Rhodes's words were like the whispers of a seductive demon, making Serie tingle not just on the outside, but on the inside as well. She had to admit, his proposal was exactly to her liking. She had no reason to refuse.
"Well? What do you think?" Rhodes asked, a grin on his face.
Serie turned her head away, her voice barely a whisper. "Mm." The tips of her long ears trembled slightly.
Norne, who had witnessed this exchange, was now not only curious about what Rhodes had said, but also filled with a new sense of hope. If even Serie had agreed, then perhaps this insane plan of theirs really could be realized. He took a deep breath. "If... if we're really going to do this, we'll need a more detailed plan."
"It seems our future king is already preparing for his ascension."
"Don't mock me, Mr. Rhodes. I just think," Norne said with a wry smile, "that instead of running around like a headless chicken, it's better to have a well-thought-out plan."
"Then you're going to be a very busy man." Rhodes's meaning was clear. Norne would not only be responsible for creating the grimoire, but also for planning out the details of their grand, insane scheme. Rhodes would only provide a general direction, and Serie, aside from combat and magic, wouldn't be involved at all. It would all be up to him. This was the duty of a king, a duty that would leave him utterly exhausted.
"I know. And now I'm suddenly glad that I gave up on learning advanced magic."
"Yes. Now you'll have more time to accomplish this."
"It might just take a lifetime," Norne said. He was already preparing himself for a long, arduous journey. Rhodes knew what he was thinking. Spreading the knowledge of magic to all the humans on this continent would take time. And after the founding of their nation, spreading the word to other humans would also take time. A long, long time. So long that he himself felt a pang of desire for eternal life.
He might act nonchalant, but the thought of seeing everything he had worked for come to fruition, of seeing a future where humanity finally had a place on the world stage... it made him not want to die. But how could he achieve immortality? Could magic do such a thing? Rhodes didn't know, but that wouldn't stop him from trying, in secret, without telling anyone.
The three of them sat together, the sunlight bathing them in its warm glow. In the history books of the future, it would be written: The King, the Great Sage, and the Elf sat together. The Great Sage spoke at length, the King added to his words, and the Elf sat in silence, her eyes fixed on the Sage. And when the seeds of hope had grown strong, the wind would carry their ideal to every corner of the world.
"Wait," Norne suddenly said, "what will we call our nation?"
"The Ideal Nation, Ersten," Rhodes said without hesitation. "Or we could call it the ever-present utopia, Ersten."
"An ever-present utopia?" Serie repeated softly, then shook her head. "There is no such thing as eternity in this world. The same goes for nations."
"Believe in miracles, Serie. Belief requires no reason."
Rhodes's words were familiar. Serie remembered him saying something similar before. She fell silent, not wanting to argue.
"I think it's a good name. The Ideal Nation, Ersten," Norne said.
The founding of their ideal nation was still a distant dream. For now, their primary goal was to become stronger.
"You want me to create ice magic?"
Rhodes didn't understand why Serie would suddenly make such a request.
"I was thinking that if all we need to do is cool the dragon's hide, then ice magic should work just as well. What do you think? Can you create it?" she asked, a little uncertain. She knew there were limitations to his [Creation] magic. He couldn't just create a new spell with a flash of inspiration, like a god. He needed some kind of prerequisite. But she still wanted to see what kind of surprises this man could pull off.
"Ice magic? I've never tried that before." Before he had met Serie, the spells he had created had been for the purpose of survival. And after meeting her, he had been focused on improving her spells and making them stronger. He hadn't tried to create any other elemental magic.
"You should try. You can't just be a one-trick pony."
"I don't even know where to begin."
At Serie's insistence, Rhodes began his attempt to create ice magic.
Day one: With Somme's help, he found a mineral similar to saltpeter and successfully made ice. But for some reason, Serie kept insisting that this was not the kind of ice magic she was looking for.
Day four: Rhodes tried to create ice magic by using the principle of cooling water until it froze. But Serie, after seeing it, had only one thing to say, and it left him speechless: "Why do you have to cast a water spell before you can cast an ice spell?" It was like one of those ice-and-fire duo characters where the fire guy needed a lighter to use his powers, while the ice guy could just create ice out of thin air. It was a clear power disparity.
But he was getting sidetracked.
Setting aside his scientific approach, Rhodes decided to rely on the power of imagination, just like when he had inexplicably created his fire-starting spell.
Day ten: Rhodes went to the stream alone. He had a theory. If his experiment was successful, it might just be a major breakthrough for his magical path. A magic circle unfolded in his hand, and the temperature around him began to drop. Tiny ice crystals started to form in the air.
Not enough. Just lowering the temperature would make him nothing more than a giant air conditioner, and he wanted more than that. He put his hand in the water, and a faint glow appeared at his fingertips. The stream began to freeze at a visible rate. He could even see the small fish, frozen in place under the ice.
The initial experiment was a success. He then began to try to form an ice spear in the air. The small ice crystals began to coalesce into a long, thin spear. It was much smaller than Serie's light spear. He then sent it flying across the river, where it struck a small tree. The spear exploded on impact, and a shower of ice crystals completely encased the tree in a layer of ice.
"Did you succeed?" a voice said from behind him.
Rhodes turned around, a small ice crystal appearing in his palm. "It seems so."
"The power is decent, but it's too slow," Serie said, raising an eyebrow at the frozen tree. It had taken him several seconds to cast the spell, a lifetime in a real battle. But he saw that she was smiling. Clearly, she was pleased with his little surprise.
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