Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 19
Zed’s natural gift lay precisely in this: knowing how to make children turn their arrows of hatred upon each other, how to set them quarreling and snapping at one another.
Watching the atmosphere grow taut in moments, his plan seemed remarkably effective.
After Zed left with his twisted smile, Milena sniffled and began gathering the kidney beans from the wooden tray with trembling fingers.
“What should I do…? If the yield doesn’t match his expectations, Zed will be disappointed…”
When Milena dug a little into the soil at her feet and buried one, pressing it down with her finger, something extraordinary happened.
A small shoot emerged where she’d planted the bean, and a vine slowly began to grow.
‘So this girl could use magic too?’
“Hmph. Not that it matters—she’ll only ever grow a pittance.”
Kam bit her nails nervously, glaring at Milena.
“Y-you’re right. My magic is crude compared to Zed’s…”
The vine grew only about a hand’s breadth before stopping, and the moment Milena plucked a few beans, it withered away as if drained of all life.
After repeating the same thing three times, she slumped against the wall, exhausted, her Mana spent.
The wooden tray held barely ten beans.
‘No, wait. Her aptitude doesn’t seem bad—so why are the results so pitiful? Those cursed Belegot dogs have ruined several good children!’
A sharp, irritated voice echoed in her mind.
In any case, this was precisely why Milena was despised in Zed’s Group, despite possessing a valuable ability to produce food.
“Hey, number 14! I told you not to leave garbage like that lying around—deal with it right away! It stinks and attracts bugs!”
“I-I’m sorry! I’ll clean it up right now!”
The moment her back left the wall, Milena was harried by Zed’s Group and scrambled to her feet again.
Kam, rather than helping someone in the same wretched position, only sneered spitefully at her misfortune.
“Ugh, how annoying! Hey, number 28, number 29! Zed says you’re filthy and stink—wash up. Give me your hands.”
One of Zed’s Group moved past Milena toward Liriope, extending his hand.
“The last Supply Box didn’t have many Purification Mana Stones, so we’re rationing them. But you look like such a mess—like street filth—so we’re using a precious one on you. Be grateful!”
The moment a small stone-like object touched her body, a cool sensation swept across her entire frame.
She felt all the blood, sand, dust, and grime that had clung stickily from head to toe vanish in an instant.
And the next moment, when the boy from Zed’s Group met Liriope’s eyes, he fell open-mouthed like an idiot.
“H-huh? What… what is this? When you were all dirty, I didn’t notice, but how do you…?”
He found himself at a loss when looking at her.
“You… don’t you cry every night looking for your mother? You’ll see rough things here—could you even catch a cockroach on your own?”
Liriope regarded the sweating boy with an expressionless face, then looked away at his foolish rambling. The boy only grew more flustered.
“I-I’m not a bad person, you know? S-so don’t cry, okay?”
Who was even crying? He was spouting quite creative nonsense.
But even Liriope had to admit she did look rather pitiful.
‘Is it because my eyebrows and eye corners droop so weakly?’
No matter what she did, her own face had a way of looking helpless and ridiculous, which she disliked.
Yet objectively speaking, Liriope’s appearance conveyed less pity than something sorrowful and forlorn.
It was like seeing a drenched young bird in a downpour—you couldn’t help but want to cradle it gently in your palm. Or like glimpsing a mouse about to be eaten by a snake—you couldn’t help but want to drive the snake away.
There was a subtle quality in every line of Liriope’s features that naturally drew forth compassion from those who saw her.
Especially when she cast her gaze downward, her thick lashes seemed to veil the brightness in her eyes, making her look as though she were holding back tears of quiet sorrow.
“I-I’m not so hopeless as to not catch a cockroach—this girl just bit my hand a moment ago…”
Kam, who had briefly looked equally dazed upon seeing the cleaned-up Liriope, muttered in bewilderment, but no one heard him.
“Whoa, so the blonde is the younger sister and the dark-haired one is the older? This one’s something else too. I’ve never seen a girl who looks like this.”
Children had begun to gather, murmuring as they gazed back and forth between Liriope and Caliona as if they were exhibits.
“Are you two street orphans like us?”
“Why didn’t you just try the Poorhouse instead? You might’ve gotten adopted by a rich person.”
“Idiot, you think there are that many kind-hearted rich people in this world? If you’re unlucky enough to get dragged off, you’ll end up sold to a brothel or worse.”
Liriope, disliking the unwanted attention, bowed her head to hide her face.
Seeing this, the first boy—still fidgeting beside her—flinched as though he’d been stung.
“Oh! Wait, right! We haven’t shown the newcomers the Magic Circle yet, have we? Just a moment!”
Without another word, he dashed off and returned with something he’d retrieved from his bag.
“Huff, huff! H-here, take this! Zed gave permission for new members to borrow these, so you can! By tomorrow morning, you need to memorize at least one of these, okay? Understood?”
What he pressed into Liriope’s hand were several creased, half-folded sheets of small paper.
Each bore a intricate Magic Circle drawn on it.
“Huh? What are you suddenly doing?”
“What do you mean? This is what we always give to newcomers, isn’t it?”
Though his comrades shot bewildered glances at him, the boy continued, speaking to Liriope in a notably gentler tone.
“Um, ahem! So, it may have looked rough from the start, but that’s just how things are. We’re not so stingy as all that, you know?”
“……”
“You’re new here and don’t understand yet, but this manor is vast and full of dangers. A section with only bugs like this is bearable at best, but that doesn’t mean you’d want to rot here forever, does it? If you’re going to be here anyway, it’s better to try an Escape Attempt with us.”
“……”
“But if you don’t want to be treated as worthlessly as those two, you’ve got to earn your keep. And if you can use even one of the spells here, Zed won’t just use you as bait. So memorize one of these Magic Circles and practice it whenever you get a chance, alright? You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
Liriope examined the Magic Circles drawn on the papers.
Plant Cultivation Magic, Healing Magic, Sense Amplification Magic, Cleansing Magic, Light Magic, Detection Magic.
They were all standardized basic Magic Circles, not high-grade Applied Magic Circles. But for children who had just entered the Magic Tower, even these were challenging enough.
And…
Just as she’d expected, there was not a single spell here with the raw power and offensive capacity of Zed’s Fire Magic.
‘Ah, I see. So the Supply Box contains not only hints about the test, but also these papers with Magic Circles drawn on them? No wonder some of these ruffians can actually use magic.’
‘Of course, someone like Zed would never share magic powerful enough to threaten him with the other children.’
Naturally, it was to monopolize the group’s power for himself.
So any papers containing other offensive spells would certainly be destroyed the moment he found them, before the others could see.
“Idiot, looking at a Magic Circle doesn’t mean she can suddenly replicate it. Among us, only Zed has that kind of ability.”
“Hey, why are you crushing our new girl’s spirit like that?”
“What? Our… new girl?”
“Yes! And number 14 over there can mimic magic too, right? We were just unlucky and got blanks, but maybe there’s one magic among these that suits her perfectly.”
Despite the rebuke, the boy continued encouraging Liriope.
“From what I can tell… I think Light Magic would suit you well! You’ve got blonde hair too, after all! Anyway, something just feels right about it!”
‘Blonde hair and Light Magic—what kind of ridiculous logic is that…?’
“Trust me, okay? Try practicing Light Magic starting now! After all, the worst that happens is you fail!”
The Earth Dugout soon grew noisy and bustling.
Looking at all this, it seemed everyone had already forgotten that someone had died on the very ground they stood upon.
Liriope, her appetite already gone, crumpled the papers in her hand.
She had known it all along, but this place could never be somewhere to stay.
The longer she remained, the more terrible things she would see, the more unspeakable acts she would endure.
That moment came.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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