I Became a Magical Genius After Regression

Chapter 44

‘Oh dear…’

Randell scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

It was only natural.

As soon as the middle-aged man saw him, he ran over and hugged him, starting to cry loudly.

It was a situation he really wanted to avoid, but he couldn’t just push him away coldly.

“Thank… Thank you… Thank you…”

How could he push away a man who kept repeating his thanks in a choked voice, saying he wasn’t feeling well?

Randell spoke in a slightly awkward voice.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yes, yes, Wizard…”

“It’s alright. I received something too, didn’t I?”

“No, no. If giving something meant everything would come back, life wouldn’t be this harsh. You saved my life last time… Thank you…”

Randell could relate to those words.

The countless truths he had witnessed while wandering the continent.

A world overflowing with people who, instead of repaying kindness, demanded more and caused harm.

Goodwill is a symbol of weakness, and the weak are devoured.

There are no exceptions, whether commoners or nobles.

That’s why Randell was truly grateful to this middle-aged man who had given him a spatial ring.

Not simply because it was a precious artifact.

But because he had responded to the goodwill Randell had shown.

Randell grabbed Walton’s shoulder and asked,

“How is your daughter?”

“She, she’s much better now.”

“That’s a relief. I heard the lord sent a healer. Did they come and go well?”

“Yes! They said if they had been a little later, it would have been difficult to fully recover, but fortunately, they weren’t late. They also gave us expensive medicine, and potions, and, and, my daughter… she can walk now. Sob…”

Walton, while explaining the treatment process, once again wiped his eyes.

If the previous tears were simply tears of emotion, this time they were silent sobs, filled with the regrets of life.

It seemed as if the resentment, injustice, suffering, and sadness he had felt all this time were being washed away by his tears.

Randell’s life had been much the same.

Nothing worked out, his insides boiled, but there was no path in sight.

‘It’s a good thing I had a talent for magic.’

Though he was only half a wizard, he was still a wizard.

He never had to starve wherever he went.

Compared to himself, he couldn’t imagine how heavy this middle-aged man’s life must have been.

Tap, tap.

Randell silently patted Walton’s shoulder.

* * *

After sobbing for a long time, Walton stepped away from Randell.

And then, as if realizing his own disgrace, he said with an embarrassed face.

“Oh dear, I’ve kept an important guest standing outside for too long. Please, come in.”

“Then I’ll take a look around the house.”

Randell gestured to Manwellin, who was standing behind him.

Manwellin hesitated a little before approaching.

It seemed he was regretting coming here, feeling the heavy and serious atmosphere.

Creak.

The house they entered following Walton was small but tidy.

Spacious enough for two people to live comfortably.

Walton forcibly seated Randell at the head of the table and began to bring out things to serve.

Starting with water, then fruits, snacks, and so on.

Seeing that he was about to bring out everything in the house, Randell had to stop him.

“Sir, just a few apples will do.”

“No, no. How can I serve such simple things to a benefactor? Please wait a moment. I’ll go out and get something better—”

“I had a big lunch, so I can’t eat much anyway.”

“Still…”

While they were having this not-quite-an-argument, a woman’s voice came from inside.

“Father, who has come?”

A delicate and thin voice, as if it could break at any moment, but pleasant to hear like a song.

Hearing that voice, Walton exclaimed with delight.

“Oh, Yumia! Come out here quickly.”

“Who has come that you’re so excited?”

“The person you’ve been wanting to meet so much has come.”

“Could it be… that person named Randell?”

“Yes.”

“Just a moment!”

With an urgent voice, there was a clattering sound from the woman’s room.

As the three of them looked towards the door, wondering what was happening, the woman came out a moment later.

Her hair neatly tied up, her face still pale as if she was recovering from an illness.

She wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, but she had a pure and charming appearance.

“Yumia, this is Lord Randel.”

“Ah…!”

The woman, Yumia, burst into tears as soon as she heard those words and looked at Randel.

“Oh… haha.”

Randel could only laugh awkwardly at her gaze.

Like father, like daughter, they both made people feel awkward.

In fact, he had rarely experienced such situations, which made it even more embarrassing.

The only good deed he had done in his life was giving alms to orphans, as he had to fend for himself.

‘People didn’t approach me in the first place.’

What does a mercenary do?

They perform various tasks such as escorting and searching, but the most common task is killing something.

Monsters, bandits, sometimes even in wars…

Seeing blood all the time, Randel had unknowingly always carried a murderous aura.

Naturally, people had to avoid him.

“Ah, please have a seat.”

Randel offered the seat next to him.

It was originally the host’s job, but he felt she would stand there forever if left alone.

“Let me introduce her again. This is my daughter, Yumia.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Randel.”

“Nice to meet you too…”

“Oh no, you’re crying again. Please don’t. It makes me want to leave immediately.”

“Yes, then…”

As Yumia sat down, Randel changed the subject and asked.

“You look young, how old are you?”

“I’m… 19 years old this year.”

“Oh, you’re five years older than me. I thought you were my age because you look so young.”

“Th-thank you. I think it’s because I’ve been sick and stayed at home.”

“Is your treatment complete?”

“Yes, the healer said I just need to exercise regularly now. The lord gave me several potions too…”

“Oh, a potion. The lord has put a lot of thought into this.”

Randell said as he nudged Manwellin, who was sitting next to him.

Potions are quite rare.

So, the mid-level knight Randell faced only had one for emergencies.

But the fact that the lord sent not only a healer but also a potion meant he really put a lot of thought into it.

Manwellin cleared his throat and said,

“Ahem, my father is a man of duty.”

“Your father? Then this person here is…?”

“Yes, this is the lord’s eldest daughter, Sir Manwellin.”

“Oh! I apologize for not recognizing you. I’ve been so busy trying to make a living that I didn’t know your face…”

“It’s alright. I’m not here to be treated as a guest, just to escort Randell, so pretend I’m not here.”

After the introductions were over,

they had various conversations in a good atmosphere.

Yumia’s disease was said to be an incurable one that slowly stiffens the muscles.

It was the first time Randell had heard of such a disease, but it seemed that people didn’t live long after contracting it.

The only treatments were expensive medicines and potions.

Considering that, Walton was quite remarkable.

He had kept her alive with folk remedies, despite everyone saying it was an incurable disease and to give up.

As they talked, the story of his deceased wife came up.

It was quite a tragic romance.

Manwellin, who had been trying hard to keep a straight face, couldn’t help but tear up.

‘No, when she was a mercenary, she could cut down monsters and people without a second thought.’

Seeing Manwellin, who had become sentimental and was shedding tears, was both absurd and amusing.

“The ring I gave you was actually from my wife. She said her great-great-grandmother received it for helping someone. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, so I kept it…”

“Everyone has that one last thing they hold on to.”

“That’s right. And I’m really glad I could give that one thing to you, wizard.”

Manwellin looked at Randell with a face that said ‘What ring?’ but he lightly ignored her.

Instead, he grinned and said to Walton,

“But it still seems insufficient.”

“Pardon?”

Randell rummaged through his pockets and pulled something out.

It was a really unexpected item.

An old clay tablet, so worn that dirt was falling off it.

Manwellin recognized it and spoke.

“Oh? This is the one you took from the storage, right?”

“Your memory is good.”

“It wasn’t that long ago.”

Randell handed it to Yumia.

“Try holding this with both hands.”

“Like this?”

Yumia didn’t know what was going on, but she obediently followed Randell’s instructions.

Perhaps because Randell had cured her illness, her sparkling eyes held not just trust but blind faith.

Randell, shaking off the strange feeling of goosebumps, spoke.

“That’s right. Now, put some strength into it and try to snap it in half.”

“Oh, I’ve been bedridden for so long that I’m weak…”

“It’s not hard, so it’s okay. But you can’t just break it. You have to put your heart into it.”

“Put my heart into it?”

“Yes, earnestly wish for it to break.”

At Randell’s words, Yumia put strength into her arms.

Her thin arms, which seemed like they would break with a tap due to her long bedridden life, trembled.

She struggled for a long time, but the clay tablet, despite its fragile appearance, didn’t even crack.

“This, this…”

Yumia looked at Randell with a restless face, as if it was impossible.

But Randell didn’t say anything else, just made eye contact for a moment and nodded.

“……”

Understanding his meaning, Yumia closed her eyes.

Then, furrowing her brow in concentration.

“Ei.”

Snap.

She succeeded in breaking the clay tablet in half.

**Pssss.**

The clay tablet, broken into two pieces, turned to powder and slipped through Yumia’s fingers.

However, it did not touch the ground. Instead, it soared as if caught in an updraft and hovered in the air.

“Th-that is…”

In front of the astonished gazes of the people.

The powder, which had been drifting for a while, soon gathered on the table and began to form strange characters.

It looked like a sentence.

Yumia, seeing this, was flustered.

“Ah! D-did I do something wrong?”

“No, you did very well. Just wait a moment.”

As Randel said, a change soon occurred.

The characters that filled the table began to shine.

Zuuung—

At that moment, a sphere floated up, and Aris appeared.

Aris examined the characters for a moment and then spoke.

—The words of the covenant. Make the contract.

‘Ah. What should I do now?’

—Just say you will make the contract.

‘In the spirit language?’

—Yes.

Randel, having heard the pronunciation from Aris, said.

“Repeat after me. Lumenlishium.”

“L-Lumenlishium…?”

As soon as Yumia uttered the words of the contract.

Chiiiik.

The characters glowed white-hot and burned the table black.

From the scorched spot, a faint flame arose.

The flame, flickering like a mirage, soon gathered into a shape.

“Huh? A lizard…?”

It was a lizard made of fire.

Ssshh, ssshh.

Every time it stuck out its tongue, a small flame flickered at the corner of its mouth.

While people were bewildered.

The fist-sized fire lizard looked around once and then crawled to Yumia, rubbing its face against her hand.

Ssshh, ssshh.

The table was charred black in the exact shape of the fire lizard’s four footprints.

However, Yumia seemed to feel no heat at all and even carefully cupped the fire lizard in her hands.

The fire lizard, seemingly enjoying Yumia’s grip, continued to rub its face against her hand.

“Y-Yumia! Are you okay?”

“Yes, it’s not hot at all.”

Walton, who had come to his senses late, shouted in surprise.

But Yumia, as if nothing was wrong, slightly opened her hand.

Then the fire lizard, as if out for a stroll, squeezed between her fingers and wandered around.

“Phew…”

The startled Walton sighed in relief.

But there was one person who was even more shocked than Walton.

It was Manwellin.

“W-Wait! Isn’t that a spirit!?”

“Yes, it is. A fire spirit.”

“No, no! How… How did you… Was that clay tablet some kind of contract with the spirit?”

“Yes, you just saw it with me.”

“A spirit contract… Something you can’t get even for a fortune…”

“It’s expensive, yes. That’s why I gave it.”

“No, no…”

Manwellin, unable to comprehend, kept repeating “no” with a dazed look.

Randell patted Manwellin’s shoulder and said.

“Congratulations.”

“Huh, what?”

“You now have a spirit mage in your territory. You’ll take good care of her, right? So she doesn’t go to another territory.”

Manwellin looked confused.

It was absurd to give such a precious thing to a commoner girl, but it was also good that a spirit mage had appeared in the territory.

“Don’t be too disappointed. Don’t you remember there was one more?”

“Ah!”

Randell took out another clay tablet from his bosom and handed it to Manwellin.

“Is… is this for me…?”

“Give it to the young lord.”

“For my brother?”

“Yes, he seems to have some affinity with nature.”

“Ah…!”

Randell looked at Manwellin, who was holding the clay tablet preciously, with satisfaction.

“Then… does this mean I’ve repaid all my debts now?”

“Uh, yes!”

Manwellin nodded, not knowing what debts Randell was talking about, but nodded anyway.

He was so flustered that he didn’t even realize Randell had spoken informally.

In fact, Randell had done enough.

He had saved the territory.

He had improved his sword skills.

He had even given a spirit to his brother.

‘Manwellin, you saved my life exactly five times.’

One of those times, Manwellin had pushed Randell aside and taken a sword blow meant for him.

It was such a severe wound that his intestines were visible, and he barely survived after hovering between life and death.

Randell had felt so guilty about the scar that ran diagonally across his side every day.

‘Still, this should be enough to settle the score, right?’

Randell also spoke to Walton.

“You too, sir. All debts are repaid.”

“Y-yes.”

Walton, who had been staring blankly at his daughter playing with the spirit, nodded belatedly.

In fact, giving the spirit to Yumia was partly in exchange for the subspace, but there was another motive as well.

‘With the family staying here, the stronger the territory becomes, the better.’

It was a task done with multiple purposes.

Randell, who now felt relieved as if he had shed all the burdens of his heart, suddenly remembered something and asked.

“Ah, there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Yes, Mage.”

“I heard that obtaining the artifact was the second fortune, and meeting me was the third fortune.”

“Indeed, that was the case.”

“Then what was the first fortune?”

Walton smiled brightly with a face that seemed about to cry.

“Of course, it was meeting my wife.”