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chapter 09
If learning the truth about this world would make a mage realize that souls and all that nonsense were meaningless…
By then, Adel had finished her meal.
Her stomach was full, which meant it was time to check on her subordinate.
On the way out, she had already picked up a sturdy wooden branch from in front of the house. It would serve as Vincent’s training stick. She had already planned out his physical training routine. Now it was time to give his hands enough work to grow calluses.
As Adel rose from her chair, the mage stood as well.
She gave him a strange look before heading toward the door.
He followed.
Her eyebrow twitched.
The moment she stepped outside, she drove her foot into the ground and shot forward.
She dashed through the alley at incredible speed before glancing over her shoulder.
The mage was chasing after her, using magic to keep pace.
“…Are you a stalker?”
“I’ve decided it’s time I observed you properly.”
Adel clicked her tongue in annoyance and accelerated even further.
A violent gust swept through the alleyway that early morning as the two raced through it.
As odd as the mage was, his ability was undeniably exceptional.
There weren’t many people in her lifetime who could keep up with her speed.
If she had to name one…
Perhaps Vincent at the height of his power.
Feels good to run like this again.
A smile tugged at Adel’s lips.
The mage, on the other hand, wore a thoroughly baffled expression.
He simply couldn’t comprehend how a six-year-old could move like this.
“What… are you?”
The words had barely left his mouth before his body began trembling violently.
Then—
Thud.
He collapsed onto the ground.
He had burned through far too much mana first thing in the morning.
When he looked up from where he’d fallen, someone’s feet stood before him.
“…Who’s this?”
It was Vincent.
Looking down at the mage lying on the ground trying to catch his breath, Adel let out a sigh.
“He’s a strange perv—”
She paused.
Well…
He was providing them with food and a place to stay.
Calling him a pervert before he’d actually done anything seemed a little harsh.
She quickly corrected herself.
“…A pervert… no, not a pervert… something like a perverted roommate.”
“…What does that even mean?”
Vincent’s expression soured.
Is she calling him a pervert or not?
Unable to figure out what Adel meant, he looked thoroughly confused.
Seeing that he still didn’t understand, Adel explained,
“You know how your house has people who cook your meals and clean everything?”
“Oh. A servant.”
“Something like that.”
The mage slowly staggered back to his feet, apparently having recovered enough strength while the two children chatted.
During the war, he’d cast countless spells without ever running out of mana.
It seemed he was still in training at this point.
Surely…
He hadn’t exhausted himself just because he’d sprinted a little.
Even Vincent looked at him with open disdain.
“This servant is completely useless.”
Adel wholeheartedly agreed and nodded.
Then Vincent continued.
“Hey, servant! We’re about to start training, so bring us some water. And prepare some snacks for when we get hungry.”
Adel stared at him.
Where exactly did this kid go wrong?
Before worrying about building a healthy body through training, it seemed he desperately needed lessons in basic manners.
She raised a finger and lightly jabbed several pressure points on Vincent’s arm and neck.
“Ow!”
His arms instinctively folded neatly in front of his stomach, while his neck dipped into a respectful bow.
“When you’re asking an adult for something, be polite.”
“…P-polite? To a servant?”
The Kingdom of Philonia was a nation where class hierarchy had seeped into people’s bones.
Vincent looked at her as though she were speaking complete nonsense.
There was no way Adel could explain the complicated relationship between age and social status to a child.
Truthfully…
She only knew that adults deserved respect because that was what she’d always believed.
In the end, she resorted to vague reasoning once again.
“…Since he’s someone working under the leader, you should treat him respectfully.”
“…Leader?”
This time, it was the mage who asked.
“I decided to raise him. From now on, Vincent, you’ll address me properly as ‘Boss.'”
The corners of the mage’s mouth twitched.
…What an old-fashioned fossil.
How could such a tiny child give off the overwhelming aura of an aging adult with outdated values?
Then it struck him.
There wasn’t a trace of childishness in Adel’s eyes.
Vincent, despite throwing around noble authority, still possessed the innocent look unique to children.
Adel did not.
Her face carried the unmistakable weight of someone who had weathered countless hardships over a very long life.
The mage tore his gaze away from the mysterious girl and focused on Vincent once more.
Unaware, Vincent shot Adel a sullen glare after being scolded.
The mage ignored it.
Like a fortune teller reading someone’s face, he examined Vincent from every angle.
His unwavering stare made Vincent increasingly uneasy.
Just as Adel had said…
He really did look like a pervert.
A very dangerous one.
Completely oblivious to Vincent’s thoughts, the mage smiled warmly.
With his extraordinary good looks, the gentle curve of his lips made him resemble a flawless marble statue.
Unfortunately…
Vincent’s sense of beauty hadn’t matured yet.
To him, it was simply the smile of a suspicious creep.
“I think our fates are deeply intertwined.”
Even what he said sounded disturbingly creepy.
Vincent frowned so hard his brows nearly met.
His face twisted as though he’d just been forced to eat his most hated vegetable.
“I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“That’s not exactly up to me.”
Vincent scowled even harder.
Apparently, the idea that things weren’t under his control offended him deeply, and he continued arguing with the mage.
Listening to everything, Adel tilted her head.
How does he know that?
She stared at the mage with open curiosity.
Historically, no one knew how these two had first met.
To make matters worse, the history of the enemy kingdom had been burned away by Adel’s own hands.
There was no way to verify it now.
The king had wanted to erase every trace of Vincent’s existence.
He hadn’t even allowed the enemy kingdom’s name to survive in the historical records.
What was certain, however…
…was that in the distant future, Vincent would leave for that enemy nation and eventually invade Philonia alongside this very young mage.
Whatever their relationship was now, fate had clearly bound them together with impossible strength.
The beginning of the war.
That was the earliest point Adel herself could remember.
Can this mage… see the future?
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Or… does he know whoever created this story?
If that were true…
Maybe she needed to beat the answers out of him and finally learn just what kind of world this really was.
Her fist slowly tightened.
A sudden, icy chill crawled up the mage’s spine.
He spun around, searching for the source.
But all he found was a cute little girl with twin pigtails, innocently clenching a tiny fist.
Suppressing the goosebumps rising along his arms, he turned back to Vincent.
“Have you ever thought about leaving the kingdom in the future? Your face doesn’t look like someone destined to remain here.”
The strange chill returned.
Adel’s suspicious stare never wavered.
Neither did the strength in her clenched fist.
Vincent glared at the mage.
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
The shout instantly made Adel relax her fist.
Maybe…
She was simply being overly suspicious.
She shook her head.
Then Vincent proudly continued.
“I am the only son of House Rogato, one of Philonia’s greatest noble families! Someone like me would never leave this kingdom!”
…Except you will.
“And I have absolutely no reason to leave. No temptation could ever shake my loyalty.”
Even though you’ll throw it all away for a woman.
“If any danger ever threatens this kingdom, I, Vincent Rogato—the future Duke—will protect it!”
You’re the danger.
Adel barely resisted the urge to interrupt.
Having delivered his passionate declaration, Vincent turned toward her with an expectant grin.
He was obviously waiting for praise.
Instead, Adel said flatly,
“I hope you remember those words.”
Vincent puffed out his chest and gave her the most dependable expression a child his age could possibly manage.
Watching him, the mage quietly muttered to himself about fate having somehow changed.
Adel ignored him completely and looked up at the sun.
Enough time had been wasted.
It was finally time to begin training.
If the mage hadn’t interrupted them, Vincent would have already finished several laps by now.
She rolled her shoulders to loosen up.
“All right. That’s enough pointless chatter. Per— …I mean, you. Stop getting in the way and head downstairs.”
“…Pointless?”
The mage looked at her with an unmistakably dejected expression.
He already looked frail enough, and now, with the face of a pitiful abandoned puppy, he seemed even more miserable.
“What are you looking at?”
Unfortunately for him…
That kind of expression had absolutely no effect on Adel.
Meanwhile, Vincent, who had completely forgotten why they had come in the first place thanks to the mage’s interruption, nodded repeatedly.
Only now did he finally remember.
They were here to train.
