The Patient Wizard Chapter 29

Chapter 29 – Calculation (19)

Chris stood up and staggered.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to go home.”

Chris turned to look at them and smiled.

“You knights wouldn’t understand how happy I am to have a home to return to.”

Jan didn’t stop him from leaving.

“Come here tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“I’ll think about it for a day and decide your treatment.”

“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

After Chris disappeared, John said.

“Are you going to kill him?”

“I don’t know.”

“It is quite offensive that he hid the magic helmet…”

“Your tone is interesting. Do you like Chris?”

“He’s someone I’ll never see again after we part, so what does it matter whether I like him or not. I just…”

“Just what?”

“I’m just glad that Smith has been concluded as the culprit.”

If Tony were framed as the culprit, the Gerson Count’s family would have to pay a heavy price.

“Is Smith really the culprit?”

Jan muttered.

“I think he is.”

Michael nodded at Bianca’s words.

“No one else is possible due to timing. There’s no motive either.”

“Is that so?”

“Do you still have doubts?”

“Not particularly, but…”

“It’s not completely clear, is it?”

“That’s right. I’m also concerned about the wizard who saved Alex.”

“What should we do about Chris?”

“Let’s think more about how to deal with him.”

Section 9 Die

Chris winced as he swallowed. His throat hurt so much that even swallowing was painful.

That man is strong.

If he had applied a little more force, his neck would have broken.

What will they do with me?

When living in the Baronial estate of Xavier, lies were an essential part of survival, and all kinds of lies circulated among the slaves. Chris himself had experience lying more than ten times a day just to get one hard, moldy piece of bread.

He wasn’t ashamed when his lies were discovered, and those who found out didn’t greatly blame him. Often, they would just hit the back of his head and be done with it. Even the slave supervisors didn’t overreact. For minor lies, they would just curse; for serious lies, they would finish with a couple of lashes of the whip. They didn’t kill people for lying.

Presumably, lies would also be common among nobles. Rather, the quality of lies would probably be worse among nobles who had transcended food problems compared to slaves whose lies were directly linked to eating. And even if the lies were exposed, there was a high possibility they would laugh it off. Instances of duels were probably rare.

“But a slave lying to nobles probably won’t be overlooked.”

Chris didn’t think he had lied. He had merely hidden something.

The problem is that the knights think I lied.

They aren’t of ordinary status. They won’t tolerate deceitful behavior from those beneath them.

What will they do with me?

The punishment would be extreme in either direction.

Execution by beheading or reprimanding and releasing.

It was highly likely to be decided between those two. There would be no middle ground.

The thought of possibly facing execution made him feel wronged.

What did I do wrong!

He regretted shedding tears in front of them. They weren’t fake tears. He had cried because he was truly sad at the time, but now thinking about it, he felt bad about showing weakness to nobles. His pride was hurt.

Why should I be treated this way?

The answer came quickly.

Because I have no power. Because I couldn’t become a wizard.

“I should have become a wizard.”

Chris gritted his molars and went to the Lion Hall. He was taking the long way around because he didn’t know the direct route from the VIP Hall to the Montgomery blacksmith shop. This way seemed right, and if he went down an unknown path and encountered a wizard like Harvey, it would be the end.

I’d have my memory wiped and become an idiot.

Chris glanced around the Lion Hall and turned toward the classroom. His thoughts wandered here and there.

Where did Smith hide the helmet?

Definitely in the forest, but the forest is too vast to find it.

Passing the classroom, he turned toward the blacksmith shop.

John is friendly to me. He won’t argue for my death. Michael seems like he’ll go along with others’ decisions. The problem is Jan.

Jan seemed likely to argue for punishment.

Bianca seems like a good person, judging from her tearfulness, but… Wait, is it common for a knight to show tears like that?

It seemed unusual no matter how he thought about it. Being a knight is a masculine occupation. A woman would face many difficulties living among men.

Dismissal is basic, and she would have faced gender discrimination and sexual harassment too.

To escape that, she needs to show strength. So she shouldn’t show tears to others. It’s obvious it would have a negative impact.

But crying in front of the Commander and Vice Commander?

That’s worse than crying in front of peers or seniors. It’s the worst.

Come to think of it, it’s strange that Bianca came to the Magic Tower. Jan is the Commander and Michael is the Vice Commander. John is the top knight in the Count’s family.

Compared to the three, it’s suspicious that an regular knight with much lower status and combat ability is included in the group.

At first, I thought they brought her along as a knight to run errand for Jan . It would be unreasonable to make the Vice Commander and a old knight from another estate to run errands. But Bianca wasn’t sent on errands. Rather, Michael ran more errands than she did.

If she cared for Mark enough to cry frequently and was someone respected by other knights…

Chris slapped his thigh.

She’s royalty!

If she’s royalty, everything makes sense.

“She was a noble person.”

I also understand why she was so desperate to catch Alex. A mere illegitimate son of a Marquis family who felt some magic bullying a prince – of course she would be angry.

She must really want to kill him.

Isn’t Alex also coming to the VIP Hall tomorrow? What kind of punishment will he receive?

It didn’t seem like he would die because of the existence of the high ranking wizard who protected him.

Is this also about connections?

It was bitter and sad.

The dormitory was visible ahead. He quickened his pace and entered the public bathroom. After washing and changing clothes, he headed to the blacksmith shop.

Paul and Ralph were unloading copper from a carriage. That copper is used to make passes.

Chris naturally blended in between the two and moved copper to the warehouse.

“Hey, Chris, I heard you’ve been mingling with important people lately?”

Paul was joking but then was surprised and dropped the copper he was moving.

“What happened to your neck?”

There were bruise marks in the shape of fingermarks on his neck.

“I’ve realized that my usual belief that nothing good comes from getting involved with important people is correct. This is like a medal of enlightenment.”

Ralph clicked his tongue.

“If you’re going to wear a medal on your neck, it should be a kiss mark, not a fingermark.”

“You’re right.”

Charles beckoned from the processing room. Chris put down the copper he was holding in the warehouse and ran over. Charles didn’t say anything about the fingermarks on his neck.

“Go to the office.”

“Yes.”

Chris ran to the office and knocked.

“Come in.”

Chris lowered his eyes and entered. Inside, a middle-aged woman was working alone. Her hair was red like it was on fire. Judging by her seated height, unless her legs were extremely long, she would be short.

“You called for me?”

“Yes.”

She extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Linne.”

Chris shook her hand.

“I’m Chris, the youngest worker.”

“I’m the chief blacksmith.”

“What?”

“Why? Is it strange that a woman is the chief?”

“No, it’s not.”

In truth, it was a bit strange. It seemed odd that the giant Charles, who looked like a blacksmith by anyone’s standards, was under a woman who wasn’t even half his size.

“It seems the knights have treated you roughly.”

Chris touched his neck.

“It was fine until yesterday, but something happened today.”

“Why did the knights come to the Magic Tower?”

That’s what she seemed curious about.

“Do you know that the prince died?”

“I heard about that before.”

“It seems the king loved Prince Mark very much. They came to investigate the unclear aspects.”

“What was unclear?”

“Whether the blackened corpses were really the suspects’ corpses, or if they were just random corpses. If the culprit was among the suspects as the Magic Tower claims, who was it? If there is a separate murderer, who is it and what’s the motive? And so on.”

“So what’s the conclusion?”

“The culprit seems to have been identified roughly.”

“Roughly?”

“Because there’s no clear evidence.”

“Is your neck in that state because it’s not clear?”

“This is because of something I kept secret.”

Linne laughed.

“Oh, so our new recruit had a secret?”

“Who doesn’t have secret? Every person has their own secrets.”

“That secret seems to have touched the knights’ hearts.”

“Looking at it, it’s nothing much, but given the situation, it was sensitive.”

If the knights try to kill me, will the blacksmith protect me?

Chris held back a bitter smile.

You need power to be protected.

The Magic Tower’s blacksmith shop might sound impressive, but based on his experience working as a worker, it had no power. They boasted about making passes, but in reality, they only made the intermediate product. It was the wizards who infused magic into the passes.

It’s the same with armor. The blacksmith creates the form, but it’s the wizards who inscribe various magics (weight reduction, strength increase, shield installation, flame resistance, cold resistance, poison resistance, etc.). The core work takes place outside the blacksmith.

“Chris, what are you thinking now?”

“I was thinking that if I had become a wizard, I wouldn’t have had to see this mess.”

“Hahaha.”

Linne laughed heartily.

“You’re an interesting guy.”

Linne made an unexpected proposal.

“Did you want to change to a different department?”

“Suddenly…?”

“Charles spoke highly of you. He said you’re diligent for your young age.”

When working under Charles, one couldn’t help but be diligent. If you slack off and get hit by his pot lid-sized hands, your bones would not just break—they’d turn to powder.

“There are many diligent people in the blacksmith shop, aren’t there?”

“I heard you’re paying to learn to read and write?”

“Yes.”

“I prefer people who have not only diligence but also a desire for improvement.”

When Chris hesitated, Linne added.

“In situations like this, you say ‘thank you’ and accept.”

“Thank you.”

“Where would you like to go?”

The most respected department in the blacksmith shop is the one that makes intermediate products for magical weapons. The best among them is the one that makes magical armor. Next are the ones that make offensive weapons like swords, spears, axes, and bows. If a novice like him gets assigned there, there would be a lot of gossip.

“I’d like to go to the department that makes passes.”

“Why passes?”

Chris took out his own pass.

“I find it fascinating that this small nameplate can identify people and record their movements. It would be an honor if I could make passes for wizards.”

“Wizards don’t carry passes.”

“But Wizard David had something similar?”

“That’s not a pass, it’s an identity card. It’s a completely different kind.”

“Ah, I see.”

Linne extended her hand again.

“Keep up the good work in the future.”

Chris took her hand.

“Yes, I’ll do my best. But I won’t be able to come in tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“The knights sent for me.”

“Isn’t it all over?”

“It’s not completely over.”

“Alright, you can come to work the day after tomorrow.”

Chris didn’t mention that, depending on the circumstances, he might never be able to come to work again.