[It looks like they've sent trackers to the continent, so be careful for now. Of course, I'll arrive before then....... Master? Ruby?]
A slight panic set in. If my identity was discovered, it would all be over.
[Pull yourself together.]
"Kal, I'm scared. I don't want to be dragged back to the kingdom......."
Kalid fell silent for a moment.
[You're with Count Jebert, right?]
"How do you know that?"
[He's a human with decent skills, so stick close to him for now.]
"That's what I'm already doing......."
The problem was, it wasn't easy.
When I brushed it off vaguely, Kalid let out a long sigh.
[That's why you shouldn't have abandoned me and left in the first place.]
"Don't be mad. I'm sulking right now."
At that, Kalid scoffed. "Ha!"
[How could I be angry at you....... Never mind, don't worry too much. You know how far it is from Arcadia to Babylon.]
I knew all too well.
The Mage Kingdom of Arcadia was an island rising in the middle of the sea. So to get from there to the Empire, one had to cross the sea and traverse countless mountains and canyons.
[Besides, magicians can't spread their wings on Babylonian soil. It might actually be better.]
That was true. This was the worst possible land for magicians.
So even if a tracking magician came, it would take more time.
Which meant, in other words.......
That I also had time to prepare.
"I can't just stay still like this."
My eyes sparkled with determination.
* * *
Meanwhile, in the drawing room.
"......."
The room, emptied of the child, fell into a deep quagmire.
Vallock, the old Count Jebert, fumbled at the spot where Rubian had slipped out, his mouth hanging agape.
"She said her stomach hurts?"
So suddenly?
"Are children normally like that?"
"I'm not sure......."
Vallock's eyes spun round and round. He was confused.
If she were truly in pain, now was not the time to be doing this. A doctor—he needed to call a doctor first.......
Just then, the maid who had chased after Rubian returned.
"D-Did you follow her?"
"Yes. But she locked herself in her room, not the bathroom."
For some reason, a stinging gaze turned toward him.
Vallock, not knowing the reason, burst out shouting.
"Does she not know where the bathroom is!"
"No. I don't think so, Your Excellency."
"Huh?"
The answer came from his longtime butler, Morris.
Morris, who had neatly swept back his grizzled hair, sighed. "Hoo."
"Rubian is angry."
"Angry......?"
"Is that not so? She begged you not to send her away, yet Your Excellency insisted on sending her out anyway, did you not?"
Nod, nod. The servants listening bobbed their heads in agreement.
Vallock was bewildered.
Threats?
He had only tried to send her back because he was afraid that tiny thing might suffer hardships here!
Northerners join the knightly order from a young age and live as squires. After undergoing strict training, they grow into gallant knights who defend this place.
That was why Vallock had naturally assumed it was in that context when Leviathan said he would bring a child.
This place was the Empire's front lines, and Count Jebert held the heavy responsibility of defending the border.
"But what in the world? That squishy little thing!"
He could not accept it. If he had a conscience, he had to send her back before bad memories were engraved.
That was all there was to Vallock's inner thoughts.......
"How frightened must that little one have been? That is why I have told you thousands of times to temper your temper."
"So...... she ran out because she didn't want to see my face?"
"Sadly, yes."
"......Hah."
Vallock let out a hollow breath.
He recalled the silver figure disappearing with pattering steps.
No, that wasn't it.
When you thought about it, wasn't she impertinent?
How dare she run out without this Vallock's permission!
"T-T-That little thing, how scary can her anger be! B-B-Better yet, it's a good thing! If she rolls out quickly like this......"
"Your lips are trembling, Your Excellency."
Vallock clamped his mouth shut.
"You should have just told her to stay. Why were you so stubborn?"
"She's too tiny! She looks like she'd fly away if you blew on her, how could I endure it? What if a demonic beast appeared? Hmm?"
"But did you not find her cute?"
"She was cute! I almost bit her!"
Gasp—Vallock clamped his mouth shut again. The inner thoughts he himself hadn't realized came pouring out.
Morris sighed deeply, as if he had expected this. He had served by the old count's side for decades.
He had known from long ago that Vallock was a sucker for small, cute things. ......Only Vallock himself didn't know.
"In my opinion...... Rubian seemed just as brave as the young masters."
"On what basis?"
"She was not afraid of Your Excellency or Lord Leviathan in the least. Normally, one would cry if scolded like that."
"......That, she was."
Vallock flopped down into his seat and recalled Rubian's appearance.
Even when he had kicked down the door and entered in a hurry, the child had only opened her eyes wide, not crying.
Boyd and Liam had cried their eyes out....... Not only that. They were still sulking about it.
"The runt opened her eyes wide and chirped back without getting tired......"
"But now she hates you."
"......."
Ah, why was he so snarky today.
Vallock glared sharply at his aide's face.
The retired knight, who now looked better in a butler's uniform, subtly averted his gaze.
"Ehh, tch! Why did she leave without even drinking half her milk!"
He vented his frustration on the mug sitting alone on the table for no reason.
A mint-colored mug! He hadn't even known such a cute thing existed in his house!
"She eats so poorly, isn't she smaller than a hobgoblin!"
"She was bigger than tha....... Rather, please refrain from comparing her to demonic beasts."
Vallock stiffened again.
"......W-Was that a bad thing too?"
"What child would like being compared to a demonic beast?"
"You......"
In the end, the old count exploded.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner!"
Rawr! At the old count's lion-like roar, Morris took out a handkerchief.
"Must I tell you such things!"
Of course, he had talked back without losing.
Morris was tired.
Ah, a demonic beast hunt would be better. Being a butler was a more extreme job than being a knight.
These damned Jebert humans!
"I shall take my leave for today....... No, I shall retire!"
* * *
I spent the entire afternoon worrying about how to overcome this crisis.
Kalid said that the Mage King probably didn't know yet that I was in Count Jebert's territory.
"I was planning to move soon anyway."
Finding out why Uncle Leviathan dies.
My most likely hypothesis was a demonic beast.
"That author is capable of something like that."
It was a cliff ending without any plausibility or logic anyway.
It hadn't reached the absurdity of "A meteor suddenly fell and the hero died. —The End—," so the most plausible development was the protagonist dying due to a demonic beast invasion.
"If not that, there's nothing in this north that could become the uncle's enemy."
Monsters eyeing the uncle's territory covetously.
After staying a few days, no matter how much I thought about it, that was the only thing threatening the peace and safety here.
"Then the timing?"
In Part 1 of the original, it roughly showed the daily lives of people who had regained peace after the war.
Boyd reconciling with his father, and the blondie becoming the Crown Prince were also pieces of information obtained in the latter half.
"Making everyone happy and then giving that kind of ending. As expected, the author has a problem with their character."
So if I thought carefully, it meant I could roughly deduce the timing of the uncle's death through the stories of other characters.
I adjusted glasses that weren't even there and crossed my arms with a snap.
"So Boyd getting along with his father was the year he turned twelve......."
Didn't that mean the uncle was safe for roughly one year?
"As for the rest, hmm....... I don't remember."
What had this uncle been doing after the war ended anyway.
Anyway, since I didn't know what would happen when, thorough preparations were essential.
"When spring comes, the demonic beasts will run wild too....... Just in case, I need to prepare for when the tracking magician arrives."
I sat on the floor and thought quietly.
"I can't just sit still."
Having steeled my resolve, I straightened my posture and slowly closed my eyes.
Splash—it felt like my body was sinking into a deep sea. That place was a sea where all sorts of magic formulas were tangled together in a complex mess.
Do I need a method?
From birth, I had known every magic circle in the world.
It was called wisdom, and also called truth, order, or the grace of Wijeria.
What do you want?
I swam through that place, taking out what I needed, assembling it, and rearranging it again.
It was a familiar task.
The only reason I could live as a magician despite being born with little mana was thanks to this knowledge.
I found it.
"Good."
I opened my eyes wide. When I happened to turn my head, my gaze met mine in the mirror.
The pink flash in my blue eyes was slowly fading.
"Phew, I'm tired......."
I shook my head vigorously.
Viewing the wisdom of Wijeria consumed quite a bit of stamina.
Fortunately, thanks to eating well and living well these past few weeks, I recovered quickly.
"The old count said he'd go out with me tomorrow, right?"
It was the perfect opportunity.