Chapter 191 - Santis Seid (2/2)
Gawain didn’t know if he should laugh or cry when looking at this reserved, nervous, and a little sluggish Arcanist. He was thinking that Santis was truly worthy to be among the elite talents picked out by the nobles in the royal capital. If they didn’t have any personality flaws, they wouldn’t have made it into the 100-men aid team. “The night school is catered for the commoners and also the serfs and slave workers on the territory, do you understand? I am not looking for a top-class teacher to educate noble descendants on etiquette and heraldry. I am looking for a person to teach commoners how to read.”
Santis’s mouth was wide open while he was at a loss for a moment. It looked like this was really his first time hearing that Gawain was wiping out illiteracy among the residents. Furthermore, he couldn’t understand why. Just as Gawain thought that the now-enlightened Arcanist was about to bid farewell, the latter suddenly nodded and asked, “Will you also issue the same additional reward according to the recruitment notice for being a night-school teacher?”
“Are you willing?” Gawain was surprised. “You know that you are going to teach a group of commoners that only knows a few words and can only count until a hundred?”
Santis let out a reserved smile and said, “I have taught magical theory to incompetent and ignorant descendants of merchants in the royal capital. I feel that it wouldn’t be too difficult… I think.”
After confirming that the Arcanist was truly willing to take up this job, Gawain couldn’t help but smile.
There was finally an official spellcaster who was willing to teach at night school. Before this, he had attempted many times to recruit mages from Tanzan Town and the Kant territory. He had even tried to recruit mage apprentices to be night school teachers at the territory, but when they learned they would be teaching a group of “lowly commoners”, every single one of them refused. It seemed like in their opinions, commoners and serfs were lacking intelligence innately, and they felt that the commoners and serfs’ brain structures were entirely different from mages and nobles. Therefore, they didn’t believe they would be able to teach profound knowledge to the commoners and weren’t even willing to accept this challenge…
They didn’t just refuse because of their arrogance, but they had also assumed that they wouldn’t be able to teach anything to those “lowly commoners”, so they refused to fail.
However, there was actually a Grade 2 Arcanist that took the initiative to apply. The process and the expectation might be different, but this Santis Seid seemed to be willing to take up this job.
“Are you lacking money?” Gawain might be very happy, but he still had to ask. Gawain could see that Santis was tempted because of the additional reward every month. “Mages shouldn’t be in need of money, right?”
“Actually, mages are often short of money too, especially those who are born as a commoner.” Santis Seid was embarrassed to say it. “I need to send money back to my home. My family is still at the royal capital…”
Gawain raised his brows. “You were born as a commoner?”
“Yes… my father is a chef of a noble family in the royal capital, and my mother is a herbalist.”
Yes, commoners. But there were also wealthy commoners and those who had a status. Such families were indeed able to make a push and send their children to learn magic and hope they would be able to rise to the upper-class of society. Santis who was already an official Grade 2 Arcanist had actually gotten rid of his commoner status and was qualified to be in the upper class. However, from his appearance… it was impossible to tell.
When Gawain asked of his doubts, Santis’s expression looked even more awkward and had a trace of shame. “I indeed have my qualification as a Grade 2 Arcanist, but my magic capacity is innately flawed. Everyday… I can only release three to five spells.”
Gawain was enlightened… As expected, there was a flaw, and that’s why he fell into poverty.
Santis’s spellcasting flaw was similar to Rebecca’s, but they were fundamentally different. Rebecca had powerful spirit energy and magic capacity. She could throw out a hundred Large Fireballs and not feel tired, but she could only construct one spell model. Santis was able to construct multiple spell models and could learn the most profound and complicated arcane spells, but he had extremely weak spirit energy and magic capacity…
Rebecca might have flaws, but she was a noble, and even if she was inferior in the clan, she was still a noble. Therefore, she could still stay in the castle and live a liberal life as compared to any commoner. However, Santis was born a commoner, and he had painstakingly become an official spellcaster, only to find out that his magic capacity was innately flawed. As a result, he was kicked out of the upper class of society, and his family owed huge debts of favors and money.
He had participated in the 100-men aid team probably because of the allowance given by the king.
After finding out everything, Gawain was finally left without any more doubts about Santis’s choice.
“Then, I shall welcome you to become an honorable teacher.” Gawain stood up behind his desk and nodded to the young mage with a smile. “The classes you are going to teach… shouldn’t just be restricted to ordinary literacy lessons. I have other arrangements for you.”
Santis bowed in a great rush and said, “Ah, yes, Your Excellency.”
Gawain: “I am going to talk about the first thing… Put the button in your hand down first. You are already going to create a blister from all the rubbing…”
Santis: “…”