I Became a Great Wizard After Being Abandoned by My Childhood Friend

31 – The Trace of Liza (2)

Suddenly, an old man narrows his eyes looking at me.

I appraised him without hesitation.

‘He definitely seems like an ordinary person.’

I thought the old man might be a magician or an assassin, but that wasn’t the case.

The energy that radiated from him, or lack thereof, supported my thoughts.

Having confirmed that the old man was an ordinary person, I answered his question.

“I came to find her traces.”

“Traces?”

“Yes.”

As I nodded, the old man in front of me assessed me.

Then, he looked at my face, surprised, and suddenly used respectful language.

“You’re just like the person she mentioned.”

Just like?

What does that mean?

Just as I was about to ask what he meant.

“Follow me this way.”

With that, he started walking ahead.

I wasn’t certain yet, but it didn’t seem like he was hostile towards me.

I followed the old man.

Soon, he stopped walking.

“What is this building?”

A seemingly ordinary house, identical to any other.

Why on earth did I stop walking here?

As I ponder the question, he responds.

“This is my house.”

“?”

Strange… why is he leading me to his house?

Just as I am about to ask,

“Come in, please.”

He opens an old door right in front of us and steps inside.

At first glance, it’s just an ordinary house you could find in any suburb.

Why did he invite me to his house?

Still puzzled, I follow him inside.

The next moment, he smiles gently, pointing to a chair.

“You can sit down there and wait for a while.”

I quietly sit down on the chair.

After a while, he brings a cup of green tea and places it on the table.

“Please, help yourself.”

“Hmmm…”

I quietly gaze down at the green tea.

Steam rises gently from the green tea.

Seeing my intense stare, he opens his mouth with a smile,

“There’s no poison in it, so you don’t have to worry.”

It appears I dwelled on it too much.

‘Whatever, does it matter?’

Poison or not, my resistance to it is remarkably high.

Even potent poison would have no effect on me.

Nodding, I sip the green tea he handed to me.

“Hmm?!”

The taste evokes the image of startling woods.

Despite not being a fan of green tea, this one seems reasonably pleasant compared to the others.

“It has a taste, but that’s not the important part.”

I put the cup back on the table.

Then, I asked him bluntly.

“Why did you bring me here? It seems like you know something about Liza.”

“To be honest, I don’t know much about the girl.”

“?”

Seeing my face questioning why he brought me here, he starts rummaging in his pocket.

Then he continues.

“But before she left this village, she told me to pass something on. If a man with this face shows up, give it to him.”

The old man in front of me hands over a portrait and a single key.

I stare wide-eyed.

‘That’s something I made a while ago, isn’t it?’

At a glance, the portrait looks just like me.

No, it’s a magic portrait I made of Liza and me in an old village we used to live in.

‘This is right. I did draw this.’

A portrait of Liza and me, holding hands.

Just in case, I checked the magic left in the portrait.

And as expected, the magic left in the portrait was the same as mine.

“I see.”

With a surprised look, I nod and receive the key and portrait from him.

Then, the old man opens his mouth.

“She always looked to the east through the window.”

“The East?”

“Yes, it looked like she was longing for something.”

If it’s to the East, then…

Our old hometown where Liza and I used to live.

It’s a village that’s now destroyed by demons.

She must have missed me when she was looking at the East.

That’s not just my thought, but the old man also gazes at me and says it.

“Looking at the portrait, it seems she was missing you.”

“Is Liza still in this village?”

“No, she’s been gone for quite some time.”

Well, this too is expected.

If Liza were here, surely Sariele would have told me sooner.

“Then what is this?”

“I’m not quite sure either. Just that she asked me to give it to you, should you come looking for me. Before she left.”

“………”

What could this possibly be?

Brimming with questions, I asked one more.

“Where is the house Liza used to live in?”

“There’s a shabby house a little east from here. That’s where you should go.”

I don’t know what the key I just received is for, but one thing’s for sure, just staying here won’t give me any answers.

I stood up from my seat and left the house.

“The green tea was delicious. I should go now.”

“If you find her, please let her know I hope she’s doing well.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

With that final comment, I started towards the house Liza used to live in.

Then, after a while.

“Is this the place?”

I finally arrived at my destination.

It looked more shabby than the other houses, surely because it’s been vacated for a long time.

With a slight curiosity, I opened the door.

Then.

-Creak!

The door opened with ease.

‘So it’s essential not for the house.’

Inside, my expression slightly surprised at the unexpected clean interior.

It was evident, a recent cleaning had taken place.

‘That old man must’ve been maintaining it.’

With that thought, I slowly started to look around the house.

“Given that the key was left behind, there must be something remaining.”

So, I went around the house slowly looking for any traces.

Not long after.

“Nothing’s here.”

That’s right.

I expected some signs left by Lisa, but contrary to expectation there was nothing.

“Then why was this key left behind?”

I looked more closely at the key with growing curiosity.

The next moment.

“Hmm?!”

There was a very faint, but perceivable trace of magic from the key.

A small amount of magic that even I, dubbed the Master Wizard, needed to look closely to detect.

Why on earth can I sense magic from this key?

“It seemed ordinary at first look, but upon closer inspection, this isn’t a normal key.”

Considering the possibilities, I used a magic detecting spell.

Around me, the magic rippled outward.

Just a little while after.

“?!”

Finally, something suspicious was discovered with the magic presence.

I moved toward the detected magical source.

Arriving at a certain room.

-Creak!

Without hesitation, I opened the door, sensing a small amount of magic from behind a bookshelf.

“I’ll have to move this first.”

Without hesitation, I moved the bookshelf from its place.

At the same time.

“This is it.”

My view now revealed a door leading downwards.

I turned the handle of the door.

However.

-Thud!

Contrary to expectations, the door did not open at all.

‘Should I break it?’

Such a thought momentarily brushed past my mind.

‘Hang on a moment, surely?!’

The key I had received from the old man a while ago came to mind.

Out of curiosity, I took out the key.

Then, as I inserted it into the hole in the handle,

-Creak! Thud!

The door itself opened on its own.

Slowly, I descended the stairs that unfolded before me.

A moment later,

“Is that the end?”

The path had become blocked at some point.

All that was before me was a small box.

In other words, Lisa had left this here for me.

‘Why on earth did she hide this in the basement?’

Full of curiosity, I picked up the box and slowly opened it.

“This is…”

In an instant, a dust-coated necklace came into view.

Anyone could tell it was a rather old pendant.

However, I felt an unusual energy emanating from this pendant.

Not only that.

‘This pendant is clearly out of the ordinary. ‘

Despite being covered in dust, it looked quite luxurious.

Why on earth did she hide this in the basement?

Although not certain, I had a feeling it would be a great help in finding Lisa.

‘I should entrust this to Sariel.’

She could definitely investigate it thoroughly.

I quietly placed the pendant into the space ring.

And so, having gone underground, I intended to return.

Just then.

-He, help me…

Elaine’s desperate voice reached into my mind.

An abrupt voice.

There was only one reason I was hearing this voice now.

She had used the magic I taught her today.

At first, I wondered if she was joking.

However, while she usually appears lively, she’s not one to joke like this.

In other words, it makes no difference to say that something happened to her.

And as expected.

-Uugh.

Contact came through the communication magic circle.

The one who contacted me now was Maria.

It looked like I needed to return to the royal road quickly.