Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 110 (Part 1)

Margaret had died. Rodin was planning to visit the local government office to find a place to lay her to rest. He stated his intentions and asked Matthew to accompany him, but then, unexpectedly, Matthew responded with a question.

“So, you’re planning to take her back to your hometown?”

“Yes. I’m sure my late mother would have wanted to be buried in her homeland.”

“Where is your hometown?”

“Hedenes region.”

The mention of Hedenes made Rodin’s eyes widen.

The Hedenes that Rodin knew was a region bordering the Paroma Mountains. It wasn’t part of the Lennox Kingdom but the Tebia Kingdom, meaning they would have to cross a national border.

“Hedenes, as in the region in the western Tebia Kingdom?”

“You know about it, sir? Not many people do.”

“Ah!”

It was a fairly distant place. Located near the Paroma Mountains, which divided the Western Continent and the Central Continent, it would take more than a month by carriage to reach.

“So… I know this is asking a lot, but… Could I perhaps borrow a carriage? If you need collateral, I can pay…”

“No, that’s not necessary. Hmm, give me a moment. I need to think.”

The distance was a problem, but more pressing was that the journey would pass near Odella, where the Cedria Magic Tower was located.

‘That old man must still hold a grudge, right?’

Though their encounter had been brief, Rodin had felt the man’s capacity for holding onto resentment. He was the type who wouldn’t stop until he had repaid someone multiple times over.

“Matthew.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Were you also born in Hedenes?”

“Yes, I was. Though we moved here when I was two, so I don’t remember much.”

Rodin didn’t need to ask why Margaret had come all the way to this distant land. She had likely come in search of work.

The Marquisate of Richmond was one of the most bustling cities in the inland regions. Even in a faraway place like Hedenes, the fame of Richmond would have spread.

Moreover, Richmond was also renowned for its safety. Except for the Cedria Magic Tower, there had never been any major conflicts in the area, which was also true for Rodin’s experience.

“Matthew, do we need to leave right away?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?”

“I was wondering if we could delay the departure for a few days.”

“If we wait too long, my mother’s body will start to decay… I’m sorry, sir.”

Two days had already passed since the funeral. The warm weather had already caused signs of decomposition to appear.

‘I’ll have to do something.’

Rodin hadn’t touched Margaret’s body, thinking it would be best for her to return to the earth naturally. But if they were traveling all the way to distant Hedenes, he would need to take measures to prevent the body from decaying. Fortunately, it was not a difficult task for Rodin.

‘I could simply store her in a subspace. If that’s inconvenient, I could cast a preservation spell.’

He would do whatever Matthew wanted.

If Matthew wanted to keep seeing Margaret’s face, Rodin could provide a carriage and cast the preservation spell. If not, he could store her body in a subspace.

“Matthew, I’ll make sure your mother’s body doesn’t decay.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Don’t you remember the food storage? It keeps food from spoiling, so of course it can preserve a body.”

“Oh! Thank you so much, sir. I’m really grateful.”

Still, Rodin couldn’t shake the feeling that sending Matthew alone would be dangerous. The Cedria Magic Tower was one issue, but the Central Continent itself wasn’t a particularly safe place.

Unlike the Western Continent, which had no magic beasts except for the region west of the Magic Beast Forest, the Central Continent was home to magic beasts that appeared everywhere. This had led to a boom in the mercenary trade, but for ordinary people, the Central Continent was much more dangerous than the Western Continent.

Frequent territorial wars had also created numerous ruined houses, with many of the losers turning to banditry.

“Alright, I’ll start getting ready then. I need to let Larry and Bianca know as well.”

“I already said my goodbyes to them this morning.”

“Goodbye? No, we’re all going together.”

“Huh?”

Matthew thought he had misheard.

Hedenes was a place that took at least a month to reach. That was assuming nothing went wrong along the way—any unexpected events could extend the trip even longer.

“I’m saying we should go to Hedenes together.”

“But… why?”

“Well, it’ll give us a chance to clear our heads. Larry could also use some rest.”

Rodin had been feeling the need to curb Larry’s training sessions for a while now.

Just telling him to stop wouldn’t work, so Rodin had been looking for an excuse. A trip to Margaret’s hometown was a perfect pretext.

At the very least, Larry wouldn’t be able to swing his sword while riding in a carriage. That time would give his body some much-needed rest, and his mind could clear as well. It would be better than overworking himself.

“Larry has been training a bit too hard. Still, a trip that could take over two months—is that really okay?”

“What’s the problem? It’s just a trip. Give me two days, just enough time to wrap things up here.”

“Understood, sir.”

Oddly enough, the thought of leaving home made Rodin feel good. Could this be how children feel when they’re about to go on a field trip? His heart was brimming with excitement at the thought of seeing a new world.

The feeling was both unfamiliar and fascinating to Rodin.

Before he had even turned five, he had been sold off and had already seen the wider world. After leaving the training facility for elite soldiers, he had traveled through various nations on the Western Continent.

Even after arriving on the Central Continent, he had passed through both the Tebia Kingdom and the Lennox Kingdom.

‘Feels like I’ve already seen enough of strange places.’