EP.17 The Correct Answer, Alchemist
Today's class went well too. Just as I stretched and was about to head out the door, the vampire's voice stopped me.
[Nothing today either?]
"What do you mean, nothing?"
[Exactly that—anything. Something fascinating, I mean.]
'The story I heard yesterday, the tale of clothes and needles, was quite interesting. That fellow has some talent for storytelling. I wonder if there are other stories?'
The vampire, who had been distancing herself from the world inside a coffin for hundreds of years, seemed to have genuinely enjoyed the story I told yesterday. She held onto me like a lonely grandmother.
Well, it's not like everything I have to say is interesting even if she expects it. I don't particularly have any topics to share either.
Scratching my head, I said.
"Fascinating, huh. Well then, should I teach you some magic or something?"
[Magic?]
I had said it thinking she wouldn't be interested, but both the vampire and the regressor showed interest simultaneously. Huh, this much attention is burdensome.
"Don't get your hopes up. The magic I can teach you is nothing more than the Military Nation's standard magic learned in middle school."
'Hah. Tch. I thought it'd be unique magic.'
The regressor's interest faded quickly. That woman's standards had risen so high that she seemed to have no interest in ordinary techniques used by someone like me.
This, despite the fact that if she were placed among "them," she'd be evaluated as "a mediocre talent who advanced their abilities prematurely." Hmph, a regressor propped up by lucky encounters and items. Let's see her do well.
In contrast, consider this. The vampire's response was beautifully exemplary.
[You, you can use magic?!]
Humans look upward to inspire motivation and downward to find their sense of security. For me, downward was a suspiciously old vampire.
Ah. My self-esteem is fulfilled. The modern genius theory is real. Because the vampire, an ancient being, regards and feels as if I were truly a genius.
Feeling my chest swell with pride, I spoke.
"Yes. Magic, I can use it."
Then the regressor snorted.
'It's the standard Military Nation magic that every dog and cow learns. Showing off over such useless magic...'
When in her first life, she couldn't even qualify as a dog or cow. Maybe about the level of a mouse kicked to death by a cow's hind leg?
Just go away. Why are you still here listening to me?
If she's going to stay and listen to the lesson, I wish she'd take notes from the vampire's reaction. It's only satisfying to explain when someone reacts like that.
[Magic is a product of mystery, an esoteric art that only deep sages could approach! That which even I could not use, you, a being like you, can wield?]
"A being like me? I'll have you know I walked around with some swagger where I used to live."
Though I'm a criminal in the Military Nation and crawling on my belly here, I never missed first place in my class at the Middle Military Academy. Even after dropping out, there was no one who didn't know me if you mentioned back-alley magicians.
Though I was famous more in the sense of a jester than a sage....
"And it's not like I'm particularly special. There are so many people who can use magic besides me. Once you enter middle school, everyone tries using magic at least once."
I only stated ordinary "common knowledge," but the vampire looked as surprised as if facing the end of the world.
[Everyone... tries using it? Magic?]
"Of course."
[They, how many are there?]
"The middle school I attended had two hundred students per grade, and there were ten such schools.... Yes. There's a minimum magic-using population of two thousand."
[T-two thousand....]
The vampire was genuinely amazed, clicking her tongue.
[Two thousand magicians. That's more than the population of a decent city.]
"These days, a population of two thousand doesn't even count as a city. The population has grown so much. You'd have to go to rural outskirts for just two thousand. And you seem to be misunderstanding something."
Two thousand per grade.
Oops. Back then, there was no concept of schools and grades. I had to correct that misunderstanding.
"It's not that the total magic-using population is two thousand. It's just the 13-year-old children attending the Middle Military Academy who number two thousand. There's the same number of magicians among the 14-year-olds who are one year older, and likewise among those one year older than them...."
[Impossible! Then, there are no less than a hundred thousand magicians?!]
"They're not quite magicians, more like a population that can use magic? And among them, there aren't many who study magic professionally."
[Still, a hundred thousand. A hundred thousand....]
In the old days, there were many cases where an entire country's population didn't reach a hundred thousand. It's no wonder she's surprised. I shrugged and said.
"Well, about this much? A thousand years of time creates this kind of gap."
Thank you, civilization. Oh precious history of humanity, which has put me a thousand years ahead of the vampire.
While I was busy showing off, a tactless voice interrupted.
"Stop encouraging misunderstandings. Only a tiny fraction of them have talent in magic."
The regressor raised an objection.
Seriously, she learned magic herself, so why does she keep putting it down? She reproached me as if she couldn't bear it unless she diminished herself.
"More than half of them can't even perform magic properly when you make them try. Magic is a realm where talent matters most, so many people just learn the basics and put it on the back burner. It's better to spend that time learning combat or strategy."
She seems to be aiming for depreciation, but unfortunately, even that was a wondrous thing to the vampire.
[To have the chance to learn magic and give it up? How could that be acceptable...?]
"Ah, well. It's a long story if I explain. Um."
This time I interrupted.
"When knowledge becomes more common than stones by the roadside, people treat knowledge like they treat stones."
[Even though learning it would surely become power?]
"Meaning power too is merely a commodity governed by economic logic. If it's not rare, there's no need to obtain it."
[My, what a strange perspective....]
"Well, that's the changed world for you."
[Well, then. If perhaps.]
When I spoke casually, the vampire inside the coffin hesitantly opened her mouth.
Like a greedy person coveting something they shouldn't desire—no, like a timid girl who blames herself as greedy just for desiring something.
[If someone like me were to request to learn... would you teach me?]
"Tirkanjaka trainees can't learn magic, can they?"
[I'm not saying I'll use it. I just, want to learn it once. At that place called a school, like how others learn....]
"Ah. You want to become a late-life learner."
People who couldn't learn at the right time carry regrets. From the perspective of someone living in modern times, it seems like no big deal, but regrets weigh on you as much as the years you've lived. I scratched my head.
"If you want to go to school, Tirkanjaka trainees would have to resolve the resident registration issue first, though...."
That's difficult. The Military Nation's resident registration is quite strict. Well, for a vampire, even the strict Military Nation wouldn't pose much difficulty when it comes to identity. I shrugged and replied.
"If you want to learn, there's no need to choose a school. If you just pay money, you can learn sufficiently at a private academy."
[Really?]
Knowledge had become common, but it still wasn't worthless as a stone. From Level 3 tactical-grade magic onwards, the Military Nation keeps a tight grip and doesn't teach it, but up to Level 2 combat-grade magic, private academies do teach.
When I shrugged.
[Then. Could you perhaps teach me magic once?]
"Pardon? Me?"
[Yes. Right now, the only windows through which I connect with the world are you and Shei.]
Teach magic to a thousand-year-old vampire, whose every deed is recorded in legends? Me?
Nonsense. I'm thorough in theory but utterly hopeless in practice. Even after dissecting the magic teacher's thoughts one by one with my ability to read minds, I could only use Level 0 phenomenon-grade magic, ultimately having to drop out.
This isn't even humility. No matter how much my major isn't magic, if I show myself barely scraping by with Level 0 magic, they might doubt my abilities. This is something I must avoid unconditionally, no need to deliberate.
Just as I was about to refuse.
'Did you say it would cost something? That doesn't matter. Gold overflows....'
Money.
It was always like that. Gold, the metal that blinds people.
Standing atop people's heads, making steel stained with human blood, existing loftily alone before leaping to another crown—a loathsome trophy.
Even dignified people may despise it but won't distance themselves from it. The same goes for someone as serious and thoughtful as me.
Changing my attitude in an instant, I clenched my fist and placed my hand over my chest.
"I can teach even a Tirkanjaka trainee."
Then I curled my fingers into a circle and wiggled them slightly.
"Ah, but this is. Even as an instructor, it's a bit hard to teach magic just with empty words. As the levels go up, the security classification gets higher. There needs to be some compensation."
[Are you asking for gold?]
"Not necessarily. Just a measure of sincerity. Enough to make me feel inclined."
It was a too-transparent way of speaking. Enough that the regressor clicked her tongue and glared at me. No need to read minds. She seems ready to criticize a Military Nation officer for lining other pockets.
But did you know?
A few hundred years ago in the past, under-the-table money was "common sense."
[Gold is modest enough. Understood.]
With a creaking sound, the coffin lid opened at an angle. From within, still swirling with darkness, a pitch-black hand surfaced, bearing something, floating up gently.
Wow, really? You're really giving it?
As expected, crisis equals opportunity. The crisis of having to share the same space as a thousand-year-old vampire is equivalent to the opportunity to fleece an ignorant rich old person!
Desperately hiding my eagerness, I focused on what the black hand was bringing. That was... a golden crown that oozed nobility at first glance.
Jackpot. Clearing my throat to prevent my joy from leaking out, I said.
"Taking it out of the coffin makes it look exactly like a burial good. Ouch!"
[Enough with the idle chatter.]
But there was no need to throw the crown. What if this precious item got scratched? Not wanting to leave fingerprints, I pulled out my sleeve long and carefully received the crown.
Good heavens. This heaviness. A real crown? If this is all gold, even with the price dropping a bit due to alchemy, how much would....
...Oh, wait.
Alchemy, a thousand years ago, the technological gap, and that oddly gullible attitude....
Could it be. With a faint hope, I examined the golden crown.
Ah, why are bad premonitions never wrong?
"This is fake!"
[...?]
"Come to think of it, this is gold from before the Alchemy Revolution, right? Then it's fake gold! Oh dear, what do I do!"
The vampire was genuinely flustered.
[If it's gold, it's all the same gold. How can there be fake gold and real gold?]
"There is. A hundred years ago."
[Wh-what. Surely.]
'Again, failing to keep up with the times... is it that kind of pattern again...?'
I felt like I'd been scammed and considered venting my anger, but when I read her thoughts, she seemed so pitiful that I didn't even have the energy. Right, I lost a little money I was going to receive, but the vampire lost everything she had.
At times like this, telepathy is regrettable. If I hadn't known at all, I would have squeezed her dry until not a single tear would fall.
Sigh. My fate. I thought I'd finally make some money.
"Normally I should arrest you for gold counterfeiting, but since in the era when the Tirkanjaka trainee lived, knowledge of alchemy was nonexistent too, I'll let it pass. Here, look."
I drew a star mark in the center of the gold crown with my finger. If it were pure gold, nothing should stick to my hand, but it glowed bright red as if branded with a heated iron.
"For a gold crown, it's the sparkle and heaviness. Probably the third and fourth corners. Hmm, definitely since it's old alchemy, the alchemy level is low. Even I could undo it."
I tapped the third and fourth corners. I scratched the front and back with my fingernail and turned it once. Pop. Finally, when I pushed magical power along the line, the gold crown began to melt and flow down, changing color.
What was revealed there was a dull-lustered dark metal.
Mithril—a magical power-conducting metal that was far more useful, commonly used, and cheaper than gold. A metal clearly several times superior to gold, but... thanks to that, an unfortunate metal distanced from precious metals.
I placed it on the lectern and said.
"Mithril is a metal with excellent magical conductivity. So excellent that if you used alchemy with it, you could imitate all the metals in the world. Naturally, the most imitated was gold. However, back then even mithril was rare, so even if fake gold was mixed in with real gold, it wasn't that noticeable. Like that, fake gold—mithril—gradually seeped into circulation.
Then one day, an alchemist who wanted to handle bigger money came up with a brilliant idea. Since real gold was difficult to create, they planned to produce mithril, convert it to gold, and sell it. Well, since mithril was also a difficult metal to produce, it seemed like his efforts would end in vain."
Unfortunately, he succeeded.
The alchemy pattern was discovered.
Estimated Level 3. Alchemists who knew how to do things moderately began producing mithril. Though it was only at the level of cottage industry, steady supply caused prices to drop.
Those who possessed gold feared this change. Without doing anything, their wealth was decreasing, passing through a halving period. The quick-witted few were outraged and strove to investigate the situation.
"And the moment they realized the truth, they immediately kept their mouths shut and began selling the gold they possessed."
[Why is that? Without punishing the alchemists who created the fake gold?]
"Because they had to dispose of all their gold before other people found out that their gold was fake. If they punished them, others would find out, wouldn't they?"
[The gold they owned was fake. Knowing that, they sold it?]
"They sold it because they knew."
It would be foolish to sit still while the money they'd accumulated was evaporating in real time. It's only natural.
[But what about those who bought the fake gold believing it was real? They wouldn't have stayed still either.]
"Correct answer!"
How full of motivation to learn. There's satisfaction in teaching. With a smile spreading across my face, I spread both hands.
"It's hard to explain briefly what happened after that. The buyers were furious, the sellers made excuses, the two sides fought, clashed, and started wars. It was absolute chaos. One historian evaluated that as much blood flowed as the weight of all the gold that existed up until then."
Anyway. I shook the mithril crown this way and that as I spoke.
"To put it simply, mithril prices are now dirt cheap. If I exaggerate a bit, it's probably about the same price as a pile of firewood."
In other words, most of the assets the vampire possessed had become worthless. Looking at the vampire with pitying eyes while lamenting my own disappointment.
With alcohol, salted seafood, or antiques, the value could go up if you let them age appropriately. But as the natural order goes, if too much time passes, everything goes bad. A thousand years was too long.
The vampire, after a long pause, opened her mouth.
[History, and even alchemy.... How do you know all this? Surely.]
Oh, curiosity even at a time like this. Delighted by that attitude, I nodded broadly.
"That's right. I learned this at 'school' too."
[Again!]
"Not just alchemy. Mathematics, biology, natural science, foreign languages, magical theory, mechanical engineering, ballistics, and so on. Middle school teaches all of it."
[Just what... is this place called a school? A place where talented children gathered from all over the world come to seek learning? A Tower of Sages, such a place?]
"No? Anyone who graduated with excellent grades from elementary citizen school between the ages of 14 and 17 can enter if they want to."
[Im-impossible.]
Perhaps having received a great shock, the voice from inside the coffin became smaller than before. It seems the culture shock was quite severe.
Well, back then, learning anything itself was something only the very high-ranking could do. The path of learning was narrow, winding, and rough. On top of being closed off, there were many cases where even upon reaching the end of the path, people despaired at firmly shut doors.
Compared to then, has it improved now?
"Anyway. You understand, right? It's a shame. Phew. That was tough. Today is canceled after all."
[U-um. Wait.]
Unable to easily accept the changed world, the vampire insisted on cross-verifying with the regressor.
[Shei. Is that... true?]
"...It is all true. But."
'Even if they learned it, there aren't many who can do it as skillfully as that man. The Military Nation pursues specialization. Each person digs deep into the field that suits their aptitude. It's strange that he's knowledgeable in alchemy and magic while also being able to receive my single strike...'
There she goes again, giving high marks just because I deflected her sword. Seriously. I can't even imagine how she'd have treated me like a bug if I hadn't deflected it.
Ah, then my arm would have been cut off. I would have truly become a bug crawling on the ground.
"But it's not as great a place as that guy made it sound. If you get your hopes up, you'll be greatly disappointed."
The regressor spoke casually. Since it is indeed an ordinary place, I didn't particularly argue back.
The vampire, who had been admiring, suddenly expressed a question that came to mind.
[Shei, did you also graduate from this place called the Middle Military Academy? Are the two of you fellow alumni by any chance?]
"No, I only went to elementary citizen school."
[Ah..., I see.]
'Umm. Certainly. Even the way they speak is different. It seems there's a gap between the two....'
The vampire trailed off as if apologizing. Noticing the pity hidden in that tone, the regressor hastily made excuses.
"No! The reason I only went to elementary citizen school is because I was from an orphanage and didn't have the tuition!"
[Oh my.]
"No! I mean! I had no reason to go to middle school! I was doing fine without it!"
[I understand. Don't worry. I'll teach you blood arts diligently to the extent of my power.]
"That's not what I mean!"
Hah, I wasn't particularly trying to show off, but it turned out this way. I wiped my nose and said.
"For your information, I also had no parents but attended on a scholarship. I was first in my class at the Middle Military Academy."
"You just shut up!"
"The riper the rice, the lower it bows; the pocket filled with many goods remains still even when shaken.... Since you desire it so much, I'll stay quiet."
"Is that what shutting up means?!"
This is why uneducated people.... Sigh.
I only sighed quietly as instructed, but even that seemed to displease her. She huffed and pulled something out from an unseen space.