Guild

Magic Guild.

That name was pretty much self-descriptive. I heard about it back when I was at the Sage’s place.

“You won’t be able to easily apply to the Guild,” Jarred had explained to me, “but if you’re looking to further your abilities, you might want to go there. Pretty much every mage in this kingdom belongs to the Guild one way or another. I’m the exception.”

In my quest to arm myself with as many spells as possible, that was sure to be a useful stop.

“Does that include Mana, too?” I found myself wondering.

Mana the Witch.

Although this was a name we heard quite early into our journey—in fact, the literal moment before we set out—she was still a personage wrapped in mystery.

She had apparently summoned us, got kidnapped by One, sent to Two, and then dispatched back to the capital. No one really knew anything about her. Apparently not even the Sage.

“I have never heard her name mentioned in my time at the Guild, anyhow,” he said. “I did hear about some witch supposedly imprisoned in Triccius, though. All sorts of rumors come through the grapevine.”

“Like what?”

“Some say she’s Three’s daughter, sealed because she was too powerful, others claim she is imprisoned because she is immortal and cannot be killed… but I personally think it’s nonsense.” He waved a hand. “I say just forget about her and focus on your immediate goals.”

—I agreed with him, so at present, my two companions and I found ourselves in front of the Guild headquarters.

Unlike the residential buildings, this one—located not far from the castle, incidentally—had a slightly different architecture. It had an especially pointy roof with some large symbol on the front. Three crossed wands, probably indicative of magic.

I suppose this Magic Guild was Three’s way of regulating the usage of magic or something? Anyway, it was hopefully going to become a valuable resource for me.

We entered into a spacious lobby with a floor that sparkled. Literally. The floor itself seemed to emit very faint white light that gave the space an almost modern feeling despite the fact it was mostly made of plain wood.

The clerk at the nearest desk immediately eyed us suspiciously. I had to count on Saga for this part, unfortunately.

The girl herself was as taciturn as ever and was clearly unwilling to serve as our party’s face, but Kai and I couldn’t speak to anyone while disguised.

“Hah… this is the Magic Guild, right?” she asked, sounding completely disinterested.

The clerk, a woman in her late twenties or so, frowned. “It is. However, we do not accept just any riffraff from the street.” Well, from the hand-me-down dresses (ugh) we were all wearing, it wasn’t hard to sniff out that aspect about us. Perhaps she even realized we were new to this city. “It costs money, for one.”

Saga glanced at me. “My friend Cecilia—” she said, completely poker-faced as I cringed on the inside— “has some talent in magic. Can’t you make an exception?”

Feeling the clerk’s gaze focus on me, I lowered my own. I could just hope she wouldn’t realize the true reason for my embarrassment.

“She is very shy, so don’t worry about her being… like that,” Saga added.

Despite the fact she was as emotionless as always, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Saga was actually enjoying this. Crazy girl.

“Really?” The clerk snorted. “Talent in magic? From that poor little thing?”

Hey! I wasn’t little, even if Kai was a head taller than me.

“Hah, I’ll let you in on something else… she’s actually the apprentice of the Sage Jarred.”

This actually seemed to make the clerk hesitate. It was a line given to me by Jarred himself, so we decided to use it here—he claimed to have some connections in the Guild, though he advised me not to push it too much because it could backfire. Apparently along with the connections there was also some bad blood.

“Jarred, that old codger? I thought he wasn’t taking any disciples…”

Before Saga could say anything, however, a nearby door opened and a group of several fancily-dressed women passed by. I shrank again as they focused their gaze on us.

“What’s going on here?” asked one of them, a husky-voiced woman. I tried not looking in her direction, but I saw she was long-haired and wore some sort of cape—perhaps that indicated some status?

“Guild Matron,” the clerk said, confirming my suspicions, “there seems to be a, uh, very shy magician here who had been tutored by Sage Jarred himself. She is apparently seeking membership.”

“What? Truly?” she said, stepping closer to me. I could feel her gaze bearing down on me.

Since there were so few men in this world, would it make it harder or easier for her to realize I was one? I didn’t know. Maybe this whole thing was a bad idea…

“Hmm. Doesn’t look impressive, though I suppose appearances can be misleading.”

“Matron, will you really take a completely unknown like that…?”

“Take? Whoever said anything about that?” barked the woman. “That is for the Guild Master to decide, upon being presented with a formal application. I am rather curious, though; Jarred swore he would never take any disciples. Not even a single wife. Hmm… girl. How about watching the exhibition?”

I perked up, then immediately lowered my head again. But that was exactly the kind of opportunity we were looking for. I gave a meaningful side glance to my companions.

“Is that something we can watch?” asked Saga.

“Are you new around here?” asked the Matron.

“Yes,” confirmed Saga.

“Very well. The exhibition is open to anyone and everyone. You have arrived at a very opportune time.” She kept walking to the door, passing by us. “We will not accept just anyone into our ranks. But perhaps seeing us in action will give that wallflower the motivation to try for real—or show her that it really is impossible.” She and her entourage then left the building.

Saga immediately turned to the clerk again. “…Where’s that exhibition?”

“The Triccius Garden, to the south of the palace,” she answered. “Is your friend fine? She looks rather faint…”

I gave a brief nod, trying to mask my sigh of relief—as well as my budding excitement. My complexion probably was rather bad after that stressful situation.

But now we were awarded the perfect opportunity.

Naturally, I never expected to be able to be admitted into the Guild proper—the logistics behind doing that while still hiding my identity would be impossible.

Instead, they gave us a great gift without their knowing. If we really were going to watch a so-called magic exhibition, I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Learning some more spells right under Three’s nose? Yes please.