Zich opened his eyes. Bright sunlight seeped through the windows. He rubbed his eyes, stretched out his arms, and loosened his stiffened body.
‘I had a dogshit dream again.’
He couldn’t forget dreams like these easily. Zich got up from his bed and looked outside the window. The first thing he saw was Sunewick’s magical tower that soared above from the center of the city. Today would be his last day seeing the tower. He was leaving Sunewick.
* * *
After Orland’s coup failed, Sunewick was caught in a frenzy. The gigantic event had swept not only the people in the magical tower, but all the officials in the city. All the expert mages who participated in the coup were arrested one after another, and many elite families were brought down. Still, the matters of the city didn’t concern Zich and his companions.
Of course, the city called them many times since they were directly connected to the incident in the beginning; but as the situation began to settle down, they were no longer called. Zich took the luggage he had already prepared beforehand and walked outside the room. He saw a wide hallway. Currently, they were staying at the Dwayne family’s residence. The Dwaynes had given rooms to Zich and his companions for the favors they had done but also for the purpose of spying on them. It was a quite comfortable lifestyle, but it would have to end today.
Zich entered the designated drawing room. Then, he waited for his companions while drinking the tea that an employee gave him.
“You came early.” Lyla entered the room. Her bushy hair and sleepy eyes indicated that she had focused on deciphering Clowon’s text until late in the evening.
“Did you make any progress?”
“So, so.” She drank her cup of tea in one gulp and shuddered at the intensity of its heat. It was because she wasn’t fully awake yet, but Zich laughed at this sight so hard that he rolled on the ground. Lyla shot a piercing glare at him, but Zich wasn’t bothered. He laughed until he was satisfied and wiped away the tears from his eyes.
“But it’s a relief. It was worth coming all the way to this city.”
Their original reason for coming to Sunewick was to gather information about Clowon or its writing system. Although they failed to get any information about the empire, they were able to retrieve plenty of information about the letters; the place where they had gotten the information was a surprise though.
‘I didn’t think I would learn about Clowon’s writing from the robed figures.’ Zich was now certain of the robed figures’ connection with Clowon. Then, he wondered how deep this connection ran—did it apply to the whole group? Or….
‘It could even include Glen Zenard.’
Zich’s interest in Clowon increased.
“When do you think you will be done with the deciphering?” Zich asked.
“I don’t really know.”
“Even if it’s short, don’t you have a text sample? Wouldn’t it go faster?”
“Of course not. Even the writing system is completely different from today’s writing systems. It will take some time for me to perfectly organize it.”
“All right.”
If Lyla said so, it was probably true. Zich decided to wait comfortably. He thought, ‘She will solve it when the time comes.”
“By the way, you solved this case pretty peacefully this time. I thought you would torment Orland until the end.”
“He probably suffered enough. He was filled with hope of reaching his goal right before he fell to the bottom.”
“That’s true, but it seems different from how you usually handle these matters. You even suggested to the master of the magical tower to give Orland potions to heal him.”
“I did want to torment him a bit more, but Elena might be pained further than. Even if he used her, Orland is still her father. Furthermore, their relationship wasn’t even on the bad side before.” Zich knew a person’s feelings didn’t move only according to logic.
Lyla stared at Zich in surprise. “You considered Elena’s feelings.” Was “consideration” even in Zich’s dictionary?
“I don’t care how she thinks or feels, but it’s different for you. If she has ill feelings towards me, there’s a high possibility that she will also feel negatively about you since you are my companion.”
Since Lyla doted on Elena, she would be significantly affected by such an event.
“…It was for me?”
“At least for now, you are my companion.”
Although she looked fine on the outside, Lyla still hadn’t recovered fully from the shock of what she had seen in the experiment room. Moreover, since she possessed no memories, she had never experienced rejection from someone close to her. In other words, if Elena rejected her, the shock could immensely worsen Lyla’s condition. Lyla looked at Zich as if she was touched, and Zich shrugged and tried to smile it off.
‘Well, that’s not the only reason,’ Zich thought, but he also believed he didn’t need to say everything.
Afterward, Zich and Lyla talked about various matters; Hans and Snoc arrived after each other in the middle of their conversation. All of Zich’s companions were gathered together now. They simply had to leave, but no one moved. One person was missing.
“We made you wait,” Walwiss apologized as he entered the drawing room. As if he had suffered a lot mentally and from work recently, his face looked considerably haggard. However, he didn’t try to show it at all. He turned his head and said, “Come inside. You should greet them properly again.”
“Ah!”
Walwiss dragged the figure behind him out a bit forcefully, and she came forward awkwardly. It was Elena. Her condition also didn’t look that great. Heavy dark circles colored the area under her eyes; it was understandable considering all the events she had faced recently. However, she tried to force a smile.
“I-I look forward to joining you all!” She bowed deeply.
“Pleased to meet you!” Lyla was the first one to receive her greeting. After her, Zich, Hans, and Snoc also exchanged greetings.
Although it might seem strange that they were greeting each other now, no one among Zich’s group thought so; after all, it was Elena’s first greeting since she joined them as their companion. While Lyla checked Elena’s traveling clothes thoroughly, Zich conversed with Walwiss.
“Are you really fine with this? To send Elena with us to travel?”
“Is it uncomfortable for you?”
“Not at all. Even if it was, there’s someone who will completely rule out my opinion, so I can’t say it outright,” Zich said while pointing at Lyla, and Walwiss let out a short laugh.
Then, Walwiss continued in a serious tone, “She has been hurt too much in this city. Just being in Sunewick might trigger her pain, and I can’t afford to take care of Elena because I’m busy.”
Although his son had led the coup inside the magical tower, Walwiss was surprisingly able to maintain his position as master of the magical tower. There were many reasons for this: since many families and mages had been removed from power due to their involvement in this incident, they lacked manpower; furthermore, many sympathized with Walwiss after being betrayed by his own son. Above all, the biggest reason was his abilities. Everyone admitted that the person who could best lead the magical tower in the chaos was Walwiss.
Yet, his term wouldn’t last long. One of the main reasons why Orland started this coup was because of the way Walwiss had treated him in the past; since Walwiss was also not able to prevent the coup in advance, he had to take responsibility and step down as the head in the future. This was already accepted by Walwiss and the mages inside the magical tower.
However, Walwiss had no time, at least for now, to care for Elena. Moreover, Elena’s only close family member other than Walwiss, Orland, had died in the incident. Elena’s grandparents from her mother’s side had passed away a long time ago, and her remaining relatives from her mother’s side were reluctant to take care of Elena.
In addition, regardless of what happened, Elena’s father had died from her grandfather’s hands. Her grandfather had also played a critical role in making her father join hands with the robed figures and meet his demise. Therefore, Elena obviously felt very complicated feelings towards her grandfather. And one of the solutions that Walwiss offered was for Elena to join Zich’s group and travel with them.
Walwiss said to Zich, “You are a Karuwiman Honorary Knight and Ms. Lyla is an extraordinary mage who deeply cares for Elena. Most of all, Elena also wants to join your group. I also don’t think it’s a bad idea for her to go out and gain various experiences during this time.”
Thus, with various reasons and conditions, it was decided that Elena would travel with Zich and his companions.
“Sir, I’m also quite worried about you.”
“Fufu, thank you. But this is my karma. I need to take responsibility for this.” Walwiss looked at a mountain far away with wistful eyes. Zich looked at him and recalled the dream he had this morning.
* * *
Leona and Walwiss bickered like usual on that day as well. Since this was so frequent, their companions no longer paid any attention to their fights. After the sunset, they camped outside on a plain. Zich stood watch and sat next to a blazing campfire while looking at the stars in the sky. His eyes were dizzy from staring at the stars that looked as if they were going to fall down at any moment.
“Oop, my body!” Someone sat next to Zich. His voice sounded old and playful but held gravity.
“Sir, are you not going to sleep?”
“As you get older, you lose sleep.” The old man tapped his back in an exaggerated manner.
Zich made a slight smile. “If Leona hears that, she’ll laugh at you.”
“That’s why I’m saying this to you while she’s sleeping.” He looked at a tent. It was the tent that Lubella and Leona used. Even though he looked at the tent with disapproving eyes, the light in his eyes was warm.
“You do really care for Leona.”
“It’s because my granddaughter is also around her age. Well, elves and humans age completely differently though.”
“…Sir, I didn’t think that you’d admit to it right away.”
“Why, did you think I’d get embarrassed and change the topic? I’m too old for such cute antics.”
“Well, yes…” If one only considered years of experience, Walwiss had the most experience out of everyone in Zich’s party. Even though Leona had lived the longest, there was a huge difference in their species, so it was difficult to expect her to be experienced and knowledgeable about life in the human realm.
“Do you miss your granddaughter? Mr. Walwiss, we can stop by your place for a bit.”
However, Walwiss quietly shook his head. “It’s all right.”
“…Do you not have a good relationship with your family?”
“Have I been found out?”
Zich did not ask further. He had also left his home because he didn’t have a good relationship with his family. He didn’t intend to dig deeply into other people’s affairs. Moreover, Walwiss hadn’t talked much about his past or background so far.
Maybe it was because of the magic of the stars that covered the sky, but Walwiss looked up at the sky and quietly explained, “When I was younger, I was a man full of ambition. I thought status was more important than family, and I thought my offspring needed to be great magicians.”
“You must have had some kind of trouble with your children.”
“Yeah, I had a lot. In the end, my son left the family.”
Zich didn’t ask where the son went off to; he could have simply run away from home or gone off on a long journey. “Then sir, what about your granddaughter?”
“My daughter-in-law is taking care of her right now. She’s a good person. I’m sure she’ll do an excellent job raising my granddaughter—unlike me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. That’s why I have to make this world a little better for my daughter-in-law and granddaughter.”
Zich was able to realize why this mage dragged his old body all around the world and suffered with his party members. Silence fell between them as they didn’t move their eyes away from the stars in the sky.
Zich said, “Mr. Walwiss, I don’t know what you did. I also don’t know your family, so I can’t find the right words to say to you. However, I can confidently say that we’re going to definitely make this world a better place for everyone to live in.”
Walwiss stared at Zich and Zich also stared back at him. A faint smile appeared on Walwiss’ lips.
“…Thank you,” Walwiss said with complete seriousness, and there was no trace of his usual playfulness in his voice.
* * *
Zich woke up from his dream. He shook his head and tried to chase away all fragments of his dream.
‘It’s a nonsense dream, a nonsense dream.’
Even though Zich tried to think this, his dream was etched deeply into his mind, and he could not easily forget it. This dream was the ‘other reason’ why Zich was a bit generous(?) in regards to Orland’s punishment. While Zich desperately wished that his dreams about Brave were just nonsensical, it was getting more and more difficult to dismiss them as mere dreams. Moreover, Zich felt complicated feelings, since Walwiss was one of his companions in his dreams. Thus, he had treated Walwiss’ son a bit more moderately than usual.
‘Well, it’s fine now. Everything’s over now.’ Zich stopped thinking about this matter.
Then, he looked at his new companion. Elena awkwardly stood next to them. Lyla gave her a bright smile and talked to her, and Nowem climbed on her shoulders and let out Koo! Koo! sounds. It seemed as if Elena would at least not be treated like an outcast. Walwiss also looked pleased at the sight in front of him.
However, Walwiss’ eyes soon became sharp as he stared at Zich. “Are you really not going to tell me how you were able to figure out the final defense system’s password?”
“Yes, it’s a secret.”
Walwiss frowned at Zich’s words. “If it weren’t for your status as a Karuwiman Honorary Knight and your help in this incident, we might have really tried to kill each other till the very end.”
“Sir, I know. That’s why I easily gave the password to Wayne Jaewick.”
Walwiss let out a groan.
“Don’t worry sir. You can always just change the password, and I won’t know anymore. In the first place, I could only find the password this one time. I won’t be able to do that again.”
“…I hope that your words are really true.” However, Walwiss also had a rough prediction. ‘One of my predecessors must have leaked it.’
It was very difficult to change the final defense system’s password. Moreover, it was impossible to forcefully change the mana pattern when the tower’s mana was still flowing smoothly. Thus, it was only possible to change the password after the final defense system was activated. Walwiss had also received the password from his predecessors, but it was now time to change it. However, the truth was far from what Walwiss was thinking.
‘It’s good that I found it out during that time.’
When Zich invaded the magical tower and destroyed the final defense system, one of his subordinates had found out the password. His subordinate told him that since there was no use for the password anymore, and he had a relatively easy time deciphering it.
‘It’s fortunate that I still remember it.’ Zich complimented himself since he easily forgot trivial information.
Like this, Zich and his companions completed everything they needed to do in the Dwayne mansion and left Sunewick. Elena waved her hand towards Walwiss with a complex expression, and Walwiss swallowed his bittersweet feelings and sent his granddaughter off with a smile. After they were no longer able to see Sunewick anymore, Elena cried for a bit. Lyla warmly hugged her while she cried.
Then Zich and his companions began traveling again when they were reunited with someone they hadn’t expected at all.
“Oh my! Mr. Zich! We meet each other here of all places!” A woman popped her head out from her carriage and happily greeted Zich.
Zich also hadn’t expected to see her again so he replied with a bit of surprise in his voice, “My lady, it’s been a while.”
Evelyn Rouge, who used to be one of Zich’s subordinates as the Succubus, was staring at Zich and his companions with a sparkle in her eyes.