Great Wise Man's Beloved Pupil - Chapter 2

Two days had passed, and I was ‘dashing through the sky’, on a straight route from my hometown to the capital.

The phrase; ‘dashing through the sky’, might make someone tilt their head and ponder about the choice of the words for a minute. But I assure you, being the person who’s actually doing it, there was no mistake in that phrasing. 

I should mention this in advance though, this was indeed a form of transportation that’s basically done through magic. Though it’s not exactly wind-attributed magic that’s being utilized here. The only type of magic that I could use was just defense magic after all.

Naturally, I’ve never been to the capital before… but according to obaa-san, if I kept up with this speed, I would probably reach the capital in no time? In any case, I’m really thankful to obaa-san for reducing the baggage that I have to carry.

The reason I was able to travel this fast through the sky is thanks to a ‘tool’ that obaa-san gave me. I’m always indebted to her for various things. This time as well, she really helped me out a lot, not to mention that ‘tool’ that she lent me.

Setting my usual brash attitude towards obaa-san aside, maybe the next time when I come back from the capital, I’ll bring back some delicious food for her as a souvenir to show my appreciation.

In any case, getting to the capital was my first priority. After that, I needed to put some more effort into repaying obaa-san for all that she has given me so far and achieving my own ‘goals’ as well.

“–ah?”

Although they seemed to be puzzled by the fact that a human was invading their territory, birds were still flying gracefully in the sky. While smiling at that sight I slowly moved my gaze ahead, and I was met with a majestic city that was surrounded by enormous walls from every side. There was a large structure at the very center of the city, which appeared to be the ‘Castle’.

It seems that I have arrived at my destination.

It might cause a ruckus if I were to descend straight from the sky within the city walls. So I decided to stop right there and slowly make my way down before heading inside.

Once I passed through the checkpoint at the city walls and took a step into the city, I found myself dazzled by the sight before me. I was at the entrance to a magnificent bustling city, inhabited by ordinary humans just like the ones in my hometown, which I found quite hard to believe.

As far as my eyes could see, there were people, people, and even more people. Shocked by the sheer populace around me, I wondered if there was a festival going on today.

But when I asked a passer-by whether there was a festival, he just laughed and said, “It’s always like this.” which kind of made me feel like a country bumpkin. But seriously? If it’s normally like this, then what would happen if there’s really a festival? Wouldn’t people be crushed to death?

Such a fresh sight naturally made my face twitch. Being the country bumpkin that I was, I decided that it would be better to show off my countryside charm than to be so self-conscious about things. Because I really am a country boy in the end.

[Bump!]

“Oof, this one is a lost–“

“Where the hell are you looking at? Watch where you’re going!”

Distracted by many thoughts running through my head, I wasn’t paying attention to the road ahead of me and ended up bumping into a gruff-looking man walking in front. But before I could even utter a word of apology, the man yelled and gave me a stink eye before quickly disappearing into the crowd.

“Seriously– What about you? What are you looking at huh?”

The wallet I pulled out of that nasty guy only had a few coins in it. Well, let me thankfully accept this as the tuition fee for the generous lesson of stealing someone’s wallet the correct way.

Meanwhile, the nasty pickpocketing guy just ran off with the empty wallet I kept in my pocket as a decoy. I usually keep the actual important stuff safely in a separate place.

Being a country boy, I probably looked like an easy target for these pickpockets. But for me, those people are easy prey instead. I wouldn’t spare a penny for such a low level of pickpocketing like that. After all, I was a person who was notorious for giving pickpockets a hard time back in my hometown. By the way, this was also one of the tricks I’ve learned from a certain old woman that lives deep inside the mountains.

Thanks to all that, I ended up earning extra income from all the pickpockets I met on the way. There were about 5 more that I encountered after the first one, and they were all of the same low level of skill. After looting all their money, I also made sure to use their empty wallets as new decoys each time.

After that delightful chain of events, I arrived at my first destination within the capital– The guild building of the ‘Hunter’s Association’.

A hunter is typically known to be a person who earns a living by hunting ‘monsters’. Unlike regular animals, these ‘monsters’ are creatures that have accumulated a certain amount of magical power and mutated in the process. They are ferocious beasts with violent tendencies. But the materials obtained from subduing them, such as meat, bones, horns, etc. are all quite useful. 

They have a wide variety of uses, ranging from weapons and armor to everyday items, and even for some artworks. But of course, hunting these vicious monsters comes with great risk. Even so, with such dangers on the line, there were still some people hoping to earn a swift fortune by choosing the path of a hunter.

The Hunter’s Association is an organization that assigns tasks to these hunters, and purchases materials from them in return. This organization is widely spread throughout the entire country, with many branches located in each town. 

My hometown was also one such location. The purchase of materials was not limited only to hunters alone, it was also open to the general public. Even children would hunt a few weak monsters sometimes to earn some pocket money for themselves.

My purpose for visiting this place was also money. But it would be too large of an amount to consider it as pocket money.

As expected of the capital city, the guild building was also very large. However, once I went inside, there was a board of directions that seemed quite easy to understand. I followed the given instructions and headed toward the material purchasing counter.

I stood in the waiting line in front of the reception counter for a little while.

“Hello! This is the reception counter for material purchases. Please fill in the name of the monster you wish to sell materials of, in this form. After you’re done with that, I shall guide you to the appraisal site to submit the monster materials.”

Following the instructions of the receptionist, I wrote the names of the monsters I had brought to sell on the given form. After finishing my form without a problem, I returned and filed the form along with the pen.

“Yes, I under… stand…?”

The receptionist tried to reply with a smile, but her voice suddenly started to become strained as she saw the name of the monster on the form I submitted.

“… Excuse me, I’m sorry to be asking again but are you sure there’s no mistake in this entry?”

Although I couldn’t understand the intention of the question, I still nodded my head at the receptionist.

“… Please wait here for a moment.”

The receptionist took my form and scurried back inside.

“… Was my handwriting too messy?”

All in all, I finally ended up making a lot of money.

For some reason, the staff member (not the receptionist) who assessed my catch, was persistently asking me about my status and about the place where I usually hunt. So, I decided to answer them honestly. I told them that I was a commoner and hunted monsters in the mountains located near my hometown. 

After that, I was invited to become an official hunter of the association but I declined since I had no desire to become one for the time being. I just hurried out of the guild building as soon as I received my pay afterward.

“With this, I have the money I need now.”

And finally, my next stop will be the Genius School of Magic.