Chapter 20: An unexpected reunion and an unexpected conversation

Licia, her hair held back by the sudden cold wind, felt the coldness of her chilled cheeks on her fingertips, and suddenly uttered a question.

Still, her interest in the blacksmith was not exhausted.

“What kind of person is this blacksmith that Weiss knows?”

Weiss folded his arms as he walked away from the question. The words that came out of his mouth were a description of the man with an unusual choice of words for him.

“He is an eccentric, peculiar, workaholic dwarf.”

“Huh, from what I’m hearing, I’m wondering if he could really forge my sword.”

“Don’t worry. He is such a character, but he is a man of principle. He is a strange man, a blacksmith who is also a master in the art of magic shipbuilding, but you can trust his honesty.”

“That’s amazing. The more I hear about him, the more I wonder what kind of dwarf he is.”

“Ah. He seems to be quite an unusual blacksmith.”

The two were surprised, and from the bottom of their hearts, they were looking forward to seeing what kind of dwarf they would meet.

Their steps became faster and faster, as if their hearts were rushing them.

But after a dozen more minutes of walking.

“—–?”

Licia stopped.

As soon as she turned off one of the main streets and entered a street that was still crowded with people, she somehow felt a strange sensation at the edge of her vision.

At his daughter’s unusualness, Lessard also turned around.

“Licia?  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I was just a little concerned.”

She didn’t know what she was concerned about.

But the strange feeling she felt didn’t go away, and Licia turned her gaze to the strange feeling.

What lay ahead was an old general store in the process of being demolished.

There was a wooden enclosure built by those involved in the demolition around it, and a few young children walking by it —-.

With a huff, the wooden enclosure shakes and falls on the children walking right beside it.

A moment later, Licia cries out, “Weiss stay by my father’s side!” she cried out, strengthening her body with holy magic and rushing out.

The level of proficiency had increased since the time she used it on Ren in the battle with Jerukku.

“I got to them just in time!”

Licia pulled out the sword she had been carrying for protection as she ran and stood in front of the children, who looked up and stopped in surprise.

Hearing the children’s surprise at the sudden situation, her eyes narrowed sharply.

She quickly cuts through the fallen wooden enclosure to protect the children.

The children cry out at the suddenness of the situation. As Licia, wielding a sword, is covered in dust, a cold air suddenly rushes from under her feet.

“This is …….”

There is no doubt about it. It’s magic.

The cold air is different from the cold of winter, and Licia instantly realizes it.

The cold air that reached Licia’s feet created huge icicles that supported the wooden enclosure, which was still in the process of collapsing. The sudden appearance of the icicles prevented the wooden enclosure from collapsing any further.

It was a magic trick that was so impressive that one could not help but marvel at it. The scale and precision of the magic were both impressive, indicating that it was definitely first-rate.

The scene now unfolding before Licia’s eyes was like a temple of ice.

The ice pillars growing out of the ground reflect the sunlight and support the wooden enclosure with ease.

—-Oh, that was close. ……

—- That was magic just now, wasn’t it?

The people passing by let out a sigh of relief, and then surprise.

Licia, too, was relieved, but she looked around, not forgetting the hint of magic she had just seen.

Then there was a girl who came running up to her side.

“I’m glad I made it in time—-!”

And from behind Licia.

The voice is light and clear, similar to the chirping of birds, which she has heard before. Licia, whose clothes were covered with dust, turned around and was startled by the voice.

Because there she was.

“F— Fiona-sama!?”

“E—eh! Licia-san!?”

She had not seen Fiona Ignat since they met at the party.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

How could they take Licia, covered in dust, to the blacksmith district?

Licia had been shown to a room in the women’s dormitory at the Imperial Cadet Academy, where Fiona now lives, by courtesy of Fiona.

Of course, this was to clean the dirt from Licia’s body.

She says through the frosted glass door while taking a shower in the bathroom in Fiona’s room.

“Thank you for the shower.”

Fiona, who was outside the door, smiled at Licia when she thanked her for borrowing the hot water. She stopped preparing a set of towels and other things for Licia and opened her mouth.

“Please take your time to warm up. Oh, I’ve prepared a change of clothes for you here!”

“Oh, thank you very much! I’m so grateful for the hospitality you’ve shown my father and Weiss, as well as myself……”

“Fufu… don’t worry about that either.”

Fiona was not walking alone in the imperial capital.

She was in the middle of shopping with Edgar as her escort when she encountered Licia protecting the children.

She was told that both Lessard and Weiss were being entertained in the salon between the girls’ and boys’ dormitories.

They said it was a place used by the students’ parents and merchants who came in and out of the academy.

“……Phew”

Eventually, Licia finished taking a hot bath, wrapped a towel around her and went outside. The clothes she had worn before coming here were washed in the girls’ dormitory.

It was also arranged by Fiona, and Licia borrowed Fiona’s clothes instead.

The fact that there was more room in the chest region than usual made Licia feel slightly defeated.

“It’s fine….I’ll be alright…..”

Licia said and sat down on a chair in front of the washbasin.

She wanted to dry her hair with a magical tool but she had left it behind.

But she couldn’t find a comb.

Fiona knocked on the door of the dressing room at the right moment and came back after hearing Licia’s answer.

“I am sorry, I had forgotten about the comb.”

Fiona had what appeared to be a comb in her hand.

According to Fiona, it was a magical tool.

Licia, who had no idea what a magic tool in the shape of a comb was, inquired.

“Isn’t it just a comb for combing your hair?”

“Actually, it is. This is a little bit of a special item—-.Can you leave it to me to comb your hair, Licia-san?”

“Uh–huh?”

“I have long hair myself, so I understand. I know how hard it is for you to comb your hair by yourself, so if you don’t mind, let me help you with that.”

In fact, it was indeed difficult.

To be honest, there were aspects that helped, but inevitably, the difference in status snuck into her brain and she was lost. Also, combined with their mentally complicated relationship with each other, Licia was unintentionally frightened.

However, afraid of borrowing and breaking a magical tool she had never used, Licia finally nodded her head.

The sound of the comb sliding through her still-wet hair sounded strangely loud to their ears.

“I hear it makes your hair shinier than with a normal comb.”

Fiona’s voice was less than confident.

“My father gave me this comb for my birthday last year, but I couldn’t tell much difference—hahaha—“

“That’s….”

“How about you, Licia-san? Do you feel any different?”

I can honestly say that I don’t feel that way at all.

Licia’s hair, combed as usual, was silky and smooth to the touch with a watery sheen.

Fiona, seeing Licia’s reaction, who was at a loss for words for a moment, laughed.

“I guess we don’t really know, do we?”

The two exchanged a wry smile through the mirror.

The next thing that came was silence.

But soon, Fiona starts to talk about something else.

“I was surprised today. I thought you were in Clausel, Licia-san. But it turned out you were in Elendil.”

“Yes. I was surprised to see you here in Elendil too. I came to Elendil for a variety of reasons, but I was going to the Imperial City to buy some clothes, and also to the blacksmith shop district.”

“That’s where all that ruckus happened.”

As they exchanged words, the two were becoming stiffened, different from the night of the party.

Unlike that night, the words they exchanged were more like strangers than before, and there were glimpses that they were unsure of how to treat each other.

When Fiona finished brushing Licia’s hair, she excused herself.

Licia, who had been sitting in her chair looking in the mirror, let out a breath of unorganized emotion and dried her hair with the magic tool she had left behind.

As soon as her hair was dry, she left the dressing room.

She headed to the living room, which felt too luxurious to be called a dormitory, and sat down on the sofa at Fiona’s urging.

The two of them almost admired each other’s appearance, just as they had at the party that day.

It seemed like an everyday conversation, but they looked at the window without meaning to each other.

Outside the window, snow was falling. It was snowing in large fluffy flakes.

“—-Ah.”

Licia’s eyes suddenly turned to one corner of the room.

The big bookshelf on the wall distracted her attention.

“Do you like books, Fiona-sama?”

“Yes…. I’m ashamed to say, I was physically weak, so I grew up reading books all the time……”

As a child, Fiona spent most of her time in bed.

The only thing to look forward to was books and conversations with Ulysses.

Licia also felt a special connection to Fiona when she thought that without Ren, Fiona would have died.

It goes without saying that she herself was saved by Ren.

Thinking they had found an opportunity for conversation, they both stood up at about the same time.

It was a bit sudden, but it was the kind of opportunity the two of them were desperate to have.

They approached the bookshelf and exchanged more words while feigning calm.

“There seem to be some books that look very difficult……”

Licia muttered.

“I don’t know if that’s true. But I still can’t read them all properly. I try my best to read them, but many of them are so difficult that I have to pull out a dictionary to get through them—- Are you interested in reading it, Licia-san?”

Licia would be lying if she said she wasn’t interested.

And also to eliminate the odd atmosphere of strangeness that remains between the two of them, Licia said, “By all means”.

The bookshelves were lined with books that looked like difficult academic books, as well as thick novels and reference books with many bookmarks still in them.

One reference book in particular caught Licia’s attention.

“This is for the Imperial Military Academy, isn’t it?”

“Yes. It is the reference book I used for the entrance exam.”

Fiona smiled shyly.

She took the reference book from the bookshelf and showed its cover to Licia. The reference book that Licia saw was for the special class of the Imperial Military Academy.

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