"Teacher?"
Only then did Kane realize that the man before him was not the sorcerer he had imagined.
He had the air of a spellcaster, yet the long object wrapped in thick cloth on his back made him look more like a warrior who used a polearm.
Kane had originally thought he was like his captain—a flamboyant sorcerer who carried a flashy weapon in his left hand merely for show, then cast spells with his right.
As the party's scout, he was usually responsible for reconnaissance.
His habit was to gather as much information as possible about the relevant monsters before accepting a commission.
After years of adventuring, Kane knew full well how precious knowledge about monsters was.
For example, to understand the patterns and habits of the frogmen in the caves this time, he had spent quite a bit of Silver Scale before finally prying some useful information out of an adventurer who made a living in the swamps.
His counterpart, however, had casually stated that he had obtained this valuable knowledge from his teacher's collection of books.
Kane could not help feeling a surge of mixed envy and longing.
Moreover, he studied the habits of monsters not only to prepare for commissions, but also because he had always been deeply interested in these mysterious creatures.
"A private collection of books on monster studies... I... could I borrow one or two?"
After a brief inner struggle, he suppressed the presumptuous thought. Only then did he slowly ask, "May I ask who Mister Galen's teacher is...?"
He Xi had merely added a reasonable explanation for his source of information based on the principle of exchanging intelligence.
Since the other party had asked, however, he naturally would not miss the chance to quietly reveal his background.
"An Archmage who does not