You and I are different...but
Before being scouted by the court mage.
I was just one of many adventurers.
They were capable of handling any task, from solving troublesome problems and defeating monsters to gathering rare materials and exploring ruins, sometimes traveling across continents to various lands.
I was one of them.
But back then, I was truly useless, a burden. I didn't have a fixed party and would adventure with different people every day as a temporary helper, like a wanderer without roots.
I have five innate attributes.
One in ten million? One in a hundred million? I think that’s what they said when I became a court mage, but I don’t remember it clearly.
Anyway, having five innate attributes is rare.
In the elven village where I was born and raised, it was the first time anyone had been born with five innate attributes, and everyone, including my parents, was overjoyed as if it were their own achievement.
…Well, that was only a brief moment before the actual nature of my five attributes and my incompetence were revealed.
Yes, my five innate attributes—“Gentle Breeze,” “Light,” “Water Drop,” “Shining Stone,” and “Furnace”—were actually a collection of useless attributes.
“Gentle Breeze,” an attribute that creates a soft, gentle breeze.
It’s not sharp enough to hurt an opponent, nor does it have the power to blow things away.
It’s just a delicate wind that lightly brushes against the cheeks.
“Light,” an attribute that creates a faint, gentle light.
It merely illuminates the surroundings with a softly warm flame.
While it provides some warmth, it lacks the intensity and fierceness of a true fire.
“Water Drop,” an attribute that causes a single drop of water to fall.
The scale and power depend on the amount of magical energy infused into the spell, but with little magic power, its effect becomes insignificant.
A single drop of water isn’t suitable for combat and is often inadequate even for simply wetting objects.
“Shining Stone,” an attribute that creates rocks that can appear greenish depending on the angle and darkness.
Among the five innate attributes I possess, it was the only one that could be used in combat.
Still, without sufficient magical power, it’s useless. During my adventurer days, I had little magical power and used this attribute’s unique magic only as a last resort.
And the fifth, “Furnace.”
Through its unique magic, I gained infinite magical power.
However… before that, it only allowed me to create a massive furnace with magic power. It was not suitable for quick combat and consumed too much magic power to use as a shield, making it mostly wasteful.
Most of my five innate attributes were essentially useless.
The only advantage was that having a diverse range of attributes allowed me to be somewhat adept at four general-purpose magic spells.
Childhood in the elven village wasn’t bad.
I had my parents and a few friends.
The elven village, surrounded by nature, was idyllic and peaceful, to the extent that time felt slow.
Of course, there were precautions like a defensive network against occasional monster attacks, creating a tense atmosphere, but it didn’t concern me as a child.
However… it was also true that some people looked down on me due to my innate attributes and lack of magical power.
My magical power wasn’t very high.
As a half-elf, being the child of an elf and a human, I was supposed to have a slightly longer lifespan than humans and more innate magical power than elves, though in practice, my magical power was lacking.
However, I was born with low magical power. While everyone around me began learning and mastering general and unique magic spells, I struggled even with basic general magic.
The amount of magical power can be improved through daily training, but eventually, there comes a point where progress stalls.
With my low magical power and five innate attributes that weren’t suited for combat, I eventually realized that I was treated like an outcast within the village.
I must have disappointed everyone’s expectations.
Having the first person in the village with five innate attributes was meaningless if the person was useless.
One day… I left the elven village.
No one tried to stop me.
I wanted to go to a place where no one knew me.
But what awaited me outside the elven village was a harsh reality.
I don’t remember why I became an adventurer.
Maybe deep down, I wanted to prove myself to those who looked down on me.
Even as a weak adventurer, I believed that someday… I had no other means of living besides being an adventurer.
But becoming an adventurer didn’t automatically make everything better.
On the contrary, despite having five innate attributes, my lack of useful abilities and magical power quickly made me infamous in a bad way.
I had come to a place where no one knew me.
Yet… there was no one to support me.
There were more people who tried to deceive me than those who offered support.
Even when I found someone I thought I could trust, they would only approach me with the intention of exploiting me.
To them, my weakness made me nothing more than prey to be exploited.
Unable to trust anyone, I led a lonely existence, moving from place to place like a wanderer.
Amidst these hardships, I developed a single spell.
A spell to gain infinite magical power.
It was a divine revelation.
The greatest power I obtained, despite being unable to effectively use unique magic.
From then on, things happened quickly.
Before I knew it, I was scouted by the court mages and rose to the position of second seat.
With the stable income from the empire, my life was secured, and my status was solidified by the emperor’s guarantee, granting me privileges as well.
With my newfound stability, I decided on a whim to adopt and raise a child from the battlefield.
Even though I had no idea how to interact with or raise a child, I bought a secluded house away from the city and had Anhel live there.
I would only visit occasionally.
Sometimes, I would provide magical training under the guise of practice, but I think I saw him too infrequently to truly act as a guardian.
The presence of the pure and honest Anhel alleviated my loneliness somewhat.
But… the sense of isolation and being alone remained unchanged.
Why is it?
Why does Master have so many supportive companions… a family?
No one ever stayed close to me!
No one looked at me until I gained infinite magical power!
After I gained infinite magical power, everyone feared my fighting prowess!
Was it… my fault?
Now, I think it must have been my fault.
I had simply become arrogant.
It’s frustrating, but, well, I don’t really feel much frustration anymore. Master and I… are different.
Even though we were both arrogant, he had convictions.
He had things he would not compromise on.
He was prepared to throw everything away for what was important to him.
With that in mind, he was also prepared to risk everything to avoid losing anything.
What about me?
I lacked everything.
What are my important things?
Money?
Yes, living in poverty was tough.
During my adventurer days, I was always struggling for money and took on menial jobs that no one else would.
But that’s not it.
The position of court mage?
No, initially, I wasn’t fixated on that.
I became a court mage simply because I was scouted by chance.
I was pleased when my unique magic, which I had put my heart and soul into, was recognized, and I ended up accepting the position.
But that’s not it.
My important thing… is probably only Anhel.
But… what have I done to protect it?
I used my recognized position to cunningly try to overturn the situation.
I believed that simply conveying my hopes from a position of superiority would make everything go as I wished.
Furthermore, I didn’t have the resolve Master had.
I lacked the determination to crush opponents without mercy and to endure any retaliation.
I am simply envious.
Master, who possesses greater power than I do.
Yet, he is not alone.
There is always someone by his side.
Someone who cares for him and whom he trusts.
As for me… I only thought about having someone support me, but I didn’t know how to be supportive to someone else.
But, still, I think being lewd is wrong!
Such things should be reserved for someone with whom you’ve promised a future!
But… I’m sure Master will ignore my slight resistance and humiliate me again today.
Because!
Since earlier, there’s been a piercing gaze implying that I’m useless!
Master, who defeated me.
Master, who shows me a life not filled with loneliness.
I still can’t fully trust him.
But the attraction I feel… I can’t deny it.
Ugh… I’m not that easy!
In about a month, I’ll be freed from being a slave.
At that time, I’ll make him understand!
He’s mistaken if he thinks I can be easily swayed!
I’ll make him regret calling me the fifth!
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