The sunshine colored the landscape with gentle shades of gold.

The strange encounter in the shade of the ancient oak became merely a vague memory.

Jennie sometimes thought about the mysterious traveler.

But there were always roads to travel.

Settlements to defend.

People to help.

And life continued.

By noon, the group arrived at the next village.

Its name was Willowbrook – an idyllic agricultural village situated by the banks of a slow-flowing river.

Unlike the active trade roads in the neighborhood of Aurelis, Willowbrook was silent.

The children played and ran after butterflies among the colorful wild flowers.

The farmers harvested the golden wheat, whistling old tunes.

The waterwheel slowly revolved under the influence of the river waters; it drew fresh water into wooden pipes irrigating the fields around.

Several mana crystals glimmered below the wheel, enabling it to rotate even in the absence of the current.

The smoke lazily rose from the stone chimneys.

The smell of freshly baked bread spread in the air.

Roxy stretched comfortably.

"I love such villages."

"They are so peaceful."

Jennie smiled.

"They make me believe that our world is not only monsters and battlefields."

Snow quietly nodded.

"The peace is worth to defend because of places like this."

As they stepped into the square of the village...

The cracking noise resonated in the air.

"Oh dear..."

The old man sighed.

"The axle broke again."

Jennie turned towards the noise.

The old wooden wagon stood askew.

One of its wheels was disengaged from the axle.

Several bags of grains lay scattered on the road.

The old couple tried to raise the heavy wagon.

The old man rubbed his aching back.

"I don’t think I can fix it anymore."

His wife smiled kindly despite the difficult circumstances.

"We’ll somehow cope."

Before Jennie had the chance to step forward to help...

Another person knelt down by the broken wagon.

Familiar gray robes.

Wide straw hat.

Gentle hands examining the disengaged wheel.

Jennie blinked.

"... Him?"

Roxy’s eyes widened.

"The tea traveler!"

Snow quietly halted.

His ears perked up.

The traveler looked up, as if he expected their arrival from the beginning.

A gentle smile played around his lips.

"Good afternoon."

"As expected..."

"Our paths crossed again."

Jennie politely smiled.

"It seems so."

The traveler raised the broken wheel with unexpected easiness.

His movements were slow.

Gentle.

Almost graceful.

He examined the cracked axle only for a few moments before reaching into the small leather bag.

Instead of expensive tools...

He took out an ordinary piece of rope and several wooden pegs.

Roxy whispered,

"That will not be enough..."

The traveler quietly tied the rope.

Nailed the pegs.

Adjusted the wheel.

Pushed the wagon gently.

The wheel rotated ideally.

Without any wobbles.

Without any noise.

The old man stared at him in amazement.

"I’ve repaired wagons for forty years..."

"I’ve never seen anyone fixing a wagon like this."

The traveler softly chuckled.

"Sometimes, old ways prove to be the strongest ones."

The old woman repeatedly bowed.

"Thank you so much."

"It is nothing."

Jennie watched silently.

Somehow...

His movements seemed...

Familiar.

She could not understand why.

Something in the way he worked.

Quiet.

Patient.

Never wasting any motion.

That made her think about someone.

About someone she could not remember.

The old couple insisted on giving him a basket of fresh bread.

The traveler accepted only one loaf.

"The rest will be more useful for you."

"You need it more than me."

The old woman smiled warmly.

"You are too kind."

After the wagon was driven away...

The traveler turned towards Jennie and her companions.

His gentle smile remained unchanged.

"It seems that we became traveling acquaintances."

Roxy laughed.

"Now we are officially friends!"

Jennie politely nodded.

"We haven’t properly introduced each other yet."

"I am Jennie."

"This is Roxy."

"And this is Snow."

The traveler listened quietly.

Then...

For the first time...

He introduced himself.

"My name is..."

He slightly adjusted his straw hat.

"... Shanks."

"It is a pleasure."

Jennie smiled.

"So pleased, Shanks."

Unknown to everyone present...

The name was one of many names he used during several thousands of years.

The four found a small wooden bench under the willow tree.

As before...

Shanks brewed tea.

This time...

Jennie attentively watched all his actions.

She saw how he poured water.

Added the herbs to the kettle.

Laid fire to the small flame.

All those things seemed completely ordinary.

However...

When the tea was ready...

She could not recall when exactly the water started to boil.

She blinked.

"... Strange."

Shanks calmly smiled, as if nothing unusual happened.

Roxy noticed several old books lying beside him.

Her eyes sparkled.

"Do you study magic?"

Shanks looked down at the leather covers of the books.

"A little."

"A little?"

Roxy laughed.

"These books are older than most libraries."

Shanks nodded.

"They are my old friends."

Jennie silently drank her tea.

"My old friends?"

"I’ve read them many times."

Roxy enthusiastically leaned forward.

"What kind of magic do they contain?"

Shanks closed one book.

The magic that most people have forgotten."

Roxy almost fell off the bench.

"Forgeten magic?"

"Can you really use it?"

Shanks smiled.

"Yes, I can."

Their discussion soon became quite lively.

Roxy asked question after question.

"What is the oldest spell you’ve ever learned?"

Shanks calmly replied.

"A starfire barrier from the Kingdom of Astria."

Roxy widened her eyes.

"Astria?"

"This civilization existed more than eighteen hundred years ago!"

Shanks nodded.

"It did."

He said further,

"There was also the Twelvefold Circle of Iskandar."

The Moon Reflection Formula."

"The Hollow Wind Script."

"The Crystal Bloom Invocation."

Each time when he named a spell...

Roxy became more astonished.

"I..."

"I’ve only read fragments about them in myths!"

Shanks kindly corrected her.

"They were not myths."

"They were simply forgotten."

Roxy quickly opened three notebooks simultaneously.

"Please..."

"You should tell me everything!"

Kael smiled.

"Sharing of knowledge is a good thing."

During the next hour...

He told about ancient theories of mana.

How did the ancient civilizations cast spells without using magic circles.

Why the modern magicians consume much more mana than their predecessors.

How the forgotten runes helped people to create the simple defensive charms.

He spoke smoothly.

Not as a man who retells history.

But as a man who remembers it.

Jennie silently watched him.

Her hands held the warm cup of tea.

A peculiar feeling appeared in her chest.

Why...?

Why does he sound like if he really experienced those times?

Jennie looked at the peaceful smile of Shanks.

For just a brief moment...

His eyes flashed with the age that no ordinary traveler should have.

Then the feeling vanished.

Jennie lowered her eyes.

I’ve certainly never met him before...

Then why does he seem to me so familiar?

The sun slowly descended toward the west.

The breeze brought the scent of wheat fields from Willowbrook.

Jennie, Snow, Roxy, and Shanks stayed under the old willow tree finishing their tea.

For some time...

They didn’t say anything.

It was a comfortable silence.

There was nothing awkward.

It was peaceful.

Nearby, children were playing chasing each other in the village square.

A blacksmith was beating glowing iron.

The merchants negotiated over the baskets of fruits.

Everything was going without any rush.

Jennie suddenly smiled.

"I almost forgot what peaceful days feel like."

Kael looked at the villagers.

"They are easy to forget."

"Peace doesn’t announce its presence."

"It just exists."

Jennie quietly nodded.

"I think..."

"I prefer it to the victory."

Shanks glanced at her under his straw hat.

For a brief moment...

A faint smile flashed across his lips.

"So do I. "

Roxy put down another notebook with a satisfied sigh.

"I’ve filled four notebooks today."

Jennie was surprised.

"Four?"

Roxy proudly showed them to her.

"Master Shanks told me more about ancient magic in one afternoon than my academy in three years."

Shanks quietly chuckled.

"Every knowledge belongs to everyone."

"It can disappear only if people stop sharing it."

Roxy respectfully bowed to him.

"I’ll never forget your lesson."

"I hope so."

"There may be a test someday."

Roxy paled.

"...Please don’t."

Jennie couldn’t help laughing.

"You scare her more than monsters."

"I’ve noticed."

Even Snow chuckled quietly.

When the shadows grew longer, Jennie got up.

"We should continue our journey before sunset."

Roxy quickly gathered all her books and packed them into her huge backpack.

After trying for almost a minute, she finally managed to pick it up.

"I really need fewer books..."

Snow looked at her enormous backpack.

"You’ve been saying it for weeks."

"This time I’m serious."

"You also said it yesterday."

"...Let’s not focus on details."

Jennie smiled, adjusting her white cloak.

"Thank you for the tea once more."

"It was wonderful."

Shanks slowly got up from his seat.

The wind lightly touched his gray robe.

He looked at Jennie with thoughtfully calm eyes.

For some time...

His expression turned surprisingly serious.

It wasn’t cold.

It wasn’t threatening.

Simply...

Very ancient.

He quietly said.

"A sword becomes blunt..."

"...when it only cuts."

Jennie blinked.

She listened very attentively.

Shanks continued.

"Remember..."

"...to defend that which cannot fight."

It was a simple phrase.

But it weighed down deeply in her heart.

Jennie looked down.

She recalled Arthur, Elena, Lucas, Princess Lilia, villagers that she saved, children who smiled because someone defended them.

She smiled lightly.

"I will."

"Thank you."

Shanks nodded once.

"I believe you."

Snow slowly passed by him.

At this moment...

Shanks casually reached out and lightly placed his hand on the head of the Divine Wolf.

He scratched his ears with light fingers.

Snow froze.

Somehow...

Instead of removing his hand...

He quietly lowered his ears.

Almost...

Instinctively.

Respectfully.

It puzzled him.

He didn’t bow to anyone for centuries.

Not after Leonis.

But before he even understood it...

His body reacted on instinct.

Shanks smiled gently.

"You have grown well."

Snow looked at him.

"...Have we met?"

The traveler smiled again.

"I’ve met many wolves."

Before Snow could say anything else...

Shanks removed his hand.

The strange sensation passed.

Snow blinked several times.

"...This was weird."

Jennie and her friends left the village.

Roxy enthusiastically waved.

"Goodbye, Master Shanks!"

"I hope we will meet again!"

Shanks raised his hand as a goodbye sign.

"I have a feeling..."

"That our paths will cross again."

Jennie smiled.

"I would like it."

"Travel safely."

"And you too."

The trio silently disappeared among the wheat fields.

Shnaks stayed under the willow tree.

Watching them leaving.

Only after they disappeared beyond the distant hills, he quietly whispered to himself.

"...You are not like that man whom I’ve once fought."

"...But..."

"...In some way you seem oddly familiar."

His words were carried away by the wind.

Night came.

A small campfire flickered on the cliff above the plains.

Roxy was sleeping soundly.

Several books lied on her face.

One of them slowly slipped down.

Thump.

She didn’t even wake up.

Jennie smiled and carefully moved the books aside.

"She must be exhausted."

Snow lay next to the campfire.

The fire was playing with his blue eyes.

Jennie roasted dried meat over the fire.

For a long time...

She suddenly said.

"What do you think about Shanks?"

Snow didn’t answer for a while.

Instead...

He looked at the dancing fire.

Finally...

He said quietly.

"He is kind."

Jennie nodded.

"He is."

Snow’s voice turned low.

"But..."

He slowly raised his head to the sky full of stars.

"Something in him..."

He paused.

Trying to find the words.

"...Is older than mountains."

Jennie looked at him surprised.

"Older than mountains?"

Snow nodded.

"I can’t explain it."

"When he looked at me..."

"It seemed that there were countless years hiding in his eyes."

Jennie recalled her feelings that she experienced before.

The strangeness of familiarity that she couldn’t explain.

"I felt it too."

Snow looked down.

"I have lived more than a thousand years."

"I have met kings."

"Sages."

"Dragons."

"Even Divine Beasts."

He looked into the darkness beyond the campfire.

"But I have never met anyone..."

"...Who made time itself feel small."

The cool wind caressed the quiet plain.

The campfire crackled quietly.

Neither Jennie nor Snow noticed a solitary figure on the distant hill.

Gray robes floated under the moonlight.

A wide straw hat hid his face.

He silently watched the small campfire.

And then...

Without making any sound...

The mysterious traveler turned and disappeared into the endless night once more.