Starting as an Island Lord

Early autumn morning in the harbor district of Dawn City on Southern Virland Island, an area rife with vice and poverty. Lucius, an Execution Mage from the Saint Virland Temple’s Moral Inspection Office, compels Captain Sidero of the city guard to lead him to a mysterious brothel hidden deep in the warehouse district. The brothel offers stunningly beautiful women at a fraction of the normal price, undercutting the local market and drawing complaints from other establishments. Lucius, suspecting illicit magic, observes the brothel’s steady flow of low-income sailors and dockworkers. After ordering Sidero to block the back exit, Lucius uses a Windwalk to approach, then casts Sleep on the hooded doorkeeper. He strides into the warehouse to find dozens of men enjoying themselves with exquisite women behind makeshift curtains. When Lucius orders everyone to stop and casts Purify on one of the girls, the woman transforms into a sheep. Shocked, he purifies each girl in turn, revealing that every single one is a transformed sheep. There is not a single human in the entire brothel, only sheep. Lucius meticulously examines the transformations and realizes they are flawless, executed with extreme precision and consistency. The casting style suggests a single mage performed all the Transfigurations, a feat requiring immense magical skill and deep knowledge of the female form. The mage is also adept at anti-tracking, destroying all magical traces. Lucius concludes that the perpetrator is a cunning, financially desperate, and extremely talented Transfiguration master, likely a formerly wealthy playboy who squandered his fortune and now resorts to depravity. The trail goes cold.

On the same morning, in the noble district of Dawn City, Rosen, the magic apprentice of High Mage Lady Agniet, sits in the drawing room of her Azure Estate, clutching a bag of 400 gold orgues. He has been Agniet’s apprentice for ten years, far longer than usual, and still owes a substantial tuition debt of 1854 gold orgues. He is the heir to a barony, but his father was recently killed by forest sprites. To inherit the title, he must first obtain a formal mage’s diploma. Rosen previously earned the money by a less than honorable method—operating the very brothel that Lucius is investigating. He has mastered the required spells and knowledge, and now he seeks his mentor’s signature on his graduation certificate. He is called to the study where Lady Agniet and her close friend Princess Serena are present. Rosen humbly demonstrates his spellcasting by casting Food Creation Magic, turning a piece of pine wood into a fragrant, delicious loaf of bread. Both women are impressed by the quality and precision of the magic. Agniet acknowledges his improvement and then raises the issue of his outstanding tuition. Rosen explains his father’s death and his need to inherit the barony. He offers the 400 gold orgues as the first payment and proposes to pay the rest over ten years at the market interest rate. Lady Agniet, though skeptical of his ability to raise the full sum, appreciates his diligence and trustworthiness. She extends the repayment period to twenty years and waives interest, requiring only 200 orgues annually. Princess Serena suggests even more leniency, but Agniet holds firm. Rosen is relieved; his illicit proceeds have secured his diploma and his path to becoming a baron.

The two narratives converge: Rosen is the elusive Transfiguration mage who transformed sheep into beautiful women to run the cheap brothel, earning the money to pay his tuition. His incredible magical talent, demonstrated in his flawless Food Creation and hidden Transfiguration work, contrasts with his mediocre academic record. He now must inherit the barony, manage his territory, and secretly continue his magical enterprises while evading the attention of Lucius and the Temple. The story sets the stage for Rosen’s double life, with Lucius’s investigation posing a lingering threat to his plans.