Chapter 41: of Heart Resonance: The Mage of the Black Guards

"Well, I got all I need so you're free to wait and watch, but you don't have to."

With those words, I was dismissed by Kohno. Apparently, it would take him a quite while. He did tell me to come back later, though, so he could check on his progress and see if everything was fitting. And like that, I left him alone. I didn't want to get in the way.

But... What do I do now? Nn, Sis and Lily are out and the other girls were looking for their own armour... Actually, wouldn't they bring those here to this guy as well?

In any case, I was free again for now. And I actually had an idea about what to do with this free time.

Mr Greyward talked about someone named Wendl who could teach me a little about magic, right? Maybe I can find that guy. Or I could just ask Mr Greyward should I find him instead.

But to find either I first needed to know where to even look. And since I never even met Wendl I also didn't know how he looked like.

"Haa... Let's ask someone... Excuse me, I'm looking for Mr Greyward or a Mr Wendl."

I walked up to the closest Black Guard soldier.

"Mh? The Captain and the Chief Mage? I think the Captain left earlier and the Chief Mage is..."

The soldier furrowed his brow.

"Probably somewhere there..."

He pointed in the distance at the opposite side of the camp.

"I see. Thank you."

"No problem. Good luck..."

"Nn?"

Did I need good luck? I wasn't really fond of such ominous words...

Somehow, my motivation to go meet this person has dropped significantly already... Ugh, whatever, maybe it's just a mistake...

It was fine to have a little hope, right? With those thoughts, I slowly made my way towards the other side of the camp. Although I called it a camp, it was just all the wagons parked halfway randomly, with enough space in between that you could comfortably walk through.

Thinking about it, this part is mainly the Black Guards' wagons... but over there...

The place I was walking towards to were the wagons from the Dragon Knights. They also were parked a lot more randomly than the others... After a while, there were basically no Black Guard soldiers around anymore. They were all replaced for the most part with middle-aged and elderly women and a few children.

The mercenaries' families, I guess... But why would that guy even be here then?

Remembering the things I knew about the families made me feel a little uncomfortable. I hoped I would find Wendl quickly.

"Oh? Girl, I haven't seen you here before..."

"Nn?"

While I was feeling a little lost, a young woman walked up to me with a smile.

"Are you lost?"

"... No, I'm looking for someone?"

"Oh? And who are you looking for? Family? Or a friend?"

The woman squatted slightly down. I already noticed before but many people went down a little when speaking with me... Well, I couldn't blame them. I probably would've done the same.

"No... A Mr Wendl. I was told he was here."

"Mr Wendl? I don't think I know anyone with that name..."

The woman tilted her head a little.

"Do you know anything about them?"

"Nn, they're a magician from the Black Guards."

"The Black Guards? Ah, those older gentlemen, right?"

Her smile grew a little. But gentlemen? They weren't bad guys but they were far from what I envisioned a gentleman to be... Well, she was probably just polite.

"But someone from those gentlemen here? I don't think I've seen anyone... Ah. I think I know who."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, come, I'll bring you there."

Before I could answer, she took my hand and pulled me along.

"Ah."

"Is something the matter?"

"That's... No."

I couldn't say there was no need to hold my hand. Not to that gentle smile. It was unfair.

"Still, are you running errands for someone? You're so young and already so mature, aren't you? I'm sure your parents are proud of you."

"No, I'm not..."

"You aren't? Then, is that person a relative of yours?"

"No. I heard he could teach me about some things."

"Teach? My, how studious you are."

The woman praised me and pat my head gently.

"When I was your age all I could think of was playing pranks on the adults. Such a good time. But don't forget to have some fun, yes? Only studying isn't good either."

She obviously thought I was a little girl. I was already used to this a little by now, but... I wasn't quite sure if I should clear it up or not. It was probably better to say it early on so that it wouldn't become awkward at the end. This had troubled me with Lefa before already, although I was saved in her case since she didn't mind the little details. I took a small breath.

"Nn... Uhm, it's a bit hard to say but... I'm twenty-two already."

"... Ha?"

The woman stared at me, a little confused.

"We're... the same age?"

"Nn?"

"..."

After staring at me for a few seconds, she let go of my hand, turned around and squished my cheeks in between her hands.

"Uhh?"

"Same age..."

With an intense stare, she started to press and squish my cheeks.

"Squishy... Soft..."

"Gould fhou bwease sdob..."

"So soft and squishy... So... So! Envious!"

Ehh?

She squished my cheeks even stronger for a few seconds before changing her target to my hair.

"You're still so cute even though we're the same age? Ahh, god is so unfair.  Are you a long-lived race? But you seem like a human... A demonkin maybe? Or is it because you are a manakin? Is it because of that?"

"Could you... Uhm...please stooooop?! Don't!"

My butt is off-limits, Miss!

The woman had completely lost herself in patting and touching me all over. It wasn't that unpleasant, excluding the part with my butt, but it was a little weird, having my hair and body touched all over.

The woman froze for a second after I asked her to stop, then she took a quick step back, raising her hands in front of her.

"Ah, sorry! Sorry, about that. It's just... you're so small and cute and your skin is so soft and your hair so beautiful... I'm a little envious."

"Haa..."

How should I even respond to that? My face became a little hot from the direct praise.

"But... You're... really twenty-two?"

The woman furrowed her brows a little.

"Nn."

I nodded, affirming her question. While I could understand her doubts, it was still the case that I was already an adult.

"Huh... Are you maybe... that Yumi girl I heard about?"

"Nn? I am Yumi. And since I don't know anyone other with that name... So, probably yes?"

But, someone here was talking about me? That made me a little bit curious.

The woman stared at me, still looking a little doubtful.

"Odd."

"Odd?"

"I thought you were some scary, little demon. But you're cute."

"Eh?"

Just what the heck did they tell her that she thought I was a scary demon?

"What did you even hear that it'd give that impression?"

"That you seduced the captain and all the mercenaries with your lascivious body and your magic. And that you are plotting to slowly exterminate us all, by sending your familiars, suffocating us or bludgeoning us until we are unrecognisable, smashing up our eyes and teeth."

"..."

Scary! Who the hell spreads such scary things about me?

"There's also talk about how you intend to sacrifice us all for some blood ritual to summon an abomination into the world on your path of world domination."

What even was a blood ritual? I didn't want to sacrifice people for anything.

"But that's only the beginning..."

"No, wait. Even if you say the beginning, I don't even know what this beginning was about? What is a blood ritual? And why would I exterminate you all?"

"... For fun?"

She cocked her head questioningly.

The heck? Who would do something like that for fun...

The woman suddenly started giggling quietly, then broke out in loud laughter.

"Ahahaha, you're really amusing. Your expression really is great."

"... Eh?"

The woman was holding her stomach and buckling down from laughter, gasping for air in between.

I see. I understand. I understand very well now.

This woman had been messing with me, from the looks of it.

"Haaa, this was nice..."

"..."

Seemingly completely refreshed now, she looked down at me with a smile.

"Now then, you were looking for this Wendl man right? Let's go."

"..."

Wait a moment! Wait a fucking moment! Just like that? You're not even going to say sorry or anything?! You're quite brazen, aren't you, Miss?!

She grabbed my hand again and pulled me along, ignoring my inner turmoil. Instead, she started humming a little. Her mood seemed to be really good. I had a strong urge to complain, but seeing that happy face made me quite reluctant. After a short internal conflict, I decided to just let it be.

Why were all the people around my completely stuck in their own pace?

Oh well, whatever.

"Nn, I still haven't heard your name."

"Mh? Oh, did I not introduce myself? My name is Helma. Helma Jockson."

"I see. Helma, huh... Nn? Jockson?"

Where had I heard that name before? It somehow felt familiar...

"Oh, I think you know my father. His name is Merim Jockson."

"... Excuse me?"

I stopped in my tracks and froze. This girl was... Merim's daughter? He had a daughter? But she didn't even look that much younger than he did? How... How did this even work? If she had said his sister, I could believe it, but... Maybe...

"Are you messing with me again?"

"Mh? No, I'm serious."

"... What?"

Helma tilted her head. She seemingly couldn't understand my confusion. Was she maybe really serious this time?

"This might sound weird but... how old is Merim?"

"Twentysix."

"... Okay, you are messing with me."

I sighed, shaking my head. Better be careful about whatever she was going to tell me in the future.

"So, what is the truth?"

"I'm his daughter."

"We already went over that, thank you."

"But it's true!"

Somehow she was actually quite insistent on this.

"Okay, if I got this right, Merim is only four years older, right? There's no way he could be your father. Biologically speaking."

"Ah, well, he's not really my father by blood. But he's my father!"

"..."

So, she was adopted? By someone four years older? While it might have been possible, it still sounded... unlikely. Then again, Merim also seemed to be going completely in his own pace, so maybe he was fine with this?

"Well, he prefers if I call him 'Dear' or just 'Merim', though..."

"Huh."

"Ever since we married he's been weirdly insistent on it..."

"..."

Yes... Calling your husband 'Father' was sure to brew trouble. I pinched my brows and sighed once more.

I recalled that Merim did say he was married. But to think I'd meet his wife here, by coincidence.

Although she was quite... odd. Honestly, I was a little curious but also a little scared. Maybe I should... just ignore this quirk. Or I could just ask Merim. That felt like a safer option.

"Ehh, anyway, you said you know where I might find Wendl, right?" I asked in an attempt to quickly change the topic.

"Mh? Right, I saw one of those black-clothed gentlemen earlier here."

Thankfully she didn't notice. Or she ignored it.

"He was talking with one of the mothers, I think. Oh, I think here?"

"Nn?"

Still holding my hand, she led me to a particular wagon. I had a bad feeling about this. She knocked on the door. The door didn't open. She knocked again but the result stayed the same.

"Odd. Usually, someone should be around now."

Helma tried knocking a few more times but it was clear that nobody was inside.

"Mh, maybe they're out. Let's ask someone."

Helma approached a nearby, middle-aged woman and asked her.

"Oh? I think I saw them running after this old coot."

"... Running?"

"Yes. I think they went over to the waroxen pen"

"I see. Thank you."

Helma said her goodbyes to the woman and returned.

"This man you're looking for... What are you hoping he would teach you?"

"... I heard he could teach me some magic."

The more I heard about this man, though, the less inclined I was to actually ask him to teach me.

"A magician, huh. Well, I guess that's a good reason... Well, let's go to the pen and see if they are still there."

"Nn."

She didn't take my hand this time, though, and we just walked normally to that place.

"Like I said, m'ladies, it's all a misunderstanding, yes?"

"A misunderstanding, you say?"

"Yes, yes, you shouldn't make such scary faces, it ruins your beauty."

It was, as expected. A man, presumably a little older than Korwen and most other mercenaries, stood on top of a warox, surrounded by around a dozen women of pretty much all ages. To his luck, the women were still a little intimidated by the large beast, so they didn't try to rush him. From the looks of it, it was only a matter of time, though.

Some of those women were also holding weapons in their hand. Mostly old ones with strong traces of use.

"I kind of expected it already but... maybe he shouldn't have tried to get it on with former mercenaries."

"Those women were mercenaries?"

"Some of them, yes. Many women retire when they marry or get children. That doesn't change the fact that many of them are still veterans in their trade."

Helma scratched the back of her head.

"Well, I think we at least found him. But what are you going to do now?"

"... Nn, nothing, I guess."

"Not going to help him? Your future teacher might get lynched like that."

"Nn..."

I didn't really want to help someone who was just reaping what they sowed. But Helma was right. He was currently safe on the back of the magic beast, but he couldn't stay there forever.

But, I would need to placate that mob somehow. And honestly, I had no idea how I should even do that.

"Maybe it's easier to just let them beat him up."

"You're surprisingly brutal, for such a cute girl."

"If you have a better idea, do tell me. But first, I'd like to know why exactly they are angry."

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There were a few bystanders watching the scene, similarly to us. I walked over to a young woman nearby.

"Excuse me, what exactly happened here?"

"Yes? Oh."

The woman turned around and looked at me for a short moment, with a complicated expression.

"The girl is an adult, you can tell her."

"Oh? Helma? An adult? This girl? Mh, if you say so."

Apparently, she had been reluctant to tell me because she thought I was a child. Well, understandable enough.

"That man was currying favour. Telling them how beautiful they are, how good they smell, and so on. The typical womanizer, you see. And unfortunately for him, that didn't work out so well."

"Nn, did they get angry because they played with them?"

"No..."

The woman shook her head and smiled awkwardly.

"Most just straight out refused him. The majority here has been travelling for their whole life, and pretty much everyone already had one or two incidents with this type of man. He was disappointed and depressed at the end. Some of the children came over and tried to cheer him up. In the end, he just played with them but..."

"Their mothers didn't see it like that and went after him?"

"Yes... If you ask me, it was really innocent enough. He just played with them. Well, some of his remarks were a little problematic considering the situation."

So he was rejected and depressed as he was cheered up by the children, only to be hunted down by their parents again.

"I see. I have a slightly better opinion of him now."

"Nn. It's still bad, though."

"Yeah."

If he hadn't tried to pick up women, he wouldn't have ended up like this. So, in the end, my sympathy had its limits. But he also didn't harm anyone.

"Nn? Is it just me or is the warox... getting annoyed?"

"Is it?"

The magic beast seemed a little distraught at the mob surrounding it. A short while later, it lifted its head and let out a deep roar. The women, slightly panicking, all quickly retreated, opening a patch for the beast. Which it swiftly made use of.

"Ah. Eh, someone, help me? Ahh... Help. Help!"

The man on top if fell on his behind was clinging to the beasts back, as it charged in a large circle inside the enclosure, agitating the other beasts as well. The women had already swiftly retreated outside. They were now sneering and laughing at the guy.

"Well, it's better than being beaten up," commented the woman next to us.

"True."

"Nn."

The poor guy was enjoying his surprise rodeo ride.

"I think this might take some time."

"Nn... Ah. He fell off."

He finally lost his grip and flew off the beast's back. He quite literally slammed onto the ground. Hopefully, he survived.

"The warox is approaching him."

"Nn. It won't eat him, will it?"

"They are herbivores so I don't think it... Ah."

The warox lowered it's head and was shoving its victim away towards the fence, where it left him alone, returning to eating the grass instead.

He didn't move at all and at some point, the mob got tired of waiting and left. A few more minutes passed before the womanizer finally managed to stand up. Slightly wobbly on his legs he made his way towards the camp again.

"Guess he survived."

"Nn."

He left the enclosure and sat down on the ground, leaning against the fence.

"Well, if you want to go to him, now is your chance."

"Nn..."

Helma said bye to the other woman and we slowly walked over. I was a little apprehensive to just approaching him after his little ordeal, but he would have to live with that. After we approached him close enough to talk comfortably he lifted his head and glared at us.

"What? You girls also here to make fun of me?"

"No."

I shook my head in denial. He was still glaring at me, though.

"Mh? You're that girl that's been with that Korwen guy the last days, aren't you?"

"Nn. I'm Yumi. Are you... Mr Wendl?"

"I'm Wendl, alright. So, what do you want? I got better things to do than humour a brat."

"Like picking up women?" asked Helma.

His glare intensified a few times over at that question.

"I never even picked up anyone. Yeah, been looking for some fun on the side, but none of them even wanted to give me the time of the day. So, what's the harm, huh?"

"No, I wasn't blaming or anything."

"Making fun of me then, huh?"

"No..."

Helma shrank back a little at his forceful behaviour. Maybe we should have waited for a little for him to calm down, after all.

"Man, all of you and everyone else. Ah, god, everything hurts to boot."

He stretched and moved around his arm. Considering he was thrown around by the warox he was still in surprisingly good shape.

"So, could we get this over with finally?"

"Ah. Nn. I was told by Mr Greyward you could help me teach me some magic..."

"Huh?"

He raised his eyebrows in confusion. He probably expected many things, considering the situation, but not this.

"You just want to ask about magic?"

"Nn."

"No shitty telling me to fuck off or hurling a sword at me?"

"Nn..."

He finally stopped glaring and leaned forward, scrutinising me.

"Well, if it's just that I can help you..."

"That would help a lot. Thank you."

"Haa... You're an odd one."

"Nn?"

He stood up, patting down his clothes and stretching them a little to get the wrinkles out.

"You watched the entire thing just now, didn't you?"

"Nn."

"And you still fine with this old man?"

"Nn."

"That's why you're odd."

"Ha?"

Well, I wouldn't go to defend him, for sure. But as long as nobody was actually harmed...

"Aren't women always crying and hurling abuse around? Without any logic? Not even going to listen to reason or anything. They get mad at you for the tiniest thing, man. Or is it because you're still a brat? Ah, but... Didn't the Captain tell me you're older than you look?"

"I'm twenty-two..."

"Oh. So you're just looking like a brat. Well, that still qualifies you as a brat."

Disregarding the very questionable views he had, he was still quite rude. And Helma was suspiciously quiet as well.

"So, your friend also wanting to learn about magic or what?"

"... I'm sorry, but since I'm just crying or hurling abuse, I think I'll refrain."

"What? Got a problem with that? Isn't that how it's always?"

"I think you should first try fixing your attitude and then they might actually not throw swords at you."

"Pff! Good joke! Aren't I the literal incarnation of kindness?"

The literal incarnation of kindness would probably not claim to be said incarnation, though.

"I think you're at most the incarnation of rudeness."

"Ha, that's fine by me too. Whatever! If you aren't going to learn anything, then don't bother me. And for you, brat, you coming with me if you want me to teach you anything. But first."

He turned around and waved over at a wagon. In the shadow of the said wagon was a group of children. They slowly approached us, eyeing me and Helma in particular. Around halfway towards us, they probably decided we were fun and ran over, surrounding the old man.

"Mister, are you fine?" asked one of the children.

"Yes, brat, I'm fine. Won't get done in by something minor like this."

"Really?"

"Of course I am. Look!"

He posed for the children, emphasising that he was all healthy.

"Instead of worrying about an old coot like me, go get to your parents and tell them you're fine, yeah? Now, shoo shoo. Got no time for you brats now."

He pretended to shove them away in a rough manner. The kids dispersed and waved at him, saying their goodbyes. Some also said their thanks that he was playing with them.

"Mh, so you really didn't do anything," murmured Helma.

"What. What should I do with brats? If they grow up and become beautiful women, then they can come back. As brats, they're just a bother."

So this guy was, on one side, complaining that women were crying or abusive towards him, but on the other side, he only wanted beautiful women?

"Anyway, if you want to talk about magic, then come with me. Otherwise, scram."

"Haa..."

And with those words, he simply walked off.

"The heck is this."

"Hey, don't touch that, it's delicate."

"For what is it, then?"

"It's for cooling and freezing water. But it always breaks when it freezes."

Helma stared at a little contraption with water in a test tube, surrounded by another tube and multiple elemental stones.

Wendl walked over to the device, shoved Helma to the side and turned it on. Helma grumbled a little at the rude treatment but nonetheless, she watched without complaining directly. The stones inside the device glowed and a few seconds later the tube clouded up.

"It's hard to see any—

Wham!

"Wha!"

The sound of glass bursting echoed through the room.

Helma, completely taken by surprise, fell backwards and landed on her behind. Thankfully I had already expected this to happen, seeing the closed off tube with water, so I fared a little better. The exploding sound still made me jump a little.

"See. It explodes every time."

"Nn, but isn't it simply because the water expands when it freezes?"

Wendl stared at me with wide eyes.

"I'm surprised. You are right, brat, it expands. Although I haven't yet found out why it expands. Everything else expands when you heat it and contracts when you cool it. Only water doesn't."

If I recalled correctly, it was because of some unique traits of the molecules, but unfortunately, I forgot the details. Actually, would it even be fine to tell him about this?

"I... see... Water expands... Are you... researching water?"

Helma stood up again and turned to Wendl with that question.

"Nah. A friend at the Academy does, though. I'm at most playing around with it a little."

"Haa..."

Just for playing around, it was still impressive he went out his way to set up this device, though. And it wasn't the only thing here. The entire wagon was filled with books and odd devices. And in the corner the corpse of a young man. It was probably still warm.

"Mr Wendl."

"What, brat?"

"What's that there?"

I pointed at the presumable corpse.

"Ha?"

Wendl, seeing the thing in question, scowled and walked over the body. And then kicked it into the side.

"Wake up, you shitty apprentice."

"Guh."

There was only a strange sound from the body. Well, it clearly wasn't a corpse, since it made a sound, but... The guy clearly didn't look really alive either.

"Whatever. Ignore this fellow. He isn't dead yet."

"Yet..."

Wendl sat down in a chair and leaned back. It was also the only chair in the room.

"Now, since your friend came along, I guess you also want to learn? Those who want to learn are always welcome, be they brats or women. Or monsters."

"Haa... Ha?"

Helma cocked her head in confusion. Wendl just straight up looked at me though.

So he knows, huh. Well, Mr Greyward or the Captain probably told him...

It didn't really surprise me they did if he was as important as he seemed to be.

"Still, I have to know how much you even know about magic."

"Nn... Pretty much... nothing?"

"Nothing?"

"Nn. Except for the bit of magic that I can use and feel."

"So you got the mana sense and you can cast some magic."

He stroked his chin and paused for a moment.

"I see. Intrinsic magic, I guess. What kind of magic can you use so far?"

I listed the few examples of magic I could use to him, not holding back. Helma, who finally understood the situation, stared at me with wide eyes.

"I see. Charm magic and a type of creation magic. Interesting. Very interesting. All three of those attributes are difficult to handle for humanoids, to the point they are nigh useless. Life magic can be partially used to reanimate a body and with soul magic, you can even make it move. But at most it's just a kind of mock necromancy. Lust is completely useless outside of very few, very special individuals."

"Is that so..."

"Yes. The only exception to all of these... Are the witch worshippers."

"... Witch worshippers?"

That didn't sound like something I would very much like, now, would it?

"Fanatics worshipping the Grand Witch. Somehow they managed to generalise magic of a few less known attributes, those three included. They made it possible to use them to a reasonable degree. It's very troublesome since it also tends to be very powerful magic. Reason why many countries ban it outright."

He sighed and lifted up a very thick and very old looking book. He opened it, revealing the already yellow pages beneath.

"Lust magic can influence the mind. The raw mana, attributed to Lust, makes people horny, at most, though. The raw mana for life magic can make things grow or strengthen them and mana from the soul attribute doesn't do anything, as far as I know."

He flipped through the pages of the book until he probably found what he was looking for.

"Yes, yes. Honestly, I can teach you all you want about magic theory, but you won't be able to apply most of it."

"I won't?"

"You won't. Because you cast magic differently from us. I'm sure there are many parts that would benefit you too, but in the end, knowing the chant for the Krohmean Religious Cleanse will do you nothing good, will it?"

"... Nn."

The heck was a Religious Cleanse anyway? Was it cleansing you with the power of religion or was it cleansing you of religion?

"By the way, Krohmean Religious is the name of the magic system."

"... Okay."

"There's also Krohmean Royal, Krohmean Noble, Krohmean Soft, Krohmean Hard, Krohme—

"I got it. I got it."

The heck was up with that? Wasn't Krohmea a country? Why did it have half a dozen or more magic systems?

"In any case, as you can see there are probably as many systems as there are people. The difference is mainly, what people are the most comfortable with."

"Comfortable?"

"Yeah. We don't really know why or how, but magic gets invoked through an action for the most part. That action needs to have meaning. And then the magic gets invoked, based on the desired outcome. That's what it boils down to. There are plenty of other factors involved, but that's what always stays the same."

So, basically, anything worked? Even if they started doing a naked dance, they could invoke magic with that?

"Monsters actually still share this, contrary to what many people believe. The difference, though, is that the action is minimised to an extreme. The action is the direct manipulation of mana. In a way. The action and the invocation become a single step."

"Nn..."

So because I could directly manipulate mana the action and the invocation became one? Did I get this right? Or rather, I felt a little lost. I could understand the words but somehow the meaning eluded me.

"So, rather than studying the steps, you should rather study about invocation and the outcomes. I can't teach you about the process and the steps, or the different systems. Or, I could, but it'd be useless for you. Albeit, I'm a little interested if you can still cast humanoid magic as well."

That sounded like a pain, so I'd like to refrain from that. Sorry.

"But, if this girl wants to learn magic then she'll have to learn all that."

"Eh? Uhm..."

Helma, suddenly addressed, seemed a little unsure how to react.

"You're here already, so I won't let you back out so easily. I hope you're prepared."

A savage grin formed on Wendl's face. He was enjoying this, wasn't he...

I could see Helma shudder next to me. She probably only came here out of worry or because she was slightly interested in magic. It was unlikely that she expected to be roped into this to this degree.

Good luck. I'll pray for you. Maybe you can learn some magic that makes Merim happy.

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