Rudy said somewhat shyly:
"I guess it did. Thanks to your help this time, I was able to be with Sylphiette. Last night, I already talked with Sylphiette and Roxy, and we plan to hold the wedding in two months. Big Brother Dorin, you must come then."
"Alright, that's absolutely no problem. Rudy, for your wedding, I will definitely prepare a wonderful gift to celebrate."
"Haha, thank you, Big Brother Dorin. By the way, Dorin, do you know? Keith, Talhand, Vera, Shiela, and Elinalise, they've all left."
"Oh! When did they leave? Why didn't anyone tell me... What? Elinalise left too. Wasn't she studying at Ranoa Magic University?"
"Yes, I don't know why. She seems to have dropped out and left two days ago. She left with Keith and Talhand. I thought she had already informed you, so I didn't tell you about it."
AI Model: gemini-3.0-flash
What the hell? She just left like that? Is Elinalise really that heartless? Sigh, forget it, I never intended to be her 'anchor' anyway. She and I were just in a relationship of mutual benefit. The reason she left probably doesn't have much to do with me, so it's only natural that she'd leave Sharia without notifying me.
Even though I thought that, I still felt a bit down. When we were traveling together on the Bekalite Continent, I actually felt like Elinalise liked me a little! But getting this kind of result is very hard for me to accept.
Perhaps this is just a man's possessiveness!
I didn't stay depressed for long. My greatest strength is that I don't obsess over any one thing, but instead face reality with a more optimistic mindset.
Not long after, Ariel's group arrived.
A magnificent carriage was surrounded by ten guards riding tall, handsome horses. It was truly the prestige of a princess, completely different from a 'wild noble' like me.
Thinking back to when I first went to Ars to study at the Water God Style Dojo, every time I went out, I was surrounded by a crowd; the grandeur was no less than Ariel's.
Unfortunately, I've grown accustomed to traveling light now. I only brought a carriage this time because I was afraid Doris's dress would get dirty while riding a horse, so I prepared it for that reason.
Ariel's guards were all in uniform this time. Luke was there too, wearing his formal Guardian Knight attire. I have a set of those clothes as well, but I haven't worn them in a long time.
There wasn't much interaction, and Luke didn't come over to strike up a conversation with me.
Rudeus, however, stepped forward to greet Ariel. But he was blocked by Luke. It seems Luke isn't just wary of me; he's equally wary of Rudeus.
Rudeus didn't mind. Sylphiette and Rudeus had already consummated their relationship, so I noticed the two of them exchanging flirtatious glances.
Then we set off. Aisha and Norn are still young, so I had them get into my carriage while I took responsibility for driving it forward.
The journey was very safe. The contact point for the Sky Fortress wasn't very far to begin with. It was about 10 kilometers away, and the carriage could reach it in less than an hour.
Aisha kept chatting with me on the carriage.
"Master Dorin, did you know? My grades for the advanced magic class exams were all A's. Even Brother Rudeus isn't as good as me!"
"That's impressive! So, what magic are you good at now?"
"Master Dorin, my Holy Strike Magic, Attack Magic, Healing Magic, and Detoxification Magic have all reached the Advanced level."
"In addition, I can already draw Saint-level Barrier Magic Circles. Also, my Magic Theory and Magic Fusion courses both have perfect scores. My tutors praise me all the time now!"
This surprised me a bit. Aisha actually has such a strong talent for magic; in her past life, she was just a maid. I didn't expect that the Rudeus of that time would have overlooked such a powerful magical seed.
If she's allowed to continue her studies, as long as there are enough resources, surpassing both me and Rudeus would be a matter of moments.
"Very good. Since you've performed so excellently, I can't let your talent go to waste. I currently have several magic experiments that need researching. Once we return from the Sky Fortress, I'll go to the school's Vice Principal and have you become my exclusive researcher. We'll study magic together then, so don't you go dragging me down!"
"Okay, okay! Master, I will definitely work hard."
At the same time, she said to Rudeus, who was riding a horse nearby:
"Brother, did you hear that? When we get back from the Sky Fortress, I can officially start magic research with Master Dorin."
"I heard you, Aisha. But don't get complacent. Big Brother Dorin's magic research is exceptionally difficult; you must work hard and not drag him down."
"Don't worry, Brother Rudeus. Aren't you aware of my strength? I'll be surpassing you soon."
At that moment, a 'Hmph' sounded from inside the carriage—a sound expressing disdain. I didn't even have to think to know it was from Norn. She seems to have been studying hard lately too, but things haven't gone as planned; her learning ability isn't very strong.
Additionally, because Paul and the others moved into Rudeus's house, Norn and Aisha have started living at home again. It's quite nice that they can see their parents often.
I ignored Norn's disdainful snort.
Rudeus rode his horse over to my side and said in a low voice:
"Big Brother Dorin, regarding that experiment from yesterday... please don't let Aisha research it, okay?"
I responded with a wry smile.
"Rudeus, do I look like that kind of person? Yesterday's experiment was already successful. Don't worry, I only had that one small vial. It was all used up yesterday. Even if you wanted it now, I don't have any left."
Rudeus smiled awkwardly, and then we continued our journey.
After driving for about an hour, we successfully reached the rendezvous point for the Sky Fortress. Since the reception stone house was deep in the forest, the carriage was inconvenient for entry.
So we got out of the carriage and switched to another method of entry.
The carriage was parked outside the forest, guarded by Ariel's guards.
Because Ariel's and Doris's clothes were inconvenient for traversing the deep forest,
I chose to use Flight Magic to carry them in. While in the air, I created a Wind Shield to cover them, preventing their hairstyles and clothes from being messed up by the strong winds.
Then, holding both of them, I entered the stone house in the forest.
On the ground were Rudeus, Aisha, Norn, Luke, Sylphiette, as well as Ariel's two personal attendants Elmoa and Krinie, and my two guards Eunice and Anya.
The nine of them walked through the forest to reach the reception stone house.
After setting Ariel and Doris on the ground, I unexpectedly discovered that Ariel's legs were actually shaking a bit.
I didn't know if she was shaking because of the flight, or because she was about to see Perugius and was shaking out of fear.
I leaned in close to Ariel and whispered to her.
"It's fine to shake now, but if you're still shaking in front of Perugius later, he'll probably have a poor impression of you."
"Also, you must be careful. You absolutely have to hold it in. It's best if you go relieve yourself now so you don't leak again. I'm sure Perugius wouldn't like someone relieving themselves anywhere they please in his castle."
Ariel was a bit annoyed by what I said. She pinched me hard and said:
"Hmph, Dorin, do you think I haven't made any preparations? I haven't had a single drop of water since last night."
I almost couldn't hold back a laugh. It seems Ariel has a very deep understanding of her own problem. Sometimes I wonder if Ariel acts so perverted just to cover something up.
There's a saying: as long as I don't feel awkward, the awkwardness belongs to others. Ariel probably recognizes this point very clearly.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Rudeus and the others arrived.
After counting the heads to make sure no one was missing, I blew the whistle Perugius had given me.
The others took this opportunity to tidy up their appearance.
Not long after, about two minutes later,
Almanfi, wearing his fox mask, suddenly appeared in the room. After bowing to him, I told him the reason for our visit.
Upon hearing that I wanted to bring people to visit the Sky Fortress, he nodded and said:
"Just these 11 people? Fine. Since there are no Demons, I will go report to Lord Perugius now. I'll wait for his reply before coming back to guide you in."
"Alright, we're in no hurry. If it's inconvenient for Lord Perugius, we can wait."
"Fine."
Almanfi didn't say much more to me before turning into a streak of light and leaving.
After another ten minutes or so, he returned to the room. Without much talk, he handed me a magic wand and then vanished.
"Everyone get close to me. The teleportation process might be uncomfortable. Rudeus, if you feel the teleportation effect starting, you must not resist it."
Rudeus was a bit confused, but he agreed anyway, albeit ignorantly.
In less than two minutes, everything before my eyes suddenly turned white. The people around me vanished one by one before my eyes. Rudeus was the last, and then I too disappeared into the white light.
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