The Regressed SSS-Rank Water Mage Wants To Live a Calm Life-Chapter 8: Frilo of the Eternal Waters

"Frilo."

Fwoosh–!

A gust of wind blew from within Maxwell’s soul, rippling outward and wafting through the entirety of Ludia.

The wind closed every door in the city, shook every man and woman that walked, and every single soul in Ludia felt it.

As the wind blew, the passersby around Maxwell paused, and the horses of carriages neighed in shock.

Most of the passersby looked left and right, whispering to themselves:

"What the bloody hell was that?"

"It felt like a mini tornado or something."

"Another 7th-circle mage in the city?"

"Ptui–! Curse Ludia! This damned city of beginnings!"

It was an obvious fact that the citizens of Ludia were shocked. However, none of them panicked, screamed or ran, save for the few horses raised in noble houses, most of which had never known danger. Those poor things cried and neighed as the wind hit them.

In the middle of the whispers and commotion, all failed to notice the source of that gust of wind.

Maxwell, still standing in the middle of the road, opened his eyes.

A short, faint blue thread spilled out of Maxwell’s soul, dancing merrily through the air.

The blue-haired young man smiled.

"You seem happy, Frilo."

This thread, Frilo, caused that gust of wind the very moment its master woke it up from its slumber.

It simply sucked in the nearest energy in the atmosphere as the divinity in its soul-link with Maxwell was down to critical levels. And so, during the process of sucking in mana, the atmosphere reacted to the weight of a transcendent spirit of the grandmaster rank, hence the reason for the gust of wind.

As if responding to Maxwell, the blue thread, invisible to the eyes of others except if Maxwell approved otherwise, danced and snaked through the air.

Maxwell began walking slowly, ignoring the commotion with a bright smile on his lips as he watched Frilo dance.

"Now, now. Why don’t you change that form? You have no divinity to preserve anyway, and there’s no shortage of mana in the atmosphere."

Frilo paused and let out a cute-sounding, low squeaking sound.

Maxwell chuckled.

In the next moment, a warm azure energy wrapped around the blue thread.

A mystical, yet totally normal scene unfurled before Maxwell’s eyes.

The thread mutated, growing thicker and thicker, until it morphed into a humanoid shape.

Tiny hands stretched out, tiny legs stretched out.

Finally, blue, shiny wings stretched out, flapping tirelessly.

The spirit of eternal waters, Frilo, was in its full form.

A small creature resembling a pixie, but all blue. It was cute and genderless, flying around Maxwell’s head in excitement.

As Maxwell walked aimlessly, the grandmaster rank spirit finally stopped flying around his head and came to a pause in front of the young man’s face, blinking its round blue eyes as if questioning its master.

"Hm?" Maxwell hummed and paused, staring at Frilo. "About where we’re going? I have an idea."

Frilo made another gesture with its eyes.

"Why am I this young again? What? Don’t you want your master to be in good shape? And weren’t you in my soul? You must’ve experienced everything."

Frilo blinked.

Maxwell’s eyes widened, and narrowed back as he sighed.

"Of course, you were asleep. Well, after you slept when I ceased my summoning of you back in the golden halls, my brother and I rebelled against the twenty-four heavens, all so I could regress to this time."

Frilo let out a small squeal.

Maxwell’s gaze turned somber, and he looked downward.

"Yes, I know a younger Malin is somewhere out there. In fact, I know exactly where he is right now. I plan to meet him, after all. It was part of the instructions Malin gave me before he–"

Maxwell looked at Frilo. The spirit’s pupils were trembling.

Maxwell smiled.

"I loved him, too, buddy. Now, let’s move before people think I’m a madman, speaking to myself. We’ll talk on the way."

After consoling Frilo, a destination popped up in Maxwell’s head.

And it was none other than...

...Back to the field where Vin was. Yes, he was shamelessly going to turn right back and walk to the mercenary.

At least Maxwell knew the path back to the field.

"What am I going to do now that I’m back as a kid?" Maxwell responded to Frilo’s question. "Well," he shrugged, "you know I never wanted to be a god, right? It was all circumstances that forced me to climb to that position." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Maxwell sighed.

"I’ve personally seen what lies above at the pinnacle. And it’s nothing to be desired. At least not by me. So strength, power, and all of that interests me no more. Instead, now I want to live the kind of life I was robbed of when that calamity struck."

As Maxwell reached the entrance to the field, he paused.

"I want to live a calm life." Maxwell shrugged. "And although I still have some important things that Malin asked me to do, and a calamity to stop in five years, it all means that you and I will never get to witness the creation and destruction of worlds again, buddy."

He tapped Frilo’s head softly, and the warm azure energy of the spirit glowed as it smiled. It seemed somewhat happy with the decision that its master had reached.

Maxwell smiled.

"But I don’t know what exactly to do to live that calm life. I’ll decide after I meet with Rita again. She’s currently in the capital of the Empire, in her noble house. I–" Maxwell chuckled, "I still remember the first time I met her as a struggling mercenary, commissioned by a noble outside of Ludia. She was running away from her noble house then."

"I have nothing right now. No money to leave Ludia. And thus, the reason I need to make some more money. So I’ve decided to continue doing this tedious task of a mercenary for a while before I leave Ludia, and that’s why I summoned you. With the amount of mana you have, I can directly absorb it from our soul-link and use it. I think that’s equal to about a 7th-circle’s mana for now? I won’t have to worry about my 2-circles and just increase them with time."

Maxwell nodded. "And also, as you’re a grandmaster spirit, you can directly give permission to my spells, and I won’t need to chant and make incantations to the spirits of the spirit realm just to cast spells because I’m low circle."

"And also–"

At this point, Frilo began to buzz. Maxwell was talking too much!

Luckily for the spirit, a familiar voice pulled Maxwell out of his own head.

"Maxwell?"

Frilo breathed out in relief, tiny shoulders slumping.

The blue-haired young man cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes as he stared at the mercenary in front of him, holding a large bag slung across his right shoulder.

Maxwell straightened his posture.

"Oh, Vin."