Winter (7)
“The remaining magical engineering supplies have been organized to some extent. You can get it by talking to the office staff. Also, most of the materials for the crafting recipes you sent me have been wanted, but it’s not worth looking for some of the legendary crafting ingredients.”
“Are these precious ingredients?”
“The timing is bad. It is said that the twilight sand that goes into the ‘Del Heim Hourglass’ is a little hard to find in a winter like this, and the Pulan crystal ball that goes into the ‘Eyes of Glockt’ is not for sale.”
As a whole, it seems that an estimate has been made for a production formula that can be studied immediately.
The ‘rake hand’ that can attract distant objects, the ‘Cragle Magic Ink’ that increases the enchantment efficiency, and the ‘Floodlight’ that acts as a light are not difficult even if you don’t borrow Lortel’s power things that can be crafted.
The problem was with magic equipment of rare grade or higher. As long as the materials are well gathered, it can be crafted through research, but ‘Very Rare’ or higher grade tech equipment will gradually require magical power. This is because there is a process in which a certain property must be directly given or removed.
The object that we set as our primary production goal is the ‘Thousand-year-old wooden staff struck by lightning’. Since it is a ‘very rare’ grade, a magic engraving process is also required, but the problem is that you can’t use magic right now.
It’s not that there aren’t any other tricks, but it’s quite cumbersome, so I was worried.
“Yeah, then there’s nothing I can do about it. Anyway, thank you.”
Suddenly looking at Lortel, he looks very tired.
It is the time when the year is coming to an end.
Regardless of age and background, the end of the year is a hell of a time for business people.
You have to finish one year’s work, settle the bill, make plans for the next year, and yet deal with the rush of work as usual.
“I’m still busy, but they even took care of my request. It doesn’t matter if I delay it a little bit.”
“Don’t worry too much about it, because it’s both a side-by-side job. Whoops…!”
Looking at him stretching his arms out as if nothing special, it seems he was sitting in his office doing his work before he came to camp.
Sitting on the other side of the bonfire, Lortel took the wooden mug and lowered the corners of her mouth as if she had lost all her strength. What looks like a smiling face at first glance, is it still quite tired?
“I’m just going to take a break. Why are you even coming here to tell me? It’s not even close.”
“I’m here to rest, so don’t worry.”
He looked very comfortable as he closed his eyes and drank the herbal tea.
A snowflake or two fell slowly. I grabbed the books I was reading and put them under the blanket tent.
the moon smiles The moon, which used to be round like a tray, is now leaving only traces. Anyway, as I live without a mind, time goes by so quickly.
The sound of the rushing river can no longer be heard at some point. If you look over the bonfire and look at the river, there is thin ice.
Since I fell into a hibernation of stress that I thought would pass all year round, the camp itself was engulfed in silence in an instant.
When you sit alone in the camp on a winter night, time seems to have stopped.
Quiet time comes to everyone equally, but the way we accept it differs from person to person.
For me, this winter is a time to prepare myself and take a break for vacation, and it is also a time of ordeal when I have to protect myself from the cold.
However, to people like Lucy and Lortel, who have transcended such things, it is difficult to think that this winter’s silence will have the same meaning.
Surprisingly, Lucy and Lortel, who do not seem to have any similarities, have something in common in essential parts.
It’s not that great. Rather, it is a feeling that most people live with quite universally.
Although the forms are different, most people live with loneliness in their own way.
And this emptiness that winter gives, ironically, encourages that loneliness.
Those who have ever walked alone on a cold winter night know this. The feeling of walking in a sleeping world makes you think over and over again about your situation left alone.
There is such a magical power in the season of winter. It’s not a very sweet story.
“It must have been hard.”
“Actually, there’s a lot more to talk about than that.”
Lortel said in a calm tone.
“Lucy…why are you sleeping there…?”
“It’s winter.”
“Is that the answer…?”
I shrugged once, and Lortel took a deep breath and took a sip of the herbal tea.
And looking at Lucy with his ax eyes open, he falls into anguish. When I see him lying on his stomach and exhaling slowly… he mutters to himself that it seems a bit vague… he overreacts, and then coolly changes the subject of the conversation.
“Actually, if we were just talking about magic equipment, we wouldn’t have come this far, would we?”
“Do you have any other business?”
“Oh, you’re pretending not to know.”
Lortel smiled and gathered magic power in her hands. For a moment, magical energy gathered in Lortel’s hand, and then a fairly large book was summoned and floated in the air.
Needless to say, it was the ‘Sage’s Seal’.
“I am the person who received this book.”
“Oh, you finally bid.”
“Iknow, right.”
Having said that, Lortel, who smiled like a fox, was very strange. While flipping over the bonfire with poker, he was thinking about why he was doing that, and a fact he had forgotten is engraved in his mind.
He collapsed from overwork, but as soon as he woke up, the situation suddenly changed, so he asked Lortel as an improvisation.
I’ll listen to anything, so please bid the sage’s seal.
“Isn’t that an interesting story?”
Seeing her grinning like a fox, I raised my hand and scanned my forehead once. Anyway, these were the words that came out of my mouth.
“Of course, I’m not an idiot either, so I can’t ask Ed-senpai so much that it feels burdensome and difficult to fulfill, but… it’s also a virtue as a merchant to receive at least the amount of money you spend.”
“What the hell are you going to ask for a huge favor?”
“Please take my side.”
Lortel, who removed the sage’s seal by winding up his magical powers again, sat across the bonfire and lowered his gaze.
“You want me to listen to you?”
“It’s just a gut feeling… Before I graduate, I have a feeling that there will be a huge turning point in my life.”
As for why he’s telling me such a story right now, it’s winter’s fault.
Lortel, who was quietly looking up at the crescent moon and talking, seemed like a person from a faraway world.
“Politics is, after all, one-sided, so maybe there will come a moment when everyone living in this school will be forced to choose one way or the other…”
“What kind of absurd assumption is that again?”
“okay. Think of it as an unusual family, and please listen.”
I said it was absurd, but it’s not true.
Lortel had some intuition.
There is a promised enemy in Lortel’s life.
Fenia Elias Chloel, Princess of Charity. He rises to the position of the student council president in his second year, grabs the bachelor’s degree and digs into the darkness of the Roth Taylor family… In fact, he is the main character in Act 4.
“If that time comes, please take my side. It’s just that.”
A nerve war between Princess Fenia, who is expanding her role in earnest from Act 3, and Lortel, who opposes her.
It’s not me who decides who the winner will be. In the end, the key will be which of the two factions Taylor takes.
“I don’t think it means much just because I listen to you.”
“Right. It’s a senior. My reputation is improving a bit, but I don’t think your support will bring any meaningful results, either politically or outside politics. I am just a student.”
“It feels strange to say it so nakedly again.”
“Then how about it? It’s not a matter of having political meaning or not.”
Lortel smiled and spoke.
“It’s just… it’s a matter of whether or not it has meaning to me.”
“It’s not that difficult.”
It was impossible to ignore the light of the crescent moon, which had only fragments left, and dimly lighted the camp.
I was quite surprised to see Lortel’s face in full moonlight.
Showing an alluring smile and thinking about the other person’s intentions is what Lortel often does.
However, it’s the first time I’ve seen her smile so innocently… It’s fair to say that she’s a girl with a thousand faces.
“I’m happy.”
The way he spoke so plainly and gently shook the mug was like a lortel again.
“I have one last thing to tell you.”
The only thing I did when I came to camp was to talk about this and that and the world going on.
Even so, it was very questionable to say that I was healed after a while, and that I was going to rest well, but I was quiet as I said that.
“Actually, this is the point.”
It was ridiculous to bring up the main topic only when it was time to go.
“What?”
“Ed-senpai, do you have a younger brother?”
The stories that followed with a smile were definitely something that made my head throb.
“Sunbaenim’s younger brother has been grinding his teeth here and there. I couldn’t tell if he was really seeing him as an enemy of the family, or if he was just holding a light grudge as an older brother, so I left it alone for now. To be honest, it was kind of cute too.”
“Are you riding?”
“yes that’s right.”
Lortel got up from her seat, brushed her clothes, and grinned.
“Well… it was a light response, but it wasn’t a big deal. I just introduced these and other people to you in the sense that you can feel the atmosphere of the university.”
“…okay?”
“It’s all going around today, and I’m going to visit Ed sunbae tomorrow morning and say something… Miss Tanya is your younger sister, so you know it well, right? Is it true that you resent Ed sunbaenim that much?”
Then he asks with a slightly serious face.
“If it really is, I think I might have to change my stance a bit.”
I didn’t answer that question right away… I just kept stroking my chin.
This was the part that needed to be considered.
*
The early morning sun is dazzling.
Since it is a vacation, of course, there are no classes, and there is no work for undergraduate scholarship students.
I thought I might oversleep or sleep, but I woke up early because I wanted to do something more when I was physically fit.
Unlike at night, the northern forest after sunrise is full of vitality.
The sound of sparrows in the morning chirping occasionally, or the rustling of leaves in the light breeze, permeates my ears. It is a completely different feeling from the forest at night, which was completely silent.
“…”
Dazed in the morning air, Lucy followed me out of the hut.
Drunk and fluttering, his steps are more like an ottogi than a human.
During vacation, Ophelis Hall regulations become more widespread, so it seems that they spend more time in the camp than in the dormitory.
After all, it’s all about taking a nap, going out to eat, eating with me, reading a book or going for a walk every now and then.
There was nothing bad about it from my point of view. At least during winter break, Lucy’s magic is quite helpful, so it was good to stay in the camp as much as possible. Because I’m sorry for being so indebted to Yenika.
“Light a fire.”
Lucy, who was staggering at the entrance to the hut with blank eyes, lit a bonfire before she could finish her words. Then he staggered down the stairs and lay on the other side of the bonfire, curled up.
Perhaps the air inside the cabin was stuffy, and as soon as the sun rose, this guy also came out to get some morning air.
After bending over, I brewed a cup of tea and sat down by the bonfire.
As I sat still in the morning forest air, I was reminded of an important fact.
– ‘Tanya-san is your younger sister, so you know her well, right? Is it true that you resent Ed sunbaenim that much?’
I swallowed dry saliva and took a deep breath.
I already said… I don’t know…!
Ed Roth Taylor in ＜Failed Swordsman of Sylvania> is a third-rate villain who exits from Act 1, Scene 1.
What kind of life he would have lived at the time he was living in the Roth Taylor mansion… must be completely based on analogy.
It’s hard to imagine that he would have lived a normal life as Ed Roth Taylor, who looks pathetic and stupid even if he pretends to be.
It is highly probable that Tanya Roth-Taylor, after all, is genuinely hating Ed Roth-Tayler. No, I’m sure.
It is completely unknown at this time how to do harm or what to do.
In the first place, Edgar, who was living in the Rostailer mansion, had no idea what kind of atrocity he had done to Tanya. Even the size of the resentment cannot be guessed at all.
Previously, my future knowledge played a very large role in establishing the basis for judgment, but in this case, all of the reliable future knowledge is useless.
It has to be dealt with completely ad hoc.
“Whoa…”
I exhaled again, and as I washed my face dry, I brushed my hair.
embarrassing It’s definitely embarrassing.
“What are you going to worry about?”
At that moment, Inyeong (人影) walking in the distance is stepped on.
It is a girl who is accompanied by four or four names. The figure of a girl walking through the forest in the morning sunlight is already clear from a distance.
The blonde hair flowing down in waves is impressive. It’s a very familiar color to me.
The golden eyes as bright as the hair color and the dignified gait are the same as those seen in Act 3.
I sat still in the camp chair, staring at the approaching opponent without moving.
Tanya Rothtailer.
The biological brother of this body I came in.
I’m not entirely sure what kind of relationship you’ll have with me. So, for now, I have no choice but to stand still. If you’re still, you’ll be in the middle.
Tanya with sharp eyes came to the front of the camp and stopped walking. Silence once passed between us.
Tanya glanced at the entire camp as it was, then turned her sharp gaze to me.
And then slowly open your mouth…
“Oh, it’s been a while… Brother…”
The user standing next to him pulled out a well-packaged tie pin.
“Go, it’s been a while since I’ve seen your face… I bought you a present…”
“…?”
I wiped my lips once and looked at Tanya again.
He was hesitantly avoiding his gaze with a strange face. Are you afraid of something? Or do you feel embarrassed…? What should I say? It’s like seeing something terrifying.
“…..”
At least, Tanya doesn’t seem to be so vindictive.
Only then did I come to a conclusion.
…okay. I see…
Great… Ed Roth Taylor…!
Still, while you were at Roth Taylor’s mansion… you lived a healthy enough life…!!
Sorry for rushing…!! I… don’t even know…!!
She is a she.
Is it she/he??
She is scared of him because he use to torture all the servants in the house and abuse his power
Can anyone explain to me wtf it means?