4 Outside the forest

"So."

"So?"

"You two don't know much about anything. With no idea about how abnormal your magic is, or how to even find a grocery store"

"Yes." "Yep. But they can't be that hard to find..."

"Still, that will make your everyday life harder."

"That's true." "I guess."

"So how about this? You two will enroll into a magic school in my kingdom—"

"Your kingdom?"

"—where you can learn exactly how you match against others your age. And yes, my kingdom."

"Uncle Dis, you're a king?"

"Indeed I am."

"Woah." "A real king? Sick."

"Chris and Siegfried are actually my guards. They are of the Imperial Knight Guard Division and the Imperial Court Magician Division, in that order."

"...that can't be true." "Siegfried, working for the king? There's no way..."

"Hey, guys, what kind of image do I have in your heads?"

"Huhu."

"Shut up, Chris!"

"What, you got a problem?"

"Ehem. Anyway, what do you two say? Master Merlin has a residence in the capital so you can move there. Not only will you two learn common sense regarding your magic, but you will also learn the common sense of society since you two will be living in the capital."

"I need to think about it. I'm more surprised a King has been visiting us since we were kids." "Same, bro. Same. It's insane when you think about it."

"Hoh? Even though my identity as the king of a nation has been revealed, you two won't change the way you talk to me?"

"I mean, we've known you since we were kids. I can't change my attitude since I still see you as my uncle." "Yeaaah... too late to change it now, Uncle Dis."

"I see! Well, make sure you never change! Even my own children speak to me formally... I feel like there's a distance between us."

"..."

"So, what do you think? Would you like to enroll in my country's magic school? It's also a good place to make friends."

"..." "..."

"..."

"...okay." "I'm in."

*******

—was basically the conversation that went down after returning home.

School... and a magical one too. I'm kinda excited.

Not gonna lie, I liked my school days in my old world. The only things that sucked about them were the tests and projects.

I used to have a lot of friends. They were nice people.

It's just that, after school ended, I met up with them less and less. Then there were none left. I don't hate them for that. It's something that happens in life. Now that I think back, I started looking for surveys at around the same time I lost contact with them.

I'm not attending school to make friends though. I want to learn even more magic!

Fuck friends. I don't need to feel the same way I used to before my reincarnation.

...

"Thomas, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing important."

I must've been thinking too hard that something showed on my face.

"It's okay to feel sad when leaving home, Grandma Melinda said. Obviously, she was mistaken about my thoughts.

Me, Shin, grandma, and grandpa were on our way to the royal capital for our schooling. My spatial storage was filled with all my personal belongings for our new home in the capital.

"It's nothing like that," I replied. "Anyway, you and Grandpa Merlin used to be married?"

I switched the subject to one filled with mystery.

Grandpa Melinda and Grandpa Merlin. I can see them both happy together, which begs the question: Why did they break up?

"Why did you two break up?" I asked, straight to the point.

"..."

Grandma didn't answer. So I stared at the person next to her. Grandpa looked out the window, pretending he didn't notice my gaze.

"B-brother, that's a bit direct."

Shin whispered in my ear. He was sitting beside me in the carriage.

I mean, aren't you curious too?

No replies would come back whatsoever.

Fine. I don't really care enough to push them for answers anyway.

Since it looked like no one was gonna be talking any time soon, I played around with my magic. I'm trying to do this thing where I make 3D models out of pure magic...

"It's the royal capital!"

Excitedly, Shin pointed at a dot in the distance. With a bit of physical augmentation to my eyes, I finally saw what he saw.

"Damn..."

As medieval as it can get, tall walls surrounded the capital, and in the middle of it all stood a castle—Uncle Dis's castle. No wait, KING Dis's castle.

It looked less impressive than I imagined. By that, I didn't mean the castle. I meant the capital overall.

"That's where we'll live from now on. There better be no Black Plague."

"Yeah, I can't wait—what did you say, Thomas?"

"Nothing."

To enter the capital, our horse-drawn carriage had to line up near the entrance for inspection. Kinda like airport security. Unlike airport security, it was slower.

I should develop time magic. Nothing has ever felt as slow as this!

Finally, it was our turn.

A soldier walked up to our window and asked, "Do you have your identification papers?"

Identification papers? Like visa? A passport? Do I have a passport?

I didn't pack anything like a passport.

"Hoho, I wonder if this will do?" Grandpa handed the man his supposed identification papers. So did grandma.

The ID papers had a bunch of details that I quickly tried to memorize.

In case they ask for my ID, I can model a similar-looking one made out of magic.

I have full confidence that I can forge important documents. Or maybe I should just ask how to get one.

Eh, we'll see.

The soldier received the papers and checked them.

"Hmm?!"

Is something wrong?

The soldier looked like he just saw a ghost.

"Er, umm, are you two perhaps the 'Magi Merlin' and 'Guru Melinda?'"

Oh. Right.

Grandma and grandpa did defeat a Devil that threatened to destroy a kingdom.

Heroes. They are heroes.

"You mean THE Magi is here?!"

"Is that true?"

"I heard the Guru is here as well!"

"Master Merlin! Mistress Melinda!"

The rest of the people in the line, and even some of the guards, started getting rowdy.

Scratch that. They are famous heroes.

A small crowd had gathered around our carriage. Thing is, the crowd was getting bigger with each second that passed.

"I'm sorry, but can we finish this up? Any more than this will cause quite the commotion."

"Ah, of course! B-but, may I ask who these other gentlemen are?"

"Shin and Thomas Wolford, our grandsons."

"Huhu, it'll be fine then! Please, do go through!"

"Thank you."

So I don't need to forge my identity? Oh well.

Into the royal capital we go!

The first thing I noticed was the ridiculous amount of people. The streets were filled to the brim with crowds and passing carriages like ours. It reminded me of people leaving a stadium after the Grand finals.

All sorts of sounds weaved into my ear. Hooves clacking, mouths chattering, hammers hammering...

I should've known that blacksmiths are here too. I can milk you...

Knowledge get!

The architecture was more polished than I expected. There was a clear difference between seeing the capital from far away and actually being in it. I definitely like the latter more.

What's more is that as we continued getting closer to the castle, the buildings became bigger and more impressive.

"The capital is separated into districts. The ones over there are where the nobles live. They will obviously have better-looking houses and facilities."

"I see. And the castle is in the center of it all?"

Grandpa nodded. Just then, the carriage came to a halt. "Oh, we're here."

I had to do a double-take.

"Uhh, are you sure this is the place, grandpa?"

"I'm not so old that I'll forget my house when I see one."

You call that a house?

What stood before me was in fact, not a mere house. A mansion of epic proportions loomed over our group. I felt like an ant before it.

Someone nudged me on the shoulder. When I looked over, Shin whispered the word, "Huuuuuuuuge." I replied with a quick "complete bonkers, ey?"

We went inside the mansion. The doors automatically opened. Not by magic—that would've been cool though—but because of two servants in matching formal uniform.

Inside, there were a shit ton of people. Why there were a shit ton of people, I didn't know.

Butlers and maids lined up in neat rows filled the entrance hall. One of them stepped up and bowed. The rest followed suit.

"We welcome your return, Master Merlin, Master Melinda. And also, it's a pleasure to meet you, Young Master Thomas and Young Master Shin."

Young Master Thomas... I like the sound of that.

The head butler (I think) continued.

"My name is Steve, and I am the head butler assigned to this residence. To my sides are my colleagues: Head Maid Marika and Head Chef Correll.

"We are honored to serve you."

"""We are honored to serve you."""

They did another round of bowing. These people are really dedicated, huh. I admire their work ethic.

"Umm, then, with everyone here caring for us, what do I do?" Shin asked a nonsensical question.

The only possible answer, given that these people were hired to specifically make our lives a life without hardship, is...

"Nothing, bro. We do nothing. They'll do everything."

"But..."

Head Butler Steve eased his worries. "Young Master Shin, please believe me when I say that everyone standing before you will perform our roles with absolute precision! With or without the orders of His Highness, we will never treat your family of heroes inadequately."

"Ah. I-I see... if even Uncle Dis said so." Having given up, Shin let out a sigh.

I like this head butler. Thank you in advance for making my life easier, everyone! I'll be living like Uncle Dis—like a king— just as you wish! Muahahahaha!

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Soooooooo boriiiing.

My daily routine used to consist of the following:

Wake up (early). Tidy my room. Hunt. Cook (sometimes). Eat. Shower. Practice magic. Parkour in the forest. Practice magic while parkouring in the forest. Fight Shin with no magic. Win. Fight Shin with magic. Win. Repeat previous the previous four steps a bunch of times. Take a dump. Shower again. Eat lunch. Wash the dishes. Magic lessons with grandpa. Self-study in the training grounds. Repair the destroyed training grounds. Kill a demon (if I detect one). Hunt. Eat dinner. Shower (I love showering with magic). Also, screw around whenever. Also also, train my anime power whenever. Also also also, use my shouts for fun when no one is looking.

Look at that massive slab of text. How beautiful. Look at how not-boring it is.

But I live in a mansion full of servants now. This is my new daily routine:

Wake up. Shower. Eat. Practice magic. Stare at the wall. Eat. More magic practice. Follow Shin around. Learn from Grandpa or Grandma. Review for magic school test (fucking sucks). Sleep.

No hunting. No parkour. No a lot of things.

Living like a king ain't that good. It's probably because I have no Internet to fully immerse myself on to live the true shut-in life.

Today, I decided to sleep in. But usually, I don't because I don't feel tired enough to feel good about sleeping in. Ever feel like you're more tired by sleeping/staying in bed longer? That's how I feel.

A servant came up to announce breakfast being served. I obviously didn't come down. I just stayed in bed, doing nothing.

Only after lunch did I do my usual routine.

I showered then ate a full-course meal that took about an hour, before finally finding Shin reviewing for the magic school admission test.

"Yo. When are you free? Let's hang out."

"30 minutes."

"Aight."

I made a magical timer and set it to play Despacito in 30 minutes, before making a gate to the front of Grandpa's house in the forest.

There was a barrier that prevented beasts from tearing down the place while also preserving the site for future use. Grandma Melinda made it. As her student, I knew how to dispel it, but I didn't want to waste a second longer than I needed to.

I'll use a shortcut instead.

"Kren." (Break—Improvised Shout)

With the sound of shattering glass, the barrier disappeared. I walked through the front door and saw the interior's pristine condition. There wasn't much stuff inside—we took them all in our spatial storage, apart from a couch or carpet still lying around.

I tapped the floor. It was made of wood, and there didn't seem to be anything beneath it.

"Perfect," I muttered.

Then, I punched straight through it.

Punch punch punch, until the forest ground under it was revealed. By then, I used earth magic to dig through the ground, creating a massive hole under the house.

"Phase 1 of the Batcave is done. Starting Phase 2."

An earthquake shook the Batcave. I was spreading my magic along its walls and replacing it with a more aesthetically pleasing material: magically reinforced gold.

Not only is it shiny, it's durable as hell too!

A demonized Red Grizzly wouldn't do shit to a very thin 1mm layer of it, much less one as thick as my dick—

"So... shiny."

The cave felt incredibly bright even though it had no natural light source. Well, apart from the magical sheen of the gold of course. That was enough to make me think I was above ground during high noon.

"It's too shiny."

The shinyness was too much for my eyes.

To prevent myself from going blind, I replaced most of the gold with dark, unrefined obsidian. The rough texture of the obsidian provided a nice contrast with the slick golden parts, but most importantly, the Batcave wasn't as bright.

I previously only had a vague image in my head. Now though, it was slowly coming together.

"Phase 2 looks epic. Starting Phase 3."

For Phase 3, I made multiple wooden chests and filled them up with precious metals. Rubies and diamonds and whatnot filled up one chest after another. Don't forget the gold as well! Although, the gold this time wasn't magically reinforced.

You might be asking, "How are you making things out of thin air?"

The answer is once again: imagination. If my plot armor had a name, it's imagination.

It really might be. But not completely.

Despite only encountering elemental and spatial magic in this world, I knew there had to be more to magic. I've played way too many video games to know that casting Fireball can't be the only thing possible through magic.

Necromancy, Conjuration, Alteration, Divine, Summoning, Mental, Friendship, etc.

Then there's alchemy. Alchemy existed in my old world, even without the magic. You know, turning lead into gold. It was even possible to do so in modern times, but the process was incredibly expensive. The results weren't that impressive since only a tiny amount comes out.

In this world though, when you have a ton of magic to spare, you can do like I do.

This is becoming more like a dragon's lair than a Batcave with all these shiny things... eh, whatever.

"Phase 3 of the Batcave is done. I'll go ahead to Phase 4."

I dug out a straight, horizontal area and gave it the same Piglin Fortress look.

After that, I pulled out practice dummies from my spatial storage and enchanted them to be nearly indestructible. I also added a movement function, activated by a verbal command.

After placing them in a neat row, I took many steps back and pulled out a gun: AK-47, but magical (I copied and tweaked Shin's magic Rifle).

I took aim. No need for optics. Iron sights were enough.

"Ehem. Who let the dogs out?"

The magic in the dummies came to life, and they started frantically running for dear life.

But before I could open fire...

*Guitar sounds* "Aye..... Fonsi!"

My timer went off.

"30 minutes are up already? I didn't even feel it pass... I should do these kinds of activities more often."

I shut the timer up.

Feeling satisfied, I climbed back up to the house, covered up the Batcave, restored Grandma Melinda's barrier, and finally met up with Shin.

******

The royal capital is a place with many people and many places of interest.

"Is this much enough for the meat skewer?"

"A copper coin is enough to buy five!"

"That's pretty cheap, huh. I'll take two. And keep the coin anyway."

"Wait, sir! I can't just take this!"

Too bad for the vendor, Shin and I were already walking away.

*Chomp* *Chomp*

"Damn. This is pretty good."

"The capital sure is nice..."

While eating our meat skewers, we continued walking around. Many of the streets were lined up with stalls selling many things. The shops behind them also gave a wider range of items, whether they be food or swords.

"Alright, it's your turn to buy us stuff. How about those sandwiches, Shin? They look good."

"Yeah, yeah."

Grandpa gave us both pocket money. Even though it was a lot, we didn't want to spend everything too soon. If that ever happened, I'll just make coins with my magic.

By the way, the value of the coins are as follows—

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Stone coin = 1 yen (Less than a 1 USD penny)

Iron coin = 100 yen (~$0.83 USD)

Copper coin = 1,000 yen (~$8.32 USD)

Silver coin = 10,000 yen (~$83.24 USD)

Gold coin = 100,000 yen (~$832.36 USD)

Platinum coin = 1,000,000 yen (~$8,323.63 USD)

(Author: I did my research. At the time this series began serialization in January 2015, the exchange rate was 100 yen = 0.83-0.84 USD, compared to today's (the day I'm writing this chapter) exchange rate of 100 yen = 0.67 USD)

****************

—according to Shin. I mean, I don't pay enough attention to these kinds of things, but I guess they can prove useful.

Shin quickly returned with the sandwiches. We continued our walk and even entered a magic tools shop. The items were dogshit compared to Grandma Melinda's and practically flyshit compared to mine. They were expensive as well, so we didn't buy anything.

Despite the let-down, there was a positive thing that I realized while internally dissing the guy who enchanted these items.

If I $et up $hop here in the future, I reckon I'll be raking in the big buck$...

And so, the walk continued. More food, more visits to magic gear shops, more convinced I'll be rich in the future...

"Yo. Look at that. There's a ridiculously long line there. Is it a famous restaurant?" I said.

"We can check it out," Shin replied.

Wiping the drool from my mouth, we went up to one of the people lined up and asked.

"Oh, no, no, no! This is for the theater play!" said the clearly thrilled man.

Theater play? Lame.

He continued. "It's called 'The Legend of Magi Merlin and Guru Melinda.' I can't believe you two have never heard of it! It's a must-watch!"

No way...

Shin and I looked at each other. He couldn't believe it either.

"...I kind of want to check it out, Shin."

"...Dude, no."

"Tch, killjoy."

I'll check it out when he's not around then.

After taking note of the theater's location, I reluctantly passed its main entrance and continued walking. Today was 'Boy's Hangout Day.' We gotta respect it and stay with the boys. The most I can do is buy some more food to replace the missed experience.

So I did. I went to buy more food for us after telling Shin to stay put. When I came back though, holding a chicken wrap in each hand, Shin was gone from where I left him.

Boy's Hangout... he fucking ditched me!

But I quickly calmed myself. Ditching me like that was odd behavior from my brother. Never in my second life has he done anything like this.

Was it a woman?

A swift conclusion, considering that we didn't have any girls our age back in the forest. There were other possibilities like Shin getting kidnapped, but I doubt anyone could even do that apart from me.

I used search magic.

Everyone in this city is so weak... ah, there he is... in some back alley?

Shin wasn't too far off. The crowd around me, however, made walking to him a bother. That's why I decided to take a shortcut.

Lazily, I imagined myself appear behind Shin—

*Insert Instant Transmission sound*

—and appear behind him, I did.

Since I was holding a chicken wrap in both hands, I shoved one inside my spatial storage before tapping his shoulder. "Hey, Shin—"

Without looking back, he grabbed my outstretched hand, swept my legs, and threw me forward.

"Huh?"

Before I could readjust in midair, I crashed into a trio of men. Thanks to them, my landing was nice and comfortable. My chicken wrap was nice and safe too.

I took a bite.

Wow. It has a nice flavor, and I can tell from the texture that it's fresh... 10/10!

"O-oi! There's another kid!" One of the men I was sitting on yelled.

"Fuck it! Kill them both!"

"Kill us? Who the fuck are you guys?"

I analyzed the trio in an instant. Their mana was higher than the average person. Their equipment consisted of shabby light armor and third-rate swords. Their physiques were fairly muscular yet fat at the same time.

"T-Thomas?! That was you?!" Shin was horrified when he realized he had thrown me. "Sorry!"

"All good, bro."

"Wait, how did you appear behind me? I didn't even sense your approach. You just popped up out of nowhere."

"Teleportation."

"T—Teleportation?! You teleported?! Isn't that dangerous?!"

"Well, I didn't want to make a gate while people were around me."

I quickly stood up. The trio below me tried to stand up too, but I just kicked them down.

"Who are these fools?" I said as I took a bite out of my chicken wrap.

"Demon Hunters."

"Dimon Hantas? Themmm? Nooor weeey."

There's no demon weak enough that these fools can kill. Maybe a demonized ant? It's possible they hunt those for a living... Don't tell me it's another common sense thing I'm missing?

By this point, the trio had managed to crawl away from me and stand up. The sound of metal being unsheathed reached my ears.

"You'll pay for that!" they rushed me, shabby swords in hand. Since they wanted to get beaten up so badly, I assumed a battle stance.

"I'm your opponent!"

But there was no need. Shin stood in front of me. With him dealing with them, I can continue eating my chicken wrap in peace.

*Thwack* *Thwack* *Crack!*

Not even five seconds later, they were all on the floor, unconscious.

I think one of them broke their ribs from one of Shin's kicks. That sounds like a them problem though.

"Are you girls alright?"

"Hmm?"

I was too focused on my chicken wrap to notice, but two girls had been standing near us all along. One had brown hair while the other had blue. Shin immediately talked to them after destroying those dEmOn HuNtErS.

Huh. I was right. So it was because of a woman—well, women, that he left me behind.

A shit-eating grin reached my face.

Shin, you naughty dog.

"That's my brother, Thomas."

Shin introduced me to the two young ladies.

"Hey there! Thanks for helping as well!" "T-thank you."

"Nn," I grunted while waving at them. I was chewing on some delicious chicken wrap so I couldn't give a verbal reply.

Fuck. I love this food. I'm definitely coming back for more.

The trio (New trio consisting of Shin and the two girls) decided to get out of the back alleys. I walked with them, curious about how my brother will interact with girls his age.

Technically our age, but I'm mentally older than I look, so it doesn't really count.

With the girls guiding us, we arrived in a nearby cafe. I was nearly finished with my chicken wrap, so it was perfect timing to try out more food.

"Let me say my gratitude once again. Thank you very much for helping us back there." "T-thank you very much..."

"It's okay, no need to thank me. They weren't that strong anyway," replied Shin with a smile.

My brother seems very calm. He hasn't stuttered or anything. Impressive...

"If only I could use magic, I would have easily beaten those guys..." the brown-haired girl muttered in frustration.

I tilted my head in slight confusion?

What do you mean by that?

She didn't seem to be lying. From what I can tell, she definitely had more magic than those fools from earlier. Waving around a fireball spell should have been enough to have them piss off.

"Why didn't you?" I asked.

"Umm, it's because it's forbidden to use magic in the city. Maria would have gotten in trouble even if it was for self-defense." The blue-haired girl was the one to answer.

It was forbidden...? Hopefully no one saw me teleport...

"Can I ask what the punishment is for getting caught using magic in the city? It's not like I used magic or anything. I'm just curious, is all."

If someone did see me, I gotta be prepared to cough up a fine or something.

"I'm not sure, but it's somewhat serious..."

Serious? Shit. Well, I'll be fine as long as I don't get caught. I teleported while being surrounded by a bustling crowd so no one should have seen me. No wonder I didn't see anyone use any magic.

This common sense problem is more serious than I previously thought. I could've been jailed and I wouldn't even know the reason why.

"Maria, right? Your name's Maria?" I asked the brown-haired girl (red hair in the anime). "Since you talked about using magic, does that mean you're a student from the magic academy around here?"

Since she said she can use magic, then naturally, she must've learned it from somewhere.

"Not yet. I still need to pass the admission test. It's the same for Sizilien here." Maria gestured to Sizilien, the blue-haired girl.

"Oh, both of you are taking it too. We also plan on going to that school." Shin nodded.

He looks really happy after learning that... I see... I see...

The girls were surprised that Shin was taking the test as well, something about being more like a Knight Academy student from the way he beat up those demon hunters. Hmm, if I'm remembering correctly, didn't Uncle Michel graduate from a knight academy? Chris as well?

Lost in my thoughts, I automatically filtered out the conversation between my brother and a potential girlfriend of his.

Then, Maria suddenly stood up, rattling our table. "Have you two heard? Apparently, the Magi and the Guru have recently returned to the capital!"

"...yeah. I've heard of that, I think..."

Maria didn't seem happy with Shin's lacklustre reaction.

Wow. Shin deflated really fast. You'll expose us at this rate. Do it more like this.

"Really?! They're here?! I can't believe it!" I remarked in pure happiness.

"I know, right?!?!?!?!"

Oh yes. Continue to glare at me, dear brother. That's a nice look you have there.

As if a switch was flipped inside her, Maria began her TEDTalk about how amazing our grandparents are. It was an amazing thing to witness Maria blabber her heart out while Shin used all of his willpower to not succumb to the cringe.

"There is even news that their two grandsons will come to the Advanced Magic Academy as well! Ahhhhhhh~ I wonder what they're like~!"

I was surprised that people already knew we were attending. Still, I made use of that surprise to make my acting more genuine. "Really, really?! They are here in the capital?! I've only heard rumors, but apparently, they're super handsome and extremely powerful magic users! I hope I meet them!"

"Umm, yeah. I—We should get going." Shin grabbed me by the collar and hoisted me up. He then proceeded to drag me away towards the back alleys.

Ehehehehehehe. Couldn't take it anymore, huh?

"Goodbye, Shin and Thomas! See you two in school! Thanks for saving us!" "See you guys too..."

When we rounded the corner and disappeared from public view, Shin created a gate back home and dragged me through that too.

"Bro." My brother looked mighty pissed.

"What? I thought it was funny."

"We're gonna look like weirdos to them!"

"Hmm, so you care about how those girls see you? Is that it? That's definitely it! Don't tell me you're into them? Or is it just one girl in particular...?"

"N-no, that's not..." his face turned completely red. Heh. I knew it. As expected of someone going through puberty.

Today wasn't boring at all.

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(Omake)

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"What do you think, head chef Correll? We have visited the inventor and the secret formula is ours. Can it be done?"

"Certainly, young master."

"I'm sure I've told you this countless times on the way, but this task is of grave importance."

"You can expect to eat it tonight! I swear it!"

"Good," said the quirky young master. He held a chicken wrap in his hand, half-eaten. A devilish smile crept up his face as he leaned back on his seat. "I'll get you grandpa's autograph. A deal is a deal."

"Thank you so much!"

"Ah, tis' nothing for a man of my caliber."

A soft muahahahaha escaped a normal-looking carriage headed home.