SIMA 25

Magic Wand (1)

The carriage passed through the castle gate.

His heart pounded.

Even before he was kidnapped, he had been uneasy all day.

Even when the other party offered for him to join their side, he had felt a lingering sense of unease.

If he had accepted that proposal, he would never have made it here.

He would have become the alchemist’s enemy. But after many twists and turns, he had arrived.

It made him realize anew that one never knows how life will unfold. If someone had told his past self from a few months ago that he would go through something like this, he would never have believed it.

Back then, the only battles he had fought were against four gnolls—he had been a complete rookie. But now things were different.

He had killed mercenaries and learned more magic. He had even fought a life-and-death struggle worthy of being called a war. Rael had grown. To put it plainly, it was accurate to say he had been reborn as a warrior.

A warrior was someone who knew how to fight—someone capable of pulling their weight on the battlefield.

Though he was a mage, he was also a warrior.

He had returned as one.

And he had brought Lorina with him.

Now it was time to receive his reward. He was curious what the alchemist would give him.

Just in case, he looked around.

He was worried Bruno might be nearby.

You must never let your guard down until the very end.

The moment the mercenaries had attacked came back to him.

Even then, a clerk from the mercenary guild had warned him.

He hadn’t listened to that warning.

He had always kept himself mentally prepared. But at the very last moment, he had relaxed. He had let his guard down.

That was why he had been kidnapped.

Carelessness was forbidden.

He tightly grabbed Lorina’s hand.

Pulling the girl along, he started walking.

It was in the direction of the alchemist’s house.

He walked through the flow of people so that even if someone were watching, he would pass by unnoticed.

The road felt both familiar and unfamiliar.

It was probably because it had been a while since he’d walked it.

At first he was a bit confused, yet his feet naturally carried him in the right direction.

His body already remembered where to go. That was a relief.

He entered the alchemist’s house.

The door was open.

It was often closed when the alchemist went up the mountain, but it seemed he hadn’t gone today.

A clerk sat at the counter. It was a familiar face.

Belief.

When he saw the unexpected visitor, he sprang up from his chair.

His mouth fell open as if he had seen a ghost, and he called for an apprentice.

It was almost a scream.

The apprentice who came running looked shocked too—no, “stunned” would be more accurate. The apprentice hurried inside, then came back out and called to Lorina.

“He says to come in.”

Lorina stepped forward.

When Rael tried to follow, the apprentice grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait. He says he’ll see you later.”

“Really?”

“Try to understand. A father and daughter have a lot to talk about.”

Belief smiled.

It was obvious he didn’t like Rael going in together with Lorina, so this suited him just fine.

But that expression didn’t last long.

Lorina suddenly grabbed Rael’s arm tightly with both hands.

“I’ll make sure to speak well of you to Father.”

Her tone was sweet enough to drip honey.

Belief’s face twisted instantly.

Rael nodded.

No matter what, they were still father and daughter.

He wasn’t tactless enough to interrupt their long-awaited reunion.

It would have been nice to meet immediately, but this wasn’t bad either. Since Lorina would speak well of him, it might actually be better to meet later.

The reward might even grow.

He wasn’t asking her to fabricate stories, but he did hope Lorina would put in a good word.

He was about to leave his seat.

But Belief spoke to him.

It didn’t seem like he was picking a fight.

He looked curious about what had happened.

The crumpled expression from earlier was gone, replaced by a gaze full of curiosity.

Rael answered his questions.

About being kidnapped by mercenaries.

And about the fights during that process.

Naturally, Belief didn’t believe him.

When Rael mentioned using magic, Belief even frowned.

When Rael showed him a lump of water, Belief looked surprised.

Still, he didn’t believe the combat part.

Belief said a mage couldn’t fight that well.

There was no need to convince him.

Rael simply nodded.

Belief didn’t say he was glad Rael returned safely.

It was probably because of Lorina. Still, Rael didn’t care.

After exchanging a few more words, he left.

He headed to the inn.

His mind was filled entirely with thoughts of what the alchemist might give him.

He felt a bit worried too.

But he trusted Lorina.

At the same time, he thought about money.

He had left the money he possessed in his room at the inn.

There was no special reason.

There was a wooden box with a lock in the room. Important items could be stored there. He also had the room key. It was safer than carrying the money around.

The innkeeper would have it.

He needed to get it back.

But he wondered if the man would return it.

It had been over a month since he left Langs Castle. The innkeeper might have assumed he was dead and pocketed the money.

If the man refused to return it now that he had reappeared, that would be a problem.

It wasn’t just one or two copper coins—there were dozens of silvers in the box. It was entirely possible.

He thought about what to do in that case. The best option seemed to be bribing a guard to mediate.

If that still didn’t work, he would have to use force to make the man hand it over.

He entered the inn.

It was noisy.

It reminded him of the first time he had come. Just like then, the innkeeper was sitting at the counter chatting with customers. When Rael stared, the innkeeper noticed him and opened his mouth wide.

“Huh? You little brat! You’re alive?”

The innkeeper jumped up and came over, patting his back.

“Have you been well?”

“Haha! Of course. You? I heard you got kidnapped by mercenaries.”

“I escaped.”

“You’re lucky you made it back. What brings you to the inn?”

Rael scratched his head.

It was hard to bring it up.

Unlike Belief, the man welcomed him warmly, which made it even harder.

Still, he had to say it.

If the box only contained a bit of travel money, he might have let it go—but there was a large sum inside.

Maybe the innkeeper was being so friendly because he had already swallowed the money.

It was a very plausible guess.

There is no kindness without reason.

Once he thought that way, everything felt fake.

His stomach churned.

Just then—

The innkeeper told him to follow and headed upstairs.

It seemed he had noticed Rael was about to mention the box. Maybe he was moving somewhere private to refuse.

Rael prepared to threaten him.

He readied a spell at any moment.

The innkeeper brought something from the storage room.

It was the locked box.

Rael was stunned.

Because the man said he would return it.

When Rael asked if he was serious, the innkeeper rubbed his nose and said,

“Do I look like someone who extorts a kid’s hard-earned money?”

“N-no…”

“Then?”

“…It’s just a little surprising.”

It truly was.

There were dozens of silvers inside.

Even seeing that and handing it over so readily was shocking.

From the innkeeper’s perspective, it wasn’t a small amount either. It was enough to threaten someone and chase them away.

But Rael had been mistaken.

“Did you look inside?”

“I didn’t open it. I thought I might get greedy.”

The innkeeper explained.

He knew there was money inside.

Naturally.

Guests stored important belongings in the box because it was safe. That meant it often contained money and valuables.

So he didn’t open it.

Because if he did and greed arose, he might not want to return it.

Even if someone set their heart straight, seeing the goods could spark greed—that was what he had learned about people in life.

For Rael, it was extremely fortunate.

As the innkeeper said, if he had opened the box, he might not have handed it over so easily. Rael might have had to resort to threats like he feared earlier. It was a relief things didn’t turn ugly.

Still, keeping the box was unexpected.

Rael had suddenly disappeared.

The man even knew he had been kidnapped.

More than a month had passed—it would have been natural to assume he was dead. Keeping the box separately like this was strange.

“The guards were talking. Said you were a mage. Said you killed four men. No bodies were found. Figured you’d come back unless you were sold as a slave.”

“You kept it for a whole month just for that?”

“Well, didn’t you come back in the end? That’s what matters.”

The innkeeper spoke.

It sounded as if Rael was the strange one, not him.

Feeling like a complete jerk, Rael scratched his head. After everything he’d been through, he had started suspecting people by default. Maybe he should fix that a bit.

“Thank you.”

“Just drop by the inn more often.”

“I will.”

Rael smiled.

The innkeeper waved his hand dismissively.

It was clearly nothing special to him.

The innkeeper probably thought Rael couldn’t have earned much in the few months he stayed.

Unfortunately for him, Rael had earned over 50 silver.

Of that, 29 silver had been placed in the box.

Rael wondered what face the man would make if he knew there were 29 silver inside.

He’d probably collapse from stomach pain. Twenty-nine silver was enough money to make someone throw away their conscience.

“Wait a second.”

Seeing him reminded Rael of the tasty water. He had been thinking of selling it to the inn.

“Do you have a cup?”

“A cup? I’ve got a beer mug.”

There was a mug in his right hand. Judging by how empty it was, he had just downed a beer.

Rael cast a spell and formed a droplet of water.

He poured the droplet into the mug. The innkeeper looked surprised at first, then frowned.

“It’s just water.”

“Try it.”

Rael wasn’t certain whether the tasty water would make money. He needed to let him taste it.

The innkeeper looked doubtful but lifted the mug anyway, as if humoring him.

“…Huh?”

He smacked his lips, tasting it.

“This is good. You could sell this as a drink.”

“Will it make money?”

“Of course! When did you learn something like this?”

“I trained while traveling. I’ll make you one barrel for now.”

“One barrel? Can’t you make more?”

“I can—if you pay.”

“What? You brat! Hahaha!”

The innkeeper burst out laughing.

It wasn’t mockery. He slapped Rael’s back and said,

“The kid who used to look so clueless is now calmly asking for money. You’ve grown.”

“That’s a compliment, right?”

“If it is, will you give me a discount?”

“Not happening.”

The innkeeper laughed again and named a price.

In exchange for making one barrel, he would pay 25 copper. Rael made four barrels and pocketed 1 silver.

The innkeeper sold it immediately.

It sold better than expected.

Customers gave it decent reviews too.

That was a relief.

As Rael was about to head to his room, someone grabbed him.

It was the girl who worked at the inn.

It was nice to see her again after so long.

She asked him to make her some of the drink too.

Feeling generous, he made it for her.

It wasn’t particularly difficult anyway.

The only problem was that making too much made his head throb. If it got too bad, he couldn’t train properly. So moderation was necessary.

Rael went into his room.

He felt good.

Everything was going smoothly.

The next day, someone came looking for him.

It was the apprentice, delivering word that the alchemist was calling for him.

After relaying the message, the apprentice left.

Rael changed his clothes.

It was time to meet Lorina’s father.