I Quit Being a Court Magician Apprentice to Become a Magical Item Craftsman
“It’s been a while, Lord Iriya .”
A man in his fifties, the butler of Duke Hermann Schult de August, had come to visit. As always, his posture was impeccable.
“What brings you here today?”
I led him into the house and had him sit on the sofa.
Ekvar was sitting beside me, listening in on the conversation. Lini, Sebirino , and Annika were also in the same room.
“His Grace the Duke has a request that, if possible, he would like you to take on.”
The butler’s story went as follows:
In the maritime nation of Gurzis, a threat greater than a sea serpent had been discovered in the ocean.
However, the Gurzis navy was only capable of handling sea serpents at best, and they had only four mages who could use flight magic. The friendly nation of the Norsanus Empire was currently preparing for the threat of Tranchinel, and no other country seemed willing to lend a hand in this crisis. The neighboring nations were preoccupied with the possibility that the threat might come their way and were simply observing the situation while the threat remained in Gurzis’ waters.
To identify the threat, mages capable of flight magic were currently investigating.
If fishing operations were halted, it would not only harm those in the fishing industry but also reduce the number of tourists, impacting the tourism sector. Since maritime resources were the primary source of income, the nation’s financial stability was also at risk.
Gurzis was not a particularly large country. While it had invested heavily in maritime trade, its development in magic and summoning arts lagged even further behind that of Chenkaslar.
“There is one condition.”
Oh, that was sudden—Belial had spoken up. When did he start listening in?
“And what might that be?”
“I wish to obtain information on the damage caused by the demons in Tranchinel and the surrounding areas. After all, this is a matter caused by humans. I do not ask you to take undue risks, but I want what knowledge you can gather.”
So, he has indeed been summoned. It seems Belial is quite interested in this matter as well. Could it have something to do with his conversations with Beelphagor, also known as Peor?
“This is a matter of concern for us as well. I promise to provide you with all the information we obtain.”
“Hmm. Then, Iriya , listen to their request in detail.”
“…Alright.”
And with that, he simply left, throwing the responsibility onto me. Huh??
“As for the threat itself, we have confirmed that it is a long, thick-bodied creature with arms. Given that they described it as something greater than a sea serpent, we suspect it may be at least a mid-level or higher sea dragon. It has taken residence offshore, creating rough waves that send large swells into the shallows, along with strong rip currents pulling out to sea. As a result, no one has been able to venture out onto the water.”
“That is quite a problem. People have jobs to do, after all…”
“Since the nation’s primary income comes from marine resources and tourism, they want to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Even if they fail to defeat it, they are willing to pay for identifying its true nature. Additionally, they can issue requests for cooperation with the military and Gurzis’ mages.”
They must be quite desperate. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like it could be an upper-level threat rather than just a mid-level one. Given that it’s in the ocean, it might be best to keep the navy out of it—fighting with ships in the mix would be too difficult.
Ekvar nodded at the butler’s words.
“More than cooperation, identifying the threat is the top priority. Facing such an unknown danger in the ocean without understanding it would be far too reckless.”
He spoke from firsthand experience in Egdoarm. And I wholeheartedly agreed.
“Master. Based on Lord Belial’s words, we will certainly be heading there. In that case, how about allowing Annika, who owns a shop in the capital, to return with the butler using the duke’s carriage?”
Sebirino had a good point. After all, we had left for the defense city on business and had been staying here ever since. Her regular customers must be worried.
“Is this lady also one of your apprentices? And from the capital, no less? Please, feel free to use our carriage. There is ample room for passengers.”
“Thank you so much! Ah, I forgot to introduce myself—I’m Annika. I’m not much help in monster hunting, and I’ve been concerned about my shop as well. Iriya -sensei, um…”
Perhaps because we were about to part ways before a dangerous mission, Annika looked apologetic.
“It’s fine. Lord Shemihaza is here as well, so you can continue your studies and practice. If you ever have any questions, you can always come visit. We’ll take care of that sea dragon or whatever it is, no problem!”
With that, Annika and Shemihaza were set to return to the capital in the duke’s carriage.
It was sudden, but they would depart in the afternoon. Given the urgency of the request, the sooner we left, the better.
“Here, Annika, take this.”
I handed her a staff—crafted from Trineko wood with mithril embellishments—using the mithril I had received as a reward during a past mission in a mining town.
“Iriya -sensei!? This is…?”
“Make sure to keep practicing magic. This should help you control it better.”
“It’s a thoughtful gift, Annika. You should accept it.”
At Shemihaza’s gentle words, Annika hesitantly reached out to take the staff.
“You’ve already taught me so much, and now you’re giving me this too…”
She clutched the staff tightly and bowed deeply.
I was happy she appreciated it, but it wasn’t such a big deal! I was just doing for her what Belial had done for me—teaching me magic and giving me a staff.
“In exchange, once you’re used to it, practice flight magic too. It’s a great way to learn magic control.”
“…Huh???”
Annika looked up at me with wide eyes. Shemihaza chuckled quietly at her reaction.
“Don’t worry, I’ll train you.”
“Ehhhh!? But flight magic is something only high-ranking adventurers or royal court mages use!”
“Yep! Do your best!”
“If you can’t even manage that much, you can’t call yourself your master’s apprentice.”
Sebirino added fuel to the fire. That wasn’t exactly true, but still!
After lunch, we said our goodbyes to Annika and the others.
We took off for the maritime nation of Gurzis, using flight magic and wyverns.
…Recently, Ekvar had been riding the wyvern so often that it had started favoring him over me. Lini was riding with him too, and they both seemed to enjoy it. I didn’t mind, but… I felt a little left out.
The maritime nation of Gurzis.
First, we took the duke’s letter of introduction and headed to the Adventurers’ Guild in the capital.
When we showed the letter at the reception desk, we were immediately led to a reception room in the back. Without much delay, a man who appeared to be the guild master rushed in, looking flustered.
“You’ve come such a long way! I never expected you to arrive so quickly…!”
“Let’s get straight to the point. Can you tell us the current situation?”
Ekvar cut to the chase, urging him to continue.
“Yes, the creature is still offshore, creating large waves that prevent ships from setting sail. The coastline has been closed off, fishing is impossible, and tourism has been severely impacted. We put out a request through the guild, but since even the government is at a loss, no one has dared to take it on.”
It seemed like they were in serious trouble.
“Have you obtained any detailed information about the monster?”
“We received a report from a military mage specializing in flight magic. It’s extremely large, and they couldn’t confirm its full appearance, but it has massive, sharp fangs. They concluded that it belongs to the dragon species. The mage also mentioned being glared at by golden, glowing eyes. The creature has tough, dark blue scales, sharp claws, and was seen breathing both fire and smoke.”
“…A fire-breathing creature in the ocean, with dark blue scales and a massive body. Could it be…?”
Ekvar swallowed hard.
Sebirino nodded.
“Leviathan. That’s the most likely candidate for the monster.”
“As I suspected… We refer to it as Leviathan. This is the worst-case scenario…”
Leviathan—or Leviathan, as they called it—was one of the largest dragons that lived in the sea.
“Really!? I’ve never seen one before! Can I go take a look right away?”
“…Master.”
“Huh?”
Silence fell over the room, and all eyes turned to me. Even the female staff member who had just brought coffee stopped in her tracks, staring in my direction.
“…Leviathan is classified as a high-risk calamity-grade monster in our country. When it appears, the official policy is to drive it away rather than attempt to slay it.”
“…Hah! Hahaha! A woman wanting to ‘sightsee’ Leviathan? Even I have never encountered such a thing before!”
Even Belial was laughing at me. Was it really that strange…?
“T-That’s quite a bold statement. But wasn’t your kingdom, Chenkaslar, landlocked?”
“Ah, we actually came from Egdoarm. Naturally, we don’t have experience fighting Leviathan.”
With a clatter, more coffee was placed in front of me. To avoid saying anything unnecessary, I focused on stirring in milk and sugar.
“I see…! Then you must be used to dealing with threats from the sea. That’s reassuring! We’ve arranged accommodations for you. Rest for the night, and tomorrow we will take you to observe the target directly. After that, we would like to discuss possible countermeasures with you. As long as the danger is eliminated from our waters, whether by driving it away or some other means, that will suffice.”
So, they didn’t necessarily require us to defeat it outright.
Leviathan was one of the strongest dragons—even swords couldn’t scratch it.
Monsters that lived in water usually had water attributes, meaning they were strongest in aquatic environments. Ideally, fire should be the best counter, but since it’s in water, fire-based attacks would be ineffective. That made it difficult to defeat.
That’s why wind—especially its advanced form, lightning—was the safest option. But since we’d be at sea, we’d have to be careful about electrocution!
We spent the rest of the evening learning about tomorrow’s schedule and the current state of the country. Since fishing was impossible, the country had to rely on imported food, leading to rising prices. The innkeeper even warned us not to expect much from the meals.
The person who contacted the duke was a teacher originally from Chenkaslar, who was now teaching magic in Gurzis. Gurzis had formally requested their presence, and they currently resided in a port town. This teacher was the one who wrote the letter to the duke.
At the inn, we were given rooms on the second floor. I shared a large room with Lini, while Ekvar and Sebirino shared another. Belial, of course, had a room to himself.
The guild master bowed his head, saying he would prepare anything else we might need, before departing.
“…Miss Iriya , do you think you can defeat it?”
Just before entering my room, Ekvar asked for confirmation.
“Let’s see it tomorrow first. But with Lord Belial here, aren’t we planning to take it down?”
“…That’s what I thought. Personally, I’d prefer if we just drove it away since it’s too dangerous…”
“Oh, come on. You were the one who tried to make me fight the Four Sea Dragon King’s aide.”
“……Wait, what? The Four Sea… Dragon King…?”
Ekvar froze in place.
“You didn’t know? The ‘sea serpent’ in Egdoarm was actually the dragon god serving Ao Shun, the Four Sea Dragon King who rules the North Sea. The difference was so huge it was hilarious.”
“I assumed it was just a high-ranked sea dragon, but…!! Master, how did you survive…?!”
“Well, Lord Belial was there too. We were invited to Ryugu, the underwater palace, where we met the dragon king in human form. We just talked at Ryugu and left. You never saw it again, right?”
Even though Leviathan had the upper hand in raw combat strength, the Four Sea Dragon Kings were highly intelligent, rational, and could take human form. They lived in an underwater palace and rarely interacted with people, making them an enigmatic race.
The Dragon King who ruled over them all, Long Wang, was on the level of Tiamat. In terms of combat power, Tiamat and her black dragons were still superior.
That’s why even demons preferred not to provoke the dragon gods.
That subordinate dragon may have been one of the weaker ones, but killing it would have been a huge mistake.
“No wonder no one could find it afterward…!!!”
Ekvar and Sebirino were completely unaware.
Now that I thought about it, I never actually told them what happened after that.
I had assumed Sebirino, who was there, might have put the pieces together…
Did I shake them up too much? I might have messed up…
