The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

1 – Kallen (02)

002.

The trigger was trivial.

As usual, Blamia was teaching magic to Sinat.

Kallen watched them while cleaning the house.

Normally, Sinat, who had reached the limit of his concentration, would have run to Kallen complaining.

But the small change started from Kallen, who was watching.

-Whoosh

The clear shape of the flame, the crackling sound, the hot heat.

It was the manifestation of the first-level magic, the basis of magic.

“…”

Blamia suddenly felt the scent of magic and quickly turned her head.

Where her gaze stopped, Kallen was holding a broom in one hand and manifesting first-level magic in the other with a puzzled expression.

That sight must have been quite shocking.

Why wouldn’t it be? The magic that Kallen naturally manifested was something her granddaughter had not been able to master for months.

“You… you…”

Blamia approached Kallen blankly with a trembling voice.

Sinat was just happy to escape the hellish study time.

Soon, Blamia, who had approached Kallen, still stared at the flames blazing in his hand.

That sight was like an enigma. It shocked Blamia, who had unparalleled knowledge of magic.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the gap between the rich and the poor has become extreme with the advent of magic.

That was based on the peculiarity of magic.

At first, the magic that was thought to be a gift from the gods has long since turned into a luxury item monopolized by the wealthy.

From the royal family to high-ranking nobles, all those who used magic were high-ranking nobles.

After that, all those who used magic were also their blood relatives.

Recently, to use magic, you have to be one of two things:

Born into a high-ranking family that can use magic,

Or learn from a master with an astronomical amount of money.

Being born is purely the will of heaven, so let’s leave that aside,

The wizards no longer wanted to share their exclusivity.

Because of that, learning magic costs an enormous amount of money, and naturally, it has become a luxury item that commoners can’t even look at.

A long time ago, magic was said to be geared towards combat or war, but now it has become an ornament to show off one’s nobility among the nobles.

– That was what I thought a few years ago.

They said nothing lasts forever.

Just as the nobles first manifested magic, people of low status, like commoners, began to awaken to magic.

Although such cases are extremely rare, and even among commoners, only a very few have reached the middle ranks.

Blamia thought it was a kind of transitional period.

Someday, with the passage of time, she thought the time would come when both nobles and commoners would use magic without distinction.

But this is not it.

Eleven years old.

Only eleven years old.

I always scolded my granddaughter for not awakening even the first level of magic, but that was a very natural flow.

Most noble children awaken to magic one or two years before their coming-of-age ceremony.

In other words, it is common to awaken at fifteen or sixteen.

Scolding Sinat was entirely Blamia’s greed.

She thought that by doing so, she could at least reduce the burden on Sinat’s mind.

That’s why she brought Kallen.

There were annoying household chores, and she brought him for Sinat…

That incomprehensible boy has a look on his face as if he doesn’t even know what he did.

Blamia said to such Kallen,

“You… try to learn some magic.”

To use magic, you must first feel the mana within your body and draw it out.

That is common knowledge even for a novice who has just stepped into the world of magic.

And Blamia was now being completely contradicted by that common knowledge.

Kallen was using magic without mana.

I don’t know how that’s possible, but I can’t deny what’s happening right before my eyes.

It wasn’t just the level of a so-called genius.

Although I had never taught him, he could be compared to the heirs of the royal family.

Blamia heard Kallen’s past directly from him.

He said he rarely saw his mother because she worked as a prostitute, and he only knew his father as a baron of a rural village.

When magic manifests, it must go through a process of verification by someone like me.

At least in Blamia’s memory, no noble above the rank of baron had ever been verified.

So how should I explain this speed?

I haven’t taught him anything grand yet, just a few basic first-rank spells that form the foundation of magic.

Kallen knew how to think for himself.

Unknowingly, he tried to develop first-rank magic through a fundamental approach to higher concepts,

and he absorbed the knowledge I taught him in less than a day.

Knowing how difficult it is to break through even a single rank, I couldn’t expect more.

But even at his age, this level was quite remarkable.

Even though I took Kallen as a disciple with other intentions in mind.

My granddaughter, Sinat.

The only person who opened her heart to the stubborn girl who said she didn’t like anyone else was Kallen, and if he learned magic, my granddaughter might also take an interest in it.

So to Blamia, Kallen’s talent was both astonishing and pitiful.

It evoked just that much emotion.

All that remained for Blamia was Sinat.

That was the heart of a grandfather who had lost his child, unchanging until he closed his eyes.

*

Blamia had no intention of keeping Kallen for life.

I didn’t want to take responsibility for a boy I picked up just to make a friend for my granddaughter.

I was far from such good deeds, but I thought I would fulfill my duty if I raised his rank a bit.

“Usage is always different. He could become a scholar, someone’s teacher, or a mercenary somewhere.”

Magic has been defined as having seven ranks since ancient times.

However, even when Blamia was at its peak, no one surpassed the 6th rank.

Even Blamia, who was called the ‘Great Mage’, was at the 6th rank. According to him, now that he is old, he is probably at the very top of the 5th rank.

In other words, being a 1st or 2nd rank mage is by no means low.

The fact that one can use magic itself means they are on par with nobility, so for Blamia, it was impressive if Kallen could even break through to the 2nd rank.

“To make a living… being a teacher or a mercenary would be better.”

Although their master-disciple relationship was suddenly formed, Kallen did his best to receive the teachings.

Blamia was also his benefactor, and he knew well that he was trying to show him a way to make a living.

“Even at the 2nd rank, you could serve as a teacher to a noble family aiming to receive a high title through magic. Although your background is an issue… that’s not something I can help with.”

“Yes.”

“While you’re at it, try to persuade my granddaughter too.”

“Grandfather!”

Still, if she inherited Blamia’s blood, she would have some sense of competition.

Using Kallen to awaken Sinat’s desire to study magic and providing a way to make a living.

Considering they met on the streets, that was quite a lot.

Thinking so, Blamia began to give Kallen serious teachings.

*

At first, Sinat, who had been whining that she didn’t like it, gradually began to take an interest in magic.

She still struggled to understand Blamia’s explanations, though.

Nevertheless, the reason she could take an interest was thanks to Kallen.

The human who came as a friend was caught by her grandfather and was studying magic, so she returned to the time when she was bored again.

It was too good to ask for a new friend like before.

She liked how he listened to her seriously, and his diligence in balancing magic and household chores.

Sinat also knew well how difficult it was for Kallen to cater to her, knowing her personality was quite picky.

Sometimes, she even felt grateful.

Anyway, since such a well-matched friend was suddenly caught up in magic, what could she do?

In the end, she had to do it too, so she decided to study a little faster.

For that reason, Kallen and Sinat began to study magic together.

“Sinat, tell me about the properties of magic.”

“Well… um…”

Sinat poked Kallen’s side invisibly.

“…Nature, Manufacturing, Combat, Contract, and Scholarship.”

“Hey, Cal! How could you interrupt me like that?”

-Smack!

“Eek!”

“Next time, it won’t end with just a flick, Sinat. Yes, magic attributes are classified into five categories. Usually, you choose the one that best matches the nature of your mana.”

“Can’t we choose all of them?”

“Magic is… a kind of calculation. It’s a bit different for you, but usually, it’s not just about drawing out mana. I taught you that you have to constantly draw magic circles in your mind, right? The higher the rank, the more complex the calculations become.”

Kallen recalled the first-rank magic spells he had learned so far.

Basic spells before formally dividing attributes.

Even those required a brief moment of calculation, so he couldn’t imagine how complex high-rank spells like Blamia’s would be.

“To put it simply, if you want to master both Nature and Manufacturing attributes, it’s like dividing your mind into two spaces. Naturally, if you want to master all five, you have to divide your mind into that many spaces and perform completely different calculations in each.”

It’s not just about drawing a square and a triangle simultaneously.

It might be similar to drawing five completely different house blueprints at the same time.

It was the moment he understood why high-ranking individuals and those who mastered multiple attributes were extremely rare.

“Is it for the same reason that one has only one ‘image’?”

The question came from Kallen.

And even Blamia couldn’t help but pause at that question.

“It’s a bit different.”

Image.

It’s often said that magicians have a firm world of their own.

But that’s true for some and not for others.

Not all magicians have their own world.

The magician’s world is called an ‘image.’

Like a painting. A world drawn as if capturing a moment in time.

The image shows the essence of that person.

How beautiful and outstanding one’s own world is, is the most certain proof of all.

“If you’re prepared to go mad and lose your mind, you could choose multiple attributes. But the image is given. It’s not something you can choose.”

“That’s difficult…”

“Stop fooling around and study first-rank magic diligently, you rascals.”

Blamia chuckled as he continued speaking.

“Since we’re on the topic, let’s check your aptitudes. Both of you, come here.”

“Yes.”

“Aptitudes?”

“Did you hear with your nose, Sinat? I mean to see which attributes suit you best.”

Following Blamia’s gesture, Sinat was the first to turn his back.

By stimulating the mana within, they would determine the suitable attribute.

“Sinat, you… would be better suited for contracts.”

Blamia’s hand then rested on Kalen’s back, thinking it suited the lively Sinat.

“Come to think of it, you don’t use mana…”

Blamia suddenly recalled that Kalen did not draw upon mana when using magic.

It was at that moment.

“Ugh!”

As Kalen convulsed briefly, Blamia’s eyes sank low.

What soon filled Blamia and Sinat’s vision was a dark world.

A world that resembled Kalen’s hair color filled their sight.

“Ha, Grandpa… this is…”

“Wait, Sinat.”

With a single word, Blamia quelled Sinat’s confusion and quietly gazed at the dark world with lowered eyes.

The mouth covered by a white beard opened quietly, and soon uttered a single word.

“…A world of imagery?”