Jared Murphy's Despair 2
"There should be no need for me to mention this to you, but you possess the ‘Great Earth’ element. Among magicians, there are a few individuals who possess an inclination to certain elements. Since you have become distinguished from hunting magical beasts, the National Magic Association has already taken note of you,” Jared’s Grandfather, Baron Daun, stated.
“The Great Elements are as follows: Earth, Fire, and Water. Some magicians can also possess two of those elements or a combination of two elements. For example, the Air and Sea elements are a result of the combination of two base elements. Those who possess more than one element are very rare and considered exceptional.”
“While this may not be always true, such exceptional people are often attached with their own titles, and depending on the kingdom, every one of these titles, or ranks, come with their own salary and privileges.”
“It may be a trivial matter, but for nobles, this is would be a great chance to elope with said individual and insert a magician's bloodline into their own family tree, adding those elements to their arsenal.”
“Luckily, the Wezar Kingdom closely monitors this. With the Magic Association and the Crown interfering, it is quite difficult to accomplish this. The Magic Association especially takes great precautions to protect its magicians from bribery or threats from nobles to force them into their family.”
When they discovered that Jared had the Great Earth element, they contacted him immediately and offered to help him if he ever needed assistance.
"I'm also surprised that you have become a candidate for court magician. Since you are still a minor, the Association already approached us, your guardians, first. We're sorry that we kept it from you, but we were worried. The country may look peaceful on the outside, but in truth, it is not,” Baroness Daun interjected.
"Does it involve that underground organization?" Jared asked curiously as he looked towards his grandfather.
"Yes, it does. I'm sure you already know that deserters, as well as people who are not satisfied with the various kingdoms, are banding together to form an organization."
Jared was already amidst at a war with them.
He had once been sent out by the Association to hunt down deserters with no questions asked. The Wezar Kingdom didn't take deserters lightly, and the King himself had already sent out several Knight Expeditions to deal with the matter. As a result, small skirmishes often happened within the kingdom's borders.
To be frank, nobody really knew anything about this underground organization. As time went by, people started calling them the "Army of Chaos", as they operated in peaceful nations such as Wezar and the surrounding kingdoms. They didn't know their reasons for doing so, much less the goals they had in mind, but some new rumors stated that they were trying to plant the seeds of revolution by influencing nobles who were against the King and recruiting the dissatisfied population. It was also said that a good portion of the organization were the remnants of a kingdom conquered by the Wezar Kingdom twenty years ago.
In the end, they didn't know who or what they were, but they were committing acts of terrorism within the kingdom's borders by threatening and looting the local population, as well as manipulating magic beasts to do their bidding. The Crown, the Magic Association, and the Adventurer's Guild already made countermeasures regarding this threat.
"Magicians may be scarce, but even they must fight on the front lines, even more so for a Court Magician who must lead a division of soldiers into battle.” Baron Daun and his wife had a worried look on their faces as they spoke to Jared.
"There may be extraordinary individuals in the Knight Corps, but it is clear that a magician is far more needed. No, that's a bad way to put it. It is necessary that both exist at the same time.”
"Since I am a candidate for court magician, I too must go to the battlefield, yes? Well, it is not like I have issues with that notion since I am used to weekly beast hunting expeditions, but hunting down members of an unknown organization instead of a magical beast is…" Jared halted his reply to his grandfather suddenly.
"Is what?" Jared's grandmother put on a worried face as her grandson stopped mid-way.
"Aren't Court Magician candidates selected from members who have left the Army of Chaos?"
"We also thought of the same thing and questioned the Association. Their response was, ‘There is no other person more capable than him,’" Baron Daun responded as he recalled the Association’s words.
"I really don't want to get involved in the faction's politics…" Jared muttered lowly.
"I understand… Even the Knight Corps has factions. If you decide to follow someone, you are going to make someone else your enemy. One would think that factions shouldn’t exist since we all belong to the same country but… this is certainly troublesome. Although, I cannot say much regarding this since I am in a faction myself.” Baron Daun shook his head as he replied.
"Do all court magicians have factions?" Baroness Daun asked Jared in response to her husband’s statement.
"It seems so. It is also important to secure backing from nobles. There seems to be faction wars occurring between the magic divisions. I do not know the current situation since I recently became a court magician candidate, but there is no doubt that this will be troublesome."
There were even factions within the Royal Academy that Jared attended. Followers of a certain noble would back that noble's child, and in turn, make an enemy of the opposing noble's son or daughter. The academy was already turning into a training ground for future politicians and nobles.
Fortunately, Jared was not involved in such trivial faction wars, but he still had his enemies. It wasn't on a hostile scale but on a verbal one. One thing that spared Jared from this were the requests he received from the Association. He was out a lot, therefore, he didn't need to go to the academy too much.
As he was a magician, he had been hated, envied, as well as solitary within the academy. He had already been approached and sweet-talked by various individuals wishing to bring him to their side. It was easy for nobles to ask their children to organize a meeting between Jared and themselves.
"This is becoming troublesome. If Olivisama hadn't married you with the condition of becoming a court magician, you may have been able to choose a different path."
"Um… Grandfather, is it possible to break the engagement between Olivisama?"
"That is impossible."
"As I thought… I was just making sure."
Even as a normal magician, he wasn't comfortable inside the academy. Once everyone knew that Jared, from a Baron's family, married a Duke’s daughter, rumors that could ruin his reputation would spread. And once he became a court magician, the nobles would be restlessly trying to get close to him.
This wasn't that uncommon. Every magician in the continent of Felicia experienced something like this throughout their lifetime.
"Since we are discussing factions, it is necessary to say that the Daun and Alway households are in the same faction. Some people might think that there is too much of a status difference between a Baron’s son and a Duke’s daughter, but your skill and status as a court magician should make their doubts dissipate. Although, we cannot stop the Duke from canceling your engagement if he wishes. The Duke wouldn’t suddenly change his mind without outside influence, someone near him would most likely have to persuade him."
"That sounds troublesome.” Jared furrowed his brows slightly when he heard his Grandfather.
"What are you saying? A little faction war like this is pretty cute. We women also have our own wars. Although, if you men found out what we do in these wars, I doubt you'd want to trust us again.” Baroness Daun had the hint of a mischievous grin as she spoke to Jared.
"That's scary."
"It doesn’t matter if it is between nobles or commoners, maintaining your relationships is an important thing. If you don't like these interactions, you might as well pack up and start living in the mountains. However, if we want to live in this society, we must bear with this and deal with it as best as we can."
Jared nodded at his grandmother's wise words.
Jared only thought of it as troublesome. He wasn't going to abandon everything just because of this.
Being born as a talented magician like his mother, he already knew that his life was going to be full of trouble. Even though the trouble he expected came in a different form, it was still manageable.
"Marte's words are correct. You may think of this in a negative light, but I simply want to help the Duke with his troubles. That is why I cannot break off the engagement. But if you really think that you cannot spend your future with Olivisama, even after meeting her today, it may be unfortunate, but I would decline the Duke's proposal to prioritize my grandson's happiness."
"Grandfather… Thank you very much."
"Well, there is no need to get all emotional. You can count on me if you need anything. Since you and Olivisama are officially engaged, we will be accepting Olivisama's condition on making you a court magician."
"Please do."
I'll take that task on, Jared thought as his grandfather spoke.
As a magician, it was obvious for him to aim high. Even though he did not ask for this, it gave him a chance to reach ever so closer to the position that the mother in his distant memories had.
It was a place he was going to eventually reach anyway.
"Leaving the matter regarding Olivisama aside I'll do my best to become a court magician."
TL: Daikyun
ED: SirDavidHill
**
Hello, I’ve tried to emphasize which person is (most likely) speaking since the dialogue is too confusing to keep track of. The thing about the author’s way of writing is, he doesn’t seem to put on a medieval vibe in his character’s dialogue. Unlike Annals of the Flame Kingdom or Overlord, the characters speak at a “modern” tone instead of a medieval one. Maybe that’s why the dialogue seems off and the explanations are half-baked.
I guess we’ll only find out in the following chapters. As usual, I’ll answer any questions in the comment section.
Special Thanks to SirDavidHill for being our new editor.