AKM Act 11-3.2

Act 11-3: A Troubled Magician TL : Cnine ED/PF : R1[1-2], R2[2.5-3] Part 2.5 　Chiyuki was invited to a certain store by Gotoku. 　As in other

Act 11-3: A Troubled Magician
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
R1[1-2], R2[2.5-3]

Part 2.5
　Chiyuki was invited to a certain store by Gotoku.
　As in other countries, many people live in rooms without stoves, and this trend was especially strong in Saria, where food production was close to zero.
　For this reason, most magicians almost never cook for themselves.
　Magicians, in particular, were indifferent to their meals; both high-ranking mentors and penniless apprentices often ate out.
　Seeing the sage eating in this place, she guessed that this restaurant was a pretty famous one.
　Since it was not mealtime right now, the other party suggested visiting a less crowded place.
　Gotoku's apprentices were following along behind Chiyuki and Gotoku.
　The Chiyuki who had just arrived in this world might’ve thought such a thing was a hassle.
　However, lately, she’d been making an effort to talk with others as much as possible.

　While they were walking along the street,
　Chiyuki noticed a crowd forming ahead in the direction they were walking.

　There were two old men in the center of the crowd.
　Both were dressed like magicians, but one of them was well-dressed, giving off the impression of a distinguished and renowned magician.
　The other's attire was dusty, as if he had just returned from a long journey.
　It seemed he had been traveling for a long time; the magician’s robe was so tattered and worn out that it had turned gray, making it impossible to tell what its original color was.

　Chiyuki was familiar with the duo.

「Ooh, Chiyuki-sama. So you’ve already arrived.」

　The well-dressed old magician called out to Chiyuki.

「Long time no see, Magius-dono. And Gadfes-dono too.」

　Chiyuki responded to the well-dressed elderly man, then turned to look at the shabby old man standing beside him.
　The well-dressed elderly magician was the great sage Magius.
　And the elderly man in the tattered robe standing next to him was also a sage like Magius.

　Gadfes the Wandering Sage.

　That was the name of this old man.
　He was a person who was involved in the founding of the Magician Association alongside Magius and had lived for several centuries.
　Unlike Magius, who spent most of his time in Saria, Gadfes traveled around the world and never stayed in one place for long.
　This was one of the reasons he was regarded as the Wandering Sage.
　Gadfes took talented individuals as apprentices from various places and sent them to Saria.
　In a way, he was something akin to a talent scout.
　Gadfes had also visited Eld some time ago.
　That was when he met Chiyuki.

「Yeah, long time no see too, Chiyuki-dono. I believe this is the second time we’ve met.」

　Gadfes lifted the wide-brimmed traveling hat with his fingers, revealing his face, and smiled at Chiyuki.

「Yes, it's been a while. Where are you and Magius-dono headed to?」
「Hmm, since it’s been a while since Gadfes returned, I thought we should have some tea together. And the ones around us are those who eagerly followed along to join us.」

　Magius touched his long beard as he spoke, then glanced around at the magicians who had formed a crowd around them.
　Around them were young magicians who wished to hear the stories of Magius and Gadfes.
　It seemed they were interested in the stories of the two elderly magicians, who were renowned figures.

「Oh, is that so?! In that case, how about Magius-sama and the others join us as well!?」

　The young magicians around them looked more excited upon hearing Gotoku’s suggestion.
　Gadfes and Chiyuki rarely came to Saria.
　It seemed that even Magius rarely left his room as well, so a meeting between the three sages would be a rare opportunity for the young magicians to hear their stories.

「Well, it can’t be helped I guess, Chiyuki-dono.」
「Sure, I don’t mind it too.」

Part 3

　Chiyuki agreed without hesitation.
　It was something that Chiyuki had been waiting for.
　There were many things Chiyuki wanted to ask Magius—things that had been bothering her all this time.
　She could also get the answers from Gadfes.
　Rather, properly speaking, she was the one who was in dire need of those answers.
　Thus, Chiyuki and the others went along with Magius and company.

　Upon arriving at the said store, the group entered immediately.
　The shop was spacious, clearly designed to accommodate a large number of people.
　However, at that moment, there were only a few customers—just a handful of people sitting on the inner side of the store.

「Oh my… Three Sages showing up together, now that’s a rare sight indeed.」

　One of the people who had been there earlier said that and approached us.
　Chiyuki frowned upon seeing that situation.
　It was someone they had met once before in the past.
　The person who was approaching them then appeared—the person looked like a young woman at a glance.
　She looked like a woman around Chiyuki’s age, or a bit older.
　However, that was an illusion.

　She was the bewitching sage, Sabina.

　Just like Chiyuki and Yaga the Starseer Sage, Sabina was also a female sage.
　She became a sage over 200 years ago, and her appearance hadn’t changed since then.
　She was beautiful and once known as the seductive witch, said to have caused trouble in various places.
　However, one day, when she was about to be hunted down, she fled to the Magician Association for refuge.
　Chiyuki didn’t know what kind of bargain took place between her and Magius at that time.
　But considering her exceptional talent in magic, Magius must have felt that it would be a waste to let her be eliminated and welcomed her into the association.

　After joining the association, she took on many disciples to train them in magic.
　Many talented magicians were born under her tutelage, and everyone mastered the witch's secret techniques.
　However, many of them turned into evil magicians.
　And Tarabos was also one of her many disciples.

　It seemed that Sabina was having tea with her disciples before Magius and the others arrived.
　Sabina’s disciples, who practiced beauty magic, were mostly women and tended to be quite fashionable for magicians.
　The ones with Sabina were likely her disciples.
　They were following after their mentor.
　Every single one of those disciples was a young and beautiful woman without exception.

「Long time no see, Sabina-dono.」
「Likewise, Black-Haired Sage, Chiyuki-dono. I’ve been waiting for the chance to have a long conversation with you.」

　Sabina, the bewitching sage, was smiling as she said those words.