episode_0014

The night sky of Wihaim was more beautiful than anywhere else on the continent.

Countless starlight was kept clearer through Starlight Magic, and floating islands roamed throughout the night sky, scattering radiance. Wherever you went, starlight flowed, and magic expanded. It was a sight that anyone, whether a mage or not, would like.

A city famous as a tourist destination, although you can’t come for sightseeing whenever you want.

The place where mages resided was so mysterious.

Although he had gotten somewhat used to it, Asel still tended to like Wihaim’s night sky. It was natural since there was no reason to dislike it. Perhaps Ena felt the same, as she was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at the sky beyond the window.

Every year, for about ten days after the new year begins, a festival is held in Wihaim. It was a peculiar type of festival called the Mage’s Night, which allowed mages of all kinds to use any magic within the city, excluding acts of destruction.

Thanks to this, the streets visible in the distance were far from dark; they were shimmering with colorful brilliance.

Perhaps a high-level mage had appeared, as a long dragon made of smoke writhed in the sky, and a mage sitting on it, holding a pipe, smiled. Parnin glided freely through the sky with its contractor on its back, and Jewel Mages and Elemental Mages set off fireworks with all sorts of magic.

Ena quietly watched the scene, and then, seeing people gathered around the lightning rod installed for her, she twitched her finger. She willingly did as they wished.

[Lightning Strike (落雷)]

Kwaaaaaang!!

Pure white thunderbolt struck various parts of the lightning rod. A lightning strike improved to be used in bundles by adjusting its power. Mages who felt the eerie aftertaste of destruction cheered and turned their eyes towards Ena’s mansion. Ena, resting her chin in her hand, cast a dismissive glance at the gazes of respect and reverence they sent.

Just then, someone knocked on her door.

“Master.”

It was Asel. Ena replied immediately.

“Come in.”

“I’ll come in then, excuse me.”

As permission was granted, Asel gently opened the door and entered Ena’s room.

Although he had gone in and out several times, it was a room that felt bland every time he visited. A bed was placed alone in the corner, and grimoires and artifacts were scattered on the desk. There were no other special features. There was a clothes rack, but even that was less than half full.

A room far too bleak to be called a woman’s room. But Asel thought that was typical of Ena and approached her side.

“Sit down.”

Ena said, glancing at Asel. Asel sat beside her with a wry smile.

There was a slight distance between them. Ena frowned and tapped the spot right next to her with her hand.

“Sit here.”

“……Isn’t it too close?”

“What does it matter?”

Is that so.

Asel scratched his head and sat where she had tapped. After confirming that he had taken his seat, Ena shifted her gaze back outside the window. Asel also watched the festival happening in the streets.

They had a moment of silence. But it wasn’t awkward. Neither Asel nor Ena were particularly talkative, so their tongues didn’t itch. They simply gazed outside with comfortable hearts.

How much time passed like that? Ena opened her mouth, looking at the giant blue gemstone decorating the sky.

“Do you want to go to the academy?”

Ena’s way of speaking, getting straight to the point without beating around the bush. Since he was used to it, there was no confusion. Asel nodded slightly with a wry smile.

“I didn’t think it was a bad suggestion. To be honest… I would like to go.”

“Why?”

“As you know, Master, to achieve magical accomplishment, one must leave Wihaim and experience the world at least once. You know how different magical accomplishments built on theory alone are from those built through practical experience, don’t you?”

There was no answer. Ena was still looking out the window. But her eyes were staring directly at Asel’s face reflected in the window.

“From this perspective, the academy is a special place where you can gain both theory and practical experience. Of course, it might not be as good as rolling through deadly situations, but the risk is also lower. It has its advantages.”

“…….”

“And… I would have left here eventually anyway. As I said, experiencing the world helps a mage’s accomplishments, doesn’t it? Even if it wasn’t the academy, I would have certainly belonged somewhere. I have no intention of settling for my current position.”

The words were spoken with firm resolve. Asel looked directly at Ena, and Ena also sighed and turned her head towards him.

“To be honest. When I first took you in, I didn’t think much about what would happen later. But as time passed, and as your talent blossomed and you achieved results quickly, my greed grew stronger.”

“…….”

“I want to watch over you more closely. I want to see with my own eyes how far you can go. I want to interact with a mage who learned the same type of magic as me. I want to see firsthand what unique magic and mindscape you will acquire in the future. Thoughts like that started to occur to me at some point.”

“Those are all things that can be done.”

“That would be the case if you stayed by my side.”

Ena smiled wryly and tightly held Asel’s hand.

“Experiencing the world as a mage. I know well how important that is. I also wandered the continent for a while and participated in wars and demon hunts. I also know well what kind of influence those experiences had on my magic and mindscape. You also need to have the same experiences as I did.”

“…….”

“But… people’s hearts are really like that. When I think about the dangerous things I went through, on the one hand, I wish you wouldn’t have to experience such things. I sometimes wonder if you couldn’t just live here with me, researching magic and gaining practical experience through occasional sparring.”

“……Master.”

“My disciple. When did you come down so deep into my heart like this?”

Ena said so in a soft voice and stroked Asel’s head.

“I know it’s unreasonable. So I won’t whine. Do as you wish. Not as Ena the person, but as Kaiyuan (開闢) the Master, I give you permission.”

“…….”

“If your decision is truly made according to your will, then there’s no reason for me to interfere. I called you to tell you this.”

“Is that so.”

Asel let out a chuckle and added strength to the hand that Ena was still holding.

“Thank you. For respecting my wishes.”

“It’s only natural. No need to thank me. Rather, I’m sorry. Did I act too disgracefully during the day?”

“It’s alright. You were cute. Like a puppy, getting angry while being small.”

[Discharge (放雷)]

Pajibjik.

A weak lightning bolt shot from the tip of Ena’s finger, which was holding Asel’s hand. Asel winced slightly at the tingling sensation.

“Ugh.”

“That’s the price for teasing me. Accept it sweetly.”

Ena said so, then abruptly stood up from her seat.

“This conversation is over now. Let’s enjoy ourselves until you enter the academy.”

Asel held his tingling hand, let out a chuckle, and nodded.

“Then, shall we go to the festival together tomorrow?”

“……Festival?”

“Lady Irina said you’ve never attended before. So, how about going together this time? Tomorrow is the last day of the festival.”

Ena thought for a moment, then chuckled softly and lightly tapped Asel’s forehead with her fingertip.

“Okay.”

*

The next day.

After midnight, Ena and Asel came out to the streets of Wihaim together. Asel was wearing a simple shirt and pants, and Ena had changed her hair color to black using a magical item. The reason was that she didn’t want to attract attention.

“If people keep greeting me as I pass by, it’s hard to enjoy myself.”

It was a valid point. Asel smiled and walked the night streets with her. Everywhere they went, high-level mages were showing off their magic, captivating the eyes of passersby. Asel and Ena stood in front of a handsome Jewel Mage among them and watched his magic.

“Demonstrating Jewel Magic! Secret Technique! Diamond Scattering!”

He scattered gems into the air with a refreshing smile. Then, the transparent diamonds shone brightly, and soon disintegrated into tiny particles, forming a sparkling snowstorm. Magic created purely for visual pleasure, with no practicality whatsoever. Asel burst into admiration at the fluttering of the beautiful jewels.

“Are there such beautiful spells in Lightning Magic?”

“No. Our magic is all specialized for killing.”

“That’s regrettable.”

“You create one and show me.”

Ena said so, then smiled broadly and walked forward. Asel walked after her.

They bought and ate chicken skewers of a moderate size from a nearby street vendor. Since Ena ate sparingly, she couldn’t eat much, so she ate about half and handed the rest to Asel. Asel neatly finished both his portion and the portion Ena left.

As they were watching the mages like that, a giant shadow fell across the sky. When they looked up, they saw a floating island slowly moving and scattering rain containing magical power.

A liquid that doesn’t get you wet when it touches you and whose form can be adjusted according to the mage’s will.

It was an excellent medium often used in experiments and a substance that spirits liked. Perhaps because of that, the spirits attached to the spirit mages flew up and giggled as they were hit by the raindrops falling from the sky.

As spirits of all sizes and colors played in the sky, they formed a beautiful halo of light. The monstrous bird, Parnin, which Asel had seen when he first visited Wihaim, was also immersed in that light.

“Yaaaah! Parnin! We have to go prepare for the next event! We don’t have time to be doing this here! We’ve already received the contract fee, so if it falls through, I’ll have to pay for all of it!”

[Be quiet, Contractor. More importantly, hmm… The water today is quite bad. Ask them to mix in some lava.]

“Aaaaargh!!”

The spirit mage riding on Parnin screamed, tearing at their hair.

A genius Fire Mage belonging to the Ignis Magic Tower, and also a master of Spirit Magic. Sierra von Claire. Although he had never spoken to her, she was famous as an pyromaniac and spirit enthusiast and was well-known as an eccentric within Wihaim. Thanks to this, Asel had also heard her name many times.

“Shall we say hello?”

“Don’t. Everyone’s pretending not to see her.”

Hearing Ena’s words, Asel looked around and saw that, indeed, all the passersby were turning their heads away, pretending not to see Sierra. Confirming this, Asel also followed them and turned off his interest towards Sierra.

“Is there anywhere else you want to go?”

“Hmm… Not really. Let’s just walk.”

Ena said so and walked at a slow pace. Asel also walked after her, then spotted a nearby street vendor and his eyes sparkled. He briefly told Ena he was going to the restroom, then ran to the street vendor.

The owner of the stall was an old man with a bent back. The items for sale were accessories enchanted with simple magic, and Asel pointed to a brooch set with a sapphire among them and spoke.

“How much is this?”

“5 silver coins. Do you know what kind of magic is enchanted?”

“Yes. Isn’t it luck?”

“Oh-ho. You have good eyes. Someone who recognizes the magic only needs to pay one silver coin.”

“Thank you!”

Asel handed the old man one silver coin and took the brooch. Ena, who was sitting on a nearby bench, swinging her legs and watching people, spotted him and stood up.

“You’re back?”

“Yes. More importantly, Master. This is a present.”

“……? A present?”

Ena tilted her head. Asel smiled broadly and handed the brooch he was holding to Ena.

A brooch set with a sapphire similar in color to her eyes. It wasn’t a high-quality item, but Ena looked down at the brooch lying on her palm with a blank expression.

“I bought it because I thought it would suit Master.”

“…….”

“……Perhaps you don’t like it?”

Asel, interpreting Ena’s silence differently, scratched the back of his head and mumbled. Ena immediately shook her head, tightly gripped the brooch, and pulled it towards herself.

“No, I like it. A lot.”

She looked at Asel, wearing a bright smile.

“Thank you, Asel.”

It was the brightest smile Ena had ever shown.