NOVEL NEXT 41: Sage of Dawn
I was peeking outside from the back gate of the mansion, like a nosy housemaid.
Given what happened last year, I have to be cautious!
It’s not that I’m scared, okay?
I’m not afraid, not at all!
Just a bit nervous, that’s all.
“Young master, standing there won’t do any good. We’ve already checked the area for safety. There’s not even a single mouse around.”
Today’s guard is Isaac, a tall and super handsome man (thirty years old and married).
He has long beige hair tied in a ponytail. His wife is also super beautiful, and their daughter is the charming five-year-old Carol.
Isaac recently brought her to the mansion, and we played house together.
Carol was the mother, Michele was the father, and for some reason, I was the troublesome son!
How unfair!?
Anyway, Isaac was muttering behind me in exasperation.
“You’re underestimating the reproductive power of field mice! They make holes everywhere in the field, damaging the plant roots! Even if we close the holes now, new ones will open soon! What if those holes are air vents instead of entrances?”
Isaac tilted his head at my passionate explanation.
“You seem to hold quite a grudge. I was just using it as an example. Were there really field mice in this field?”
With Poko’s splendid magic, this field is so well-tilled that no field mice could exist!
“…No, there aren’t.”
Sorry.
I won’t say such nonsense anymore.
“Let’s get started already, or it’ll be dark soon.”
With that, Isaac lifted me up!
“Eek!”
“You’re still as light as ever, young master. You need to eat more to grow taller. You’re lighter than my Carol. That’s why no one takes you seriously.”
That has nothing to do with it!
Weight doesn’t determine everything!
Even if most boys in this world are tall and muscular!?
It’s not my fault I’m small!
It’s so unfair!!
“Here we go!”
With that shout, Isaac tossed me into the field!
“Huh?!”
Then, a whirlwind lifted me from below!
It’s Isaac’s wind magic and Fuu’s wind!
Isaac’s wind magic is top-notch. I trust him, so I can handle this acrobatic trick.
I spun in the whirl and executed a perfect triple axel!
Then, I landed gracefully on the soft field.
“Wow! Amazing!”
I basked in the applause from Isaac and the spirits.
Feeling proud! Heart pounding.
I was in the spotlight!!
“Let’s finish this quickly and go home, young master.”
Isaac said nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.
Grr, curse you, Isaac!
Needless to say, I stamped my feet in frustration.
Alright, I quickly finished making the ridges.
We’ll sow the seeds and plant the seedlings another day.
That will be when it gets a bit warmer.
One day…
“Hello! Is anyone home?”
I was basking in the sun in the garden with the spirits when I heard a voice from the front door.
A visitor?
Who could it be?
After a while, Martha came to call me, and she took my hand, leading me to the reception room.
Father and an elderly man with pointy ears were waiting there.
I blinked in surprise.
The old man who met my eyes smiled and began to introduce himself.
“Well, well, I heard from Jill that rare medicinal herbs can be found here, so I came to impose on you for a while. My name is Arschelied. As you can see, I’m an old elf.”
Sitting on the sofa in the reception room, the old man sipped his tea deliciously.
It’s not like I’m super excited about an elf coming.
He’s an old man. But he’s a handsome old man, like in his early old age.
He has wavy platinum hair tied loosely at the back.
Hey, he’s copying my hairstyle.
Though my hair is silky straight with a little ahoge sticking up.
Jill is Grandfather Jill, right? Are they acquaintances?
“Arschelied-sama is one of the party members from when your grandfather was an adventurer in his younger days, and he’s known worldwide as the ‘Sage of Dawn,'” my father explained to me, who was blinking in surprise.
Wow!
A sage grandpa came! This is like a light novel!
“That’s a long time ago. Just call me Old Al.”
“Al, is it? Nice to meet you, I’m Haku.”
When I bowed, Al nodded in satisfaction like a kind old man.
“Yes, yes, lovely. You’re even more adorable than Jill told me. And the kids behind you as well.”
Behind me?
Turning around, I saw the spirits clinging to the back of the sofa, all staring at Al.
Colorful dumplings, so cute.
Huh? Al can see these kids on his first meeting?
Do elves have high affinity with spirits?
Old Al is amazing!
Visiting Grandfather Jill for the first time in decades, Al was surprised by the magic repellent grass planted in the Ragnard Forest. It’s understandable since this grass, said to be difficult to cultivate, was growing abundantly everywhere.
Even the elves, experts of the forest, had not yet managed to cultivate the magic repellent grass.
And here it was, growing in large clusters around the human-inhabited areas, forests, and dungeons.
Al, in astonishment, reportedly bombarded Grandfather Jill with questions, “What is this!”
In response, Grandfather Jill started bragging endlessly about his cute grandson.
Although that wasn’t what Al wanted to hear, he patiently listened and found out that it was the work of the daughter who had married into the Radcliffe family and her grandson, who had inherited a plant specialization skill and succeeded in cultivating the magic repellent grass.
Al, being a sage, had an insatiable curiosity and couldn’t sit still, leading him to visit the Radcliffe house.
“I’ve lived for nearly five hundred years, and now that my life is nearing its end, I learned of a magical technology I didn’t know existed. Knowing this fact, I couldn’t just grow old and die! My heart raced with excitement despite my age! So I came here to seek guidance from this prodigy as my final culmination!!”
I’ve been promoted to a prodigy!
And it seems I’ve got a disciple five hundred years my senior!
But why?
Why is the grandpa rate so high?
Aren’t elves supposed to be beautiful ladies?