Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

T/N: Edited 10/28/24.

Spare mooring ropes. Burlap sacks and screws. Dozens of containers filled with unknown chemicals.

The reason I determined this supply storage to be safe was that all of those items were ‘necessary but not used on a daily basis.’ 

Although it was concerning being right below the deck, the actual probability of getting caught was very low.

It’s darkest right beneath the candlelight, as they say.

Hiding in the dim lower part of the ship, if caught by the crew, it would all be for naught anyway.

Therefore, I believe I made the best judgment.

“…What are you looking at?”

…Except for one miscalculation – I didn’t anticipate that this place would be a popular spot among illegal passengers.

Two women. One man.

Too many people to hide in this cramped supply storage.

But with passenger boarding in full swing, there would be nothing more foolish than bursting out of the storage door right now.

It seems people think alike.

The haggard-looking woman smiled gently.

“Well, well. Shall we introduce ourselves?”

“No thanks.”

“Pardon…?”

“Introductions? We’ll only see each other’s faces for half a day at most.”

“…I’d say half a day is plenty. Literally and figuratively, we share the same boat of fate, don’t we?”

As she spoke, the woman’s gaze turned towards me as if asking, ‘Isn’t that right?’ with her eyes.

I quietly nodded.

“Tsk.”

The sharp woman clicked her tongue, but two out of three agreed.

The logic of majority rules was absolute.

“I’m Eugene.”

“Ranya Diemann.”

“Liz.”

Ranya was a typical Imperial woman who would be better suited to being called Mrs. Diemann than by that name… 

…meaning she looked haggard from malnutrition.

Liz was also not much different from Mrs. Diemann in being typical, but she was very pretty, both objectively and subjectively.

Just as I observed them, they also began scanning me from head to toe.  

Soon, Liz frowned.

She must be wondering why someone like me would want to cross the sea.

Thanks to living with the Oslo family for three years, my nutritional state, while not reaching the Frauvian Federation average, was far better than that of the Imperials.

Judging by that gaze bordering on disgust, it was clear that her reason for crossing to the Federation was not a dream.

After brief introductions and mutual probing, a chilling silence descended upon the supply storage.

It’s noisy outside.

The footsteps of passengers and crew are chaotically mixed.

Several times, voices were heard right next to the storage.

If we rashly raised our voices and got caught, we would not only be immediately dragged away, but who knows what would happen to us.

At the very least, we would never set foot on Federation soil.

“……”

The anxiety was escalating.

Mrs. Diemann’s complexion was growing paler, and Liz was neurotically twirling her hair.

It would be a lie to say I was calm.

I, too, was anxiously fiddling with the grimoire in my arms, trying to ease my anxiety.

How much time had passed like that?

Vrrrrrrrr!

The engine of the huge steamship started.

“Departure~!”

HOOOOOONK!

Only after the departure horn washed away all the noise did the three of us find some relief.

To my right, there was a very small window.

Through that gap, I could see.

The land where I was born and raised.

The Bayel Empire gradually receded.

The sound of waves being cut and the engine’s hum became loud enough to drown out whispers.

We exchanged a few words.

An unexpected threat began to torment me.

“Ugh.”

I reflexively raised my hand to cover my mouth.

In that state, after taking several deep breaths, I barely managed to hold back the urge to vomit.

“I didn’t know I would get seasick.”

And quite severely at that.

You only understand after you’ve been on a boat before.

Several hours after departure, I experienced nausea and headache. It was a kind of hardship I was experiencing for the first time in my life.

There was someone patting my back.

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m fine. Mrs. Diemann.”

It seems my choice of address was correct.

Wiping my sweaty forehead with a cloth or patting my back, she seemed quite adept at caring for a sick child.

Maternal instinct, one might say.  

One of the rare virtues in the post-war Bayel Empire.

Unlike Liz, who ignored me despite my sickness and fell asleep, Mrs. Diemann patted my back until the queasiness subsided.

“I’m okay now. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it.”

A gentle smile.

Mrs. Diemann also possessed a beauty that did not pale in comparison to Liz’s appearance, but her graying black hair was frizzy, and her pale complexion exuded an inconcealable scent of illness.

A question suddenly came to mind.

“Why are you trying to go to the Federation, ma’am?”

Those eyes slightly widened and then slowly curved.

“…To meet my family.”

“Your family?”

“Yes. My husband is from the Federation, you see.”

After confirming my seasickness symptoms had improved, Mrs. Diemann slowly began to unravel her story.

12 years ago.

When the Bayel Empire and Frauvian Federation were not on the best terms but still maintained exchanges, Ranya, who was a bank clerk, happened to meet her husband, a member of the Federation army.

“This might sound a bit embarrassing, but… it was a fateful encounter. The local men did not satisfy me, so a dashing man from another country – how attractive he must have seemed to an immature girl.”

Not even a tragedy that could be found in a play could stop the two.

Ranya defended her love even to the point of disowning her family and eventually left for the Federation to set up a proper household.

That’s how she became Ranya Diemann.

It was a happy family.

A family with one newly born son and capable parents was as harmonious as could be.

But reality was not so easy. Just as Ranya’s family rejected a man from the Federation, her husband’s family did not welcome a daughter-in-law who came from across the sea.

She accumulated stress, knowingly and unknowingly.

Conflicts with her husband became frequent.

To make matters worse, she received a telegram that her mother, whom she had left behind in the Empire, had collapsed.

At that time, Ranya got on a ship bound for the Empire, half impulsively.

“That’s when the war broke out.”

“Ah.”

“More than eight years have passed since then. Haha, my son would be just about your age now, Eugene…”

Mrs. Diemann gazed into the air with tearful eyes.

“I really want to meet him.”

The ship reached another port about five hours later.

Passengers rejoicing at arriving in their homeland began to disembark one by one.

If I could, I would have liked to join that joyous procession.

But there was no time to indulge in romanticism.

Arriving meant facing the final hurdle.

Eugene. Mrs. Diemann. Liz.

Not one of us slept, pricking up our ears and focusing on the situation outside.

My plan was simple.

Calmly blend into the crowd and leave.

Mrs. Diemann said she was waiting for a broker. I was a bit worried about how she would pass the identity check, but unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about that.

As we were waiting for an opportunity…

Thump. Thump.

A somewhat strange set of footsteps began to be heard amidst the commotion.

Most of the noise was gradually decreasing or coming from far away because to disembark, one had to go up to the deck.

But those footsteps were different.

They were getting closer and closer.

“Oh God, oh God.”

“……”

Mrs. Diemann trembled and soon clasped her hands together and began to pray.

I don’t know to whom the prayer was directed, but it was clearly desperate.

I felt similarly.

We finally arrived in the Federation.

Now, if we just disembark and pass the inspection, my long-cherished wish will come true.

After being quiet all this time, trouble crops up at the end.

If things go wrong, I’ll have to use magic. As I was about to get up and grasp the grimoire… 

“Shh.”

Liz stopped me.

The footsteps stopped right in front of the storage.

My anxiety reached its peak, but she mouthed the words:

“Access code.”

She was right.

Knock. Knock. Knock. 

Three knocks.

“Liz.”

And when a voice was heard, Liz ran to the storage door with a delighted look.

“Wait a min-“

Before I could stop her, the door opened.

Standing in front of the door was a blond crew member.

Unlike me and Mrs. Diemann who were still buried in darkness, Liz shared a deep embrace with the crew member in the light seeping in.

“We should get going soon.”

“Mmm. Okay.”

“…Who are those people?”

When the crew member said that, Liz was silent for a moment and then smirked.

“I don’t know them.”

“Really? Then let’s go.”

With a cheerful humming, the footsteps gradually receded.

Liz and the crew member headed towards the light, leaving the storage door wide open.

Leaving just the two of us.

I turned to look at Mrs. Diemann. 

She was sitting on the floor as if her legs had given out. I couldn’t carry her on my back, and even if she went out like that, she would be suspected of being an illegal passenger.

A smile of resignation hung on her eyes.

“The broker isn’t coming. I guess it was a scam after all.”

“Mrs. Diemann…”

“Don’t worry. The Eddington usually deports people who followed it to the Federation. Rather than that…”

Mrs. Diemann rummaged through her bosom and held out a piece of paper to me.

It appeared to be a letter.

“Eugene. You’ve seemed consistently calm throughout. You must have something you believe in, right?”

“……”

“I have a favor to ask. Please accept this letter. You don’t have to deliver it to my family; just accept it.”

Saying that, Mrs. Diemann prostrated herself on the floor.

I accepted the letter and then helped her up.

“I will definitely deliver it.”

“…Thank you. Oh, and.”

She took off her hat and put it on my head. Thanks to that, my gray hair was covered enough to be unnoticeable unless one looked closely.

“Here’s a gift.”

And so, I, too, stepped towards the light.

After passing a few alleys, I began to see passengers and crew members in earnest.

And in the middle of that crowd…

“Joshua. Explain. Who is this fellow?”

“B-Boss. It’s not like that.”

“Explain yourself. I’ve heard rumors that you’ve recently been engaged in the business of smuggling passengers.”

Liz and the crew member called Joshua seemed flustered after being restrained.

And there was a middle-aged man with a splendid mustache and a luxury suit.

No doubt about it. It’s James Eddington.

I tried hard to calm my pounding heart.

So what if he’s the captain and the boss?

No matter what the scene in front of me implies, it doesn’t matter.

I just walk.

Thud. Thud.

As I brushed right past Mr. Eddington…

“Wait.”

He stretched out an arm to stop me.

“What is it?”

“Excuse me, sir, but may I see your identification?”

“……”

I silently took out the ID from my bag.

[Eugene Oslo / 1880. 3. 14]

“Here it is.”

“Hmm.”

He alternated between looking at the ID and my face a few times and then slowly opened his mouth.

“Welcome to the Federation.”

I responded with a smile and then hurried my steps.

“That bastard! That bastard is an illegal passenger, too!”

I didn’t pay attention to the shrill cry from behind.

I walked along the corridor and climbed the stairs.

I stepped onto the deck and looked around.

The scenery of the Federation that I was seeing for the first time in my life.

Not a single building was broken or collapsed.

Countless tall buildings soared, and the city and the streets seemed to boast a formative beauty united as one.

Above all, there was no night there.

Because the stars adorning the sky were also adorning the ground.

I fixed my hat while facing the cold sea breeze.

“Finally.”

The Frauvian Federation.