I followed the servant into the spacious mansion.
Along the way, I encountered several people who appeared to be maids.
'Being a national strategist certainly seems to come with high status.'
I felt a renewed appreciation for Ginor's position.
Back when I was essentially serving as the national strategist for Lunarienne's army, I sometimes slept in a dilapidated house with nothing but a blanket.
Lost in these memories, I soon reached my destination.
"This way, please."
When the door opened—
I saw Ginor, dressed in his finest, sitting at what appeared to be the head seat.
"Swen. Thank you for arriving on time."
"It's an honor to see you, Lord Ginor."
"No need for formalities. Please, take a seat."
I sat down in an appropriate spot and carefully asked my question.
"So, about this 'mage' I'm supposed to teach..."
"She's my adopted daughter, Reika Nighthart. She's currently in her room. As I mentioned, she's a child with 'talent.'"
"I see... so she's your daughter."
Since I had already met Reika, I already knew this, but I reacted as if hearing it for the first time.
"You can go to her room and begin teaching her about 'sensing the power floating in the air' that you mentioned. I've already told my daughter that her teacher would be visiting today, so there's nothing to worry about."
After saying this, Ginor gave me directions to her room.
"Understood. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Well, nothing special... except she's somewhat shy. I'd appreciate if you could be understanding about that."
"That's fine. I feel the same way when meeting new people."
"Once you meet her, you'll retract that statement."
"Is that so?"
I spoke half-jokingly, but Ginor was deadly serious.
It's too early to be certain, but does he lack genuine affection for his adopted daughter?
"I hope you can help her abilities blossom."
"As I mentioned before, I'm not sure how much help I can be... or even if I can be of any help at all. Is that acceptable?"
"It's fine. Just convey what you've experienced. And as I said earlier, even if you aren't particularly helpful, the experiences of a man who creates miracles will serve as a learning opportunity for her. Don't feel too pressured."
"If you say so..."
"Well, I have matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. Swen, I have one request."
Ginor spoke in an extremely serious tone.
"You may go anywhere within this mansion, but please refrain from taking her outside."
"Why is that?"
"...I cannot explain in detail. Just please honor my request."
The overprotective father who restricts his daughter is a common stereotype, but this didn't feel like that.
It was more like... he was afraid his plans might be disrupted.
"Understood."
"Then, please excuse me."
After Ginor left the room.
'I should get going too.'
After letting some time pass, I headed toward the room where Reika was supposed to be.
*
'This must be it?'
The mansion was so vast that I got a bit confused, but somehow I managed to arrive at the right place.
I knocked on the door lightly.
"C-c-come in...!!"
This voice. I've heard it before.
So his adopted daughter really was Reika.
As I opened the door and entered—
Bang-!!!
A loud noise assaulted my ears.
'What, what was that?'
And before me—
A woman with long pink hair tied in two braids looked at me and spoke with a trembling voice.
"W-w-welcome...! A-are you the one who will be my t-teacher? I-I-I am... R-R-Reika—"
"..."
A delicious-looking cake on the table.
The woman in front of me making a fuss for some reason.
"...ka..."
After finishing what seemed like a prepared speech while trembling—
The moment she saw my face.
"...Ah."
She let out a short gasp.
Then, her eyes immediately went lifeless, and she began apologizing to me.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry for sneaking out... You've come to catch me, haven't you... I'm truly sorry..."
"Ah, no. Wait... wait a moment."
I let out a long sigh.
Truly, no matter how many thousands of hours I spent controlling her in the game,
I could never have known what kind of person she really was.
* * *
After she calmed down somewhat.
"So... y-you're not here to catch me, but you're actually my t-teacher...?"
"Yes. I came at Lord Ginor's request to give you lessons."
"Then... d-did you... h-have you not t-told him yet...?"
Reika asked while sweating nervously.
When she said "I'm sorry for sneaking out," I had already figured it out, but it seemed that being discovered going outside would be problematic for her in many ways.
She had even worn a veil when she went outside.
I smiled kindly and said:
"I'll keep our previous encounter a secret. Please don't worry too much."
"Really?! Oh... th-thank you..."
And then the conversation died again.
'Shy,' he had said. She certainly seemed to operate on a different wavelength than ordinary people.
I calmly observed the Reika before me.
So this was what Reika was like in the real world.
Her long pink hair was tied on both sides and hung down, giving her an incredibly cute appearance.
Her eyes, though trembling, were a slightly lighter shade of pink than her hair.
Her white sleeveless dress was perhaps a bit too revealing.
As a result, her curvaceous figure was slightly visible.
Based on what I'd seen when she was outside, she normally wore an outer garment, so it didn't seem to be an issue.
In this world, she had become Ginor's adopted daughter.
Somehow, Ginor had recognized her potential—her qualifications to become the strongest mage.
I wasn't sure why she wasn't allowed to leave the mansion... but considering she had snuck out secretly, it seemed Ginor wasn't treating her properly.
'I should probably exploit that aspect to get closer to her.'
There was no need to rush.
For now, I should start by making her recognize that 'I am someone who can give you what you want.'
Right. Before that, there was something I wanted to ask.
I casually picked up a piece of cake and said:
"Um... may I ask you something?"
"Huh?! Oh, yes! Yes! Ask me anything!"
She replied with a reddened face, clearly flustered.
There's something oddly cute about her.
"When I entered the room, I heard a popping sound. What was that?"
"Ah... that!"
She nodded and began explaining to me.
For some reason, I could tell she was a bit excited.
"I gather floating air and make it burst. It doesn't do anything besides making a loud noise when the gathered air bursts, but I thought it might make the atmosphere more exciting when greeting someone new...!"
Hoo.
This woman had conceived the concept of 'fireworks' in a fantasy world and actually created something similar.
Though she seemed a bit ditzy, her extraordinary qualities as the world's strongest mage couldn't be hidden.
"I see..."
I said as I cut a piece of cake and put it in my mouth.
Huh?
This is much more delicious than I expected.
"This is really tasty?"
"Oh, r-really...?"
Reika's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
Could it be.
"Did you make this yourself?"
"What?! Oh, um... yes...! I heard my teacher was coming... hehe."
"It's incredibly delicious."
"Really? I-I'm glad..."
She said with a shy smile.
She could probably live a perfectly happy life just baking, but she's confined here because of her talent.
Of course, as an orphan, she might be satisfied just having a safe place with three meals a day... but for some reason, I felt a bit of sympathy for her.
To change the atmosphere, I spoke up.
"Ah, right. Could you show me something else?"
"Like what? Perhaps other pastries or cakes—"
"No, no. While I'm very much looking forward to that too, right now it's magic's turn."
"Ah... I-I'm sorry. How silly of me... Understood."
She nodded her head awkwardly a few times, took a deep breath, and then spread her pale hand wide open in front of me.
And then.
"...Ooh."
A small ball of flame suddenly appeared above her hand.
The flame moved freely above her hand, emitting a brilliant light.
But.
"...Huff."
Before even three minutes had passed, the flame disappeared.
She looked at me, breathing heavily as if it had been quite strenuous.
"For now... this is all I can do."
'So at this stage, this is her limit.'
I put on a deliberately surprised expression.
"Amazing... Between the air-bursting sound earlier and this, magic truly is a real ability."
"...?"
She gave me a puzzled look.
It's understandable that she'd be confused when someone who came as her teacher is surprised by her abilities.
However, I couldn't afford to be seen as a "liar" by her.
With a slightly embarrassed expression, I said:
"Well... as I told your father, I'm not a mage. However, I can faintly perceive that there is something other than air existing on this earth."
"When you say something else... do you mean mana?"
"So that's what it's called."
I replied with a smooth expression.
"When I sense and focus on that power... strangely, I feel as if I'm communicating with something beyond the sky—something like an absolute being watching over us. Your father seems to have judged that my ability to handle this sensation could be helpful to you."
"Is that so...?"
"Yes, that's right."
"..."
She lowered her head, seemingly disappointed.
It appeared she had been expecting to learn from another mage.
I sensed this was a crucial moment for me.
"Um... Reika. May I ask you a question?"
"A question... you say?"
"Do you have a purpose for training as a mage?"
"Purpose..."
She fell into thought for a moment.
Then, in an extremely cautious tone, she spoke.
The trembling girl was now speaking with complete steadiness and gravity.
"...Father told me. This power of mine is a power that will bring peace to this continent."
"I'm asking if that's all."
"...?"
"What I mean is... this is just my guess... but perhaps what you want is freedom?"
Surprised by my words, she exclaimed:
"H-how did you know that...?"
Well, it wasn't hard to guess just from seeing her sneak out with a veil prepared.
She seemed to yearn for freedom.
That day too, she must have snuck out without Ginor knowing, and by chance, met me and Irene.
At least, it was an almost predetermined future.
In a few years, she would awaken to abilities that would earn her the title of the first mage.
She didn't even need to train specifically. All she needed was for time to pass.
But from Ginor's perspective, it made sense to be impatient. He probably thought the small nation of Aishers couldn't indefinitely hold off the Brands army's offensive.
Even if not the Brands army, the balance in the south could break with the emergence of an absolute being, or the Serphina army might finally push into the central region—there were many ways Aishers could fall.
So he wanted her abilities to blossom as quickly as possible.
My arrival in Aishers, using abilities that looked like magic, must have seemed like a stroke of luck to Ginor.
This was undoubtedly an opportunity for me.
If I spend time with her doing meditation or some strange training that looks impressive on the surface—
She will naturally grow stronger as time passes.
Although she would grow stronger with time anyway, to others it would look like she was growing stronger by following my training methods.
If her abilities visibly improve, my influence would naturally grow, and I might get the opportunity to take her outside.
Giving her what she yearns for—freedom.
That was what I needed to do.
"I'm not a mage, so I'm not sure how much help I can be... but I'd like to start conducting the training I did to better read that 'mana' power with you from today."
"When you say better reading mana... what do you mean?"
"It means detecting and handling the mana flowing in the air much more abundantly and accurately."
"Much more abundantly and accurately..."
As someone who could already read mana, she seemed to understand what I meant, nodding her head.
Of course, I was just saying whatever came to mind.
"Wouldn't that make you an exceptional mage more quickly?"
"...!"
She finally seemed to grasp the meaning of my words.
Becoming an exceptional mage more quickly.
That would mean gaining freedom more quickly.
If this motivated her, it would be perfect for me.
"We'll start the training exactly one week from now."
Hearing my words, she tilted her head and asked:
"What? Weren't we... going to start today...?"
"For the next few days, the energy flowing through the earth isn't good. If you try to handle mana during this time, you might get consumed by it. That happened to me once."
"Is that so...?"
She looked at me as if I was talking nonsense.
Of course. I don't even know what I'm saying myself.
Nevertheless, I maintained a shameless expression and continued speaking in a very serious voice.
"Yes. And I'd like to organize a curriculum. I'll prepare well over the next week. I'll definitely bring a solid schedule that will develop your abilities."
"Oh, yes...! I-I look forward to it...! Um, I..."
"You can call me Swen."
"S-Swen...! I look forward to working with you!"
And so, Reika and I had our first official meeting.
*
After Swen left.
Reika let out a long sigh and leaned back on the sofa.
'To think... that the handsome man who saved me that time would be my teacher.'
She had heard he was affiliated with Aishers, but she never thought they would meet again.
That's why, when they first met, she thought he might have told her adoptive father Ginor everything about her going outside.
The probability of a chance encounter leading to someone reporting her escapade seemed higher than the probability of that person being one of the few who could read mana on the continent.
But.
He said he 'wouldn't tell her father.'
Moreover, he immediately recognized that she 'wanted freedom.'
In fact, what made her even happier—
Wasn't it that he ate the cake she made with such enjoyment?
She was extremely shy, and having had no contact with men even during her alley life, she was a bit worried that her teacher would be a man...
But she thought she might get along well with someone like him.
'I want to handle this mana power better as quickly as possible.'
Her adoptive father Ginor had said that 'those who handle mana should avoid contact with their surroundings as much as possible.'
Because of that, she had become like a bird in a cage, spending a long time alone at home just training in magic.
She could definitely feel her abilities improving, but the progress was excruciatingly slow.
He had promised to give her freedom once she reached a level where she could handle mana freely.
Now that she had a teacher, wouldn't that time come faster?
Just thinking about regaining her freedom made her heart race.
'Lord Swen. I'm counting on you.'
Although she had been quite pessimistic about the future,
Right now, she was looking at it more optimistically than anyone else.