Chapter 2 Part 10: A Delusion for the Sake of Delusion

El, who had grumbled that “unsweet things aren’t snacks” after seeing the basket of baked potatoes Gideon had brought, ended up devouring half of them himself before sprawling on the ground in the sunlight like a drowsy cat and falling asleep.

The eating capacity of growing children was terrifying.

Well, he had been eating poorly before, so that made sense.

Feeling restless from being cooped up indoors with nothing to do, I sat on a suitable rock and watched Gideon.

Thwack!

Thwack!

The motion of swinging the axe into the wood was not the work of someone who’d only done it once or twice.

This man, nearly two meters tall, was packed with muscle from head to toe.

His body was so unrealistically large that the axe looked like a toy in his hands.

Chopping firewood probably wasn’t a difficult task for him.

But even if it wasn’t difficult, it was certainly tedious, which made me wonder: ‘So he’s not that talented as a wizard, then?’

Killian was openly portrayed as the strongest in the world, so that made sense, but even El—a young wizard—had been using magic regularly since I’d met him.

Seeing someone do all their daily chores by hand like this felt rather odd.

“Your necklace.”

I said it loud enough for him to hear if he was paying attention, but not so loud that I’d be embarrassed if it got lost in the noise.

Yet Gideon immediately caught my voice and stopped mid-swing.

He lowered the axe and turned toward me, showing, as expected, no sign of fatigue.

His calm face.

His steady, unlabored breathing.

The only trace of his labor was a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“I’m wearing it now.

Were you carrying it with you?”

“……Yes.”

I spotted the pendant with the dark blue gem.

I remembered what he’d said before—that this one was useless now.

Unless magic stones had an expiration date, it meant he hadn’t received magical power from an Absorption-type wizard in a long time.

Whichever inference was correct, to confirm why he rarely used magic without arousing suspicion:

“Should I give you some?

Mana.”

Cutting straight to the point was the best approach.

Gideon stared at me for a long while with an unreadable expression, then shook his head.

“It’s fine.

Please don’t push yourself.”

He gathered the split firewood and stacked it neatly, his calm voice continuing.
“As you know, I don’t use magic often.

And the spells I use don’t require enough power to need Lord Rudan’s assistance.”

His tone seemed slightly subdued.

“I am…… merely a shield.”

Emission-type wizards each specialized in different types of magic.

If they had strengths, they had weaknesses.

Some wizards showed exceptional talent in one area but had almost no power in others, while others weren’t exceptionally good at anything but could do a little of everything.

It wasn’t hard to figure out.

“So that’s why you’ve made so many hideouts everywhere?”

I already knew what he was particularly good at.

Gideon’s face darkened further as he spoke.

“We are in an era of peace now, but the embers of war haven’t been extinguished.

No one knows when those who follow the Mad God might come to threaten the peace.”

Mad God.

That was what Imera’s wizards called the creator god, Secreta.

“If that happens, I will stand at the vanguard and fight, but I won’t die easily.

I have more than enough power to protect myself, and even with just this body, cutting down enemies is no challenge.”

So Gideon possessed no notable magical talent aside from defensive magic, but he didn’t harbor any inferiority complex about it.

Because as a paladin, he took pride in his position and abilities.

Because even without magic, he was confident he could survive with his powerful body alone.

“But unlike me, my blood relatives would easily lose their lives if caught up in even a small conflict.

Humans die from just a wrong gust of wind, after all.”

……That’s a bit of an exaggeration.

They’re not ocean sunfish.

But I understood what he meant.

To prepare for emergencies, he had set up shelters in various places where his non-wizard family could take refuge.

Thanks to that, Rudan had been able to stay in one of them.

Then one question remained.

“Then why did you take me to that castle out of all the hideouts?”

“That place…….”

Gideon gazed into the distance.

On his sharply featured profile, nostalgia for times past lingered.

“It’s changed a lot over three hundred years, but it’s where I lived as a child.

Even before I awakened as a wizard…… so I have an attachment to it.

And after awakening, it became a testing ground for defensive and concealment spells, making it the hardest place to detect.

Multiple layers of magic are tightly woven there, so even if someone knows I’m there, they can’t break through the barriers and enter.”

In short, if I hadn’t gone outside with the kid to make contact with Nieta, the chances of Killian finding me there would have been significantly lower even if he did come.

Rudan, who would have been briefed by Gideon before entering, would have stayed put quietly.

But I didn’t know any of that, so I wandered around and got caught.

Yet even so, Gideon never once complained or expressed resentment.

I had to admit—his stubborn, foolish loyalty was something else.

“Thank you.”

“……Pardon?”

“It was a short time, but thanks to you, I was able to escape.

Then, and now.”

It was best to eliminate anything that could leave a lingering grudge.

Now was the perfect time to smooth things over with cheap words.

Gideon clenched his fists, looked down at the ground, and then gave a faint smile.

“Please lean on me anytime.

That is my joy.”

I’d take those words well too.

I nodded slowly and rose from my seat.

The blue, clear sky was wonderfully bright.

The perfect weather for a clean farewell.

“But for now, I’ll return to the Tower.”

I added, smiling as cheerfully as I could.

“I can’t make the same mistake again, just as you said.”

***

“Hoo…….”

I’d roughly extracted all the useful information I could from Gideon for now, and staying there longer didn’t seem like it would significantly improve my condition.

I’d left because I didn’t want to waste time, but standing in front of the Tower, I realized just how precious that brief peace had been.

How could just looking at a building make stress lodge itself in my frontal lobe?

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Gideon dropped us off right in front of the Tower and headed back to the knight order.

It was just a few steps to the massive doors.

The moment I stood before them, the doors swung open as if waiting for me.

A bad omen.

“You’re coming back now?”

Of course.

Before the familiar interior even came into view, a young voice rang out and a cold hand grabbed my wrist.

A delicate hand with no sense of intimidation.

Wearing a ring set with large gems, nails dyed black.

“Waiting for you shortened my lifespan by about a hundred years.”

What nonsense…….

Killian gave me no time to speak, immediately dragging me along.

I didn’t have the energy to run, but I had no choice but to sprint up the stairs with him, pulled by his surprisingly strong grip.

I couldn’t shake him off anyway, and if I didn’t match his pace, I’d trip and fall.

From behind, I heard small footsteps pattering along—the little wizard was following to keep up with me.

“What happened to the clothes?

I dressed you in the finest, and who put this rag on you?”

Rag, he says.

The clothes I was wearing were provided by Gideon—plain enough for a commoner’s rank, but the quality wasn’t bad.

Comfortable and clean—what was the problem?

“How could I rest in such uncomfortable clothes?”

“Is that so?

I should cut off the tailor’s hands then.”

He said it so lightly I couldn’t tell if it was a joke or serious.

Ignoring his words, I caught my breath and sat in the ornate chair prepared for him.

“Do whatever you want about that…… I need to rest.

I just got out of bed and had to run up several flights of stairs.”

Killian smiled crookedly and came close.

Then he plopped down casually on the floor right in front of my chair.

“Bedridden, my foot.

You look perfectly fine.”

“I’m just good at pretending.”

“You didn’t leave me out and have fun with Gideon, did you?

You had plenty of time to enjoy yourself.

Don’t you think?”

Well, they say you only see what you want to see.

Killian furrowed one eyebrow and kept talking nonsense.

His voice carried a hint of irritation.

Just then.

“Ngh…….”

Something inside my belly moved like a drum.

Caught off guard, I let out a moan, and instinctively covered my mouth with both hands.

Flash.

The Tower Lord’s red eyes gleamed.

“What was that?”

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