“Hiding here looks more suspicious. Who’s riding? Blei? Lydia?”

“It seems to be Lord Rosenblur.”

Rosenblur Elfenbaum, it appears those close to him call him Blei.

“Then just back up the carriage so it passes on the outer side.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Wow, Master, do you know Elfenbaum?”

“You keep forgetting that I’m the head of the Atilei family.”

“They say the Elfenbaum people are so beautiful, what are they like in person?”

“I’m better looking than that Blei fellow, you know? You should respect and look up to your master, not that superficially polished guy…”

“Ah, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Baron moved the carriage to the back of the main road as Leonard had instructed. Cordelia waited with a pounding heart for Elfenbaum to pass by.

And surprisingly, Elfenbaum fulfilled that expectation.

There was no need to ask who among the riders was Elfenbaum.

A black-haired man rode a large white horse, and Cordelia swore he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Although she was watching from quite a distance, his aura was extraordinary.

Moreover, his blue eyes, which seemed to be embedded with sapphires, were so beautiful that it was difficult to express in words.

As Elfenbaum’s group passed by, Leonard made a comment while she couldn’t close her mouth.

“You’ll dislocate your jaw like that.”

“Wow, wow. How can a person look like that? Who is that man? Blei?”

“Rosenblur Elfenbaum. The current head of the Elfenbaum family.”

“Even his name is cool…”

“You’ve completely lost it, haven’t you? Would you really faint if you saw my face?”

“Master, honestly, no one could compare to that face. We have to admit when it’s true.”

“I’m telling you, he’s not as handsome as me.”

“Here we go again.”

It seems he gets prickly if he doesn’t brag about himself for even a minute.

Of course, Cordelia didn’t pay any attention to his unreasonable claim. She just gazed endlessly at Rosenblur, who looked handsome even from behind.

* * *

Lande was quite a large port city in Ershe, so there were many large and nice inns. As soon as Cordelia unpacked at the inn, she handed a pile of homework to Leonard with a big smile.

“I finished it all!”

“What? I just gave it to you last night and you’re already done?”

“Can I go out now? I stayed up all night to sightsee the city.”

“Take Beluce with you.”

“Ah… Do I have to go with Beluce?”

Cordelia’s voice dropped dramatically.

That knight who regarded Leonard as a god would surely frown and nag if Cordelia said she was going out to play.

“Beluce went to take care of the carriage. It will take quite some time for him to return.”

“When will he be back?”

“Well, it will take at least two or three hours, I’d say.”

At Baron’s words, Cordelia’s shoulders drooped even further. She looked up at Leonard with her eyes as moist as possible.

“Can’t I just go alone? I’ll take Lottie with me.”

“That dog will be the first to run away if you get robbed.”

Sadly, Cordelia couldn’t argue with his words. Throughout the journey, Lottie had treated her as nothing more than a food provider.

“And where are you going alone? In Lande, a woman walking alone is either about to be kidnapped or has just been released after paying ransom.”

“Is it that dangerous here? But it’s quite a big city.”

“Everywhere Lopez rules is like this. There’s no such thing as public safety, just the nonsensical concept that the survivor is the strong one.”

“Lopez? Ah. This was the Gray Bear’s territory.”

“If you really want to go out, wait until Beluce returns.”

“But it’ll be dark by then. We’re supposed to leave for Wilas by ship tomorrow.”

Usually, Cordelia would back down at this point, but today her resolve was firm.

Until now, she hadn’t even had a proper look outside, let alone sightsee in town, because she was busy taking lessons in the carriage and sleeping or doing homework at the inn.

“Then I’ll go with Baron.”

“Hmm. I’m sorry, but I have other matters to attend to, so it would be difficult. If you insist, how about going out with the master?”

“Oh! That’s a good idea!”

“What? Why me?”

“Let’s go together, please? I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“What delicious thing…”

“Come on! I even went to your research lab and brought things. I’m helping to remove the barrier on Diloa’s territory! Can’t you go sightseeing in the city with me once? Oh, please go! Please go!”

Despite Leonard’s frown and irritation at Cordelia’s whining, he eventually stood up according to her wishes.

“Wow! Master, you’re the best!”

“Only for two hours.”

“Yes, yes. That’s fine!”

Cordelia smiled brightly as she packed a pouch full of 100 eti. Then she tugged on Leonard’s sleeve, urging him.

“Let’s go quickly, quickly.”

“I said okay.”

“Have a good time.”

With Baron’s send-off, the two walked out into the bustling streets of Lande. Even though it was just people passing by with different clothes from the north, Cordelia couldn’t take her eyes off the streets.

“What’s so interesting?”

“Everything. The women wearing scarves instead of hats are interesting, the dirt roads instead of stone pavements are interesting, and this strange smell coming from the sea is interesting.”

She chattered away, laughing like a child. She spontaneously bought a rose from a girl selling flowers on the street and put it in her hair.

From Leonard’s perspective, her reactions seemed like a fuss, so he gruffly asked if she had never traveled before, and got an unexpected answer.

“You’ve never been to Vasquez, right?”

“Why would I go there?”

“That’s right. No one comes to Vasquez unless they live there. That territory just has huge cliffs, mountains that never melt, and Eliam.”

“…Was it like that?”

“And I lived there all my life. It was similar even when I got married. Abrams wasn’t much different from Vasquez’s territory.”

She turned her head to look straight at Leonard.

“So I’m always grateful. For rescuing me from that place. I thought I would die there even if I died.”

“For someone who says that, you don’t seem to show much respect and reverence for me.”

“I’m treating you more respectfully than my father, what more do you want?”

Cordelia laughed out loud. For some reason, Leonard couldn’t take his eyes off her face.

The sunlight that happened to be shining flowed down Cordelia’s bridge of her nose. It was surprisingly radiant…

“Ah, they’re selling food over there. Let’s go there! I’ll buy everything.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

* * *

Cordelia started to doze off while holding a spoon. Before she could fall face-first onto the table, Leonard quickly and gently caught her face with his hand.

“If you’re sleepy, stop eating and go to bed.”

“Mmm. Okay.”

It was understandable that she was tired after staying up all night to do homework and then roaming the streets with Leonard from morning until sunset. Cordelia got up from her seat, leaving her plate half-full.

“Yawn, I’ll go to bed first.”

Cordelia went upstairs with a big yawn. Lottie naturally followed behind her.

Leonard watched carefully to see if she might fall while climbing the stairs. When she stumbled once in the middle, his hips involuntarily twitched.

“You must be very attached to your first disciple, right?”

“…What attachment?”

“For a mage, a disciple is like a child born from the heart. Moreover, if it’s the first disciple, it’s natural to be more concerned.”

Baron said with a gentle smile. Leonard leaned back, completely taking his eyes off Cordelia’s back.

“I was like that too. Besides, Cordelia learns quickly, so there’s a sense of fulfillment in teaching.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I understand your feelings, but don’t get too attached to her. After all, for you to regain your body…”

“I already said I’m not doing that.”

Leonard immediately frowned at the topic that had come up once before.

“Master.”

“Even if we use Cordelia as a medium, there’s no certainty it will succeed. Why should we gamble with such an unstable method?”

“But there is a way. If we use all of my magic power and the sacred artifact…”

“What help would your measly magic power be? Stop talking nonsense. Do you think soul transfer magic is like lighting a fire in a furnace?”

Leonard shook his head firmly. It wasn’t just because of attachment; even if they combined Baron’s magic power and the power of the sacred artifact, it wouldn’t be enough to use soul transfer magic.

At that moment, Beluce, who had gone to buy groceries, returned.

“I bought plenty of dry rations. As expected, Lande has everything.”

“Good work, Beluce.”

“What about the carriage?”

“I completely erased the coat of arms and sold it on the black market.”

“Well done.”

“By the way, what were you talking about? I thought I heard something about soul transfer magic.”

Beluce, who had heard roughly from Baron how Leonard had come to his current body, asked with a worried expression.

“I was suggesting using Lady Cordelia as a medium for soul transfer magic.”

“Baron.”

“That woman? How?”

“She has the optimal body for accepting magic power. If we pour my magic power and the power of the sacred artifact into Lady Cordelia, roughly…”

With a thud, all the dishes on the table shattered. Baron was covered in food.

Fortunately, since it was late at night, there was no one on the first floor of the inn, so it didn’t attract attention.

Leonard stared intently at Baron without saying a word. Baron immediately closed his mouth and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s late, so go to bed now. We have a long journey ahead.”

Leonard got up first. Until he had completely gone up to his room, the two men kept their heads bowed in silence.