Chapter 5
Bien grabbed Ethan by the collar and dragged him into his room.
Bien pushed Ethan against the wall and said.
"That's not a very funny joke."
"Does it sound like I'm lying?"
"Wouldn't it be better if it were a lie? If it's true, I might kill you to silence you."
"I don't think that's a good idea."
Ethan said, lifting the corner of his mouth.
"Do you think someone approaching you saying they know a secret would come without any plan? If something happens to me, a letter I wrote will be automatically delivered to someone."
"I don't know. Do you have any proof that I work for the Imperial Inquisition?"
"You have a very precious book, don't you?"
Bien drew his dagger.
"How did you...?"
"As you said, I'm a notorious ruffian. I'm short on money these days, so I just looked around to see if there was anything valuable in someone else's room."
Bien made a cold judgment, just as Ethan had expected.
"If you knew I worked for the Imperial Inquisition, you could have just reported it."
"Honestly, how would that help me?"
"Do you want money?"
"If you were the child of a wealthy family, maybe, but what I want from you is something different."
"Something different?"
"You're the top prodigy in the first year."
"...Do I have to admit that myself?"
"Aren't you?"
"I'm, I'm embarrassed."
Bien avoided Ethan's gaze over his glasses and blushed slightly. Ethan thought it was an unexpected side.
"Anyway. You saw that I barely passed Basic Magic Practice, right? But if things stay like this, the Basic Magic Practice in the second semester will be difficult."
"...Surely not."
Ethan said.
"Teach me magic."
At those words, Bien's expression became somewhat complicated.
Ethan's plan was simple.
<If I don't have to kill Vine, the best thing would be to drive Vine out of the school. To do that, I'd have to find evidence that Vine is involved with the Inquisitors. To find that evidence, I need to approach related individuals, specifically Bien Palmaize.>
<That's a good plan.>
Demi praised him but also expressed a question.
<But was it really necessary to ask him to teach you magic? It seems like you're trying to fulfill a personal desire.>
<Personal desire? What's wrong with me learning magic?>
<That's not wrong, but... isn't it already a given that you can't learn magic? Arka also said so.>
In fact, it wasn't just Arka. Including the family head, Count Charasen, the family's mages, and even the family's 'guests' had confirmed to Ethan, for various reasons, that he had no talent for magic. But things that cannot be known always happen.
<The contract with you succeeded, didn't it?>
<I believe you already know, but what is commonly called Black Magic in this world is...>
<Enough. I don't want to hear it.>
Ethan was also too young to give up on something.
<And even with this approach, Bien won't find me any more suspicious. From Bien's perspective, a person who would use a public issue for personal gain can be considered fully controllable.>
It was as Ethan expected.
"Alright."
"Really?"
Of course, there were parts that exceeded Ethan's expectations.
"However, there is a condition."
"A condition?"
Ethan checked the newly appeared Quest.
[Quest Generated!]
[Quest: Improve relationship with Bien Palmaize (D).]
According to Demi, the appearance of a Quest was proof that it was a valuable challenge.
Ethan replied.
"Alright. What's the condition?"
Three days later, fighting against an automaton wielding a sword, Ethan was regretting accepting Bien's condition.
∞
An automaton is a weapon controlled by a puppeteer. They are generally made of wood, but can also be made of composite materials such as iron, stone, or ceramic. They usually have a torso, a head, arms, and legs, taking on a human-like form, and their appearance varies depending on the puppeteer. The automaton Ethan was currently facing was not much different from a scarecrow used to scare away birds, except that it had legs and wielded a sword.
'Usually, scarecrows don't try to kill me.'
Ethan dodged the automaton's sword. It felt less like swordsmanship and more like random swinging. But even that can kill a person. It was sufficiently threatening.
"I dulled the blade, so you probably won't die even if you get hit, right?"
"Probably?"
The one who said that was Rinave Promorus, a magic student from the same school, Ethan's senior, and the chairman of the Combat Magic Society.
Rinave looked like a typical Patallian, with darker skin than the people of Yurmus and lustrous golden hair. Perhaps due to the influence of ancient magic, Patallians sometimes have diamond-shaped white spots on their faces, and Rinave had that spot on the bridge of her nose.
Rinave continued to speak.
"But boy. Don't forget that simply not dying isn't enough to approve your membership in the society."
"Who are you calling boy?"
As Ethan hurriedly fled from the automaton's attack, Rinave laughed.
Bien's 'condition' was joining the Combat Magic Society. Bien mentioned that he would continue to participate in Combat Magic Society activities during the vacation, making it difficult to set aside other time, that the Combat Magic Society meeting room was spacious and had a lot of resources, making it advantageous for actually teaching magic, and that there would also be things to learn from other seniors and classmates belonging to the Combat Magic Society.
Combat magic was applied magic studies concerning magic used in situations such as self-defense, combat, and war, or combat methods using such magic. Although the campus Combat Magic Society did not go beyond being a student club, it was true that mages who were alumni of the Combat Magic Society watched with interest.
Ethan also readily agreed to the condition Bien presented. He couldn't guarantee that only Bien and Vine were affiliated with the Imperial Inquisition. If so, meeting other individuals in contact with Bien was valuable.
Of course, looking back, it was Bien's trap. To join the Combat Magic Society, one had to be able to defeat the automaton.
Rinave said.
"Still, I'll highly commend your bravery for challenging the automaton despite barely passing Basic Magic Practice, boy. ...No. Is it ignorance rather than bravery? Although it looks that way on the outside, that automaton mimics the movements of a soldier trained for the battlefield. If you become skilled in combat magic, that's the minimum combat power you'll encounter on the battlefield. In this society, there's no one who can't defeat that automaton."
"I never said I'd lose, did I?"
"Your fighting spirit alone is enough to pass. But I can't approve membership just for that. Haha. Bien brought an interesting friend."
Bien replied.
"He's not a friend."
Ethan thought he could handle the automaton alone, but it wasn't easy. If it were slow enough, he would have thought about climbing onto its back and twisting its neck, but as Rinave said, it was more agile and smarter than he expected.
Ethan said to Demi.
<I guess I have to use that.>
<Alright.>
Ethan put the dagger he was holding back into his pocket.
"What, are you giving up?"
"No."
"Then, you'll face it with your bare hands?"
"Yes."
Ethan was planning to use a 'Skill'.
∞
Before going to fight the automaton, Ethan entered Limbo that morning. Although he could confirm it from the first day, Ethan could enter Limbo when he fell asleep, being treated as being in a State of unconsciousness.
"Every day is not necessary, but today is different."
Ethan checked the Quest completion window.
['Quest: Survive for 3 Days (D)' Success!]
[Reward: Experience Points 12]
[Reward: D-rank Lottery Coupon]
And when he searched his pocket, he could confirm the D-rank Coupon.
Demi said.
<Would you like to draw a lot?>
"No."
Ethan walked over to the Merchant.
"Can you recommend something I need?"
<If I have it.>
"One more question. You said 'item', but I can draw more than just 'Items' from the lot. I can buy 'Archives' and 'Skills', right?"
The Merchant raised his head and looked at Ethan.
<Of course.>
Ethan held out the D-rank Coupon.
"In that case, I'll buy a Skill."
<What Skill do you want?>
∞
The automaton looked at Ethan strangely, then approached with a tense posture.
<Indeed. It's reacting like a human.>
Demi said.
<But User, 'human-like' means that automaton isn't a programmed robot, but reacts and acts like a human.>
<Robot? Are you talking about something like a Golem?>
<You may understand it that way.>
<Certainly, Golems have some sluggish parts. But the human-like parts can also be a weakness.>
Ethan took off his coat. Ethan prided himself on being agile, and thanks to that, he was able to avoid the automaton's blade. But that was all he could do. Simply dodging attacks wouldn't defeat the automaton.
<You said the automaton mimics a soldier's movements, right?>
<Yes.>
<Are Skills similar?>
<I don't know about magic, but I judge it to be similar. While there are some variations among Skills, a typical D-rank Skill is based on a skilled person with about 3 years of experience in that field. Therefore, you can also see it as mimicking the movements of someone who has practiced for about 3 years.>
The automaton rapidly approached and swung its sword. It was merely a simple downward swing, but it could naturally lead into a horizontal slash.
In an instant, the coat Ethan threw open as if discarding it became entangled in the automaton's sword. The automaton didn't panic and stepped back while pulling its sword out. Rinave watched with interest, and Bien watched indifferently.
-Bang!
A firework Ethan took out of his pocket exploded right in front of the automaton's face.
Startled, the automaton staggered. With the sword entangled in the coat and while stepping back, it looked like it would fall over at any moment.
Ethan crouched down low, then wrapped his arms around the automaton's thigh. As Ethan pushed with his shoulder like that, the automaton fell over with a loud noise.
<After the takedown...>
The automaton tried to swing its sword belatedly, but Ethan had already grabbed its wrist. With only the wrist, there was neither the strength to swing the sword nor the angle to swing it towards the enemy.
<On the ground...>
Holding the automaton's arm, Ethan raised both his legs onto the automaton's chest and straightened his back.
<Armbar.>
A technique to break the elbow joint. In Terra, they say you induce the opponent's surrender by causing pain without breaking it, but this was Damarat Yuma.
Ethan broke the automaton's elbow with all his strength.
-Crack!
What Ethan purchased from the Merchant was <Skill: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (D)>.