“I AM GOING TO ASK HER!”
Ewald declared not long after he woke up from his bed. It had been a while since the party. His life had been peaceful if not dull. Everyday had been pretty much identical. In the morning, maids would invade his personal space. He was then sent to the library for a period of self-study. And then a short swordsmanship training with Harder who showed up with Brugg almost everyday which sort of pissed him off because he, too, wanted companionship.
Then he’d have afternoon as his spare time which he’d spend either books or staring outside for no apparent reason.
His life was becoming boring as hell. Therefore, he had finally decided to do something about it.
First of all though...
“I AM GOING TO ASK HER!” He repeated as he clenched his fist. He kept on forgetting to ask Greta about the history of Macomaco tea. This time, he was really determined to ask her about it.
And, thus, when he was sent to the library by the maids, he requested Greta specifically.
“I’ve answered your summon,” said Greta with a light bow.
“Miss. Brugg! How goes life?”
She tilted her head. “Pardon?” She was confused because he acted as if it had been a long time since they met the last time. However, they met each other just a day ago during his training with Noah.
Her relationship with Noah was rapidly accelerating. They were to be engaged for a year before a marriage ceremony. Their families agreed with the marriage without any fuss. Thus, everything had been quite smooth for them. As for themselves, they were becoming quite close as well because they recently started to show affection toward each other in public, such as hugging and kissing on cheeks.
Ewald was jealous, so came a little teasing.
“How goes with Sir. Harder?”
She was reluctant to make a reply. Instead, she tried to change the subject.
“You called me because?”
While he wanted to tease more, he didn’t want to lose sight of his goal again. Thus, he went to the topic and asked about the origin of Macomaco tea.
“Why is Macomaco tea named so? Isn’t it weird?”
“Hm, perhaps to those who don’t know the origin of the tea.”
“So, you do know.”
“It’s a bit of a long story. I am going to need to bring a world map actually.”
Ewald tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyebrows. “Pardon? Why the world map to explain?”
“You will soon know.”
Since they were in the library, it didn’t take her long to bring out a large leather parchment that had been rolled with two thick leather strips. When she unfolded the parchment, what he saw was -
image [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/2095/9t5GZC.png]
“You call this ‘a world map’?”
It was hardly a world map. In fact, there was barely anything on it.
“This is all we know. We do know the world is larger, but this is as far as our knowledge goes.”
She pointed at the Siwen Dynasty and then made a circular motion toward the Kingdom of Atra and ended up at the Kingdom of Egra with her index finger.
“These three countries used to be one. It is our understanding that the Siwen Dynasty used to rule Atra and Egra.”
“Really? That does explain why Siwen has invaded us.”
“Perhaps. But that was around 1,200 years ago. The Kingdom of Egra has been independent for at least 900 years. If their casus belli is that our nation used to be theirs, it’s invalid.”
Ewald nodded along. 900 years was a long time indeed. If they failed to reconquer the land even after 900 years, Greta was correct. It would be their own failure.
“I assume they’ve been invading us because we are an easier target?”
“Compared to Atra, yes, we are indeed an easier target. At the same time, Atra can’t really invade us due to the mountains you see. It pretty much covers the entire border between us and Atra.”
“Yeah, it’s really quite convenient.”
He could easily see why Siwen would invade Egra. Regardless, that was not the focus.
“So, where does Macomaco tea come in?”
“The founder of this kingdom was holy Queen Maco. At least, that is what the records say.”
“So..., the tea plant was named after the founder queen?”
“If the records are to be believed, it seems the queen created the tea plant with her magic.”
“What? Is that even possible?”
Greta shrugged as her response. In order to create a plant out of nothing..., such magic would not be from the four elements..., or is it?
“I doubt fire could create a new plant. Water...? Earth, nope. Wind, nah.” He counted his fingers. “Are there people with an affinity to life?”
As far as he knew, there were only four kinds of elements: Fire, water, earth, and wind. Thus, there were four kinds of magic. However, if the queen had indeed created a new plant, that sounded like she had an affinity with life, ruled by the God of life. This also meant that it was possible that there were people with an affinity with death, ruled by the God of death?
Oh, shit, this is getting complicated.
As if read his mind, Greta shrugged and told him.
“It’s getting twisted, I do know. Just so you know, I do think there are only four kinds of elemental magic right now. But that does not mean there used to be just four.”
“So.....” He folded his arms, in thoughts. “The founder queen, who was a life mage, created the Macomaco plant. Rightfully so, the plant was named after her. Okay, I get that. But why Macomaco? Why not just Maco?”
“I think the people didn’t want to use her name plainly like that. So, they probably repeated her name twice to get around calling the founder queen’s name directly.”
“I do wonder why she created the specific plant. Why the tea plant in particular?”
“Well, this is my assumption as a woman. The queen, too, was a woman obviously. Women love Macomaco tea because it tastes sweet, yet it doesn’t make you fat. Maybe she wanted sweets but didn’t want to get fat?”
“She created the tea plant with her magic, so as not to get fat?” He laughed while holding his belly. “That is hilarious!”
She smiled along.
“Speaking of which, is there still a Macomaco tea shortage?”
“I haven’t been able to drink it for years,” She replied promptly. “The last time I checked for a tea bag, the cost was beyond ridiculous. It wasn’t something I could afford especially when it’s a luxury item.”
He did have the knowledge to culture the tea. In fact, he had been thinking of starting a small Macomaco tea field just to kill time and make some coins. He had yet to bring the idea to Elias however. He wasn’t going to make the operation big. He wasn’t going to drive his family’s business out.
“Thank you, Miss. Brugg.” He opened his arms as he stood up. “A hug, please?”
“Eh..., pardon?”
“Nevermind.”
And so, he brought the idea to Elias. When he met him though, he looked depressed for some reason.
“Is there something wrong, Sir. Hunt?”
“No, I am fine.” His voice was clearly weak, void of his usual sharpness.
“I can come back another day if you aren’t feeling well, sir.”
“No, it’s fine.” He waved away. “What can I do for you?”
He explained the idea to him briefly. Upon hearing it, he frowned.
“I don’t disagree with the idea entirely but I do have an issue with a noble’s son farming.”
“You could sugarcoat it as gardening. It’s not going to be large-scale farming to begin with.”
Elias sighed deeply. His eyes didn’t have a focus as if his mind was elsewhere. There was also this sorrowful look in his eyes. Clearly something was amiss about him.
“Perhaps I should really come back the other day.”
“No, it’s fine.” His voice became firmer, and he stood up from his chair and stood in front of a window nearby, facing away from Ewald.
“Fine, I will find some way to make it happen.”
“Eh..., should we take this to father...?”
He was acting really strange.
“No, it’s fine. Anyway, why don’t you visit your parents?”
Ewald narrowed his eyes progressively and put his hand on the tip of his short sword.
“Are you Sir. Hunt? Who are you?”
He turned around. “It’s good that you are on alert, but I speak the truth. You may visit your folks in Laufeld. You will need the seeds, no?”
He had a point. Although Ewald did feel that something was clearly off about him, it wasn’t his place to pry.
“Won’t I need guards?”
Meaning his father might need to get involved to grant permission.
“Hmm,” Elias folded his arms. “Take Lady Brugg with you. She should be able to assist you with the levitation spell.”
He sat down and began to write a brief letter. Then he stamped a wax at its bottom as well as making a stylish signature next to it. Folding it neatly, he handed it over to Ewald.
“Show this to her, and she will comply.”
“... Thank you, sir.”
Something was clearly off about him. Regardless, he had his own matters to deal with.
Locating Greta was fairly easy. One would simply need to find Noah who was almost always at the barracks. He had his own quarters there since he was the captain.
Bingo.
Yep, Greta was in the barracks. She was sitting in a corner, reading a book casually. There were a few other guards in the barrack as well. They didn’t seem to mind her. Must have gotten used to her presence, he thought.
A presence of a female within the barracks itself would have been a rare occurrence, but Greta was known to visit the barracks even before she was engaged to Noah because she was a part of the army. Female soldiers were rare, but female mages were common.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Elias told him before that it was entirely intentional to allow female mages to use the barracks. In doing so, the male soldiers acted a lot more disciplined, or so he claimed.
He was going to call “Mrs. Harder”. Then realized that he was going a little too far. Besides, there were others in the vicinity.
The guards, once they noticed his presence, gave him light bows.
“Miss. Brugg.”
Standing in front of her, Ewald called softly.
“Hm?” She looked up. “Oh? What brings you here?”
He handed the letter from Elias over to her. Upon reading it, she closed her book, stood up, then placed the book on the chair.
“Shall we go outside?”
They were at the training ground. There was a guard who was practising in front of a dummy.
“Have you ever cast levitation before?” She inquired.
“No, I have not. I was afraid that I might pass out.”
“Try casting it with spirits. See how it goes.”
Nodding, Ewald began to chant.
“Spirits of Wind, hear my call. Make me fly: Levitation!”
His body began to float.
“Woah, woah!” He exclaimed while waggling in the air. It was an awkward sensation. He hadn’t felt this ever since... that night.
“Feeling light-headed at all?” She inquired while placing her index finger cutely on her chin.
Surprisingly, he didn’t feel light-headed.
“No, I actually feel fine.”
“Fly around and get a feel on how to control your body in the air.”
It turned out that the lesser version of levitation by using the powers of wind spirits wouldn’t allow him to go further than about ten meters in air. And its top speed was about on par with running speed. Basically, this version of levitation wasn’t going to be useful in reaching Laufeld. It’d take around five days if flew nonstop.
Once he landed, Greta gave it a thought.
“Let’s try again tomorrow but with elementals. Rest well today.”
Ewald did nothing further on that day since it was important to preserve stamina. He stayed in his quarters and read books until he went to bed.
The next morning, they met up at the training ground once more. Annoyingly, Noah was also present.
“Mr. Harder, it’s good to see you. I guess you are going to see your wife off?”
Noah cleared his throat.
“Little master, is it just me or have you become a little too menacing?”
Well, you aren’t wrong. I am annoyed that you got a girl. I can’t have one even if I wanted to.
“Oh, my, I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Harder.”
“Anyway,” Greta chimed in. “Let us begin. Cast levitation please with elementals this time.”
Nodding, Ewald cited his chant. This would be the first time ever he’d cast levitation with the power of elementals.
“Elementals of Wind, please hear my call. Make me fly: Levitation!”
For a very brief moment, his body felt dull and heavy as if he got drunk. He felt light-headed as well. But still the spell activated, and his body floated. Alas, he was in no condition of maintaining any further and simply passed out in the air.
When he woke up, it was a full day later.
“Damn it,” He said to himself as soon as he opened his eyes. He had just enough energy to cast it. The mere fact that he was successful in casting was good news however.
Greta was soon informed that Ewald had woken up and visited him.
“What now? was what he asked as soon as he saw her approaching.
“Fear not, there is a spell called energize.”
“Oh?” His ears twitched.
“It is a support spell from a fire mage. It boosts one’s energy for a period. With it, you will be able to cast and maintain levitation.”
He had never heard of such a spell.
“However,” She added. “Since your affinity is five, I don’t believe you will be able to make it to Laufeld in one-go, meaning you will need to cast it once more.”
“You mean you are able to reach Laufeld with a single cast?”
She nodded and said, “I am not sure how far you will go. I am assuming that you reach half the distance at least. Ideally, two thirds would be nice.”
“What are you planning?”
“I want you to cast a spirit version of levitation once your initial levitation is worn off. It will be far safer in the air. And then just keep on flying. I will watch you from afar and keep you safe.”
Folding arms, he considered her plan. The reason they are trying to use magic was simple: Time. With magic, reaching Laufeld from Lux would take less than a day. On a horse, it’d take at least three days. On foot, about twice longer. Another reason was practice and gauging the upper limit of his own magical ability at his current age. They’d use horses on return.
Nodding himself that her plan seemed alright, he decided to go for it.
“This is Theo Ros.” Greta introduced a young man in the training around. Theo Ros looked to be in early 20s like Greta. He was an androgynous young man who could be mistaken as a woman if dressed up that way. He had well trimmed black short hair with jade eyes.
“Theo Ros at your serve, milord,” He bowed lightly with a palm on his chest.
The Ros was another landless noble family that served under the Fenchel.
“I realize I’ve been asked to cast energize on you, milord.”
“Yes, correct.”
Theo Ros was a fire mage with an affinity score of 6. Unlike Greta who dressed up like a mage, however, Theo dressed up like an adventurer with a set of leather armour and a spear on his back. He looked more like a warrior than a mage.
Noticing Ewald’s glances, he explained.
“I consider myself more of a warrior than a mage. Yes, I do have a decent affinity score, but my fighting style is melee.”
“I see. Thank you for your explanation.”
“No problem, milord. Now, allow me.” He, then, chanted. “Elementals of fire, heed my call. Enter this child’s body and awaken his inner fire: Energize!”
What looked like two fire earthworms came out of Theo’s hands and entered Ewald’s body. Almost immediately, he felt something hot inside him was surging upwards.
“Ohhhhhh!” He exclaimed in awe as he felt powered up. It felt pretty amazing. Any residual feeling of tiredness vanished at once, and he felt like he could do anything.
“Milord, please cast levitation now,” Greta said.
“Elementals of wind, please hear my call. Make me fly: Levitation!”
What happened a day before did not happen this time. His body didn’t feel heavy and dull, and he didn’t feel any light-headedness.
“Sir. Ros, thank you,” Greta said as she, too, cast levitation.
As Ewald and Greta flew away, Theo waves his hand weakly.
“WOOOHOOO!”
Ewald was excited. The elemental version of levitation was really awesome. He was going so fast that the wind felt like it was bashing against his face.
“Milord, that’s the wrong way!” Greta exclaimed.
“Ah, sorry.”
“Follow me please, and don’t get too excited. Basically, don’t waste your energy and focus.”
“Right.”
This is so fucking cool...
The last time he cast levitation, it was to avenge Fio and his children. He didn’t have the luxury of mind to enjoy this. Besides, it was night.
What impressed him the most was the sheer speed. He was flying really fast to a point that looking directly forward was a hard task due to wind bashing his eyeballs. A bit further ahead, there was Greta.
She is wearing pants...
He was hoping that she was wearing a skirt underneath her robe.
They were flying steadily for a while. At one point, Ewald saw a dot on the horizon. He recognized immediately. It was Laufeld. It was also at this point that he was losing speed and attitude.
“Lady Brugg! I am losing the spell!” He shouted.
Greta slowed down immediately and turned around gracefully in the air.
“Land safely, milord.”
And so he did. Greta was still in the air.
“Please cast the spirit version. We are almost there. I think we’ve come two third. Please cast quickly before any monsters sniff your presence.”
“Right. Spirits of wind, please hear my call. Make me fly: Levitation!”
Compared to before, Ewald was now flying at a much slower pace which was about the running speed of a man. He was at his maximum altitude as they made their approach toward Laufeld.
There was a group of werewolves that spotted Ewald along the way. They chased him after him before being blasted away by Greta’s wind blade spells. The spell was too weak to have killed them, but they lost their pace and could no longer keep up.
But wait. WAAAIIITTTTT -
“Miss. Brugg, did you cast those wind blades without chanting?!”
Beaming a grin, she replied, “I’ve recently been able to cast low tier wind spells by just thoughts.”
“You must be beloved by wind, Miss. Brugg.”
A smile surfaced on her face, but she made no further comment.
Both of them landed safely at Laufeld town gate.
“It feels like it’s been years,” He remarked. He looked around, and nothing seemed to have changed. It was a quiet town after all. He sniffed the air which smelled like manure.
“Yep!” He snickered. “This is Laufeld, right!”
When he reached his home, he saw his parents working in the field. Tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to shout “Mom and dad!” but could not.
As soon as his parents noticed him, it was Vilma who ran to him and hugged him tightly. She shouldn’t have done so but did it anyway.
Ewald cried in her boobs.
After calming down, he explained his desire to start a small Macomaco field in Lux and that he came here for some seeds.
“You are my first son. You have the right to culture the tea,” Grent said as he handed over a small linen pouch. “You do know the rules, don’t you?”
Nodded, Ewald replied, “Yes. Only I will farm it.”
“Good. Now, I am unsure how the plant will fare in Lux. It’s a bit further North after all. But it should grow fine.”
Apparently, the plant was really sensitive to its climate. At this point, Greta chimed in.
“Excuse me, but I am here to purchase this month’s tea also. She placed six silver coins on the dinner table.”
Grent looked confused. “Six coins? I thought it was three.”
Ewald explained that lord Fenchel agreed to pay a bit more as a form of support.
“I see. Don’t mind if I do.” Taking the coin gleefully, he handed two silver coins over to Vilma. “Let’s purchase some red meat for tonight’s feast.”
Vilma smiled brightly in return. “Yes, dear.”
“Miss. Bru- Huh?” Ewald looked for Greta.
She wasn’t there. It turned out that she was playing with Faro and Taro. She really loved children. She had Taro in her arms and was dancing around. Faro was clapping and playing along.
Hmmm?
He rubbed his eyes.
Am I seeing things? What are those green butterflies?”
Some sort of shining green butterflies were dancing together. Soon, they vanished from his view.
Great, I am seeing stuff. I must be tired from the journey.
He turned around and left Greta be. There was no need to break her little break from her job.
Grent was out to finish up the field, so there was Vilma and the old maid in the dining area of the house.
“Have you been doing well?” He asked Vilma, who was giving a silver coin to the old maid to purchase meat.
“No complaints, dear,” She replied with a Goddess-tier smile. “How about you?”
Sighing, he let out a bitter smile. “Complicated,” He replied curtly.
She patted his head. “I do know.”
Indeed, she, too, was a noble.
“Mom, do you ever regret leaving nobility?”
She shook her head gently. “No. Life's harder but it’s simpler. I guess I can say this because money isn’t really an issue for us. I may be a farmer’s wife now, but this family is at the upper end of farmers.”
“Would you ever go back to nobility if allowed?”
It took her a bit to answer.
“That depends. Are you planning to?”
Ewald also took a bit to answer.
“Yes. Not anytime soon, but I do plan to.”
She smiled. “If so, make your father the mayor of Laufeld. That will bring me back to the nobility without altering our lives too much. Your father will continue to farm while I will take the role of the mayor. Your father will be the mayor on paper though.”
That ... is not a bad idea at all!
Her suggestion blew away a layer of clouds in his mind. Being happy for the moment, he went out to the field and assisted his father in tending the farm.
“Good, you haven’t forgotten,” Grent remarked as he observed him picking the right leaves.
“I haven’t been away for that long,” He retorted with a pout. “By the way, why isn’t Faro helping?”
He shrugged. “The lad kept making mistakes. I don’t think he’s as smart as you are.”
“He’s still too young. I began at five, you know.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just that I had high expectations after how you turned out.”
Ewald smiled. He was at peace here. He really did love this place, this farm, and this atmosphere.
A simpler life, his mother told him. Yes, a simpler life. That was what he really wanted. A simple life where he’d take care of his family in his earnest.
At dinner, it was indeed a feast for the family’s standards. There was a very large chunk of boiled meat in the middle of their dining table. It had been boiled simply. The only seasoning, if one could call that, was just salt. Still, the meat pieces were delicious. It was simple food yet good enough. Everyone joined at the table, even the old maid, and shared the meal together. He never ate with anyone back at the Fenchel manner. It was a stark contrast.
The dinner was loud. Vilma and the old maid were busy helping Faro and Taro eat the meat since they didn’t quite know how to handle them. Grent and Ewald were exchanging ideas on how to make fermenting the tea leaves better. Finally, Greta was minding her own business and was quietly eating.
Oh, how much had he missed such a lively dinner.
That evening, Ewald laid down on a nearby hill, watching the sky. Crickets were in full force as they loudly sang. He had a good time, and his belly was full. He was happy.
“You seem to be enjoying your time,” came a voice. He recognized it in an instant. It was Greta’s voice.
“Miss. Brugg, so do you.”
She sat down next to him. “The Brugg house ran a kindergarten for noble children to earn some extra money. I have always enjoyed being with children.”
“What? Are you serious? Nobles let their children be looked after like that?”
“That is the life of a landless noble family. To explain better, the Brugg has a single servant and two maids, for the whole family. Our house is even smaller than the mayor’s house in Laufeld. Worse, it’s falling apart.”
Nobody has it easy, huh.
“I doubt the Harder family is in a better state.”
“Will you be moving into the Harder manor once you marry?”
“No, we’ve decided to move out to a small house. Noah has decided that he’d start a branch family. He is determined to earn a fief.”
War may be bad, but for knights, war was the only opportunity. They may perish trying, but still it was their way of living.
Now, what she didn’t tell Ewald was that this “small house” was actually more of a hut that was located in the outskirts. She didn’t bring any dowry, and Noah was living paycheck to paycheck. They had no leeway of being able to afford any decent house for themselves. A hut it may have been, but it would be their hut. Thus, she had no complaints.
Either way, Ewald wasn’t sure how many days he could stay in Laufeld. He wanted to stay as long as possible. That would be down to Greta who was given an instruction from Elias.
In the end, they stayed for about three days before Greta informed Ewald that they should return.
“Did you enjoy your break?” She asked while she attempted to tame a horse in front of her. They had just borrowed a pair of horses from the Laufeld mayor.
“Very much, yes.” He felt no need to hide anything from her. She knew his secrets and she had been one of his closest allies. In fact, he felt that it was now his duty to help the Harder couple to rise to a new height.
His world was getting bigger, and so were his responsibilities.