Chapter 334: The Understander
Aris Richellen is an intelligent person.
She trusts her own senses and talents, yet knows how to listen to others.
Even after achieving the realm of a wizard, she strives to find joy and passion within it.
A person who can see reality yet still value inner goodness.
She is a true seeker of magic, knowing that some things can only be obtained by bending, never breaking.
It would be a lie to say that her presence, regretting that her talent wasn’t given a fitting environment yet not rushing to offer sympathy, didn’t stand out.
She was a good person, so Lennok wanted to get closer; she was an exceptional person, so he wanted to keep his distance.
He opened his heart to her innate goodness, yet he always thought that he might make a mistake someday.
And Aris wasn’t a lax person who would dismiss Lennok’s minor blunders as mere oddities.
“You’re nervous.”
Davi whispered from within his coat.
“You’re nervous, Master.”
“……Be quiet.”
“Why? Aren’t you wobbling?”
“I’m just not used to it.”
“Ugh!”
Lennok pulled Davi out of his coat, held her upside down, and firmly gripped her tail.
“The spirit is dying~ The spirit is hurting~ Master is tormenting me~”
Lennok sighed deeply as he watched the little fox swing back and forth, humming like a yodel.
“That’s enough… Just keep your tail in check.”
Davi, who had been sleeping soundly all day in the house, was finally able to hide the number of her tails three days later.
At this point, it might seem pointless, but doubt and certainty are entirely different things, aren’t they?
Since Aris had been the one to initiate the meeting, Lennok also needed to prepare accordingly.
“As you can see, preparations are perfect.”
Davi replied, curling up and hugging her two tails with her front paws.
“……”
“Joke. Joke.”
The sly little fox, sensing a familiar magical energy from across the street, blurred her two tails and hid inside his coat.
Lennok naturally raised his head and looked at the person already waiting at their meeting spot.
Aris’s back as she stood with her hands clasped behind her back, looking up at a street billboard.
Her golden hair was so vivid that Lennok could spot her at a glance even amidst the crowd.
As Aris turned her head, her blue eyes met Lennok’s gaze.
He quickly checked his appearance upon seeing Aris walking towards him. Lennok cleared his throat and spoke first.
“It’s been a while.”
“Has it?”
“……It’s been over a week since I saw you in the lab.”
At her smiling retort, Lennok quickly changed the subject.
“More importantly, I didn’t expect you to pick a place like this for our meeting. I thought you disliked busy places.”
It wasn’t a lie. The bustling street they were standing on was quite different from what Lennok had expected the moment he received Aris’s message.
If Aris had truly just wanted an answer, if she had wanted to resolve all the questions that had accumulated so far, wouldn’t she have chosen a quieter place than this?
Aris gently nodded at Lennok’s words.
“Now that I think about it, we’ve only ever met in the library or the lab, haven’t we?”
“That’s true, but…”
“Research into Spirit Spells is hitting a wall anyway, so I thought it would be good to clear our heads, which is why I called you.”
“Clear your heads?”
“Yes. When I lived in the Magic Tower, my master used to let me experience things like this sometimes. He said experiencing and understanding the mundane world was also part of a wizard’s essential qualities. Now, I’m giving Lennok that experience.”
Aris smiled slightly, a little embarrassed, as she said that.
“And while we’re at it, there are some things I want to say.”
“……”
Seeing Aris begin to walk ahead without waiting for a reply, Lennok let out a small sigh.
It was an unfamiliar experience. He hadn’t invested much time or money in experiencing the amenities of this city.
But if Aris wished for it, he had no choice but to accompany her.
Lennok followed Aris, who walked with a slightly excited, cheerful stride.
As if her words about experiencing the mundane world weren’t a lie, Aris, as if determined, began to drag Lennok through various parts of the bustling street.
“Lennok, how’s this book on basic magic theory?”
“It’s crude. It’s difficult for an introductory book, but for a specialized text, its depth is shallow–”
“It’s a book written by one of our Magic Tower elders.”
“–not shallow at all, rather profound, I’m quite surprised. It shows a boldness in including unverified theories in an introduction… Hah. Please stop teasing me.”
“Oh-ho-ho… !”
They browsed through various books at a bookstore.
“The movie we just watched. The ending was so touching.”
“Is that so?”
“I found myself tearing up a little without realizing it. How about you, Lennok?”
“The part where the male lead couldn’t grasp the female protagonist’s feelings felt a bit awkward. It was amazing how dense he could be.”
“……”
“Professor? Your pace seems to have suddenly quickened…”
He blundered a comment on a movie they had just watched.
“They say the cake here is incredibly delicious.”
“It’s not far from the library. Haven’t you ever come alone?”
“Well, it’s a bit too much for one person…”
“……”
“……Why?”
“It’s nothing.”
They looked down at the city view from a high-rise cafeteria.
Between the thick mug and the rising steam of coffee, Lennok keenly observed Aris’s face sitting opposite him.
And then he realized something he had known for a long time.
Her smile. A similar smile was now reflected like a mirror on his own face.
“……”
Since he had woken up in this world, he hadn’t thought he would ever experience a moment like this.
This time, stopping his endlessly racing steps and looking back, wasn’t so bad after all.
Aris’s smile seemed to be telling Lennok that.
“Thank you for coming out today despite the bothersome contact.”
“Not at all.”
And at the end of this day. On the library rooftop overlooking Vulcan’s nightscape.
Even in this city, filled with chaos and desire, the night view past midnight felt transiently beautiful.
Lennok realized his heart wavering as he watched Aris’s back, her hands on the rooftop railing, gazing down at the city lights.
Her golden hair, subtly shining even amidst the dark night sky. Her blue eyes, as deep as the ocean.
Because in this moment, as he fully absorbed her image, he couldn’t help but think that this opportunity might never come again.
Does she know? No, she must be waiting.
He had tried not to give her certainty, yet Aris had followed traces and mistakes only she could perceive, reaching this point.
She had already reached the answer but had postponed the moment of checking the answer sheet.
Solely to hear that answer directly from Lennok’s lips.
“……”
He parted his lips.
The moment he had contemplated hundreds of times was finally before him, yet he still hesitated.
What should he say?
What words should he utter first to convey Lennok’s thoughts?
Words are imperfect, twisted, distorted, and lead to misunderstanding.
But Lennok also knew that sincerity, unexpressed, was an illusion.
That’s why he had to speak.
Because the person who deserved to hear that answer had always been waiting for his words.
Even if he couldn’t tell her everything right now, he had to give her certainty.
Just letting her know that Aris’s questions and waiting weren’t in vain. Just that much wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
As he accepted that truth in a corner of his heart, his lips naturally opened.
“Aris.”
Lennok said in a low voice.
“I……”
“Before I came here today, there was something I originally intended to say.”
Aris cut Lennok off.
She turned her head.
“And there was something I wanted to hear.”
“……”
“But, I changed my mind.”
Her face wore a faint smile.
A smile Lennok had seen countless times whenever he met her.
But Lennok could no longer tell what Aris was thinking.
Aris, with her back turned, slowly walked towards Lennok, then slightly past him.
The two stood with their backs to each other. Aris gently rested her head on Lennok’s back and closed her eyes.
“I’m returning to the Magic Tower.”
“……”
“All the lectures and research I was scheduled to conduct next semester will be postponed, and I’ll hand them over to other professors.”
“Is it because of the Magic Tower elders?”
“No. I decided it myself.”
Her voice was steady.
Aris asked, “A lot has happened, hasn’t it?”
“……”
“Me too. I can’t just live doing only what I want… So before I left, I wanted to confirm something.”
“Confirm… what?”
“Yes.”
She replied.
“The belief that some things don’t change. The hope that they won’t… that those feelings still exist within me.”
“……”
“Actually, I already knew the answer, but still…”
Aris trailed off and slowly distanced herself from Lennok.
“I’ll be back after winter. You’ll wait for me until then, won’t you?”
Aris smiled without saying anything more.
Lennok, gazing at her, slowly nodded.
“Understood. When you return after winter… I, too, will have something to tell you.”
Aris smiled.
“I’ll wait.”
“……”
Both Aris and Lennok knew.
There had clearly been a moment when they could exchange answers, and it had now passed.
And that it was Aris, not Lennok, who had postponed the awaited answer.
Aris quietly watched Lennok’s disappearing figure vanish into the night streets.
Her expression, unlike before, was calm and settled.
This brief joy was the last. As if she was now aware of what she had to do.
Beep!
Her phone rang as if on cue. She naturally took out her phone and brought it to her ear.
An gentle, older woman’s voice echoed.
“Aris. It’s been a while since I heard your voice.”
“Master.”
“All the approvals are done. I’ve sent the ticket to your name, so it won’t take long.”
“……Thank you.”
“It’s strange to ask this now, but why are you returning to the Magic Tower?”
The woman asked with a slightly puzzled voice.
“The old folks higher up don’t care much about your circumstances and are happy about it, but I’m different.”
“…”
“I respect your decision to train younger generations in a direction different from the Magic Tower’s general approach. You’re not a child anymore, and you’re an Archmage who has established her own lineage. Or are you finding difficulty in that area?”
“That’s not it. It’s just… I have a more urgent problem to solve right now.”
Aris replied.
“I want to investigate ancient texts and documents using the Magic Tower’s resources. To do that, I’ll need to humor the elders to some extent.”
“For you, who didn’t even want to join the Circle of Order, to make such a request…? May I hear the reason?”
“That’s…”
Before answering the woman’s question, Aris gazed into the darkness of the street where Lennok had disappeared.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hear the truth.
Aris herself had imagined this moment hundreds of times, amidst countless concerns.
But the words he had uttered back then were stuck in a corner of her mind, refusing to leave.
Time. Did he say ‘remaining time’?
“……”
Aris Richellen is an intelligent person.
Enough to trace faint clues that others could never perceive and grasp fragments of truth.
Any words, even those easily dismissed, she remembers and ponders.
In this world full of mysteries and miracles, not many things are impossible,
And the Lennok she knew was not one to utter any word carelessly.
If Lennok’s ambiguous attitude towards her until now had a significant reason,
If there was a circumstance that prevented him from revealing his secret even to Aris,
There was only one answer.
With an intuition close to certainty, Aris slowly replied.
“I need data on lifespan… or an incurable disease. A solution… for taboos that even an Archmage’s power can’t touch.”