I headed to the manor of the local lord to settle in the village without arousing suspicion. The elderly lord welcomed me warmly and, despite my sudden visit, extended his hospitality.
He readily believed my fabricated story: “His Highness the Crown Prince deeply sympathizes with the young court mage apprentice who lost her life. To ensure her spirit is at peace, he sent me to assess the situation in her home village.” He even offered to let me stay as long as I wished.
Perfect. This is going smoothly.
As for the search for Lady Iriya , I have full authority, so I can proceed as I see fit.
I, Ekvar Kroas Karlsroa , spent one night at the lord’s manor to gather information and am now staying at the village chief’s house in the designated village.
The village chief’s granddaughter, who just turned fifteen, has strikingly large, charming red-violet eyes. She looks adorable in her floral dress.
Honestly, a house with a cute girl beats an old man’s place any day. The manor only had experienced senior maids—not bad, but not ideal. Staying in the village means I’ll meet girls of all ages and types.
“Lord Karlsroa, where are you off to?”
“Today, I’m hunting a wyvern. Someone out picking mushrooms ran into one and hurried back to report it.”
“Please… be careful!”
The way this girl struggles with formal speech—so endearing and adorable. It feels fresh. And she’s waving at me as I leave. That’s nice.
Apparently, this village is near a valley where wyverns breed, so even after some are culled, more appear. It seems Lady Sumire herself has experience fighting wyverns here. No wonder she’s not afraid.
Well, most people would still feel fear when faced with a pack of them.
What steel will she must have…
I strolled through the forest and reached the area where the wyvern was spotted. It wasn’t there, but as I ventured further in, I discovered one leaping off a thick branch.
“…Leap!”
I activated the magic imbued in my boots. While I can’t use flight magic, a leaping spell prepared in advance lets me jump high and control my movements.
I leaped to the wyvern’s height and slashed it with my sword in one stroke.
The blade tore from the base of its wing, through its belly, and toward its tail, leaving a large wound. Before I even landed, its massive body slammed to the ground.
“Good. Everything’s going smoothly.”
For someone like me, a member of the Crown Prince’s personal guard, this is child’s play.
As one of His Highness’s school friends, I’ve been casually entrusted with tasks like these, to the point that I now function almost like a special operative.
His Highness, kind-faced as he is, works me hard.
“I mean, as my aide, you can handle a minor dragon on your own, right?” he once said with that unforgettable smile.
Even I wouldn’t make such absurd demands. Though, I did manage it…
Now, about this village. In the past, there were tales of ogres living deep in the mountains or dragons lurking nearby, making it sound dangerous.
However, current investigations have found no particularly dangerous creatures.
It doesn’t seem like they were never here, but rather that they were eradicated. Evidence like large dragon scales scattered around or relics rumored to belong to ogres being left in caves suggests as much.
The one responsible for their elimination could very well be Lady Sumire, or perhaps the demon she’s contracted with.
I’d rather not dwell on that possibility…
Just as I was settling into village life, wandering through the square looking for tasks, a young woman came running, out of breath.
“A letter from my sister…!”
She whispered discreetly into my ear. It was Ellie, her younger sister, said to have the same pale purple hair and amethyst-colored eyes.
I hurried with her to their home.
The letter, sent via communication magic, read as follows:
Dear Mother and Ellie,
How are you? This is Iriya . Please keep this a secret, but I am alive.
I am truly sorry for causing you so much worry.
I wanted to help you both more, but I felt I had reached my limit living at the court.
Please forgive me for making such a selfish decision without consulting anyone.
Now, I’ve started a new life in a new place, and I’ve grown accustomed to this way of living.
I’ve also made new friends and am enjoying my days greatly.
By the way, I’ve registered with the commercial guild as a craftsman making magical tools!
I’m living in a town called Renant in the Kingdom of Chenkaslar.
They say it doesn’t snow here.
I go out to gather herbs wherever I like and make potions.
I feel like I finally understand what freedom means.
You might be angry and unable to forgive me, but I’ll write to you again.
Take care of yourselves.
Sincerely,
Iriya
…The Kingdom of Chenkaslar!? That’s way down south, isn’t it? Why on earth did she go so far away!?
Wait, am I supposed to go there? Do I have to go…?
While the mother and daughter wept tears of joy, overjoyed that she was alive, I couldn’t bring myself to share in their relief.
I told His Highness, “Leave it to me,” and I was only thinking she might be in a neighboring country. I underestimated her… A prodigy like her doesn’t do things halfway. When she decided to escape, she went all out.
For the record, it was her younger sister who read the letter—she learned how to read. The mother can barely read, which is common in mountain villages like this where literacy rates are still low.
Ugh… Traveling there on horseback sounds brutal. Maybe I should summon and contract with a white tiger—something with combat abilities and speed. They’re supposed to have great stamina, too.
I told the mother and daughter that I’d head to her location and take any letters they wanted to send. I couldn’t exactly teach them how to use communication magic, so I told them to only use it for receiving messages. Strictly speaking, even that’s against the rules, but…
Having no other choice, I informed the village chief of my departure, bid farewell to the lord, and began preparations for my journey to the Kingdom of Chenkaslar.
