Chapter 89

By the time I returned home, most of the preparations were complete.

Noel and Arnella had gathered the necessary luggage, and Sepia and Mastema seemed to have finished the tasks I had assigned them.

Sepia was feeling dizzy and had Noel rubbing her back.

I had come to this country planning to stay at the academy until graduation, but I never expected the academy would cease to exist.

As it stands, I’ve only just managed to graduate as a junior mage.

It seems there will be a refund for the tuition fees, but I don’t intend to wait in this country until then. As for Colgus and Lulise… well, they’re still young, so I hope they’ll do their best.

Leaving this country is a certainty.

With Sepia around, and even if she weren’t, it would still be.

“Right, come here for a moment, Sepia.”

“What is it?”

Once Sepia had recovered, she came over to me.

“If you’re going to stick with me, I’ll take care of you until you reach adulthood. Don’t worry; I won’t abandon you halfway through. After that, you can do as you please. You can stay with me, or if you have something you want to do, you can leave.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“For now, take my surname. I’ve been disowned by my family.”

“Is that alright?”

I’m also letting Mastema take my name, so having one more person isn’t an issue.

“Nice to meet you.”

Sepia said that and bowed her head to me.

Well, if she were just an ordinary child without any abilities, I’d only be able to leave her in a place I could somewhat trust, but Sepia is different.

We can make use of each other.

For now, I’ll set aside thoughts of Sepia and need to consider what to do next.

“Now, even if we’re going to move, what should we do about transportation? Walking is a bit much.”

Traveling with five people is quite a hassle.

Sepia is a mage, but she’s still a child.

Noel and Arnella are excellent, but they’re not exactly seasoned travelers.

If it were just Mastema and me, we could probably go anywhere.

“Oh, right. We need a means of transportation.”

Sepia contemplated my words.

The magic train is convenient, but it’s currently out of operation due to the recent incident.

I guess we’ll have to arrange a carriage or something.

“Ahavain was a top-class adventurer, wasn’t he?”

“That’s true.”

To be more specific, he was the strongest in the Empire.

“You have money, right?”

“Well, yes.”

I have a decent amount of funds on hand.

If we’re talking about the money I have deposited in the guild, it’s enough that I wouldn’t even feel like counting it.

In fact, once the amount of money surpassed a certain threshold, I found that the amount I earn exceeds what I spend.

The interest on the money I have deposited with the moneylender and the payments from the bonds issued by the kingdom should also be in my guild vault, meaning it’s been growing even while I was in the magical country.

I checked the statement displayed on my guild card.

I don’t remember the previous figures, but it’s probably increased.

I showed it to Sepia.

“Wow, this is more than the academy’s operational funds. Are you opening a bank?”

“No, I’m not. Why would I have to go through such troublesome things?”

I did various things because I didn’t want to worry about money.

Right now, it’s just paying off.

“Adventurers really make a lot of money, huh?”

“They do, but if you save and spend normally, the amount will disappear quickly if you set up a large store from the land.”

“I think you’re earning enough…”

Sepia returned the card to me.

“Then how about a magic carriage? It’s expensive, but very convenient. It doesn’t get tired and doesn’t need food. A golem pulls the carriage.”

“Oh? What’s the power source? Is it magical energy?”

“It’s magical energy, but it only needs a little. Once it starts moving, it can convert that power into magical energy, so it’s quite energy-efficient.”

I see.

I used to use normal carriages often, but they had many inconveniences.

“For now, let’s get that. The problem is where to go, though.”

“I’ll leave it up to Master.”

“Me too.”

The two slaves followed my lead.

“I’d like to go somewhere interesting.”

“I’m okay with anywhere outside this country for now.”

Sepia and Mastema’s opinions were of no help.

“Then…”

I heard a voice from my waist.

It was Victor’s voice.

He manifested on his own using my magical energy.

It seems that, since my total magical energy has increased, I’ve become capable of such feats.

“Let’s go to the Sky Tower. We should go there.”

“The Sky Tower, huh… You brought that with you when we went there, didn’t you?”

Back in the days when we were part of a party, we had already attempted to challenge the Sky Tower.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach the summit.

There were several reasons for that, but it wasn’t purely a matter of power.

The main issues were the lack of essential supplies, including food, and the traps in the Sky Tower.

After all, Kasugal was utterly ineffective against anything other than fire.

We couldn’t expect much from support magic.

Although Lenatishia managed to handle some of the magical traps, we ultimately couldn’t break through and had to give up.

It seemed that the challengers other than us were also lacking in power, and no one had reached the summit in nearly a hundred years.

“We should be able to make it now.”

I looked at the people present.

While their combat capabilities were low, Noel and Arnella had high support abilities, including household chores, and had mastered support magic. If we focused on making them carry the luggage, they could likely manage quite a lot thanks to their magical bags.

They looked like children and were children, but Sepia was an advanced mage and had top-tier knowledge.

And then there’s Mastema, an advanced demon with overwhelming power and absolute defensive capabilities.

Victor, the angel, possesses a similar ability, though significantly weaker than Mastema.

With this group, we could indeed try again and perhaps succeed.

“That’s it. Right there.”

“What’s that?”

“You rely on that demon right next to you even though I’m your partner. Sure, he might be stronger than me, but…”

Saying that, Victor pointed at Mastema.

“Angel, don’t point at me.”

Mastema seemed displeased and swatted away Victor’s finger.

Victor rubbed his finger as if it had hurt.

Angels and demons are usually at odds.

It seems that living in the same house allows for only this level of confrontation.

“You should enhance me at the Sky Tower. Yes, as soon as possible.”

“Is that so? I’ve heard that if you successfully reach the summit, you’ll receive a reward from the heavens.”

After all, the last successful climber died a hundred years ago.

I don’t know any details about what happens after reaching the summit.

“There’s no doubt about it. Since we’re free anyway, a failure wouldn’t matter.”

This angel… Just when I thought he had become less lazy, he’s gotten quite cheeky now.

However, it’s true that the heavenly sword is an important partner.

If I can strengthen it, that would be best.

“Sepia, can we get that magic carriage right away?”

“Ah, yeah. I heard there’s a surplus in stock since the magic train was built, so I think we’ll be fine.”

“I see.”

Then let’s go check it out.

There’s just one more problem to solve…