The Patient Wizard Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Magic Tower (6)

Juan came with food only after the sun had set. He expected the nobles, led by the prince, to cause a commotion, but they were quietly keeping their mouths shut, perhaps too hungry to protest.
Juan laid out ham sandwiches, fried chicken, stew, salad, beer, and wine in the dining hall attached to the kitchen, then disappeared again. The apprentices of the Lion Hall sat around the table and ate their meals silently. For Chris, this level of food was like a king’s feast.
It’s delicious.
The meal was truly satisfying.
It seemed to suit the nobles’ tastes as well.
“This tastes quite good,” Tony said, giving an unexpectedly positive review. Alex commented:
“Did Juan cook this?”
“His wife probably did it.”
“A person with such a broken personality couldn’t possibly have a wife.”
The two criticized Juan for a while.
Chris looked at Smith and asked,
“Did you feel the magic?”
Smith shook his head.
“No.”
“When we took the test in our Baron’s estate, there were ripples in the water.”
“Yes, there were.”
“If you couldn’t feel the magic, how did the water move?”
“I don’t know.”
Frank, who was listening to their conversation, said,
“You might not have felt it, but it probably moved. That’s why the water rippled.”
Frank was a taciturn person. This was the first time he had spoken since the room assignments were made.
Chris said,
“Can it move if you can’t feel it?”
“The stone that became fuel, the soil sprinkled in the cauldron, the reagent mixed in the water – they must have helped.”
“Could that be it?”
“The stone didn’t catch fire, but the water boiled. They couldn’t be ordinary objects.”
Tony said with an expression that was half mockery and half admiration:
“A commoner with a functioning brain, interesting.”
Chris looked at the nobles and asked,
“It seems Frank is correct.”
Prince Mark said,
“That cauldron is called a wind cauldron. It’s a special item made by grinding wind attribute magic stones. The metal that forms the base of the cauldron is also special. The black soil is also sensitive to the earth attribute…”
He stopped mid-sentence. He seemed displeased about conversing with a slave.
Chris turned his gaze elsewhere.
“I’ve heard that Catherine, the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, is a noble lady from an enormous merchant house. You must know something.”
Catherine let out a fresh laugh like morning dew.
“Flatterer, do you think I’ll give you information just because you praise me?”
“Is stating facts considered flattery?”
Faye intervened in the conversation:
“My goodness, Chris. Why do you speak informally to me but formally to Catherine?”
“If you happen to know something, I’m willing to speak formally to you, too.”
“Hmph.”
Faye turned her head away, feeling slighted.
“I don’t know anything.”
Catherine spoke with an air of having done a great favor:
“The cauldron has wind attribute, the blue reagent has water attribute magic stones, and the black soil contains earth attribute magic stones. The stone that was used as raw material is entirely a fire attribute magic stone.”
“Magic stones?”
“They’re stones containing magic. As I understand, they range from lowest grade to highest grade depending on the quantity and quality of magic contained.”
“When you say attribute, do you mean the attributes of magic?”
“That’s right. Magic encompasses various attribute, with water, fire, earth, and wind being the most common. That’s why these four attribute are called the four major attribute or the four elements. Add metal to that, and they’re called the five elements.”
“Since the cauldron is made of metal, the wind cauldron essentially contains all five attribute.”
“Correct.”
“All the nobles must know this.”
“Anyone not from an insignificant family would know.”
“If you know there’s magic…”
Chris frowned, deep in thought. Eventually, he spoke:
“Noble families like the royal family or marquis families must have their own unique methods for sensing magic, so why haven’t Your Highness and Lords Alex and Tony been able to sense magic until now?”
The prince and the two nobles turned pale.
Smith muttered,
“Perhaps they were abandoned by their families, as Juan said.”
Alex threw his fork.
“Shut up!”
The fork stuck in Smith’s stomach. If it had been a spear or a dagger, Smith would have died or been seriously injured. Smith pulled out the fork and glared at him. Blood welled up from the wound, creating a red spot.
Screech.
The prince stood up abruptly, causing the chair legs to scrape against the floor with a loud noise. The prince left the dining room with his lips firmly pressed together. Alex and Tony soon left their seats as well.
Smith looked at the empty seats and sneered.
“Nobles are truly impressive. They inflict wounds and don’t even apologize.”
Alice said,
“You provoked them.”
Smith held out his palms as if confused.
“Me?”
“You said they were abandoned by their families… You poked a sore spot.”
“I was just saying. It was a joke.”
“They found it offensive.”
Frank said,
“Judging by their reaction, it seems they also feel they’ve been abandoned.”
Section 4 Village of Common People
When Chris woke up in the morning and went down to the dining room, food had been prepared. It seemed Juan would at least provide meals.
Chris sat down and ate bread, eggs, sausage, and bacon. Around the time he had eaten a considerable amount, others came down.
The nobles picked at their food as if they had no appetite. The commoners and slaves showed hearty appetites like Chris, but Catherine only ate boiled eggs and salad.
Chris had raised livestock but had never eaten meat from animals he raised. He had only stolen a few eggs. Although he had secretly caught and eaten birds and fish from the forest and stream before, so meat wasn’t entirely new to him, it had never been this delicious. His staple foods were potatoes and grass. He was so sick of grass that he didn’t touch the salad.
Shortly after, leaving the dishes as they were, they moved to the reception room. Smith flopped down in a chair and said,
“The weather is chilly.”
Alice responded,
“It’s about time it got cold. Besides, we’re in the mountains where temperatures are lower.”
Smith patted Chris’s shoulder.
“There’s firewood outside.”
“What do you want me to do about it?”
“You’re the firewood expert, aren’t you?”
Chris grumbled briefly, then got up and went outside. After a while, he returned carrying an armful of firewood and stacked it in the fireplace.
“There’s no spark.”
Chris tapped the firewood with the poker that was leaning against the fireplace.
“It would be nice if a wizard could just ignite it. Does anyone here know how to start a fire?”
Tony quietly got up, went upstairs, and after a while, came back down and threw a paper box.
“It’s called matches.”
Then he sneered.
“Of course, you’ve probably never seen them in your life.”
He was right. Chris held the matchbox with confusion.
“How do you use this?”
Tony took a match from the box and struck it against the rough part on the side of the box. A flame appeared.
“You ignorant fool.”
He threw the lit match into the fireplace. The match flame failed to ignite the logs and quickly went out. Chris held the box and said,
“I’ll handle the rest.”
Chris went outside and brought back small twigs and paper. He crouched in front of the fireplace, fiddled with the matches and paper, and soon started a fire.
Smith said,
“You lit it quickly.”
“I used to roast bird eggs in the forest. Frogs too. And snakes.”
Faye pretended to vomit.
“Ugh.”
Chris moved to the sofa and said,
“If I hadn’t roasted frogs, I would have starved to death.”
Smith sat down next to him.
“You sly dog.”
“I go through the trouble of making a fire for you, and you insult me?”
“I thought you lacked intelligence. You really did seem like an idiot back at the estate.”
“Did I?”
“Even when Jack bullied you, you couldn’t make a peep, and you were always walking around with that silly grin. To think it was all an act – it really gives me chills.”
Chris gave him a sidelong glance, as if to say, ‘look who’s talking.’
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“When I saw you tagging along with Jack, I thought you were a simpleton too. Looking at you now, you’ve got guts. A lot of them.”
“I had no choice if I wanted to survive.”
“Did Jack provide food for you?”
“Jack’s father is a brewery technician. I followed Jack around to learn the technique.”
“So, did you learn it?”
“Jack is stupid, but his father is smart. He seemed to understand my intentions. He would teach Jack bits of the technique only when I wasn’t around.”
“All that effort for nothing.”
“I didn’t think it was a waste of time back then.”
“Why?”
“I changed my plan to learn from Jack.”
“If we had continued living in the territory, would Jack have taught you?”
“I’m at least smarter than Jack. I would have sucked all the techniques out of him by sweet-talking him.”
Faye primly said,
“I would appreciate it if you refrained from vulgar topics when in mixed company.”
Smith laughed.
“You’re acting like a noble lady?”
Faye got angry.
“Are you picking a fight with me?”
“No, I just find it amusing how sophisticated you’re trying to act.”
“That’s clearly picking a fight.”
“I’m sorry. I apologize if I offended you.”
Chris talked a lot with Smith. They had conversed more in this reception room than they ever did back in the estate. Smith was smarter than expected and was good at conversation. Honestly, Chris enjoyed talking with him. This was something he couldn’t have imagined while at the estate.
As they conversed, time passed, and the fire weakened.
“Should I add more firewood?”
Chris asked, looking at Alice who was sitting beside the fireplace. Alice shook her head.
“It’s fine. I’m warm.”
Chris tapped Smith’s shoulder and got up from the sofa.
“It was a pleasant conversation.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to try sensing magic. Wizard William said to. Find a place with fresh air and meditate.”
Chris went outside the Lion Hall and sat on a bench to the left of the front yard, stretching. The wind was good, the shade was appropriate, and the air was clean.
“This is a perfect spot.”
As he closed his eyes tightly and breathed, Alex approached.
“Move away.”
Chris looked at him with narrowed eyes.
“Why?”
“This is my spot.”
“Since when?”
“Since the moment I decided to meditate here.”
Among his group who entered the magic tower together (though nobles and commoners alike would not consider a slave like him their peer), Catherine was the most beautiful woman, and Alex was the most handsome man. Alex looked like an angel, but his actions were closer to those of a devil.
Chris looked at Alex’s hands, which had no calluses and were very soft. He had heard that men from noble families trained their bodies, but it seemed Alex had not done so at all.
Should I hit him?
It seemed he could easily subdue Alex by first headbutting his nose bridge to knock him down, then straddling his chest and beating him.
Looking to the side, he saw everyone else watching.
Chris stood up and dusted off his behind.
“Fine, have it your way.”
As he left, Alice approached and whispered,
“I thought you were going to hit him.”
“Why would I? I have great patience.”
“Why did you hold back?”
“He’s a noble.”
“Even though he was abandoned by his family?”
“That’s just Juan’s claim. The truth could be different.”
“You’re surprisingly cautious.”
Chris boasted,
“I’m an excellent man with caution and great patience.”
“I don’t know about patience, but you don’t seem excellent. Maybe you’ll look excellent when you can sense magic.”
“Just wait a bit, I’ll show you right away.”
However, even after a week had passed, Chris could not sense magic. Chris took comfort in the fact that the others couldn’t sense it either.