After the laughter in the room died down, Gerald sat back and let out a long breath. He looked at the charts on his desk and then back at me. I tried to look as small and innocent as possible. It is a role I have played for six years now, ever since I realized where I was.
I am getting very good at it. I blinked my eyes and waited for him to speak. I knew he was impressed. I just did not know if being impressed was a good thing for my lazy life.
"The Mage Guild training program," Gerald began, "is designed to train promising candidates for the entrance exam of the Magus Academy." He paused, leaning forward. "Usually, a child with eighty-seven mana units is rejected immediately. Our program is built for conventional mages. We teach students how to expand their pools and cast basic elemental spells. A child with your son's capacity would typically fail to meet the requirements. He simply does not have the fuel for the curriculum. It would be a waste of our time and your money."
Grace gripped the fabric of her dress. I could see her knuckles turning white. Daniel stood a little straighter, his face becoming like stone. He did not like the way this man was talking about me. I did not mind it; I actually agreed with him. I would hate a conventional training program. It sounds like a lot of studying and hard work.
"However," Gerald continued, tapping the black glass artifact. "His efficiency is not normal. This level of resonance is something we only see in the royal family or the descendants of the Great Houses. It is a biological anomaly in a commoner. To be honest, Cid is a research curiosity, and I want to monitor him. I want to see how this efficiency develops as he matures."
I did not like the word curiosity. It sounded like I was a weird bug under a magnifying glass. In corporate Japan, being a "curiosity" meant you got assigned to experimental projects that everyone else was too smart to touch. It usually ended in a lot of unpaid overtime and a project cancellation.
"I have a proposal for you," Gerald said, looking at my parents. "The minimum age for Guild education is six years old. Since Cid has already reached that age, he is eligible to begin immediately. Under normal circumstances, tuition is quite high. However, I can offer him a full scholarship. We will provide the books, the tutors, and the classroom space. It will cost you nothing."
Grace gasped. Her face lit up with hope. To a family of poor farmers, free education at the most prestigious institution in Grandell City was like winning the lottery. It was a path to a better life, a way for her son to escape the fields forever.
"What is the catch?" Daniel asked. He was not as easily swayed as my mother. He knew that nothing in this world was truly free.
"In exchange," Gerald said, "Cid must submit to periodic testing. He will spend one day a week with our researchers. They will measure his mana flow, track his growth, and record his techniques. He will essentially be a long-term experiment for our study on Aetheric Resonance. We want to see if his efficiency can be taught to others."
Daniel immediately bristled. He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "You want to turn my son into a guinea pig? You want a bunch of old men in robes poking and prodding him like a lab animal? No. The answer is no."
I liked Daniel a lot in that moment. He was a good man, willing to turn down a fortune to protect my dignity.
"Daniel, wait," Grace said, reaching out to touch his arm. "Think about it. What is the alternative? We cannot afford a tutor. We cannot even afford proper books. If he stays in the village, what kind of life will he have?"
Gerald nodded, looking at my father. "Your wife is right. Without Guild training, Cid will likely develop his magic incorrectly. He is already manipulating mana with high precision. That is dangerous. Self-taught mages often hurt themselves. They cause internal mana burns or permanent damage to their cores because they do not have the right foundation. If he tries to push his eighty-seven units too far without guidance, he could end up crippled. Or worse."
That was a lie, of course. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was more careful with my mana than any of the mages I had seen today. But my parents did not know that. They heard a professional telling them their son might explode if he did not get help. It was a very effective scare tactic.
I sat on my stool and debated the options. On one hand, being an experiment sounded like a huge hassle. I would have to be careful not to reveal too much. I would have to hide my adult mind and my modern knowledge. If they realized I was a reincarnated person, my freedom would be gone forever. I might actually end up in a jar of glowing liquid.
On the other hand, the training would be invaluable. I had reached the limit of what I could teach myself in the woods. I needed to know the formal language of magic, the history, and the theory. If I wanted to be a legendary, lazy mage, I needed to know the rules so I could break them. Plus, we were poor. This was likely the only opportunity for a formal education I would ever get.
"I want to go to school," I said. I made my voice sound soft and eager. I looked up at Daniel with big, watery eyes. "I want to be like mama."
Daniel looked at me and his resolve crumbled. He let out a long sigh and slumped his shoulders. He looked at Grace, who nodded.
"Fine," Daniel said to Gerald. "We will accept. But if I see a single scratch on him, or if he tells me he is unhappy, we are leaving. I don't care about the Guild's rules."
"That is fair," Gerald said, looking relieved. He probably expected a big bonus for finding a research subject like me. "We will prepare the documents. You can return to your lodgings and prepare. Classes start at the beginning of the next month. Until then, keep him away from using any kind of magic."
We stood up to leave the room. As we walked out into the main lobby, we were hit by a wall of noise. The quiet, professional atmosphere of the Guild was gone, replaced by a full-blown commotion.
A young girl was standing in the middle of the floor. She looked to be older than me, maybe ten at the most. She had long, distinctive silver hair that shimmered under the floating lanterns. She was wearing an elaborate white dress that probably cost more than our entire farm. She had striking violet eyes that were currently flashing with rage.
"I don't care!" the girl screamed. Her voice was high and piercing. "He was boring! All he talked about was circles and patterns! I wanted to make a firestorm! He said I wasn't ready!"
A harried-looking man in a fine suit was standing in front of her. He looked like an attendant or a butler, holding a charred coat in his hands. The fabric was black and ruined.
"Lady Seraphina, please," the man begged, sweating profusely. "Master Vane is one of the best tutors in the city. You cannot simply set your teachers on fire when you disagree with them."
"He was slow!" Seraphina shouted.
She stomped her foot. I watched with morbid fascination. She was throwing a massive tantrum. Several Guild staff members were trying to move the crowd back, looking terrified of her. I could see why. As she screamed, the air around her began to shimmer with heat.
She held out her hand. She didn't use a chant or a gesture; she just gathered a massive amount of mana. I could feel the energy radiating off her, it was huge. Her mana pool must have been thousands of units. It was like standing next to a furnace.
She snapped her fingers. A ball of orange fire erupted from her hand. It was perfect in form, showing she had incredible talent, but she had zero self-control. The ball of fire hit the marble floor and exploded. It didn't hurt anyone, but it scorched the tiles and sent a cloud of gray smoke into the air.
Gerald, who was standing behind us, let out a deep sigh and rubbed his temples. "That is the third tutor this month for Lady Seraphina Wun Grandell. Her father is going to have a heart attack at this rate."
The girl was huffing, her chest heaving with effort. The smoke began to clear. Most of the people in the lobby were backing away. The children present were hiding behind their parents' legs, crying or trembling.
I was the only one still standing in the middle of the floor, watching her with a bored expression. I had seen much worse tantrums in the Tokyo subway system during rush hour. A ten-year-old with a flamethrower was nothing compared to a depressed salaryman who had missed the last train.
Seraphina's violet eyes suddenly locked onto mine. She stopped her huffing and stared at me. I realized I was staring back. I didn't look away, and I didn't look intimidated. I just stood there next to my father, looking at her like she was a particularly loud television show.
I had a sinking feeling in my gut. My plan for a peaceful, low-profile life had just hit a major roadblock. I could see the gears turning in her head. She had never seen a peasant boy who wasn't afraid of her.
Seraphina raised a hand and pointed a finger directly at my face.
"You!" she shouted. Her voice echoed in the silent lobby. "Who is that peasant boy? Why is he looking at me like that?"
I looked at her finger and then looked at my mother. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go back to my woods where the only thing I had to worry about was tripping over roots.