Thank you for your opinions and feedback.
Among the feedback, there was a question asking whether Solomon is something like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, so I'll take this opportunity to answer.
First, regarding appearance, I wasn't going for Blue-Eyes — he's about 60 cm, a Western dragon child, on the cute side.
His abilities won't be limited to destructive attacks — I plan to have him use other types of magic as well.
I look forward to your continued support.
This was a mountain road far from Seigen.
Traveling along it was a single carriage, escorted by knights on horseback.
Just then, a horse came galloping toward the group from ahead. A single knight rode upon its back. One of the escorting knights gestured for the rider to pull up alongside him. It seemed the knight who had come from the front had been out on reconnaissance. The fact that he had returned without being relieved of duty meant something had happened up ahead.
The knight who received the report — Edgar — approached the carriage and,
"Merlin, it appears that up ahead, a group led by an Ogre is fighting a horde of about twenty Orcs. What would you have us do?"
Edgar delivered his report to Merlin inside the carriage and awaited instructions.
Edgar was the captain of this escort, and Merlin was the person they were protecting. However, he believed that letting this Sage — who surpassed him in both ability and experience — make the call would yield the best outcome, so he deliberately sought his instructions.
"That's obvious. We press forward! With an Ogre on our side, I don't think we'll lose, but you never know what might happen!"
At those words, Edgar had the knight who had just returned take the lead as the guide.
"Everyone, pick up the pace!"
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone answered without a moment's hesitation. However, picking up the pace was easier said than done — since the road wasn't fully maintained, the carriage's speed couldn't increase all that much.
So in this case, the idea was: don't push it, just go as fast as you can — but not so fast that you leave the carriage behind!
The Ogres' battle was about two kilometers straight ahead from where they had received the report.
It took Merlin and the others a little over eight minutes to reach the location after picking up speed.
When they arrived, the Orcs had already been reduced to fewer than half their number, but just moments later, about ten more emerged from the nearby forest.
The knights moved to intercept those Orcs, but—
"Aerblit!"
Merlin's magic spells were fired in rapid succession at the Orcs roughly a hundred meters away.
The reinforcements that had arrived were utterly annihilated by Merlin's magic, eliminating the threat they posed.
Seeing this, Edgar called out:
"Go support that group! And whatever you do, do not approach the Ogre!"
The Ogre did not appear to be an enemy. As proof, the carriage it was guarding bore the crest of a noble house. However, since it was unclear whether this was genuinely a noble, they decided to target the Orcs that had strayed from the Ogre instead — signaling that they were allies.
From that point on, the battle became one-sided. Orcs were never particularly strong on their own to begin with, and the Ogre was already dealing damage to them with impressive efficiency. Had the Ogre fought without worrying about the carriage, the Orcs would likely have been wiped out entirely before Merlin's group even arrived. In fact, there didn't appear to be a single casualty on the Ogre's side.
This alone made it clear that the Ogre possessed a certain level of intelligence and was capable of coordinated action.
Shortly after, the battle came to an end, leaving nothing but the corpses of over thirty Orcs scattered across the ground.
Just to be safe, the knights swept the surrounding area to confirm there were no more Orcs hiding nearby.
Present at the scene were Merlin, Mark, Edgar, Chris, and one knight on their side, while the other group consisted of the Ogre and about five people who had stepped outside the carriage, with several more still inside.
The Ogre remained somewhat wary, but it showed no intention of causing them harm. It retreated to a position near the carriage.
As the Ogre approached the carriage, its door opened and a man and a young boy emerged. They were most likely father and son.
The man had a gentle face, yet he watched them with cautious, unguarded eyes. The boy appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen and had something of a brash air about him.
"I owe you my gratitude for your assistance. I am Carlos von Samons, Marquis Samons. Might I ask who your master is?"
Edgar responded to the man who had introduced himself as a marquis:
"I am Edgar van Valentine, a member of the King's Royal Guard. Currently, by the King's orders, I serve as a bodyguard to the Sage Merlin!"
The moment that name was mentioned, Merlin appeared from the carriage.
Upon seeing her, Carlos—
"Oh my, so you are the renowned Merlin! I have heard so much about you—
long before this—
but... why would someone of your standing be in a place like this..."
To that question, Merlin replied:
"Well, I had business in Gunjou City... I wanted to arrive quickly, so I took this road."
The marquis appeared to hold Merlin in great respect, addressing her with exceptionally polite language and gestures. However, the young boy standing behind him wore a thoroughly unamused expression. He was likely one of those nobles with a warped sense of pride. Moreover, he seemed completely disinterested, as if he knew little about Merlin.
Noticing the boy's attitude, Merlin said:
"Ho ho, Marquis Samons. Forgive us, but we're in a bit of a hurry, so we'll take our leave here... That said, your Ogre is magnificent. What catches my eye isn't its strength, but rather its intelligence and loyalty... You seem to be quite the skilled Tamer."
The marquis was pleased to receive such praise from Merlin, but upon realizing that Merlin had been considerate toward his son standing behind him, his expression became a complicated mix of pleasure and embarrassment.
Without touching on the matter further, Merlin returned to her carriage.
Edgar and the others also bowed, climbed back into their carriage, and set off.
Their destination was the village that served as a waypoint to Gunjou City. It was also the same village where Tenma had parted ways with Jayman.
"Alright, let's move out! First, we head for the village along the way!"
And so, Merlin's carriage began its journey toward the village.
After Merlin and her party had departed, the marquis proceeded to lecture his son about just how famous and capable Merlin truly was.
On this particular day, I found myself lost in thought. The subject of those thoughts was Amy.
So far, Amy had been following my instructions well. Her magic power was also increasing steadily, and compared to others her age, while she might not quite reach the level of a genius, she had progressed enough to be called a prodigy.
Considering all of this, I began to think that perhaps it would be alright to have Amy form contracts with the chicks as her Familiars.
However, one of the shortcomings I was aware of was having few friends my own age. Well, I didn't have many friends outside my generation either... and because of that, I couldn't quite get a full read on Amy's abilities.
If I was going to Tame her, the sooner the better, I thought. But whether she could actually control them was something I couldn't judge.
I recognized that this was exactly why I'd been dragging my feet and avoiding the topic of the chicks.
" There's no point in agonizing over something I don't have an answer for..."
So Tenma decided to ask around for opinions.
<Acquaintance Number 1: Jin>
"There's no way you're gonna get an answer to something like that! If things are just gonna turn out however they turn out, the only thing you can do is give her the chicks and see what happens."
<Acquaintance Number 2: Garat>
"Even if you ask me... it's ultimately up to the kid, right? I don't think you need to take responsibility for things that far down the road..."
<Acquaintance Number 3: Menace>
"That's a tough one... But in the end, I think it comes down to how much Tenma trusts Amy."
<Acquaintance Number 4: Lina>
"Couldn't you make them her Familiars? If she's been taking this seriously, then rewarding her in advance by making them her Familiars could be a good way to foster a sense of responsibility. Besides, if the only point of comparison she has is you, Tenma, then that girl might never be able to have Familiars for the rest of her life."
Acquaintance Number 5: Amy's Family
"You don't need to take on that much responsibility for our daughter, Tenma. Regardless of what started it all, it was Amy herself who decided to learn from you. We were surprised that she had such talent, but in the end, the responsibility for her Familiars falls on the Tamer herself. And if anything happens, our family can just be there to support Amy."
"That's right. When it comes to something Amy chose for herself, the responsibility is hers no matter how you look at it. And besides, you can't exactly tell someone who's receiving free lessons from a skilled magic user to take on more responsibility."
"Well, to be honest, I should have been the one teaching her as her father. I can't exactly demand she take on all the responsibility on top of that."
Those were Kalina, Arrie, and Rick, in that order.
After hearing everyone's opinions, I decided to test Amy the very next day.
"Amy, I want you to move all the water from one bucket to the one next to it within the next hour."
I explained to Amy the reason for the test, and then told her what the test would involve.
Amy was excited, but at the same time she seemed quite anxious. After all, Amy had never succeeded in this training no matter how many times she tried. However,
"Also, I'm thinking of stopping accompanying your practice after today... so this test is your first and last chance! Show me what you can do."
At those words, Amy seemed to steel herself, realizing she only had one shot.
"Then, begin!"
At that signal, Amy flowed her magic power toward the bucket of water. A short distance away from Amy, Kalina and the others were watching over her. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could only produce a column of water.
About ten minutes after the start, Jin and the others happened to pass by nearby, noticed us, and came over. They asked what we were doing, so I explained how things had led up to this and told them we were conducting a test.
And since I suddenly thought of an errand,
"Jin, sorry about this, but could you watch Amy in my place for a bit? I need to step away for a moment... Got it?
Whatever you do,
don't do anything unnecessary."
I gave him a firm warning, then ran off from the spot. It was a bit of a distance to where I needed to go, so I boosted my physical abilities with magic power and ran at full speed. If this were my previous life, I could have easily shattered the world record for a short-distance sprint.
When I arrived at my destination, took care of the errand immediately, and came back, about twenty minutes had passed since then. It had been roughly thirty minutes since the test started, but Amy still hadn't managed to move the water to the adjacent bucket.
She was probably getting desperate by now, and the accuracy of her water column seemed to be declining.
And yet time kept passing. Amy's desire to move the water was too strong, and combined with the anxiety of running out of time, she eventually couldn't even produce a water column anymore.
And so, mercilessly,
"That's it! The test is over!"
Time had run out.
Hearing those words, Amy collapsed. It wasn't that she had exhausted her magic power — she had simply lost heart. However, tears gradually began to overflow from her eyes.
Seeing Amy like that, everyone wore expressions that defied words.
However, I said to Amy,
"Well then, next I'll teach you how to become a Familiar."
The moment those words left my mouth, everyone except Amy
"HAAAAAAH?!"
...let out that cry in unison. Amy, her face a mess of tears and snot, was staring at me with an expression that said she had no idea what was going on.
"Well, I mean, I never said she'd be disqualified if she couldn't do it."
The moment I said that, Jin stepped forward aggressively,
"Normally, when someone says 'let's do a test,' it means pass or fail!"
"I did say 'show me how far you can go,' but I never once said 'if you can't do it, I won't give you the Rock Bird.'"
...I said coolly.
Incidentally, Jin had grabbed me by the collar, so I twisted his arm and circled behind him, trying to lock in a chicken-wing face lock, but I couldn't quite reach, so I settled for just a face lock.
I released Jin at a reasonable point and turned to Amy.
"First, look the Monster you want to make into your Familiar in the eyes..."
"W-wait a moment! I couldn't do it before!"
Amy cut me off, so I decided to explain what the test actually meant first.
"So about the test. It was easy when I did it this way."
With that, I picked up a bucket full of water and poured it into the bucket next to it. At this answer, Amy...
"Huh... oh."
...let out the most amused little sound.
"I never once said 'use magic power.' Sure, it's a bit of a technicality, but I want you to understand this one thing: magic is by no means all-powerful. In this case, doing it this way is faster and takes less effort."
"That's so unfair!"
Amy raised her voice, but I paid her no mind.
"Yep, it sure is unfair. But here's the thing—if you keep thinking like that, you'll die easy once you become an adventurer. Mages who rely on magic the most are the ones who crumble the moment they face something magic can't solve."
At those words, Rick and the rest of the Dawn Sword nodded in agreement.
"I wanted you to understand that when magic won't cut it, you need to think of another way that will—so that's why I did this... Sorry, Amy."
No sooner had I apologized than—
"Alright then, let me teach you the proper way to create a Familiar."
My rapid change of topic left everyone with deadpan expressions.
In simple terms, Familiarization goes like this:
Step One: Look the Monster in the eye and confirm you feel a sense of connection to it.
Step Two: Flow Magic Power into the Monster, and verify that Magic Power comes back from it.
Step Three: If successful, give the Monster a name.
Do this, and the Monster becomes your Familiar. It's fairly straightforward, but without the talent of a Tamer, you won't be able to feel that connection. To put it in harsher terms, it's a kind of slave contract—you give Magic Power in order to carve yourself into the Monster's soul, and giving it a name is a curse that makes the Monster yours... or so the God of Beasts told me.
That said, if your compatibility with a Monster is poor, or if the Monster doesn't acknowledge you, it will attack you—so caution is necessary.
Well, the Rock Birds Amy is about to attempt this with are two in number, but they're still chicks, their compatibility doesn't seem bad, and above all, she's been caring for them since before they even opened their eyes. If she still manages to fail at this point, there's no other way to say it—Amy simply doesn't have the talent.
Without delay, Amy set about the Familiarization process with one of the chicks.
"...Ohh, ohhh! T-Tenma, sir, I did it! I made a Familiar!"
After letting out a strange string of sounds, Amy reported her success. Sure enough, the chicks seemed even more attached to Amy than before.
"Nice one, Amy. You'd better give it a name right away."
At my words, Amy cheerfully—
"Yes! I've already decided! The boy is 'Ii-chan' and the girl is 'Shi-chan'!"
I honestly couldn't tell if that was good or bad naming sense. Combining the two into "Ishi" (= Rock)... Well, my Slarin's name wasn't any better, I guess.
"Here, you should put these on them."
What I handed over were collar-like accessories made by threading small tags onto chains.
I'd asked the Guild to prepare these after explaining the situation — they serve as proof that a creature has been Tamed. Anyone who ignores these tags and kills a Tamed creature faces severe penalties (in the worst case, slavery).
I'd forgotten to have these made ready, which was why I'd sprinted back to the Guild earlier.
"Thank you so much! I'll raise these little ones with care!"
Amy said this as she promptly fastened the collars around the chicks' necks.
"First, what you need to do, Amy, is secure their food. Vegetable scraps are fine, but the best options are the caterpillars and worms I gave you before. Oh, and don't skip the Magic Power training either."
Upon hearing the first part of those words, Amy froze for an instant—
"I... I'll do my best..."
she declared.
One way or another, this settled things for now. As for food, Rick was around, so it should be fine. Despite appearances, Rick was a B-Rank adventurer. Caterpillars and worms were easy enough to catch, as long as he stayed alert.
I wouldn't mind some caterpillar dishes myself once in a while, so he could grab extras whenever he felt like it.
And so, as these thoughts ran through my mind, my first-ever stint as a teacher came to an end.
A few days later, the entrance to Seigen was already enveloped in an unusual tension from early in the morning.
An Ogre could be seen standing beside a horse-drawn carriage. It appeared to be Tamed, but an Ogre was a B-Rank-class Monster, after all. The crowd gathered there consisted of those who hadn't been able to enter Seigen before yesterday evening — most of them merchants and ordinary travelers.
For people like them, the sight of an Ogre was nothing short of astonishing.
However, paying no heed to their worried stares, the Ogre itself was perfectly docile... no, "docile" wasn't the right word — it was composed, like a knight. It stood by the carriage, never straying, standing guard.
At the sight of this, the people around let out murmurs of admiration. Hearing this, a young boy puffed out his chest as though he were the one being praised.
His name was Geiri von Samons, the second son of Marquis Carlos von Samons, seventeen years of age, and currently a student attending a high school in the Royal Capital. As it happened, the long vacation had just begun, so he had tagged along with his father on his official duties — an inspection of Seigen.
Incidentally, Geiri had no talent as a Tamer. However, because this Ogre was highly intelligent, it recognized the boy as its master's son and would obey him to a certain extent.
As a result, the boy had mistakenly come to believe that the praise directed at the Ogre was, in fact, praise for himself.
"Father, tell the gate guards that we are nobles, and have them let us in immediately."
When Geiri said this, Carlos responded:
"That I cannot do. Just because we are nobles, if we go around breaking rules like that, it will eventually come back to bite us. And precisely because we are nobles, we must exercise self-discipline and serve as examples to the people. Besides, the gate will open in another thirty minutes, and we will be able to enter through the priority passage reserved for nobles. Isn't that good enough?"
Carlos said this to his
son
in a patient, reasoning tone. However, Geiri's face was clearly dissatisfied.
Seeing this, Carlos thought:
(Sigh... perhaps I made a mistake in how I raised Geiri. Because the one
above
grew up just as expected,
I went soft
on the one below.)
He regretted his own approach to parenting. And that regret would become a reality here in Seigen.
Tenma quibbled about it.
This was the result of making sure Amy did not over-rely on magic.
It seemed Merlin's encounter with Tenma was still some ways off. For now, they continued to miss each other.
I'm thinking of introducing a new character to stir things up.