Chapter 115: School Fees
Even after the noble who had come to the guild had gone, Ren stayed shut up in the workshop for a while making char-core quill pens.
The azure feathers of the Azure Wind Swift.
The rainbow-coloured tail feathers of the Rainbow-Tail Feather Bird.
The vivid orange feathers of the Flame Finch.
The tough blackish-brown feathers of the three-eyed eagle.
Hardening the shafts of the feathers could be done by putting sand into the “small box” and heating it. For the char cores he used ones he had already made with the “small box”. He cut roasted tube grass with “Small Box Divide” to make holders for the char cores. He made a slit, slid the char core in and fixed it in place.
Since he was doing most of the work with the “small box” it wasn’t what you would call hard, but the work was gradually beginning to feel monotonous.
“Hmm… I might be a bit tired of this…”
Ren muttered it quietly in the empty workshop. He laced his fingers together and stretched.
There were feathers left, but not many.
(…That’ll do for today, I think.)
Deciding to break off making char-core quill pens for the moment, he reached for the material for the letter boards.
He took out the straight branches he had gathered in the forest and deployed the small box.
“Small Box Divide.”
A transparent box enclosed the branches.
Snap, snap.
The branches were cut apart into boards of even thickness.
He repeated the division several more times, and dozens of cards the size of his palm were made.
Every one was exactly the same size. Stacked, they lined up perfectly. He ran a finger along the side of the stack as though checking it. Feeling a certain satisfaction, his mouth relaxed.
Ren picked up one of the cards.
Then he wrote on it with a char-core quill pen.
‘Three-eyed eagle’
On the back he drew a picture of a bird with three eyes. A much simplified picture.
Then another one.
‘A bird-type magical beast that appears in the grasslands and gathers to blood. Comes to you while you’re dismantling.’
He wrote the answer on the back. It was a quiz.
“I wonder if Victor and the others will get it…”
He nodded to himself and picked up the next card.
‘Horn ferret’
‘A magical beast with a horn on its head and a long, thin body. Attacks in packs of several. Lives in the shallow areas of the forest.’
Then he started on the next card.
‘Moss rabbit’
Ren thought a little before he began to write.
‘A green rabbit-type magical beast. Lives in the shallow areas of the forest. The meat is more tender and juicier than horn rabbit. Good roasted.’
He finished writing and looked at it.
“…”
He read it again.
‘The meat is more tender and juicier than horn rabbit. Good roasted.’
“…”
Ren’s ears grew a little warm. Most of the description was about how to eat it. Worse, it made him want to eat moss rabbit.
“It just says it’s good to eat… Should I write it again…”
It was as Ren muttered that and lifted the card.
Knock, knock.
Someone rapped at the workshop door.
“Yes.”
It was Eugene who came in.
“May I interrupt you?”
“Mm. It’s all right.”
Eugene looked at the cards laid out on the desk and narrowed his eyes.
“What are these?”
“I thought I’d try making a new set of letter boards.”
“Ho.”
Eugene picked one up.
‘Three-eyed eagle’
He turned it over, looked at the picture, and then looked at the question on the card that went with it.
“I see.”
Eugene nodded, impressed.
“That’s rather good. What’s nice is that it asks for knowledge, not only whether you can read.”
“I wonder if Victor and the others will use them…”
“They may have a hard time learning to spell the names of the magical beasts. But once they have, it’s knowledge.”
Eugene picked up the next card too, and then his eyes happened to move to one side.
“…What’s that?”
It was the card Ren had hurriedly moved out of the way.
“Ah.”
Eugene reached out for it lightly.
Ren gave in.
“Um… I ended up writing nothing but the eating part…”
Eugene looked at the card and was silent for a few seconds. Then he burst out laughing.
“Ha ha!”
“Uu…”
Ren felt his cheeks grow hot.
“No, it’s fine, isn’t it. For an adventurer that’s important information.”
“Is it?”
“If anything, everyone wants to know whether a thing can be eaten.”
Saying so, Eugene put the card back on the desk.
“Ah, that reminds me.”
He said it as though it had just come to him.
“Ren-kun, isn’t it because you’re hungry?”
“Eh?”
“It’s almost noon.”
It was only when he said it that Ren noticed. He had gone into the forest in the morning, hunted Azure Wind Swifts, come to the guild, seen the noble, and made char-core quill pens.
His stomach growled.
Grrr.
“…”
“…”
The pair of them were quiet for a moment.
Eugene laughed.
“Honest, aren’t you.”
Ren felt embarrassed.
“That’s right. I’ve brought the payment for those char-core quill pens.”
“Eh? Already?”
Eugene set a leather pouch down on the desk. There was a chink of coins.
Beside it he laid a single board.
“There’s a breakdown as well.”
Ren leaned over the board.
——————————
Char-core quill pens, trial purchase
Azure Wind Swift quill pens, 4
200 G each, 800 G in total
Rainbow-Tail Feather Bird quill pens, 2
300 G each, 600 G in total
Flame Finch quill pens, 4
100 G each, 400 G in total
Three-eyed eagle quill pens, 2
50 G each, 100 G in total
Char-core working fee 500 G
Prototype purchase supplement 600 G
Total 3,000 G
——————————
Ren’s eyes went wide.
“3,000 G. Three small gold coins…?”
“No, strictly speaking there are thirty silver coins in there.”
Eugene laughed.
Ren looked from the board to the leather pouch and back again and again. After the payment for putting the reference material in order, another large sum.
(Perhaps I’ve got closer…)
A small hope lit deep in his chest.
“At this rate the school fees… might I save them up?”
When Ren muttered it, Eugene tilted his head a little.
“School fees?”
“Mm.”
“You want to go to school?”
Ren nodded. He looked down, his eyes wandering slightly. After hesitating a moment, he opened his mouth.
“…The Royal Capital Academy.”
Eugene’s eyebrow moved a fraction.
“The Royal Capital Academy — you mean the Noble Academy?”
“Mm.”
Ren answered as though it were a matter of course. Eugene looked hard at him, seeming to think something over. Ren lifted his face at Eugene’s words.
“Eugene-san, do you know the Academy?”
Ren turned a hopeful face to him. Eugene gave a wry smile.
“Well, yes.”
“Did you go there, by any chance?”
“I did.”
Ren’s eyes shone.
“Really!?”
“I graduated, too.”
“That’s amazing!”
Eugene laughed in spite of himself.
Ren hesitated a little, then asked him.
“Ah, then… do you know how much the school fees come to?”
Eugene stroked his chin with his hand. He gazed into the air as though recalling it.
“Fees and boarding together, about six gold coins a year. Depending on the hall, it can be more.”
“Six gold coins! 60,000 G…”
Ren’s face froze for a moment.
“…If I had that much, could I go to the Academy?”
When Ren asked carefully, Eugene shook his head.
“No.”
“Eh?”
“Strictly speaking, you can’t attend simply by paying the fees and the boarding. There’s the application for entrance, and a guarantor, and a good deal else.”
“A guarantor?”
“A parent, or a legal guardian.”
“A parent…”
Ren’s face clouded. Eugene looked steadily at him.
“…Why do you want to go to the Royal Capital Academy?”
“Because you can study all sorts of things.”
“All sorts of things?”
“Mm. How to use magic, and about healing potions… They weren’t in the guild’s reference material. So I thought perhaps you can only study them at the Academy.”
“Quite so. They aren’t written down in the guild’s reference material.”
“Is it a secret?”
“There are things that are taught only to nobles, yes. And knowledge won by long years of research isn’t made public easily.”
“I see…”
Ren gripped the char-core quill pen tightly.
(So there are things not made public in the guild’s reference material and the rest of it that are taught at the Academy after all…)
“…I want to go… to the Academy…”
He muttered it under his breath. Eugene watched Ren steadily. His eyes went to the char-core quill pens with their brilliant feathers laid out on the tray on the workbench. Then to the letter boards. And then he spoke.
“Ren-kun.”
“Mm…”
“If you seriously want to go to the Academy.”
Ren looked up at Eugene’s words.
“I don’t think saving up the fees is wasted effort.”
“Eh?”
“If anything, it’s necessary.”
Eugene said it flatly.
“But money isn’t all of it. You’ll need backing as well.”
“Backing?”
“Someone to recommend you. Someone to stand surety for you. An adult who thinks well of you.”
Ren blinked and blinked.
He had never once thought about such a thing.
Eugene went on.
“This isn’t something to give up on now.”
Saying so, he pointed at the letter boards on the desk.
Char-core quill pens. Letter boards.
“You’re beginning to catch a good many people’s eyes.”
Ren said nothing.
“Saving money matters too.”
Eugene smiled gently.
“But ties with people matter just as much.”
Ren gazed at the leather pouch with the silver coins in it. Until a little while ago, all he had looked at was what was inside that pouch.
Now it was different.
The road to the Academy was further off than he had thought.
But. Nor was it entirely shut. He had, just a little, that feeling.