I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated

Chapter 536: The Walls of the Academy of Magic

『So this is the Academy of Magic, huh…? It’s so big, or rather, it’s so tall』

「Looks pointy」

「Woof」

After getting a room at the Green Ancient Tree Pavilion, we once again head to the Academy of Magic.

At first, I planned to go to the Adventurer’s Guild, but I realized that the Academy was closer than I thought.

After we left the inn, we decided to take a look at the town from a hill. We climbed up a narrow staircase with more than 500 steps and looked around Lady Blue from the square at the top of it. There we saw the Academy of Magic was surprisingly close to us.

We got lost again on the way to the Academy, so it took us quite a while to get there.

It would have taken us less than five minutes if we went from the top… But well, we made progress in our exploration instead, and Fran and Urushi were both happy with it.

It seemed that waffles were a specialty of this town as we discovered many stores that were selling them. I didn’t expect to find not only sweet flavors but also non-sweet dough with ham and cheese in between.

It was interesting to discover different stores while we were in Lady Blue. Maybe I’ll try to make some too. But well, if I ask Fran what kind of waffle she wants, she’ll probably just say curry-flavored waffle anyway.

By the way, Fran wanted to try the freshwater fish curry. So, I came up with a slightly unusual one and the straightforward one.

The first was one curry with eel. I added a bit more sansho (Japanese pepper) and a bit less sweet unagi kabayaki (broiled eel). So, this would be a Hitsu-mabushi-style curry, huh? I thought it was a bit too much, but Fran seemed to enjoy it.

The other one was carp curry, well, it was normal, but it was fish curry you know? It was nothing new, and I made it a little too spicy to take away the muddy smell, and Urushi seemed to like this one a lot.

『Let’s find its entrance for the time being』

「Nn」

We’re standing in front of the outer wall that surrounds the Academy of Magic. From there, we could clearly see the tall towers that line inside of the Academy. There were probably more than ten tall and thin towers. There may be more when we go further in.

It would be rare to see such a tall building outside of a military facility such as a castle or fort. At first, I thought it was to make effective use of the small site, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

After all, we couldn’t find the gate no matter how far we walked. In retrospect, when I look at this town from the outside, about a quarter of it must have been occupied by the Academy of Magic. It was a quarter of the Lady Blue, which boasted a scale that this Academy alone could be called a town already.

I also thought that the grounds of the Academy of Magic must be larger than those of Kiarazen, where we stopped along the way.

「…Should we climb it? But that way, the people will come at us」

「Woof」

『N-no, don’t』

After all, we’ll be staying in this town for a while, so we couldn’t cause any problems here. Besides, this wall was not just a simple wall. There was a hint of magic coming from it.

At first glance, it seemed to be alarm-type magic. Fran guessed so too, then she came up with the overly reckless idea of sounding the alarm and calling the people here.

But now that I had the Magic Control SP, I could sense other magic coming from it. The alarm spell was a distraction, and it seemed that something else was being hidden behind the spell.

As I expected, I couldn’t sense what kind of magic it was, but it was certainly a troublesome one. At least we don’t feel like trying it ourselves.

It was better to keep walking steadily outside of it.

『That’s why Fran-kun』

「…Nn. I understand」

After wandering along the wall just like that, we finally see something other than a wall. But it doesn’t seem to be the main gate.

「Master, what’s that?」

『It looks like an entrance, but… Why is it so small?』

We finally arrived at the entrance of the Academy of Magic, which was surprisingly small compared to the immensity of the walls. It looked like a kitchen door. No, in fact, it was probably something close to that.

『Looks like we’re at the back entrance, huh?』

It seemed to be a back door used by servants and staff when they went out.

「What should we do?」

『Well, we can go to the main entrance, but in the meantime, let’s ask if we can enter it from there. Oh, and make sure you show the letter of introduction from Alistair, okay?』

「Okay」

『And Urushi… Well, just stay like that』

It was better for him to be visible from the beginning than to be hiding in the shadows. It would also save the trouble of introducing him later.

「Excuse me」

Even though it was a back entrance, there was a guard. So, we decided to talk to them for the time being.

「Hmm? Do you need anything?」

He seemed like a kind uncle. I wondered if it was okay for the guards to be so soft-hearted, but I guess that’s just how well they teach their staff.

「I came here for a request」

「Huh? You’re an adventurer, aren’t you? It’s unusual for us to outsource our work though…」

「Nn?」

「Oh, I’m sorry. So, what’s the request?」

Apparently, we could get through from here. Fran then handed Alistair’s letter of introduction to the uncle of the guard.

「A request for a mock battle. Various things are written on this」

「Let me see it. Wha-what… Eh?」

The uncle was surprised to read the letter of introduction. Well, it couldn’t be helped. It says “To the director of the Academy of Magic, I have found the person you were looking for to be a mock battle instructor, so I’m sending her to you with a letter of introduction”

Alistair’s name was written at the end of it. It seems that Alistair had a title as a faculty member of this Academy of Magic. In addition to the envelope and the letter made by the Academy of Magic, her signature would be enough to make sure that they would take care of us.

「Umm, Did you bring your adventurer’s card?」

「Of course, here」

「I’ll take a look at it」

After checking the card carefully, the guard opened a small window next to the back door and started talking to someone on the other side.

「May I take this letter of introduction for a moment?」

「Okay」

The uncle then handed the letter of introduction to someone through the small window and asked her to wait here for a moment while he returned the card to Fran.

「Umm, I can’t make the final decision myself, so someone a little more important will be coming here. So please wait a moment」

His attitude had changed a lot. He was treating her like a child before, but now it seems that he was treating us like a guest now. They were not assuming that it was a forgery and were treating us well.

Well then, I wonder what kind of person would come here.