TL/ED – Miso
As soon as I arrived at the Orphanage, I applied for career counseling.
The Director brought warm tea. The moment I smelled it, I could tell it was expensive. He seemed to be in a good mood.
“Have you been waiting? Try it. It’s peppermint tea.”
I took a sip and slowly nodded.
“It’s good tea.”
“Oh, you can tell?”
“Yes. I haven’t had much tea, but the scent is really nice.”
“Hahaha! You know a little. This tea was grown in the northern plains…”
I smiled outwardly while organizing my thoughts inside.
The Director knows that I am a Wizard.
So, I was worried he might insert some personal opinion into the career counseling.
But seeing him like this, it didn’t seem like I had to worry about that.
“Ah, look at me. I’ve been rambling in front of the Orphanage’s greatest genius.”
“…Greatest genius?”
“You’ve been top of the class for five years straight. Of course you’re the greatest genius. Jern, I’m sure you can become a Scribe. Did you come today to apply for the Scribe position?”
“No. I want to try a different job.”
I handed over the award given only to honor students.
You might think, what meaning does an award have for an orphan? But it does have significance.
It’s an award given at regular intervals to the top exemplary student, and it grants the right to experience any job of their choice for a few months.
In other words, it’s a job experience ticket that can be used.
Of course, no money is given, and it’s literally just about experiencing the job like some kind of passion-pay scheme, so its actual usage rate is low.
Besides, the types of jobs available to experience are very limited. Among those, the only one truly useful for a career would be something like a Scribe.
The Director tilted his head and asked again.
“If not a Scribe, then what job are you talking about?”
“Janitor.”
“…Huh?”
“Janitor.”
“Uh, the… you mean a janitor who cleans…?”
“Yes. I think it’s the perfect job for me. I have a talent for wiping and cleaning, don’t I?”
“Well, that’s…”
The Director hesitated, unable to find the right words.
He probably wanted to tell me that being a janitor would be a waste for me.
I used that opening to add an important detail.
“At the Academy grounds, as a janitor, please.”
“…!”
At those words, the Director caught his breath and stared at me intently.
Well, I didn’t expect not to be found out. I didn’t avoid his gaze and looked back at him.
After an uncomfortable silence, the Director spoke first.
“Jern.”
“Yes.”
“That… is it for the reason I’m thinking of?”
“Yes.”
There’s no point in lying. It only makes the situation more complicated.
But it doesn’t always work. The Director shook his head.
“No. It’s too dangerous.”
“No. It’s not dangerous right now.”
“Not dangerous right now?”
“Yes. I’m only 10 years old. If I get caught, I’ll just cry and beg for my life right away.”
“No, what in the world are you…”
“Uuuh…”
I started crying.
The flustered Director took out a handkerchief and wiped my eyes with a sigh.
“Fine, well, they probably won’t hit you or anything. If anything like that happens, I’ll protest no matter what.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“But that’s not the part I’m worried about. It’s your… special talent, you know.”
What the Director was worried about was that, as a Commoner, my identity as a Wizard might be exposed.
“Director, have you ever seen Magic?”
“Hm? Yes. I have some knowledge thanks to a Noble I know.”
“I think I’m a little unusually unique even among unusual people.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I picked up a book from the desk and made it float in the air.
The Director’s eyes widened threefold.
“L-Levitation Magic?”
“No. I just floated it.”
“Isn’t that the same thing??”
“It’s different. It’s not floating in the air. It’s floating in the sea.”
“??”
“Director. I can’t explain in detail, but right now I’m on the verge of being crushed to death.”
“What?”
“Yes. My Magic is so unusual that I’m at a crossroads between learning it or dying. Even if I learn it, the chances of dying are much higher.”
“Huh…”
The Director sat down heavily in his chair, looking dumbfounded.
“That’s hard to believe.”
“It really is.”
I still can’t believe I’m a Wizard myself.
Did the persuasion fail? As I was bitterly forming my next plan, the Director pulled an experiential learning certificate from the drawer and began to fill it out.
“…Director?”
“Mhm, now that I think about it… Jern. You are special.”
“Yes, well, because I’m a Wizard.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
The Director slowly shook his head.
“Do you remember when Linmel was playing on the back hill, fell from a tree, and broke her arms and legs?”
“…Ah, yes. I gave her first aid, didn’t I?”
“That’s right. You laid her down perfectly in the right position, splinted her limbs, and then set the tree on fire.”
“…”
“Do you know how shocked we were when we came running at the sight of fire? You were about to set another tree on fire, Linmel was all bandaged up and crying her eyes out… We thought you had become a thug and arsonist.”
“No, I ran to call adults and on my way back, it looked like Linmel would stop breathing…”
“Yes. The doctor said the same thing. If not for your quick wits, Linmel would have either died or lived disabled for the rest of her life. I’m not blaming you. You really did well.”
The Director patted my head and handed over the certificate.
“But I think what made you special was not just your quick judgment and clever ideas, but the warmth you showed when you held Linmel’s hands tightly so that she wouldn’t faint.”
“…Thank you.”
“I believe in you. I still don’t know exactly what’s going on, but… Jern, you’ll manage somehow. If you ever need something, just tell me anytime.”
The Director saw me off with the same warm smile he had at the beginning.
I tightly gripped the certificate with both hands and left the Director’s office.
Maybe it was because I had drunk warm tea, but my body felt warm.
The next morning.
I wore clothes that I didn’t mind getting dirty and headed to the meeting place at the Capital plaza.
To say it straight, it was a wasted effort.
“What, they sent me a little brat like this?”
“I’m fifteen.”
“What? You are?”
“Yes. I couldn’t eat much, and the Director abused me badly, so my body didn’t grow properly.”
The janitor, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, blinked a couple of times before handing me a bundle of clothes.
“…Go change into these in that alley for now.”
“Understood.”
While changing into the bundle of clothes, I found a problem.
This wasn’t my size at all.
Even after folding the pant legs as much as I could, I couldn’t stop them from dragging.
Well, nothing I could do. I came out with them dragging along the ground.
The janitor sunbae looked at me and sighed.
“…Kid, you just want to go? I’ll tell that Orphanage you did cleaning.”
“No. I like cleaning. Please let me do it. If I go back just like this, the Director will starve me.”
“Damn… what do I even do with you… Are there still Orphanages like that these days?”
The janitor looked troubled but still led me along.
As I followed him, naturally questions began to arise.
Of course, I had never seen the place called the Academy.
But if it was an institution where all Nobles attended, then they must have poured an absurd amount of money into it, and naturally, it should be within the Capital.
Yet the fact that I had never seen any related building was strange.
Could it be underground? Thinking such thoughts, I followed the janitor and arrived at the city hall.
“Is this the Academy?”
“Huh? Ah, it must be your first time. We get there from here.”
“…?”
The janitor stood on a carpet inside city hall and handed over both my certificate and his own license to an approaching official.
“The Academy.”
“And the kid next to you…”
“Experiential learning.”
“Confirmed.”
Looking around, I saw workers standing on nearby carpets for similar reasons, disappearing into the air.
We followed after them. For a moment, everything went dark, and when I opened my eyes,
Thud.
I was in the middle of an unfamiliar city.
“Whoa.”
“Surprised? Everyone’s like that the first time.”
I brushed myself off and looked up at the massive castle before me.
Even at a conservative estimate, it was the size of the Capital.
This entire place,
“Is this the Academy?”
“Yeah. Surprised? But you’ll get used to this teleportation if you go through it enough.”
“…Yes, I’m surprised.”
I was definitely surprised. But for another reason.
This wasn’t a case of establishing the Academy in another region through teleportation.
As a Wizard, I could tell from the very start that different laws applied here.
…This was another world.
Looking beyond the city walls, I saw endless plains stretching out. Surely, there really was no end.
“Celestial Realm…”
“What?”
“…Nothing.”
This was the new world created by an Archmage who had reached the Celestial Realm.
In other words, he had established the Academy within his own world.
…Honestly, I thought creating a world was just a figure of speech.
But it turned out to be literal.
Shivers ran through me as I followed behind the sunbae.
The laws of this world were astonishingly identical to those of the other world, the original world.
It seemed the Archmage who created this place had intended it that way.
Feeling somewhat relieved, I walked down the main street and was greeted with scenery completely different from the Capital.
“What are those spires?”
“They’re all Magic Towers.”
“…There was only one in the Capital.”
“They say building Magic Towers in the Academy is safest, the land’s cheap, and overall, it’s just better. Hey, wait- am I your guide or something?”
“Sunbae, what about those clothes everyone is wearing?”
“S-Sunbae? Hmph… Those are cadet uniforms. Anyone who can stay in the Academy for a long time is a cadet. Over 70 percent of the population here are cadets, 20 percent are professors and Magic Tower staff, and the small remainder are people like us, doing odd jobs. Think of this as a city inhabited only by students and professors.”
“I see.”
Cheered up, the sunbae explained things as I looked around.
Shops selling magical tools, extremely expensive dessert shops, a few restaurants, and cadets with dark circles under their eyes walking down the streets chatting.
It truly felt like a world where Wizards lived.
The sunbae gave me a warning so I wouldn’t do anything foolish.
“All the cadets are Nobles, so if you ever make a mistake, just drop to the ground and beg for your life. We’re really nothing here.”
“For someone saying that, you don’t seem all that nervous.”
“I’ve worked here for three years, kid. We’re such nobodies that they don’t even pay attention to us. We’re like trees on the roadside. Just don’t cause trouble.”
“Ah, I see. Well, since they’re all Wizards, I guess they’re Nobles too.”
“Nope. Professional Wizards are actually in the minority. This is just the main street of the Magic Towers, that’s why you see so many. Most of them are Knights or government officials.”
While we talked, we arrived at an old-fashioned building in the center of the city.
“This is where we work.”
“What is this place?”
“Hm? The training hall for Knight Cadets. Just sweep the area around here and don’t wander off.”
I was doomed.
“Yes, sir.”
“You can hold a broom, right? Sweep the entire main road, then clean the steps here. I’ll be mopping the rails in the next section, so if you’re not sure about something, call me.”
“Understood.”
Once the sunbae left, I looked at the area I had to clean.
It wasn’t full of trash, but fine dust and sand were scattered everywhere, and the space was so wide it looked like quite the challenge.
But sand? There wasn’t even a sea nearby.
When I listened closely, I heard shouts of exertion from inside the building.
The Knights must have been sparring on sand grounds.
After checking that no one was around, I waved my hand.
“Let’s see.”
Imagining low tide, I drew seawater from afar to sweep the ground.
Ssshh… The result wasn’t bad. The trash and dust were swept together, turning what should have been an all-day job into something that could be finished with just a few strokes of the broom.
[? …?]
No. It was a little bad.
It was my first time using Magic on this scale. The Deep Sea Creatures above sensed something unusual and started searching the area.
I froze in place. In an instant, they lost interest and disappeared.
“This is another world…”
So why are those things still here?
Grumbling, I finished the little cleaning that remained.
It was just a matter of repeatedly dumping what I had already gathered. Within a few minutes, the main road was spotless.
“Now then…”
I couldn’t gain anything from being here anyway, so I prepared an excuse.
I was looking for a bathroom and got lost since it was my first time here.
Perfect.
I threw the broom and walked out to the main street.
…Still, I should pretend to be a janitor, so I picked it back up.