are often regarded as somewhat dangerous groups because cultists frequently emerge from them, so my concern might not be entirely unfounded…

But I could be certain that my thoughts were groundless, that corrupted druids cannot exist.

From the beginning, the price druids pay for borrowing power by harmonizing with nature’s mysteries is the protection and worship of nature, so if one violates this and misuses that power, they would lose all their power as a druid.

Or more precisely, as a result of this characteristic that druids can lose their power, according to what the Circle Leader secretly conveyed, while apostasy among formal druids is rare, many apprentices training at the Druid Circle often stray onto strange paths.

Originally, the method of raising druids was through strict apprenticeship. A druid governing a region would find a child with appropriate aptitude and raise them as a direct successor.

However, this method is extremely difficult, starting with finding a child with potential, and sometimes the child brought in this way fails to become a formal (intermediate) druid before their master’s death, leaving the natural environment unattended.

Therefore, to prevent such situations, the Circle raises apprentice druids separately in addition to the “traditional” method.

Apprentice druids educated at the Circle begin when Circle-affiliated druids travel to various cities and scout children showing potential, primarily those without family ties.

These selected children are affiliated with the Circle, where they train and receive education as druids, eventually becoming Circle-affiliated druids or entering apprenticeship under a lord druid who has shown prominence but lacks an heir.

Of course, upon closer observation, their future isn’t particularly bright either.

The number of apprentice druids staying at the Circle is about 600, of whom roughly 150 have essentially given up on reaching intermediate level and removing their apprentice label, instead functioning like Circle staff.

Additionally, the number of formal druids actually affiliated with the Circle is less than 30. And the appearance of these formal druids is mostly elderly… which implies several things.

One of the most significant characteristics of druids is that as they become more proficient in druid magic, their lifespan extends and aging slows down, to the point where aging essentially stops once they reach intermediate level.

Yet the fact that they appear elderly means they reached intermediate level in their old age, suggesting that becoming a formal druid is only possible for those willing to dedicate their entire lives to it.

“…Excuse me, how old are you? I don’t mean anything strange by it, I’m just curious.”

“I’m 15… no. Since my birthday recently passed, I suppose I’m 16?”

“S-sixteen?!! Then how old were you when you broke through the intermediate barrier…?”

“It was shortly after my 14th birthday… Is there a problem?”

“No, I’m just surprised. …How on earth did you manage at 14?”

Even the current Druid Circle Leader, Drona, was utterly shocked to hear that I had reached the intermediate level at the young age of 14.

It seems that becoming a formal druid is certainly not a realm that ordinary people can reach.

The average age at which druids reach intermediate level is about 40 to 50. Even breaking through the intermediate barrier at 30 would earn one praise for having innate talent.

And…

“I have a special request for you, who has shown remarkable achievement at such a young age.”

“A request?”

“Yes. Would you be willing to give a special lesson for the apprentices training at the Druid Circle?”

After recalling Corin, whom I had sent on a delivery, through reverse summoning as soon as he completed his mission, I was lounging in my assigned room playing with our Robo when the Circle Leader’s proposal left me perplexed.

The reason was that I knew well that advancing in druidic levels isn’t something that can be taught.

While innate quality is certainly important, druidic magic differs from ordinary magic, which is infinitely close to academic study. Druid magic is strictly based on sensation, individual talent, and techniques derived from intuition.

No matter how excellent a druid teacher might be, they can ultimately only explain the most basic theories and principles. To reach intermediate level, the only way is to grasp the feel through repeated practice and effort on one’s own.

As both the Circle Leader and my mother had said, and since the techniques for using magic differ completely from druid to druid, ultimately, acquiring druidic magic falls within the realm of individual talent and effort.

“…Isn’t druidic magic something that can’t be taught just by teaching?”

As I cautiously expressed my opinion, Circle Leader Drona continued the conversation very skillfully, as if she had predicted my reaction.

“Of course it is. But teaching druidic magic isn’t the only thing you can do, is it? Surely someone with your exceptional talent must have something to say to them.”

“…”

“I have my pride too, so I won’t ask you to do it for nothing. Yes, I’ll grant any reasonable request you might have. How about that?”

I thought about it.

Originally, I needed to maintain a cordial relationship with the Circle anyway, so I could certainly accommodate such a request.

And with the Circle Leader offering additional compensation… there was no reason to refuse.