Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

Ciel could not believe her eyes.

“I’ll be back in the evening. Though I might not return, so don’t wait for me.”

“…Please wait a moment.”

“Hmm?”

Dersia, who was just about to open the door and leave, looked at Ciel with a questioning gaze.

“Did I have something left to do? I don’t believe I did.”

“That’s true, but still…”

Ciel trailed off, her eyes scanning over Dersia’s attire.

Clothes made of dark blue silk, mixed with lace of unknown personal taste, as if to express her character.

A decent outfit for going out. Yes, an outfit for going out.

‘She’s going out, on her own?’

It was unthinkable. Even if the heavens collapsed, unless directly forced, she would stay locked in her room, either meditating or training Magic.

Ciel twisted her sentence as much as possible, using the seasoned tact of a head maid, to express something that would normally be rude no matter how it was said.

“To be honest, I thought your only close companion was the mold growing in that corner over there. There shouldn’t be anyone for you to meet, so where exactly are you going?” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“That’s quite the insult. I’m merely going to the library.”

“Didn’t you say you’ve read every book in the nearby libraries?”

“History is the accumulation of records. Books are things that naturally increase over time.”

“I believe things that could capture your interest are exceedingly rare.”

“Haa…”

At this point, even Dersia recognized from Ciel’s anxious gaze that she needed to spare some time, and took off her shoes.

Relieving the worries of her loyal head maid was a part of a master’s duty, after all.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Ciel thought for just three seconds and asked the most important question.

“Is it a man?”

“?”

“No, I phrased that poorly. Who are you meeting?”

“Is there a need for you to know? Wasn’t it you who told me to go out and meet someone in the first place?”

“That’s because your social skills are extremely lacking, Sia-nim. I just thought, perhaps, you’re being deceived by someone.”

“…It’s just that I found something… interesting. It’s merely an extension of the Path of Magic.”

As she said this, Dersia twisted the corner of her mouth.

A mix of slight anticipation, curiosity, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge that bordered on unpleasant.

Ciel was convinced.

‘It’s a man.’

Of course, she didn’t actually say that out loud. Instead, she asked with a concerned expression.

“I see. But seeing that you meet this person every day, they must be quite interesting or rather, quite the intriguing subject.”

“No.”

Dersia shook her head.

“I don’t meet him every day. He hasn’t been coming recently. I just go and read at the library, waiting for him.”

“…!”

That was unexpected. Ciel gasped silently.

Dersia Aspandil, clinging onto someone?

It was unimaginable. Staggering, Ciel carefully asked so as not to upset her master.

“Even so, if there’s no guarantee…”

“There is a guarantee.”

Dersia replied as she looked toward the door, her tone filled with certainty.

“He’ll come find me soon enough.”

*

“What… is he using the roulette like a lottery?”

“Does he have money rotting away? Well, I guess he does…”

At the sudden all-in, the dealer glanced around nervously. Not at us, upwards.

They must be receiving some kind of signal from the second floor.

We didn’t bother to look back or do anything suspicious.

I just told the Director to go for it.

“Spin it already.”

“Y… yes, understood!”

Perhaps they had gotten the go-ahead, as the dealer spun the roulette with slightly trembling hands.

Even under normal conditions, the odds were only 1 in 36.

But of course, they must’ve rigged it to avoid even that chance.

As expected, the ball rolled toward another number as if drawn by something.

‘Are they using something like a magnet?’

I’m not exactly sure. Not that it matters. What’s important is that the inside of the ball was filled with water.

And I never learned water-element Magic.

Because I had something far more overwhelming in its place.

-Clack.

The ball approached number 21 and stuck to it, spinning in sync with the roulette.

“…”

“…”

The gambling hall went silent.

“It landed?”

“…We won?”

“Wait, what is-”

“Lucky, huh? I’ll be taking the chips.”

I moved faster than anyone else.

First, I stuffed all the chips into the sack I had prepared in advance.

Using a bit of Magic here and there to speed things up as much as possible.

Winning like this so easily is only the beginning. The hardest part starts now.

“Master, go exchange the chips.”

“Ah, got it.”

I whispered to the Director and sent him to the exchange counter.

They won’t do it right away, so buying time is up to me.

“…It’s a scam!”

Suddenly, a strange voice came from the second floor.

A bald man in a uniform, his scalp red with rage, came stomping down the stairs, pointed his finger at me, and shouted.

“What did you do to the machine, you little brat?!”

“…?”

Rather than angry, I was more confused as I looked at the dealer.

First of all, the one who touched the roulette machine was that guy. I didn’t even lay a finger on it.

And even if they suspected tampering, shouldn’t they be yelling at my master, the Director, and not at me?

With a puzzled expression and tilting my head like an innocent child, I asked,

“Why are you upset? Is there some sort of problem…”

“Problem? This fucking scammer’s even acting innocent now.”

No longer even trying to hide his true colors, he growled at me. I asked him again,

“You said it was a scam. Can you explain what kind of tampering we supposedly did?”

“Of course, you-…!”

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

Of course not. We didn’t actually touch the roulette. The dealer spun it, and the dealer picked the result.

Even the world’s greatest gambler couldn’t rig a roulette without touching it, unless they’d learned Magic.

Naturally, with nothing to say, the bald man could only glare at me with blazing eyes.

I intentionally raised my voice so those around could hear.

“I do not understand why you are doing this…? You people prepared everything, and you were the ones who spun the wheel, weren’t you? All we did was place a bet and win. To be accused of scamming, it’s completely unfair.”

“Yeah, seriously, what scam? I was surprised too, but maybe they just got lucky?”

“How would you even rig something like that? Unless they bribed the dealer.”

“…Tch.”

Watching the crowd’s reaction, the bald man clenched his teeth and fists, then forcibly twisted the corner of his mouth into a smile.

He must’ve realized that if he pushed this any further, he might lose all the suckers he’d worked so hard to set up.

Still, he had enough pride left to whisper a hateful threat before backing off.

“…See you later.”

See what? I hope I never have to see your face again.

But seriously, why is this guy going off on me and leaving the Director, who’s at the exchange counter, alone?

“…”

It could be as simple as picking on the weak-looking one-

But something about this feels off.

I activated Sensory Manipulation and tracked his movements.

He went back up to the second floor, but that’s fine. My condition today is strangely good, so I could reach him.

No, it wasn’t just “reaching” him.

‘…What is this?’

I hadn’t noticed it rising little by little until now, but the range and precision were improving at a terrifying rate.

Not long after activating Sensory Manipulation, I could grasp the entire flow of the gambling hall as if I were watching it from the side.

It was unbelievable. I saw the dice game happening several meters away and could even sense the dice rolling inside the bowl.

It sounded crazy, but

‘3, 6, 2.’

“The result is… 3! 6! 2! Congratulations, Customer #3 has won!”

“Hell yeah! This is it, this is what I’m talking about!!”

I even guessed it right.

Surprised, I focused on the second floor. Just then, the bald guy pulled something out of his pocket, an artifact, and issued a command.

Of course, I couldn’t hear the sound. But I could read some of his lip movements.

“Nature, body, Magic, use. Confirmed. Prepare, capture, thoroughly…”

…

No way… don’t tell me this bastard…?

The conversation meant only one thing. I felt a chill run down my spine as I approached the Director.

The Director was standing there with a slightly dazed expression, holding a sack full of silver coins.

“Master no, Director.”

“Ah, well. Ahem-”

“Enough acting. That amount of money is more than enough, so we need to get out of here right now.”

“…Huh? What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain the details later.”

That bald bastard.

He knew I was a Wizard.

Ah. That’s why he came to me and not the Director. If something had been done, he must have known it was me, the Wizard, who did it.

It didn’t seem like he knew I could actually use Magic. Maybe filling the roulette ball with seawater was their safeguard.

…No, now wasn’t the time for analysis.

That guy’s target was me. If I got caught, it wouldn’t end well.

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Just as I was approaching the exit, the bald man had already come downstairs and stood in the way, scowling at the Director.

“I… I’m trying to leave. Is there a problem?”

The Director spoke with a bit of a tremble but still firmly, but it wasn’t going to work.

“Yes. It seems you haven’t collected all your winnings yet. We’re out of cash, so please wait just a moment. It won’t take long.”

“No, we need to leave right now.”

“That won’t be possible.”

The bald man grinned wickedly.

At the same time, the employees began subtly surrounding us.

It was my turn to step up.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath.

Until now, my ocean current hadn’t worked well on humans. At best, it affected their clothes a little.

Today was different.

The fact that I was a Wizard was already exposed, though I didn’t know how. But with my condition unbelievably good today-

“I’m sorry, but we really have something urgent.”

I stepped forward and made eye contact with the bald man.

“Would you kindly let us through?”

“Ha…”

He let out a scoffing laugh, as if this was ridiculous, and that was my cue.

-Wuudududuk!

I activated the current in all directions as powerfully as possible. With invisible hands of water, I grasped his entire body.

“…!”

The bald man opened his mouth in shock at the sudden pressure, but I even shut that for him.

After that, he only trembled slightly, showing no further movement.

No, he couldn’t move.

“…Krain nim?”

So his name was Krain?

The manager, puzzled, addressed the now completely frozen Krain, and I quickly added,

“Please.”

With confused eyes that showed he didn’t understand what was happening, Krain slowly nodded.

I made him do that.

“Kr… Krain nim?!”

But I didn’t stop there.

Still trembling, Krain slowly raised his hand and pointed toward the door, as if he were seeing us off.

Still without saying a single word.

“Ah, thank you.”

Smiling kindly, I expressed my gratitude and walked out of the gambling hall with the bewildered Director.

The employees sensed something was off, but since it was Krain’s order, they let us go.

The moment we stepped outside, I could feel my heart pounding like crazy.

“…This is great.”

I didn’t really think it would work.

It went far more perfectly than I’d imagined.

I clenched and unclenched my right hand, feeling a tingling omnipotence boiling in my brain.

Close to invincible.

“Je-Jern? What’s going on?”

I answered firmly.

“We’re fucked. We need to run. Fast.”

I could still maintain the water pressure for now, but it wouldn’t last much longer.

The Director gasped and covered his mouth.

“Oh no… Jern!”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ve already mapped out our escape route…”

“Where did you learn such a terrible word?! That’s a really bad word, don’t ever say it again.”

“…”

Saying something like that in this situation is just… how should I put it.

So very typical of the Director.

*

Running through the city alleys with the Director, I was starting to really feel the urgency of the situation.

My tide sense expanded had widened to hundreds of meters. It was useful for now, but honestly, it was terrifying.

‘…No matter how I look at it, this isn’t normal.’

There’s something going on. Definitely.

I didn’t want to use it so recklessly, but the situation wasn’t exactly comfortable either.

It had already been thirty minutes, and they showed no sign of giving up.

“Haah, haah… Jern, are we almost there?”

“This is far enough. We’re safe now.”

I handed the pouch of silver coins to the Director and pointed toward another alley.

“If you go straight this way, you’ll reach the main street. Once you’re there, drop the disguise and head back to the Orphanage.”

“…What about you?”

“Oh, I have someone I need to meet. Don’t worry too much.”

The Director would only get in the way.

“You did a great job today. Go get some rest and take care of the debt first. I’ll head out now.”

“Ah, Jern…!”

Listening to the Director’s voice, I turned into another alley, then another.

They were going to follow me to the end if I didn’t finish this properly. I had to shake them off here.

What a bunch of annoying bastards.

I reached the end of a dark alley with no escape routes and began playing with the ocean current. Soon, a shout rang out.

“There he is! We found him!”

“What? Where, where?!”

Krain, face flushed red to the very top of his bald head, stood there with a bunch of thugs holding swords behind him.

I greeted them with a mocking smirk.

“Nice to see you. What’s with the crowd just for one kid? Scary.”

“You son of a bitch, how dare you humiliate me!”

Getting completely immobilized by water pressure must’ve been a huge blow to his pride. He looked like he wanted to kill me on the spot, and I calmly asked,

“Let me ask one thing. How did you know I’m a Wizard? I didn’t use anything obvious.”

“…What?”

Krain looked dumbfounded and spat on the ground.

“A damn brat who doesn’t even recognize traces of the Astral Wheel is supposed to be part of the Crimson Circle? I don’t care if you just borrowed the name, this is absurd.”

“Crimson what?”

“Don’t play dumb. At your age, with that kind of skill… there’s no way you’re not one of those Crimson bastards.”

Hmm.

I’m not sure who he’s confusing me with, but I got the keywords: Crimson Circle and Astral Wheel.

I’ll look into them later. I got all the intel I needed, so I waved my hand.

“Alright, time to go. If you leave now, I won’t chase you.”

“This little shit’s lost his mind. You got lucky with one sneak attack, and now you think you’re untouchable? You think we came after you without a plan?”

Krain burst into laughter and pulled out a strange bottle along with his sword, throwing it on the ground.

-Clatter!

It must’ve been made of glass, as it shattered instantly, releasing a blue smoke.

“Go ahead and try using that fancy Magic of yours, you brat.”

At his strange confidence, I tried raising a current.

It worked just fine.

“…”

Just in case, I also tried wind Magic, but that didn’t budge at all.

Startled, I asked,

“Wow, what is this? I can’t activate anything.”

“It’s a trap meant to catch third-rate nature-types like you. What’s wrong? Without your precious Magic, you’re helpless?”

Krain, clearly convinced of his victory, spewed mocking insults laced with ridicule.

“You want information, right? Then let me tell you your pathetic fate. A nature-type product like you will become a stud horse, living your whole life doing nothing but mating. Dozens of times a day, you’ll have to impregnate women who crave the blood of Magic.”

“…What?”

“Don’t worry too much. You won’t die. You’ll be kept in good health by a personal physician and fed only the best, so you’ll live a long life, trapped forever, of course…”

Hmm.

Maybe I should just let them capture me without using Magic.

I was seriously considering it when Krain smirked.

“Of course, we’ll have to cut off your arms and legs so you don’t escape.”

“You should’ve led with that…”

And I actually considered it, damn it.

With a sigh, I reached out and touched the current.

Fighting against over a dozen grown men wasn’t something I was confident about. Realistically, it was smarter to avoid it. I could’ve escaped too.

But, euphoria was flooding through my entire body, and I ended up making a slightly reckless decision.

How far could I go in this current state?

I wanted to find out.

“I brought coagulants and bandages too, so just stay- urk!”

Krain didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Thud-! He was hurled into a nearby wall, creating cracks before slumping unconscious to the ground.

“…K-Krain nim!”

It was simple. I grabbed him with the current and threw him.

That alone caused enough force to fracture the wall.

As I scratched my head wondering how much I needed to hold back, his loyal underlings, brimming with rage, came charging at me with swords.

“You learned combat Magic too, right?!”

“Just stab him all at once, it’s nothing!”

It was definitely something.

“Huh, wha…? I can’t get close…”

“What are you doing? I’m right here.”

Their blades didn’t reach me.

Even though I was just standing still, they slowed down long before making contact and bounced off.

I had a powerful current flowing around my body. At least strong enough that the muscles of an adult man couldn’t overcome it.

“…Then how about this!”

A man with a spear shouted as he thrust forward.

Even though it couldn’t pierce through the raging flow, I still bothered to take it from him.

“Eh.”

In an instant, the thug’s spear was snatched away, and he just stood there dumbfounded, watching the weapon spin midair.

Like twirling a pen back in school, I spun it a few times in the air, then threw it down.

Thud! It stuck deep into the ground.

“…”

“Anyone else want to try?”

“Ugh…”

Apparently, none of them had the loyalty to risk their lives for this. They all hesitated, then grabbed Krain and ran off.

“This is fun.”

I smirked and picked up a chunk of broken wall, juggling it using the current.

How could I get this strong without really doing anything?

At this level, maybe… just maybe, I might actually see some hope.

‘Hope… from what?’

A strange question.

Obviously, from this Deep Sea.

From this Deep Sea, by using the power of the Deep Sea…

-Drip. Drip.

“…Huh?”

I felt the world darken.

As if a sudden eclipse had come, everything was turning black and shadowed.

Like I was seeing through a tinted lens.

“…”

I carefully touched my face.

Something hot and wet ran from the corners of my eyes.

When I looked at my hand, it was soaked in a deep, dark red liquid.

-Trrrrickle, blood-tears flowed without stopping.

“Ah…”

The sense of omnipotence had long since vanished.

Instead, another sensation took over. My arm felt heavy.

…No, not just heavy.

Every time I moved, I felt a subtle resistance.

Like I was underwater.

I am sorry to the Director, but-

“…Am I screwed?”

It looked like the time limit had finally arrived.