After the Dungeon conquest was over, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
Rose spent her time at the Duke's estate with Ermes, and with Katya, who had apparently warmed up a bit after that incident, doing things like magical research and casual conversation.
After several days of staying there, the day finally came for her to return home.
"Noooo—! I don't want to let you go!!"
...Just as expected, that's exactly how things turned out.
Perhaps it goes without saying, but Rose was currently clinging to Ermes head-on — the very person who was supposed to see her off — burying her face in his chest and shaking her head like a stubborn child.
"Master. Um, this is a problem."
"I'm having a problem too! Think about it — a whole month away from my beloved disciple, only a few days of reunion, and now we have to say goodbye already!? This is just..."
"Too..."
"cruel! Nothing short of a demon's doing!"
"This was the plan from the very beginning, though..."
Rose tightened her embrace as if she would never let go. Ermes couldn't bring himself to forcibly shake her off, and as her words suggested, he was genuinely troubled.
"...El. You really are soft on your master, aren't you?"
With a sigh tinged with exasperation and a hint of dissatisfaction, Katya approached.
"Lady Rose, El is our servant now. I understand how you feel, but..."
"Hmph, Katya. What the heck — don't just casually one-up me like that."
At her words, Rose also wore a disgruntled expression.
"I don't want to let El go either, y'know? I feel the same way... actually, wait — I just thought of something good!"
"...I'd rather not hear this, but go ahead."
"Katia, you should come live with us too. That'd solve everything, right?"
"Um... well..."
"C'mon, why not? Let's all live together, the three of us! I'll take care of everything~"
"...First, allow me to point out that you are, in fact, the one who would need to be taken care of."
Rose's proposal met with outward composure from Katia.
Yet the idea of "the three of us living together" had her wavering slightly.
"Rose, please don't make things harder on the children than they already are."
Seeing things spiraling out of control, the head of the duchy finally stepped in.
"The two of them start at the academy next week. There are preparations that need to be made as well."
"Yurugen, you too? ...What even is an academy? What's the point of going to a place like that?"
"I'm working hard right now to make it a place worth going to."
It seemed Rose didn't have fond memories of the magic academy. ...Well, given her personality, that was only to be expected.
But Yurugen's words, delivered without a shred of hesitation, left her silent.
"It might not have been a fun place for you, but for the children, it's undeniably where their youth will unfold. ...You wouldn't want to rob them of that, would you?"
"Mmph."
Pouting slightly, Rose raised her head.
What came into view was the troubled expression of her dear disciple.
"...Fine, I get it."
Ermes had a sweet way of getting through to Rose, and for all her bluster, Rose would never do anything that worked against Ermes's interests.
Grumbling under her breath, she finally pulled her body away.
"But you're definitely coming again, right? Actually, why don't you come visit me for once?"
"Of course. As soon as I find the time."
Ermes nodded with a smile at the pleading request delivered from beneath her upturned gaze.
"Also, I'll be happy to assist with 'that magical tool matter' as well."
"!"
The words he spoke next drew an immediate reaction from Katia and Yurugen, who already knew what he was referring to.
"Oh, you mean this?"
With that, Rose produced what at first glance appeared to be nothing more than a beautiful palm-sized crystal.
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that its interior was packed with terrifyingly complex materials in exquisite detail.
Ermes revealed the true identity of the object.
"..."
"Artificial"
"magical tool. An artifact in the truest sense of the word. The crystal's effect was — 'the ability to deliver your voice in an instant,' correct?"
"That's right. So this means no matter how far apart we are, anytime, anywhere — I can talk to El!"
This was the very object they had been researching over the past several days.
Magical tools themselves weren't impossible for human hands to create. The problem was that their effects were almost always trivial and limited.
A magical tool possessing the kind of effect Rose had just described — one that truly rivaled
an ancient magical tool
in power.
It was the new possibility she had discovered over the past five years, despite her use of magic itself being restricted by Bloodline Magic.
Hearing the master and disciple's exchange, Yurugen pressed a hand to his forehead.
"So in other words, 'it can transmit information from a distant location in an instant.' ……If that could be produced artificially, it'd be a massive deal. Just imagine how catastrophic it'd become if it were repurposed for military use. Do you even understand the implications of that?"
"I don't understand and I don't care! Besides, in the original design, the magic power required was so enormous that practically nobody but me and El could handle it. That's more than enough, and there's no point in cutting costs there!"
Without a shred of hesitation, Rose declared flatly.
After all, the sole reason she had ever conceived of building this was simply one desire: *I want to talk with my dear apprentice, even when we're apart.*
But then again — that was so very her.
She was — no, *they* were. This master and disciple pair.
They were the kind of people who took their own feelings and forged them into proper fuel, using them to scale whatever impossible wall stood before them.
"……So that's how it is, Katia."
Finally, Rose turned toward the girl, a faintly provocative smile playing on her lips.
"We're going to keep moving forward. From here on out, forever. ——Can you keep up with us?"
Through their exchange here, Rose had come to understand Katia's feelings.
And it was from that understanding that she posed the question. Katia, having come to know Rose just as well, gave her answer.
"……That is exactly where I wish to be!"
At those words, Rose broke into a radiant grin.
"——Alright then, let's go. ……I love you both, you know that?"
"!"
"H-Hey—"
In the end, she pulled both Ermes and Katia into her arms with a fierce embrace.
Ermes showed a flicker of surprise, while Katia's cheeks flushed crimson — both from the sudden hug and from the fact that she had inevitably ended up pressed tightly against Ermes as well.
But Rose did not let go. She stayed like that for several seconds, sharing her body heat, before slowly releasing the embrace.
"Well then, see ya. Enjoy school!"
Compared to when she first arrived, she parted with surprising ease, waving to the children.
Just as she had come, she pulled her hood low over her head and departed the ducal residence.
"...She really was like a storm."
Once Rose was out of sight, Katia murmured softly.
Even she had to admit it was an apt metaphor. Rose had paid no attention whatsoever to anyone else's circumstances, tossing them around and rampaging as she pleased.
—And yet, in the end, she passed through leaving only a refreshing breeze in her wake.
"A lot happened, but... I can understand why you revere her as your Master now."
"That is... the greatest praise I could receive."
He said that, gently.
Praise for his Master truly must have made him happy from the bottom of his heart. ...In the Royal Capital, she was surely feared as the "Witch," and no doubt all manner of terrible rumors about her had reached his ears — which made it all the more meaningful.
Katia understood that feeling, too.
......However, still.
The fact that his expression was directed at someone other than her did stir something within her.
And then there was the master-disciple skinship they had paraded in front of her mercilessly these past few days — she couldn't deny that she felt something resembling envy about that.
So, she said.
"...Er, let's have tea. Just the two of us."
"Huh? Right now?"
"Right now. Come on, hurry up."
She urged him to hurry. ...In an unusual move for her, she stepped closer and took his hand.
"Well, we also need to talk about things starting next week... and, well, we haven't really had a chance to talk lately, just the two of us."
That latter part was spoken softly — a quiet, tentative afterthought.
Whether he heard it or not, he gave a light laugh and let her lead him back inside.
And so, the daily life of the duke's household had returned once more.
I'll update another chapter tonight!