Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

"That spell-casting method... it was refined, perfect and I could tell you have practiced very hard to achieve that Mana channeling speed.

I was in utter awe while looking at those beautiful spells, and all of them were not the normal spells mages use, right?

Just the fact that you used original spells in that match was a surprise, but almost overpowering the instructor?

Just amazing...

I can just think of the burden that spell-casting technique would put on your body so, thinking your base stats are above the average mage's would be natural, right?

You are amazing, young girl~!"

He was genuinely surprised from what I can tell and Rein could just see the truth, so she knew this was not some empty flattery but genuine praise.

And she liked this behavior.

"Thanks~," she answered cheerfully and nodded at this 'old-looking' person.

Even with our eyes, we can only see him as this old man.

Her eyes of truth judged this appearance as truth, and just from this much, we could tell just how lethal the witchcraft is to even deceive our highest-grade abilities.

His eyes were sparkling while looking at us and I knew he wanted to talk far more than this much but, Stella was here so he couldn't say much.

We weren't by the door anymore and were sitting on the couches before the study table and he was on the opposite side of us.

And this was actually really peculiar...

Looking at someone like him for the first time in my dear life.

His appearance was the most stereotypical image of an old mage I could think of, and seeing him really fulfilled one of my wishes far earlier than I had thought.

People who were actually old mages who really looked somewhat like him were few, and most of them were part of the great councils.

Even the old witch that made him like this looked... astonishingly stunning, from what I have read.

That lady... I already knew we will cross paths someday and meeting someone as amazing as her was something I wouldn't want to miss.

She wasn't bad, not at all. Just that angering any witch in common was asking for punishment, and that is general knowledge.

As long as you don't do something that would genuinely anger them, you will have a fun time with them.

Well, she was finding someone opposite to her abilities at this moment, so no one knew her whereabouts.

She knew her mistake, and he had, at last, accepted his fate of forever being this old man...

This wasn't anything bad, though. It was just the appearance.

He was just as strong as he has been in the past and he was definitely an amazing mage.

He only had an affinity for light attribute, and it wasn't at the level of Rein's grandma.

But it definitely was as great as Rein's water attribute affinity or my dad's affinity with the three elements, and it was great in itself.

He was a great mage and master of destructive series magic.

Light attribute, destructive series... a peculiar combination, truthfully.

But everyone who knew this person knew just how strong the light attribute could be in any kind of situation.

The pure destructive power it had was powerful, not only against the dark and demonic creatures, but also against normal beings.

He was strong, and the way he was acting right now was more than just amazing.

He was fascinating, and I already knew he knew our real identity.

He wanted to talk for real but, Stella was here so he could do nothing.

For him, she really was like a daughter... for reasons unknown.

His words were genuine, but he couldn't say all the things he wanted to at this moment.

Not until she goes out.

But... he didn't hurry to send her away, too.

From the look he gave her, it was clear that they rarely met each other.

Well, we knew our time would waste here, and that was the very reason we both finished the practical even quicker than the time we took to reach this top floor by that elevator.

We didn't mind giving them a moment, but it wasn't like they wouldn't ever meet each other again.

They worked and also lived in this very place, so there was no way they wouldn't see each other again.

He knew this, so he was definitely trying to keep things short and simple.

But... just like any dad, he couldn't do anything against that star-filled eyes she had.

She was a mature lady, and she behaved like a good receptionist while doing her job.

But now, she was acting differently before him.

And… he had to finish this quickly and get to the real talk.

He knew from the normal look in my eyes that I knew this, and he couldn't help but sigh at that.

Looking at me with that normal look, he nodded his head, saying he would be ending the small talk now.

And I just smiled calmly.

I knew we two would need a bit to talk personally and also that Rein had no interest in any of the things going on.

She was here for the chocolates and that was it.

IDs were important, but not as much as the date.

If not for this person being one of the few grandmaster sweet makers of the continent, and the chocolates being his specialty, she wouldn't even have wasted the time in this small talk.

Rein... oh Reinelle...

Well, she loved the chocolate with roasted almonds. And this chocolate was different from my special ice cream.

She had the chance to buy as much as she wanted from him today, a really special thing, actually.

This meeting was important for her to get her hands on some really fine chocolate... which she only realized after I told her.

'dumb girl...'

Well, the special chocolates were premium things even high nobility like us would have a hard time getting our hands on.

And in the end, it was on the mood of this very person if he wanted to give it away or not.

I also wanted to buy... a lot of it, if I can but before we can discuss that thing, we had to finish the small talk.

He looked me in the eye, a strange warmth filling his eyes.

"You were... just amazing, Lucifer. That prowess and power... made me speechless and I genuinely have no words for it.

Just... marvelous."

Short, sweet, and true... he also knew how to use genuine words like my second uncle.

This was good enough to satisfy this big lady's curiosity and, after saying some more necessary things, he finally sighed.

While he was looking at me and saying things, his eyes were seeing various things of their own.

And one thing that surprised him far more than our performance was the fact that he couldn't see our status windows.

Rein's mental fortitude and skills were naturally marvelous, but Lucy told me how he tried using the skill multiple times on me and failed miserably.

And it was natural anyway...

His skill wasn't even as good as my [Appraisal]. How can he breach through Lucy with only a 'normal' (Blue) rank skill?

Even Rein's eyes failed to see through. The strongest innate skill I had seen after coming to this world.

If Rein's cheat skill fails, what more could we expect from that kind of skill?

Well, it was at least commendable that his skill got activated on us, and maybe that was the reason he tried using it many times.

He could understand Rein was a mage and could deflect the skill, but I was only a strong archer and physically strong person.

I knew he might have called both our houses to ask about us.

And naturally, aside from confirming the basic things, I knew neither of our families would have told him anything about us.

They definitely told him to see for himself and... he was genuinely confused about how I could deny his powerful skill.

I was covering all my Mana with Solnova so he couldn't sense Mana of even a (tier-0) from me.

He could never sense it actually, it wasn't possible.

The spell I was using was an almost passive thing and I can just have it work with my energy circulation.

It was easy on my side, and he just gave up after some tries.

He understood just from this much, just what they meant by seeing for himself, if they said something like this, but, anyway, his small talk was finished.

And he briefly talked with Stella too, asking some normal things about her job and how things were going.

She was happy to talk with him from start to finish and both of us had nothing to do so... we were playing with each other's hands.

Well... no need to tell that inside stuff to you all so, he finished the small talk and our smart receptionist understood this was it for her.

And without even anyone telling her, she stood up and respectfully bowed to sir Lucius.

And as a parting gift, he handed her something special before she left the room.

And that something was the reason Rein was here...

Yes, that was a small, red pouch of chocolates of different shapes and I knew there were six, so... the dear receptionist just received something very, very, very special for free.

In the market, those six chocolates were sixty gold... something one would never pay for some simple small chocolates.

But, they were made by a grandmaster... only those who had eaten it can imagine the taste.

I could tell how much he cared for her just from this much but, his act of kindness was making this partner of mine drool and become restless.

She can't take it for much and I was also having difficulty calming her by just holding her gentle hand.

I knew even before we could talk, the first topic would be the chocolates and... I really wanted those special chocolates in more than the necessary quantity if I can.

Who knew when I would meet him again, so the best thing was to stock up when I have the chance, right?

So, for now, my first task was... to refuse his invitation to join the association and bargain for the chocolates.