The fishermen looked as if they'd been struck dumb. They didn't speak for a long time—only snapping back to their senses after Gauss had already passed them.
"Was that Sir Gauss just now?"
"Probably…?"
"…I swear, for a second, I thought I saw the lake goddess in him."
"Me too."
Compared to a few days ago, Gauss now carried an indescribable sacred aura. Paired with the way he'd walked across the water, it made people instinctively hold their breath, afraid to disturb him.
Gauss had noticed the stunned fishermen in the distance, too. Seeing the shock on their faces, he couldn't help wondering—had he really changed that much?
…
"Sir Gauss! You've gotten even more handsome!"
When Albena ran into him, her heart couldn't help racing.
Hearing her voice, the others came out of their rooms as well.
They'd rented out the entire inn. Aside from them and the inn staff, there was no one else.
"Really?" Gauss asked, studying himself in the mirror. He honestly didn't feel like anything was obviously different.
Albena and the others circled him a few times.
His features and build hadn't really changed—eyes were still eyes, nose still nose—but everything looked… more harmonious. More balanced.
Still, that was a small matter. What Gauss cared about was whether he'd gotten stronger.
He asked what had happened in the days he'd been gone.
It had been five days since he sank to the bottom of the lake.
Alia and the others had gone to the lakeshore daily to check if he'd surfaced. Otherwise, they'd stayed active around town and even took Mira's team along on a few small commissions.
As for the town itself, it had been lively for several days—lots of people tossing food into the lake as offerings.
But by the fifth day, the frenzy had faded.
For most people, the lake goddess's appearance was shocking, sure—but it didn't change their day-to-day reality. Meals still had to be paid for. Life still demanded work.
"Captain, we need to move," Serandur said. He'd been keeping an eye on the calendar.
Winter had officially begun.
The original plan was to visit Gauss's first apprentice, Rhein's village, then return to Grayrock to winter there. On top of that, they still needed to bring his family from Stonebrook Village into a town.
Gauss used to think: if his family preferred living in their hometown, he'd let them.
But what he'd seen on this journey changed his mind—especially the brain-transfer witch incident in Herb Village, and Esvel's prophecy of looming catastrophe. Everything pointed to the world sliding toward chaos, and the trend would only intensify.
So whether for his family's sake or his own, moving them into a town was necessary. It would also let him adventure without worries hanging over him.
There was a lot to do—and time was getting tight.
"Then let's pack up and head out," Gauss said, nodding. He knew he'd lost time.
"But we should still make it. Worst case, we just make Hephaestus suffer a little."
The Red Drake Hephaestus hated winter, and hated flying in this weather—but growth was about overcoming weaknesses, wasn't it?
…
By noon, the snowfall eased.
Outside the town, Gauss summoned the Red Drake Hephaestus.
Behind them were townsfolk wrapped in coats, out to see them off—or just to gawk.
Mira and her team came to say goodbye as well.
Over the last few days, Alia had grown close with them—mostly because Alia and Shadow had taken Mira's group on a few local tasks and taught them skills and practical knowledge.
For small-town teens, that kind of "hands-on instruction" from real professionals was a rare opportunity.
Mira and the others weren't ungrateful.
"Sir Gauss… Sister Alia… Miss Shadow…" Mira jogged over.
"I heard you're leaving?"
As she spoke, a flicker of reluctance crossed her face.
Gauss and his team were good people—despite the massive gap in status, they'd been gentle and patient. It was hard not to like them.
"Yeah. We've got the next stage of our plan. Time's tight," Gauss said.
"We… we'll keep working hard!" Mira clenched her fist, voice firm. "Someday we'll become adventurers as outstanding as you!"
Rode, Pelo, and the others nodded hard.
"Keep it up, little Mira. I believe in you." Alia lifted a hand and ruffled Mira's hair—though she herself wasn't much older.
If she hadn't recently "elfed out" a bit and grown taller, she might have been slightly shorter than Mira.
"I taught you that archery technique—practice it," Shadow said more coolly.
For low-level adventurers, no matter the class, basic archery or crossbow skill was always useful. Crossbows especially had a low training threshold.
And compared to melee, bows and crossbows offered safety. You didn't have to get close to claws, fangs, blades, or strange abilities. Tactically, ranged options made teams far more flexible.
At low levels, the priority wasn't "maximum damage." It was killing—or injuring—enemies while staying unhurt yourself. Avoiding injury was the best defense.
"We'll remember what you taught us, Miss Shadow," Mira said earnestly.
After a simple farewell, everyone climbed onto the dragon's back.
"Take off, Hephaestus."
With a roar that echoed across half the town and a wave of heat, the Red Drake kicked off, spread its massive wings, and rose slowly into the air.
Lakeside Town shrank rapidly into a small patch beside Blue Lake.
Soon, frost-covered fields and winding roads stretched out beneath them.
Rhein's Goat Village lay south of Lakeside Town.
On the way, Gauss even spotted Gold & Silver Town—where they'd recruited Albena and Hephaestus.
But he had no reason to land there. He had no acquaintances left, and Albena said she had no business returning either. As for Hephaestus… even its Old "Evil Dragon" lair had already collapsed.
After several rest landings, Gauss finally saw a village by a stream.
The river—Maple Brook—had frozen solid.
Without the map in his mind, finding a village like this in the vast wilderness would've been difficult.
As he returned to Goat Village, memories surfaced.
This had been the first village he reached after leaving Sena City.
This was where he'd first learned Fireball.
Back then, he'd been an unremarkable Level 4—nothing like now, when he carried real fame across half a province.
Coming back, his mindset had changed too.
The people, events, and experiences along the way had reshaped him—quietly, relentlessly.
"Land here," he said.
Not wanting to alarm the villagers, Gauss landed the dragon some distance away and switched to riding chocobos toward the village.
"I wonder how Rhein's cantrips are coming," he mused.
"That kid's talent is really good."
If you didn't count Abby—who'd been forcibly "ripened" by the witch—Rhein was the most gifted child he'd met so far, as far as professional potential went.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken her as his first apprentice.
Honestly, even Abby's talent felt slightly below Rhein's—at least in Gauss's intuition.
For mages, youth often hid talent; mind and spirit weren't fully developed yet. Abby was awakened by artificial force. Rhein was simply born that way.
Before he left, Gauss had felt she was close to mastering Firebolt.
If she weren't so young—and if he didn't want her taken from her family too early—he might've brought her along.
"Rhein probably missed you a lot," Alia said with a smile.
When they'd stayed in Goat Village, the little blonde girl had practically stuck to Gauss nonstop.
Albena glanced at the others.
She'd only heard that Gauss had a disciple before Abby. But she'd joined the party later, so she was the only one who'd never met the girl.
Still, from Gauss's expression, she could tell he cared. Otherwise he wouldn't come all the way out to a remote village in the dead of winter just to check in.
Should I bring a gift, for the first meeting…?
Albena rummaged mentally through the odds and ends in her armor storage, debating what suited a little girl.
A small hammer? A few short knives she'd made for practice? But Gauss's apprentice was a mage…
"Thump, thump, thump—"
Their mounts crunched softly through snow as they entered the quiet, peaceful village.
A goat saw them and bleated once before scampering off.
In the distance, snow lay thick on rooftops, and smoke drifted gently from chimneys. Everything looked calm.
Gauss relaxed a little.
At least nothing seemed to have changed much in his absence.
"Y-you… you are!!"
On the watchtower by the village fence, a young guard had been wary at first—but when they drew close and he saw Gauss's face, he started stammering in disbelief.
"You're Robert, right?" Gauss called up.
His memory was sharp. Robert was one of the militia trainees who'd shown the best progress when they first arrived.
Though back then, those "fighter apprentices" had mostly trained with Serandur.
"Teacher Gauss—Teacher Serandur!! Why are you back?"
"Hey, Emmett—open the gate! The teachers are back!"
Gauss remembering his name—faster than he'd recognized Gauss—made Robert both flustered and delighted. He hurried to call for the gate.
The people on duty today were all "top students" Gauss's team had trained.
Even though Gauss had only been here for one week on commission, the villagers hadn't forgotten the teachers who'd given them skills and changed their lives.
Gauss studied them. Even under heavy clothing, he could see the muscle and vitality, and he nodded in satisfaction.
They hadn't slacked off. They'd kept training.
If this continued, in a few years—if luck favored them—this village might even produce a handful of true professionals.
"How's the village? Any danger lately?" Gauss asked.
Robert shook his head. "No danger. After you left, we organized people to clear a lot of monsters in the woods nearby. So gathering winter firewood has been safer than it's been in years."
He said it with sincere gratitude.
Autumn and winter were usually dangerous. Monsters and beasts hunted hard for winter stores, raiding villages and sheep. Villagers had to enter the forest for wood—risking their lives.
But after Gauss's team came, the village's fence defenses improved, a watchtower was built, and militia like Robert learned real combat skills. Enemies that used to look terrifying didn't seem so unstoppable anymore.
"That's good," Gauss said.
"Emmett—lead the teachers into the village. I'll stay here and watch," Robert told a companion.
"Got it."
Knowing they were heading in, Robert didn't delay them. His eyes flicked to Albena.
That giant woman looked terrifying—if she were an enemy, she could probably tear down the fence. But she was clearly a new teammate, so he didn't fear her.
And the others—Teacher Alia, Teacher Shadow, Teacher Gauss—had changed too.
He could still recognize them, but their presence felt heavier, more extraordinary than before.
He shook off the thought and respectfully saw them through.
"Gauss, looks like your new title hasn't reached here yet," Alia teased quietly.
Gauss shook his head. "Naturally. There's no adventurers' guild in a village like this."
To be exact, even merchant caravans rarely passed through. Their access to outside news was slow.
His fame spread so fast largely because guilds in cities posted news, stocked papers, and travelers, bards, merchants, and messengers carried gossip from town to town.
It not reaching Goat Village was probably a good thing.
He wasn't here to show off or "return in glory." And this wasn't even his hometown.
Better to keep it low-key.
He just wanted to see Rhein, confirm she was safe, leave new study material, teach a bit, and go.
Soon, more villagers heard they'd returned and came out to greet them.
"Where's Rhein?" Gauss asked, scanning the area. He didn't see the little blonde.
"Rhein?"
"Oh! You mean Rhein?"
A villager smacked his forehead.
"She and her whole family got taken away."
"Taken away?" Gauss blinked.
"When? Who took them?"
"Not long after you left—less than half a month, I think," the villager recalled.
It had been about half a year, so it wasn't strange the man hadn't thought of it right away. The village had long since accepted that Rhein's family moved away.
"As for who… we don't know exactly. Looked like people from her mother's side. They came in these luxurious carriages—big shots from the city. They arrived and quickly 'invited' her family onto the wagons."
"Probably took them to a better life in the city."
"The caravan was huge—stretching from one end of the village to the other. I was terrified. There were soldiers outside too."
"I always knew Rhein's mother wasn't ordinary—she was so beautiful…"
Others chimed in, one after another.
No one thought it was a bad thing. They were mostly envious.
Even without worldly experience, they knew that kind of visit meant power.
And if someone wanted to harm peasants like them, they wouldn't need such a display.
Seeing Gauss's frown, the villager added one more detail after thinking hard.
"I remember the caravan had lots of golden flags. I think there was a… golden claw painted on them."
That detail made Gauss relax slightly.
He still didn't know who had taken Rhein—but that was a clear lead.
It sounded like a noble crest. A golden claw.
He memorized it.
He couldn't match it to any family offhand. He hadn't studied heraldry deeply—only the top royal and grand ducal crests in a few empires and kingdoms, and none of those were "golden claw."
But once he returned to a city, he could ask a scholar who specialized in noble insignia.
Rationally, he didn't think Rhein was in mortal danger.
Maybe she had noble blood, and her mother's family found her and took her back. That would also explain something Gauss had wondered for a long time—why a remote village girl had such exceptional magical talent.
It didn't mean commoners couldn't produce geniuses. The legendary Sword Saint—said to be the strongest human—was born to ordinary farmers.
But among casters, bloodlines and roots mattered more often than not. Many famous archmages and legendary sorcerers came from noble houses. Someone like Gauss—grassroots but absurdly gifted—was rare.
"Oh—right. I think the village head has a letter Rhein left for Teacher Gauss."
Someone suddenly remembered and ran to retrieve it.
The envelope was refined, sealed with ornate gold wax—yet the writing on it was clumsy and large, completely out of place:
To Teacher Gauss
Gauss could picture the scene: Rhein learning she was leaving, panicking that he might come back and not find her, scrambling to borrow paper and an envelope to write quickly.
The village head had followed proper etiquette and never opened it. He'd kept it intact until now.
~~~
Patreon.com/NotEvenMyFinalForm
– You're Welcome and Thank You!