"I see, so such a person is in our kingdom?"
My father cupped his chin as he began to think.
I've already sent him multiple letters to report what had happened in Root, so I'm now only confirming my words. I retold my close encounter with the Dark army, the fate of my two guards, and my discovery of Eria. I made sure to not leave a single detail behind.
"Fufu! Right now, a long-lived hero is in our reach. We should convince her to stay indefinitely. Hmm... At least for our lifetime..."
Eria is an elf, so she will obviously live for a long time. A hundred years should be short enough of a time for her to senselessly spend. For her, it would only akin to a vacation.
In theory, we could easily convince her to stay in the kingdom with all the resources we have.
"What's your opinion of her?"
"Hm. She's very different to how elves are said to act. She's very extroverted and loud. And if the rumours I heard about her are true, then she would be an unbelievably denegerate person."
The Muro brothers were mostly involved in those rumours. I met them for a short period of time, and I can tell that they weren't exactly the good type of people. What's more, they were widely confirmed as extreme womanizers.
In other cases, there were rumours of Eria being sighted in an alley with a man, her being escorted by a rich merchant, or her luring handsome adventurers for a good time in local taverns. There's no validity in their claims, but with how many of them there were, they should at least be considered worthy of investigation.
"Is that so? But I doubt those rumors would be true. She wouldn't be called a heroine otherwise."
"I think we should do further research on her. I heard that the Edrich family keeps a unique book written about her. I became familiar with Finral just now, so I'll ask him about it later."
"It's Finral-sama for you. Even if you're his senior in the academy, you should keep your boundaries."
"Hm... I'll keep that in mind."
"That's all, go back to the academy, your master must be waiting for you."
I nodded.
There's no doubt I will become busy in the upcoming days. I will soon graduate the academy, and then I will have the choice to either continue training as the Royal Court Mage apprentice or start working under my father. My entire future is now unfolding right in front of me, and I'm in the middle of an important choice.
I felt a sting in my heart.
The actual truth is I'm still weak. I confirmed that in Root. I will have to continue on improving my skills. I have no time to work.
However, the reason why I want to become strong, my goal, is still out of site. Not metaphorically, but physically. For that reason, I'm lost.
My master, my actual master, is still gone.
"Ah! I almost forgot to mention, your master came in our place a few days ago."
"Why would he do that...?"
As far as I know, there's no reason for him to come visit my father. If it's about my mission, then I can just always report directly to him. In fact, that's what I'm been doing this entire time. I've also been sending him a number of letters.
"No, how should I say it? Umu, your first magic instructor—she came here looking for you."
"H-Huh...?"
"She apparently went back to the castle to deliver something, and she detoured here to look for you. Fufu! You were gone, so I entertained her in your place."
I blanked out for a second before I blurted out...
"W-Where is she now!?"
"Who knows? She's probably out of the city. Her companion—the previous hero had died, so she has no reason to stay here anymore."
"Wait a minute! Why are you only telling me this now!? If you only sent a letter!"
"Hmph! And interrupt your task? I made the right choice."
"You! Tell me where she's staying!"
"As I said, she's probably gone. If you don't believe me, then go look for her yourself."
T-This bastard...!
I wanted to blast him with magic, but I did my best to refrain. He's still my father.
"Tell the academy I'll be busy! I won't go back until I find my master!"
"H-Hey!"
Understanding the severity of the situation, I immediately rushed outside.
My master, Sophia, had returned to the capital without my knowing. Now she's apparently gone again...
I can't let that slide!