Ruvlian, who had been leaning leisurely against the sofa, abruptly sat up at the mention of jet-black hair and light brown irises. Then, doubting his ears, wondering if he’d heard wrong, he urgently opened his mouth.
“Say that again. What?”
“Pardon?”
“Mikel, do you wear your ears as decorations? Say what you just said again without missing a single syllable.”
At the stupid question, Ruvlian looked over Mikel with an irritated, cold gaze. Unfazed since it was something he always heard, Mikel answered “Yeeess……” and opened his mouth.
“That Hero has rare, completely jet-black hair and light brown irises. I think they also said he came from another world?”
It was truly word for word the same.
Ruvlian confirmed about three times that he hadn’t misheard. In other words, he said “Say that again” two more times.
“Master of the Magic Tower. You’re being more unreasonable than usual today.”
And Mikel, who had indulged him, shook his head from side to side and read through the documents in his hand. Because Ruvlian didn’t do the work he was supposed to do and focused on other things, Mikel handled most of the Magic Tower’s paperwork. It was a system where only the final approval was done by Ruvlian.
Jet-black hair and light brown irises. Those two things made Ruvlian more sensitive than usual. Enough to deploy ten magic circles to attack in response to being called unreasonable, which would have normally been let slide with just one attack spell.
Mikel, who naturally deployed protective magic, looked around. Fortunately, since this kind of thing happened frequently, he’d cast preservation magic and protective magic, so there wasn’t any damaged or broken furniture.
“Mikel, where is the Hero staying?”
Shameless Ruvlian, who didn’t look like someone who’d just launched an attack spell, kept tapping his index finger. Focused on one spot to the point where it was worrying that nail marks would be left on the innocent sofa leather.
“How would I know that……”
“How useless.”
“This useless person is handling all the Magic Tower’s paperwork though. May I go on strike?”
When Mikel, who had focused his gaze on the index finger that showed no signs of stopping, made eye contact with Ruvlian, he fluttered the documents he was holding. It was an action to remind him that he held an important position within the Magic Tower.
At that action, Ruvlian snorted and asked back.
“Do you think you can?”
To the mages of the Magic Tower, the Master of the Magic Tower’s orders were absolute. Of course, there were limitations on the Master of the Magic Tower’s authority to prevent abuse. However, reviewing documents wasn’t among those limitations.
So the moment Mikel would go on strike meant the moment he ceased to exist in this world. They both knew that well. In the end, Mikel could only answer “Yeeess……” again.
“That won’t do. Mikel, I’m raiding the Temple right now.”
Ruvlian, who stopped moving his index finger, got up from the sofa. Then he put on his robe and checked that the note he kept like a talisman was in his pocket.
Watching the clean movements that seemed organized, Mikel sighed with eyes that said he knew it would be like this. This person who was always rational and even cleaned up the aftermath neatly always threw caution to the wind only when it involved ‘that’ Rian.
“Are you certain this time? That the Hero is the person you’re looking for?”
“Well. For some reason I feel like it might be right this time, but I’ll have to see their face to be certain.”
After ascending to the position of Master of the Magic Tower, Ruvlian had continuously searched for Rian. He presented Rian’s physical characteristics to the Information Guild and read through reports of people from all continents who matched the conditions. However, Rian wasn’t there, and the search for Rian’s whereabouts had been continuing for 5 years.
If it was because he was a Hero, because he was a person from another world, then it made sense that he didn’t appear even when searched for. However, it was contradictory that a Hero had briefly come to a world that had been peaceful in the past. Things that made sense and things that didn’t made Ruvlian’s mind dizzy.
Ruvlian, who had donned his robe, looked at Mikel with the mindset of going and checking.
“Guard the Magic Tower well.”
It was no different from words you’d say to a dog guarding the house, but this too was familiar. Mikel greeted with a nod to the Master of the Magic Tower who was boldly breaking regulations and going to the Temple to extract information.
As soon as he saw that nod, Ruvlian used teleportation magic. He arrived in an instant inside the Temple that was white enough to be considered pure. Detecting the use of magic, a beep— alarm sounded.
“Again? It’s those Magic Tower bastards, right?”
“We can’t catch them because there’s no physical evidence. Just let us catch you, really……”
Several Holy Knights who had been on break spat out curses. Since Ruvlian was still using invisibility magic, the alarm didn’t stop. The beeping sound kept ringing in their ears without cease.
Ruvlian withdrew his gaze from them as they disappeared elsewhere and first went to find the guest rooms where visitors could exceptionally stay at the Temple. If the Hero was there, he could confirm immediately, and if not, he could extract information from people inside the Temple and mess with their minds.
Not knowing he was right beside them, Ruvlian moved leisurely while sneering at the priests who were urgently moving to find the one who triggered the alarm.
On the day he said he was going to the Temple, perhaps because Rian had disappeared, he just hated the Temple. Since he didn’t believe in gods in the first place, there was no particular impact. Ruvlian recalled that time and hoped the Hero was Rian. It was a wish not knowing toward whom it was directed.
Soon Ruvlian arrived at his destination. Due to the constantly ringing alarm, most of the Holy Knights guarding the front of the guest room door moved to catch the culprit in an angry state. Because of that, security was lax, and Ruvlian could easily use magic to enter inside.
Jet-black hair that shone mysteriously, directly receiving the artificial light pouring from above. Beneath it, warm light brown eyes. A prominent nose and small lips. The delicate face was exactly the same as back then. It’s Rian. For an instant, Ruvlian stared blankly at Rian and one priest.
“I apologize. It will be resolved soon, so please don’t worry.”
“Ah, I only asked because I could hear it. It’s fine.”
“Hero-nim……!”
The moved priest tried to grasp Rian’s hands. The moment he witnessed that scene, Ruvlian came to his senses at once. Who was touching whom right now? Anger surged.
When he grabbed the priest’s wrist, yanked it back and let go, the priest fell on his buttocks.
“Who are you! How dare you in a place where the Hero-nim is……!”
“You’re noisy. Go to sleep.”
When Ruvlian, who spoke in a cold voice, waved his hand, the priest fell asleep. Ruvlian, who had removed the obstacle, cast magic so that no one could enter this room. Only after casting even a silence spell because the banging sound of someone knocking on the door was annoying was satisfied Ruvlian finally looked at Rian.
“Rian!”
“……Who are you? And what is this you’re doing right now?”
What returned to the cheerful voice with a clear welcoming air was a monotone voice thick with wariness. Rian took in both Ruvlian and the collapsed priest once each with a hardened face.
At the question of who he was, Ruvlian didn’t hear Rian’s following words. His heart sank with a thud. His head spun to the point where he wondered if he was breathing properly.
The light brown eyes he’d recalled without fail every single day didn’t contain the affection he’d seen that day. The eyes that had been warm were sinking coldly. They were full of wariness and suspicion. The air of not knowing him as if seeing this person acting familiar for the first time was evident. It wasn’t pretending not to know. That was a sincere reaction.
His hand reflexively reached out. However, what came back wasn’t cold yet soft hands but Rian’s movement of hesitating and backing away. Shocked by the fact that Rian had avoided his hand, Ruvlian froze just like that. His face turned white enough that it couldn’t get any paler.
Why are you avoiding me? How come Rian doesn’t know me? It was a succession of confusion. The questions didn’t cease. At that moment, something flashed through his mind. It was a sentence from the note he’d seen so much he’d memorized it.
‘Next time we meet again, greet me first saying “Rian.” Even if the me you meet again is awkward, please take care of me.’
It was a meaningful statement as if knowing this future would come. There was a strange feeling each time he read it, but he didn’t know it would be like this. Did he erase his own memories? Why? Ruvlian covered his mouth and lowered his upper body. Whether it was a sense of betrayal or what. Emotions he couldn’t precisely identify surged.
Then a cold hand touched his cheek. His face was lifted up, and the face of the person who caused this confusion filled his vision. Ruvlian slowly looked over the face that was strangely youthful.
The eyes that had been full of wariness just moments ago, the eyes that had only been cold, became warm. Though the only similarities to that first day they met were Rian’s appearance and fundamental kindness, enough to overlap with that day.
“Are you okay?”
With just Rian’s voice, even though it was summer, an illusion arose as if spring flowers were blooming. It wasn’t the deep, warm affection like that day. However, at that pure concern as if it were only natural, at that affection that abandoned wariness and extended a hand, somehow he felt like crying.
Whether he’d touched his memories or come back from seeing the future. He still couldn’t grasp how this had happened. Yet the fact that Rian was Rian remained unchanged, so he could let the emotions he couldn’t definitively identify subside. Ruvlian slowly breathed in and out, calming down.
There must be a reason why Rian left a note with words as if foreseeing the future. So he could slowly figure it out. There was no need to be impatient. What was in front of him was, in the end, Rian who had shown affection toward him. Thinking so, Ruvlian subtly made a bashful face.
“Yes.”
Perhaps it was also a face that had fallen in love once more.
_oOo_
Right now, having fallen alone into some space due to the god’s meddling. I couldn’t grasp the situation unfolding before my eyes at all. I’d passed through the portal separately from Ruvlian and fallen alone. I understood up to here. But I didn’t understand why Scalane, whom I’d seen just moments ago, Ruvlian’s teacher with the same unchanged face and foul mouth, was kidnapping a newborn baby.
“……Tsk. I didn’t expect to be discovered this quickly. Blame your bad luck.”
The moment those words ended, I felt mana moving swiftly. Seeing him about to deploy attack magic, I habitually dispelled it all, and his face hardened.
Taking advantage of that gap, I quickly racked my brain. What reason would Scalane have to kidnap a child? Moreover, what was he trying to do by kidnapping a child? It’s not like he was going to live with them, wait a moment. Live with them?
……Don’t tell me, then is that newborn baby Ruvlian?
