Sitting on the airship heading to Koga City, Sean felt this was supposed to be a perfectly normal return trip.
Yet now, he kept being stared at by the airship crew...
Mainly because there was someone sitting right across from him.
"Aren't you supposed to be in Takoma City right now, discussing with the wizards how to handle the report to the Empire?" Sean looked at Freya before him. When he had boarded the airship, he'd just stretched his arms above his head in the cabin and turned around to see her, disguised.
She still wore that same black slit wizard robe, but this time with a hood to hide her hair color. However, her tall stature and figure had always made her the focus of the airship crew's attention...
"I suddenly remembered you were leaving today, so I came to see you off... After all, you did save my life." Freya said with a gentle smile.
The two sat facing each other like this...
See him off?
Hearing her say that, Sean felt genuinely happy inside, but could she really leave as the team leader?
"But what about over there?"
"I've left it all to Axiu and the others."
"With such a huge incident, can they handle it?" Sean asked.
"It's already happened. This matter will probably shake the very foundation of the Empire. I expect the factions will pressure the king to push for more autonomy and joint protection... I reckon it won't be long before the capital descends into chaos, and then they'll start cleaning up the mess. For now, the only ones who can truly handle things here are the Grand Duke and the Prince."
Although Sean didn't have a deep understanding of the Empire's high-level structure, he could tell from the Koga City incident.
Local reports said the king had personally appointed Hamilton's heir, but there was no news for a long time... The only ones with real power over life and death were the Grand Duke and Prince Philip.
The Prince didn't fight for it in the end, so it was likely the Grand Duke who appointed Ryan as the count.
As for the so-called king and royal family in the capital, they only existed in others' words, never seen doing anything substantial...
This was probably the result of the national system—high autonomy meant each region governed itself. So even if a disaster struck one place, the others would only offer symbolic sympathy, maybe send a few things to show concern, but deep down, they wouldn't treat others' problems as their own.
This time, the Takoma City incident was far more severe than Koga City's—the local lord's entire family was gone!
No one knew when it would be resolved...
"That makes sense. I'll just go back to planting trees." Sean sighed.
"Planting trees?"
"Oh, right. You mentioned before that you wanted to grow fruit on your land. How's that going? Any good news from over there?"
Aside from these past few days, Sean occasionally pulled out the map of Taylor Mian to monitor the entire town. No matter what major events happened outside, life in that small town remained simple and steady.
"It's fine. Everything's as usual."
"That sounds like a nice place!" Freya said, then turned her gaze to the sky outside the airship...
Her eyes held a look of...
It seemed many wizards, upon hearing about his life in the small town, felt envious. Last time, Lucille had the same expression.
But Freya's situation was different now.
After all, the affection level was different...
Looking at her current attributes now, the affection level was.
It seemed that in constant battles, her level would gradually rise. Before, she didn't have those 400 HP points, but now she did. If some time passed, Sean thought Freya might enter the even more terrifying rank of Orderer Level 13.
She was the highest-level person he had ever seen!
As for the mutant Wiseman last time, since his species had changed, that HP didn't count—it was like a beast, not following human level classifications.
"Yeah, a lot of people say that."
"Others have said it too?"
"Occasionally..."
"A little girl?" Her eyes showed a complex expression.
For a moment, Sean didn't know how to answer most correctly...
The "little girl" Freya mentioned was obviously Ignia. She was probably still in Koga City, being a native of that place, and also a girl with an affection level.
Anyone who reached that affection level must have some feelings for him—liking, admiration, something. There had to be some emotion.
Sean wasn't a novice in romance. In his past life, he'd had plenty of flashy, romantic tales, but nothing earth-shattering...
Still, that didn't affect his judgment of people, especially now that he could see their emotional changes.
Freya could set aside her work to secretly follow him. Though her excuse was seeing him off, she was actually revealing her feelings. Neither had said it outright, so it remained unspoken.
A single man, after all.
Sometimes he wished all the pretty girls around him had feelings for him, but when they did, he'd often string them along, carefully maintaining the status quo...
Labels like "jerk" or "don't flirt if you won't commit" wouldn't be unfair on him.
But why?
Sean thought it was because such men were too rational. They thought everything through to the best outcome, so they rarely pursued overly idealistic targets.
His home was in the southern Taylor Mian town, where he'd probably live for a long time... while Freya was the leader of the Empire's famous wizard organization, often active across the country.
Too exhausting.
In the end, he hadn't chosen anyone—too realistic. But there was no template for this kind of thing; you couldn't blame anyone.
No matter what the affection level, dragging it out would eventually fade into indifference!
Maybe years later, when he compromised with life, he'd feel regret...
People were never satisfied.
Exploring the unknown was more interesting.
"A lot of people say that."
Sean hesitated for a long time before speaking.
"Oh, I see." Freya lifted her chin as if thinking, but finally turned the conversation elsewhere.
"Don't take out the stone tablet I gave you anymore. It's best to find a place to bury it when you get back, and let this matter disappear completely. I always feel that the Cain Tablet appeared to record those monsters."
Not just Freya, but Sean felt the same way now.
Were the words carved on the tablet about those so-called ancient gods, including records of summoning them or their arrival?