The tribe that Callius visited was the Uttar tribe.
He had heard that the Uttar tribe had recently moved into the fields not far from Ronheim Castle, and he had intended to seek Lhasa's advice on Chloe's case.
Before Callius could even reach Ker of the Uttar tribe, the chieftain was there on horseback to meet Callius.
Lhasa seemed to have sent its chieftain in advance, knowing that Callius would come to meet the Uttar tribe this time as well.
The chieftain, with his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, spotted Callius first and ran over to him, saying with great joy.
"The ground that thawed in the spring has recently refrozen, changing the terrain. This road is challenging for horseback riding, so please follow me closely."
“Thank you.”
Lhasa, which Callius saw after a long time, looked the same as before.
She took Callius into her ker, gave him milk tea, and asked if the previous prophecy had come true.
“Did you find what you wanted?”
Callius smiled gently.
Lhasa nodded as if he knew it would be so just by seeing that smile.
The rich aroma of warm milk filled the tent.
“The Uttar tribe was so happy to hear the various good news coming in every day.”
“Did you know from the beginning that Chloe was the new Saintess of Ronheim?”
“There aren’t many people who can have such clear eyes after going through such hardships.”
“Hardships?”
Lhasa smiled bitterly.
"I can't tell you the details, but the pain she felt inside must have been intense. The pain had consumed her insides, leaving only a shell, barely holding on. How pitiful that thin body must have been."
Lhasa let out a long sigh and smiled brightly as she looked at Callius with deep, calm eyes.
That wrinkled smile that felt like it had been a long time made the person who saw it feel warm inside.
Lhasa was a woman of mysterious charm.
When he looked at her, he felt a moment of peace, free from all the worldly worries that had been stirring his mind.
Inside the ker, the only sound was the crackling of firewood in the brazier.
Callius, who had been choosing his words in silence for a long time, confessed gloomily.
“She’s sick. I don’t know what to do, so I came to you.”
Callius's heart was breaking, but Lhasa heard him say something incomprehensible.
“Yes, she was sick. But I see she's recovered a lot.”
“Recovery?”
“I see that the King knows that she is sick, so she has revealed her own pain.”
“Why is that? What does it mean?”
"I guess that means she now has someone to rely on. She's revealed to the King her weakness, which she's spent her entire life trying to hide and keep from anyone else."
“...”
"It must have been difficult for her to even trust and rely on anyone. So she created something imaginary to rely on. The King must have touched that heart."
Lhasa muttered lamentingly.
“The illness of the mind is deep, deep.”
Lhasa was crying.
She picked up a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
Although Lhasa's words that Chloe had recovered from before were hopeful, Callius felt even pained by those words.
"What should I do? I'm confused about whether I should tell her about her condition or just watch."
"Just be her support. You have to constantly believe in her. Her heart is like a bottomless pit, and it will never be easy to fill it."
“...”
"She's going to be constantly fighting with herself, struggling with herself, and that's a good thing. She's going through growing pains."
It meant that it was beneficial for Chloe to fight with Karl.
"That illusion is both her own and someone else's. Sometimes it's her own voice, sometimes it's the person she most relies on, and sometimes it's the one who hurts her the most. The words it speaks are all the words she holds inside her. The harsh words of others she's kept inside, the words she wants to say to herself."
Lhasa said that Karl was Chloe's low self-esteem.
He comforts her with sweet words she wants to hear, but also whips her with the most hurtful words.
If Chloe holds on to that low self-esteem, her mental illness will only deepen, and she will become trapped in her own negative thoughts.
But Lhasa said there was definitely hope.
“She’s already working on herself. She’s a strong person.”
Callius nodded in agreement.
“She will overcome it on her own. She will definitely notice it.”
That assurance came with a caveat.
"If the King wills it. As I said before, be her support. Be the one who believes in her unconditionally, even when she wavers from believing in herself. That's the prescription she needs."
Lhasa emphasized again and again.
Trust Chloe.
Then she asked Callius.
"If she ever comes to see me, please come with her. I will be waiting eagerly."
Callius replied that he would certainly do so and left Ker in Lhasa to return to Chloe.
Lhasa nodded after looking at the sturdy back of Callius for a long time.
“You don’t have to worry.”
Luca devoted himself day and night to designing the moving magic circle.
It was amazing how focused and diligent he was on the task, step by step.
After Luca finished the design, he asked for help in transferring it to a suitable location and asked for help from people who could help him.
"Would someone ignorant of magic be okay? Besides Lamia, there's no one else who would be suitable to be Luca's assistant."
Lamia jumped when she heard what Luca said.
“I’m too high-level to be that person’s assistant!”
“Lamia...”
I soothed her with a wink.
But Luca, whom I thought would get angry, nodded unexpectedly quietly.
“Magic may seem flashy and complicated at first glance, but that’s only true in the final stages, and it’s actually a lot of hard work.”
Then he said he just wanted to send about fifteen or so young men.
Later, when I went to the land where the gold mine I had received as a wedding present from Callius was located to check if the moving magic circle was properly installed, I understood what Luca meant.
The scenery there was nothing more than a construction site.
“Clear everything here, too!”
As Luca commanded into the air, the soldiers I had given him followed suit, clearing the snow, melting the frozen ground, and digging up rocks and trees to level the ground.
No matter how many times I went, it was the same.
“In everything, laying the foundation is the most important thing.”
Luca said solemnly.
Later, Lamia explained that a wizard's assistant was no different from a day laborer.
In reality, Luca's work of carving a magic circle on the ground was completed quickly compared to laying the foundation.
“Now it is finally complete.”
Luca called me and Callius to the place where the magic circle was carved, saying it was the final stage, and his eyes sparkled.
On top of the magic circle, which was still just a drawing carved into the floor, were mana stones from the Rosendal territory that had been brought to Ronheim by Montril.
“I never thought I’d be doing this alone.”
Luca muttered and rubbed his hands together.
Then he placed his hand on one end of the magic circle and began to breathe mana into it.
Then, light began to shine on the mana stones placed on top of the lines he had drawn.
"Ah..."
The beautiful curves drawn in a large space, large enough for hundreds of people to stand in, and the mana stones above them radiating light, were a spectacular sight.
Luca's moving magic circle decorated the earth like a beautiful flower, just as I had imagined.
As we were absorbed in that sight, a light far more intense than before swept through us.
"oh!"
I was so surprised that I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again.
When my vision adjusted to the surrounding light again, the magic circle was complete, emitting a soft glow.
And next to him, Luca was lying down.
“Luca!”
I ran over and shook Luca.
Fortunately, Luca quickly came to his senses and touched his forehead as if he were dizzy.
His face was noticeably pale, perhaps because he had used too much force at once.
“Uhh... Is it done? Is it done?”
As soon as Luca came to, he pushed away the hands of those trying to help him up and crawled to check the magic circle.
Then he raised both hands and burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha! That’s it! That’s it!”
He turned to me, ran over, grabbed my hand, and shook it.
“It’s done! It’s done! This is really done!”
Callius took me out of Luca's hands and hid me behind him.
The day I first met Callius was the day my beautiful flower garden was finally completed, just as I had said.
He had heard that the Uttar tribe had recently moved into the fields not far from Ronheim Castle, and he had intended to seek Lhasa's advice on Chloe's case.
Before Callius could even reach Ker of the Uttar tribe, the chieftain was there on horseback to meet Callius.
Lhasa seemed to have sent its chieftain in advance, knowing that Callius would come to meet the Uttar tribe this time as well.
The chieftain, with his eyes as sharp as an eagle's, spotted Callius first and ran over to him, saying with great joy.
"The ground that thawed in the spring has recently refrozen, changing the terrain. This road is challenging for horseback riding, so please follow me closely."
“Thank you.”
Lhasa, which Callius saw after a long time, looked the same as before.
She took Callius into her ker, gave him milk tea, and asked if the previous prophecy had come true.
“Did you find what you wanted?”
Callius smiled gently.
Lhasa nodded as if he knew it would be so just by seeing that smile.
The rich aroma of warm milk filled the tent.
“The Uttar tribe was so happy to hear the various good news coming in every day.”
“Did you know from the beginning that Chloe was the new Saintess of Ronheim?”
“There aren’t many people who can have such clear eyes after going through such hardships.”
“Hardships?”
Lhasa smiled bitterly.
"I can't tell you the details, but the pain she felt inside must have been intense. The pain had consumed her insides, leaving only a shell, barely holding on. How pitiful that thin body must have been."
Lhasa let out a long sigh and smiled brightly as she looked at Callius with deep, calm eyes.
That wrinkled smile that felt like it had been a long time made the person who saw it feel warm inside.
Lhasa was a woman of mysterious charm.
When he looked at her, he felt a moment of peace, free from all the worldly worries that had been stirring his mind.
Inside the ker, the only sound was the crackling of firewood in the brazier.
Callius, who had been choosing his words in silence for a long time, confessed gloomily.
“She’s sick. I don’t know what to do, so I came to you.”
Callius's heart was breaking, but Lhasa heard him say something incomprehensible.
“Yes, she was sick. But I see she's recovered a lot.”
“Recovery?”
“I see that the King knows that she is sick, so she has revealed her own pain.”
“Why is that? What does it mean?”
"I guess that means she now has someone to rely on. She's revealed to the King her weakness, which she's spent her entire life trying to hide and keep from anyone else."
“...”
"It must have been difficult for her to even trust and rely on anyone. So she created something imaginary to rely on. The King must have touched that heart."
Lhasa muttered lamentingly.
“The illness of the mind is deep, deep.”
Lhasa was crying.
She picked up a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
Although Lhasa's words that Chloe had recovered from before were hopeful, Callius felt even pained by those words.
"What should I do? I'm confused about whether I should tell her about her condition or just watch."
"Just be her support. You have to constantly believe in her. Her heart is like a bottomless pit, and it will never be easy to fill it."
“...”
"She's going to be constantly fighting with herself, struggling with herself, and that's a good thing. She's going through growing pains."
It meant that it was beneficial for Chloe to fight with Karl.
"That illusion is both her own and someone else's. Sometimes it's her own voice, sometimes it's the person she most relies on, and sometimes it's the one who hurts her the most. The words it speaks are all the words she holds inside her. The harsh words of others she's kept inside, the words she wants to say to herself."
Lhasa said that Karl was Chloe's low self-esteem.
He comforts her with sweet words she wants to hear, but also whips her with the most hurtful words.
If Chloe holds on to that low self-esteem, her mental illness will only deepen, and she will become trapped in her own negative thoughts.
But Lhasa said there was definitely hope.
“She’s already working on herself. She’s a strong person.”
Callius nodded in agreement.
“She will overcome it on her own. She will definitely notice it.”
That assurance came with a caveat.
"If the King wills it. As I said before, be her support. Be the one who believes in her unconditionally, even when she wavers from believing in herself. That's the prescription she needs."
Lhasa emphasized again and again.
Trust Chloe.
Then she asked Callius.
"If she ever comes to see me, please come with her. I will be waiting eagerly."
Callius replied that he would certainly do so and left Ker in Lhasa to return to Chloe.
Lhasa nodded after looking at the sturdy back of Callius for a long time.
“You don’t have to worry.”
***
Luca devoted himself day and night to designing the moving magic circle.
It was amazing how focused and diligent he was on the task, step by step.
After Luca finished the design, he asked for help in transferring it to a suitable location and asked for help from people who could help him.
"Would someone ignorant of magic be okay? Besides Lamia, there's no one else who would be suitable to be Luca's assistant."
Lamia jumped when she heard what Luca said.
“I’m too high-level to be that person’s assistant!”
“Lamia...”
I soothed her with a wink.
But Luca, whom I thought would get angry, nodded unexpectedly quietly.
“Magic may seem flashy and complicated at first glance, but that’s only true in the final stages, and it’s actually a lot of hard work.”
Then he said he just wanted to send about fifteen or so young men.
Later, when I went to the land where the gold mine I had received as a wedding present from Callius was located to check if the moving magic circle was properly installed, I understood what Luca meant.
The scenery there was nothing more than a construction site.
“Clear everything here, too!”
As Luca commanded into the air, the soldiers I had given him followed suit, clearing the snow, melting the frozen ground, and digging up rocks and trees to level the ground.
No matter how many times I went, it was the same.
“In everything, laying the foundation is the most important thing.”
Luca said solemnly.
Later, Lamia explained that a wizard's assistant was no different from a day laborer.
In reality, Luca's work of carving a magic circle on the ground was completed quickly compared to laying the foundation.
“Now it is finally complete.”
Luca called me and Callius to the place where the magic circle was carved, saying it was the final stage, and his eyes sparkled.
On top of the magic circle, which was still just a drawing carved into the floor, were mana stones from the Rosendal territory that had been brought to Ronheim by Montril.
“I never thought I’d be doing this alone.”
Luca muttered and rubbed his hands together.
Then he placed his hand on one end of the magic circle and began to breathe mana into it.
Then, light began to shine on the mana stones placed on top of the lines he had drawn.
"Ah..."
The beautiful curves drawn in a large space, large enough for hundreds of people to stand in, and the mana stones above them radiating light, were a spectacular sight.
Luca's moving magic circle decorated the earth like a beautiful flower, just as I had imagined.
As we were absorbed in that sight, a light far more intense than before swept through us.
"oh!"
I was so surprised that I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again.
When my vision adjusted to the surrounding light again, the magic circle was complete, emitting a soft glow.
And next to him, Luca was lying down.
“Luca!”
I ran over and shook Luca.
Fortunately, Luca quickly came to his senses and touched his forehead as if he were dizzy.
His face was noticeably pale, perhaps because he had used too much force at once.
“Uhh... Is it done? Is it done?”
As soon as Luca came to, he pushed away the hands of those trying to help him up and crawled to check the magic circle.
Then he raised both hands and burst into laughter.
“Hahahahaha! That’s it! That’s it!”
He turned to me, ran over, grabbed my hand, and shook it.
“It’s done! It’s done! This is really done!”
Callius took me out of Luca's hands and hid me behind him.
The day I first met Callius was the day my beautiful flower garden was finally completed, just as I had said.
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