Meldenik coolly and stylishly left his seat and went inside the tavern to develop beer candy.
However, those left behind could never do the same.
They had witnessed the glorious moment when the Red Priest Pirates, the dark presence that had been harassing the marketplace merchants, were defeated for the first time.
“Even when we reported it before, the paid-off security forces would turn a blind eye.”
“Even though it’s in front of the Academy, the nobles travel by carriage, so… This place has essentially been abandoned, so everyone ignored the reports.”
“But that person got rid of them.”
“It was truly cool… They even said, ‘Don’t ever bother our alley’s marketplace again.'”
Of course, Meldenik had never said such a thing.
But a little embellishment is necessary in the making of a hero.
“I even heard a rumor they would return the protection money we had been forced to pay!”
“Oh, my…”
Listening to the merchants chatter, Astilde, who had been conversing with Meldenik, clenched his fist and shook it with passion.
“This incident must be documented.”
He was a passionate journalist who exposed societal injustices. His newspaper was famous enough to be distributed even in the Academy and was promising.
‘She said it was just a mistake, but who would believe that?’
Think of her bright eyes. And think of her chicly beating up more than half a dozen strong men.
It was clearly not a skill acquired from just one or two attempts. It was obvious it wasn’t a mistake.
Astilde had a journalistic mission.
And in this moment, he felt the duty to spread this special incident to all humanity.
Before he knew it, his eyes began to sparkle.
“Good. This is a scoop.”
Mel’s stationery shop is going to be an amazing place.
‘Plus, there’s an item I’m developing with Lesa.’
His journalist intuition was predicting.
He gripped the pen in his hand even tighter.
This incident absolutely had to be announced in a special edition.
After interviewing meticulously and carefully, he planned to inform thoroughly.
He had to prepare an incredible special edition that would cause a stir even in front of the Maltend Academy, right in front of the stationery shop!
Unaware that everyone present had been moved, Meldenik was earnestly devoted to developing beer candy inside the tavern.
***
Meanwhile, inside the tavern, I was learning in detail about the process of making alcohol with Dominic and Lesa.
“Look, it’s bubbling up on top.”
“Right.”
“Okay, I get it now for sure.”
Based on that conversation, Dominic started to create a simple magic formula.
We placed a large oak barrel and several ingredients for making sweets on the table.
Lily marveled at the mana flowing from Dominic’s fingertips.
“How is it?”
“It’s so fascinating!”
“So, this person can perform beginner-level magic, a wizard, right?”
“Yes.”
I nodded affirmatively. I’m actually a hero and a magic sword, but that’s precise.
“My, a wizard! It’s my first time seeing a wizard.”
Since it was indeed rare for commoners to see wizards, Lily looked at Dominic with admiring eyes.
“How can such a thing happen! This magic formula looks really amazing.”
Somehow becoming a beginner wizard, Dominic seemed to be both somewhat pleased and a bit annoyed.
As his mouth began to twitch, I opened mine.
“Right, our Dominic is quite something.”
“Got to admit when it’s true.”
At Dominic’s arrogant words, the eyes of the three gathered met in one place.
Rather than being impressive, his pouting looked quite cute. However…
We had another problem.
Dominic’s magic formula for alcohol was perfect, but the shapes of the beer candies he made were bizarrely unmatched.
The beer candy would become as big as a book, taste sour, or become shapelessly gooey.
“Why isn’t this working?”
I asked Lesa with a gloomy face.
“The magic formula is perfect. It’s just the control of power that’s a bit off…”
Dominic awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
After a short sigh, I nodded towards Lesa. We needed to solve this problem somehow.
“We’ll discuss it among ourselves. It seems we’ve taken too much of your time, Lesa.”
“Don’t push yourselves too hard. We’ll be with Meldenik as far as we can help.”
Lesa left the stationery store with a gentle smile.
However, even after Lesa had left, Dominic’s life magic showed no signs of improvement.
The beer would swell up massively or become hard as diamond, shattering the ceiling lights.
In short, Dominic was terrible with practical magic for daily life.
“What’s the problem?”
I asked, pulling at my hair in frustration.
“Hmm, it’s hard to control the power. It’s because I haven’t been out of the sword for long. Just wait a few months.”
Dominic answered, avoiding my gaze.
Oh well, can’t help it.
I stretched Dominic’s pale cheeks long like cheese, chuckling low.
Maybe it’s because he’s specialized in brute strength, but he seems weak at controlling power…
“I can’t wait for several months. This won’t work.”
Sitting in a chair inside the stationery store, my back pressed firmly against it, I began determinedly.
“Dominic. It would be good to find a new method.”
“A new method?”
“Yes, that’s why I was thinking about summoning a demon—”
“—Impossible. There is no spell to control demons.”
I subtly pushed for the demon summoning, but it was ineffective.
Indeed. With the magic knowledge known and Dominic’s magic being limited, controlling demons with spells is impossible…
“How about I use candy ingredients to cook?”
Trying to lighten the mood, I asked with a smile.
Surprisingly, Dominic nodded as if it made sense.
“Hmm… That might not be bad. This is, after all, basic magic. Maybe it’s possible for you.”
“Magic? I can’t do magic.”
“Why?”
“I was born with absolutely no mana because of a curse on my bloodline.”
I responded with an embarrassed face.
‘I didn’t expect to explain this story myself.’
Mana refers to the power nestled in the heart, necessary for casting magic.
Generally, everyone is born with mana, but an unusually huge amount is required to become a magician.
And, including Meldenik, the descendants of the Count Kinnoa family have been famous for being born without mana due to a dragon’s curse for generations.
“Eh? A curse? You mean there’s a curse on you, so you don’t have mana?”
Dominic scratched his forehead, looking as if he was hearing this for the first time.
“I can’t believe you don’t have mana, that can’t be right…”
I sighed as I continued to answer.
“Exactly. I tried taking the mana test to enroll in the academy, but it turned out I really didn’t have any.”
In the original story, Meldenik Babeloa did not attend the academy.
To be precise, it would be more accurate to say that she couldn’t attend.
In order to attend the academy, one needed to have a certain level of magical power, more than a typical person would have, and she was deemed ineligible because the entrance test revealed she had no mana.
After it was confirmed that she inherently had zero mana, Meldenik became a laughingstock again.
“It would be really nice if I could use magic.”
He approached right in front of the counter where I was sitting.
Sitting in the chair in front of the counter, I raised my head to look up at him. What’s with him?
Dominic frowned and placed his hand on the counter.
“To think you don’t have mana in your body. That can’t be true.”
What is he talking about?
“If that were the case, you wouldn’t have been able to accept my mana when we defeated the Red Priest Pirate Gang.”
“…Huh?”
I unwittingly opened my mouth wide.
“That can’t be right?”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Uh uh…”
As I stammered, Dominic frustratingly thumped his chest.
But I had a legitimate reason for not being able to immediately believe those words.
“No, does this even make sense? Then what’s the original story? Meldenik is said to be mana-incompatible!”
My memory was not mistaken. In the original story “Lovers Cursed by Magic,” Meldenik who lacked mana and Sheria, an outstanding magician with abundant mana, were repeatedly contrasted.
“A villainous woman, brazen despite being the daughter of a bloodline cursed by a dragon and lacking magical power.”
Thus, the sentences stating Meldenik Babeloa always felt inferior to Sheria appeared very frequently.
However, I couldn’t entirely dismiss Dominic’s words either.
In reality, those who are completely devoid of mana, the mana incompatibles, cannot absorb mana. Mana does not stay in their body and naturally gets repelled.
What if I am a mana incompatible?
When Dominic transferred mana to me, I should have repelled it and not been able to absorb it.
“Really, what’s going on…….”
