Chapter 61
Chapter 61: Elegance, Timeless
Viktor lightly stamped his foot, and the Teleportation Formation lit up beneath him once again.
It was already deep into the night. The servants at home had all gone to sleep, and Viktor had no intention of making a grand commotion to wake them.
So he simply used Teleportation Magic to search room by room.
In the dead of night, a burly white-haired elder, roused by the sound, slowly made his way up to the second floor, heading toward the room from which the noise had come.
As the faint azure-blue glow gradually faded inside the room, Viktor appeared within a dim, darkened chamber.
He glanced left and right. This was not his room.
It appeared to be a Guest Room.
Viktor was just about to teleport again and move on to the next room.
But the door let out a creak.
The old man pushed open Viktor's door and appeared behind him.
His burly frame was like that of a great bear; his presence seemed to drape the room in shadow.
Not even the night's faint light could pass through his body.
When the old man made out the figure inside, he adjusted his monocle, placed a hand over his chest, and bowed.
"Master of the House, you have returned."
Viktor's Magic was quite conspicuous—to slip past the family Knights standing guard outside and enter directly into the building without anyone noticing required, at minimum, the ability of a 3rd-Tier Mage or higher.
Viktor turned to look at the old man.
The towering elder, standing nearly 3 meters tall, stirred a faint recollection in him.
Helnersen—an aged Bear-man.
He was the Steward of the Clavena Family, having lived for over a hundred years.
Diligent and devoted, he had served the Clavena Family without fail, outlasting three generations of its members.
Viktor was that third generation.
As the guardian who had watched over the Clavena bloodline across the ages, even when faced with a 4th-Tier Mage, he could hold his own.
"I didn't expect to wake you. I'm sorry, Helnersen."
"Not at all. Seeing the Master return brings me great joy. How many days do you plan to stay? I'll have someone prepare your room."
"No need, Helnersen. Get some rest. I'll be heading back before tomorrow."
The Steward listened to Viktor's words and gave a nod, bowing to him.
"Master, should you need anything, do not hesitate to call for me."
With that, the burly elder turned and departed without so much as a single footstep to be heard.
Once he had gone, Viktor released the Teleportation Magic once more.
When Viktor opened his eyes again, he was in a different room.
The room was large. A faint floral fragrance drifted through the air, and the lavish furnishings all around made it clear the room's occupant was no ordinary person.
It appeared to be a woman's room.
And the only woman living in the old family estate was...
"This is Leah's room."
Viktor confirmed it to himself.
To have teleported straight into Leah's bedroom—this, too, Viktor had not anticipated.
Even so, he didn't think much of it.
Leah had slipped into his room plenty of times herself, and she never even knocked before walking in while he was inside.
The room had been kept very clean and tidy. The bed showed no signs of having been slept in.
After all, these past few days, Leah had been staying at the home in the Royal Capital.
Suddenly, an impulse stirred within Viktor's heart.
It was an impulse no Player could suppress.
In the game, whenever Players could enter a room, they would scour every last nook and cranny, leaving nothing unsearched, just to make sure they hadn't missed any items.
And Viktor, more than most, had a pronounced collector's streak—the kind where he absolutely would not leave a place until he'd swept it clean.
He closed his eyes and reined in the restless urge rising inside him.
This wasn't right. It was a girl's room, after all.
He gave it a cursory glance or two, then made to leave.
But just then, Weija's lone eye fixed onto a cabinet.
The cabinet had a Formation attached to it, giving off a faint yellow glow. Unless one were deliberately looking for it, no one would ever notice.
"Viktor, over there."
Viktor looked back, and sure enough, he spotted the cabinet beneath the writing desk.
In short order, he recognized what it was.
"A Magic Lock?"
A Formation that sealed something with Magic Power—without unraveling the complex Runes within, the item secured beneath the Magic Lock could not be retrieved.
This bookcase sealed with a Magic Lock... could there be something hidden inside?
"Shall we open it?"
Weija was just as curious, craning its bird neck forward and staring intently.
Though Viktor had the nagging sense that leaving it shut might mean missing something important, on second thought, there was a chance it contained Leah's private things...
"Done. It's open."
Viktor: "..."
The Formation dissolved in an instant, and Weija effortlessly undid the Magic Lock.
Viktor couldn't help but ask.
"Do you have no concept of respecting someone's privacy?"
"Huh? Are you joking with me?"
Weija cast Viktor a disdainful glance and said flatly:
"Anyone could see you wanted to open that cabinet."
Fair enough. Viktor had to admit it.
Leaving no room unsearched was a universal affliction among Players.
He was no exception.
Viktor silently mouthed an apology, yet still, by pure instinct, pulled the drawer open.
There were no special items inside—only a few small stuffed toys, worn and mended in places.
At the back of the drawer sat a very old notebook, its pages already yellowed with age.
Viktor took it out with mild curiosity and flipped it open at random.
Like a fragment of ancient memory, it laid itself bare before him without the slightest concealment.
'November 6th. Father said Brother awakened a very powerful magical talent. Our family is going to have an incredible Mage! How wonderful—Brother will surely protect me for the rest of my life!'
'November 7th. Brother seems to be working so very hard at his studies. That looks exhausting! I want to help Brother become the most powerful Mage there is! But Brother just scolds me and says I'm in the way. How can I help Brother?'
'November 8th. I told Father about my troubles. Father told me that being a Mage is a profession that requires a great deal of money. So Brother must be very short on funds? If I could earn lots and lots of money, would I be able to help Brother?'
Viktor read the words on the page, and his feelings grew... somewhat complicated.
That was all there was on this page, so he turned forward a few more.
'December 21st. It snowed very, very heavily again today. I love the snow. Mr. Helnersen took me outside to build an enormous snowman! I showed the snowman to Brother, but he blasted it apart with Magic... Does he dislike snowmen?'
'December 22nd. I made a mistake today. I accidentally stained Brother's Spellbook. It was very expensive. Brother scolded me in a terrible rage and made me stand out in the snow as punishment. I felt very cold. I'm sorry, Brother. I was the one at fault.'
'December 23rd. I saw Brother again today. I wanted to apologize, but he scolded me harshly again... He said he hates tears. Should I not cry? Why can't I ever make Brother happy?
I'm so useless.'
Beyond that, the following pages held only trivial, scattered entries.
Then, on January 1st, the diary fell silent—no further records after that.
Viktor set the diary down, his heart heavy.
The estrangement between Viktor and Leah, and the reasons behind it, had never been touched upon in the game.
In the game, Leah's room was locked, and no Player could enter it.
So the contents of this diary had never been seen by any Player.
"The Viktor from back then sounds like he was quite a piece of work."
Weija said from beside him, having read through the diary's contents as well.
Viktor gave a small nod, offering no rebuttal.
He did not close the diary. A glow kindled in the palm of his hand, and a black pen materialized between his fingers.
On a blank page of the diary, he drew a simple smiley face.
He folded down the corner of that page, closed the diary, and placed it back in the cabinet.
Weija watched in silence as Viktor did all of this, then heard him say:
"Lock the cabinet again, Weija."
Weija obliged, sealing the cabinet once more with Magic. From the outside, there was no trace of it ever having been opened.
Viktor turned and walked toward the door. Weija beat its wings and fell into step behind him.
"Where are you going?"
"As I said before... I'm rather interested in that grain merchant."
Viktor said only that, and a Teleportation Formation appeared beneath his feet, flickering faintly to life.
Weija hurried to perch on his shoulder, and in the instant it touched Viktor's shoulder, the pair vanished without a trace.
***
"We've finally got you!"
A group of hooded figures seized Chuer in the open wilderness.
Chuer was solidly built—the kind of man people on the street would instinctively give a wide berth to.
Yet right now, he had been completely surrounded.
Sweat beaded on Chuer's forehead in his desperation, and he shouted out:
"Where is Miss Leah? I need to see Miss Leah! Why are you seizing me?"
The hooded figures around him sensed something was off.
Why was Chuer shouting so loudly?
But no one thought too much of it. A sharp, female voice rang out, harsh and unrelenting.
"You'll see Miss Leah after we take you back!"
Chuer still wore an unruly expression, insisting:
"I must see Miss Leah! I have something to explain!"
"Oh? And what is it you want to explain?"
Leah's cool voice suddenly rang out. She had appeared seemingly from nowhere.
Beside her stood Leon, those green eyes of his barely visible in the dark.
Leah crossed her arms over her chest and regarded Chuer with cold detachment.
"You've embezzled quite a sum from our family, haven't you? What, Chuer—are you trying to flee back to the Kingdom?"
Chuer stared at Leah and was just about to say something when Leah made a single sweeping gesture.
Countless hooded figures emerged from all around, bows drawn and arrows nocked, awaiting Leah's command to riddle Chuer with arrows.
"My advice to you—don't move."
"Otherwise, I can't guarantee there won't be an extra arrow in your breakfast tomorrow morning."
Chuer's expression darkened, as though he had been cornered without escape.
But then, suddenly, the corners of his mouth curved upward into a triumphant grin.
Leon, standing close by, noticed the change in him at once and cried out:
"Loose!"
In an instant, a volley of arrows flew toward Chuer.
But then—the arrows seemed to be stopped by some kind of barrier, suspended motionless in midair.
A stunning barrier erupted from the ground without warning. A crushing wave of weakness surged through every person there—everyone except Leah.
"A Magic Suppression Field!?"
Leon felt that something was terribly wrong. She looked down at her own hands. Within the range of this barrier, she could not use even the slightest amount of Magic Power.
Then Chuer suddenly spoke up:
"How does the Anti-Magic Stone feel?"
"Originally, these things were prepared for Viktor. Using them on his little sister to test their effectiveness—not bad, actually."
Leah, for her part, was rather unmoved.
Even now, faced with what appeared to be a clearly disadvantageous situation, she showed not a single trace of panic.
"So what? I'm not a Mage."
Chuer was the one who flared up at that, a string of curses bursting out of him:
"Don't give me that! You think I don't know you're a 2nd-Tier Mage?"
At those words, Leah's eyes narrowed slightly.
She quietly attempted to activate the Mage's Hand, but it produced no effect either.
"I'll admit your methods are quite something. You're more suited to be the Lord of the Clavena Territory than Viktor is."
"But today, you're staying here."
As he said it, the barrier rippled, and several warriors carrying weapons stepped out from within thin air.
"Inside a barrier that blocks Magic Power, warriors who fight using Vital Energy are undoubtedly the most difficult opponents for people like you."
Chuer laughed wildly. He drew his own weapon as well, preparing to kill every last person trapped inside the barrier.
Leah gave a mildly bored yawn.
"Is that all?"
The Knights lying in ambush in the surrounding area numbered in the hundreds if not thousands. She only needed to send a brief signal.
The cavalry's iron charge would tear through the warriors before her in an instant.
But... besides herself, no one knew that.
Leon looked visibly anxious. She leaned close to Leah and whispered:
"Miss Leah... please be ready to flee."
"Even at the cost of our lives, we will carve open a path for you to escape."
With that, she drew the two daggers at her waist and dropped into a combat stance.
Leah furrowed her brow. She was about to say something—but then, the Mage's Hand on her hand grew faintly warm.
The Mage's Hand would resonate whenever it drew near its own source of Magic Power.
Which meant...
"Leon, stay right where you are."
Leah broke into a confident smile.
With everyone watching in barely-suppressed disbelief, she said with perfect composure:
"Someone is here to pick us up."
Hum—!
An azure-blue Formation suddenly blazed to life outside the barrier. Its vast range enveloped the entire barrier entirely.
A staggering surge of magical energy poured forth, and in a single instant, the Formation disregarded the Anti-Magic Stone's obstruction entirely—and Teleported every last person inside the barrier, save for Chuer and his subordinates, out of it.
A flash of white light—when Leah opened her eyes again, they had all been teleported to a hillside just outside the barrier.
Everyone but her stared at their surroundings in a daze.
It seemed no one had yet grasped what had just happened.
Leah took a few steps forward. She looked down toward the barrier not far below.
Inside it, a familiar silhouette had appeared.
The figure wore a black Coat, back turned toward her, the glow in his hand already fading—proof of the Teleportation Magic he had just cast.
Viktor's voice drifted out from within the barrier:
"The Kingdom's special Anti-Magic Stones are quite effective against Mages. But they have one glaring weakness."
"If the Mage is not within the restricted area, they can cast Magic from a distance and have it take effect on the inside of the Anti-Magic Stone's boundary."
"In other words, if I had wanted to—back there, just now—your Anti-Magic Stone barrier could have been shattered by my Magic in an instant."
Chuer stared at this uninvited guest, gripping his blade tightly, watching the newcomer with wary eyes.
He demanded loudly:
"Who are you?"
Viktor then gave him an elegant bow.
"I'm Viktor."
"I hear you were looking for me?"