Sword of Dawnbreaker - Chapter 191 - Santis Seid
Santis Seid was standing in front of the feudal lord residence in a reserved and uneasy manner. He repeatedly inspected his buttons and clothes; his messy hair and bloodshot eyes indicated that he didn’t have a good sleep for the entire night. This was the result of being extremely nervous.
“I have to show that I am confident. I have to show my profound knowledge of magical theory. I have to answer each question promptly. I cannot cough loudly or speak in an unclear manner. I cannot behave inappropriately in front of the feudal lord…”
The Grade 2 Mage was muttering something as though he was trying to memorize the crucial points for questions in a test. At this moment, the doors of the feudal lord residence suddenly opened. A young girl wearing a female servant dress ran out with rapid speed. She ran out of the door and through the front yard. She then used a dangerous posture, seemingly about to fall over, and stopped in front of Santis Seid, giving a shock to the latter.
The little maid Betty looked around before staring at Santis’s eyes and asking in a sharp and pleasant voice, “Have you seen any suspicious person loitering secretively around in the vicinity?”
Santis was awakened from his repeated chants and didn’t react in time. “Ah? Suspicious person? I don’t see any…”
“Okay, thank you!” Betty bowed in an exaggerated manner and ran back inside with the same speed she used when she ran out. She left behind the Arcanist who was stunned and didn’t know what had happened.
Two seconds later, Santis finally understood something… Could the suspicious person that the female servant was looking for be him?
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Then again, how could there be such a bold and forthright female servant in this world…?
Just as he was feeling dumbfounded, someone opened the doors of the feudal lord residence again. That energetic little maid ran out again and arrived in front of Santis to ask, “Are you that suspicious person who had been loitering around secretively?”
“Erm… I was loitering around just now, but I am not secretive or someone suspicious.” Santis tried to explain, but he felt that this little maid didn’t have a very good mind and was afraid he might say something wrong that might let her have the wrong ideas. The maid might not have a very high status, but if she could run here to relay the message, it meant that she was able to contact the feudal lord directly. It was best for Santis to speak carefully. “I wish to see the feudal lord. It is—”
Before Santis could finish, Betty yelled out with a delighted face, “Oh, then come in. Master is looking for you!”
Moments later, Gawain met with the royal capital’s Grade 2 Arcanist, Santis Seid.
Gawain had already recalled the time he saw Santis Seid’s name. He was that Grade 2 Arcanist who was part of the 100-men assistance from the royal capital. A Grade 2 Arcanist was considered a rare “higher-ranked talent” within that group. According to this era’s status ranking, a person with an occupation would definitely have a higher status than regular craftsmen. Spellcasters were considered nobles among the occupation holders. A Grade 2 Arcanist might only be a low-ranking occupation, but due to the convenience of magic and the extensive knowledge that Mages had, this Arcanist was considered among the elites of the group. As such, when he first arrived, Gawain had arranged for Santis to work at the Magic Crystal Refinery and was responsible for testing the various types of compatible crystal products.
After making those arrangements, Gawain had completely forgotten about Santis Seid.
On the one hand, Gawain was indeed very busy, and he wasn’t able to have any peace with all the affairs happening within the territory and the disturbance of the heretics on the outside. On the other hand, Santis Seid wasn’t very prominent, and he didn’t strive to have better treatment or status, nor did he have any outstanding contribution. After he was arranged to work at the Magic Crystal Refinery, he had been quietly staying at his post. According to what Heidi found out, this royal capital’s Arcanist had been “mixing around with those kiln workers every day, and it was impossible to differentiate him from the workers as they were all covered in dirt”. If Santis Seid hadn’t come over here spontaneously, Gawain might have completely forgotten that the territory had this spellcaster.
Now that Gawain thought about it again, he used particularly curious eyes to look at this royal capital’s mage… Santis had disheveled hair, reddish and sunken eyes, and a skinny and tall body. He was wearing old mage robes that were washed so much that it was turning pale. He stood in the center of the room in a reserved and nervous manner while his hand subconsciously fiddled with the button on his clothes. It seemed like the button was about to be pulled off by him.
“Santis Seid, Grade 2 Arcanist, you come from the Royal Mage Association, right?” Gawain looked at the nervous young mage for a moment before asking, “Why are you looking for me?”
“Ah, I… I am here…” All of the mental scripts that Santis had prepared had instantly vanished. He spent a lot of time before stating his purpose for coming here. “I heard from Miss Jenni that you are recruiting teachers…”
Gawain was stunned as he had already put out the notice to recruit teachers for over a month ago, and he had also disseminated the information to the 100-men aid team. There were a few literate craftsmen who had already applied to become temporary teachers at the night school. However, he didn’t expect a Grade 2 Arcanist to also be attracted by this information. “Indeed, I am recruiting teachers… Could you be interested?”
“Yes… yes, I am.” Santis Seid exerted strength and finally pulled the button off his shirt. “I… I can… I hope I can serve as a tutor in your residence. I am good at arcane magic and the fundamental theory of magic. I also know heraldry, Anzu history, and noble etiquette. I might not have a high status, but I am good at teaching others. You can be at ease to hand your heirs to me—”
“Hold on, hold on.” Gawain knew that this Arcanist was only halfway through the explanation, but he couldn’t help but interrupt. “I think you have mistaken the objective of this recruitment… I am not finding a noble tutor for my heir.”
Santis’s expression was at a complete loss as he nervously rubbed the button in his hand. “Ah? Isn’t it?”
“Don’t you know? I only have two heirs now, Heidi and Rebecca. The former has already graduated a long time ago, while the latter is well-versed in both the literate and the martial. Both of them have mage ranks higher than yours. Rebecca might possibly need etiquette classes, but you are obviously not a match for her… unless you are proficient with weapons and also adept at long-distance running and assault?” Gawain spread his hands and said, “Anyway, I am not looking for a tutor for my granddaughters. I am looking for night school teachers.”
“Night school?” Santis continued having a blank expression. It seemed like he didn’t know about this at all. “I… After receiving the task, I have been staying in the Magic Crystal Refinery.” Santis revealed an ashamed expression. “Apart from work, I have been reading in my dwelling, and I don’t really pay attention to other things. If Miss Jenni didn’t tell me about this matter, I might not have known you were recruiting teachers.
Gawain didn’t know if he should laugh or cry when looking at this reserved, nervous, and a little sluggish Arcanist. He was thinking that Santis was truly worthy to be among the elite talents picked out by the nobles in the royal capital. If they didn’t have any personality flaws, they wouldn’t have made it into the 100-men aid team. “The night school is catered for the commoners and also the serfs and slave workers on the territory, do you understand? I am not looking for a top-class teacher to educate noble descendants on etiquette and heraldry. I am looking for a person to teach commoners how to read.”
Santis’s mouth was wide open while he was at a loss for a moment. It looked like this was really his first time hearing that Gawain was wiping out illiteracy among the residents. Furthermore, he couldn’t understand why. Just as Gawain thought that the now-enlightened Arcanist was about to bid farewell, the latter suddenly nodded and asked, “Will you also issue the same additional reward according to the recruitment notice for being a night-school teacher?”
“Are you willing?” Gawain was surprised. “You know that you are going to teach a group of commoners that only knows a few words and can only count until a hundred?”
Santis let out a reserved smile and said, “I have taught magical theory to incompetent and ignorant descendants of merchants in the royal capital. I feel that it wouldn’t be too difficult… I think.”
After confirming that the Arcanist was truly willing to take up this job, Gawain couldn’t help but smile.
There was finally an official spellcaster who was willing to teach at night school. Before this, he had attempted many times to recruit mages from Tanzan Town and the Kant territory. He had even tried to recruit mage apprentices to be night school teachers at the territory, but when they learned they would be teaching a group of “lowly commoners”, every single one of them refused. It seemed like in their opinions, commoners and serfs were lacking intelligence innately, and they felt that the commoners and serfs’ brain structures were entirely different from mages and nobles. Therefore, they didn’t believe they would be able to teach profound knowledge to the commoners and weren’t even willing to accept this challenge…
They didn’t just refuse because of their arrogance, but they had also assumed that they wouldn’t be able to teach anything to those “lowly commoners”, so they refused to fail.
However, there was actually a Grade 2 Arcanist that took the initiative to apply. The process and the expectation might be different, but this Santis Seid seemed to be willing to take up this job.
“Are you lacking money?” Gawain might be very happy, but he still had to ask. Gawain could see that Santis was tempted because of the additional reward every month. “Mages shouldn’t be in need of money, right?”
“Actually, mages are often short of money too, especially those who are born as a commoner.” Santis Seid was embarrassed to say it. “I need to send money back to my home. My family is still at the royal capital…”
Gawain raised his brows. “You were born as a commoner?”
“Yes… my father is a chef of a noble family in the royal capital, and my mother is a herbalist.”
Yes, commoners. But there were also wealthy commoners and those who had a status. Such families were indeed able to make a push and send their children to learn magic and hope they would be able to rise to the upper-class of society. Santis who was already an official Grade 2 Arcanist had actually gotten rid of his commoner status and was qualified to be in the upper class. However, from his appearance… it was impossible to tell.
When Gawain asked of his doubts, Santis’s expression looked even more awkward and had a trace of shame. “I indeed have my qualification as a Grade 2 Arcanist, but my magic capacity is innately flawed. Everyday… I can only release three to five spells.”
Gawain was enlightened… As expected, there was a flaw, and that’s why he fell into poverty.
Santis’s spellcasting flaw was similar to Rebecca’s, but they were fundamentally different. Rebecca had powerful spirit energy and magic capacity. She could throw out a hundred Large Fireballs and not feel tired, but she could only construct one spell model. Santis was able to construct multiple spell models and could learn the most profound and complicated arcane spells, but he had extremely weak spirit energy and magic capacity…
Rebecca might have flaws, but she was a noble, and even if she was inferior in the clan, she was still a noble. Therefore, she could still stay in the castle and live a liberal life as compared to any commoner. However, Santis was born a commoner, and he had painstakingly become an official spellcaster, only to find out that his magic capacity was innately flawed. As a result, he was kicked out of the upper class of society, and his family owed huge debts of favors and money.
He had participated in the 100-men aid team probably because of the allowance given by the king.
After finding out everything, Gawain was finally left without any more doubts about Santis’s choice.
“Then, I shall welcome you to become an honorable teacher.” Gawain stood up behind his desk and nodded to the young mage with a smile. “The classes you are going to teach… shouldn’t just be restricted to ordinary literacy lessons. I have other arrangements for you.”
Santis bowed in a great rush and said, “Ah, yes, Your Excellency.”
Gawain: “I am going to talk about the first thing… Put the button in your hand down first. You are already going to create a blister from all the rubbing…”
Santis: “…”
