"Ah, so you're Swen. Welcome. I'll guide you to Reika's room."
"Actually, before that, could I see Ginor first?"
"You mean the master? I'm not sure if he's available right now... Please wait a moment."
After waiting briefly.
"He's about to prepare to go out... Would it be better to speak with him another time if it's important?"
"It's fine. This won't take long."
I headed to Ginor's room and greeted him casually.
"What is it, Swen? I heard you were looking for me."
"Nothing much, I was thinking of taking Reika outside the castle."
"...What did you say?"
Reika was the first magician to appear in this game and the most powerful magician who remained active until the end.
I didn't know exactly why, but Ginor had confined Reika to the mansion and was preventing her from going outside.
Still, considering she had managed to sneak out before, the surveillance didn't seem that strict, but he had told me to 'refrain from going outside the mansion' nonetheless.
The way to gain someone's favor was simple.
Give them what they want.
What Reika wanted was freedom.
I figured it wouldn't hurt to get on her good side.
"...May I ask why?"
"It's simple. Mana is much more densely concentrated in places with rugged terrain and less disturbed nature. We'll meditate with nature as our companion. Whether it will be effective for a real magician like Reika is uncertain, but it definitely worked for me. If what I'm feeling is indeed 'mana,' wouldn't Reika benefit as well?"
"..."
Ginor fell into thought for a moment.
Then, he muttered in a very small voice.
The sentence he uttered reached my ears without difficulty.
"...Swen, perhaps it would be fine if it's you."
'?'
I wondered what he meant, but I didn't press the issue.
"Alright. However, I cannot allow you to go beyond the territory of Valharat Castle."
"Even within the territory, I plan to climb the small hill just behind the castle. Going too far might put us in dangerous situations, which would be troublesome."
"Anything else you want to say?"
"No, that's all."
"Then I'll excuse myself."
Just as Ginor was about to leave.
'Ah, right.'
Come to think of it, I had something to ask him.
"Just a moment."
"What is it?"
"About what we discussed at the fortress. I remember you mentioned having a favor to ask of me."
"..."
Ginor turned his head again without giving a specific answer.
"I'll tell you when the time comes. Well then."
After Ginor left.
'He'll tell me when the time comes, huh...'
I had no idea what kind of favor it might be, but I had already told him in advance that 'I can't accept unreasonable requests,' so it should be fine.
With that thought, I headed to Reika's room.
*
And then.
As soon as I entered the room, an overly energetic Reika greeted me.
"Ah, ah-ah-ah, h-hello...! M-M-Mr. S-Swen! T-Today the w-weather is...!!"
"Calm down."
I gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
"Eep...!"
After a few minutes had passed.
I carefully asked her, who now looked somewhat melted.
"There. Are you feeling calmer now?"
"Huh? Ah... y-yes, y-yes!"
After calming her down, I looked around her room.
There were delicious-looking cakes, cookies, bread, and milk laid out.
Did she prepare all of this?
"You didn't need to go to all this trouble."
"But, um... it's been so long since I've seen you, Mr. Swen...! I-I heard you fought for our country...!"
"Well, I was just in the rear unit. I don't know how to use any weapons."
"Is that so...? But you're wearing that nice sword at your side..."
"Oh, this?"
I drew the rapier at my side.
Come to think of it, Reika was the first person to notice it.
Usually, it was hidden by the cloak I wore.
"This is just for decoration."
"Decoration..."
"More than me, it was the generals, their commanders, and the soldiers who did the hard work."
Reika hesitated for a moment after hearing my words.
Then, gathering her courage, she squeezed out her words.
"B-But...! Even so... e-even if you were in the rear unit... I-I don't know much about it... but still, you risked your life to fight for us...! I-I think you worked hard."
She bowed her head deeply as she said this.
Right.
What would I gain by verbally overpowering Reika here?
"I think you're right, Reika. Thank you."
"Not at all...! I-I should be the one... th-thank you for protecting us...!"
She said this and then smiled broadly with a somewhat silly expression.
She's a person with more varied expressions than I expected.
"By the way, how have you been while I was away?"
"Ah! That's right!"
Reika clapped her hands once, then approached me with eyes shining like a child showing off a hidden toy.
"U-Um...! I have something to show you...!"
*
This was the garden behind the mansion.
Reika spread her hands and created a ball of flame just like before.
But what was different from before was—
"Ooh."
Reika skillfully transferred the completed ball of flame to her other palm.
After repeating this a few times, she hurled it toward a scarecrow in the distance.
Swooosh!
Bang!
The fireball hit the scarecrow that had been set up at some point.
Although its destructive power wasn't great, this was a remarkable achievement.
"Y-Yes, I'm not gasping for breath like before... and I can control it somewhat freely now...!"
"You've improved a lot, haven't you?"
"Yes! Just as you instructed... every day... I did that Burpee test? without missing a single day...! So now I can really sense the mana better, I mean...! Anyway, it was an amazing experience...!"
So she diligently did that meaningless exercise every day.
Well, it must have been good for her health, so I didn't need to feel too sorry.
It probably wasn't really because of what I told her to do that she became better at sensing mana.
It was likely just that her abilities were gradually blooming with time.
Still, from Reika's perspective, who had been experiencing a 'block' for quite a long time, this must have been a meaningful experience, as I could easily notice that the way she looked at me was somewhat different from before.
"It's just that all your hard work is finally showing results. It's not really anything I did."
"No...! After meeting you, I've become so much stronger...! I-I feel like I can do anything now...!"
"Is that so?"
I spoke in a very natural tone.
"Then shall we move on to the next step?"
"N-Next step...?"
"Yes. I think it's time for us to go outside."
"Outside...?"
She looked up at me in surprise as soon as she heard the word 'outside.'
Her pink eyes were rippling as if they contained the Milky Way.
And...
As soon as she heard my next words, the color of starlight momentarily flashed in those beautiful eyes.
"Let's go outside the mansion. Out into the world."
*
"Wow...!"
This was the hill not far from the castle.
She seemed delighted with everything she encountered, looking around for a long time and unable to contain her admiration.
"It's been so, so long... since I walked outside like this, normally."
Come to think of it, she was an orphan.
During her orphan days, she probably had no opportunity to look around as she was busy searching for food every day and protecting herself.
And after being taken in by Ginor, she seemed to have lived in what was essentially confinement, unable to go outside.
Given her circumstances, it was understandable that she would be so happy just from climbing a hill.
"I'm glad I brought you out."
"Did you bring me out on purpose, Mr. Swen...?"
In response to her question, I smoothly told a lie.
"Mana is more abundant in places where nature is preserved."
"Ohhh...!"
After hearing my words, she nodded and then closed her eyes.
She took a few deep breaths and remained silent as if meditating...
Suddenly.
"...Haah!!"
She opened her eyes wide and created a ball of flame in her hand.
One that was more than twice as large as the previous one.
'...!!'
Even I was surprised by this sight.
The fireball slowly disappeared from her hand.
"Wow... it's true! Just as you said, Mr. Swen... coming here, I can vividly feel the abundant mana throughout my body...!"
'...Really???'
Really?
Why?
Why is this actually true?
I had just spouted some plausible-sounding words without any basis.
But why did she actually get stronger so quickly?
Is mana really more abundant in places closer to nature?
Well, although it was a proposition I just made up, it did sound quite plausible when I thought about it.
The idea that mysterious powers like mana would be abundant in natural places was almost a standard rule in fantasy worlds.
Anyway.
It would be absurd for me to act bewildered here.
I nodded with a strange expression as if I had predicted everything.
"Didn't I tell you? I too can hear the voice of the heavens more clearly after meditating here."
"I see...! You really are amazing, Mr. Swen."
Reika looked at me with eyes full of admiration.
...Feeling the pressure of that innocent gaze on my shoulders, I realized anew—
Despite telling so many lies to various people, I still hadn't gotten used to it.
"Well then. Let's begin our training. Just repeat what you usually do. Are you ready?"
"Yes! I'm ready!"
Reika said enthusiastically, raising her hand forward.
Because she was wearing a sleeveless top, her smooth armpit momentarily entered my field of vision.
I quickly erased that image and said:
"Then... let's start with meditation."
"Yes!"
So I meditated with her.
Afterward, we did light exercises and spent a very fulfilling day.
Reika seemed to be in a good mood from being outside after a long time and followed along with everything enthusiastically, which made me feel quite good as well.
Honestly, apart from training or whatever—this was the first time since the day of the battle that I could relax and spend time at ease.
That alone made it an incredibly precious time for me.
* * *
Several hours earlier.
Ginor, who had just left home, was thinking about the white-haired young man he had just met.
'It was indeed a surprise attack. That man... everything happened exactly as Swen said.'
He recalled how Swen had confidently stated, "Brands' strategy is a surprise attack," while looking at him.
He had expressed his opinion with unwavering confidence in front of the national strategist, and that opinion turned out to be correct.
After the battle, Ginor had thought long and hard.
A man who claimed not to be a magician but could sense mana's power and communicate with the heavens, a miracle-worker who had dropped a stone from the sky.
Such a man was also showing proficiency in tactics.
Moreover, he had the audacity to ask the national strategist of the Aishers army, "Why are you with the Aishers army?"
Throughout his years, Ginor had always realized how much he didn't know, but if there was one thing he prided himself on, it was his ability to judge people.
And the more he observed Swen, the more he couldn't shake the feeling that this was not a man who would be satisfied with merely obtaining a key position in the Aishers army.
'It would be good if he remained with our army, but in the long term, he could become an enemy of the Aishers army.'
If that happened, it would be problematic in many ways.
Turning such a talented individual into an enemy would not be wise.
While the public was focusing on the female knight Irene, who had a reputation as the main betrayer, and there was some truth to that context—
Ginor thought that what the Brands army had truly lost was Swen rather than Irene.
And indeed, as soon as this man became their enemy, didn't the Brands army begin to collapse like a lie?
Although Irene had played a role, it was fundamentally Swen who first noticed the surprise attack.
If Swen hadn't been there, it was clear that they would have been defeated due to Epinel's stubbornness.
'So what should be done?'
Ginor was currently following Yuuri, and he would prefer if she unified the continent—
But he wasn't of the opinion that 'the Aishers army must unify it.'
As long as it wasn't a tyrant like Serphina, he was prepared to lend his wisdom to anyone who was wise and virtuous.
To that extent, he didn't want to be enemies with a man like Swen, even if they served different lords.
Ginor recalled a military treatise he had read recently.
There was one passage that particularly stuck in his mind.
[If you cannot defeat an opponent, join that opponent.]
'A way to build a relationship that transcends factions with him...'
At that moment, a figure flashed through Ginor's mind.
His adopted daughter, Reika.
Looking at it objectively?
Twenty years old this year. A young lady around Swen's age with no experience with men.
Since he had taken her in at a very young age and rarely let her go outside, she would not be a bad candidate for a bride.
Ginor was a man with a sharp mind.
As it happened, he had an opportunity to ask him for a favor.
If he was rejected, there was nothing to be done, but he thought it was worth trying.
Swen didn't seem to have a wife yet.
'Come to think of it, Swen didn't have a family name.'
The value of the Nighthart name, though embarrassing to say himself—
Was worthy of being called a prestigious family on the continent.
Even though noble families and aristocracy had lost their meaning in these turbulent times, wouldn't it be quite attractive to him, who was of common birth?
'I should explain this to Reika as well. He is also a vigorous young man, so there must be something Reika can do.'
Ginor Nighthart.
Despite his advanced age, he was constantly thinking of ways to survive in these chaotic times.