-Divine Mage Bruno
It was as if the season had changed. Aside from the greenhouse-like garden, this place had been a cold, barren land, but now its scenery had transformed completely.
The fields were filled with flowers of every color, and warm sunlight was pouring down.
“Ah……!”
A gasp of admiration escaped me before I knew it.
Why had it become so warm?
Though it had always been a magical space that existed beyond my will, this was the first time its environment had changed so visibly.
Just then, laughter came from the far side of the field. It was unmistakably the laughter of Cheon Danbi and Ren. They were giggling like young girls.
I hurried over in that direction.
“Cheon Danbi! Ren!”
When I called out, a head suddenly popped up from the grass.
“Oudin! You’re finally here?”
A face full of smiles greeted me warmly.
Soon, other heads appeared beside Cheon Danbi. They were Ren and Gil. It seemed they had all been rolling around in the grass.
Just then, the crows flew over as well. They must not have been far away, because they arrived in no time.
[Did you get back safely?]
[Everyone here was fine. Nothing happened.]
The crow spoke as if giving a mission report, but even without those words, I could tell at a glance that everyone had been more than fine.
Cheon Danbi and Ren’s cheeks were flushed like young girls’, and Gil wore a brighter expression than I had ever seen on him.
Gil looked so peaceful that it was as if he had completely forgotten about the times he had lost control in rage and used magic against people. He looked every bit like a boy—an innocent one who seemed never to have experienced the troubles of the world.
The three of them sprang to their feet and ran over to me.
“Mr. Mage! Did everything go well?”
“I really like this place! Why didn’t you tell us about it until now? If I’d known, I would’ve come here every day.”
“Exactly. I never dreamed a place like this was hidden away.”
Looking closely, they did not merely seem comfortable and happy. Their appearances, too, had actually become more beautiful and radiant, as if they had undergone a complete rebirth.
Was this all the effect of the magical space?
It was astonishing, and for some reason, it made me incredibly happy. Well, this was not exactly the kind of transformation I had hoped for, but in any case, there was no doubt that the abundant mana in the magical space was having a good influence on them.
“Did you hide this place because you didn’t trust us? Is that it? Weren’t we all on the same team? You wanted to enjoy this wonderful place all by yourself, didn’t you?”
Cheon Danbi spoke as though scolding me, but she did not seem angry at all. She was simply expressing just how much she liked this place.
“It’s truly amazing that a space so rich in mana and life force exists. Thank you for letting us in here. But this magical space—you created it, didn’t you, Mr. Mage?”
Unlike Cheon Danbi, Ren spoke politely.
I was about to explain that I was not the one who had created the magical space when Gil continued.
“I’m really grateful too. Being in here makes me so happy. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy in my life. And training goes very well in here too. Mr. Mage, I won’t lose control again from now on. I’ve definitely learned how to control my anger.”
Hearing that made me even happier. Just as I had hoped, it seemed Gil had entered the magical space and regained his composure.
So the question I had wanted to ask first slipped out.
“Were you all training? What about you, Ren? How was it when you tried polymorphing?”
“Yes. I trained. When I tried polymorphing, it worked extremely well. Would you like to see?”
No sooner had Ren finished speaking than she immediately transformed into a deer.
It was a fairly large deer. She had become a sleek deer with slender form and glossy, lustrous fur, and she was looking at me.
Before I even had time to marvel, Ren transformed again, this time into a giant eagle, and shot up into the sky.
With graceful wingbeats and an incomparably majestic figure, she was a giant eagle worthy of being called the king of the skies.
The eagle made a wide circle through the blue sky, then descended toward the ground as if plunging straight down. The moment her feet touched the earth, she returned to Ren’s form.
“That’s incredible. ‘At will’ is exactly the phrase for it.”
I could not help but be amazed. She transformed as naturally as flowing water.
She was doing something even mages could not easily accomplish, and she did it as simply as changing clothes.
“That’s right. In here, transformation is so easy that it feels like I hold every possibility in the world in my arms. I can change into any being.”
“Abilities improved in here are maintained even when you go outside. They don’t manifest only here—they’ve truly improved.”
When I explained, Ren and Gil’s expressions brightened, and Cheon Danbi, who was standing beside them, suddenly let out a cheer.
“Oh! Is that really true? Then this is seriously great, isn’t it?”
“Did you train too, Cheon Danbi?”
“Of course. I did too. Would you believe me if I said I made all the flowers in this field bloom?”
“You made all these flowers bloom?”
“Yep. I’m a pretty amazing druid, you know.”
Cheon Danbi said proudly.
I was surprised, happy, and naturally wanted to praise her, but instead of complimenting her, I teased her.
“So Cheon Danbi really was a druid?”
“What? That’s your big reaction? ‘You really were a druid’? Are you saying you didn’t believe I was a druid until now?”
“No. Well, it’s not like that…… It’s impressive. You really were a druid.”
“Huh? There you go again?”
Cheon Danbi and I looked at each other and began snickering. Ren and Gil, watching from the side, also burst into laughter.
Perhaps because my heart felt endlessly at ease, jokes and laughter came naturally. All of us laughed together like children.
“Anyway, this is good. Very good. Everyone on the team improved their abilities while they were in the magical space.”
“And now we know your secret too, Oudin. How your magic skills improved so quickly all this time. The reason was this magical space, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. It was. I came in here to train whenever I had time.”
When I answered honestly, Cheon Danbi’s eyes widened as she asked back.
“You did? But you’re the one who created this magical space too, aren’t you? How on earth did you make it?”
“No. I didn’t make it. Someone else created and manages this magical space.”
“Really? Who?”
“My master, Divine Mage Bruno.”
At that, everyone on the team’s eyes went round.
“This space wasn’t created by you, Mr. Mage?”
“Divine Mage Bruno? This was a place he created?”
“Where is he now?”
Questions difficult to answer poured out.
I could feel in my heart that Bruno was the one who had created this magical space, but in truth, it had been a long time since I last met him. I did not know where he was either.
But right at that moment, a pure white light suddenly flashed in the sky. It was that pure white light, Bruno’s symbol.
The entire magical space was illuminated by pure white light, and for a moment, nothing could be seen.
“Ah!”
“This is……?”
“A pure white light?”
When we briefly closed and opened our eyes, Bruno had appeared before us. Everyone was surprised, but the one most surprised was me.
“Bruno?”
“Udin, it has been a long time.”
“Is it really you, Bruno? You were alive? Where have you been all this time?”
Seeing Bruno looking at me with white hair, blue eyes, and a bright smile, I felt as if I had returned to being a boy. The distant longing I only now felt anew nearly choked me.
Like a child, I fired off questions and rushed toward Bruno.
But when I drew near and tried to embrace him, my arms touched nothing.
“Ah……!”
A sigh escaped my lips.
Bruno did not truly exist here. At first glance, I had thought he had actually appeared, but in truth, he was only a hologram-like figure.
A deep sense of disappointment filled me.
“I’m sorry I can’t embrace you. Yes. I am not here right now. I am in a very distant place. But I am alive. Perfectly alive.”
“Where on earth are you? Why can’t you come here?”
“Yes. I’ll tell you everything slowly. But first, I would like to greet your friends.”
Bruno turned to the team members with a smile.
Until then, they had only been watching the two of us with blank expressions, but they suddenly came to their senses and greeted Bruno.
“Ah! Hello. I’m Cheon Danbi. This magical space is truly wonderful!”
“I’m Ren. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Hello. I’m Gil.”
At that, Bruno smiled broadly and introduced himself.
“It is nice to meet you all. I am someone who lived together with Udin when he was young. I am very glad that Udin is with such good people.”
Even then, I still could not believe that the Bruno before my eyes was merely an image.
His voice, his appearance, even his scent—it was Bruno himself, just as he remained in my memories from childhood.
The fact that a benevolent aura filled the surroundings the moment he appeared was the same as well.
“The grassland, with such pretty flowers blooming, is very beautiful. Shall we all sit in the grass for a while?”
Bruno said this as if we had come out on a picnic, then sat down on the grass first, as though his body had truly come here.
It seemed he intended to speak at length.
The team members and I quickly sat in a circle before him.
“The place where I am now is another dimension. It is a continent with nature as beautiful and vast as this place. There are no humans, but many life forms of different kinds live there.”
Bruno began his story. First, he spoke about the place where he was living.
But I could not help interrupting him and asking outright.
“Wait. How did you end up going to another dimension? Why did you go? You disappeared all of a sudden.”
“I did not leave of my own will. Everything was because of Samir.”
“Because of Samir?”
“Do you mean Samir, the lord of the Magic Tower?”
When Samir’s name unexpectedly came up, I was not the only one who was surprised and tense. The team members all looked startled as well.
By now, Samir had become everyone’s public enemy in this world.
But the others probably did not have emotions surging up as fiercely as I did.
Anger welled up inside me. To think the reason Bruno had suddenly left this world was because of Samir.
Just as in my previous life, Samir had harmed Bruno in this world as well!
The thought that I would never leave Samir alone flared up like a flame.