The village of Deutschen.
This place was always green with plants, and it was full of animals flocking to eat those plants.
But a lot had changed in less than a month.
Flocks of worms had indiscriminately eaten the plants, and the animals that had no food began to disappear.
In the end, all the villagers gathered to hold a meeting.
"This is all because of those bugs!"
"If we don’t do something, we're going to starve to death!"
"We can't even plow the earth!"
However, no solution was found. It just turned into a complaining session.
"We posted an article in the newspaper, but very little useful information is coming in."
The meeting became more crowded.
Someone needed to step up and steer the conversation.
"The lord finally sent a report to the central government!"
"He has plenty of food. Our villagers are the ones starving!"
It was then.
The only man who hadn't said a word was the first to jump out of his seat.
With a loud noise,
“We need the saint!"
Everyone's eyes were on the man.
The gazes might be burdensome, but the man did not flinch.
Rather, he quietly scanned the people with his unshakable, bronze eyes.
"If it’s the saint, she will be different from the aristocrats who ignore commoners."
It was the first proper suggestion.
That is why all the villagers listened to him with their ears wide open.
"She’s not the emperor or noblemen who are busy taking care of their own interests."
At one point, the villagers nodded at the man's words.
Everyone was possessed by the man's words and actions.
In reality, the lord had just written a letter to the central government, so the emperor wouldn't know about their plight yet.
However, the people didn't even consider this, although it would only have taken a bit of thought.
They simply agreed with the man.
"She is Rouge's daughter. The one who came down for us. I'm sure she will listen to us."
The man was clever.
Knowing that they needed someone to relieve their anger, he used the people's emotions.
But no one realized that.
Everyone only complimented the man, saying, "I heard you’d come to the Eastern continent, and your way of thinking is really unique."
***
Rosenta had been so busy these past few days.
That’s because they had to complete preparations to leave for Deutschen before anyone from Silva arrived.
"Did the letter arrive safely?"
"Yes, my mother responded saying she would send me the treasure as soon as she had it."
"Thank God."
On the day Rosenta had seen the article in the cafe, Aphra sent a letter to Silva.
"Philos" appeared in the village of Deutschen, and “sebos" were needed to get rid of them.
Philo was the name of the bug.
And sebos were plants from Silva that could get rid of the philos.
"Did you secure a wagon?"
"Yes, I bought three wagons that look sturdy, albeit secondhand."
But Rosenta couldn't leave for Deutschen right away even though he knew all this.
At least until Silva sent him the plants.
However, just sitting on his hands wasn’t like him.
He planned to be fully prepared to leave as soon as the Sebo arrived.
He couldn’t delay even a moment.
According to Aphra, philos were highly prolific, and they quickly made a mess of everything.
He wouldn’t be waiting until Yura appeared like in the novel.
His intention was to save the villagers as quickly as possible.
"Oh! How many seats should I prepare in the wagon?"
"The skeletons can be loaded with the cargo, so we'll just need seats for you and me."
"What about the horsemen?"
"We won’t need any. I'll just have the skeletons do it."
At that moment, they were talking about how many people they were going to take.
But an uninvited guest interrupted their conversation.
"What about me?"
Enoch, who had been quiet so far, interrupted the meeting for the first time.
Rosenta wasn't even surprised.
He assumed that, if Enoch heard their plans, he would naturally respond like that.
That didn't mean they were taking Enoch with them.
"No, you can't."
"How come?"
Enoch looked relaxed, but only on the outside.
His light green eyes were boiling beneath the surface and his mouth was accumulating venom.
Still, Rosenta’s decision didn’t change.
"No, you can't."
"So why not?"
Enoch's disrespectful attitude was nothing new. It wasn't even surprising.
But that was when they were alone.
There were others present now. Aphra.
"Enoch."
Rosenta called his name as if he were giving a warning and slightly nodded in the direction of Aphra.
Enoch turned to him.
"Well, don’t mind me...….”
Suddenly looking at Rosenta, Aphra waved his hand in a panic.
And then he slowly got up.
"Uh...….”
Suddenly, he moved toward the door in a way that was reminiscent of a crab.
Aphra kept muttering something in a hushed voice.
"So rough…….”
As Rosenta was thinking about asking what he meant, Aphra grabbed the doorknob.
He took a step out of the door.
In an instant, Aphra changed. He spat out words in a louder voice than before.
"I think all the planning is done, so I'll get going. Feel free to talk."
A jumping sound was heard.
Then, Rosenta felt a gaze on him again. He wasn’t entirely sure Enoch wasn’t trying to burn a hole in his cheek.
"I'm burdened by your gaze."
"Don't change the subject."
Enoch answered firmly as if he had noticed that Rosenta was trying to find the words.
Rosenta put on a broad smile.
He faced Enoch directly.
"Enoch, this is for your sake. Don’t follow me."
"No, it's not for me. If it was for me, you’d keep me by your side."
He was like a puppy suffering from separation anxiety.
When he was away from Rosenta for a long time, Enoch would be high-strung that day.
He acted like Rosenta was going to abandon him and leave one day. Like those who had abandoned the young Enoch.
Rosenta put his hands on Enoch's white cheeks and called him affectionately.
"Enoch."
Enoch did not answer.
He just stared at Rosenta with stubborn eyes.
Rosenta called Enoch’s name again and again as if he would call him until he answered.
"Enoch."
It was only a little, but the bitterness in Enoch's light green eyes seemed to fade.
He called him once again.
"Enoch."
“……Yes."
It was only then that an answer came.
Rosenta smiled faintly and lowered his eyes slightly.
It was to make him look as pathetic as possible and to convey that he would never abandon him.
"If I look even the slightest bit in danger, you won’t hold back and will use magic. Then a magical trace will be left."
"If I use it carefully...….”
Rosenta cut off Enoch's words.
"No, when you make a decision, you never hold back."
Rosenta wasn't lying. This was why he couldn't take Enoch.
Enoch lacked caution. He was never careful, especially when it came to Rosenta. For now, he’d try and see if he could convince him.
He’d deal with what came later.
"It's fine here in the castle, but I can't let you run wild like that out there."
In the duke's castle, it didn't matter much if he used magic to his heart's content.
The only wizard in the castle was Enoch, and he would continue to be so.
But it was different outside.
Mages traveled anywhere there was something interesting to be studied.
It meant that mages could find their way to where he was going.
"If a magic-sensitive mage detects your traces...….”
They’d notice Enoch's presence.
They’d send a large group of mages to quickly take Enoch away.
But at Rosenta’s explanation, Enoch began to laugh, out of step with the situation.
"Is it because of them?"
"Yes, otherwise I wouldn’t leave you behind."
Who knew what kind of accident would occur?
‘To be honest, it’s easier to manage Enoch if he’s in my sight.’
But...….
"Why are you laughing so hard?"
His laugh was disturbing.
Enoch was wearing a peculiar drowsy, yet wild-looking-eyed smile.
"It's fine."
As he said that, Enoch licked his upper lip as if he were about to take a bite.
Then he put his hand over Rosenta’s, which was placed on his cheek.
Rosenta could feel Enoch's joints on the back of his hand.
That wasn't all.
Enoch turned his head slightly, burying his lips in Rosenta’s palm.
Rosenta pulled his hand away reflexively.
Enoch smiled more languidly at his appearance. Like a wolf full of satisfaction.
"I'll put up with it even if I miss you. But only this time."
"No, not just this time, but I'll leave you next time as well."
Rosenta couldn't say he'd take him, even if it was a lie. He had to make sure he understood.
“……No matter how many times."
He expected Enoch to be outraged.
But Enoch never got angry. He just laughed at his words.
He then threw out an unusual remark.
"There will be no next time. That's because I'll tear it down."
***
Theodore's calls became more frequent.
As always, there was no particular reason. He was just bored and wanted someone to talk to.
But Rosenta refused.
This was because Rosenta was tired from walking around outside from morning to afternoon recently.
It was necessary to build up his physical strength before leaving for Deutschen.
So Rosenta explained the situation to Theodore. The duke’s work had increased, and he had become an investor in a business.
Fortunately, he understood.
Instead, he began sending people to deliver messages at random.
Without consulting him, the person concerned.
And today, it was Vivian who said she would visit the duke's castle.
"I'm tired...….”
He had to get ready to greet Vivian, but he had already dealt with two other people earlier.
Aphra and Enoch.
He laid down on the bed for a while, exhausted after a series of conversations.
But he couldn't rest properly.
Not long after lying down, someone suddenly opened the door and came in.
"Rosen!"
It was a lively voice.
He managed to get his tired body up and look at the door.
Vivian, who had tied her hair very neatly, was waving at him.
"I'm here!"
Vivian ran up brightly and flopped on his bed.
He leaned his back against the headboard.
He then asked, while looking at Vivian sitting against the pillar of the bed,
"What did His Majesty want to say?"
"No, this time I just came because I wanted to."
Vivian's eyes looked uneasy, even though she said she came of her own will.
She couldn't deceive Rosenta’s eyes.
"Vivian, tell me, it's all right."
“……What?"
"Tell me."
"Oh, that's...….”
As expected, Vivian took quite a while to try to broach the difficult topic.
The longer she took, the more nervous Rosenta became.
But he tried to focus on Vivian's words as much as possible.
"Can I get Wolf's hair? No! Not that I want it...….”
"What?"
Rosenta was embarrassed; and Vivian, who brought it up, was also ashamed.
She soon waved her hand with a red face and denied it.
"It's because of my second brother! Even after returning to the Magic Tower, he still calls and harasses me every day."
"What do you mean, he harasses you?"
"He keeps using magic to contact me. He’s asking me to ask you...….”
The pervert's obsession was terrifying.
‘I can't believe he’s even using his sister to ask for hair.’
Rosenta didn’t even try to hide his frown.
‘I'm so sick of him. I'm sick of it.’
Vivian, who had no idea how to interpret his expression, continued to explain urgently.
"I'm telling you. He said it's an essential ingredient for making magic tools…….”
Rosenta felt a sad sense of kinship.
That's why he nodded without asking or questioning further.
"I'll ask Enoch to pull out a strand, so take it today."
"Thank you!"
How much pain she must have suffered. She lifted herself up at once. She looked very happy.
It was the brightest face he’d seen today.
Facing Vivian's bright face, Rosenta was smiling as if he were imitating her smile without realizing it.
And he answered kindly.
"Don't mention it."
He could simply ask Enoch for it.
It was just hair.