Chapter 27
027. The Chain Letter
A single member is enough for the Magic Unit.
Of course, like Barnard did, I could recruit many people and engrave marks on them to boost firepower all at once.
But that’s not an option.
Not only would it be a misuse of magic, it would also go against my mission of raising proper magicians.
Above all, I simply don’t want to do it.
Crushing a person’s limitless potential and using them as a tool—absolutely not.
That’s why I needed at least one recruit among the newcomers who didn’t have an engraving, someone the guards had already branded as a dropout.
There might be one or two, but I didn’t want to gamble on chance.
So I asked Dyke to “deliver” the letter through someone without an engraving.
And here was the result, right in front of me.
『 The Contractor casts magic. 』
『 The Contractor uses Insight by their will. 』
I used the magic “Insight” on the brown-haired boy Barent, who claimed he didn’t have an engraving.
Through it, I confirmed he truly didn’t.
A grin spread across my face.
“How old are you?”
“I’m sev… seventeen this year.”
“Perfect.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Do you know what’s written in that letter?”
“Ah, n-no! I was forced to take it, but I absolutely never read it!”
“You didn’t read it? Does that mean you can read?”
“Eh?”
“I asked if you can read.”
“Oh, yes. I learned at the orphanage from the priest.”
“Good. Dyke really has an eye for people. You’re just right.”
“Just right… for what exactly…?”
Barent tilted his head, confused, giving me a nervous smile.
The prime age for growth.
Enough intelligence to read.
The courage to raise his hand in Hagen’s atmosphere of fear.
And most importantly, no engraving.
Absolutely perfect…
“You’re just right to become a member of the Magic Unit.”
He would be easy to shape.
Barent thought he was lucky.
To be assigned to the Magic Unit, where only one could enter.
And him, without even an engraving.
All thanks to one bothersome letter from a coachman.
‘Maybe it really was a chain letter of good fortune?’
Thinking that to himself, he followed Hagen into the Magic Unit barracks.
“A new recruit!”
“Oooh, finally!”
“But… why only one?”
“Weren’t there over a hundred recruits?”
“Don’t tell me… they were all taken by the Combat Unit?!”
The veterans in the barracks demanded answers from Hagen.
“It was the commander’s decision. If you’ve got complaints, tell him directly.”
“…”
“…Would we dare complain?”
“One is enough, Lieutenant.”
At Hagen’s words, everyone fell silent.
“Then let’s just end with brief introductions today.”
“Ah! I’m Barent from Turling! Please take care of me!”
Even then, Barent didn’t realize.
Being assigned to the Magic Unit wasn’t luck.
The next morning.
“UP!!”
The thunderous shout jolted Barent awake.
“Get moving, rookie!”
“If you’re late, you’ll run an extra lap!”
“Eh—uh—wha?”
The seniors were already rushing out of the barracks.
Scrambling down from bed, he followed after them.
The moment he stepped outside, a chill beyond “cold” assaulted him.
“Hu-uhhh?!”
“Don’t take deep breaths! Your lungs will freeze!”
“Sounds like a joke? It’s real. That guy learned the hard way last time.”
A joke?
Running in weather like this was the real joke!
But Barent had no time to argue—his seniors had already started running.
“Ughhh!”
So he stumbled after them, forced to keep up.
The bitter cold of the snowy mountains tore into his body. His lungs burned, his breath caught, the taste of blood rising into his mouth and trickling down into his chest.
By the time the last lap was done—
“Uuurghhh!”
He couldn’t hold it back and vomited.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Everyone’s like this the first day.”
“Drink water first. If you want to swallow food later, you’ll need it.”
“He probably can’t even hear us right now. Maybe tomorrow.”
Leaving Barent gagging behind, the veterans laughed heartily as they wiped off sweat.
He couldn’t remember how he made it to the mess hall, or how he ate breakfast.
He was too busy shoving food into his mouth just to stay alive.
“You, this way, Barent.”
“…Huh?”
After breakfast, Hagen pulled him aside.
“It’s time for magic combat training, but you can’t use magic yet, can you?”
“Th-that’s because… I don’t have an engraving…”
“I know. That’s why you’ll move this instead.”
“…This?”
Barent blinked at the pile of stones Hagen pointed to.
“You want me… to move these?”
“Yes. Just move them over there.”
“Wait, seriously, wha—urk?!”
His head rang with pain.
Hagen’s fist had struck his crown.
“No asking why.”
“Ugh… y-yes, sir!”
Suppressing his questions, Barent started moving the stones.
Each different in size and weight, they strained his arms and back nearly to breaking.
By lunchtime, he had finally shifted them all to one side.
“D-done!”
He collapsed onto the cold ground, his body burning with pain.
“All done?”
“Yes! I—”
“Then after lunch, move them back.”
“…What?”
Barent sprang up, staring in disbelief.
“Move them… back?!”
“Yes.”
“Why the hell—argh?!”
This time Hagen’s boot slammed into his chest, knocking him rolling.
“The body is a vessel for mana. Strong body, strong mana. Got it?”
He didn’t.
He didn’t even want to.
But Barent had no right to refuse.
“Y-yes, sir!”
He swallowed down the urge to cry.
‘A chain letter of fortune?’
Moving the same stones back again, he thought bitterly—
‘Bullshit.’
It took less than a day for Barent to realize his situation.
Late that night, inside Siruela’s tent.
“Are the new recruits adapting well?”
“Yes. Captain Esrik’s welcome was quite effective.”
Gardner glanced at me.
“They’re optimistic and keeping up with training.”
“Good. And the Magic Unit recruit?”
“I’m handling him well.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Hagen was pushing him exactly as I ordered.
“Isn’t he being a little too harsh?”
“Come on, it just seems that way because there’s only one.”
Gardner shook his head in doubt.
In truth, the Magic Unit’s training was far heavier than the Combat Unit’s.
With so few members, the Magic Unit skipped other duties and trained constantly.
“I trust you all to manage well. So then…”
Siruela shifted the subject.
“Why did you call this meeting?”
“Because of this.”
I pulled a letter from my coat.
The one Dyke had sent, delivered by Barent.
Gardner received it and handed it to Siruela.
“It’s from the coachman I mentioned before. Since I don’t know much about the northern situation, I thought it best for you two to read it.”
“Hmm.”
Siruela skimmed it, then passed it back to Gardner.
“This is quite…”
“Useful information?”
“Not useful—dangerous.”
Gardner’s face grew grim.
“If the Ice Maker family is expelling the Solius Order from the north, it’s practically a declaration against the Empire.”
The letter outlined the Ice Maker family’s actions and the general mood in the north—mostly that they were increasing private forces and, here and there, expelling the Solius Order.
Gardner focused on the latter.
“The Empire never had much influence in the north. The north is firmly under the Ice Maker banner. The only group with a real voice is the Solius Order—and if they’re being purged…”
“Then they’re clearly planning something big.”
“That’s the safest assumption.”
“It could disrupt supplies.”
“Nothing we can do about that.”
Despite Gardner’s and my concerns, Siruela remained calm.
“Even knowing the situation outside is already a major gain. Focus on countermeasures, not worry.”
His dark-green eyes showed no wavering.
“We do what we can do.”
Outside the barracks, after the meeting.
“…Huh?”
Barent was waiting for me.
“What are you doing here?”
“…Please engrave me.”
A grim determination flashed across his young face.
“I heard from the seniors! You can engrave marks!”
“That’s right.”
“Then engrave one on me too! If not, I’ll transfer to the Combat Unit!”
“What?”
“Think about it! What’s a magician unit member worth if he can’t use magic? What’s the point of hauling stones? I need an engraving so I can train like the seniors! Isn’t that obvious?!”
Well, well.
The way he shouted reminded me of Ronan long ago, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
But it also showed just how desperate he was.
Hagen had clearly followed my orders.
If the kid was already this worked up after only a few days…
“Training’s too rough?”
“…That too, yes.”
“Good honesty. But no.”
I dropped my smile.
Of course it was hard.
But magic isn’t about numbers.
What matters is the firepower a magician can unleash.
Stuffing in more people blindly won’t increase that.
That’s why they must be raised properly.
Raised right, they’d be far more valuable than the current members.
“If I planned to engrave marks, I would have brought all 108 recruits into the Magic Unit.”
“Then… you want a member who can’t use magic?”
“The opposite, kid.”
I flicked his forehead, making him flinch.
“I want a proper magician.”
“T-then shouldn’t I get an engraving even more…?”
“Magicians don’t engrave marks.”
“…What?”
“They build Circles.”
“Cir… cle? What’s that?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
I patted his shoulder.
He still lacked much to build a Circle.
A body strong enough to hold mana.
The sense to weave rings of mana.
The focus to pour mana into those rings.
The control to circulate it.
All of this required harsh training to develop quickly.
From Barent’s perspective, not knowing about Circles or engravings, it must have seemed hopeless.
But what else could he do?
“Just hang in there a bit longer, kid.”
When I say jump, you jump.
