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Vol 03 Chapter 82: Magician

A fake magician is someone who claims to be a magician without actually being one, demanding money and goods from others.

Imagine there’s a sick child. Someone who isn’t a magician at all comes forward, claiming they can treat the child and chants something nonsensical like ‘Alakazam, abracadabra, get well soon!’

And, by chance, the child’s illness gets cured.

Thus, a fake magician is born.

They spout nonsense, demanding exorbitant fees for treatments and prayers, and when they are about to be exposed as frauds, they quickly flee.

However, this is still relatively harmless.

The worst kind of fake magicians are those who apply some mysterious concoction to minor wounds that would heal on their own, causing the wounds to develop into something as serious as tetanus.

In a world where real magicians exist, it’s easy for people to be fooled. While low-level magicians are common, those capable of using medium and advanced spells are rare.

Even real magicians can be deceived. There are cases where genuine magicians, albeit novices, end up following fake ones.

When asked, 「Why don’t you serve the country?」 they might respond, 「I’m not interested in such worldly matters.」 If someone begs, 「Master! Teach me how to control animals!」 they might say, 「Listen, magic isn’t something to show off,」 and deflect the question with such seemingly wise words.

In a nutshell, they are nothing but con artists.

◇

「What do you think, Father-in-law? I think we should go ahead with this law.」

「It sounds good. I think you should go for it.」

I came to visit Father-in-law, the former King of Rosais, who has decided to live in retirement, to ask for permission to regulate the magicians in the country. I am the one who sits on the throne now, and I am not in a position where I must consult him for every decision, but he is still the former king, and his opinions cannot be ignored.

Especially for something like amending or adding laws, it’s prudent to seek his approval, even though it’s not necessary for matters like flood control works. This is also a way to show respect to the former king and the Rosais family.

「Nevertheless, I didn’t know Julia was thinking about this. Why didn’t she suggest it to me earlier?」

「Probably because Father-in-law has been ill.」

It was out of Julia’s consideration not to burden a sick person with additional tasks. Or perhaps she came up with the idea only recently.

In any case, creating new laws is a very tedious task, which would be difficult for Father-in-law who is ill. But I am young and can handle the extra work, even if it means pulling an all-nighter.

「So, what are the specifics? Please enlighten me.」

「Yes, of course.」

I explained Julia’s and Tetra’s proposal to Father-in-law.

First and foremost, the proposal is to introduce a licensing system for magicians, similar to medical licenses.

The system would categorize magicians into three classes: upper, middle, and lower.

The requirement for the upper class is the ability to handle advanced spells, including manipulating souls and controlling animals. The middle class should be proficient in basic spells, such as curses and barriers, and also capable of applying these skills. The lower class would need to be able to use basic spells.

Other individuals will not be recognized as magicians.

As proof of their status, upper-class magicians will receive a gold plate, middle-class will receive a silver plate, and lower-class will get a copper plate.

Furthermore, practicing spells or claiming to be a magician without a license will be considered a criminal act, punishable by ten lashes. Additionally, the cultivation of narcotics necessary for spells is banned, except for cannabis. The country will oversee the cultivation of these substances and sell them exclusively to licensed magicians.

Any discovery or invention of new narcotics, medicines, or spells must be reported to the country. The reporter will receive appropriate compensation from the country.

This measure is to prevent the hoarding of knowledge by individual magicians.

Next is the system for National Magicians. Simply put, these are magicians employed by the country.

Only magicians of the middle class and above can become National Magicians. These individuals receive various benefits, such as a pension and access to discounted narcotics, in exchange for their readiness to respond to the country’s call whenever summoned.

I’m sure there are several high-level magicians who have not served the country until now. This law aims to employ such individuals.

Then there’s the Magic Institute, which is essentially a national research facility for spells. The country funds the research, and affiliated magicians receive generous salaries.

Magicians are free to pursue their research, though they are expected to align with the country’s broader objectives.

Finally, there’s the magician training school. Previously, to become a magician, one had to apprentice under an existing magician and undergo training.

This made it difficult to train many magicians at once and challenging for the country to keep track of their numbers.

To address this, the country will establish its own school. Once a year, girls over the age of eight will be gathered at the palace for a month of magic training to assess their talents. According to Julia, one month is sufficient to identify talent, except for very late bloomers.

The country will then discuss with the talented children and their parents whether they wish to pursue becoming magicians.

The country will cover the relocation costs for the parents, and accommodations will be provided if the parents cannot move. Tuition is free.

National Magicians will teach the classes and receive salaries.

Despite the costs, it’s a worthwhile investment. In the first place, talented magicians are rare, so I doubt the number of students will be over a hundred.

Lastly, there’s the Magicraft Institute, which was proposed by Tetra. This is a facility for researching magicraft. According to Tetra, even those who are not magicians can design magic circles, as it requires mathematical skill rather than magic knowledge.

Currently, Tetra is the only member. Whether the institute grows is uncertain since it’s a new field.

The Magician Training School will also teach mathematics, potentially sparking interest in magicraft. Tetra’s recruitment efforts will play a key role here.

Furthermore, a categorization of magical disciplines will be introduced: Curse Magic (specializing in curses), Medicine (specializing in medicinal arts), Holy Magic (specializing in counter-curses), Spirit Magic(specializing in soul-related spells), and Magicraft (specializing in magicraft).

This is akin to dividing the ancient concept of Philosophy1 into subjects like Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. To be honest, I don’t fully understand the differences.

I plan to leave this categorization and development to Julia and Tetra.

Following this categorization theory, Soyon would be skilled in Spirit magic, Lulu in Curse magic, and Tetra in Magicraft. Julia is proficient in all areas except Magicraft, with particular expertise in Medicine and Holy magic.

「It sounds like you’re planning to do quite a lot.」

「We’re not planning to implement everything at once. We’ll start with the licensing system, the National Magicians, and the Magic Institute.」

The earliest we can begin implementing these plans is two months from now on.

「What about the crackdown on fake magicians?」

「We’ll use the standing army. If a report comes in, they’ll head out to apprehend the suspects immediately.」

Incidentally, there will be a reward of one gold coin for the informant. This should encourage people to report.

「Do you plan to apply these laws to the territories of the patricians as well?」

「Yes, I do. Measures against fake magicians are necessary for the patricians too, aren’t they?」

I don’t expect much objection to this. There might be some dissatisfaction with the National Magician system, but if the patricians don’t want their magicians taken by the country, they just need to offer better conditions.

That’s no different from the current situation.

However, the school will only be established in directly controlled territories. I expect some resistance there.

「The essence of this law is that the country will manage all information on magicians centrally, right?」

「Yes, that’s correct.」

Information is crucial, after all. My plan is to start with the centralization of information and human resources.

「Well, laws like this should pass easily in the council of patricians. I’ll put in a good word for you too. Good luck.」

「Thank you very much.」

A week later, at the council of patricians, all the proposed laws were successfully enacted.

◇

Two months after the implementation of the laws.

「Magician-sama, please. I’ve been giving your medicine to my child every day, but there seems to be no improvement.」

A woman was pleading with an elderly woman. This woman had a sick child.

「What can I do? It’s not something that works immediately.」

To the elderly woman’s reply, the mother appeared dubious.

「It’s been two months already. When will we see the effects?」

「What? Are you doubting me?」

The elderly woman retorted strongly, causing the woman to shake her head. This elderly woman was the only magician in the vicinity of the village.

「Don’t worry, your child will get better soon. Now, I must return home.」

The elderly woman said this and left.

「Ha, ha, idiot. That was just a dumpling made of wheat. It’s not medicine. There’s no way it would cure anything,」

The elderly woman laughed to herself once out of earshot.

This elderly woman had been swindling various villages in the area out of wheat, salt, and wine with similar tactics. While there were many skilled magicians around the capital, this area was deep in the countryside.

There were no magicians in the vicinity who could see through the elderly woman’s deceit. The villagers had no choice but to depend on her.

Moreover, very few people had actually witnessed genuine magic in action. The country simply didn’t have enough magicians to meet the demand.

「Is anyone home?」

Someone knocked on the door. When the elderly woman opened it, she was greeted by a young woman, accompanied by several soldiers.

「My name is Lulu, a National Magician. You are under suspicion of fraud. Please present your magician license.」.

The elderly woman frowned, having no idea what a magician license was.

「What is that?」

「Oh? Haven’t you heard? There’s a new law that requires all magicians to have a license to practice. Without it, practicing magic is illegal.」

「I know nothing about that.」

The elderly woman replied, genuinely unaware of the law. Given the still-developing bureaucracy in King Rosais’ Country, it was not unusual for some villages to receive this type of notification late.

「I apologize for this oversight on our part. Let’s clarify your status now. It will be quick,」

Lulu maintained her smile as she pressed the elderly woman to demonstrate her magic, which she could not do, as she was not a real magician.

「Look, magic shouldn’t be used so lightly…」

「That’s irrelevant. Please demonstrate your magic.」

Lulu interrupted, pushing her way into the house with the soldiers following suit.

「Why are you touching things without permission?」

「Sorry about that. Is this medicine in the jar, or should I say, these wheat dumplings, the same ‘medicine’ you’ve been selling?」

Lulu inquired, her smile unwavering as the elderly woman stepped back.

「By the way, the punishment for being a fake magician includes ten lashes and confiscation of property. If you don’t confess, the ten lashes could double to twenty,」

The elderly woman quickly confessed.

It’s worth noting that the child, who had remained ill due to the elderly woman’s deceit, was cured within two weeks with the proper medicine prescribed by Lulu.

TN1: Philosophy in the ancient world was an all-encompassing discipline and included what we now categorize as physics, biology, ethics, politics, metaphysics, and more. The ancient philosophers pursued pure knowledge without being restricted by fields.