Immanuel stood quietly at the cliff's edge, letting the cool sea breeze brush through his fine, short black hair. Once he stopped speaking and his smile vanished, the creases running down either side of his nose readily drew the eye. Those wrinkles lent even his profile a severity unlike that of ordinary people, a severity imbued with a wizard's persistence.
Ruger stood quietly beside his teacher, occasionally making small gestures to cast spells such as Spirit Fur Nourishment.
Stray Hair One was preparing his own Divine Temple, and as his master, Ruger naturally had to contribute by sending him more spirit furs.
Thinking of his God of Spirit Fur inevitably reminded Ruger of a peculiar wizard organization. A considerable amount of time had passed since Wizard Jillian, under the influence of discordant power, had visited the island. Back then, he had still been in the observation period following his departure from Cyclops Island, yet he had received no response since.
Of course, the Underground Caverns were vast and full of strange phenomena, so unexpected circumstances were understandable.
As Ruger pondered this, he looked at his teacher, then swallowed the question on the tip of his tongue.
He moved cautiously, as though taking a stroll, pacing back and forth while casting Spirit Fur Nourishment to groom his hair with magic.
Gradually, he widened the area he paced through.
After nourishing all the spirit furs on his body three times, he began tinkering with Fendim's Flaming Centipede.
"Teacher..."
Ruger started casting Spirit Fur Nourishment again and approached tentatively.
Then he drew a deep breath.
His pacing, his changes of angle and distance, had all been ways of observing his teacher, Immanuel Caputo.
This teacher who had appeared out of nowhere and was answering his questions seemed to be in an odd state.