Let’s Block the Ruined Route in Advance

“Felix!” 

Eileen ran to him immediately. It was good to see him after five months, and his pink hair had grown long enough to reach his shoulders.

 “Glad you made it to the gate and didn’t get stuck.” 

Felix smiled at Eileen. The boy who had been the smallest of them a few years ago had grown to a size that could hardly be called small.

 “Are you here alone?” “Master died right away. She said she didn’t like the cold.” 

Shrugging, Felix pulled a shawl from the bag in his arms and wrapped it around Eileen’s neck.

 “What’s this shawl for?” “It’s the result of my training.” Eileen looked down at the shawl with a puzzled expression, but her face soon turned to admiration. The scarf was warm, even though he’d taken it right out of her bag on a cold day. “Is this an artifact? I can’t believe you’ve already made an artifact.” 

An artifact, an object containing magic, is treated as a higher level of magic in the crafting process because it requires the infusion of magic into an object and the maintenance of that magic.

 “Thank you. I’m so touched.” 

She was overcome with emotion as she felt the warmth of the shawl, the product of her labor. It was soft to the touch, with just the right amount of smoke, and she felt her spirits rise.

 

Felix blinked at Eileen and slowly lowered his head. He was about to ask to be petted when he realized that he shouldn’t.

 

He opened his mouth playfully. A fluff of snow fell on his neatly trimmed head.

 “Ah.” “No. I hear snowball fights are popular in the north.” 

The culprit was Lucian, revived by motion sickness pills. He smiled brightly and held a snowball in his hand.

 “Is that so?” 

Felix held up his hand in the same smiling manner. The smile was still there, but there was a tiny creep up his chilled face.

 “What, this is a game, right?” 

The pile of snow clumped together on its own and turned into dozens of flakes. No wonder Lucian’s face turned white.

 “That is cheating!” 

Felix lowered his raised hand without a word, and the snowballs rushed towards Lucian.

 

Lucian clucked his tongue and swung the sword sheathed at his waist. The snowballs flew in erratic trajectories and shattered before they could reach him.

 

It was a remarkable feat, even though they were both just boys.

 “You should be happy about that,”

Felix said.

 

Eileen, embarrassed and scratching her cheeks, decided to try to talk them out of it and approached to call them over.

 

A flake of snow that Lucian hadn’t managed to crush sailed past Eileen’s side and hit Cordelia in the back of the head, who was trying to soothe her motion sickness with the cold wind.

 “Oops.” 

There was a chilling silence that could have been heard over the crunch of the snow.

 

Cordelia snorted, her face blank.

 “It’s definitely boiling over here.” 

Her piercing blue eyes darted between Felix and Lucian. Little snowballs were still floating around Felix.

 “Ha.” 

Cordelia chuckled and turned to Lynn.

 “You do realize that your snow is made of water, right?”  

***

  “I never thought I’d enjoy a hot spring before a meal…” “My point.” 

Eileen and Cordelia warmed up from the cold in the hot springs attached to the cabin.

 

Cordelia had buried them completely in the snow, and they’d had to be out in the snow for a while to dig them out.

 

Even though they were dressed in winter clothes, they weren’t used to the northern cold and couldn’t stop shivering.

 “Why don’t we have a quick dinner and then go to the night market?” “Sounds great!” 

Night markets. Street food.

 

Eileen’s mind flashed with anticipation as she imagined chicken skewers covered in sauce, and her body and mind melted into the warm water. Star floated happily in a circle on the surface of the water.

 “I feel like I’m on vacation. The hot springs are so nice.” “Actually, it’s a shame there’s no towel. 

As much as Eileen wanted to soak her body and push it out into the coolness, she had to give in for Cordelia’s sake.

 

A short time later, they emerged from the bathroom and made their way to the dining room of the cottage, where Felix and Lucian were sitting first.

 

Eileen turned to Oliver, who was waiting for them, before sitting down at the table.

 “Do you think we can go to the night market after dinner?” “Of course. But aren’t you tired from the day’s journey?” 

Eileen looked around at the children at the table. They all waved that they were fine. Oliver chuckled, said he’d get something to wear, and left the dining room.

 

“The hot springs are so nice. You didn’t end up fighting in the hot springs, did you?”

 “…No, of course not.” “…Yes.” 

They replied a beat too slowly.

 “Come on, let’s eat!” 

Lucian turned quickly and grabbed his utensils. Fortunately, the cottage cook’s skills were so good that Eileen’s attention was quickly diverted.

 

As she savored the venison with its sweet sauc

e, Eileen stared silently at Felix, marveling at his new hair and the fact that he had grown more than an inch taller than he had been five months ago.

 

‘Boys really do grow up. And I didn’t know they had snowball fights during the day…’

 

He’s even prettier now.

 

Eileen nodded inwardly. Wizards were supposed to be relatively weak because they were academics, but Felix’s body was moderately muscular, as if he had been working out.

 

His pure white skin was unblemished, and his rare pink hair made him look dreamy. His violet eyes peered through the damp, moist hair as if he’d just stepped out of a hot spring.

 

He’s beautiful. He really is.

 

If Lucian was peacock-like, virile, and ruggedly handsome, Felix was elegant and storied.

 

‘I raised them, but I raised them well, and they’ll be popular when they get to the Academy.’

 

Eileen smiled with the satisfaction of a mother proud of her son’s.

 

Felix didn’t say anything, but he was aware of her gaze lingering on him, and as he popped a piece of fruit into his mouth, he tried to ignore it.

 

‘I’m glad I came out with less hair.’

 

It was a successful move, since he’d analyzed Eileen’s tastes thoroughly and knew that she preferred a natural, unobtrusive look to a full-on makeover.

 “You might want to see the fountains in the central square first, then go clockwise through the alleys.” 

As they finished eating, changed, and prepared to leave, Oliver held out a small brochure. It seemed to be some kind of tourist brochure, listing Ronsen’s sights and places to eat.

 “Thank you!” “You’re welcome. Miss.” “It’s okay, I feel comfortable with this, I’ll go.” 

Perhaps because of her past as a modern human, Eileen still found it difficult to speak softly to staff. She smiled and they left the hut and climbed into the carriage. Fortunately, the night market wasn’t far away.

 “What shall we do?” 

The short daylight had long since faded, but the orange glow of the night market brightened the darkness. Lanterns were lit everywhere, and colorful tents adorned the stalls. The streets were bustling with patrons from nearby inns and other tourist establishments.

 “Let’s start with the first alley,”

she said,

“they sell handicrafts.” “Sounds good.” 

Eileen and Cordelia put their heads together, studied the brochure, and came up with a plan. Not far away, their companions looked on, not wanting to interrupt their plans.

 “Those pens are so pretty. You can have them dyed green. Are they too cheap for the Duke?” “He’ll love anything you give him, and I’ll buy him a nice bottle of wine.” “That sounds good!” 

Looking at the various souvenirs, they began to choose a gift for the Duke, who was left alone in the silence. From handmade ornaments to various specialties, there was so much to see that they never got bored.

 “Please wrap that quill pen and that dark green ink over there. Do you do gift wrapping?” “Sure. We have white and navy ribbons.” 

Felix and Lucian, who had taken a step back while Eileen ordered the quill she had been considering, locked eyes.

 

Lucian spoke first, his voice so low that only Felix could hear it.

 “I think someone’s following Eileen.” “Only one.” 

Felix’s eyes went cold. He could feel a strangely persistent gaze following Eileen through the crowd.

 

Lucian’s mind flashed back to the day of the festival when he’d lost her. Not wanting to make the same mistake again, he approached her, feigning nonchalance.

 “Eileen, I’ve been thinking about something I saw near the fountain earlier, so I’m going to take a quick trip.” “Huh? We’ll come with you.” 

Lucian waved his hand.

 “No, it’s not far, I’ll be right back.” “I’ll come with you.” “You too Felix?” 

Eileen’s eyes widened a little at the unexpected comment.

 “I don’t know why you were fighting like that earlier, and now you’re suddenly getting along. You should go. Cordelia and I will be right down the alley when you’re done here.” “Okay.” 

Lucian nodded and he and Felix slipped into the crowd, dismissing the escort who’d tried to accompany them. Cordelia followed them out of the corner of her eye.

 “Hmmm.” “What’s wrong, Cordelia?” “Nothing! It’s just nice to be alone with Eileen after all this time. Let’s go to that place over there that sells drinks.” 

Smiling brightly, Cordelia left arm in arm with Eileen. Once they were gone, she had to distract Eileen while they dealt with the flies.

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