A quiet training room.
As the mana lamps on the walls flickered softly, I stood upright, steadying my breath.
“Whew… hnn.”
I gathered mana at my fingertips.
Slowly—truly slowly—the flow rose, sensed beneath my heart.
It moved gradually toward my hand, and then—
“Guh!”
It was crushed at once and scattered into the air.
The energy vanished before it could take shape.
A failure.
“Failed again? How many times does that make?”
The voice from behind me belonged to my disciple, Kael.
He looked at me with a snort.
“Ha. At this rate, it’s embarrassing to even call you a fellow magic student, let alone a mage.”
Lisa, standing beside him, rolled her eyes.
“It’s getting pathetic now. Seeing how you can’t even condense mana, I guess it really was your noble backing that got you in.”
“If you truly wanted to learn magic, you should’ve at least come with the basics.”
Jaren cut in. He deliberately mimicked my voice.
“‘Whew… hnn~!’ What is that, breathing practice?”
Laughter circled through the training room.
I kept my mouth shut and stared only at the floor.
Talking back would only bring deeper ridicule.
A familiar scene. Familiar humiliation.
And yet, somehow… something was strangely off.
Everything was far too familiar, and yet oddly vivid.
“Rive.”
Then came a low, dry voice.
It was my master, Kroy.
He walked over slowly, leaning on a staff engraved with a magic circle.
His calm white beard swayed beneath his chin, and his eyes shone like cold crystal.
“Glaring at empty air is not practice.”
“I apologize, Master.”
“Mana is not sensation. Sensation is luck, and knowledge is a weapon. You possess neither.”
He turned his back to me and waved his hand.
In an instant, the flow of mana in the air responded, drawing a blue magic circle of light.
“This is order. Understanding, calculating, and commanding. With your senses, you will never draw even a single line of it in your lifetime.”
At that moment, something passed by with a sound like a misaligned click.
I staggered.
My vision shook.
A blurry pattern appeared on the floor.
The light was blue, but the form was unfamiliar and alien.
Complex lines I had never seen anywhere before.
And what those lines drew was… a cold, deep resonance.
In that instant, I was certain.
It was taboo.
A mark of a pact with something humans should never cross.
That was when—
“…Rive.”
Master Kroy’s voice was… slightly different.
When I raised my head, he was utterly still, as if time had stopped.
Kael, Lisa, and Jaren were the same.
Everyone had frozen like living sculptures.
And beyond the wall of the training room, a shadow no one had noticed began to move.
A black shape.
Something that looked like a robe slowly walked forward, revealing itself as though a curtain had been drawn back from behind a stage.
Sssrk.
It lifted its head and looked at me.
It had no eyes and no expression.
And yet it seemed as though a soundless laugh was blooming from it.
“Don’t come…”
I gasped for breath and stepped backward.
But my toes clung to the floor as if glued there.
It drew closer and closer to me.
“Don’t come… don’t come… don’t come aaaany closer!!”
·
·
·
“Aaaaargh!!”
Breathing roughly, I shot upright on the bed.
My heart was pounding, and my hands trembled, soaked in sweat.
Slowly lifting my gaze, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling lit by the faint light of dawn.
……It was a dream.
But the sensation was still vivid.
‘…This isn’t my memory.’
I slowly looked down at my palm.
It was clearly a memory left behind by the original owner of this body.
What on earth had that been?
The unknown pattern and magic circle, the master and disciples in a blank, empty space, and that ominous being that appeared at the end.
…I couldn’t tell what it meant.
But it probably wasn’t just some meaningless nightmare.
Someday, this might become a clue.
Thanks to the Miracle Morning I’d been forced into, I only felt needlessly uneasy.
Waking up itself had been far from refreshing, but since I was already up, I figured I should go out.
***
Whether people here woke up early on average or not, there were quite a few people eating in the lobby.
They all wake up so well, even without alarms.
I quietly sat down at one side of the dining table.
I took a bite of the bread placed before me, but I had no appetite.
My throat was parched, and my head felt as heavy as if a stone had been placed on it.
Was it because of the dream?
It was still clear in my mind.
That pattern. And that unidentified shape.
It felt like a memory, and also just like a strange nightmare.
But one thing was certain: it had felt unpleasantly real.
That pattern gave me the feeling that I had seen something I shouldn’t have.
So there was only one conclusion.
The Magic Tower, which had been one of my original goals, was off-limits for the time being.
It was hard to explain exactly why.
But I had a feeling that if I went there now, nothing good would happen.
My body—no, perhaps the memories of this body—was telling me so.
When my intuition was this strong, I should just follow it.
I had seen plenty of people get into serious trouble by needlessly pretending to be tough.
Anyway, there were still plenty of things I could do.
The matter of uncovering my identity… well, I could put that off until later.
Not dying right now was more important.
By the way, what should I do today?
There was still a day left until the request.
Spending all day cooped up in the lodging felt suffocating.
If I just stayed still like this, it felt like… I was falling behind?
My body was resting, but my mind was tired. That kind of feeling.
Was my mindset too modern…?
Maybe in this world, it would be fine to live a little more leisurely.
But thoughts I had already grown used to were not so easily bent.
I had no money, so even browsing the market felt awkward. Should I just wander around the city?
After thinking for a moment, I looked out the window.
The sunlight outside didn’t look bad.
The city center would be as crowded as it had been yesterday, so somewhere quieter would be better.
I decided to go to the outskirts of the city.
I didn’t know what would be there, but that wasn’t important.
If there was nothing, that was fine too.
Rather than giving myself a headache in some noisy place for no reason, it would be more comfortable to walk alone and sort out my thoughts.
“Good. Let’s go out.”
I put the last piece of bread in my mouth and rose from my seat.
The outskirts of the city. Though still within the castle walls, management here was lax.
Even near the lodging, guards had been visible here and there, but here, none could be found.
Perhaps the sewage facilities were poor, because the stench of filth filled the air.
The wooden walls were cracked in places, and the houses barely stood, leaning against one another’s walls.
Between them, small, dark tents could be seen.
The way they lined the road reminded me of a rural five-day market.
Many had no signs, and some had curtains drawn so the inside couldn’t be seen.
Some places looked suspicious, but not all of them did.
In front of one tent, wooden dolls of unknown make were displayed in a disorderly fashion.
In the tent beside it were faded belts, crude rings, and small crystals that looked as though they had been picked up from somewhere.
“This here really does bring luck. Half the time.”
The merchant, who looked like an old man, grinned with a mouth missing a tooth.
I said nothing and quietly turned my gaze away.
At another tent, travel talismans, used alchemy bottles, and pieces of wood with excessively cheap price tags were being sold.
Whether they were real or fake, I couldn’t tell, but the place was packed only with things I couldn’t even guess the use of.
Even so, someone was buying something.
Then, from behind one tent, a hoarse voice came.
“Did you bring it?”
I turned my head as if uninterested.
A man in a long robe took something from his coat and faced another person who seemed far too nervous to be called a customer.
Something was exchanged. It was not the sound of coins.
Two small bottles changed hands carefully, wrapped in paper.
‘…Is this like a black market?’
I didn’t act like I knew anything and continued walking along the road.
Someone’s gaze swept over my back, but I didn’t meet it.
In a place like this, trouble could begin with something as simple as making eye contact.
At the end of a secluded path.
Behind a half-collapsed stone wall, a dusty equipment box lay discarded.
Beside it, I saw a man crouched down as if packing up his things after finishing business.
‘What’s he selling over there?’
As I approached, I suddenly stopped.
It was because the man’s lower face felt familiar.
A faded leather cloak, a crumpled fur hat, and one corner of his mouth turned upward.
“…Dardan?”
The man raised his head.
It was Dardan. Once his face was revealed, I knew for certain.
Fortunately, I had my hood pulled down low, and thanks to that, he showed no sign of recognizing me.
Without saying a word, he picked up the box filled with goods and disappeared down the alley.
‘I’m sure of it. What is that bastard doing here?’
He said he was a fence, so sure enough, even here…
I wanted to follow him immediately, but at a glance, this was a dangerous area.
Even after what happened yesterday, I couldn’t get caught the same way again.
‘……I’ll have to come back later.’
***
Not every part of the city outskirts was dark.
As I walked along the castle wall, I noticed an area where quite a lot of smoke was rising.
…An industrial district?
When I got closer, I saw a blacksmith’s forge.
It seemed to be a system where things were made here and then sent to the commercial district.
Well, there wouldn’t be any reason to put facilities full of smoke in the middle of the city.
But the clothes of the people coming and going were better than I expected.
I thought there would only be blacksmiths, but I could see people wearing rather expensive-looking clothes as well.
Were they coming to make direct requests?
It seemed they didn’t only use goods displayed at the market.
Indeed, for good items, it would be better to order them directly and have them fitted.
It wasn’t only blacksmiths.
Next to them was a leather workshop, and a little farther on, I saw a weaving mill as well.
Somehow, the entire area felt like one big worksite.
The smell of smoke, iron, and leather mixed together and stung my nose.
It was a little noisy, but strangely full of life.
As I walked down the street, I stopped at the commotion coming from one forge.
The owner of the forge and a noble were arguing fiercely.
The noble raised his voice, demanding something from the forge owner, while the owner stubbornly waved his hand and refused.
“What I want is not a simple weapon.”
The noble said.
“It is an item as dear as life itself to my family. What is so difficult about it?”
The forge owner shook his head and replied.
“That is not something I can make. Perhaps you should look for another forge…”
The noble stared at the owner for a moment with an incredulous expression, then finally turned away.
He didn’t even notice that I had been watching them.
After they left, I approached the forge owner.
“What was that about?”
I asked.
The forge owner seemed lost in thought for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“What that man was looking for… was an important item. But it is not something I can make.”
At those words, I tilted my head slightly.
“What exactly was it?”
The forge owner gave a faint shake of his head and said,
“Are you a mercenary? You’d be better off not poking your nose into this kind of thing.”
After casting a brief glance at me, he turned away as if nothing had happened and continued working.
As though that was all he had to say to me, he said nothing more.
Questions flashed through my mind, but I had no intention of digging any deeper.
It was merely something I had passed by.
***
By the time I finished making a circuit around the outskirts of the city, the sun was already slowly setting.
On the way back, the skewers being sold on the street made me hungry.
I wanted to buy one, but I didn’t have a single coin.
For some reason, the lodging was bustling.
Judging by the familiar faces, they were probably the Barrett Mercenary Corps, the ones I’d be going on the request with tomorrow.
Among the mercenary corps’ members, the only ones I had actually become acquainted with, aside from the corps leader, were two people, and neither of them was here.
On top of that, Barrett was nowhere to be seen either.
In short, the place was full of strangers.
I sat down in a roughly empty seat and waited for the meal, but strangely, I could feel gazes on me.
I thought they would just be chatting noisily among themselves, but whenever they had the chance, their eyes landed on me.
What the hell, what's with them? I came here to eat, not to be stared at.
A moment later, the man sitting across from me opened his mouth.
"Hey, you. I heard about you. They say you're a pretty impressive bastard."
His voice was rough from the start.
A blunt way of speaking, hair cropped short.
At a glance, he was the type to use his body before his words.
Since I'd only dealt with mercenaries who were relatively proper in their own way until now, this sort of style felt strangely unfamiliar.
"They say you took down those bandits all by yourself. Is that true?"
It sounded more like he was picking a fight than asking a question.
It wasn't praise, nor was it curiosity. It was exactly that particular tone people used when trying to start trouble.
He was the type desperate to draw attention, plain as day.
Without a word, I just held my spoon and looked at him.
"What, can't even answer? Or are you just all talk?"
He sprang up from his seat.
The table rattled, and several pieces of cutlery shook.
A few mercenaries nearby glanced around and quietly backed away.
"Fine. Words won't tell me anything, so let's check right here. Fight me. Now."
I slowly turned my head.
I said nothing, but I did not avoid his gaze either.
The air inside the lodging seemed to drop all at once, becoming deathly quiet.
There were always guys like this at companies too.
The kind who started something first, then felt ignored if the other person stayed silent.
I didn't particularly want to fight, but with this sort, if you didn't deal with them, they'd cling on until the end.
...What a pain.
Just then, another mercenary sitting beside him stepped in.
He was a tall man with sharp eyes.
"Enough. Don't pick a fight. Even if you're from some backwater village, learn to read the room."
"What? Backwater? Who the hell are you—"
"That man is someone Baret brought here personally. He's not someone you can just charge at whenever you feel like it."
A brief silence passed.
The man looked as if he might burst out cursing, but perhaps sensing the gazes around him,
he bit down hard on his lip and retreated with only his fists clenched tight.
"Hmph. Do whatever you want. Guess you think avoiding a fight counts as skill."
Then he returned to his seat and flopped down.
'Where did Baret pick up another guy like that?'
Taren was one thing, but there really were a lot of strange people here.
I still couldn't forget the sight of him running away from the bandits.
And now, a simple-minded lump of muscle.
Could it be that Baret had some habit of collecting trash?
At this point, I was starting to wonder if he did it on purpose.
I silently turned my head and picked up my utensils again.
As if the trouble had ended, the atmosphere in the dining hall began to flow once more.
I was still hungry, but it felt like my appetite had faded a little.
It seemed this request wouldn't go smoothly either.