Chapter 396 - Chapter Six: Golem
In the process of a child becoming an adult, there are three major milestones in the Kingdom of Roadberg.
The most significant milestone is fifteen years of age. Those who reach this age are treated as adults who bear all rights and obligations.
As a preceding stage, there is the provisional adulthood at thirteen. Provisional adults are regarded as those who have achieved a certain level of growth and passed the stage of childhood, and they come to be counted as capable laborers within the home and local community. Those who wish are also permitted to marry from this age, though in reality, few marry so early.
As a milestone with a different meaning, there is the age of ten, when one receives the "Rite of Blessing."
It is a ritual to determine whether a magical talent dwells within a person. The name, method, and age at which it is received vary by country and religion, but in the Kingdom of Roadberg, which holds the Milleon Holy Church as its state religion, this ritual is received at the age of ten under the name "Rite of Blessing."
Noein had once heard from a tutor that if one awakens to magical talent when too young, there is a danger of wielding magic according to one's emotions, and if the talent sprouts after one has grown too old, the time to strive for proficiency during the teens—the period of greatest growth—is reduced. That is why receiving the ritual at ten is common.
Receiving the "Rite of Blessing" is the duty of everyone living in this country, from royalty to slaves, and ensuring they receive it is the duty of the royalty and lord-nobles who govern each region. Since the number of magic users directly correlates to national power and the strength of a territory, the ruling class supports the church extremely enthusiastically regarding the "Rite of Blessing."
Spring of the Royal Calendar year 206. Noein, who had turned ten after spending his first New Year's in the detached building, was also to receive this ritual.
However, Noein, who cannot leave this detached building, did not go to the church. Instead, a young priest was dispatched from the church in the capital city of Laden and visited Noein's detached building.
"Now, I shall perform the 'Rite of Blessing.'"
While under the sharp gaze of the head maid, who served as a guide in name but a monitor in reality, the young priest raised the staff—a magic tool for the ritual—with a nervous expression. Perhaps due to whatever threats he had been told by the Earl's house, the priest did not even call the name of Noein, who knelt in a posture of prayer, nor did he attempt to meet Noein's eyes.
"...O God. O sole and absolute God, Father of the great sky, and Mother of the earth and sea. Under Your protection and mercy—"
The priest chanted the holy verses somewhat rapidly, as if performing a chore, but that was not a problem. The essence of this ritual lay in the magic tool held by the priest.
The staff, into which magic circuits were carved so that a specific magic for this ritual called "Holy Magic" would activate, operated without any particular issue, enveloping the room in a dazzling light.
In that moment, Noein heard words within his mind.
To be precise, they were not words. It was a mystical experience, as if knowledge itself had become a liquid and flowed into his head. It was an experience that could truly be described as "hearing the voice of God."
Whether it was for a mere few moments or for several hours. After passing through an experience where even that was ambiguous, when Noein opened his eyes, both the priest before him and the head maid standing behind him wore surprised expressions.
When he turned toward Matilda, she was staring at Noein in a daze.
As Noein faced forward again, the priest came to his senses and spoke.
"...Uh, it seems a tremendously large magical talent dwells within you. Congratulations. On this day, your futu... your li... to you, uh, a great divine mercy has descended."
Perhaps hesitating to mention the future or life of Noein, who was in an all too delicate position, the priest mumbled and blurred his words.
"Can you explain what kind of magical talent you were granted? What kind of voice did you hear?"
When the priest said this, the head maid's face behind him grew grim. It was a face of caution, as if this could become terribly troublesome depending on the case.
"...The talent to move other bodies. Bodies other than my own."
In response to the priest's question, Noein answered, working his still slightly foggy head.
"...Ah, a talent for puppet magic."
Muttering, the priest's face became one of anticlimax. The head maid wore an expression of relief.
Puppet magic. Noein knew from his tutor's stories and books that it was magic used to manipulate magic tools called golems. He also knew the reputation that it was a talent with poor usability that rarely led to great success.
Even if Noein, in his delicate position, acquired it, it was likely a magical talent not worth fearing. The reactions of the priest and the head maid told the story.
"Priest-sama, it is about time."
"Ah, yes, you are right. Then, thank you for today. Please excuse me."
Urged by the head maid, whose tone was polite but left no room for argument, the priest left the detached building after leaving a minimal greeting.
The head maid glanced at Noein, then without saying a word, closed the front door somewhat roughly and walked away.
Thus, Noein's "Rite of Blessing" ended abruptly.
"Haa, I'm somehow tired."
"Thank you for your hard work, Noein-sama... congratulations."
As Noein sat on the bed while exhaling, Matilda said this and snuggled up beside him.
"Thanks, Matilda. Well, it was a talent for puppet magic, which isn't very useful, though," Noein answered with a self-deprecating smile.
The "Rite of Blessing" is a rite of passage that has the potential to greatly change the life of the recipient. For a noble, the possibility of overcoming birth order to become the next head of the house or the possibility of founding a new noble house increases; for a commoner, they gain the possibility of being appointed as an honorary retainer or, in some cases, an honorary noble. For a slave, they can even be liberated and reverse their life.
That is why Noein had also expected a little from this rite of passage. He didn't think he could become the next head of the House of Earl Kivileft as the child of a concubine, nor did he want to, but he thought that if he were ever cut off and kicked out of the house, it would make living in the outside world considerably easier.
As a result, what he obtained was a type of magical talent that was better than getting nothing. He wondered if he should be happy, and to what extent he should be happy.
"By the way, I heard that people with magical talent glow during the ritual. Did I glow too?"
"Yes. You glowed very brightly indeed. It was a divine sight."
"Heh, so that's how it was... Then, it was true when that priest said 'a tremendously large magical talent dwells within you,' wasn't it?"
It is said that the size of the magical talent and magical power a person possesses can be understood by the intensity of the light emitted from the body during the "Rite of Blessing." Judging from the words of Matilda and that priest, Noein's talent was indeed considerable.
"A talent for puppet magic... I've never seen a golem directly."
He knew of the existence of the magic tool called a golem. Among the books Noein had read so far, there were occasional descriptions mentioning golems. None of them were written in a very favorable way, however.
"But, since I have it, I have to become able to use it. Even if the reputation is mediocre, magic is magic. If I train properly, I'm sure there's a use for it."
"Then, I shall go to the magic tool workshop as Noein-sama's messenger."
Matilda offered this as her natural duty, but Noein showed a slightly worried expression. He remembered the time she had come back drenched in water.
"Yeah, thanks... but make sure to carefully determine which workshop to go to. First, when we go shopping next time, let's ask the shopkeepers. About a magic tool workshop that doesn't persecute beastmen."
"Yes. Thank you, Noein-sama."
Matilda also understood that Noein's words were for her sake. While being patted on the head by Noein, Matilda answered with a smile.
.....
The purchase of a golem was realized around summer, a few months after the "Rite of Blessing" ended.
Regarding the place of purchase, when Matilda asked the merchants at the shops in the beastman district, a suitable workshop was found immediately. It was a shop called the "Alessandri Magic Tool Workshop," managed alone by a female artisan who was skilled but a bit of an eccentric, and it had a reputation that she didn't care if the customer was a beastman.
The problem was the price of the golem. A golem, which has magic circuits carved into wooden parts with magic paint and then has the surface further coated with magic paint, is by no means cheap.
It was not an amount that Noein, who had saved a certain amount of the allowance given by his father, could pay immediately, and after saving for a few more months, he purchased a used golem for thirty thousand Rebro. It arrived in early August.
"Hmm, so this is a golem... Seeing it in person, it really is big."
The golem before Noein was currently sitting powerlessly, but when standing, its height would probably be around two meters.
For these few months, Noein had been reading books specifically regarding magic tools and magic. He intended to deepen his understanding of golems as much as possible, but now that it was before him, it had a presence beyond textual knowledge.
"Well then, let's try moving it right away."
Strangely, from the moment he heard the voice of God during the "Rite of Blessing," Noein had naturally understood how to use puppet magic. Just as a bird knows how to fly and chirp from the moment it is born, he knew how to use the magic.
Based on that knowledge, Noein directed both hands toward the golem as if it were natural and poured in magical power.
Then, a magic circle emerged on Noein's wrist, and simultaneously, the magic circuits of the golem's entire body glowed white for a single instant. Then, just as an indescribable high sound like the howl of a phantom beast echoed, the golem stood up with a heave.
"Whoa, it really moved."
"As expected of Noein-sama."
Matilda spoke to Noein, who was slightly surprised even though he was the one who moved it.
"Thanks, Matilda... This looks unexpectedly difficult to operate. Just as it was in the books," Noein muttered while directing both hands at the golem. The golem that had stood up was staggering somewhat unreliably, and even though Noein tried to operate it, he couldn't move it as he wished.
"For now... I have to move it to the backyard..."
Because of the meanness of his father and the head maid, the transport company could only carry the golem as far as the mansion's service entrance. For the transport from there to the detached building, the mansion's slaves were used, and Noein was charged a usage fee for the slaves on top of the fact that they only carried it as far as the entrance of the detached building.
Noein tried to make the golem walk from the entrance to the backyard, but even making it take one step forward was a struggle.
"Ah."
"Noein-sama!"
The golem lost its balance on the third step and fell forward, and Matilda hugged Noein and pulled him back just as he was almost caught in the fall.
Thanks to this, Noein was not injured, while the golem fell clumsily with a heavy thud.
"...That startled me. Thanks, Matilda. You saved me."
"I am glad you are safe, Noein-sama."
Matilda hugged Noein, who had his eyes wide, while letting out a sigh of relief.
After that, Noein activated the golem once more and made it walk to the backyard while maintaining a distance where he wouldn't be caught if the golem fell. By the time they reached the backyard, Noein felt fatigue with sweat beading on his forehead.
"For now, this is enough for today..."
"Thank you for your hard work, Noein-sama. Shall I brew some tea?"
"Yeah, please. I've gotten thirsty."
"I shall prepare it immediately."
Matilda said so and returned inside the detached building, and as Noein was about to enter the room, he looked back at the golem once more.
"This looks like it'll take a fair amount of time until I get used to it..."
In the books, it was written that it takes an average of two to three months to become proficient enough in operation to make a golem carry an object and walk. From tomorrow, days of steady operation practice would begin.
.....
The period it took for Noein to be able to operate the golem without any particular inconvenience was less than two months. Perhaps thanks to possessing a large magical talent, or perhaps Noein himself was dexterous, it ended up being slightly shorter than the proficiency period mentioned in the books.
"For now, I should be able to handle things like carrying luggage with this."
As he said this, the golem Noein operated was carrying the wooden frame of the bed out to the backyard to sun-dry the straw stuffed inside the bedsheets.
"As expected of Noein-sama. With this, your success as a splendid puppet mage will be realized."
However, Noein tilted his head at Matilda, who praised him so.
"Thanks, Matilda... but for me, I'm still dissatisfied with my operational skill. I can't move it like the puppet mages written in that book."
Among the magic-related books Noein had read recently, there was one that recorded anecdotes of highly skilled puppet mages who were active in the era of warring small states before the Kingdom of Roadberg was founded.
To the general public, golems are known as sluggish existences, but the golems manipulated by the puppet mages appearing in that book moved with an agility that put humans to shame, and were said to have been active not only in heavy labor but also in combat.
At first, he thought it was an overly exaggerated anecdote, but the author's writing style suggested that "puppet mages of this level are rare," mentioning them as existences that were uncommon but not non-existent.
That meant that in the old days, when pure martial prowess was more demanded than now, such highly skilled puppet mages probably existed here and there. Depending on the method of training, he might be able to reach that level himself. Noein thought so.
"I think what I'm lacking right now is probably familiarity."
"Familiarity, is it? ...In my eyes, it looks as though the current Noein-sama is operating the golem brilliantly."
"Well, I've stopped making a fool of myself like on the first day. But I'm still operating the golem by thinking in my head. When I become able to operate it unconsciously, as if moving my own limbs, I think I'll surely be able to reach the same level as those great puppet mages written in that book... I think."
When moving one's own limbs, no one thinks "I'll raise my right hand" or "I'll put my left foot forward" every single time. To become able to move the golem's body as unconsciously as one's own body is precisely to truly master golem operation.
"I'm small and weak for a boy. If the day comes when my shitty father cuts ties with me and kicks me out of this house, this puppet magic will become the only direct power I can possess. The strength of the golem becomes my strength. In order to live in the outside world someday, I have to become more proficient in using this magic... so, I'll do my best."
Behind Noein as he spoke, Matilda had a dark expression. Noein did not notice this.