Why Did You Summon Me?

Right in front of Baiyi was an innocent and gorgeous beauty, whose awe-filled eyes were fixed on him. He, however, did not feel as good as she did; he dreaded the negative effects that the butterfly effect would have on the future. No matter how Baiyi looked at it, his back was up against a wall.

After mentally assessing the pros and cons of every possible action he could take, the Fifth Voidwalker decided to feign embarrassment. “I’m afraid you’re gravely mistaken, little miss. I’m no sorcerer; I’m just an apprentice with a few tricks up his sleeves.”

Becoming a sorcerer in the ancient Rohlserlian empire was no easy feat. The bar of qualification was high — one could not simply become a sorcerer because they knew a few parlor tricks. One would have to master two fifth-grade magic spells and ten fourth-grade magic spells before they could be considered a full-fledged sorcerer. Anyone that achieved less was seen as an apprentice. Sorcerers’ apprentices did not enjoy the admiration or privileges that their masters did.

In modern Isythre, only the magic practitioners at the Master level could be considered sorcerers in the ancient Rohlserlian Empire. With how difficult Rohlserlian magic was, it was only natural that the ancient Rohlserlian Empire did not have a lot of sorcerers, despite the empire being so enamored with magic. Those that managed to become sorcerers, despite the harsh requirements, were the crème de la crème.

A shadow of disappointment crossed Lulu’s face, but she instantly regained her jolly attitude. “Hmm, I guess that makes sense. A real sorcerer will not take kindly to residing in such an old, lame cottage…” she murmured thoughtfully.

‘Oi, take those words back at once, Mrs. Mentor! I’m not just a real sorcerer, I’m also a very powerful and totally legitimate Rohlserlian sorcerer! I can probably beat your emperor in a fight right now! Er… Even though he’s my mentor…’ Baiyi screamed internally, but he said nothing on the outside.

Then, either out of her empathetic nature or her tendency to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty [1], Lulu flashed Baiyi a warm smile and said, “Don’t you worry, though! One day, you’ll become a sorcerer revered by all, as long as you work hard! I believe in you! ”

“Um, well, as you have heard from your good friend Nick, I was badly injured in an accident, so I don’t think I’ll ever be able to practice magic anymore,” Baiyi hastily replied.

“Aww? That’s…” Lulu’s expression turned to one of regret, making her look even sadder than Baiyi, who was supposed to be injured. She reached out and held Baiyi’s hand gently. “Don’t let that bring you down, okay? In time, even the most stubborn injury will heal. You will become better!”

Baiyi was speechless.

As though simple words of encouragement were not enough, Lulu went on to tell Baiyi really long motivational stories. She kept this up until she felt that Baiyi’s morale had improved. Afterward, she went home.

Upon getting some respite, Baiyi looked at Mia — who was still out cold — and got lost in thought.

The next day, Nick was back to his regular self. With a grin on his face, he left for a farewell tour around Aegir. Before he left, however, he bade his friends farewell, saying that he was “returning to his hometown for, like, a really long time.” He told them that his cottage now belonged to an old friend of his, who was a sorcerer’s apprentice with a cantankerous temper. “Do not interact with him,” he had warned. “He prefers solitude.”

These words were not Nick’s, though. Baiyi had directed him through Hypnosis to say that. He had also directed Nick to return to his hometown and marry a nice girl there.

With the cottage’s real owner out of the way, Baiyi was finally able to lay claim to the building. He decided to remain in the house and keep his interactions with others to a minimum.

He could not help but wonder, ‘What about Little Mia?’

She had woken up in the morning, and Baiyi had taken the opportunity to bring her up to date on everything that had happened so far. Mia could not help rolling on the bed in worry. When Baiyi went on to warn her to never leave the cottage, an expression of horror appeared on Mia’s face. The girl seemed close to tears.

Mia had never been an indoor person, but that was not the only reason why she was upset. As a mage trained in Rohlserlian sorcery, it was exciting to learn that she had gone back in time to the legendary ancient Rohlserlian empire, where the formalized study of magic began. This was the perfect chance for her to immerse herself in Rohlserlian culture, but Mr. Hope had thrown a wrench in her plan to pilgrimage. [2]

“B-But Mr. Hope~!” Mia drawled sweetly. “I really wanna go out and play! I wanna see Royal Gramps when he’s young! Can’t I, pwease ?”

“You better not take the butterfly effect for granted, Mia. Who knows what unpredictable chain of events that a simple action you take here can cause our future?” Baiyi explained patiently while rubbing her hair. “Haven’t I explained how dangerous it is to you already?”

“Oh, but we don’t know if that tornado really was caused by that butterfly’s flight, ¹ do we? Maybe it was something else entirely. Maybe nothing we do here will affect anything, anyway!” Mia said in protest.

“Well…” Baiyi mulled her words over as he tried to come up with a better way to explain the theory.

There was a hard knock on the door.

“Hiya, Mr. Apprentice! I’m coming in!” Lulu’s melodious voice rang out from outside. Before Baiyi or Mia could react, light animated footsteps could be heard at the front door. The footsteps grew louder, and in seconds, the girl had entered the bedroom.

Lulu’s gaze landed on Mia, who was sitting at the edge of the bed, swinging her legs. Lulu’s eyes widened as she exclaimed, “Whoa. She’s a cutie!”

Mia, too, looked up at Lulu and mumbled under her breath, “Wow. She’s so gorgeous…”

Afterward, Mia turned around and glowered at Baiyi. ‘In the short time that I was unconscious for, you went ahead to capture another beautiful, young girl?!’

Baiyi shook his head sideways vehemently and gave Mia a knowing glance, hinting that she follow his lead. With a smile, Baiyi ruffled Mia’s hair and said, “This is my daughter, Mia.”

For Baiyi, trying to explain the relationship he had with Mia was tough. Technically, they were Summoner and Soul Armature, but in the time of the ancient Rohserlians, the Soul Armature art did not exist. There was their master-student relationship, but Baiyi could not expose this, as any Rohserlian would consider a sorcerer’s apprentice not suited to teach someone else magic. Hence, the best disguise they could go with was the father-daughter fib.

An observant individual would have noticed how Baiyi’s voice trembled when he introduced Mia. He was ecstatic at the chance to finally call her his daughter in public.

Mia could not read Baiyi’s face as he did not have one, but she could tell that it was only a temporary cover. So, very obediently, she murmured, “Daddy…”

“Hey there! My name is Lulu. I live right next door,” Lulu said, walking over to examine Mia more closely. Mia, in turn, looked up and observed Lulu as well.

The two beauties studied each, leaving Baiyi to blend in with the background. The Fifth Walker could only sit aside and watch awkwardly.

Lulu’s gaze soon left Mia’s face and descended to her incongruous outfit. A mini skirt and a pair of white silk socks were considered lacking in the conservative Rohlserlian society, so Lulu frowned. “Mia, the dress you’re wearing —”

“My outfit, er… right! I, um, got this from a tribal village that Dad and I visited whilst exploring. A kind villager gave it to me as a gift,” Mia said. She got up from the bed and twirled. “What do you think?”

“It’s a very strange fashion, but I must admit that it really is quite charming.” Lulu nodded in approval; she did not seem suspicious. Lulu may have been accepting out of respect for Baiyi, who she believed was a sorcerer’s apprentice, or because Mia’s fluent ancient Rohlserlese made her consider Mia a compatriot.

It was fortunate that Baiyi had made ancient Rohlserlese mandatory for Mia and Tisdale all those years ago. Back then, Baiyi believed it would help them to understand Rohlserlian magic better; little did he know it would be so helpful in the future.

There was also the possibility that Lulu found Mia very pleasing to behold — a thought many others shared. Mia was so beautiful that others liked her and believed what she said. To Baiyi, the more beautiful a girl was, the better she would be at fooling others.

The girls began to chat. Mia had always been open to making new friends, and Lulu was a very friendly person; hence, the two hit it off quickly. Only a few minutes had passed, yet Lulu had already invited Mia to attend a celebratory gala outside with her.

“The empire’s army is returning home victorious, and they might pass by our area; thus, we will throw a party in their honor! It will be so exciting, with lots of tasty food, desserts, and confectionery. You won’t believe me until you see for yourself!” Lulu cheered. “If your luck is good today, you might even see His Majesty in his full glory! What a dream come true that would be!”

As the Rohlserlians revered the might of their empire’s military, it was only natural that they venerated the servicemen, as well. Lulu was right: the townsfolk threw parties for the army when they were headed to war, and they also threw parties for the army to celebrate their return.

The parties were thrown even if the townsfolk were not sure that the army would pass by their abode. In most cases, they never did. Aegir’s gala began two days ago and would hold today as well, even though the army had not been seen. It almost seemed as though the townfolk were just looking for an excuse to party.

Aegir was enjoying its festivities despite the presence of Baiyi, who had the knack for attracting misfortune during parties. However, nothing untoward had befallen the town, yet. Baiyi found this strange; he wondered if his curse was lifted because of the time-travel. There was also the possibility that misfortune had yet to strike because it was building up momentum, after which it would unleash hell onto the poor, little town.

Baiyi considered leaving Aegir right away before something happened. He did not wish to indirectly cause the death of his master’s future lover.

Baiyi took the time to re-examine the Archmage’s memories, and he was reminded that Lulu had actually died in the original timeline. Her death had been caused by a random and weird disaster that suddenly befell Aegir.

While Baiyi sifted through memories, Mia returned to the room and changed into a robe similar to Lulu’s. She now resembled a native Rohlserlian.

Mia had been dying to go outside, and Lulu’s invitation was just the excuse she needed.

When Baiyi’s saw Mia’s ancient Rohlserlian, he was surprised. ‘Since when did you own an outfit like that?’

Baiyi — someone with no fashion sense whatsoever — did not know that ancient Rohlserlian robes never did phase out of existence. Like Victorian dresses or Chinese qipaos back on Earth, ancient Rohlserlian robes were still being sold as classical dresses in the present Isythre. It was no surprise that a fashionista like Mia would have a few of these outfits in her collection. If she had complied with Baiyi’s questionable dress code, she would not have been able to pull out such a dress on a whim.

Seeing Mia dressed in the robes worn by her people, Lulu was no longer skeptical; she was no determined to take Mia out to play, as soon as possible.

As they walked to the door, Mia looked back at Baiyi and said with a sweet voice, “Daddy, may I go out and play with Lulu?”

The correct response would be a stomp, a loud “No”, and sending Mia to her room. However, when Baiyi heard Mia coo “Daddy,” he found himself unable to reject her request.