Book 1 Chapter 8
Episode 7
While Bell Quilris was being awakened, his younger sister Serri was nearing the end of her third year in the elementary division of Libarden Magic School and preparing for her graduation exams.
When Serri returned to the mansion for summer vacation, Rain bought a book from a bookstore and rode with her in the carriage. His mother, Brimm, had given birth to his younger brother Bran (who was now three years old), and she had insisted so strongly that he come to see them this year that he had no choice but to head home.
“Brother, look at this! I’ll show you how much Serri’s magic has improved!”
“I’m reading, so be quiet. ‘A noble must be arrogant and act with confidence in all matters’… Hmm?”
Must I act arrogantly?
Is it okay to act arrogantly?
Rain grinned, momentarily dumbfounded. There was no need for separate training for this. After all, Rin had lived exactly like this.
- Rin, if you keep acting with such a terrible personality, you won't make a single friend later?
It was so bad that Frede would scold him like that throughout their journey.
- A man should have a cute side. If you live solely for yourself, like you do, who would find you cute?
So, after being reborn, he had tried to become a slightly different person… but now, even if he disliked it, he had to live like his old self, was that it?
The road back to Bellwynn Mansion was noisy with the sound of rain. This was because the summer rain, which had started a week ago, was pouring down exceptionally heavily, drumming on the carriage roof.
“Ugh! 『Introduction to Nobility Studies』… Is such a strange book more important than Serri?”
His younger sister puffed out her cheeks, but Rain’s eyes only quickly scanned the words in the book, and he answered by just moving his mouth.
“I thought some extraordinary measure was needed, since I have to go to school soon.”
“…?”
“You have diligently followed the righteous path (正道) of a noble mage, while I, on the other hand, have walked a completely wicked path (邪道).”
“That just means you’re special, Brother!”
While praising Rain, Serri inexplicably shrugged her shoulders as if showing off herself.
“Alright, I don’t know how a high noble should treat other people. It’s like a crash course. If you understand, please be quiet.”
At his words, young Serri Ludwig merely tilted her head. All Serri knew was that Rain was more special than anyone else in the world.
- Mom, why doesn’t Brother go to school?
- Rain is special. There’s nothing for him to learn at school.
Rain was an all-knowing genius. Hadn’t he explained every magic Serri asked about more easily and perfectly than any school teacher? Serri was called a genius at school, but she had merely diligently reviewed what Rain had taught her.
‘Brother, who knows everything, doesn’t know something?’
She narrowed her eyes, wondering if he was joking, when suddenly, the carriage jolted to a halt, and the siblings’ bodies briefly floated up before sinking into the cushions.
“Ouch! What are you doing?!”
As Serri grumbled, Swan, the guardian knight riding alongside the carriage, bowed his head. His rain-soaked cloak hung limply.
“I apologize, Young Lady. We belatedly realized the road was flooded…”
“Flooded?”
In addition to the roaring sound of the torrential rain, other commotions were stirring outside the carriage. Men’s shouts, women’s sighs, children’s cries.
“What’s going on?”
Rain asked, expressionlessly turning a page of his book.
“It seems the water has overflowed due to a flood. They appear to be building a levee, but I will quickly try to find an alternate route.”
“No mages around?”
“I see some robed individuals, but they don’t seem to be using any particular power. At this level, the Lord of the mansion might need to come, but… it’s not something for the Young Master and Young Lady to worry about.”
The book Rain was reading at the time was on page 127, and the chapter it belonged to was <Duties of a Noble>.
「A noble has a duty to care for the subjects of the territory they govern… Since the lord is like the father of the territory’s inhabitants, they must tend to their pain as a father embraces his son.」
Rain frowned.
I don’t know why these nobles have so many things they *must* do. I can’t tell if this status is a crown of honor or a shackle of bondage.
“Y-Young Master?!”
Rain suddenly closed his book, jumped out of the carriage, and walked into the rain, startling Swan, who quickly dismounted his horse.
“The rain is cold and heavy! Your esteemed body will be harmed, how could you…!”
Instantly, Rain’s black hair and black silk robe were drenched by the rain, and the hem of his clothes was submerged in muddy water. The flood, which hadn’t occurred in 100 years, was vast and ferocious.
“This is Cias Turelica, right?”
“…?”
“It’s our family’s territory, isn’t it? Don’t I have a duty?”
* * *
“This is absurd… Has there ever been such a severe flood in my lifetime?”
“Hey, you brats! Bring more dirt instead of chattering!”
“It’s no use, Grandpa! Look, the dirt we just piled up is already collapsing!”
The strong men, who were building a levee with dirt and sandbags in a ford where the muddy water reached below their knees, shook their heads in dismay and retreated.
“What are those mages doing, anyway?”
“How should I know! It’s not the first or second time those people have been incompetent!”
The Imperial Mage Alliance had stationed one or two civilian relief mages in each small town, but it was truly bewildering how they would boast normally but couldn’t do anything when actually needed.
“Stop and come up! Any more than this is too much! We’ll all be swept away and die in this flood!”
The women scooping dirt into baskets shouted at the men, seeing the flood grow even more ferocious. But the village head stubbornly shook his head.
“If all these tulips die, we die too! We need to sell these to get food!”
“You’ll die doing that! Flee to higher ground!”
“If we can’t stop this, we die too!”
It was then.
While the mother was arguing with the village head, a child swimming in the chest-high ford was swept away by a torrent that rushed in like a tidal wave.
“Oh, my God!”
“Oh, sir! Our, our child!”
The strong men, who had linked their waists with ropes, were somehow not swept away by the flood… but that was all. The flood was so violent that they didn’t dare try to swim and rescue the child.
“M-Mages! What are you doing?! Please save that child! You’re useless, what good are you?!”
“Be, be quiet! Do you think calculating coordinate equations is child’s play? How am I supposed to cast magic on a target moving that fast?!”
In this case, telekinesis-type magic should be used. To use telekinesis, one would calculate and interpret coordinate equations, then twist the equations to intervene in the natural order and seize the child, but… the problem was that the civilian relief mages stationed in small towns by the Mage Alliance were what you might call "reject" mages, who couldn't make it to the magic towers or the court.
“What do we do, our, our…”
It was then that a boy quietly walked into a world filled with nothing but commotion and panic. Black hair, matted by the rainwater, and crimson eyes shining more beautifully than rubies through his locks.
“Hey, child! Where are you going?!”
As it was hard to gauge the surroundings amidst the pouring rain and wind that filled their vision, people did not recognize the crest of the magical noble family etched on the boy’s back. A red eye drawn within a black circle. That it was the crest of the Ludwig margrave family, which held sway in the central region among the Empire’s five great magical noble families.
“The levee will soon collapse, and dange─”
Before the man trying to stop Rain could finish his sentence, a dazzling tail of light blossomed on the boy’s palm, intricately weaving together to form a magic circle. The magic circle was three layers of rectangles. The runes inscribed were Gyeol (闋), Du (阧), On (鞰).
To earth-attribute magic,
‘Gyeol (闋): closing a door,’
‘Du (阧): surging up,’
‘On (鞰): piling up’
qualities are granted.
The mathematical formula used for the solution was ‘Campbell Page’s Multivariable Function Theorem.’
Kwoooong…
At the miracle that shook the earth, those standing at the scene couldn’t close their mouths. Du (阧), the ground on both sides of the rippling ford suddenly surged up like cliffs, and On (鞰), formed a massive earthen rampart, extending towards the horizon. Gyeol (闋), it was the moment when nature’s waves, which could not be resisted no matter how many levees were built, were isolated in an instant.
“Eh?”
“Huh?”
The mages, who had been shouting and grabbing each other by the collars with the strong men, stopped their movements and blinked blankly.
“W-What is this….”
“What, what on earth just happened…?”
“Did even a Supreme Mage come? Where?”
It was only natural that the shock of the incident was greater for the mages than for the common people who knew nothing of magic. The precision of the magic was nearly perfect. The surging earth even caught the child swept away by the flood and returned them to dry land.
“Mom, Mom!”
The woman, who was embracing her soaking wet child and weeping, repeatedly bowed her head to Rain.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The black-haired boy, who had watched the scene in the rain, turned away with a yawn and walked towards the road where his family's carriage was.
“I put a time limit on it, so this unsightly dirt wall will gradually subside by the time the flood ends. It’s my first time doing it, so if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work.”
The young man who had tried to stop the boy earlier stared blankly at the earthen wall before turning back to Rain. Only two people, the woman and the young man, seemed to fully grasp the situation.
“How could you do something like this in an instant…? You, no, no, that’s not right, who exactly are you, my lord…?”
The boy paused for a moment, pondering how to answer, when the contents of the book flashed through his mind.
A noble must be arrogant.
No, it’s okay to just be arrogant.
It means there's no need to smile brightly like Rista here; he can act like his old self.
“Just a noble passing by?”
With that, he simply waved his hand dismissively and didn't even look back. But precisely because of that, the young man could clearly see it: the crest of the magical noble family luxuriously embroidered on the back of the boy's robe. His mouth hung agape.
“Young Master Ludwig…?”
* * *
“Is it alright to just end it like this?”
As Rain returned, Swan asked cautiously.
“Hmm?”
“You could have made sure they knew it was the Young Master’s doing.”
Once again, magic power shimmered in Rain’s eyes, and the rainwater that had drenched his entire body separated from his body and clothes, rising into the air. It was a terrifying level of magic control.
“The villagers will live with gratitude towards the Young Master, and through those mages, word might spread, and perhaps even a commendation from the Mage Alliance might have come.”
Rain then raised an eyebrow as if he didn't understand.
“The lord’s son helping the villagers, performing a natural duty—should he receive separate thanks or commendations for that?”
Those words came out of his mouth naturally, with an expression devoid of any ulterior motives. At that, a hot tremor rose from deep within Swan’s heart, and his eyes trembled greatly. The family guards, most of whom had been selected from among the villagers, stared blankly at Rain, then one by one, subtly bowed their heads.
‘Our Young Master…’
‘Young Master Rain…’
The moment a person pledges lifelong loyalty to someone isn't always marked by a dramatic story. When one sees the sincerity hidden within a person’s words and actions, they are moved to kneel wholeheartedly.
‘I will serve you for life.’
Meanwhile, Rain, who had no way of knowing Swan’s or the soldiers’ feelings, was smiling contentedly for a different reason.
‘Wow…’
Being a noble might be better than I thought? I acted just as rudely as before, so why is the reaction completely different?
* * *
The Giriten region of Cias Turelica was a village located at the crossroads leading to <Rainbow Garden>, originally a place where various travelers, such as adventurers and peddlers, occasionally stopped by. However, as tourists flocked to see the earthen rampart that an unknown high-ranking mage was said to have created overnight, the village greatly prospered within half a year. A young man from the village claimed it was Rain Ludwig's doing, but no one believed that the rumored incompetent Ludwig scion could have accomplished such a feat.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“They say Young Master Ludwig submitted his application to <Delighten>. The rumors are widespread in the south.”
“Oh dear, he’s just going to be humiliated. If it were me, I would have made all sorts of excuses not to go.”
Just then, the bar employee slammed a glass down on their table with a bang, and the merchants, who had momentarily fallen silent, immediately became furious.
“Is this crazy─”
“─You merchants don’t know anything. Humiliation? Our Young Master?”
“What do you mean we don’t know, man? There are widespread rumors that the heir of the Ludwig family is a bit lacking. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
As the merchants clucked their tongues, the young man suddenly burst out laughing. The villagers working at the bar merely exchanged knowing smiles.
“Haha! Then, merchants, if you’re so confident, let’s make a bet.”
“What kind of bet?”
“I’ll bet this pub that Young Master Rain will graduate at the top of his class with overwhelming scores. Now, what will you all bet?”
* * *
“There are many excellent applicants this time.”
Magic University, <Delighten>.
In the professors' office of the fantastical main building, where a dragon's diamond statue elegantly wrapped around the exterior wall. Seven professors sat around a round table, perusing the application documents that had flooded in from various parts of the Empire.
“Wouldn’t you say they’re polar opposites? Christa Warden, known as the genius of the century… versus Rain Ludwig, more famous by the derogatory nickname, the Calamitous Scion (天災공자).”
Rain Ludwig…
He had never attended a magic school, won a competition, or taken a magic rank exam. He was an existence with virtually no data.
‘He showed his face only once at the Seven Families’ Council when he was seven, but he was said to have no aptitude for magic whatsoever…’
That’s why his nickname is the Calamitous Scion. Not meaning a talent (才) bestowed by heaven (天), but rather a disaster (災) bestowed upon the Ludwig family by heaven (天), hence "Calamitous Scion" (天災). How such a vessel could have been born to such distinguished parents was truly baffling. One professor sighed.
“There’s no need to even separately check who will be first and last in the next term.”