Chapter 54

The moment the bell signaling the hour finished ringing, the door was knocked on several times.

I lifted my gaze from the list in front of me. For the past few days, I had been busy concocting healing potions to supply to other countries that had been attacked by monsters.

"Please wait a moment," I called out to the other side of the door and tidied up my desk. I carefully placed the healing potions, which would be troublesome if spilled, into their containers and sealed them. After putting away all the mixing tools into the box, I finally rushed to the door.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." As I said these words, I opened the door,

"Hey, sorry to bother you, miss,"

Veyk greeted, raising his right hand. Next to him stood a young man I didn't recognize.

He was wearing a slightly dirty robe and looked like a good-natured young man who fit the description of "simple." His short, neatly cut brown hair and gently narrowed light purple eyes met mine.

Our gazes locked, and I felt a sense of unease. ——Although this was supposed to be our first meeting, his face seemed familiar.

To put it bluntly, he was an ordinary young man with no particularly striking features. Perhaps he resembled someone I had seen on the street by chance. I concluded this and greeted him with a bow, even though it was supposed to be our first meeting.

"About the barrier for your village, how about this guy? He's one of our young mages."

"Nice to meet you."

Our gazes locked again. I still felt a sense of déjà vu from his face.

Veyk placed his hand on the young man's shoulder and, with a proud expression like a father boasting about his son, said,

"He's a genius, you know. If you're the promising rookie in the alchemy world, he's the promising rookie in the mage world!"

The young man blushed and laughed awkwardly. "Is that so," I responded absentmindedly.

The more I looked at him, the more I felt I knew this young man. However, he didn't match anyone in my memory. Why —

Perhaps mistaking my silence for worry, Veyk placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"I'll go with you. Don't worry."

I reflexively exclaimed, "Eh?"

"V-Veyk-sama is going too?"

"Yes."

I repeated his words as if to confirm, and Veyk nodded firmly.

Even though he was on leave due to an injury, it was a great honor for the head of the knights and a promising rookie to come to a small village. However, I couldn't help but feel uneasy about why such fortunate news kept coming one after another. Would it be all right for the promising rookie and the head of the knights to leave the capital at the same time?

And upon hearing that Veyk would be going, a new concern arose.

If Veyk was going to Eme's village, it meant he would meet Lucash. This would change their first meeting in "Last Brave."

I wouldn't reject this offer, but it was still a concern.

"But, your schedules..."

"We'll call it a field training mission, so it's fine. Besides, we've also received orders from the higher-ups to check on the situation in the regions."

I was startled by Veyk's words and realized something.

Ah, I had felt that things were going too smoothly, but it seemed that Eme's village wasn't the main purpose. The order to check on the regions came first, and they had conveniently included me in the mission.

Even so, the timing and luck were quite good.

"Checking on the regions... because of the recent increase in monster activity?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Veyk's response was vague and his smile was ambiguous. It was uncharacteristic of him, but given that he disliked lying and was generally bad at it, his attitude was as good as an admission.

There had been a series of monster attacks in the capital, Platoven, Eme's village, and now. The country seemed to be preparing for a full-scale investigation and response.

"I'm sorry for the short notice, but we'll be leaving in five days. Can you let them know?"

"Of course! I'll write a letter. And I'll also give you an introduction letter for Veyk-sama."

Veyk had said it was short notice, but the expedition had likely been planned for some time. I didn't say this out loud and nodded firmly.

It seemed I would be able to set up a much stronger barrier spell in Eme's village much sooner and more powerfully than I had expected.

I was concerned about Veyk and Lucash, but I couldn't let this opportunity slip away just because of that. Even if the time and place of their first meeting changed, it wouldn't have a significant impact — I nodded, trying to convince myself.

Then I remembered that in this world, Lucash had already met the heroine in a dream.

Even the meeting between the protagonist and the heroine, which was crucial, had changed. This thought made me feel more at ease.

After the weight in my chest lifted, a wave of gratitude for Veyk, the young mage, and Arnold washed over me. I bowed deeply to the two in front of me.

"Thank you so much."

"Don't worry about it. The safety of your... family is the most important thing. Use whatever resources you can."

The way he emphasized the word "family" caught my attention, but I quickly realized, of course, Veyk's past.

He had lost his parents to monsters when he was young and had raised his younger brother and sister despite being a child himself. He might have a particularly strong attachment to family and hometown.

"By the way... there was one more thing. About the escort to Flaria..."

He paused, then bowed slightly but firmly.

"I'm sorry, but my schedule is full for a while because of a new mission. Do you need to go soon?"

It seemed he was willing to accompany me to Flaria if his schedule allowed.

I shook my head reflexively. It would be too much to ask for that much.

"No! I have alchemy work to do, so not immediately... But it would be too much to ask for your escort..."

Veyk frowned, looking pained and distressed.

"Don't worry about it, a girl around 14 or 15. I'll try to adjust my schedule."

"Thank you."

Veyk crouched down to meet my gaze. His green eyes met mine, and they narrowed into a crescent shape.

Though we were more like father and daughter in age, I felt he was more like an older brother. It was a great blessing to have someone worry about me and offer help.

While savoring this feeling, I realized I needed to thank another person. I looked up at the promising young mage.

"Um, I'm Laura Ampeur. I'm sorry for the sudden request, but please take care of me."

I looked up at the brown-haired young man. Upon seeing him up close, he seemed tall and fully grown, likely around 18 years old, a bit older than Arnold.

"Don't worry about it. It's also a part of my training, so I should be the one thanking you."

His smile turned serious.

Due to the height difference, he naturally looked down at me. When his cold purple eyes met mine, something clicked in my head.

The laughter of a man echoed in my ears.

"I will do my best."

The man who appeared in my mind was floating in the air, a lecherous smile on his face. In his right hand, he held a large, impressive staff.

When he pointed the staff at me, a powerful magic attack came with a tremendous pressure. The black-haired girl, Elvira, protected me with magic, despite the sweat on her face. She deflected all the magic and shouted at the man,

—Give his body back.

"Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Flor Vilnorv."

Flor Vilnorv. The name didn't ring a bell, but the memory was clear.

Without shaking his outstretched hand, I just stared up at the young man in front of me.

—This is the person whose body was taken over by the demon king in "Last Brave."