Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 138

Harriet responded to my ignorant comment that anyone would want to get into enchanting if it was profitable with a firm explanation.

“If anyone could become an enchanter, the price of scrolls would plummet. The art of enchanting is a closely guarded secret even within the Magic Association, and they only issue licenses and pass on the techniques to a carefully selected few. Moreover, if someone is caught passing on enchanting techniques on their own, the Magic Association would send hunters after them. The secrets of enchanting are a lot more securely guarded within the magical community than you think. Even the Temple can’t teach it. You can only learn such magic from the association once you’ve obtained an enchanting license.”

Harriet’s point was that, if enchanting was something anyone could do, scrolls wouldn’t be that expensive.

So, the Magic Association was controlling the number of enchanters to maintain the price of scrolls, and there seemed to be something like an exam that aspiring enchanters had to take to obtain a license. It was akin to a state exam, organized by the Magic Association.

“So it’s a monopoly then?”

“It’s more of an oligopoly, actually. The Magic Association is not the sole organization that has enchanting techniques. However, since other groups of mages that possess such highly confidential magical techniques can’t be unaffiliated with the association, they’re also proactive in limiting the number of enchanters,” Harriet replied.

The conversation was as bizarre as it was riveting.

“Originally, those who became battle mages were considered leftovers. The truly smart mages all went into enchanting or magic crafting. A mage who could use teleportation is considered impressive, but that’s about it. The magical crafters who designed warp gates or magical trains are treated like heroes,” she continued.

Mages were all geniuses to begin with, but among them, the overwhelmingly intelligent ones majored in the safe and profitable fields of magical crafting or enchanting. In fact, those who went into magical crafting even attained a higher level of social honor.

However, getting into that seemed as challenging as picking stars from the sky.

It was somewhat similar to the saying that only the geniuses in medical school got into prestigious specializations like plastic surgery, orthopedics, or dermatology in Korea.

People tend to think of surgeons when they think of doctors, but in reality, surgery was not coveted that highly in medical school; similarly, while one’s default image of a mage was someone hurling destructive magic about, in reality, the profession of battle mage was actually considered the least desirable.

Therefore, Adelia aimed to obtain an enchanter’s license for the sake of money, despite her talent lying elsewhere. Of course, being a magical crafter seemed to rake in a lot of money too, so an enchanter’s license was not strictly necessary.

I found it quite fascinating that the settings that I had described only casually within the novel had led to society being structured in such a detailed manner.

“Magic scrolls are expensive.”

This simple statement led to the backdrop where not just anyone could make magic scrolls, which in turn created another scenario in which enchanters belonged to an upper-tier classification among mages.

This prompted Adelia, a main character in the story, to try to get an enchanter’s license, even though her talent did not lie there.

‘This is intriguing.’

“Of course, this only applies to the cases where magic and money are involved. Harriet is an exception.”

There had to be a difference between someone who became a mage for money and one who aimed to become a mage regardless of money. There was no need for Harriet to use magic in order to earn money. After all, she came from a family for which finances were not an issue. She was comparable to someone who might choose a less desired specialty in medicine just because they had a genuine interest in it.

In the case of Harriet, she had the freedom to choose her major. Of course, she already possessed overwhelming talent and could master all forms of magic.

“I don’t think approaching magic as a purely academic discipline is the right attitude for a magician. I dislike people who talk like that.”

Adelia and Harriet both shuddered at the thought of the old mages who went about proclaiming that magic was an academic discipline, and should not be treated as a means of making money. It seemed there were quite a few magicians around them who held such conservative views, which possibly included one of their teachers.

Adelia appeared embarrassed because her values went against the perceived purity of magic, while Harriet, who was in a different situation from Adelia, seemed to feel apologetic about it without actually needing to.

Adelia, who was learning magic for the sake of earning money, and Harriet de Saint-Ouen, who was learning magic to master it in its entirety.

Perhaps this was why Adelia would always feel inferior in front of Harriet. She could not outshine her in any aspect.

Harriet’s talent already encompassed Adelia’s talents in magical crafting and summoning magic.

Although they were close friends... the feeling of inferiority must have been quite serious.

Would this turn out alright? There hadn’t been any issues between the two in the original story.

“Well, what else is there in life?” I said.

Adelia gently lifted her head in response to my out-of-the-blue remark.

“No matter what nonsense others say, money is still the best thing there is. What’s wrong with wanting to earn money? It’s a praiseworthy endeavor.”

‘There’s nothing greater than money, kid. Why feel embarrassed about it?’

My words made Adelia’s face redden slightly.

It seemed she had a more severe case of habitual blushing than Harriet.

“... Oh, yeah... Thanks, Reinhart...”

Riana sighed at my use of the term “nonsense”.

“You really have a way of making the same words sound offensive, don’t you?” she commented, and Adelia nodded slightly.

“Well, too bad, so sad.”

“You’re doing that on purpose, right? You deliberately double down when someone points it out to you, right?”

“Duh, obviously.”

“There really is something wrong with your head.”

Riana clicked her tongue as if she didn’t want to deal with me. And Adelia just gaped at me as I even picked a fight with Lady Granz.

“I get that you’re that kind of person, but I still can’t understand you at all,” she was clearly thinking.

Riana laughed and looked at Harriet.

“Once we graduate, the first thing we should do is knock some sense into this lunatic.”

Harriet’s face lit up at Riana’s suggestion, and she nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! Definitely! You’re dead once we graduate, Reinhart!”

Their sudden scheme made Adelia turn pale, and Ellen tilted her head, seemingly just catching on to the situation.

I grinned at them.

“... Do you really think I’d let you guys graduate without a hitch?”

Did they seriously think they could safely graduate when I was around?

At my words, Harriet and Riana made a face that said, “Ah, if it’s you, that’s definitely possible.”

***

When the conversation turned back to what they would do during the break, Riana casually mentioned, “I’m going on vacation.”

“Where to?”

“Just around, visiting various family villas.”

Riana was apparently going to go on some continental tour to visit the places where her family-owned villas were.

“This time, though, I think I’ll visit the Edina Archipelago,” she continued.

“Edina Archipelago? Where’s that?”

It seemed like nobody had heard of the Edina Archipelago before, but I flinched at the mention of it. That was no other than the southernmost island nation of the continent where Airi had opened a tavern.

“It’s an island south of Kernstadt, and since there’s no connected gate on the island, not many people visit it often, but I’ve heard it’s a really nice place. It’s almost like an undiscovered tourist spot.”

“If there are no gates, do you go by boat?”

Riana shook her head at Adelia’s question.

“If we go by boat, the break would be over by the time we get there. My head butler will take me there.”

“Head butler?”

“Ah. The head butler’s a magician. So we’ll use teleportation to get there.”

Adelia was once again stunned.

Not just any butler, but the head butler, and not just any head butler, but a high-ranking magician capable of using teleportation. For the Granz ducal family to be able to summon such a high-ranking magician just for the purposes of travel was utterly shocking to Adelia.

It must have felt so distant to her. Adelia had to sense how far removed from her Harriet and Granz were whenever they spoke of such things.

Meanwhile, our unbothered friend over there, either oblivious or indifferent, was busy nibbling on the cake I had ordered but not eaten.

‘... This kid. She’s always like this when we’re together.’

No reaction, and ate a lot.

‘Why are you even hanging out with these guys? No, why do they even bring you along? These three must be really kind. It’s truly saddening seeing this!’

I somehow felt like a parent watching their child struggle to fit in with their friends.

‘The friends are nice, but my kid isn’t! Sorry for raising my child this way, kids!’

Anyway, Riana seemed set on enjoying her vacation.

“I’ll just be heading home. Same as Adelia, I plan to do some magic research. I’ll be asking my brothers for guidance,” Harriet said.

Harriet intended to return to the Saint-Ouen duchy to study. Though the Temple had good facilities, the ducal family’s private facilities in the duchy were likely much better. Plus, since her brothers were also magicians, she would be able to ask them questions that would benefit her understanding.

In many ways, Harriet didn’t really need to learn magic at the Temple.

Then, their attention turned to me.

“Well, I haven’t really planned anything yet,” I said.

I hadn’t even thought about whether to stay at the Temple or not, nor what I was going to do during the break. I could stay and train, but I also wanted to do something more meaningful.

It was Ellen’s turn.

“What about you, Ellen?”

Ludwig’s vacation plans were mentioned in the story, but Ellen’s had not yet been discussed. When the question was directed at her, Ellen, while taking a bite of her cake, said, “I was originally planning to just rest at home...”

It seemed she had initially intended to return to her family home, but her plans had changed.

“... But I’ve decided that I’m going to register myself as an adventurer.”

“What?!”

“... An adventurer, all of a sudden?”

“Why an adventurer?”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

Everyone was taken aback by her sudden announcement. Most had expected her to just quietly continue enjoying her cake.

‘Adventurer? What in the world?’

“I want to see the Dark Land.”

My head felt like it was going to explode.

‘This girl has finally lost it.’

***

Her sudden declaration that she was going to become an adventurer plunged everyone into panic.

“Ellen. Just because the Great War ended doesn’t mean all the demons are gone,” Riana said.

Ellen nodded in response to Riana’s comment. “I know.”

“But why the Dark Land? No, why an adventurer even?”

“Since the Dark Land is still relatively unknown, if you map out an unexplored area or find something unusual and report it, the Adventurer’s Guild will pay you. For information on dungeons and such.”

Ellen mentioned money in response to Adelia’s question, and an unexpected answer as to how adventurers made their living emerged.

But then, she wasn’t going to Dark Land just for the money, right? That seemed like it would be more of an added benefit.

“You’re not planning to go alone, are you?”

“I’m going alone.”

“No way! You, you’re... strong, yes, but... what if you run into dangerous demons?”

Harriet, who knew Ellen could summon an unidentified sword, seemed less alarmed than the others, but still thought it was a ridiculous idea.

“I’ve arranged for a Teleport scroll from the Temple. If it gets dangerous, I’ll use that.”

‘That’s just nuts.’

This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; she had already reported her vacation plans to the Temple, and even arranged to receive a highly valuable Teleport scroll from them.

Would they go that far for anyone, even for someone from the Royal Class? Was Ellen special in some way?

One after another, everyone else voiced their worries.

Except for me.

“Don’t go,” I said.

My words were not driven by worry, but by firm disapproval.

‘Do you want to wander off into dangerous places and die? What are you even talking about?’

This development was definitely not part of the original story.

“Don’t go. Why would you even do such a thing?”

“...”

Ellen had responded promptly to the others, but at my words, she cast her eyes down and fell silent for a long while.

“... Okay.”

Her sudden submission surprised everyone, and their expressions grew bewildered.

“Huh?”

That question was written on everyone’s faces.

“I won’t go.”

It wasn’t just the three of them...

Even I was taken aback by this situation.