Chapter 10: Encounter (2)

Chapter 10: Encounter (2)

Ariel gasped sharply at the book’s revelation.

“All of them… combat magic?”

[Yes. Without exception.]

“…”

Faced with the book’s repeated confirmation, Ariel found herself utterly speechless.

If every spell in the book truly was combat magic, as it claimed, then for a soldier tasked with subduing other races, this was nothing short of the ultimate weapon. Ariel stared at the mysterious book, its aura steeped in enchantment, for a long moment.

She felt jealous. 

The book, which seemed to read Ariel’s innermost thoughts with eerie clarity, interpreted her yearning as an answer.

[Call me Rayner. For now, you can repay my words with two practical uses in combat. If you like me, I might even consider sticking around longer.]

Thus, Ariel unexpectedly became the owner of an extraordinary grimoire, albeit temporarily.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

A few days later, Ariel received a letter from the military, informing her she had passed the document review phase.

It was a mere formality; any mage of reasonable skill rarely failed at this stage. Knowing this, Ariel accepted the news without surprise.

She carefully read through the letter, which detailed the next steps. A physical and magical aptitude test was scheduled for one week later at a military base near the western Firen Strait. The assembly time was 8 a.m., and the meeting point was the base’s eastern gate. A map was even included for convenience.

The letter also contained a long list of items to prepare and guidelines to follow. Ariel kept the letter nearby, checking it often as she packed essentials into a large bag.

Next, she looked into the location of the Firen Strait.

The strait was the shortest link between the eastern and western interiors of Dantella. It lay at the westernmost edge of the eastern interior and the easternmost tip of the western interior.

The capital city of Zen was located in the southeastern part of Dantella’s eastern mainland, making it nearly at the opposite end of the region. The distance between the two areas was considerable. Traveling by train from Zen would take a full three days. Using magic to cover such a vast distance would leave one bedridden for several days afterward. Additionally, the greater the distance, the larger the margin for error, which increased the risks involved.

With an examination ahead, Ariel couldn’t afford to take such risks or compromise her physical condition. She decided to travel by train instead. Planning ahead, she gave herself two full days to depart, allowing time to familiarize herself with the surroundings and settle in a nearby village before the scheduled day.

By the time she finished making her plans, the sky was already painted in shades of red.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Two days later, Ariel left her house early in the morning.

Contrary to the clear skies forecast, the weather was damp and oppressive. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, obscuring the sun. Despite being morning, it felt as dim as late afternoon. The ominous clouds occasionally crackled with flashes of lightning, as if a downpour and thunderstorm were imminent.

Surprisingly, the weather remained unchanged throughout the day, cloudy and oppressive, but without rain.

On her way to the train station, Ariel couldn’t shake off an inexplicable sense of unease, as though something foreboding was about to occur.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Time passed, and Ariel’s enlistment day arrived.

The weather was still oppressively humid, with no rain in sight. It was as if the storm was perpetually on the verge of breaking but never did. A strange phenomenon.

Ariel’s unease also proved unfounded. By the time she arrived at Firen, explored the city, and settled into her lodging, nothing of note had happened.

Firen, a city connecting the eastern and western interiors, was quite large, though not as grand as the capital. The bustling inner district boasted crowds, large markets, and cultural facilities.

However, the situation was different near the strait.

A month ago, the appearance of a giant wielding magic had significantly bolstered the other races’ forces. They had decimated villages near the strait and destroyed the bridge connecting east and west. The residents of those villages had been wiped out.

The Dantella military intervened before the damage spread further, containing the threat at the city’s outskirts. To protect Firen’s interior, the military had sealed off the coastal area. A civilian access ban was in effect around the strait.

At dawn, around 7 a.m., Ariel arrived at the eastern gate of the military base, the designated assembly point.

Access beyond the restricted zone required identity verification at the checkpoint. As there were fewer mage applicants than regular soldiers, Ariel was allowed to enter quickly.

Despite the 8 a.m. entry time, a sizable group of applicants had already gathered. The scene was somewhat disorganized. As a woman, Ariel stood out briefly among the predominantly male crowd, but the attention soon waned.

Finding an empty spot, Ariel sat down, clutching her grimoire. She glanced up at the overcast sky. The gray clouds still lingered, and not a single drop of rain had fallen. What a strange weather pattern.

She asked abruptly, “Rayner, don’t you think the weather’s odd?”

[It doesn’t look natural, does it?]

“Have you seen anything like this before?”

[Not that I recall.]

“I thought so.”

Rayner rarely initiated conversations, but once spoken to, he always replied. As Ariel was chatting amicably with Rayner, someone suddenly sat down beside her.

“Hello, miss.”

The voice was deep yet unusually high-pitched for a man. Startled, Ariel turned toward the source.

The first thing that caught her eye was hair. It was thicker and more vibrant than her own blond locks. Then came the sculpted jawline, like that of a finely crafted doll, and striking violet eyes, an uncommon shade.

He was breathtakingly handsome. Ariel momentarily froze, holding her breath. But that wasn’t why she was startled.

‘Ayn…?’

The man’s aura and appearance were eerily similar to her late younger brother. A ripple of shock passed through Ariel’s gaze. 

For a fleeting moment, she overlaid Aynkel’s image onto the man before her. The impression was brief, too quick for him to notice, but it left her shaken.

Regaining her composure, she finally spoke. 

“…Hello?”

“Did I scare you by suddenly talking to you?”

Was that even a proper question? Ariel responded not with words, but with her expression. Of course, her reaction had more to do with other reasons, but she couldn’t exactly say his words were wrong either. Picking up on her expression, the man continued speaking.

“I’m not a stranger or anything. It looks like we’ll be on the same mage team. I thought we could introduce ourselves beforehand.”

His explanation didn’t clarify much. Claiming he wasn’t a stranger somehow made him seem stranger. Ariel’s expression grew uneasy.

“…The same team? We haven’t even enlisted yet.”

“I’ve seen it. You and I are on the same team. Your book and appearance confirmed it. Trust me. It’s a sure thing.”

“Pardon?”

With a radiant smile, the man elaborated, “I occasionally catch glimpses of the future. I saw us working together. So I figured, why not break the ice early? It’d be nice to get familiar, maybe even friendly, before we start. I’m Joshua Lennox. Nice to meet you.”

The golden-haired man, Joshua, extended his hand, his smile as bright as sunlight.

Ariel hesitated. He was a complete stranger yet uncannily resembled her late brother, making her feelings a complex mix of nostalgia and sorrow.

She couldn’t bring herself to take his hand immediately. Instead, she stared at it silently.

His hands were much larger than a woman’s, yet his fingers were slender, and his skin was soft to the touch. Ariel, who had never engaged in particularly harsh labor, considered her own hands to be quite delicate, but his were far softer still. They were entirely unlike the sturdy hands of Aynkel, calloused and roughened by years of wielding a sword.

‘Well, that makes sense.’

The ability to glimpse the future was a skill unique to magicians, and it was rare for them to undergo physically demanding training. In that sense, it was only natural.

Of course, he’s not Aynkel.

She knew that. Their hair color, eye color, and personalities were all different. And yet, she felt a pang of grief.

Ariel’s gaze lingered on his hand as a heavy silence fell between them. When she didn’t respond, Joshua’s hand wavered awkwardly, betraying his uncertainty.

“Uh, was I being too rude? Did I make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry….”

His voice trailed off in a murmur, his tone far more cautious than the confident one he’d initially used to approach her.

It was only then that Ariel snapped out of her daze. She let out a faint sigh and lifted her head. Joshua’s doll-like, strikingly handsome face was now tinged with visible unease. As she met his gaze, a long-buried memory unexpectedly unraveled in her mind, playing out like a vivid panorama she hadn’t realized she still carried.

[“I’ve met a lot of men in my life, but I’ve never seen anyone as handsome as you.”]

[“What? Wait, why are you saying that all of a sudden? Did you eat something strange?”]

[“No, it’s just… looking at your face reminded me. You know you’re good-looking, right?”]

[“Why are you saying this out of nowhere, seriously!”]

It had been a casual, passing conversation without any particular meaning at the time. Yet, oddly enough, the moment she saw Joshua’s face, the memory of that scene, especially the flustered expression Aynkel had made, flashed vividly before her eyes, as though a reel of film were being rewound.

‘Ah.’

Her heart ached sharply in the same instant. Without realizing it, she tightened her grip on the book she was holding.

Looking at a face that brought back memories of her brother was a torment. Ariel’s eyes instantly grew red-rimmed. Her nose stung, and sorrow enveloped her entire being.

Realizing it a beat too late, Ariel hurriedly tore her gaze away from his face, but Joshua had already caught the shimmer of tears welling in her eyes. His expression shifted from confusion to outright alarm.

Joshua had every reason to be shocked. He could never have imagined that trying to act a bit friendly would reduce someone to tears. Startled, he even stammered.

“D-did I offend you that badly…?”

Before Joshua could finish his sentence, Ariel abruptly stood up. Her voice was strained as she struggled to speak.

“I’m sorry. Let’s… talk later.”

Her voice quivered, thick with the edge of tears. Her throat felt choked, making it nearly impossible to complete even that short sentence. But with tears already streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks, she couldn’t bear to face him any longer. She didn’t want to break down in front of someone she’d just met. Ariel fled the scene as though escaping.

“Wait! Miss!”

Joshua’s panicked voice, laden with confusion, followed after her, but Ariel ignored him. No, she rejected him outright, her feet moving faster as if to outrun his call.

……

(T/N: A little something for the after-holidays~ enjoy reading~! ❣️)