Chapter 20: Coach! I Want to Learn Magic!
“Magic? You want to learn that?”
One evening, while Aierjisi was still engrossed in that history book, Yake suddenly proclaimed that he wanted to learn magic. Aierjisi turned her head, tilting it as she looked at him sitting on the bed.
“Yes! Rather than those fighting techniques, I’d much prefer to learn magic for ranged attacks.”
Yake nodded. Instead of learning close-combat fighting skills, he aspired to master magic, which served as a means of long-range offense. In the typical party of adventurers, the main damage dealers are usually mages, and the amount of damage a group can inflict relies heavily on the strength of its mages. It could be said that if a mage is powerful enough, they could single-handedly support the entire team. If given the chance, Yake would also like to learn magic. However, regrettably, there were simply no magic instructors in Chester Town. To learn magic, one would have to travel to a bigger city closer to the royal capital. Only there would they find old mages willing to take on apprentices. Due to his responsibilities at home, Yake had given up the idea of studying magic near the royal capital. But now, with such a powerful mage like Aierjisi by his side, he wanted to seize the opportunity to ask her about magic.
“Well, it’s not impossible. But let me tell you this—magic heavily relies on talent, which is different from fighting. Those without talent, no matter how hard they practice, will never achieve satisfactory results. According to Teacher Aisi, my magic talent is quite exceptional, even within the Blood Clan. That’s why I can use such powerful magic.”
Even without Yake saying it, Aierjisi was contemplating whether or not to teach him some magic to prepare for future battles. After all, the enemies she had to face could destroy the entire Blood Clan overnight.
“Is that so… How can I confirm if I have the talent to learn magic then?”
Yake understood Aierjisi’s previous comments; he had heard similar things from other mage friends.
“Take off your shirt and turn your back to me.”
Aierjisi asked Yake to expose his upper body. Once he turned around, she stretched out her small hand and placed it on his back.
“It might feel a little warm; just bear with it.”
To determine whether Yake had the talent to learn magic, Aierjisi would inject a portion of her magic power into him, allowing it to flow through his entire body for confirmation.
“Ugh…”
Indeed, just as Aierjisi had said, the magic flowing through his body inevitably generated some heat, making Yake feel uncomfortable.
“Well… your talent is a bit hard to say.”
After inspecting Yake’s body, Aierjisi gained a certain understanding of his magic talent.
“Just say it directly; I don’t mind.”
Hearing Aierjisi’s vague remarks, Yake had already guessed the result. He was likely the type with really poor talent.
“Your talent, how should I put it? It’s that kind of mediocre talent—neither high nor low. If you truly want to learn magic, you probably won’t be able to become a top-tier mage. However, to leave it be would be a bit of a waste.”
Yake’s magic talent was stuck in that delicate position, where if he trained, he wouldn’t achieve anything great, yet if he didn’t train, it would seem like a waste. This left Aierjisi quite conflicted.
“So, are you willing to teach me magic?”
In the end, since Yake’s talent was already like this, whether he could learn magic would depend entirely on the little princess’s willingness to teach him.
“Of course. Since my servant wants to learn, I will definitely teach you. However… well, your magic lessons might need to be postponed for a few days. Before I teach you magic, I need to create a magic device for you.”
“Magic device?”
“Yes. It’s somewhat similar to your human staffs, I suppose. When human mages use large-scale magic, don’t they have to use a staff to cast it? Although I don’t need such things; I can release it directly.”
Human mages need a staff to release large-scale magic, simply because they haven’t reached the level to unleash it with their bodies. Talented mages like Aierjisi have never needed a staff.
“If you want to buy a staff, you can go to Croger’s shop. They sell staffs there.”
If he wanted to buy a staff, he could totally check the shop they had visited before.
“No way. You’re my servant; how can you use a toy meant for kids?”
Aierjisi decisively rejected Yake’s suggestion. In her eyes, that staff was just a toy for children. She would personally make a magic device worthy of her servant’s identity.
“Alright. Then how many days will it take to make it?”
“That depends on how quickly I can gather the materials. For the actual crafting, I only need a day and a night. The key point is that collecting the materials takes a lot of time.”
Since it was about creating a magic device, the materials needed to be of excellent quality. Most of the materials could be obtained from the dragon they wanted to kill. As for the remaining materials, it depended on whether they could find them nearby.
“So, Yake, my servant, I’m giving you a very daunting task.”
“Ah? What task? Let me know.”
Hearing that it was a daunting task, Yake nervously swallowed. He wondered what kind of tough job this little princess would assign him.
“Are there any ruins aside from the one where I was previously asleep?”
Considering there might be some ancient materials she needed in the ruins, Aierjisi planned to check there first to see if she could get her hands on anything.
“Aside from that one, I’ve heard Karito mention there’s another ruin nearby. However, that ruin has long been emptied by the kingdom’s exploration team. There aren’t any treasures left, so generally, no one goes there.”
Yake thought for a moment; he remembered Karito mentioning that there was indeed another ruin nearby, but it had already been looted by the kingdom’s exploration team. There weren’t any valuables left, which is why no adventurers went there.
“Let’s go there then. Take me tomorrow, and for now, let’s get some sleep.”
Aierjisi closed the book and hopped onto Yake’s bed. Since they were now in a master-servant relationship, it was only natural for them to sleep together. However, the single bed that Yake had originally used was now meant to accommodate two people, making it quite cramped. Reina was also planning to take some time to get a new bed.
