While looking at the map, I headed towards the Magic Academy, but… how should I put this, isn’t the Magic Academy too big for the size of the country?
Even though the Kingdom of Noareiz itself is a small country.
A whole section of the map is marked as the Magic Academy.
It looks to be nearly one-tenth the size of the entire country.
If this is true, the amount of effort put into the Magic Academy is truly extraordinary. No other country would be able to pull this off.
I’ve also heard that the headmistress of the Magic Academy doubles as the Minister of Magic for the country.
It’s only because they pour almost all of their resources into training mages that they can manage such a feat.
Nowadays, they’ve produced tangible results like the magic train, which generates enormous profits through sales and rentals, but there’s no doubt that the country would have collapsed if things had gone wrong.
In the end, you could say they somehow made it work.
That might be why someone as exceptional as Kasugal emerged from this country.
Despite achieving great success here, Kasugal ended up having some kind of dispute and went to the Empire.
According to Kasugal, there wasn’t enough freedom.
There could be unused buildings within the Magic Academy.
It might be quicker to buy one of those and set up a base.
I arrived at the boundary of the Magic Academy.
It was enclosed by a high fence, preventing anyone from getting inside.
No, actually, it looked more like something to prevent people from getting out.
Inside, I could see golems working.
A significant number of buildings were installed, centered around an impressive large structure.
Unlike the orderly appearance of the town, the interior of the Magic Academy seemed chaotic and disorganized.
It seemed that appearances weren’t a priority when it came to magic.
As we were observing, a girl came running from the side.
She seemed to be in a hurry and wasn’t looking where she was going, running straight into me.
On top of that, she tripped and fell towards me. A clumsy girl.
She almost collided with me, but I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her up.
“Wah, wah!? What’s going on?”
“Shouldn’t you say something first?”
When I said that, the girl with lively-looking orange hair blinked at me.
Her hair was about shoulder length, slightly outside my preference.
It seemed like she hadn’t grasped the situation yet.
If she were an adventurer, she’d be dead by now.
Well, judging by her appearance, she looked like a mage and was probably a student at this Magic Academy.
She was wearing the kind of cheap clothing that was mentioned at the clothing store earlier.
She also seemed unaccustomed to wearing it. Maybe she’s about to enroll here.
“Ah… um, I’m sorry. I tend to panic easily and often bump into people.”
“Be more careful, it’s a nuisance.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll be more careful.”
If she had bumped into my two slaves, fine, but if she had run into Mastema, she would’ve been thrown back and hit her head.
People like this don’t usually change even if you tell them to be careful. It won’t improve without experiencing some real danger.
Since it wasn’t nice to leave her hanging, I let go of her neck.
Though it was just a landing, for some reason she reacted dramatically, staggering. Is she going to be alright?
“I’m really sorry for almost running into you. My name is Luriese. I’ll make it up to you next time.”
With that, Luriese kept bowing her head and ran off.
Then she tripped again. But she quickly got up and kept running, so she seems sturdy.
I felt somewhat discouraged.
For now, I decided to rent a nearby inn.
When I entered the inn, a girl about Noel’s age ran over and bowed her head.
“Welcome! This is the Sunny Lodge. Are you staying?”
“Yeah, I’d like a room for four people.”
“Uh… we have a large room where everyone can sleep together, or we have a couple of two-person rooms available.”
“I’ll take two two-person rooms. I’d like to rent them for a week. How much?”
I paid the amount she quoted.
It was just the right amount to reduce the silver coins I had after visiting the clothing store earlier.
For the room arrangements, I entrusted Mastema to Arnella.
I would share a room with Noel. It should be a comfortable stay.
Sleeping with Mastema results in bad dreams. Actually, she sneaks into my room.
It’s fine that she clings to me, but when she’s asleep, she loses control of her strength and squeezes me, which is painful.
She doesn’t seem to do that when she sleeps with Arnella, so she’s probably just being lazy.
You little…!
When I glared at Mastema, for some reason, she gave a triumphant smirk and snorted.
I gave up, exhausted.
Having secured the inn, we dropped off our luggage in the room.
At times like this, I wish I knew a security spell, but that’s exactly what I’m about to learn.
Well, as long as someone is in the room, it should be fine.
I sat on the bed, took off my shoes, removed my robe, and handed it to Noel.
Noel hung both her robe and mine on the wooden hooks made into a stained design.
“I’m going to take a nap. If you want to explore, feel free.”
“Are you sure? Actually, I’m a little curious.”
“Go ahead. Take the wallet with you.”
I handed her the wallet.
Noel was slightly flustered, surprised that I had given her the whole thing.
I quickly went to sleep.
“I’ll be off then. Should I invite Mastema and Arnella too?”
I just raised my hand in response.
The door closed, and I enjoyed a long-overdue restful sleep alone.
Well, those three should be fine.
