By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 3

by Roy

Reinbach ordered the servants to prepare a banquet, and Sebas warped back to town in advance to tell Araune that she should get ready. We wanted to celebrate today’s achievements.

  ■　■　■

  When we got back to the inn, expensive alcohol and extravagant, perfectly seasoned dishes were ready for us. This meant, of course, that it was time for the banquet. Eliaria and I were the stars of the show. We were showered with praise as we ate. Eliaria had her fill early so she could focus on the conversation, but I could never bear to turn down a free meal, so I talked as I overate and overdrank. I never liked to leave leftovers, but I ate and drank more than I had in some time, and it was different in many ways from the meals I had on Earth. I drank around large groups before, but it was never this much fun. I knew the food in my world tasted better than this too, but today, I liked their food more. The drinks, too.

  That reminded me of how Tekun said I never had any enjoyable drinks in my world. This was probably what he meant. In any case, I was in the mood to pray to Tekun. After the banquet concluded, I took a bit of expensive alcohol to offer as a tribute and returned to my room. I remembered that the stone statue I made before was in my store, so I created a new statue to pray to.

  “This was my second party since coming to this world, and unlike the ones on Earth, I had a lot of fun with it. I got this from someone else, but here’s some nice wine as an offering.”

  That seemed like a good enough prayer to me. I bowed to the statue, then decided to sleep. It felt like I would get some decent rest tonight.

  Chapter 2 Episode 45: The Day Before We Part (Part 1)

  The next day.

  When I visited the duke’s family in the morning, their room was full of groaning adults.

  “Uhn, Ryoma, I’m sorry, but I need more medicine.”

  “Me too, please. I’m too old to drink as much as I did.”

  “I’d like some too, thanks.”

  Everyone was so overjoyed that they drank a ton last night. Even Araune and Lilian looked a little sick. They only drank a bit to celebrate, but maybe they weren’t good with alcohol. Sebas was the only one of the adults who seemed fine. I thought he drank a fair bit, but he looked the same as ever. Eliaria was old enough to drink legally as well, but limited herself to one glass. In any case, I warped to the drug store and the greengrocer as I had before, bought the ingredients for some medicine, returned to the inn, and mixed it together. After they took the medicine, they had a suggestion to make.

  “Sorry, Ryoma, but can you look after Elia for the day?”

  “We’re in no position to do it in this state.”

  “Please?”

  We weren’t going to see each other for a while, so maybe they wanted to give us a chance to make some memories together. If so, I couldn’t refuse.

  “Of course,” I answered. They thanked me, then went to the bedroom. Their hangovers seemed brutal.

  “Now, what should we do today?” I asked Eliaria.

  “You have work, don’t you? Aren’t you busy?”

  “I have other people running the store for me, so I only need to check on them in the morning and at night.”

  “Then can you show me what you would normally be doing with your day?”

  “I guess I could do that.”

  “Then please do!”

  I didn’t know how worthwhile it would be, but Eliaria came with me, and Sebas attended us as a guardian. We stopped by the store, then headed to the abandoned mine.

  ■　■　■

  When we arrived at the mine, I began to work on the cloths as I always did. There were certain differences this time; before I began to work, I released the limour birds from my Dimension Home to let them play around freely. I also had Eliaria help. I felt like we should do more than this, but didn’t know what.

  “What should we do next?” Eliaria asked me before I decided.

  “I’m not sure. I commanded the sticky slimes to coat the cloths in their fluid, so now we just wait until they dry. It takes a while, so that gives us some free time. I’ve taken this opportunity to train or make figures before.”

  “Is that so? I thought you spent all your time working.”

  “Ever since I had my employees run the store in my place, I’ve actually had a lot of time on my hands. Do I look that busy?”

  “You work every day from dawn until dusk, clearly.”

  “Some of that time is spent standing around doing nothing, and I have to find ways to kill time. Sometimes I just make stones to build a house with. Stuff like that is pretty relaxing.”

  “I see. Does that mean you plan to live here?”

  “It would make patrolling easier if I did. It’s also a good place to practice magic, since there’s nobody around.”

  “Then when are you going to start building the house? You don’t intend to live in this mine, do you?”

  “I was either going to build a very simple hut or dig a tunnel somewhere in the mine to stay in. I would live in one or the other for a while as I build the full house.”

  “Well, if there’s nothing better to do, can we chat for a bit?”

  “Of course.”

  We left the work space and went outside to a sunny area, where I used earth magic to create some chairs for us to sit in.

  “Aren’t you going to start school this year?” I asked.

  “Yes, all noble girls attend school in the capital when they reach the age of twelve. It’s not mandatory, but unless you have a good reason not to go, you’ll be viewed poorly by other nobles.”

  “I see.”

  “I don’t especially want to go, but that’s life.”

  “Oh, you don’t?”

  “Father, Mother, and even Grandfather say that there would be no need to go if it weren’t customary, and they don’t want to make me go.”

  “Why not?”

  “The school in the capital is also open to commoners, and many people enroll there every year. The school treats everyone the same regardless of status, but there are some troublemakers there. They also don’t teach anything that you couldn’t learn from a tutor, so it’s unlikely that I’ll find anything worth learning.”

  “Then what’s the point of going to school?”

  “I don’t know. My parents say I should make friends there, but they also say I should be careful not to blend in too much. They don’t care if I can’t do what the school teaches me or if my grades are bad, they only want me to practice what I was taught at home.”

  I was surprised to hear that her family said all that. I asked Sebas about it.

  “For nobles and other families with some degree of affluence, the young miss is correct that they could get special tutors as necessary. If nothing else, it will help from a socialization perspective. That being said, it provides an opportunity to learn a wide variety of knowledge for all regardless of status, to be certain. I don’t think you would have any need to go there, however, Master Ryoma.”

  “That’s why my parents never asked if you were interested in going to school,” Eliaria pointed out.

  “Oh, that’s true. Do I not need to?”

  “If you did go to school, you’d surely have such excellent grades that you would draw attention from the nobles. In swordsmanship and magic classes, at least.”

  “It would give you more work to do, for better or worse.”

  “I see.”

  “Anyway, that’s why I’m not enthusiastic about school. If it weren’t customary, I would prefer to train with you.”

  I never thought school was fun myself, so I couldn’t argue with her. Considering she was from a rich and powerful family, I couldn’t imagine she would be bullied, but I didn’t know for sure, so I asked.

  “I’ve never gone through anything like that, but I’ve never been close enough with someone to call them a friend either. They’re all too afraid of my status and my magic energy to come near me,” she said. That reminded me that she mentioned this back when I made a status board. Her status was
one thing, but I didn’t know her magic energy was something to be feared. I didn’t think so, at least. When I asked her out of curiosity, she gave me a slightly sad look.

  “A long time ago, I messed something up,” she said. She mentioned how she had so much magic energy that she found it hard to control, so maybe that was what caused it. “It happened when I was five, I think, when I was starting to learn the fundamentals of magic. My best elements were fire and ice, so I remember practicing with relatively safe ice magic to freeze a cup of water. But then I froze the table that the cup was on too. It was always like that; I couldn’t control my magic that well.

  “One day, a slightly older boy came to our house, and his parents wanted us to be friends,” she said, her mood different from before. I listened silently to her story and learned that this boy was the son of nobles that were acquainted with the Jamil family. They were interested in having their son wedded to Eliaria for political reasons. On the day they met, their parents had important matters to discuss and told them to go play with each other, but they had trouble finding something to discuss. Eventually they hit upon the topic of magic.

  “He was good at magic and showed me his Fireball spell at our training ground. His spell did seem great, and much more stable than mine, so I told him as much. He seemed to let it get to his head and offered to help teach me, so we trained together, but no matter how much I tried, the results never changed. Soon enough, he got frustrated.”

  “I’m sure he just wanted to show off in front of a girl,” I said. It was pretty typical of men, but this was a child, and one around elementary school-age from what it sounded like. She said he was older than her, but he couldn’t have been above middle school-aged. Any tutor that her family hired would have to know what they’re doing, so this kid couldn’t have possibly taught her better than them. She never successfully cast the magic, and the boy got annoyed with her, eventually leading to an incident. Desperate to get it right, Eliaria used too much energy and unleashed a powerful ice spell. She lost control over the magic and caused a burst of energy.

  “My magic did the opposite of what I wanted. I ended up freezing the boy. Several parts of his body were encased in ice. He was so surprised that he fell over on the frozen ground and injured himself. What happened next, of course, was a lot of commotion. His life wasn’t in any danger, and our parents warned us to be more careful. Nobody blamed anyone else, and we all made peace. But some days later, rumors about me spread among the nobles, saying I attacked anyone I didn’t like with offensive magic, or that when I’m mad, my magic triggers against my will, things of that sort.”

  “I see. That must have been awful.”

  “I did fail to follow instructions and mess up my magic, that much is true.”

  I felt like I broached a topic I shouldn’t have. I wanted to change the subject, but not in a way that would be too blatant, so I discussed a similar experience from my past.

  “You’ve been through something like that, Ryoma?”

  “Yes, back when I still lived in my village, at school―Well, it was hardly big enough to be called a school, but I took part in a group where the adults taught the village children some swordsmanship,” I explained as a preface, then told a story based on my gym class in middle school. At my school, we learned kendo as part of gym class. In our very first class, I made a huge mistake.

  That day the lesson was mostly about demonstrating what we would learn over the course of the class. We learned preparation exercises, how to put on the armor, and the fundamentals of training. At the end, the teacher asked if anyone with kendo experience wanted to spar as a demonstration. Everyone who knew some kendo was asked to raise their hand, and there turned out to be a few of us, but the first kid that the teacher called up was a bad choice. He was apparently famous in the kendo world at the time for winning a number of tournaments. Even if he didn’t make first place, he always ranked highly. Talk of this had even gotten around the classroom and reached our teacher, which was presumably why he picked this boy. He went up like it was only natural, then the teacher asked for volunteers to fight him, but nobody wanted to. It was a match they couldn’t win, and they didn’t want to fail with everyone watching. Eventually, I was the only one whose hand was still up.

  Then we had our match, and to make a long story short, I won easily. He seemed eager to make it a quick fight, so he began with aggressive attacks. I countered by swinging at his arms, and that was enough. Two seconds into his match, he dropped his sword and crouched over.

  “I hit his armor, but still shattered his wrist. That was the end of the match, and the end of the class. From then on, none of the students wanted to spar with me. They even spread rumors that I hurt him on purpose.”

  That was what the boy himself began to claim the next day. He said that I laughed at his pain, but I didn’t. If anything, I was dumbfounded. But we were facing each other, so none of our classmates could see our faces. When the truth is vague, it comes down to who you trust.

  “He was far more popular than me. But people already avoided me before that for some reason, so it didn’t change much for me. You know, talking about this is making me kind of sad.”

  “Don’t let it get you down.”

  At some point, it ended up being her who was trying to make me feel better. I told that story in absolutely the wrong way.

  Chapter 2 Episode 46: The Day Before We Part (Part 2)

  “Anyway, that’s more or less why other kids avoid me!” Eliaria said, trying to bring my story to an end. I went along with it.

  “I see, so the rumors damaged your reputation.”

  “Some people simply take exaggerated stories at face value.”

  If their parents acted that way at home, the kids probably picked up that habit without much thought. Children are always watching adults, even when they don’t realize.

  “By the way...”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you all right with me?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “After what I said about myself, I was a bit curious,” she explained. She must have been worried that I would treat her differently.

  “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

  “It’s true that I lost control of my magic and hurt someone, though,” she said, but it wasn’t as if she did that on purpose. It was true that I shattered someone’s wrist too. Over the last few years, I also killed thieves that entered the forest by the dozens, and that was something I did deliberately. Eliaria seemed to regret what she did, and I didn’t see any issue with how she viewed the incident from a moral perspective. I had also seen her magic a few times, and it was nothing I wouldn’t be able to avoid. I could knock Ice Arrows away with my sword, and even if one hit me, it wouldn’t have much effect as long as I defended myself. That being the case, her magic didn’t pose a problem for me. When I told her all this, she giggled.

  “Is that right? In that case, Ryoma, don’t forget that you promised to meet me again in three years.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Then I’ll check on you in three years’ time. If you’re busy obsessing with work to remember, I’ll hit you with some of my new and improved magic to remind you.”

  “Well, that’s terrifying, so please don’t. Where did you get this idea from, anyway? It’s not very lady-like.”

  “A long time ago, when Father forgot a promise, Mother reminded him in the same way.”

  “I, uh, I see.”

  “Besides, my magic doesn’t work on you anyway, does it?” she said, and she was right about that, but maybe this was different. While I was thinking about that, she began to laugh as if she had just pulled off a prank.

  “I have a great idea, Sebas!”

  “Yes, young miss? What is it?” Sebas asked. She whispered into his ear, then he nodded and took a small box out of his Item Box. Eliaria took it and handed it to me.

  “Ryoma, I’d like you to have this.”

  “What is it?”

  “
A necklace Mother gave me for my tenth birthday,” she said and opened the box. There was a beautiful necklace with a gold chain and a gold pendant adorned with a ruby about the size of a pinkie finger’s nail. It was simple, but unquestionably valuable.

  “Is there magic energy in this ruby?” I asked after I sensed some.

  “Ah, you noticed. I knew you would. This is a magic gem.”

  “Like what they use in lamps and such?”

  “No, those are magic stones, a simple magic item. Do you know about mana stones?”

  “I believe they’re found in places dense with magic energy, where they absorb a lot of it, if I’m thinking of the right thing.”

  “Correct. The energy contained within is usually drawn out when using magic, or used to assist with controlling spells. But not all mana stones are simple rocks; some are valuable gemstones. These are called magic gems. And if it’s ore, you call it magic ore.” Mana stones were used to assist with spellcasting, while magic ore was made into magic items or weapons.

  “Now, when it comes to magic gems, you can use them for anything. They help with spellcasting, improve the performance of magic items, and of course, serve as jewelry. Not only are they extremely useful, but they’re supposed to be more effective than ordinary mana stones, but they’re quite rare,” Eliaria said in one breath.

  “So this isn’t something that’s easy to come by?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, I can’t accept this, then.”

  “But I want you to!”

  “Look, it’s too valuable to just give away.”

  I stubbornly objected, but Eliaria was equally stubborn. Sebas got between us.

  “Calm down, both of you. Master Ryoma, she said she wants you to take it, but that does not mean she’s giving it away. She wants you to hold onto it until she sees you again.”

  “Why?”

  “I suppose you don’t know about this, but they say that when friends are separated, as long as you lend a precious belonging to them and wish to be reunited one day, there is a high probability that your wish will come true. I don’t know when this idea took hold in the public consciousness and who it was that popularized it, but it has been around for ages, and people believe it to this day.”