Chapter Forty-Nine: People Born for Each Other

“Hurry up and get married, you two!” Alicia, who had been listening to their story the whole time, called out restlessly. She had never known about the past between the old Pope and Yura; no wonder she always thought there was something going on between them.

“Marriage, huh? The Pope and my teacher both understood each other’s feelings, but he knew she had many things left to do, so he never said anything. When my teacher left, the one who cried the hardest was the Pope. Did you think he always looked so old? He aged decades overnight from grief.”

Mayuna could tell that Ruby was also puzzled as to why the two never ended up together, so she explained a little. After becoming a Holy Mage, one had plenty of time and no need to rush into the grave of marriage. Yura had always been playful; no one expected that an accident would come so suddenly.

“I’ll go prepare dinner.” Ruby bowed to the small grave and left. He had nothing he wanted to say to Yura, nor did he wish to disturb Mayuna.

“Teacher, I’m back.” Mayuna bent her knees, kneeling before the grave, and began to speak to her teacher—this teacher she’d once thought she’d never see again—telling her all that had happened since her departure.

“Teacher, you always told me not to get obsessed with training, to go out and see the world, to meet people. But I never listened, because I thought fulfilling your expectations through tireless training was the best way to repay you. Even now, there are so many things I don’t understand.”

“That person just now is Ruby. He saved me. He’s a truly remarkable person. He has no magic, yet he can do things that even I find astonishing. Other than you, he’s the first to tolerate my whims and indulge me. The more time I spend with him, the more I think…”

A soft, tender smile appeared on Mayuna’s face as she spoke of Ruby, a shy emotion coloring her words.

“Maybe he stayed in that little cabin all along just to save me, and I became a Mage God just to protect him. If we were both born for each other, just thinking about it fills me with joy.”

“I don’t know what these feelings are, but I’m not lost. Some answers are more meaningful when you seek them yourself, right?”

Mayuna spoke for a long time. By the time she rose, her legs were numb, and her body wavered unsteadily. She thought she would fall to the ground, but unexpectedly, she landed in a warm embrace.

“Is dinner ready?”

“No. Your friend is here.” Ruby didn’t need to ask how Mayuna was doing. Supporting her, he led her to the front yard, where the princess, clad in full armor, was already waiting.

“You actually just left me back there and walked away. That’s so like you, Nana.”

“Don’t you have any sense at all? The cathedral is so far from here, and you just ran all this way!”

Mayuna was fuming. Clearly, the Mage God didn’t want Tinasia interrupting their dinner together—mainly because she was afraid Tinasia would eat all the food.

“In any case, two people couldn’t finish all this food tonight.”

Ruby patted Mayuna, signaling her to calm down, then walked over to the lobster lying on the now-melted ice, pondering how to prepare it.

“This is a Twin-Claw Beast, isn’t it? Tastes quite good.”

Lobster was rare, but as a princess, Tinasia had eaten plenty. Still, she was quite curious to see how Ruby would cook this one.

“Just out of curiosity, how do you usually cook this?”

“The shell is really hard, so we just hit it with a Fireball spell and eat it once it’s cooked.”

“What a waste. Tinasia, help me out—cut it open right here.”

Ruby imagined the scene in his mind, the memory of master chefs rolling in their graves almost too much to bear. He could only mark a spot on the lobster’s head with a knife-hand, signaling Tinasia to split it down the middle.

“That’s difficult to cut. I have the strength, but the angle…”

Tinasia sized it up with her weapon; the lobster was lying flat, and chopping from above would just drive the blade into the ground.

“Let’s do it this way.”

Ruby agreed it would be tough, so he grabbed the lobster’s claws and held it upright in front of him.

“No, no, that’s too risky! If something happens, Nana will definitely kill me.”

Tinasia shook her head frantically. She didn’t know how close Ruby and Mayuna were, but her instincts screamed that this was dangerous—she might slice them both in half.

“Tinasia, I trust you.”

Ruby’s gaze was serious and direct; he truly believed in her. Her demeanor inspired confidence.

“Well, all right then.”

Ruby’s unwavering trust made Tinasia pause. Seeing Mayuna wasn’t objecting, she reluctantly agreed.

With a deft swing of her spear, the lobster split cleanly in two, the tip barely skimming Ruby’s chest. One could only marvel at Tinasia’s control.

“Perfect.”

Ruby gave Tinasia a thumbs-up and began cleaning the lobster’s innards, while Tinasia looked to Mayuna for praise, but the Mage God completely ignored her.

Thanks to Dragun’s efforts, an array of lobster dishes soon covered the wooden round table Mayuna conjured with magic. Every pot, bowl, and ladle was flawless, and Mayuna felt more and more that Dragun was indispensable to daily life.

“Wow, this feast could send someone floating into the sky!”

Mayuna’s eyes sparkled at the tableful of lobster, but just as she reached for some, Ruby slapped her hand away.

“Wash your hands.”

“Tch.”

Annoyed, the Mage God conjured a water sphere in midair, dipped her hands, and scrubbed them. Tinasia had already shed her heavy armor and was ready to dig in.

At first, Tinasia was willing to listen to Ruby describe the dishes—cream cheese baked lobster, garlic steamed lobster, grilled lobster, lobster roe tofu, and more. But after the first bite, her mind went blank, and together with Mayuna, she began grabbing meat with her hands, all decorum forgotten.

“Can’t eat another bite…”

Half an hour later, Mayuna lay on her cloud-magic cushion, unable to move. Her brain insisted she should eat more in case she never got another chance, while her stomach threatened to kill her if she did. The contradiction was sheer torment.

“Damn it, how can she eat so much?”

Mayuna eyed Tinasia jealously. This woman must have a spatial magic array in her stomach, teleporting the food away—there was no other explanation.

“It’s because her energy consumption is different. You should learn from her and exercise more.”

“No way.”

“Ahh, this is the best meal I’ve had in my life. Now I understand why Nana cares so much about you. I wish I could eat your cooking every day, Ruby.”

Tinasia wasn’t usually a glutton, but Ruby’s dishes could tempt a saint. She wouldn’t be surprised if the sin of gluttony that tempted angels to fall was nothing more than Ruby’s food.

“If you want to compete with me, you’re ten thousand years too early. I’m full; time to sleep.”

Mayuna stretched, waved, and headed back inside.

“Wait, Nana, were you always so lazy?”

Tinasia watched Mayuna’s retreating back in confusion. For her, nighttime training was just getting started, but Mayuna was already ready to turn in.

“I always have been.”

As night fell, Mayuna lay awake in her long-missed bed. Ruby was just next door, just as in the little cabin, separated only by a wall, but now the distance felt greater—perhaps it was because the rooms were too big.

Knock, knock, knock.

“What, you think the room’s too big too? I guess I can spare some floor for you…”

Hearing the knock, Mayuna jumped up and opened the door, muttering words sure to delight any visitor.

“Really? I thought you’d refuse for sure. Wonderful!”

Tinasia, wearing pajamas and hugging her quilt, stood at the door, her face alight with joy. Hearing Mayuna’s words, she nearly jumped for happiness.

Crash.

Ruby was startled awake by something crashing through a window and landing in the yard. He looked around in confusion, then went back to sleep. Even in the imperial capital, it seemed, peace was hard to come by.

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