The commotion settled only after a little time had passed.
Walter exchanged a few words with Sedina and then went off somewhere.
Whether it was to steady his emotions or to give his daughter space, he did not say.
Perhaps he had gone to handle the backlog of work that had kept slipping through his fingers.
Whatever the reason, Ludger, now alone with Sedina, judged this the right moment and asked,
“Did that resolve it?”
Sedina silently nodded.
In the end, Sedina accepted Walter’s apology.
Of course, that did not mean they would instantly return to a harmonious family.
But it was also true they had stopped an irreparable collapse.
From here on, their relationship would gradually change depending on how well Walter treated Sedina.
It is easy to topple something, but rebuilding demands extreme focus and a long time.
Walter knew that much, so he would do his best.
“Thinking back on it now, I feel like I may have made a decision I’ll regret,” Sedina exhaled a long sigh.
“Should I tell my father to pretend I never said what I just said?”
“......Don’t. You made him cry that pitifully—are you planning to make him cry again?”
“That isn’t enough. He needs to bawl even more.”
Though she said so, there was no hatred or venom toward Walter in Sedina’s voice.
She still felt displeasure and irritation, but compared to before, she had improved astonishingly.
By voicing what she had kept pent up, Sedina had shed some of the sediment in her heart.
“Good. Since you’ve got the initiative now, keep using it.”
“......Thank you. It was all thanks to you, Teacher.”
“You were the one who made the final choice.”
“I could not have done it without your help. You did it on purpose, didn’t you?”
“What do you mean.”
“I mean how you threatened my father like you were going to kill him.”
Sedina smiled gently, as if she knew everything.
“I know you’re not the sort of person who would actually hurt him there. Even so, you acted that way to play the villain on purpose and push me to step forward.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“......Father said he wanted to thank you for that as well.”
Ludger shook his head as if to say that was enough.
Feeling lighter, Sedina could now decide what she should do.
“Teacher.”
“What is it.”
“I think I need to go back to the Elven Kingdom.”
“.......”
Ludger looked at Sedina, asking with his eyes if she was serious.
“It’s a decision I reached after careful thought.”
“For ‘careful,’ not much time has passed.”
“I have always wondered. I kept receiving from others—how could I repay that grace?”
“I did not act expecting anything in return. You do not need to feel indebted.”
“It is not just you. There’s also Mr. Vierno who saved me, Aunt Ambella, and my mother who still remains inside the World Tree. Ah. And the seniors of Owens as well.”
Sedina gazed out the window.
“I’ve received help I can never fully repay from so many people.”
“They helped you because they cared about you.”
“I care about others, too.”
“.......”
“So I cannot just sit still. I will return to the Elven Kingdom and help with the restoration. I will tune the World Tree, mend its wounds, and aid the other elves.”
“Sedina.”
“Oh, of course that doesn’t mean I’ll become queen. No matter how I think about it, that role is too burdensome. Just think of it as me forming an appropriate bond with the Elven Kingdom.”
“You do not have to go that far. You have no obligation or responsibility to do so.”
“I have the power to resonate with the World Tree, don’t I?”
“It is only power. Power is pure in itself. How to handle it is entirely yours. No one has the right to force you to do anything.”
“Right. That is why I chose by my own will.”
“Why?”
To Ludger’s question, Sedina smiled with her eyes.
“Because I cannot remain a child forever.”
Sedina was still a student.
Even if she suddenly held great power in her hands, she was at an age where she did not yet know for certain what she would do from here on.
So for now, it was fine for her to act according to her age.
Because she had already suffered enough up to now.
Even if becoming an adult was a little late—
No one could reproach her.
But Sedina had already become an adult in earnest.
The many events of a short span had made her grow.
Ludger, while feeling regret over Sedina’s decision, could not help also feeling proud of her as her teacher.
“Truly, children these days grow up too fast.”
Ludger shook his head, helplessly.
“Do not worry too much. Just think of it as me visiting my mother’s family home during the break. I am still Mr. Ludger’s assistant.”
“Right. It’s the break, so whatever a student does is their own freedom.”
Ludger looked at Sedina and asked,
“Do you think you can settle it well and come back?”
“Yes.”
She did not say they would see once she tried, nor that it might be hard.
Only a single word, carrying the conviction that she would surely do it.
For Ludger, that was enough.
“Very well. I will trust you.”
“Thank you.”
“So, did you not tell Walter? That Ella Plante is alive.”
Of course, saying “alive” for one who could exist only within the World Tree was a little off.
But since she was not completely beyond reach, Ludger thought Walter could be allowed to know.
“I did not tell him right away. Even if I did, I doubt he would believe it easily, and I am not ready yet.”
“Not because it would feel galling to tell him so easily?”
“That too, of course.”
To his playful question, Sedina replied in kind.
“Still, I will have to tell him someday. More than just saying she’s alive, I intend to find a way to let humans access the World Tree.”
Ludger picked up on what Sedina had in mind.
When she later fully regained authority over the World Tree—
If, even temporarily, humans could be given the chance to access it, she meant to tell him then.
“Good. I hope you can find that method soon.”
“It will not take long. You have entered once yourself, Teacher. Of course that was a special case for you, but who knows? We might turn this small chance into a proper result.”
“You surely can. There is no harm in treating it as magic. New magic is created with that kind of thinking. Do it.”
“Is that an order?”
“Call it vacation homework.”
With a voice full of regret, Sedina answered, I see.
She had realized she would not see Ludger again until the break ended.
“Teacher. Would you stand up for a moment?”
Sedina drew Ludger up from his seat.
Ludger did not bother to refuse.
It was not a farewell forever, but they would not see each other for quite a while; he was curious what she meant to do.
After looking up at Ludger standing before her, Sedina seemed to come to a decision and suddenly threw herself into his arms, hugging him tight.
“Sedina?”
Before Ludger could ask anything at her unexpected action, Sedina, her face buried against his chest, murmured softly,
“I’ll be back.”
She forced herself to act strong, but she could not quite hide the sorrow of parting that trembled in her voice.
Wondering what to say, Ludger gave a faint laugh and patted her head.
“Return safely. I will be waiting.”
* * *
Ludger, Alex, and Hans returned to their hideout.
Perhaps it was because too much had happened.
It felt as if half a year had passed since they had last come back.
“Leader. Is Bellaruna going as well?”
Alex asked, thinking of Bellaruna who had remained at the Roschen estate.
“Yes. She’s an elf, after all, and one with a talent regarding the World Tree like no other. I decided to send her along with Sedina. She seemed to want it quite a bit herself.”
“Well, it’s not as if she’s needed right away, so it doesn’t matter if she goes. But... you don’t think she’ll like it too much and never come back, do you?”
“She won’t.”
“What? Why are you so sure?”
Ludger thought of Chris Bennimore.
“Let’s just say I trust in a heart’s attachment.”
“......? I have no idea what that means.”
“You don’t need to. Anyway, while we were away, nothing happened with Royal Street, did it?”
What weighed on his mind most was still the Lumenis Church.
When Sedina had been abducted, they had deliberately tried to hinder him.
Which meant they had done so because they were after something.
Ludger did not think that was a good sign.
“Fortunately, while we were gone, Royal Street grew even more prosperous. No—if anything, it’s even better than before.”
Hans, already drowning in paperwork upon their return, answered with weary eyes.
“Better?”
“Large-scale funding came in while we were away.”
“Funding. I think I know where from.”
“Chairman Roschen was remarkably generous. I never imagined he’d move so openly. Then again, we did bring back his only daughter alive. Considering that, this ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) much is only natural.”
Though Hans was exhausted from skimming through the piles of documents, his voice was brighter than ever before.
“Because of the cooperation with Roschen, word spread fast, and even more people have been flocking here. It’s busy every day, without even room to set your foot. Now you could say the symbol of Rederbelk’s revival has shifted completely from Centerford to here.”
“So there’s nothing to worry about?”
“For now.”
“Alright. I see.”
Ludger rose from his seat.
“Heading out again already?”
“Just for a patrol. My body feels stiff from staying inside too long.”
From the Dentis estate to the airship, and then to the Roschen villa—
Ludger had been treated as a guest with utmost hospitality, which meant he had been cooped up indoors all that time.
“It was comfortable though.”
“Not for me.”
For Ludger, who never wasted time idly, the last few days had been comfortable in body, but not at all in spirit.
To clear his head and sort through the mess, he decided on a brief walk.
* * *
When Ludger stepped out, Alex sprawled on the sofa and glanced sideways at Hans.
“What. If you’re curious, just ask.”
“Oh, caught me?”
“Weren’t you practically glaring at me, waiting for me to notice? That means you’ve got a question.”
At Hans’s words, Alex, as if waiting for the chance, voiced what was on his mind.
“The Leader. He’s loaded with money, right?”
“Are you saying you want a raise?”
“That’s not what I mean. My salary’s already more than enough. I mean the actual amount of money Leader brings in.”
“The actual amount...”
“All the profits from this street. On top of that, assets swallowed from countless enterprises. And this time Roschen himself backed us up, didn’t he?”
Taking it all into account—
It would not be strange if Ludger was one of the wealthiest men on the continent.
“Honestly, don’t you think it’s strange? With that much money, it’s not just living comfortably—it’s enough to shake a whole nation. Yet Leader keeps piling on more. Is it because once you hold a lot, you just want more?”
“I don’t think that’s it. You know how he is—he boldly reinvests what he earns into businesses. And he also runs scholarship foundations, making regular donations to orphanages, universities, and academies.”
“......Since when?”
“Since Royal Street started booming, while you’ve been busy swinging your sword. I, Violetta, and those who once lived in the underworld mainly handle that work.”
“But the sums we’re talking about are far beyond what such people could juggle. Unless...”
“Don’t worry. It’s not laundering. Even aside from that, a massive amount remains.”
Hans flipped through the stack of papers in his hand, then neatly arranged them.
“Truthfully, even I don’t know what the Leader’s real objective is. At best, I can only vaguely guess.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be his right-hand man?”
“Don’t you know his creed? He does things so secretly even his own brain doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“If the brain doesn’t know, how can the body act?”
“It’s just a saying. It means he works so covertly that even a so-called right-hand can’t know.”
“So you’re not denying you’re the right-hand?”
“Let’s just say I’ve been around the longest.”
“Hm. Anyway, sounds like you don’t know either... but truthfully, you’ve got some idea, don’t you?”
At Alex’s subtle jab, Hans’s hands paused as he organized the documents.
His eyes met Alex’s.
Seeing Alex’s look—that he already knew—Hans sighed and nodded.
“I was curious too, so I secretly tracked the flow of funds once. I wanted to know where all that money was going.”
“Oh? So? Did you find out?”
“The New Mage Tower.”
At Hans’s answer, Alex shot upright on the sofa.
“Say that again?”
“I said the New Mage Tower. To be precise, their main base—‘Isla Machia.’”
* * *
While walking the quiet park path, Ludger stopped in his tracks.
“Are you going to show yourself now?”
He spoke to the presence.
They had not even bothered to hide properly—no way he would miss it.
At his words, the air wavered, splitting like a curtain, revealing the figure concealed within.
“Casey Selmore.”
At the appearance of the Azure Mage, her face set with some kind of resolve, Ludger narrowed his eyes.