Roxy was a little taken aback. She exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Luo Ge! What are you doing here?"
"Teacher, are you planning to leave?"
"Yes... You and Rudeus are already doing so well. There's nothing I can teach you now." A trace of loneliness flashed through Roxy's eyes.
"No! Actually, there's still something you can teach me."
"Like what?"
"For example, the magic you're best at—Voiceless Water Magic."
"Incantationless... I can't..."
Roxy felt thoroughly defeated, but then she saw Luo Ge's narrowed eyes and mischievous grin.
Ugh... I think I understand.
The corner of Roxy's mouth twitched, and her little face instantly darkened.
Hmm?
You're already up to no good at this age, teasing your teacher, are you?
She walked over and smacked Luo Ge on the head. Although it looked like a smack, she had barely used any force at all.
She kept her hand on Luo Ge's head, deliberately putting on the frightening expression of a demon who ate naughty children.
"Idiot! That... you'd better take it to your grave! If anyone else finds out, you'll be sorry!"
"Teacher Roxy, you wouldn't want anyone finding out about your Voiceless Water Magic, would you?" Luo Ge's lips curled upward, his tone loaded with meaning.
"Oh, come on! Again?"
Roxy looked utterly defeated. She felt miserable and helpless.
"Go on, then. What are you trying to blackmail your teacher into doing this time? Don't tell me you want to sneak some pufferfish again?"
"But haven't you already learned detoxification magic by now?"
"No!"
"Teacher Roxy, you've misunderstood. What I want to ask of you tonight is something else. It's a little selfish, but please say yes... You have to say yes."
"What is it?"
"Um... How should I put this? It's a little embarrassing to say. Give me a moment."
Roxy looked at Luo Ge and deliberately teased him. "If it's that sort of thing, I won't agree... When you're older and meet a girl you like, say it to her then."
"That's not it! Teacher Roxy, I want to ask you-when you leave, could you take me with you?"
"Huh?"
Roxy wondered if she had misheard.
Luo Ge, meanwhile, wore an expression that said, "You heard me right. I'm serious."
"T-take you with me? Why on earth?" Roxy was baffled.
If a child lived in a particularly oppressive home where no one could communicate, wanting to escape... would have been understandable.
After all, she had once been through that herself.
But Paul's family was happy and content now. Even she was a little reluctant to leave, so she couldn't fathom Luo Ge's thoughts at all.
"Children shouldn't run away from home... If I took you away, Paul and Mrs. Zenith would be heartbroken. Besides, you're far too young for an adventurous journey."
"If you want to become an adventurer too, there's still plenty of time for that after you graduate from the magic academy."
"Well, even without you, Teacher, I'd probably still leave."
"May I ask... why, exactly?" Roxy asked curiously. She had initially assumed Luo Ge simply wanted to become an adventurer, but now it seemed he had another goal.
"Because I want to become the strongest man in the world." Luo Ge grinned, showing his white teeth.
"The strongest in the world?"
Roxy tilted her head. What a strange reason. It was nothing more than a child's unrealistic fantasy.
Sure enough, although Luo Ge acted very mature, even more mature than Rudeus, he still had a childish side to him.
Every child had dreams, such as saving the world and becoming a hero.
"So that's it!"
Roxy nodded, then turned her gaze to Luo Ge and asked.
"Where are you planning to go? You must at least have a goal... a destination or something, right?"
"I'm planning to go to the Sword Sanctum in the northwest. Dad told me before that the greatest swordsmen in the world are there."
"Teacher, you'll agree, won't you?"
"I still... can't. I can't agree to that."
Roxy refused.
"Why not?"
Luo Ge didn't want to give up.
"Because the world out there isn't as wonderful as you think. When I was an adventurer, I nearly starved to death. I even ate venomous scorpions in the desert."
"And out there, there are criminals who kidnap and sell children, dangerous monsters..."
"More importantly, the Sword Sanctum is in the northwest corner of the Central Continent. We'd have to cross the Red Dragon's Upper Jaw... Whether it's the terrain or the level of the monsters, the north is far more dangerous than the Asura Kingdom. Even I can't guarantee your safety."
"If anything happened to you, I couldn't answer to Paul and the others."
"What if I protect you along the way, Teacher Roxy?"
"You'd protect me? But you're only five."
"Your talent for swordsmanship is certainly impressive, but at five, you're still too young. So wait until you're a little older-at least until you're an adult, all right?"
As Roxy launched into an endless lecture, Luo Ge suddenly narrowed his eyes and interrupted her. "Teacher Roxy... how about a bet?"
"What kind of bet?"
"Let's find somewhere with no one around and spar. If I win, you take me to the Sword Sanctum."
"And if you lose?"
"Then I'll keep that secret for you for the rest of my life."
"That hardly seems like a fair deal."
Roxy had the strange feeling she was being played.
"Don't tell me you're scared, Teacher?"
A slight smile curved Luo Ge's lips.
"Trying to provoke me?"
"Hmm... It's a terrible tactic, but it works on me. As a teacher, I can't back down from a student's challenge. Fine, I accept."
Roxy was quite confident in her strength as a Water Saint-tier magician.
Afterward, the two headed outside under cover of night.
On the grass.
Roxy and Luo Ge put some distance between them and took their stances.
Luo Ge held a wooden sword, while Roxy raised her staff.
"Teacher, if you don't go all out, you might lose."
"Hmph, lose? How could that happen? I'm a Water Saint-tier magician and an A-rank adventurer. How could I possibly lose to a little child like you?"
"If you underestimate your teacher, you'll lose badly!"
Feeling that she had been looked down on, Roxy gave a soft huff to express her displeasure.
"Well, then... I'm going to beg-" Before Roxy could finish, Luo Ge suddenly moved in front of her.
With a swish.
An afterimage instantly closed in on her face.
And then...
Bang!
No one knew exactly what happened that night. All they knew was that when some villagers passed by the next morning.
They happened to discover what seemed to be a puddle of urine left by a small animal.
The next day, at the first light of dawn.
A letter lay on the Greyrat family's table.
Lilia, the maid who was cleaning, was the first to discover the letter. Realizing the urgency of the situation, she immediately rushed into Zenith's room.
"Master, Madam!"
"Something terrible has happened! Young Master L-Luo Ge has eloped with Roxy!"
When Zenith learned the truth, she covered her mouth in disbelief and nearly fainted on the spot.
Meanwhile.
Luo Ge had already followed Roxy to the City of Roa, faced with a bustling, flourishing city and streets crowded with traffic.
Perhaps because this was his first journey far from home.
Luo Ge looked around eagerly, excited the whole way, while Roxy beside him looked as though she were questioning her entire life, her soul drained away.
Clutching her two braids, Roxy kept muttering to herself. Why? Why on earth...
During their spar last night, she had thought she was certain to win, but with one swing.
She had...
Before she could even see his movements clearly, she had been sent flying backward.
She hadn't even known what had happened.
All she remembered was her vision going dark before she fell to the ground.
By the time she came to her senses, she discovered not only that she had been beaten into losing her Voiceless Water Magic, but also that Luo Ge had carried her on his back and fled through the night.
Even now, Roxy could fully understand how she had lost to a five-year-old child?
She was a Water Saint-tier magician.
Although magicians couldn't beat swordsmen of the same level, her opponent was only a five-year-old child.
After realizing she had been beaten into losing her Voiceless Water Magic, Roxy had nearly shut herself off from the world.
Even so, Roxy had kept their original agreement and traveled with Luo Ge.
But then...
Just after the two reached the first town in the Fittoa Territory-Roa-and were about to buy horses to continue their journey.
They were caught on the spot.
Paul had ridden through the night to catch up with them.
Without another word, he bundled up both Luo Ge and Roxy and took them home.
No one had expected this flawless plan to fail with such a dramatic and absurd ending.
It was thus declared a failure.
The main reason, as Luo Ge later concluded after careful analysis, was that he had still underestimated his knight father Paul's connections in the Fittoa Territory.