Chapter 7: ‘Who is he?’

07

---

While I had blended in with the children and entered the magic academy, I still couldn’t quite grasp the intentions of my brother Zephyr.
In the first place, it seemed that he had hardly appeared at the academy in the past few years.
His younger fellow apprentice had gone out of his way to do an undercover investigation. This was quite rude of him.

“I think I’ll go home now…”
I put the black cat messenger Kaja on my lap and yawned.
“Haaahhh… Master, I still cannot contact Mariam.”
Ever since I entered the magic academy, we have not been able to contact her.

“A communication interference?”
“No, there’s nothing wrong with the magic waves required for telepathy. All magic circuits are functioning normally.”
“So it’s something related to Mariam herself.”
“Yes. She doesn’t seem to be at the Round Table of Souls.”
Surely she didn’t just pass away?

“Though, I don’t think that someone who studied aging would then die of old age..”
“Well, she may still be alive. We have no way to know right now.”
“Indeed.”
I was a little worried now, and so I stroked my chin and looked out of the window.

“She is just like me. Her subjects for research were humans.”
“I am aware.”
“She studied the growth and aging of individuals, while I studied human society.”
“I am aware.”

I had to complain about Kaja’s curt responses.
“Indeed, I’ve said it many times, but you can at least listen to an old man’s ramblings.”
“Does talking to a familiar count as a real conversation?”
“Well… That’s a tough one, to be sure…”
These beings were like magic devices that respond automatically.

But even such conversations with artificial beings had proven to be effective in and of themselves.
“Nevermind that. Just continue to record the ravings of this old man.”
“Hah… Very well.”
Kaja said with an annoyed yawn.

Mariam and I were both studying humans. ‘What are we, and where are we going?’ We had continued to search for the answer of this very primordial question.
But a hundred years later, we still don’t have an answer, and we weren’t even ready to face it.

“If she is gone, I’ll have no one to report to even if I get an answer to that long-standing question…”
“Can’t you just be honest and say you’re worried about your sister disciple?”
“I can’t say that.”
When you get old, you can’t say such things.

While I was a little worried about Mariam, I could not do anything reckless within the magic academy. It would look suspicious if I used magic that a new student should not know.
And so I decided to continue my undercover investigation, while praying that I could get in touch with her again.

If Zephyr was also crazy now, then I would end up being truly all alone.
I’m begging you, please don’t do that.
I don’t want to be alone.

While I was frightened by such thoughts, the next two days passed by.
“Hey! Jin!”
I looked blankly at Tosh’s face. He was now acting like I was his best friend.

Well, I guess he will do for now.
I’ll will allow him to talk to me.
“What is it, Tosh?”
“Ah, you’ve finally started to fit in here. In spite of being skilled with magic, you’re usually so reclusive.”

Tosh nodded his head knowingly, as if we had been best friends for decades.
“It’s almost time for the new students of the general entrance examination to enter the dormitory. And so…”
“If you want to go and see the girls, I’ll be reading a book.”

Tosh made a rather pitiful face at this preemptive attack.
“You can’t do that! You’ve got to hear me out.”
“What, am I wrong?”
Sorry, that was bad of me.

Tosh cleared his throat with a cough and put on a serious face.
“We’re going to be studying together every day for the next two years.”
“That’s true.”

“I think it would be best if we work together and grow together.”
“That’s true.”
“So I think it’s a good idea to get to know each other now.”
“You’ve got a point, but I think it’s best if you start getting to know the male students.”

I replied with a straight face, and Tosh sighed.
“Fine, fine. You’ve always been like that.”
“You haven’t even known me that long.”

I closed the book I was reading to kill the boredom and put it on the desk.
“Oh, what is that? Is it a spell book?”
“No, it’s a travelog.”
You can use magic to see the scenery of distant lands, but you can’t use magic to understand the feelings of those who have traveled there. And so travelogs were valuable material.

But Tosh wasn’t interested at all, and waved his hand flippantly.
“Fine, I’m going out for a bit.”
“Don’t hit on the girls too much.”
“I won’t!”
I don’t know about that.

* * *

“So that’s how it is.”
Tosh looked serious and nodded to Ajura and Nashia, the other first year honor students.
“As always, I don’t understand Jin very well.”

“You’re just useless, aren’t you?”
Ajura says with a sigh.
“Don’t you see? There is no doubt that he is the best in our grade.”
He had shown himself to be a monster with ridiculous combat ability.

“If he’s the undisputed head of the class, then we’ll have to graduate below that.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Why are you so indifferent? We’ve been admitted as honor students, but we’ll have trouble finding jobs if this continues.There’s a big difference in treatment between the top students and the rest, you know?”

In contrast to Ajura, Tosh didn’t seem too bothered by it.
“Uh, what’s wrong with him being number one the whole time? The difference in ability is too wide. I can’t even feel competitive.”
“What is wrong with you!?”

Nashia hurried to intervene.
“Well, well… Uh, that’s right! You’ve found out a little something, haven’t you?”
“Hmm? Ah, yes.”

Tosh folded his arms and rested his body against the back of the chair.
“He reads books in his spare time.”
“Isn’t that what all sorcerers do?”

Ajura shrugged her shoulders, but Tosh shook her head.
“He hasn’t read a single book on magic. He just reads books on medicine, history and traveling.”
“…What?”

Ajura tilted her head to the side.
“Are they from the library here?”
“There’s no way. We don’t even have permission to read them yet. Everything he’s reading is his personal belongings.”
“Did he really bring such heavy, expensive and useless things all of the way to the depths of these mountains?”

Books were very expensive, so if you were going to buy one, you would buy a magic book.
Nashia muttered with a serious expression.
”He is very rich then, probably. My parents had a lot of books in the house as well. I was the only one who read them, though they were just displayed for show.”

“What do you mean?”
Ajura tilted her head curiously, so Tosh explained.
“Books are very expensive. A bookshelf full of books is a sign of wealth. And it makes you look smart.”

“That’s stupid.”
“I think so too.”
Tosh said with a sigh.
“In any case, that is how expensive they are. Even my family had a very difficult time acquiring enough prayer books for all of the priests. Besides, they read them every day, so they wear quickly.”

“Wait a minute. Is your family home perhaps a temple?”
Ajura said suspiciously, and Tosh puffed out his chest.
“Didn’t I tell you before? It’s a venerable temple dedicated to the mother goddess Otumo. I’m the third son, so I won’t be taking over, but it’s a very old and prestigious temple.”

Ajura had a look of disgust on her face.
“Oh, he’s a heathen.”
“Tosh, is that true? You don’t really seem like much of a temple person? The people at the Temple of the Sea God in Millende are much more serious, you know?”

Nashia gave him a suspicious look, and Tosh looked genuinely surprised.
“Hey, hey. Surely it is quite obvious. There are not many students with such high moral character as me.”
Ajura and Nashia looked at each other.
“Common.”
“Worldly.”

Tosh pouted with dissatisfaction.
“If you’re going to say such things, I’m not going to report on him anymore.”
“Now, now, if you tell us something a little more interesting, then I can introduce you to some of the girls in the dorm, alright?”

Ajura winked at him.
Tosh was instantly in a better mood.
“Then all is good!”
“That’s what I meant by worldly…”
Nashia sighed.

The Hiding Wise Man Can Not Hide