Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 116 (Part 2)

Since being created as a battle construct, she had never considered hobbies. Despite spending 60 years with the former master during the Mage Empire era, such a question had never come up.

“What? That’s the same as Larry’s answer.”

“Larry said that too? What a boring guy. So, what’s your hobby?”

“Hee-hee, I’m still trying to figure it out. I don’t want to be like Larry, training all day. It feels suffocating just watching him.”

“Larry is quite single-minded, isn’t he?”

Without any prompt, they both dipped their feet into the flowing water. The cold current swept over them.

“Hah, I won’t lose my emotions.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden? Lose your emotions?”

“I like Rodin.”

The conversation felt disconnected, like it jumped from nowhere. Jena didn’t understand but responded playfully.

“You mean romantically?”

“No! I mean as family. As family!”

Bianca shouted, flustered.

Her voice echoed in the quiet forest. Had they not walked far from the campsite, it might have woken someone from their sleep.

“Right. He is your savior, after all.”

“Yes. He’s a very kind brother to me. But sometimes, he scares me.”

“Scares you? The Young Master?”

“Yes. If he had helped the mercenaries more today, no one would have gotten hurt. And… and the troll, too…”

The memory of Rodin slashing the troll’s belly with cold precision was a shock to Bianca. It was so ruthless that thinking about it now still made her shudder.

“That’s what you think.”

“Are all wizards like Rodin? The last one I saw threatened and yelled a lot.”

“Hard to say. Before I served the Young Master, I had another master. Compared to him, the Young Master is really kind.”

Jena recalled Princess Elanerien, her former master.

At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it. She was a construct, a tool meant to follow orders.

But after awakening to a new life and gaining a new master, she realized how gentle Rodin was.

“Even more so than Rodin?”

“You said the Young Master didn’t step in enough, so it was scary, right? If it had been my previous master, she’d have simply said, ‘Eliminate them.’ And Karis and I would have annihilated everything in the way. Not just beasts, but people too.”

Princess Elanerien was a noble figure. Born of royal blood, she was the most beloved youngest in the imperial family.

Perhaps that’s why she had a fierce sense of self-importance, bordering on the extreme.

Only the emperor came before her; she couldn’t stand anyone else being above or ahead of her.

“That’s unbelievable. How could someone be like that?”

“If the Young Master had acted decisively today, sure, no mercenaries would have been hurt. But would they have been happy?”

“Of course. Nobody likes getting hurt!”

“They’re mercenaries. Their reputation and pay are based on their experience. If they could only say, ‘We survived thanks to a wizard,’ when they reached the city, they wouldn’t gain anything.”

At best, they would be able to say they had been saved by an impressive wizard. That would be the end of it.

“Why does that matter?”

“But since the Young Master only intervened to a degree, the mercenaries ended up finishing off the troll themselves. Now, when they reach the city, they can say, ‘We overcame a life-threatening situation with the strength of our comrades.’”

“How’s that different?”

“They earned the right to share their heroic tale and raise their worth. Their confidence will grow from having fought and won against a formidable monster.”

Bianca fell silent, contemplating Jena’s words.

Was avoiding injuries truly the best option? Or was it better to intervene just enough, like today?

Bianca was still too young and inexperienced to understand. She would need time and more experiences to grasp the events of the day.

But she learned there was a reason behind what she had thought was Rodin’s cruelty. That was enough for now.

“I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“No, it was an interesting experience for me. I thought the Young Master was too lenient.”

“Lenient? Rodin, lenient?”

“Yes, too lenient. He often chooses methods that minimize casualties, even if they’re more troublesome.”

Jena’s understanding of Rodin’s nature began during their escape from the underground ruins.

Back then, Rodin was a 6th-circle wizard, accompanied by two master swordsmen. While numerous wizards surrounded the ruins, they were no match for Rodin’s party.

If Princess Elanerien had been there, she would have slain them all and calmly walked west. There would have been a lot of blood, but it would have been an efficient way to handle it.

But Rodin cast a few spells and fled in the opposite direction of the Richmond Marquisate, choosing the longer, safer path to avoid needless killing.

The same held true during their confrontation with the Cedria Tower.

Princess Elanerien would have killed all the wizards outside the house. Cleaning up the aftermath would be a secondary concern.

It was better to eliminate future threats entirely when possible.

But Rodin didn’t choose that path. Even if it made things harder later, he chose the bloodless option in the moment.

“Rodin will leave us one day, won’t he?”

“Huh? What makes you say that?”

“It’s just a feeling. I have this sense that Rodin will eventually go.”

“Hmm.”

Jena wasn’t well-versed in feelings.

She talked about ‘feelings’ and ‘moods’ but was designed not to experience such emotions herself.

But she knew Rodin wouldn’t stay with Larry and Bianca forever. This wasn’t based on intuition but on facts.

‘He has to go to the capital.’

With the legacy of the Magic Empire inherited, Rodin was bound to visit the capital of the Magic Empire. He had to uncover what had happened at the end of the empire and receive its heritage.

They had discussed it lightly before. Rodin didn’t explicitly say he would cross the monster forest, but he had shown interest in it.

“Brr, my feet are cold. They’re going numb from being in the water too long.”

“It’s getting late. Let’s go back.”

“Yes.”

They walked back through the forest to the campsite, still shrouded in silence and calm.

Hyung_Otaku2

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