TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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Ian realized sothing unexpected.
Though Ian hadn't known it...
The people around him saw Lucy as a proper(?) noble!
'Why though?!'
Then he rembered.
Ian had followed Lucy since she was a fugitive. Having spent so much ti close to her, he knew well that she was actually just a cute one-trick pony(...).
'She's not a cat or sothing'
Truthfully, physical attraction played a big part in Ian being drawn to Lucy. If Lucy hadn't been attractive, Ian probably wouldn't have chosen her.
Such 'physical' characteristics sotis led to unexpected results.
Like right now.
"Haah... I...!"
Lucy appeared to be a proper noble on the surface, so timid people tended to be scared of her.
And Kira's personality was... naturally sowhat shy.
So Kira was genuinely troubled.
Ian's offer was very kind, but living together with Countess Talian was another matter entirely!
'H-he offered first...!'
Kira thought while looking up at Ian.
She was afraid that if she harshly rejected Ian's proposal, she'd be truly abandoned this ti.
Ian understood what misconception Kira had.
"No, Kira. Lucy won't kill you or anything."
"Maybe not in front of you! But when you're not looking..."
"...That won't happen."
Ian pondered briefly.
Was he speaking too confidently about knowing Lucy?
What if after Ian brought Kira ho, Lucy really hired assassins!
'Can't imagine it.'
Ian shook his head.
He just couldn't picture Lucy summoning assassins and shouting "That's how it is, Ian! Now die!"
Ian judged that Lucy wasn't that kind of person.
If he was wrong? Then his judgnt of character was lacking.
Lucy wasn't the obsessive type.
If she'd been worried about such things, she would have said sothing or taken action.
But Lucy didn't care much about how Ian behaved.
She was the type to carefully choose her own actions, focusing on cautiously closing the distance with Ian.
Though they'd known each other a long ti, wasn't it only recently that she properly showed her feelings?
'The water's already spilled.'
It couldn't be undone.
As Maria had said.
That very macho statent about won being shaped by how n handle them.
"I swear on my magic and my master's na, I'll protect you, Kira."
"...Ian."
"I don't think Lucy will try to kill you, and if Lucy dislikes you, I'll help you do whatever you want."
Only then did Kira nod with a relieved expression.
"Then, you're going to Talian?"
"Yeah."
"I'll go with you. I need to... et Countess Talian."
Kira lightly grabbed Ian's hand.
Her fingertips... were trembling delicately.
Ian placed his other hand over hers to calm her.
---
Ian didn't hide the fact that he was dating Kira.
Though he wasn't exactly announcing it to everyone.
Originally, both Ian and Kira were popular figures who commanded students' attention.
Ian as a young genius wizard, Kira as an idol(?).
"Breaking news~! Professor Ian and Miss Kira are dating!"
"Kyaa!"
Crowd gathering.
The female students gathered whenever they had ti to spread gossip (in Ian's opinion), and news of their relationship beca so widespread that everyone at the university knew about it.
"...But Professor Ian, I heard you had a noble girlfriend..."
"Pfft, who cares about nobility? If I had soone like Miss Kira, I'd date her too!"
"? Your preferences..."
"Ah."
There were rumors about Ian having another lover.
But since the distance was far, confirming the truth was impossible.
Eredith blessed her disciple's romance with pure intentions.
"I didn't think you were the type to chase won, but you've already got two wives? The priests won't like that."
"We're not married yet..."
As soon as Ian said that, Eredith narrowed her eyes and stared at him intently.
"Hmm. You shouldn't make it sound like you're playing with two won without intending to marry them."
"I-I will. I'll marry them."
"Good! Of course you should!"
Eredith was a well-traveled dieval person and was indifferent to n marrying multiple won.
Originally, Eredith herself was soone uninterested in marriage.
Even now past 40, she cared about nothing but magic and travel.
"Um... Master, have you ever thought about marriage..."
"I have no interest in leaving my blood in this world. What matters for humans is intellect, not blood and flesh."
Eredith said with a smile.
"Ian. You've inherited my knowledge, so I've accomplished everything I wanted!"
"Master..."
If one defined children as inheritors of their parents' genetic traits.
Then perhaps Ian could be called Eredith's spiritual son.
If genes could be inherited, why not s?
Ian's master was Eredith.
That's why he was called Ian Eredith.
"You'll need to travel to complete your unique magic."
"Yes. I plan to journey through the south."
"Be careful. The south is a battlefield. Everything's chaotic. It's the perfect environnt for black wizards to roam."
News of Ian leaving the university gradually spread.
Ian said his farewells to the university wizards, including Inglan.
"Make sure you co back! Ian!"
"Yeah! Show us that tantalizing magic and disappear sowhere, we won't let you get away with it!"
Ian's magic remained a hot topic at Imperial University.
From whether it even counted as magic,
To how different it was from existing magic and how to reproduce it - the debates were endless.
Naturally, when presenting a new theory, experintal proof and reproducibility were essential.
Ian had shown the theory and demonstration but postponed the reproduction part.
Others needed to succeed in using Ian's [Skill Magic] too.
But Ian's magic wasn't yet at a level where it could be shared with others.
The Sky God held the key to that secret.
Still, Ian needed to et the Sky God.
"Well then, I'll be going."
Ian prepared for his journey and left Imperial University.
Kira and Maria, Sir Salvador and Belenka joined as traveling companions.
"Yes. We'll be waiting."
"Co back again! Ian!"
Eredith and Inglan waved.
---
It was a winter day when the cold wind was blowing.
The journey started smoothly.
The weather was getting colder, and Araz region was located in the northern part of the empire.
The advantage of winter:
Bandits freeze to death.
This wasn't a joke, but true.
Most bandits were holess(...) people, and in winter, those who slept outside usually died with frozen faces.
So the empire's bandits started preparing for winter when it got cold.
Raiding villages diligently, killing travelers...
Using that wealth to build camps and prepare for winter.
Therefore winter travel was safe, if you didn't freeze to death.
The problem was that most people did freeze to death.
"...Does this old man really have to depart in this weather!"
Sir Salvador shouted while shivering.
His hotown was by the southern Coral Sea, which was much warr than the empire's north.
"Sir Salvador. How about using 'Master Sergeant' instead of 'old man'?"
"?"
Salvador didn't understand what Ian ant but listened since it ca from a wizard.
"This Master Sergeant thinks this isn't good weather for traveling!"
"Perfect."
Ian was impressed.
He thought he'd heard that speech pattern before - it was from the military!
Why do old people refer to themselves in third person anyway.
Ian had never been old so he didn't know.
"? What effect does that spell have?"
"It's not a spell though?"
"???"
Salvador looked at Ian with an 'I-I've been tricked...!' expression but.
Ian smoothly ignored it and rode on.
Actually, Salvador was the one who felt the cold most among the group.
"Kira. Are you cold?"
"...No. I'm warm."
Thinking it must be cold, Ian called Kira to sit in front of him on his horse.
With the two of them pressed together, wrapped in a cloak like a blanket.
If you're still cold like that, you must have a pituitary disorder.
Maria held a small magic fla that Kira had secretly made for her.
Belenka just didn't feel the cold.
"Aren't you cold?"
"It's cool but fine. My hotown was much colder than this."
Honestly, Ian found Belenka a bit fascinating.
Strong body and resistant to cold.
Just naturally tough as a person?
"My joints are aching all over!"
"You must have had a hard life."
"You'll understand when you reach my age!"
Ian smiled and snapped his fingers.
A warm small fla flew to Sir Salvador.
"Oh! This is exactly what I wanted!"
"It won't last long. Throw it on the ground if it gets too hot."
The mystery of fire found it easy to make things hot but hard to make them lukewarm, as it went against its innate nature.
"We're almost at Talian though."
Ian's travel speed was quite fast.
Everyone except Maria was a veteran traveler, and the roads were quiet because of winter.
Bandits stayed by their campfires, and giant monsters hibernated.
"I'm glad to see Talian is peaceful."
Ian expressed his honest impression.
Originally this dieval fantasy world was a world of chaos.
Where rebellion and war could break out at any ti.
But Talian's winter was calm.
"I never thought I'd miss a warm glass of wine this much."
As they got closer to Talian, Kira found it harder to control her trembling.
It wasn't just from the cold.
"Oh! Who do we have here!"
"It's been a while, Baron Damon."
Ian ran into Baron(real) Damon.
Though forrly a bandit leader, he'd beco a real noble after Lucy recognized his title.
"Wizard Ian! If you're heading to Talian Hall, let guide you!"
"Thank you."
Baron Damon grinned seeing Kira in Ian's arms.
"You're dating Kira?"
"Yes. That's how it turned out."
"I knew it! Fighting is how people grow close!"
Ian and Kira smiled at each other simultaneously.
They had fought sothing like a battle when they first t.
"Countess Talian! Co see who's here!"
"What is it? Do we have guests?"
Lucy's voice was heard.
...Kira squeezed her eyes shut!
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