[V2C3] The First Spire “White Smoke”
Translated by Jodas 2: Daily Lives of a New Teacher and the Apprentice MagesIn the middle of summer, after dropping off his bags; the third-rate con man Smoke Fox, acting as Caspar Hütter, was guided to the spire’s meeting room.
The Wedge Tower’s campus consisted of a number of buildings circled by a castle wall.
Looking from the castle gate in the south, the first building in front of you would be the Second Spire “Golden Needle,” then in the middle would be the First Spire “White Smoke,” then farthest in the back was the Third Spire “Water Bubble.” Other than those, there were buildings to the left and right that were used as dormitories, as well as various sheds and the occasional small spires whose purposes were unclear.
(But geez, it’s really confusing that the spires are ordered second, first, then third. It feels like this place has been rebuilt and expanded a bunch of times…..)
However, it seemed like there was a meaning to this placement.
The Second Spire, right in front of the entrance, was where the ones responsible for combat-related tasks gathered.
Then the First Spire, in the middle, was the core, essentially the command spire.
Finally, the Third Spire in the back was responsible for managing tomes and magical devices.
Such that the combat-ready mages could dispatch as quickly as possible, and the precious tomes and devices could be hidden deep inside—thinking about their mission statements, the placement made a certain amount of sense.
“From here on, both you and I will be working for the Guidance Office at the First Spire “White Smoke,” Mr. Hütter.”
The one who explained that to him was a twenty-something girl called Anneliese Röhm. She had fluffy brown hair and short bangs that made her look younger than she was.
She was very kind and would answer all of Hütter’s questions about the Wedge Tower in a way that made it easy to understand.
“Allow me to explain the basic organizational structure of the Wedge Tower. There are five people who stand at the top of the Wedge Tower: the Headmaster, the Assistant Headmaster, and the three Spiremasters. These five are responsible for the Wedge Tower’s daily operations.”
“And I’ve heard each spire is divided into departments called ‘Offices’?”
“Yes, indeed. There are ten Offices in total. Although, to be more precise, the Medical Office also has two branch offices.”
The First Spire, “White Smoke”, was the core of the Wedge Tower.
It contained the General Affairs Office, the Finance Office, the Guidance Office, and the Second Branch of the Medical Office.
The Second Spire, “Golden Needle”, was responsible for combat operations.
It contained the Protection Office, the Extermination Office, the Investigation Office, and the Main Branch of the Medical Office.
The Third Spire, “Water Bubble”, was responsible for the management and maintenance of tomes, devices, and the campus of the Wedge Tower itself.
It contained the Maintenance Office, the Management Office, the Library Office, and the First Branch of the Medical Office.
—As Röhm explained all of that, Hütter tried to commit as much of it to memory as he could. Then gave up. It was simply impossible to memorize all of this at once.
Regardless, all he had to remember for the moment was that he would belong to the Guidance Office, in the First Spire, “White Smoke.”
He had no idea why it was called White Smoke, but he liked the name. Since his favorite alias was as the Smoke Fox, he felt a certain kinship with it.
“At the Wedge Tower, the ones responsible for dealing with the Mage Association and other outside organizations would be the General Affairs Office of the First Spire,’White Smoke.’ As a member of the Mage Association, you’ve probably met some of the folks at the General Affairs Office before, Mr. Hütter.”
“I wonder about that. I rarely showed my face at the Mage Association after all.”
“Oh, did you really?”
“Naturally, the essence of a mage is his own research, you know.”
Lifting up his glasses with an intelligent look, Hütter sweated internally.
He didn’t know a single thing about the inner workings of the Mage Association. If they called him out on anything, he’d be toast.
“Oh right, you’re good at illusion magic, aren’t you, Mr. Hütter?”
The real Caspar Hütter was said to be a mage that specialized in illusion magic.
Illusion magic was a rare variety of magecraft that had very few users. As a result, whenever he was asked a question about ordinary magecraft, he could get by by saying ‘Sorry, I only specialize in illusion magic.’
“Yes, I am. At least good enough to be called the Dream Mage…. to be honest, I’m a total illusion idiot who refuses to study anything that isn’t illusions.”
So don’t ask my any questions about ordinary magic! Please! Was his unstated wish. Röhm smiled softly and looked up at Hütter.
“Please tell me more about illusion magic later! There aren’t many illusionists at the Wedge Tower, so I’m really interested!”
“……….”
Right. This was the Wedge Tower where all forms of magic was gathered.
The mages here were all magic idiots who cared about nothing but magic.
He had to do something about this, and give off the air of someone who didn’t talk to other people.
However, before he could come up with an excuse, Röhm stopped walking. They’d made it to the meeting room.
Röhm knocked on the door.
“Röhm, from the Guidance Office here. I have brought the Dream Mage, Caspar Hütter.”
“Come in.”
He heard the voice of an older woman echo from inside.
Röhm opened the door.
Long tables were lined up inside the tastefully decorated meeting room. There, more than ten people were already seated as they entered.
Some wore the robes of Wedge Tower mages, while others wore cloaks over clothes that looked much easier to move around in.
At magical universities and the Mage Association, everyone wore matching robes, but since the Wedge Tower gathered magics from all across the Empire, it seemed mages could wear whatever style they wished.
“Thank you for traveling all this way to make it here, Mr. Dream Mage, Caspar Hütter.”
The first to speak was a woman over the age of sixty seated at the far back of the room. Her grey hair was tied up in a tight knot, and she wore navy blue robes.
The woman smiled at Hütter.
Her kind, friendly smile reminded him of the nice granny that lived down the street when he was a kid.
“Please, take a seat.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Hütter bowed, then sat in an empty chair. Röhm, who guided him here, sat beside him. The woman who asked him to sit down spoke with a smile.
“I am the Spiremaster of the ‘White Smoke’, the First Spire, Augusta Abel.”
Hütter was a little surprised.
Wasn’t a Spiremaster supposed to be one of the most important people at the Wedge Tower?
(She’s a big deal….Even though she doesn’t look like it….)
Naturally, he didn’t let those thoughts show on his face. “Yes of course, I know.” was the attitude he chose to take. Even though he didn’t know anything, he was good at pretending like he did.
Following Abel, Spiremaster of the First Spire, the other officials named themselves one after another.
“General Affairs Office Director, Schacht.”
“Finance Office Director, Eigen.”
Both Schacht and Eigen were around fifty.
Schacht, the General Affairs Office Director, was a man whose combed-over grey hair had white streaks, and who sported a mustache. He wore a black robe, and overall had a serious air about him.
He was tall, and hadn’t gained weight in the manner that was usual for a middle-aged man, and Hütter reckoned this type of stern old man was in high demand among certain types of women.
Eigen, the Finance Office Director, was a more heavyset man whose blond hair was quickly losing its color. He wore a beige robe.
Men with eyes like his were always shrewd with money. It was a given that the leader of the Finance Office would be the kind of guy who loves money. Even if that was entirely Hütter’s imagination.
Following those two, a man with neatly-cut blond hair and round glasses that was slightly younger than them spoke up.
“I am Hegelich, the Director of the Guidance Office. I act as your direct superior. It’s a pleasure.”
Hegelich looked to be a high-strung man. He was the type to get in a fit over dust on the window frame.
(I’m not sure if we’ll get along……I should try to make sure not to get his attention.)
After that, the Branch Director of the Medical Office’s Second Branch, and the other mages of the Guidance Office introduced themselves one-by-one.
Obviously, each and every one of them had a serious and stern aura.
Won’t someone at least do a trick or something? As he secretly suppressed the urge to yawn, the introductions had ended without him noticing.
The nice-looking granny, by which he meant Spiremaster Abel, turned the conversation over to him.
“Then, Mr. Hütter, would you mind telling us something about yourself?”
“Certainly. Then…..”
As Hütter was about to begin layering on pleasantries, Abel added another suggestion with a smile.
“If you’re willing, could you show us some of your specialty illusion magic? I am deeply interested in it…..I’d love to witness the illusions of the Empire’s most renowned illusionist.”
Röhm’s face lit up beside Hütter when she heard Abel’s suggestion.
“I also, want to see, Mr. Hütter’s illusions!”
“Wouldn’t you show us the your talents, as a future member of the Guidance Office, you?”
Guidance Office Director Hegelich looked at him with searching eyes.
It has finally come, the moment of truth.
(How’d this happen? The second I thought someone should do a trick, I end up having to be the one to do a trick.)
To him, even high-complexity illusion arts counted as a ‘trick.’
Obviously, the third-rate con man, the Smoke Fox, couldn’t use even basic magecraft, not to mention illusion magic.
However, he had anticipated this scenario. In fact, this was vastly preferable to being asked to speak about magical theory.
In preparation for this occasion, he had practiced any and all of his party tricks.
Whether it be naked dancing, story telling, juggling wine bottles, pulling tablecloths, face-changing, impersonations, or anything else.
(Alright. Let me show you what the Smoke Fox can really do.)
At first, Hütter furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth, showing an expression of anguish on his face.
Then, he slouched over to hide his face, and squeezed out a weak voice.
“….I want you to keep what you hear here a secret from anyone else. Especially from the Mage Association.”
The air in the room fell still with Hütter’s words.
A man sent by the Mage Association had just asked them to keep a secret from that very Mage Association. Naturally, they’d be curious as to what it was.
The stern old man, by which he meant General Affairs Office Director Schacht, asked in a low voice.
“It’s concerning that you’d want to keep something a secret from even the Mage Association.”
“Is it something nefarious?”
The light-haired heavyset old man, Eigen, leveled a glare at Hütter.
Abel, the Spiremaster, made a difficult face.
(Good, good, I’ve got their attention….)
Hütter took a nice long pause, then opened his mouth.
“I’ve been secretly continuing my research…. at last, I have been able to activate my illusion magic without an incantation. I’ve successfully achieved chantless illusion magic.”