UWTD 372: Planned

Inside the silent and moderately decorated office, Grayfia tapped the mahogany desk with a stack of paper to align them before setting them aside.

“You can come out.” She said, her gaze as cold as ice.

“What a hostile gaze. Truly something beyond human.” A white-haired old man with a beard appeared out of thin air. He wore a bright red suit with an ornamental golden cane and a cocksure smirk.

“You are?” Grayfia asked, standing up from her seat.

“You don’t know me? Well, that’s a first.” The old man cleared his throat and continued with a smile. “I am Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.”

“I only wanted to confirm if it was the real deal. My Master did say that you’d come snooping around…” Grayfia slid her chair into the desk and walked over to the table near the western window, “…after watching the frantic efforts of the counter force.”

Adam already anticipated the counter force’s unsuccessful infiltration of his location. He prepared a safety net around the people he knew they’d go after to get his attention, his maid. He didn’t doubt their ability to know of her location since everything in this universe was recorded in one place, and with beings that could access said record, Adam decided to have some fun of his own.  

“Your Master seems to have quite the high opinion of me.” Zelretch, for the first time in his long life, had laid eyes upon magic he couldn’t understand.

The strange being that had a conversation with the embodiment of root and later landed in the world, that very outsider didn’t bother hiding his traces; instead, he created a magic circle with his follower at the center. A magic circle that covered not just the world she was on, but the entire timeline.

The magic circle that surrounded Grayfia was made from the system of Zelretch’s world, in his language, and his specialty, yet he couldn’t understand it. No matter how much he tried to solve it, like mist, the answer always eluded him.

It was a challenge; Adam simply dared them to so much as breathe wrong near his follower to find out the consequences.

Alaya herself had warned the magi across the world not to get near Grayfia for fear of the unknown, even the counter force worked overtime to make sure the order remained.

However, some magi wanted to know what would happen. The idea of the danger excited them. They thought it would lead them to the truth, which only created more work for the Counter Force, stretching their forces thin.

Zelretch was one of them. Even if Alaya had specifically singled him out, warning him not to even go near the timeline, he still showed up. But the outsider had taken even that into consideration.

‘Not bad… Not Bad at all.’ He smirked, thinking about how far this outsider sees into the future. How much more can this man entertain him? Zelretch truly wanted to know.

“You seem to have quite the high opinion of yourself.” Pouring a cup of tea, one she had made in advance, Grayfia peered at the human with her red eyes.

“Well…” Zelretch, the second true magician, thought over his position in the world of magi. Considering the things he had done over the years, his confidence was well-founded. At least in the eyes of the magi of this world.

“A moderately strong creature in a group of subpar does tends to think of itself as extraordinary.” Grayfia handed him the porcelain cup, a face cold as ice. “However, such creatures are nothing more than a little extra than the ordinary.”

“You don’t ask what your guests prefer? Like, what if I wanted cola instead of tea? To top it all off, you are so rude to your Master’s guests. What type of maid are you?” Zelretch complained, yet took the teacup with a smile.

“My Master said you will enjoy this tea, so I prepared it in advance. As for being rude to my master’s guest…” Grayfia shook her head, “You aren’t a guest, just a cog in the machination.”

“You sure don’t hold back, huh.” Zelretch took a sip of the steaming tea, and his narrow eyes widened because of the burst of the earthy and rich tones of the tea. “This is actually good.”

Seeing the old man excited like a young girl over tea made Grayfia shake her head. Although she had spoken boldly and fearlessly to raise Adam’s prestige, she didn’t know if she could defeat the old man in front of her. And, the old man seemed aware of that; the only thing stopping him was Adam’s handwork.

‘My powers have increased, but I am not at a level where I can use them fully without sacrificing my body. But this old man hides his strength very well. I can’t grasp the entirety of it myself. But Master did promise to help me with training after we go back, so I will break through my limits… Wait…! Something hit Grayfia in that instant; she had been wondering why Adam told her that in private before he left. ‘Did Master expect that I would mull over my lack of combat power and wanted to ease my worries?!’

As Grayfia had thought, Adam already foresaw the moment she would feel inadequate in strength while facing Zelretch, so he gave her something to look forward to and not waste her time and energy obsessing over it. That consideration truly touched Grayfia’s heart, enough to make even her ice block-like face melt.

“Hah… I see no way through this.” Zelretch had poured himself a third cup of the steaming hot tea from the kettle and drank it in one swig.

The tea had a refreshing and blissful aftertaste, but he felt like he had chewed a lemon. No matter which angle or way he looked at the magic circle left behind by Adam, he couldn’t find a way to undo or bypass it.

Even defeating the crimson moon seemed like child’s play in front of this challenge, he doubted he could’ve done something even in his heyday. And as a True Magician, the user of the second true magic, Kaleidoscope, Zelretch felt even more peeved that he couldn’t enjoy solving this puzzle. After all, a long life did make one crave more extreme entertainment.

“Guess, I’ll give up for now.” He placed the tea cup on the table and sighed.

“A wise choice,” Grayfia said, marking the end of the little game of nerves.

“Well, I will get back at him someday, your master, I mean.” Zelretch smiled; he’d wait for the day he could get even.

“Before I leave, can I get some of your tea leaves?” He asked, with a sheepish smile.

Grayfia opened the glass cabinet on the left of her desk. In the seven levels, numerous ornate jars full of tea leaves and brew sat ceremoniously. However, she picked the only wrapped jar placed on the third level.

“Of course, you knew I would ask for it.” Zelretch took the three-kilogram jar with a heavy heart, even though being read like this grated on his nerves; he also found it amusing in a way. Plus, he got a good tea out of it. A total win in his books.

“Well, see you around, young lady.” With a final wave, Zelretch left as abruptly as his arrival.

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Sorry for the delays, i will get back to usual sched from now on.

See you tomorrow with a new chapter.