Ch.120Chapter 120. The Capital City of Einhart (2)

Al Kaski?

That’s a name I’ve heard before.

“No way……”

“Yes.”

Jenis wore a strangely smug expression.

“The promising talent of Serpina’s army and an active general in various fields, Irian Al Kaski’s second… younger brother is none other than me, Jenis Al Kaski.”

I don’t know about being active in various fields, but I do remember him stepping up only to get scolded by Serpina and cowering.

I probably don’t need to bring that up in front of him though.

Anyway, now that I look at him more carefully after hearing this, I can see the family resemblance to Irian.

Short black bob haircut.

I thought Irian was quite pretty-faced, but Jenis in front of me looks even more delicate.

Their eye color is similar too, definitely giving the impression they’re related by blood.

‘Do all the men in that family look like pretty boys?’

His older brother Irian was pretty but still obviously masculine, but Jenis had looks that could pass for a woman if you put a wig on him.

Plus, he wasn’t particularly tall either.

“Swen, right? I know we just met, but your hair color is quite unique.”

“I hear that often.”

I tensed slightly, wondering if stories about the white-haired mage had reached his ears too, but fortunately, he didn’t pry any further.

“Feel free to ask me anything anytime. Oh, right. Here’s some advice as your senior: if you want to succeed here, just doing what you’re told isn’t enough. You need to show visible results if you want to reach Serpina.”

“I see. Thank you for the advice.”

“Yeah. If you walk outside for about ten minutes, you’ll find some shops.”

As I watched him continue to excitedly explain various things—

‘How badly did this person want to play the senior role?’

I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.

As long as someone isn’t clearly evil, it doesn’t hurt to get along with people around you.

When I responded with an appropriate smile, he seemed to open up easily and went out of his way to take care of me.

He’s definitely not the type suited for times of war.

“Anyway, let’s work hard together to assist Serpina as she reunifies the continent again. Got it?”

Reunification.

From Serpina’s perspective, as the heir to the Einhart Empire’s legacy, would conquering this continent be considered reunification?

Come to think of it, this might be a good opportunity.

“Jenis.”

“You can just call me senior comfortably!”

“Senior Jenis. Do you think Serpina can unify the continent?”

Jenis gave me a very puzzled expression at my question.

“Of course. Why do you ask? Don’t tell me you think Serpina can’t unify the continent?”

‘That’s exactly what I wanted you to ask.’

After mentally thanking Jenis for asking the perfect question, I quickly entered it into my mind.

‘Is Serpina von Einhart unable to unify the continent?’

[Yes.]

As expected, nothing has changed.

If Serpina, who seems closest to unification among the remaining monarchs, cannot unify the continent—then naturally, as all previous predictions indicated, the continent would fall into Lunarian’s hands.

By reconfirming this, I was able to strengthen my resolve once again.

“Not at all. I definitely think she can unify it. Serpina is an exceptional person regardless of her bloodline.”

“Right? I think so too! Where else could you find a ruler like Serpina? People call her the ‘Tyrant of the North’ and whatnot… isn’t that ridiculous? My family has served Serpina’s army for generations so I might be biased, but all the generals who used to work under other warlords say they prefer serving under Serpina.”

Listening to him, his loyalty to Serpina was easy to see.

She does seem to treat her people well, so it’s not surprising to find devoted officers like him.

After chatting about a few more things, I naturally asked when I might be able to get my own place.

“Well? They’re building houses quickly, but you just arrived, right? People who’ve been here longer will probably get priority. I’ll probably move out before you do.”

“Is that so?”

Just as I was feeling disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to stay with Irene for a while, he put his hand on my shoulder and said.

…This guy has really white and small hands for a man.

“Don’t worry! Our lord has ordered large-scale construction. If you’re lucky with the timing of completion, you might get your own place soon too.”

“I guess I’ll have to wait and see.”

“Yeah! Dormitory life might be uncomfortable, but I’ll take care of you as much as I can. So don’t worry too much!”

Jenis said that with a bright smile.

He strangely gives off a younger brother vibe… but his eagerness to take care of me as a senior wasn’t unpleasant, so I figured it would be good to maintain decent social relations while I’m here.

And so, I settled into Einhart Castle.

The accommodations weren’t as nice as those at Valhalrat Castle, but it wasn’t a bad space either.

* * *

In the triple room assigned to Irene and Reika.

The two had unpacked and were having tea time.

“Wow…! It smells like peaches.”

“You like it, I see?”

Reika nodded.

“Yes! It’s such a wonderful aroma. Even if you baked pastries with peach juice, it would be hard to get this kind of scent… the world of tea is truly amazing.”

Instead of answering, Irene gave her a gentle smile.

Perhaps because they had grown quite close living together in the annex.

Just as Reika had stopped stuttering so much, Irene too had become less formal in front of her.

You could say they were adapting to each other.

As they filled their tea time with casual conversation,

The topic naturally shifted to their common interest—the man named Swen.

“So that male officer who came to your home… was Swen?”

“Yes. I was really surprised then. I never thought they would send a man.”

Irene still couldn’t forget the moment they first met.

The new white-haired officer she encountered while in her nightclothes.

She no longer denied that sending Swen, a man, to be her roommate where she, a woman, resided was itself an act of disrespect toward her.

But.

“Honestly, I’m grateful to Lynn.”

“Grateful…?”

To Reika, who tilted her head in confusion, Irene smiled and said:

“Because thanks to Lynn, I was able to meet Swen.”

Whatever Lynn’s intentions were in doing what she did—

In the end, Irene was able to meet Swen.

The only person who truly recognized her existence.

Someone always kind and gentle, who became her pillar of support.

And someone she wanted to protect with everything she had…

“If I hadn’t met Swen, my life would still be colorless. I might not even be in this world by now. I would have died lonely, harboring meaningless loyalty that would never be acknowledged. So, I no longer resent Lynn. Because thanks to her, I got to know Swen.”

“I see…”

Having lived alone with Irene, Reika had heard to some extent about how Irene had been treated in her former country, the Brans army.

“Still, I’m grateful that you’re living so bravely. I know this might be presumptuous of me to say, but…”

“It’s alright, Reika. Whatever you say is never presumptuous to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that… hehe.”

Looking at Reika’s silly smile, Irene asked a question of her own.

“Come to think of it, how did you come to be connected with Swen? I’ve heard bits and pieces, but I don’t think I’ve heard it from your own lips.”

“Ah… my connection with Swen?”

Reika fell into thought for a moment.

Wondering how much she could safely reveal.

‘Still, since it’s Irene… someone so close to Swen, I probably can’t hide everything forever… She seems to have noticed something already anyway.’

Reika carefully parted her pink lips.

“Actually… I’ve been learning magic from Swen.”

“Magic, is it.”

Reika slowly nodded.

If Irene hadn’t seen anything, she might have asked what nonsense this was, but she had already witnessed Reika creating a flame in her palm with her own eyes.

“So magic really does exist.”

“Yes… Swen has already become somewhat famous for dropping huge boulders from the sky, hasn’t he…?”

“You call that magic? No. Swen…”

Irene’s voice trembled slightly.

The image of him collapsing helplessly before her eyes flashed in her mind.

“Swen risked his life to communicate with the heavens and read their flow. The magicians in ancient texts didn’t risk their lives, did they? So… I don’t want to see Swen performing such magical feats if I can help it.”

“Is that so…?”

But Swen knew about the existence of something called mana.

Recently, he had even used something like a magic tool that could store magic.

From Reika’s perspective, even if he wasn’t a full magician, he seemed at least like a quasi-magician, but if his life was in danger, she wondered if there was something she didn’t know.

‘Is it okay to ask more about this…?’

As Reika was pondering this.

Knock, knock, came a sound at the door.

“Ah…”

“It seems our roommate has arrived.”

The lodging assigned to Reika and Irene was a triple room located on the second floor of the women’s dormitory building.

When they arrived, no one was there, but since the guard had mentioned the existence of a roommate, it wasn’t hard to predict that she was temporarily away.

“C-come in…!”

At Reika’s response, the door slowly opened.

A woman walked into the room.

And… seeing her appearance, an expression of surprise bloomed on Irene’s face.

“You are…?”

“…Huh?”

That woman.

This wasn’t an unfamiliar face.

Back when she was still with the Brans army, they had met once and traveled together to the northern fortress…

“…Silin?”