Chapter 120

Al Caskey, you say?

It’s a name I’ve heard before.

“Of course….”

“Yes.”

Jenis wore an oddly proud expression on his face.

“I’m the second sibling of the promising general and active figure in many fields, Irian Al Caskey. And this body right here is that person’s younger sibling, Jenis Al Caskey.”

As for being ‘promising’… well, I remember him sticking his neck out once and getting chewed out by Serpina. No need to bring that up in front of this guy though.

Anyway, after hearing the story and taking a closer look, it was easy to see the familial resemblance to Irian.

Short black hair.

I thought Irian looked pretty refined, but this Jenis seemed even more delicate.

Their eye color was similar too, surely confirming the blood relation.

‘Are all the men of that family so effeminate?’

While Irian was refined but clearly male, Jenis looked like he could pass as a woman with a wig on.

Plus, he wasn’t particularly tall either.

“Your name is Swoen, right? It feels weird saying this on first meeting, but your hair color is quite unique.”

“I hear that a lot.”

For a moment, I worried if tales of the white-haired mage had reached his ears, but thankfully, he didn’t pry further.

“Feel free to ask anything you want. Oh, and this is advice from a senior: If you want to succeed here, just doing what you’re told isn’t enough. You need to show visible results if you want to reach Lady Serpina.”

“That makes sense. Thank you for the advice.”

“Right. By the way, if you walk about ten minutes outside, there’s a shop.”

After that, he kept enthusiastically explaining various things to me—

‘Just how much does this guy want to be a senior?’

That thought made me feel oddly sorry for him.

If he’s not outright evil, it wouldn’t hurt to get along with him. After responding with a polite smile, he seemed to open up quickly and started fussing over me with all sorts of things. Definitely not someone suited to these chaotic times.

“Anyway, let’s both work hard to assist Lady Serpina in reuniting the continent, alright?”

Reunification, huh?

From Serpina’s perspective, conquering this continent would indeed be a reunification under the legacy of the Einhardt Empire.

Thinking about it, this might actually be a good opportunity.

“Jenis sir.”

“You can call me senior casually!”

“Senior Jenis. Do you really think Lady Serpina can unify the continent?”

At my question, Jenis gave a very puzzled look.

“Well, obviously. Why are you asking? Surely you don’t think Lady Serpina can’t unify the continent, do you?”

‘That’s exactly why I asked.’

I silently thanked him for giving me the perfect opening and quickly processed the question in my mind.

‘Serpina von Einhardt—can she unify the continent?’

[No.]

As expected, nothing has changed. If even Serpina, who seems closest to unification among the remaining rulers, can’t achieve it—then naturally, following previous predictions, the continent will fall into Lunarien’s hands.

Reconfirming that fact helped steady my resolve.

“Not at all. I believe she can definitely unify it. Lady Serpina is truly exceptional, regardless of her lineage.”

“Right? That’s what I think too! Where else could you find such a ruler? There’s so much talk about some tyrant in the north or whatever… but honestly, come on. Our family has always served the Serpina army, so we may not know much, but all the commanders who used to serve other warlords agree that they were better off under Serpina.”

Listening to him, it was easy to sense his loyalty toward Serpina.

Clearly, he takes good care of his people, so having capable officers like him around isn’t surprising.

After chatting a bit more, I naturally brought up when I might be able to move out and get my own place.

“Hmm? They’re building houses pretty actively, but you just arrived, right? People who’ve been here longer will likely go first. I might leave before you?”

“Is that so?”

So it looks like I won’t be living with Iren for now, which made me a little sad.

But then he lightly patted my shoulder and said—

This guy has surprisingly pale and small hands for a man.

“Don’t worry! The lord has ordered a large construction project. If we’re lucky and the timing aligns with its completion, you might get your own house soon too.”

“I guess I’ll have to wait and see.”

“Exactly! Dormitory life might be inconvenient, but I’ll take care of you as much as possible. No need to worry too much!”

Jenis said this with a grin.

Strangely, he felt like a younger brother, but since he was trying to act like a senior and help out, it wasn’t unpleasant. Maybe I should just get along with him while also practicing social skills.

And so, I settled into my spot in Einhardt Castle.

Though the facilities weren’t as good as those in Falaharte Castle, they were far from bad.

* * *

The three-person room assigned to Iren and Reika.

They were unpacking their luggage and enjoying tea time together.

“Wow… I smell peaches!”

“Looks like you like it?”

Reika nodded happily.

“Yes! It’s such a wonderful scent. Even baking pastries with peach juice doesn’t give off this kind of aroma… the world of tea is truly amazing.”

Instead of replying, Iren gave her a gentle smile.

Maybe because they’d grown close while living together in the side wing, Reika was stuttering less in conversation, and Iren no longer acted overly formal in front of her. They were adapting to each other.

As the aroma of tea carried their idle chatter…

The topic naturally shifted to the mutual interest of the two women—Swoen.

“Was the male commander who visited your home… Sir Swoen?”

“Yes. At that moment, I was truly surprised. I never expected them to send a man.”

Iren still remembered the first time they met vividly.

Meeting a new commander with white hair while in pajamas was certainly an experience. Sending a male roommate to live with a female resident was undoubtedly disrespectful.

However…

“To be honest, I’m grateful to Lin.”

“Grateful…?”

Reika tilted her head in confusion as Iren smiled and explained.

“Because of Lin, I got to meet Swoen.”

Regardless of Lin’s intentions,

Ultimately, Iren met Swoen.

The only person who recognized her existence.

Always kind and gentle, becoming her pillar of support.

And the person she wanted to protect with everything she had…

“If I hadn’t met Swoen, my life would still be monochrome. By now, I might not even exist in this world. Without anyone acknowledging me, I would’ve died alone, holding onto meaningless loyalty. So, I no longer blame Lin. Thanks to her, I met Swoen.”

“I see…”

Living alone with Iren, Reika had already heard about the treatment she received in Brance Army.

“Still, I’m grateful that you continue to live so spiritedly. This might sound… presumptuous, but…”

“It’s fine, Reika. Your words aren’t presumptuous to me at all.”

“Hehe… glad to hear it.”

Watching Reika’s foolish smile, Iren decided to ask a question.

“So, how did you end up knowing Swoen? I’ve heard the general story, but I haven’t heard it directly from you.”

“Ah… my connection with Sir Swoen?”

Reika paused for a moment, pondering how much she could share.

‘Well, it’s Miss Iren… She’s very close to Sir Swoen, so I can’t hide everything forever… Plus, it seems like she’s already guessed some things…’

Carefully, Reika parted her pink lips.

“Actually… I was learning magic from Sir Swoen.”

“Magic, huh.”

Reika slowly nodded.

If she hadn’t seen it herself, she might have questioned it, but Iren had personally witnessed Reika conjuring a fireball on her palm.

“So, magic really does exist.”

“Yes… Sir Swoen already gained some fame by dropping huge rocks from the sky…”

“Is that magic? No, wait. Swoen…”

Iren’s voice wavered slightly.

She remembered seeing him collapse weakly after expending himself.

“Swoen communicated with the heavens, risking his life to read its flow. Ancient mages didn’t risk their lives, did they? Therefore… I’d rather not see Swoen doing such magical feats unless absolutely necessary.”

“Hmm…”

But Swoen knew about something called mana.

Recently, he even used some sort of magical artifact that stored magic.

To Reika, even if he wasn’t a full mage, he seemed like a quasi-mage. Yet, if it endangered his life, maybe there was something she didn’t know.

‘Should I ask more about this…?’

As Reika debated internally,

There came a knock on the door.

“Oh…”

“It seems our roommate has arrived.”

Their assigned accommodation, a three-person room on the second floor of the women’s dormitory building, had been empty upon arrival, but given the security’s mention of a roommate, it was easy to predict that they’d left temporarily.

“Please… come in!”

At Reika’s response, the door slowly opened, and a woman stepped inside.

And upon seeing her, Iren’s expression showed unmistakable surprise.

“Who are you…?”

“…Huh?”

This woman.

She wasn’t unfamiliar.

Back in the days when she was still part of the Brance Army, they met once and traveled together to a northern fortress.

“…Silin?”