A Guest's (2) Invitation
The woman’s long eyelashes trembled faintly, as if trying to deny the words she had just heard. The way she rubbed her ears felt heartbreakingly pitiful.
Whoa!
“Too cruel. Too, too cruel…”
Right after she canceled the magic by scattering her mana, the woman spoke in a soft, tearful voice.
“…”
In fact, the name of this uninvited guest had already flashed through my mind the moment she appeared.
I didn’t know her face or gender. A mage from the Helios Magic Tower. Her name was Ariel. She had never appeared on any route in *Silvering*, and she knew my original self extremely well.
“Ariel?”
“Huh? What’s with the pranks?!”
“No, it’s not a prank. I really don’t remember you.”
“……What are you talking about? How could I not—”
The woman, Ariel, covered her mouth in shock.
“Frey was on the verge of death. Because of the severe head injury, his memories are still hazy.”
Lancelot, who had been quietly observing our exchange, muttered in a low voice.
He was still glaring at Ariel with eyes full of vigilance. If he sensed anything dirty about her, he would draw his sword right then.
“……!”
Ariel’s head snapped toward Lancelot the moment she heard the words. Her beautiful blue eyes, filled with disbelief, fixed on me as if asking if it was true.
“Yeah. Lancelot’s right. I have no memory. Ariel, I learned your name from the letter.”
“That can’t be…”
Ariel, whose face was drained of color, plopped down onto the ground with a thud.
The courtyard floor was covered in dirt. Yet she seemed completely unfazed, as if dirt on her clothes was the least of her worries.
“You lost your memory? Then you don’t remember our promise or our dreams?”
“I’m truly sorry, but that’s how it is.”
Ariel lowered her head with a heartbroken expression.
A promise? A dream?
It was sad, but I had no memory. Given that she mentioned those two things, it seemed we had known each other since we were very young. What else could I do?
“For now, I understand. Memory… time will probably heal it. Before that.”
Ariel, who had been sitting still for a long time, suddenly stood up. At the same moment, her gaze shifted back to Lancelot.
“Could you explain the situation from just now? You weren’t trying to attack Frey, were you?”
“I was training with him. The result was… I lost.”
Lancelot, who also seemed to have his own misconceptions, calmly recounted the events.
Ariel’s eyes narrowed upon hearing this.
“Training? Really? Frey had a mana-related illness as a child. Because of it, he couldn’t store mana, yet you used mana on him.”
“……I used mana on someone who can’t store it?”
As I listened quietly to their conversation, a thought slipped out on its own.
Most people in this world stored mana in the lower abdomen, the danjeon. But I was different. Thanks to a realization I had during combat, mana now flowed throughout my entire body instead of just the lower, middle, and upper danjeons.
……In other words, like a dragon.
“Can I even use mana?”
Uwoong!
“……Eh?!”
Ariel’s eyes widened in surprise as I casually wrapped mana around my palm. Her reaction confirmed her words were true.
“So that’s why you joined the mercenary corps?”
Unlike the knight order, which had strict requirements, many mercenaries in the corps didn’t cultivate mana. Maybe that was the reason I, the past me, belonged to the Oak Mercenary Corps.
“I don’t know what kind of guy the past Frey was, but this guy is stronger than you think. Woman. Knowing isn’t everything.”
“……A woman?”
“……Strong?”
Ariel and I reacted differently and shook our heads vigorously.
Woman, woman. It wasn’t a big problem, but it felt oddly awkward. The way she spoke also carried an unsettling undertone.
Anyway.
“Let’s get to the main point. Ariel. Why did you come to see me?”
“I came to invite you. Personally.”
“……Invite?”
Invite? Why would a mage from the Helios Magic Tower invite me? And what was she inviting me to do?
“Yeah. Senior Mages of the Helios Magic Tower can each have one guest. That’s why… I wanted to bring you.”
“Oh.”
I had forgotten. It was a custom I knew too. Not the entire tower, but a unique tradition of the Helios Magic Tower.
……Come to think of it, Senior Mage?
I had no choice but to fire off the next question.
“I thought senior mages were just white-bearded old men.”
“Hehe.”
“……No way?”
Ariel scratched her head, looking embarrassed.
When I first saw her, she had seemed like a charismatic mystery mage, but this appearance was full of playful energy.
“Yeah. I became a senior mage. Now Frey can quit his dangerous mercenary life and live with me. Memory, memory probably will be healed by time.”
“Really? You became a senior mage?”
“Yeah!”
My face froze stiff at her energetic reply.
Senior mage.
I had thought it was just a fancy title for an experienced mage, but it carried a much heavier weight in the tower.
The main force of the tower was, of course, the mages.
Among them, the senior mages were the ones deployed to the front lines, handling the tower’s requests and projects.
Right now, the smiling guy in front of me was one of the real powers of Helios, the tower that was the tower.
‘Then, if that’s the case…’
Why the hell… did I not know her?
Just looking at her, there was still a slight immaturity left.
That meant she didn’t have the radiant talent I or Lancelot had, and she was outside the radar of the Conqueror title’s owner.
‘There’s something.’
Intense curiosity seized my consciousness. So I stood up right away and answered.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
Again, in the commercial district of Fortress City Roben.
“Hey, Frey.”
“What?”
“You really going? To Helios Magic Tower.”
As we walked through the bustling streets, Lancelot’s question with irritation reached me.
He was shooting a displeased look at Ariel, who was trailing behind us, wondering what was so uncomfortable about her.
“What, there’s no problem with it, right?”
“It might be a trap, but something feels off. Being with that woman might lead to big trouble.”
“……Really?”
Seeing Lancelot’s serious face, it didn’t seem like he was just speaking emotionally on impulse. Maybe he had felt his intuition.
“……”
I glanced at Ariel once more.
Blue hair like the sea, blue eyes. Smooth, glossy hair down to her waist and snow-white skin. Lastly, white boots paired with the pure white uniform of Helios.
……Anyone would notice her. The word “danger” felt strangely inappropriate.
“Then you stay by my side.”
“……What kind of talk is that?”
“Let’s go together. Helios.”
Lancelot’s head tilted oddly while walking side by side with me.
“There’s a weird smell. It’s intense enough that I can’t ignore it.”
“……Hah.”
My already decided stance made Lancelot let out a helpless sound. He probably hadn’t expected me to say we’d go to the Helios Magic Tower together.
“I’ll lend you some money. You were looking at the mansion your mother is staying in, right?”
“Hmm. I didn’t plan to hide it. I just didn’t want to receive another huge gift and burden you.”
“What are you two talking about?”
Whoa.
Suddenly, something blue poked between me and Lancelot. The owner was obvious. Ariel, who had been quietly following behind until now.
“Hmm. Nothing.”
Lancelot stiffened his face, muttering briefly as if thinking his secret would be exposed.
But Ariel had clearly heard our entire conversation. She smiled brightly and said.
“The Helios Magic Tower is a good place. It’s strict with rules, but it’s free from the biggest problem of mages—‘money.’”
“……?”
Money? So what? My questioning gaze landed on her.
“Helios has enough money to give monthly support to guests.”
“What? Support money for guests?”
Lancelot’s eyes rolled back as he whirled around and asked.
“Yeah. Around… this much?”
Ariel raised her two small white fists. She then spread her right index finger, as if counting “10.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
“……”
Lancelot’s strangely excited gaze turned to me.
It was probably meant to represent ten gold coins, but the amount was beyond imagination. It was natural for money-obsessed Lancelot to react that way.
“Ariel, Lancelot is coming too. That’s fine, right?”
“Yeah. Since I became senior mage, I’ve never had a guest.”
Ariel, smiling brightly, walked beside me. She kept stealing glances at me. Since it had been a while, it was understandable.
In the middle of that.
“Eh? There’s a ring?”
Ariel’s natural voice flowed out as we walked slowly. The ring referred to the silver ring on my right hand.
It was a Britzhart legendary item I had received from Maria.
“I received it as a gift.”
“Gift? From who? A woman?”
“Uh. It’s from a woman, but why do you ask?”
“……”
Ariel fell silent for a moment. After organizing her thoughts, she spoke after some time.
“Uh-huh, a lover… or something? Not that, right?”
“A lover? No, it was just a gift because I was looking forward to the future.”
“Really? You’re such a strange person. Usually, men don’t give women rings as gifts, do they?”
Stop.
My leg, which had been moving silently, halted. I stared at Ariel with an expressionless face.
“An attack on Maria-nim is an attack on me.”
“U-uh? Really? Sorry. You two must be very close.”
Ariel immediately apologized. Nodding, I stroked the faded silver ring and replied.
“Maria-nim is watching.”
I immediately recalled the money pouch lying in front of the hotel room.
……I’m not that clueless, am I?
Dragon Mana Flow