“Come on, get in.”
“…….”
It was an off-road vehicle, slightly larger than a typical private car.
This model had excellent off-road capabilities and was often used by the Forest Keepers.
The modifications made for its breakthrough potential were also visible.
Standing there, seeing that shape, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was really okay for him to get in.
‘Is it really alright to ride this?’
There was no reason to drive such a conspicuous vehicle just to pick him up.
Wouldn’t it be normal for a Forest Keeper to have a separate personal vehicle besides this work vehicle?
He couldn’t help but be suspicious that he would be surrounded by Forest Keepers and taken away, thinking that some incident might occur.
As he observed cautiously, the backseat door opened with a click, revealing a girl.
“It’s nice to see you again.”
She looked at him with her usual relaxed expression, smiling.
At first glance, her smile resembled that of a child expressing happiness, but to the Third, it felt more like the grin of a predator.
His heart was sending out danger signals.
There was something perilous in her laughter; if he rejected her, only terrible outcomes awaited him…….
“…….”
What on earth had happened to her during this time?
She seemed entirely different from when he last saw her.
The sense of intimidation was less, but paradoxically, he felt her essential energy more strongly.
It was powerful, overwhelming, and transcendent as if it could wrap around everything……
A feeling that defied words enveloped her.
“Just get in for now.”
She quickly smacked the seat beside her with her palm as if urging him to enter.
“……Ah, um, okay.”
Indeed, it seemed there was never any choice for him from the start.
——-
“I’m sorry we met like this without prior notice. It wasn’t intentional. I originally meant to contact you by phone, but…….”
Seeing the girl’s expression, which seemed genuinely apologetic, stirred in him an indescribable emotion.
Thinking that he couldn’t avoid answering her almost-question, he opened his mouth immediately.
“That number isn’t mine.”
There was no way he would leave his phone just lying around; he needed to remain vigilant about leaving traces.
And the communication made back then was not with his phone.
It was one of the smartphones picked up at the last request location.
“Is that so? Then whose number is it……?”
“I borrowed it from someone for a moment.”
Although he hadn’t asked the owner for permission, nor had he returned it.
Even if he wanted to give it back, he likely wouldn’t be able to anyway, so what of it.
“Ah, I see. Do you happen to not have a phone?”
“Not at the moment. Well, there’s no one to contact anyway.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Well, there might be people who do not need a phone.
For someone like Luke, who was immersed in modern civilization, it felt quite inconvenient not to have a phone, but he thought that many had lived well even without adequate means of communication in the past.
Perhaps the Third was one of those kinds of people.
‘He must be very introverted. Well, it’s not unusual for a Circle Mage.’
In reality, most mages often lived without interacting with each other.
Ordinary mages simply lacked the time to devote themselves to studying magic.
In fact, Luke was quite the extroverted one for a mage.
He had reached a level in his youth where he couldn’t gain enlightenment just by sitting and studying; thanks to this, he hadn’t spent most of his life studying like others, and he preferred to investigate things himself when curious.
Nevertheless, even saying he was the most extroverted among mages only meant he couldn’t truly compare to genuinely extroverted people.
But he, too, felt more fatigue than happiness in human relationships, so it wasn’t something he couldn’t understand at all.
“I understand. That could be the case.”
With Luke treating it lightly, the Third sighed internally.
At least for now, it seemed he hadn’t irritated her temperament.
“Well, let’s talk about the present situation. Your complexion looks much better compared to before. You seem to be doing relatively well.”
“That’s true.”
Since he no longer needed to take medicine, it was only natural for his deteriorated organs to slowly recover and for him to regain color.
“That’s quite fortunate. Seeing you like that makes me feel good too.”
She looked at him and smiled again.
Surely, she wouldn’t say something like that just because she was genuinely happy.
If that were the case, there was one thing.
‘She’s clever; she’s reminding me of the favor she has already done.’
That couldn’t be helped.
He was already in a situation where he owed her his life, and moreover, his lifeline was practically in her hands.
He was already aware of her abilities.
He knew that it wouldn’t take her even lifting a finger to deal with him.
Furthermore, she was not alone.
The woman currently driving this vehicle was the Forest Keeper of Luke Forest.
The fact that this Forest Keeper was unharmed while digging into ‘Proiten’ was sufficient evidence of her power.
Moreover, reflecting on past conversations, she seemed to already know something about ‘Proiten’, a woman whose identity was hidden and unknown.
It was quite uncomfortable when she subtly made eye contact in the rearview mirror every time she checked behind.
With only her pupils visible in the rearview mirror, he couldn’t ascertain her expression, but she was definitely observing his behavior.
He felt an urge to be very alert and opened his mouth.
“What was the reason you called me?”
Luke laughed heartily as he spoke.
“Hahaha! What grand reason is needed to see a friend!”
“Friend……. you say? When did we…….”
The Third widened his eyes, as if he’d just heard something peculiar.
He wanted to ask when they had ever been friends, but Luke struck first.
“Yerna! The weather is nice, can I walk outside with this friend for a bit? There are things I want to discuss privately.”
“What? Wait a minute.”
As he was about to say something, he froze.
‘This pressure……. is it hostility……?’
Had he made a slip of the tongue?
He had no choice but to halt what he was about to say.
When Yerna nodded, Luke immediately opened the car door, grabbed a thermos, and began walking toward the forest, with the Third having no choice but to follow.
“……Don’t go too far, alright?”
At those words, Luke stopped in his tracks, turned around, and replied.
“I will stay where you can see me!”
———
“Here, drink this. It’s tea that’s good for fatigue recovery.”
“Um…. thank you.”
He reluctantly accepted the mysterious tea poured into the thermos cap.
It was true he was fatigued.
Luke sighed internally.
He couldn’t speak about his business in front of Yerna.
Wasn’t it natural? He couldn’t say he had called her to draw some of this ‘friend’s’ blood.
Even saying it was necessary for magic carried discomfort due to it being black magic.
The impression of black magic has never been good, either in the past or present.
If asked where he learned that, he would have nothing to say.
He didn’t particularly want to share such things with Yerna.
‘If I hadn’t touched dark magic back then, I might not have had to rely on elixirs at around a hundred years old.’
Thinking that, he felt some regret, but it also made him think that life is truly unpredictable when he considered that he would be using it like this now.
“I’m sorry; I feel a bit awkward about revealing everything to her.”
“I know.”
After stepping out of the car and leaning against a nearby tree, Luke looked down at him rigidly.
“Now that it’s just the two of us, feel free to ask anything. You seemed to have something you wanted to say earlier.”
He quietly pondered before finally speaking.
“……Before the story, I have something I want to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Were you in a ‘facility’?”
At his question, Luke pondered for a moment.
A facility, now that he thought about it, there was such a place.
In the past, it was called a monastery, but nowadays they often referred to those places as ‘facilities.’
Luke recalled that after Yerna discovered him in the forest, she had struggled for a while to send him to a good facility.
In the end, Yerna herself had taken on the role of his guardian, and it had gone off the rails, but for Luke, knowing nothing but that, it was natural to think of it as a ‘childcare facility.’
“Um, thanks to Yerna, I never went to a facility.”
“Could it be that elf?”
He looked overly astonished.
Was the fact that an elf was his guardian so shocking?
……Surely, he didn’t think of them as mother and child, right?
“Why are you so surprised? Is that so unexpected?”
“Ah, no. It’s nothing. I was just a bit surprised.”
Well, it was indeed surprising considering Yerna’s age that she readily took on the role of a guardian.
The length of time she had been a Forest Keeper at that age was also remarkable.
In this era, elves typically started taking on serious jobs about 10 to 20 years later than humans.
In fact, he was more surprised that a ‘Forest Keeper’ was taking care of an ‘Assassin.’
Luke asked him back.
“If you’re asking me about facilities, then you must have come from one yourself.”
“Yeah. What’s there to say?”
“Hmm.”
That’s right; if there had been a proper guardian, he wouldn’t have been living there alone.
With a sense of empathy, Luke was suddenly curious.
Wasn’t it a place he might have ended up if Yerna hadn’t been there?
“Then do you still remember what it was like at the facility? How was it?”
However, the man shook his head repeatedly.
“I barely remember that now. It seems to be a side effect of the Circle. Old memories are fading away.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
It appeared there indeed could be no lack of side effects.
Amnesia was…… well, the most common side effect.
There was no point in pondering whether he could regain those memories as the answer wouldn’t come, so he decided to set that aside.
“So, what was the real reason you called me?”
“Oh, that. I want to make you a proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“I want you to learn magic from me. Aren’t you somewhat unsatisfied as a First Circle?”
“……What’s the cost?”
Luke spoke in a lowered voice, concerned that Yerna might hear inside the car.
“The cost is one cup of your blood. How does that sound? If you give me one cup of blood, I will strengthen your Circle. It shouldn’t be a harmful proposal to you.”
Indeed, wasn’t it a good deal? Even if drawing a bit of blood could elevate him to the Second Circle based on past standards, it would be a win-win situation.
However, this case was a bit special as his blood had special properties containing dragon elements.
Yet, he appeared noticeably flustered.
“Blood, did you just say blood?”
There was no choice but to.
‘One cup of blood’ was a term among Circlers, symbolizing eternal loyalty.
Because historically, blood was seen as a magical counterpart to oneself.
In fact, there existed a rite proving loyalty by offering a cup of blood, but for him, who had never belonged to an organization, it was a proposal he was experiencing for the first time.
‘Offering a cup of blood……’
Thinking it over, it seemed to be a proposal that wouldn’t be too bad.
If he could regain his lost abilities and cater to her ambitions, then why not?
Luke stroked his chin and asked back.
“Is it so undesirable?”
“No, no! What should I do? Have you done this before?”
“Of course. I’ve drawn blood countless times. Drawing a cup is something I can do with my eyes closed.”
With a bright smile, Luke emptied the contents of the thermos onto the ground and then said.
“Then, could you put your wrist here?”
“……I hope for leniency.”
The Third panicked.
Is blood drawn immediately on the spot like this?
He had no way of knowing since he lacked experience. With Luke claiming to have much experience, he had no choice but to believe him.
——
A moment later, Yerna, who was observing Luke and the Third returning to the car, asked, looking at Luke, whose expression seemed much more relaxed.
“How was the conversation? Are you feeling better?”
The scene of drawing blood was obscured by the illusion Luke had conjured with magic, so Yerna had no doubts.
To her view, it must have appeared as if they were just leaning against a tree in the forest, enjoying the scenery while chatting privately.
“Yeah. I’m sorry for making you wait, Yerna.”
Now that he had acquired dragon’s blood, he was relieved from the worry of gathering materials.
Since they had decided to meet at least once a week moving forward, there shouldn’t be any issues with material procurement.
Luke smiled satisfyingly as he looked at the Third, saying.
“I think we really get along well. Don’t you think?”
“I think so too.”
“Good. Let’s meet often in the future.”
“Understood.”
Yerna felt there was something strange about it.
“……Third, I think your way of speaking has changed a bit? Are you alright?”
“……Do you dislike my way of speaking?”
“No, it actually sounds much better. Please keep speaking like that.”
“Understood.”
“…….”
It felt awkward.
