Silence settled in.
The first to break it was Sowol.
“Nice to meet you. I am Sowol from the church.”
“B-b-b-b-b-b-nice to m-m-meet you… I-I’ve h-h-heard a lot about you…”
Nervously fumbling, Lena spoke softly.
As she said, she had heard plenty about the Sword Saint from the church.
Of course she did.
To Lena, the Asura sect was a bitter enemy.
To fight against such foes, she needed allies, no matter how much of a great sorceress she was.
And among those allies, the one most suitable was deemed to be the Sword Saint, Sowol.
Ah, what a beautiful person…
With her pink hair fluttering, the golden-eyed beauty dominated the battlefield. Hearing about her was one thing, but seeing her in person was almost mind-blowing. Lena’s eyes nearly dropped when she spotted Sowol’s chest.
Wow. Whoa… S-size, S-size?
Wasn’t it Lee Hyun who said he liked big chests?
Lena slyly glanced at her own chest.
She had made every effort to enhance her chest based on what Bella told her about Lee Hyun’s preferences.
Although she didn’t exactly envy others, seeing Sowol’s large, well-shaped, and seemingly firm chest made her feel a twinge of jealousy.
“It’s an honor to meet you, the youngest High Priest.”
“Ah, n-no… I-I’m also… e-e-very honored… to meet you, Sword Saint, for vanquishing countless heretics…”
Another silence descended upon them.
While contemplating what to do, Lena clapped her hands.
She had something prepared for moments like this.
“Ah, tea!”
“Yes?”
“I-I have s-something g-g-great… W-wanna… have it…?”
Flustered, Lena hurriedly prepared the tea set.
Sowol, who had been watching the extremely anxious Lena, smiled warmly.
What a cute person.
She looked like a terrified rabbit.
Seeing Sowol’s lovely demeanor, Lena drew a little comfort.
“Thank you for that. Can I sit and wait?”
“O-of course!”
The fact that Sowol accepted her opinion made Lena’s heart feel a bit more stable.
With a goofy grin, Lena prepared the tea and even laid out delicious cookies on the table.
“This is m-my f-f-favourite cookie…”
It was a cookie she used to make often with Lee Hyun.
Although Lena didn’t like sweet things much, for some reason, this cookie suited her perfectly.
“This… is delicious.”
As Sowol popped a cookie into her mouth, she exclaimed.
It wasn’t just flattery; it really was tasty. As the Sword Saint and the heir to the Eastern Trading Company, she had tasted all the best things, but she never expected a simple cookie to match her palate like this.
“Where did you buy this?”
“I-I made it…”
“The High Priest made this? That’s surprising. I never thought you’d have such skills aside from magic.”
“Uh, ehehe… W-well, I actually made it with my master…”
“Are you referring to Master Bella?”
“Uh, n-no.”
I heard that the colorless High Priest learned advanced magic under the red High Priest… So, not a disciple of the red High Priest?
This was intriguing information.
As Sowol showed curiosity, Lena’s face turned slightly red, and she lowered her head.
“…She’s the person I admire and respect the most.”
“To have such a person…”
Hearing that, Sowol reminisced about her past. She too had someone like that.
A person she respected, admired, and longed for.
Someone she still couldn’t find but believed she would eventually.
“As for that person…”
“…I-I’m afraid they aren’t around anymore…”
“Oh dear…”
“Ah! They haven’t passed away! I’m sure they’re well, well somewhere!”
Waving her hands frantically, Lena rushed to clarify.
Sowol felt strangely energized by her reaction.
“I have someone very dear to me as well. Though I don’t know their whereabouts now… I’m determined to find them.”
“S-such…”
Hearing Sowol’s words, Lena felt a pang of sadness.
Because she felt the same way.
Losing a precious person was an incredibly sorrowful and tragic experience.
Was that why? Lena began to feel a bit more at ease around Sowol.
“Would you like more cookies?”
But when it came to what to say in moments like this, Lena wasn’t the best with words.
Thus, she attempted her utmost form of comfort: passing more cookies. Sowol noticed this and smiled brightly.
Turns out, you’re better than I expected.
Most geniuses are a bit eccentric.
Of course, some, like her, were both geniuses and kind-hearted, but most consumed by their own brilliance often struggled to understand others.
Thus, she had been slightly worried before meeting Lena.
The youngest ivory tower priestess was indeed a genius, and she thought Lena might not comprehend human emotions.
But in reality, that was far from the truth. She was genuine, pure-hearted, and down-to-earth.
For some reason, it fostered a strange intimacy.
“This might be a bit rude, but… somehow, I feel like you’re my younger sister, High Priest. Even though I’m an only child.”
“Eh?! I-I felt the same way!”
“Really?”
“Ah, no. It’s just that, um… you feel like… um, a sister…”
Lena felt a similar sentiment.
When she first heard about Sowol, she thought she seemed very intimidating.
Which made sense; she was a woman who felled countless enemies with a single sword. Though she was similar in age, it was said the number of foes she defeated surpassed a thousand.
That’s why Lena worried about encountering a creature starved for blood and battle.
But upon meeting her, she thought otherwise.
Sowol appeared to be steady-minded and righteous.
Perhaps that was why?
It felt like having an older sister to lean on during tough times.
“Hehehe. Maybe we’re meant to cross paths in some way.”
“Uh, ehehe…”
A pleasant atmosphere began to fill the tent.
As they enjoyed the moment of warmth, they turned their conversation to hunting down heretics.
—
“Then we’ll take care of the eastern part of the continent.”
“Y-yes. We’ll head toward the western region.”
As planned, the Ivory Tower would focus on the western continent, while the church would handle the heretics in the east.
As they captured the heretics scattered like mushrooms across the vast continent, they hoped to uncover traces of the Asura sect.
With that thought, Sowol stood up.
“May the blessings of the light be upon you.”
“M-may the magic always be with you…”
Chances were they wouldn’t see each other again after this meeting.
The western and eastern continents.
They were depending on two ends of the spectrum. What opportunities would arise for them to meet?
Thus, Sowol felt a twinge of regret as she cast a glance at Lena. And it was the same for Sowol.
It’s such a shame this meeting might be the last.
Sowol was headed to the eastern continent.
Lena was off to the western.
It wouldn’t be easy to meet again; that was true.
But perhaps it lingered on her mind too much, for as Sowol stood up, she found herself saying:
“…I hope we can meet again.”
“I-I hope so too.”
With those parting words, both beauties shared a brief smile.
They walked their separate paths, carrying the fond memories of the encounter.
—
Becoming a sage is no easy task.
There are numerous skills to master and countless events to navigate.
But what can you do? Regrets are just something you have to push through.
Just then, while I was busily working as a student affiliated with the sage’s tower after sending a letter to Sowol and Lena, someone walked in.
A fellow student like myself, he looked fatigued, unable to hide the dark circles under his eyes, and handed me a mission form.
“Lee Hyun, here’s a new task.”
“Uh. Let’s see.”
It was a task to exterminate a demon that had possessed a girl in coordination with an external force linked to the sage’s tower.
The reward was a certificate exempting me from three assignments.
A three-assignment exemption?
How can I resist this?
I have to do it, without a doubt.
“The external force will meet you in the town of Toilrot.”
“Is there no support?”
“Nope.”
So they were telling me to go alone, huh?
It wasn’t too heavy a burden.
If I used the powers I already had alongside the skills and abilities obtained from the sage’s tower, taking down a single demon—especially one that was merely a possessed entity—would be a breeze.
Thus, after receiving the mission, I headed from the sage’s tower to the town of Toilrot in the central continent.
Thanks to the teleportation device at the sage’s tower, it didn’t take long to reach Toilrot.
As soon as I arrived at the entrance of the town, I made my way to the tavern, the meeting point.
And there they were.
“Huh? You’re…?”
“Uh? Are you the agent sent from the sage’s tower?”
A burly man with a bushy beard and a blonde girl were present.
Among them, there was a red-haired man wearing a worn-out uniform and armored greaves whose identity I recognized immediately.
The King of Rights, Raygrant Leitrever.
He was atop the pinnacle of authority.
“Uncle! Uncle! Who is this guy?”
And beside him, the light-blonde girl with a lovely smile and green eyes was also familiar.
“Meet my niece, Arisha Leitrever.”
One of the protagonists of Ragnarok.
The most crucial figure in the route I was meant to take was smiling brightly at me.
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