Lady Serranos’s condition did not look good.
‘Is there someone she wants to meet at the end of her life? Well, there must be many people she wants to see before she leaves this world… Since she is a Savior and a Hero…’
I accepted the letter politely with both hands.
“Yes, Lady Serranos. I will take responsibility and deliver it well,” I said.
Lady Serranos looked around the house once.
“There are no items of value. I sold them off as I moved from place to place. I spoke to Pie as if there were belongings to be handed over, but most of what needs to be moved belongs to that child. I told him we had to move our residence again, so he should have everything prepared.”
It seemed Lady Serranos had been planning this even before we arrived.
“I am also grateful to you all. I imagine you must have a busy schedule.”
She offered her gratitude to Slot and Hyde, who were standing blankly in the back.
“Not at all. It was the Leader’s decision,” Slot replied politely.
“Yes… well… we weren’t particularly busy anyway, so don’t worry about it,” Hyde added, bowing his head.
“But Lady Serranos, where do you plan to go? If our paths overlap, we could travel together for at least that part of the way.”
Serranos smiled faintly.
“No. The direction I am going is different, so please just look after that child.”
As we were talking, Pie came inside.
“Master, I’ve organized all the luggage to be loaded outside.”
“I see. Good work.”
Serranos smiled at Pie.
“Then we will have lunch and return with the moving… no, with the horse-drawn carriage.”
***
I left Lady Serranos’s house with Slot and Hyde.
In my leather pouch, the twenty-five gold coins I received as expenses and the five gold coins I was to deliver were added to my funds.
Since we had not brought a carriage when we followed Pie, we decided to return to Lady Serranos’s house with one.
Everyone was silent. Seeing Lady Serranos in that state had been a shock to the three of us.
Slot, in particular, seemed the most affected.
“Leader, I just can’t understand it.”
“Understand what?”
“A Hero who defeated the Demon King. A national contributor who saved the country from crisis. The rank of Count. A Mage who rose to become the Master of the Magic Tower. Living just one of those lives would be enough to make anyone envious… I don’t understand why she is living so pitifully, constantly hiding and moving around.”
“Truthfully, I feel the same…”
Just what kind of great mistake did she make to be living in hiding like this?
One can live in hiding. Figures with high status and influence can become political threats. Additionally, remnants of the Demon race might target a Hero after the Demon King was defeated, or one might suffer from personal trauma after numerous battles.
There were many reasons to live in hiding, but seeing such a wretched life with our own eyes was a significant shock.
Even the simple-minded Hyde had a serious expression.
“By the way, William, what are we having for lunch?”
‘So that’s why he looked so serious…’
Since we could not know the full story, the conversation ended there.
“But Leader, shouldn’t we head back immediately since we finished the deal with Lady Serranos?”
“We have about 1 week of leeway. Since I hadn’t decided whether we would travel by carriage or on foot, I set the return time to about 1 week later. If we were moving on foot, we would have had to leave immediately, but we have a carriage.”
I had arranged to visit Miss Frana Bella 1 week after the transaction, considering the time it would take to travel on foot. Since we had a carriage, we had plenty of time.
“But William, you didn’t necessarily have to accept the request. Is there a reason you did?” Hyde asked curiously.
Actually, I also thought it wasn’t strictly necessary, but it was difficult to refuse a request made by someone right before their departure.
In the end, it worked out well because it gave me an excuse to visit Sir Brutus again, which I had been planning to do anyway.
“I just wanted to help.”
I was being sincere. Sometimes, you don’t need a specific reason to move. I simply felt like I wanted to help Lady Serranos. The expenses were generous, and it wasn’t a bad deal.
Suddenly, Hyde stopped as if something had occurred to him.
“But wait, does that mean we have to ride in the carriage with that insolent brat?”
“He seemed like a gentle lamb in front of his master, though.”
“You’re right. He looked like a well-behaved child in front of his master,” Slot agreed.
“Since we’re on our way, Sir Brutus might appreciate it if we give the kid a little bit of a lesson in manners,” Hyde mused, clearly thinking of correcting Pie’s attitude.
“I’ll help too.”
It seemed Slot also disliked Pie’s disrespectful behavior.
“Hyde, you should be careful, though. If he is the disciple of Lady Serranos, he might be a Mage of considerable skill. It might be us getting our ‘manners’ corrected instead.”
“Urgh… is that so…?”
Is even a Messenger of God afraid of a Mage? Feeling my gaze, Hyde spoke with a hint of embarrassment.
“Well… Mages are an exception. We attack with physical force that can be seen, but Mages use mysterious and unpredictable powers.”
Hyde, who had just vowed to fix the boy’s attitude, sighed softly.
‘Isn’t the power of God more mysterious and unpredictable?’
To my eyes, Divine Power and Aura looked just as mysterious as magic.
***
We returned to the inn where we had stayed, and after eating lunch and paying the bill, we set off in the Caliber.
We arrived back at Lady Serranos’s house in no time.
The luggage had all been moved outside. Pie gestured for us to load this, that, and the other thing.
“That… that… that rude brat…”
Hyde seemed offended that Pie, who looked at least four or five years younger, was giving orders with mere gestures.
“Haha, Slot. Let’s definitely teach him those manners we talked about earlier.”
“Yes. Let’s show him how the world works.”
For now, we held back and silently loaded the luggage as Pie directed. Before we knew it, the sun was beginning to set.
In the meantime, Lady Serranos had risen from her bed and changed into different clothes.
When she was lying in her sickbed, she had looked nothing but frail, but once she put on her attire, she looked like a completely different person. She looked like the kingdom’s greatest Mage — charismatic and filled with experience and wisdom.
Her long robe, in particular, was made of luxurious fabric and detailed decorations. It was crafted from dark velvet and high-quality cloth. Magic patterns were intricately embroidered on her sleeves and the hem of her robe.
Her outfit made her look even more mysterious. With her long gray hair flowing down, she held a long staff in her hand. And she was wearing the Cloak of Protection.
Just from her attire, one could tell how much knowledge and experience she possessed. She slowly walked out toward us.
“You look wonderful.”
The admiration escaped my lips as if I were entranced.
“Thank you.”
Pie spoke to his master.
“Master, the luggage is all loaded. I’ll give you exactly 1 week. If it takes longer than 1 week, I will go looking for you everywhere.”
“Of course, my child. Didn’t I tell you I’m just going to have a chat with an old friend? Don’t worry too much.”
“But Master, your body…”
“It’s been feeling better lately, so don’t worry.”
Pie looked at Lady Serranos with tearful eyes. Watching the scene, he looked like an elementary school student who didn’t want to leave his mother’s side.
Lady Serranos saw us off with a benevolent smile. The sunset was already painting the sky. Her form, reflected in the sunset, looked even more mystical.
It felt as if, if she were to wave her staff, vibrant colors like orange, pink, and purple would flow out from it and paint a beautiful picture in the sky.
‘She really is the Mage of the Twilight…’
As the carriage moved further away, the glimpse I caught of her through the window was beautifully shattered, reflected in the twilight.
***
The young Mage Serranos had been a tomboy. A genius Mage who had left the Mage Tower. She was a confident and reckless young lady.
“I love money and power! But fighting for justice is my destiny.”
She was always confident and tended to cause a lot of trouble, but her companions always trusted and liked her.
In truth, she had a condition. It wasn’t a major illness, but it was a condition where her aging progressed slightly faster than others the more she used mana.
However, she did not hesitate to use magic. She believed it was her mission as a Mage to protect people from the Demon race.
Until the Demon King was defeated, there was only one path for her to follow without hesitation. Although she ended up with an appearance that looked 10 years older than her actual age, she was satisfied.
However, after the Demon King was defeated, she had to choose one of many paths. Although she later rose to the 6th Circle, at the time, as a 5th Circle Mage, she was unable to overcome the wall before her.
Then the war began. The King requested her to lead a magic unit. At that time, there were three factions within the Mage Tower: the Guardian Faction, which believed magic should not interfere in wars between nations; the War Faction, which responded to the national call and participated in the war; and the Duty Faction, composed of those who had no choice but to participate due to their noble families or obligations.
Most belonged to the Guardian Faction, but many young Mages or children of noble families joined the war. However, she refused the request for command.
She had joined the Sharon Knights, but she could not bring herself to aim her magic at the many companions she had once fought alongside against the Demon race.
She chose rear support instead.
The Jovia Principality was strong. Contrary to Teuton’s intelligence analysis that they would be equal or stronger, the Jovia Principality dominated the war. There were more days of defeat than victory. Nevertheless, she remained in the rear.
The King sought her out again, hoping to reverse the losing situation. He requested once more that she take charge of the magic unit.
She promised to lead the unit this time, but in the end, she fled right before the battle. She simply did not have the courage to use magic against her former comrades.
Without a commander, the magic unit was rushed into the battlefield. The replacement commander was a dull man who knew nothing of strategy.
And so, tragedy struck. The Sharon Knights’ magic unit was annihilated there. Many of her colleagues from the Mage Tower whom she knew were among them.
Triggered by that event, she joined the Sharon Knights for revenge and led the Three Valleys Battle to victory. She became a 6th Circle Mage and a war hero.
However, she was plagued by nightmares. Because of her hesitation, she had failed to protect the magic unit, and with her own hands, she had killed many companions who had once fought alongside her against the Demon race.
She suffered from mental trauma. The King let her go. She returned to the Mage Tower, received the title of Count, and became the Master of the Magic Tower.
By then, she looked 10 years older. She now appeared to be in her mid-fifties.
Upon her return to the Mage Tower, her first disciple, Brutus, had already been expelled. Eventually, she found him and, using her authority as the Master, granted him the right to visit the Mage Tower at any time. She also shared a portion of her wealth with him.
“Fieldnier…”
She took on a second disciple. The Mages of the Mage Tower called the boy the greatest genius in the history of the Tower.
The boy’s parents were both Mages of the Tower. The boy had been born in the Tower and raised by his parents — until both parents were killed in action while serving in the Sharon Knights’ magic unit.
She took in the 14-year-old orphan as her disciple.
At first, the relationship was good. Since the boy needed someone to lean on…
She also took responsibility and passed on all her magic to the boy. Within 3 years, the boy became a 5th Circle Mage.
The boy also respected his master, who had avenged his parents and defeated the Jovia Principality.
But eventually, he learned the truth: his parents had died because his master had fled.