[V3C4] A Grown Man’s Common Sense Lecture ~How to Give Thanks~
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful BrothersIn the afternoon, on the same day that the mana evaluation was conducted in the morning group lesson.
Tia and the others were excited, wondering if they would finally start learning about magecraft for real, to which their assigned Instructor, Caspar Hütter said the following.
“Alright, today’s afternoon lesson is ‘A Grown Man’s Common Sense Lecture ~How to Give Thanks~’!”
“Piroro…..”
“Hey, Mr. Hütter, I thought we were gonna start practicing magic, weren’t we?”
“Would it not be suitable to engage in magecraft lessons now that our mana evaluation has concluded?”
Tia, Wren, and Sevil all voiced their complaints, to which Hütter nodded with the expression of a wise grown-up.
“I understand how you feel. Mana evaluation. What a wonderful thing. It’s exciting to learn your own element and all. It’s only natural that you start feeling like you’re about to start training for real! ….I don’t blame you.”
Exactly. It was true that she got excited, thinking It’s like the real magic is about to start! and imagining herself using flight magic.
Hütter spoke to his impatient students.
“But before that! Yesterday, you guys encountered Monsters, and the folks from the Investigation office as well as Otto from the Protection Office put their lives on the line to save you!”
“Ah.” Tia voiced.
That was right. The day before, they went on that mana density survey, encountered Monsters, and the old guys of the Investigation office and Otto of the Protection Office tried to save them.
Even on the way back, they were very concerned about Tia and her fellow Apprentices.
“And that’s why, you guys should head to the Investigation and Protection Offices, and thank them for all the help they gave you yesterday. I’ve already confirmed that the guys who helped you would be in their offices at around this time.”
“Won’t you be coming with us, Mr. Hütter?”
Wren asked under his breath, and Hütter made a disappointed face.
“I already went and thanked them this morning. While I was there, I made sure to confirm with them that ‘I’ll be sending my students to give their thanks in the afternoon. Will you guys have time?’ so you don’t have to worry. Just head over.”
“Pyoehhh,” Tia made an impressed noise.
Not only did he go to thank them, it never would have occurred to Tia to use that time to also ask whether it would be a bother for others to go give their thanks later on.
Tia remembered this was called ‘laying the groundwork.’
“Mr. Hütter, you’re amazing…..!”
“Well, that’s just part of being an adult. By the way, you guys haven’t been to the Investigation or Protection Offices yet, right?”
The Wedge Tower was composed of three numbered Spires.
The core of the institution was the First Spire: White Smoke.
Combat duties and investigations were handled by the Second Spire: Golden Needle.
Management and maintenance of magical devices, books, and the Tower’s other collections were the responsibility of the Third Spire: Water Bubble.
Tia and the others belonged to the First Spire, so typically had their meals in the White Smoke dining hall.
In order to borrow books or supplies, they would occasionally go in and out of the Third Spire, but the Second Spire was constantly busy with combat missions, and there weren’t many opportunities to visit.
Hütter spoke with his characteristic expression.
“The Second Spire: Golden Needle focuses on combat duties, after all. They’re all still in a tuff about the Monster yesterday. I want you to go there and see what the guys on the front lines are like with your own senses.”
They weren’t only going to give their thanks, they were going to learn about the Second Spire: Golden Needle.—That was Hütter’s assignment.
Mr. Hütter didn’t just have cool wingtips, he was also a teacher with a smart head.
Tia was truly impressed.
While the First Spire: White Smoke, and the Second Spire: Golden Needle were part of the same campus, there was a little distance between the two.
Tia and the others stepped outside and walked in a group of three towards the Golden Needle.
The weather was clear today, so just walking outside put her in a good mood. If she could fly, she thought it would be even better.
As Tia sang “Piroro, piroro!” happily, Wren whispered a question to her.
“By the way, about the mana evaluation this morning… How did you make it through that, Tia?”
“That also piqued my curiosity. If the time came, I was prepared to destroy the measuring device to cover it up.”
It sounded like both Wren and Sevil were concerned about Tia’s mana reserves.
Tia’s true identity was as a Harpy. Monsters were a type of magical creature, and their mana reserves were so high that humans couldn’t hope to compete.
Among them, Tia was a special type of individual called a Harpy Queen, known for having an especially large mana reserve.
Tia thought about how much had been explained to her.
In the first place, Tia herself didn’t fully understand the mechanism that allowed her to take a human form.
“Um, you see. When they made my human skin, they also made…mock? mana organs, and buried them inside. When doing a mana evaluation, it would read those mock mana organs? or whatever, so I’d be perfectly okay…. they said.”
As Tia recounted what she’d heard awkwardly and haltingly, Wren made a difficult expression.
He seemed like he had something he wanted to say, but wasn’t sure if he should say it. That was the kind of face he was making.
“Ah, erm, well….” Wren kept hesitating, so Sevil confirmed that no one was close enough to hear and spoke plainly.
“Who was it that made you into a human?”
“You-! Why would you ask that so directly?……I was trying to figure out how to ask that indirectly, you know………!”
For some reason, Wren complained about Sevil’s question under his breath.
Tia answered honestly to the question she’d been asked.
“I dunno.”
“Huh……..HUUH!? You know, if you don’t want to say it, just let us know!”
“Pirorororo…..I don’t not want to say it, I really just don’t know!”
Wren spoke fast, but Tia responded with a conflicted face.
After all, Tia really didn’t know who the person who saved her was.
In the first place, she really didn’t care who that person was. As long as she knew they weren’t an enemy, and a name to refer to them with, that was enough for a Harpy.
“Um, well. The one who saved me was called ‘Kai.’ He looked like a human man. A little older than Sevil, and a little younger than Mr. Hütter.”
So, a man in his mid-to-late twenties.
Tia, after having her flight feathers clipped and having been kept as a pet, managed to escape with her life, but she was on the verge of collapse. It was Kai who saved her that time.
Kai heard about the situation from Tia, then told her she could fly again if she turned into a human and studied at the Wedge Tower.
In contrast to Wren, who was freaking out about this, Sevil asked in a calm tone.
“And was it this Kai man who did this to your body?”
“Nope. The one who did that stuff was Kai’s friend, the Witch. The one who made those candies was also the Witch.”
After granting Tia a human body, Kai and the Witch spent a while teaching Tia human common knowledge and how to read and write.
Then, they sent Tia off to attend the Wedge Tower’s triennial entrance exam.
“Who in the world are these people…….They’re not Wedge Tower mages, are they?”
“Pirororo…….No, I don’t think they are.”
Neither of them wore the sashes of a Wedge Tower mage, and they lived deep in the forest a long way away from the Wedge Tower.
Their house was a little to the west of the Crystal Territory—so roughly somewhere north of the Wedge Tower here.
With a human girl’s feet, the distance took a couple days to cross.
Tia intended to keep talking, but suddenly closed her mouth. She saw a person in front of them. However, he was sleeping.
It was a tall, thin young man. He was sleeping in the shadow of a tree with his long arms and legs folded in on themselves.
His straight hair, illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the tree canopy, had the color of a cup of black tea with plenty of milk mixed in.
The long limbs, light hair, and memorable face caused Tia to shout “Ah!”
Wren stopped and looked at Tia.
“Do you know him?”
“That’s mister smiley, Frederik! He’s the one who let me ride on his back as he used flight magic. Umm, and back in the entrance exam, he’s the one who picked up Wren and Sevil’s bags that I left behind!”
As Tia flapped her ams and explained who he was, Sevil muttered “Hmm,” and squatted to get a better look at Frederik’s face.
“Then, I would much like to thank him….but he is still asleep.”
“He doesn’t look uncomfortable, too. I think we shouldn’t wake him up?”
As Tia, Wren, and Sevil squatted around Frederik, someone came running out from the Second Spire; Golden Needle.
He was a young man with short, dark brown hair, tanned skin, and eyes that let her see the whites on three sides of his iris.
“Um, excuse me…..I’m Rikard Oks, from the Extermination Office. That person is one of our Office’s, so I’ll take him with me. Sorry to bother you.”
Rikard’s eyes looked sharp, but he was nonetheless a polite young man.
Whispering under his breath “Frederik, you’re so long it’s hard to carry you…..,” he picked up the sleeping Frederik.
That made sense. Since Frederik was so tall yet so thin, he had an impression of being less ‘tall’ and more ‘long.’ It was a fact that his limbs were very long.
At that point, Frederik faintly groaned. His brows twitched and his sleeping face contorted in pain.
He had probably come out of deep sleep and was now having a nightmare.
“Piyo, hold on a second.”
Tia called for Rikard to stop, and approached Frederik’s face as he was being carried.
Then, in a quiet voice, she sang. The same lullaby she sang that night.
—Because the moon is crying tonight
—Sleep soundly now
—The tears shed for your sake will water the earth
—Then once more, morning will come
—Then once more, tomorrow will come
The creases on Frederik’s forehead disappeared. His sleeping face seemed to lighten up a little bit.
Rikard’s distinctive eyes widened, and he looked at Tia in surprise.
“It’s a spell to help you sleep well!”
As Tia said that, Rikard bowed slightly.
Even though this young man’s face and the whites of his eyes gave him an angry look, she felt like the air had relaxed somewhat.
“This guy suffers from chronic insomnia, so I’m sure he’d be grateful for that………then, if you’ll excuse me.”
Bowing once more, Rikard walked away.