Volume 4 Chapter 14: Dragon-san Meets the Old Acquaintance
On the day when the lessons at Signos Magic Academy resumed and students began attending classes again, Nectar invited me to go the capital together with him.
...... I guess you could call that a date.
Although it wasn’t anything all that new, it’s been years since we could go on a simple date like that and enjoy ourselves.
For the past few weeks there was no sign of Lute, but nevertheless the peaceful days continued.
I also tried to look for either Lute or Belga by using the leylines to survey the surrounding lands, but even for a mighty dragon such as myself it was like looking for a needle in a haystack, so it was only natural that I wasn’t able to find anything.
Moreover, since I was out for a long time, I had to readjust and maintain all of the leylines throughout the region again, rendering me unable to travel anywhere outside of my home area for quite some time.
Instead, Kyle was going through all of the groundwork and tried to follow any clues that might have been related to Lute and his people.
It also seemed like there was something on his mind, but he told me not to worry myself about that.
Try as I might I could not be relaxed about it, for I knew just how dangerous information gathering could be, especially in an unknown area.
Instead, I tried to search for the presence of the ‘Eclipse’ throughout the land, but that didn’t work out so well either.
So in the end, the East was our only clue for now, and the only thing I could do was to focus on the job at hand while waiting for the summer vacation to come around.
And just as my errands came to an end, it so happened that Nectar asked me out on a date.
***
I chose my favorite clothes, made my hair, applied some make-up and I was ready to leave!
「The weather is pretty nice today.」
I smile at Nectar and he smiled back at me.
It was making me happy that he was happy as well.
We teleport to a remote location right outside of the city’s limits and pass inside through the gate.
Then we just take a walk around the city bustling with people.
We went through the whole of the capital’s department stores and admired the performance of various street artists.
Initially it felt kind of weird to spend my time together with Nectar like that, but soon enough I came to enjoy it.
We even went to the Magic Book Store and it was enjoyable to read some of the books there, but soon enough Nectar got a little bit too much into it.
Initially I was worried that we might not know what to do, but on the contrary our itinerary was packed to the brim.
Because of that, today’s date was to become my favorite so far.
「Come on, Nectar, we need to go. It’s almost the appointed time, right?」
「Eh, huh? What time is it!?」
Finally asking me that, we exited the bookstore.
Of course, we ended up buying a few books that were too interesting to simply pass up.
For things like that, the interdimensional storage was truly a blessing.
We walked for a little bit before eventually catching a horse carriage.
「So, what kind of a person is the one we are going to see now? You said that he helped you greatly when you were living here.」
Once I told the driver where we were headed, I rejoined Nectar in the seat and asked him that. He looked somewhat awkward.
「Umm, yeah, right. It is someone who was attached both to Kyle and myself, and is now a Court Magician. We go sometime back, but I promised her that I would let her see you and Aru if the opportunity presents itself.」
「Yeah, that much I do know.」
「Aru has school to worry about now, and he can’t afford to miss classes because something like that. And since I was postponing this meeting for quite a while now, I suppose that meeting you alone should be more than enough for her.」
I was wondering who that person might actually be.
「But, since you had to arrange the meeting first, does that mean that this person is of some important position? Is it really okay for us to meet with that person?」
I wanted to know because that would certainly make me feel better, but then Nectar’s voice lowered, as he said firmly.
「It’s alright. I am certain that she won’t try to harm you or Aru in any way. Besides, doing so would only serve to undermine her position in the King’s court.」
...... Somehow I felt as though that tidbit was fairly important.
「Wait a minute, Nectar. Isn’t that person supposed to be the next Sage?」
「Well actually yes, that’s right. Ah, we’re here!」
The talk ended with the carriage stopping and Nectar opening its door, jumping outside.
I step outside as well, only to find myself in a district filled with luxurious-looking residences. While I shake my head in disbelief, Nectar points to one of them.
「...... Say, Nectar? Who are we supposed to meet again?」
「Umm. The current Great Sage?」
Says Nectar while a mischievous smile blooms on his lips.
Nectar, why you little......!
「S-sorry that I couldn’t tell you sooner. I just knew that you wouldn’t like to meet someone with a proper title. But she was the one who insisted on this meeting! So please, no need to be nervous.」
「I wish you would have told me that sooner.」
That way, I could have prepared myself mentally.
Because this would be nothing like meeting with a small and ordinary citizen.
...... Weren’t we originally going to the castle? This was one heck of a performance they pulled off here.
This place was so majestic and fancy that it was making me feel a little bit uncomfortable.
I knew that the person we were going to meet was an acquaintance of both Kyle and Nectar and that I shouldn’t worry, but I just couldn’t help myself.
I wanted to start arguing with Nectar, but that was interrupted by the appearance of the butler-like looking person from within the mansion.
What the hell, a real butler.
He looked stern yet elegant, and his every action was dignified and effective.
He looked to be forty years old or maybe even slightly older, with his hair combed backwards. He bowed down to Nectar and I.
「Welcome, Nectar Figura-sama, Lava Figura-sama. We have been expecting you.」
He opened the door for us and showed us to come inside.
We were guided by the butler through tall hallways rich in paintings, sculptures and intricate wallpapers.
Although Kyle’s former house used to be huge as well, it clearly paled in comparison to this one.
However, this mansion was giving off a feeling that a celebrity was living here, and the things here looked so delicate that they would break under the slightest touch.
While I was busy being overwhelmed, the butler reached out towards a certain door, knocked onto it and opened it after a short pause.
「Ma’am, our guests have arrived.」
「Right, please let them in.」
The butler let us into the room, and I saw a woman standing near a glass window, illuminated by the afternoon sunlight.
She was wearing a blue skirt and a cream blouse. She turned around to look at us, smiled brightly and walked towards us.
「Welcome, welcome.」
Judging from what we knew, since she became the Court Magician after Kyle let go of the title, she should be the same age as Seram.
However, even though she should be around forty years old, she looked as though she was in her mid-twenties.
Her hair was long and smooth, and her eyes were shining brightly.
However, her voice was sophisticated and elegant, and her magical wave pattern was the most exquisite.
「Ma’am, if you’ll excuse me.」
「Yes, thank you.」
Then the butler bowed deeply and left the room, leaving the three of us alone.
The woman walked to the door and touched the wall right beside it.
In the next moment, the anti-eavesdrop spell was spread over the room, completely isolating the room from the outside world.
Then she turned around, and bowed down to me slightly, in a way that the magicians of old Ballow used to bow down.
「Obsidian Dragon-sama, my name is Isha Somnis and I am the current Court Magician of the kingdom of Ballow. But some people know me by my other name ‘Sage of Ice Flowers’. It is an honor to see you again.」
I was surprised to be called Obsidian so out of the blue like that, but then I remembered Nectar’s words that this woman knows my identity and everything became clear.
Instead, I was overwhelmed by her overly elegant gestures.
I must admit, she had a way with her words, but one of her words struck me as odd. ‘Again’.
Besides, those magic waves, where have I ––
Seeing my confused expression, Isha smiled impishly.
「That’s right, you may not remember me, oh Obsidian Dragon, but we’ve met once before ––––」
「No way, you’re that girl from the kidnapping case all those years ago!?」
I thought about that and then I exclaimed loudly.
Yes, that’s right! She was that girl that I encountered all those years ago during the kidnapping case, when under the influence of the magic tool I was turned into a little girl.
But the person in front of me now was a fully grown up and elegant woman, but the facial features were still resembling of that little girl from way back then.
「Uwah, you’ve become so beautiful! I see that you also polished your magic skills and became a magician. And here I was thinking that you might hate magic because of that incident. I’m so glad that I can meet you again!」
「You, you do remember me?」
「Of course! I would never forget! ...... Huh?」
With a sudden surge of both joy and nostalgia, I took Isha-san’s hands and shook them. It was then that something occurred to me.
During that time, it was me who was also a small child.
But she couldn’t possibly know that at that time.
「Don’t tell me you knew from way back then?」
「Yes, that’s right. But, naturally, I didn’t tell that to anyone, that it was the Dragon-san that saved me. Not even my dear father knew.」
Uhaha...... To think that my cover was blown so easily all those years ago......
I couldn’t help but to drop my shoulders while Isha-san continued to smile impishly.