Gracie hurried to the door and ca face-to-face with her grandparents.
“Ah! Gracie!”
Gracie’s grandmother let out a sigh of relief the mont she saw her and pulled her into a hug.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Gracie’s grandfather also looked at her with worried eyes.
“I’m fine. But why are you two here...?”
“Well, of course, it’s because we heard our lovely granddaughter returned to the Magic Tower.”
“They said you fought a lich—are you really okay? You’re not under so terrible curse or anything, right?”
“Grad and Nail couldn’t co because they’re working right now.”
Grad and Nail were the nas of Gracie’s father and mother.
“I-I told you when I left, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you told us! But you said you were following the Saintess to find the sli the lich kidnapped.”
“You never said you were going to fight the lich!”
“Support funds are important and all, but your safety matters more to us.”
When they first heard the news about Gracie, her family had nearly fainted.
They had thought she was simply tagging along with the Saintess to look for clues to find the sli.
They never imagined she’d actually encounter a lich.
But then ca the shocking news—Gracie, along with the Saintess and Starlight Archer Nellin, had taken down the lich.
And during that battle, one of the legendary heroes, the Saintess Presia, had lost her life.
With a fight intense enough to kill a hero, they couldn’t help but worry if Gracie had really made it out unhard.
‘I didn’t think I’d end up actually fighting the lich either…’
Gracie thought it was no wonder her grandparents were so shocked.
“What a heartwarming sight.”
To help Gracie, who was flustered by her concerned grandparents, Paulen stepped in.
“I completely understand how much you care about Miss Gracie. But since she’s returned safe and sound, perhaps we should start by being thankful for that?”
“And you are…?”
“Forgive the late introduction. I am Paulen, a Paladin.”
“A P-Paladin?”
“To think we’d et the very Paladin who guards the Saintess, face-to-face…”
“The pleasure is mine. I’m honored to et Miss Gracie’s family. She is a magnificent mage, second only to Sage Ventus.”
“T-To hear you say that!”
“Thank you.”
“G-Grandpa! Grandma!”
When her grandparents suddenly started expressing their gratitude, Gracie couldn’t hide her embarrassnt.
“Oh, so you’re Ventus’s cousin?”
That’s when Nellin chid in.
“Y-Yes, Nellin!”
“A legendary hero is standing right in front of … Grandma, I think I’m about to have a heart attack.”
“Pull yourself together, Grandpa!”
“Don’t just stand there. Co inside. You’re not young anymore—standing too long will make your knees hurt.”
At Nellin’s suggestion, Gracie’s grandparents entered the room and sat down on the bed.
Once they sat down, they were finally able to take stock of everyone in the room, and their eyes fell on Squishy, who was up on the bed with Def.
“Hm? That sli… Is that the one you were looking for, Gracie?”
“Yes, Grandma. That’s the sli I was trying to find. Its na is Squishy.”
“Squishy? Not Jiggly?”
“Well, actually, Squishy used to go by a different na. But calling it by different nas got confusing, so we all agreed to stick with ‘Squishy.’”
“I see. Well, in any case, it’s wonderful. You defeated the lich and got your sli back.”
Having confird that Gracie was safe and had found her lost sli, her grandparents stood up from the bed.
“Well then, we’ll be going now.”
“We’ll explain everything to your father and mother.”
“You’re leaving already?”
“You’ve got guests. We may be old, but we’re not clueless.”
“And you’re busy right now, aren’t you? You still need to et with the Tower Master and other important folks at the Tower.”
Gracie’s grandmother placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke.
“This is a great opportunity to be recognized at the Tower. Even if you mainly use magic tools, this is your chance to prove that you can still contribute. Show them that our granddaughter is an outstanding mage.”
“Mm… Okay! Grandma!”
With a kind smile, Nile Frail lifted her hand from Gracie’s shoulder and turned to Nellin.
“Nellin, may I ask you sothing?”
“Sure. Ask whatever you like.”
“Ventus… What kind of mage was he when he traveled with you?”
“You’re asking the obvious. He was a damn amazing mage.”
Nellin gave a thumbs-up and even winked, making her genuinely happy as she laughed.
“Hohoho, that’s really… the best answer.”
The people in the room were touched by the heartwarming scene.
But the chat window had a different vibe.
▶ So how does Ventus the Amazing Smartass feel right now?
▶ Confird by a true elf! Is the smartass now a elf-certified lich?
[Free Spirit] ▶ Zip it, already.
▶ Lollllll
▶ This damn smartass, it’s the first ti I’ve seen him actually flustered.
To the viewers, the person being praised right now was their very own manager, so even a touching mont beca material for teasing.
▶ Huh~? Isn’t soone as amazing as Ventus supposed to be above all this?
[Userna: I Love Mockery! has been kicked.]
▶ CCCC
▶ Oh wow, soone’s mad.
▶ DOMHWANGCHAAAH!
Naturally, soone got the hamr for continuing to ss with the manager.
***
Brooks Vessilja had just heard unbelievable news.
“Is that true? Even the sli that the lich took that day is with them?”
“Yes, without a doubt.”
Buried in the grief of losing his beard and devising plans to block the Frail family from receiving funding, Brooks Vessilja was hit with news he hadn’t expected at all.
Who would have thought they’d recover even the sli kidnapped by the lich!
To most people, the sli wouldn’t seem that important, so it made sense that the news wasn’t spread widely.
But to Brooks Vessilja, it was a huge deal.
Because right now—at this very mont—
Brooks Vessilja had a goal even more important than blocking the Frail family’s funding.
‘That sli! That infuriating sli must be destroyed!’
Brooks Vessilja hadn’t forgotten a single thing from that day—especially what the lich said as he took his beard.
And the reason the lich showed up at the Magic Tower.
That sli with the strange magic!
‘If only that sli hadn’t existed! If not for that sli, I never would’ve lost my beard!’
The lich, who suddenly appeared and erased his beard just because he didn’t like it, was now gone from this world.
So the one he had to hate the most… was the sli that summoned the lich!
Even if the sli was a pet of the Saintess and the Paladin, he didn’t care.
‘The cause of my beard’s demise! If I can get revenge, nothing else matters! I’ll destroy it—no matter what!’
However, there were too many obstacles to make that happen.
With the Saintess, the Paladin, and even the hero Nellin all present, targeting only the sli was nearly impossible.
Even as the Tower Master, Brooks Vessilja couldn’t take them all on and eliminate the sli.
‘A thod… a thod… I need a thod! The surest way is to be alone with that sli… wait, alone?’
A certain spell suddenly ca to Brooks Vessilja’s mind.
It was a spell he had stolen after disguising the death of Ventus Frail as a magical accident.
A spell recorded in Ventus Frail’s magic research notes.
At first, he thought to destroy all of Ventus Frail’s work without leaving a trace.
But the spells described within were too tempting for any magician to discard.
Even so, to Brooks Vessilja, that magic research record was the embodint of humiliation.
Why?
Because it wasn’t that he had to use Ventus Frail’s magic.
It was that he couldn’t use it.
They were all incomplete spells—only rough outlines, the potential effects if successful, and the base incantations required for construction.
There were no finished formulas, so to activate them, one had to study and develop the direction hinted at in the notes.
At first, he believed he could complete them quickly and announce them as his own.
He was confident.
But every attempt failed.
Each failure reminded him of the talent gap between himself and Ventus, making the notes a symbol of sha.
Even so, there was one.
One spell that was so attractive he couldn’t let go, and he had almost completed it.
That spell was—
‘Teleportation Magic.’
A spell that let the caster move to a designated set of coordinates.
***
After Gracie’s grandparents left, Alia turned to her.
“Miss Gracie, aren’t you going to pass on Ventus’s ssage?”
“I don’t think now’s the ti. I’ll tell them… after the truth about Ventus is fully revealed.”
Gracie felt that saying anything now would only confuse her grandmother.
Thirty minutes later, soone from the Magic Tower arrived with news.
They invited them to a banquet this evening and kindly asked if they could share details about the battle with the lich.
“Especially the magic the lich used—we’d like to know in detail! Did he use the sa spells as us? Or were they ones he invented himself? Please tell us the type, the effects, range, and power…”
“Ah, okay, okay. I’ll be there, and I’ll tell you all about it then. Wouldn’t it be boring if I told you now?”
“Well, I do enjoy hearing things in advance…”
With scholarly curiosity lighting up his eyes, the magician refused to back down.
Gracie stepped in to stop him.
“Any more than this would be a nuisance to Nellin. Please return now.”
“Ugh…?”
When Gracie blocked him, the magician flinched.
After all, he was one of those who had looked down on Gracie for being a magic tool specialist.
‘She probably didn’t even contribute in the fight against the lich…’
He didn’t believe she had done anything aningful.
At best, he thought she might’ve tossed so minor spells or tools, and was probably more of a burden than a help.
“Hey, Gracie, right now I need to…”
“It would be a nuisance. So are you going to leave or what?”
Nellin wrapped an arm around Gracie’s shoulder.
“Yes, Nellin?”
“Oh wow, our capable little mage just said it perfectly~ Don’t you know it’s better to brag when there’s an audience? What kind of clueless nerd are you, huh?”
“Ca… capable mage?”
Nellin patted Gracie’s head and added with a grin.
“Yup~ Gracie blocked a bunch of the lich’s spells for us. Made it way easier to deal with him. I’m gonna go into all the juicy details at the banquet. So get lost and go mind your own business.”
“…Yes… E-Excuse .”
After the magician left, Nellin scoffed.
“Tch. Who does he think he is, openly disrespecting my teammate like that? Arrogant bastard.”
“Nellin…”
“Gracie, don’t let people like that get to you.”
Nellin gently tapped Gracie on the head.
“No joke, you really did great.”
“Mm!”
Gracie looked like she was about to tear up.
▶ Kyaa~ Even the amazing Ventus the Smartass has an amazing descendant~
▶ [Anonymous2903 has been kicked.]
▶ Lollll
▶ Knew soone wouldn’t be able to resist lol.
User Comments
0 comments from readers