Wude had been busy these past few days. He was handling his own orders, planning to clear every last one of them before leaving with Alreis to search for the Blessing of Life and prepare for Lingyue’s revival.
Even so, Wude had already vaguely realized that reviving Lingyue might be far harder than he had imagined. It might even cost him his life. Maybe Alreis’s too.
Did he really hate Alreis?
Wude asked himself that.
Fairly speaking, he knew Lingyue had died by Alreis’s hand. That much couldn’t be denied. But what had Alreis actually done wrong? Nothing. She was simply too strong, so strong that the other Ascendant Sovereigns had grown afraid of her.
Wude didn’t fully understand how the Ascendant Sovereigns thought, but he had come from another world. He still understood one thing well enough: people don’t fear scarcity as much as they fear imbalance. Alreis’s power had gone beyond what the other Ascendant Sovereigns could tolerate, so they moved to eliminate her. Lingyue, because of the coercive summons from the others, had no choice but to stand against Alreis as well.
What could anyone even do about something like that?
If the time came and he was going to die... then maybe he should let Alreis leave.
She shouldn’t die for Lingyue.
Fairly speaking, Alreis could only be called a victim too, even if Wude still couldn’t completely let go of Lingyue’s death...
Dong dong dong!
Just as Wude’s thoughts were spiraling, someone knocked on the blacksmith shop door.
“Coming, coming!”
Wude guessed it was probably someone here to pick up a custom weapon or something. Alreis was still inside doing laundry.
“Big Brother Wude, I finally get to see you again!!!”
But reality was very different from what he expected.
The moment Wude opened the door, some suspicious object pounced and tackled him straight to the ground, rubbing its head against his chest over and over.
“This feeling... Elisa?”
Wude gave up on sitting up and just reached out to rub the suspicious object’s head.
“Correct!”
Elisa sprang up from on top of him, lifted her skirt, and spun in a circle.
Wude looked her over carefully. She was around 150 centimeters tall now. Her golden hair was still done in the same twin tails as before, and her eyes still sparkled just like they used to...
All in all, she looked basically the same as when he had last seen her, just one size bigger.
Come to think of it, her chest had grown too. It was way fuller than Alreis’s, though Wude had no idea exactly how big.
“Elisa, you really are still adorable. And the Life Magic Academy uniform too...”
Wude let out that heartfelt sigh.
As the name suggested, the Life Magic Academy was the highest-level magic academy within the domain ruled by the Blessing of Life. Back then, Lingyue had discovered Elisa’s exceptional talent for magic, so with Lingyue’s help, she had applied to the academy and successfully enrolled. Since then, Wude hadn’t seen her for a whole year.
“Well, of course! I am super cute, after all!”
Elisa put her hands on her hips and wore a smug expression. Honestly, she really was cute.
“Right, right. Elisa’s the cutest.”
Wude stood up and launched his technique once more—
“Martial Art—Headpat Kill.”
Elisa accepted Wude’s petting with complete satisfaction.
“Wude, what’s going on? Why’s it so noisy...”
A certain loli... no, Ascendant Sovereign came out holding clothes, clearly about to hang them up to dry.
“??!!!!”
Alreis hadn’t even spoken yet, but Elisa was already stunned.
“Big Brother Wude, you’re actually keeping another woman in the house behind my back?!”
Elisa slipped out from under Wude’s hand, pointed dramatically, and aimed straight at Alreis.
“Eh?? N-no, that’s not it. Wude and I aren’t in that kind of relationship.”
Wude was still in a daze, but Alreis was already panicking hard. She looked exactly like someone who’d just been caught red-handed and hurriedly tried to explain.
“Liar!”
Elisa didn’t believe a word of it.
“Why?”
“In broad daylight, inside the house, and you’re wearing something that revealing. You’re obviously trying to seduce Big Brother Wude!!”
Elisa furiously denounced Alreis, then immediately turned around with teary eyes and looked at Wude.
“Big Brother Wude, it’s only been one short year. How did you turn into this kind of person? Uwaaah...”
“No, she, she’s, um... right, my hired maid!”
For some reason, Wude started stammering too.
And seriously, why was Alreis still wearing that maid outfit? Didn’t she hate it a lot?
“Big Brother Wude, are you even lying to me now?”
Elisa looked utterly betrayed and refused to believe him.
“Big Brother Wude barely has any money. How could you possibly afford a maid like her?”
“Wh—”
Wude took critical damage. He dropped to his knees and faded into grayscale.
“No, I’m, um...”
Seeing that Wude was no longer functioning, Alreis had no choice but to explain herself.
“Wude found me injured and stranded in the wilderness, so he saved me and brought me back. I became his maid... to repay him...”
Alreis explained in a halting voice.
“With your body?”
Elisa was not buying it at all.
“Eh? N-no, but if you put it that way, then it kind of... no, that’s not right.”
Blushing, Alreis recalled the things Wude had done to her.
“...”
This time, it was Elisa’s turn to turn grayscale. She dropped to her knees and muttered things like, “Big Brother Wude has become a dirty adult...”
Smack!
While Alreis was still in shy mode, she suddenly took a hand chop to the head. She instantly crouched down and covered her head.
Of course, in reality, Wude’s hand was the one that was about to break.
“You two, stop messing around already, okay? Let me explain properly...”
The two blondes, one crouching and one kneeling, finally nodded at each other, stood up, and straightened their clothes.
Wude spent a very long time explaining before Elisa finally, reluctantly, accepted the story.
Alreis was a girl with a tragic past. She had ended up alone and helpless when she drifted into the village. Wude had happened to run into her while he was out buying equipment, and in a burst of kindness, he had saved her and brought her home. Then Alreis had decided to become his maid in repayment...
A story so dramatic it sounded like something straight out of a heroic epic.
“By the way, Elisa, weren’t you studying at the Life Magic Academy? Why did you suddenly come back?”
Wude raised the question.
The Life Magic Academy was a place with very strict control. Even during breaks, students still had assignments to complete. Normally, unless someone had a very powerful family background, they had almost no free time and had to deal with all kinds of tasks. Of course, if your background was strong enough, someone else could handle those tedious jobs for you.
But Elisa, who came from a tiny village, obviously didn’t have that kind of advantage.
“About that... it has to do with a mission from the academy.”
Elisa hesitated for a moment.
“It’s supposed to be confidential, but it should be fine if I tell Big Brother Wude...”
“If it’s troublesome, then forget it. I’m not that curious.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want to hide things from Big Brother Wude.”
Elisa put on an unconcerned look.
“Actually, the whole thing is kind of strange. I heard it might be related to the battle among the Ascendant Sovereigns. Of course, that’s just rumor...”
Elisa fell into thought, as if considering how to begin.
But Wude and Alreis instantly perked up and focused on what she was about to say.
“Anyway, the academy assigned every student a mandatory mission. We have to search the entire country for something. As for what it is exactly, nobody knows. They only gave us a mirror and said it would naturally glow when it got close to that thing...”
Elisa slowly explained everything she knew.
“But some people guessed it has to do with the previous battle among the Ascendant Sovereigns. They say the Blessing of Life has gone missing... Of course, that’s just a rumor. But it’s true that the Blessing of Life hasn’t appeared for a very long time. It’s only the Sage handling all kinds of affairs now. So some people think this thing might be meant to find the Blessing of Life. But that’s ridiculous, right? The Blessing of Life is so strong. How could anything happen to them?”
As someone who had grown up on the land of the Blessing of Life, Elisa deeply admired the Blessing of Life.
Wude and Alreis exchanged a glance, as if they had thought of the same thing.
“Um, Elisa, can you let me see that mirror?”
Wude asked.
“Ah, if Big Brother Wude wants to see it, then of course!”
Elisa took a small mirror out of her bag.
And no, don’t start thinking about spatial storage bags. Not everyone had strong control over space. Storage through spatial magic was a luxury reserved for nobles.
“This mirror looks pretty ordinary!”
Wude examined it carefully. There didn’t seem to be anything special about it at all. Even the pattern on it was just a very ordinary flower.
“Alreis, take a look.”
Wude casually handed the mirror to Alreis. In truth, he just wanted her to confirm something.
Alreis took the mirror and let her mental power seep into it.
“Mm. It really does seem ordinary.”
Alreis returned the mirror to Elisa. At the same time, she blinked at Wude, and Wude gave her a knowing look in return.
“Elisa, how long is this mission supposed to last?”
Wude asked.
“Mm, a full two months. They said whatever happens along the way should count as our own training or something. I really don’t know what the academy is trying to do, and the reward system isn’t clear either...”
“In that case, let’s go with Elisa.”
Wude made the proposal.
“Eh?? Big Brother Wude is coming with me?”
Elisa sounded surprised, but not quite sure she had heard right.
“The academy did say we could find outside help, but doesn’t Big Brother Wude still need to run the shop?”
“As for the shop, I was already planning to go out and see more of the world anyway. Besides, Elisa, you’re already Rank Five now, right? You’re practically on par with that guy Frisi, aren’t you? You can protect me just fine, can’t you?”
Wude smiled.
“Mm! O-okay.”
Elisa was struck head-on by Wude’s bright smile. It was like a pink aura bloomed around her.
“I’ll definitely, definitely protect Big Brother Wude.”
“Mm, then it’s settled!”
