Chapter 136
▷ SS-I. Can also do it outside
Just as a great change had come to Cassius and Eki, the Kingdom of Gailard was also swept up in upheaval.
The head of the Mage Association, the savior of the Dark Age. Ikelid Lagus had… retired.
“Wow. Cassius’s magic really is incredible.”
As Ikelid stepped out of a magical engineering device, he patted Cassius on the shoulder.
His cheeky grin was the same as ever, as were the handsome face Eki used to admire to herself and his solid, well-built body.
“I never thought you’d refine the lifespan extension spell this well. This is something even I couldn’t do. How did you manage it?”
“Even so, the magical power you lost to aging won’t return. You should refrain from using magic from now on.”
“That much is fine. I was already preparing for death. And now the Mage Association is in your hands anyway, right?”
“I’m only the acting head.”
Cassius brushed Ikelid’s hand away with an annoyed look and put his pipe to his mouth.
As for how this came about.
The moment Eki returned to the Thousand Tower, Ikelid announced his retirement. And Cassius, honoring Ikelid’s request, finished various preparations to take on the role of acting head and left the Thousand Tower. He had finally stepped out into the world after nearly four hundred years of seclusion. No, confinement.
‘Master’s expression the first time he stepped on grass.’
She still couldn’t forget it—Cassius, looking up at the clear blue sky. The suppressed emotion, joy, and sheer elation that poured out of him. Whenever Eki thought of that moment, her eyes still grew moist.
It would have been nice to leisurely enjoy the changed world like that, but for some reason he hurried the move to the capital. And as soon as he formally became acting head, he launched a single project.
It was called the ‘extension spell for the lifespan extension spell.’
‘Who would’ve thought you could extend that too.’
Mages already lived longer than ordinary people. To the point that among them, a fifty-year age gap was considered nothing.
And yet Cassius threw himself into research with manic intensity, and in the end, he saved Ikelid, who had been on the verge of death.
‘It really was incredible.’
In fact, Ikelid had refused at first.
‘An extension spell for the lifespan extension spell? What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that? I’ve lived long enough already. I’m practically Grandpa Grandpa. There’s no need to do something like that for me…’
‘Who said it was for you?’
‘What?’
‘Obviously, it’s for Eki. She won’t even live half of my lifespan at best.’
‘Hah.’
‘So quietly become my test subject. If I don’t advance it to the point where I can save a human on the brink of death, I won’t be able to drastically extend Eki’s lifespan.’
‘Hah!’
And so, Ikelid cooperated with Cassius.
‘Honestly, Master…’
To be truthful, Eki had been surprised. She hadn’t expected Cassius to think that far ahead. Lifespan, of all things. She was still in her prime twenties, and as a mage she would live quite a long time. But for Cassius, that apparently wasn’t enough.
‘He seemed truly terrified of me leaving.’
Cassius’s greatest fear was the death of someone he loved. As a child, he had lost his parents and his kin. And now, he feared parting from Eki. Given that, perhaps it was only natural for him to cling to lifespan extension magic.
“Master.”
“What.”
“How long did you extend Lord Ikelid’s lifespan?”
“Probably three hundred years.”
“What? Three hundred years?!”
Ikelid had already lived five hundred years. And now three hundred more were added.
G-Good heavens.
‘That’s not just a small increase.’
And yet Cassius clicked his tongue as if even that displeased him.
“Magic engineering is difficult. It’s not enough to just draw the magic circles properly. The component configuration matters too, and the materials are different…”
“No, Master. Just how far are you planning to extend my lifespan?”
“A thousand years.”
Was a dragon’s natural lifespan a thousand years?
Eki stared at her master with dizzy eyes. Somehow, her feelings grew strange.
“…Why. Is a thousand years too long? You don’t want to live that long?”
As if he had sensed her thoughts, Cassius asked in an uncharacteristically anxious tone. Eki snapped back to herself at once. She didn’t want to hurt Cassius, her master and now her lover. Living a thousand years might actually be enjoyable, if it was with him.
“No. I just can’t wrap my head around it, that’s all. As long as I’m with you, Master, I like anything.”
And with that, she rose onto her tiptoes and gave Cassius a quick peck on the cheek. Cassius’s expression relaxed instantly.
“You know, I’m still right here.”
Ikelid shot them a displeased look. Even so, the two of them didn’t pull apart. They were already used to being affectionate in front of Ikelid.
“So, Cassius. Then you’re done with the urgent research, right?”
“More or less.”
“Then what are you going to do now? We can eat together today, right? I begged you so much, and you didn’t eat with me even once.”
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