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I managed to safely get rid of Cortina’s depression. The following morning we left the elven town and departed towards the capital. Finia and I went to say our farewells to Bill, but he had already left the inn due to business when we got there, so that wish didn’t come true.

Well, he was doing his business between this town and the capital, so we were sure to stumble on him again sooner or later. We still left a message for him with the inn’s person, though, after which we filled a canteen full with the white fruit juice in place of a souvenir and set out.

We took two breaks on the way, and this time, we managed to safely arrive at our destination in about three hours. Perhaps this mostly thanks to the sweet juice. It’s sweetness served to recover my stamina.

We arrived just past noon and everyone went their separate way when we reached Cortina’s home. But Michelle—who lived next door—aside, we couldn’t exactly let a Marquis’ daughter like Letina walk home on her own. She already experienced getting kidnapped once, so Cortina and I made sure to walk her home.

Seeing Letina bring a present home and hop around in excitement made her mother, Elisa, very happy for her, and she thanked us. Her happiness made me happy too.

After that, we took a little detour and arrived at Maxwell’s mansion. If I had to say, this place was our goal today.

“Now this is rare. For you to show your face here, Cortina.”
“Shut up. Here, your gift.”
“Oh, the baked sweets from the elven town? You relaxed there with the kids, eh? That is quite motherly of you.”
“I’ve got something to talk about, so go bring us some tea already!”
“So you plan to eat these yourself…”

Maxwell shrugged in exasperation, but his expression looked happy on the contrary. He cheerfully guided us to his living room and went to brew the tea as he was told.

Maxwell was tall, so he towered above the Elves who were usually petite. His old age didn’t affect his physique, nor could it be felt in his actions; he was smooth and natural. Did he know the meaning of old age infirmity?

“Here, I made it with the leaves I ordered from Cornus in the south. Do appreciate it.”
“I thought I’d never see the day when you’d actually be so welcoming…”
“Thank Nicole’s presence for that.”
“Yeah, yeah.”

Cortus was the southern City-State. It was west of my home, Alecmarle Sword Kingdom, and prospered through the ocean trades. Since they excelled in trading, there were many rare items to be found there. I could indeed feel the slight aroma of sea water coming from it.

“So then. What business brought you here?”

He asked as he sat in front of us and sipped on his tea. The way he sat comfortably on his sofa with a cup in hand made him extrude a feeling of dignity befitting the kingdom’s ruler. If you ignored the messy room in the background, that is.

“Right, I’ll get straight to the point, then. I saw Reid in the Elven town.”
“Pfff-, come again!?”

Maxwell leapt to his feet while spurting the tea and soiling his robe. He then drew closer to Cortina and questioned her loudly. She expected that reaction, though, so she didn’t flinch.

“He was inside the cave near that town. The place where the hot spring first gushed out.”
“What was he doing in such a…”
“But, he showed up with his old appearance, so I think he used some kind of illusion. But seeing his threads and stealth ability, I have no doubt it was really him.”
“If that’s what you say, that’s probably the case. Not to mention, you could hardly mistake him for someone.”
“Pretty much.”

After Maxwell regained his calm, they proceeded to exchange information in plain manner. Frankly put, listening to their talk from the side was bad for my heart. Not just Cortina, but Maxwell too was sharp-minded. If Cortina wasn’t there with us, he would’ve been the one to replace her as the party commander.

Magic fundamentally required one to remember things. Mastering all systems meant that he was very knowledgeable and had a high intellect. He was always messing around, but he wasn’t stupid.

“Would that mean that Reid has reincarnated in that Elven town? To think he was in my domain.”
“He seemed to have some reason for not showing his appearance. The way he spoke suggested he didn’t reincarnate into an Elf.”
“If not Elf, then what else? Could it be that he was reborn into that Carbuncle you encountered?”
“Oh, I didn’t think of that. True, he could’ve been reborn as a monster.”
“Reincarnation is quite a dangerous magic since you don’t know what the target will reincarnate into.”
“Can’t you use it? You can use all attributes, right?”
“Well, I can use it. However, I can’t guarantee the certainty of it as well as Maria. She truly is a heaven-sent girl. I can’t match her in anything healing related.”

Their conversation pointed them towards the Carbuncle, so I heaved a sigh of relief. The White God took it away, so as long as they keep thinking that Carbuncle is me, they shouldn’t be able to arrive at the truth.

As I secretly made a fist pump, their meeting had finally come to a closure.