Chapter 425 - Era of Peace (25)
For the first time in ages, Theodore overslept.
It wasn’t a particularly special day.
Just like always, the sun rose in the east, birds chirped cheerfully on branches, and clouds passed by in the blue sky, occasionally casting ambiguous shadows into the room.
Theodore got up from the bed and blinked.
‘...It is a rare day.’
In fact, sleep was unnecessary for Theodore.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
It wasn’t that he didn’t know the importance of sleep.
Even a swordmaster, who had amazing physical strength, needed sleep. Sleeping was the best way to recover from fatigue. It was also the perfect time to refine the body and mind. Unless one had a body that didn’t need sleep like the undead, the vast majority of creatures needed to sleep.
Theodore, however, had transcended that distinction.
His spirit and body had been elevated to a higher realm. The limitations that should exist in living beings disappeared for him. If he wanted to, he didn’t need to sleep for 10,000 years.
Nevertheless, he slept because he felt attached to it as a human being.
‘It has been a long time since I’ve woken up alone.’
Theodore smiled bitterly and gestured a few times to the bed.
Immediately, the pillows and blanket, which were a mess due to the night’s commotion, became neatly arranged. On the now freshly washed bedding, the warm sunlight shone.
This combination of cleaning magic seemed artistic even.
In an instant, Theodore used that magic to clean every drop of sweat and saliva before leaving the room.
Thump, thump.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the deserted hallway.
Theodore had known for a long time that he was currently the only one in the mansion.
The other four members of the family were carrying out their own work.
“It is a holiday for me.”
This was a word that had little to do with Theodore.
He was the Chief Tower Master of Meltor, the guardian, and the protector of this world. He was always doing something. There was no time to relax and no need for rest.
Even a three or four-day holiday like today was due to his family’s persuasion, not because he didn’t have anything else to do.
“Geotia.”
The ring flashed along with Theodore’s summon.
[Yes, Master.]
“Tell me about my family’s routine today.”
[You mean the four people in the mansion? Wait a moment.]
Accustomed to being a secretary, Geotia was able to quickly reply.
As the control personality of the central magic tower, it didn’t even take a minute for Geotia to gather this much information.
‘I see.’
Theodore nodded upon hearing the contents.
The moment Goetia told him about where the four people were and what they were doing, he knew how to spend the day.
After cutting off communication with Geotia, Theodore took a step toward his closest family member.
* * *
Sylvia Adruncus was always busy.
She was the master of the Blue Tower, which had the most work to do among the four great magic towers. On top of that, she was also the secretary of the parliament, the unified body.
Paragranum, the Yellow Tower Master, was busy with the work of the research institute, Veronica was active by nature, and William, the new White Tower Master, wasn’t yet capable of fully acting as a tower master.
For that reason, Sylvia’s desk was never empty.
There were documents that were piled up to the height of a normal person waiting for her approval. It would take several days even if she processed them at a speed of one page per minute.
“Hah.”
Sylvia put down the document with an unknown number of pages and lifted the coffee cup that was nearby.
The hot coffee had long since cooled down.
Still, she thought that her mind seemed to clear up a bit as she took a sip.
“...Good. Let’s try a bit harder.”
She tapped her cheeks a few times before picking up another document.
It was a workload that was tiring even with the mentality of a master, but she found her work quite rewarding.
After all, unlike the era of war, these agendas depicted the future.
Every time one task was successful, people’s lives became better and Meltor became richer. There was no greater duty than this for her, who carried her grandfather’s honor.
Thus, in the tower master’s office, there was only the sound of the pen nib.
But, there was someone watching her.
‘You have a wonderful granddaughter, Blundell.’
Theodore stood behind Sylvia while smiling softly.
At first, he came with the intention of making small talk, but that idea disappeared when he saw Sylvia’s busy appearance.
No, it wasn’t sufficient to put it that way.
Currently, Theodore was on the boundary of the dimension and thus couldn’t be found even with the senses of a master.
Like this, he watched Sylvia for a while before moving toward a window in the upper part of the tower. It was because Sylvia could detect it if he used space movement here.
“Oh my?”
Was it a coincidence?
A gust of wind caught Sylvia’s attention at that moment. She took one look at the empty window, and with a faint smile, she saw off someone who had already left.
It was just unfounded intuition but Sylvia was sure of it.
“I guess I have to go and play with him after work.”
Just now, her husband had left.
* * *
The Institute of Magical Engineering.
It was only three years ago that the strange institution with this name rose to become the empire’s premier agency.
Magic engineering was a school of thought founded personally by the Imperial Guardian, who had reached the 9th circle and was a legend revived in modern times. When it first appeared, the magicians were interested in the school, but after reading the outline, their attitudes completely reversed.
-This school isn’t for magicians!
Many said.
No matter how good their regenerative power was, it was useless if their entire body was destroyed and they died before they could recover.
Everything lost its meaning in front of overwhelming power.
The one who proved this truth was a boy who raised his fists with all his strength.
“Yes! I got it in one shot!”
Red hair and golden eyes. His rare appearance throughout the entire empire proved his true identity.
Verus Miller.
He had come to fight trolls for his graduation exam.
“What do you think, Examiner? Is this good enough?”
Verus looked over with bright eyes. Richard, the examiner following him, quickly nodded.
“Y-Yes. You pass. I will give you a perfect score.”
“Thank you!”
Unlike the brightly smiling Verus, Richard was sweating.
He had no choice but to be like this.
‘The graduation exam isn’t supposed to be taken alone...! He also wiped out not one, but an entire village...’
Did the son of a hero also have such unique qualities?
The son of Veronica, the Red Tower Master, and Theodore, the Chief Tower Master.
If the talents of these two people were gathered in Verus, then this incident wouldn’t be a big deal. Didn’t the Chief Tower Master say that he defeated an elder lich at this age?
Richard calmly filled out the evaluation sheet with a perfect score.
Little did he know, Theodore was watching from the sidelines.
‘Well, I knew this would happen. The graduation exam of the Red Tower is to defeat monsters. Verus has learned how to fight from an early age.’
It might be different if he was asked to destroy a wyvern nest alone, but trolls were hardly a trouble for Verus.
‘Should I prepare a present for him when he gets home?’
With this thought in mind, Theodore secretly stroked Verus’ hair before turning around.
“Eh? What?”
By the time Verus turned around in astonishment, Theodore was gone.
He had gone somewhere else.
* * *
Theodore secretly visited his family one by one before going to other people.
He appeared in front of his parents, who were staying in the marquis’ land, and enjoyed tea time for the first time in ages. They were very happy that their son, who was so busy, stopped by once.
‘Ah, I needed a holiday.’
It was only then that Theodore realized the value of a holiday.
Having shared tea time with his parents, he crossed the continent in a few steps and met Ellenoa, who was quietly reading.
“Huh? Did you come here because it is a holiday?”
Her eyes widened at Theodore’s sudden arrival. Then she smiled and hugged him tightly.
It wasn’t a big deal but they were both happy.
Theodore’s final visit was to her.
“...What?”
Aquilo cocked her head when she saw an unexpected person. She was holding a wine glass on a scenic cliff. But this reaction was short-lived. She soon held out a glass of wine to welcome the uninvited guest.
To her, this encounter was joyful.
The two of them shared a glass and talked for a bit before parting casually.
After the drinking party with Aquilo, Theodore returned home.
To be exact though, he had returned to not in the house but in front of the front door.
He couldn’t explain the reason.
“Sigh...”
Now past sunset, the sky was dark and the warm winds had cooled down considerably. White breath rose into the air as he exhaled before soon scattering and leaving nothing behind.
Theodore stood still for a moment.
Today, all he did was wander around but he felt more than he usually did when he was faithful to doing his work.
‘This is my holiday.’
Nothing special happened today.
He just observed his family’s daily life and spent time visiting some people without any special reason.
That was enough.
It was the same 24 hours as usual, but it wasn’t the same for him.
“I lived ‘today’.”
He didn’t worry about the future. All he did was wander from place to place out of impulses.
Today was a day just for Theodore Miller.
No, it could have been any day.
It was just that he only realized it now.
“...I have no choice but to live for today.”
It was a fact that wouldn’t change even if he made a prediction about a thousand years in the future.
Even if he missed yesterday terribly.
Even if he was afraid of tomorrow coming.
No matter whether he moved forward without hesitation or stopped and caught his breath, today was equal for everyone.
There was no being who could live in the past or the future. Akashic, whom Theodore had met, was also living in its own present.
‘Even if there comes a day when all this happiness is gone—’
Theodore’s today remained only in this moment.
At this time, in this place, and in front of this door.
Creak.
The door opened and the hinges cried out. Several voices were heard in response.
You’re back?
Theodore paused for a moment before replying, “I’m back.”
It was the end of the adventure that was ‘today.’