Chapter 040
“Yeah. I live here too.”
I replied, crouching down to meet the children at their eye level.
The child pointed toward the servants’ quarters and asked, “Really? Where do you live? I live over there.”
“I live around there too.”
The kids burst into laughter, seemingly amused by my imitation of their way of speaking.
“But what were you playing?”
I asked as I looked at each child in turn.
Even though we were inside the castle, the area where I was walking was a bit secluded for children to play.
“We were having a contest to see whose toy could fly the longest. Oh, right! My toy!”
The child who had been answering my questions suddenly grabbed her head and cried out.
It seemed she had just remembered the toy as she looked down sadly at the broken pieces.
“I don’t think I can fix it. It was brand new.”
“No! If you go to the magician, he can fix it!”
Seeing the gloomy expression on the other child’s face, the boy seemed to think hard for a moment before clapping his hands and shouting.
At the mention of a magician, I tilted my head and asked, “A magician?”
“The man who lives in the tower in the forest! He can fix things like this in no time!”
The child explained about the magician, looking proud.
‘Looks like they’ve met a skilled adult.’
Just as I was naturally about to react, thinking that he meant he could fix it like magic, the child said. “Last time, he even made light come out of his hands!”
“What?”
My eyes widened at the child’s words.
It seemed too realistic to dismiss as just a child’s exaggeration.
‘But is there really a magician here?’
Even a small amount of magic could open up a world of possibilities for a magician.
I wondered if there could really be a magician living alone in such a remote place.
“Um, can you tell me where that magician lives?”
I felt a strong desire to see the “magician” the children were talking about.
“Sure!”
Without any hesitation, the kids shouted for me to follow them and took the lead.
They led me to a secluded forest behind the castle.
“Hey, how far are we going?”
“We’re almost there! It’s just over there.”
After about thirty minutes of walking from the castle, we arrived at an old tower standing alone in the middle of the empty woods.
The children rushed to the door at the base of the tower and began knocking fiercely with their small fists.
Bang! Bang!
“Magician! Come out!”
“We’re here!”
But even after several minutes of knocking, there was no sign of the door opening.
Still, the children continued to knock with unyielding enthusiasm.
After a few more minutes had passed, I finally heard heavy footsteps approaching from beyond the door.
With a sudden bang, the door swung open!
As soon as the door opened, an annoyed voice echoed.
“You annoying little brats! Can’t you just leave me alone? Do I really have to wake up from the little sleep I got to fix your toys?”
“Wow! It’s the magician!”
“We didn’t come here for toys today!”
The children, upon the magician’s appearance, embraced his legs, shouting.
“Ugh! Get off me!”
“Hehe.”
The man, visibly irritated, tried to shake off the kids clinging to him. Despite this, the children were too busy laughing joyfully to move.
‘He doesn’t seem like a bad person.’
I watched the white fluff swirling in front of me. The man had snow-white hair that covered more than half of his face, resembling dandelion fluff.
I couldn’t see his face clearly, but his youthful voice suggested he wasn’t that old.
“Now, can you all just go back… Huh?”
As he finally managed to detach the kids from his legs, his gaze fell on me.
He lowered his voice and asked suspiciously, “Who are you?”
I took a step back, feeling his gaze on me.
Standing a step away from the children, I looked at the man’s eyes—or what I assumed were his eyes—and spoke.
“Are you really a magician?”
At first glance, he looked like an ordinary person living alone in the woods, rather than a magician.
“Hmm?”
The man scanned me from head to toe, then suddenly clapped his hands, shifting to a much friendlier demeanor.
“Oh! A customer!”
I couldn’t hide my surprise at his sudden change in attitude, as if he had put on a mask.
“Come in, come in!”
Going beyond mere friendliness, he even held the door to the tower open for me.
“Now you kids, go on. I’m too busy to play today.”
He noticed the children trying to sneak back in and chased them out.
“We want to be customers too!”
“There are no toys for kids. Go play with this instead.”
He took a pinwheel from his pocket and tossed it to the children.
“Wow, I want the biggest one!”
“That’s not how it works! The winner gets to keep it!”
The children’s attention quickly shifted to the pinwheel.
“Hmph, then I’ll give it to you if you catch me!”
The child with the pinwheel ran off, chased by the other two.
I could hear their laughter fading into the distance.
“Phew, finally got rid of them. Those pesky little brats.”
I turned to see him mumbling to himself while watching the children disappear.
Even though he complained about the children, the fact that he had a toy for them in his pocket suggested that he wasn’t a bad person.
“Now, now, customer, this way, please.”
Still, his overt friendliness raised some questions about his character.
‘What on earth does he do?’
The fact that he called me “customer” indicated that he was selling something.
I quietly followed him as he led me into the tower.
Inside, the room was clean and inviting, contrasting sharply with the outside.
“So, what kind of potion are you looking for, customer?”
The man asked, and I hesitated to answer.
He placed a large box in front of me and said,
“Just say it. I have everything here. But it’ll cost you.”
As he finished speaking, he opened the box, revealing a variety of brightly colored potions inside.
“This is….”
I picked up the potion closest to me, a mysterious shade of red.
“Ah, I see. You came for love advice, didn’t you? A very good choice!”
The man, seeing my interest, immediately began to explain about the potion. He claimed it was a magical potion that would make me appear much more attractive to my crush.
I listened quietly, but inwardly I frowned. As far as I knew, no magic could truly influence someone’s mind like that.
‘Is he a con artist?’
I set the potion down and faced him.
“How can I trust that this is a genuine magic potion?”
If he spouted any more nonsense, I was ready to take him straight to the castle.
“Ah, customer, don’t be skeptical. Just watch this.”
“What do you mean…”
Suddenly, a blue haze began to rise from his hand.
It swirled around me like a cluster of starlight before disappearing back into his palm.
I stared at him, my eyes wide in disbelief.
‘Why is a powerful magician using high-level magic in this remote area?’
The man had just demonstrated a high-level magic spell, one that could shape and manipulate his own magical power.
It was a remarkable ability, one that would make him a valuable asset to the kingdom.
midori
thanks! well now, he’ll be an ally?! so…he’s old…or young…? hmmm curious guy