Chapter 138: The Empire and the Wizard

Chapter 138: The Empire and the Wizard

It was mid-summer. At the center of the summer season, the summer heat also eclipsed, and Igni was relaxing in his dorm room to stay cool.

Igni: "The coolness feels so good....." Igni enjoyed to his heart's content, the air-conditioning unit that was fixed by the maintenance crew. Sara was sleeping on his bed, and he carefully placed a hand gently on her head. Sara had her head on Igni's lap, and for now, Igni was her pillow.

Igni, Sara, and Yoori just came back from playing at the river. Well, Yoori wasn't that great at swimming, so they played on the river's shore. And now, Sara fell asleep after a long day of playing.

Yoori: "Sara's Common Language has improved a lot." Igni: "Yeah." Her violet hair was almost transparent as it flowed out across Igni's lap.

Yoori gazed at her hair as well as he smiled.

Yoori: "I think it's a good time to ask about what happened to her."

Igni: ".........hm?" Sara was trapped inside a crystal in the center of the [Demon King's Realm] and slept there.

If what Abyss said was true, and she was the daughter of the [Demon King], the country will probably detain her.

The only ones who know about this are Igni, Abyss, and Sara.

But Sara has acted as though she completely forgot about the incident with Abyss, and Abyss has been spouting delusional nonsense in the [Underground Dungeon Labyrinth, so even if he's screaming that Sara is the [Demon King's Daughter], no one would believe him.

Igni: "She'll tell us when she wants to."

Igni spoke softly upon the girl who continued to sleep with her head on his lap.

He presumed that her past must have been marred with tragedies, and if she didn't want to talk about it, she either didn't want to recall it or would not be able to speak of it.

He could not tell which it was in this case, but the Ultimate Secret to Popularity No. 8.

ーー"A man who can accept a woman's past will be popular."

No matter what her past was, Igni was determined to accept it all.

Igni: "Yoori. <He'll probably arrive here shortly> so let's make sure we have everything."

Yoori: "Okay, that will be good. But all we need are changes of clothes?" Igni: "Yeah, we can buy anything else we get there." And as soon as they were finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.

Yoori: "Be right there"

Yoori opened the door, and a elderly man with white hair stood there.

"Hm? Oh, I saw you at the Tournament."

Yoori: "YーYes! My name is Yoori! It is an honor to meet you!!"

Yoori bowed his head low at an amazing speed.

And that was to be expected. Before him was the [Extreme] of [Light].

The Wizard that all Wizards look up to.

With him before his eyes, stiffening nervously like Yoori is the normal response.

Lucas: "Igni, are these two your companions?" Igni: "Yeah, Yoori.......and this is Sara." Lucas: "Hmm. I have heard the rumors. She apparently has an overwhelming amount of Magic Power...........or such."

Igni: "Right now, she's containing it with a Magecraft Artifact from the Empire, so there's no issue." And in case of an emergency, if Igni uses his Magic Power, Sara can provide him with the extra supply she has, so it would be better for Igni to stay close.

Lucas: "Hm, understood. Then we should get going." Lucas spoke nonchalantly, and Igni held Sara in his arms.

Igni: "Where will we fly from?" Lucas: "Outside. There is a nice open space close by."

And Lucas pointed to the space in front of the dorm.

It was the same location where Igni fought with Celia a few months ago.

Yoori: "FーFly? What do you mean?" Yoori tilts his head to wonder at what Igni and Lucas were speaking about.

Igni: "It's Grandpa's Spell. You can instantly relocate with it."

Yoori: "AーA Teleportation Spell?!" Igni: "No, it's not as complicated as that."

Lucas: "C'mon. Hurry up and get over here."

Lucas interrupts Igni and Yoori who were speaking quietly to one another and pushes them to keep moving. The two held their luggage, and Lucas followed from behind as they arrived in the space in front of the dorms.

Lucas: "Okay, now grab a hold of my clothes."

Igni: "What about Sara?" Igni looked at Sara who he held in his arms as he asked.

Lucas: "You hold onto her. Do not let her go under any circumstance." Igni: "........okay." Igni responded briefly and began holding onto Lucas' clothes.

Yoori, who was just as nervous, held onto Lucas' clothes as well.

Lucas: "Now, we'll fly." Their vision suddenly flipped upside down, and without realizing what happened, the dorm was now far below them. And as the dorm disappeared from view, the scenery rapidly changed as it traveled away behind them.

Yoori: "........aーamazing......this is amazing..." Though Yoori was probably next to Igni, Igni could not see him.

He only heard Yoori's voice.

That was the case because anything that currently touched Lucas had disintegrated to a molecular level, and they were traveling at high speeds.

Lucas: "This is my Transportation Spell. I've dropped the speed quite a bit so <it might feel a bit slow>."

But they soon saw the Owlight Territory.

It would have taken at least a few days by horse carriage to get this far.

But that scenery flowed far behind them in an instant.

Lucas: "Light is fast.......but a human cannot perceive traveling at that speed. Hence, why we had to reduce the speed."

Igni: "Doesn't that mean you're just getting too old?" Lucas: "I might accidentally drop you."

As they bantered, they left the [Kingdom] behind and the [Empire's] borders now lay ahead.

If you were to travel by land, you would have to make a wide circle. An ocean lies between the Kingdom and the Empire, so you would need to go by boat to take the shortest route. That's why when Celia was taking Alicia back, Igni remembered hearing something about traveling by ship.

Igni: "...........huh?"

Lucas: "What's wrong?"

Igni: "Hey, Grandpa. We're going to the Capital of the Empire, right?"

Lucas: "Yes, that's our destination." Igni: "Then why aren't we crossing the ocean?" Lucas: "We cannot cross right now." Igni: "Why?" Lucas: "There are various circumstances are the moment."

Igni tilts his head as Lucas avoids answering his question directly.

But Lucas said no more on the subject.

And after a while, the changes in scenery began to slow down as they decelerated andーー

Lucas: "We can see our destination now." Lucas spoke up.

Igni looked ahead to where they were heading, and they saw a giant circular shaped city. In the center was a castle, and as if to protect it, there were countless buildings surrounding it. Compared to the Kingdom, Igni thought he saw more tall buildings, but it could have been his imagination.

Their flight suddenly began descending diagonally as they headed to the Empire's Capital's entrance. They landed in an instant, and instead of crashing into the ground, they were raised slightly upwards as their bodies materialized.

Sara: "..........huh? Where...are we?"

Igni: "Good morning, Sara. We just arrived." Sara woke up at a perfect timing as she gazed wide-eyed at the change of scenery.

You can't blame her for being surprised. She fell asleep in the dorm room only to wake up being transported to a place she's never seen.

Lucas: "This way. Follow me." And following Lucas, they passed the main gate.

There were guards at the gate, but as soon as they saw Lucas, they withdrew.

As expected from the [Extreme] of [Light].

Lucas: "I have already reserved the rooms at the inn. While at the Capital, spend your nights there."

Igni: "Got it. Where is it?" Lucas: "I'll guide you there." And with Lucas, they walked the streets of the city, and Igni realized that it was different here than compared to the Capital.

Yoori: "...........hey, Igni." Igni: ".......yeah, it's amazing." Looking around, they saw many races <that were not human>.

Dwarves, Dragon Kin, and.........Beastmen.

Igni: (Huh? WHAT?! Are those real beast ears?! Cat ears?! ARE THEY REAL?!?!)

Seeing a Beastmen, Igni's excitement shot through the roof and continued climbing higher.

He was now filled with anticipation and hope of running into a Beast Race girl.

Lucas: "It's here. If you show them this, they'll guide you to your rooms."

Lucas turned around to speak to Igni and the group as he handed over a note.

Lucas: "You'll have to excuse me. I have to attend to something, and I'll be away for a while. I'll give you some money, so just use that to have some fun."

Igni: "Work? Grandpa, you're working??" Lucas: "Of course. What do you think I do?"

Igni: "I thought you were mostly bored all year around."

Lucas: "...........I work occasionally." Lucas let out a deep sigh as he handed Igni and Yoori money.

Lucas: "You'll have to manage that girl's money."

Igni: "I know." And with that, Lucas disappeared into the crowd.

Yoori: "IーIgni, what should we do?" Igni: "We'll put the luggage in our rooms and........explore the city."

Igni spoke matter-of-factly as if that was obvious.

Igni: (It's our opportunity to see a real life Beast Race Girl and her ears!!)

But following the Popular Man's persona, Igni held the thought secretly without letting it show in his face.