TYHL 141

~Chapter 141~

As I thought.

I smiled brightly and clapped my hands.

“That’s really great!”

“It’s all thanks to the hint you gave me, Miss Rubian,” Yuliophe said quietly.

He continued, “Thank you so much for listening to me and helping all this time.”

“Aww, I didn’t really do anything!”

Actually, I did a lot!
But I just acted humble and waved my hands.

Suddenly, I looked up as I remembered something.

“Professor! So now, can I go to the old library whenever I want? Is it not a restricted area anymore?”

“Hm? The old library is still a restricted area. You still need basic permission.”

“Huh, really?”

Well, that makes sense.

The lock looked super old.

‘My guess… Maybe the person who made the magic circle on that stone also made the lock?’

That’s what I thought.

Yuliophe smiled and patted my head.

“But if you just ask me, I’ll always let you go in, Miss Rubian. Anyway, tomorrow is the last day.”

“Wow, thank you! I’ll look around quietly so I don’t bother your salary, Professor!”

“Such a good student.”

Yuliophe looked touched and suddenly picked me up.

“Oh, but tomorrow, some new restoration experts will come. So it’s good to look around a lot today.”

“Okay!”

Restoration experts… So they were hired.

I nodded.

“Professor, work hard on the restoration!”

“Yes! Looks like I won’t be going home early again!”

Ha ha ha ha!

Under the clear autumn sky, Yuliophe’s laughter echoed loudly.

Three days after Rubian left for camp—

Northern region, Zelox.

Morris stared at the guesthouse lobby with a tired face.

He saw piles of colorful gift boxes stacked all the way to the ceiling.
Just looking at them made his head spin.

“—Sword~ Bow~ Shoes~ Clothes~ Hairpins~”

Barlok was super excited, walking around the boxes.

“…Um, sir, what are you doing?”
Morris asked with a frown.

The old man turned around, humming. His skin was tanned dark from summer.

“I’m going to the capital.”

“What? Suddenly?”

“That Leviathan guy said he had something to do, right? Anyway, I’ve been dying to see my little one, so it’s perfect timing!”

Morris noticed a wooden box near the door.
It was filled with speeding magic stones—probably sent by Leviathan.

“If we leave now, we’ll barely make it by the last day! We have to hurry!”

“So you’re packing to go to the capital? Where is Lady Rosetta?”

“Oh, Rose said I should get some fresh air in the capital! She’ll stay home and take care of everything!”

…Hmm, Morris didn’t believe it, but he didn’t say anything.

“I bet my little bean really misses her grandpa. I’ll just sneak over the academy wall and peek at her for a second.”

“Why not visit properly? Sir, do you know the word ‘dignity’?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s something you should have as a noble, sir. And…”

Morris wiped sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath, ready to nag.

“How are you going to carry all this? Even twenty horses couldn’t take it! Please, just bring five boxes. Five! Please… try to keep your dignity.”

“What? Only five? Are you kidding?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“No way!”

“Huh? And what’s this—swords, bows… Why are you bringing these? Are you going to war? You always act scared when you’re near Miss Rubian!”

“They’re for children! And Rubi needs to catch bugs! She has to be brave!”

What is he talking about? Morris sighed deeply.

Now, there was only one way left.

“If Miss Rubian finds out you’re late because you packed too much, what do you think she’ll say?”

Barlok suddenly froze.

“Don’t you think she’d rather see your face than get a bunch of gifts?”

“…That’s true. I guess my face is more special.”

Watching his lips twitch, Morris was shocked. He knew the young lady was cute and precious, but this seemed to get worse every day.

Barlok kicked the boxes away, like he made up his mind.

“Alright! Move them all! Actually, I can just buy gifts in the capital! Let’s leave now! Coachman! Grab the reins!”

“What, seriously? Wait! I’m not ready yet—!”

Zoom.

The old man disappeared like the wind.

“Ha ha ha… What an extreme person.”

Left alone, Morris gently wiped his forehead, then threw his handkerchief on the floor.

“Ugh, I really want to go home! Or just retire!”

Anyway, the carriage carrying Barlok sped through Zelox city like it had wings.

As usual, it was a wild ride, but the townspeople just calmly waved as Barlok passed by.

“Open the gate!”

The gatekeeper, shocked by the dust, opened the gate as if he was used to this.

Suddenly, Barlok waved his hand from inside the carriage.

“Wait! Stop!”

Screeech. The group stopped.

“What is it, sir?”
The guard came over.

“Is Oberon here?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Tell him to send more knights to the wall. Autumn is the worst time for trouble here.”

“Yes, sir!”

The guard hurried away, but then looked confused.

“But sir… Monster attacks have really gone down lately. Even when they try to attack, they lose strength and die when they get close to the wall.”

He added, surprised,
“It must be because of that barrier the magic user made.”

“So you want to slack off?”

“No, sir! I mean you can relax while you’re gone!”

“Hmph. Don’t let your guard down. If there’s even a scratch on the wall, when I come back, we’re all hiking up the northern mountain. Got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

Listening to the nervous answer, Barlok rolled down the window again and the wild ride started up.

Inside the bumpy carriage, Barlok asked Morris,

“…Do wizards really make those barriers so easily?”

“I don’t know. I never really cared about their powers. You’re the same, right?”

“That’s true.”

Barlok mumbled.

Even when he was young, he never cared about magic.

The magic user who moved north said he would fix the wall to stop monster attacks.

Leviathan didn’t like the idea of a wizard touching the wall, but he agreed because Rubian seemed to want it.

‘If Rubian wants it, I have to do it.’

He heard Rubian was scared of monsters, so how could he say no?

He thought maybe she wanted to say that before, but she held it in, and that made his heart ache a little.

‘She must have been scared when monsters appeared at the wall last time…’

He remembered the time that cheeky Khalid kid showed up.

‘Wait…’

Barlok tilted his head.

‘But was my little bean really scared back then?’

As more time passed, he started to notice things he didn’t see before.
Rubian always curled up when she was scared and wanted to hide.

But what about that time?

“No way!”
“Don’t look up, sweetie!”

She actually looked straight outside the wall without hesitation… Almost like she sensed the monsters, and even seemed kind of used to it…

‘What am I thinking.’

Barlok shook his head hard.

“Sir?”

“Go faster! If we’re not there before my little bean’s school day, you’re in trouble!”

He stomped his feet loudly on purpose.

“I’m sleeping!”

Snore. Zzz.

Morris sighed beside him, but Barlok just stubbornly closed his eyes.

‘There’s no way a child is used to monsters!’

Even if Rubian had a hard life, there’s no way she’d be comfortable around monsters—
Unless she grew up with some crazy magician!

‘Darn it.’

Barlok swallowed his curse.

Just thinking about that dirty magician made him feel worse.

The carriage sped out of the north, just as fast as Barlok’s temper.