TPITT - Chapter 73

“I guess we should part ways now. Since we don’t have much time, may I ask you a favor?”

"Of course."

“Please pass this on to my disciple.”

The great sage took a roll of parchment out of his bosom and handed it over.

“Is it a scroll?”

“Yes. It’s a scroll for teaching magic. I think I should teach her some self-defense.”

“Is it self-defense..."

Michael mumbled afterward.

Self-defense is ultimately a form of combat.

He was a subject, but his lord had no talent for battle magic.

He couldn't say that it would be difficult because her reflexes were not good and she was not physically strong.

The great sage smiled as if he had seen into his mind.

“I know my disciple’s achievements best. That’s why I use barrier magic. I created a magic that combines the two based on the basics.”

“Are you talking about a barrier magic that can attack and defend at the same time?”

“Yes. I guess you find it interesting too.”

“Yes. Honestly.”

“Unfortunately, this magic is one that only my disciple can learn. Because you need to have excellent spatial perception skills to do multi-coordinate calculations.”

Michael was amazed. The great sage had already seen through Eve's talent, which he had discovered and kept an eye on.

"Didn't the bookcase organization also be ordered to sharpen the ability to calculate multiple coordinates?

It seemed like a fairly reasonable suspicion.

At that time, the sage's body became transparent as she was really running out of time.

“Then please take good care of me, King of Homunculus.”

She feels like asking for more than just handing over a scroll.

Michael saw the great sage off with a deep bow.

Michael opened his eyes. A dim light was streaming into the attic. It must have been the first dawn.

Michael looked into his hands, recalling the vivid dream of the night before. There was a roll of parchment that the Sage had entrusted to him.

At that moment, a golden light shone before his eyes. He sat up.

It hovered before Michael's eyes with its gorgeous wings.

As soon as he held out his finger, it sat down on top of him as if it had been waiting for him.

“You are the guardian golem.”

Flap flap.

The butterfly rose into the air again and began to dance around in circles. Michael thought it looked exciting.

Gold dust from butterfly wings has fallen.

“It’s pretty, but it stands out too much.”

Flap!

As if it understood Michael's words, the butterfly stopped and began fluttering its wings gently. From then on, the powder did not fall.

Michael examined the butterfly from all angles.

“It’s so gorgeous.”

The appearance of this guardian golem, which is only half the size of the palm of his hand, is splendid and beautiful.

It was modeled after the famous Morpho butterfly.

Depending on the angle of the light, the colors of the wings were alternately golden and amber, It caused Michael to think it was like Eve's eyes under the sunlight.

“Let’s call it Amber. Your name.”

The butterfly seemed to like it and dropped the powder from its wings again as if to like it. The powder disappeared in the air like it was not real, but more like a fantasy.

At that moment, a small noise was felt outside the window. Michael put Amber on his shoulder and approached the window.

“Princess?”

He could see Eve's back, standing blankly in the weed bed.

It's suspicious that she's out in her pajamas so early in the morning.

Even after a long time, there was no movement. It must have been so late that Michael noticed the movement.

'Since when have you been here? Did I not recognize you because of the dream?'

Even though it was full-blown spring, it wouldn't have been a good idea to be out in the morning wind and dew in her pajamas in a mountain valley.

Humans are weak, and the Princess has particularly poor physical strength even among humans, so Michael even felt a sense of crisis.

He immediately grabbed his robe and jumped out of the third-floor attic window.

The landing is as swift as a snowy beast.

Michael approached Eve, deliberately making noise.

But what on earth are you thinking so deeply about? Did you fall asleep standing up?

Eve didn't notice the approaching person at all.

Even after the robe was draped over her shoulders, she just stared blankly into space for a long time.

“Princess.”

"..."

“Princess.”

"..."

“Your Highness the Princess?”

"..."

Michael, feeling like it wasn't going to work out, decided to try something new.

" Eve."

“Ugh. Hey, Michael!”

It worked. Only then did Eve come to her senses in surprise.

“Why are you here so early in the morning?

“Is that so? I just… …got up early and wanted to go for a walk..."

Then Michael discovered important evidence: Eve's eyes were red and her eyelids were slightly sunken.

'You stayed up all night.'

A look of concern appeared in Michael's eyes.

“Princess, is something bothering you?”

“That’s not it..."

Eve averted her gaze and trailed off.

Dh knew that this kind of reaction was not like her usual self and that it made Michael even more suspicious, but there was nothing she could do.

Eve was in a state where she was embarrassed to even meet Michael's eyes.

'Ah, ah, no, Michael liked me?!'

Michael was the one who gave me my second life, and the reason was love.

It was hard to believe, but how could I dare to doubt the words of my teacher and great sage?

Didn't Michael himself testify anyway?

The fact that the homunculus keeps calling her a nickname that the royal family doesn't even approve of means that he wants to sleep.

'What on earth are you looking at me for... Since when did you... Ah, let me stop thinking about it. I have to stop thinking about it!'

I desperately try to regain my composure.

Anyway, it's an emotion that was reset when I returned.

So, the Michael of the past life and the Michael of this life are separate people.

I tried hard to make excuses to banish the word love from my mind.

Of course, it was no use.

'Ah, what should I do! Right now, I don't have the confidence to treat Michael like I usually do!'

This agony is closer to distress.

I couldn't stay still for even a moment, covering my face, which was getting redder by the minute, with my hand and then wiping it away.

And Michael was quietly watching me like that.

At that time, Amber, who had been sitting quietly on Michael's shoulder, circled me.

The attachment to the creator was special compared to when it met Michael.

There was even more gold dust falling from the wings.

“Ah, it’s a guardian golem.”

Only after discovering Amber did I find some respite from my troubles.

“You were born early.”

“Because her wings are amber, I’m going to call her Amber.”

“Amber. That’s a pretty name.”

I explained with a smile, looking at the endless golden dust.

“As you can see, when she feels good, she is a child who falls with golden dust.”

“I see. What about when she's in a bad mood?”

“Black powder will fall.”

“It’s good because it’s easy to understand.”

Amber sat on my head. It looked like a beautiful headdress.

Michael changed the subject.

“I have something to report, Princess. Your teacher came to me in my dream.”

“Michael also met his master.”

For a moment, my eyes shook slightly.

I wondered if Michael had heard the same story as I had.

'I heard that Michael loved me and gave me (half of) the Philosopher's Stone to turn back time!'

Just imagining it made me feel dizzy.

Michael also noticed that my condition was not improving and decided to only take care of important matters.

“The great sage of the spruce forest has something to give you.”

“Huh? What is it?”

"This..."

Michael explained, handing over a roll of high-quality parchment.

“It’s a magic teaching scroll.”

“Scroll? Although the Master is well-versed in magic, it is rare for her to teach magic.”

“I heard that it’s called the All-in-One Barrier. I think it would be good to learn it with great credit.”

Michael also added some advice.

“I recommend that you practice later. It is dangerous to handle mana when your mind is unstable.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I felt embarrassed that my condition was so obvious.

“The Princess must have met her master through a dream.”

"Yes."

“So, have you resolved the issue of what you wanted to ask?”

“Yeah. Everything’s taken care of. When the sun rises, we’ll head to the palace... Ah, it’s already bright.”

I, who had unintentionally appeared flustered, smiled awkwardly.

Michael didn't ask me what was bothering me.

Instead, he opened the front of the robe I was wearing more tightly.

“The morning air is chilly. I think it would be best to go inside.”

"Yeah, I got it."

Michael and I walked into the house together.

Amber followed us, scattering powder.

After a while, the chimney of the log cabin began to rise.

A forest of fir trees in bloom in May, a white dawn sky, and a log cabin where the Princess and the knight prepare breakfast.

It was a beautiful scene, like a scene from a fairy tale that promised happiness and came to an end.

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