Chapter 158 – The Trial of Nistrond and the Naked Half-Elf

The day after the ordeal of Nistrond was successfully completed.
When morning broke, I met Lawrence, the head of the company, again.
When I went to Odin’s temple, Lawrence greeted me just like the first time we met.

“Luke. It’s been a fortnight since we met. I heard that you passed the Quarter Staff’s ordeal. Passing the ordeal in just 14 days is the first record among our rune mages. Congratulations on setting a new record.”

It seems that rumors spread among the members that I had passed the ordeal last night.
On my way to the temple where Lawrence resided, every member I encountered looked at me in wonder.
Lawrence, the head of the company, also found my work interesting.

I said hello to Lawrence and opened my mouth.

“Thank you for your congratulations. But I heard you called me because of your daughter, Delia. What the hell are you trying to tell me about your daughter?”
“Ah, I heard that my daughter apologized to you in the middle of the temple, in front of the members.”

I immediately realized what Lawrence was talking about.
A fortnight ago, Delia had apologized to me when she entered the temple.
At that time, she was not a naked dogger, but in front of the members watching, Delia apologized to me.
She is probably a disgrace as the heir to an organization.

“My successor’s face has fallen to the bottom. There is a lot of talk among the members that she barely bowed her back to the dreamer. She said that from the beginning, Delia was not yet immature and was harshly evaluated by her members. Because it’s a child.”
“She does have a little bit of an immature side.”
“I, the parent, raised Onyaoña. It’s poisonous. Anyway, I called you to ask you to forget about the apology. I also ordered the noisy members to be silent. I didn’t want to stain my daughter. I want to stop it.”

So the reason Lawrence called me was because of her silence.
Please keep quiet about Delia’s apology in the middle of her temple.
If I go outside and gossip around the neighborhood about receiving an apology, the prestige of the organization will be greatly damaged.

– I heard that the daughter of the head of the temple of Nine Garde finally bowed her head to the dreamer?
-It’s embarrassing.

Delia’s honor, which is still crawling on her bottom, runs down to her inner core.
It would be a big deal if the half-elf, who would become the head of the organization, was stigmatized.

Of course, it’s none of my business.
I have no intention of belonging to Ningard anyway.

“Will you do this old man’s favor?”
“You don’t have to ask. I received an apology properly. I promised Delia that it would never happen.
“Thank you. That’s the reason I called you. But I can’t just let you go today. I can’t just leave the rune mage who set a new record in passing the ordeal, just doing adventure work.”
“Yes?”

Just an adventurer?
Are you ignoring adventurers right now?

Although he was a little hot-headed, he couldn’t get angry in front of an old monster who had lived as a wizard for 200 years.
As I sat there with her mouth shut, Lawrence held out a piece of luxurious parchment to me.

“Read carefully. I will give you a chance to become a member of our Ninggard.”

The thing to read was the contents of the parchment.
I took the parchment and realized that it was a contract for recruiting new members.
On the tough parchment, the conditions for hiring me as a member and the compensation paid by Ninggard were written in detail.

“Hmm.”

I read the contract slowly.
Certainly, the reward paid to the members was splendid enough to say that adventurer work was ‘barely’.
If you get injured while researching magic, insurance is properly handled, and after retirement, pensions come out sporadically.

Above all, the salary that came in every month was amazing enough to sound like billions.
If I were only looking at the pay, I would get rid of the adventurers right away and live here as a magician.
But because of the fatal clause, I couldn’t become a member.

“You want me to come and work even on holidays? Does this make sense?”
“As you know, there are no holidays in Ninggard. It is to restore the legacy left by the founder of magic by focusing on research 365 days a year. I understand the members’ hardships, but there are circumstances that can’t be helped. I don’t have much time.”
“What do you mean you don’t have much time?”
“…”

Lawrence closed her mouth for a moment and looked at me with a gentle smile.
I couldn’t figure out why they were dedicating their lives to the study of magic.

“I can’t tell you that. If you serve as a member for a long time, I can give you a hint.”
“How long do I have to work?”
“Nine years.”

It was absurd.
In the end, it means that I can’t tell you why I have to live as a magic idol.
Regardless of the reason, I hated being exploited as a researcher.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll just do adventure work. The money I earn is less than here, so I have at least a holiday. In the guild, there’s a female boss who takes good care of me.”
“I hope you make a wise choice. In order to grow as a Rune Mage, you must eventually borrow the power of the organization. All ancient magic on the continent has been monopolized by Ninggard since long ago. You can tell by looking at it.”

Lawrence seemed to want to recruit talent no matter what.
She even tried to tie me down, even mentioning her monopoly on ancient knowledge.
If it was another rune mage with a desire to grow, there would be no choice but to pass it.

Ninggard is the only place where ancient magic is studied in earnest.
Since its inception, research on ancient magic has been conducted here for a whopping 500 years. As a rune mage, there is no choice but to covet the organization’s research materials and teachings about magic.

“What are you going to do? If you go out of the temple like this, there will be no wizard to guide you. That means you have to live as a rune mage who doesn’t know ancient magic.”

Lawrence asked me if I wanted to stay or leave the temple.
I still had the contract Lawrence handed over to me.

“I don’t need a wizard to guide me. Self-study is enough for me, boss.”
“You’re going to study on your own…?”

I returned the contract to Lawrence.
Upon returning the parchment contract, Lawrence looked at me incomprehensibly.
Even the Archmage, who had lived for 250 years, couldn’t seem to understand my actions.

Of course, I don’t want to be understood.
If I revealed the magic book I was holding, Rumi, all the rune mages in the temple might turn into thieves.
To that extent, Rumi was a treasure that could not be exchanged for anything to the magician.

“I plan to read books and study on my own. It’s not just about self-study.”
“You are looking at ancient magic too easily. The ancient magic left by the Asir tribe is a study that surpasses human wisdom and insight. It is impossible for a person to learn by self-study.”
“What is impossible in this world?”

I turned down Lawrence’s offer to join the team.
However, this old man’s greed for talent pierced the sky, and he kept persuading me.
During the persuasion, the wages paid continued to rise.

For an hour I talked with Lawrence.
After talking for an hour, her mouth was dry and her throat was sore.

In the end, Lawrence released me, as if she understood my meaning that she would not live as a magic stone even if she died.

“After all, that means you don’t want to be a member even if you die. You may leave the temple. Of course, know that Ninggard always welcomes you to join.”

It was the first time I had goosebumps at the word welcome.
In fact, I noticed it after reading the contract carefully.

It was a terrible organization, easy to get in, but not easy to get out of.
There are dozens of confidentiality clauses in the contract, so even if you leave the company, you have to live under surveillance.

I knew instinctively that if I stepped in her just for the money, I would be fucked.
So now, I have clearly stated my intention to refuse.

“Thank you for Nistrond. I will leave for the port city soon. My companions are waiting for me there.”
“Oh, you mean Bellatrix. My daughter’s old friend. She tells him she’s sorry for refusing her contract.”
“Yes.”

I said goodbye to Lawrence and left the temple.
I arrived in the morning and had a conversation, but time passed and the sun was up in the middle of the sky.

“Dongma! Are you really just leaving?”

When I opened the temple gate and stepped outside, Delia called me.
Upon hearing that I was leaving, Delia came after me, her body wet with sweat. She seemed to have hurriedly ran to the gate.

“Yes, I’ll go now.”
“Didn’t the headmaster offer you to join? Could it be that your father just sent a wizard who passed the ordeal in the shortest time?”
“Your father offered me to join the team, but I turned it down. I will continue to work as an adventurer.”
“You, you refused?!”

Delia looked at me with her madman look.

“Then are you going to live as a wandering wizard for the rest of your life? How can you live as a wizard without a proper teacher! It’s impossible to teach yourself ancient magic!”
“I will do the impossible.”
“Stop talking nonsense and come in quickly!”

Delia and I faced each other across the threshold of the open gate.
Delia wiggled her hand and pretended to come in, but I neatly ignored it.
Then Delia opened her mouth with a shy expression.

“Ho, is it because you hate me? You’re leaving here because you don’t want to see me! You even apologized naked!”
“It’s not like that.”

I stared blankly at Delia, who was speculating why she was leaving.
In her hand was a well-washed handkerchief. It seemed that he had washed the handkerchief I asked him to take and brought it.

“I-I’ll return this handkerchief too…”
“You can have it. I told you. It’s a cheap handkerchief, so I don’t need it.”

There was no more time to talk.
I had to go back to Bella’s side as soon as possible and proceed with the escort quest.
I turned my back and went down the long stairway that led below the temple gate.
It was the moment we arrived at the long road leading under the stairs.

“Hey! Blonde dreamer!!”

Delia’s voice came from the top of the stairs.
Delia waved her handkerchief as she looked at me leaving the temple.

“I’m not taking a cheap handkerchief! I’ll return it myself later, so wait! I’ll exchange it for a hundred times more expensive handkerchief and bring it back!”

I tried to tell him not to return it, but to no avail.
Delia disappeared from the top of the stairs in the blink of an eye, and she went into the temple.
Thud! The sound of the door being slammed shut was heard all the way up here.

‘It’s a hundred times more expensive handkerchief.’

Since he said he was bringing it himself, I think I’ll probably meet that half-elf again.
When we meet again, I hope you refrain from running amok like a beagle.

‘If we quarrel when we meet again, then I’ll take you for a naked walk.’

With a firm resolve, I walked down the road leading to the port city.
It is not too far from the temple to the port city.
Even if you go on foot, you can reach it in about three hours.

It was when the temple was no longer visible after walking for a while.
After confirming that no one was around, I spoke to Rumi for the first time in a while.

“Remia.”
[What are you doing? Wizard.]

After visiting the temple, there was something I wanted to ask Rumi.
It was a question that arose because of the statue of Odin he saw in the temple.
Because he had a perfect resemblance to the old man who gave me the magic book.
I wanted to know what kind of relationship the old man had with Odin, but I held back until I left the temple.
If you ask me a question about the old man, I think I’ll have a long conversation with Rumi.
No one was around anymore so I could ask.

“I want to know about the elder who gave you as a gift to me.”