The vast Ford Continent, blessed by the One-Horned Goddess, was divided into four main regions.
The Aldran Empire to the north, controlled by a supreme ruler.
The Kingdom of Forceus, a nation of tradition that governed the southern region.
The East, a conflict zone where various lords, city-states, powerful clans, and tribes lived in turmoil.
And the Principality of Estoria, an island nation on the western edge of the continent.
Estoria was a magical nation with the most highly developed magic arts in the world.
It was also home to the most prestigious magic academy that offered cutting-edge magical research and education: Estoria Academy of Magic.
This was where young people from all reaches of the world who aspired to become mages gathered. It was their holy ground.
And Rix was now on board a ship headed for that very nation…
“To think that just beyond this boundless sea…lies the Principality of Estoria.”
Rix, dressed in a simple traveling outfit of a shirt, trousers, and overcoat, stood on the deck of the ship and stared out at the vast sea’s horizon as he leaned on the railing.
A pleasant sea breeze was blowing ceaselessly.
The wind caught the ship’s sail, which hung from three masts, and the ship cut briskly through the rough waves of the Arlia Sea.
Above Rix was a beautiful clear blue sky.
If he listened closely, he could hear the gentle roar of the sea.
The shifting surface of the water reflected the light of the midday sun and sparkled brilliantly.
The refreshing maritime sight made Rix feel like something was about to begin—something filled with a hope entirely different from before.
“Bleeeeeeeeeegggghhhhhhhh!!”
Rix leaned over the railing and spewed a mess of vomit into the ocean.
“Urgh… I feel sick…! I should have never come here…!”
He was already having some regrets.
While Rix was a battle-hardened mercenary, sea travel had always been a weakness of his.
Owing to this, he immediately became unreliable and useless when it came to marine warfare.
A long journey by ship like this was basically hell on earth for Rix.
“Dammit… I can’t do this…!”
At the end of his rope, Rix collapsed to the ground with a thud.
“What the hell is this…? This is worse than any battle I’ve ever experienced…! Am I gonna die? Am I dying…?! In a place like this…?!” he wailed. “Tch… If this is how it’s gonna be, then…!”
With a look in his eyes like he had lost all hope in this world, he placed his hand on the hilt of the sword he had hanging at his hip… And then…
“Um… You there… Are you all right?”
“Hey, you… You doing okay?”
Two voices from either side of Rix simultaneously called out to him.
“Hmm?” he said.
“Ah…”
“Oh?”
When he raised his head to look, he saw a girl at his left and a boy standing at his right.
They both appeared to be in their mid-teens, the same as Rix.
The girl was of average height, with flax-colored hair tied in two shoulder-length bundles and kind ultramarine eyes. Her face was beautiful and almost doll-like, yet her lack of makeup and plain looks made her seem a bit unrefined.
But still, her beauty was enough to make Rix’s heart skip a beat. More than beautiful, she was cute. Her delicate beauty reminded him of the simplicity of a wildflower blooming in a field.
The boy, meanwhile, had short brown hair and brown eyes and was taller than Rix. He wasn’t exactly handsome…but his face was decently good-looking, and he possessed a mysterious charm that drew people to him.
The two were both in traveling garb.
“Who are you two? Muggers? And you’re targeting me at my weakest moment…?! Guh?!” cried Rix.
“Obviously not. And anyway, I’m not even with her. But I’m pretty sure that like me, she was just worried about you and wanted to come check if you were okay.”
“Y-yes… You look extremely sick…” The girl took a small bottle out from her clothing. Inside it were some kind of pills. “You’re seasick, aren’t you? If you want, you can use this. You’ll feel relief in no time.”
“…Oh. Poison, huh? Sure, I’ll gladly take you up on that…,” said Rix.
“Why would it be poison?! And what do you mean, gladly?!” the boy couldn’t help but snap back at Rix’s extreme rudeness. “It’s for nausea! Magic anti-nausea medicine! It’s a pretty famous brand that even I’ve heard of!”
“Well, she said I’d feel ‘relief,’ so I just thought…”
“This isn’t assisted suicide! Whatever, just hurry up and take it!”
Rix did as the boy urged him to and took the small bottle from the girl.
The medicine worked like a charm. In just a few minutes, Rix was almost completely back to normal.
“Wow, thank you,” he told the girl. “You saved my life.”
“Saved your life? Ah-ha-ha, no need to exaggerate like that…”
“No, really, I owe you my life! When you found me, I was seconds away from suicide!”
“S-suicide?! How can you say that so casually?!”
“Hmm? I mean, of course I don’t actually want to die. But if I had to keep suffering like that, I’d rather…you know. Am I right? I figure anyone else would feel the same…”
“Yeah…I’m kinda starting to regret starting a conversation with you…”
The girl blinked incredulously, and the boy squinted at Rix suspiciously.
“I-in any case, we should introduce ourselves, right? I’m Annie Midir. I’m starting at Estoria Academy of Magic this year. I’m a brand-new first-year student,” the girl said with a cheerful smile.
“Oh, okay. I thought so,” the boy remarked. “Yeah, most people riding this ship at this time of year must be heading for the academy.”
“Which means…you too?”
“Uh-huh. My name’s Randy. Randy Ruster. I’m a new student this year at Estoria Academy of Magic, too. Nice to meet you.”
The boy, Randy, introduced himself and looked at Rix.
“…Same for you, then?”
“Yeah. I’m Rix Frestat. I’ve been accepted to Estoria Academy of Magic, which is how I ended up here on my deathbed.”
This made Annie and Randy open their eyes wide in astonishment.
“Whaaaat?! You mean you’re—?!”
“You’re the Rix Frestat?!”
In a split second, Rix reflexively reached for the sword at his hip and grew wary out of confusion.
“Wh-why do you know my name?!” he demanded. “Don’t tell me the wanted posters for my bounty have made it all the way out here?! Eeeek!”
“No, that’s not it! Man, I’m really starting to regret talking to you! What’s your deal anyway?!”
“U-ummm…calm down, Rix. It’s just, you’re already pretty famous among the rest of the new students this term,” Annie said, trying to soothe Rix. “The academy has what are called scholarship students. Usually, you need to pass an impartial, rigorous entrance exam and aptitude screening to be admitted to Estoria Academy of Magic, but scholarship students are admitted by special invitation and get to ignore that whole process. We don’t know how the academy selects these people…but it’s said that all scholarship students, without exception, possess extraordinary magical abilities.”
“Everyone’s been talking about how two scholarship students have been admitted this year…,” said Randy. “I never would have expected you to be one of them.”
“…!”
Rix fell silent with surprise after hearing this.
Indeed, the reason why Rix had decided to quit being a mercenary and become a mage was all because one day, while he’d been happily looting corpses on some battlefield with his comrades, a strange fairy had suddenly appeared before him and handed him a letter.
That letter was now in his pocket, titled “Special Admission Invitation to Estoria Academy of Magic.”
He wasn’t used to reading anything longer than two sentences, but Rix had fought hard against the urge to fall asleep and had managed to read its contents… He didn’t totally get it, but it seemed like he could enter this magic academy for free.
At the time, he’d just figured he had gotten lucky. But after seeing the reaction from these two, he realized it was a pretty big deal.
Rix was, after all, right in the middle of his adolescence.
It felt pretty good to be called “extraordinary,” or “special.”
In fact, it was something to brag about, wasn’t it?
“Oh, really? Extraordinary? I’m extraordinary, you say? Stop, you’re making me blush!”
“Well…you’re not normal, in any case.”
“Agreed.”
Randy narrowed his eyes, and Annie nodded with a vague smile as Rix started to get carried away.
“By the way, what kind of special magic can you use? If you’re a scholarship student…you must already be able to use magic, right? Let’s hear it.”
“S-stop, Randy. Don’t you think that’s rude to ask? A mage should always keep their cards close to their chest.”