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  Retelling legends of the past had existed longer than any kingdom. Before ink, before parchment, before even structured language, humans had gathered around fire and tried to preserve what mattered.

  Ancient ruins still bore proof—stone walls carved with hunts, disasters, creatures too large to be natural. Some inscriptions spoke of mythical beasts roaming the world since its beginning. Others recorded wars so devastating entire civilizations vanished.

  Memory, in this world, was sacred.

  At some point in history, the act of telling and the act of casting became inseparable.

  Illusion Magic was born not from vanity, but from fear—fear that memory would fade.

  It became one of the earliest derivations of Arcane, shaped not for destruction, but for preservation. Magicians learned to reconstruct battles, disasters, miracles—drawing upon lingering arcane traces left behind by powerful events.

  They did not simply describe history.

  They projected it so that even the least imaginative person can see how the events went down.

  To watch a master illusionist retell a legend was not to hear a story. It was to stand inside it.

  And because the spell relied on the caster’s interpretation, no two retellings were ever identical. Every storyteller became both historian and artist.

  That was why no bard’s tale was ever dull—so long as they understood magic and how to impress the people.

  **

  Luke was staring into the mirror, blanking out just as he was busy adjusting his tie. The sun was still barely out so there weren’t any servants to help him. But he deliberately chose this time to get up since he wanted to prepare a few things.

  He asked Norn a few days ago if she would be willing to tour the capital today, to which she gave a halfhearted answer. She seemed willing to leave the estate despite her currents state so that was good enough for him.

  “—Knock, knock”

  “Ah, good morning…” after snapping out of his daze, Luke greeted her.

  Teresa has been holed up in the kitchen lately. She was apparently receiving guidance from the household chefs. For as long as Luke can remember, Teresa has always been as good of a chef as Claudia so he didn’t understand why she would want to improve her cooking skills even further. Maybe she’s just learning new recipes?

  Despite this mansion being the secondary residence of the Berkley Family, the chefs were royal chefs given to the family so they were the best in the country. If Teresa is receiving guidance from them, she will be able to become a world-class chef in just a few years, all that without paying for a course.

  That’s one of the perks of being the “sister” of the Hero.

  “Did you already pick a servant to accompany you two? This may be a date, but you need an extra pair of hands waiting to serve you two.”

  He told her many times before that it isn’t a date but Teresa doesn’t want to listen.

  “Rudolph insisted. He said there’s nothing else for him to do today so he can be our attendant. He’s also the one who booked us seats at a restaurant tonight.”

  Gods, this is beginning to sound like an actual date… But he knows Norn won’t see it that way.

  “Alright then. Keep your hands to yourself, got it?”

  “Why would you expect anything else!?”

  “I know how boys, your age, are. They see a vulnerable girl like Norn and assume she’s easy prey. She’s taking our mother’s death harder than me and I can’t even cheer her up so you have to fill that role. But don’t take advantage of her, okay?”

  “I get it.”

  “I might be half joking, Luke but I’m serious about this needing to be handled carefully. Even if she insists on wanting to sleep with you, reject her and tell her she’s not in the right state of mind to want that. she’ll regret it then who knows how she will feel later on.”

  Basically, she’s unsure how she feels about Luke so she may regret it. He doesn’t know how to feel about this.

  “…”

  Teresa sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder, “I know you’re not the type to take advantage but I also know you love my dense little sister.”

  “…What if she says she wants to move on by doing it with me?”

  “We humans always try to latch onto a different kind of comfort we think will allow us to move on. The truth is that we just need a shoulder to lean on when we’re depressed. Be that shoulder for her, Luke. Don’t deflower her in the name of comfort.”

  “Yeah…”

  Teresa kissed him on the forehead and hugged his head. after giving a small “thank you for doing this for her”, she left the room.

  Luke’s hands moved slower in preparation, as if he’s finally become nervous about the day ahead.

  ??

  When Luke exited the mansion after finishing other preparations, he found Norn already sitting on the steps at the front door. She was wearing a white blouse and frilly black skirt while her medium-long chestnut hair was let loose on her shoulders and back.

  Norn, in a dress of all things? Well, it’s a skirt but that’s beside the point. He was expecting her to wear casual shorts with pumps or sandals today, as she usually does, but today she was in proper noble attire for children.

  “Norn? I thought you would be asleep.” Hearing his voice made her turn.

  A small smile surfaced on her face, “Morning~” she waved at him, “Can you blame a girl for wanting to get some fresh air? Gods, there’s so many servants running around, even at night!”

  “Uhm, it’s quite chilly though so you should stay inside for a bit.”

  She hopped to her feet and examined his outfit, ignoring what he said.

  “Hmmm~ Is that a man’s cologne I smell?”

  “Y-Yeah, Brother gave me one of his old bottles so I’m using that now.”

  “Oh? You and that guy became really close. Didn’t you say you’d protect me from him?”

  “T-That’s! I-I meant it…”

  “What if I don’t like it when you’re around him? He’s suuuuch a bad person~ Even the servants complain about him.” Norn twirled her bangs with her finger.

  Just when Luke was about to frown as the inside of his mouth became bitter, she giggled, “Just kidding~ Soo, what are you up to? Going on a stroll?”

  “...I wanted to take a stroll through the estate on my horse while waiting for you to get ready.”

  Norn typically gets up at 8 in the morning and that hasn’t changed since he’s known her. She’s not the type to sleep in either even if she’s up late at night.

  He wasn’t expecting her to be awake an hour before they’re scheduled to leave. The coachman hasn’t even finished eating—Luke could see him from here eating his breakfast on a small table next to his carriage.

  “You really love that thing, huh? You’ve been riding with him every night.”

  “Well, yeah… Father said ‘A Lord must know how to ride a horse’ so I’ve been riding him a lot to get a feel of horse-riding. It was hard at first but I’ve managed so far.”

  “You’ve really adjusted into this sort of lifestyle, hm? Wearing expensive clothes, filling your pockets with gold coins and visiting shops with your fiancé.” eyes glancing at him upturned, she said with amusement, “I’ll probably fade into obscurity one of these days because I’m not a noble lady.”

  “That’s not true! Just because I’m the heir of the Berkley House doesn’t mean I’ll forget about you, Nait and Teresa or all my friends back home!”

  “Pfft,” she chuckled, “Relax, I’m kidding. Soo, what are we doing today? You said it’s going to be the most fun I’ve had in a long time, didn’t you? Oh, mister, you don’t know how hard I am to please.” She said with her hands on her hips and nose raised high.

  This side of her is very cute but he couldn’t help but see it as unnatural. Just a day ago, she barely spoke to him, only greeting him when they walked by each other or sat at the dinner table.

  “There’s a carnival that was set up outside the city a few days ago. There are many famous singers, dances, and other performers taking part in it. And there will be lots of games, prizes to be won, and challenges to partake in.”

  “You aren’t just interested because there’s going to be belly dancers showing off their vulgar bodies, are you?”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Wha!? Where did that accusation come from!?” he facepalmed when he saw her teasing smirk, “…Of course.” He walked past her, deciding to go check on the horses instead. This vixen will tease him all day anyway if she’s in this mood so he’ll save his sanity for later.

  “Hey! Where are you going!?” as expected, she skipped after him.

  “You shouldn’t be entering the stables with me while dressed like that,” he said while glancing back at her, “There’s lots of dung and mud there.”

  “You do know I helped out at a ranch, right? I wanna try riding Royal as well.”

  Royal is his horse’s name. It’s a white breed with a golden mane, one of the strongest and fastest breeds in the country. They say the golden hairs on the white breed can absorb divine energy to aid it in carrying its master into battle and fighting alongside him.

  “Eugh, how do these horses just sleep in this smell!?” Norn pinched her nose.

  “You wanted to see the horse so don’t complain.” Luke harrumphed. That said, he agreed inwardly about the terrible smell.

  Royal was drinking from the water trough but upon seeing Luke, he galloped over, his head bopping back and forth.

  “Hey, Royal.” He patted the horse after climbing on the fence, “There’s someone who wants to ride you—You know who Norn is, right?”

  Royal huffed, warm breath fogging in the cool air. His dark eyes slid toward her.

  Norn hesitated.

  For all her bravado earlier, she looked smaller standing in front of the horse. Royal wasn’t monstrous, but he was powerful—muscle shifting beneath sleek hide, tail flicking lazily. He smelled like hay, leather, and sweat.

  She lowered her hand slowly, letting Royal sniff her palm first. The horse’s whiskers tickled her skin.

  “Hi…” she murmured, softer now.

  Royal snorted once, then nudged her shoulder gently.

  Luke blinked. “He likes you.”

  “Or he thinks I have food,” she muttered, though the corner of her mouth twitched.

  Luke swung down from the fence and stepped into the enclosure properly. “Here, I’ll hold him steady. Put your foot in the stirrup and swing over. Don’t overthink it.”

  “I’m not overthinking,” she said quickly.

  She was.

  Norn gathered her skirt carefully, clearly regretting her choice of noble attire for the first time today. She placed one hand on the saddle, the other gripping the reins far too tightly.

  Royal shifted.

  She froze.

  “He’s fine,” Luke assured her. “He won’t move unless I tell him to.”

  After a breath that sounded steadier than it probably was, she put her foot into the stirrup. The first attempt was clumsy. Her balance faltered, skirt catching awkwardly, and she nearly lost footing, which made her pale.

  Luke’s hand instinctively moved to her waist to steady her.

  “D-Don’t let go,” she muttered.

  “I’m not.”

  On the second try, she swung her leg over properly and settled into the saddle.

  For a moment, she just sat there, surprised that she could do it so easily.

  Royal shifted his weight beneath her, living muscle and heat and quiet strength.

  Her posture was rigid. Shoulders tight. Hands white around the reins and trembling.

  “You look like you’re about to interrogate him,” Luke said dryly.

  “S…Shut up.”

  But then—slowly—she adjusted. Her back straightened naturally. Her grip loosened. Royal’s ears flicked back as if listening to her heartbeat.

  Luke led him forward at a gentle pace around the enclosure.

  At first, she moved stiffly with each step, like a puppet delayed half a second behind the strings.

  Then something changed.

  Her body began to match the rhythm.

  Step. Shift. Step. Shift.

  Royal’s movement became less foreign.

  “Okay…” she murmured under her breath. “Okay.”

  Luke glanced up at her. Her expression wasn’t cheerful.

  It was focused.

  He let go of the bridle.

  Royal continued walking calmly, which Norn noticed immediately. “Luke.”

  “You’re fine.”

  She swallowed despite his reassurance.

  For a second, fear flickered across her face. Then she inhaled, tightened her knees slightly, and nudged Royal forward. The horse picked up into a slow trot.

  Wind brushed through her loose hair.

  There was a brief, sharp laugh that escaped her.

  Royal’s hooves drummed steadily against the earth, and for those few moments she looked weightless—balanced atop something powerful yet controlled, circling the enclosure. Well, Royal is well-trained so he’s doing most of the work.

  She guided him around once more, this time smoother.

  When she finally slowed him back down, her breathing was a little uneven, but her eyes were clearer than before.

  Luke stepped forward as Royal came to a stop.

  Norn leaned down and patted the horse’s neck, fingers sliding through warm, short hair.

  “Good boy,” she whispered.

  Royal flicked his tail.

  She dismounted more confidently this time, landing on the ground with a soft thud. For a second she kept her hand resting against Royal’s side, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath.

  “Hey, Luke…” as she patted the horse, Norn called out to him.

  “Hm?”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “Eh??”

  “Do I seem smart enough to read, write and do assignments that aren’t just physical labor?” she elaborated. For a second there, he thought she meant something else.

  “…Well, you were never one who liked reading and writing… You always forced me to read you stuff.”

  That’s how her love for “damsel in distress” stories began. Since she apparently liked Luke reading to her so much, Claudia had to save up for a “Whisper Stone”, a magic item that can mimic the voice of another person when you put it on a page.

  “Wha!? But I’ve been reading a lot lately! Three—That’s how many books I’ve finished! Not only that, I’m busy reading four others.” She rubbed under her nose with a “hehe”.

  “Really? What about the whisper stone?”

  “I’m not a child anymore so why would I use it still.” She harrumphed. Then he said, “You used it on the carriage ride the day we came to the villa, though.”

  “Geh! W-Well, that was almost a year ago and a year is long enough to mature.” She nodded several times, as if convincing herself.

  “Is that why you didn’t come down for dinner much? What stories did you read?”

  She was silent for a moment.

  “…R-Romance…” her face burned up and she looked away from him.

  “Pfft…” He was about to laugh, but her shoe was sent flying at his face a millisecond later. But due to his improved reflexes and months of training, he was able to catch it quite easily.

  “W-Woah, that always hit you in the past.” Hopping on one foot, Norn said with a dumbfounded look on her face.

  “You’re saying that as if it’s a good thing!”

  “—You two always bark louder than the roosters in the morning.” A familiar voice addressed the two, the speaker yawning in-between words.

  Looking back, there was a woman with long green hair, wearing only a bra and pants with no shoes, yawning as if she just got up from her slumber. Her toned abs and muscular arms glistened in the rising sun.

  Luke’s eyes sparkled, “Master!” he ran towards her, “Have you finished your quests? Can we begin training soon?”

  “Nah, not yet. I got a few things to do but I got some free time to mess around today.” she yawned again and stretched her arms up, revealing thick hairs on her armpits without shame, “Gotta find a dwarf to help me take this sword out soon, though.”

  She pulled something out of her magic bag, which was strapped on her belt around her.

  It could only be described as a Morningstar mace of some sort but the end of it wasn’t metal or iron, but just a chunk of stone that she was holding up casually. In addition to that, the “pole” of this “mace” was just the body of a sword.

  “Where did you find that?”

  “Arnold gave it to me in exchange for a scroll I found. Not sure why he’s interested in an airship blueprint. I’m still holding onto the scroll until we meet up again but I’m considering keeping it until I get this sword out so that I don’t feel scammed. Stormbreaker my ass. Even if it’s a good blunt weapon, I can’t use any of my techniques with a chunk of rock.” She threw it back in her magic bag, “Where are you two off to dressed like that?”

  “There’s a carnival-like festival set up outside the southern city wall. It’s going to be one of our firsts as we didn’t come across them in the village a lot but travelling troupes used to come by and entertain the folk for coin so we know what to expect.”

  “Ohhh, I haven’t been to one of those in years.” Her interest was piqued.

  Luke couldn’t see a grumpy, sad woman like her enjoying a festival or playing any of the games. He thought her idea of fun is getting drunk in taverns.

  “Ow!” Flora grabbed his shoulder with an iron-like grip. With her orcish strength, it felt less like a gentle touch and more like an anvil sitting on his shoulder.

  “Bastard, don’t look at me like that! You must be insulting me in your head!”

  “S-S-Sorry!”

  “You’re admitting it!?” she pressed down harder, making his cry echo across the estate.

  As Luke was crying and holding his shoulder, Flora harrumphed, “It might not seem that way to you but I come from high society so I frequently visited those kinds of places. The treats, games and company were always great. Sometimes there are non-lethal duels to win over a knight’s equipment—I won all of them in the past.”

  She whispered, “Man, that was a lot of fun.”

  “Why don’t you come with us, Miss Flora?” Norn offered.

  “Uhhh...” Luke couldn’t say anything at her suggestion. If he does, wouldn’t that weird Norn out since it will be revealed he sees this as a date? Sure, Rudolph will be accompanying them as a servant but every friend group always has a servant as their side with going about their day.

  Flora glanced at the silent Luke before giving an answer.

  “Sure. I’ve got nothing better to do. I’ll take a spare horse and follow you.”

  He couldn’t say anything in the end.

  After Norn said she wanted to go fetch something before they left, Luke returned to the fountain, waiting for the coach to come. It wasn’t long before Flora was done freshening up. Well, all she did was wash her face and put on a sleeveless white crop top and black shorts and her boots. The stink of her sweat was surprisingly gone.

  “You don’t need a sword, you know?” he glanced at the sword at her hip.

  “I don’t want to get hit on by guys all the time so this is a warning that I’ll cut them down if they get too close.”

  “Ah…” What an odd thing to do. But with how beautiful she is, she’s bound to get lots of attention. Her shapely legs and butt were enough to make men stare even if her breasts weren’t all that big.

  “So, this outing of yours with Norn—it’s a way for you two to grow closer, isn’t it? In other words, a date.”

  “….”

  “What took you so long? Were you scared some other boy would take advantage of her vulnerability and make her his?”

  “That’s not it… I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. It’s just… this felt like the perfect opportunity since it will cheer her up.”

  “Is that so? Her mother dying was the perfect opportunity?” Flora’s carefree voice suddenly turned cold, which he noticed.

  “As your Master, and the person responsible for training humanity’s Hero, I can’t allow any distractions, Luke. Olivia I can understand but the two of you are bound out of duty, but Norn is different.” It came out so naturally as if it was an easy thing to accept.

  “W…What?” he must’ve heard wrong, “Am I… Am I not allowed happiness just because the fate of others rest in my hands…?”

  “That’s not why I’m saying this. My responsibility may be big but yours is astronomically bigger because you hold the fate of the world in your hands, the potential that sleeps inside you. Getting distracted by these things will lead you down an incomplete path.”

  “How can love be a distraction!? I don’t get it!” he shouted, frustrated that she’s not being more direct, “Am I not allowed to confess!?”

  “You’re allowed,” Flora said calmly. “You aren’t allowed to be reckless.”

  He stepped forward. “Reckless? You think loving her is reckless?”

  “I think confusing comfort with commitment is reckless.”

  He flinched at that. “You think I’m using her?”

  “I think she is grieving,” Flora replied. “And grief makes people reach for the nearest warmth.”

  “That’s not what this is!” His frustration bled through now. “I’ve loved her long before any of this happened.”

  “Then prove it.”

  The words hit harder than he expected.

  “…What?”

  “Do not confess because she looks fragile,” Flora continued. “Do not confess because today feels soft. Do not confess because you fear losing her.”

  “Then when am I supposed to?” he snapped. “When I’m some perfectly enlightened ‘complete’ hero? When I’ve crushed every weakness out of myself?”

  “You misunderstand me.”

  “Then explain it!” His voice cracked in the middle of the demand.

  Flora sighed, like a teacher who’s fed up with explaining herself. But since Luke doesn’t have as much life experience as her, it can’t be helped that he doesn’t understand.

  “If you love her, bind yourself to it properly.”

  Luke frowned. “Bind… myself?”

  “Make a promise to her. If you confess, do so with the intention of walking beside her when she’s whole again. Not when she’s broken. If you can’t promise that, then treat today as you hanging out with a friend and wait.”

  His anger faltered. “…You’re telling me not to confess.”

  “I am telling you not to confess lightly and use your damn head, not your dick.”

  “That’s the same—"

  “No,” Flora stopped him. “It’s actually the opposite. A promise between you two specifically is greater than any bond of love or friendship.”

  Luke looked away, wrestling with it.

  “…I still don’t understand what you mean.” In response he heard a chuckle.

  “Norn will understand, I’m sure of it.” Flora placed a hand on his shoulder, “Believe me, the mountain on her shoulders is greater than what you’re carrying. Or even what her sister is carrying.”

  “Eh?”

  “Maybe you’ll understand what I mean by the end of today.” she walked past and boarded the carriage without saying another word.