Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

Ren’s death didn’t change anything.

The Empire continued on, the Fallen were captured, and I remained powerless.

All I could do was guide Aliren to the place where Ren was buried.

“Thank you for everything, from beginning to end.”

Aliren said that, but I couldn’t understand what exactly she was grateful for.

I watched her retreating figure for a moment, then turned toward the carriage.

Brimdal was waiting with his arms crossed. I hadn’t asked him to come.

“Do you regret interfering?”

“No.”

“Hmm.”

We locked eyes for a moment.

The Princess had been right. Even if I could go back to the past, I didn’t think I would make a different choice.

“This isn’t the result you wanted, though.”

“No. But I did expect it.”

“Aren’t you sad?”

“A little.”

Brimdal looked down at my calm face, then muttered in disbelief.

“…I’m not sure why I even asked. Let’s go. With your talent, if you don’t want to die, you don’t have time to stand around.”

That’s right.

In the end, all I could do now was struggle to survive.

Even indulging in sentiment was a luxury.

Rather than focusing on bigger things, I had to train my Enhanced Mana Body so my body wouldn’t melt.

That was all I decided to think about.

“You, last time I saw you, seemed to have a rather unusual ability.”

“…Huh?”

It was a few days after I had been accepted as a disciple.

During a break, I was lying on the ground panting when he asked about the Abyss Realm.

“So… you can see things that are far away? Like some sort of psychic power?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m a Fallen, after all.”

“What else can you do?”

That came out of nowhere.

I hadn’t really paid much attention to the fact that I was a Fallen, so though I was slightly puzzled, I went ahead and listed all the abilities I had.

After hearing everything, Brimdal looked down at me with a thoughtful expression.

“Hmm…”

“What is it?”

“I think that could be useful.”

“Huh? Is that kind of ability necessary for Enhanced Mana Body training?”

“No, it’s needed for the knight curriculum.”

“I have absolutely no intention of becoming a knight, though.”

“You will need to. No matter how much it’s hidden, rumors that you’re my disciple will spread like wildfire. With that level of ability, people will be suspicious regardless. At the very least, you’ll have to keep up the appearance.”

Indeed, being Brimdal’s disciple yet having the worst talent in swordsmanship, and still sticking around, would inevitably raise questions.

But I didn’t have a shred of talent to even look like a knight. Brimdal had said so himself.

“If you think about it, that might actually be your talent as a knight.”

“What?”

I didn’t get it. As I stared blankly, he added more.

“You know, the thing about current sense and flow.”

“Isn’t that magic?”

“Wrong. It’s not magic, it’s your talent. Think carefully. A knight with long arms versus a knight with short arms. Who has the advantage?”

“Probably the one with long arms? They’d have a superior reach.”

“Right. Then a knight with long arms has a better talent, wouldn’t they? Don’t overthink it.”

So what Brimdal meant was this.

My ability to control flow or use current sense was, in the end, not much different from having longer arms or a larger body.

It almost made sense… though it still sounded a bit like sophistry.

“I understand what you’re trying to say, but isn’t it a bit of a stretch? I can’t even use a sword properly.”

“Exactly. That’s why you don’t have to rely solely on swordsmanship.”

“…?”

“Do knights necessarily have to be good with swords?”

“Yes.”

That was obvious. Brimdal agreed.

“That’s true. Still, what can you do? You can’t shatter it with a hammer or melt it with heat.”

Brimdal shrugged his shoulders as he said that.

“You’ll just have to grind it down. As long as you look the part of a knight, it’ll be fine, so don’t worry too much.”

Now that I thought about it, he was right. I just had to look like a knight.

It wasn’t even a high bar. If that was all, then fine.

We studied how to imitate a knight using Abyssal Magic without much expectation.

“Then first, I need to know. With that ability called current sense, how far can you see?”

“I could barely see Brimdal-nim, and only caught glimpses of the knight named Hyeon-cheong.”

“Heh, I see. You must be confident then. So, how far did you see?”

“Huh? I just told you.”

“Right, right. Enough with the jokes.”

About six months later, we learned something new.

“The winner of the Youth Knights Tournament is, Brimdal’s disciple, Jern Aspandil!”

“…?”

The Abyss.

It is a world made for knights.

*

On a wide sandy field, under the watch of countless spectators.

A buzz-cut trainee pointed his sword at me.

“Today, I’ll defeat you.”

A boy around 15 years old, wearing silver armor and a determined expression.

I, at 11 years old, was a whole head shorter, wearing no armor and even holding a wooden sword.

It’s not that I was discriminated against for being an orphan.

It was simply that I recognized a handicap was needed, and everyone agreed.

To be precise, I didn’t trust myself to stop a real sword in the middle of a fight.

…How did it end up like this?

“Well, alright… good luck.”

I could tell just from the way he held his sword.

He’d honed himself. I trained hard too, but this guy had probably held a sword so long the handle was worn down from his toddler years.

The problem is this.

Current sense is way too overpowered.

-Peep!

“Haap!”

With the sound of the whistle signaling the start, the boy rushed at me.

From that very start, I could see every trajectory. Not a single movement escaped my notice.

No exaggeration, I could dodge with my eyes closed. From the shoulder rising, the waist twisting, the foot pressing down, every bit of information came through.

A flowing strike from above aiming for my face.

I intentionally reacted slowly.

-Clang!

“Ugh-”

Even though I perfectly deflected it, my arm tingled, but my opponent didn’t stop.

As if expecting the deflection, he pressed forward with a hand on the pommel.

…Right. I had seen him spread his palm and grip the pommel, so I had already taken a step back.

Whoosh! The thrust missed my forehead by just a few centimeters.

“Haaah!”

Slash. Slash. Slash again. Slash once more.

Dozens of strikes followed in an attempt to find an opening.

But I always saw them before the moves were completed and the strikes launched.

There was no need to react. The attacks were visible in the wind-up.

So I just kept dodging without countering, until suddenly, my opponent clenched his teeth and shouted.

“…Fight seriously!”

“Uh, huh?”

“To you, I must seem like nothing, right? Yeah, it’s probably true. A commoner like me must look ridiculous to someone like you, a wizard with overwhelming talent in swordsmanship!”

“But I’m a commoner orphan too.”

“But I spent three weeks preparing for this one day. I don’t care if I lose, but I want to be your opponent right here and now!”

“…”

It was unfair beyond belief.

Even if I could read all of my opponent’s sword strikes because my swordsmanship was so pitiful, all I could do was dodge.

Even if I knew what was coming, I would lose if we clashed. That’s how terrible my actual skill was.

So I just kept dodging, waiting for my opponent to tire and make a mistake, then I would pounce in a cheap move.

…It did kind of look like I was toying with him.

I couldn’t help it. I held the wooden sword in a serious well, serious-looking, stance.

“Alright. I’ll show you my true intent. Come at me.”

“…Fine. Got it!”

The trainee’s eyes blazed.

He charged with all his might, giving it everything he had.

I lightly tapped his foot with a current.

“Wh- Whoa?”

He immediately started to stumble.

An opening.

I rushed in during that gap and struck upward with my sword.

“…Not yet!”

His effort shone through.

Despite his broken posture, the trainee didn’t give up and mustered his strength to react.

…I really felt bad.

I used just a tiny bit of water pressure to stop his hand.

Close-range interference. That ended the match.

“No, what, is this…?”

-Thwack!

The wooden sword landed cleanly on the back of his neck.

Match over.

With the whistle signaling the end of the match, I sheathed my wooden sword.

Then I extended my hand to the trainee whose face was still covered in sand, looking dazed and not yet understanding what had just happened.

“Come on, get up. That was a good match.”

“Why did I fall? There weren’t any rocks… no, and at the end-”

“I won this time because of your mistake, but if we had clashed for real, the outcome might have been different. So next time, come with a focused mind. I’ll face you seriously from the beginning then.”

“…Y-yeah. Thanks.”

With that little flattery, the trainee’s expression shifted from self-blame to one of slight confusion and joy.

As I hurriedly exited the arena, I heard clapping and admiration from the knights who had been watching.

“To think someone can be both a wizard and a knight…I was skeptical but it’s really true.”

“They say his magical skills aren’t that impressive. Rumor has it he’s still only 1-Star.”

“So what? The fact that he’s both a wizard and a knight is already amazing.”

“That’s true…”

At this point, I wasn’t really moved by any of it.

After changing clothes back in the waiting room and stepping out, Brimdal was there waiting for me.

He wore a thoroughly sullen expression, looking clearly displeased.

I handed him the wooden sword and asked,

“Your disciple won. Why the sour face?”

“…Why.”

“Huh?”

“Why… why is your talent like this…!”

“…”

Here we go again.

Lately, he did this after every match. I furrowed my brow and headed toward the carriage.

“What can I do if I don’t have it? I can’t make it appear.”

“Then you shouldn’t have had that ability to begin with! How can someone possess a skill every knight longs and dreams for, and still have such pathetic physical abilities!”

“To be exact, it’s the cost of that power.”

The reason I’m so hopelessly untalented as a knight is, of course, partly due to my own lack, but mostly due to the burden.

Even though I’m used to it now, I still feel like I’m cutting through a current with every step. The water pressure is gradually tightening around my body, and I meet resistance every time I swing something.

If I think of it as the cost of current sense, then it can’t be helped.

But Brimdal, still unconvinced, trembled with fury and glared at me with bloodshot eyes.

“To think… someone would possess a power so great they’d sell their soul for it, and still be a wizard, it makes my blood boil…”

“Is it really that serious?”

“Of course it is. Do you still not understand what it means to have captured Hyeon-cheong’s movements? If you’re in your right mind, no knight below his level will even graze your sleeve!”

“Same goes for me though.”

I sat in the back of the carriage and opened a swordsmanship manual.

The way I reached this level was, really, just through reading.

Twisting your foot backward equals a charge, pulling your wrist equals a thrust.

Starting from such simple motions, I stuffed my head with advanced muscular movements, footwork, sword techniques. As long as it’s a move I know, it becomes a form of future prediction.

Just reading a book improves my dodging. If I had to describe it, it feels like being the protagonist in a poorly coded RPG.

“This is all just a trick anyway. Calm down.”

“…Fine.”

“I can take a break for a while now, right?”

“I told you clearly. You won’t have to step forward as a knight for at least a month. I planned to do a few matches and pull out, but now they keep calling you back…”

Well, it does help. That’s why I keep reading and studying.

Overwhelming dodging in knightly combat can’t possibly be useless. And current sense, in the end, unlike flow or water pressure, leaves no trace when used, so no matter how much I rely on it, no one will figure it out.

Even so, my real enemies are wizards. The Crimson Circle.

Pretending to be a knight serves no purpose other than staying as Brimdal’s disciple to learn Enhanced Mana Body, unless it actually helps in fighting them.

The problem is, it’s working too well.

“Should I maybe start losing from the next match? Don’t you think I’m doing a little too well?”

“That might be for the best. If they’re even trying to set you up for marriage, it’s better to tone things down a bit.”

“…Huh?”

I asked, puzzled.

“Marriage? For me? I’m eleven years old.”

“? Engagements usually happen around that age, don’t they?”

Brimdal responded like I was the one saying something strange.

Sometimes, in moments like these, I realize how different the norms of this world are. I frowned and asked,

“From who?”

“Several nobles. They’re probably stuck in the back of the carriages. Take a look.”

I searched between the books and found a bundle of letters. I was shocked to find there were four of them, and even more shocked to see that every one of them bore the seal of a noble house.

“Are these people crazy? I’m an orphan.”

“And also my disciple, an apprentice of the Black Magic Tower, an outstanding student, and under the patronage of that Alletus. A pit like being an orphan gets filled up when you pile on that much.”

“Still, that’s a bit much.”

“More nobles are starting to learn your name. Don’t think you can keep that unknown orphan status for much longer. You’re already turning into a hot topic.”

“Hmm…”

After a brief moment of thought, I asked about a possibility that came to mind.

“If I got completely crushed in the next match and started bawling, begging for mercy.”

“Don’t.”

“…Yes.”

Even though I was being highly praised, I didn’t feel particularly happy about it.

I was making progress.

The training for Enhanced Mana Body had reached a level where I was told I had entered a stable phase. Not that I could afford to slow down my growth.

The physical training was helping me endure the burden.

The pearl medicine I received from the Crimson Circle still had plenty left. As long as it remained, I didn’t have to worry about dying from the burden.

But…

I couldn’t seem to take that one decisive step forward.

It just felt like all I was doing was surviving one day at a time.

Is this really the best I can do? I sighed and sorted through the letters, then noticed a rather unusual seal.

What is this?

Just as I was about to open it, Brimdal suddenly asked in a low voice,

“By the way, it’s strange. Why are they sending your marriage proposals to me?”

“Aren’t you my guardian right now?”

“I don’t recall agreeing to that. I mean, I know you grew up without parents, but didn’t you say you already had a mentor? Why aren’t they sending it to that person?”

“Ah, well…”

How was I supposed to explain this without mentioning Dersia?

As I was struggling to come up with an answer.

Thump, thump, thump!

Someone knocked on the carriage door before departure.

When I lowered the carriage window, I saw a familiar face.

It was the butler I had seen at Alletus’s mansion.

His name was…

“Hello, Ruhanin… right?”

“It’s an honor that the benefactor remembers me.”

Ruhanin, with his gray-haired hair, was drenched in sweat, clearly having run all the way here.

Something felt off. I asked Brimdal for permission and stepped out of the carriage.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ve come because there’s something I must inform you of. It would be best if you refrained from visiting the mansion for a while.”

“…What?”

His expression was so serious, I felt uneasy. Did someone find out about that time Elysia and I started a fire in the kitchen during a lesson?

But the words that came from Ruhanin’s clenched jaw were something I couldn’t have imagined.

“…The lord has been indicted for treason. If you go to the mansion now, you’ll be in danger as well, benefactor.”