21st Century Archmage

Plod, plod. Pitter, patter.

Even the sound of someones footsteps could be so different.

The short rainy season that had come to Nerman was a temperamental thing. Every time the sky seemed to be on the verge of clearing up, thick clouds would roll in again and another bout of torrential rain would fall in sheets before disappearing. The sky was acting like churlish children playing pranks.

I went to the temple and asked for Aramis, who was immersed in prayer. Then, the two of us walked through the garden with a large enspelled waterproof umbrella over our heads. Thanks to the precise architectural planning of the dwarves, the garden didnt flood no matter how much it rained. As we walked over the stone path glistening with water, one side of my shoulder became damp.

‘Its been a while since Ive felt like this.

I suddenly thought of a certain scene from back when I was in Korea. That day had also been a rainy day. Back then, I had walked silently through the rainy campus with Yerin under one umbrella.

‘I hope theyre all doing well.

Itd been one busy thing after another, so I had momentarily forgotten about them. As I listened to the gentle rainfall, I thought of Joong-hyun, Yerin, and all the others who had loved me.

“Its raining a lot, isnt it…”

We reached the artificial fountain in the middle of the garden. Even as the rain fell, it gushed out arcs of water, and those currents mixed with the rain before scattering into all directions.

“The rainy season this year seems more intense than the ones before.”

Aramis craned her neck to gaze at the sky beyond the umbrella. At her quiet voice, I leaned the umbrella away a touch to look at the sky.

Drip drip drip.

I only moved it a little, but the raindrops came down mercilessly, and I covered our heads again with the umbrella.

“I hear a lot of rain is falling on the Continent as well… there could be flooding.”

“Yes, there probably will be.”

I was unconsciously careful when interacting with Aramis. There were times when I spoke casually with her on a whim, but whenever she was worrying about other people like now, I, for whatever reason, always spoke politely.

“I hope not too much rain falls…”

Aramis, a woman who could only feel appeased by shouldering the pain of everyone in the world, expressed her regret regarding the pain of all those who would suffer because of the torrential rain. Those people didnt give one whit as to who she was, but Aramis still embraced the world on her own.

“Im sure the gods will do something.”

It wasnt as if I had an answer for her. What I did know was that thanks to the great mountains encircling us, Nerman had never suffered flooding. Moreover, we had repaired the banks of the Lovent River just in case.

“Sometimes… there are times when the gods feel fear, too. Though they are capable of always being merciful and benevolent, the gods feel joy, sorrow, anger, and pleasure, like humans. Its just that… they see all things clearly, so they demand the price for cause and effect.”

There was a time when I lectured Aramis about gods love, but thinking about it now, that was really a terribly courageous thing to do. It was like a guy who didnt even know their ABCs mouthing off an American professor of literature. Aramis knew the gods love and sincerity in a way I could never even hope to understand. I quietly appreciated her words of wisdom.

‘I might not know much, but theres one thing I do know for sure. That the gods… wont let me live a very easy life.

On rainy days, the farmers also rested at home. Even the monsters restricted their activity unless they were rather hungry.

But I didnt find the current break enjoyable. A bad feeling was creeping down my spine. Last night as well, I suffered for a long time at the hands of a rare nightmare.

“The rain will stop soon, right?”

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

As if to answer Aramis query, intense rain continued to shower down nonstop from the furious sky.

“When the time comes.”

It wasnt like I was working at the National Weather Agency, so how could I possibly know the capricious changes of the sky?

‘Damn rain, you sure are coming down hard.

It was already the tenth day of this shower. We were getting frequent reports that even the wide Lovent River was fairly high.

Turning away from the rain, Aramis buried her face in my embrace. Paladins were watching, keeping a stoic guard under the rain, but she lowered her head into me without embarrassment.

Drip drip drip drip.

Tears were falling from her eyes. I couldnt tell whether they were from sadness or happiness.

I was unable to say a thing. I simply embraced her quietly.