episode_0065

“First, let me introduce myself. My name is Jinor Nighthardt.”

“You get to meet the famous Jinor. It’s an honor.”

Jinor asked without giving any particular answer to my words.

“I heard that before you came here, you were part of the Brans Army.”

“Yes.”

“I too have heard rumors about the ‘white-haired wizard’ who worked miracles in the northern fortress. I would like to ask if this really means you.”

‘… … ah.’

what.

Me again.

‘You probably haven’t forgotten my face, right? how is it? I thought he was saying, ‘Do you still think 99 intelligence is enough?’, so I was extremely scared.

The people who sent me here were Serpina, who executed me, and Jinor, who asked if I was okay.

Of course, that won’t happen because the world line is different, but isn’t this one of the clichés?

Anyway, if it wasn’t about that, there was no reason not to answer.

I nodded slowly and said.

“Yes. First of all, it is known that way.”

“Then there is one more thing I cannot help but ask.”

“What is that?”

“It’s about whether you are really a wizard or not.”

Jinor said that, then looked straight into my eyes and asked the question again.

“Is that ‘miracle’, as it is known, really some kind of magic?”

hmm?

Why are you asking that?

Does the fact that I am a wizard give Jinor information that he wants to know?

If Yuuri, the monarch, had made me stay here for a while, it was clear that he was asking something very important.

‘why?’

To begin with, beings called ‘wizards’ had not yet appeared on the continent.

Because I did not use magic in the typical way that would appear later here, but rather did useless things such as performing ancestral rites, it was difficult to conclude that I was a wizard.

However, for some reason, Jinor in front of me seemed to be convinced that wizards existed.

So how should I answer here?

There is no way to perfectly read his mind, but I can make inferences based on the information I know.

Jinor is in some kind of relationship with Reika, whom I met not long ago. Because they both had the same last name.

Considering that the Reika I know didn’t have a surname, isn’t there a high probability that Jinor adopted her?

That’s the only way to pass on your last name.

When I thought about it that way, I also understood the attitude of Jinor in front of me, who said he was certain that there was a wizard.

Reika was the woman who would become the greatest wizard. If Jinor had bothered to take her in as an orphan, there was only one reason.

‘If only I knew she was a wizard, or at least that she had talent.’

Jinor was a very smart character.

Even though I got decapitated because 99% of my predictions were wrong, there were only a very small number of characters with 99 intelligence in this game.

Even so, it only appeared in the latter part of the era, and it was clear that there would be no one other than Jinor at the same time.

Even though I respawn near Serpina Army, there was a reason to keep playing the game.

Unlike me, who is possessed in this world, Jinor is a living, breathing person in reality.

It wouldn’t be surprising to think that the intelligence level went to his brain.

So, I don’t know exactly how he discovered it, but it wasn’t difficult to guess that he was aware of Reika’s talent.

Come back to the beginning again.

Why is he asking me if I am a wizard?

Let’s think about it from Jinor’s perspective.

If I answered ‘I’m not a wizard’, that would be the end of it. They might just say, ‘Is that so?’ or ‘Even if it’s not magic, something like that can happen.’

But what if the answer is ‘the wizard is right’?

Wouldn’t you like to ask for advice about Reika?

Reika’s talents probably haven’t fully blossomed yet, so if I were a wizard, I’d definitely have a lot of questions I’d like to ask.

‘I guess this is the right answer.’

However, I couldn’t lie.

Because lies get discovered quickly.

I am not a wizard. I didn’t have the ability to freely use magic or anything like that.

However, establishing a connection with Reika is important for the future.

I couldn’t just let the opportunity given to me pass by.

So my answer is –

“Wizard… … If you say so, you can say yes, but… … .”

I intentionally left out the ending.

“I don’t know if this can be called a proper wizard.”

“What does that mean?”

I answered Jinor’s words in a very serious tone.

“So… … You may not understand, but I can read the energy of the sky.”

I explained it as convincingly as possible, but so that the listener could infer any ‘information’ if there was any.

” In the air… … Something is floating around. The more I close my eyes and meditate, the more intensely I feel it. You can read that energy and bring out something that is difficult to explain in words… … Of course, the more I used it, the more I felt like my body was draining energy.”

“… … .”

Jinor listened to me very seriously.

I was now explaining the concept of ‘mana’ without giving it a name.

Although mana has not yet been discovered in this era, Jinor, who is under Reika’s command, must be vaguely aware of the concept of mana.

In other words, it was like trying to induce him to make his own predictions and misconceptions.

It didn’t matter whether it worked or not. It wasn’t good for me to be like, ‘I hope I get eaten.’

“Use it… … It is asking for blessings from heaven. I don’t know if this can be called magic. There’s no way something like a wizard exists, right?”

“Then what was the ancestral rite held?”

“I don’t know why, but the more I do this, the more I feel one with the sky and the clearer my head becomes.”

Of course it was bullshit.

But as long as the result that caused me – ‘a meteorite fell from the sky’ exists, this bullshit can only sound auspicious to him.

If I didn’t take advantage of that illusion, my path to survival, as I could only predict, would be difficult.

“Hmm… … .”

Jinor closed his eyes, lost in thought, and then opened his heavy mouth.

“I guess you are a wizard.”

“Is that so?”

“Okay… … I’m not sure, but.”

“This time I would like to ask a question.”

“What?”

“Why did you ask that?”

Jinor secretly looked at Yuuri’s face.

Yuuri nodded slowly.

Unspoken signals were exchanged between the two, and I was finally able to hear his answer.

“There is something I would like to ask of you.”

“Please?”

“I will be as honest as you are with me.… … ‘Wizards’ are real.”

“… … !!”

When I heard those words, I thought of Irene in her underwear.

I feel sorry for her, but that was when I was most surprised after coming to this world.

Naturally, a very surprised expression appeared on my face.

“But maybe it’s because I’m still young, but I haven’t fully bloomed. I think you have awakened to its power to some degree. Otherwise, it would be impossible to open the path to heaven and create a miracle.”

“Then… … ?”

“It would be good if you could keep an eye on that wizard. In other words, I am saying that I would like you to be my teacher.”

good.

When I threw the bait, it seemed like the fish was taking bites.

But here, I thought it would make more sense to think about it a bit rather than jump right in.

“Are you talking about the teacher? However, I don’t use this ability often because I feel like it will shorten my lifespan, and no matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I’m a wizard, so I wonder if it will actually help… … .”

“No. The power you feel. The concept of power clearly exists. I’m sure it will help him.”

“… … .”

I nodded reluctantly and said.

“I’ll see if I can meet you, but I don’t know if it will be a proper teaching.”

“That’s it.”

As soon as Jinor’s story ended, Yuuri’s voice was heard.

“Swen. Please keep this a secret from others. Can’t you tell Irene too? And since I haven’t assigned you any special duties, it would be nice if you could listen to Jinor’s request on your free days.”

Did you set aside time to use me as a teacher?

From my point of view, it was not a bad suggestion.

“Okay.”

I nodded and said.

With that, I was finally able to escape the throne room of Balharat Castle.

* * *

After Swen left.

Jinor and Yuuri were talking quietly together.

“It seems clear that he feels mana.”

“Really? So Swen is a wizard?”

“… … Actually, there are some parts that are a bit puzzling. It seems a bit different from the typical wizard told in old books. However, since old books are only records of the past and no one has actually seen them, there is the question of how much they can be trusted… … From what I can see, it seems true that he is feeling ‘mana’, but I think it may be a situation in which he does not realize it.”

“Hmm, something is difficult. Because I’m not that smart. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed that she was a wizard.”

“Don’t worry, my lord. The power of magic is powerful. The power of wizards will be indispensable for the weak Aethius army to conquer this continent. Before my life ends, I will definitely raise Reika into a helpful wizard.”

Yuuri spoke in a sly tone in response to Jinor’s words.

“Okay. Don’t push yourself too hard. Even if we don’t have the power of a wizard, there’s no way the Aishous army that my colleagues and I have built can’t be unified, right? Oh, that’s right.”

She said yes, then covered her mouth with her hand and laughed happily.

“If Swen is truly a helpful wizard, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have him as your son-in-law. How about it?”

“Are you talking about your son-in-law?”

“Yes. Oh, so Irene won’t like it? Still, a man can have multiple wives.”

Leaving Yuuri behind, who looked oddly amused, Jinor fell into deep thought.

There was no clearer link than incorporation into the family.

‘But if he is really a wizard… … It might be better to be cautious rather than completely trusting.’

Swen, who is now our comrade, was a traitor who betrayed his previous lord, Lin Brans.

Of course, Rin wasn’t a very good lord to serve, and compared to her lord Yuuri, she was lacking in many ways… …

‘… … I have no choice but to extract what I can from him as much as possible and then let Reika grow.’

As Jinor is, he was thinking about making the most of Swen.

If you can’t use him, one way would be to have him under your influence, like Yuuri said, by marrying off Reika to him.

He was called the wise man of the empire, but was it also because he was getting older?

Until now, he had not yet realized that he was being used by Swen.

* * *

“Irene.”

“Swen.”

As soon as I came out of the castle gate, Irene was waiting for me, as if it was obvious.

With her by my side, I finally felt like I was back where I belonged.

“What did you say?”

“It is a bit difficult to explain in detail. The new lord wanted me to keep it a secret. If you’re still curious, I’ll explain.”

It was no one else, it was Irene.

Because I didn’t necessarily want to hide something from her.

However, after hearing what I said, Irene immediately shook her head and said.

“No. In that case, it’s okay if you don’t tell me. Because I might end up revealing that I ‘know’ without even realizing it. I am not a perfect human being.”

“Is it okay?”

“Okay then. Swen, I don’t want to bother you.”

She said that and smiled at me.

pretty.

Stupidly, that thought occurred to me as I gazed at that smile.

“… … By the way, Irene, what mission did you receive?”

She said with a grin at my words.

For some reason, the feeling of pride is clearly visible on that face.

“It’s training for soldiers. It seemed like all the generals I had previously trained were preparing for war.”

“Oh, now that I think about it… … .”

Did they set out to clean up Charam County and Alefel County?

Well, other than them, there is probably no one more suitable for training than Iren.

It might have been Rin who used his energy and didn’t use Airen, but there was absolutely no reason for Yuuri to pass on her.

“I’m glad I took on this mission.”

“Yes.”

Iren said that and nodded with a grin.

For her, who had been deliberately excluded from everything, just receiving the mission must have been a happy event.

Looking at her smile, I didn’t regret betraying Brans at all.

Iren was more important to me than Brans.

It will be the same here as well.

okay.

Until the Lunarien army raises its army, let’s aim to protect her smile.

With that decision in mind, I walked back home with her.

* * *

A few days later.

In front of the main gate of a mansion I once visited.

As I headed there on time, I was greeted by someone who appeared to be an employee of the mansion, who was standing in front of the door at the right time.

“Are you by any chance Swen?”

“Yes.”

The employee bowed to me and then slowly opened the door and spoke.

“Zinor is waiting. Please follow me this way.”