Ruins Investigation - 2
The ruins lay in the underground waterways of a major city some distance from the village.
I'd been planning to take her to a big city as her victory reward anyway, so this worked out nicely.
Finish the ruin survey, spend a little while having fun, then head home. A solid plan.
"W-wow, woooow..."
Lena's face had lit up as she took in the details of the map Baltin had given us. It was her first time heading to a big city, so I could hardly fault her for it.
"You're not going to get so worked up that you can't sleep, are you?"
"Ah, th-that's... n-no...!"
Because you know how it is.
Like the night before a school field trip, when the anticipation keeps you up till dawn and you don't sleep a wink. From where I stood, Lena was exactly that type—the excitement alone would keep her tossing all night.
"If you want, I can put you to sleep."
"H-how? Do you mean, um, s-staying beside me until I f-fall asleep? Or p-personally... h-holding my hand tight would—!!"
Huffing and puffing through her nose, Lena's eyes shone. Way too much of a hassle.
"I can knock you out cold until tomorrow morning."
I swung my fist through the empty air. At the sharp whump of struck air, Lena's face drained white.
"...I-I'll try sleeping on my own, th-thank you!"
One proper hit to the jaw and she'd have slept like the dead until morning, but fine.
Watching Lena—her excitement settling almost as quickly as it had flared—disappear into her room, I took a seat at the table.
"Phew..."
Another long, long day, come to an end.
Taking a swig of the whiskey I'd bought in the village, I reviewed Lena's growth rate.
Multichant and chantless casting—abilities I'd already witnessed back in her days as the Great Witch of Silence—were now properly manifesting in nature magic as well, not just dark magic. And her growth speed was fast enough that I half suspected it was a bug.
At this rate, teaching her advanced magic would wrap up in under a year.
The question was what came after.
My own goal ended at teaching her advanced magic, but thinking about Lena's future, sending her to the Ivory Tower seemed like the better choice.
The Ivory Tower.
The institution every mage dreamed of attending. Its magic-exclusive curriculum meant mages regarded it even more highly than the Academy—and in fact, Ivory Tower graduates really were the stronger ones.
Partway through the main story there'd even been an event where exchange students from the Tower came to visit.
Beating those mages back then had been anything but easy.
In any case, for Lena's future, placing her in the Ivory Tower would be for her own good.
Sipping my whiskey, I stole a glance toward Lena's room. Even, steady breathing drifted through the door—she was sleeping soundly.
If I thought only of my own greed, sending Lena to the Academy instead of the Ivory Tower would be the better move. Sowol would be coming to the Academy, and if Lena came too, then with the support of two powerhouses who could never have stood together in the original story, reaching the True Ending would only get easier.
But that was my greed, plain and simple.
For Lena's future, the Ivory Tower really was the right call.
That's right. Just grow up big and strong.
I gazed toward Lena's room and slowly nursed my whiskey.
There was nothing you could call "preparation."
All we had to do was travel.
We couldn't ride horses the way we had back at the Eastern Merchant Guild, so we slipped out of the cabin early in the morning.
"Hm-hm, hm-hm-hm~. Hm. Hm-hm-hm~!"
She was so excited that Lena kept humming without meaning to.
I patted her head, and once we reached the trade road, spread out our spot and sat down.
"Wh-why are we doing this h-here?"
"When you travel by trade road, you can always just walk it, but the best option is catching a ride with another wagon."
"Ah. Is, is that so?"
"Mm. Usually you pay a small fee to ride along, but if you've got the strength, you sign an escort contract and travel together instead."
It was a method that saw frequent use in the game when moving between regions.
Of course, with plenty of money you could simply buy a horse or hire your own carriage. The funds I'd received from the Eastern Merchant Guild were more than enough for that—but if it was for Lena's benefit, trying things like this was for the best.
"...W-we'll be... meeting other p-people??"
Perhaps it was the thought of traveling with strangers. Lena's already pale face went whiter still.
But this, too, was experience. Nothing bad about getting it under her belt early.
"Ah. There they come."
A cloud of dust was rising in the distance. Looking closer, two wagons were making their way along the trade road.
One of the two simply rolled past. It looked expensive at a glance—some noble was probably riding inside.
Once that wagon had passed, the large one trailing behind it pulled to a stop right in front of us.
"Travelers, are you?"
"Haha. Yes. We're bound for Greenhild."
"What a coincidence—we're headed for Greenhild ourselves. If you're skilled, you can ride as escorts; if not, ten coppers gets you aboard."
"Our skills aren't bad. We're both mages."
"Mages? Escorting such distinguished guests—now that's an honor. Climb aboard."
The carter, who seemed to be the wagon's owner, gestured toward the back.
Lena and I went around and found four people who looked to be a family seated inside.
"Good day to you."
"Oh my, welcome! Hehe."
A middle-aged woman with a warm, ample face greeted us with a smile.
She reminded Lena of Luceia, perhaps, because her expression softened a touch.
But that didn't last.
"Waaah! Pretty big sis!"
"Big sis! Wanna play dolls with us?!"
Two girls, apparently her daughters, came bounding up to Lena with shining eyes.
Lena—hopeless with children, and especially with the kind who latched on this boldly without a shred of reserve—went pale all over again and looked to me for what to do.
The meaning written in her eyes was crystal clear: Help me!
But this, too, was experience.
Hang in there, my disciple.
I slyly dodged her gaze and greeted the man who appeared to be her husband. Kind-faced like his wife, he smiled and made room for us.
"A pleasure. Oscar's the name."
"The pleasure's mine. I'm Lee Hyun. This is Lena, my disciple."
"Ah, uh, um. N-nice to meet you."
Frozen stiff as she was, Lena still bowed all the way to the waist. Watching her do it filled me with pride—I'd half expected her to stay frozen solid or hide behind my back.
Clever girl. With her greeting properly delivered, Lena let herself be led off by the girls, and I settled into an empty seat and looked the wagon over.
"That's quite a lot of luggage. Moving house, are you?"
"Haha, that we are. We've decided to open a shop in Greenhild."
"Oh, is that so? What sort of shop, if I may ask?"
"A bakery. We went to scout the market a while back, and the bread there is simply dreadful. And expensive, on top of it."
"Is that so? Your wife must be quite the cook, then."
"Hahaha! My wife's cooking is out of this world. And when it comes to baking sweets, I won't lose to anybody. Ah—care to try one?"
Grinning, he handed over a few cookies.
I took one and bit in—his confidence was well earned. They were genuinely good.
At this level, they'd sell like hotcakes even at the Academy. I'd have to float the idea to him sometime.
"Th-they're delicious!"
Lena tried a cookie too, her eyes sparkling.
Apparently her reaction went over well, because the couple's daughters clung to her all the more affectionately—and Lena fired off another plea for help. Naturally, I turned a blind eye to that one as well.
"So what business brings you fine mages to Greenhild? Might it be Mayor Leven's summons decree?"
Huh? Summons decree? What's that supposed to be?
"Ah, you haven't heard? Mayor Leven of Greenhild is putting on some event in partnership with the Ivory Tower, to nurture the city's mages. They're summoning mages from the surrounding cities for it, or so I heard?"
With that, Oscar held out the paper the cookies had been wrapped in.
Chewing through the cookie that had been inside, I looked it over—sure enough, it was about the event he'd mentioned.
"M-Master. Do you, um. Know what it is?"
"An event run together with the Ivory Tower, hm. Sounds like they're holding some kind of magic tournament."
There had been quite a few similar events in the game. Tournaments only those holding special classes could enter—but the prizes were juicy, so if you could compete, entering was generally the right call.
"U-um, th-there are s-solo events too, right?!"
Her eyes agleam, Lena leaned in after my explanation. Apparently her confidence had grown since her victory. Excellent—she was improving by the day.
"Far as I heard, it's teams of three."
"...Hnnngh..."
How could she deflate that fast? The instant I mentioned she'd need more people, Lena's swelling expectations crumbled to nothing.
"Ah!"
"You were thinking you, me, and Sylphid, weren't you?"
"...Ah. N-no, wait... m-me?"
As if that would work. Me, maybe—but Sylphid, of all people?
"Still, w-with your ch... charisma, Master, couldn't you find at l-least one more...!"
"I don't think I can enter this one."
"Wh-what?! Why not?!"
"The event's purpose is to discover new mages who aren't registered with the Ivory Tower, so it'd be a bit off for me to join. I'm a formal advanced mage of the Ivory Tower myself, you see."
"Oh!! So you were an even bigger deal than I thought!"
At the words "formal mage of the Ivory Tower," Oscar startled and hurriedly changed his tone of address, while Lena tilted her head. She simply didn't have proper knowledge about the Ivory Tower yet—that was why.
"Uh, um, is being a formal advanced mage of the Ivory Tower really that, that big a deal?"
"Of course it is. That's a mage powerful enough to clear an intermediate ruin all on their own... And formal Ivory Tower mages receive treatment no less than a baron's in any country they visit. Are we even fit to be sitting here like this..."
"It's quite all right. Please, relax. I'm merely one magic swordsman."
I brushed it off like it was nothing, but those inside apparently felt otherwise, and grew quite deferential.
And Lena was no exception.
"W-wow, woooow... noble treatment... woooooow..."
The reverence in her gaze toward me deepened even further.
"So how did you become a f-formal... mage of the Ivory Tower?"
"Nothing special."
I shook my head, the picture of indifference.
"I just spent three days and four nights fighting an Archdemon alongside the Tower's mages, all to rescue a crown prince. That's all it took."
Just another event quest, really.