The sea breeze blew.
Was this what it felt like to have a teacher?
Ruger blinked, pondering the thought as he turned to look at Immanuel's back. His teacher faced the sea, enjoying the gentle caress of the breeze.
It was a strange feeling, because he was also wondering whether his teacher had already died.
The real Immanuel-Caputo.
Or perhaps this strange man before him was the real one. Ruger could not quite figure it out. Anything was possible, and the man himself did not know either.
Ruger suddenly froze. Since this man had transformed from that notebook, did that mean he had also lost his last means of verifying the truth? That was the question notebook his teacher had given him, and he had deliberately kept one opportunity to ask a question unused.
Seen another way, it had always been his only means of contacting his teacher. Its destruction meant severing the sole connection between them. Perhaps that could count as a roundabout protective measure.
If there really was trouble, it would not implicate him.
Ruger let his thoughts wander.
"Teacher, are you a Four-Ring Wizard now?" Ruger asked the question that had been weighing on his mind.
"Yes, and no."
The strange Immanuel gazed out at the distant sea and spoke softly without turning around.
Ruger paused, but did not probe further. This was what he had wanted to know, and it was answer enough.
Put simply, perhaps he was not truly a Wizard, or perhaps he had not truly reached the Fourth Ring, but he possessed the power of a Four-Ring Wizard. That was probably what he meant, and knowing that was enough. The strength of the mental power he had displayed earlier also offered some tentative support for that conclusion.
"Teacher, are the Underground Caverns... heading