Plus, with the whole hermit/sage thing, there's that whole thing in Japanese folklore of hermits just generally being supernatural. The difference between a sage and a hermit is probably a lot smaller to them than it is to us.
I just kind of love how well liked and seemingly actually respected the main character is by most folk so far, that is so incredibly rare in works like these.
Yeah, they just stop being "tricks" and become more like really elaborate spells. Like really elaborate, do a couple card tricks, a little music and dance, and then bust into a whole Robin Williams Genie, or Jim Carrey's Mask, level cartoon nonsense.
Spoiler Questions Answered (not major spoilers, but still)
Does Dylan lose his playboy antics after becoming a Sage? Does he even become a sage at all?
He keeps all the side effects of the jester job. If anything, it feels like it happens more. It's best to think of the 'job change' as actually being something closer to dual-classing.
Does Dylan's unique magic style change? With the bands and the cards and stuff?
No. He keeps the style, but he augments his summons and card tricks it with more traditional magic to enhance their abilities. His magic is usually 'supporting' type magic, but when he combines it with his sage magic, they can become a coup de gras.