Chapter 18: Mage Erdo

“Man, that really surprised me.”

Fifteen minutes after Leohart returned.

At the white round table beneath the grape arbor in the garden, Erdo was cheerfully stuffing his cheeks with Lydia’s homemade cake.

“I totally thought you were living all alone in some bleak house, and instead the place is insanely cute, a beautiful lady welcomes me, I get blasted with murderous intent—oh, and this cake is amazing, thank you so much!”

Lydia let out a soft chuckle at the lively Erdo.

It seemed he was a very entertaining person.

Erdo gulped down his tea and smiled broadly.

“So then, what kind of relationship are you two?”

Beside Leohart, who stiffened slightly, Lydia answered with a smile.

“We’re like an older sister and younger brother.”

“…Ahh, I see, that kind of relationship.”

Erdo nodded in understanding, while Leohart stared off into the distance and muttered, “Yeah…”

After that, Erdo began talking about himself.

He was currently a magic researcher, but before that he had belonged to a mage corps and had been paired with Leohart.

“Leohart was the front-line knight, and I was the rear-line mage, something like that. Leohart was incredible—people even called him the ‘Jet-Black God of Destruction.’”

“Oh my, really? That’s quite an exaggerated nickname.”

“…Well, yeah, exaggerated—or maybe it was pretty accurate.”

Giggling, Lydia stood up.

The conversation was very interesting, but he was Leohart’s guest.

She figured it was about time for her to excuse herself.

“Well then, I’ll head back inside now. Please take your time.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for everything.”

“Thanks, Lydia.”

Smiling, she bowed lightly to the two of them, picked up the empty plates, and went back into the house.

After Lydia left, Erdo made an amused face.

“So, she called you brother and sister.”

“…She did.”

“So does that mean the ‘Jet-Black God of Destruction’ was actually shy?”

“That wasn’t my intention…”

Leohart gave a wry smile.

When he matched her pace, things somehow always ended up like this.

Erdo looked amused.

“Well, I kind of get how that happened though. Elves are famously clueless about romance.”

“…How did you know she was an elf?”

“That relaxed vibe reminded me of my mentor, so I just had a feeling. My mentor’s an elf too, and absolutely hopeless when it comes to romance.”

Hearing that, Leohart remembered.

Come to think of it, Erdo’s mentor really was an elf.

Part of him was curious just how bad that cluelessness was, but another part felt it was better not to ask.

Munching on his cake, Erdo spoke again.

“So, the real reason I came here is this—would you work for me as an adventurer?”

According to Erdo, a chimera had appeared deep in the mountains two ranges over.

“I really want it as research material, so would you come with me?”

“So I’d be acting as guard and front-line.”

“Exactly.”

Leohart thought about it.

He did owe Erdo quite a bit, so he wanted to accept the request.

However—

‘Lydia would be left alone.’

If it was two mountains over, even rushing it would take several days.

If he left her alone that long, it wouldn’t be strange for some unscrupulous person to try something.

Seeing Leohart fall silent, Erdo looked at him curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was thinking she’d be alone while I’m gone.”

“I see. Yeah, leaving a girl alone is definitely worrying.”

After some thought, Erdo thumped his chest confidently.

“Got it. Then I’ll cast an amazing spell before we go!”

“An amazing spell?”

“Yep! I’ll use ‘Fortis Ward,’ the castle-guarding magic!”

The “castle-guarding magic” was an extremely strong defensive spell cast on buildings.

Once applied, any unauthorized person who entered would be struck by lightning and rendered immobile—a strategic-class spell, so to speak.

It was obviously overkill for dealing with potential pests around Lydia, but Leohart nodded anyway.

“Then I can rest easy.”

“Right? And it lasts for a whole year!”

“That helps a lot.”

And so, the two of them made a rather outrageous agreement—

“So, in exchange for you handling the front line, I’ll cast the castle-guarding magic.”

“Yeah, understood.”

With that, they grinned and clasped hands firmly in a solid handshake.