CH 2

Chapter 2 – The Day I Chose the Path of a Court Magician

——It was four years before Alec Huguette became a court magician.

“I will become a court magician.”

I’ve been at the magic academy for six years.

At the end of the graduation ceremony, I muttered that to myself in front of my closest friends.

“Even though my father was against it, but still…”.

A smile came to the edge of my lips. The fact that my father was against my decision was something they had already known, especially since they were my closest friends. I had told them before that my father was against my decision.

Maybe that’s why. They all laughed and slightly cowered as if to say, “Poor you.”

But they probably realized that nothing they could say would help. No one would say to me, “Just forget it.”

I just want to make things easier for my father.

My mother died a few years ago due to an epidemic. That’s why my father raised me by himself and paid for my tuition to attend the magic academy.

——A kid should not worry about money. You can do what you want and be what you want. A kid is allowed to be selfish. So please, don’t be so reserved.

Although I knew that I had a talent for magic, in the beginning, I had no interest in attending a magic academy because of my family’s financial situation.

But, my father always gave me the opportunity to push away my desires. That’s why I have been at the magic academy for six years now.

And this is how I was blessed with friends…

“…Court magicians get paid well, don’t they?”

Not for honor or status.

Clasia, a girl who knew that the reason I wanted to become a court magician was because of the high salary——stared at me with her deep black eyes that reminded me of obsidian.

I lowered my eyes at her words.

“I actually thought that we would all be adventurers. But then I thought adventurers aren’t very stable.”

If we were all S-rank party adventurers, we could invite Alec without hesitation, but we can’t force him to join us just yet. The short-bobbed haired girl——Jorha, looked somewhat sad as she spun her words.

She was the one who had invited me to become an adventurer until the end. In the back of her eyes, she still had the pestering color of a selfish child, but there was also a hint of resignation in her expression.

“If Alec had joined us, we would have had the strongest party. The strongest party of the four geniuses since the beginning of the magic academy!”

“…Did you just call yourself a ‘genius’ too?”

“Shut up! The teachers are all saying that if it weren’t for this year, I would have been at the top of the class for sure! Do you have any complaints?”

“…There’s nothing to complain about, Number four-san~.”

“One day, I’m going to beat you to a pulp…”

Ornest, a boy with an eccentric personality——who calls himself a “genius” at every turn, also threw in a few regrettable words.

He seems to not getting along well with Clasia and is still showing dog and monkey behavior* as usual, but when I think that today will be the last time I will see them arguing, I feel sad.

[T/n: it’s an example of a bad relationship, like that between cats and dogs.]

I was smiling at their interaction, but then I heard another voice…

“But, you know what, Alec. Just remember this.”

The voice was coming from Jorha.

“We’re going down different paths, but that doesn’t mean our relationship is over. If you want, I would like to recruit the court magician Alec when we become a great adventurer.”

“…Hey, hey, hey.”

…Sure, it’s not that I genuinely yearn for a career as a court magician, but I’m adamant that I’ll take it no matter what. But I can’t help but be surprised by what Jorha said.

“Therefore——.”

With a deep breath, Jorja turned to me and said

“——If you have any problems, you can count on us. And one day, we’ll have a party again. Can you promise me that?”

One of the combat exercises at the magic academy was a dungeon battle.

Originally, conquering dungeons was a way for adventurers to earn a living, but in order to improve the abilities of the students, dungeon conquering was included as part of the class, though only on the shallow floors.

And…

The four of us, Jorha, Clasia, Ornest, and I, have been in a party for the past six years for this dungeon conquering.

Six years ago, the record for the highest dungeon conquered in the royal capital by the magic academy students was brilliantly highlighted at——37th floor.

Six years ago, that record was said to be unbreakable for the next ten years, but it has been surpassed and surpassed again, and the final record is amazingly set at——68th floor.

Even for a party of active adventurers, it would be impossible to surpass that record except for an S-ranked party.

It’s a record that everyone in the academy agreed would be impossible to break until the four geniuses in the same class gathered again.

The party member was the one who had graduated at the top of the class.

Alec Huguette.

Second place, Jorha Eisenz.

Third place, Clasia Annerose.

Fourth place, Ornest Reine.

The name of the party was——”The Lasting Period of Endless Days.”

“…That’s right. Yeah, we should have a party together again sometime. I don’t know when that will be, but still, yeah——I promise.”

I hope it will always be the four of us. This is the reason why the name of the party has become a legend at the magic academy.

…I don’t know why such a nostalgic memory suddenly crossed my mind.