Chapter 06

Surprisingly the interior of the 'abandoned' mansion was very different from what I thought. It was clean, full of appliances, and paintings, and had a unique overall design. In the few rooms I'd been able to pass through, I'd seen countless books around on shelves and on tables and other furniture.

"Oh? Interested in them? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Unfortunately, that's not how it works, PervXglasses." said the giant who guides me through the hall of the mansion.

Clearly, he was referring to the books that I would certainly do anything to study them.

When we arrived in a room, we sat at a small table that could be in a meditation position facing each other.

Those were the rules of etiquette of negotiation between magicians.

"Then let's start negotiations..." I declare this sentence and the mood seems to get more serious.

The two points of light on Hikimage's dark hood glow with my announcement.

Over the past few weeks, I've found magical materials for sale on the internet from various sources, but most of the books I've been interested in have come from this guy, Hikimage97_human. That's why I decided to come here earlier, his address was registered in the contact email.

Looking at the cross-legged giant in front of me, I couldn't help but frown. Since I arrived in this world I have put myself in more than embarrassing and strange situations several times.

Here I was, in an abandoned sprawling house, cross-legged ready to trade with a giant dressed in a purple wizard's cloak. Which by the way, nearly killed me thinking I worked for the internet company.

Awkwardness aside, the giant appeared to be very still in his position and his posture seemed tense somehow.

"I want you to teach me," I say in a firm tone.

"I refuse."

"Huh? By any chance-"

"I can feel your magic power and I can say boy," Hikimage looks at me as if he really pities me. "The amount of magic power you have is very small. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate how dedicated you are to learning human magic and I could even have fun guiding you though..."

Before he could continue to discourage me...

"I've been using magic recently, my reserves have gradually increased, and over time--" Before I can finish my explanation, I stop as he makes a stop sign and says.

"Although your reserves have increased, the maximum you could reach is about 10 times your original size. Even if by a miracle you achieve this result, in the end, you would just be a normal human with slightly above-average magic. You would still be below the rank of lesser magicians."

Somehow Hikimage didn't say this with disdain, in fact, his body felt even tenser. As if it took too much of his energy to say it.

Of course, I wouldn't give up magic just for the words of a stranger. Damn, I've managed to override less hopeful situations than this before and beyond...

I look at my right hand and I think, I have many future prospects that I must explore.

Meanwhile, in Hikimage's mind.

Upon giving the bad news and seeing me thoughtful, the giant's heart is anguished.

He was saying to himself internally, Dammit, Dammit, what were you saying, you idiot? Now how am I going to get his mone-I mean -- Cough-- do business with him.

By following my gaze, trying to forget his internal struggles...

"Wait. Is that a bucket?" he asks me with his hand pointing.

"*Sigh*. Yeah, it's a bucket," I say wearily and without the energy to justify myself. I urgently needed to sleep.

Seeing that he hadn't asked me why and the knowing glint of what I believed to be his eyes from him.

"Oh? You didn't ask why. Any reason for that?"

On the outside, I looked calm and peaceful, but on the inside...

Maybe he knew about my problem? Does he know I can use magic without using mana? I nervously wondered about the possible implications of this. He wouldn't do magic experiments on me, would he? My heart was stirred and ready for any action from him.

Seeing my nervousness, he waves his hand in front of his body nonchalantly and says, "Don't worry, boy..."

I swallow nervously.

"You're not the strangest magician I've ever met, or in your case, wannabe magician."

What? I froze right there.

He looks both ways like he wants to check that no one is listening to us, and really, it was just the two of us there. Hikimage approaches and puts his hand aside and says in a whisper: "Most magician are crazy, I don't understand what goes on in people's heads. I know a magician who is married to a rabbit, so no, I'm not surprised at your fondness for buckets."

I look at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, my mind struggling to understand it all. That bastard...

"Hey! I'm not the weirdo here! You're the weirdo! You're what? Ten feet tall?" I wince and point at him, "I can't even see your face in that hood of yours and you almost killed me thinking I was from the internet company."

"Huh? I've tried to understand your odd tastes without sounding judgmental, but now – Should I take precautions and hide the buckets in my house away from you?" He said in an obviously indignant voice. "And another --- Who the hell uses the name PervXGlasses?"

"Hmph, said the Hikimage97_human. But now seriously --- Why the hell '_human'? Aren't you a giant or at least a cub of one?"

"You," He shudders in rage and I feel his magical power stirred. But after a few breaths, Hikimage pulls himself together and says, "You're lucky we're under magician etiquette and I can't attack you. And how much '_human' is for other races to recognize how great we can be. And yes, I am human with great pride."

I still looked suspiciously at that big and suspicious figure.

I confess I let my temper slip. Perhaps if I had been in better condition I would have acted more restrained, but my sleep restriction problem didn't help me to think straight.

Fortunately, I was aware of Magician etiquette about negotiations.

I could have died for my little slip-up. For magicians who urgently need resources and knowledge, trading is almost a sacred ceremony.

By inviting me to his house to trade, we enter into a kind of magical pact that protects me from any harm from him. If he attacked me his reputation would be tarnished.

"Without further ado, as I'm not in the mood for this -- will you still want to take lessons with me?"

I raise an eyebrow at his sudden change of decision before I understand everything.

"You think I'm a waste of time, a talentless figure. Why the change of mind about teaching me then?"

I already had an idea but decided to ask anyway.

"Oh? Well -- I was sorry at first and didn't want to deceive you that you could learn a lot. But since you're a bastard, I don't mind if you spend your money on me for nothing."

It was like I thought, it seems that calling him nonhuman was like stepping on his toes.

"Okay, but my payment isn't cash," I tell him as I pull a handful of notebooks from the backpack on my back and hand them to him.

He looks at me suspiciously and very frustrated knowing that the payment wouldn't be in cash, but when looking at those notebooks and reading a little what was written, "This is--"

He first begins to read calmly, but from time to time he trembles and says to himself in disbelief, "That's impossible."

Huh? Even I couldn't say the reason for his overreaction.

"Impossible. Impossible. Unless--" He looks up from his notebooks and turns to me with a glare I've never seen before.

I didn't know what was going on, but one thing was for sure --- once again I would have to use my improvisation skills.

"You!! Where did you get those notes from?"

From his tone, I would have to think very carefully.

The notes? Well, I had just copied it with a very useful spell I learned from a book, it used very little mana and would probably be considered one of the most basic.

As for the content, it was simply the books I found in the manga sections at school. The information obtained through Appraise magic is saved in my mind eidetically and therefore I was able to make perfect copies. Their depth of knowledge was even greater than the books I found on the internet.

As I didn't have the money to pay for the teachings of a magician, which would probably be a fortune --- I took advantage of the knowledge acquired to acquire more knowledge. The fair exchange.

But the problem was, what was the reason for that reaction? Damn, Hikimage really is weirder than I thought.

Seeing my lack of response, he said angrily, "TELL ME."

Okay, I'd try to play it safe...

"A friend lent it to me to take notes."

He seems to be silent for a few moments in contemplation.

"A friend. A friend. A friend. Hehe," he muttered to himself and let out a few gleeful chuckles every now and then in the midst of his delirium.

I didn't want to interrupt a madman's madness and I just let him ramble on...

That's when he did an action that caught me off guard, a magic circle lit up from under him and he disappeared like magic, and when I least reacted... Hikimage was grabbing me by the collar.

"And what did she say about me?" Hikimage asked me excitedly. "Please tell me - Gremory-san, did she like my books? Did she say why doesn't she answer my calls anymore? She's not upset with me, is she? She--" He speaks non-stop and very energetically.

With that action, my only reflex was not to let my hand leave the bucket and reveal the magic that was being conjured there. But if things went on like this I wouldn't last much longer.

I start hitting his hands in an attempt to wake him up.

Realizing his own actions, Hikimage lets go of me, stepping back, "Eh? I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

He leaned toward me, but I was too busy coughing to worry about that. "Cough, Cough."

I almost suffocated to death, the strength of that giant is enormous. The damage he does even unpretentiously is dangerous.

Hikimage is really embarrassed by what he's done now, it wasn't his intention to hurt.

He could feel the pact magic warning him of a possible breach of contract. Luckily, the etiquette pact takes into account the magician's intentions and the severity of the damage done.

Because I'm still whole, he only received a warning for his recklessness.

"I'm sorry for my actions, I ask you to forgive me," He says still leaning towards me honestly.

"Cough, ummm, forget it. It's okay," I decide not to piss him off at how dangerous he is. The situation of feeling helpless before was agonizing.

He glares at me, flashing, before saying, "PervXglasses-sama, did you say it was your friend who let you take the notes? Would you by any chance be friends with Gremory-san?"

PervXglasses-sama? Since when did that bastard start calling me that? Frustrations aside, I would be very stupid not to take advantage of the opportunity presented to me.

"Rias Gremory? Redhead, five feet tall, wide breasts, and an impressive ass?"

"That's right. That's right," The sparkles in his eyes explode with emotion.

"I don't know who it is," I say looking away with a bored face.

"You," He shudders at the sight of my actions but soon gets himself under control again.

For me to use this advantage to its fullest potential, I needed to just pretend not to want to use it to my advantage. It would make everything more believable and easier.

"I apologize if I disrespected you. It was not my intention to be rude to a friend of Gremory-san's." He supposed I was still upset, and yes, I was.

Because I didn't use it to get something out of him right away and because I was acting so grumpy, he already assumed that 'my friend' really was Rias. I was letting him draw his own conclusions.

"Sigh. Why don't we forget about Rias-senpai and get back to our earlier business?" I ask irritably.

"Oh, sure," He fidgets nervously and falls silent.

"As for your teachings, I suppose you won't accept my notebooks as payment, since they are your books ironically, or would you?"

I tried the first bait.

"It would certainly be unfair," he said in a political tone. "Other form of payment if possible."

Dammit, he didn't mean to do it just for that.

"Hmmm, I don't have that much money -- all I have is a measly 1000 yen," I say dejectedly.

After a period of silence and indecision...

"Cough, well -- Maybe if you would do me a favor, I mean," He seems unsure whether or not to say it. "I can even give you lessons for 1000 yen a month. Of course, that's if you help with one thing."

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously, "And what would that be exactly?"

"If you help me with gremo--" Before he could finish.

"You can stop right there", I say in an indignant voice and with my hand outstretched. "If you think I'm going to trade Rias-senpai as an object, you're very wrong."

"But but"

"No matter what you say or offer to me --- it's not at stake. Rias-senpai is an important friendship for me, I owe her a lot and I won't betray her trust."

"Ummm-I mean-ummm," He has his shoulders slumped and his eyes are downcast, embarrassed to look at me as he realizes what he was about to offer me.

Of course, that was a blatant lie, I wasn't Rias's friend and I didn't care about her enough to come to her defense. I just didn't want to go to the trouble of dealing with her because of a magical contract that forces me to try and help a guy in love.

The more distance I kept from her, the better off it would be for me.

To my surprise, he seems to gain strength and straightens up and says looking into my eyes, "You really are a great friend, PeverXglasses-sama. I feel like I misjudged you. I feel ashamed and hope I have at least a little of your character. Gremory-san is lucky to have you as a friend. I ask for the thousandth time that you forgive me."

I was doing a little internal dance and almost out of character, but I managed to keep it straight and say, "As long as you understand your mistakes, I see no reason why we shouldn't forget this."

"What about--" before I could finish asking.

He tosses a piece of parchment between us and says in a decisive tone, "1000 yen a month, I'll teach you for that amount."

I couldn't help but smile internally...

Luckily Rias wasn't here, and I wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath and persecution of a certain Siscon, because my first reaction to seeing her now would be to give that redhead a good kiss. She unknowingly gave me so many benefits and I was truly touched.

Of course, this was just a momentary excitement and I still don't feel like getting involved with her and ruining the canon. Not to mention that I did not want to have a relationship with someone just for their beauty. My perverted side wouldn't complain about trying to get involved with her, but my rational side warned me that this would all just be one big problem.

It didn't make up for the headache.

With the master/student contracts signed, I felt safer to ask what I had been holding back and the biggest reason for me to come here today...

"You wouldn't have a method for dispersing formulas in the magical calculus area, would you?"