This event happened not long after they left Sunewick.
“Yeah, you do it like that.”
Following Lyla’s advice and encouragement, Elena moved her mana. Shortly after Orland died, Elena was able to awaken her mana. The amount she had wasn’t comparable to the amount that Zich had, but it was still immense. Thus, she had difficulties controlling it. However, thanks to her outstanding talent and Lyla’s help, she was able to use a bit of mana before they left Sunewick.
It seemed like the magic practice she had done with Nowem’s mana was helpful. After she continued to practice manipulating her mana, she was able to move enough of it to experiment with magic. The mana Elena moved gathered at the ends of her staff. It was the ultimate quality staff that Walwiss had prepared for Elena before she left. Perhaps she was nervous because it was her first time, sweat collected under her forehead even though she wasn’t even doing an expert-level spell.
“Lu! Win! Ons! Ku! Biyon!” Elena started her incantation. Mana arranged neatly at the end of her staff and a short time later—
Pop!
Red sparks shot off the ends of Elena’s staff.
“Ah!” Elena stared at it blankly. In comparison to Walwiss’ scary and overwhelming magic, it was nothing; but to Elena, no magic could be more splendid and beautiful than the fireworks before her.
“Ms. Lyla! This is…!”
“You did really well, Elena!” Lyla gave a thumbs-up to Elena, who seemed like she couldn’t believe the sight before her. Then, Lyla quickly glanced at Zich and the others around her. Her sharp gaze seemed to indicate that she would bite off their necks if they didn’t compliment Elena immediately.
“Congratulations. You’ve made your first step.” Zich lightly clapped and congratulated her. Hans and Snoc also joined in. It seemed like they were constantly checking on Lyla to give them a sign to stop, but it might have been a trick of an eye.
“Tha…nk you…” At first, Elena’s voice was filled with happiness, but as she continued, it sounded teary. In the end, she barely managed to finish her words as she sobbed. This was the magic she had yearned so much for. If she recalled everything that happened for her to reach this moment, tears came down rather than laughter.
Lyla hugged Elena tightly. The magic had disappeared by now, but Elena’s cries rang out across the surroundings. Thankfully, Elena’s cries didn’t last that long, and she awkwardly removed herself from Lyla’s arms. Although Elena cried after her emotions overwhelmed her, this was her first time activating magic with her mana; it was a celebratory event, and with Lyla’s suggestion, the group decided to hold a small party.
It was impossible to have a fancy party since they were living out on the road, but they were able to sit around a bonfire and eat luxurious food that didn’t match their current circumstance. While they were having this feast, what appeared before them was Evelyn’s carriage. They wouldn’t have been able to meet if they had bulldozed through the forest like they usually did, but out of consideration for Elena, Zich used the road this time.
Evelyn carefully came down the carriage. Then, she strutted towards the group. A knight and Evelyn’s bodyguard, Bupio Ricky, ran to her side. That didn’t seem like the proper reaction for a bodyguard when his lady was approaching a group of travelers camping on the roadside, but Ricky didn’t look tense. The favor that Zich and Lyla had done for the Rouge family wasn’t a light matter at all. Naturally, Ricky also had a strong sense of trust towards Zich and his companions. Furthermore, even if Zich had cut ties with his family, he was still the eldest son of the Steelwalls.
“I didn’t imagine that I would meet you guys here at all.”
“Same here. I didn’t expect to meet you on the roadside at all, miss. It’s not like this place is the Cronon Kingdom.” Zich’s eyebrows arched down slightly. “Please excuse my rudeness, but may I ask if something happened to your family again?”
It was strange for a lady from a high noble family to suddenly appear in another country. Remembering what had happened before, Zich asked his question seriously. Thankfully, Evelyn waved her hands like it wasn’t a serious matter. “No. Nothing really happened to my family. I’m simply traveling right now.”
“Traveling?”
“Yes! I am on my way to Janmalpi.”
Zich was a bit surprised. “What a coincidence. We’re on our way there too.”
“Oh my, really?” Evelyn’s eyes sparkled. It was as if they could already hear her next words.
“That’s great! Then let’s go together!”
Zich smirked as she said the exact words he thought she would say.
* * *
Janmalpi was a famous entertainment city. It of course had high-end entertainment venues like theatres and opera houses, but the city was also filled with places like bars and casinos. In short, it was the best city for eating and playing. Evelyn sat between Zich and his companions sitting around the bonfire. Evelyn’s companions were also preparing their campsite to stay the night.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before,” Evelyn said. She already knew Hans and Snoc, but it was her first time seeing Elena. Evelyn expressed her curiosity towards her.
“She is a new member of our party. Lyla is teaching her magic.”
“I see. Pleased to meet you. I am Evelyn Rouge.”
“It’s my pleasure. I’m Elena Dwayne.” Elena responded to Evelyn’s greetings politely.
Then, Evelyn asked, “For what reason are you all going to Janmalpi?”
“Well, it’s an entertainment city. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to go for a breather.” To be exact, it had been Lyla’s request. She had asked for Zich’s advice about what they should do because Elena still looked a bit gloomy, and Zich had suggested taking her to Janmalpi. Lyla accepted Zich’s suggestion, and the group decided on the city as their next destination.
“Lady Rouge, why are you going to Janmalpi? You’d be traveling to another country altogether.”
“We also came here for the same reasons as all of you. Since Janmalpi is famous for its entertainment, I’ve wanted to come here for a long time.”
“I’m surprised you were able to gain permission from the Marquess.”
“After that incident, my father listens to most of my requests or wishes. This time, I told him I wanted a change of pace and to go to Janmalpi, and even though he was reluctant to let me go at first, he gave me permission in the end.”
The Marquess probably received a lot of stress from his daughter’s requests. Evelyn smiled like a mischievous prankster who successfully pulled off a prank, and Zich burst out into laughter as he thought that Evelyn slightly looked like her former self as Succubus.
“But if you go to Janmalpi by yourself, it’ll be less fun.”
“Yes, I was worried about that. Fortunately, I was able to meet my friends on the way there. It would be really great if those friends would play together with me.” Evelyn looked between Zich and Lyla. Anyone could tell that she wanted to join them.
Zich stared at Lyla. They came here to play anyways, so Zich also had no complaints about moving with one of his past subordinates. Lyla also seemed to have no complaints. Lyla said, “Yes, then, let’s do that.”
“Thank you so much!” Evelyn smiled like a child as soon as Lyla gave her permission.
Elena stared at their exchange and quietly asked Snoc, “Is that person a lady from a marquess family?”
“Yep. She’s the daughter of Marquess Rouge from the Cronon Kingdom.”
Elena was very shocked that Zich and Lyla could talk so casually with a daughter of a Marquess; She was amazed by them again.
“To be honest, Sir Zich is also the son of a count.”
“For real?”
While Elena continued to garner new information, Lyla and Zich’s conversation with Evelyn continued.
Zich said, “But Lady Rouge, seeing that you’re looking for people to play together with on the road, it seems like you haven’t met anyone new yet.”
Lyla stiffened. She wondered if it was okay to indirectly mention Albus in front of Evelyn.
However, surprisingly, Evelyn didn’t look very shocked. “Yeah, I haven’t met anyone I like yet. My father and brother showed me various portraits of possible suitors, but there was no one that I thought was ‘the one.’ Moreover, after the incident with that person, they are both very careful about my engagement and romantic relationships, so no one is rushing me to meet someone new.”
Then, Evelyn smiled brightly. “Who knows? I might encounter someone wonderful in this city.”
“I sincerely hope that turns out to be true.”
“Mr. Zich, please help me make that a reality.”
“Of course.”
They conversed like this for a while, and it was now time for them to sleep.
Evelyn said, “Then, I’ll now return to my carriage.”
“Yes. Lady Rouge, see you tomorrow morning.”
Evelyn turned away from Zich and his companions, who were getting ready to sleep, and was about to return to her carriage when she suddenly thought of something. She dragged Lyla a short distance away from Zich and the rest of her companions.
Lyla asked, “Lady Rouge, what is the matter?”
“Have you made any progress with your relationship with Mr. Zich?”
Lyla had been slightly nervous from Evelyn’s secrecy, but she completely eased up. Seeing that Evelyn’s eyes were sparkling in excitement, this matter seemed to be very important to her.
“Nothing’s going on between me and Zich.”
“Really? Then there’s been no progress at all since we last met each other?” Disappointment appeared on Evelyn’s face.
“There’s no progress to talk about. We have no plans to even start such a relationship.”
“Is that so?” Even though Evelyn was disappointed, she couldn’t say anything more to Lyla about this since Lyla firmly denied her relationship with Zich. “Then, have you found anyone you like?”
“No, there’s no one like that.”
“But the person closest to you right now is Mr. Zich, right?”
“Well, if you say it like that, then yes.”
“Hmm.” Evelyn raised her nose. “I got it, for now.”
“…Lady Rouge, the ‘for now’ bothers me.”
“Let’s not focus on trivial matters. Ms. Lyla, you should go! Since it’s getting dark, you should start getting ready to sleep.”
Evelyn put her hands on Lyla’s shoulders and lightly pushed her. Even though Lyla finished her conversation with Evelyn, she felt a slight discomfort as Evelyn pushed her back.
* * *
After Zich’s group joined Evelyn’s group, they headed towards Janmalpi together. They hadn’t seen Evelyn for a long time, and she was very energetic. Her discomfort towards men seemed to have greatly decreased as well. She still flinched slightly whenever an unfamiliar man came near her, but it was much better than before. Evelyn was definitely overcoming her painful wounds from the past and was fiercely spreading her new wings out to fly higher and stronger.
Zich also felt greatly satisfied by Evelyn’s joyful attitude. He felt a lot of enjoyment from meeting her again. However, Zich had another chance encounter when they all arrived at Janmalpi.
When they all passed the enormous walls and entered the city, everyone except Zich was struck by the spectacular sight of the city. Janmalpi was engulfed in splendor and vitality. Since Zich had already seen this city before his regression, the city’s sight didn’t impress him. Instead, he closely examined the state of the city.
‘…There seems to be a lot of guards.’
Zich could easily understand why there were a lot of guards. This city’s crime rate was as high as its worldwide fame as an entertainment city. If someone didn’t carefully pay attention to their belongings, they could get their wallets stolen three times in a single day. If Zich considered this, it was not surprising that there were a lot of guards.
‘There seems to be even more guards than usual though.’
However, the people in the city paid no attention to the guards and went around to find something fun to do.
“Let’s first find lodging.” With Ricky’s suggestion, they all went further into the city to find a place to stay. Zich carefully scanned their surroundings the whole time. Then his eyes identified a building along the boulevard. ‘Huh?’
Zich stopped. There was a familiar person next to that building. The person seemed to have also recognized Zich. The man stared at Zich with his eyes wide open, but that lasted only for a moment. He soon grinned and walked towards Zich.
“Sir Zich!”
As the person approached him while calling out his name, Zich was shocked by this incredible coincidence. “Count Dracul.”
Joachim Dracul, another one of Zich’s subordinates before his regression, was standing in front of him.