The surging power of the Magic-Powered Engine drove the mechanical devices as the black Armored Engineering Vehicle headed into the distance along the temporarily hardened road. Once they crossed that invisible "boundary," snow and wind filled the view beyond the windows once more. Having traded places with the soldiers and now seated in the back, Fendil subconsciously turned to look behind them. The mysterious manor standing atop the hill was gradually swallowed by the blizzard, growing increasingly indistinct beneath the murky sky.
Yet the sensation of being watched did not gradually fade until they had traveled far away from that manor—and the pressure brought by that line of sight took even longer to fully dissipate.
"Was that the pressure of a legendary powerhouse..." one of the accompanying technical soldiers finally muttered in a low voice. "That was my first time meeting a Legendary Mage face-to-face in my life... Just like everyone says, unfathomable. Truly unfathomable..."
"I was scared out of my wits!" the soldier driving up front muttered, still shaken. "I actually said that lady might be ugly... Good thing she didn't hear me..."
"She probably heard you long ago. Do you think a few kilometers could hide something from a person like that?" The soldier beside Fendil curled his lip. "Milmina simply didn't hold it against you. She must be a very broad-minded person..."
"Say... how old is Milmina really?" After holding it in for several seconds, the driver could not help speaking again. "I feel like she looks about the same age as my sister, and like my sister, she's very kind to people... But she also gives me the feeling that she can see through everything. Like some incredibly learned elder..."
"Who knows? Maybe everything we saw was an illusion from beginning to end. And I heard