Chapter 4. I'm going. To the Academy.

The man who entered the mansion had his eyes filled with curiosity.

As he carefully looked around the courtyard, Sivie, the owner of the mansion, waited for him at the entrance.

"Please come in. I am Sivie Rodrigo."

Sivie greeted him with a friendly smile and slightly bowed.

"I appreciate your hospitality, my lord."

He responded with a light nod and followed Sivie into the mansion.

Despite being a mansion, they had to walk quite a distance through the lobby before reaching the reception room for guests.

"Please, take a seat."

The lord smiled and offered him the seat in front, which he accepted after tidying his long robe.

"What brings you to this barren land of Sitata...?"

The lord's face showed a hint of tension, perhaps because the visitor was a high-ranking magician in such a remote place.

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am Aman Tineo, the royal magician of the Kingdom of Esna. I am going to become a new professor at the magic academy of the Kingdom of Arant."

"Oh, I see. I had heard rumors that the royal palace is pouring efforts into the magic academy."

Sivie nodded, recalling the rumors he had heard before.

"If you need a place to stay on your way, feel free to rest here."

"Haha, thank you, but... I didn't come here to rest."

The lord's face momentarily darkened as he set down his teacup.

"Oh, there's no need to worry. I just came to confirm something."

"What...?"

"Is there a magician here?"

***

Lucas, who was sitting in the courtyard as usual, pretending to look at the grass while practicing magic, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

'...What is this?'

He could now easily draw up to the fifth circle, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't draw the next one.

He needed at least a hint of where to start, but nothing was even forming, which frustrated him to the point of madness.

"Master~ It's time to eat!"

Lucas smiled once at the nanny's call from a distance, then got up and moved.

Entering the mansion with his small body, Lucas realized what had caused the chill.

'...What is this?'

When his eyes met the man who was leaving the reception room with his father Sivie, an unpleasant feeling washed over him, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

However, the man smiled contentedly when their eyes met and started to approach him.

"Hello, young master?"

Lucas felt an urge to spit at the man's smiling face as he greeted him.

"Haha, my son is just shy. Please be understanding."

Sivie quickly added, noticing Lucas's suddenly stiffened expression.

"No, no. Your son is a fine young man, just like you, my lord."

The lord chuckled at the flattering words and called a servant to guide the man to the guest room.

As the servant led him away, Sivie bent down to meet Lucas's eye level.

"Lucas, that man is a magician from the Kingdom of Esna."

"...A magician?"

"Yes, remember? Someone who can summon fire from their hands and create wind, like a magician."

He explained, gently stroking Lucas's hair.

Lucas nodded quietly, and the lord continued.

"Yes, a very distinguished magician. He's just passing through and decided to rest at our place for a while."

"..."

"Haha, boy. When you see the guest, be kind to him."

The lord ruffled Lucas's hair and left, leaving Lucas with a furrowed brow.

'This guy seems familiar...'

He felt uneasy for some reason.

When the man greeted him, it felt like he had known him for a very long time.

The unpleasant feeling that came with it made Lucas extremely uncomfortable.

***

Aman's face was full of smiles as he entered the guest room guided by the servant.

A gemstone found in an unexpected place!

The thrill and joy of discovering a human who could make this game even more enjoyable!

He had intended to leave immediately after identifying the source of the energy, but his mind changed because of this.

"That small human is the one! Hahaha!"

While I knew human potential was boundless, I had never seen such a human in the thousand years I had lived.

Moreover, that small human clearly understood the abilities he possessed.

Yet, he maintained an innocent (or so it seemed) gaze, which made him even more intriguing.

"I found something very interesting."

If he were an ordinary human, he would never have found Lucas.

To perceive mana, one must see through the essence of the being, which even the most talented humans could not do.

Therefore, the way magicians gauged each other's circles was based on the highest-level spell they could cast.

Their skill was also measured by how widely they could cast the spell and how long they could sustain it.

However, the unique characteristics and skills of each magician were often hidden more than revealed, so it was rare for them to know each other's true abilities.

Unless they fought together on the battlefield.

"This will be a very interesting game."

His face lit up with a satisfied smile as he pondered what story to create with Lucas, like writing a novel.

***

"Why are you like this, Master? Did the food not suit your taste?"

The nanny, who had been observing Lucas's poor expression throughout the meal, stroked his cheek and asked.

"No, it was fine."

"But why are you so unhappy?"

Her tone, as if soothing a child, was something Lucas had long been accustomed to.

"Nanny, how long will that man stay here?"

"That man? Oh, the magician who is our guest?"

"Uh-huh."

"Hehe, why? Does the guest not please you, Master?"

"No, it's not that. I'm just curious."

The nanny's face broke into a smile as she gently combed through his messy hair, finding him adorable.

"I don't know how long the guest will stay, but I heard he is a very distinguished royal magician."

Hearing this, Lucas almost let out a 'Hah!' but managed to hold it back.

'A distinguished royal magician, my foot. He looks so unpleasant. His hair and eyes are so... blue... Blue?'

Thinking about the magician, Lucas felt as if he had been hit on the head.

Despite living in human form for over ten years, he had never even considered such a simple thought.

'Silver-blue hair... blue eyes.'

A faint anger flickered in Lucas's eyes as a fleeting memory of the past came to mind.

***

It had been two days since Aman arrived at the mansion.

Lucas could clearly feel the gaze watching him from a distance, but he was pretending to know nothing.

'Just stay still and please go away. You ridiculous blue lizard.'

Every time he felt the gaze, he cursed inwardly, but Aman's eyes followed him more and more openly.

At first, it seemed like he was trying to win his favor, approaching him when he was alone and using magic to create snowflakes and small flames to captivate him, which was utterly ridiculous.

If this was the Aman he knew, the blue lizard must have recognized Lucas's true identity, yet the sight of him showing off his mediocre magic and flirting was even more annoying.

"Master, isn't magic wonderful? If you come with me to the academy, you can learn all these wonderful spells!"

His smile, with his eyes curved like a bow, was so cunning!

Lucas confirmed that the old saying 'you can't spit on a smiling face' was definitely wrong.

On the first day, he just loitered around, but now he was openly following Lucas and asking questions, making it harder to maintain silence.

As soon as he saw Aman moving from a distance, Lucas jumped up from his seat and quickly headed for the mansion.

But his legs were only half as long, so no matter how fast he ran, Aman quickly caught up.

'If it were like the old days, I would have thrown this lizard into a fire pit!'

Suppressing his frustration, he was walking down the corridor when Aman's gentle voice came from behind.

"Master Lucas~?"

"..."

Reluctantly stopping, he turned around to see Aman walking towards him with his hands behind his back.

"Have you thought about what I said?"

"..."

"Hmm... Then I will have to speak directly with the lord."

Aman's cunning smile as he made a 'hmm' sound made Lucas's blood boil.

"Go ahead."

Turning sharply, Lucas stomped into his room.

'Arrogant, ridiculous little lizard!'

***

"Are you sending our Lucas to the academy?"

Sivie's eyes wavered at Aman's words.

Sending his precious child, his beloved son, to the capital filled with enemies to discover his talents?

The lord's heart raced at the thought.

"No, I can't."

"...I understand your concerns."

"If anything happens to that child... If anything happens..."

Sivie covered his head with his hands, unable to finish the sentence, as if the mere thought was unbearable.

"But, my lord, you must see the potential in the young master."

"No, no. We have no expectations for that child. Even if he goes to the countryside to farm, it's fine. But the royal palace... No, I can't."

Sivie's face showed a pained expression, as if recalling past memories, and he spoke firmly.

"Magicians are valuable talents. Even if they can only summon a single light, they are treated with great respect wherever they go. Moreover, magicians have a strong, independent social network, regardless of nationality or status. If it is revealed that the young master is a magician, no one will dare to mistreat him or anyone in this household."

*Bang!*

Sivie slammed his hand on the table at Aman's words.

It was unusual for the usually gentle Sivie to react so strongly.

"No! There's no need to discuss this further."

"..."

After a long pause, Sivie took a deep breath and continued.

"I apologize. I didn't mean to... But I hope you understand. He is very precious to us. He is everything we have."

Aman nodded, looking into Sivie's resolute eyes.

"I understand. I will not press the matter further. I apologize as well."

Aman smiled bitterly, and Sivie stood up.

"Then... I hope you have a pleasant stay."

*Knock knock knock*

At the knock, Sivie opened the door to find Lucas standing there.

"Lucas?"

Surprised by the unexpected visitor, Sivie called his name, and Lucas's dark eyes met his.

"I want to go. To that academy."