3-star (1)
The Great Mage Adelbert, who was considered the godfather of the Discipline School of the Noble Society, comprehensively considered factors such as scale and range, duration, the precision of spells, and the power of their effects when distinguishing the star ranks of magic.
Thus, the magic ranks known to the world existed up to 6-star, but among worldly mages, the existence of an even higher rank, 7-star, was often talked about.
This was because in Adelbert's notes, he revealed that when he devised the star ranks of magic, he was inspired by the Big Dipper in the sky. The Big Dipper has seven stars, so why does the magic system of the present world end at 6-star?
In other words, the mages of the world believed in such a mythical rumor that there must exist a realm of 7-star that no one had yet reached.
On the other hand, the recently branched-out non-mainstream mages said that 7-star was merely a realm Adelbert, a devout believer of the continental Bolton religion, left behind to pay respect to god.
In short, 7-star was the realm of god, and it was just a message telling humans not to covet it, so there was no need to give it excessive meaning.
Their debates over the existence of 7-star were always fierce, but in truth, it was hard for that to have any realistic meaning.
In the first place, even the number of mages in human history who had reached 6-star could be counted on one's fingers.
Even if you searched through all of history, there were only around ten, and the number of living 6-star mages known across the entire continent was only four.
Great Mages who reached the level of 6-star were often not people even the powerful could easily command. Each and every one of them was a legendary existence.
If you could master even just a single 6-star magic, you could rewrite the laws of the world, or even redraw the map entirely.
They say that the 6-star Combat-type mage Kalimpord, who died in the 'Dawn War', could call down a meteor shower, and Kelin, the 6-star Illusion-type mage famous as the great witch of the Delim Mountains, could completely dominate a person's mind just by making eye contact. Of course, these too are figures of the past.
Most 6-star mages are such historical figures, whose names can only be found in records.
In this era, there are only four living 6-star mages. Sir Melberot, the overlord of the north and the sword of the Imperial Palace, Kohela, the chief magic advisor of the Imperial Palace, and the remaining two were not even properly known compared to those affiliated with the Imperial Palace.
Of course, Derrick knew the identities of the remaining two to some extent as well.
Since 6-star mages were figures with immense influence even in the world, even he, who had little interest in game settings, could not help but at least hear their names.
One was Pineda, the youngest daughter of a weak Baron family in the grain-producing region at the southeastern end of the continent. She was a master of necromantic corpse magic, the taboo of taboos, and because of that cursed talent, her very existence was kept secret from the outside world.
And the other one was... Sir Drest Wolftail of the southwestern part of the continent.
He was the spiritual pillar of the Drest Academy located at the northern end of the Belmiard Count territory, and the only 6-star Search-type mage in the entire world.
"Drest is visiting Ebelstein?"
"Yes. The reason the schedule for this tariff agreement was pulled forward so quickly is probably because they were conscious of Sir Drest's movements."
"I see, so that's why the Count Belmiard was heading to Ebelstein. He was hiding such a secret."
The Duke Duplein frowned and quietly listened to Valerian's report.
It was nothing new that Count Belmiard acted like a fool whenever Ellente was involved. Still, that did not mean he was a man without any thoughts at all.
There was a reason even for that young and bold Family Head to suddenly change the meeting schedule and head to Ebelstein. If he could meet Drest, he planned to meet him in advance.
There must be a reason for Drest, who rarely came out of the academy building, to visit Ebelstein. He was a person who had mastered the 6-star Search-type magic 'Foresight'.
If he started engaging in external activities instead of staying holed up in the academy building, the nobles of the region would have no choice but to watch his movements closely. When he acted that actively outside, it was only when a huge historical event was about to occur. In short, he was a living omen.
'I need to find out what that dying old man is thinking this time. I might have to move personally.'
The Duke Duplein thought so, but still pondered more about what specific method to take.
Since he was a master of Search-type magic, sending some half-baked tail would only earn hostility.
"Father. And there was also a letter from Aiselin."
"Oh, from Aiselin, you say."
It was rare for the Duke Duplein to show a bright expression. He was always a man who sat at his desk with a solemn expression and worked.
However, at news about Young Lady Aiselin, who was like the treasure of the Duplein Ducal House, even that stone-statue-like man's atmosphere relaxed a little.
"Yes. It was mostly asking about the family's well-being, and..... she also sent a request saying she wants to find a magic instructor."
"Aiselin wants a magic instructor? Of course, in her childhood we did attach a few, but after she grew up, she must have declined, saying that learning magic on her own was the most efficient..... "
"That's what I thought as well. Perhaps she's starting to feel a wall..... "
"Hmm .. "
The Duke Duplein rubbed his chin a few times and fell into brief thought. Of course, if it was a request his beloved daughter personally wrote a letter for, it was only right to grant it unconditionally.
Especially since Aiselin rarely sent such requests herself. Since she was a wonderful girl who thought first about what she could do for the family before asking for anything, this kind of request itself was extremely precious.
As a father, there were many times he wished she would rely on him more, so since Aiselin's side had reached out for help like this first, he strongly wanted to step in both materially and emotionally.
"But..... um..... she specifically mentioned Derrick."
"Derrick..... you mean that mercenary who taught Delia?"
"Yes. It seems he's currently spending his time doing mercenary work in Ebelstein."
"Then it's easy. Can't we just hire him?"
The reasons Derrick left the Duplein Ducal House's mansion were two. One was that there was nothing more he could teach Delia, and the other was that in this mansion, Derrick himself could no longer continue his magic achievement.
Even wandering around practical battlefields while doing mercenary work in Ebelstein was probably his own way of further building his magic achievement.
If that was the case, there was no big problem.
He could just continue doing the mercenary work he wanted in Ebelstein, and from time to time accept requests to look over Aiselin's magic. They could pay as much money as he wanted.
However, Valerian's expression looked quite troubled.
"That..... it doesn't seem like it will be that simple."
"Is there a problem? Well, if it were that simple, Aiselin wouldn't have sent a letter like this."
"That is..... right now, he has accepted a request from the Young Lady of the Belmiard family and is teaching her."
"Hmm..... "
He seemed to understand why Valerian looked so troubled.
Since he was a wanderer by status, it wouldn't be strange for him to be teaching someone somewhere.
There had always been a shortage of talent.
In the current High Society, where finding an excellent magic master was as difficult as plucking stars from the sky, the only reason someone like Derrick was not famous was purely because of his lowly origin.
However, if he gained recognition for his ability to the extent that even that background could be offset, then it would be a different story.
If the situation turned into a recruitment competition, there would be parts Aiselin alone could not handle.
It was clear that she had made up her mind to bring Derrick over. It was the first time the gentle-natured girl had wanted something this strongly.
"I was thinking of sending head butler Delron and instructing him to negotiate aggressively. If we send the head butler himself, there will be a bit of a gap in the mansion's affairs, but still, for this kind of external matter, it's better to be certain, right?"
"No, that's fine."
"Yes?"
The Duke Duplein looked at the weather outside. Since winter was coming to an end, it seemed the warm sunlight would soon come in.
"Since I have to visit Ebelstein anyway because of the Drest matter, it'll be convenient to take care of everything at once."
".... You're saying you'll go personally?"
To think that the Duke of a nation would move personally just to recruit a single magic instructor. Valerian's eyes widened.
However, in addition to the purpose of needing to meet Sir Drest Wolftail in person, he could also take care of the originally planned tariff agreement at the same time. Since he was going to Ebelstein anyway, he planned to call in Derrick while he was at it.
"...."
However, no matter how much it was "while he was at it", every single step of the Duke had the value of a thousand gold.
No matter how expensive a magic instructor might be, there would be no one who could shake their head when the Duke of a nation personally visited Ebelstein to call on them.
*
Although Young Lady Ellente's sparring ended in defeat, she still paid Derrick all the gold coins she had promised.
As a rule, you do not receive the full request fee for a failed request, but because Ellente kept insisting that he take all of it, Derrick had no choice but to accept all the money she handed over with difficulty.
He felt a little uncomfortable about it, but still, considering the amount, it was inevitable that one corner of his heart felt warm.
"Derrick. I'm going to rest for a while."
Perhaps because she felt something through the spar with Aiselin, Ellente's face was full of fatigue.
It seemed she planned to take a break from all her studies for a while and sit in the mansion to organize her thoughts.
Derrick looked at Ellente's expression and eventually had no choice but to nod.
For an adolescent girl, appropriate wandering is rather essential. In life, it is necessary to get lost here and there at least once.
So Derrick quietly sent Ellente words of encouragement.
"You're still working at the Veldern Mercenary Corps, right?"
"Yes."
"Will you come teach me magic again next time?"
Though her face looked tired, Ellente spoke as if she had to confirm what needed to be confirmed.
Derrick quietly looked at her, and then answered in a low voice.
"I'm not sure if I can teach you any more, Young Lady Ellente. Haven't you already reached a sufficient realm in the mastery of 1-star magic?"
"... That's true."
Ellente quietly looked at Derrick, then slowly continued speaking.
"Still, you know, Derrick. When I look at you, I don't think you're a 1-star mage in a realm similar to mine."
"I'm just a mercenary who can handle a bit of 1-star magic."
"If you keep striving, you could become a mage of an even higher level. You seem to have plenty of talent for that."
"Thank you for the compliment. But there is always a limit to the realm of magic a commoner can reach."
Ellente's intuition was accurate, but Derrick denied it as if stating it firmly.
Thus, Ellente quietly stared into Derrick's eyes. Those eyes, gentle yet firm, and Derrick also met her gaze for a long while. They were eyes that seemed to fear nothing.
Eventually, Ellente let out a hollow laugh and said in a light voice that it was fine then.
–Thud.
There was the sound of a creaking wooden door closing. It was the sound of Derrick returning home.
Derrick was still using the residence that his master Katia had once used.
It wasn't that it had any special meaning, it was just bothersome to go somewhere else. He didn't want to spend money unnecessarily, and also, this location was decent for going back and forth to the Tavern District.
Late at night, after returning to his residence like that, Derrick took out a safe from under the small wooden bed and opened it.
Inside the sturdy safe, along with gold coins, there were quite a few valuables and jewels piled up. The income he had earned through various requests had accumulated quite a lot.
'This is a decent amount. Maybe it's about time to think about buying some magic items.'
Derrick dreamed of equipping himself with a personal wand or staff, but items of that class were so expensive that even nobles had to make up their minds to buy them.
He desperately wanted to get a staff he could use when wielding higher-rank magic personally, but even that was something you had to surpass the early stage of 3-star to handle properly.
In truth, they were items that commoners couldn't even approach, so even if he bought them, it wouldn't be easy to use them freely. So perhaps a wand, which was easier to carry and easier to conceal, might be better.
Above all, learning 3-star magic comes first.
3-star magic is on a completely different track compared to 2-star magic.
If up to 2-star magic is firepower that an individual can wield, from 3-star onward, magic of a scale that can be used tactically even in battles between groups begins to appear.
For Combat-type magic, there would be things like earth-shaking spells or walls of fire that could pour large-scale attacks over a wide area, and for Illusion-type, there were spells that could throw all five senses of a person into confusion. Especially when it came to Search-type, if you learned 3-star magic, you could instantly see through all magical tricks nearby.
'Accepting requests from nobles is definitely good money, but it takes too much time and is less related to actual combat, so it doesn't help my magic achievement much. This is definitely a problem.'
Going around beating up monsters and conquering labyrinths was, even by Derrick's own feeling, meaningful help to his magic achievement.
However, looking after the magic of noble young ladies, while it made money, rarely helped his magic skill. Sometimes he gained realizations in the process of teaching, but even then, the limits were clear.
I've earned enough money, so wouldn't it be right to focus on my own magic achievement for a while.
With that thought, Derrick slowly mulled over the amount of money piled up in the safe. It was an amount he wouldn't have to worry about living expenses for the time being.
'Yeah... for a while, I'll focus only on my own achievement, and avoid taking requests to teach anyone.'
He thought that teaching people also had its own meaning, but more important than anything was that he himself became a mage of even more outstanding ability.
More than anything, he desperately wanted to quickly break through the blocked realm of 3-star.
'I've rested long enough. Let's take one big request. I wonder if Felnine's schedule has some space.'
Thus, Derrick made up his mind to enter a rest period as a magic instructor for the time being.
It was one week before Count Belmiard and Duke Duplein visited Ebelstein.
It was unfortunate for Derrick, but rulers never left capable talent alone.