WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint ◈

Chapter 33: The Firefly Prince (3)

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* * *

“That’s enough for today.”

I lightly tapped the desk and closed my research journal.

The dark brown failures thrown into the waste bin caught my eye.

Even as I looked at them, I did not feel particularly stressed.

People were supposed to grow through failure, weren’t they?

Besides, I was the protagonist.

All protagonists grew by feeding on failure.

Believing that even these failures would help me grow, I did not feel discouraged as I looked at the rotten eggs.

...Though honestly, I wanted things to come easy too.

Come to think of it, this was unfair.

Other protagonists could whip something up in no time.

Why did I have to run around and struggle for years just to make one thing?

Waaah. Baby Julian wants things to come easy.

“Ahem.”

That was enough self-pity.

Sometimes, when life got hard, people needed to think nonsense to themselves to keep going.

I checked the temperature of the warming box one last time.

Then I put on my coat and opened the laboratory door.

“Ow!”

The moment the door opened, a cute cry came from the other side.

I had a good idea who it was.

“Eri.”

“Hehe...”

Behind the door, Eri had fallen onto her backside. She rubbed her forehead with an awkward smile.

“Eri. I seem to remember telling you not to come to the laboratory while I was conducting this research.”

“Sorry, Doctor. I was too curious.”

“They say curiosity killed the cat.”

“But I heard that curious cats get adopted first. And isn’t curiosity why I became your assistant?”

“Hmm.”

She acted thoughtless, yet occasionally struck right at the heart of things.

Following Eri’s gaze, I saw a slightly open window.

There was a tiny gap, no bigger than a needle’s eye, which I had left open for ventilation.

As I locked it shut, I spoke.

“Right. So what did this cat see?”

At my question, Eri dusted herself off and rose to her feet, her eyes shining.

“Oh, right! That was the same spell as the black mage’s, wasn’t it? Does that mean you’re a spellcaster comparable to Rank 2?”

She spoke while waving both arms around.

The passion in her expression when it came to magic brought a smile to my face.

Perhaps it was because I had once wanted to become a professor.

Whenever I saw a child burning with scholarly enthusiasm, I could not help smiling.

Though I was a child myself, saying that.

“Not quite.”

“Don’t be modest. I saw it clearly. The chant, the catalyst, even the mist that appeared. Aside from the color, it was the black mage’s magic.”

“But the difference in mastery is vast.”

All I could make was a curse large enough to cover a tray of eggs.

Unlike Belgian, I had to finish the entire chant and set up the optimal environment before I could even activate it once a day.

No matter how much of a genius I was, I could not imitate the mastery of a black mage who had reached Rank 2.

The curse I cast on the eggs was not an especially impressive feat, either.

It was only a slight improvement over boiling a kettle with a matchstick, the magic I had shown Eri before.

“I’ve told you many times already. Being able to do something like this does not make me a spellcaster.”

“Then what does that make me?”

“You don’t need to be impatient already, Eri.”

Did it not normally take three years to learn the basics of magic?

You started learning magic at twelve, and after three years, at fifteen, you could finally become a proper apprentice spellcaster.

In medical terms, that was about the level of an intern.

I should not use myself as the standard just because protagonist buffs and genius buffs had let me finish in three months.

“Still, I want to try using magic sometimes too... I’ve learned exception handling now. And people say practical experience is a hundred times better than studying.”

She probably meant that seeing once was better than hearing a hundred times.

“I want to practice my own magic now and then too.”

“Hmm...”

After considering her words for a moment, I nodded.

“Come to think of it, it is about time for you too.”

“Huh?”

“Yes. It would be good for you to practice using magic in a controlled environment.”

I thought back on the curriculum I had gone through in a condensed form.

After learning exception handling in roughly four days, I had begun practicing magic in controlled environments with my private tutor’s help.

Everyone knew that hands-on experience helped far more than books.

And since the estate even had a training ground, there was no reason not to practice.

“While you do that, you can also find the kinds of magic you have an aptitude for.”

“Really? Does that mean you’ll teach me now, Doctor?”

“No. I cannot help you with practical training.”

Theory was one thing.

Practical training was beyond what I could do.

To create an environment for practical training, you first needed the ability to sense that environment.

Naturally, there was no way I, who had given up becoming a mage because I lacked that ability, could create one.

“Then what was that when you used magic alone in there? Can’t I do it in there too?”

“It would be difficult. That space is set up specifically for my use.”

My laboratory was full of all kinds of magical tools.

Humidity, temperature, even symbolic resonance.

It was my own workshop, built by piling capital on top of capital.

Naturally, it was not a suitable place for Eri to learn magic.

“Then what about Mr. Schmitt?”

“He already has his hands full teaching Freya.”

“Then do I have to wait until Freya’s lessons are over?”

“Well...”

But it would be a waste to let Eri’s talent sit unused.

As I rubbed beneath my chin and thought, someone suddenly came to mind.

“Ah. Come to think of it, there is a suitable teacher.”

A spellcaster who could control the surrounding environment with the help of magical tools.

“There is someone suitable. Learning from that person would be appropriate.”

“Who?”

“You will find out tomorrow.”

Leaving Eri tilting her head in confusion, I considered what gift I should prepare before meeting that person.

* * *

Strike while the iron was hot.

The next day happened to be the weekend, so I decided to meet the person immediately.

I could not go there myself.

Instead, I had the head butler invite that person to our estate.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door to the annex reception room was knocked on three times.

“Come in.”

Once the head butler gave permission, the door slowly opened.

The first thing to enter through the gap was the smell of resin and oil.

It was a scent unique to spellcasters who mainly handled fire.

The door opened, and a man appeared.

Captain Shen.

It had been a long time since I had seen him without his gas mask.

“Greetings, Director.”

The scar-covered man crossed the threshold and bowed his head.

After greeting us quickly, his gaze swept across the reception room.

It first fell on Eri, who sat beside me, swinging her legs.

He seemed to consider the unfamiliar person for a moment, then met the head butler’s eyes.

The moment their eyes met, he lowered his gaze before finally looking at me.

Click.

His body seemed to stiffen slightly.

He looked strangely uncomfortable around me.

‘Is he still holding that against himself?’

Without showing it, I gestured toward the sofa opposite us.

Captain Shen cautiously took a seat.

Though it was more accurate to say he perched on the edge of it.

The head butler placed a cup of black tea before him.

Only then did Eri whisper to me.

“Doctor. Is that person going to help me train?”

“Nothing has been decided yet.”

“Why not?”

“They have to accept the request first.”

The voices we exchanged were far too loud to be called whispers.

I could see Captain Shen listening to us.

In particular, his shoulders twitched once when I mentioned a request.

I moistened my lips with tea and got straight to the point.

“Captain Shen.”

“Yes, please speak, Director.”

His answer came immediately.

It was the attitude of someone prepared to receive an order at any moment.

“I would like to ask you for a favor.”

“...”

“This is a child our House is raising, one with mage talent. I would like you to teach her.”

Captain Shen’s eyes widened.

“M-Me?”

It was only natural that he was surprised.

A child with mage talent being raised directly by a noble House.

A child who might someday establish a new noble House.

Becoming that child’s teacher was no small matter.

“Why me...?”

“I could not think of anyone more suitable around me than you, Captain Shen. And did you not say you came from the Magic Tower?”

“That was long ago.”

“Still, I believe you are the right person.”

Captain Shen lowered his head.

Silence passed for a while.

Then he opened his mouth.

“I am not qualified.”

It was the answer I expected.

I had worked with Captain Shen for nearly two years.

I knew at least that he felt strangely uncomfortable around me.

And I had a vague idea why.

“I once betrayed you, Young Master. I do not think someone like me can be entrusted with a person precious to you.”

“Young Master.”

The head butler, who had been quietly listening, joined in.

“I agree. A person who has betrayed kindness once has every chance of doing so again.”

“...”

“As your butler, I am worried. If it happens again, how deeply you would be hurt...”

“Head Butler.”

I interrupted him.

Then I thought for a moment.

It was not as if I did not understand the head butler’s concern.

They say the ungrateful always repay kindness with betrayal.

But...

“I do not think it is right to deny someone an opportunity just because they have failed once.”

No matter how I thought about it, that was the logic of ordinary people.

A protagonist had to be broad-minded.

As long as someone had not stabbed me in the back, I could generously forgive a few silver coins.

“But, Young Master. This old man will speak out of turn. Once someone turns their back after betraying kindness, they are bound to repeat the same act. I ask that you reconsider...”

“Then do you believe I should not have forgiven my mother?”

The head butler’s mouth closed.

He must have remembered.

Before I was accepted as the eldest son of this House.

How Mother Linie had tormented me.

But I accepted her.

Simply because I was the protagonist?

That was part of it, but it was also because I could feel her sincere desire to apologize to me.

So I trusted Mother, and that choice had been right.

She had truly come to love me.

As a result, I had found a place to stand in this dangerous world.

“Captain Shen must have had circumstances that left him with no choice at the time. It cannot have been the first or second time he had been betrayed by nobles.”

I looked at Captain Shen.

His shoulders were trembling.

“But I once disappointed you, Young Master...”

“Mistakes are opportunities to grow. I do not think mistakes can determine someone’s value.”

People could fail and make mistakes while living.

Even I had been scolded all over the place during my residency.

Sometimes I panicked and made a complete fool of myself.

Then, once I had grown older, I watched junior doctors do the same.

But in the end, mistakes did not determine someone’s value.

If anything, the ones who disappointed me most often later showed remarkable growth.

Perhaps it was because of those experiences.

I did not feel there was any need to be disappointed in my own mistakes or those of others.

“Captain Shen, so please stop punishing yourself over it.”

Then I turned to the head butler as well.

“You too, Head Butler. I was not hurt, so you do not need to be angry on my behalf.”

“My apologies, Young Master. Perhaps I have grown senile. I was presuming to guess at your feelings.”

“...That is not it. Thank you for worrying about me so much.”

The head butler seemed to have believed I had been hurt all this time.

Well, it was not entirely wrong.

To be honest, I had felt a little slighted.

Perhaps that was why I had arranged this chance for forgiveness now, after two years.

Still.

Considering Captain Shen’s devotion over those two years, was it not time to forgive him?

Just as I had forgiven Mother.

“Let us stop talking about the past. I will ask again, Captain Shen. Will you take Eri on?”

I clapped my hands to lighten the atmosphere.

Captain Shen, who had been staring at me in a daze, soon nodded.

“Understood, Young Master. I will certainly meet your expectations.”

Captain Shen rose from his seat and bowed.

Watching him, Eri raised one hand high.

“So when do I start learning?”

“...”

Rather than failing to read the mood, it was closer to her trying to lighten it in her own way.

Knowing that, Captain Shen wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and let out a hollow laugh.

“As early as tomorrow.”

“Really?!”

Eri clenched both fists.

“I can finally use magic too! What kind of magic do you use, mister?”

“I use flame.”

“Oh, flame.”

Seeing her so excited made me wonder if I should have found her a teacher sooner.

I lightly patted Eri’s head and, out of habit, slipped a hand into my coat pocket.

‘Huh?’

The familiar texture that should have touched my fingertips was gone.

Frowning slightly, I searched through the pocket.

It was empty.

I quickly realized what had disappeared.

The grimoire of the old mage, Fitz.

The old notebook containing thousands of records on combining holy water and magic.

‘Ah. Was today the end of the borrowing period?’

I had already finished copying it, so I did not feel particularly sorry to lose it.

I shrugged and turned my attention back to Eri and Captain Shen’s conversation.

“Then what time should I come tomorrow?”

“I will come to you. Be at the clinic at eight in the morning. I will teach you there.”

“Huh? I thought we were doing practical training.”

“Should you not study safety before practical training?”

“Aww...”

At the word study, Eri’s expression darkened.

* * *

At the same time.

At the heart of Sanctum Hill.

Somewhere within the Imperial Palace, a white-haired old man sat before a fireplace, nodding off.

“...Hmm?”

The old mage slowly opened his eyes.

An old leather notebook that had not been there moments ago had fallen onto his lap.

It was the very grimoire that had vanished without a trace from Julian’s pocket.

“Ho ho. You’re back.”

The old mage smiled.

In truth, that grimoire had not been a copy.

Copying a grimoire without chanting was inefficient in terms of mana from the start.

Every drop of mana needed for research was precious enough already.

It would have been too foolish to copy a notebook on the spot just because he wanted to look impressive before a junior.

So the old mage had mixed in a small lie.

“Now I can return to my research.”

He picked up the notebook and rose.

The notebook was his original research notebook.

It had simply been given preservation magic and a function that returned it to its owner after some time.

He took the returned research notebook and approached his desk.

Under the mana lamp, he opened it.

“Now then, what research has our junior been conducting?”

And those were not the only two enchantments placed upon the notebook.

When he turned the pages, Julian’s research to date filled them in dense handwriting.

“Good work, Fitz.”

The old mage placed three small sugar cubes on the notebook.

Crunch.

When he blinked, the three sugar cubes had already disappeared.

As the mage turned the pages, he examined what had been recorded in the notebook over the past week.

“Hmm... Using eggs. What a peculiar idea. What does he intend to do with that curse?”

Julian’s experiments were one surprise after another to the old mage.

They contained no special technique.

In terms of magical skill, they were not even at the level of an apprentice.

But watching Julian repeatedly conduct seemingly meaningless experiments on eggs was enough to make him curious about the idea behind them.

“What is this for, my junior?”

In his eyes, Julian’s experiments were not foolish games retracing laws that had already been established.

They were experiments born from an innovative idea known only to geniuses, one that would be difficult to explain to ordinary people.

Before long, the notebook reached its final page.

There, something the old mage had not particularly wanted to see was recorded.

“Ho ho. I told it to record whenever it sensed mana. Perhaps because it is only a low-grade spirit, it did not understand context and recorded even this.”

It was not Julian’s experiments, but a record of Julian’s ordinary conversations.

It was not what the old mage wanted.

He had lent out the notebook only to glimpse his junior’s ideas, though he felt somewhat sorry for doing so.

He had no intention of doing something as tasteless as peeking into his private life.

So just as he was about to erase the conversations.

[Mistakes are opportunities to grow. I do not think mistakes can determine someone’s value.]

One sentence caught the old mage’s eye.

After reading it, a strange light entered the mage’s sleepy eyes.

For a while, the mage silently stroked his chin.

“Accepting mistakes and failure, then learning from them...”

In the world of mages, failure meant either death or the miserable collapse of research to which one had devoted an entire lifetime.

It was a world where countless people suffered mana backlash and were left invalids after a single failure.

Moreover, those who had lived as elites feared failure terribly.

That was why mages feared and tried desperately to control failure, sometimes even stepping on the failures of others to rise higher.

The old mage knew that fact better than anyone.

‘That was why I deliberately showed him notes of my failures.’

Yet a noble child of only twelve calmly declared that failure itself was the foundation of valuable growth.

While keeping the records of the old mage’s own thousands of failures at his side.

‘Hmm...’

This was not an attitude that could be taught.

Nor did it seem likely that a child could have learned such an attitude from anyone.

Perhaps that was why.

At least in the old mage’s eyes, that attitude itself was an innate talent.

‘It seems worth leaving the Imperial Palace for a while for the first time in ages.’

A deep smile slowly formed at the corners of his wrinkled mouth.

Footnotes:

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