After setting the Master Key loosely on the waterwheel, we waited for two hours. During that time, the Hero remained by my side the whole time, except for once.

"Louie, eat this. One of the village women brought it over."

That one time, he left briefly to fetch some grilled skewers.

"Ah, thank you."

"I took out the bell peppers."

"..."

Thud!

Well, since he made the effort to remove them, I suppose I’ll gratefully eat it. Thanks to him, I didn’t have to use my fingers to pick them out, coated in sauce.

"It’s delicious."

"Right? That special spicy seasoning is famous around here."

"I wonder what it would taste like in carrot soup."

"Carrot soup...?"

With its spiciness, it might taste a bit like ramen broth. Aria makes excellent carrot soup, so I’ll ask her later. If it’s good, I’ll take some with me.

"Louie, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Like, where you learned magic or where you’ve lived until now."

"I learned magic by seeking out a master myself. It took some time to find him, though, since he lived in the mountains."

"Mountains? Was he like a reclusive sage?"

Reclusive? He lived in a cave, so I guess you could say that. A sage? With his knowledge and magic skills, he might as well be...

"Yes, more or less."

"You must’ve been really determined to climb a mountain to find him."

"It did take me a while to track him down."

His cave wasn’t exactly well described in the novel either. I had to dig around with my delicate hands for over a week to finally find it.

"And after you learned magic, where were you before joining our party?"

"Near the capital. I had my own research lab there."

"A research lab…"

"Yes, this one."

I summoned the door to my research lab beside us. Since I had organized it well after joining the Hero's party, I didn’t feel embarrassed showing it to him.

"Oh… okay."

The Hero glanced at it with a now-familiar look.

"Got it… Sorry for asking so many questions. Should I tell you about me?"

The Hero's story... More accurately, it would be about his life before becoming a Hero. Only part of Aswell's past was revealed in the novel, so I was a bit curious about what kind of life he had led.

"I was born and raised in a small village in the eastern part of the empire. From there…"

It could be considered a classic story.

A boy from the countryside, who admired knights, grew up and was eventually chosen as a Hero, setting out to save the world. That’s the short version of his life.

The Hero had lived such a life and would continue to do so.

"Sometimes, I do miss the peaceful days of my childhood, but... I still prefer the life I have now."

He liked meeting new people and experiencing new things; it suited him. That’s what the Hero was saying.

"I'm the opposite of you, then."

"Really?"

"Yes. I prefer staying indoors, working on my research."

On the other hand, I had led a life buried in research, hardly ever meeting people. I had chosen such a life for myself. But maybe, once in a while, it wouldn’t be so bad to experience the kind of life the Hero lived.

Perhaps that’s why I joined this party.

"Louie, thank you."

"Huh?"

"You’ve helped me a lot since you joined."

I didn’t feel like I’d contributed enough to receive such gratitude, but the seriousness in the Hero's eyes left me no room to argue.

"Ah, well... sure."

The atmosphere was starting to get awkward. Just then, the Master Key emitted a soft hum.

Wooooong…

"Ah."

"Is it done?"

"No, but I think I’ve identified the problem."

It seemed the flaw in the waterwheel’s magic formation was at the beginning. This would be over soon.

"I’m going to focus now."

"Got it. Should I move?"

I hesitated. Did having the Hero nearby bother me? No, I wouldn’t be too distracted.

"...No."

"Then I’ll stay here for a bit longer."

"Suit yourself."

I spun the two rings of Akasha and concentrated on the spell formation. Though I could feel the Hero watching me, I quickly pushed the thought out of my mind.

From now on, it was a battle.

A battle between the grand wizard of the past and me, in the present.

The thought of uncovering a fragment of the grand wizard's work brought a smile to my face.

She’s a mage.

Her appearance and the kind of magic she practices are completely different from what I was used to, but she’s still the mage of our party now.

She rarely smiles.

Aside from when she’s eating carrot soup or discovering interesting magical materials, she mostly keeps a blank expression.

But right now, she’s smiling.

The waterwheel, crafted by a grand wizard of the past—I picked this job, thinking she might like it.

And it turned out to be the right choice. Thanks to that, I got to see her smile.

That smile reminded me of a child’s curiosity.

Though she hated being thought of as childlike, it couldn’t be helped. She was just... so cute...

"…What am I thinking?"

I shook my head. She’s my comrade.

And perhaps the most powerful mage among the four of us.

Whenever I watched her lately, I was reminded of something the Emperor once said.

[According to my plan, the Hero, the Saint, and the Archmage were supposed to accompany you. But the Archmage declined, so you had to set out with just the others.]

The Archmage.

The person the Emperor spoke of—who could that be?

They were called a sage, but no one knew if they were a man or a woman.

And now I wonder if the sage might be her.

The reason is simple. I can’t imagine a mage stronger than her.

An Archmage powerful enough to refuse the Emperor’s command.

If she really is the Archmage, then who taught her magic?

And what’s the real reason she joined this party?

I found myself wanting to know more about her.

"…."

Suddenly, a memory flashed in my mind—walking in on her by mistake once. My face grew hot at the thought.

'No, it can’t be.'

This was just simple curiosity...

"Is everything going well?"

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice came from behind. A rough beard, dark-circled eyes, and a slouching posture.

"Winston."

It was Winston, the third-rank mage responsible for the waterwheel’s upkeep.

Hmm.

'This should do for now.'

Next, I needed to configure the Master Key for automatic processing. This would involve a bit more waiting. And that meant... more conversation with the Hero, probably.

Just as I was about to turn around, I bumped into something.

"Ouch."

"Oh, Louie. Sorry."

"Huh?"

"We have a guest."

Peeking around the Hero, I saw the visitor. It was Winston, the third-rank mage responsible for maintaining the waterwheel.

"I was just curious how it’s going. Do you think you’ll be able to fix it?"

Was that a sneer? Winston gave me a rotten smile as he asked.

"Personally, I hope you don’t."

The Hero wrapped his arm protectively around me, shielding me from Winston.

"Why? Doesn’t the village need the waterwheel fixed?"

The Hero’s cautious tone felt unfamiliar. At the same time, the Holy Sword responded to his resolve, emitting a faint glow.

"Well, yes. But that’s the village’s concern. I have my own reasons."

Something felt off about him.

The Hero must have sensed it too, which is why he moved to protect me.

I needed to answer his question, though.

"I can fix it."

"...I see."

"By tomorrow morning, the waterwheel will be running smoothly, and the village will have the water it’s been lacking."

"…"

"So, don’t hope that it won’t work."

Because I’ll make sure it does.

Winston’s hands dropped to his sides, his shoulders slumping as if they were about to hit the ground.

"Haa... That won’t do, then…"

The Hero’s hand moved closer to his sword. His gaze locked onto Winston, cold and sharp.

And then it happened.

"Daad!!"

"Daddy!!"

"Is my little refuge about to be taken away…"

From the distance, the voices of two children called out, and Winston collapsed.

"...?"

Both the Hero and I froze.

"Daaaad!!!"

"Daddy’s here."

"Dad!!! Mom said to come home now! The waterwheel’s going to be fixed, so stop slacking off and come look after the youngest!!"

"Uh, well... I’m in the middle of something important."

"If you don’t come, she said to remind you! ‘You got me pregnant when you were still an Academy student and dragged me to this village’... or something like that?"

"Yup, that’s right!"

"...Tell her I’m coming now."

The kids stormed in like a whirlwind and then left just as quickly, leaving one broken man behind.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The three of us stood in silence. Slowly, the Hero and I began to piece together the situation, and we finally understood why Winston had been acting so strangely and saying such things.

"Um..."

"Uh…"

Just as we were struggling to find the right words, Winston spoke.

"Please make sure the repairs are perfect. I won’t have any more excuses left after this…"

With that, Winston left. Later, I had a chance to ask the village chief about him.

"Oh, Winston? That guy… he used to tutor a student at the Academy, now his wife. But, well, they had their first child unexpectedly, and…"

"Ah, I see…"

"So, Winston, who had a promising future, had to give up magic and move here. Now, he’s a father of four."

Four kids, not just the youngest one they called “the baby.”

'...So, in the end, he was just a tired dad looking for a bit of rest.'

Juggling four kids, he must have wanted some time to relax. When the waterwheel broke down, the former third-rank mage became its caretaker.

But he had long realized he couldn’t fix it. He started using the broken waterwheel as a place to find some peace. And now, when I said I could repair it, he must have felt the weight of losing his little refuge.

"Still, Winston knows his mistakes. He’s been taking care of the house and kids on his own for a while now. He probably used the waterwheel as an excuse to get some rest, but that won’t be possible anymore."

"Hmm…"

Looks like I need to give him a small gift.

The next day, before leaving the village, we were chatting with the villagers. In the background, the waterwheel spun energetically, and nearby, Winston’s kids splashed around in the water. Winston himself stood watching them with a blank expression.

I walked up to him.

"Winston."

"Oh, Mage. The waterwheel is working perfectly. The village's worries are over, thanks to you."

"Hmm, but it’s not completely fixed."

"What do you mean?"

"About once a week, you’ll need to infuse some mana into it for three hours and keep an eye on it. Otherwise, there’s a high chance it’ll break down again."

"..."

"So, take care of it, but don’t overuse this as an excuse."

Winston’s eyes twinkled—such a strange sight to see in a grown man.

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

"Just don’t abuse it too much."

"Of course not! I thought I’d be stuck at home until my kids were grown, but now…!"

His gratitude was so overwhelming that he shook my hands up and down vigorously.

"Uh, ugh…"

Later, after saying our goodbyes, I was about to climb onto Lux when the Hero approached me.

"Louie."

"Yes, Hero?"

"I saw you talking with Winston just now."

"Oh, I was just giving him a little gift."

"A gift?"

I explained to him what I had told Winston, and the Hero seemed to understand, though his gaze lingered on my hands.

"...Still, shaking hands wasn’t really necessary, was it?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Let’s go."

The Hero left that cryptic comment and mounted Tempest, leaving the village behind. I opened the pouch I was holding and peeked inside. It was filled with fragments of a stardust stone.

This was our reward—pieces of a fallen star.

And now, we only had one more journey left.

Once that was complete, we’d head to the Twilight Fortress.