208-202 Three months after that




 As I walked to Meratni with Lionel and the others who had joined us, I told them briefly how we came to gather in that Meratni and heard from them as well about the past three months.

Well, I'm still a flawed sage who can't use anything other than holy attribute magic, but I'm still a flawed sage.
 I mock myself and show him how to speak in a frightening way.
 It's something I can do now, and if I hadn't gotten my strength back with this, the air around me would be heavy at once.
''As long as you have holy attribute magic, Luciel-sama will not be in awe. I will receive all attacks on Luciel-sama and swat away any enemies that stand in front of me.
 Then Lionel, who was next to me, stood in front of me, propped himself up on one knee and declared that.......

''........Hey Lionel, hasn't your personality changed a bit?''
 Somehow, it was getting a little hot and bothered.
 There was someone who agreed with what he said to Lionel. 'It's Ketty.
'It's really true, Nya. Ever since Lionel-sama heard you were having a child, you've been training whenever you have time, and you've been falling apart every day to the point where you've almost been banned from the special healing zone.'
Kids? Not with Nahlia?
''I lost my level and skills, but I still had my combat experience. The rest of my body was rejuvenated and I was filled with strength... hahaha.
 ...I'm a lot younger now, but that would mean I'd have to leave Nahlia behind with a baby on the way? We'll hear about this later from Ketty.

'Well that's a good thing, isn't it? We'll hear about it later, but was Yenis getting comfortable?
'Yes, it's peace itself. The school has started hiring accomplished retired adventurers who have been interviewed and hired, and the economy is also using the money the Luciel Chamber of Commerce gets from commerce to help the country grow, so new jobs are being created and everyone seems happy.
 The Luciel Chamber of Commerce I've certainly pulled off some talented people, but I didn't think it was going to happen.
 If this is the case, if you live in Yenis, that? It just smells like trouble.........

''Well I see. It's completely out of my hands, but as long as everyone seems happy, that's good for now. Now then, what about the rumors of divine punishment?
''The one who was spreading rumors about Master Luciel has been hunted down by a semi-beastman squad from the former slums of Yenis, and has already been given a confession drug developed by the Medicine Master's Guild, and has been investigated along the way.
 

'The people of Yenis weren't confused?
''There wasn't anyone who believed in it, was there? Besides, even if Luciel-sama couldn't use Holy Attribute Magic, no one would begrudge the head of the Luciel Chamber of Commerce since they're spending a huge budget to develop Yenis.
 Lionel spoke confidently.
 He turned to Ketty and Kefin, and they both smiled and nodded.
'I see. That's fine then.'
 I was honestly relieved because I didn't want Yenis to be confused, much less have someone to hate me.

'Speaking of which, I heard when I talked to Lord Jasuan, you two have been having quite a few mock battles together, haven't you? How strong are you now?
 It was Ketty who answered my question.
'If it's me or Kefin, it's a one in ten win-or-nothing level for Master Lionel,'
 Lionel looks like he's biting down on a bitter worm, but it seems that someone whose level and skills were initialized three months ago can beat Ketty and Kefin, who are over level two hundred.
 Ketty was wagging her tail, happy to have beaten Lionel, but Kefin's expression became grave.
 And I was curious about his attitude, so I asked him.
'Kefin, what's wrong?'
''Lionel-san is getting stronger at a frighteningly fast pace, so he broke the hearts of the new adventurers who were playing mock battles with us, shattered the confidence of the intermediate adventurers, and nowadays, every day he is distracted from the advanced adventurers. And it's not just Lionel-san, it's us too.
 I looked at Lionel and he looked away from me.
'Well, sort of, thank you, Kefin.
 Having one person with common sense made me feel like I was gaining somewhere with them.
 I'm sure Kefin would have a hard time with it.
 As I was nodding my head, as if in a flash of inspiration, Lionel started making excuses.

''Adventurers, unlike soldiers, don't have a quota of training, so no one trains them to vomit blood, which was a bit disappointing. Now that Lord Jasuan is dealing with us, we're trying to build each other up. 
 I don't know what Lionel thought, he lamented the way adventurers were trained, but I guess he didn't realize that he was crazy.
 I just felt like this same situation was happening in the Adventurer's Guild in Melatni, and I thought it was useless to say it here, so I stopped talking any further about this topic.
 Then I took my gaze away from Lionel and saw Paula and Lisian discussing their inventions together... and Dolan, who was looking behind them with a smile on his face, so I shook the conversation.
'What was Doran doing a little over seven months after he left us?

I've been working on everyone's armor and that one, and it didn't take long for the time to arrive. I would have liked to put a magic gun on it, but it took me a while to develop it.
 I'm sure he doesn't recognize it as a weapon in his mind.
 And if you want to defeat flying demons, it's a useful move.
 Still, I can't help but think it's over-techno-rosie.......

''........It's totally a hobby.
Oh. I'm very grateful to Master Luciel.
 Doran told me that with a very sunny smile.
 That made me a little embarrassed, so I asked him about the two men in Orford.
'Speaking of which, how are Mr Grant and Mr Toretto doing?
It seems that this was the first time they saw it, and it really ignited their engineers' spirits. They said if they came up with something interesting, they'd ask Master Luciel to buy it.
''........I wonder. If those two are motivated, something terrible is going to happen?
'Hmm. He said it was all because of me and Master Luciel, who inspired him.
'Including those two, Rockford researchers seem to be a lot of oddballs and competitive people.
It must be.
 I couldn't help but pray that they would develop tools to build a peaceful world.
 I hoped that they would develop something like the Angel Pillow series, if possible.

 This is what distracts me from talking about trivial matters, and before I knew it, the gates of Meratoni were in sight and I stopped moving forward on the spot.
 There's a good reason for that.
 Previously it was the Healer's Guild, but this time there was a banner hanging across Meratni that read, "Welcome to Meratni, the city that raised the wise man Luciel."

 '.........I wonder what it is. I'm not happy at all, even if it's to dispel the rumors.
 'It's a contingency now, so it can't be helped, as it would be a pretty effective move to launch that the rumors are false to the world rather than Luciel-sama's personal feelings, and that he's actually a wise man.
 ''Okay. I'll turn this bewilderment on those who spread the rumors.

 Then I went to the gate of Meratni and was saluted by the gate guard.
 Moreover, the gate soldier seemed somewhat happy, so I asked him why.

 'Um, why do you look so happy?'
 'I don't think Master Luciel will remember, but I was guarding this gate like this when he first came to Meratoni.
 He said that, but I remembered him well too.
 After all, he was the first person I'd met in this world, and he was carrying a spear, so it was completely input into my brain.

 'Yeah. He came in a little plumped up, didn't he?
 'You remembered that!
 Yes. I don't know your name, though.
 'No, I'm just a gate soldier. I'm honored that you remember me, wise man.
 Haha. Haha, thank you. I've only been a wise man for a few days, so I'm not used to being called upon.
 I smiled bitterly as I entered the city of Meratni.

 The time was a little early for dusk, so there were many people on the streets.
 Because of this, all eyes would be focused on me, but at a time like this, Master would normally show up, but even if I looked for him, he was not there.
 At the same time, I felt an unpleasant sense of uneasiness and hurried down the road to the Adventurer's Guild.