“So, I’d like to cover half the co—”

“Hm?”

“The cost, I mean...”

“Hmmm?”

“......”

Yuder looked into those eyes, shining brighter than ever, and thought:

‘He’s absolutely not going to take it.’

If it had been money spent during work, that would be one thing. But this was during their vacation—money spent while chasing down a past related to Yuder’s own family, his grandfather. It was such a personal expense that letting Kishiar bear the cost alone didn’t feel fair.

Sure, Yuder didn’t have as much wealth as Kishiar. But between unused wages and accumulated rewards, he had more than enough to outclass most lower-ranked nobles. And he held a quiet confidence that even if he spent all of it at once, he could easily earn it back.

‘It’s not like the money means anything to me anyway...’

But if he said that out loud, Kishiar would no doubt throw the same words right back at him. In this mode, Kishiar was impossible to catch—whatever you said, he’d slip through like a fish. Yuder made a swift, experience-based judgment and let out a long sigh.

“Fine. I understand. Still, I won’t forget this.”

There was time. One day, surely, Yuder would have the chance to spend money like Kishiar did today.

‘Surely at least once... right?’

Only then did Kishiar drop his shameless expression and grin brightly.

“Good. Having it remain in your memory is the best compensation I could ask for.”

How smooth of a reply. Yuder didn’t respond. The smiling man continued with a satisfied tone.

“Anyway, the gamble was worth it. Don’t you think?”

“Yes. I never imagined the mark on my grandfather’s arm wasn’t just a simple spot.”

“Neither would I. A school of mages that passes down tales of receiving the Great Mage’s blessing if you live a good life—it always sounded like scripture-level nonsense.”

Summed up like that, a rather serious story suddenly felt bizarrely light.

“And how did you know about the story of the mage who experienced healing magic?”

“Well, there was a time I desperately longed for such a miracle. I collected every piece of information related to healing—credible or not.”

It wasn’t the kind of thing one should speak so casually about, but Kishiar looked completely at ease. He ruffled Yuder’s hair and wrapped a gentle arm around his shoulder.

“Don’t make that face. Right now, I feel nothing but certainty that I did the right thing.”

“...Yes.”

“So, what do you make of the information we just gathered?”

Leaning halfway against Kishiar’s shoulder, Yuder began organizing his thoughts.

“...If I’d heard Sallandin’s story first, I probably would’ve dismissed it as a typical mage’s delusion. But... we saw my grandfather’s old belongings and his altered handwriting first.”

“Exactly.”

His handwriting had changed after the incident. His behavior didn’t match mere amnesia. And then there were the legends passed down by the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) mage school.

“Taking it all together, I feel like Sallandin’s story about the Great Mage’s blessing might not be complete nonsense. Right now... strangely enough, it actually makes more sense to believe my grandfather was transformed by that blessing, rather than simply suffering memory loss.”

“Yeah. I’m thinking the same thing. The problem is, we still don’t know why it happened—or whose power was behind it. Even putting aside the Great Mages Sallandin mentioned...”

Kishiar began listing off the names of the Great Mages he knew, sharing various tidbits. As he spoke, the information Yuder had seen and heard so far churned through his mind, tangled and flowing freely.

The mage school that had survived through the ages. The Great Mage’s blessing. The rules of that school. His grandfather, who had rescued the infant Yuder and spent the rest of his life raising him. His actions, always as if he were preparing for a parting that could come any day. The last words Sallandin said he’d spoken. You can’t deceive time. Time... time...

He couldn’t pin anything down yet, but as he let the swirling thoughts flow, a sudden idea surfaced without warning.

Yuder caught the edge of that thought and spoke almost before realizing it.

“What if...”

“Hm?”

Kishiar stopped talking immediately and locked eyes with him.

Yuder Aile wasn’t the kind of person with vivid imagination like Kishiar. But this “what if” had still made it into his head.

Would he sound ridiculous?

He hesitated for a moment—but when he met that warm gaze, waiting as if to say say anything, the hesitation melted away like snow. He continued.

“We don’t know about the other Great Mages, but we’ve come to know a little about Luma. So... I tried to imagine: if it was Luma, when and why would he have done something like this? I mean, wasn’t he too busy of a person to create a mage school just to tell future mages to be nice?”

Kishiar stifled a laugh and nodded.

“You’re right. So?”

“In the last part of Luma’s journal that I read, it clearly said what purpose he had when he left Gilandre Hill again.”

“To prevent another great catastrophe that might repeat in the future.”

The man who never forgot anything began reciting the passage Yuder had once read aloud:

“No matter how great a human is, they can’t sustain their will for over a hundred years. Maybe that’s why a new hero must appear each time... and why the warnings left by previous heroes become diluted. After I die, no one will know whether I was right or wrong. And even if another hero appears, I won’t be able to meet them...”

“Yes. And yet he still said he would leave to search for a way to solve it.”

Yuder had never met Luma like Inon had—but he was certain that if someone like Luma left words behind, he would’ve done everything he could to honor them.

“Since Luma was a mage, he must have tried to find a magical way to achieve his goal. The journal he left on Gilandre Hill, and even Inon’s existence, could be seen as warnings and assistance left for future generations. But we don’t yet know what method he left behind after writing that journal. So what if...”

Yuder firmly voiced the thought sitting on the edge of his lips.

“What if the existence of the mage school is actually one of ‘Luma’s methods’ that he found after writing the journal? Is that such a ridiculous idea?”

“......”

“What if the so-called ‘Great Mage’s Promise’ wasn’t just a legend—but a reference to a magic that would someday be fulfilled?”

Kishiar blinked slowly, stroking his chin in thought. Watching him, Yuder continued.

“Inon said ancient mages each had their own unique magic. Luma’s, if I recall...”

“The magic of connection. That’s what he called it.”

“Exactly.”

The magic Yuder saw on the way to Gilandre Hill was truly astonishing. To seamlessly link visible and invisible things together and conceal them at will... If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would’ve found it impossible to believe.

A Great Mage who could hide his refuge for a thousand years and fuse a spirit with a human body to create a guardian—such a man might very well have created another miracle that continued on to this day.

“In a way, the mage school could be seen as a group of people who are ‘connected’ to carry on his will. That’s just the thought that came to me.”