After experiencing the world of magic and poring over books that were not very helpful, I was able to reach a single conclusion. The standard is the other way around. It is not that mages are special.
It is the humans who are not mages that are special. Before I became one of these beings called mages, I had no idea, but the world was an ocean. Everything in the world exists within the sea.
They simply have not realized it. However, there is a single existence that deviates from that law.
Humans.
Humans walk on the surface of the ocean. That is why they cannot feel the currents. They have no idea what goes on beneath the sea.
It is a tremendous advantage. Merely by not being swept away by the currents, humans are superior to mages. A mage is nothing more than a deformed child who has lost the ability to walk on the ocean and has fallen into its depths. ...
It seems all the nobles must be fools. To actually desire to become something like this.
"It is convenient, though."
I pushed a book floating in mid-air and slotted it into the bookshelf. It was quite a narrow gap, but the book slid in slowly, precisely. It was a strange feeling.
If the me from before the divine fever had seen this, he would have dismissed it as a miracle... But the me of now knows. This is truly nothing.
You know how when you move your hands and feet in water, the ripples travel far? My magic is similar to that. For now, I have decided to call these currents.
You grab a book and make it realize it is in the sea. It might sound strange, but it is simple. Since I am in the sea, when I grab the book, it too comes to recognize that it is in the sea.
Then, this thing floats. Now, if I create a current for it to ride on, it slowly moves forward. It will fall eventually, but slower than it would outside the water.
Before and after knowing that the world is, in fact, inside an ocean. The difference from just knowing that one fact is this immense. The problem is this.
"How strong is this?"
I let out a groan as I scanned the roughly 100 books floating in the air. They were all hovering calmly around my waist. It was not particularly difficult.
As long as I do not lose consciousness, I feel like I could maintain this for hours. Perhaps I could maintain it even if I did. No, I do not even know if I am using any strength.
"Hmm..."
After pondering for a moment, I placed my foot on one of the books. Thump, as soon as I put a little weight on it, it slammed straight to the floor. It seemed it could not bear my body weight.
Just what level is this? Does this mean I am a magical genius of the century? Or is this actually something any mage can do, and I am just making a fuss over nothing because I do not know any other mages?
I scoured the orphanage’s library as if searching for lice, but everything related to magic was either a fairytale or not much better, so I could not find any proper information.
I might find out if I were to sneak into the Imperial Library and read books on magic, but that place is only accessible to nobles, so I cannot go. The best thing to do would be to just ignore it and carry on with my life.
However, I do not think of mages as humans who have fallen into the sea for no reason.
[~~~ 222 ~22 ~~~!]
Ever since I suffered the divine fever, I have been seeing a strange black shape. Sometimes, it even speaks to me. If you can call making laughing sounds and circling around me ‘speaking’.
I call these deep sea fish. Because their movements, to anyone’s eyes, were clearly that of a swimming fish.
‘…Though they don't seem like ordinary fish.’
Long, sharp teeth with a palpable presence even as a silhouette. A grotesque body. When the day comes that these creatures discover me…
I do not think anything good will happen. What’s more, sometimes when the ocean currents surge, I stumble in thin air. I am not joking.
If this gets any worse, I feel like I might just suddenly fly up into the sky while walking. The result of that, no matter how you look at it, would be instant death. How do mages resolve situations like this?
I do not know. Will a kind noble miraculously appear and teach me the things a novice mage should do? No. Then what am I to do?
"Sigh..."
I must either find a way to seal my magic for life, or at least find a way to escape this situation. If there is no book in this small orphanage library that describes such a method— I have to go to another library. It took only an instant to form a plan.
I returned to the dormitory, took out the piggy bank I had kept deep inside my bed, and with tears in my eyes, smashed it.
Clang!
The other children from the orphanage who saw this jumped back, horrified.
"J-Jern! What are you doing right now!"
"Jern has gone mad! He broke his piggy bank!"
The director had given these piggy banks to all the children, telling us to save even a little, even a tenth of our money, for the day we would become independent. If you break this, you have to study in solitary confinement for at least three days, unable to even play.
Honestly, for me, this was nothing but a benefit, but the problem was that my savings were the highest in the orphanage's history. I never found a reason to spend money, so I had saved every bit of my allowance without fail.
Even though the amount was small, I had been saving for five years since I started receiving an allowance, so it had become a large sum. It was like a marshmallow saved for a future day, but I am adrift alone in the open sea. This is no time to be picky about my means and methods.
"I am just stepping out for a bit, so tell them that."
I stuffed the money into a leather pouch and went straight to Ms. Annelin's clothing shop. Ms. Annelin runs a small clothing shop nearby and is an excellent fashion designer who was once said to have made quite a name for herself in the capital.
In my past life and this one, I have rarely spent money on clothes, but she volunteers to mend the orphanage children's clothes for free, so I was greatly in her debt. She is such a kind person that when I opened the shop door and entered, she welcomed me with a bright smile.
"Oh my, isn't it Jern? It looks like your sleeve is torn again."
"No, I came to buy clothes."
"Clothes? It is true you are at a growing age... but did we not just tailor them for you a month ago?"
"Not like that, I mean real clothes."
I stood on my tiptoes and placed the leather pouch, thick with money, on the counter. Ms. Annelin opened the pouch slightly, then, startled, waved her hands.
"Jern, you seem to have a small misunderstanding. You do not need this much money to buy clothes. If you broke your piggy bank, I can speak to the director for you, so do not worry..."
"That is alright. Can you make me a set of clothes like the ones nobles wear? If it is not enough, I will give you more when I get my allowance later."
"Hmm...?"
Ms. Annelin wore a puzzled expression for a moment, then soon put on the warm expression she used when looking at children his age. Well, it seemed she saw it as a childish whim of wanting to be a noble.
"If that is the case, I have just the thing. Wait a moment."
Ms. Annelin went into the storage room for a moment and soon brought back a slightly old-fashioned outfit. Even I, who knew nothing about clothes, could tell it was a well-made set woven from white and blue. Though it was a bit dusty.
"This is an outfit I once poured my heart and soul into making. It was returned for the absurd reason that the color of the day was not blue, so no one has worn it..."
Seeing that absurd reason, it seemed it really was an outfit made for a noble.
"How much is it?"
"It was just rotting away in the storage room anyway, so I do not need money, but let us make a promise instead, you and I." "A promise...?"
"Yes. From now on, before you break your piggy bank, you must! consult with me, and we will find another way. Can you promise me that?"
"Uh... Yes."
Money saved. Sweet.
"Then wait just a moment. I will touch up the faded parts a little..."
She patted the clothes with some strange machine to get the dust out, and after applying a transparent liquid, the clothes looked completely new. Dressed in the clothes and beret, I spun once in front of the mirror. I looked quite like a noble.
Ms. Annelin looked at me and repeatedly praised how cute I was.
"Oh, what should I do! You look just like a little angel."
"Thank you..."
After that, I had to put up with the lady's chatter for over thirty minutes, but in return, the money I had saved for five years was spared, so it was a gain. After leaving the clothing shop, I washed my face and tidied my hair at a nearby well, then took a carriage with the money I had saved.
I had originally planned to walk for over two hours. The destination was the center of the capital. The orphanage is also in the capital, but it is on the outskirts, so even by carriage, it takes over thirty minutes to barely reach the center.
When I got off the carriage, the massive cathedral piercing the sky, which had only been a blur from the orphanage, the countless people, and the bustling streets all came into view at once. My head spun from the sheer amount of information, but I knew the way from a field trip I had taken once.
I immediately headed for the library. It was not far, and I soon arrived at a curved building so enormous that it blocked the sun, a scale that was overwhelming even by my standards, who had seen the great structures of Earth.
In front, some guards were chatting idly, but upon seeing me approach, they glanced at each other and crossed their spears.
"Ah, wait a moment. May I ask who you are?"
My mouth went dry. I felt that if I opened it, a pathetic, tension-filled voice would come out. So I said nothing.
Instead, I feigned an annoyed expression and gestured with my finger for them to move the spears. At the same time, I touched the currents. It was my first time using magic on another person, so I was worried if it would work, but— Swish.
The spears parted naturally, and the guards, though tilting their heads in confusion, cleared the path.
"Uh... there was no one scheduled to visit today..."
"Because I did not say. Can I go in?"
"Yes, please go ahead."
The guards, while looking puzzled, seemed to have judged that since I used magic, I must be a noble, and opened the way. Once inside the library, I had a moment to clutch my trembling heart. Phew, it worked.
I had even been scouting an escape route in case it did not work. Of course, just getting in was not the end of it. The inside, as befitting a library, was filled only with towering stacks of books, and it seemed there were almost no people, as I could not even hear footsteps.
Looking at the bookshelves that soared ten times my height, I could only sigh. If I tried to find the book I wanted by myself here, it would probably take a year. I needed a librarian.
As I scurried towards the center with my small legs, I saw a woman sitting at a desk that looked like an information counter, languidly reading a book. Casual attire, long white hair reaching her waist, black eyes, a somewhat weary-looking face, and... long ears. An elf, the first non-human I had ever seen.
Even the simple act of turning a page with her finger was different from an ordinary person, and I swallowed hard at the aura she gave off, which seemed to forbid anyone from even speaking to her. But what must be done, must be done. I stepped forward and opened my mouth.
"Excuse me—" ..?
As I spoke, the elf's eyes, which had been fixed on her book, turned to me.
"Are you perhaps the... librarian?"
It was a situation where I should have spoken down to her, but the elf's aura did not permit it. The elf stared at me for a moment, scrutinizing me. Is she not the librarian?
Did I guess wrong? Am I screwed? Just as my thoughts reached that point, the elf closed her book and bowed her head.
"My apologies."
"Pardon?"
"I was told no one was visiting today, so I committed a discourtesy. My name is Dersia Aspandil."
The elf curtsied with an expressionless face, lifting the hem of her skirt.
"How may I help you?"
"W-well..."
Things were going well. I thought that would be the end of it— But for some reason, looking at the librarian's unchanging expression, I felt my heart drop with a sense of dread as I slowly opened my mouth...