Lernen

P. S.: This chapter can be skipped.

In the forest.

A carriage is heading towards Äußerst.

Inside the train carriage.

Looking at Aetilu, who was slumped over at the edge of the carriage, Lernen said:

"Thank you for your hard work, Aetilu."

"In a few more days, we'll be back in Äußerst."

Aetilu sighed and complained, "Honestly, investigating [Golden Land] is so tiring."

She never expected that her first request after being promoted to First-Class Mage would be so challenging.

She certainly wouldn't have come if it weren't for the personal invitation from Lernen, First-Class Mage and disciple of Serie.

Fortunately, this commission was successfully completed.

Lernen smiled and said, "But thanks to this, we were able to provide Dunkel with valuable intelligence, which will surely save his homeland."

Aetilu watched the trees recede into the distance, she remarked with admiration, "So considerate of Dunkel."

Lernen lowered her eyes, leaning quietly against the carriage, lost in thought.

After a brief silence, Aetilu asked, "May I ask for the reason?"

That's a long story.

"It's fine, I'm free anyway."

Lernen chuckled and said, "That's a story from my younger days."

"Dunkel and I were in the same cohort of magicians who entered the court to work."

He was a soldier, belonging to the Imperial Army, while I was an innocent young nobleman.

But we get along very well, and working and studying with him always makes me happy.

At this point, a slight smile unconsciously appeared on Lernen's face. After a pause, she continued:

"Although I possess considerable magical talent, I am utterly clueless when it comes to interpersonal relationships."

Therefore, I quickly lost my position.

Only Dunkel knew that he was still speaking up for me in the end.

At that time, I made up my mind that one day I would repay this favor.

"Like me, Dunkel's personality is seen as slightly twisted by others, but his passion is something I don't have."

Moreover, his love for his wife is truly impressive.

Dunkel would always tell me his love story with Qiqi in a calm tone, and I would always listen with a wry smile.

Even after his wife passed away, he would still talk to me at length about his memories with her and his plans to return to his hometown.

At this point, Lernen sighed:

"How I miss it."

"He no longer talks about these things."

"In the end, Dunkel hasn't returned to his hometown for fifty years."

I can understand how he feels.

It takes great courage for people to confront what they have already lost.

"It wasn't until several years ago, after [Golden Land] swallowed up Dunkel's hometown, that he finally made up his mind."

"So, I want to help him return to his hometown as much as possible."

Not the cold, desolate "Golden Land," but the vibrant, colorful hometown where he once lived.

This story is quite long, spanning several decades.

But it was also short; Lernen only spoke for less than ten minutes before it was over.

Aetilu crossed her arms and placed them on the edge of the carriage, resting her chin on them to protect herself from the jolting of the carriage.

She roughly understood Lernen's reasoning.

However, she didn't quite understand.

Lernen looked at the silent Aetilu: "You must think it's too late for Dunkel to make a decision now, right?"

Without turning her head, Aetilu said, "It's indeed too late now."

Lernen was not surprised by this answer.

"Indeed, things have come to this."

But I couldn't bring myself to say a single word of blame to him.

Lernen's tone was ambiguous, as if she were talking about Dunkel, but also as if she were talking about herself.

"We are human beings, and human beings have a limited amount of time."

There is no "someday" in our short lives.

Lernen chuckled self-deprecatingly, and before Aetilu could speak, she continued:

"It's such a simple truth, yet Dunkel and I, at this age, still haven't grasped it."

Dunkel is like that, and so am I.

Decades have passed, and I still haven't been able to repay the favor I owe Dunkel.

There will always be opportunities. One day, when Dunkel encounters difficulties, I'll help him again.

"But we've both reached this age, and perhaps one day we'll never see each other again."

For us, now is the only time left.

"Therefore, I will spare no effort to assist him and silently watch him accomplish the feat of saving this region from the [Golden Land]."

This is the last struggle of us old bones.

When Lernen mentioned that she was already old, she made no attempt to hide it, and even spoke in a very casual tone.

"What will he feel when he sees that the memories of his hometown have now been transformed into a [Golden Land]?"

Aetilu had no idea how Dunkel was feeling.

But if it were her hometown that was turned into gold, she would probably feel powerless.

After all, that was Macht unleashed by the strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction —Mahat of the Golden Land —a curse that remains unbroken to this day.

"So, that's why you asked Frieren others to help Dunkel?"

Lernen nodded, but then noticed that Aetilu had her back to him, so he spoke up:

"That's right."

"If Lady Frieren... and her disciples were here, they should be able to do it."

Lernen originally only wanted to talk about Frieren, but suddenly remembered Rienta had almost beheaded him with a single sword strike.

Even now, he doesn't know how to deal with it.

He is clearly a magician.

The information even mentions that Rienta barely passed the Fifth-Class Mage exam by relying on [Healing Magic].

But it only took a few short years.

It not only possesses the speed and strength of a top-tier warrior.

During the First-Class Mage exam, he defeated all the other candidates using only [Mirror Image].

Moreover, it directly suppressed him, who was First-Class Mage.

Even her magical talents have been recognized by Lady Serie.

He's a monster.

Aetilu wasn't very familiar with the disciples of Frieren that Lernen mentioned.

Of course, except for Rienta.

After the First-Class Mage exam, he gathered a lot of information about Rienta.

Especially the battle with Lernen at the entrance of the Continental Magic Association.

Although she didn't witness the entire process, judging from the situation at the time and the information she gathered later, Lernen was undoubtedly being overwhelmed by Rienta.

Moreover, after that, Rienta directly confronted Lady Serie.

It must take immense talent and strength to earn such leniency from Lady Serie.

Thinking of this, Aetilu turned her head in confusion to look at Lernen:

"If I remember correctly, Rienta and the others probably don't get along very well with you...?"

Aetilu ultimately chose a more tactful way of putting it.

Lernen gave a wry smile. It wasn't just that they didn't get along; they were practically enemies.

"Don't worry, I've already paid them the amount they were interested in."

Aetilu hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped herself.

She couldn't understand why, even after decades, Lernen was still as clueless about interpersonal relationships as he himself claimed.

Lernen made the request to Rienta and his group in front of her.

She also knew the reward for the commission: a precious Grimoire.

But.

Is this really enough?

Putting aside their past grievances, the difficulty of this commission alone cannot be mitigated by a Grimoire.