Her figure came into view. She was a woman with a magnificent rolled-bread hairstyle that commoners couldn’t even imagine, and impressive half-closed eyes that looked sleepy.

She had lifeless eyes, making her seem emotionless, but perhaps because she always had a slight smile on her lips, it wasn’t very noticeable.

“Did I take the wrong Carriage?”

“No. I said I wanted to be with you.”

“You?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Chloe looked this way.

“I want to learn Magic from you.”

“I didn’t say I would teach you.”

“I heard something from Sir Charlotte the other day. You said you wanted to learn Etiquette, right? I’ll teach you.”

“You can teach Etiquette?”

“Ladies raised as nobly as I are always expected to act with grace. We are rigorously educated until it becomes ingrained in us.”

“It’s a trade.”

Chloe seemed to have prepared her words. She couldn’t have made such an offer if she hadn’t thought it through beforehand.

He didn’t know why she wanted to learn Magic.

As a noble lady, all she did was marry and live as someone’s spouse. She lacked the motivation to cling to magic like the protagonist.

“When you go to the capital city this time, you’ll have many encounters with nobles. And when you become a noble yourself, you’ll be expected to behave with appropriate dignity, not like a beggar.”

“Should I learn it right away?”

“The sooner, the better. Now, if you don’t have proper dignity, even those around you will be criticized.”

Those words snapped her to attention.

Before, she was a commoner. She had no dealings with nobles. But now it was different. As soon as she got the title, she became a noble.

She had entered noble society.

Now, she had to behave in a way that befitted her status. Otherwise, she would be slandered behind her back. If it were just her, it might be fine, but she couldn’t let the protagonist’s women suffer that.

“I guess it would be good to learn.”

“I’ll definitely teach you the basics until we arrive at the capital city.”

“Why do you want to learn magic?”

“Father was planning to find me a match when we went to the capital city this time.”

“A match?”

“Many nobles are gathering this time. He was trying to suitably pair me with someone who had a decent background and seemed like they would be helpful to me.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

The count was looking for a spouse for his daughter. No matter how he thought about it, that didn’t seem related to the protagonist wanting to learn magic.

“Father has erased that thought. It was because of you.”

“Me?”

“To be precise, it was because of the magic you displayed. Thanks to that, Father wants to marry me off to you.”

“Doesn’t the count know that I have other women?”

“Nobles have more than one wife. Many have three.”

Nobles were precious beings.

Such nobles had a duty to leave behind as many of the protagonist’s offspring as possible.

It was considered natural to have multiple women.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s a bit difficult.”

He squeezed his eyes shut.

He didn’t dislike her. She was a beautiful woman who would make any man drool.

She had a different charm than the two women by Protagonist’s side.

But he didn’t want to get stabbed. He worried if Protagonist could handle it. Even with just the two women, it was already more than Protagonist deserved.

“If it’s because of the two women by your side, don’t worry. Couldn’t I just become friends with them? I’d be satisfied as long as I don’t get married off like I’m being sold to an old Noble.”

Chloe sighed.

She remembered hearing about the life of a Noble Lady. Women weren’t treated properly. They were often seen as property of men.

Perhaps that’s why they longed for a happy life with some freedom. Chloe seemed to think that if she got involved with him, she could live such a life.

“I’m grateful to you. Thanks to you, I’ve avoided being sold off this time. I want to use the time I’ve been given to seize an opportunity that might allow me to reclaim my life.”

“Are you saying learning Magic is an opportunity?”

“You’re a commoner with nothing. But you trained in Magic and built up your worth. I want to do that too.”

“It’s going to be very difficult.”

He frowned.

Training in Magic was not easy.

Protagonist had not only trained hard but also overcome life-threatening situations to reach where he was now. He didn’t think a delicately raised Lady could do it.

“It doesn’t matter. So, can you teach me?”

“I’m fine.”

“Then let’s start right away.”

“Are you sure you want to learn from me? Everyone else learns fire, I hear.”

“That’s right. Fire is familiar and easy to imagine. But I want to train in water.”

“Why?”

“To learn from you.”

Chloe’s cheeks flushed slightly.

It was very subtle, but he noticed.

It meant she wanted to stay close to Protagonist. Despite her expression showing no interest, she subtly flattered him with her words.

She also said it was because her heart had become kind.

Training with water calmed my mind.

“My personality is not good.”

“How bad?”

“I have many siblings. I’ve killed a few of them.”

“Doesn’t that cause a lot of trouble?”

“I don’t do it openly. I have my subordinates tell the servants to bring tea with poison in it. Then the servant, unaware, brings it. They drink it and die.”

“Does that work?”

“Surprisingly, it often works easily. The important thing is to take action. Then the servant’s expression changes, and they rush over, asking what I’m going to do about it, and why I’m doing this to them. I tell the servant to keep quiet because they’ll die if caught. If they say they’ll tell everyone I ordered it, I tell them to go ahead and try. It’s obvious whether they’ll believe my words or the servant’s.”

She said she would have her subordinates deal with the servant and dispose of them far away.

Then the evidence completely disappeared. The opponent would not be able to know who was behind it.

“Your personality is bad.”

Hearing Chloe’s story, I could guess how bad her personality was. Chloe smiled faintly.

“You have to be like this to survive in a noble family.”

“Were there any repercussions later?”

“It doesn’t matter if there were. My father knew about it once, but he let it go. Children kill each other as they grow up anyway.”

The lives of nobles were incomprehensible.

Farmers relied on each other as siblings. In a harsh world, siblings and relatives were the only ones they could trust and depend on.

When siblings learned their respective skills and became independent, there were many occasions to seek each other out. This was because they lived within the confines of a village, at most.

But nobles were different.

They killed each other from a young age. Unlike commoners who needed to cooperate, nobles had a lot in their hands.

“I think I understand now.”

“That’s a relief. This is the first time I’ve talked about this.”

“First time?”

“It’s not a good story to tell others.”

“Why are you telling me then?”

“I want to get to know each other. And that’s also why I’m trying to learn water magic. I thought my evil poisonous nature might improve.”

“I see.”

In the carriage, I learned some basic etiquette.

During that time, Chloe sat next to me, pressing against me as she spoke. She had a strong perfume scent. The strong scent of a woman kept making my chest tingle.

This was not the time to be thinking such thoughts.

I focused as much as possible on learning.

Chloe showed me where to place my hands and how to gesture. I tried to remember each one. Being inside the carriage made it a bit uncomfortable, so I didn’t feel like I learned very well.

She tried hard to teach me by sticking close.

After about half a day of learning, the protagonist taught me magic.

I would show her how to create a water mass, and she would try to follow.

She raised one hand and slightly furrowed her brows. For Chloe, that was a significant change in expression. Still, no water mass was created.

Even though she had already learned the basics from Benedict, it was still like this.

Everyone was like that at first.

The protagonist also trained for a long time when he ate strange mushrooms and had dreams. Until he arrived at Langs Castle, all he could do was create a water mass.

Now it was as easy as breathing.

He also became very knowledgeable about magic. He felt like he could teach it well now.

I told her to create a water mass once more.

And then I grabbed her waist.

Chloe was startled.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Stay still.”

I let mana flow. I guided the flow as if tracing her body. Chloe seemed to realize something and concentrated intently.

Then, water slowly began to form on her fingertips. Seeing that, Chloe let out a surprised sound. Perhaps because of that, the water mass lost its form and fell to the floor.

“Oh… I’m sorry. My concentration was broken.”

“It’s okay.”

“How did you do that just now?”

“I moved mana.”

“Is that possible?”

It wasn’t his own mana, but someone else’s. If that were possible, Mages with masters would have become strong in an instant.

“It didn’t work before, but it does now.”

Chloe seemed surprised.

Her eyes were always half-closed as if she were sleepy, but this time they were almost wide open. It meant she was incredibly surprised.

“I’m glad I learned from you.”

“Do you think you can remember what you just did?”

“I think I can do it after a few more tries.”

“I’ll try again.”

He reached out his hand again, as before, to grab her waist. Chloe urgently said, “Just a moment.” A blush rose on her cheeks.

“Do I have to grab your waist?”

“There’s no other way. Don’t you want to learn quickly?”

“Th-that is.”

Chloe hesitated slightly. She seemed embarrassed.

“It’s my first time being touched by a man. It feels a little strange. My body is tingling, and it’s a weird feeling.”

“Then should we not do it?”

Chloe seemed to be deliberating.

Then she nodded very slightly.

He grabbed her waist again. She didn’t quite get the hang of it as much as he expected. It took five tries before she created a Water Mass on her own.

Even so, it was fast.

It would have taken much longer without the Protagonist’s help. Chloe stared at the Water Mass she had created for a long time.

She seemed to be deep in thought.

Then she bowed her head towards him, thanking him. Unlike before, it was a sincere word.

He seemed a bit moved by the fact that he had created the Water Mass himself. Now that he had created the Water Mass, he had to devote himself to training until he got used to it.

After that, there was training to make him able to throw the Water Mass.

That was much harder. She concentrated the entire way, as if she really wanted to learn it.

Sometimes, when he asked about Etiquette, she would teach him. The carriage stopped for a break in the middle.

When he got out of the carriage, someone glared at him. It was a Knight near the carriage. He seemed to be a Knight guarding the Lady separately.

“Hey. Mage. You didn’t do anything strange to Lady Chloe, did you?”

“Strange things?”

“If not, then fine. I’m watching you, so don’t have any strange ideas.”

The Knight said that the Count was paying a little attention, so it would be best not to mistake himself for a Noble. It was a warning to behave himself.

Then he turned and disappeared. He seemed to be returning to the Protagonist’s companions.

He couldn’t understand.

Unlike the Protagonist, he was someone he had no contact with.

It meant there was no reason for him to do anything hateful. For some reason, it seemed to be because of Chloe, but he couldn’t figure out the exact reason.

I looked around.

Charlotte and Amelin were visible.

They were talking to each other. At first, Amelin seemed to dislike it, but now they looked friendly.

‘What are they talking about?’

Their conversation seemed incredibly interesting. He wondered what they were talking about that made them so close.

He couldn’t hear properly.

He perked up his ears.

Charlotte seemed to be talking about his weakness.

He didn’t know what the weakness was. Then Amelin nodded and shook her head, stating the weaknesses she felt.

It felt like a serious discussion.

And Angelica, sitting next to them, was listening with a flushed face.

“Th-this is outrageous…! How could this be…!”

She covered her face with both hands. But she couldn’t hide her bright red neck.

Angelica spotted me and quickly left, not even saying hello. It was as if a country girl had run away after encountering a philanderer.

It was absurd.

The two women fell silent when they saw me.

It seemed they had also talked a lot while traveling in their separate carriage. They didn’t seem particularly displeased that I was going separately. Charlotte was like that.

But Amelin seemed a little displeased. Her eyes were strange. I felt I needed to be careful not to get stabbed.

After the break, the carriage moved on.

The journey was comfortable.

Unless it was a fight with Orcs, there was no particular reason to fight. There was nothing to worry about, so time flew by quickly.

The only problem was that Chloe flinched every time I grabbed her waist.

She gradually got used to it, though, and now she naturally accepted my touch.

She said she should have learned magic from the Protagonist a long time ago and had lost half her life.

I wondered if it was that much. I figured it was just empty words. Nobles were prone to exaggeration.

I looked up.

At some point, the carriage stopped.

It wasn’t moving.

I looked out the carriage window.

Guard Soldiers were out in front of the City Gate, conducting inspections.

There weren’t just one or two carriages.

There were many merchants, but a considerable number of nobles were among them. They were all nobles who had played some part in the war.

The Guard Soldiers strictly inspected the merchants, but bowed deeply and let the nobles pass right through. The discrimination was severe.

As the line in front shortened, a commotion broke out at the front.

It was about time for the Protagonist’s carriage to come up. The Guard Soldiers were pointing to one side and shouting at the Knights.

“Mage.”

Soon after, a soldier ran up.

He was a soldier under the Count. He spoke respectfully.

“You need to come out for a moment.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The Guard Soldiers are insisting on confirming if that Golem is really controlled by a Mage, asking what it is.”

Normally, he would have pushed through, but since it was the Capital City, there was no way to ignore the Guard Soldier’s words.

He walked, following the Soldier.

In front of the City Gate, a Veteran Soldier among the Guard Soldiers was waiting with his arms crossed.

“Are you the Mage?”

“What’s the matter?”

“You want to bring a Golem inside, I hear.”

The Guard Soldier’s gaze was full of distrust. He scrutinized him, and his suspicion deepened.

“That’s right.”

“Are you truly the one making it move?”

“Yes.”

“Can you show me once?”

“How?”

The Veteran Soldier Guard Soldier pondered, holding his chin, then spoke.

“There’s a Carriage over there that someone abandoned. Destroy it.”

It was an easy task.

He immediately ordered the Golem to destroy it.

The Carriage was flattened with one strike from the Golem’s arm. The Guard Soldiers, perhaps scared, took a step back.

“Oh, it’s incredible. It looked so clumsy.”

“Is that enough confirmation?”

“Yes.”

The Guard Soldier said that even if the Golem was brought in, it had to be left in one place. He added that it shouldn’t move without their consent.

He nodded. It didn’t really matter.

It was the same in other places. It would be a huge problem if the Golem stepped on someone while moving in such a crowded place.

The commotion settled down, and they got back into the carriage.

Chloe looked at the Golem.

“Do you want to learn?”

“I’m fine.”

“Why? Everyone else wants to learn.”

“I heard from others that it’s not easy to learn.”

Chloe didn’t insist.

She looked satisfied just learning Water Magic from the protagonist. She kept looking at the broken carriage, as if remembering the scene where it was destroyed earlier.

The carriage passed through the City Gate.

There was another commotion when the Golem passed. Looking around, there were many people, so the commotion was even greater.

The commotion subsided only after the Ice Golem was seated near the City Gate. People often mumbled while looking at the Golem.

I turned my head.

From what the Count told him, it seemed he would be staying in the Capital City for a while. The Title Conferment Ceremony was still several months away.

During that time, the Count said he would go to the Royal Castle and speak well with the Nobles.

It was very reassuring.

The protagonist thought about what he should do.

It was not often that Nobles gathered in one place. Perhaps that’s why they didn’t complain even if the Title Conferment Ceremony was delayed.

They took this opportunity to strengthen their friendships.

Chloe bowed and followed her father, the Count.

The Knight who had said a word to the protagonist a while ago guarded her. The Knight even glared this way.

It seemed like a belief that had a crush on Lorina. As the protagonist became close with Lorina, the belief’s gaze was not kind.

It felt like a very long time ago.

It had been quite a while. When he first arrived at Langs Castle following Dorian, he couldn’t even create and throw a Water Mass.

I thought I might meet Lorina here in the capital city.

I looked around.

Lorina’s carriage might have been among the preceding procession of carriages. Since there were quite a few nobles, it wouldn’t be strange if she was included among them.

The sight was incredible.

It was the most bustling city I had ever seen in my life.

A massive castle was visible in the distance.

It was where the King lived. Guard soldiers frequently patrolled, and the market street was vibrant. I was almost intimidated by the magnificent sight.

There were an enormous number of people. I had never seen so many people in my life.

…Rael?

I turned my head.

It was because I had spotted a somewhat familiar woman among the bustling crowd. The woman was looking this way with her mouth slightly open.

It was Lorina.

I actually met her.

It was an incredible coincidence.

To meet by chance in a place like this was no ordinary coincidence.

It was almost as if it was fate.

You’re Rael, right?

Lorina?

It really is you!

She clasped my hand as if delighted.

The soldier behind her twitched an eyebrow. But he stopped there. It was because he saw Charlotte behind me.

Lorina looked at me and asked various things.

She seemed incredibly happy to see me.

It was strange to see her after such a long time.

She wasn’t the kind of girl to show her feelings for the Protagonist like this.

I looked at her. Her body had matured during our time apart. She had shed her girlishness. Her chest had also grown larger. Her Castle-like posture was unusual.

“What have you been doing? Did you also play a role in The North?”

“A little bit.”

“Really? Enough to earn a Title?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“I told you I’d wait for you. I’ve been waiting so much for you to come back. I’ve also been diligently making Potions for you.”

As Lorina spoke, she pulled out a vial from a pouch at her waist. It looked to be of better quality than before.

Lorina’s demeanor was noticeably friendly.

It was too much to say it was just because we hadn’t seen each other in a long time. She was as happy as if a couple who had promised to marry had finally met.

I did have feelings for her when I left Langs Castle. But I never imagined Lorina would think of the Protagonist to this extent.

I probably would have liked it in the past.

But not now. Just as her body had matured, the Protagonist had also changed while fighting in the war in The North.

“Is she someone you know?”

Amelin hugged him from behind.

He felt a heavy weight on his head. She deliberately clung to him as if to show Lorina what their relationship was.

She seemed annoyed that the Protagonist was having a pleasant conversation with the girl.

Only then did the joyful Lorina notice the two women nearby and began to tremble all over.

She seemed to have realized instinctively. That the man she had been waiting for had found a woman. Lorina asked, trying to deny it.

“Wh-who are those women?”

“Lorina.”

“Huh? What on earth are they? Oh, are they people accompanying you? Like Beggars?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Why, why are you saying that? Who are those women?”

“They are my women.”

Lorina’s eyes trembled rapidly.