Chapter 34: The Fourth Brother’s Interrogation
Carrying the “Overview of Basic Magic” book, Ren headed to his room. He wanted to copy down the method for making a basic healing potion. He always carried ink and a quill in his “Small Box,” but he had just used up the wooden board he normally wrote on.
“I wish I had a notebook… Hm? A notebook?”
The word suddenly came to mind, and he imagined a small booklet made of blank pages bound together. It would be convenient to carry around and jot down things he wanted to remember. But he had heard that parchment was very expensive.
“Parchment’s too pricey… Maybe I could tie together small wooden boards with string…”
Muttering to himself, he opened the door to his room—and was met with an unexpected sight.
His younger brother, Lewis, had his head stuck inside Ren’s closet.
“R-Ren!”
Startled, Lewis quickly pulled his head out.
“Lewis… that’s not your room.”
“I-I know that!”
His face flushed red as he snapped back. Ren wondered why he was the one getting angry when he was the one who had barged in.
“What were you doing?”
“…I thought you might be hiding something.”
“Huh? Hiding what?”
“That’s what I came to find out! You’ve been going out somewhere every day lately. Isn’t that suspicious?”
Apparently, Lewis had noticed Ren leaving the mansion daily and had grown curious. He had searched the room looking for clues—but Ren kept his earnings from the Adventurers’ Guild in his “Small Box,” and there wasn’t anything unusual stored in his room.
“I’m not doing anything suspicious.”
“Then where are you going!?”
“Hmm… the plains, or the riverside, I guess?”
“The riverside!? That’s outside the village! What are you doing there!?”
“Uh…”
His main reason for going to the riverside was to practice magic. He had also experimented—like dropping water created by magic into the river to catch magic fish—but his real goal was training.
If he told the truth, Lewis might demand, “Show me your magic.” But even Ren’s most-used magic—water—had no offensive power. Throwing a cup of water would probably be stronger. If he showed something like that, would Lois react the same way their parents had when he revealed his skill?
“Hey! What’s that!?”
As Ren hesitated, Lois suddenly pointed at his hands.
“Isn’t that a magic book!? Why do you have that, Ren!?”
“I borrowed it from the study.”
“That’s not the point! Why is someone without a magic skill borrowing a magic book!? It’s useless!”
“Huh? I think it’s interesting.”
“It’s not interesting at all! That book is so boring!”
Thump!
Lewis stomped the floor, clearly frustrated. It seemed he had tried reading “Overview of Basic Magic” before and didn’t enjoy it at all.
“I think it’s pretty interesting.”
“It’s all complicated stuff like the history of magic…! And even if you read it, what’s the point? You don’t have a magic skill!”
“Even without a magic skill… Oh, right—look at this part. It shows how to make a basic healing potion. Doesn’t that sound interesting?”
Ren opened the book and tried to show him the page—but Lewis frowned.
“Are you trying to become an apothecary now? Without even having that skill?”
“I’m not thinking about becoming one. I just thought making potions sounded interesting…”
“Ugh, whatever!”
Lewis slammed the closet door shut.
“I thought you were sneaking around doing something important… but it’s just something this pointless…! Seriously!”
Still irritated, he shoved past Ren and stormed out of the room. The sound of his footsteps faded as Ren quietly closed the door.
“…He was really mad…”
He lowered his gaze to the book in his hands.
“Is it wrong for me to study magic…? I might not be able to do much without a magic skill, but…”
He stared at the potion recipe on the open page.
“I wonder if channeling magic into water is difficult… It doesn’t say you need a water magic skill, so maybe I can do it. I should go gather some heal grass… Alright!”
Nodding to himself, he took out a board and began carefully copying down the instructions.