Volu 2, Intermission 02: The Paradia House’s Analysis Magician
Six years have already passed since I found employnt in the prestigious Earl Paradia House.
I, Ronnie Eris, was working under Cordelia Ojou-sama.
I couldn’t help but think, why is this happening to , when I was ordered to work under Ojou-sama, but now I think I was lucky.
This position wasn’t bad. It was rather cosy.
First of all, I could escape from the magician wing, and seclude myself in Ojou-sama’s laboratory. I still continued my other jobs, related to the security of the mansion and water inspections, while helping Ojou-sama, so my workload has increased. Unexpected work usually doesn’t appear in my lap when I’m with Ojou-sama. For example, the magician Onee-samas saying, “Go buy us the limited cake,” or “Line up for the theatre tickets” and so on. Therefore, it’s beco much easier for now. I’m very thankful for this.
The Onee-samas in the magician wing are all beautiful, and I think that ordinary n would be extrely excited to work there. Actually, I also saw an illusion at first, as if I was in a play.
Well, I returned back to reality straight away.
Because, you know, they used as an errand boy straight away, so that was inevitable. Incidentally, there are currently six magicians employed at the Paradia House; the only other male magician was the deputy head magician, who was in the pri of his life. The rest were the Onee-samas. By the way, ntor is also included with the Onee-samas.
They seed extrely disappointed when it was decided that I would be employed here. It seed that they preferred to have a female junior, and had a tantrum in anger, “We can be affectionate with girls and go to eat cake together!” It was very different before; they would give enough money for the exact number of Onee-samas and say, “Go buy so cake.” Even though it would have been fine to give a portion of the cake after making act like the gofer…… Sohow, I couldn’t help but think that I wanted to be born as a woman.
Well, they’re not bad people, I’m sure. There were rare cases when they told they would treat if I changed the way I spoke. However, that’s a pretty tough standard for .
But, that’s probably all.
If I had a male junior, then we could probably share the gofer job.
That wasn’t the only reason why I was happy to be working under Ojou-sama. The work that Ojou-sama gives is easy to understand. “Do this,” “Do that.” There was almost never any ‘guessing’. Well, that may be because Ojou-sama is doing experints that couldn’t be guessed. And I think that it’s a privilege to be able to drink delicious tea whenever I want.
However, I never imagined eight years ago that I would be working as a helper for Ojou-sama, or working at the Paradia House in the first place.
I was a magician who graduated from the 『Royal Magic Academy』. I didn’t have any fields I was bad in, nor did I have any fields I excelled in, when I was in school, but my major was analysis magic. I was the top student for my field in my final report, and my overall results were third in the academy; I had a good record in school.
My family ho is a rchant house based in a port city south of the Royal Capital; and I am the third son. However, it was unfortunate that I didn’t have any business sense, even though it was my family’s trade. I noticed this when I was around fourteen. My parents and older brothers would persuade from a young age, “It’s fine. You can do sothing other than business,” so they probably saw right through . Seriously, the eyes of people who run big companies are amazing.
I never wanted to work as a rchant, so I wasn’t particularly disappointed. However, the question of what to do next popped up in my mind.
But, I didn’t have to worry about it for long. I thought of sothing when I saw a rchant’s wagon, co in from the Royal Capital, at the back of my parent’s ho.
That’s right; let’s go to the Royal Capital.
I didn’t have a special reason for going. I only vaguely thought, there might be sothing interesting in the Royal Capital. But, I knew that I needed a reason, to convince my parents. If I just told them that I wanted to go to the Royal Capital, then they might hear that as, ‘I’m going there to play around.’ No, well, it was actually true though.
The outco of thinking it over was, to use enrolling in the Magic Academy as a reason.
My parents only have as much MP as an average person, but it seems that I had a mutation, and was born with more MP than the normal person. I was often called when they were moving large magic tools around the shop, but that was it. I’ve never thought, I want to beco a magician, or sothing like that. Well, I didn’t have any magicians around , you know? So I couldn’t imagine it.
However, I couldn’t co up with any other logical reasons except for that, so I told my parents, “I’ll be going there to take the Magic Academy entrance exam.”
My parents sent off with applause. The lunchbox that was given to on the day I left ho was packed with lucky charms and conveyed how much they wanted to pass. But, having a large amount of charms was indeed a nuisance. Well, it didn’t feel unpleasant…… I also felt bad for making them worry so much about .
The Magic Academy is the national forces’ magician training school. The course lasts for two years and the tuition and living costs are basically free. They solidify basic magic within the first six months, and the remaining year and a half was used to make the foundations of the student’s chosen field. It is a training facility for the national forces, so other than battle magic practice, we also practiced martial arts. You might be thinking, ‘what can be done in two years?’ but the course was very intense, and if the student’s results didn’t et the mark, then they had to take supplentary lessons at night and early in the mornings; so I think they do master a lot. The instructors are mbers of the national forces.
And, the students will work in the magician corps for more than 10 years after they graduate. If they work for less than 10 years, then they have to pay for their tuition themselves, unless they were recognised by the war council.
Incidentally, magicians get paid a lot, but the tuition is equivalent to about ten years of their pay. In short, it is extrely expensive. In addition, even if you pay it, you would always be observed unless you were an exception.
It’s extrely intense, I thought.
I understand that the national forces would be troubled if that didn’t happen. The lectures were free, training was packed together, and if the students say, “yeah bye”, after graduation then their magician forces wouldn’t increase, and it would be like setting soone with excessive power on the loose. Normally, students understood this before enrolling. Therefore, there weren’t any students who said it was intense after they passed their exam, ――― except for .
Yes, I didn’t know any of those things at all, and the first ti I learnt of it was close to my graduation. I passed the entrance exam without knowing anything except for why the tuition was free…… I an, I didn’t even intend to take the entrance exam until the day I thought of the idea.
Therefore, I was also extrely surprised when I learnt that most of the students at the academy were nobles. If I thought about it carefully, I would have realised that MP and magic qualities were hereditary, so it was clear that soone having MP equalled nobles; but I hadn’t thought of that at all. That was why, I, who was born a commoner, felt out of place straight away. Even though I was born into a wealthy family, nobles have many different traditions from us. So, I soon beca famous for being eccentric. Well, I couldn’t understand the unspoken rules of nobility, since they weren’t in the rules. But, I didn’t get bullied, even if I cleared my throat, and the classes themselves were interesting, so I stopped worrying about it early on.
In addition, the thing that I thought was all formal was the restriction on students going out. The Academy was the national forces’ training grounds, so I guess it would be obvious that students can’t go out; but this was pretty depressing, since I ca here to find interesting things in the Royal Capital.
I wanted to graduate quickly and take my ti to exploring the Royal Capital.
I panicked, since enlisting in the national forces would crush my dreams.
I couldn’t possibly accept that I had to continue with that lifestyle for ten years. No, it wouldn’t be odd for there to be stricter rules if I enlisted. That was what happened when I co to the Royal Capital looking for motivation. I was in a grave situation.
I quickly visited my head instructor, and asked him if there were any legal loopholes for this, in a very serious tone. If such a thing existed, then this system wouldn’t have worked in the first place, and it was ludicrous to ask, ――― but it existed.
“If you really don’t want to serve in the army, then you can choose to serve a noble instead.”
The instructor said it without hiding the gaze he used towards troubled students.
This fact was as obvious as 『serving in the national forces for 10 years』was, to other students; but not to . So powerful nobles in this kingdom had the right to hire magicians who had just graduated from the academy. The students who get hired get their tuition paid for by their employer, and, in addition, the employer submitted a written oath to the King pledging that 『I will bear all responsibilities for whatever the magician does』, so they don’t get observed. It was originally part of a『Noble’s Education』…… In other words, it was a remnant of a ti when nobles wanted their children to learn magic, but they didn’t want them to serve in the military. It was a 『System for big shots, created by big shots』. The Houses which employed newly graduated magicians were all those who had helped a lot in the foundation of the academy, which were about 10 Houses. Well, the nobles now teach their children various things, which includes family secrets, so they didn’t need to bother with enrolling their children in the academy.
But those facts and circumstances have nothing to do with .
I quickly looked at the magician recruiting card. The Houses didn’t recruit every year, even though there were 10 Houses which could. So I guessed I could expect the applicants to be quite competitive.
But, I can’t lose. The house of a prestigious noble is likely to be formal, but it’s much better than the national forces. And I probably wouldn’t et with the nobles often if I do assistant work, so there’s nothing to be afraid of. That was what I thought. ―――― I dropped my eyes to the list and lost hope.
There were only two nas on the recruit list this year.
The first was an Earl nad Clydereine.
The main job was to compound dicine, but he seed to be looking for an all-rounder magician, who could do anything. My major was different, but I did have decent grades in synthesis, and the qualifications to be an all-rounder wasn’t too bad. I didn’t have a reason to turn this opportunity away.
The other was an Earl nad Paradia.
The job description said analysis. The other things that were written on it were, 『Employnt Exam: Interview』, and the ti and date of the interview. I don’t know if that was easy to understand or confusing, but it wasn’t a friendly recruit card in any case.
I was worried. I’d only heard the nas of those families.
I felt like one of the nas was of soone who had won the horseback riding ga at the end of last year, ――― but my god, I don’t know which one of them it was. The Paradia House was having an interview, but having analysis as the job was too vague.
However, there are only two recruitnt cards. Should I apply for both of these? I thought as I stared at the card, and then I noticed that the Paradia House deadline was today.
Huh?! Today?!
Moreover, the interview was in the academy’s backyard, and there was only a little ti left before it was finished.
I panicked because it was so sudden, but the card didn’t explain much and I worried whether or not I should just go for the ti being. I haven’t prepared anything, but I could probably take the interview if I went.
I won’t pass the exam if I don’t take it. Even if I fail, I wouldn’t be put at a disadvantage or anything.
I made up my mind and quickly headed for the backyard. That’s right, if I fail then I’ll just be back at the start. And I don’t think I can prepare for it with just this much information; even if I do fail, I might find sothing that could be useful for my exam at the Clydereine House.
I headed there with those feelings, ――― and was left speechless.
When I suddenly appeared at the venue, which was the backyard, I sensed an extre enthusiasm. I saw a man, with a physique better than a martial artist’s, and a graduate student crossing swords.
Eh, a sword? This is the interview scene, isn’t it?
I couldn’t understand the situation, and couldn’t move, and just stood there staring in blank amazent.
The student tried to fight back, but his opponent didn’t move a single step. He only swung the sword in his left hand to repel the student’s attacks.
“You lack training,” The man said.
The student bowed deeply in thanks and left. That guy, isn’t he the top student in the synthesis course? Our majors are different, so I forgot what his na was. But why was he holding a sword?
The man called out to while I was thinking.
“Are you also applying for the position?”
“Eh, ah, yes!”
Apparently, he was the interviewer for the Paradia House. You have got to be kidding .
The man with red eyes was beyond the level of strong. I wondered if this was how it felt to be paralysed to the spot. Anyway, he was really dangerous.
The interviewer glanced at , then picked up the sword that the student before had dropped, and threw it at .
Huh?
“This is the interview. Get ready.”
“Waah?!”
What is this!? Martial arts?! I, who was surprised, had nothing explained to , and the man attacked with his sword.
Why?! He did beat the other student with a sword but…… What does he an by this is the interview?! Even if this is a practical test, nowhere did it say that I needed sword skills, so I want an explanation!!
I was confused as I barely managed to guard against the old man’s attacks; I couldn’t even counterattack at all. Dammit, there’s no way I can win. The situation’s definitely going to get worse. I have to do sothing…… I thought and finally realised.
He was definitely going easy on .
His presence was amazing and I would most likely be killed if I beca careless, but sohow it felt like ‘a ntor looking after their discipline’.
That’s right, this is an interview. Him giving leeway to think like this is because he wants to co up with so kind of answer.
I put all my power into my feet and sohow managed to jump back.
If I think for too long then the old man would see through and blow my sword out of my hands, and then the trial would be over. He didn’t chase after , but he was standing with an aura that said it would be over if I closed the distance between us. If the Paradia House wants an analysis magician then, ――― I imdiately focused my magic to my eyes.
Then, I noticed it. So it’s like that after all.
This interview was easier than the school’s practical exam, huh.
I once again shorten the distance between us. The old man’s sword looked extrely fast, but it was still slow enough for to block it at last minute. This old man’s amazing, I thought as I concentrated. All I had to do to win was graze the old man with the tip of my sword.
“Uoooahhh!”
I attacked with all my strength…… Which didn’t an I was exaggerating. My sword struck his and he lost his sword. This didn’t an that his sword had been destroyed. The sword in his hand wasn’t a sword anymore, but grass.
“Correct.”
He wasn’t surprised and spoke stoically. I was drained. I’m glad that was right, but my heart is still thumping in my chest.
“I can’t believe you just knitted ivy with beginner magic and magic power…… This is foul-play! Just how much did you strengthen it with magic? Are you a monster?”
The magic that he cast itself was one that could be removed if another person poured their magic power into it. It was impossible for a normal magician to see through that, in the first place. If this old man hadn’t been clad in an intimidating aura, then the student before and I would have imdiately noticed it.
But, I thought, this man wasn’t just a warrior, but he also had considerable skill as magician too. The ivy he used was enough to stop the sword; I couldn’t image just how strong his enhancent was.
“Today isn’t April Fools, so please don’t play a prank on . Even though it’s a good year, are you a mischievous kid?”
“I said it was an interview, didn’t I?”
“I didn’t hear that this would be a practical test. And it was super scary……”
It was only a resemblance, but looking at the old man again, while feeling like I might get the shivers, he really gave off that feeling of 『this guy’s a walking lion dance』or『this guy guards the gates of hell』, and other assorted crazy stuff. Whatever I say now probably wouldn’t shake him; rather, it felt like he’d easily turn it against .
“What’s your speciality?”
“Analysis magic…… Ah, my heart is still racing.”
“…… Your dialect is a little different.”
“Oh, I’m not a noble.”
“I can tell that from looking at you.”
“Eh? You can tell……? Well, you can’t tell it from the way I talk, right?”
He didn’t seem like soone who would ―― look down on commoners or sothing, just because he was the interviewer for a noble. I felt like he was just staring at in curiosity.
“You can’t tell who I am?”
“Huh? You’re the interview, aren’t you?”
“…… My na is Elvis Paradia.”
I felt like I’ve heard that na…… Well, the family na before.
I don’t know who Elvis was, but I have heard of Paradia.
Huh? Which interview am I at?
I an…… This person is quite old, isn’t he? Which ans…… Huh?
“…… Earl?”
“That’s right.”
“Huh, seriously?!”
I didn’t hear that the interviewer would be the head of the House!!
I cried in surprised and quickly covered my mouth with my hands.
“I, I’m sorry!”
“…… What’s your na?”
“Excuse for not introducing myself even though you introduced yours…… I’m, no, my na is Ronnie Eris.”
“I’m not going to bite. You don’t have to be that scared.”
My back wouldn’t stop sweating at the Earl, who was amazed.
Crap. Where did the , who thought that this was easier than a practical exam, go? I’m begging you, please co back.
However, I couldn’t co back to my senses. No, yup, I’ve got no choice. But, I also wanted to put on airs during my interview. Huh? In the first place, the interviewer is the interviewer, it didn’t matter if he was the Earl, so it’s already too late……?
“Are you…… From the south?”
“Huh? Erm…… Yes, but mmm?”
“I was curious since you have strange pronunciations.”
“Excuse ……?”
I was surprised by his sudden questions, well, my pronunciation was definitely rare in the Royal Capital. It wasn’t at a level where I used different words, but sotis my intonations were differently…… Either way, the Earl could differentiate between local accents.
I was impressed by that unusual fact, and the Earl asked another question.
“If you’re appointed to this position, then you might have to go to my fief. Will that be a problem?”
“Not really.”
“I see.”
The Earl said as he bent his elbow and raised his hand and soone, who looked like a servant, approached us from a nearby place.
“These are the docunts.”
“What?”
“And also the books.”
“Woah, heavy……”
The books that were given to were like three dictionaries, and they were heavier than I thought they would be. In addition, the letters in the book were already small from the front cover. And the title of two of the books were, 『Dangerous dicine Manual』and『Natural Poison?Synthesis』. They overlapped the other book, so I couldn’t see the title, but it was probably sothing similar to that.
Errm, what is this? Isn’t both the books and content too heavy……?
“Read those before you graduate.”
“Read those…… Eh, I passed!”
“…… You don’t want the position?”
“Nonono, I’ll read it and accept the position!! …… But, is it alright for to be like this? I usually act like this though.”
It was already too late to ask sothing like this, and I don’t know why I passed. No, I certainly passed the practical test sohow.
“Can you fix the habits you’ve had for a long ti? From what I can see, you speak before you think.”
“…… I have no objections.”
“At least, I don’t care about how the magicians speak. It’s fine with as long as you’re good at analysing the presence of assassins and magic power.”
“What? Assas……sins……?”
I heard a very disturbing word. I felt strangely anxious, huh? What’s going to happen to ? together with the dangerous titles of the books in my hand.
But, well, I didn’t have to worry about serving in the army since I was recruited by the Paradia House, and I finally threw away the Clydereine recruitnt card, which I was going to apply for at the beginning.
I told my family, just before my graduation, that I would be serving an Earl, and not the national forces.
My parents were happier than they were when I got accepted into the academy. I was told to inform them of anything related to business…… But they probably forgot that I had no talent in business, before they even thought about confidentiality. Incidentally, I told them that I had graduated third place in synthesis, but they only replied with, “Hmph.” They also gave the sa reaction even though I got first place in my major.
Honestly, my family wasn’t interested in anything but money. But they did congratulate , “I hope you have a bright future.” I’m glad that I wasn’t worrying my family.
And the assigned books that the Earl gave didn’t end with just three; it increased by 10 tis until I graduated. As a result, I still have about forty books in my room. I didn’t notice it at first, because I was distracted by the title, but they were all extrely expensive and valuable. He had never said it, but I realised that the Earl had high expectations for .
And one more thing…… I realised that poisoning soone was actually a thing when I got my job.
“Throwing poison into the mansion, that person is really dangerous, isn’t he?”
“Ronnie, it’s already fine here, so go call Linda and Ar for .”
“Okaay.”
I handed over the man I’d captured at the back of the mansion to ntor Cecily, and went to call the other Onee-samas. Yes, I was scared of being given those books when I first got my job. I was also suspicious of the Earl, and thought that he was going to poison soone. I’m sorry, Master.
My current job was to analyse the things I’m given, to sense the presence of suspicious people and capture them, and to analysis and dismantle dangerous things that have been thrown into the mansion.
“If you fail, you die. Even if you survive, I’ll kill you if another person dies from your mistake,” I was threatened by ntor on my first day of work, but sohow, I’m still alive today. I can’t say that I’ve remained unscathed, since I’ve had bumps on my head.
Oh, I also tried to learn polite language before graduation, while working at the mansion before…… But, it ended with just trying. The biggest surprise was that Master said, “Don’t use such disgusting language,” with a frown on his face. However, ntor still criticised . Well, ntor was a very detail-oriented person, after all.
But it’s not like I show up in front of Master or his sons, in the first place, so it’s not a problem….. I thought that and continued with how I spoke, but one day the young lady nominated as her analysis teacher for so reason.
“It seems that Ojou-sama wants to do so experints,” they said. And “She said that she wanted the youngest magician,” they said.
I can’t believe I’m babysitting a child, I had thought at first. Even if she says she wants to experint, Ojou-sama is still only eight. I could only rember playing in empty cargo boxes and getting scolded when I was eight.
However, when I t her, the young lady of the Paradia House exceeded my expectations and was a level-headed person. First of all, the mountain of books surrounding her was amazing. What is she going to do by reading a lot of geography books? They were specialised books that were hard for commoners to obtain, and they weren’t even books that a normal eight year old could read, in the first place. They would probably get bored of reading it and fall asleep.
And the aspiration of the Ojou-sama, who had surprised from the beginning, was to make balms from flowers. Thus, it was decided that I was going to help her with that.
To be honest, I wasn’t interested in aromas, and I’m still not interested in them, but I am interested in new things, so I thought I got caught up in sothing interesting. So, I felt bad for thinking I had to babysit her at first.
But then I later thought, I might not necessarily have been wrong when I thought I had to babysit her.
For example, Ojou-sama fully enjoyed going incognito when she was eight…… But I had an extrely difficult ti afterwards, you know?
“Ronnie, there’s been talk about a child using magic similar to that of the Paradia House in town, what do you think of this?”
And Master just glared at like that. Ojou-sama, you don’t know about this, do you? My heart stopped, seriously.
Then, only recently.
“Ronnie. Cordelia invited a suspicious child here, but what were you doing at that ti?”
Ojou-sama also doesn’t know that I received a summons like this, does she……?!
“You should have been by her side at that ti. What were you doing?” Under an aura that was stating that, I couldn’t just say, “I was brewing tea, so I wasn’t watching over Ojou-sama.” To begin with, I think Ojou-sama would still invite her in even if I was there, you know! Ojou-sama knows the girl is suspicious….. Or rather, Master, you should have received a report from Ojou-sama!! Well, Master was warning because he knew this.
But, Ojou-sama. If you’re too reckless, it wouldn’t be enough no matter how many lives I have.
Every day is really fun, but please just let say one thing. Master, when he is summoning like this, is a several tis scarier than when he was at my interview!!
I’m begging you, please stop being reckless. I don’t mind if you’re a little wilful, but keep it within the 『I’m a little sister who requires a little bit of attention』category. I’m begging you, please be a good girl, by all ans!!
Translator: Blushy
Editor: SenjiQ
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