Chapter 16 : Proposal

Time flows fairly for everyone.

It flows the same for those who indulge in luxury under their parents’ wealth and power, for those who sweat and toil to cultivate their talents, and even for those who dedicate themselves to revenge.

Time is always fair.

Three years have already passed.

At first, Luen was determined to seek revenge immediately.

However, persuaded by Ophelia, he calmed his mind and focused on refining his spirit magic.

Three years was not a short period.

It was enough time for a once-innocent 15-year-old boy to grow into an 18-year-old young man.

Now, Luen, who had developed a noticeably more mature and manly aura, sat on a tree stump in the yard in front of the cabin, following his usual routine.

“LUUEEEEEEN!!!”

As usual, Luen had stepped outside early in the morning to commune with the spirits.

At the sudden, booming shout from inside the cabin, he lazily opened his eyes and glanced around.

He knew very well why Ophelia was yelling this early in the morning.

With an awkward smile, he turned to look at the cabin.

BANG!

The cabin door burst open roughly, revealing Ophelia, who was panting heavily as she glared at Luen.

“You! I told you not to put out the fireplace!!”

“But Flamy was hungry… What was I supposed to do?”

“You could’ve let it eat some other fire…!! You keep putting out the fire in the cabin, and it’s freezing in here!!”

Seeing Ophelia fuming like an actual fire, Luen averted his gaze and started muttering under his breath.

“I told you to just use a heating spell…”

“Are you the one casting magic? And besides, I already told you—cabins need fireplaces for the atmosphere!”

“…Old lady.”

“What did you just say?!”

Though three years wasn’t an exceptionally long time, it had been enough for Luen and Ophelia to grow quite close.

In truth, Ophelia had never held any ill will toward Luen.

It was simply that Luen had taken time to open his heart to her.

This bond had only been possible because Ophelia put in a great deal of effort into spirit magic—and because Luen recognized and acknowledged her efforts.

At Luen’s muttered remark, Ophelia yelled furiously before clutching her throbbing temple and letting out a long sigh.

“Hey, Flamy. Relight the fire, now.”

[…No way, old lady.]

It wasn’t as if Ophelia and Flamy could even have a proper conversation.

Simply put, Ophelia knew that Flamy was there, and that’s why she spoke up.

Of course, from Flamy’s perspective, there was no reason to comply with Ophelia’s request.

After all, Flamy’s voice didn’t reach Ophelia, so she had no way of hearing its mutterings.

“Please.”

[Ugh!]

Luen suppressed a burst of laughter and quietly muttered under his breath.

Flamy, who was always eager to help, responded as usual, returning the flames to the fireplace.

It was true that Flamy was hungry, but even without the fire in the hearth, there were many places where Flamy could satisfy its hunger.

Nevertheless, the reason it consumed the fire was simply that it liked the taste.

“Ha…………… Please don’t do that again next time.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Luen awkwardly laughed off Ophelia’s warning.

As she turned her back, he shrugged his shoulders and calmly turned to face the spirits.

“How about we head towards the waterfall today?”

[Ah…!! Sounds great!!]

Before long, the spirits, which had only been symbols, took on the form of small children.

As Luen’s abilities as a spirit mage grew, the spirits began to take on more human-like forms.

The reason they still appeared as children was simply because Luen hadn’t yet mastered his training.

Yesterday, he had built a large bonfire in the yard to satisfy Flamy’s needs, so today he would focus on fulfilling Waterling’s needs.

With that in mind, Luen was about to eat breakfast and head out when he suddenly felt someone walking in the forest.

Originally, this place was uninhabited.

Spirits usually dwell in areas with few humans.

However, Luen wasn’t startled.

He already knew who was approaching the forest.

Her snow-white hair gleamed brightly.

Her green eyes, reminiscent of the forest, sparkled as she made her way toward the cabin with slow, calm steps.

The moment she spotted Luen, she smiled beautifully and waved her hand gently.

“Nia.”

“Already awake?”

With her snow-white skin and matching hair fluttering, Nia approached Luen, hooking her arm through his and smiling.

Nia had done this many times before, so Luen let out a deep breath and awkwardly removed his arm from hers.

“I woke up at my usual time, what about it?”

Nia puffed her cheeks slightly when Luen rejected her arm, but he just smiled awkwardly.

Originally, when Nia was in her cat form, he would freely pet and carry her around, but after she suddenly transformed into a human, he tended to keep some distance.

After entering a contract with higher-level spirits, Nia, who had been absent for almost two months, suddenly appeared in her human form.

At first, Luen had been bewildered, but since she was still Nia at heart, he tried to treat her the same way as before.

Unless, of course, she didn’t cling to him like she used to when she was a cat.

“Luen, why are you avoiding me?”

“Well, didn’t you say communication was a bit difficult in the middle world?”

“You said that was only the case when I was in that form.”

Luen, trying to avoid the question by repeating it, noticed that Nia’s forest-green eyes were still staring at him intently.

“Well, I think it’s better if you don’t cling to me too much.”

“Why? You used to hug me all the time when I was in that form.”

“Because it’s a bit different now, isn’t it?”

Luen wasn’t usually this weak when it came to women

In fact, just by looking at how Luen treated Ophelia, it was clear that he was quite firm when it came to relationships with the opposite sex.

Of course, there was quite an age difference between Luen and Ophelia, but that wasn’t really the issue.

The simple reason Luen was especially soft on Nia was because she was his lifesaver, and because of that, he couldn’t treat her the same way he did with others.

Nia, puffing her cheeks slightly at Luen’s response, stuck out her lips but didn’t let go of his side as they walked together.

The four spirits waddled behind them, floating in the air as they moved.

It was a strange morning, with five spirits and one human.

Clink.

As usual, Ophelia prepared breakfast with magic and placed the bowls on the table, speaking casually as she did.

“Luen.”

“I’ll eat well.”

In fact, there were seven people living in the cabin, but only Ophelia and Luen truly needed proper meals.

Therefore, the table was quite sparse.

Nonetheless, Luen, accustomed to it, said as he began eating a tasty soup.

“Where are we going today?”

“I was thinking of going to the waterfall.”

At this point, Luen’s spirit magic didn’t require Ophelia’s support anymore.

He had reached a level where repeating the training Ophelia had already taught him was enough for his progress.

Therefore, recently, Luen had been wandering around nature.

He found that his connection with the spirits was stronger in an environment that resembled theirs.

After hearing Luen’s response, Ophelia nodded and continued speaking.

“Right, and there’s something I need to tell you…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Ophelia, usually someone who said whatever was on her mind, hesitated this time, which caught Luen’s attention as he slowly blinked and watched her.

“You’re eighteen now.”

“Right?”

Luen didn’t really care much about his age.

After all, whether it was one year or three, the fact that Calcento had seized control of Kalbrandt wouldn’t change.

The official announcement of Luen’s death by Calcento meant that he was likely still being sought by them.

Therefore, what Luen and Ophelia were aiming for was to reveal that Luen was still alive and that Calcento had no legitimate claim to lead Kalbrandt.

Of course, over time, Calcento must have been spreading political influence among the surrounding nobles, but until their plan was set in motion, it was crucial for Luen not to reveal himself.

“Go to the academy.”

Luen was taken aback by Ophelia’s sudden suggestion.

“…The academy, suddenly?”

“Yes. It’s embarrassing, but there’s nothing more I can teach you. That’s why you have to go to the academy.”

“Who at the academy could teach me spirit magic?”

“…Right now, no one can teach you spirit magic. There probably isn’t anyone anywhere in the world who could.”

“Then…”

“But.”

Ophelia cut off Luen’s words with a firm voice and looked directly into his eyes.

Seeing Ophelia’s serious red eyes, Luen quietly closed his mouth and listened closely to her words.

“You can only start your revenge once you go there.”