Shut-in Magician: 043

Breakfast finished and they cleaned up. Laetitia and her party arrived when Shiu was talking with old man Stan. They had arrived much earlier than expected.

They probably couldn’t wait.

Gladius wasn’t there, but the three and Stan started talking after giving their greetings. Emina was driven out of the room after she’d provided some hospitality. Bariado Tool Shop was still open on the day of the Wind.

Shiu played with Feles in the next room as he listened to what was happening.

Feles meowed and looked as if he was having fun. He’d also acted as if nothing had happened yesterday with the commotion and Shiu was glad that no bad memories remained.

Feles was a cat-type mount but sometimes he would act like a dog. He would sometimes bring his favourite toy to Shiu who would then throw it to tease him. Incidentally, there were a lot of toys in the main house and they were all prepared by old man Stan.

Shiu was toying with Feles when he heard a loud voice, “Then, you’d really make it for us?”

Kiahi was making a face that was appropriate for his age. His cheeks were flushed like a naïve young man. It’s good to be young like that, Shiu thought. But, it might be necessary for them to act older since their party was full of young members.

“I don’t mind making it for you guys.”

“…… Great! Amazing, I’m so happy!”

Old man Stan looked at Kiahi while smiling and continued, “The bag is somewhat flexible. The one who makes it is Shiu.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Shiu as soon as those words left his mouth. Shiu also looked as surprised as they were. He didn’t think that old man Stan would tell them who made the bag. They had thought that they would only be talking about grant magic ――magic which would grant 《USER AUTHORITY》――.

“Shiu has good affinity with the bags because he has spatial magic.”

“Is that so?”

Kirch looked at Shiu as if he was impressed.

“So Shiu could also grant the user’s authority.”

“Ohhh.”

“This is a sample of the bag. How is it?”

Old man Stan’s bag and a bag that was being made for a girl was brought out. The latter had already been made and just needed the《USER AUTHORITY》 to be cast in front of the user.

“Oh my, this is cute……” Laetitia muttered in jealousy.

It was something a girl would use, so it was roundish and cute. Even so, it was made with leather for durability. Emina had also asked for one and it meant a lot to Shiu because it was something he’d made through a lot of trials and errors.

“You can make anything, can’t you Shiu?”

“I can’t live in the countryside if I can’t do anything.” Shiu said and laughed. Shiu’s clothes before he got to the Royal Capital were also all handmade. The way of doing things in the countryside appeared to be 『old-fashioned』 and Emina pointed this out to him many times. She also forced second-hand things onto him.

“Please let me know if you want the bag to be a specific shape.”

“The rucksack you have is also nice, Shiu.”

“It’s made of cloth, you know? And the bags you carry on your back aren’t suited to become magic bags.”

It probably won’t be a problem if they don’t need to take the items out straight away. Everyone began thinking when Shiu expressed his doubt.

“Is that so? You’re right. And it might get in the way if you wear something diagonally.”

“It’s a magic bag, so how about making it light so you can wear it on your back?”

He drew a bag that young people used in his previous life onto a piece of paper and showed it to them. It was a backpack.

“Oh, it looks good!”

“If you wear this in the front then you can also use it for defence.”

“…… Defence?”

“Are you going to bestow it with defence?”

Kirch and Laetitia asked at the same time and Shiu shook his head before answering, “Nope. I’m talking about using Stone Boar and Salamander skin. It seems like they’re really good for defence. And spatial magic itself is used for defence.”

“…… I’ve never heard that before.”

“Huh?”

“The bags we have don’t have that kind of defence feature.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s sturdier than cloth and leather, but it also tears. So treat it carefully. If you don’t, then you wouldn’t be able to use it anymore.”

“Oh, is that so?”

It seemed like old man Stan didn’t know this. Magic bags were expensive in the first place so they were probably treated with care. He’d noticed the defence feature in his experiment to examine the durability of the product. He was sure it worked like that.

“Mm, but it seems like it could endure a lot of damage,” Shiu said vaguely and Kiahi sighed, “…… Really?”

“Ah, even so, you have such amazing items like stone boar and salamander skin.”

Kirch continued their conversation and Shiu answered.

“I hunted on my way towards the Royal Capital. There’s a lot of stone boars in the forest. I got the salamander skin from the thieves’ hideouts.”

“…… You got it, huh.”

“Yes. Ah, the thieves’ property belongs to those who pick it up, right?”

“Well, yeah. What happened to the thieves?

“Mm, at the guard’s station ―――.”

“Did you have them thrown in a cell?”

“…… I left them at the front door.” 

“I see,” Kiahi said and him and his party went silent.

It was odd for a trainee-level child to defeat 『a lot』of stone boars and catch thieves. But, their surprise didn’t stay for long.

“Well, it’s Shiu after all,” they concluded.

After that, the conversation changed completely and they started talking about the design of the bags. Everyone was excited and being noisy.

They all had lunch at old man Stan’s house.

Shiu was happy that everyone scrambled to grab what he had cooked first. Emina would usually 『take』Shiu’s food first, but today was different. She provided great hospitality to Laetitia the whole time she was here. Shiu couldn’t help but laugh. Old man Stan was amazed that she liked Laetitia that much.

Everyone had coffee and tea after eating and Shiu enjoyed the different aromas floating about. Then, they talked about what had happened last night.

Emina and Laetitia got angry when Shiu told them his series of interactions with Sofia. The women couldn’t stomach the fact that Sofia had wanted to exchange the cute Feles. The men shivered at how terrifying the two women were.

“It’s terrifying if there are more kids like that.”

“She’s a merchant’s kid, right? But, it would have been worse if she was a noble.”

“Yup.”

Then Shiu suddenly remembered something and said, “I was told that I don’t have any knowledge.”

“I’ve actually never been to school before.”

He’d never been to school in this life, and he was scared when he thought that all the girls at school would be like Sofia.

Emina and Aqela also attended school, so it wasn’t like all the people at school were strange.

“Shiu, you’re smart so is it alright for you not to attend school?”

“Yeah. You’re so smart you even teach us things.”

Kirch nodded at Emina’s words. But, Laetitia looked pensive.

“…… But, attending school isn’t all that bad, is it? Probably.”

“Probably. What’s with that? You would usually say, 『What are they teaching at school to raise a kid like that』in situations like these.”

Kiahi laughed while retorting and Laetitia turned towards old man Stan.

“I thought that it would be good for Shiu to attend school since he’s like a researcher……”

There was a reason why she’d said that.