Chapter 26
Without realizing it, Tracia had been lost in old memories. But when she met those orange-golden eyes that resembled the ones from her memories, she snapped back to the present.
She finally voiced the question that had been bothering her.
“If what you’re saying is true, there must be plenty of people who can get you monster-grade materials. So why come to me?”
At her question, Elses looked into Tracia’s clear, light-green eyes—and was reminded of Martin, whose eyes were the same color.
Even when the merchant guild was much smaller, Martin had always helped those who were weak and powerless.
His granddaughter, Tracia, would surely be the same kind of person.
“Before I explain that, may I ask you one thing?”
Tracia gestured for her to go on.
“Has the former viscount… gone down to the estate?”
In truth, that question was more of Elses’s hope than curiosity.
Tracia gave her a puzzled look, surprised she didn’t already know.
“My grandfather passed away half a year ago from an illness.”
Even though Elses had expected that answer, her heart still dropped the moment she heard it.
Martin had been the one who called her Hero when everyone else dismissed her as weak and unworthy—a man who had respected her even as a child.
Despite their age difference, he had been a true friend.
Thinking of him, Elses found herself speaking words she didn’t need to say.
“…The one who helped him in the Arcne Forest thirteen years ago—that was a close friend of mine.”
It was her way of saying she was Luel, without revealing the truth outright.
Tracia’s eyes trembled.
“You’re saying you were that woman’s friend?”
“Yes. My friend always respected the former viscount deeply.”
Martin wasn’t just someone who had helped her return to the present world; he was the one who made her want to live as a true hero.
She had liked that he called her “Hero.”
She had liked that the man she risked her life to save had gone on to live kindly, helping the weak.
Whenever she thought of him, she felt that perhaps her courage that day had made this world a little warmer.
And maybe—even if there hadn’t been a quest to “save the world”—saving him might have been enough reason for her to accept the life of a hero.
“I wanted to join hands with the merchant guild that inherited his will.”
Tracia looked at Elses blankly, sensing the faint bitterness in her voice.
After Martin’s death, many people whom he had helped in life had come to express their condolences and respect.
But Luel had never come.
That had left her feeling strangely disappointed—so seeing someone claiming to be that woman’s friend standing before her now stirred mixed feelings.
At last, Tracia nodded.
“All right. I’ll accept the deal.”
She summoned her butler and purchased all the monster-grade materials Elses had brought, right on the spot.
Even after excluding the price of the wood-type monster core she’d planned to share with her guildmates, the sum was still substantial—but Elses felt little joy.
Her mind was elsewhere—on the news of Martin’s death.
“Did the former viscount… pass peacefully?” she asked quietly.
“He did. He left this world peacefully after seeing his granddaughter become an elite mage, in the peaceful world his ‘lady hero friend’ had saved.”
Tracia replied with a faintly proud expression.
“I see. That’s a relief…”
But Elses, who had been feeling comforted, widened her eyes in shock.
“Wait—did you say mage?!”
Right before her stood the very connection she’d been seeking to the Magic Tower.
“You didn’t know? I’m actually pretty famous.”
Tracia gave her a puzzled, slightly offended look.
It made sense—Elses hadn’t known about Martin’s death or that his granddaughter was a mage, things every noble in the capital should have heard.
But she had her reasons.
First, she’d spent the last three years back in the modern world, cut off from everything that had happened here.
And second…
‘Three years ago, Tracia was just an ordinary person.’
People born with magical talent usually showed signs of it early on—an unusually high mana capacity, or an instinctive burst of magic in moments of danger.
Yet even at twenty-one, Tracia had shown no such traits.
And now, only three years later, she was a mage?
While Elses was still processing that, Tracia rang the bell on the side table to call her butler.
“Butler, Miss Elses seems unaware of who I am. Please, enlighten her.”
“Yes, milady.”
The butler left, then returned with a tall stack of newspapers. He laid them out across the table and cleared his throat.
“Our lady—no, the viscount—is known as one of the most promising elite mages of the next generation.”
Just as he said, Tracia’s name was emblazoned across the headlines.
“Tracia Lobby Develops Yet Another Original Magitech Device—Now On Sale!”
At last, Elses understood.
Why Tracia had suddenly become a mage.
Why the Lobby Merchant Guild had grown so rapidly in three short years.
‘So she’s a research-type mage.’
There were two kinds of mages:
The combat type, like Rasiel—quick, powerful, and destructive.
And the research type, who used creativity and precision to craft magical tools.
The former usually showed talent early on, while the latter often bloomed later in life.
Tracia, it seemed, belonged to the latter.
‘No wonder she was always so curious about weird things…’
Elses recalled the time Tracia had brought home poisonous plants from the forest, insisting she was “studying rare flora,” and ended up ruining the manor’s garden—giving Martin endless headaches.
And that was just one of many similar incidents.
“Thanks to the viscount’s exceptional talents and her magical inventions, our guild has been able to expand dramatically,” the butler continued.
With each word, Tracia’s chin lifted a little higher.
Research-type mages were usually extreme—either broke from wasting money on nonsense, or rich from creating revolutionary devices.
Luckily, Tracia seemed to be the latter.
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Elses said.
(Feels like I’m listening to the principal’s speech…)
She kept a polite smile plastered on her face through the endless explanation, reacting automatically.
Finally, after over ten minutes, the butler finished and left the room.
Tracia’s shoulders looked at least five centimeters higher than before.
“You’re truly impressive, Viscount. It’s almost strange I hadn’t heard of you before,” Elses said, exhaling with relief now that the ordeal was over. She decided it was time to steer back to the real reason she’d come.
“You mentioned being an elite mage. Does that mean you visit the Magic Tower often?”
“Well, sometimes. Maybe once or twice a month?”
Perfect. That’s enough to get Tower information.
Elses thought quickly, then asked the question that had been on her mind the whole time.
“Then… do you happen to know the Tower Master?”
“That lunatic—!”
Tracia exploded in fury, then hastily cleared her throat.
“…I worked under him for a while, when I first became a mage two years ago.”
“You worked with him?”
“Well, he kept ordering me to make weird things, so… Anyway, I don’t even know what he’s doing now, that man.”
Just thinking about Rasiel made her shiver with irritation.
‘Something must’ve happened between them two years ago,’ Elses thought.
She didn’t know what Rasiel had tried to make her do—but the key takeaway was clear: Tracia doesn’t know where Rasiel is now.
Elses rubbed her forehead, recalling what Aster had told her that morning.
“This is a black magic circle that manipulates time and space.
Someone used this shard as a medium for dark magic—to open a rift between dimensions. That’s why it’s tainted black.”
The moment she heard “dark magic,” rumors about Rasiel studying forbidden arts had immediately come to mind.
One of the reasons Elses was chasing the group trying to resurrect the demon lord was because she wanted to confirm with her own eyes that Rasiel wasn’t behind it.
“So why are you asking about that man?” Tracia asked suspiciously.
“Oh, just curious. You know how many rumors there are about him.”
Elses brushed it off lightly, then stood up.
“I’ve kept you long enough. Thank you for your time, Viscount. I look forward to working with you.”
They weren’t close enough yet for her to request Tower information directly.
Better to end things here and revisit later.
Elses rose and waited for a polite farewell.
But Tracia didn’t move. She hesitated, eyes heavy, and finally asked—
“…Is Luel really dead?”
Her gaze was far heavier now than before.
