110: A Wonderful Profession

January 26, 2021 - 10 minutes read - 1973 words

“So hot!” Al

The sweltering hot air woke me up roughly. I can feel a line of sweat rolling down my forehead. My body is sweating and my shirt is sticking to my skin. The towel I had on top of me is only contributing to the heat. I pull the towel off quickly.

Why is the air so hot?

I heard that the sun on the sea is hot, but is it really this hot?

I turned my eyes to the sun, but I was covered by a black cloth to avoid the bright sun. It’s black to absorb more of the sunlight.

The black cloth stretched over the top of the crow’s nest is holding in the heat so I’m roasting in the space under it. What happens if you cover the space with a cloth that retains heat, even for a small space? Well, you’ve just turned it into a sauna.

I’m pretty sure I had put a bunch of ice into a bucket to prevent this exact situation?

Was the sun so strong that the ice melted away already?

I look over to where I had set my Earth Magic bucket…

“Huh? Where did my ice bucket disappear to?” Al

The bucket is gone, along with the ice it held. Where the hell did it go?

I look around the crow’s nest, even looking under the blanket, but there’s no bucket anywhere around. When I was trying to think, I heard voices from below…

“Ahhhhhhh! Cooling down!” Mark

“I get to eat ice for the first time in a while!” Irving

“Oh! You’ve found some good ice.” Rumba

After hearing those comments, I can deduce that my ice was stolen. I poked my head out from a gap in the black cloth covering hiding place. I can see Irving, Mark, and Rumba gathered together on the deck, cooling off with the ice I had made.

“Thieves!” Al shouted.

When I pointed my finger and shouted, the looked over at me. How crazy is it to take the ice from me and cool off nearby. I’d like to try it too.

“Oh, so you finally woke up! Come on down!” Irving

While I’m split between angry and envious, Irving and the rest wave me down with their hands. Shouldn’t they feel guilty for taking my things without asking?

I’ll keep that in mind, but I want to use Ice Magic to clear away my sweat. I’m wreathed by whitish air as I activate the magic. The air around me becomes cold and chilly, the head of my body is taken away at once. It’s comfortable, but overuse could give me a cold, so I use Wind Magic to disperse the cold air after I’ve cooled down. It floats around me, shooing away the cold air and gently stroking my skin. Now my skin that was moistened by sweat feels clean. What wonderful magic.

I feel less annoyed at this point, since I’ve gotten a refreshing feeling after cooling myself off. However, my nap was disturbed and I sweated a bunch, so I’ll need to find a way to get back at them later.

I slowly descended the shroud, wondering what kind of revenge fits the crime. When I had reached the deck, Rumba brought over some of the ice.

“Al! Crush this so it’s crispy.” Rumba

“Mr. Rumba, what do you mean by crispy?” Mark

Mark and Irving are confused by Rumba’s request.

“By crispy, you mean shaved ice, right? The one I made in Kicca?” Al

“That’s it!” Rumba says while nodding.

Rumba knows what I mean, but Irving and Mark are quizzical. I think I might be able to take advantage of their ignorance in this situation. A naughty smile was going to decorate my face, but I shoved it down and put on a welcoming smile instead.

“Then I’ll make it, Rumba can you get a barrel of grape juice from the stores? Irving and Mark need to get some bowls and spoons.” Al

“Oh! Sounds great! Let’s go you two.” Rumba

Rumba realized that the request was in order for the shaved ice to taste better, so he walks to the cabin with Irving and mark. I could make bowls and spoons with earth magic, but I need Irving and Mark gone so I can get my revenge.

I don’t have to send them off, but I’m not going to reveal Spatial Magic just so we can have Ardonian grape juice over shaved ice. That would be ridiculous.

After the three had disappeared into the cabin, I looked over the side of the ship and activated Water Magic. I manipulate the flowing sea to form a ball of water made of seawater. I then activate Ice Magic on the water ball to freeze it completely, now it’s a hard ball of ice that sends off cool air. I cut it down to size using Wind Magic, then fine tune them to the correct size for making shaved ice.

I then fine-tune the ice blocks to a proper size for shaved ice. We won’t need two ice blocks, so I do a quick look around before storing the second block into my subspace.

Hmm, this doesn’t look like seawater shaved ice. The seawater must have condensed and concentrated the salt into pockets. I can’t wait to see Irving and Mark eating the salty shaved ice, I can just imagine the scene. With the other block I stored using Spatial Magic, I can reprise this prank again. Perhaps Thor would be a good choice when I get back to the village.

While thinking about the fun that will result, I made the shaved ice for Rumba and I. The ice made from seawater has some impurities, so it’s cloudy. I doubt those two would notice, they’re not detail-oriented to that degree.

After a while sitting on the deck, three people holding tableware and a barrel came out on deck.

Rumba sits down the barrel and laughs.

“Come on, make it up!” Rumba

“Hey, why do you think is first.” Mark

If I make them in a random order, I may get the seawater ice, so I’ll side step that issue.

“Rumba is first.” Al

“No, I’ve had it a few times already. You two should have the first ones.” Rumba

Thanks to expected generosity of seniors and juniors, I can hand over the shaved sea ice without arousing any suspicions.

“Then, we’ll start with Irving and Mark!” Al

I flash a carefree smile while holding my murderous thoughts inside. I’ll get both of them at once.

“Oh, doesn’t Alfred have such a lively smile?” Irving

Irving may be getting suspicious, so I’ll stop smiling so much. It seems like some of my thoughts were leaking out, Irving is sharp.

“Why does the ice look fluffy?” Mark

Mark is blissfully unaware and is just wondering about the shaved ice’s appearance. Seawater shaved ice will be white and fluffy, with a slightly accented scent. I try to stay calm as I pick up an ice block made from seawater. When I apply Ice Magic, thin pieces fall off and the grains pile up in a bowl. The ice particles shine in the sunlight.

“Oh, you can use Ice Magic, huh.” Irving

“That’s amazing! You can make ice so fine… Is Alfred actually a magic genius?” Mark praises.

Magic isn’t so hard to handle when you have a good grasp on the mechanics. When using it, you should make sure to have a good image of your goal. It’s more difficult when you try to make something from nothing. Well, I’ve been educated on Earth, so I think I have a better grasp of how things like freezing water works than other magicians.

“If you can use Ice Magic, you won’t be troubled looking for work in the future. Ice wizards are precious, there’s no doubt the royal family would be interested, right?” Irving

Irving’s words cause me to frown.

“Well, I don’t want that. I’d prefer to live in Koriat Village.” Al

I decided that I want to enjoy a slow life for my second life. It’s ridiculous to be hired by the royal family and bound to their orders.

“Well, Alfred is an aristocrat, but he doesn’t harbor ambitions, and doesn’t desire money or status.” Irving

“That’s why his parents are troubled.” Rumba

Three people start laughing, as if they understand something. I’m just a son who can use magic, and doesn’t want to leave my parent alone. Why would Elna and Nord regret me sticking around? I just love my hometown and want to devote myself to it. How is that bad for an aristocratic child?

“If you want to stay in Koriat Village and can use Ice Magic, why not run an ice house?” Mark

“What are ice houses used for?” Al

I don’t know what that is, but I feel like it’s a profession I could enjoy. I stop shaving off ice and hurry over to Mark.

“Wow! His eyes lit up!” Irving

“Oh, so, the owner of an ice house builds a food store in the basement and keeps it freezing with Ice Magic. People can pay to sue it to store food ingredients. That way the ingredients can be saved for later. It’s like a frozen storage to take care of ingredients.” Mark

I’m not saying anything, I’m thinking over that possibility.

“What’s wrong?” Mark

If I start an ice house, I guess I could do that in Koriat Village. Wouldn’t it just be a job where I wait for the ice to melt, then top it up with Ice Magic? If I provide a way for villagers to freeze their ingredients, it would be on the same level as the royal family who use Ice Magic magic tools. If surplus meats and vegetables were frozen, they could be kept for many days in a fresh state. The number of people going hungry would decrease. Wouldn’t this be a job that could greatly contribute to the livelihood of the villagers in Koriat Village?

I get paid money to manage the ingredients, and anyone in the village can use the ice house. Nobody would want to steal ingredients, since they’d get beaten up by the other villagers. All I’d have to do is spend most of my time in the mansion, and I’d have a stable income with little work.

Isn’t it perfect?

“Running an ice house sounds great… I’ll add it to my list of possible professions for the future.” Al

“Oh, right?” Mark laughs bitterly.

“Well, it’s generally a profession done by old ice magicians who retire to the countryside.” Irving

It shouldn’t matter if you’re a young or old magician, the only that matters if if you want to do it. Let’s report that to mother and father when I get back to see what they think. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.

I get back to making shaved ice at this point.

“Al doesn’t want to leave, Nord and Elna will have a hard time.” Rumba

Rumba that’s not entirely true, I’m just a cute kid talking about dreams. I’m sure they’ll hear me out.

“Will the shaved ice be ready soon?” Mark

“Yes, it’s ready, Mark” Al

Mark and Irving point at the shaved ice pile greedily, so I scoop them two bowls and hand them over with spoons. Two bowls of seawater shaved ice.

“Yes, here. Try just the ice at first, a big spoonful is a good start.” Al

“Oh, how greedy!” Mark

“I’ll take it!” Irving

The two grabbed a large amount of the seawater shaved ice at once…

“Salty!” Mark & Irving

They spewed it out in a hilarious fashion.