kscans

Chapter 271 - The Enchanter Speaks 1. The Enchanter's Grim Face

Two days after visiting Inba's shop, Yuri was summoned by Adon and informed that arrangements had been made for a meeting with an Enchanter. Apparently, he was an acquaintance of Inba's, or rather, one of the people she did business with as a magic tool shop owner. The first thought that came to Yuri’s mind upon hearing this was,

(What, then I should have just asked her when I went to the shop...)

But at that time, his head had been full of checking magic tools and placing new orders, and he hadn't even thought about enchanting, so it couldn't be helped.

Even before that, it was a topic that could have come up during his meeting with Magam, but at that time, there were other more urgent questions, so the matter of enchanting had been postponed. Later, he remembered about enchanting and tried asking Nagara and Faren, only to discover the surprising fact that even those two skilled magicians knew only the basics. It seemed that enchanting was a bit different from general magic, and required a craftsman's sense more than a magician's. Was it something like the difference between basic research and applied fields? Yuri tilted his head inwardly, but in any case, since those two didn't know, he had no choice but to ask someone who did. Adon agreed with this opinion, and they decided that he would sound out his connections... and Adon's ‘connection’ turned out to be Inba, the magic tool shop owner.

He heard that enchanting was an indispensable skill for creating magic tools. Now that he mentioned it, that did seem to make sense... Enchanting sometimes appeared in the light novels of his past life, but how was it differentiated from magic tools and magic circles? Yuri’s memory of that was a bit vague. The fact that he hadn't thought of enchanting while talking with Inba might have been partly due to that.


And so, due to these circumstances, Yuri was visiting the workshop of an Enchanter named Omo today.

"Hmph..."

After reading through the letter from Inba, Omo looked at the group with a difficult expression. His gaze fell upon Yuri, the butler Helman who had accompanied him to convey his master Adon's intentions, Kudol the leader of the adventurer party "Lucky Footsteps" who was there as an escort, the magician Faren who had tagged along out of professional, perhaps, curiosity, and Old Man Audel and Dona who were there as Yuri’s chaperones, for a total of six people.

Omo gazed at the strange combination of people as if sizing them up, and then Helman spoke, a hint of impatience in his voice.

"How about it?"

Adon was one of the foremost merchants in the merchant city of Laurenzen. His butler would be considered a person of some importance. That very butler was now pressing him for a reply with an impatient air. Any run-of-the-mill craftsman would have been intimidated by this alone, but this veteran Enchanter was different.

"Now wait."

He magnanimously restrained Helman and once again crossed his arms in thought. This wasn't a bluff or harassment; Omo seemed to be seriously considering the situation. Helman, apparently sensing this, said no more and waited. The words Omo spoke when he finally opened his mouth were...

"...I’ve read Adon-danna's intentions and the letter from the old woman Inba... but I can’t draw a conclusion from this alone."

"...Are you saying my master’s guarantee is not enough?"

"That’s not it."

Omo shook his head and continued.

"Where that boy is from or what his character is like, I won’t say I don't care at all... but as an Enchanter, there’s something that concerns me more. ...The boy’s talent and skill. But neither Adon-danna nor the old woman’s letter mentions anything about that."

Helman's face also turned grim at that reply. What Omo said was reasonable, and both Adon and Helman were aware of it... but that very ‘Yuri’s skill’ was the information they most wanted to keep under wraps. So they had tried asking if he could just teach the basics of enchanting, omitting the troublesome requirements...

"I don’t know what you’re thinking, but are you aware that teaching only the basics of enchanting to a brat whose disposition and skill are unknown is, in a way, the most dangerous thing you could do?"

An upstart who lacks proper knowledge and training uses enchanting based on what he's seen. Failure is a given, but where and how that failure will have an impact... if he's not there, he can't take responsibility, but the way of the great and powerful is to ignore such logic and place the blame on him... He hadn't heard any particularly bad rumors about the merchant Adon, but he was still one of the ‘great and powerful.’ The unreasonable demands of the great and powerful generally lead to no good, and it would be better to refuse clearly here. Even if Adon held a grudge at worst, he could just leave the city of Laurenzen. As long as he had his enchanting skills, he wouldn't have trouble making a living anywhere...

Helman, perhaps understanding what he was thinking, did not hide his grim expression. It was probably time for him, Yuri, to step in.

"Um..."

The Enchanter, Omo, who was approaching old age, turned his gaze to the child, Yuri, who had spoken timidly. It seemed this child was the cause of Adon's unreasonable demands, but what did he want? He had no intention of getting involved in anything troublesome, but he couldn't provide proper guidance unless he was told the minimum of the circumstances.

"What I would like to be taught is the proper way to perform an enchantment... or rather, more accurately, a method to control it so that an enchantment does not activate. The reason is for safety assurance."

"...What did you say?"