Rylan carefully controlled his mana as he flew on the magical broom. Cutting through the air like an arrow at a speed that surpassed even his own when using Drifting, he looked down at the broom.

What an interesting artifact.

The fact that it was shaped like a broom was the most curious part of it. Still, for an artifact's shape and appearance to be unusual hadn't been exactly uncommon in his past life. It was only mildly surprising. All that mattered was that it could move faster than he could while also drawing minimal suspicion.

Rylan raised his gaze and looked ahead. Beneath him, a forest lined the sides of the paved road that led to Caer Rhelon. He'd left the capital city four hours ago, his heart throbbing with anxiety.

Go faster.

He leaned forward, making the broom's speed increase by just a bit as he kept channeling mana into it. It would take him much longer to meet Gerard on the road, but this was still the best method.

In such a fashion, Rylan flew above the roads he'd taken himself to Caer Rhelon, back when he'd first traveled to the city. The hours ticked by as the sound of rushing wind was almost everything he could hear. Fortunately, the first day ended without any encounters on the road; there had been no robberies he'd needed to intervene in, or people to protect from monsters. It was a small comfort.

A few hours into the second day, Rylan saw a carriage he recognized. His eyes widened as he shot toward it as fast as he could without spending too much mana. He smiled widely. From the looks of the carriage, nothing bad had happened. It was being driven by Pedro, the coachman he'd hired before. The chubby man still had the same smiling expression.

Rylan approached the carriage while lowering his altitude. Once Pedro looked up and saw him, the man almost jumped in place before pulling the reins and bowing. Rylan smiled at him and landed on the ground.

"Father," he immediately said loudly as the carriage ground to a halt.

Barely two seconds later, the doors burst open with Gerard almost jumping out of the carriage's interior. He locked his blue eyes on Rylan's own.

"…Were you worried?" Gerard suddenly asked after a second of silence, furrowing his brow.

Rylan scoffed.

"How could I not be? I don't know how quickly information will reach them. Let's talk inside."

Gerard nodded and beckoned Rylan to the carriage. Rylan walked closer and entered it after his father, bringing the broom artifact alongside him. Once they were both inside, Gerard waved his fingers, his mana moving in a way Rylan recognized. The air around them went still and coalesced into a small dome that surrounded them completely. A sound-dampening spell that sought to prevent Pedro or anyone else from hearing their conversation. Rylan nodded in appreciation.

"You're picking up new tricks, Father," he said with a grin.

It was Gerard's turn to scoff.

"Oh, please. You know I'm in no mood for jokes. How did you end up offending someone with connections to the Empire? Your letter barely told me anything. You just kept stressing the importance of my leaving Cantavega and going to the Academy."

Rylan nodded matter-of-factly.

"Of course. It's the most important thing. Now that you're here, we can talk about 'why' and 'how.'"

Gerard frowned, but motioned at Rylan to continue. Rylan took a deep breath and started his story, trying to keep it brief. He explained how he'd become an outstanding student, which was something Gerard was already aware of, joined the student council because of it, and had therefore attracted the attention of the other factions and nobles within the Academy. Once he started talking about how Jason and Amber had approached him, Gerard frowned. His frown only deepened as Rylan continued on to tell the conflict he'd had with Jason, and what that entailed. Once he reached the end of his story, Gerard was gritting his teeth.

For a few seconds, the carriage went completely silent. Rylan gave his father enough time to process what had happened, staring at him calmly. Gerard took a deep breath and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples.

"…I guess it was bound to happen eventually. It's not even because you used your mana circulation, but everything else just made you too special. Did you really need to join the student council?" Gerard asked.

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"I didn't have to, but I thought it was a good choice," Rylan replied. "The reasons the council president and another member listed were all good, but I did it mainly because I wanted some source of protection for you guys when I'm not here."

Gerard immediately opened his eyes and stared deep into Rylan's own, his gaze sharp.

"…What does that mean?"

Rylan blinked.

"I won't be in this kingdom forever. If, by any chance, I need to head to a battlefield, I—"

"It won't happen," Gerard interrupted with a frown. "I won't let it. I would rather go to one myself."

Rylan dumbly stared at his father for a second before smiling.

"Thank you, Father. But we've talked about this. I'd go fight every time if it meant the safety of our family."

"Absolutely not. You just focus on learning magic and enjoying this new life. Leave those worries to me."

Rylan shook his head.

"No. Apart from personal reasons, I would also grow the fastest on the battlefield. But we don't need to talk about that right now."

He held his father's stare. After a few seconds, Gerard sighed again.

"…Fine. I understand why you joined the student council and asked me to go to the Academy. I take it all the others already got there?"

Rylan nodded and smiled.

"You'll be able to spend some time with Mom and my siblings."

Gerard smiled, then belatedly narrowed his eyes.

"Then, what?"

Rylan tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"What happens after? We can't stay holed up in the Academy forever, and I doubt that's your plan. What are you going to do?"

Rylan nodded slowly.

"Yeah, it isn't. I'll need to talk to Damian about it, but my main goal is to minimize the losses our kingdom's people will suffer. That said, it's possible that the Empire will send assassins after me. After us. So protecting you guys is my priority right now. Once you're all inside Academy grounds, I'll go train and Level up, as well as acquire some swordsmanship Skills. I just need to prepare myself for whatever happens."

Gerard sighed and lay back on his seat.

"…You're trying to shoulder everything alone."

Rylan simply nodded.

"It's necessary right now. I hope things will get better soon, but…"

"It's unlikely."

"Extremely so. War doesn't work like that."

The carriage went silent once more. Gerard let out another sigh.

"At least we got some time to talk to each other. I was never a fan of letters. Tell me what you've been up to."

Rylan smiled. He started his explanation from the very beginning.

The carriage rode on. The second day soon ended.

***

Rylan glanced at Gerard next to him. The man was shifting nervously in place. He smiled and walked forward. The doors to Damian's Mage Tower opened automatically, much like the ones to his study. The sight of the inside was the same as always, as was the middle-aged woman behind the circular counter at the center of the wide room. As usual, she bowed at him as he approached her, followed by his father.

"Now, we just need to tell them we're here," he said, glancing over his shoulder at Gerard.

For the second time, he found himself annoyed by the lack of an instant long-distance communication method. Grumbling under his breath, Rylan turned to look at the middle-aged woman and asked her to inform the rest of his family. She nodded at him and smiled, then grabbed a crystal sphere from under the counter. Rylan looked at it with interest.

He could feel her infusing the sphere with mana. It lit up like a flame. She brought it closer to her mouth and spoke.

"Headmaster, Master Rylan and Gerard Flameheart have arrived."

Rylan blinked.

"Thank you, Samantha. I'll tell the others," Damian's voice resonated from the crystal ball.

The woman smiled and stopped channeling her mana. The crystal sphere's glow died out. Rylan stared at the artifact like a man who'd just found a pile of treasure.

"Samantha," he started barely a second later. "Are there portable versions of those artifacts?"

Samantha grinned and nodded.

"There are, Master Rylan. But they're very precious. The greater their effective range, the more valuable they are. As far as I know, only the Headmaster has access to them."

Rylan rubbed his chin and thanked her for the information. Meanwhile, Gerard was busy looking around the giant room with an expression of wonder. He watched the endlessly floating books and the enormous bookshelves with the same look in his eyes as Rylan's had moments before. Still, his nervous fidgeting was evidence that he'd heard Samantha's words and Damian's reply. Rylan smiled at him.

They'll be here soon.

In a way, it was cute how Gerard would get nervous every time he was about to meet Elizabeth. Was it because they spent so much time apart? He looked like a young man in love. To Rylan, who had never experienced love, it was a heartwarming sight.

Together, they simply waited.

After some time, Rylan's ears twitched. He looked at the stairway leading to the higher floors. A few moments later, Aelfric walked down the steps, followed by Regis and Lillia. Behind them trailed Sarah and Elizabeth, who was nervously looking around. Once she locked eyes with Gerard, she stopped. They smiled almost at the same time, as did Rylan and his siblings. Elizabeth almost ran down the steps, while Gerard ran toward her. The moment she reached the last step, he reached her and pulled her into his tight embrace.

Rylan kept his smile and nodded at his siblings. Both Regis and Lillia looked a bit shellshocked, while Aelfric simply looked happy. Rylan allowed himself to let out a breath.

With that, I've done what I could.

His entire family and Sarah were in the kingdom's safest location. If it were feasible, he would have wanted Jack, Scott, the soldiers, and everyone else who worked at the Flameheart estate to also come and be free from danger, but it wasn't simple. Aside from other factors, he truly couldn't spend any more time away from his training. Going back to the estate to oversee a large group's trip was not something he could currently afford. However, it could be possible if there were someone who could do such a thing for him.

Maybe Father and Damian can come up with something.

He nodded to himself. It was possible. If anything, he could trust Alice with such a thing.

Rylan looked at the ceiling, where different books floated and drifted about.

Now, he needed to head to the nearest Dungeon and train. Time was running out.

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