[V3C18] The Value of Tools
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful Brothers“I think you should give up on learning flight magic.”
“Pyofu?” Tia let out a noise of shock to Barrett’s uncomfortable statement.
She could tell by looking at his expression that Barrett wasn’t just saying that as a mean-spirited way of teasing her. However, she couldn’t understand why he would say for her to give up when she hadn’t even started trying yet.
“Because I’m bad at mana control….?”
“Well, more or less, yes. In the first place, flight magic is a technique that even advanced mages find difficult.”
While the Wedge Tower did not rank its mages, the Mage Association divided its mages into Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced groups according to their abilities.
The instructor for Tia’s class, Hütter, was one such advanced mage from the Mage Association.
Thus, Tia believed that the term ‘advanced mage’ meant people who were similarly amazing to Mr. Hütter.
(Even amazing advanced mages like Mr. Hütter think flight magic is hard…..)
Barrett made a troubled expression as he watched Tia grumble “Piroro…..”
“It’s said that the most common cause of fatal accidents during a mage’s training is flight magic. After all, a magic battle barrier won’t protect you from falls caused by flight magic.”
“……….Piyo?”
She learned about the barriers used for magic battles in her group lessons.
It was a special type of barrier that nullified physical attacks and decreased one’s mana according to the damage received by mana-infused attacks.
It was supposed to be safe to practice most magic inside a magic battle barrier.
(Ah, but Ms. Röhm did say something about being careful to avoid certain types of accidents……I think……)
Moaning “Piropiro,” Tia recalled Röhm’s words.
“Um, magic battle barriers……don’t protect you from trips and falls……?”
“Yes, that’s right. That means that if you failed at flight magic and fell, it wouldn’t stop the damage. If your neck breaks, then that’s it for you. Practicing flight magic is a life-threatening exercise.”
That made sense. In that case, flight magic could easily lead to a lot of fatal accidents.
As long as you’re inside a magic battle barrier, you won’t die even if you’re hit by a wind blade or burnt by a fireball. However, you would die if you fell from high up.
“The magical formula for flight magic, by itself, isn’t very complicated. However, in addition to draining mana very quickly, it is very difficult to control. It demands exceptional mana control abilities.”
In Tia’s case, she was a Monster, so mana reserves wouldn’t be an issue.
However, she had a hard time with her mana control abilities. Precisely because she was a Monster, she too often let out a great deal of mana at once.
“From what Hütter told me, you have a fair amount of mana reserves, but you have trouble controlling your mana, right? On top of that, I heard you’re the type to let out way too much mana at once.”
“Peuuu……..yeah.”
“In my experience, types like that will fly up to incredible heights, then plummet like a rock to their deaths.”
Tia recalled the flight magic of her fellow Apprentice, Oliver Lange.
He soared high, high into the sky, flapped his arms around in midair, then landed one step forward from where he took off.
Tia thought that that wasn’t the kind of flight magic she wanted. However, if she used flight magic as she was today, it was highly likely that she would wind up like that. —No, if she couldn’t land properly, it could be even worse.
Oliver had likely expended a lot of time practicing his landing techniques.
“……But, I came to the Wedge Tower to learn flight magic……”
“Is there a reason you want to be able to fly?”
His voice was filled with kindness; the kind that you would use when talking to a pitiful, crying child.
“……I want to fly…….I don’t want to not be able to fly; that’s why I came here. That is the only reason I came here.”
She wanted to fly. After all, Tia was a Harpy.
To fly, and to sing. That was happiness to a Harpy.
Furthermore, If Tia was unable to fly, she wouldn’t be able to return to her home. She wouldn’t be able to meet her sister and the others in Breakneck Gorge.
As Tia lowered her head in despair, the door opened with a startling BANG!
“Then I’ve got just the thing for you!”
Raising his voice was old man Kappel, Director of the Management Office.
Kappel lifted high his strange contraption that looked like a metal box with thin medal boards strapped to it.
“Bum-ba-da-dum! This here is our very own Magical Flying Device!”
Barrett muttered his criticisms with an exhausted expression.
“Director, what in the world do you mean by bum-ba-da-dum?”
“Shut up. Kids like this kind of thing! Look here, pipsqueak! This is a Magical Flying Device. All you have to do is put this thing on your back and put mana into it, and you can fly like a bird! How about it, huh? It’s your dream, isn’t it? You want it, don’t you?
Doesn’t it sound like fun?”
“Hold on, Director. Didn’t we just watch you mess it up big time…..?”
“This magical device is still a prototype, but it will be unbelievably valuable once we finish with it. A hundred gold pieces won’t be enough to buy one. It goes without saying, but a kid’s allowance would never be able to afford it, right? ……Therefore—”
Holding the metal box in front of him, he shuffled furiously towards Tia.
His smirking face resembled that of a crafty Monster trying to initiate a deal with a human.
“Won’t you be a test pilot for our prototype? Gahaha…… If you do that, you can ride it for free, you know? In fact, just for you, I’m willing to paint this one any color you want. We can even tie some cute ribbons on it if you want.”
“That’s even more bothersome…..”
“We can do polka dots or stripes too? How about it? Would you like a cute little animal drawing?”
Tia looked at the metal box in Kappel’s hands.
A magical device. With this, she might be able to fly.
(Do I want to fly with a magical device?)
An instinctual feeling arose from deep within her chest, and Tia spoke that feeling out loud.
“I don’t want it.”
An unusually stiff voice came out of her mouth. That was because she herself didn’t know how she felt about her own words.
Why was it that she resisted this so much? She couldn’t put a name to these emotions that she felt. Not understanding her own feelings, Tia awkwardly tried to put her thoughts to words.
“Using a device to fly………..I don’t wanna. It feels wrong………..disgusting.”
At that moment, she heard a CLANG! from the other side of the room.
It was the sound of Rukiye, who had been spending the whole time working silently, standing up in a fury.
“Then you have no business here, right!? Get out already!”
Rukiye stomped up to Tia and looked down on her as she was still seated on the stool.
Her face showed clear and obvious anger.
“Earlier you slapped away that bracelet Julius gave you as well, too! Saying ‘I don’t want it!’ and all.”
“Peu……?”
Why was she bringing up what happened this morning?
Tia was confused, but Rukiye continued, speaking a mile a minute.
“Do you know just how hard it is to make a bracelet that is suitable for making a magical device!? Did you ever stop to think how much of a worker’s sweat and blood; how much excruciating time they put in; how big of a deal it is to make something like that!?”
Tia looked up at Rukiye with her mouth hanging half-open.
Each and every one of the words that came relentlessly at her were a complete surprise to Tia. After all, Tia had never thought about such things.
As Tia sat there, dumbfounded, Rukiye spat her last line in a low growl.
“You have no right to come to this room.”
“……….peu.”
She hadn’t understood half the things Rukiye was saying to her.
Nevertheless, Tia thought that she was right, so she stood up and dashed out of the Management Office.
(Oh, geez…..)
Watching Tia Vogel waddle away from behind, Barrett massaged his head to hide his displeasure.
To be honest, Barrett had wished for her to refuse Kappel’s offer.
No matter how desperately they wanted to see the Magical Flying Device through to completion, he could not in good conscience force a child like that to act as a test pilot for such a dangerous thing. Even though he would try to take every possible safety precaution.
(But I didn’t expect Rukiye would get so incensed about that…..)
It appeared like the Apprentice Mage Rukiye Sorge wished to work as a magical device artisan.
She, who had brushed off her family’s disapproval and taken the Wedge Tower’s entrance examination with stern resolve, held great pride in considering herself as an artisan.
After the room’s door slammed shut, Rukiye bowed her head towards Kappel.
“I apologize for letting my temper get the better of me, Director Kappel.”
“Hmm, I have no interest in squabbles between hotheaded Apprentices, but……”
Kappel grunted “And there… we go.” as he lifted the Magical Flying Device onto the desk and rotated his shoulders before continuing under his breath.
“It’s not unusual to see folks who ardently refuse to use devices like that.”
This was not a lecture; he spoke as if he were speaking only to himself.
Kappel continued quietly.
“Long ago, in a certain village, there was a man who invented a useful device. It was a simple tool that made it easier to till the soil. However, the hardheaded people of the village never once even tried to use his device. ‘We’re fine doing it the old-fashioned way.’ ‘We’re used to doing it that way.’ ‘We don’t have to worry if we do it that way,’ they said.”
While Kappel brought up the example of an agricultural tool, the same thing happened with magecraft and magical devices. There were countless people who would say ‘While that certainly looks useful, I don’t want to rely on it.’
Barrett couldn’t bring himself to refute that way of thinking. Neither could his Director, Kappel.
“While I love trying out new devices, I understand what those kinds of people are saying. It’s just as common to see people who throw themselves at something that looks convenient at first glance but winds up hurting them in the end, you know.”
Barrett couldn’t keep himself from interjecting.
“Something like the Magical Flying Device is definitely one such device…… It might look useful on the surface, but there’s no guaranteeing that it’s safe…….”
“Shut up. We’ll work on the safety part later.”
“Hmph.” Kappel snorted, then looked at Rukiye out of the corner of his eye.
“You should try to understand those kinds of folks who dislike useful devices. If you’re going to work as an artisan, you’re going to be butting heads with those people a whole lot going forward.”
“…….Yes.”
Rukiye nodded confidently, but the anger in her eyes hadn’t been controlled in the slightest.
(This…… Well, what do we do…….)
It must be hard for Director Hegelich to deal with this year’s Apprentices. Barrett secretly thought.