Chapter 16: The Magician of Little Tricks
Chapter 16: The Magician of Little Tricks
Congratulations on your graduation, Kunon.
Thank you, Miss Genie.
Today was the day of the magic class.
Genie, my tutor of more than two years, came to the Gurion house.
We met in the garden and began our magic lesson.
Just the other day, Kunon was able to graduate from the noble school.
This means that he has fulfilled the minimum obligations of a nobleman.
Kunon doesnt have any plans for the future, but at least he wont owe anything to the school if he wants to enter the social world.
After another day of practical training, Genie said,
I think its time I told you the truth.
The truth?
Kunon turned around.
It didnt matter much if he turned his head because he couldnt see, but he couldnt help but look back.
The truth.
It was an appropriate phrase to prepare himself.
Are you ready for this? Im about to tell you something shocking.
Oh, no, you dont have to say that all of a sudden. Could it be true that Miss Genie is a goddess of the night sky and needs to return to the world of the gods soon or something like that. ?
Its a truth I personally love, but no, sir. the truth is that I have no more to teach Master Kunon.
What?
It was a real shock.
I think Ive told you several times that Im quitting this job.
I will not deceive you anymore. Ill be honest with you. There is nothing more for me to teach you.
Until now, she had never spoken so nakedly in order to protect her petty pride.
But now Genie had made up her mind.
As I told you before, Kunon-samas father has forbidden me to teach you highly aggressive magic.
With that in mind, I taught you everything I could.
Now, Kunon-sama is using magic much better than I am. With your current level of proficiency, even if you learn a new magic, you will soon overtake me.
Thats not true! I loved the little tricks where you were trying so hard to trick me even though you didnt have anything to teach me!
Oh, you did notice that I was desperate, didnt you? It helps that I could go straight to the point.
I have to admit, there have been many times in the past two years when Ive had a really hard time covering it up.
Thats not true! With your desperate tricks, the scope of my magic has definitely expanded! It was your tricks that taught me the goal of life and the depths of magic!
If you really think so, dont be so crafty. I was really desperate even with that little trick I made up. It hurts me a little.
Thats not true!
Yes, it is! Im saying it, so its there! What does Master Kunon know about me! No, you know what Im talking about! Dang, this is complicated. !
Is it the pay!? Is it because you dont get paid enough?
No, sir! Rather the opposite! I cant stand not having a job when Im being paid so much!
Ill ask my father to raise your salary! So dont tell me youre quitting!
The problem is that the salary is too high!
Kunon was an outstanding student.
But Genie was mediocre in the magicians.
It didnt take long for Kunon to finish what Genie could teach, and if anything, the student was already walking ahead of Genie.
If the positions of teacher and student were reversed, Genie would probably have more to learn from Kunon now.
Two years ago, Genie thought the high income and short working hours made it an attractive place to work and couldnt let it go, but now she was embarrassed to admit it.
Genie is a mediocre sorcerer.
But that doesnt mean she doesnt have pride as a magician.
She may not have much, but she does have some.
It is her pride that says, I cant be Kunons teacher anymore.
or rather, Ive talked about quitting many times, and each time Kunon has convinced me to keep teaching, and Ive slacked off.
Genie didnt want to give up teaching Kunon even though she was desperate to find a job, wanted to watch Kunon grow, and the pay was good. It paid well, and there were many holidays. The snacks served at Gurions house were delicious.
In many ways, it was a hard place to leave.
However, she had reached her limit.
Kunon!
Genie grabbed Kunon by both shoulders.
You should have a much better magician as your teacher than me! I cant develop your skill any further than you already are! I cant lead you any further! Or rather, you have developed beyond what I imagined! Youve done well!
This is the main reason for the heartache that Genie has repeatedly struggled with.
She could no longer improve on Kunons talent by himself.
Because of Kunons talent, he himself has been able to grow beyond Genies teachings, but that ceiling has been reached.
I want to leave the world from here on out to a sorcerer who can do better than Genie. For Kunons sake, too.
The existence of Genie has already become a hindrance to Kunons growth.
I cant accept this situation with the pride of a helpless sorcerer.
It was time to let go of Kunon, to let him spread his wings to a higher and wider world.
The truth is that the time had come quite a while ago.
Because Kunon would stop her.
Shes spent the last six months or so really not doing much.
To be precise, I havent been able to teach anything for over a year now. Ive been cheating my way through the classes, but I think Ive reached my limit.
Dont you think so, Kunon?
Fool me!
What?
Deceive me more brilliantly! I want Genie as my teacher! Fool me like youve been fooling me!
Genie pulled away from Kunon partly because he was starting to feel strange, like a younger boy was pressing him.
Its so Im at my wit's end.
If you look around you, you will see various animals made of water standing around you.
There are more than fifty of them.
Some of them are so big that you can look up at them, while others are as small as your toes.
The mass of water that formed these creatures.
All of them are as beautiful as works of art when they reflect the sunlight and become transparent.
This is Kunons water ball A Ori, which he has been working hard to polish.
This is no longer rudimentary water magic.
Its so good that Genie couldnt even make one.
Its the kind of sorcery that a genius sorcerer has spent years creating his or her own sorcery, and he or she would show off to the king,.
This is the result of Genies deceitful attempts to change the shape and change the touch.
really, Im at my wits end.
I dont really remember teaching this.
If someone were to ask to teach this to them, Genie couldnt teach them. I dont think I taught him this.
Kunon had already left Genies hands a long time ago.
No! I like your little tricks!
If you really like it, dont call it little tricks! Dont ever say that again!
With these last words, his teacher Genie left the Gurion family.
And I cant let my pupils beat me.
Genie walked briskly out from under the gates of House Gurion.
-She saw the real geniuses at the school of magic, and it was there that Genies passion for magic faltered.
She didnt have that level of talent.
It was already admirable that she had awakened as a magician, so she resigned herself to rise to the top as a magician and leave that to the geniuses.
However, watching the growth of Kunon, her first student, inspired her to overcome her disappointment.
Kunon is undoubtedly a genius, as he has been able to incorporate even the childish tricks that even I find painful, and has grown by incorporating more and more diversity.
But at the same time, I also saw that he was making a desperate effort.
The geniuses that Genie had seen at the magic school must have also been working hard in this way.
They didnt just do it after being taught, they must have gone through trial and error over and over again.
When she realized this, Genie asked herself, have I been trying so hard?
When she realized this, Genie asked herself if she had been trying hard enough.
Its too early to give up.
Youre good at little tricks?
Thats fine.
Kunon taught me that if you push it far, even little tricks can take on an extraordinary form.
Genie, the sorcerer who would later leave her mark on history, decided at that moment to spend her life challenging the depths of magic.