CH 9

Alright, take a deep breath, Laiya and look up. 

“Huh, a very cute little girl. You want to talk to this old man?” 

Laiya took in the image of the old man smiling before her. He looked at her like a grandfather who caught sight of his granddaughter, and yet, somehow, she felt awkward.  

“Yes, umm, but…” 

The little girl trailed off as she scratched her cheek lightly.  

It has been a long time since I’ve had someone look at me this kindly.  

Even if he behaves as such because I did him a favor, I have never received kindness from anyone except my aunt.  

As if noticing the child’s dilemma, the smiling old man narrowed his eyes.  

“Hmm, you’re a funny kid, aren’t you? When I watched you threaten that knight over there, I thought you were one filled with the BlackWinter’s spirit. What’s there now to be embarrassed about?”  

“Ha. Ha ha.” 

The little girl laughed awkwardly while casting a subtle glance behind the old man’s shoulder at Rainante and Ruben who waited a distance away.  

Ruben trembled and yelled at Rainante, though the distance between them made it hard for Laiya to hear them. The most she was able to pick up was, ‘You, it’s a big deal!’  

Just because she could not hear them does not mean that they could not hear her. Laiya knew that the ears of the knights were heightened, meaning that the conversation between the old man and her was going to be overheard. 

“Firstly, let me introduce myself, sir, I am Laiya BlackWinter.” 

“Oh, so it was the Lord’s granddaughter.” 

“Do you know me?” 

The old man nodded gently.  

“There is no way I would not know, in fact, I was even invited directly to the mansion by the headmaster, your father’s father.” 

Not too long ago, Rainante and Ruben had accused his claims as nothing more than the bullsh*t of a mad old man, but Laiya knew that he did receive an invitation. 

“Ah yes, you can refer to this old man as Dore.” 

The old man, Dore, standing in front of her with his harmless grandfatherly smile was in fact Theodore Romo, supporting character in the book, and the wandering wizard who will take the male lead under his wing.   

9.  

The wizards of their world were divided into two categories.  

The first type were mages who resided in the numerous scattered mage towers and were obsessed with developing their research in isolation. 

The second type were wandering wizards, like Theodore, who wandered from place to place, free of any attachments as they financed their travels by either sometimes selling magic or magic items.   

Laiya politely pretended not to hear the arguing taking place at the side door, at this point she wasn’t even sure what they were arguing about and smiled at Theodore.  

“Grandpa Dore?” 

“Huh, that doesn’t sound too bad either.” 

It is my great fortune to find this man. 

“I want to talk to my grandfather Dore.” 

With a harmless smile on her lips, Laiya shyly lowered her hand to the ground. The old man mirrored her movements and sat down, meeting her eye level.  

Unhurriedly, her hand moved across the ground.  

“It’s just that I have never spoken to anyone from outside.” 

At the same time, her fingers completed the writing in the dirt.  

“Hello, Wandering Wizard.” 

Theodore’s eyes widened in surprise before he turned to the girl.  

She quickly wrote out another sentence.  

“Quiet space. Conversation.” 

“Aha, I was wondering what you were doing, so it’s not because I am an outsider. Well then, it can’t be helped.” 

Whoosh.  

Theodore did a series of hand actions, which was followed by a change in the air pressure. 

Laiya couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but clearly, something was different.  

[T/N: She means that she couldn’t tell if the spell created a barrier of magic or if he did some other method to isolate the sound around them.] 

“Alright, you can talk comfortably now, granddaughter of the BlackWinter family.” 

She carefully took in the appearance of the old man, in fact, Theodore Romo was not as old as he seemed.  

To put it bluntly, his true appearance wasn’t exactly suitable for his age.  

The old man casually removed his hood that covered his head.  

As soon as his hood was removed, his appearance changed as his beard faded away and his features shifted to that of a younger person.  

With a flick of his hand, he had now become a middle-aged man of around forty. 

“Nope, not this one. I actually like this one better.” 

He muttered and soon his face changed once more to that of a young man in his twenties.  

Laiya blinked.  

“Wouldn’t we converse better this way?” 

A fresh-looking man with a coating of freckles on his face. Meeting his cat-like orange eyes, Laiya was stunned.  

Huh? Is this Theodore’s real face?  

Theodore Romo. The true identity of the great wandering wizard who was closer to an archmage had a real age of around sixty.  

However, as a young man, he had drunk the wrong magic potion and his body had suddenly stopped aging.  

He then became a wandering wizard traveling the world in search of a cure that would return him to his original state.  

As for his abilities as a mage, he didn’t really care much about them.  

The reason for his nonchalance was because his main specialty did not lay in magic.  

This person has an ingenious talent for making ‘medicine and tools’.   

“Now, why have you asked to chat with me? A little guest?” 

When dealing with wandering wizards, the buyers are subjected to a set of rules. Only those who have met and abide by those rules may purchase magic and tools from wizards.  

In other words, you have to follow a certain set of rules to become eligible as a guest.  

“But first, how did you know I was a wizard before?” 

“It was because of the white robe.” 

Theodore paused.  

“…My robe looks white?” 

“Yes? Why, is it not?” 

“No, no, never mind. Carry on.” 

“And when Grandpa Dore spun around earlier, I saw the canary engraved on the back of your hood and the leaves stuck on your ear.” 

Laiya grinned. 

“The leaves of the rib tree and the canary are the symbols of the Golden Mage Tower situated in the North.” 

“What? That knowledge has been lost ever since the Golden Mage Tower disappeared, how do you know of it?” 

“I saw it in a book!” 

“There is no way that such a book has remained…” 

“This is BlackWinter.” 

Laiya confidentially lied outright.  

“Could it have been so?” 

Actually, I’m not even in a position where I can even enter the library, but there’s no way you will know that. 

“Hmm, yes. If it’s the BlackWinter family, about twenty years ago the family head had bought all kinds of books from our Tower. Was a book written by one of the apprentices mixed in the lot at the time?” 

After the big reveal of his identity, Theodore turned out to be quite talkative, however, he kept in mind his duty.  

“So, little customer, what would you like to buy from this body?” 

Theodore rested his chin in the palm of his hand and smiled a pleasant smile of a young man in his twenties.  

“There are quite a few items I would like to purchase, but I am not sure how much money I will need.” 

“Let’s consider payment at a later stage, but seeing my lady’s loveliness, I’ll give you a price after the service.” 

His cat-like eyes crinkled into half-moons as a mischievous smile played perfectly on his face.  

Laiya chose to answer him without hesitation.  

“Then I would like to buy a scroll. A magic scroll of concealment and a magic scroll of invisibility.” 

“Whoa!” 

After his outburst of surprise, Theodore didn’t reply. Instead, he pondered over her order.  

“It’s not difficult for me to sell those scrolls, but what is a little girl like you going to use them for?” 

“Are you asking me where it was originally used?” 

“No.” 

“Gold wizards are supposed to sell items without exception to anyone who is able to recognize them.” 

“Hey, little girl, did that book even include this?” 

Laiya nodded mysteriously. Her knowledge came from the novel, but that didn’t exist in this world. 

Theodore narrowed his eyes and lowered his head. 

Suddenly, a small piece of parchment welled up in his hand. 

It was a magic scroll. 

[T/N: Maybe it’s a two in one scroll?] 

“It’s here.” 

Just before her fingers closed around the scroll, it was taken away.  

The wizard gently waved the scroll in his hand.  

“What is your price?” 

Oh, yes.  

She quickly untied the string that tied her hair, revealing the pink jewel attached to it.  

Laiya had listened to the conversations between the maids when they thought she was asleep. They spoke mostly of her jewelry.  

Is this pink diamond very precious? 

A family as rich as hers would use the highest quality goods in everything they own.  

“Here you go.”