"First, let me introduce myself. I am Ginor Nighthart."
"It's an honor to meet the esteemed Lord Ginor."
Ginor didn't respond to my greeting and instead asked:
"I heard that before coming here, you belonged to the Brands army."
"That's correct."
"I've also heard rumors about the 'White-haired Wizard' who performed a miracle at the Northern Fortress. I'd like to ask if this refers to you."
"...Ah."
What?
I thought...
I was extremely nervous, thinking he was going to say something like "You haven't forgotten my face, have you? What do you think? Do you still think Intelligence 99 is nothing to worry about?"
After all, the people who sent me here were Serphina, who executed me, and Ginor, who asked if I thought he was easy to deal with.
Of course, since this is a different timeline, that wouldn't happen, but isn't this kind of situation a common cliché?
Anyway, if that wasn't what he meant, there was no reason I couldn't answer.
I slowly nodded and said:
"Yes. That's what I'm known as, at least."
"Then there's one more thing I must ask."
"What would that be?"
"Whether you are truly a wizard or not."
After saying this, Ginor looked straight into my eyes and asked again:
"Was that 'miracle,' as it's known, truly some kind of magic?"
Hmm?
Why is he asking that?
Is my being a wizard important information to Ginor?
If it was significant enough for him to convince the ruler Yuuri to let me stay here for a while, he must be asking something very important from his perspective.
'Why?'
To begin with, 'wizards' haven't appeared on the continent yet.
It would be difficult to definitively call me a wizard since I didn't use typical magic that would later appear in this world, but rather performed some useless rituals like conducting ceremonies.
However, for some reason, Ginor in front of me seemed convinced that wizards exist.
So how should I answer?
There's no way to perfectly read his mind, but I could make inferences based on what I know.
Ginor has some kind of relationship with Reika, whom I met recently. They shared the same surname.
Considering that the Reika I knew didn't have a surname before, it's highly likely that Ginor adopted her.
That would be the only way to pass on his surname.
With that in mind, Ginor's attitude of 'being certain that wizards exist' made sense.
Reika was destined to become the greatest wizard. If Ginor had taken in the orphaned girl, there could only be one reason.
'He must have noticed that she's a wizard, or at least that she has the potential.'
Ginor was an extremely intelligent character.
Although his 99% prediction failed and got him beheaded, characters with Intelligence 99 in this game were extremely rare.
Most of them only appeared in the later stages of the game, and in this era, Ginor was likely the only one.
There was a reason I struggled through the game even after respawning near Serphina's army.
Unlike me who was possessed in this world, Ginor was a living, breathing person in this reality.
It wouldn't be strange to think that his Intelligence stat translated to his actual brain power.
So, although I don't know exactly how he discovered it, it wasn't difficult to assume that he had recognized Reika's talent.
Going back to the original question.
Why is he asking if I'm a wizard?
Let me think from Ginor's perspective.
If I answer "I'm not a wizard," that would be the end of it. He'd just say something like "I see" or "So you can cause such events without magic."
But what if I answer "Yes, I am a wizard"?
Wouldn't he ask for advice about Reika?
Since Reika probably hasn't awakened her talent yet, if I were a wizard, he'd surely have many questions.
'That seems to be the right answer.'
However, I couldn't lie.
Lies are quickly exposed.
I'm not a wizard. I don't have the ability to freely use magic or anything like that.
But establishing a connection with Reika was important for the future.
I couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
So my answer was:
"If you're asking if I'm a wizard... I could say yes, but..."
I deliberately let my words trail off.
"I'm not sure if I can be called a proper wizard."
"What do you mean?"
In response to Ginor's question, I answered in a very serious tone:
"Well... this might be difficult to understand, but I can read the energy of the heavens."
I explained as plausibly as possible, but in a way that someone with certain 'information' could infer the truth:
"Something... floats in this air. The more I close my eyes and meditate, the more strongly I feel it. I can read that energy and draw out something that's difficult to explain in words. ...Of course, the more I use it, for some reason I feel my body's energy draining."
"..."
Ginor listened to my words with great seriousness.
I was explaining the concept of 'mana' without naming it.
In this era, mana hadn't been discovered yet, but Ginor, who had Reika under his wing, might vaguely know the concept of mana.
So, I was guiding him to make his own assumptions and misunderstandings.
Whether it worked or not didn't matter. It wouldn't be good if I appeared too eager for it to work.
"Using that... I ask the heavens for blessings. I'm not sure if this can be called magic. Surely wizards can't actually exist, can they?"
"Then the ceremony you performed?"
"I don't know why, but the more I do this, the more I feel a sense of unity with the heavens and clarity in my mind."
Of course, this was nonsense.
But given the result I produced—'a meteor falling from the sky'—this nonsense would only sound like an auspicious story to him.
If I didn't take advantage of this misunderstanding here, my path forward would be bleak, as I could only make predictions.
"Hmm..."
Ginor closed his eyes and fell into thought, then finally opened his heavy lips:
"It seems you are indeed a wizard."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. ...Though I'm not entirely certain."
"Now I'd like to ask you a question."
"What is it?"
"Why did you ask me about that?"
Ginor glanced slightly at Yuuri's face.
Yuuri slowly nodded.
After this silent exchange between them, I finally heard his answer.
"I have a favor to ask of you."
"A favor?"
"I'll be as honest with you as you've been with me. ...'Wizards' do exist."
"...!!"
Upon hearing those words, I mentally pictured Irene in her underwear.
Though I felt sorry for her, that was when I was most surprised after crossing into this world.
Naturally, my face showed an expression of great surprise.
"But perhaps because she's still young, she hasn't fully awakened yet. In my opinion, you seem to have opened your eyes to that power to some extent. Otherwise, it would be impossible to open a path to the heavens and create a miracle."
"Then...?"
"I'd like you to watch over that wizard. That is, I'm asking you to become her teacher."
Good.
I cast the bait, and he took it.
But here, rather than eagerly accepting right away, I thought it would seem more plausible if I showed some hesitation.
"A teacher? But I rarely use this ability as it seems to shorten my lifespan, and I honestly don't think I'm a wizard, so I question how much help I could actually be..."
"No. The power you feel—that concept definitely exists. I'm certain you'll be helpful to her."
"..."
I reluctantly nodded and said:
"I'll meet her, but I'm not sure if I can provide proper guidance."
"That's enough."
As Ginor finished speaking, Yuuri's voice was heard:
"Swen. Keep this conversation secret from others. Don't tell even Irene, okay? And I haven't assigned you any specific duties, so on your free days, I'd like you to fulfill Ginor's request."
So they're keeping my schedule open to use me as a teacher.
From my perspective, it was an offer with no downsides.
"Understood."
I nodded and replied.
With that, I was finally able to leave the audience chamber of Bahalat Castle.
* * *
After Swen left.
Ginor and Yuuri were quietly conversing.
"It seems certain that he can sense mana."
"Really? So Swen is indeed a wizard?"
"...Actually, there are some puzzling aspects. He seems somewhat different from the typical wizard described in ancient texts. But those texts are merely records from the past, and no one has actually seen them, so there's a question of how much we can trust them... In my view, he does seem to be sensing 'mana,' but perhaps he himself hasn't realized it."
"Hmm, that's complicated. I'm not that smart. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that girl was a wizard either."
"Don't worry, my Lord. The power of magic is formidable. For the small Aishers army to conquer this continent, the power of wizards will be essential. Before my life ends, I will certainly raise Reika to be a helpful wizard."
In response to Ginor's words, Yuuri spoke in a sly tone:
"Right. Don't push yourself too hard. Even without the power of wizards, the Aishers army that my comrades and I have built would surely achieve unification, right? Oh, that reminds me."
She said this, then covered her mouth with her hand and laughed joyfully.
"If Swen truly turns out to be a helpful wizard, it might not be bad to welcome him as your son-in-law. What do you think?"
"Son-in-law, you say?"
"Yes. Oh, would Irene dislike that? Well, a man can have multiple wives anyway."
Leaving behind Yuuri, who seemed strangely amused, Ginor fell into thought.
There was indeed no more certain connection than incorporation into the family.
'But if he truly is a wizard... perhaps it would be better to be cautious rather than trust him completely.'
Swen, who had now become our comrade, was a traitor who had betrayed his former lord, Lynn Brands.
Of course, Lynn wasn't particularly a good lord to serve, and she was inferior to his current lord, Yuuri, in many ways...
'...I'll have to extract what I can from him, then focus on developing Reika.'
True to his sharp mind, Ginor was thinking about how to best utilize Swen.
If he couldn't utilize him, as Yuuri suggested, having Reika marry him would be another way to keep him under his influence.
The mind of the Empire's Sage was working rapidly.
* * *
"Lady Irene."
"Swen."
As soon as I exited the castle gate, Irene was waiting for me, as if it were the most natural thing.
With her by my side, I finally felt like I had returned to where I belonged.
"What did you talk about?"
"It's a bit difficult to explain in detail. The new lord asked me to keep it secret. But if you're curious, I can explain it to you."
It was Irene, after all.
I didn't want to hide anything from her.
But upon hearing my words, Irene immediately shook her head and said:
"No. If that's the case, you don't need to tell me. I might unintentionally reveal that 'I know' something. I'm not a perfect person."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. Swen, I don't want to cause you trouble."
She said this with a smile directed at me.
She's beautiful.
Foolishly, I found myself staring at that smile, lost in thought.
"...By the way, what mission did you receive, Lady Irene?"
At my question, she grinned and replied.
Somehow, a sense of pride was clearly evident in her expression.
"Training the soldiers. It seems all the commanders who used to conduct training are now preparing for war."
"Ah, I see..."
Perhaps they've set out to deal with the Charam and Alrepel armies.
Indeed, besides Irene, there wouldn't be anyone more suitable for training.
While Lynn might have stubbornly refused to utilize Irene, from Yuuri's perspective, there was absolutely no reason to pass her over.
"I'm glad you were given a mission."
"Yes."
Irene said this and nodded with a grin.
From her perspective, having been deliberately excluded from everything, just receiving a mission was enough to make her happy.
Seeing her smile, I didn't regret betraying the Brands army at all.
To me, Irene was more important than something like the Brands army.
That would be the same here as well.
Yes.
Until the Lunarian army rises, I'll make it my goal to protect her smile.
With that resolution, I walked home together with her, matching her pace.
* * *
A few days later.
At the front gate of the mansion I had visited once before.
When I arrived at the appointed time, a person who appeared to be a servant of the mansion was conveniently waiting at the door to greet me.
"Might you be Sir Swen?"
"I am."
The servant bowed to me, then slowly opened the door and said:
"Lord Ginor is waiting for you. Please follow me this way."