The Returnee Wants Peace

He seemed to have something to say but couldn’t easily approach.

From his appearance that looked exactly like the Emperor to his jumbled magical power, he was such a suspicious character that Rosha was curious about Sir Nox’s true feelings.

However, before he could open his mouth, the magicians of the conquest party approached.

“Lady Roshanak! We just put down our luggage and hurried over. You said you’d continue teaching us during the break time, right?”

“There’s a little less than three days left until the trial, so I want to learn as much as possible during that time.”

“Hey, come on! Shouldn’t Lady Roshanak get some rest too?”

“But where else would we get a chance to receive direct magic instruction like this? If you prefer to open books and debate what’s right and wrong, go over there!”

Perhaps because they had originally learned magic only from books, the magicians’ thirst for knowledge was tremendous.

For those who had relied on each other and researched without any proper teachers, Rosha’s existence was bound to be very special.

The oldest magician among the conquest party bowed politely and pleaded:

“Although it was a short journey of three days, thanks to you teaching us magic whenever you had time, we magicians were able to climb stairs in a short time that would have taken months. We humbly request your continued instruction for the remaining time until the trial, and though we may be inadequate, we will train hard to be of help.”

A posture that showed the utmost respect without being servile.

Seeing him, the other magicians lined up beside him and bowed their heads together. Even the magician who had been saying that Lady Roshanak should rest did the same.

Perhaps it was because there were only about a dozen magicians in the conquest party, and they had the common ground of poring over the same books.

Seeing how friendly they had become regardless of social status, Rosha smiled gently and replied:

“Of course. Shall we go over there then?”

“Ahem, these are humans worth teaching.”

Koko also muttered contentedly.

In fact, she had planned to continue teaching magic even if they hadn’t asked like this. What she was concerned about was not the trial itself, but how many conquest party members she could keep alive in this trial.

“…It will be useless.”

Sir Nox, who had been watching this commotion nearby, muttered softly, but she didn’t agree with those words.

There was something she had learned in her previous world.

Even if you die tomorrow, you should fully enjoy today.

Even if these magicians were to die tomorrow, it wouldn’t change the fact that she’s teaching them magic today. That’s the only way we can be grateful for the present and do our best in life.

‘Of course, I won’t let them die either.’

That’s why she was teaching shield magic first among numerous spells.

“You there, magician, why don’t you come over here instead of staying far away?”

Rosha, who was in the middle of teaching applications of shield magic, called out to the mercenary magician who was standing at a distance.

He was the one she had clashed with earlier, but now she noticed he was glancing this way and trying to imitate the shield’s shape transformation.

After flinching and pretending not to notice for a moment.

Deciding not to avoid it, he approached and asked gruffly:

“What, do you want to verify how well I can do this too? Sorry, but this is an application I didn’t know about, so if you make me demonstrate, I’ll just be a laughingstock.”

“Who said anything about demonstrating? I just thought you looked pathetic eavesdropping from afar, so I told you to come and listen together.”

“What? Eavesdropping, I never did such a thing. And pathetic?”

“If you don’t like ‘pathetic’, I think ‘pitiful’ would suit you too.”

“…But why are you speaking informally?”

“Because you spoke informally first. If you use formal speech, I’ll use formal speech too.”

He seemed a bit awkward. However, his attitude had clearly softened a bit, as if he was more accustomed to rough speech being a mercenary.

Just then, a strong wind carrying lots of flower petals whooshed towards them.

It was wind caused by Nardil’s sword strike.

“I’m sorry. Are you hurt?”

Nardil, who approached before all the flower petals had fallen to the ground, asked.

He too seemed to have been overseeing some swordsmen in preparation for the trial. The person who appeared to be his sparring partner gave a light bow.

Now that she thought about it, perhaps Nardil had similar feelings to her.

She was secretly pleased. Unaware that three or four flower petals were stuck in her hair, Rosha smiled brightly and said:

“We’re not hurt. Now, we magicians can’t lose either, so shall we work hard?”

“Lady Roshanak, are you trying to start a fight now?”

“We’ll work hard without you coaxing us like children. We’re not even comparable to the swordsmen to begin with.”

“What? Hahaha, we’ll see about that!”

The swordsmen and magicians of the conquest party bickered lightly.

Meaningless gossip about the foreign prince or the level of magic temporarily disappeared in the face of the enormous calamity called the trial.

The conquest party, gathered under the purpose of resolving the trial as humans, was bonding tightly.

“…”

Nardil looked at Rosha, who had created this opportunity with just a few appropriate words. She was still smiling brightly, unaware that flower petals were stuck in her hair.

Suddenly, he thought she looked beautiful.

As beautiful as the flowers that filled this field.

* * *

Perhaps it was because of the full support of the Golden Hand Guild, which rivaled the Imperial Palace as the 1st or 2nd in the Empire.

When skilled chefs met high-quality ingredients, a dinner that would be impossible during camping emerged.

A mercenary savoring its taste casually said to his companion:

“Did we go too far?”

“With what?”

“With Roshanak Aper and Prince Nardil.”

The dining mercenaries became a bit solemn.

They weren’t favorably disposed towards those who enjoyed benefits due to the luck of being born as royalty or nobility.

This time was no exception.

At first, they couldn’t accept how these people could lead the conquest party without knowing anything, even if it was Lady Roshanak who had achieved great things in the trials.

-I acknowledge the magic, sure. If it weren’t for magic, we would have died in the first trial long ago. But how can a seventeen-year-old young lady lead a group this size? She’d be lucky if she could lead noble young ladies at a tea party.

The mercenary magician who had said such things now admitted that even he was being drawn in by Lady Roshanak.

Although he had deliberately interfered and been spiteful when she was teaching magic, her subsequent handling was excellent, belying her young age.

“…We’ll have to wait and see.”

Of course, their thoughts about the nobility wouldn’t change just from that one incident.

However, seeing a conquest party that provided this level of meals and lodging even to commoners, there was definitely some stirring somewhere in their hearts.

As if the world had been turned upside down by the trials.

Wondering if there might be some change in the deep-rooted gap between nobles and commoners.

That night.

In the campsite where no one had woken up due to the day’s training, the mercenary magician quietly rose.

‘I need to open a rift…’

He was possessed by inexplicable thoughts. Being far from mirrors, he didn’t know that his eyes were clouded as if under hypnosis.

Thus, the magician standing in the middle of the flower-filled field poured all his magical power into the air.

As all the magical power in his body drained out, his head became extremely dizzy, but he didn’t care.

The strong thought that he absolutely had to do this dominated his entire body.

At that moment-

“…Lady Roshanak?”

The magician muttered the name of the familiar woman he had seen earlier today.

Her expression, suddenly appearing, was hardened more than he had ever seen before.

And magical power was shot at a speed he couldn’t possibly follow.

Swish!

It was a sharp magical spear without any attribute.

Facing it, the magician closed his eyes tightly, sensing his death. But it narrowly missed him.

No.

It would be more accurate to say it was aimed at the figure behind him rather than missing.

Reflexively turning around, he saw a man who was a core member of the conquest party but whom he had never spoken to.

It was the Emperor’s knight wearing an iron mask.