"Is something troubling you?" his teacher asked, seemingly offhandedly, as he leafed through a book in his chair.
His tone was unhurried, neither soft nor forceful, accompanied by the rustle of turning pages. It was another book with an outrageous title.
Ruger looked at the teacher before him. Sitting in his chair, his teacher exuded an air of quiet serenity. Although his teacher had said he might be false, that a rational analysis might conclude he was not truly the original man, Ruger had always regarded the teacher before him as real: a capable teacher, a living wizard with powerful mental power, and a good friend to their furry companions.
"Just some tangled thoughts about spells." Ruger smiled.
His teacher slowly nodded as he leafed through Revenge of the Seven-Headed Demon Dragon's Son.
Ruger left with a smile. More precisely, he went for a walk, following the winding path through the Bedroom Space. Every bend was what Tuzel called art and beauty.
Still, it was quite nice for a stroll, Ruger thought.
After a long interval spent advancing and resting through his adjustment period, Kurt, the Two-Ring Wizard who had decided to avoid Trade Island as much as possible, had brought him news again. It was expected, yet somewhat different from what he had imagined.
An emblem of a sword entwined with a heavy lock had been erected on a very small island, much like the one Ruger lived on alone. The heavy lock was a chainlike object that could be taken apart, commonly used in transactions by market vendors: a set of conveniently detachable weights for weighing goods. A sword entwined with this heavy chain was the emblem of the God of Judgment and Justice.
Setting out from Trade Island toward the neighboring waters, one could see that small