Chapter 7: The Flame Carries Love (4)

[Chloe,

Thanks to you, we were able to successfully handle the anomalies in the winter forest. All the expedition members who accompanied us have been given leave, and I hope you can rest well too.

Viscount Derahin has offered to give us the monster carcasses piled up in the castle as a token of gratitude. It seems better to take a few rare materials than a large quantity of common leather, so I’ve put it on hold. Let’s go together when you have time.

I understand that you used a lot of mana stones during this expedition. I should have provided an advance payment, but I apologize for not doing so. Although it’s late, I’m sending you the mana stones now.

Also, I plan to organize all the spoils by tomorrow. I’ll send you a list so you can come by anytime to choose your reward for completing the commission. If possible, let’s have a meal together then.

Looking forward to the day we meet again.

Tehis Escalante]

Chloe read Tehis’s letter, which was longer than before, once more. When she checked the accompanying pouch, she found several high-grade mana stones. It was an excessive amount for just an advance payment.

‘It shouldn’t include what was used for the Phoenix.’

It was she who had forcibly changed the commission that could have been fulfilled just by killing. Pausing momentarily as even the mana stones used for her personal greed were replenished, Tehis’s voice replayed in her head.

‘But you can rightfully accept a gift from your lover, can’t you?’

“…”

Was this also a gift given as a lover? 

Chloe was troubled by the man’s inscrutable attitude.

‘What is it about being a lover?’

Thinking back, he had taken good care of her from the beginning. Even giving her the Fairy egg was like that.

It’s nice that he’s immersed in the role and takes care of various things…

‘But…’

Chloe couldn’t complete her thought clearly. She didn’t know what words should follow. The word ‘restless’ seemed to fit perfectly.

She didn’t dislike it, but it was confusing; it felt awkward, yet she liked it.

Shaking her head, she carefully packed the pouch and headed to her lab. Planning what to do with the replenished mana stones, she opened the door and encountered an unexpected situation.

The room was ablaze.

“…!”

“Fire!”

Without thinking, Chloe cast a spell to extinguish the fire and then widened her eyes.

The flames weren’t directly controllable. She knew what it was.

Chirp-?

“…!”

A cute cry came from within the fire. A part of the widely spread red flames flapped its wings, proving it was a living creature.

A beak close to yellow. Three long tails. Feathers fluttering like flames.

As it moved, its outline became clear, and it had orange eyes.

It was a Phoenix.

‘So that’s what he meant by ‘grow overnight’?’

Chloe was dumbfounded by Isrion’s words that suddenly came to mind. She was about to extinguish the urgent fire when the Phoenix let out a sharp cry and flew over.

“Wait…!”

Chloe, who was about to stop the Phoenix with a barrier of wind, witnessed a strange sight. The Phoenix’s claws smoothly mixed with the mana she controlled and pierced through the barrier.

‘What is this?’

She had no time to react. The Phoenix, approaching as it was, landed on her arm, bypassing her instinctively outstretched defensive hand.

Chirp!

Its fire wasn’t hot. Her robe didn’t burn, and no heat was felt.

The large eyes of the baby blinked slowly. It tilted its head as if not understanding the mage’s confusion.

“You…”

Chirp.

The Phoenix chirped as if laughing and flapped its wings. When Chloe drew her arm closer, it rubbed the top of its beak against her cheek.

It was a perfect sign of affection.

‘Why?’

Chloe felt the Phoenix’s affection but didn’t understand the situation. Not knowing what had happened, she petted the Phoenix’s head in bewilderment.

“Could you perhaps put out the fire?”

Chirp.

Although the Phoenix couldn’t understand human language, the flames that had spread throughout the laboratory rippled. Soon, as if being absorbed, they were drawn into the Phoenix, revealing the intact scenery of the room.

Fortunately, nothing was burned, and Chloe sighed in relief. While examining the legendary creature perched on her arm, she let out a small laugh.

“You’ve become my familiar.”

Having never made a familiar before, she was slow to realize it. The connection felt was very faint.

She hadn’t thought it possible to create a familiar without a contract in the first place.

A familiar. A pet that could communicate with a mage through a contract.

They could have simple interactions with their owner. It was more about reading the will contained in the language rather than understanding the language itself.

‘How is it that you became my familiar without even giving you a name?’

Was it influenced by the fact that I hatched it?

Chloe felt uneasy but couldn’t help smiling. Despite the suspicious circumstances, the outcome was good.

After all, she had made a legendary creature her familiar. Ignoring the fact that it would draw unwanted attention, it was a very encouraging development.

“Let’s call you Ray.”

Chirp!

Though the order was reversed, Ray chirped happily as if pleased to have a name.

As it flapped its wings out of habit, the fiery feathers scattered. Even amidst this, its weight was barely felt, truly like fire itself. This was a characteristic of magical species that were not bound by physical concepts.

“I’ll introduce you to Master and Riel outside. They’re my family at the Mage Tower. After that…”

I should go see Tehis.

Lost in thought while silently stroking Ray’s feathers, Chloe shook her head and moved. After briefly checking on the Fairy egg, she left the room.

With a click, the door to the laboratory closed. Inside, a magical eye shimmered transparently. Its eyelids soon closed, leaving no trace of mana as it completely vanished.

* * *

Chloe flew across the sky of the Grand Duchy with Ray. Both Isrion and Riel happened to be away, so she went straight to find Tehis.

‘Is this because it’s a legendary species?’

Chloe glanced at Ray flying alongside her. The Phoenix, who had only recently been born, seemed delighted as it swam through the air with ease.

Though the egg was larger than a child, its actual hatched size was about that of a baby eagle. It was a mystery where the rest of the volume had gone.

‘I should have witnessed the hatching.’

Chloe regretted not recording that moment. There was too much she missed, including why the lab had turned into a sea of flames.

‘Should I set up a spatial recording magic circle now?’

While contemplating this to prepare for the Fairy’s unexpected birth, she spotted the Grand Duke’s residence and lowered her altitude. When she landed at the main gate with Ray, the guards greeted her with familiarity.

“Welcome, Miss Chloe…?”

The man’s gaze shifted to the Phoenix mid-sentence. Chloe shrugged her shoulders and asked.

“May I enter?”

“Yes, you can enter at any time. But this bird…”

The guard hesitated, unsure whether he should allow a bird engulfed in flames inside or stop it.

Fortunately, before he could risk being rude, Chloe preemptively explained.

“It’s my familiar. It won’t burn anything, so don’t worry.”

“Oh… yes. The Grand Duke is currently away, so please wait inside for a bit.”

“Where did he go?”

Chloe, about to enter through the open door, stopped at the unexpected news. She hadn’t thought he’d be absent since he always greeted her inside.

“He went out to patrol the Grand Duchy.”

“Personally?”

Why would the Grand Duke do that?

The guard sweated nervously under her blank gaze. Even though she was the Grand Duke’s lover, he had no idea how much of the confidential information he could share.

After some deliberation, he decided it was something she’d find out anyway and spoke simply. He was more afraid of retaliation for ignoring the mage’s question.

“Many personnel have taken leave this time, so it’s because of that. There are so few available compared to the area that needs patrolling.”

Chloe blinked at the guard’s answer. She had read about the leave in the letter, but she hadn’t imagined he’d personally maintain order by going out on foot.

‘He’s really kind.’

With such deeds, one might expect tales of his kindness to spread. Chloe thought of Tehis’s reputation, which was infamous rather than praised. His demeanor, accustomed to being disliked, left an uncomfortable feeling in her heart.

“If he’s not here, I’ll come back later. Oh, could you tell me where Tess went?”

“That is…”

“He went east. He’ll be inspecting from the shopping district to the farmland near the city walls and should return by evening.”

A woman’s voice interrupted. Aide Lisa, who had casually revealed her superior’s whereabouts, smiled as she welcomed Chloe. She had hurriedly walked over after spotting her through a window.

“It’s been a while, Miss Chloe. If I had known you’d come right away, the Grand Duke would have adjusted his schedule. It’s a pity.”

“Thanks for letting me know. It’s unfortunate that the timing didn’t work out, but it can’t be helped. Since he’ll be back late, I’ll go find him.”

“If you don’t get to meet him, I’ll let the Grand Duke know you visited today.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ll just come by again later.”

Her purpose was to briefly introduce Ray to fulfill a promise. It didn’t have to be today, so Chloe shook her head and took off with her familiar.

Since she was already out, she planned to search lightly and return if she couldn’t meet him.

‘He said east.’

The area from the shopping district to the farmland was quite broad, so she needed to look carefully. Using magic to find him required a part of Tehis’s body, making it difficult to do immediately.

‘Should I ask him to pluck a strand of hair for me later?’

Chloe chuckled at the thought of Tehis’s reaction. 

Chirp? 

With Ray’s curious chirp in the background, she flew quickly and spotted the black hair sooner than expected.

However, as predicted, the situation wasn’t going smoothly.

In an open sky location. Tehis was being ambushed by an unidentified group in an alleyway.