"Look who finally decided to come back!"
Ignia was wearing a pale pink witch outfit today, but unlike Freya's slit dress that hugged her figure, Ignia's was a short skirt paired with thigh-high socks, high-heeled boots, and a witch hat.
She looked at Sean with a displeased expression, but in Sean's view, it appeared as a state of [Grumbling!].
This was the second-highest floor of the Ailinta Tower, Ignia's room...
Almost every floor of the tower was a single large room. When Sean climbed up, he had seen Warren's livid face on the floor below. Ignia lived one floor above, and the very top was likely Aixiu's residence.
"I was just lying low in Rietis, you know?"
He watched as the young girl turned her head away in dissatisfaction.
To compare, Freya was a very sensible woman, often thinking things through more clearly than he did. As for Ignia, she was completely like a little girl—willful and mischievous, but someone who could step up when it mattered. It was a contradictory yet captivating quality.
Watching Ignia turn her back to him, staring at the ceiling...
From start to finish, aside from [Grumbling!], she hadn't shown any real anger, so Sean wasn't worried and just went along with her mood.
"Still, you didn't send any word at all."
"But wasn't it stormy recently? Even the messenger hawks didn't dare fly."
Actually, a few days after arriving in Rietis, Sean had wanted to write a letter—not just to this place but also to the town, hoping someone could pass a message. But with the constant storms, even airships didn't dare travel, so mailing a letter was out of the question.
"I see."
Ignia seemed to realize that was indeed the case and slowly turned around.
Her thin lips had a faint layer of pale powder. The girls in this world didn't have dedicated lipstick; instead, they used special essential oils or powders to adorn their lips.
Ignia didn't speak, just pouted with a displeased look and sat down beside Sean.
"Hmph... you were gone so long..."
Reluctantly, she scooted a little closer to Sean, almost leaning against his shoulder.
Just then, Sean pulled something out of his waist pouch that he had bought at the market earlier.
"What's that?"
"A gift for you!"
"Huh?!?"
Hearing it was for her, Ignia quickly took it from Sean's hands and opened it—a water-blue cat's eye necklace.
"For me?"
"Yeah, try it on."
With that, Sean took it out of the box and had her turn around...
"By the way, I'll be heading back to Taylemian in a while. I've been away for months, and the town's been under someone else's care. As the local lord, I should go check on things," he said while fastening the necklace for her.
When he had left the town, his original plan was to see the world and find ways to improve his strength... and, importantly, to discover methods to help the townsfolk prosper.
So far, the first two goals had gone well, but the idea of leading the village to wealth hadn't made much progress.
"You really should go back and check."
After putting on the necklace, she turned around.
"Do I look good?"
"Good, it suits you." Sean nodded. His taste wasn't too bad; it matched Ignia's face nicely.
"Since there's nothing much going on lately... I heard the mentor's having trouble in the Tacoma region. There's been talk of an ancient god cult invasion there. The mentor will probably stay for a while. How about I go with you to Taylemian?" the young girl said excitedly.
Huh?
The witch of Ailinta Tower glossed over the ancient god matter and was more interested in going to his town with him??
Before coming, Sean had thought that the Tacoma situation would keep local witches like Ignia busy, and the gift was partly a farewell gesture. He hadn't expected her to want to go back with him!
"Can't I?" She stared at him wide-eyed.
"It's... it's fine, I just worry you won't be used to it."
..............................
After staying in Koga City for three days, Sean spent his last coins to hire several carriages, stocked up on supplies, and set off with Ignia and the Skovik siblings toward Taylemian Town.
He had originally planned to bring only Esmeralda Skovik, but Claude kept insisting that if his sister went, he couldn't handle the shop alone, so they closed up and both siblings came along...
The journey to Taylemian took a full day. Leaving early in the morning, they wouldn't arrive until noon the next day at the earliest, requiring an overnight stop along the way.
No choice... and because the mountain roads were rugged, many merchant caravans and mercenary groups disliked coming here.
Earlier, Sean had even thought of raising a large sum to build a road—after all, to get rich, you need roads first.
But after the Immortal Summoning incident, he suddenly felt that the rugged, remote mountain roads might have their advantages...
Isolation also kept threats at bay, allowing the town to live in peace.
Otherwise...
He mulled it over and dismissed the thought.
He had to prioritize the people's prosperity first!
After a day's travel, when the convoy passed the familiar hill, Sean couldn't help but glance at it.
"Sean, what's wrong?"
"Hmm."
"Your expression just now was suddenly scary."
"Was it?"
He looked at Ignia beside him—why was this girl staring at him the whole ride?
"Nothing, just thinking."
He cast another glance in that direction...
Beneath the hill lay the place where he and the archaeology team had buried Bachler.
The Witch Council!
He had never forgotten that name.
Back then, he didn't dare provoke them, but now with some power, Sean even felt a urge to challenge them again.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Heh~ I'm fine..."
......................
Meanwhile, at Count Hamilton's residence in Koga City.
"This is an insult, a contempt for Ailinta Tower!! Count Hamilton." Warren fumed in the new count's office.
"That Viger Baron openly took my junior sister back to Taylemian Town. Now everyone outside is saying that Ailinta Tower has trained a country baroness. If this gets out, it'll be a huge joke. How can we hold our heads up in the city?"
The newly appointed Ryan Hamilton looked at the agitated Warren and smiled bitterly inside.
In noble circles, it wasn't a big deal—at most, a flower stuck in dung. But after Aixiu, Warren was likely to inherit the position of Ailinta Tower's steward in Koga City. Ignoring it entirely wouldn't be good.
However, the other Viger Baron had the protection of the Sky-Wing Organization, and the Grand Duke's letter had even mentioned the baron's name, which puzzled Ryan.
"Don't rush, Master Warren. We can handle this slowly..."