After finishing my business at the money changer, I arrived outside Groot. The owner was behind the counter, prepping ingredients.
"Boss!"
"...What is it, kid? Didn't you head home?"
The owner continued his work without even glancing my way. Standing nearby, Amalia looked at me with anxious eyes. The two of them surely understood as well—they knew I had learned the truth about Groot.
"No, it turns out I'll be staying in the royal capital a little longer."
"I heard you passed. Congratulations. Unlike me, you've got real talent."
"I'm looking for an inn again. Do you happen to know a good place?"
I asked using the exact same words as that day. Without pausing, the owner kept quietly kneading the pie dough.
"...You already know, don't you? I scammed you, kid."
"Please tell me. Why would someone like you do such a thing?"
"..."
No answer came. Glancing briefly at Amalia, I turned back to the owner and spoke clearly.
"You're the one who cast cognition impairment on Amalia's name, right?"
"Huh?"
"...Yeah. That's right."
Amalia didn't seem to understand, but the owner gave a quiet nod. True to its name, the spell impaired the perception of a name to make it difficult to remember. It was by no means a simple technique.
"I thought it was strange that I had such a hard time keeping it in mind. By preventing me from remembering Amalia's name, you were trying to shield her from the blame, weren't you?"
"Yeah."
"That's also why you called her the 'new hire,' isn't it?"
"So that's why the customer couldn't... my name..."
Amalia pressed a hand to her mouth in surprise. She had probably only been told something along the lines of, "I'm going to rip off the examinees, so just act like a new hire."
"You tried to shoulder all the responsibility yourself. Am I wrong?"
"Amalia didn't do anything wrong. I'll make that much clear."
"I'm relieved to hear that. But Boss, why do you deceive the examinees in the first place?"
"..."
For the first time, the owner looked me in the eye. With a dead-serious expression, he spoke as if trying to reason with a child.
"Take my advice. If you're going to keep prying, just pack up and go back to the countryside."
"What...?"
"You're too trusting, kid. Stick around Ulm like this, and you'll come to a bad end."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Ulm is a fine city. But... give up on aiming to be a court mage from the sticks."
His words didn't stem from spite; rather, they sounded like genuine advice. As I stood there bewildered, he continued.
"It wasn't about making money. If they have a miserable experience in Ulm, those rubes will never set foot in the royal capital again."
"So that's why you treated the examinees like that..."
"Even if I keep my mouth shut, everyone eventually realizes they were scammed. Just like you did, kid."
"Still, Boss, you were always so kind to me."
"I rent out rooms, and I bake pies. But I never give advice."
Come to think of it, saying things like "You should head to the exam hall early" or "Aren't you going to see the results posted?" had all come from Amalia. I had no memory of the owner ever offering a single useful tip about the exam.
I didn't know his reasons, but he clearly believed that people from outside Ulm shouldn't even try. So he stayed silent, sending the examinees who stayed at his inn packing with nothing to show for it but the bitter memory of being swindled.
"In other words, you did it to make country examinees give up."
"There are monsters in that exam. Kid, if you're going to turn back, now's the time."
"..."
The words he muttered while working the pie dough carried a dreadful weight.
Ever since arriving in the royal capital, barely a day went by without something driving home the massive divide between here and the countryside. I had also learned just how brutal the odds were for anyone aiming to become a court mage from beyond Ulm. And above all else—to someone like me, who had treated this whole trip as little more than a sightseeing tour, the sheer weight of ten million belg had driven the lesson home.
I could no longer treat this as just a test run for the experience.
"Boss. I'd like to pay for my room."
"Kid, didn't you hear a word I—"
I brought out the sack I had been holding behind my back. The moment I set it down, a heavy thud echoed across the counter.
"Is five million belg enough?"
"Hah?"
"Eeeeeeek?!"
The owner froze in disbelief, and Amalia let out a shrill shriek. It was half the ten million belg I had just received. Parting with that much wouldn't hinder my stay in the capital in the slightest.
"A-Amazing... I've never seen so much money in my life..."
"What are you trying to pull, kid?"
"I'll be staying at Groot for a while. That's to cover my lodging."
"Even so, you don't need anywhere near five million belg. Why the hell would you...?"
Maybe it was presumptuous of me, having merely placed first in the exam and received a royal grant. Maybe it was irresponsible to throw money around like this when I owed so much to my family back home. But this—this was something only I, a kid from the countryside, could do.
"Use whatever is left over to let future examinees from outside Ulm stay here for free. Just sparing them the lodging fees will take a huge load off their shoulders."
"Didn't I just say examinees from the outside only end up miserable? Were you even listening to me?"
"Then I'll blaze a trail for them. So please, won't you let me stay here again?"
"..."
The owner fell silent, lost in thought. Whether I passed or failed didn't matter. What mattered was that I didn't want the door slammed in the faces of the hopefuls coming from the countryside knowing nothing of the world. If simply being born outside Ulm put them at such a disadvantage, they deserved at least a little help.
"...I think I finally understand why I never made it as a court mage."
"Huh?"
"I'll cut your rate to two thousand belg a night. Amalia, take the kid up to his room."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Amalia, who had retreated toward the kitchen, came hurrying over. Relieved, I let out a slow breath.
"...Hey, tell me one thing."
"Yes?"
The owner spoke up once more. Wearing a puzzled look, he fixed his gaze on me.
"Why our place? Any other inn in town would've done."
"Isn't that obvious?"
During my time in the capital, I had looked around at plenty of places. There were other shops with delicious pies, and far more luxurious inns. So why Groot?
"None of the other shops bothered to ask what kind of honey I wanted."
"...I see."
I could have sworn the lines on the owner's face softened, just a fraction.
I couldn't afford to be just another country bumpkin anymore. It had to be possible to become a court mage, even from outside Ulm. And I would have to be the one to prove it.
Deep inside, I felt the stirrings of true resolve.