Is this the post-meal...
water?
What are you saying?
It's mate.
What a difference.
You see...
I want to pass my magic on to you.
What?
You'll teach me magic?
Yes.
But why?
I don't have any money, you know?
I don't want money.
I just...
I just want a disciple.
Anyway, I'll do anything if I can learn magic!
Please teach me, master!
Then we begin training tomorrow.
Oh, right.
Keep the magic thing between us.
I have to keep it secret?
If people find out you can use magic,
some retainers or subjects might say you should be the next lord instead,
leading to a succession dispute.
Me? The next lord?
But I'm the eighth son.
Well...
Magicians hold more power than you think.
You could become the rightful successor and next lord in a heartbeat.
Me? Really?
That said, a succession dispute is too dangerous for a child like you.
For now, I think it'll be better if nobody finds out.
What? You can't have any more bread, okay?
I see.
I can become the lord, huh?
So bland!
The 8th Son? Are You Kidding Me?
Let's start with matching capacities.
Episode 2 "A Succession Dispute? Are You Kidding Me?"
Matching what?
A training method where one can match their
mana capacity to someone who has more.
You mean my capacity will become the same as yours?
Yes.
Hold out your hands.
You have cold hands.
Listen, Well.
Picture mana circulating through both our bodies over this circuit we've formed.
Circulate mana...
This is...
your mana?
I was right about you.
A person's maximum mana capacity is determined at birth.
It doesn't increase any further.
So I was thinking that maybe you wouldn't be able to reach my capacity,
but you matched... and even surpassed it.
We didn't even hit your maximum mana capacity.
What's the matter, Father?
You see, the crystal ball
was up here before, I'm sure.
Who moved it?
Was it Wendelin?
Was he hoping that he had an aptitude for magic?
He probably despaired at his mediocre self
and cried his heart out.
That's a nice magic spell.
I can't believe you learned advanced magic in just a few days.
It's all thanks to you.
If I were training alone,
I don't know if I'd have even learned how to use basic magic yet.
Uh...
What's with the basket?
Oh, it's mountain vegetables.
You told your family you were going out to find food, right?
This will help you avoid any suspicion.
Look, Amalie!
We have so many ingredients for our soup tonight.
It seems Well may have a knack for foraging mountain vegetables!
Hey...
How did you get this?
I know it only grows on the other side of the river, and there's no bridge across.
You're only five. How did you get across?
Did you use magic to fly?
Of course not!
If only...
Magic... Surely he couldn't...
Listen.
Tracking magic is an application of advanced wind magic.
Sense the vibrations in the web of air all around you.
Found one!
Go!
I got it!
Got what?!
Grilled bird is so yummy!
The horohoro bird, huh?
What's that?
Oh, it's wasabi I found deep in the woods the other day.
Would you like to try some, Master?
It's good.
I'm sure it is, if you're recommending it.
Do I use it like this?
Yes, this is great!
Well, can I say something?
G-Go ahead.
Don't go too deep into the woods.
Why?
The Enchanted Forest there is home to lots of monsters.
Monsters?!
Savage beasts that ordinary humans are no match for.
I nearly lost my life getting wasabi.
May I have more?
That said, an Enchanted Forest
is also home to foodstuffs and herbs you won't find elsewhere.
Many people still waltz into them looking to get rich quick.
And?
They never come back, of course.
I feel like Brother Kurt's been watching me lately.
He may have realized that you have magic.
He's afraid he'll lose his succession rights.
That again?
I don't know what to think about becoming a lord.
Don't you want to be the lord?
I considered it,
but it sounds like a pain in the butt, especially if it causes trouble with Brother Kurt.
Being the lord sounds like a pain in the butt, huh?
That said, it's not like I have anything else I want to do.
Then how about adventuring?
I think your adaptability makes you an ideal candidate to be an adventurer.
And I used to be an adventurer, so you can believe me.
You did?
You have what it takes to enjoy what the wide world has to offer.
An adventurer, huh?
Please, not yet... I need a little more time!
I see.
So you want to be an adventurer, Wendelin.
Oh?
So you wish to go to the Adventurers' Academy?
Yes. I'm thinking of enrolling once I turn twelve.
But isn't that on the other side of the mountains?
So you'll be leaving the Baumeister domain?
But you see, there's one big problem with that.
What is it?
We don't have enough money to enroll you in the Adventurers' Academy.
Listen up.
Baumeister Knightdom
Rigdie Mountain Range
Undeveloped Land
This is the Baumeister Knightdom.
And to the north, past the mountains,
Dukedom of Bleichröder
Breichburg
is the Dukedom of Bleichröder and Breichburg.
Dukedom of Bleichröder
Breichburg
That's the town where the Adventurers' Academy is, right?
Yes. It's a mercantile town.
There, even children can join merchant guilds,
and sell what they gather.
Then I can earn my tuition that way!
However, Breichburg is quite far away.
You'll need to learn traveling magic, too.
And by that, you mean teleporting and stuff?
Maybe flying?
Flight magic, yes.
Once you get used to it, you can travel at great speeds.
Like so.
Well, this is the wide world that awaits you!
Your training ends tomorrow.
Ow...
Uh, why end so abruptly?
It's not abrupt.
You'll be fine.
But I only just started practicing flight magic.
You have the basics down.
But... I can't control it very well yet.
It'll grow stable if you practice every day.
But it's only been two weeks since we started...
Well...
I heard a Whispering Dead was spotted in the woods.
Um, what's a Whispering Dead?
An undead that has retained its cognitive powers.
It can even hold conversations.
I've heard that they don't look very different from humans.
But they're still corpses.
Their bodies go cold, their senses stop functioning,
and their skin grows terrifyingly pale.
And in a few years, they lose their minds
and become zombies that hunt people to sate their hunger.
Master...
What brings you here at this hour?
Master!
It seems a monster called a Whispering Dead has showed up in the woods!
It's dangerous here, so come to the mansion with me!
Well...
Please, master! It's dangerous here!
It's all right. The danger you speak of doesn't exist.
How do you know?
There's a Whispering Dead here!
So you realized.
Let's go. Hurry.
Well, I am the Whispering Dead.
No! You aren't dead!
You're not...
It happened five years ago.
The previous duke's eldest son contracted a deadly illness.
Looking for a panacea that could cure him,
the duke headed to an Enchanted Forest to clear it of monsters,
with his court magician, me, in tow.
We had an army of two thousand, but the monsters outnumbered us.
No matter how many we killed, they kept coming.
I was forced to fight while protecting the duke and the troops.
Soon, my mana ran out, and I was overwhelmed.
But I held a deep regret that turned me into a Whispering Dead.
Well, did you know?
When a Whispering Dead's wish is fulfilled, they pass on.
And my wish was...
to meet someone I could pass the magic I'd learned in my thirty years to.
So when I sensed your presence,
I was overjoyed.
But you were just a five-year-old child.
I thought you might run away if I told you I was a Whispering Dead,
so I lied on the spot.
Forgive me.
Say, Well...
I want to confirm that you were the person I was seeking.
Could you take my final trial?
Purge me.
I shall now teach you holy magic.
It's used to purge undead like me.
I can't use it anymore,
but I'm sure you'll be able to destroy me.
Wait a second!
Are you asking me to destroy you?
Well, it's been five years since I became a Whispering Dead.
I won't be able to preserve myself in this state using mana much longer.
I don't want to lose my sanity and become a zombie that attacks people.
But...
Listen.
Holy magic is the same as the life force of creatures.
Picture duplicating the life force within you using mana.
Start, Well.
Master!
This isn't enough, Well. Focus.
More, Well! Stronger!
I can't! I can't erase you, Master!
Well!
Remember...
Remember what you've learned in these two weeks.
Rest assured...
You will become a magician far greater than I.
Rest assured...
Wendelin von Benno Baumeister, my dear disciple,
could you please put me at ease?
Thank you for everything, Master.
It's my turn to erase your fears!
Thank you, Well.
This is a wonderful magic spell.
I'm being enveloped in a pleasant warmth.
You truly were the magician I was looking for.
Master...
Well, your life is only beginning.
Do your best, and do it smartly.
Let us meet in the afterlife,
maybe a hundred years from now.
Your last teaching was, "Do your best, and do it smartly"?
I understand, master.
I'll give it a shot.
Take care!