[V2C8] Norman's Situation

Isaac and Agatha silently bound the unconscious Hubert. Monica sighed in relief as Isabelle ran over to hug her neck.

“Onee-sama…! I… I was so worried!”

“Um, er, thank you for cooperating with the plan.”

In order to neutralize Hubert’s magical knife, it was necessary to touch it. So, Isabelle camouflaged Monica by putting her coat on the village child, allowing Monica to secretly approach the knife. Isabelle had hid the boy behind her body, posing as if embracing Monica.

Once again, Monica was saved by Isabelle’s quick thinking and acting skills.

The village boy, who had worn Monica’s coat, couldn’t hide his surprise as he stared at Monica. For those without knowledge of magic, understanding what happened here would be challenging.

Hubert’s magical tools, Monica’s skills to rewrite them, and chantless magic… None of these were common techniques.

But the boy looked straight at Monica and muttered, “…Amazing.”

This boy correctly understood everything that happened here.

(As I thought…)

With a certain conviction in her heart, Monica walked towards the boy and cleared her throat.

Isaac and the others also focused on Monica as she corrected her posture.

In the midst of this, Monica opened her mouth and asked the boy.

“You… are the sixth Silent Witch, right?”

With a serious expression, the boy replied, “No, that’s not me.”

“……Huh?”

“That’s not me.”

“…”

Monica staggered and squatted down, holding her head.

(Oh no… I asked with so much confidence. And I said it just like a ‘cool master’… Ugh, so embarrassing! I want to crawl under a table!)

The flustered Monica unconsciously limped toward the nearest table, as the boy continued with an apologetic expression.

“Um, you see. The role of the sixth Silent Witch is the village chief… But as you’ve probably noticed, I am indeed the one who used magic in secret.”

＊　＊　＊

Norman was a 12-year-old boy from the village of Sechen in the Lagott territory. He had two important jobs.

One was to guide travelers who visit the village.

As for the other… he was to use magic while hidden in the shadows, allowing the other villagers to act as the Silent Witch.

Norman’s father was the fourth son of a former noble, who apparently attended a magic school in his youth.

Despite studying magic, he failed to achieve much due to his naturally low mana, and his family fell to ruin before he ever graduated. Later, he met Norman’s mother, married her, and ended up living in Sechen village.

His father shared this tragic past with Norman, laughing as he did. When Norman asked why he could laugh about such a painful story, his father glanced at his mother and whispered this:

——Compared to the happiness of meeting your mother, most things are trivial.

Norman loved his slightly easygoing and absent-minded father, who loved his family in return. However, a few years ago, both his beloved father and mother died from an epidemic.

Relatives of those who brought illness to the village were often hated. So, Norman was prepared to be pelted with stones and driven out of the village. However, the villagers were kind to him.

Sechen Village was by no means affluent. Everyone struggled to make ends meet.

Even so, the villagers took turns looking after Norman. Despite being the son of an epidemic victim, no one harassed him.

That was why Norman wanted to be useful to the villagers in return. He earnestly thought about what he could do.

Norman was still a child. He lacked much physical strength, so he had many limits. All he could do was learn as much as possible by reading through his late father’s books.

Among them was a textbook from the magic school his father attended in his youth. Norman began studying magic on his own by reading the textbook.

His father said he couldn’t even qualify as a novice mage, but it seemed Norman had talent.

After a year of self-study, Norman gained the ability to use a little magic. However, with basic magic, creating a small fire or invoking a gust of wind was the best he could do. It was challenging to help the village adults with such limited abilities.

He might become more useful if he could use more powerful magic. However, this was the extent of what he could achieve with his father’s basic textbook.

If possible, he wanted to attend a magic school and learn more about magic. But going to a magic school required a considerable amount of money.

Norman pondered about how he could help the village with his newly acquired magic… when one day, he heard rumors about the Silent Witch from a traveling merchant.

A user of chantless magic who repelled the Black Dragon of Worgan and the Curse Dragon of Reinberg. An unknown hero who rarely appeared in official settings.

At that moment, a lightbulb went off in Norman’s head…

＊　＊　＊

After hearing Norman’s story, Isaac let out a breath with a mixture of amazement and irritation.

“And that’s why you thought of posing as the Silent Witch to attract customers…”

“Yes. I use magic in secret, creating a surprise for our guests with my performance.”

The first Silent Witch at the village entrance showcased fire magic, and the fourth Silent Witch who protected Monica from the ruffian displayed wind magic. All of this was done by Norman using magic from the shadows.

For a small boy like Norman, it wasn’t challenging to hide himself and use magic in secrecy.

Monica was secretly impressed, admiring Norman’s ingenuity. But in contrast with Monica’s absentminded admiration, Isaac frowned.

“I won’t explicitly call your actions a crime… but if you displease the Seven Sages, this village might be crushed. The Seven Sages hold the position of Mage Counts; they are legitimate nobles. What you’ve done may be considered an insult to nobility.”

Norman’s thin shoulders shook upon hearing Isaac’s remark.

Isaac was correct in his observations. Nevertheless, Monica didn’t intend to punish the village or Norman. She just hoped they wouldn’t misuse her name.

Monica put on a stern expression and tugged at Isaac’s clothes to stop him from giving Norman a scary look.

“Um… could you leave this to me?”

“…Do you have a plan?”

“Yes.”

Once Monica nodded, Isaac yielded the floor to her without saying another word.

Monica was not good at negotiations. Her shyness remained, and if possible, she didn’t want to be in the public eye.

Although she intended to act as a cool master today, she ended up being helped by Isaac and Isabelle. Still, she felt that she had to do what she could.

(Because I am one of the Seven Sages… the Silent Witch.)

Monica cleared her throat, looked at Norman, and began speaking.

“The magic you used wasn’t ordinary; it was remote magic that activates a distance away from the caster. It’s impressive that you taught yourself to use both fire and wind attributes remotely.”

Norman blinked repeatedly, and his cheeks slowly turned red.

The people in this village probably didn’t fully understand the nature of the magic Norman used. Opportunities to see magic in rural villages were rare, so no one knew how advanced remote magic was.

At the Minerva Institute for Mages, remote magic was taught to senior students. It was undeniable that the self-taught Norman had talent.

To reassure Norman, Monica spoke in a gentle voice.

“So, would you like to try learning magic at Minerva?”

“Minerva, the mage school? But, Minerva has tuition fees…”

“It’s okay. If I write a letter of recommendation, you can get a fee waiver.”

Upon Monica’s words, Norman finally seemed to realize something.

“Are you, by any chance…”

Monica placed her index finger on her lips in response to the boy’s question. She answered with a silent smile, just as the Silent Witch should.

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