Chapter 63 – Sonny and Sid
Chapter 63 – Sonny and Sid
In the rowdy, bustling tavern, I had a meeting set up with Sid today.
“Sonny!”
Sid, who was already nursing a drink at a table in the back, spotted me as I entered and raised his hand with a big smile.
“Hey, Sid. I just ran into Marie and the others on my way here. They were over the moon about taking down their first magical beast.”
I no sooner sat down than I excitedly shared how thrilled I’d been to bump into Marie moments earlier.
Sid gave a slightly wistful smile. “So, your top disciple has finally flown the nest, huh?”
For a guy who’d publicly sworn off taking disciples, it was something to hear him call my granddaughter his prized first pupil.
Heh. Come to think of it, just the other day, he’d let slip in his cups how Marie had taught him the joy of teaching.
“The guildmaster handed this to me on my way out.”
With that, Sid pulled a tiny horned rabbit horn from his pocket and placed it gently on the table.
“That’s awfully small.”
“Yeah. A baby rabbit for her first beast? Just like the little miss. Wahaha!”
“So that’s the magical beast my girl took down! Fitting for my granddaughter. Fuhaha!”
He planned to have it processed as a gift from master to disciple.
Apparently, it was a longstanding adventurer tradition.
“So, how are your current students doing?”
As I ordered drinks and snacks, Sid shook his head with a wry smile.
“Something wrong?”
I asked out of concern, and he laughed self-deprecatingly. “Nah. I’ve just realized how green I really am.”
Sid, green?
“I’ve started special training for about twenty aspiring adventurers—boys and girls from five up to around fifteen. But get this: it’s not even real practice.”
“Practice isn’t working? What do you mean?”
I was baffled, so Sid shrugged with a feeble laugh.
“Their mana pools are so tiny, they can only practice magic for a few minutes a day before they’re tapped out. Real headache.”
“Ah, I see. Hmm. So what’d you do with Marie?”
“The little miss has mana for days. She could cast nonstop all day without even hitting mana fatigue.”
“Huh. Can’t replicate that, then.”
Marie sure is something. My precious granddaughter, through and through.
Impressive as always.
“Exactly. I was stumped on how to teach ’em. Thought about switching to sword drills once their mana ran dry, but they can’t even move at that point. I take care not to push ’em too hard and wreck their bodies, but…”
“Sounds rough. No way to train ’em properly.”
Sid drained his glass, set it down on the table, and let out a sigh.
“That’s what I thought. Was ready to write off teaching the untalented as a waste. Then the little miss shows up and says, ‘Practicing till you burn out your mana every day? That’s some real grit.’ And ‘I couldn’t do that.’ Hit me like a bolt from the blue.”
“Mana exhaustion is brutal. Every day? Yeah.”
“Yup. I’d forgotten, with my own huge reserves. That’s when it clicked: I can’t raise these eager kids right because I’m the inexperienced one. Haha.”
Sid toyed with his empty glass, his face unexpectedly bright and cheerful.
“Nah, being able to see that makes you pretty great, Sid.”
“Heh heh. Back in my kid days, that’s how I trained too. Those brats might surpass me yet.”
I offered him some of the snacks that arrived and ordered refills for his glass.
A bit tipsy now, Sid chuckled to himself—”Heh heh”—and launched into his story with good cheer.
“The little miss was special, y’know. Not just her mana—and that is insane—but her curiosity. That’s the real kicker.”
“Curiosity?”
To me, everything about Marie is amazing, but curiosity?
“Back then, tell her ten, and she’d grasp five right off. Then, on pure curiosity, she’d figure out the next ten by herself.”
Hmm. Researcher material, for sure.
“How’s that work for normal kids?”
“Eh, tell a kid ten, and if they get one, that’s passing. Building it up to ten? That’s the instructor’s job.”
“Fair point.”
Marie really is incredible.
Yeah. My granddaughter’s the best.
“Even Heart was too talented, the one I raised. Made me forget how crucial it is to spell things out patiently. I’ve been making my current students suffer for it. I’m a rookie teacher myself.”
Sid sipped from his fresh glass and laughed, clearly enjoying the daily lessons life was throwing at him.
I want to do something for the young ones too.
Yeah—that’s it. I’ll volunteer to help out at the guild.
Maybe cook some hearty meals for the youngsters now and then.
I could even hand off managing the mansion I’m renting to some cash-strapped newbie.
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thanks for the chapter