Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“As expected, we’re brothers.”

Is my saying I want to go outside the castle something that makes him that happy?

It seems he misunderstood something, but I’m not trying to go out because I particularly like the outside.

I just have work to do.

“Then I’ll tell you well. There’s a position where you can go outside often. I’m also belonging there.”

There I was a bit puzzled.

I’ve never particularly seen David doing any work, just loafing around and training each time.

“If it’s the same place as senior brother, I’ll be able to learn a lot.”

“Haha, of course. It seems it’ll be fun working together later too.”

***

The magic practitioners of the personnel pavilion received the letter with Equira’s seal and nodded.

“Since the generation is high, it’s hard to give just any work, and since the skill is purple, it was also hard to give high work.”

“Since he himself wants to go outside, isn’t there a perfectly suitable position?”

“Yes, rather it turned out well. Let’s put him in the External Affairs Bureau.”

“There are many who dislike it saying it interferes with training, but interestingly all of Herdrode’s disciples went to the External Affairs Bureau.”

“An interesting matter.”

“I heard Sir David grows quickly even while doing the work of the External Affairs Bureau in parallel, I don’t know how the child named Ronan will be.”

Like that, the affiliation of Equira’s purple magic practitioner Ronan Gradias was decided.

***

I realized the attribute of my Magic Root.

The trigger was like this.

A path extending in a straight line of the same size.

It was when drawing the section with the least change among all diagrams of Margo.

After immersing and extending the path and checking, very slightly, the path had gone further.

Since the ceiling had to lower gently and sink deeper into the floor, I tried to press or pull the path somehow, but of course it didn’t budge.

Slowly opening my eyes and blankly looking at the ceiling, I pressed my forehead.

I didn’t think I would never make a mistake in my life, but to do it in this way here.

But if I get hasty here, it will only call a bigger mistake.

I got up, chewed and ate the Wall Valley Pill from the jar, and also took in sufficient moisture.

And briefly held the sword and moved the stiffened body to loosen it.

After organizing my thoughts well like that, I sat down again in the middle of the training ground.

Originally I would have gone outside and seen the sunlight too, but I absolutely didn’t feel like stopping here.

“...”

Just a little. Anyway, it’s just shaving off a little.

I raised mana and cut and burned the walls I had widened little by little.

Doing this, clearly, some magic power would have a bad influence on the body, they said.

“...”

Red magic power mixed with mana from the end of the burned root and scattered srrrr.

I waited intending to accept the result that would continue quietly.

But even after a long while, and examining spending even more time than that, nothing happened.

The red magic power scattered.

And?

There is no next.

I couldn’t know what the problem was.

In fact, suspicion arose.

Erosion happens to this degree?

I who had been quietly lost in thought got up from the place and headed in front of David’s house.

And went to the grassy field, picked one flower, and briefly held it to the chest where the Magic Root was.

Red marks spreading on the white petals, and red light rising from the reddened parts.

The petals were slowly magic-power-izing and scattering.

Then...

I circulated mana as is.

Blue mana brushed the Magic Root, received its influence, and turned red.

Red mana flowed along the hand, passed the stem of the flower, and touched the petals.

The spreading red marks gradually stopped.

The already magic-power-altered leaf tips remained red as is, and some had magic-power-ized and been lost, but clearly the erosion had stopped could be seen.

Stops magic power erosion.

I didn’t stop here.

I took that flower and moved to the commercial street and went to the magic item shop.

It didn’t have professional medicinal materials like a herb shop, but basic things were all here.

“Thinking of manufacturing poison?”

“Yes. To use for work.”

“Be careful.”

After purchasing simple items like ampoules and beakers, gloves, etc., I returned to the lodging, and immediately extracted poison from the purchased herbs, mixed them, and emulsified by sprinkling mushroom extract on the layered liquid.

Dark purple poison contained in a syringe-type ampoule.

I slightly dropped it on the tip of the prepared flower.

When purple light was about to bloom in dots, the red mana I raised circulated the flower.

The seeped poison pushed in a bit more but was blocked by the red mana and began to burn, and before long one petal already dyed by the poison fell off.

I looked down at the flower still beautifully alive.

Even though eroded by magic power and poisoned by deadly poison, only one petal was damaged, and only one petal was lost.

I found a suitable glass bottle, filled it with water, and stuck that flower in.

And disposed of the poisonous herbs used when manufacturing the poison, organized the tools, then took the vase and the poison-dyed petal and knocked on the master’s door.

He heard the circumstances and first grabbed my wrist and circulated mana.

“Really no traces. Not eroded at all.”

Herdrode carefully examined the fallen petal.

“Already dead tissue does not return. But the toxicity and damage that were spreading further stopped.”

And turning his gaze to the flower, he checked the leaf with traces of magic power erosion remaining.

“And this leaf here. The still living parts have found vitality. It’s recovering.”

He contemplated deeply, then looked at me and said.

“This is purification.”

Purification...

A not unfamiliar word.

In the later years, dealing with demons, it was heard to the point of being stuck in the ears.

“Don’t tell this to David either. It would be good for only you and me to know.”

“Understood.”

Herdrode looked as if amazed.

“You never ask for reasons. So if I ask if you know, you mostly know.”

“...I just accepted because hiding what I have felt natural.”

“Strictly speaking, it’s because the value of your Magic Root is greater than expected. First know it that way.”

He glanced at my waist and frowned.

“How long do you intend to go around wearing the sword received from the sword institute?”

I chose it because it was the lightest and most comfortable among the swords I had.

And I didn’t dislike blunt blades either.

If I want to kill, just put more strength, and when I don’t want to kill, I can mercilessly strike with the blade.

From becoming a detective, even if money arose, I didn’t look for famous swords.

When sheathed it’s a staff, when drawn it’s a sword...

I carried around items awkward as swords saying they were good.

The moment wearing a well-made straight sword, the targets I can disguise as become limited, so the most ideal sword I think of is a sword that can be conveniently hidden and carried.

“I like it though...”

“To think my disciple’s eye is so poor is truly regrettable.”

My eye is normal.

I just don’t apply that standard even to swords.

“It seems you have no intention of looking yourself. Then this master will have to deliberately put in effort because of the poor disciple.”

“Yes?”

“You’ll receive work soon, they say. Come find me before leaving the sword family.”

Seems he’s going to give a suitable sword as a employment gift.

If I receive it for free, I’ll use it thankfully well again.

As long as it’s not too heavy and inconvenient, looking at the sincerity, I can diligently go around wearing it.

“Yes then, I’ll go out.”

***

A few days later, mail came to the main castle.

What I had to do was written.

David, whose lodging was right next door, yet occupying my dining table drinking coffee, extended his hand.

When I handed the document, he slowly read it.

“Visit the Westeros Ducal family... Is this yours?”

“It is.”

“Did purple handle ducal family work...?”

I left the lodging as is and headed to the building of the External Affairs Bureau.

A moderately compact yet beautifully built building in the northwest of the sword family, I heard that instead of vacating the originally used larger building, they moved to this new-style building.

Since the External Affairs Bureau received work by case and most were out, it seemed even the originally used large building was idling more than half.

Entering inside the External Affairs Bureau and heading to the 3rd floor, as expected quiet offices and corridors continued.

Entering the office labeled External Affairs Section 3, there was a woman sitting as if lying on a large chair beyond the wide desk inside, looking into a book.

“Hello, Section Chief. I’m the newcomer Ronan Gradias belonging to External Affairs Section 3.”

She put the book down on her chest with a tap and looked at me.

The large eyes were slightly loosened as if indifferent, looking far from diligent, and the shirt top not well tucked in and coming out, she didn’t seem like a stiff superior who makes even non-existent rules and keeps them.

On the other hand, from the callused hands or the overall body muscle state revealed because the posture is bad, she seemed a person who doesn’t neglect training.

“What business up to here? The work to do should have been sent home? Wasn’t it written to come report after finishing the work?”

Since they send the members outside like this, the workplace gets smaller.

“I wanted to see some work. When I asked senior brother, he said it was possible...”

“It seems your senior brother is mistaken, the External Affairs Bureau doesn’t change missions at the whim of the lowest. Once given, it’s hard to cancel, so first do that and come, and come receive before the next mission is given. They don’t pile other work on someone who received work and went out.”

“Ah, I didn’t come to change it.”

The information heard from David was also addition, not replacement.

The reason he had been leisurely recently was because before that he received several works at once and processed all the work of the section he belonged to.

Processing little by little going in and out of the sword family under the pretext of work, before he knew it work became insufficient.

“Hmm? If not replacement, what is it?”

“I came to increase it. While out, I intend to process more work of nearby places and come.”

She opened the drawer and rummaged, then handed one booklet.

Opening it, each and every page was all request forms.

It seemed documents requesting invitation of magic practitioners to the Equira family, and seeing there were quite old documents too, it seemed they receive only what to receive and leave what not to receive and discard moderately.

Since it’s the position of requesting the sword family to send a magic practitioner, and the sword family is in the position of choosing whether to receive or not, it must run like this.

I flipped through.

I thought since the Empire is wide, there might be no work near the place I’m looking for.

‘An unidentified criminal active in the Carpenter Viscount Territory...’

Found it.

“Please assign this mission too.”

“Okay. Give the document and go.”

When I pulled the relevant request form from the file and handed it, she skimmed it.

And grabbed a nearby stamp, stamped with a bang, pushed it, and lifted the book again.

Greeting before going out at the door, she waved her hand loosely.

Good?

Doesn’t seem like a strange person.

***

The day before going out for work, I went to find the master.

As promised, he had prepared one sword.

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