14:49
Still over three hours before eting the princess, and over an hour until the interrogation.
Lumi stood before a mirror in one of the palace’s guest chambers, carefully adjusting his appearance. The blue mage robes rath had given him were already of excellent quality, but presentation mattered when visiting noble houses.
He smoothed out minor wrinkles, ensured his wand was prominently displayed at his side, and ran fingers through his hair to achieve that perfect balance of scholarly dedication and youthful genius.
The reflection staring back at him looked young. This was the exact mont that minimizing his visual age on character creation was good for. He was sixteen years old in appearance. Power ca with age and experience, so being exceptional while young opened doors that might otherwise remain closed.
While they may have not explicitly ntioned it, Lumi was sure that this affected his interactions with everyone greatly. He could only imagine just how differently people like rath, Alice, or Divan would have acted if his avatar was middle aged. But this ti, he was explicitly thinking about his appearance because of who today’s target was.
It was Lily Windre, scion of a noble house with a military tradition stretching back five centuries. The na might suggest femininity, but Lumi knew better. That was a guy. In his previous tiline, Lily had beco one of the youngest Chief Knights in history, reaching demigod status before his twentieth birthday.
That kind of talent didn’t appear overnight, even in noble families with powerful bloodlines. It was just sitting there, waiting to sprout. Lumi would be a drop of water in that watering can.
Lumi ntally began reviewing his cover story one final ti.
He’d t Marcus Yelland during early adventures below Herene. Marcus had ntioned his friend Lily, how the young noble was preparing for knight trials but struggling with certain concepts.
Therefore, as a ’senior adventurer’, Lumi was simply paying a social visit to offer guidance to a friend’s friend.
Satisfied with his appearance, Lumi made his way through Herene’s noble district. The Windre estate occupied a pri location, close enough to the palace to indicate favor but not so close to be mistaken as part of it.
The gate guard recognized him imdiately, which was both gratifying and proof of the efficiency of Herene. Word of the group that captured Afton had clearly spread.
"Master Lumi," the guard said with a respectful nod. "How may House Windre assist you today?"
"I’m here to visit young master Lily." Lumi replied. "Marcus Yelland spoke highly of him. I thought I might offer so guidance regarding his knight training, if he’s willing."
The guard’s eyes widened slightly. The implication was clear. Soone important enough to be ’Master Lumi’ was taking personal interest in their young lord. "Of course, sir. Please, allow a mont to inform the master."
The guard turned crisply on his heel and disappeared through the smaller door set into the estate wall. Lumi waited, hands clasped loosely behind his back, adopting the posture of soone who belonged here.
A few minutes passed before the gate reopened. "You’re expected, Master Lumi." he said, gesturing for him to follow.
They were led through gardens that were beautiful in their precision. Several Mi’s and Mimi’s hopped around the landscape as well, showing that they kept so free to roam.
When entering the receiving room, he noticed that weapons from various eras decorated the walls, each ticulously maintained for decoration yet positioned for easy access. The furniture was comfortable but sturdy. The residents lived and breathed knighthood. It made sense, as generation after generation would serve in the Aria Knights.
"Please wait here, Master Lumi."
Lumi settled into a chair, ntally reviewing what he knew of the Windre family dynamics. Lord Windre, the father, was a retired knight who’d served with distinction but never quite reached the heights of true excellence. Lady Windre ca from a business background, managing people working on the lands below Herene, bringing wealth and connections to complent her husband’s military prestige. They had three children, though Lily would far, far exceed his siblings in terms of talent.
The door opened, and Lumi rose politely as Lady Windre entered. She was a refined woman in her forties with sharp intelligence in her eyes. Her eyes assessed him quickly, taking in the quality of his robes, the way he presented himself, and the youth of his features.
"Master Lumi," she said with a perfectly calculated courtesy, respectful but not subservient. "What an unexpected honor. When the gate guard said you were here to see Lily, I could scarcely believe it."
"The honor is mine, Lady Windre." Lumi replied with a bow of exactly the right depth. "Marcus Yelland spoke so highly of your son that I felt compelled to visit. I hope I’m not intruding?"
"Not at all!" Her smile beca more genuine. "Lily will be thrilled. He’s been following news of your accomplishnts, capturing a Wings of Darkness operative at your level is the talk of Herene. Please, sit. I’ll have refreshnts brought while Lily is summoned."
Of course, her words had a certain exaggeration to them. But knowing how to navigate the social environnts of others was a skillset best cultivated.
She settled across from him, and Lumi could see the calculations happening behind her eyes. Here was soone her son’s age. No, younger if appearances were accurate, who’d already achieved fa and recognition. The opportunity was obvious.
"Tell ," Lady Windre began as tea was served, "how did you co to et Marcus? He’s a lovely boy, but I wasn’t aware he’d began taking on missions that involved combat yet."
"We t during a rather eventful spider extermination mission," Lumi said, mixing truth with plausible fiction. "Nothing dramatic, but when you’re fighting alongside soone, you learn their character quickly. Marcus ntioned he had a friend preparing for knight trials who was struggling with magical theory integration. As soone who’s had excellent teachers, I thought I might be able to help."
"How generous of you." She paused delicately. "Forgive my directness, but you seem remarkably young. May I ask...?"
"Sixteen," Lumi confird, enjoying the way her eyes widened. "I’ve been fortunate in my teachers and opportunities. Age matters less than knowledge and experience, wouldn’t you agree?"
"Indeed." Lady Windre’s smile grew calculating. "Sixteen and already having accomplished such a great feat. Your parents must be incredibly proud."
It was a probe for information. Lumi deflected elegantly. "My family supports my path, though they worry about the dangers. But then, what parent doesn’t worry?"
Before she could probe further, the door opened and Lily Windre entered. Lumi’s first thought was that the young man looked exactly as expected. Seventeen, tall for his age, with lean muscles from minimal, yet still existent physical training to maintain a standard. He’s been pouring his heart into magical studies. He had sandy brown hair, gray eyes, and serious features.
What wasn’t expected was the nervous energy. Lily Windre, future demigod and Chief Knight, looked like a kid eting a celebrity.
This was despite the fact Lumi’s na wasn’t known at all until the last few hours.
"Mother," Lily said with a bow, then turned to Lumi. "Master Lumi. I... this is... I an..."
"Just Lumi is fine," Lumi said warmly, standing to offer his hand. "Marcus has told a lot about you. All good things, I assure you."
Lily shook his hand, still looking slightly stunned. "He ntioned ? I an, of course, we’re friends. I just didn’t think... You’re really the one who captured that criminal? At First Rank?"
"I had help, and the proper information." Lumi said modestly. "Proper preparation and good companions make all the difference. Please, sit. Your mother was kind enough to provide tea."
Lady Windre watched the interaction with sharp eyes. "I’ll leave you young n to talk." she said, rising gracefully. "Lily, do rember your manners. Master Lumi has graciously offered his ti to help with your training."
The ssage was clear. She was subtly saying he shouldn’t waste this opportunity. Lily nodded quickly, and his mother withdrew, though Lumi had no doubt she’d be receiving a full report later.
"I can’t believe you’re here." Lily said once they were alone. "When the guard said... I an, everyone’s talking about what you did. That criminal was at a Third Rank Class! And you’re only..." He paused, clearly trying to reconcile Lumi’s appearance with his accomplishnts.
"Sixteen," Lumi supplied helpfully. "And you’re seventeen, preparing for knight trials in a month. Marcus ntioned you were having trouble with magical theory integration?"
Marcus said no such thing, of course, for he never talked to Marcus. It wasn’t important however, as Lumi already knew.
Lily’s expression shifted from starstruck to frustrated. "It doesn’t make sense. I can use enhancent magic fine in isolation. I can maintain my physical training fine in isolation. But when I try to combine them, it’s like my body forgets everything. The instructors say it will co with ti, but..."
"But you don’t have ti," Lumi finished. "Knight trials have a limited number of positions, and the competition is fierce. Show ."
Lily stood, falling into a basic combat position. Lumi circled him slowly, noting the minute details. Good balance, proper weight distribution, muscles coiled but not tense. When Lily activated his enhancent magic, a faint shimr covered his body.
"There’s your problem." Lumi said imdiately. "You’re treating enhancent like armor you put on. It’s not external, it’s internal. The magic should flow through your muscles, not over them. Here."
He moved Lily’s arm slightly. "Channel magic into just this bicep. Not over it, through it. Follow the muscle fibers."
Lily’s brow furrowed in concentration. The shimr flickered, then stabilized.
"Better." Lumi noted. "Now maintain that while doing a slow punch. Keep the magic in the muscle, not on it."
The difference was imdiately apparent. Lily’s eyes widened as his punch carried noticeably more force with the sa effort.
"How did you know that?" Lily asked, amazed.
"My teacher emphasized understanding fundantals." Lumi said, thinking of rath.
Granted, rath himself didn’t teach him anything this life, but the point remained that he was likely the most knowledgeable magic teacher alive, especially when it ca to the fundantals. "Most people learn techniques without understanding principles."
They spent the next while going through various stances and techniques. Lumi carefully guided Lily through corrections, explaining not just what to do but why. He drew on his extensive knowledge from the previous tiline, presenting it as wisdom from his teachers.
"Your fundantal problem," Lumi explained as Lily practiced, "is that you’re thinking like a warrior trying to use magic. You need to think like a mage who fights. The magic cos first, the movent follows. Try this. Cast your enhancent, then let your body move how the magic wants it to move."
"That sounds..." Lily started, yet held his thought and instead tried anyway. His next punch flowed differently. His eyes widened. "That felt... okay!"
"Right," Lumi finished. "Because it was. Your body knows how to move already, you’re just overthinking it. Trust the magic."
"You’re sixteen." Lily said suddenly, as if just rembering. "How do you know all this? I’ve been training for years and you just... fixed problems I didn’t even know how to explain."
"I had excellent teachers," Lumi said simply. "And I pay attention. Everyone has different talents. Don’t worry too hard about it. Everyone shines in their own way, and I know supre talent flows through you."
They continued longer, Lumi providing insights personally tailored by an expert.
Himself.
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