Chapter 296
Ray spun around holding a struggling Johanna in his arms.
Finally, after having a few strands of his hair pulled by Johanna, he let her go.
Afterward, Ray visited a shop he had reserved earlier and shared a meal with Johanna and Delun.
Johanna and Delun once again asked Ray if their hometown people were safe.
Ray calmly explained that there had been an attack and casualties, but the damage wasn’t severe.
While listening to the story, Johanna closely observed Ray’s complexion.
He seemed better than when they last parted ways, and there was a sense of calmness about him.
Johanna, feeling relieved inside, sipped her tea and asked Ray,
“So… why did you come to the Imperial Capital?”
“I came to see you.”
Pfft!
Johanna lightly kicked Ray’s shin.
Still, it wasn’t an expression of dislike.
Ray chuckled and answered Johanna’s question again.
“I need to visit the place where the elves dwell.”
“…?”
“…?”
Johanna and Delun spent a moment pondering what location the “elves’ dwelling” referred to.
The answer wasn’t difficult; other than the World Tree, where else would the main habitat of the elves be?
Johanna’s expression immediately turned askance.
Soon, Izhise’s semester would end, and a short break would arrive.
Johanna planned to visit Phillip’s County during this brief rest period.
But realizing that Ray might not be in Phillip’s County during that time made her heart naturally feel heavy.
“Why do you have to go all the way there?”
“The big tree seems to have something to tell me. It keeps calling me.”
“Just because it calls doesn’t mean you have to go, right?”
Johanna grumbled, indirectly expressing her dissatisfaction.
Of course, Johanna also thought there must be a reason for Ray to visit the World Tree.
Still, she felt uneasy as to why it had to be at this particular time.
Ray looked at such Johanna and smiled faintly before speaking.
“I’ll try to make some time again next time.”
“…Time? What kind of time?”
“Hmm, well. After I finish my tasks, maybe I’ll drop by Izhise again as an instructor?”
“…Are you coming to bother the seniors again?”
Even while replying like that, Johanna couldn’t help but lift the corners of her mouth.
At least Ray promised to visit separately, which didn’t sound bad.
On the other hand, Delun frowned uncomfortably and blinked.
Delun could already foresee how the atmosphere at Izhise would change if Ray really came as an instructor.
As they continued the conversation, Johanna left her seat momentarily.
Delun, looking at the empty chair Johanna had left to tidy up her clothes, leaned toward Ray stealthily.
“Young Master.”
“What is it?”
“Are you still keeping your distance and avoiding women?”
This kind of topic wouldn’t come up unless it was just the two of them.
Delun thought he’d tease Ray with the usual predictable answer, but he closed his mouth mid-sentence.
A strange confidence that was hard to describe could be felt in Ray’s lips, which looked ready to quiver any moment.
Realizing something, Delun excitedly slammed the table and shouted,
“Young Master, you’ve finally grown up!”
“…Grown up?”
“This day has finally come! Young Master, well done. Very well done. Ah, if there’s anything you don’t know, just ask me! I’ll tell you everything!”
“…”
Ray was utterly flabbergasted at Delun’s offer to teach him ‘that.’
Watching this young man boastfully act superior after merely dating a girl gave Ray a headache.
Ray pressed his temples tightly and stiffened his expression.
“Delun, do you even know how I raised you guys when you were toddlers?”
“…Ah!”
Delun gasped, suddenly realizing something.
Ray had raised the orphans by feeding them milk from bottles.
Though the phrasing sounded a bit odd, Ray indeed frequented red-light districts without fail during his childhood.
In terms of prior learning about intimacy, he grew up in nothing short of a perfect environment.
Even though he hadn’t experienced it firsthand, his theoretical knowledge was undoubtedly solid.
Besides, among Ray’s acquaintances were several top-tier instructors far more skilled than Delun.
There was no place for Delun to step in.
“Young Master, I apologize. I was being too arrogant.”
“Alright.”
“But, Young Master.”
“What now?”
“Did you… really form a relationship with a woman? Or perhaps…”
“…”
Pfft!
Ray ultimately smacked Delun on the head.
With a hand rubbing the sore spot, Delun received a serious look from Ray.
“You haven’t been going around weird places recently, have you?”
“Ah, Young Master, absolutely not, er, absolutely not…”
Delun started to answer willingly but hesitated as something came to mind.
During the previous Imperial Capital attack, Delun had won the hearts of the Izhise seniors.
And those seniors occasionally took Delun to places where they enjoyed leisure activities on weekends.
It wasn’t somewhere problematic, but Delun realized that the empire’s nobles had quite diverse tastes.
Ray smacked Delun’s head again as he stuttered.
“Snap out of it, kid. Haven’t I always told you not to let your guard down?”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Young Master… But I really haven’t been indulging in leisure activities.”
“I know. If you had, you’d already be dead to me.”
Ray chuckled and relaxed his posture.
Ray could easily access information within Izhise.
If Delun had gone astray, he would’ve truly been beaten like a dog.
Of course, Delun was still diligently continuing his duties, and Izhise didn’t manage students so loosely anyway.
By the time this conversation ended, Johanna returned.
Ray resumed a normal conversation with the two of them.
*
Speira returned after completing an external mission.
However, upon returning, she learned that Ray was about to leave for the World Tree.
Thus, they only had time for a brief farewell.
“I’m really disappointed.”
Speira honestly expressed her disappointment and gifted Ray an artefact.
“Please be careful on your journey.”
“Yes, and thank you for the gift.”
The artefact Speira gave was one that absorbed moisture from the air to create drinking water.
It was an essential artefact when traversing deserts if there were no mages in the group.
Of course, Ray, receiving ample support from the empire, didn’t necessarily need it, but Speira didn’t give it out of ignorance.
She offered it as a token of friendship, slightly furrowing one brow.
“How long do you plan to keep addressing me formally?”
“Is it inconvenient for you?”
“Considering how others might perceive it… it’s inconvenient. I’m also worried about causing unnecessary misunderstandings that could trouble you, Ray.”
“Hmm, then shall I address you formally only when we’re alone?”
“…Oh, thinking about it, that doesn’t sound bad at all.”
Although it felt a bit reversed, imagining the changing distance between them when they were alone seemed rather appealing.
As Ray and Speira laughed together, Johanna wore a skewed expression.
Having prepared desert masks to protect against breathing in sand as a gift for Ray, seeing the valuable artefact Speira gave made her mood sour.
After finishing his goodbye with Speira, Ray took Johanna’s gift and hugged her once.
“Thank you. I’ll return safely.”
“…Yeah, come back safely.”
Johanna nodded and briefly stepped aside with Luna.
Luna was accompanying Ray on this trip.
Initially, Ray had suggested Luna stay behind in the Imperial Capital to complete necessary research.
However, Luna clearly refused this time.
Luna could advance her research using her brain regardless of being at a desk.
Unless absolutely necessary, she rarely wrote things down due to her brain’s processing speed exceeding her hands’.
With Aptel’s help, she could access necessary materials anywhere, so she could conduct research even while riding in a carriage.
Facing the usually emotionless Luna, Johanna bit her lip and struggled internally before finally speaking.
“Luna.”
“…”
“Ray seems… hurt. Maybe not severely, but… still, he shouldn’t overexert himself.”
“…”
“So, Luna… Though this may surprise you, please…”
“…I understand.”
“…What?”
“I know Ray is hurt.”
“…!”
“I’ll protect Ray. I promise.”
“Luna…”
Johanna felt conflicted and nibbled her lips before tightly hugging Luna.
“Thank you, Luna.”
Sometimes Johanna felt a mild jealousy or unfamiliarity toward Luna.
Nevertheless, Luna remained Johanna’s most precious and trustworthy friend.
“Please take good care of Ray.”
Johanna patted Luna’s back and stepped back.
The Forest of the World Tree existed southwest of the Imperial Capital.
It was said that the area nearby was mostly covered in forests in the past, but now it had transformed into a desert.
While there are towns and cities around the desert, their growth is naturally limited, so they aren’t very large.
Currently, the nation that interacts with the elves living alongside the World Tree is practically only the Empire.
To enter the Forest of the World Tree, one must cross the desert known for its harsh sandstorms.
Thinking of the elves’ fluttering large ears, Ray clicked his tongue.
“Elves in the desert.”
It was certainly an image that didn’t match well.
Though large ears might be beneficial for heat dissipation, that only applied when living in hot climates…
Large ears didn’t seem helpful against sandstorms and sandblasts.
“If the sandstorm gets fierce, how do the pointy-eared guys deal with sand getting into their ears?”
Meh, not my problem to worry about.
After muttering this, Ray chuckled and moved on.
*
Ray ‘politely’ declined the sect’s invitation.
This news quickly reached the southern sect and a few nobles.
For the sect, Ray’s handling of the situation was extremely insulting.
Did the sect send Anthonyus to Ray first? No, they didn’t.
Ray had requested that Anthonyus, a High Templar and one of the heroes representing the south, be sent.
And yet, after summoning Anthonyus, Ray blew off the sect?
This was literally an insult directed at the sect.
“This is a very unpleasant matter. How dare they impose such an insult…”
“Don’t overreact, my friend.”
The man cut off his subordinate’s fiery words with a friendly smile.
“The Guardian of the Empire must be enduring the greatest mental anguish.”
“But…”
“The greater the power, the harder it becomes to offer pure goodwill without others misinterpreting it, and the harder it becomes to accept others’ goodwill purely as well.”
“…”
“Isn’t it a pity?”
The man tapped the table a few times, stood up, and said,
“That old man met his friend during a casual outing, didn’t he?”
Regretting that the meeting didn’t happen under his own circumstances, the man glanced at the map.
“Anyway, since that old man can’t move now because he’s busy guarding the capital…”
“It’s time I admit my mistake and meet that friend myself.”
“…Pardon?”
His subordinate, who had momentarily stopped thinking while interpreting the man’s words, repeated the question late.
Contact (2)
