Chapter 12:Magic Stone(6)

In conclusion, Lucy Ignis found a way to survive.
To be more precise, Lucy tearfully decided to give up on this fantastic magic stone.

“The payment is due in three weeks, right?”
“That’s right.”
“…I’ll sell the magic stone and get the money. With a stone like this, I should normally auction it off anonymously, slowly, but ugh…”

If she did that, it would take too long.
The thought of selling this high-grade magic stone to her seniors at the Magic Tower for a pittance was already giving her a headache.
Lucy gnashed her teeth and paced back and forth for a while—

“It’s all your fault.”

Then she grumbled, glaring at Bern.

“Mage, stop trying to blame me for your problems.”
“Hmph, are you sure you want to talk to me like that? Do you think you’ll have this kind of luck finding a top-quality magic stone next year too? If I don’t renew the contract, the livelihoods of the people in this little village will be in quite a bit of trouble.”

Lucy Ignis’s way of speaking was irritating.
It was because of her tendency to try to seize control of the conversation whenever she spoke to someone she considered ‘beneath’ her.

‘This brat.’

Normally, he would have given in to her petulant behavior, but Bern no longer needed to.

“Alright. Then let’s end it this year. The contract.”
“That’s what I— Huh?”
“Thank you for your business. If you don’t want to live happily ever after with me in this small village, please be sure to pay the balance on time.”

Bern said so and bowed deeply.
Lucy stared at the top of his head, dumbfounded.

‘Why is he so confident?’

This small pioneer village hadn’t been able to properly cultivate their land for years.
They barely made a living through various byproducts obtained from the forest, but… without Lucy, their biggest customer, they wouldn’t be able to survive the winter.
That should be the case, so why was he so confident?

“…Did something happen in the forest?”
“I’m under no obligation to answer that.”
“Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly!”

Bern stared at the demanding Lucy, sighed deeply, and then swiftly slipped his hand under her armpit.

“Hey! Let go of me! You’re harming me! This is a breach of contract!”
“This is my private property, Lucy. So, this is my rightful exercise of my rights.”

He was right.
Lucy desperately tried to draw out magic power, but her attempts, with their obvious intent to attack, failed repeatedly.

“Hey! Let go of me!”

Lucy flailed her arms and threw a tantrum.
She was the very picture of a spoiled child, despite being 16 years old.
But despite her desperate struggles, Lucy was soon unceremoniously dumped in Bern’s yard.

“The payment is due in three weeks, Lucy Ignis.”
“I know!”

Lucy yelled back and stuffed the magic stone into the dimensional pocket in her robe.

“Then have a safe journey.”

Bern bowed politely and immediately locked the door.
Lucy, unable to contain her frustration, kicked the ground repeatedly, then noticed the eyes watching her.

“What are you looking at, brats! This is a private matter!”
“Whoa! We’ve been spotted!”
“Lucy is angry!”

They were the children of the pioneer village.
Normally, Lucy would have felt a sense of superiority from their admiring gazes, but… now, in her bad mood, she felt only irritation.

“I’ll give you five seconds. Get lost.”
“Aren’t you going to play with us today, Lucy noona?” (TL Note: Noona is what a younger male calls an older female.)
“Lucy unnie! I want to play ‘Up High’ again!” (TL Note: Unnie is what a younger female calls an older female.)
“You’ll be in trouble if you don’t leave! I warned you. 5! 4! Are you not going?”

Lucy gnashed her teeth and threatened them.

…
…
…
…

And ten seconds later.
Lucy said in an exhausted voice.

“…Line up. Thirty seconds each, okay?”

Lucy Ignis was, in many ways, soft-hearted for a mage.
She didn’t like that about herself, but seeing the children flocking to her, a smile naturally spread across her face.

“Wow!”
“Me first, me first, Lucy noona!”
“Line up properly. I’ll skip anyone who cuts in line.”

Lucy began drawing lines on the ground with her staff.
She quickly created geometric patterns with her oak staff, which was about as tall as she was.
She didn’t forget to use ‘Fixation’ to prevent the patterns from being disturbed.

“Okay, you in the front, come up quickly.”

Of course, she could have done it with just a chant, but… there was no need to waste magic power when it wasn’t an emergency.
The moment the child stepped onto the magic circle, Lucy channeled magic power through her staff, touching the edge of the circle.

Levitation.
The most basic flight magic unfolded above the magic circle.

“Woooow~ So high!”
“How is it? Refreshing?”
“Yes, Lucy unnie! You’re the best!”
“Hmph…, well, of course I am.”

Lucy shrugged and puffed out her meager chest.

“Genius mage!”
“As expected of Lucy noona!”

Her peers at the Magic Tower had mocked her, saying, ‘There are plenty of villages near the city, why go to such a remote place?’—

‘…This feels nice.’

This kind of one-sided adoration couldn’t be obtained anywhere but in a small village like this.
Lucy, who always had to be mindful of others in the Magic Tower, wanted to boost her self-esteem like this, even if it was just for a little while.

Mages were considered elites by general standards, but within their ranks, there was a strict hierarchy.
When she had succeeded in entering the Magic Tower at the age of 12, she had thought her life had turned around—

‘…But I was treated almost like a servant.’

Lucy, not being of mage lineage, possessed meager magic power and couldn’t expect much financial support from her family.

So, she survived in the Magic Tower by sacrificing sleep and taking on all sorts of odd jobs.

Preparing before classes began.
Cleaning up after classes ended.
She was mocked as a money-grubber and insulted as a talentless person struggling in vain.

It was truly a miracle that Lucy had finally obtained her own laboratory after four years.
On the first day, she had been so overwhelmed with emotion that she had locked herself in the lab and cried.
Of course, some of her peers who had acquired labs in their first or second year couldn’t understand her joy.

‘What do those elites know?’

Those with prestigious lineages and wealthy families couldn’t possibly understand the hardship of someone like Lucy, who had to travel to a remote village like this.

‘…If only I had enough money.’

If she had just a little more, she could have used this top-grade magic stone for her research instead of selling it.

“Next.”

Lucy channeled magic power again, feeling a pang of frustration.
The children’s cheerful faces were pleasant to see, but she couldn’t help but feel her shoulders slump.

‘……This was the only place that would buy magic stones at this price.’

She had driven a hard bargain, but… Lucy had thought it was a mutually beneficial contract.
The contract Bern had posted on the Magic Tower bulletin board stated, ‘Payment upfront, magic stones supplied upon acquisition.’
There probably weren’t any other half-witted mages besides Lucy who would accept such a vague contract.
She had even lent money to Arsene a few times, seeing the villagers struggling financially.

‘But for him to treat her so coldly.’

If Bern, who had almost become Lucy’s s*ave due to the contract, had heard this, he would have been flabbergasted… but in the end, people prioritized their own situations.
Still, Lucy should consider herself incredibly lucky to have avoided the terrible fate of losing her newly acquired position at the Magic Tower and being forced to stay in this village for five years.

“Next.”

It was finally the last turn.
Lucy, her mind filled with troublesome thoughts, channeled magic power into the magic circle without even looking at the next child’s face.
But—

“Excuse me…”
“Yes?”

A child slightly shorter than Lucy looked up at her with an awkward expression.

A girl with brown bobbed hair and freckles.
A face she had never seen before in Asha Village.

Whether she had met her before or not didn’t really matter to Lucy.
Lucy simply grouped the village children into the ‘kids’ category and didn’t bother remembering them individually.

“Could I… also play ‘Up High’?”

The girl’s face was slightly flushed, as if she was embarrassed to be playing like the younger children.

“…Huh?”

Lucy looked back and forth between the girl’s face and the magic circle at her feet.
Magic power was definitely being supplied, and the magic circle was receiving it and casting Levitation.
But why was the girl in front of her standing firmly on the ground?

“Why isn’t Avalli floating?”
“She’s too heavy.”
“She’s a pig! Avalli noona is a pig!”
“…Shut up, you brats!”

Avalli yelled at the playful boys and stepped off the magic circle, looking dejected.

“…It’s not working, huh.”

Even with Avalli’s ‘magic’, flying was quite difficult.
She could briefly levitate by kicking off the ground with her enhanced strength, but floating in the air like the children just did wasn’t easy.

She had hoped to experience it since a real mage was here…

‘Should I have lowered my magic resistance a bit?’

Just as Avalli sighed and was about to leave the group—

“Wait!”

Lucy grabbed Avalli’s shoulders.

“Yes?”
“…What are you?”
“…What do you mean?”

Avalli finally realized her mistake.

She had caused trouble because she was too curious about the sensation of flying.
It couldn’t be helped.
With so little entertainment in the village, she couldn’t miss such a rare event.

In other words, this was a catastrophe caused by the dopamine-addicted mind of a modern person!

‘It’s definitely not because I was careless.’

Lucy, who had been watching Avalli rationalizing her actions—

“Why doesn’t my magic work on you?”

Finally spoke.

Her tone was somewhat aggressive, like an interrogation.

After a brief moment of thought, Avalli decided to recycle the method that had worked before.

“…Didn’t you just fail, mage?”

Her success rate so far was 100%!
Her secret technique: shameless audacity!

“Why are you blaming me when you’re the one who can’t do it…?”
“What?”

At that absurd reply, Lucy’s jaw dropped open.