An unbelievable quantity of magic power detonated, engulfing the square in a roaring inferno. The shockwave was tremendous, blowing all of us off our feet.
"What the—?!"
"Gwaaah...!"
A searing, painful gale whipped around me, and I reflexively raised defense magic. I wished I could have deployed a barrier in front of Dad as well, but there simply wasn't enough time. As soon as the explosion subsided, I scrambled over to his side.
"Dad! Dad! Are you alive?!"
"Y-Yeah..."
Fortunately, Dad was still conscious. Having slammed violently into the ground, however, he couldn't move. His skin was severely scorched, with raw, blistered patches across his body.
"Why... Why did you do that...?! Just for my sake...?!"
"I... I guess... I really can't do it like my brother after all..."
"B-Brother...?"
Cradling his body as he lay on the ground, I watched his lips part faintly. How had he even used magic in the first place? He wasn't supposed to be able to read, so how—
"The grimoires in the shed... Those belonged to... Leonard..."
"Uncle Leonard...?! You're kidding, why would..."
Uncle Leonard was Dad's older brother, who had passed away when I was little. Though he lived with us, he never did any farm work, leaving behind only the impression of a quiet man who spent his days in silence.
"What those thugs said earlier... about that country bumpkin examinee... was about my brother..."
"U-Uncle Leonard was that examinee...?"
"Ever since he was young... he'd travel to distant towns to sell crops... and buy grimoires with whatever he earned..."
"Then could it be that Uncle Leonard took the mage examination too—"
Without a word, Dad gave a faint nod.
It felt like all the pieces were falling into place.
Uncle Leonard had challenged the mage examination in the past, achieving historic scores. He had even been awarded a royal grant. But... someone had shredded his exam slip, forcing him to abandon his dream.
—There are people who get jealous of successful examinees and try to shred their exam slips.
—I heard that a long time ago, there was someone who received the royal grant but dropped out halfway through the exam.
Elena's words came rushing vividly back to me. The examinee whose slip was shredded, the one who took the royal grant and went back to the countryside—it had all been about Uncle Leonard.
"My brother... came home utterly broken... and grew sickly after that..."
"Is that why he passed away so young...?"
"Even so... using the royal grant as capital, he started a business... and scraped together enough money..."
Uncle Leonard must have returned home in sheer despair. He surely held nothing but contempt for a place like Ulm. Even so, he had fought tooth and nail to survive... What an extraordinary man.
"You see... I lied to you..."
"Huh?"
"I never sold the fields... The reason I was able to raise you... all these years... was thanks to my brother's money..."
"Dad..."
The only reason I had been able to live freely until turning eighteen was because of the inheritance Uncle Leonard left behind....So that was the truth. Then why hadn't he told me sooner...?!
"...Why did you keep it a secret? That Uncle Leonard aimed to become a mage?"
"Unlike me, I thought you inherited my brother's blood... You're smart, and you seemed to have a knack for magic..."
"But you just used fire magic yourself, Dad...!"
"That's the only spell my brother ever taught me... Seeing it blow up like that, maybe I had a sliver of talent after all..."
"Dad...!"
Detonating that much magic power at point-blank range was something no sane mage would ever do. Knowing that full well, Dad had still chosen to...
"Parents aren't supposed to force their ways of life onto their children... I thought that if I told you about my brother, you'd only feel crushed by the pressure..."
"That's not true...!"
"Still, I was happy... That you... chose to walk the same path... as my brother..."
Dad's burned, reddened face softened into a faint smile. It was the same smile he had always given me. Seeing it made me happier than anything—and shattered my heart all at once.
"Hey, kid, are you alright?!"
"Customer! Customer!"
Just then, I spotted the shopkeeper and Amalia sprinting in from beyond the square. They must have rushed over after hearing the blast.
"Boss! D-Dad is...!"
"I had a bad feeling about this! Amalia, go find a stretcher!"
"Y-Yes, right away!"
Amalia dashed back toward the edge of the square. The shopkeeper knelt beside Dad, his brow furrowing deep in thought.
"...Sorry to ask at a time like this. But did you ever take the mage examination?"
"No... my brother did..."
"What was his name?!"
"Leonard Bauer..."
The shopkeeper's head snapped up in realization. Turning his gaze to me, he spoke with heavy gravity.
"I remember now. To think you're his nephew, kid."
"Huh?"
"I thought he looked familiar....Your old man, I mean."
Could it be that the shopkeeper had met Uncle Leonard before? There had been rumors that he once aimed for the mage examination as well, so it was entirely possible they had crossed paths as fellow applicants. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
"Stretcher! I got one!"
"Good, nice work, Amalia!"
Amalia ran back with a stretcher tucked under her arm. We needed to move Dad somewhere safe and treat his wounds immediately. He was going to be fine; he was still breathing—
"You bastards, you're not getting away with this!!"
"!"
One of the men blown away by the blast had regained consciousness and came charging straight at us. Caught off guard, my reaction was a fraction too slow, but just as I threw myself in front of Dad to shield him, the shopkeeper unleashed a burst of wind magic, sending the man flying.
"Uwah!!"
"The hell do you think you're doing to my valued guests?! Get the hell out of here, you worthless bastards!"
"Boss...!"
"Kid, let's move, now! It's not safe here!"
"R-Right!"
"Amalia, grab his legs! I'll take his shoulders!"
"Yes, Boss!"
The two of them lifted Dad onto the stretcher. I instantly manifested the Phantom Staff in my right hand, readying myself for another ambush.
"Alright, he's secured! We're heading back to the shop to patch him up!"
"Leave your father to us, customer!"
"Thank you, both of you—"
Just as the words of thanks left my lips, I caught sight of another figure lunging from the shadows. Purely on reflex, I leveled my staff and unleashed fire magic.
"Haaah!"
"Gwah...!"
A blast of flame erupted, illuminating the entire square for a fraction of a second. As my eyes tracked the attacker crashing backward—
"What...?"
Standing there in nun's vestments was an utterly unexpected figure, watching the scene with cold, detached eyes. As the flames died down, the woman melted back into the shadows and vanished....I couldn't believe it. The one standing there was—
"Lisa...?!"
It was the very same gentle, weeping examinee who had clung to Sophie in despair.