I think it was around the time I was six years old that my parents gave up on me.
Every time I went outside, I caught a cold. Every time I picked up a farming tool, I injured myself. It was obvious that I was not a son cut out to take over the family farm, nor did I have any intention of doing so.
I hated the smell of soil. The bugs crawling across the ground utterly repulsed me. Even when my younger sister helped our parents, I did not so much as lift a finger to lend a hand.
Fortunately, our barn was packed with an enormous collection of books. I never knew why my illiterate parents owned them, but they were more than enough to satisfy my hunger for knowledge.
What piqued my interest most were the grimoires. Written in elaborate formulas, the magic began to feel as natural to me as my own limbs. While I was practically the only person in the village who could use magic, there was no better toy for solitary amusement.
Whenever the local villagers saw me swinging a wand, they would knit their brows. That was because they believed magic brought about misfortune.
Not wanting to cause trouble, I took to using magic late at night after everyone had gone to sleep. Reciting spell formulas in the dark served as good training, and it felt pleasant, giving me a quiet sense of freedom.
I was well aware that I was a good-for-nothing. But I did not know any other way to live. I assumed I would simply die right here as a country bookworm.
Yes, until I was asked to decipher a notice from the royal capital, that is—
"Mr. Bauer, is your son in?!"
It happened one day while the rain was pouring down. As I sat reading a grimoire in the living room, I heard someone banging on the front door. Since my parents and sister were out in the fields, I set the book aside and headed down the hallway.
"Yes, I'm Keegan Bauer."
"Oh, it's you."
When I opened the door, standing there was the head of the neighborhood council. He was a man in his sixties who farmed just like my family, serving as the elder who managed the local households.
"Did you need something from me?"
"I've got a job for a good-for-nothing like you. You can read, right?"
"Yes, after a fashion."
"This arrived from the royal capital this morning. I'm no good at reading or writing, so I figured I'd have you tell me what it says."
The man held out a scrap of paper. Judging by the heading, it was an official public notice from the imperial court. The phrasing was complex, and with all due respect, it was hardly the sort of text a man like him could decipher.
"I was worried it might be important. You've got plenty of free time anyway, right? I'll pay you, so could you tell me what it says by tomorrow?"
"You can keep your money, but could you exempt my parents from the water supply cleaning duty instead? They've been saying it's getting tough to manage the chores at their age."
"...A young fellow like you could just do it in their place, you know. Ah, fine. I'll assign the next shift to another household."
"Thank you very much. In that case, I'll take charge of this."
"I'm counting on you. Make sure you treat your parents well."
The man hurried off through the drizzle. I carried the slip of paper back to the living room, set it on a stand, and began reading.
"'Overview of the Court Mage Selection Exam'... What on earth is that?"
Even though I knew what the words meant, I couldn't picture what it actually entailed. I had read about their existence in a book once, but I had never seen a court mage around this village.
"Keegan, did someone stop by?"
"Ah, Dad."
Just then, my father came in through the back door. He was soaked from the rain, his clothes caked in mud.
"Mom is going to yell at you if you come inside like that."
"Bah, your mother and the others are still working. Hmm, what's that paper?"
"Someone asked me to read it for them in exchange for letting you off water supply cleaning duty."
"Ah, so that was it. I saw the old man hurrying off earlier."
By "the old man," he meant the fellow who had just visited.
"So, what is it? What's it say?"
"It's about the Court Mage Selection Exam. Do you know anything about it?"
"Ah..."
Dad let out a low murmur as if something had just clicked, turning his gaze back toward the paper. He couldn't read a word of it, yet he still looked curious.
"Once every three years, they hold an exam in the royal capital to select court mages. That must be what this notice is about."
"What does a court mage do?"
"Well, they handle grand, important work for the kingdom. I hear they get paid heaps of money—enough to provide for an entire clan."
"Huh, that's amazing. All you have to do is pass the exam?"
"Yeah. Though passing it is the real trick."
"How hard is it?"
"I hear that even when the sons of nobles and the daughters of merchant houses study their hearts out, they still can't make the cut."
"Sounds pretty brutal."
Detailed information about the exam was written below the heading, so I read on. First came a written exam, followed by a practical magic test. The final number of successful applicants wasn't strictly fixed, but it noted there would be around five at most.
"'Approximately five passing candidates,' it says. I wonder how many people apply."
"I recall hearing it's around ten thousand. What's the matter, Keegan? Interested?"
"No way. A lot of brilliant people from the capital take it, right? There's no chance I'd pass."
"Come now, your voice is higher than usual. If all you're going to do is sit around reading books anyway, wouldn't it do you good to go give it a shot?"
Hearing Dad say that made me realize my pulse was racing just a little. After all, as long as I stayed in this village, I would never even get the chance to take a magic exam—
"Hold on, dear! Don't you dare come inside all covered in mud!"
"N-No, wait! Keegan and I were just having an important talk. Right, Keegan?"
"Ah, y-yeah..."
With Mom's sudden return, Dad flusteredly tried to smooth over his blunder. Her interest caught by the paper sitting between us, Mom walked briskly over from the back door.
"What is that paper?"
"It's for the Court Mage Selection Exam. I was just telling Keegan he ought to give it a shot."
"Wait, are you serious? It's a grueling exam, isn't it? There's no way this boy could do it."
"Well, it doesn't really matter if he passes or not. He spends all his time buried in grimoires anyway, so I figured getting him out of the house for once wouldn't hurt."
"Getting him out... You're planning to send him all the way to the royal capital?"
"Yeah. Seeing the capital just once will be good for him."
Dad seemed entirely sold on sending me off to take the exam. But it was true that I had always wanted to visit the royal capital. Just once in my life, I wanted to experience a bustling city that never slept.
"We can scrape together the travel expenses somehow. How about it? When he comes back, Keegan might turn over a new leaf and actually start working."
"...I suppose. Though I still don't think he's cut out for farming."
"He doesn't have to take over the farm. As long as something in him changes, that's enough."
Without giving me a chance to get a word in, the two of them carried the conversation forward. Mom's exasperation gradually melted into a gentle expression.
"All right. Keegan, go on and visit the royal capital."
"Are you sure, Mom?"
"Just taking the court mage exam is an achievement in itself. Maybe the neighbors will look at you a little differently, too."
"I see. Thanks."
"The capital is a wonderful place. Just be sure to bring back souvenirs, all right?"
Spurred on by my parents, my trip to the royal capital was settled before I knew it. The main goal was simply to travel; the selection exam was nothing more than an afterthought.
Or so I thought at the time.