༺ Carriage Driver (2) ༻
I climbed into the front of the carriage and grabbed the stick-shaped handle. Channeling mana through it allowed me to share my senses with the carriage, serving as a link between us.
And now, by releasing mana and pushing the handle forward…
My mana will drive the carriage onwards.
“This is great~”
The higher one’s [Elemental Efficiency], the smoother the ride would be.
Additionally, I was a student of Märchen Academy. Even if it had only been one semester, I had received a thorough education and honed my magical skills.
To be slightly boastful, my carriage would provide customers with a very steady and comfortable ride.
I drove the carriage with Eden by my side, feeling refreshed by the light summer breeze brushing against my skin.
As I continued forwards, the sight of people dressed in white knightly attire became increasingly common. They were the Imperial Knights that had been dispatched to investigate the frequent demon appearances.
While the academy had a strict rule against interference from outside forces, this incident was of such importance that the imperial family had done so regardless.
I could clearly imagine the extent of the academy staff’s current suffering. It was truly pitiful.
‘I’m sure they’ll manage.’
I just had to take care of my job.
Before I knew it, the carriage had arrived at the commercial district. This place had a significant amount of traffic.
The people here were citizens of the Zelver Empire, living independently within the economic system established by the academy.
With the spirit of capitalism filling me, I shouted a promotional slogan at them, smiling brightly.
“You will never experience a carriage like this! You won’t even be able to tell if it’s a bed or a carriage! I promise a smooth and comfortable ride operated by a Märchen Academy student!”
[Kyuu, kyuu!]
Following my promotional slogan, Eden’s cry mixed in with my own voice, causing a resonant effect. It was like watching an addictive advertisement on television.
Following the mention of a carriage ride operated by a Märchen academy student, the attention of nearby passersby was drawn to me. Their interest was also partly fueled by the rarity of someone simultaneously promoting while operating a carriage.
“Student! Give me a ride, please!”
My first customer was a cheerful-looking older woman.
She was the chatty type, expressing her disappointment that students wouldn’t frequent her bakery as of late. Playing along, I engaged in a lively conversation with her.
“Thank you, student! Maybe it’s because you’re a Märchen Academy student, but the ride was really comfortable~”
“Thank you for choosing us!”
Being a carriage driver was a performance-based job. I would subtract the rental fee for the carriage and a percentage of the earned gel, keeping the rest for myself.
Because I had to balance my training and part-time work, I needed to earn as much gel as possible in the shortest amount of time. That was how salesperson Isaac came into existence.
“You will never experience a carriage ride like this! You won’t even be able to tell if it’s a bed…!”
“Student! Over here!”
“Alright!”
My publicity stunt had a tremendous effect. Everywhere I went, people were eager to hop on, some merely out of curiosity. It was rare for a Märchen Academy student to be working as a carriage driver, but even I was fascinated by how much interest there was.
I was already welcoming my 8th customer, a mother and daughter. As we rode to our destination, the 2-year-old child’s continuous crying increasingly flustered the mother.
“I’m sorry, student. My daughter just won’t stop crying…. you have to stop, okay baby?”
“WAHHHHHHHH!!!”
The sound of the baby’s cries echoed like a siren. It was clear she would grow up to be strong.
「Ice Generation (Ice Element, ★1)」
“WAHHH… ah…?”
As I cast [Ice Generation] in the air and immediately dispelled it, a blue powder started raining down.
Inside the moving carriage, the baby looked on in fascination as the beautiful powder floated out the window.
As it began to vanish, the baby reached both arms toward the window, her gaze filled with wonder. I continued forming more and more powder to keep the baby occupied.
“Phew. Thank you, student.”
“It was nothing special.”
It was just a service. Beside me, Eden agreed with a [Kyuu!].
It seemed they had business with Märchen academy’s administrative office, as one of the staff members was the mother’s younger sister. They had come to see her in person and have some tea together, as they hadn’t been able to find time to meet as of late.
Unfortunately, she likely wouldn’t be able to get what she wanted. The academy’s staff… were currently overwhelmed with a number of issues.
“…”
After bidding farewell to the mother and daughter, I stared intensely at Bartos Hall. Memories from the Trial of Frost resurfaced, evoking mixed emotions.
Of course, I had things to worry about besides them.
‘I want to try using [Clairvoyance] for surveillance purposes.’
I wanted to use [Clairvoyance] to monitor Alice as much as possible. However, directly watching Alice would be a dangerous endeavor that could lead to Extra Bad Ending #11, [Instant Death].
Her Cheshire had an exceptional ability to sense the presence of others. If I were to use [Clairvoyance] on Alice directly, Cheshire would immediately sense the eerie gaze directed at its master and come to kill me.
‘She’s not here right now, anyways.’
Alice had returned home, so I used [Clairvoyance] to peep inside the student council room, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Well, it was something to think about later.
I began driving the carriage once more.
As night fell, I parked the carriage at the station and calculated the day’s earnings, which were quite substantial. At this pace, I would only need to work for about 3 weeks to gather enough gel for both my living expenses and tuition.
After my training, I fell into a deep sleep at my dormitory.
Immediately after I awoke the next morning, I extended my left arm forward. The 8-star familiar contract circle engraved on my left wrist had turned into a summoning circle, and had been hiding its trace ever since.
Focusing on the flow of mana inside, I visualized the form of Frost Dragon Hilde.
Suddenly, the familiar summoning circle on my left arm revealed itself, emitting an azure light.
I experienced a similar sensation to when I had summoned Eden. However, as if a large barrier was blocking the path, the being within simply couldn’t break though.
“Damn…”
I lowered my arm. I was trying to summon Hilde, just in a smaller form. To do so, I was exhausting my mana to its limits every morning.
According to the setting of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, when a familiar was unsummoned, it transformed into pure mana and entered the contractor’s heart. Because of this, I knew it was possible to summon a smaller manifestation of one’s familiar.
In other words, mana consumption could be reduced by decreasing the size and presence of familiars with the same element. However, this ability heavily depended on the contractor’s level and [Elemental Efficiency].
Considering my current level and skill with [Elemental Efficiency], it would be impossible to summon the Frost Dragon, even in a very small form.
“I want to talk to her.”
After contemplating for a while, I had already decided on what I would say to her.
I would tell her the truth about everything, and I would ask for her help.
After all, I didn’t want to deceive her while exploiting her power.
While those thoughts were still endlessly being transmitted to the Frost Dragon, I couldn’t speak directly to her.
For now, I should just focus on my carriage driver duties.
I resolved to try and summon Hilde again tomorrow.
Changing into my uniform, I left the dormitory.
……
It was the 5th day of working as a carriage driver.
Today, the atmosphere was rather unusual. The academy staff’s presence was one thing, but even the Imperial Knights seemed preoccupied.
I was able to quickly find the cause.
‘The Lightning Sovereign?’
He was an Archwizard dubbed the Elemental King of Lightning. It seemed he was currently visiting Märchen Academy under the guise of an investment.
The present Märchen academy was known to be losing investors due to the frequent appearance of demons, which meant that the coin graph of the academy’s coffers was linearly declining.
However, there were rumors that high-ranking members of the nobility, such as the imperial princess, Saintess, and even the Priestess would be attending next year.
It wasn’t strange for the Lightning Sovereign to discover this and attempt to invest in Märchen Academy at their lowest point.
Even so, there was an issue.
‘Why is he coming in person?’
Sending a messenger would have sufficed, so why?
There was no mention of this in the ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ following the summer after freshman year.
It felt as if both the Imperial Knights and academy staff were tense, suspecting a hidden reason behind his visit.
To begin with, the Lightning Sovereign wasn’t an evil or good person. Because he always remained neutral, coming in person wasn’t a problem.
However, since something had changed from the original story, I couldn’t take it lightly. Something had definitely gone wrong.
It wasn’t the time for me to be driving around a carriage. Parking the carriage in a faraway alley, I hid it and activated [Clairvoyance].
「Clairvoyance (Neutral Element, ★7)」
I observed what was occuring at the main entrance of the academy. The Imperial Knights and academy staff were lined up, bowing their heads. Only few nobles would receive such treatment, like the imperial princess of the royal family, or the Saintess, who served the Lord, Manhalla. Or… someone like the Elemental King.
An opulent, deep violet and vibrantly golden carriage passed by the academy’s main entrance. It was so grand it made my own carriage feel insignificant.
That opulent carriage was accompanied by guards dressed in matching purple military uniforms.
His servants opened the door, and one man stepped out from within.
The man wore a black robe, his aura overpowering. His short, violet hair exuded elegance, and his gaze innately shimmered with static electricity.
‘It’s really the Lightning Sovereign.’
Why was this guy here?
Every imperial knight present, led by vice commander Fenrir of the 4th division, saluted the Lightning Sovereign.
As the commander of the imperial knights was currently in the Imperial Capital, Viyans, the vice commander was the highest-ranking knight in the area.
The Lightning Sovereign was completely indifferent to the imperial knights’ actions.
Suddenly, he gazed in my direction.
“…!”
I immediately terminated [Clairvoyance].
‘Fuck!’
This is bad…!
Feeling uneasy for some reason, I had planned to briefly observe, but I was caught instantly.
I needed to come up with an alibi immediately.
Hurriedly driving the carriage away, I summoned Eden and shouted out my usual business slogans as if I had always been operating the carriage.
“You will never experience a carriage ride like this! You won’t even be able to tell if it’s a bed or a carriage! I-I promise it won’t even s-shake…!”
BOOM───!
“Wahh!!”
However, he closed in like a flash of lightning.
A real lightning bolt struck down in front of me, forcing me to stop the carriage.
In the spot the lightning struck, the Lightning Sovereign appeared instantaneously.
[Jaul Dragoniac]
Lv: 199
Race: Human
Elements: Lightning
Danger: ???
Psychology: [???]
Multiple sparks rippled across the air as he stared at me with a composed gaze, charged with lightning.
Cold sweat flowed down my body.
I’m fucked…
* * *
As the Zabrok carriage entered the gates of Märchen academy, the Lightning Elemental King Jaul Dragoniac felt the presence of magic.
“Lord Lightning Sovereign?”
“…Wait for a moment.”
Spark–
As an Archwizard, Jaul had the ability to transform himself into the form of elemental magic, also known as elemental transformation.
Upon witnessing him transform into the lightning element, the imperial knights were briefly filled with terror.
“I’ll be right back.”
Immediately after saying that, he flew into the sky.
Becoming lightning, he quickly followed the presence of that spell and reached Isaac, who had been using [Clairvoyance], in a flash.
“Hmm?”
Jaul narrowed his eyes.
Possessing silver-blue and red eyes, he was the one Aichel had mentioned.
He had found the magic unusual, but to think it was him.
‘I never thought we would meet so soon.’
He could sense an aura far beyond his imagination. The boy in front of him was, without a doubt, the candidate for the next Ice Sovereign.
Why he was wearing a uniform and operating a carriage… he didn’t know.
Still, he was someone who had predicted the frequent emergence of demons and enrolled in Märchen Academy, secretly eliminating the threats while keeping his identity hidden.
It wasn’t likely that he was operating a carriage to earn money, or because the fine mana control required would help him better control his own.
The reason Jaul wanted to see Isaac personally was because he had a discerning eye.
He wanted to see for himself. Who Isaac really was, how much power he had, and whether their values aligned.
Depending on how he viewed Isaac and what his decision turned out to be, his reason for coming here would undoubtedly change.
As planned, he would speak with Isaac. The best method to do so would be utilizing the carriage Isaac was driving around.
“Give me a ride.”
“…Huh?”
Jaul used a commanding tone, making it clear that he wouldn’t allow a refusal.
“Y-Yes! Welcome, valued customer!”
Isaac responded respectfully while sweating, judging that he should comply with the Lightning Sovereign’s wishes.
“I-I promise you a comfortable ride without any shaking!”
Ignoring Isaac’s promotional slogan, he simply got in the carriage.
The environment inside was much more cramped and far less luxurious than the Zabrok carriage Jaul had ridden in.
Well, it didn’t matter to him. With his arms gathered and legs crossed, he stared at the front window, where he could see the back of Carriage Driver Isaac’s head.
“Drive with grace. Our destination is the main entrance of the Academy.”
“Y-Yes!”
Isaac started driving the carriage towards the entrance.
As he did so, Jaul’s eyes sparked with more static electricity as his gaze narrowed.
‘I knew it…’
How could he not know the nature of the ethereal blue aura emanating from Isaac?
To those who had reached the pinnacle of each element, a prominent aura corresponding to their element would be emitted.
The Fire Elemental King, the Water Elemental King, and the Wind Elemental King. Isaac, who was currently in front of him, was similar to them.
If he had reached the level of an Archwizard, he might even possess the ability to see the truth of all things, similar to Dorothy Heartnova’s [All In the World].
What lay within Isaac was an immense entity adorned with countless eyes, capable of devouring anything and everything in the world.
A monster that possessed near infinite mana.
[ ■■■. ]
Be gone.
As the monstrous entity within Isaac spoke, Jaul felt a chill run down his spine.
To think that he, one of the strongest of all lightning element wielders, had briefly felt fear. How long had it been?
However, paradoxically, the amount of mana he could sense from Isaac was disproportionately small. Jaul possessed a transcendent mana perception that could detect even unreleased mana, allowing him to gauge Isaac’s maximum mana capacity.
‘What in the world is this boy…?’
As Jaul stroked his chin, he pondered to himself.
He was the master of the Frost Dragon and Frostscythe.
He possessed an aura that could only be reached by reaching the pinnacle of the ice element.
And he had an unknown existence hidden deep within him.
Was it possible for someone who possessed that monstrous entity, whose strength was beyond compare, to have such a pathetic amount of mana? Did that even make sense?
In other words, as he had discussed with Aichel before, it was certain that Isaac had manipulated his maximum mana reserves, probably to conceal his true identity. Similar to himself, he was likely at the level of an Archwizard.
It was worth coming all the way to the academy just to confirm this fact.
Having learned how terrifying he was, he needed to verify something, even if it meant using force.
Was Isaac a threat or a potential ally? The answer would determine his future actions.
“Are you a student?”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Isaac.”
“You don’t seem to have a last name.”
“Y-yes, because I’m a commoner…”
“What do you plan to do after you graduate?”
“Ah, I want to be a wizard. That’s why I joined the Department of Magic here.”
He felt annoyed that someone like him was pursuing such a boring career path.
Because of that, he changed the direction of his questioning.
“What kind of wizard do you want to be?”
“What?”
“There are many options as a wizard. You could become a court wizard for a noble, you could research in the Magic Tower, become a mercenary or an explorer… And even within these paths, you will be further divided based on your own beliefs and values. Wizards who wield magic to protect others will inevitably be divided from those who use magic for their own selfish desires. When I ask you what kind of wizard you wish to become, that is what I am asking.”
Following his speech, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the carriage wheels turning.
After a brief but deep thought, Isaac responded.
“I haven’t decided on a specific path, but I have decided on what kind of wizard I want to be. It might sound funny to you…”
If Isaac were to continue existing in this world after defeating the Evil God Nephid, he would become a wizard to sustain his livelihood.
So, what kind of wizard did he wish to become? It might seem like he was putting the cart before the horse, but after the Trial of Frost, Isaac had come to a complete conclusion.
“I want to be a wizard that people can be proud of.”
He responded with a smile on his face.
During the final test within the Trial of Frost, he had recalled his mother in Korea.
His mother, who had constantly told him to stop drinking carbonated drinks because it was bad for him.
His mother, who constantly nagged him out of worry.
His mother, who constantly made side dishes for him and left them in the refrigerator.
His mother, who always prepared the foods he loved whenever he came home.
His mother, who sent him messages to tell him she loved him from time to time.
His mother, who had believed in him until the end.
She had died while he was studying for the civil service exam.
The moment his world collapsed overlapped with the final test of the Trial of Frost.
At that moment, he determined that if he was going to live on, he would become someone that would make his mother feel proud.
“…I see.”
Jaul closed his eyes.
Isaac’s values and actions seemed to be in line with his reply, and there was no indication that he was lying.
Thus, he was satisfied.
Although they still had a ways to go before reaching the main entrance, it seemed it was time for him to leave.
Spark────!
“Huh?!”
Jaul, taking the form of lightning once more, left through the window. Startled, Isaac instinctively cried out for his gel, but Jaul was already too far away.
Crash───!
A bolt of lightning struck down in front of the Academy’s main gates. While the academy staff and imperial knights were shocked, the Zabrok escorts maintained an expression of indifference, clearly familiar with the sight.
The lightning bolt turned into elemental mana, taking the form of Jaul.
With an impassive expression, he moved to his carriage.
“I got what I wanted. Let’s move.”
“Yes, my Lord!”
As soon as Jaul got on, accompanied by his escorts, they began to move again.
The imperial knights and academy staff could only stare in dazed astonishment.
Inside, Jaul sat in a luxurious spot as he silently gazed at the academy’s scenery. Opposite him, a female knight named Hera sat with her sword resting on her lap.
“I’m glad I came here in person. It wasn’t a waste.”
“Did you meet the next potential Ice Sovereign?”
Jaul nodded.
“We… shouldn’t make him our enemy.”
That creature, possessing immeasurable strength akin to an endless abyss, was a secondary issue.
While he was confused by Isaac’s thought process, which was no different from an ordinary student, considering his immense strength, he must have been hiding something
“Still, he wasn’t a bad person.”
If, one day, he appeared in front of the other Elemental Kings as one of their own, Jaul thought that he wouldn’t be against such a thing.
