As I was thinking about this and that, Cedar sighed again.

“It seems like you’re thinking about something else again, so I’ll tell you the answer. Our original goal was to go to the academy after finishing the subjugation mission.”

“Ah! That’s right. We were on our way to receive the inheritance.”

Even though I had become a half-baked magician suffering from mana depletion due to the inheritance, I had completely forgotten that it was almost time to receive it.

‘When I’m with Cedar, every day is so new that I keep forgetting about past events.’

Cedar Granite, this addictive man.

I glanced sideways at Cedar. Cedar explained our journey in a calm tone.

“It will take about a week from here. Don’t worry about accommodation. There’s a hunter’s hut just over this ridge. It’s cleaned every year.”

It seems there are no villages nearby.

It’s a relief that we won’t have to sleep outdoors, but spending a week on the road still feels like a waste of time.

“A whole week? Should we just use teleportation magic? I can fix that magic circle quickly. If you cooperate with me.”

I subtly glanced at Cedar’s lips.

The mana he had charged me with had long since run out. Like a hamster discovering sunflower seeds, my gaze kept returning to Cedar’s lips.

As if reading my mind, Cedar replied.

“I told you magic isn’t necessary, didn’t I? I declined the banquet and came out because I wanted to be with you as soon as possible. We’ll ride horses directly to the academy.”

“Why?”

Is there a need to waste time deliberately? Setting out at night was also unnecessary.

There’s no rush, so why leave so quickly? We could have just enjoyed the banquet, slept in the tent, and left when it was bright.

Unable to understand the meaning behind these actions, I tilted my head. Cedar poked my forehead with his index finger and answered.

“You might not be interested in me, but I want to get closer to you.”

It might be natural for me to respond with nonsense to Cedar’s words.

That’s because it was someone else’s feelings that I had never considered before.

The most memorable day in Grisha’s life was, of course, that day.

The day his mother, who collapsed during teatime with Cedar, finally breathed her last.

“Mother.”

As if all the water in his body was flowing out through his eyes, the tears wouldn’t stop.

Grisha clung to his mother’s dry hands, holding them with both of his own.

Instinctively, he knew this was the last moment he could face her.

“Mother.”

So he couldn’t say meaningless things like it’s okay or don’t be in pain. He knew those words wouldn’t come true anyway.

“Grisha.”

And his mother’s parched gaze showed that she already sensed her own end.

Grisha waited quietly for her last words, shedding silent tears.

He knew that his mother’s life hadn’t been very happy.

Still, he hoped she would say it.

That even though it was hard, even though there were many sad times, she was glad to have met him.

But her last words cruelly trampled on Grisha’s heart.

“I want to go back to my hometown.”

Recalling the faraway land she could never return to, she closed her eyes weakly.

Instead of concern or worry for her son who would be left alone without a strong shield, she left words of bitter regret.

“If I could turn back time, I would never have married into the Empire.”

With those words, her lips stopped breathing.

The loyal maids who had followed her to the Empire shed sorrowful tears.

But as if by a lie, the tears in Grisha’s eyes completely dried up.

‘Mother, how could you, until the very end…’

She had never been a gentle person. Still, he thought that deep in her heart, she must have hidden love for her child.

But in the end, she never looked at her child. Grisha bowed his head deeply.

‘I see. Mother couldn’t love me either. After all, love is something you can only give when you have room in your heart.’

Tears flowed down the bridge of his nose and dripped. It was the last time he cried in his life.

There had been no joyful events in his life, but that didn’t make dying any easier.

After overcoming several crises within the family, Grisha voluntarily entered the academy to protect his life. Fortunately, he had talent for magic.

And there, he met her.

“Did you sleep well?”

Her messy golden hair was tangled here and there, as if she hadn’t even brushed it before coming out.

She was much older than him, but her frame was much smaller.

A large robe that didn’t fit her was draped over her bony shoulders like a blanket.

“Ah, hello… elder sister.”

Grisha awkwardly greeted her, fidgeting. She yawned widely, as if sleepy, and replied.

“You can just call me Nelly, you know.”

“I couldn’t do that. You’re my senior.”

“Do as you like.”

Even though she could barely open her eyes, she kindly guided him.

“Here, you have to take care of your own meals. I came to show you where the food storage and kitchen are.”

Life in the Granite ducal family hadn’t been comfortable, but at least there, if he sat quietly, someone else would prepare his meals and change his clothes.

Grisha, who still didn’t have the sense that he needed to take care of his own affairs, tilted his head and asked Nelly.

“Isn’t there anyone to help?”

At that question, Nelly turned to look at him with wide eyes.

Grisha finally realized that Nelly’s eyes were a fresh green like newly sprouted buds.

“Someone to help, they’re right here. It’s me.”

That face looked very cute to him.

Without Nelly’s help, Grisha might have died of starvation, unable to adapt to the academy.

Nelly carefully explained everything to Grisha one by one. How to handle art supplies, how to prepare ingredients, even how to do dishes and laundry.

“Ugh, I hate vegetables.”

She had some childish aspects too. Saying that preparing vegetables was bothersome, she mainly ate steamed sweet potatoes and potatoes that only needed to be washed.

She barely ate even that, for a very ridiculous reason.

“If I eat too much, I get sleepy and lose focus. It’s also annoying to go to the bathroom in the middle of research.”

“You’ll get in big trouble that way.”

“I’ve been living just fine so far.”

Nelly might have been competent as a magician, but as a human, she was like a sloth.

Her goal was to eat and live just enough not to die with minimal activity.

‘She’s older than me, but she’s more childish.’

But she was someone Grisha couldn’t help but love.

At the academy, everyone treated him like an adult regardless of age.

Without teaching him anything, they would just hand him a thick book and then scold him for not being able to use magic, which was an everyday occurrence.

“Shouldn’t you be able to learn basic magic on your own? How are you going to do more advanced research if you can’t even understand this?”

Nelly was the only one who reached out to him in such situations.

“If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask me. I’ll explain it to you.”

Nelly was a good teacher. She was good at identifying the parts Grisha didn’t understand and explaining them in detail.

When the two were studying in the library, passing seniors would often criticize Nelly like this.

“Aren’t you wasting time when you should be conducting great research?”

“I’m reviewing too.”

“How stupid. Just take care of yourself.”

Grisha, who had been quietly listening to those words, asked.

“What kind of research are you doing, elder sister?”

A huge research topic that couldn’t be imagined coming from the mouth of a small girl lacking in life experience popped out.

“I’m researching space-time transfer magic. Right now it’s just teleportation, but before long, time travel will be possible too.”

“Space-time?”

“Yes. Right now we can only move objects. But I recently succeeded in moving a cat.”

The seemingly ordinary girl was actually leaving a huge footprint in human history.

‘So that’s why the professors scolded me for taking up Nelly’s time.’

The kindness she was showing to Grisha was even greater than he had thought.

Nelly smiled with a clear face and said to Grisha.

“If you ever have a moment you want to go back to, come find me and ask. I don’t know when I’ll succeed, but…”

“A moment I want to go back to.”

For Grisha, who had learned that even his mother didn’t love him, there was no such moment he wanted to return to.

‘Do you have one?’

An inexplicable unpleasant feeling suddenly welled up. It was jealousy, but Grisha was still too young to know such emotions.

He casually asked to probe who Nelly’s precious person was.

“When do you want to go back to?”

“Me? I don’t have anything like that.”

“Then why are you researching it?”

“Because it’s interesting.”

Nelly didn’t have any moments she wanted to go back to either. Those words sounded like warm comfort to Grisha.

Unable to discern what Grisha was thinking beside her, Nelly scratched her hair and rambled on about what she wanted to say.

“But honestly, I don’t know when I’ll succeed. There are too many things to calculate in space-time transfer magic. You have to transfer both the body and soul, but the specifications aren’t the same for everyone. It will also be affected by the amount of mana in the body. But I’m not good at calculations…”

“Then I’ll do those calculations for you.”

He was confident in numerical calculations. Grisha bravely volunteered to help with Nelly’s work.

To repay the help he had received from her, and to become an indispensable person to her.

‘Someday, I must become the existence she wants to return to across space and time.’

Because Nelly was already such an existence for him.