About a year ago.
Winter in the Iskar territory was long.
At the northernmost edge of the continent, where its lands touched the Wall, the chill never truly faded—not even when spring came.
Whoooo—
A wind sharp enough to cut through bone always seemed to be blowing from somewhere. As if they had grown accustomed to it, every tree leaned in the same direction.
Aion sat atop the outer wall of the manor on the hill, looking down below.
The entire Iskar territory filled his view.
Villages scattered here and there. Dirt roads cutting between them. Beyond the roads, tundra stretching all the way to the horizon.
‘They said she would arrive around today.’
— The Lord has personally contacted the van Mayer family despite the impropriety. He said a mage of considerable skill would be arriving to educate Young Master Aion.
Aion shifted his gaze to the carriage slowly making its way up from the foot of the hill.
Rattle, rattle—
A small figure swayed, half-buried among the luggage. Each time the carriage jolted, the enormous hat on the figure’s head tipped forward, then bounced back into place.
‘...No sense of tension whatsoever.’
She was someone who had never experienced a battlefield. To the point where Aion wondered whether a person like that could truly call herself skilled.
Rattle, rattle—
At last, the carriage stopped before the manor.
The coachman climbed down, removed his hat, and bowed deeply.
“Greetings, Second Young Master. You have been waiting for us.”
Even as the greeting was exchanged, there was no sign of the passenger getting down.
Aion turned his eyes toward the carriage.
There, amid the baggage, was the mage he had been waiting for. Her large hat had slipped over her face, and her body leaned to one side.
‘...’
She was asleep.
She had slept all the way across the frost-covered hills.
Her lack of tension was excessive.
‘...’
Aion watched her for a moment.
“Ah...!”
The coachman had noticed as well.
He hurried to the carriage and gently shook Dorothy by the shoulder.
“Miss, miss. We have arrived.”
“Mmm... Have we arrived, you see?”
Slurp—
The mage wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve as she sat up. Her hat sat crookedly on her head.
“Yes, this is the Iskar family estate you were seeking.”
She sat on the edge of the carriage and looked down. For a moment, she appeared to be considering something.
The coachman cautiously spoke.
“Would you like a hand?”
“...I can do it alone, you see.”
Thud—
Small feet touched the dirt.
Aion climbed down from the wall as well, preparing to receive her.
Press—
She adjusted her hat and looked up at the manor. Then her eyes met Aion’s beneath the wall.
“You. Are you the guide for this manor, you see?”
“I am Aion Iskar.”
Dorothy blinked.
She looked Aion over for a moment.
Then she discreetly lifted one hand, measuring the distance between the top of her head and Aion’s height.
Her face twisted at the considerable difference.
“...Frustrating, you see.”
The mage approached Aion. Without hesitation, she reached out and gripped his arm, patted his shoulder, then turned over his palm to trace the calluses there.
“...You have trained as a swordsman, you see.”
She muttered softly, then shook her head.
“But as a mage, your talent is hopeless, you see.”
Aion did not respond to the harsh assessment.
It was all true.
“Even so...”
The mage withdrew her hand and looked up at Aion.
“This body can at least help you pass Exion’s entrance examination, you see.”
She took a step back as she adjusted her hat.
“This body is the genius mage Dorothy van Mayer.”
“...?”
“From today onward, you are this body’s disciple, you see.”
***
Aion awoke from his thoughts of a year ago.
Even in retrospect, it was a mysterious connection.
The long-standing bond between the Iskar and van Mayer families. Grand Mage Granbell van Mayer, who had honored his father’s request despite the years of estrangement between them.
The entire chain of events that had brought his granddaughter, Dorothy, all the way to the distant north had been immense good fortune for Aion.
‘...It has been a long time.’
His memories of her occupied a particularly pleasant place in his mind.
Perhaps that was true.
Without her, it might have been impossible for him to pass Exion’s entrance examination with only a little over a year of training.
Reflecting on that warm gratitude, Aion stepped outside.
Whoosh—
The air was still chilly, cutting into his bare skin.
Aion took off his shirt and hung it on a nail beside the cabin door.
【Flame: Why is this fool taking off his clothes?】
【Earth: You idiotic old man. Grounding in a more unadorned state draws in more mana. That is what I advised before... No, it is. Damn it. Seeing Dorothy again after so long has made her way of speaking stick in my mouth.】
The night chill swept over his bare skin. Cold air settled evenly over the muscles honed from his collarbone to his abdomen.
Aion stood barefoot on the dirt.
Hoo—
He steadied his breath and closed his eyes.
Grounding.
When Aion had first begun learning Grounding, even sending mana beneath his feet had felt unfamiliar.
He had believed that mana could only be drawn in from the outside and circulated within the body.
He had been taught that mana was more precious to a mage—no, to any human—than gold, and that not even a handful should ever be wasted.
That was knowledge he had learned long before Dorothy’s teachings, back when he still lived in the north.
But Grounding was the complete opposite.
It required him to pour all the mana in his body into the earth, deliberately driving himself into a state of mana exhaustion.
The pain of that process was on an entirely different level from a sword wound or a broken bone. It felt as though the inside of his body were being scraped away.
Of course, by now, he had grown somewhat accustomed to the pain.
“Hoo...”
Before long, the pain found Aion.
He gritted his teeth. Though he remained completely still in the cold night air, sweat soaked down his back.
Urgh—
He endured, forcibly suppressing the pain that pushed outward from deep within.
【Flame: Good. You are doing well. Compared with when you first started, you have become an entirely different person.】
【Earth: Hmph. It is all thanks to my instruction.】
【Water: That is not entirely wrong, but without his own determination, your instruction would have been useless.】
‘A little more.’
The sensation beneath his soles became clearer.
What had once felt like nothing more than vague warmth was now different.
There were textures, and currents were taking shape. He could sense the direction in which the earth’s mana moved—where it gathered and where it dispersed.
Aion could vividly feel all of it now.
And at that very moment—
A new sensation settled within him.
Ding!
***
[!] Grounding Lv.1▲ → Lv.2
***
Aion’s closed eyes slowly opened.
【Earth: ...It is done. You have finally become somewhat useful.】
【Flame: ...Can you not give him a proper compliment?】
【Earth: I did. Just now.】
Aion remained standing there for a moment. As his sweat began to dry, a cool wind brushed across his body.
He felt someone’s gaze from behind.
He had noticed it for a while but had not bothered to speak first.
He already knew who would be standing there.
“...Leila?”
Leila Draconis.
On a night when moonlight seeped through the mist, even in that hazy glow, her blue hair shone clearly.
With an expressionless face and her arms folded, Leila watched Aion.
She held out the towel in her hand.
“Wipe it. Your sweat.”
Then she turned and walked toward the cabin where she was staying, without a trace of hesitation.
“...”
Aion wiped his forehead with the towel.
A faint fragrance lingered in it.
***
The following day.
Aion stood before a garden where the lawn had been cut immaculately.
‘...This is too absurd for words.’
Not a single blade of grass was out of place. It was so neat that it seemed someone had measured and trimmed every inch with a ruler. Seasonal flowers had been planted in rows between the grass.
Aion had never known landscaping could reach such heights.
There was a fountain in the center of the garden. Streams of water rose in graceful arcs before falling soundlessly.
Droplets glimmered as they scattered in the sunlight.
The main residence was even more extravagant.
It was in a different class from Exion’s other buildings. Intricate patterns were carved into the stone exterior, and every window was fitted with stained glass.
Even the royal family members attending Exion likely did not live in mansions this grand.
A short while later, the butler of the luxurious estate appeared.
“Miss Aria has respectfully declined a meeting. Unless you have arranged an appointment in advance, I would advise you to return.”
“If I make an appointment now, when could I meet her?”
The butler seemed to choose his words for a moment.
“Well... That is a difficult question to answer, but... I believe there may be an available day in about a month.”
One month.
Aion considered those words for a moment.
The Bosco evaluation was three weeks away.
Time was of the essence.
He could not possibly return like this.
“Could I wait here? Her mind might change before then.”
“...Miss does not change her mind easily.”
It was a firm refusal.
“Regrettably, I believe I have just found a similarity between Miss Aria and myself.”
The same firm determination not to return like this.
Their gazes met. A brief silence passed.
The butler let out a low sigh.
“...I do not mind, provided you do not damage the garden. However, you must leave by sunset.”
“I promise.”
Aion was not one to yield easily when it came to stubbornness.
‘...Well, this garden does look like a suitable place to practice Grounding.’
Aion leaned his back against a large tree at one edge of the garden. Its shade blocked the sunlight, and the cool breeze felt pleasant against his skin.
Rustle—
He planted the soles of his feet against the earth and slowly sent mana below.
Ssssss—
As he began Grounding, Aion noticed something.
‘...Hm?’
His increased proficiency in Grounding had brought changes.
First, the pain had lessened. Mana accumulated more quickly, and the amount was incomparable to before.
Moreover, unlike before, he no longer needed to maintain a horse stance. He could do it while remaining in a comfortable position, without even blinking.
And there was one more thing.
As the Grounding continued normally, he felt as though his consciousness were slowly slipping out of his body along with his mana.
It was not merely an illusion.
Aion unconsciously looked down.
A person sat with his back against the large tree, his eyes closed.
Not a single drop of sweat fell from him. There was no trace of pain, and he was as quiet as though he were asleep.
It was himself.
And something was rising beneath his feet.
A verdant aura, one that seemed visible only to him. It bubbled up from the ground like lava and wrapped around Aion’s body in a ring.
Slowly, yet without pause, it raced onward.
Hummmm—
Time seemed to pass very slowly.
The wind blew. Leaves rustled. The fountain’s streams rose into arcs.
All of it felt frozen in this moment.
A strange moment unlike anything he had ever experienced was passing.
A state of perfect stability.
To Aion, it felt like an instant, and he wished the stillness would last forever.
But in reality, time was flowing in the opposite direction.
...Before he knew it, the sun was setting.
By the time the crimson sunset began bringing in the darkness, Aion opened his eyes.
Slide—
He rubbed his neck with one hand.
It felt dry.
That meant he had not sweated.
Aion raised his head.
His eyes met those of the butler standing some distance away. The butler slowly nodded.
It meant the time they had agreed on had arrived.
Aion nodded in return.
“...I will come again tomorrow.”
“...If you are able to, I will not stop you.”
Aion left the garden.
A short while later.
A shadow appeared in the second-floor window of the mansion, then disappeared.
Not long after, the sound of a piano began to flow from inside the estate.
A melody that should have been sweet somehow sounded irritated.