EP8. Epilogue – Reunion
The next day, Sean and Levi left the inn and headed for the Golden Carriage branch. After a brief talk with the branch manager, I immediately moved on again.
The destination is a huge tower in the center of Elioden. It’s time to meet Count Lipeor.
“Looks like I need to get out of here.”
When we got to the front gate of the tower, the branch manager said goodbye.
“Uh, weren’t we going together?”
“Only those who can set foot in this tower have the Count’s permission.”
When he said that he hadn’t been invited, Sean and Levy finally nodded their heads shyly.
“I hope you get what you want. Then.”
The head of the branch boarded the carriage and left with a short nod. Sean and Levy stood there for a moment, at a loss for what to do. The huge door in front of them was firmly shut, denying them entry.
“These are the guests who were supposed to come today.”
The two gazed at the emotionless voice. There, a woman with a modest impression, dressed in her maid’s uniform, was waiting.
‘····Since when have you been there?’
Sean obviously didn’t feel the presence of anyone other than himself, but was it just a coincidence? If not, is he someone who knows how to hide his presence enough that Sean doesn’t even notice?
“Lee Feor is waiting for you. I will guide you.”
“Yes. All right.”
There’s no way the maid has combat abilities, so of course she’s the former. It’s not such an important issue in the first place. They didn’t come here to fight, so there was no reason to be hostile to the Count.
Sean and Levy were escorted into the tower by a maid.
The garden of the tower gave off an antique feel. Looking at the beautifully decorated garden, Levy involuntarily opened her mouth and let out a small exclamation.
“It seems that the Count likes gardening…”
“Lipheor-nim does not go out of the tower.”
“・・・・Yes? So you only stay inside the tower?”
“Yes.”
At her maid’s answer, Levy tilted her head slightly, unable to hide her puzzlement. If she can be called the master of the city, she must have some work to do. More than that, if she lived only in the tower, she would surely not be able to overcome the cramped feeling.
Levi continued to look around the manicured garden until just before she entered the tower, she spotted someone far away in the garden. A small back turned around.
With her hair long, she thought maybe she was a girl, but since I couldn’t see her front, she wasn’t sure.
As Levy was about to ask her maid about the girl peeking behind her, her maid took a step ahead of him and opened her mouth.
“I will take you to the annex to the left of the tower.”
On the left was a small building attached to a huge tower. And since the annex was the exact opposite of where the girl was standing, Levy ended up entering the annex without even asking about her girl.
***
From noble mtl dot com.
“Lee Feor. A guest has arrived.”
“Come in.”
At the reply of the beautiful voice heard from inside, the maid opened the door and entered the drawing room. There, with her straight posture, a young woman waiting in her seat was waiting.
She looks much younger than she thought, which surprised her, of course, but there was something else that caught Sean and Levy’s attention.
Suddenly, I remembered the branch manager’s words not to be surprised when I saw the count. He added later that it was not as great as he thought, but now I understand why he said that.
I also noticed the reason the maid said earlier that the Count never went out of the tower.
She was blind in her appearance with both her eyes completely bandaged.
“Sophie. Thank you.”
“No. I will step back.”
The maid named Sophie obediently bowed her back and left the room. As Shawn and Levy stood in their seats, the Count spoke first, drawing an arc at the corner of his mouth.
“Why don’t you sit down instead of standing there like that?”
“Ah… Yes.”
The two cautiously sat across from her. After pouring tea into the three cups prepared in advance, the Count drank the tea in front of him and started talking.
“I heard that it was my first time going to Ellioden. Then I would have seen it first.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I am not as surprised as I thought. Usually everyone is surprised when they see these bandages.”
Seeing him leisurely talk about his weakness, Sean frowned as if he couldn’t understand. This question may be rude, but in the end Shawn asked.
“Can you see ahead?”
“····Oh. Why do you think so?”
She covered her mouth with her hand as if she was genuinely surprised, but everyone there knew that there was only a smile on her lips right before she covered it.
“You said you weren’t as surprised as I thought.”
“····Hmm. Is that the end?”
“Actually, it’s just a feeling. It’s too relaxed for a person who can’t see.”
As Sean continued to speak, she revealed her smile openly, as if she didn’t feel the need to hide it anymore. The Count, who had been silently laughing for a while, soon returned the answer.
“First of all, it’s true that you can’t see.”
“……So what?”
“You see the world through magic instead.”
“…Is that possible?”
To the boy’s question, the Count answered while looking at the girl sitting next to him.
“Any lady over there would know? Do you think what I said was a lie?”
Levi shook her head slowly. She admitted that even if she is blind, she can see the world through her magic. Since Levy, whom he trusted the most, answered that way, Sean didn’t even bother about it any further.
“I am said to be the most outstanding wizard in my own magical city, shouldn’t I be at this level?”
After hearing the Count’s words, thinking about it, Sean admitted that it could be true. Didn’t he realize the greatness of magic more clearly than anyone else by watching from the sidelines all the time?
“Ah. Why is the introduction delayed? I am Viola Ripeor.”
“I am Shawn. I am an adventurer.”
“This is Levy. I am an adventurer as well.”
“And a wizard?”
To her confident question, Levy readily agreed.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“To be honest, I was surprised. The first time you see Miss Levy.”
There was no reason for Viola’s surprise, but Sean seemed to know why. Her words that followed confirmed that thought.
“Physical abilities aren’t that important to wizards. Therefore, the longer a wizard lives, the better he can become. Your knowledge of magic will only increase as time goes on.”
“·······.”
“I’m curious. What will happen to Miss Levy later?”
Levy didn’t react much. Perhaps she had no intention of continuing the subject further than that of the viola, but she soon moved on to another topic.
“I heard the general explanation yesterday. You want to hear about Leo Droka?”
“Yes. Can you tell me?”
She let out a small sigh. She looked at it and it seemed that she wouldn’t get the answer she was expecting, but Sean held out a little hope just in case.
“A lot of people have asked me the same question. My answer was always the same.”
“·······.”
“I don’t know anything about Leodroka’s whereabouts either.”
This was the answer I expected. It was also an underpowered answer.
“I spend a lot of money and research all over the continent, but I really haven’t got a single clue.”
“It must be difficult.”
At Sean’s heartfelt consolation, Viola tried to smile a little. Unlike before, that smile seemed to radiate sadness.
“Maybe he went to the Magic Tower?”
They both looked at Levy, who suddenly asked.
Magic Tower. Sean blamed himself for not thinking of that sooner. After hearing it, there is no more persuasive guess than that.
“… That’s right. I heard that Leodroka was the wizard who founded Elioden. Because Elioden itself is a city built by wizards who wanted to visit the Mage Tower…”
“Of course I haven’t thought about it.”
Viola’s words sounded as if she had given up on that guess, realizing that she had already done it a long time ago and that she had no chance.
“From a certain point on, he hated the Mage Tower beyond hating it.”
“Have you hated it?”
“I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the feeling of defeat that didn’t make it to the Magic Tower… Anyway, he lived with the curse of the Mage Tower on his lips every day until right before he disappeared. The odds aren’t that great, are they?”
Looking at Sean and Levy, who were disappointed after realizing that there was no possibility, Viola added an afterword.
“Even if he went to the Mage Tower, there is no way to check. Because no one can enter the Magic Tower unless they belong to it.”
In the end, the conversation with Count Rifeor, which contained the last hope, ended in vain.
In case she didn’t know, Levi asked her while showing her the magic book. But Viola shook her head, clearing away Levi’s expectations as well.
“I guess the reason you are looking for Leodroka is because of that magic book. I don’t get it at all. There was no magician at his toes in Elioden. Me too.”
Just before she left, Viola called Levy over and made an offer.
“Are you thinking of learning magic?”
“····Teach me? Why?”
“Do I need a reason? Hmm. To put it bluntly… Do you want to see the birth of a wise man a little earlier?”
Sage is a title usually given to those who have surpassed the Archmage. It’s also a title that doesn’t exist in the present age and can only be found in legends.
“Can I think about it for a bit?”
“Of course. You can come to this tower anytime. Sophie will guide you.”
“Goodbye then.”
Sean and Levy left the tower just like that.
Viola looked at the two of them through the window and smiled meaninglessly.
***
“Are you thinking of learning magic?”
“I don’t know.”
“How about learning? The reason I came here in the first place is for your magic. Even if we can’t figure out the identity of the magic book, where is it?”
“I guess so.”
After hearing Sean’s persuasion, Levy also leaned towards learning magic. To be honest, there are definitely flaws in Levy’s current magic because she only learned from unknown magic books. Of course, it is true that there are great strengths that cover those flaws, but it is true that there are flaws anyway.
If he is taught by Viola, who is said to be the most outstanding magician in Elioden, his flaws will almost completely disappear.
It seems like they are kind to them, and Levy didn’t feel bad about the viola either.
“You have more time than you think. What shall we do now?”
Sean’s question put Levy out of her mind. She doesn’t have a set deadline, so she won’t have to make a decision right away. For now, as Sean said, let’s think about what to do next.
Levy’s troubles were not long.
“Shall we go see Sepia?”
“That would be fine too. Did you say the General Union Sanctuary?”
Once the decision was made, it was straight forward to take action. The two immediately moved to the General Union Sanctuary that Sepia had told them about.
The General Union Sanctuary was quite crowded.
There were only a few priests, and most of them seemed to be visited by believers to pray.
Sean began looking around the places of worship where the name of God was written, looking for a name.
“…Is there no god of prophecy?”
“The God of Prophecy?”
“Huh? I don’t know? The god Riel noona worships is the god of prophecy.”
At that, Levy reacted with her eyes wide open as if she didn’t know.
“Really? . . . Actually, I am not very interested in religion.”
“What. I’m not too interested…”
I think of it once in a while, maybe for a month. Like what Lielcia told me or the contents of the book I read in Raes.
“Wow! Shawn, look over there!”
“・・・・Huh? What is it?”
“There they sell food!”
“····You are doing business in a place like this.”
Shaun muttered tiredly as he looked at the street food stalls. Does he get hungry if he prays with all his heart? Surprisingly, there were many customers at the stalls.
Sean was about to say something to Levy, but she noticed something was off. Obviously, Levi, who had been by his side until now, had disappeared before he knew it.
The girl’s whereabouts were quickly found. For some reason, Levy was standing in line at her street vendor. Sean laughed and slowly approached Levy.
“Oh.”
“Ah…”
Then Shawn bumped into someone. Snacks that must have been bought from a street vendor collided with Sean and fell off. Sean tried to apologize to the pink-haired woman as she groaned at the food that had fallen on the ground.
“Uh, sorry. I’ll stop…”
Sean couldn’t go on. It’s because the woman’s look that came into my eyes late was too familiar. It feels like quite a long time has passed now. The bond of childhood when everything started.
It was a short meeting, but it was a bond that could never be erased.
Pink short hair. Blue eyes and languid eyes. Sean called her name, which looked the same as before.
“····Tina?”