"Splash!"
The water rippled, stirring up layers of ripples and the sound of waves.
Under a clear, boundless blue sky, a vast river as wide as a sea crossed through plains and mountains, stretching in all directions.
On the surface of the water, a giant wooden boat sailed forward, breaking through the waves and stirring up intense splashes that filled the air with their roar.
Before long, a figure slowly walked up onto the deck and moved to the bow, gazing into the distance.
"What a splendid view."
Gazing at the seemingly endless water and the clear blue sky, Reiger expressed his admiration, a rare pleasant mood showing in his words.
They had left the royal capital of Yalef a day ago.
As Yuri had described, after spending a day traveling by carriage to the Water Mysterious City of Telandiya, they boarded a vessel that seed pre-prepared and journeyed down the Grand Canal passing through various territories of the Kingdom of Ginas toward Franzer’s territory.
Throughout the journey, Reiger and his companions adhered to the principle of concealing their identities, thus no one realized they had co to Telandiya. Even the captain and sailors of this ship seed to ignore their presence, as if they were unaware of them, and had not engaged in any conversation with Reiger and the others from beginning to end.
Reiger did not know why this was the case, but he assud it must be one of the Franzer family’s thods, so he no longer paid it any mind.
Now, the ship had officially started its voyage, and they would reach Franzer’s territory in three days.
Reiger was holding a wooden sword and had planned to practice on the deck, but the sight of the scenery made him stop to admire it.
"How big is this river, exactly?" Reiger murmured to himself, "Looking at it like this, you can’t see the shore at all. It’s just like entering the sea."
Although no one responded to this question, another voice followed.
"You care about things like this?"
With a pleasant voice, Yuri ca out from the cabin and joined Reiger at the railing, looking out.
"It was just a casual remark."
Reiger wasn’t surprised by Yuri’s appearance, and without even glancing at her, he continued to watch the water and responded with a smile.
"I was wondering what we would do if you got seasick," Yuri said in a relaxed tone, as if liberated from so burden, and laughed, "Ginas Kingdom isn’t near the sea, and most people rarely get the chance to travel by boat. Many people are not used to it on their first voyage. I was wondering if you might need a Magic Potion for seasickness."
"You worry too much," Reiger said with a smile, "Unfortunately, I am not without experience in sailing, so I do not need your Magic Potion."
In his past life, Reiger had sought thrill and even engaged in outdoor survival; how could he not have sailed the seas?
Not only had he sailed the seas, he had challenged himself to deep-sea diving, surfing on tsunami waves, and even considered challenging a shark in the sea. If it wasn’t for the crewmbers who stopped him at the ti, he might have crossed over a year or two earlier.
For Reiger, getting seasick was naturally out of the question.
In fact, even this scenery should not have been able to stir any admiration in Reiger.
After all, it was just a canal, incomparable to the marvels at sea or the levels from the 25th to 27th floors of the underground city’s ’Water Mysterious City’. Perhaps it was because his mood was no longer as oppressive as in his previous life and he didn’t need to be constantly on guard against monsters, like in the underground city, that Reiger found himself enjoying the scenery with so residual enthusiasm.
"Why did you co out?" Reiger finally turned to look at Yuri and said, "The wind is quite strong outside, and you, a delicate magician, shouldn’t catch a cold."
"Look who’s talking," Yuri replied without much thought, "Aren’t you a magician too?"
As soon as she said this, both fell simultaneously silent.
The silence created an uncomfortable atmosphere between the man and woman, wiping away the previously sowhat cozy and warm mood.
"Alright, let’s go back,"
A mont later, Yuri spoke up as if to break the slightly uncomfortable atmosphere, her tone upbeat, and she prepared to turn and leave.
However, Reiger stopped her.
"You’re not going to ask?" Reiger said, seemingly offhand, "Aren’t you going to ask how I can still use magic even though my ’Gate’ is broken?"
At this, Yuri paused.
"What are you being cautious about, Miss?" Reiger glanced at Yuri, smiled, and said, "All this journey, I thought you would definitely ask this question. Yet, it seems like you’re deliberately avoiding it, and it’s been quite unbearable for ."
As he spoke, Reiger threw out another remark.
"This doesn’t seem like you at all."
Indeed, this was nothing like Yuri.
Previously, when Yuri interacted with Reiger, she would say whatever ca to mind, seemingly without any consideration or thought, creating a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.
Just as Reiger had felt before, Yuri was usually very happy while chatting with him, perhaps because of this relaxed and pleasant nature, not needing to deliberately consider or think about anything.
But, during the day since they left the royal capital Yalef, Yuri often seed deliberately evasive, avoiding this topic which might seem sensitive to others.
This resulted in Yuri giving Reiger a feeling that she was being overly cautious and careful while talking to him, which was sothing Reiger was not accustod to.
"Ask whatever you want," Reiger said calmly, "There’s no need to be so cautious."
Upon hearing this, Yuri fell silent again.
Reiger didn’t rush her and just quietly waited.
Before long, Yuri took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at Reiger.
"If I ask you, will you tell ?"
Yuri stared intently at Reiger, as if trying to see through his gaze and into his thoughts.
In response, Reiger remained calm, even carrying a faint smile as he spoke.
"You’ve got a premise wrong," Reiger said to Yuri, "If I truly wanted to hide sothing, from the very beginning, I wouldn’t have revealed anything in front of you."
With that said by Reiger, Yuri also ca to a realization.
...Maybe that makes sense?
If Reiger truly wanted to hide sothing and did not wish to expose anything, he could have completely avoided displaying his abilities in front of her so candidly.
When they were attacked by the Shadow Knight, Reiger demonstrated his strength, which could be attributed to the danger and the need to protect himself out of necessity.
But this ti, when he unleashed Tactical Level Magic at the Fransel family’s villa, it was Reiger who took the initiative on his own, deliberately showing it to Yuri.
What did this imply?
It implied that Reiger did not intend to hide the fact that he could use magic anymore.
And since he was not planning to hide this, why would he have anything unspeakable to conceal from her?
Realizing this, the anxiety that Yuri had held all day was finally put to rest.
Reiger’s candidness told Yuri that he had no ulterior motives.
Whether he was seriously injured, recuperating at his ho, or developing a friendship with her, all these were genuine and not based on any ulterior motives.
Upon realizing this, Yuri felt an overwhelming surge of joy.
"So, what’s going on with you?" Yuri hid her emotions, pretending to be casual, "How co you can suddenly use magic again?"
Explaining that would be a bit troubleso," Reiger scratched his head and spread his hands, "You can just think of it as having a stroke of luck that night you saved ."
Yuri blinked and murmured, "A stroke of luck?"
"Exactly," Reiger nodded and said, "The before that day, and the you knew before that, are no different."
"It was only after I was critically injured and near death that I beca who I am now, gaining the possibility to survive and achieve my dreams."
"The power I possess now, whether it be sword skills or magic, I only obtained after I t you and my wounds were healed."
Reiger gave a slight smile and thus revealed such matters to Yuri.
"So, you don’t need to feel puzzled, nor do you need to doubt anything, just think of it as my good fortune, and nothing else has changed."
Though his words were filled with many uncertainties, Yuri could still feel Reiger’s sincerity.
His calm tone and candid deanor made his words resonate with Yuri, touching her deeply.
Yuri gazed straight at Reiger.
Reiger likewise t her gaze.
The two looked at each other without speaking, gazing for a very, very long ti before they suddenly and synchronously smiled.
"I believe you."
Yuri uttered these words and recaptured the lightness and joy of the past.
"Thank you."
Reiger responded with a brief reply.
At that mont, there was no need to say anything more.
The sense of distance between them vanished suddenly, and even seed a bit closer than before.
"By the way," Reiger seed to have rembered sothing, "could you teach magic?"
"Teach you magic?" Yuri was slightly startled and asked in confusion, "Don’t you already know how?"
"The magic I used was conjured through a quite special thod; my ’door’ is still broken, and without eting specific conditions, I cannot use magic on my own," Reiger explained, "So, I want you to teach your magic so that I could probably reproduce it."
"Is that so?" Yuri nodded thoughtfully.
However, Yuri’s contemplation did not last long.
"If you want to learn, it’s no problem to teach you," Yuri looked at Reiger, suddenly smiling, "But I’ll be very strict, you know?"
This slightly mischievous remark made Reiger pause for a mont, then he chuckled.
"Then, please treat strictly, teacher."
At these words, Yuri could not help but laugh aloud.
That laughter was light and pure.
User Comments
0 comments from readers