Selena's Resolve
Bagan felt lighthearted as he returned to De Marinda after achieving a successful outcome at Cyron's lair. 'I gave the two of them some time together, and I even arranged some rest for Selena.' With that refreshing feeling, he sat on the deck, enjoying the cool breeze. Though things had strayed from his original plans, he had obtained everything he wanted. Selena's rest was now secured.
Yet the person in question, Selena, did not seem particularly cheerful. Her subordinate Gale noticed her expression and asked, "Are you overworking yourself again? Or is there somewhere you're feeling unwell?"
Gale was the only one who worried about Selena like this. He stayed by her side at all times, watching over her well-being as if he were attending to a princess. But today, his attitude rubbed Selena the wrong way.
"Gale, do I look like someone who's severely lacking in your eyes?"
"Not at all, ma'am."
Gale answered while feeling puzzled by Selena's unusually altered tone and demeanor. He was somewhat flustered by the sudden change, but as a seasoned adjutant, he quickly read the atmosphere and countered, "Forgive my presumption, but such thoughts are not good for your mental health. Especially for someone like you, Grand Admiral."
Selena froze at his words, as if her heart had been pierced, and simply breathed. Her face showed clear surprise. She wanted to ask how he had seen through her so completely, but Gale's perceptiveness exceeded what she had imagined, and this was not the first time it had happened.
"The one who must stand at the very top of the military is thinking she's inadequate. If a commander harbors such thoughts, her subordinates will collapse without strength. Just thinking back to when I first saw that young man named Bagan still makes me shudder."
When Gale first encountered Bagan, it had been during their secret mission while disguised as pirates. At that time, Gale had held the position of first mate under the pirate name, yet he was no different from now. Whether as adjutant or first mate, his role of staying by Selena's side remained unchanged. He had simply worked hard toward that purpose, but the moment he developed those feelings was when he met Bagan.
"That unmistakable gaze of a predator is something I can't forget. All the sailors had fallen, and even I stood in his way, but I already knew it was futile. The real problem was the sense of powerlessness—that I was too weak to protect you any longer—which wrapped around my mind and made proper thought impossible."
"I'm grateful you thought that way. Who am I to..."
Selena's self-esteem had already been shattered.
"The important thing is this! Without you, Grand Admiral, everyone would be helpless and collapse. That's why I desperately try to support you, and why I resolved to use that powerlessness as motivation to live even harder."
Yet Gale had not despaired even after experiencing that. Instead, he turned that sense of powerlessness into motivation, telling himself he must strive even harder. If he himself did not stay sharp, everything would fall apart.
"So please become even stronger, Grand Admiral! I, Gale, have already sworn to protect you until the day I die. So become a commander worthy of that oath—someone even more magnificent!"
Gale addressed Selena as "you" for the first time. It showed how earnest his feelings were.
"Yeah... I felt it through this incident too. From now on, I'll grow even more and build the strongest navy worthy of De Marinda's reputation. I'll become a grand admiral who matches that. Then, just like you said, I'll be a commander worthy of your oath."
Since it was already decided that the Blue Dragon Cyron would become De Marinda's guardian dragon, the city would prosper further, the military would expand, and external threats would increase. In that case, it only made sense for them to grow alongside it.
"Bagan said he'd leave once this matter is settled. Before that, I need to learn what I can from him."
Selena had resolved to learn everything from Bagan—the very person who had made her feel such frustration. Watching her burn with the will to grow stronger, Gale felt his own resolve ignite as well. Since they had promised to become people who could acknowledge each other, this was only natural. More than anything, Gale seemed pleased that Selena's spirit had been lifted as he turned away.
***
On the return to De Marinda, they traveled solely by the naturally blowing winds without Bagan's help, so it took the planned three days. Even that was only possible because it was De Marinda's own warship; otherwise, the distance would have been impossible to cross.
The ship was already docked at the pier and being maintained by the soldiers who had been waiting. All that remained was for Bagan's party and Selena to disembark. Though the vessel was large, getting off took only a moment.
Bagan stepped off the ship and stretched. "Hwaaam! No matter how much I like the sea, long voyages just aren't my thing."
He did not forget to stretch here and there to loosen his stiff body. Selena watched him, waiting for the right moment to speak. When Bagan finished stretching and was about to step forward, she opened her mouth.
"Bagan, when are you planning to leave De Marinda?"
"Hm?"
Being asked this right upon arrival made Bagan reflexively echo the question. Selena, worried he might find it troublesome, quickly added, "Ah, I meant whether you have time. If you're not planning to leave right away, there's something I'd like to ask of you."
Seeing that she still spoke her mind, Bagan listened and asked, "What is it? I'm not leaving anytime soon. I like taking my time. I haven't even finished sightseeing around the city yet."
That was Bagan's style—leisurely doing everything he wanted to do. Relieved by his answer, Selena said, "That's good. If you'd said you were leaving right away, I was going to ask you to start today."
"So what is it?"
"Teach me magic."
"......"
Selena had long felt overwhelming powerlessness whenever she witnessed Bagan's magical abilities. She imagined how wonderful it would be if she could grasp even a fraction of that power—the ability to accomplish anything. But Bagan thought she had the wrong idea entirely. 'Sorry, but you have zero talent for magic.'
Having thought this, he had remained silent until now, but he spoke again. "That probably won't work."
"Why not? You said you have time."
Bagan tilted his head at her words. He had definitely said he would sightsee around the city, not that he had spare time. Still, refusing outright would be rude, so he told her the truth.
"......Selena can't use magic. More precisely, even if you can sense mana, it would take you at least several decades to reach the point of casting spells."
That was how little magical talent Bagan sensed in her. Magic was the field that demanded the most innate talent among all disciplines. There were three types of people in this world: those who could not learn magic at all, those who could learn it but would only ever be mediocre, and those with genuine talent. Even talented mages struggled to reach the top ranks without sufficient effort. 'Of course, thanks to my core and imagination, I've already surpassed the first-rate level.'
Bagan was someone who had talent from the start and used magic through the shortcut of a core. What Selena had seen was not ordinary magic at all.
"M-Magic is that difficult? If I just use imagination like the spells you cast on me..."
If she meant Fly, that had only been possible because Bagan had cast it on her. It worked solely because Bagan continuously supplied the mana. In truth, if Bagan had used ordinary circles to cast magic, he would not have had enough mana to maintain Fly on her. That was why he dissuaded her and offered something else instead.
"It's not that simple. Like I said, I'm a special kind of mage. So magic won't work, but if you want to get stronger, I can oversee your training. I'm a mage, but I'm also a swordsman, and I possess blessings too."
Bagan smiled as he spoke. Selena readily agreed to his proactive offer. "It's a shame I can't learn magic, but I'll take you up on that instead."
At Selena's request, Bagan nodded. Afterward, they decided when and where the training would take place, then parted ways. Leaving the pier, Bagan headed into De Marinda's bustling district and entered an inn that looked promising in order to secure lodging. Though it appeared expensive, he had plenty of money, so it was no problem.
Once inside, he met the attendant. "Welcome! This is De Marinda's finest Moonlight Sailfish Inn. How may I assist you?"
The attendant was a boy with a loud voice and tanned skin. He was likely either the innkeeper's son or a loud-voiced child they had brought in from the streets.
"I'll rent the largest and best room for one week."
"Ah, an excellent choice! Renting the best room at the finest inn."
The boy spoke with such polished manners that one had to wonder where he had learned it.
"The room is on the third floor, right side after climbing the stairs. Here's the key. That will be seven gold."
Seven gold. It seemed to be one gold per day. Compared to the Evergreen Inn—the best in De Meca—which charged between one and two gold for five days, the prices here were considerably higher. But Bagan casually took seven gold from his dimensional storage and handed it over. He had more than enough money stored away. Worrying about such things felt pointless when he was this tired today.
The sun was already setting, and he was hungry. "Is the meal separate?"
"It is, sir. However, guests staying in our premium rooms receive complimentary meals unless they request the special course."
"Hmm, and the special course?"
Bagan was hungry and wealthy, so the mention of a special course caught his interest.
"Since dinner time is approaching, allow me to explain. Our head chef goes out to sea himself and catches fresh fish, which he prepares raw for you. The flavor is so exquisite that it cannot be replicated through grilling or in soup—you simply must taste the fish in its natural state. Unfortunately, the quantity is limited each day, so if you arrive late, no amount of money will get you any."
The boy had been trained so well that Bagan found himself swallowing at the description. What Bagan thought was, 'Sashimi, huh? It's one of those dishes you can't get if you're late.'
In reality, sashimi was a dish whose taste dropped dramatically if the fish was not fresh. Moreover, preservation was difficult in Pangea, so it was not easy to eat unless you were near the sea.
"I see."
Bagan accepted the room key without showing his excitement. "I'll have the special course for dinner tonight. Call me when it's ready."
After ordering the special meal, Bagan headed toward the room. "Will there be three people total?"
Bagan gave a nod in response to the boy's question and continued on. Following the directions, he climbed to the third floor and finally understood why the boy had said "right side." 'Only two rooms on the entire third floor.'
Just how spacious and luxurious could it be? The building itself was large, with one room on the left and one on the right. Even then, the left room showed no signs of occupancy—likely unused unless by some wealthy magnate. Sensing this, Bagan moved toward the right room.
Using the key to open the door, he stepped inside and found the room exactly as he had imagined—spacious and luxurious. Whether they had the concept of air fresheners or not, fresh flowers giving off fragrance sat on the table, and the bed was the size and style one might find in a palace, complete with pillars and a canopy. Bagan immediately lay down on the bed and savored its softness.
"We could all sleep together here just fine."
Though the words might have sounded strange, Sally and Arien simply nodded, as they always slept together anyway.