Traveler's Gazetteer

After talking with Bison for a while, Sifa left the study. As he gently closed the door, he heard a familiar voice.

"Sifa, you're back?"

Sifa turned around and saw a gentle, amiable lady. It was his mother, Enilu.

Two others stood beside her. On her left was his younger sister, Helibel, her long golden hair swept up into a high ponytail.

On her right, however, stood a tall, unfamiliar old man in a dark gray robe of an old-fashioned style. The muscles of his face were slack and sagging, his eyes deeply set, and brown age spots of all sizes covered his face and hands. His hair was entirely white, as were his eyebrows.

Most striking of all was his great white beard, which was so long and thick that it reached his chest.

His appearance closely resembled a character Sifa had seen in a film in his previous life: the wizard named Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.

If he put on a pointed wizard's hat, the resemblance would be even stronger.

"Enilu, is this your boy?" Gandalf—no, the white-bearded old man—asked with a smile in his eyes.

Enilu smiled faintly, a hint of pride in her expression. "Yes, teacher. This is the child I told you about, Sifa."

"Sifa, this is my teacher, Mr. Atherlaid."

Sifa placed a hand over his chest and bowed with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Atherlaid."

"And you, child."

After the old man spoke, Enilu signaled to a maid nearby, then said, "Teacher, please get some rest first. We can talk more over dinner."

"All right."

The tall Mr. Atherlaid followed the maid away. Helibel gave a little huff and said, "Mom, I'm going to take a bath."

"Go ahead."

Once the girl with the high ponytail