Chapter 103

"A World Tree sapling…? No, no. That's impossible. There's no way something like that is sitting right in front of me…."

Fredik shook his head as though he couldn't trust his own ears, and Mikhail just shrugged with perfect nonchalance.

"Well, it's an unverified claim, I'll admit."

Fredik dragged his gaze away from Mikhail and back into the box, sinking into a deep, weighted silence.

He reached toward the sapling resting quietly inside, then caught himself and turned to Mikhail with a hasty look.

"…Can I touch it?"

"Go ahead."

The moment Mikhail gave the nod, Fredik lifted the sapling with the care of someone handling a newborn and began examining it from every angle.

He tapped the surface and listened to the resonance. He ran his fingers along it, feeling out the texture.

Before long, he set the sapling back down and smacked his lips.

"Hmm, truly peculiar. Subtle. I'd love to spend more time with this thing."

Fredik stroked his beard, eyes glued to the sapling as if physically incapable of looking away.

Mikhail hid a grin and cleared his throat for effect.

Ahem. The pointed sound snapped Fredik to attention—he flinched, then immediately lit up and jerked his head high.

"Ah, right! You mentioned the session! So does that mean… the favor you want from me is—"

Mikhail gave him a willing nod.

"Yes. I'd like you to cast a staff prototype using this material."

"Oh ho! Now that's music to my ears!"

Fredik's face broke into a radiant glow, eyes sparking. Curiosity and the hunger to create were written across every feature.

Mikhail watched the reaction, then tapped the table with his fingers and asked.

"How long would it take? Using a method that minimizes any damage to the material."

Fredik snapped back to reality and started calculating the timeline.

"At least six days… no, I'd need a full week. If you want minimal damage to the material, I'll need considerable time just to study its properties and characteristics. On top of that, any supplementary materials will need to be sourced carefully and worked with precision."

Mikhail agreed without objection.

"Understood. I'll come see you in a week, then."

"Will you be staying in the area? I plan to—Melphendes has the best collection of appraisal tools you'll find anywhere."

Mikhail weighed the time he had left and replied.

"Yeah. I've got enough time for that."

"Good. I'll rent one of the local workshops and set up there. If you're curious about the progress, feel free to drop by whenever you like. Just—after sundown, bring a nice cold bottle of… tea. Tea."

"Will do."

That wrapped up the business between them.

Mikhail closed the lid and handed the box over, then rose from his seat. The two of them walked out of the request office together.

THUD.

The doors swung shut behind them like a book closing on its final page.

"By the way."

Mikhail had just given Fredik a polite nod of farewell and was turning toward the inn when Fredik spoke up.

Standing with the toe of his boot planted on the long shadow stretching from Mikhail's feet, he asked in an offhand tone.

"This is just personal curiosity, but… no matter how I look at you, you're not the type to be roughing it out here on your own."

"……"

"What's your family name?"

Mikhail stood motionless on the road where it met the ochre-gold horizon, gazing back at Fredik.

A brief hesitation drifted through like a passing breeze, then scattered.

His connection with Fredik didn't seem like the kind that would end here. No harm in answering honestly.

"Mikhail Senit."

---

After exchanging full names with Fredik, Mikhail returned to the inn and spoke with Ethan—who'd been lending a practiced hand with the inn's odd jobs—about the schedule.

Ethan had assumed all their business in Melphendes was finished, so he'd expected them to leave soon. When Mikhail told him they'd be staying about a week, the surprise showed plainly on his face.

"…I see. If it's for the work you've asked Mr. Fredik to do, then there's no helping it. We'll head out in a week."

But once he'd heard the full explanation, Ethan adjusted without complaint. The two agreed to spend the week as they pleased, each doing whatever they wanted.

Flutter.

The first real leisure in ages was as refreshing and welcome as a summer downpour.

Mikhail played with the sky fox siblings, browsed the Melphendes relics and bought one that caught his eye, and after sundown visited Fredik with a bottle of iced tea in hand to check on the work's progress.

And so the morning of the sixth day arrived.

While Ethan had gone to the library to return a borrowed book, Mikhail sat by a sun-drenched window and tore open a letter that had just arrived.

The sender's name on the envelope read Julien Leventia.

Rustle.

[Hi, Mikhail. How's your third mission going? Edwin and I made it back to school safely.]

The letter—written in a style that could've been Julien's voice printed on paper—ran three pages long.

Mikhail began reading the first page.

[The doctor you referred me to was a truly wonderful person. She was incredibly kind, and she tried to explain my condition in detail. But I have so little knowledge of medicine that all I really understood was that my body was in worse shape than I'd thought. Ha ha… I should've studied more.]

Mikhail blinked slowly.

What surfaced in his mind was the letter he'd entrusted to Cashion at the end of the lake city mission.

Just as I asked in the letter. Sounds like she didn't tell Julien the full details of the restriction magic placed on him.

[Anyway, my body feels much lighter now, and the memory lapses haven't happened again. All of this is thanks to your help. I'm truly grateful. …Oh, and the doctor mentioned she'd be sending you a separate letter, so make sure you pick it up later. Okay?]

Mikhail nodded as if answering Julien's message directly, then turned to the second page.

[School is incredibly lively right now! Everyone's buzzing about the free mission rankings—nobody can talk about anything else. Then again, this round of rankings will have a big impact on the next academic activity, so of course everyone's paying attention.]

I'll bet. The opening of the second main storyline. It's the exact same kind of uproar as that scene.

[And everyone keeps talking about you. Because your rankings shot up high enough to grab everyone's attention! Word's spread that between this free mission, your written exams, and your assignment scores, you scored perfect marks across the board. People are even coming to me asking what happened with you.]

[Ugh… giving vague answers was fine once or twice, but after a while Edwin and I were running and hiding from people just to get some peace. It was exhausting.]

Mikhail let out a quiet snort of laughter at Julien's grumbling, then moved on to the third page.

[Come to think of it, will the Joint Suppression Campaign be your next academic activity? Hmm, it probably will be, right? It's not every day you get the chance to show what you can do on such a grand stage. …But Mikhail, there seems to be some unusual talk going around about this campaign.]

At some point, the pressure of Julien's handwriting had grown heavier against the page.

Mikhail kept his gaze steady and read through each line.

[It looks like the number of observers attending the campaign is going to increase. With anomalies surging across the kingdom, the growing interest in combat personnel is probably the main reason for the change… but there's another rumor mixed in alongside that one.]

Mikhail lingered on the period at the end of the line for a moment, then followed the continuing voice and read on.

[Whether the legitimate heir of the North—standing behind a curtain of stagnation and failure—will produce deeds worthy of washing away his disgrace.

It seems a few more watchful eyes will be following you.]

---

One week to the day after Mikhail and Fredik's agreement.

Fredik showed up at the inn the moment the sun rose, settling himself at a table in the common hall.

THUNK!

Mikhail stared at the box on the table. It reached up to his waist—roughly twice the length of the one he'd originally handed over.

When Mikhail pulled his gaze from the interlocked lid and looked across the table, Fredik met his eyes. Beneath the deep shadows of sleep deprivation, his face radiated smug satisfaction as he puffed air through his nose.

"Open it."

Mikhail gave a short reply and lifted the lid.

Inside lay a staff prototype with a sleek black body that curved once like the trunk of a tree.

And set into the tip of the head—a single crimson crystal, vivid as a ruby, inlaid and finished with care.

Mikhail stared at the sight before him, blinking in a daze, then turned to Fredik.

"Sir… why is that there?"

"Ah, the Red Sun Metal?"

Fredik twitched his mustache, cleared his throat with a self-important hm-hm, and spoke.

"Every material deserves to end up where it can do its job best—wouldn't you agree? Me holding onto the Red Sun Metal would just mean clutching it uselessly with nothing to show for it. And besides…"

Fredik rummaged at his waist and produced a hefty notebook, which he dropped onto the table with a solid thump.

"This was my real goal from the start. Observing the Red Sun Metal to extract and document everything I need to know about refining and casting it. On top of that, I got to work with a material I never dreamed I'd lay hands on."

Fredik pulled his hand back from the notebook cover and flashed Mikhail a broad grin.

"Sounds absolutely absurd, but… I'm starting to think what you gave me might actually be a branch of the World Tree. Nothing else could explain half of what I ran into."

"……"

"So consider that my way of repaying you for a priceless experience."

The last words came wrapped in something unmistakably gentle.

The surprise that had frozen Mikhail's expression melted away, and a faint smile took its place.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Sure. And if any problems come up with the prototype, don't forget to reach out. I'll take a look anytime."

Fredik tore a page from his notebook, scrawled his contact information on it, and hopped down from his chair.

He waved a lazy hand in farewell and was heading for the inn's exit when—

"—Mr. Fredik."

"Hm?"

Fredik turned, caught by the sound of his name.

Mikhail's gaze rested on the old man's callused hands for a moment before he let a small smile settle and spoke.

"There'll be more things I'll want to show you down the road. When that time comes… let's meet again."