Chapter 9

What stood before me was an impressive gate.

The iron surrounding the gate was reinforced and intricately carved with rose reliefs, while the grass visible on either side was neatly trimmed.

Behind it stood a mansion so massive that my family home looked like a doghouse.

This was the residence of the renowned magician known as “Iron Tower,” Salion.

“Please… I beg you! I wish to see Salion!”

I was bowing my head there.

Before me stood not Salion himself… but one of his disciples.

Famous magicians generally declare their own schools and establish a master-disciple system. Salion had dozens of disciples, who seemingly took care of his various needs.

“Enough already! Can’t you understand that it’s impossible?”

The bespectacled, intellectual-looking man was utterly dismissive. No matter how much I bowed, he only grew more irritated, showing no sign of being willing to listen to me.

This guy saw me as nothing more than a stone by the roadside. I could sense the disdain radiating from him in every aspect of his demeanor. I had endured this, telling myself it was for the sake of learning magic… but there’s a limit to everything.

“If you keep yelling—I’ll hit you!”

The man brandished his staff, delivering an ultimatum. I could take him down here and demonstrate my strength, but even if that led to me becoming a disciple, I’d still have to revere him as a senior disciple, right?

That was something I wanted no part of.

“Is that so? I understand.”

Feeling somewhat foolish, I turned around and headed back into the city.

I could hear the man’s shouting from behind, but I didn’t look back.

No worries, there are still three more.

Surely one of them would be willing to listen.

“I never expected the arrogance of looking down on others to be a trait shared among all senior disciples…”

With a sigh, I sat on a bench in the park. I felt like I could burn out and turn to ash.

There are several renowned magicians in Beglatia.

Including Salion, the Iron Tower, there are four recognized by the nation as “Two-Name Holders” for their power.

Fueled by my momentum, I headed to meet the other three… and spectacularly failed with each of them.

Moreover, I couldn’t even meet any of them; it was all a flat-out dismissal by their senior disciples.

“Seriously, are they really senior disciples?”

The role of a gatekeeper is said to be a sign of trust from the master, and it appears that a high-ranking senior disciple is usually entrusted with it… But since all of them looked down on me just like that first intellectual with glasses, it was unbearable.

“There’s no reason to meet someone of uncertain background, huh…”

The reason everyone turned me away was exactly the same.

In this city, powerful magicians are treated like a sort of privileged class.

Apparently, Two-Name Holders possess such strength that even low-ranking nobles don’t dare to challenge them easily.

This might lead to a sort of elitist mindset, resulting in them looking down on others.

(As long as I can become a powerful magician, it seems like I could live comfortably in this world.)

Thinking about it for a moment, it makes sense that powerful magicians are treated with respect.

Skilled magicians are somewhat like strategic weapons.

If you unleash an imperial-level spell on a densely packed battlefield, you could change the tide of the war in an instant. In fact, they are likely used that way.

Thus, first-rate magicians residing in Beglatia receive exceptional treatment.

If I could just meet them, I could show them my improved magic and possibly get them to accept me as a disciple… but being treated so coldly like this really drains my motivation.

To be honest, towards the end, I was knocking on gates almost mechanically.

I might be told it’s foolish not to patiently persevere, given my concrete goal of obtaining advanced magic.

But somehow, I just couldn’t get used to that unique atmosphere.

(The way those so-called senior disciples looked at me felt similar to how Latz and Sara looked at me.)

I want to grow stronger.

But that’s not an absolute goal that I must achieve by humbling myself and fawning over them.

(Maybe my strength is already sufficient at this point.)

While I only have enough strength to barely win one-on-one against monsters from the Demon Forest, my combat ability is quite high by this country’s standards.

According to what I checked in the reference room, some of the monsters I defeated from the Demon Forest included A-rank creatures that only first-rate magicians could take down.

It might be better to focus on other things rather than pursuing strength any further.

A place where I can live comfortably, a place where I can be myself, and important people… I wonder if I can truly find such things.

It’s not something you can create just because you want to, but the sheer difficulty of it makes me sigh involuntarily.

Including the memories of my previous life, I carry many secrets.

If powerful figures were to find out, it would be problematic, so it’s not something I can easily share with others.

I may not understand much, having been an ordinary university student in my previous life, but I possess knowledge that doesn’t exist in this world if I want to draw it out.

To somehow deal with that, I wanted the protection of a magician…

“Well, things don’t go that smoothly.”

“What doesn’t go smoothly?”

“—Wha!?”

Before I knew it, a shadow appeared in front of me.

When I looked up, there was a man standing there.

He was a sturdy man with fiery red hair.

His red eyes sparkled fiercely, showing his strong will as he stared intently at me.

(No way… I didn’t notice him at all…)

Even though I was slightly mentally fatigued, I always created a gentle breeze to detect anyone nearby.

However, this man had effortlessly slipped through that vigilance.

This guy… is definitely not an ordinary person.

“Wind detection is indeed convenient, but it’s not infallible. If someone knows how to feel the direction and frequency of the wind, they can easily slip through.”

The man said with a laugh.

He didn’t have much muscle mass, but it was clear he was well-trained.

He carried a longsword at his waist, but he didn’t seem inclined to draw it.

To show he had no hostile intent, he raised both hands towards me.

Is he not in the mood to fight…?

Without lowering my guard, I stood up and slightly crouched down.

I finished preparing to activate wind magic for a quick escape from this place.

I didn’t know if I could actually escape from someone this skilled, but it was better to be prepared just in case.

“Well, go ahead and talk. You might find it surprisingly easier.”

The man plopped down on the bench where I had just been sitting.

He spread his legs wide, clearly leaving himself open.

However… even if I used magic now, I wouldn’t be able to take him down.

I had a strange certainty about that.

(I don’t know why this person suddenly appeared, and I can’t trust him at all, but…)

It’s undoubtedly true that the person in front of me is stronger than I am now.

It might be better to listen to him rather than risk upsetting his mood.

So, I sat at the edge of the bench to maintain some distance and began to vent about what happened today.

Perhaps it was because I had been unable to communicate properly with others recently, or perhaps because the recent events had weighed heavily on me.

Once I started talking, the words flowed out much more smoothly than I had imagined.

And thus, while I grumbled about the insufferable attitudes of those magicians, I let out my pent-up frustration.