The Guildmasters’ Return Home
Two weeks had passed since the Guildmaster and Vice-Guildmaster left the village to attend the guild conference.
Guild carriages are apparently built differently from the wagons used by traveling merchants, they’re much sturdier. Village carriages usually only go back and forth to the neighboring town of Meritent, and people traveling farther typically transfer to carriages departing from each town or village to reach the next stop.
Guild carriages, on the other hand, need to travel to the royal capital and deliver large numbers of adventurers and supplies to dangerous regions, so the cargo wagons themselves are reinforced, and they’re pulled by magic horses called Horsevarl.
Compared to the horses kept in the village chief’s garden, they’re more than twice as tall and apparently stronger than standard warhorses.
Even though they’re classified as monsters, they can be domesticated, and Margrave Plessama apparently raises quite a few of them. The two horses here were said to be a gift from the margrave to the Guildmaster.
Thanks to that, a road that would normally take over three weeks one way on a regular horse can be traveled in less than a week.
It’s apparently that fast because of the Vice-Guildmaster’s wind magic. By applying a tailwind to the wagon, it reduces the horses’ burden, which allows them to move faster.
“And that’s how it is, so we were able to pick out some souvenirs at the royal capital. Now then, Miss Vio, which one would you like?”
The smiling Vice-Guildmaster welcomed Dad and me when we arrived at the academy, then led us straight into the meeting room, and that’s where we are now.
I understood the explanation about the horses just fine, and it was also educational to learn about practical uses of wind magic beyond attacks. But… is it really okay for me to skip class?
“I’ve heard that they’re currently repeating karuta practice. Miss Vio, you have no problems with the basic letters, do you? The three sisters will be working as guild clerks in the future, so they’re studying paperwork as well. If you’re going to become an adventurer, it won’t hurt to know these things as knowledge, but… I’ll show you the materials another time.”
Yep, it seems I don’t need to attend class today.
What they brought as souvenirs was a whole bunch of glasses.
“Vice-Guildmaster, are these color-changing magic tools?”
“Yes. They automatically adjust to size, so the ones you don’t choose will be used as loan items later, should they be needed for requests. Please pick whichever one you like.”
Oh, that answered my question before I even finished asking.
Hmm, what should I choose? There are a lot of types, and some of them make me wonder, “Is this a joke?” Would someone actually be happy if I picked that?
No, the Vice-Guildmaster might be a bit odd when it comes to magic, but I don’t think he’d fool around with magic tools, so probably not?
The one that made me think, “Should I run around yelling ‘Kiiiin’ with a poop on a stick?” is definitely out.
The one that made me want to cry out “Do—rae—moo—n!” is out too.
And the one with what look like rabbit ears, probably something party people wear at events, is also rejected.
“Why not try puttin’ ’em on?” Dad said.
“Yes, here’s a mirror. Please go ahead,” the Vice-Guildmaster added.
After staring at them for a while, Dad and the Vice-Guildmaster both encouraged me to try them on.
Ummm… can I skip these three?
I didn’t say that out loud, though. I picked up the more normal-looking ones in turn and tried them on in front of the mirror. After hooking them over my ears, I touched the magic stone at the bridge, and the glasses snugly adjusted themselves with a whoosh.
“Oh!”
“Hehe. That magic stone is attached to most ordinary glasses as well, for size adjustment.
If you put your mana into it, Miss Vio, just like with your hair ornament, it can also be used as a color-changing magic tool, so it won’t feel strange.”
I see. I thought the magic stone would stand out, but if most glasses have that feature anyway, then no one can tell whether it’s for color-changing or not.
After trying on several pairs, I chose the one I liked best, and that both Dad and the Vice-Guildmaster said suited me.
They were square-shaped, with a color somewhere between brown and yellow. The frame wasn’t too thick either, so it looked clean.
Since I’m still small, thicker, more fashionable frames ended up covering half my face.
“Very nice. Then let’s register your mana. Just like with your hair ornament, please put your mana into this magic stone.”
It seems all of them were purchased with the color change set to brown, which made me feel a bit sorry, but apparently, when using tools like this, the primary goal is to blend in with your surroundings, which is why brown or gray is preferred. That made me feel a little relieved.
When I flowed mana into the magic stone, its color changed with just a tiny amount. It matched the frame perfectly, without any sense of wrongness.
When I put the glasses on again, the girl reflected in the mirror had brown hair and brown eyes.
“They’re also enchanted with defensive magic, but if they receive a very strong attack directly, there is still a chance they could break, so please be careful.”
Apparently, non-magic glasses are sold as well, but those are truly ordinary glasses and can break easily if mishandled.
Magic tool glasses are a bit more expensive, but they allow size adjustment and can have defensive magic circles engraved into the lenses. For people like adventurers who go into dangerous areas, they’re cheaper in the long run.
“There are magic circles in the lenses? Even though they look transparent?”
“Yes. Since vision correction isn’t needed, these lenses aren’t made of glass, but of magic insect wing material. By soaking them in a special blended solution, the magic circles merge with the material’s color and appear transparent.”
When the Vice-Guildmaster shone a light spell on them, faint letters and patterns became visible.
“By shining light like this, you can check the contents, so they’re not completely invisible. The special blended solution is patented, and only authorized individuals are permitted to make it. Do you know why?”
“Yeah. If magic circles could be made transparent, people could do all kinds of bad things. It’d be dangerous if someone hid attack-type magic circles where you couldn’t see them.”
That must’ve been the right answer, because he patted my head.
Apparently, compatibility with the magic insect material is required, so the solution and the insect material can only be used as a set. Convenient, but also inconvenient?
Still, having items that can easily turn magic circles invisible would be way too scary, so a little inconvenience is probably better.
After that, until the end of first period, they told me all about how well received the karuta and children’s gathering experience had been at the guild conference, and that the karuta boom was nowhere near slowing down.
What do you think about this chapter?
