The Conwell Estate
“Anak. Don’t pull the same stunt you did yesterday.”
“That’s right. Yesterday was way over the line.”
At Rowell and Aegina’s earnest plea, I nodded for the time being. Honestly, though, a part of me was hoping those kids might try something else again. If they did, I wouldn’t even need to step in myself—I’d just rip off the cloths covering Rowell and Aegina’s faces and watch how their expressions changed. That would be genuinely entertaining.
After finishing breakfast, we arrived in front of the Sage’s Tower branch. My eyes naturally began searching for those ill-mannered brats from yesterday. They were standing right at the main gate, but they weren’t alone. Several older mages stood beside them, and the two children were cowering between them with their heads bowed.
“Are these the ones?”
“Yes.”
One of the older mages gave a short confirmation, then hurried toward Jiamant Hall like a lord of the manor. He dropped to one knee before us, and the others followed suit.
“Welcome, Lord Rowell, Lady Aegina, Lord Anak, and Lord Bagloros.”
Though the cloths obscured their faces, I could sense Rowell and Aegina’s bewilderment.
“I am Altemis Paul, branch chief of the Pennas branch. I once had the honor of seeing you during the defense of Arakas alongside other mages.”
“Please rise, Lord Paul. All of you.”
Rowell quickly helped him up, and the rest of us—except Bagloros—removed the cloths from our faces.
“How did you know it was us?”
“I heard it from those foolish children. They said you created countless summoning circles in midair without any preparation, let alone magic.”
“And Aegina said my name.”
Even I hadn’t expected that alone would give us away.
“There aren’t many summoners of that caliber. Especially not ones named Anak.”
Well, there’s at least one more, that’s for certain.
“I will personally apologize for their rudeness.”
Paul bowed deeply once more, then turned a fierce glare on the children. One of the mages beside them jabbed them in the side with a staff. They flinched and began apologizing in trembling voices.
“W-we’re sorry.”
“We didn’t know you were the heroes……”
Rowell and Aegina smiled awkwardly. They never enjoyed situations like this—being put on a pedestal while others suffered because of it. Rowell simply patted their shoulders in lieu of words. He knew better than anyone that no words would truly change anything.
This incident would linger in the minds of the other mages inside the branch far longer than any reprimand could erase.
“Now then, let us go. The teleportation circle has been prepared.”
Following Paul’s guidance, we headed to the open ground behind the tower. A massive teleportation circle was drawn across the pristine white marble, surrounded by pillars embedded with mana-amplifying crystals.
“Please tell us your destination. We will send you there safely, wherever it may be.”
I liked his proactive attitude. Normally, domestic travel via teleportation circles was relatively free, but crossing borders involved complicated procedures. That was why we had planned to teleport only as far as the border and find another way from there. But now that our identities were known and they were being so accommodating, going straight to our destination seemed entirely possible.
Rowell looked at me and nodded helplessly. We hadn’t asked for special treatment, but refusing it outright would have been equally awkward. I pulled the letter from the bag on my horse.
“Let’s see……”
Between the various exchange and transport seals stamped on the envelope, I found the faintly visible address.
“The Asus region.”
“Understood.”
The mages immediately began inscribing coordinates into the air and the circle. As their staffs glowed, the teleportation circle lit up as well. It was clearly a long-distance transfer. The mages of the Sage’s Tower were far more skilled than ordinary mages, and even with so many mana-amplifying crystals, it still required over a dozen of them working together.
“Please step inside.”
We gave Paul and the other mages a slight bow and entered the circle. The horses were skittish around the light, but we managed to position ourselves at the center.
“We look forward to seeing you again when you return.”
Light enveloped us, and when it faded, the scenery had changed. The pillars with mana-amplifying crystals and the marble floor looked similar at first glance, but the Belk trees were gone, and there was no white tower in sight.
We had arrived at the teleportation circle in the Asus region. It was smaller than the one at the Sage’s Tower branch and appeared poorly maintained, likely because it saw little use. Cracks ran across the marble, and weeds had begun pushing through.
Teleportation points that weren’t frequently used tended to end up like this. After the great war, many had been built for reconstruction, but regions without a mage guild to manage them had become nothing more than simple one-way arrival points.
“Well then, shall we head to the village first?”
The circle wasn’t located inside a village or city. It sat atop a hill along a roadside—a common sight in the outskirts. When individual towns couldn’t afford their own circles, they built them along major routes instead.
The one fortunate thing was the fairly large village visible in the distance down the hill. The address on the letter was obscured by repeated seals, so all we really knew was the region name. Still, the high-quality paper sealed with a red stamp and the many exchange offices and transport stations it had passed through suggested it wouldn’t be hard to find. Outside major cities, there simply weren’t that many noble families.
And we had Bagloros with us, after all. We covered our faces again and mounted our horses.
“Ah, the Conwell family? I know them. If you follow the main road, you’ll see a large gate. Everything from there belongs to the Conwells.”
When we reached the village, the locals’ stares were intense. Strangers always drew attention, but with our faces covered, it was inevitable. We followed the villager’s directions and soon spotted the large barred gate and the yellow-brick walls beyond.
The view past the gate was nothing like the ordinary village scenery we had seen so far. Lined along the long path leading to the mansion were neatly trimmed, round-shaped trees, and at the center of the main gate and the mansion stood a large fountain spraying water into the sky.
The mansion at the end of the path looked incomparably more luxurious and grand than the lord’s castle at Jiamant Hall.
“Congratulations, everyone. My fiancée appears to be quite wealthy.”
Rowell gave a small laugh at my words. Honestly, even I thought the joke wasn’t particularly funny, but he had long grown accustomed to my somewhat lacking sense of humor.
“So how do we get in?”
Aegina asked while immediately grabbing one of Bagloros’s arms. If she hadn’t, he would have already scaled the gate.
“We just need to wait a bit.”
In the distance, several soldiers were patrolling the grounds. Whether it was because visitors were rare or because their patrol timing happened to align, they soon spotted us at the gate and hurried over.
“What brings you here?”
They had initially eyed us with suspicion, but after noticing my Dawn attire and the extraordinary presence of Grandias at Rowell’s side, they spoke with more respect.
I reached out and pulled the cloth from Rowell’s face. He looked startled by the sudden action, but the real shock belonged to the soldiers.
I knew that expression well. At first, they wouldn’t recognize him. No matter how famous the hero who saved the world was, not everyone could identify him by face alone. They would simply be captivated by that impossibly beautiful face, and only after some time would the pieces begin to fall into place.
……!
All the countless stories they had heard, the images they had built in their minds—everything would surface at once, connect, and finally reach a conclusion.
“Th-the hero, Lord Rowell!”
“I-I’ll go report this at once!”
Yes, this was it. Except for the one soldier whose sense of duty remained strong, the others’ eyes filled with awe and they froze in place.
As I had said before, during the great war, even when Rowell hid his identity, reactions like this had been rare. No matter how well he concealed himself, unless he covered his face completely like now, his extraordinary nature was always obvious.
That was why this situation was rather enjoyable for me. That pure surprise and reverence was something I could never experience myself.
Of course, there had always been a chance they wouldn’t recognize him. In any other circumstance, they probably wouldn’t have realized so quickly. But because the name Anak had already become familiar through the mention of a fiancée, these few clues had been enough.
“P-please, come in.”
Once they regained their composure, they opened the gate at once and took our reins, guiding us inside. As we passed the fountain and approached the mansion, the doors opened and dozens of servants emerged, following a middle-aged man who appeared to be the head of the household.
“O great hero of light! What an honor it is for you to visit this humble place in person……!”
The middle-aged man, slightly paunchy with thinning hair, wore a pale navy suit that looked somewhat disheveled, likely because he had rushed out. We dismounted, and Aegina and I removed our cloths as well. Aegina’s had been because the guards had been too shocked by Rowell to notice the timing, while I had simply forgotten while watching them.
I clearly saw several people—men and women alike—hold their breath at the sight of Aegina.
“Oh! So it is Lady Aegina! I truly……”
“Dear.”
At his wife’s quiet voice from behind, he finally realized he had yet to properly greet them.
“I am Stangrum Conwell. To think I would meet the hero of light who saved the world in person like this—I truly don’t know how to express this feeling……”
“Ahem.”
At his wife’s cough, he stopped again and began introducing his family standing behind him.
“This is my wife and our children.”
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Michelle Conwell.”
The wife looked somewhat cold, yet carried an air of elegance and grace. Behind her, three sturdy sons greeted us in turn, but my gaze was drawn not to them, but to the woman standing further back.
“Greetings, hero Rowell, Lady Aegina. I am Jane Conwell.”
She was quite beautiful. With her slender figure, reddish hair, and fair skin, she gave an intellectual and delicate impression, yet her eyes held a bold confidence.
“Greetings, Lord Conwell, Lady Conwell. Thank you for welcoming us so warmly despite our sudden visit.”
“Hello.”
“No, not at all! As I said, we are the ones honored!”
He grasped Rowell’s offered hand with both of his, his expression rapturous. He continued staring at Rowell in that same manner until his wife’s cough once again reminded him that he had been holding the hand for far too long.
“But the other two……”
“Greetings. I am Bagloros.”
At Bagloros’s introduction, a different kind of surprise appeared in their eyes.
“Ah, s-so it is Lord Bagloros.”
Lord Conwell’s expression stiffened rapidly, which was rather amusing, but soon their gazes turned to me.
“Ah, he is……”
Rowell and Aegina hesitated, unsure how to introduce me. I smiled at them.
“Greetings. I am Birette. A longtime friend of the hero of light, Lord Rowell, and the summoner of deception, Lord Anak.”