Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength

"Heloise?!"

Ronald Adler originally came with the mood of hosting a friend to greet Alya.

But at this moment, upon hearing this name from the other party, he could no longer maintain his previous composure.

With a quick two steps, he walked up to Alya and directly asked:

"You have her letter! Where did you get it? Why didn't you send it directly to me in Kurpis?"

Ronald's tone was somewhat urgent.

However, Alya was completely indifferent to Ronald's anxious attitude, and she even showed a rather satisfied expression because of it.

"Ronald, your heart is in chaos."

Ronald replied without thinking:

"Of course, Heloise is a very important person to me!"

Alya glanced up and down at Ronald, then smiled sweetly:

"In that case, you should invite me to your house. We can't discuss such matters out here on the street, can we?"

"..."

"You're right."

After exchanging a few words with Alya, Ronald's mood calmed a bit.

Complying with her request, Ronald led the way towards his mansion.

During this journey, which wasn't particularly long,

Alya also took the time to analyze the reason for the letter's mailing with Ronald.

"Ronald, actually, a week ago, I just discovered this letter in my mailbox."

"As for why Heloise didn't send the letter directly to you..."

"I think she probably considered the confidentiality factor. After all, if the letter was sent directly to you, even if the information were exposed during the transit, it could cause trouble for both of you."

By now, the two were approaching Ronald's mansion.

Though they hadn't yet seen his home, Alya put away her sunshade as if she had been to Kurpis before, and then continued with her explanation:

"As for me, it's different. In fact, most people avoid our [Gert] school. Plus, since I showed a good attitude towards you in Springs, she chose to send the letter to me for forwarding."

"So— Ronald, your little sweetheart is really smart."

Ronald returned a smile:

"Heloise has always been quick-witted. When we were together, she helped me a lot."

...

"Costate, Edward! Entertain the guest!"

After returning to the mansion, Ronald loudly called the servants to welcome Alya, and also brought this fairy tale Sealer to the living room on the first floor.

Once seated, Alya finally took out an inconspicuous envelope from inside her clothes:

"Take a look, here it is."

"There were originally some basic disguises on it, but I've dealt with them in advance, so just read the contents."

"..."

Ronald took the envelope.

He didn't mind that Alya had read the contents of the letter in advance.

Filled with excitement, he opened the envelope immediately and began to read the content—

[Dear Ms. Alya:

Forgive my rudeness, and please help me forward this letter to Mr. Ronald Adler.

Ronald—

I saw your adventure in the Arctic in the news, and first of all, congratulations on completing this great adventure!

But based on what I know about you, I guess this was also the information you sent me, right?

Unfortunately, due to the changes in the world, the sea routes are currently fraught with danger, and the Southern Continent where I am hidden is a complex situation, with most ports already closed.

According to my understanding of the actual situation,

it should be about a year before the nearby situation stabilizes. By then, I will take a ship back to Gried. Please do not worry about my safety...]

Ronald carefully read the contents of the letter.

When Springs encountered a massive change, Heloise, as he expected, chose to stay safe. She distanced herself from Gried controlled territory and started a new life under a pseudonym.

However, the subsequent upheaval affected the entire world, without exception.

The country where Heloise was soon fell into chaos.

It was a nation far less developed than Gried.

If an example was necessary, it would be akin to nearby Mardon, a nation still practicing slavery.

This situation was a mixed bag.

In an extremely chaotic situation, it became much easier for Heloise to hide her identity and secure her safety. But attempting to return to Gried instead became a thoroughly risky endeavor.

Therefore, to avoid unintended changes, Heloise decided to stay there for another year.

She planned to return to Gried for a reunion with Ronald once the situation stabilized.

"..."

"I see..."

After confirming that there were no omissions in the contents of the letter, Ronald folded it solemnly and put it into his pocket.

After completing this action, he looked at Alya in front of him again.

During his reading of the letter, the fairy tale Sealer silently smiled while watching Ronald, and only after he finished reading did she speak again:

"So, Ronald, what are you planning to do?"

"Of course, I'll go look for Heloise immediately. I can't just stay home doing nothing for a whole year in times like this!"

Ronald answered Alya's inquiry without hesitation, but then raised his own question:

"By the way, Alya, when did you receive this letter?"

"The whole world is in upheaval, and it's hard for me to believe a regular piece of mail could so quickly travel across seas and lands to reach the continent of Ratochoia."

Ronald still had contacts with Entrode over there.

So he knew that the news of the expedition team successfully reaching the Arctic should have just recently been spread worldwide. Given this timeframe, even if Heloise got the news, there was no reason to expect the letter to be sent back this quickly.

— There are still doubts about this matter.

However, when faced with this question, Alya did not directly answer.

The fairy tale Sealer simply cutely closed one eye, then placed a finger on her lips:

"That's a secret."

"Because once the principle behind it is spoken out loud, it won't work anymore."

"Of course, if you ever need my help, just feel free to send me a letter through a regular post office, and no matter what, I will receive it quickly."

"..."

Indeed, this should relate to the spell abilities Alya has mastered from the original canon.

Seeing the expression on the girl's face in front of him.

Ronald confirmed the situation and quickly understood everything.

So he smiled and didn't dig deeper into its reasoning.

He directly turned to call Costate to fetch a map and a wooden box from his bedroom.

The maid quickly brought the items Ronald needed.

In front of Alya, Ronald opened his collection of paper maps while also bringing out the cylindrical map gifted to him by Catherine.

"..."

The map wasn't difficult to understand.

Alya was stunned for only a few seconds, then her demeanor changed as she realized the value of the item!

"Ronald, is this the current world map?"

"Yes." Ronald acknowledged openly, "but spreading this could bring about no small amount of trouble, so I usually don't show it to outsiders."

Thus, exchanging information with Alya.

Ronald compared the map to pinpoint Heloise's location.

If he set off immediately by sea route, optimistically, he would reach her location in about two months or so.

But aside from this, Ronald had other thoughts.

A week ago, Patricia had also approached him, inviting him to join a ship sailing south, didn't she?