episode_0006

“Yes, I guess so. But, shouldn’t you also get permission from your parents? Certified warlocks have some restrictions when it comes to having successors. In order to have a child with parents as your successor, you need to get permission from the parents, so let’s go meet your parents first.”

“Ah!”

My grandmother’s words immediately brought me back to my senses.

And, for no reason, I started to worry. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if my parents would allow it because I had a bad perception of warlocks.

But I had no intention of giving up. Although it is hard to believe, things like a lifespan that is said to last hundreds of years and the uniqueness of being able to accumulate enormous wealth were tempting me.

Moreover, when they told me that I had tremendous talent, I was excited for no reason. The feeling that becoming a warlock would definitely become my calling was taking over my mind.

“I will try my best to persuade you, so let’s go. If it’s too late, your parents will be worried.”

“Ah, yes.”

I nodded to my grandmother and headed straight to the village.

However, because it wasn’t that far away, the entrance to the village we quickly arrived at was full of soldiers. Most of them were even armed. Those who were not guarding the entrance area often put their weapons down on the ground and joked around, but everyone a little further away from the entrance was well armed.

“Andrew!”

Among the well-armed soldiers, the older brother who told me the story about the certified warlock shouted and gestured towards me.

Seeing the figure that seemed to be telling me to come quickly, I ran straight away.

“Andrew, is that old man the person you mentioned earlier?”

I nodded lightly at my brother’s words. And, the guard commander, who was looking at me like that, approached my grandmother with a very nervous look. I was so nervous that my feet and arms were going out together.

“Ah, hello. I heard that you are a certified warlock. Would it be okay to conduct an inspection regarding this?”

“I don’t mean any harm, so don’t worry too much. Now, check out the Certified Warlock badge here.”

The grandmother insisted that she was harmless and held out a token that sparkled with a soft glow.

The security captain who received the certificate checked it carefully. The purpose was to check whether this was a real certificate, whether any part had been tampered with, whether it had been stolen from someone else, and whether there were any problems.

“It was confirmed to be a normal certificate!”

The security captain, who checked the grandmother’s certificate, handed it over to the grandmother with a creaking look.

“Thank you. Then, now that I have verified my identity, is it okay for me to enter the village?”

“You’re welcome to come in!”

I don’t know if it was the sight of the old woman smiling softly, or whether it was because he confirmed that she was a certified warlock, but he seemed to relax a little. Then, he took a step back and pointed to the entrance into the village. Seeing that, the soldiers around the entrance lowered their weapons and retreated.

“Kid, let’s go.”

The grandmother, who moved as if she was used to it even though she was under the gaze of the soldiers, immediately called me. This is because they came to meet my parents and receive permission to take me on as their disciple.

After waving to my soldier brother who still seemed worried, I headed home with my grandmother.

“Mom!”

When I entered the house with my grandmother, I immediately looked for my mother. My father would be hard at work pounding iron in the blacksmith shop, so the only person who would be home right now was my mother.

“Is Andrew here? To my dad again today… … ? Andrew, who is that person behind you?”

As I expected, my mother, who was doing housework, was about to welcome me, but when she saw my grandmother standing behind me, she tilted her head. I seemed curious because there was an old lady I had never seen behind me.

How should I answer my mother’s question? As I was thinking for a moment, my grandmother lightly tapped my shoulder and took a step forward.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Etra Jainis, and I am a certified warlock licensed by the Holy Empire.”

“Ah, yes. Hello… … !”

My mother, who was trying to reflexively respond to the grandmother’s self-introduction, looked very surprised. I was so surprised that I took a step back. It was fortunate that he did not run away, as he probably recognized that he was a certified warlock.

“I came here even though I knew you were rude because I wanted to make your son my disciple.”

“My son… … . Are you talking about Andrew?”

“Yes. I would like to take this little boy here as my disciple.”

The grandmother smiled softly as if she had absolutely no intention of threatening her. Even though they were commoners, they did not look down on them, nor did they look down on them and regard them as subordinates.

The mother looked like she did not understand the situation as she looked at the grandmother like that. Well, it would be surprising to see a warlock come out of nowhere, and it would be even more surprising to see that the warlock said he would take my son as his disciple.

“Andrew! Daddy’s here!”

And while my mother looked surprised, my father came into the house.

“… … ?”

My father, who came into the house, looked here and there filled with puzzlement at the sight of my mother and grandmother, who seemed to be confronting each other. To my mom, me, and my grandmother.

After a brief confrontation, we settled down and started talking. To be precise, it was closer to convincing my parents that my grandmother wanted to take me on as her student.

“This child has the talent and qualities to become a great warlock. So, why not leave it to me?”

“Our son… … . Does Andrew have a talent for warlock?”

“Yes. It may sound like self-praise, but I am a certified warlock and have quite a high status. If only I could accept this child as my disciple, I could give up everything I have. This child has that much talent and quality.”

“But, there are many people who become crazy when they become warlocks. We don’t want our son to go crazy.”

“You could say that it’s a worry you don’t need to worry about. Warlocks becoming crazy is a symptom that only occurs when people lacking talent and qualifications become warlocks. This kid will never! There’s no need to be crazy. I will guarantee that.”

My parents looked like they were worried about my grandmother’s words.

In particular, the father seemed quite worried. This is probably because my father lacked the metallurgical talent that a blacksmith should have. It was a situation where no matter how much I practiced, my skills did not easily improve. Even though my father didn’t say it, I could tell that he was struggling with that.

The grandmother seemed to have sensed her father’s concerns, and smiled softly and opened her mouth.

“If I’m worried, I’ll make a promise. If this child loses interest in being a warlock at any time, I will send him back, and I will teach him how to read. Then wouldn’t there be something to be gained even if the child doesn’t become a warlock?”

“Written… … . Are you saying you will teach me how to write?”

“Yes. Warlocks are similar to wizards, so they must be familiar with writing.”

My father seemed quite surprised by my grandmother’s words. This is because writing is taught before becoming a warlock.

This world had a very high illiteracy rate. No, it was not at a high level, but only a very small number of people knew how to read and write. Because the commoners were busy making a living, and because the nobles could use those who knew how to read and write. Most people were illiterate.

The only ones who know how to read are those who run large-scale merchants and clergy. And, there were only wizards who were in a position similar to a scholar.

Naturally, knowing writing was an uncommon talent or skill. You could become a vassal of a powerful nobleman, or you could work for a large company for a lot of money. In my past life, it was natural to know how to read, but in this world, just knowing how to write has become an enormous qualification.

I feel sorry for my father, but it could be said that knowing literacy would lead to a more prosperous life than becoming a famous blacksmith.

And, my father was well aware of this fact. In the end, my father thought for a moment and slowly nodded.

“Are you really promising? Andrew said he would do whatever he wanted… … .”

“Honey!”

“You too, think about it. What would be better for Andrew: following in my footsteps and becoming a blacksmith or learning to read?”

“… … .”

There was some resistance from my mother for a while, but it was something she understood. My mother still seemed doubtful that she should just leave me to the warlock.

However, the grandmother seemed determined to alleviate those concerns.

“I swear to my death that I will never go back on the words I said here.”

A small black smoke came out from the grandmother’s hand, covered her body, and then disappeared.

“If you disobey what I said, I will die due to the curse placed on me a little while ago. I’ll really give it my all, I promise, won’t you believe me?”

It means that you made an oath by cursing yourself.

Even, as if to prove that the oath was not a lie, a new curse was placed: if you lie, the ends of your hair will burn. Afterwards, he said, “I am a man,” which anyone could tell was a lie, and even showed the tip of his hair actually burning.

“And… … . The place I’m staying is about a week away by carriage from here. So, I will come here regularly and ensure that you can spend time with your child. I am not taking your child away from you.”

My mother and father exchanged glances at the grandmother’s sincere persuasion.

My mother and father looked at each other for a moment as if they were talking with their eyes, then slowly nodded.

“I believe you are a certified warlock.”

“Don’t worry. Since I have sworn to death, I cannot and do not intend to break my oath… … .”

Perhaps because she received permission from her parents, the grandmother looked very happy.

So I was allowed to become a warlock, and after spending a few days at home with my parents, I decided to follow my grandmother to her residence. The reason was that this was not a suitable environment for learning black magic.