The Reason I Keep Avoiding My Childhood Friend

He seemed just like the wizard in that movie about the ring, except for the long, fluffy robes and beard, pointy hat and no cane! Mr. Hafterry, perhaps surprised by this stranger’s appearance, widened his eyes wide and hurriedly greeted him.

“You’re here? Long time no see, Mister Dave.”

“Hoho, yes. How are you?”

“I had a good rest thanks to the convenience.”

I was curious about Mister Dave’s identity. Mr. Hafterry’s attitude was very polite. I held Father’s hand and held my breath.

“I am relieved that you made such a big decision.”

Mister Dave came over and patted Mr. Hafterry on the shoulder before staring at me.

Dave’s gaze was sharp. It was surprising. Usually, when one gets older, their pupils looked cloudy and blurry because of the bodily aging.

That’s why Dave’s penetrating gaze came to me very frighteningly. It was intense, as if light were shooting out of his eyes. Should I greet him first? I was thinking about it, but just in time, Mr. Hafterry came forward.

“This is my disciple’s father, Mr. Hertman Aide, and my disciple, Arendine Aide.”

“I am Hertman Aide.”

“I am Arendine Aide.”

After an introduction from Father and I, we were able to find out Dave’s identity.

“This is Dave Mackenzie. My teacher’s teacher.”

I was dazed by the appearance of such a huge genealogy. Miss Katie also felt like a grandmother, and suddenly a great-grandfather appeared!

I bowed my head again. Dave gave a smile. However, I felt a deeper sharpness pass by as he looked at me. I resisted the desire to hide behind Father’s back. And Mister Dave smiled happily, as if he had never glanced at me like that.

“Welcome to the Sage’s Study. It seems that a smart child will change the future of the sage’s study.”

Mister Dave, who said something meaningful, acted as if he was about to leave.

“If you go like this…”

Mr. Hafterry urgently stopped him. But Mister Dave shook his hand lightly and replied.

“I’ve done everything I need to. Aren’t there more important things to do now? If you have something to say, let’s sit down later. Go and see around.”

Mister Dave said a simple goodbye to us at the end and left the room. A sigh leaked out like a choked breath had been cleared.

At first glance, Mister Dave seemed like an easy-going old man, but in reality, he had a great presence. It was rather weird. He was like a warm-hearted grandfather.

“It looks like my teacher made you uncomfortable.”

Surprised by Miss Katie’s words, we waved our hands, saying no. Miss Katie, who felt okay with Father and my attitude, invited us to sit down.

“You have a lot of questions, right? I know you must have a lot of anxiety and questions while entrusting Miss Arendine. Shall we talk calmly?”

Everything that came afterwards was about me. I held my breath and listened to the explanation, but I didn’t know what to do at this great opportunity.

First of all, there was no specific cost for education here. This was because the Sage’s Study was not originally a place to teach. It’s a place where you do research after finishing your studies. So if you get stuck while doing research, you share information in this place. But there’s really no one who came forward to teach. That’s why you don’t need to pay for classes.

Instead of taking classes, you will be introduced to sages that were close and create an environment where you could seek advice from them at any time. It’s not that there weren’t people like me who entered as a special case, but there were only a handful of them.

When Father was rather troubled by the excessive benefits, Mr. Hafterry said that if I wanted, he could write a letter of introduction to the academy. However, he added that there was nothing special to gain from my level at the academy. So I was kind of surprised.

I knew I was learning at a higher level. Even though I was learning with Kir, the heir to the Grand Duchy, there were many things that were on par with what I learned from Mr. Hafterry, or the things I learned were rather at a higher level.