"That's all for today."
"Yes! Thank you so much for your hard work today!"
After saying goodbye to Swen, Reika quietly returned to her room and reflected on the time she had spent with him over the past few days.
'It was really amazing! That small waterfall.'
Though it wasn't particularly large, the waterfall was still beautiful enough to capture in her eyes. She remembered reading in a novel about someone meditating on rocks where waterfall water cascaded down... but Swen had told her that was just fiction.
For the past few days, she had been able to spend time outside the castle, continuously exploring nature.
As Swen had said, nature contained an abundance of mana. All the energy surrounding her body was mana. Reika was born with the ability to detect mana mixed in the air, but she had never felt it this clearly before. It felt as though all her consistent training was finally beginning to bloom.
As for her magic, it continued to develop smoothly. She could now create larger fireballs, maintain them for longer periods, and control them more freely. She recalled Swen's words about trying to visualize an "ice spear" instead of a fireball in their next session. Though she didn't quite grasp what he meant yet... somehow she felt she could do it. Following his instructions had genuinely improved her magical abilities!
Swen was a peculiar man. He clearly stated that "he was not a magician," and yet he often spoke as if he had known about magic all along. He suggested things she had never even thought of before, but after hearing them from him, she felt she could actually try them.
'Could Swen be... a magician like me, but hiding his identity for some reason?'
She had heard that Swen once performed a miracle by opening the sky and dropping a massive boulder. To Reika, who could barely create a fireball in her palm, that seemed like something beyond magic. Would she ever be able to perform such incredible miracles if she continued her training?
As she continued these various thoughts, Reika arrived at a more fundamental question.
If Swen was indeed hiding his identity as a magician... was this an ability that shouldn't be revealed to the outside world? Could the reason her father wouldn't let her go outside be related to the need to hide her identity as a magician?
Just then.
"Reika."
"...!!"
From beyond the door, she heard the voice of her father, Ginor. Reika couldn't help but be startled. Her father rarely came to her room.
The only times her father sought her out were to check on her magical training progress. And since Swen had begun teaching her, even those visits had stopped. As the national strategist, he surely had many busy matters to attend to. Reika had never particularly sought paternal affection from Ginor, so she didn't feel much regret about him not visiting her.
'What could he want?'
While Reika was too tense to answer, Ginor's voice came through the door again.
"Are you there?"
"Ah, yes...! I'm here."
"May I come in?"
"Y-yes...!"
With that, Ginor entered Reika's room. Reika quickly stood up and bowed to him.
"W-welcome, Father."
Ginor naturally took a seat in one of the chairs in her room.
"So. How is your training progressing?"
"It has improved significantly compared to before."
"Is that so?"
Reika briefly demonstrated her progress to Ginor. He nodded with satisfaction as he watched her control a sphere of flame in various ways for quite some time without getting winded.
"You seem to have worked hard. How is the learning process?"
"Swen has been teaching me in a very easy-to-understand way. Ah, um, I..."
"Go ahead and speak."
"I... thank you for allowing me to go outside."
Reika bowed in gratitude. No matter how abundant the mana was outside, she wouldn't have had the chance to experience it if her father, Ginor, hadn't permitted her to leave.
"..."
Ginor looked at Reika as she offered her thanks and spoke in a serious tone.
"Are you truly grateful to me?"
It was a somewhat peculiar question, but Reika answered without hesitation. Though he had kept her from leaving the house, it was true that he had taken her in when she was an orphan.
"I have never forgotten your kindness, Father. I am always grateful that you took me in and cared for me. This is my sincere truth."
"...Hmm."
Ginor rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought for a moment, then looked at her again with a very serious expression.
Reika instinctively shrank back, wondering if she had done something wrong.
"Um, well..."
"I didn't come to scold you. Relax."
"Then... why?"
"What do you think of Swen?"
"Pardon...?"
What do I think of Swen? Is he asking about Swen as my teacher? After all, it was her father, Ginor, who had appointed Swen as her instructor.
"Well... he has taught me very clearly about how to enhance my ability to read mana. As a result of following his teachings, I've actually made quite a lot of progress—"
"That's not what I'm asking."
"...?"
"What do you think of him as a husband?"
"...What...??"
What did he say? Husband? He means... a marriage partner?
Suddenly? Since her father had never asked such an ordinary question before, she was too shocked to answer.
"I... I don't understand what you mean all of a sudden..."
"I mean exactly what I said. How would you feel if Swen became your husband?"
"...I, I, well, that's..."
Reika bowed her head with a deeply flushed face. She had never once thought of him that way. Was it because she didn't see Swen as a man? No. The reason she hadn't thought about it was exactly the opposite. She feared it would be presumptuous for someone like her to view someone of Swen's caliber as a potential partner.
His well-groomed white hair and fair skin gave him a mysterious aura unlike other men her age. Whenever he smiled and said, "You can do it," it felt like wonderful encouragement to her, who always longed for someone to lean on. And, though this thought might be somewhat improper... wasn't he extremely handsome? That's why she couldn't even imagine having a place by his side. She was old enough to know not to covet something completely beyond her reach.
"Do you dislike the idea?"
"What? No, no! It's not that I dislike it..."
"Then that's good."
Unlike the flustered Reika who didn't know what to do, Ginor remained extremely calm.
"Um... Father. I... I can't follow this conversation."
"Hmm? You can't even follow this much? I thought you were quite perceptive."
"No, it's just, I..."
Without waiting for Reika's answer, Ginor went straight to the point.
"I'm thinking of proposing a marriage arrangement to him."
"Marriage... arrangement, you say?"
"Yes. He is an extraordinary individual, so it's necessary to establish a deep relationship with him."
Having said that much, Ginor continued in an extremely businesslike tone. To an outsider, it wouldn't appear to be a normal father-daughter relationship.
"If you haven't forgotten your gratitude toward me, please marry him quietly. Of course, this is assuming he agrees."
"..."
Reika couldn't say anything and just kept her head bowed. Marriage to Swen. It wasn't that she disliked the idea. That was absolutely not the case. But... everything was too sudden.
"...If you really dislike it, I can't force you, but I would appreciate if you thought about it positively. Think it over."
Ginor stood up and quietly left the room.
Though she wasn't sure what to do right away, her father's last words were clearly etched in her mind.
'If he agrees... does that mean Swen's thoughts on this are still unknown?'
If that was the case, there was no need to make a fuss prematurely. Reika let out a long sigh.
'Marriage...'
Naturally, from the position of someone who had to marry whoever Ginor directly told her to marry, regardless of who it was... Swen wasn't actually a bad match. No, perhaps there couldn't be a better match. While it was common to see daughters move according to family interests, Ginor was at least trying to respect her opinion by saying she could refuse if she really disliked the idea.
'But wait... Swen isn't married yet?'
She thought a man like Swen would already have a wife or two. At the same time... she recalled the red-haired female knight who had been beside him when she first met Swen. She was very strong and reliable, but at the same time, extremely beautiful with feminine curves.
'Who was she? Just a bodyguard...?'
If I were to marry Swen, would that female knight guard me too...?
Foolishly, those were the thoughts running through her mind.
* * *
"Achoo!"
"Are you alright, Irene?"
"Uh... yes. I'm fine. Just a sudden sneeze."
Irene said this as she took a bite of cake from the table. And then—
"Ohhh...!"
With her purple eyes sparkling, she placed a hand on her cheek and genuinely exclaimed in admiration.
"This is really delicious!"
"I'm glad it suits your taste."
"Hmm. Swen, you said this was made by the child you're teaching?"
"Yes. I thought it would go well with tea, so I brought some."
What I was doing was—
Having tea time with Irene.
I had thought Reika's cake would go very well with the tea Irene brewed, and it seemed I was right. Seeing Irene's delighted expression, I almost wished I had brought some cookies too.
"It's an amazing flavor. Even Anel Castle didn't have cake this delicious."
"How would you know?"
"Well, that's... oh."
"You must have tried them all, I see."
"..."
At my words, Irene suddenly closed her mouth and blushed, putting on a serious face.
"...T-that's not the important issue right now. Hmm."
Seeing Irene like that, I couldn't help but laugh. How peaceful.
Though I thought this peace wouldn't last long. Still, I immersed myself fully in this moment, like soaking in an ocean. So I wouldn't regret it later.
*
And so I spent my days teaching Reika during the day and spending time with Irene at home in the evenings. While my daily life was more peaceful than ever, the continental situation was exactly the opposite.
The first shocking news to arrive: The northern Kelstein Castle had fallen. This was undoubtedly a historic moment worthy of the history books, as Serphina's army finally advanced into the central continent.
For now, only Brands' army was effectively facing the border. But with Kelstein Castle—which had been blocking the northern entrance like a fortress—fallen, the collapse of the defense line behind it was a foregone conclusion. Now, whether they liked it or not, the continent's lords would have to find their own way to survive in the face of the massive wave that was Serphina's army.
And almost simultaneously...
The sky-blue flag of Raclaine Castle was lowered. And atop its tall spire, the red flag of Aishers' army was raised.
Raclaine Castle, the easternmost fortress of Brands' army. And Kelstein Castle, the northernmost fortress. Both had fallen almost simultaneously.
It was truly a massive tectonic shift.
If there was any consolation for Brands' army, it was that the southern Roland and Hesna armies, which shared borders with them, were staying quiet without invading Brands' territory. It seemed they were reluctant to make a move, watching the situation, probably thinking that the moment they withdrew troops to invade Brands' army, their home base could be attacked.
Regardless, with both the northern and eastern important border lines already breached—
'Brands' army is finished now.'
Far from continental unification, they would have to consider the possibility of becoming a minor nation.
On a day when the world situation was rapidly changing like a massive tsunami had passed through...
"Excuse me. Are you Sir Swen?"
"Yes, I am..."
As I was heading to the Nighthart family mansion as usual, a soldier from Aishers' army approached me.
"My Lord is looking for you."
"Your Lord?"
He's calling for me? I couldn't think of any particular reason why he would...
'Well, there must be a reason.'
I immediately made my way to the royal castle of Valhalart.