Day 2 of the vacation.
“Ah, I found it.”
Rania stopped in front of a shop.
She opened the booklet in her hand, compared it to the shop’s sign, and nodded. It seemed she had arrived at the right place.
The shop’s name was Benephit.
The booklet she held was titled [Top 10 Dessert Shops You Must Visit in the Royal Capital!].
Rania hummed as she stepped into the shop. Although the booklet mentioned that reservations were required to visit, that wasn’t particularly important information for her.
“Ah, Hero! If you plan to visit any famous shops in the Royal Capital, you should take this…”
Before moving to the Royal Capital, Knight Tephran, who was in charge of Rania’s newspaper and dessert supplies, handed her a badge.
“If you show this badge to the owner, you should be able to enter any shop without waiting. And you can do so while keeping your identity as a Hero hidden.”
She didn’t quite understand what the badge was, but if Tephran said so, it must be true. With such light thoughts in mind, Rania placed her fingers on the shop’s doorknob.
“Hm.”
Just before she opened the shop’s door, she looked at her reflection in the window. Her hair was a deep black. Though her eye color hadn’t changed, it was easy to not recognize someone just by changing hair color.
The disguise spell was properly cast.
Confirmation complete, Rania opened the shop’s door.
*
Benephit, a dessert shop located near the square.
Benephit had recently claimed the top spot in a voting among noble young ladies for the ‘Must-Visit Shop’, to the point where there was a joke that one shouldn’t discuss desserts with anyone who hadn’t tasted Benephit’s pancakes.
With such a reputation, reserving a place at Benephit was quite a challenge, and even tasting the desserts was no easy feat.
‘It must be like that…’
The shop owner glanced at a corner of the shop with his narrowed eyes. At the window seat with a clear view of the square sat a woman.
“I heard their pancakes are really famous.”
“Is there any seating left?”
“I’d like to take some to-go if it’s okay.”
Though it’s the shop’s rule not to accept customers without a reservation, exceptions do exist. The badge the woman had subtly revealed caught the owner’s attention. The moment he saw it, he immediately guided her to the window seat. He had to.
The badge the woman displayed.
He had heard about it through rumors. Information shared among owners of famous dessert shops or cafés.
“I heard Benephit made it into the booklet this time.”
“Then special guests will be coming soon, right?”
When a shop gains fame, special customers arrive.
“He looks just like a knight from the battlefield. That person comes and hands over a badge, even showing documents related to resource procurement, right?”
“I heard it was directly commissioned by the Hero, perhaps Hero Chloe, or that legendary…”
Could it be him?
“Exactly! Legendary barista Allen even said that Rania loved desserts since her days as a professor in Apuria.”
“Anyway, if you see that badge, treat her as well as you can. If we contact the Knights Order later, they might send us a handsome tip, plus it’ll be an honor…”
A badge he had only heard of from floating rumors.
The moment he saw that badge, the shop owner felt proud and, with utmost respect, guided the visiting lady to the window seat.
‘Now that I think about it, wasn’t it said that a knight would come to visit?’
He glanced at the woman seated by the window.
No matter how he looked at it, she didn’t resemble a knight from the battlefield at all. Her long, flowing black hair down to her waist and her skin shimmering under the sunlight gave her an enigmatic feel.
‘Moreover, she seems more like she came to enjoy the shop than to procure resources…’
…Could it be a preliminary visit?
If that were the case, it made sense.
Before the Hero personally visits, she could send a subordinate to test it out…
Indeed, a plausible assumption.
Then he must prepare meticulously. He walked to the kitchen, shoulders squared, in anticipation of the day the Hero would come.
2.
The desserts gleamed under the sunlight.
Rania began to indulge in the desserts, a light smile on her face. While she would occasionally enjoy sweet treats thanks to Tephran’s requests, there was no comparison to freshly made ones.
‘I should enjoy myself while I’m in the Royal Capital.’
Casting a disguise spell wasn’t easy, but Rania hummed to herself, feeling it was worth the trouble. Just as she took a bite of the golden pancake and sipped her coffee, a moment arrived.
“Do you need anything more?”
As soon as her coffee cup was set down, a staff member appeared like a phantom. Nodding her head, Rania watched them quickly replace her coffee cup and couldn’t help but admire briefly.
‘It’s no wonder they’re popular.’
Even the employees’ movements are extraordinary.
As Rania enjoyed her satisfying meal, the shop’s door opened gently. She felt the gazes of the other customers, who had originally been focused on her, shift toward the door. Rania tilted her head to glance in that direction.
The primary clientele of Benephit were noble young ladies, so-called ‘ladies’, and standing where they gazed was a young man.
White hair, golden eyes.
His striking good looks turned heads.
The young man clad in a robe, a symbol of a mage, surveyed his surroundings and met Rania’s gaze. His golden eyes instantly penetrated her disguise spell, and Rania, in turn, saw through his disguise as well.
Cardi van Armiel.
Instead of altering his entire appearance as usual, Cardi had merely concealed his elf-like ears. Upon locking eyes with Rania, he smirked before walking toward her.
Click, click, as the sound of his shoes echoed.
With every step he took, the eyes that had been focused on him began to shift gradually. Cardi sat opposite Rania, letting out a short breath.
“I came looking for something.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I tracked your presence.”
“Stating it that way gives me chills. Are you a stalker?”
Rania joked while cutting her pancake into bite-sized pieces, and Cardi nonchalantly picked up an extra fork placed on the table.
“Well, depending on the situation, that description isn’t entirely wrong…”
Smack.
Rania smacked Cardi’s hand holding the fork.
“Put the fork down.”
“…”
His voice was so chilling that Cardi set the fork down obediently. His hand stung a bit. ‘You’re being ridiculously petty,’ he mumbled to himself, folding his arms.
“I thought about waiting until you found me again, but I figured it wouldn’t be bad to come looking for you once.”
“Oh really?”
“Yep. So I’ve come to deliver my answer.”
His response was short and simple.
“I will. According to your plan.”
“…Won’t you regret it?”
“I think it’ll be more regretful to not do so. Plus, this will likely be my last chance.”
“Fast decision-making. I was planning to wait a few more days.”
“Well, it’s not that fast.”
Cardi grinned bitterly.
Just loud enough for Rania to hear.
“It’s been centuries since I last had a choice.”
He exhaled deeply.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a chance that’s miraculously aligned. If I let this go, I feel like there will be no next time for me.”
“Is that how it is?”
“That’s how it is.”
A moment of silence followed.
Then Cardi opened his mouth.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
It wasn’t the kind of thing one would normally say in a shop like this, but still, Cardi continued speaking.
“This is my answer to the choice you presented.”
He pointed at the robe he wore.
The pattern embroidered on the robe was one that no one in this age would recognize. Yet, Rania was well aware of that pattern.
The symbol of the first Hero and his companions.
At the same time, it symbolized the first Master of the Ashen Tower.
The robe of the Grand Magus, Cardi van Armiel.
A robe that once belonged to Rania’s friend, Raniel, when she “borrowed it”. Now, with the returned original appearance, Cardi resembled the past Grand Magus Rania had seen at the northern tower, no different at all.
It wasn’t merely that Cardi was an ageless elf.
The atmosphere surrounding Cardi now was entirely different from his usual demeanor. If the typical Cardi had felt like a retired old man sitting in the back of the battlefield…
‘Now it feels the opposite.’
He was someone determined to step back onto the battlefield.
Someone who had made up his mind. A gaze reflecting resolve and the choice to move forward was palpable. With a smile at that sight, Rania felt happy. The fact that he wore this robe indicated he had made up his mind as well.
The resolve to move forward again.
“Sounds good.”
The time of an elf that had stood still for centuries was about to flow once more. Learning that her long-time friend and senior was standing up again made Rania smile.
“So when do you want to join? I’ve already given Resti a heads-up, but you can come whenever you’re comfortable…”
“Right now.”
“…I’m technically on vacation?”
“Then you can just come join me after your vacation. I can go up first without any issue.”
Rania let out a short laugh.
“What’s with you, Cardi? Why do you look so rushed?”
“Didn’t you see what was happening at the northern tower?”
Cardi folded his arms and replied nonchalantly.
“That’s just how I am.”
Finicky, anxious, and impatient mage.
That was why he had reached the realm of the Grand Magus.
“The Master of the Tower must be both finicky and impatient. If you see work to be done, you ought to get it done first, right?”
“That’s a virtue of a mage, indeed.”
“That’s what I said when I established the Ashen Tower.”
“Of course you would.”
The Wise One and the Grand Magus.
The first Ashen Mage and the later Ashen Mage.
They exchanged smiles, looking at each other.
2.
The day of returning after three days of vacation.
“Welcome back.”
“Yes, Master.”
Rania exchanged brief greetings with Rosel and began to walk away. She had arrived via a teleportation gate but had no intention of using it for the return trip. There was a place she needed to stop by before she arrived at the battlefield.
As she walked outside the castle walls, a carriage was waiting for her.
“You’re here.”
Upon opening the door of the carriage, waiting inside was Cardi. Nodding briefly at him, Rania plopped down into the carriage.
“I have somewhere to stop by first.”
“Did you say it’s somewhere that requires me to come along?”
“It’s for convenience.”
Rania manipulated the carriage to input the destination.
“I have to at least see their face. They’re probably still sleeping like a log… well.”
As Cardi checked the destination she input, he cracked a smile.
“Definitely, it’ll be more convenient to go with me.”
The input destination was the Forest.
A gigantic forest centered around the World Tree.
The sacred land of the elves, Yggdrasil.
“Let’s depart.”
The carriage began to move towards that place.
