Chapter 17: The Archmage’s Legacy

Two hours passed as Rui waited, the Master Key casually leaning against the watermill. The hero remained by her side, except for one brief absence.

“Rui, here. A woman from the village brought this.”

That one absence was to fetch meat skewers.

“Ah, thank you.”

“I made sure there were no bell peppers.”

“…”

Thwack.

She would gratefully eat it, even if it was just for the effort he put in to remove the peppers. At least she didn’t have to pick them out with sauce-covered fingers.

“This is delicious.”

“Right? This spicy seasoning is a local specialty.”

“I wonder how it would taste in carrot soup.”

“Carrot soup…”

It would probably taste like spicy ramen broth. Aria was good at making carrot soup, so she would ask her later and take some with her if it was good.

“Rui, can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Like where you learned magic, or where you lived before.”

“I learned magic directly from my teacher. It was a bit difficult to find them, since they lived in the mountains.”

“The mountains? Were they like a reclusive sage?”

Reclusive? Living in a cave could be considered reclusive. A sage? Possessing knowledge and magical skill comparable to a sage, they could be considered one.

“Something like that.”

“To seek out a teacher in the mountains… you must be very dedicated.”

“It certainly took a long time to find my teacher.”

The location of their cave wasn’t properly described in the novel. So she had spent over a week searching, even digging with her bare hands.

“Then where did you stay after learning magic, before joining our party?”

“Near the capital. I had a lab there.”

“A lab…”

“Yes, this one.”

She opened a portal to her lab. She had diligently organized it since joining the hero’s party, so she wasn’t embarrassed to show it to him.

“Ah, I see…”

The hero looked at it with a familiar expression.

“I see… ah, sorry for only asking questions. Shall I tell you about myself?”

The hero’s story. Probably his past, before becoming a hero. Only parts of Aswell’s past were revealed in the novel. She was suddenly curious about his life.

“I was born and raised in a rural village in the eastern part of the empire. There…”

It was a typical hero’s story. A country boy who admired knights grew up to be chosen as the hero, destined to save the world. A person’s entire life could be summarized into such a simple narrative.

The hero had lived such a life, and would continue to do so.

“So, sometimes I miss the peaceful days of my childhood, but I prefer my current life.”

Meeting many people and experiencing many things suited him. That’s what the hero was saying.

“The opposite of me, then.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I enjoy researching in my room.”

On the other hand, she had lived a life immersed in research, rarely interacting with others, confined to her room. That’s the life she wanted. But sometimes, she wondered what it would be like to experience a life like the hero’s.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons she joined this party.

“Rui, thank you.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been a great help since joining.”

She didn’t think she had done anything worthy of thanks. But the hero’s gaze was serious, so she couldn’t argue.

“Ah, well…”

The atmosphere was starting to become awkward again. Just then, she heard the Master Key activate.

Woooong…

“Done.”

“Is it finished?”

“No. But I think I’ve identified the problem.”

The formula causing the watermill’s malfunction was near the beginning. This would be over soon.

“I’ll focus now.”

“Okay. Do you want me to leave?”

She thought for a moment. Would the hero’s presence be distracting? No. It wouldn’t bother her.

“…No.”

“Then I’ll stay here for a bit longer.”

“Whatever.”

She focused on the formulas, rotating the two rings of Akasha. The hero’s gaze lingered on her, but she soon pushed it from her mind.

This was a battle.

Between the archmage of the past and her, the mage of the present. The thought of glimpsing a fragment of the archmage’s brilliance brought a smile to her face.

He knew she was a mage. Although she was different from the mages he knew, both in appearance and specialization, she was now a mage of his party. She rarely smiled. Except when eating carrot soup or discovering interesting magical ingredients, she mostly had a neutral expression.

But now, she was smiling.

The watermill, created by a past archmage. He had chosen this request thinking she might like it. It was the right choice. He could see her smile because of it.

That smile was like a child’s curiosity. She hated being seen as childish, but he couldn’t help it. She was just so cute…

“…What am I thinking?”

He shook his head. She was a companion. And perhaps someone with far greater magical abilities than the four of them combined. Whenever he looked at her, he remembered the emperor’s words:

“[I planned for the hero, the saintess, and the Star of Magic to journey together. But the Star of Magic refused, so you had to depart without them.]”

Star of Magic.

Who was this Star of Magic the emperor spoke of? They were called a sage, but he didn’t know if they were male or female. And now, he wondered if the sage was the woman in front of him.

The reason was simple. He couldn’t imagine a mage stronger than her. The Star of Magic, who could even refuse the emperor’s decree.

If she really was the Star of Magic, who was her teacher? And what was her real reason for joining this party?

He became more and more curious about her.

Suddenly, he remembered the incident where he accidentally opened her door. His face flushed.

‘No way.’

This was just… curiosity… right?

“How’s it going?”

Just then, he heard a voice from behind. The gruff beard, the tired eyes, and the laid-back posture.

“Winston.”

It was Winston, the watermill’s caretaker.

‘This should be enough for now.’

Next, he just had to set up the automatic process with the Master Key. Then it would be another waiting game. And he could talk to Rui some more while they waited.

As he was about to turn around, he bumped into something.

“Oof.”

“Ah, Rui. Sorry.”

“What the—?”

“We have a visitor.”

He peeked over the hero’s shoulder and saw the visitor. It was Winston, the third-rate mage who was the watermill’s caretaker.

“Well, I was wondering how it’s going. Can you fix it?”

Was that a sneer? Winston asked with a smug grin.

“Personally, I hope you can’t.”

The hero protectively put his arm around Rui’s shoulders, trying to hide her.

“Why? Doesn’t the village need the watermill fixed?”

The hero’s wary tone was unfamiliar. The holy sword, sensing his wariness, glowed faintly.

“Well, yes. But that’s the village’s perspective. Mine is different.”

Different? She had a feeling something was wrong with him. The hero must have sensed it too, which is why he was trying to protect her. She had to answer his question.

“I can fix it.”

“…Is that so.”

“By tomorrow morning, this watermill will be working perfectly. And it’ll supply water to the entire village.”

“…”

“So don’t get your hopes up about me failing.”

She wouldn’t let him down. Winston’s shoulders slumped, and his arms hung limply by his sides.

“Sigh… then that won’t do…”

The hero’s hand moved closer to his holy sword. His eyes, fixed on Winston, were sharp. Just then.

“Daddy~!”

“Papa!”

“So my sanctuary is gone.”

The voices of two children echoed from afar. And with that, Winston crumbled.

“…?”

Both she and the hero froze.

“Daddy~!”

“Daddy’s here.”

“Daddy!!! Mommy said to come home quickly!! The watermill’s going to be fixed anyway, so stop slacking off and come take care of the baby!!”

“Uh, uh… but Daddy’s doing something important.”

“If you don’t come, I’m supposed to say, ‘You got me pregnant when I was a magic academy student and brought me all the way to this village,’ right?”

“Yeah!”

“…I’m going.”

The children arrived and left like a storm. A devastated man was left in their wake.

“…”

“…”

“…”

The three of them were silent. She and the hero slowly started to understand his situation. And then, they realized why he looked like that, why he had said those things.

“Um…”

“Uh…”

As she and the hero struggled to find the right words, Winston spoke.

“Since you’re fixing it anyway, please fix it completely. I don’t think I can make any more excuses…”

Winston left after saying that. She later ran into the village chief and asked about Winston.

“Ah, Winston? That guy, he was tutoring a magic academy student, his current wife, and… well, she got pregnant with their first child.”

“Aha…”

“So Winston, who was quite promising, quit magic and moved here. Now he’s a father of four.”

So there was another child besides the one they called “baby.”

‘…He just wanted a break.’

He must have been exhausted, raising four children, and longed for a moment of peace. Then the watermill broke down, and he, as a third-rate mage, was put in charge of its maintenance.

But he quickly realized he couldn’t fix it and used it as an excuse to slack off. And now that she could fix it, he had said those things.

“…Winston used to sleep there, pretending to fix the watermill, but now…”

“…Hmm.”

This wouldn’t do. She had to give him a gift.

The next day, they talked with the villagers before leaving.

Splash, splash!

Behind them, the watermill spun vigorously, and Winston’s children played excitedly in the splashing water. She approached Winston, who was watching his children with a wistful expression.

“Winston.”

“…Mage. The watermill is working perfectly. You’ve saved our village.”

“Well, I didn’t completely fix it.”

“…Huh?”

“It requires mana infusion and monitoring for about three hours, once a week. Otherwise, it’s likely to break down again.”

“…So you’re saying…”

The middle-aged man’s eyes sparkled. It was quite a sight.

“Thank you, thank you!”

“But don’t abuse it.”

“Of course not! Sob! I thought I would be stuck at home until my children grew up…!”

He was so grateful that he grabbed her hands and shook them vigorously.

“Uh, um…”

After saying goodbye to the villagers, she joined the hero’s party and was about to mount Lux.

“Rui.”

“Yes, Hero.”

“You were talking to Winston just now.”

“Ah, I gave him a gift.”

“A gift?”

She explained what she had told Winston, and the hero nodded in understanding. Then he suddenly looked at her hands.

“…You didn’t have to shake his hands, did you?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind. Let’s go.”

The hero left those cryptic words, mounted Tempest, and left the village.

She opened the bag she was carrying. Inside were fragments of a stone containing starlight. The meteorite fragment, her reward.

Now, only one journey remained. After that, they would head to the Twilight Fortress.