With a sigh, Greg forced the feelings down, recognizing the irrationality of feeling the way he did. He was Greg and not Roka after all. He might have the young man's memories, but in reality, they were just that... memories. Objectively speaking, he'd only been in this world and this little town for a little over a year and no more. He was already adrift. Far from home in a completely different world. To try and cling to this town would be Greg confusing himself with Roka. And that was to say nothing of just how dangerous it would be. He might have grown fond of the town over the last year. Greg, however, wasn't even remotely interested in dying just because he'd grown sentimental. Greg was about to turn to his teacher to let her know that he understood and would be preparing. Before he could do so, though, Greg caught sight of something that caused him to freeze.
Immediately, Greg sent mana to his eyes and scanned everywhere around them looking for signs of the invisible guard. He, however, was nowhere to be found. The young man from the airship had chosen to stay back by himself. Turning to his teacher, Greg noted that she seemed to also have caught sight of the young man who was walking toward his home with the former Town-head beside him. Greg couldn't help but be glad to see that his teacher was yet to revert to her true appearance meaning that even if the young man somehow got back to his people, he wouldn't be able to tell who she was. Though from the cold killing intent Greg could see in his teacher's eyes, he doubted that she was even remotely interested in leaving such a loose end.
With everyone else, this town was their home. Even after his teacher had wiped away every trace that they'd ever been there, the townspeople could be left to go about their life without anything being out of place. But as someone who came in on an airship, the young man approaching them was a piece that didn't belong in the puzzle. Even if they somehow managed to wipe his memories, leaving him in this town would be a dead giveaway to those already familiar with the young man that a powerful mage had done something to him. He was like a discordant note in a perfect melody. Without him, this was just a town in the mountains with no evidence of a powerful mage ever being here. With him here, any hope of obfuscating their trail was contingent on what they decided to do with him.
Greg could not help but glance in the direction of the departing airship, wondering what possible reason they could have for leaving this man behind. After all, if they were scared enough to run away, then they must have known that there was no way this young man would be able to do anything to a potentially high-tier mage. The fact that he was so openly approaching them at the very least put Greg a bit at ease. If he was up to something nefarious, more than likely he would be more clandestine in his actions. But with the former Town-head walking beside him, they moved past the gate and came to stop a few paces away.
Greg noted the look of confusion that crossed the former Town-head when he caught sight of his teacher, not recognizing her new appearance. The look, however, didn't last long as his features smoothed out soon thereafter. Whether or not he had worked out who it was most likely to be, Greg didn't know. Instead, the scarred older man turned to him and smiled. "Roka, my boy, how are you?" He greeted. Given that Roka was the one that gave the former Town-head a way out in the form of a potion, and even found a way to safely transfer power away from him while lionizing his legacy, the man had become much friendlier as a consequence. "Apologies for showing up unannounced, but this young man came back down from the airship and asked to be introduced to the one who was pushing our new Town-head's wheelchair," He stated.
Despite his words being genial, the former Town-head didn't waste time with unnecessary words. Instead, he got straight to the heart of the issue and explained how it is he came to be here with the young man beside him. Greg also appreciated the fact that the man was smart enough not to draw any attention to the unknown woman beside him. Whether or not he had worked out that this was the healer in disguise, he seemed to understand the necessity of not divulging to one's potential foes information that might be later used against them. Either that or he was just too scared of even the possibility of garnering the healer's wrath. Whichever the case, it kept the young man from realizing that the one their airship had run away from was actually a paper tiger. Who knew if, even now, this young man had a way of communicating with the airship? If he somehow got them to turn around and come back, it would spell disaster.
The young man stepped forward. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lothar, Sanz Lothar," He stated. Greg knew from his lessons on the human tongue that Sanz was this young man's surname. Much like the Japanese in his former life, in the human tongue, the Surname came first before one's particular name. "Before we proceed, allow me to once again apologize for the poor showing that my sister exhibited. I am willing to make any reparations that you may deem necessary," He spoke calmly.
"I am not the Town-head, why did you come to me?" Roka asked. The apology was good and all, but it didn't make any sense that Lothar would make it to him. Looking back at his performance throughout the meeting, he couldn't see how it was that the young man had figured out that he was the key person there.
"When my sister tried to transfer leadership from the one you were pushing to the burly man, the burly one didn't look to the one in the wheelchair. No, his first instinct was to look at the one standing behind the wheelchair. In his eyes, there was a measure of fear as to what your reaction to the transfer of power would be," Lothar replied straightforwardly. Greg could tell that he was consciously trying to be honest and open with him. Given that the airship he had come in on was now little more than a speck on the horizon, he must have realized that he was in danger. He was doing his best to avoid earning his displeasure knowing that his life was hanging in the balance. "My sister failed to notice it, but I suspect that what she transferred was an empty title. The true power in this town lies with someone else," He said.
"An observant one this one," The former Town-head commented offhandedly, sounding impressed.
Greg's lips pressed together, unable to help a feeling of displeasure that the flaw in his disguise didn't have anything to do with himself. "What do you want?" Greg questioned, choosing to get right to the heart of the issue.
"I have but one request. Like you, I walk the path of magic," he stated. Greg didn't bother asking how Lothar knew that he too was a mage. Given that the airship had already made its escape, he probably knew that there was a high-tier mage in this town. The only way that Roka would be considered the true power in this town was if he was somehow linked with that mage. A teacher-student relationship was simply the most likely. "Unfortunately for me, I am afflicted with a mana-averse body. While I was in the first tier, it wasn't even detectable. It was only after I ascended to the second tier that it fully expressed itself and became a hindrance to me. I looked high and low for some sort of solution, but have found none. The cleansing pearls from your abyssal ooze are my last hope. I only wish to buy a few from your teacher," He went on to say.
Greg had to control himself to keep from letting out a groan. Even though the cleansing pearls were his, he was fully prepared to let them go. After all, based on what his teacher said, it'd take another three months before even the first cluster of pearls would be produced. They didn't have that much time. In a month or two, people from the mage alliance would reach this town, and if they were still here when that happened, it'd be game over. All that Lothar had to do was come back then and he could have had as many cleansing pearls as he wished without even having to buy them. Instead, he had chosen to stay behind and make himself a complication to their escape plan. Greg was cognizant of the fact that Lothar hadn't actually set out to ruin their escape plan. Nevertheless, from the look his teacher had sent the young man, it didn't matter. He was now a problem that needed to be dealt with...
***
Calm as he pretended to be on the surface, Lothar could feel his heart hammering inside his chest. Back when he flew off the airship, he'd believed that he had no other choice. He had looked far and wide for other solutions and yet none had worked. This was probably his last chance and he had to grab onto it no matter what. Now that he stood before the disfigured boy, Roka, and the terrifying woman beside him, Lothar couldn't help but wonder if he had been too rash. Perhaps he should have given up on this and tried to find some other way to deal with his ailment. After all, even as a second-tier mage, he still had hundreds of cycles to live. Who's to say that another opportunity wouldn't have presented itself?
Lothar had given the burly man's reaction as the reason why he was certain that Roka was the true power in this town. But while that was part of it, it wasn't the entire story. As he was coming down from the airship, Romin, his invisible guard, had descended with him. Romin wasn't planning on staying. Both second and third-tier mages were just different-sized ants in the eyes of a sixth or seventh-tier mage. His reason for descending with him was because he had some information to share before he returned to the ship.
