The Patient Wizard Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – Calculation (13)

He slowed his pace a little when he saw Chris panting and gasping for breath. They walked along the brick path.

“I’ll give you a warning in advance.”

“Yes.”

Chris listened carefully.

“You might belittle it as just a blacksmith’s shop, but our blacksmith shop is no ordinary place. Several certified wizards are working there, too.”

“Yes.”

“All the important positions at the blacksmith shop, the well-paying positions, are occupied by certified wizards. So for a commoner like you, there’s a limit to how much you can grow.”

“Ah, here too… I understand.”

He patted Chris’s shoulder with his hand, which was as large as a pot lid.

“But it won’t affect your ability to make a living, so don’t be too disappointed.”

From Charles’s perspective, he was showing a friendly gesture, but Chris’s shoulder hurt.

“Yes.”

Walking a bit further, a flat, rectangular building came into view.

“That’s the dormitory where you’ll stay. Shall we take a look?”

“Yes.”

They entered the building.

“There’s no one here now because it’s working hours.”

Charles guided Chris to the most secluded room.

“This is your room.”

It was a small room with only a bed as furniture, but Chris was satisfied because it was a single room.

Having a place to myself is pretty good.

“The room is nice.”

Charles smiled good-naturedly.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“But what’s that map hanging on the wall?”

“It shows the paths you need to know.”

The map only marked the Micc Tower, the Lion’s Hall, the lecture hall, and Montgomery Blacksmith shop, with just one path connecting them. The rest was completely blank.

“It’s too simplified.”

“I’ve only marked the safe paths. If you take a wrong turn and enter a mad wizard’s laboratory…”

Charles frowned. When the giant who looked like a bandit frowned, it sent chills down Chris’s spine.

“You understand without me explaining further, right?”

Chris swallowed and nodded.

“Fill in the rest of the buildings and paths as you live here.”

“Yes.”

“Now, let’s go to the workplace.”

The dormitory and the blacksmith shop were not far apart. The blacksmith shop consisted of four buildings, and he said the third building with the Montgomery Blacksmith shop sign was the main one. The two buildings in front were being used as a warehouse and a processing room, he explained.

“Let’s look at the warehouse first.”

In terms of size, the warehouse was the largest. Entering through the half-open, thick iron door, Chris could see all kinds of items piled up like mountains.

“The warehouse is your workplace.”

“Yes.”

“This is a new hire.”

When Charles shouted toward the inside, workers gathered to greet him. Chris had only met eccentric people since entering the Magic Tower, but fortunately, the blacksmith shop seemed to be composed of normal people.

“We’ll have a welcome party after work in front of the dormitory, so anyone interested should attend.”

“Wow.”

There was a light cheer. Chris was truly pleased with the welcoming atmosphere.

“I’ll work hard.”

When he bowed his head slightly, applause poured in.

“Thank you.”

Charles took Chris to the next building.

“This is the processing room. It’s the department that processes materials from the warehouse so they can be directly manufactured into items at the blacksmith shop. Workers from the warehouse who have good hand skills get promoted to the processing room.”

Unlike at the warehouse, Charles didn’t announce that a new hire had arrived, and the employees didn’t make a fuss about a stranger coming. They just glanced at him and continued their work. The overall atmosphere was cold.

“It’s quite bleak here.”

“This place has a relatively good atmosphere. Now, let’s see the highlight.”

They moved on to the manufacturing room with the Montgomery Blacksmith shop sign.

“The manufacturing room is the core of the blacksmith shop.”

In the manufacturing room, no one even gave a sidelong glance. Everyone kept their eyes fixed on their workbenches and focused only on their tasks. Because of this, Chris couldn’t even breathe properly while looking around.

As they left the manufacturing room, Chris exhaled the breath he had been holding, and Charles laughed heartily, patting his back. He was so strong that Chris almost fell forward.

“Nice atmosphere, right?”

“Yes, it’s cold as ice and nice.”

Charles laughed heartily again.

“That small, plain-looking last building is the office. Since the manufacturing room and the office are departments unrelated to you, you can ignore them in your daily life.”

Chris went to the warehouse to help with work, and at sunset, they all clocked out together and had a barbecue in front of the dormitory. He liked his workplace.

Section 7 Knights of the Kingdom

The Baronial Estate of Xavier where Chris lived was a remote place. The land was not fertile, nor did it have valuable mines like gold or iron. It wasn’t situated along a large river or sea, so it couldn’t be a trading hub or a transportation center. Only common grass grew on the mountains. Rare medicinal herbs were nowhere to be found, no matter how hard one looked.

With so many disadvantages, there was one good point about this territory. The weather was mild even in winter, so there was no risk of freezing to death. During the fifteen years Chris lived there, there was only one day when snow fell, but it was when he was three years old, so he couldn’t remember.

Chris saw snow falling heavily for the first time since coming to the Magic Tower. It was a joyful and happy day. He was excited like a child, making snowmen and having snowball fights with Smith. However, snow at the blacksmith shop was not a pleasant thing at all. He had to go out from dawn to clear the snow piled on the paths.

He kept clearing the snow, following the path from the warehouse. Then, when he straightened his back and looked back, snow had piled up on the path again. So he would go back up and clear the snow again. It was an endless repetition.

“Senior.”

Chris called out to Paul, who was shoveling snow beside him.

“What?”

“Can’t we call a wizard to clear it? Blow it away with wind or melt it with fire… Even just putting a barrier over the path to prevent more snow from accumulating would be a great help.”

“Calling the high wizards to do such menial tasks, my, our youngest has great courage.”

“Is it not possible?”

“Of course not, man. Would a wizard whose nose is stuck in the sky want to sweep the path in front of the blacksmith shop? Someone might come forward if they’re desperate for money, but they’d charge an enormous amount for their bent pride. It would be like 100 times your monthly wages. It’s much cheaper to use you than to hire a wizard. So stop talking nonsense and just swing that broom.”

Ralph was pushing the snow to the side of the path with a snow pusher.

“Let’s take a break.”

The three of them put down their brooms, shovels, and pushers and stretched their backs.

“Wow, it keeps coming down. It’s disgusting, so disgusting.”

Chris opened his mouth to catch and drink the snow. It was cold and refreshing.

From behind, the warehouse keeper shouted.

“Are you guys playing around?”

“We’re just taking a short break.”

The three picked up their tools again. They continued clearing the snow without stopping, switching tools once in a while. While diligently pushing snow with the pusher, suddenly, a boot stepped onto the snow in front of him.

Looking up, Chris saw Alex standing there. Gripping the pusher tightly, Chris said,

“Lord Alex, what brings you here?”

“You bastard, how dare you report me.”

Chris opened his eyes wide.

“Me?”

“The day the prince died, you told those old folks that I was looking for Mark. You little shit, you tried to frame me as the culprit.”

Paul and Ralph moved closer as the atmosphere grew tense, but they couldn’t help when they saw the yellow belt tied around Alex’s waist.

“Did I?”

“Yes, you punk. Did you think I’d just let it go?”

“I was only cooperating with the wizards’ investigation.”

“I wasn’t even thinking about you that day, but you blabbed and made things complicated.”

“The prince died, so the culprit must be caught.”

“Am I the culprit?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then why did you report me?”

“I never reported you.”

“That was reporting, you fool.”

Alex’s fist struck Chris’s nose bridge.

Thwack.

Chris felt a flash of light. Tears and a nosebleed poured out simultaneously.

“I’ll get the warehouse keeper.”

Paul ran toward the warehouse.

Chris, holding his nose, said,

“Anyway, nothing happened to you, right?”

“I almost died!”

Chris recalled the translucent hand that had pulled him out of the reception room.

Who could have saved him? It would have been better if he had burned to death then.

“Smith, Tony, and Faye died. You should be glad you survived.”

“Am I the same as those losers?”

Alex’s foot kicked Chris in the stomach. Chris felt the pain of his intestines tearing as he rolled over.

They were much better people than you.

When the pain subsided a little, Chris got up and swung the pusher aimed at Alex’s head. Alex extended his arm to block it.

Crack.

Chris thought the arm bone would break, but the pusher broke instead.

“When you become a certified wizard, your body becomes stronger. You didn’t know that?”

“……”

“A worker dared to assault a certified wizard. This is great.”

Alex pulled out a dagger from his chest. Chris held out the shortened pusher and said,

“Did you kill the prince with that?”

“I didn’t kill him.”

“If you didn’t kill him, then it’s over. Getting upset about old stuff… How can a man be so narrow-minded? Or is it actually your doing?”

“This bastard is still slandering me.”

The dagger came right up to his face. Chris struck Alex’s hand with the pusher.

Thwack.

The dagger flew from Alex’s hand. Chris ran to grab the dagger, realizing he couldn’t possibly win with his bare hands.

Alex also lunged to grab the lost dagger. As both their hands competed for the dagger, a boot stepped on it.

Chris’s gaze followed the boot upward. A middle-aged man with an angular face was looking down at Chris and Alex. Snow was piling up on his silver armor.

A knight! 

Why is a knight in the Magic Tower?

Alex said,

“The dagger is mine. Move your foot.”

The boot moved back. Alex quickly picked up the dagger and swung it toward Chris. At that moment, a white light flashed.

Chris didn’t see the middle-aged knight draw his sword. He didn’t see him swing it either. He only saw something whitish pass through and cut the dagger. Amazingly, the dagger was cleanly cut like a carrot on a cutting board.

Alex held the hilt of the broken dagger with a blank expression.

“Who…?”

The knight didn’t respond. His eyes, looking as brave as a lion’s, were fixed on Chris.

“Did this person kill the prince?”

Chris carefully opened his mouth.

“I don’t know.”

“But you just said he killed him.”

“Because he was trying to kill me… I just said it out of anger.”

“I’ll have to check.”

Whoosh.

The sword made a wind sound as it turned. And then it stopped right in front of Alex’s neck.

“Did you kill the prince?”

“No! No! The ones who killed the prince all burned to death!”

“If you don’t tell the truth…”

The knight cut off his words with a significant tone. A white light rose from the blade. The snowflakes that fell on the blade melted and disappeared immediately.

“D-d-dare…”

Alex stuttered with fear.

“In the Magic Tower… A knight trying to kill a wizard!”

A knight who appeared to be about the same age as the middle-aged knight grabbed his arm.

“Captain, we’re inside the Magic Tower.”

The person called Captain withdrew his sword.

“See you later, kid.”

Alex backed away to create distance. Then he shouted and ran away.

“What are you looking at!”

Chris rubbed his neck. For now, he had survived thanks to that knight, but somehow, the feeling of danger hadn’t subsided.

“Who are you?”

Chris swallowed and asked.

“Jan, the Commander of the Royal Knights of the Kingdom of Grant .”

He’s a much bigger figure than I thought.

The Commander of the Royal Knights is considered the best knight in the kingdom!

“It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Let’s treat you first. Follow me.”

Chris didn’t really want to follow.

“I need to clear the snow.”

The warehouse keeper, whom Paul had brought, quickly shouted.

“Chris, you’re on vacation from today.”

Then, he added in a polite manner toward the knight.

“Use him as you wish.”