By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 2

Chapter 8, Episode 2: An Old Friend and a New Friend

After a few hours’ walk through the desolate landscape, just when I’d begun to grow tired of the barren scenery, I made it to Teresa. I was ready to settle down for the night. The question was whether to find lodging in the city or sleep in my Dimension Home. After constant expansions—and with great help from the slimes—my Dimension Home had become a full-fledged house with a spacious yard—a far more comfortable option than the average inn. On the other hand, there was some allure to finding local accommodations after coming all this way...

I decided to walk the city for a while, get something to eat, then make up my mind.

As I began walking down the street, a particular carriage caught my eye.

“Is that...?” I muttered to myself.

The carriage was parked in a lot built to hold carriages for the guests of the adjoining inn, which seemed more upscale than average. Approaching the metal fence that enclosed the lot, I took a closer look. Sure enough, the carriage was marked with the crest of Jamil. Funny enough, I recognized it as the very carriage that had brought me out of the Forest of Gana.

Why is it here? I wondered. Back when I’d ridden in that carriage, I’d watched Sebas take it in and out of his Dimension Home. Is Sebas here...? Of course, the carriage belongs to Reinhart. Any of his people could be using it... I turned around, sensing someone behind me.

“Oops. You caught me.” A bespectacled woman with tanned skin stood there with an amused smile, her shoulder-length silver hair flowing in the wind. I hadn’t sensed her until she was a mere three meters away. “You have sharp senses,” she added.

“And you are...?” I asked.

“No one you need to worry about. I’m sorry—I just wanted to startle you a little. You were looking at the carriage so intently that you piqued my curiosity...and I saw an opportunity for a little prank.” True to her word, I didn’t sense any animosity from her.

“Miss Remily. There you are,” a voice I recognized called from behind me. I turned to it. “Lunch is ready... Oh? Is that you, Master Ryoma?”

“Sebas!” I called.

“You know this boy, Sebas?” the woman asked. By the sound of it, she and Sebas knew each other... I’d let that vouch for her character, for now.

“He is our friend, Miss Remily. I never expected to find him here,” Sebas said.

“Our friend? Do you mean he’s Reinbach’s friend as well?” the woman noted. “How interesting...”

With every word she spoke, her nature became even more mysterious. She looked no older than twenty-five, and could’ve even passed for eighteen. Still, she addressed Sebas and even Reinbach with such familiarity... I took a closer look at her and realized how good-looking she was.

She was taller than me, but shorter than the average woman. Her open coat and close-fitting clothing revealed her frame: breasts almost too ample for her height contrasted with her thin waist; she almost reminded me of a swimsuit model from Earth. She was toned but not muscular—a sign of skill rather than brute strength.

“I’m sorry to have startled you. Remily Kremis. I’m a mage.”

“That’s all right. I’m Ryoma Takebayashi.”

“I’m sure you have plenty of questions for each other,” Sebas said. “Why don’t we go inside?”

“Yes. If that’s all right with you, Ryoma,” Remily said.

“Of course.”

As long as Sebas was with us, I felt comfortable going with her.

If Reinbach is here, he’s obviously here to accompany him... Then why is Reinbach here? I wondered as I followed them.

***

Sebas showed me to their room in the inn. Before Sebas could even knock, Remily flung the door open and pulled me inside.

“You have a guest, Reinbach!” she announced.

Reinbach, looking as healthy as he had last year, was seated on a couch with another man of his age, apparently mid conversation. They both turned to us with surprise.

“Great to see you again,” I stammered out.

“Is that you, Ryoma? You’ve grown a bit since I last saw you in Gimul. What brings you here?” Reinbach asked.

“Coincidence. I came here as part of my training, and I was surprised to spot a Jamil carriage. Then...” My gaze floated to Remily, and Reinbach’s and his guest’s followed.

“Looked like you knew each other, so I brought him up here,” she said, omitting more than a few details of our encounter.

Naturally, explanations about how Reinbach and I knew each other and how I’d ended up here followed. Apparently Reinbach was vacationing with friends, accompanied by Sebas.

“I have been made aware of what transpired in Gimul at the end of last year. I regret that we left you to deal with the evil we had allowed to fester there—but I thank you for it nonetheless. For helping my son and his wife in their endeavors,” Reinbach said. The first half of his statement was filled with deep sorrow and regret, and the second half with genuine gratitude.

How greatly Reinbach must have been troubled by those events, I could not imagine. Since Reinbach had already retired, it was up to Reinhart to take on any challenges the Jamils faced. Regardless of what had caused those problems, if Reinbach were to overstep and involve himself too much, the other nobles might see that as weakness on Reinhart’s part. As much as it must have pained him, Reinbach had to take a backseat for the long-term benefit of his son and family as a whole. Still, he toed the line, only helping from the shadows.

“Thanks to your efforts, the restoration of the city went smoothly,” I said.

“Ah, that makes my heart feel lighter,” Reinbach answered. “Oh, these two played some part in that too. I have worked with them long enough to trust them with anything. They are both well respected and have been great assets in that regard.”

“Thank you for that,” I said.

“No need to thank me. Reinbach is helping me out in return,” said Remily.

The man sitting beside Reinbach, Sever Gardock, replied, “A knight’s duty is to serve the people. Doubly so at a friend’s behest.” As it turned out, he was the former Captain of the Knights’ Order that Reinbach had recommended I hire to guard the laundry shop. During introductions, Sever explained that he’d retired, feeling the weight of his age—though his powerful frame gave the impression of anything but feebleness. He was clearly a skilled fighter, but he wasn’t intimidating. Not that I had wanted an intimidating introduction, but I had always pictured the Captain of the Knights’ Order to conduct himself with such gravitas; it was a relief to find him not so.

Remily, on the other hand, used to serve as the palace mage. Even more surprisingly, she seemed to be the oldest one in the room. As a dark elf, just like all elves, her appearance hardly changed with age. I could only guess that she was the oldest because Sever had let a comment slip, which Remily had met with a murderous look and a threatening pulse of magical energy. At that moment, I vowed never to ask Remily her age.

Both Sever and Remily insisted that I address them informally; in Sever’s case, it was because he had no rank now that he was retired, but Remily was simply vehemently against any formality.

Now that I knew they were traveling together, I asked, “Why come here? As far as I can tell, it’s not exactly a tourist destination.”

“We plan to go into the City of Lost Souls, a nearby dungeon. Remily wants to retrieve something from it, and we are here to aid her. This is her price for her assistance in the attack on Gimul,” said Reinbach.

“That’s right. Have you heard of an herb called midnight dew?” Remily asked.

“It’s mostly used as a calming agent or sleep aid,” I answered. “A difficult herb to use, since messing up the dosage or mixing it with the wrong ingredients can make it a hallucinogen or poison.”

“You know your herbs well. But medicine isn’t its only use.” Remily produced a black staff. “This staff was made in a dark elf village by repeatedly soaking the wood in boiled midnight dew and drying it. A staff like this makes casting Dark magic easier.”

“How interesting...and you don’t mind telling me this?” I asked, wondering if this was some ancient and secret technique of the dark elves.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just boiling down an herb and soaking wood in it. Everyone in the village who can get their hands on midnight dew treats their staff, right in their house,” Remily explained. “This staff was given to me when I came of age. I took as best care of it as I could, but it’s at the end of its life.”

“I see. You need more midnight dew to make a new staff,” I said.

“That’s right.”

“And why are you here, Ryoma? I thought you were working in and around Gimul,” Reinbach said.

“Actually, I’m after midnight dew from the City of Lost Souls too.” Another uncommon use for midnight dew was making bug repellent. The Sea of Trees of Syrus, as its name suggested, was a hot and humid jungle, full of insects as well as monsters. Effective bug repellent was a must-have, and midnight dew was one of its ingredients.

At the same time, I hoped to train against the Undead monsters which pervaded the City of Lost Souls. And while I didn’t expect to encounter many of the Undead in Syrus, adventurers who perished there sometimes wandered the woods.

Reinbach grunted. “To reach the village beyond the Sea of Trees...”

“You’ll definitely need to be ready for bugs and the Undead, then,” Remily chimed in.

“Even though I can cast some Light magic, I have never fought incorporeal Undead monsters. I’m hoping to gain some experience in the City of Lost Souls,” I explained.

“Light magic?” Remily repeated.

“Yes. Just the basic Light Ball—and Holy Curtain to defend against the Undead,” I said.

“That is more than proficient for your age,” Reinbach said, “but leaves a little to be desired if you encounter a horde. If you could cast an intermediate Light spell, you should be just fine.”

“Would you like me to teach you one?” Remily offered. “Reinbach has a lot of faith in you, and seeing how you noticed me even after I cast Hide, I expect you’ll be a fast learner. Besides, if we’re going to the same place for the same thing, we should travel together. Right?”

That would certainly be helpful, but a question nagged at me.

Hide? That wasn’t in the book of spells I was given, but judging by its name... 

“You used it when we first met?” I asked.

“It’s an intermediate Dark spell that makes your presence more difficult to detect. Not very useful, since it doesn’t make you invisible. That could be why it’s not well-known,” Remily explained.

“Miss Remily is a master of Light and Dark magic, renowned for her talents even among the palace mages. You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who surpasses her abilities in this regard,” Sebas said.

“Flaws in her character notwithstanding,” Reinbach joked.

“How rude... I am a good person.”

“That you may be, but...” Reinbach trailed off, he and Sever staring at her incredulously. For his part, Sebas stood by Reinbach, his face a perfect mask of neutrality.

Training in Light magic would be a great opportunity for me, but their reaction to Remily was making me a bit nervous.

“Now that you’ve met, you will have to deal with her regardless,” Reinbach said to me. “You should take her up on the offer, if you like.”

What does he mean? I wondered, but I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

“That would be wonderful. Thank you,” I said.

“It’s settled, then!” Remily cheered. “You may address me as Master during your brief tutelage.”

“Master? All right—”

“Or Sissy, if you want. Like I’m your big sister!”

That was unexpected. And embarrassing.

“No, thank you...Master,” I said.

“Aw... Don’t you want me to do my best?” She pouted.

“You told him to call you Master,” said Sever.

“Exhausting as she may be, the only way to deal with her is to ignore or endure her. Good luck,” Reinbach said.

“Master Ryoma, Miss Remily is a very talented mage,” Sebas added.

My first impression of Remily was that she was free-spirited, to say the least.

“Speaking of—Ryoma, I would love to see you in action,” Reinbach said.

“Of course,” I said. “In the City of Lost Souls?”

“That too. But why don’t you spar with Sever here?” he proposed.

With the former Captain of the Knights’ Order?! 

By the looks of it, Sever was as surprised as I was. I asked Reinbach for an explanation before Sever could, and he told me that he always wanted to test my mettle before I headed off to the Sea of Trees, anyway. Sever, he calculated, could judge me accurately and objectively. After hearing this, Sever quickly agreed. He must have only been surprised by the suddenness of the proposal, but he’d never been against the idea of sparring with me. Furthermore, Sever explained that he could better assess my abilities if he had no prior knowledge of them. In life, we don’t always get to make thorough preparations before we take on an adversary... In short, he wanted to hold the sparring match now.

So Sebas and I went to find a suitable location outside the city. Sever would soon follow, as soon as he’d donned his gear.

Soon enough, we found a rocky clearing where we wouldn’t have to worry about damaging anyone’s property. Once Sebas jumped up to fetch the others, I finished up my preparations. Sever, judging by his career, would be a formidable opponent. This was all too sudden, but I was ready to reassure Reinbach that I was ready for the Sea of Trees.