Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Fragmented Memories
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While Ruina spent several sleepless nights blaming herself for forsaking her honor.
The future was once again unfolding in Pernyan’s mind.
[“People are acting strange!”
- It's demonic energy! They've been infected with demonic energy!
“Are you saying the students have made contracts with demons?”
- No, that's not it. If they had, there's no way I wouldn't know.]
When one prophecy ended, the next future would appear. This time was no different.
[- It's Andromalius! Those crazy bastards, summoning a demon in the middle of the academy!
“We have to stop it…!”
The presence of a true demon, not some Vile Breed or demonic beast, was beyond comparison.
The suffocating pressure and thick demonic energy that emanated from its mere existence filled Aint with dread.
“Hoo, hoo, hoo…!”
His heart pounded, and his breathing grew ragged.
- Are you all right?
Despite this, Aint slapped both his cheeks and barely managed to steady himself.
“I have to be. We came all this way to stop it.”
He had no confidence that he could succeed, but he felt an obligation to try.
It wasn't some paltry sense of justice or a superiority complex.
If he didn't stop it, everyone would die. The continent would fall, and his own future would vanish.
It was a primal obsession with survival.]
There was also the hero's inner conflict.
[- It's the Branch of the World Tree! The Branch of the World Tree is acting as the summoning circle's most powerful mana source!
- Damn those academy fools. When the hell did they bring it in? No, how could they have failed to properly manage something so important?]
[“Senior! What are you—!”
“Aint Armian. You said it yourself.”
You asked me to be your knight.
And I refused.
“It was because of my pride, but not anymore. I have come to know you, and to know your cause.”
Therefore, this is my destiny.]
[Ruina charged toward the demon, Andromalius. A blue aura shone brilliantly.
“No…!”]
There were futures Pernyan already knew.
[“…Senior, Senior!”
Aint shed tears of blood as he watched Ruina slowly collapse.
Just then, the aura he thought had been completely depleted began to surge.
Fueled by Aint's rage, it gushed forth endlessly like an inexhaustible spring.
- Aint, this is dangerous!
It was the power of light sealed within the sword. It surpassed what his body could handle, but none of that mattered.]
And there was a future he was seeing for the first time, one that was decidedly hopeful.
“So, it's really starting now.”
Am I really going to fight a demon?
Even for Pernyan, it was impossible not to feel tense.
And he had questions.
“Right. Aria Friedien is protecting the Branch of the World Tree.”
Pernyan clutched his head as he got out of bed. His clothes and the bed were soaked, as if he had bathed in sweat.
“But why was the academy caught completely off guard, taken down in an instant?”
Since Aria Friedien was someone who would become Aint's companion, the conclusion was one of two things.
Either she was a Vile Breed who had infiltrated as an ally, or she had been overpowered by them and forced to surrender the Branch of the World Tree.
Considering Aint Armian had a way to detect the Vile Breed, the latter was more likely than the former.
That was why, despite knowing, he had deliberately not mentioned that part. It was something that had to happen, and Aint needed to grow stronger because of it.
He had assigned Verian to her to prepare for the worst, but he didn't think that would be enough to completely stop the Vile Breed.
“Young Master, are you awake?”
Knock, knock. Hyde opened the door and entered.
“Are you ill, sir? You're sweating…”
“I just had a rough night's sleep.”
“This looks like more than just a rough night…”
“Never mind that. What is it?”
“A letter has arrived from Ruina Bercefe.”
A reply? Pernyan took the letter, stamped with the Bercefe family seal, and unfolded it.
[I am sorry. I failed to keep my promise to protect the secret. I have no excuse.]
Pernyan’s brow twitched at the grim opening.
[I had no choice but to tell my father everything. About what happened at the academy, about the demonic beasts and the Vile Breed.]
[I will certainly pay the price for this.]
She told him everything?
What if something goes wrong and the future is altered? What if Aint fails to grow as the prophecy foretells?
How could someone who calls herself a knight break a promise she staked her honor on?
‘No, calm down.’
Ruina was an upright knight. If she broke a promise she’d sworn on her honor, there must have been a good reason.
Pernyan calmly read on.
[…Do you remember why our family was in danger? The incident where our domain was devastated by an unprecedented large-scale invasion. I didn't know, but my father has been investigating it.]
[…It was demonic beasts.]
…What?
Crumple. Pernyan's hand tightened as he read the letter.
[To the north, far north of the Bercefe domain, traces of a demonic beast nest have been discovered. My father believes the monsters were driven out by the demonic beasts. I agree.]
“…Could it be?”
On the first day he’d been struck by lightning and learned of the prophecy book, two things had been seared most intensely into Pernyan's memory.
The fall of Pernyan.
And the legions of demonic beasts marching south from the north.
“It starts north of the Bercefe domain…?”
Pernyan was filled with elation. Once you knew the cause of a problem, it was as good as halfway solved.
Moreover, the location was perfect.
What if the Bercefe, who had made a living fighting monsters, prepared their defenses in earnest?
‘We might be able to stop the demonic beasts' advance more easily than I thought.’
Just knowing that fact was a major achievement. Enough to overlook Ruina's broken promise.
‘Of course, I can’t do that.’
It was an understandable reason, but since she herself said she would pay the price…
What should I get out of this?
“What's in the letter that made you frown and then smile?”
“It's about the Vile Breed. And it's not exactly bad news.”
Pernyan got out of bed.
“I need to wash up first. Bring me my clothes.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And prepare to leave immediately. I'm curious to see how things are progressing.”
He had accomplished everything he’d set out to do upon returning to his family.
It was time to return to the academy, and the moment of confrontation was approaching.
In the grand scheme of things, this was only the beginning, but still, a demon was a first.
* * *
If you lose something, you gain something else.
An unexpected variable led to Barus's severe injury, and an unexpected person learned about the Vile Breed, but just as unexpectedly, he had gained valuable information from Ruina.
“…I apologize.”
And though his trust in Ruina was slightly fractured, he had gained her guilt and remorse.
A guest arrived while he was unpacking his things in the La Vie Douce Dormitory after returning to the academy.
Ruina Bercefe immediately bowed her head in apology.
“Whatever the reason, my failure to keep my promise is my fault.”
“It's a relief that you're aware of it.”
Honestly, if Pernyan had been in the same position, he wasn't confident he could have kept the secret either. He had, after all, told his father first.
But that was then, and this was now. There was no reason not to seize a weakness that was freely offered.
Especially when the other party was a future Royal Knight.
“I won't blame you for now. But I can't say what kind of demand I might make in the future.”
“One request, whatever it may be, I will accept it if it is within my power.”
“Good.”
With that matter settled for the time being, Pernyan changed the subject.
“Then, what does Margrave Bercefe plan to do now?”
“For now, they've only found a small number of demonic beasts, so he said he will investigate more thoroughly.”
So he intended to gather sufficient signs and evidence before revealing it.
Once the demon was summoned, it could no longer be a secret anyway, so it didn't matter if the news broke after that.
“I see. There might be a battle soon.”
“Is this what you mentioned in your letter?”
“Yes.”
No, that was a lie. It wasn't a Vile Breed, but a demon.
“This will be a different kind of being than what we've faced before. It won't be easy, so you'd best prepare yourself.”
He didn't bother to correct her. The difference between a Vile Breed and a demon was just one word, but the weight they carried was vastly different.
If she learned about the demon, Ruina would try to borrow strength from outside sources rather than relying on our own.
Like the academy, or her family.
And that would be the natural course of action. Which was precisely why he had to hide it until the end.
“Yes.”
Ruina nodded, her resolve hardening.
‘Honestly, I'm a little anxious, but we should be able to stop it.’
Even if it was a demon, the prophecy book indicated it was at a level Aint could handle. Probably because it was a hastily prepared summoning.
For the sake of the future, it had to be dealt with by Aint, and by Aint's hand alone.
‘It's not that there aren't any puzzling aspects.’
The reason the Vile Breed were moving so cautiously was likely because their preparations were incomplete. That was why the summoned Andromalius was defeated by a still-maturing Aint.
Why would they, who had been moving so cautiously, suddenly take the reckless action of summoning an incomplete demon?
‘They must have grown anxious because Aint was developing faster than they expected.’
At least, that must have been the case in the original history. Probably. The attempts to kill Aint had failed multiple times in the original history, after all.
‘Nothing changes.’
Andromalius will be summoned, and Aint will kill it.
And he will grow into a hero, and go on to completely exterminate the demons.
That was the future.
* * *
Verian stared blankly up at the sky.
‘What was I trying to do?’
Lately, his mind had been going strangely blank more often.
‘Am I getting old, being this forgetful?’
He'd never heard of someone getting amnesia at twenty.
“Ah.”
A clock on the wall caught his eye. 2:10. He belatedly remembered his 3:00 seasonal semester class.
“That's right. I was going to class. No, was I on my way? There's still another fifty minutes…”
His gaze suddenly shifted forward. He spotted Aria staring blankly at her glass with a similar expression.
“…Why are you here?”
“I don't know. Why am I here?”
Verian and Aria stared at each other dumbly.
“You have the eyes of a dead fish.”
“…Huh?”
“Pernyan? What brings you here?”
The human and the elf tilted their heads, bewildered.
“What are the two I summoned here doing? Do you have the memory of a mudskipper?”
Pernyan reached out and picked up two slips of paper from the table.
[To the teahouse.]
It was the note Pernyan had sent to them.
“Ah, now that you mention it, I came here to meet with you…”
“Come to think of it, me too…”
The elf and the human frowned at each other.
“…Could this be?”
And Pernyan realized the gravity of the situation.
* * *
A few weeks before Pernyan and Ruina returned to the academy.
Verian Calburden was leisurely sipping his drink.
He was one of the few students who had remained at the academy during the break.
‘There's nothing to be gained by going home before I can show something to make up for my loss.’
For a loser who had been defeated in a duel he absolutely could not lose, the only path left was exile.
It was an escape, but he had no choice.
“So you didn't go?”
“Right.”
Verian took a sip of beer.
Fortunately, he had a suitable excuse: the seasonal semester the academy offered during the break.
He had sent a letter saying he would use his defeat as motivation to push himself harder, and then remained at the academy.
“That's a childish excuse.”
“…And why did you stay?”
“Who knows.”
The scarlet-haired elf, Aria, rested her chin on her hand and nibbled on a cracker topped with cured ham and cheese. The bitter yet savory flavor wasn't bad.
“Just because?”
Her official reason was her acquaintance with the newly appointed Spiritology professor; her real reason was to protect the World Tree.
“Anyway, I wanted to get closer to Aint, but somehow I ended up talking to you first among the first-years.”
It wasn't a coincidence.
It was rare for students to stay at the academy over the break, and the few who remained naturally came into contact more often.
‘The Calburden family isn't a bad connection to have, either.’
They weren't an Elector family, but they were a wealthy house closely trailing them. Their domain was vast, their influence great, and they were called high nobility.
Befriending him would bring more benefits than losses, no matter how you looked at it.
“That damn Aint, Aint. You too? What exactly do I lack that Aint has?”
“Skill.”
“…I lost, so I'll admit that.”
Verian barely managed to agree, his brow twitching.
“And family.”
“No matter how I look at it, the Calburden family seems much better off than the completely ruined Armian family.”
“But they aren't Electors.”
“Damn Electors…!”
The title of ‘Elector’ certainly carried weight.
It wasn't just a matter of honor, but of actual rights. An insurmountable wall stood between the Electors and the common nobility.
The Armian family, in particular, may have seen their power shrink, but in the hearts of the people, they were still a great house.
It was said that was why the Schwabens were still hesitant to change the name of the empire.
“But for someone who hates Aint, you two seem to get along pretty well.”
“That's…!”
“You are both isolated in your department, as is Aint. I want you two to overcome this hardship together.”
“The important thing is that I have the recording sphere that captured the moment you turned into a demon.”
It was because the person holding his leash had wanted it.
“Aint Armian is already chasing other Vile Breed. If you stick by his side, you might one day encounter the one who did this to you.”
But that wasn't the only reason.
Revenge. Verian wanted to find the culprit who had corrupted him and turned him into a Vile Breed, and get his revenge.
“…You're mistaken.”
He couldn't say that, so he just shook his head and took another sip of beer.
“If you say so.”
“Thanks so much for letting it slide.”
These elves really got on his nerves.
‘Still, maybe I should have just gone home, no matter how they treated me…’
Verian tried to wash down the deep sense of unease with his drink.
“Ah, by the way, could you come to the forest for a bit later?”
“The forest?”
“Yeah, you asked why I stayed, right? The truth is, a branch from the Mother Tree is planted here, and I'm guarding it.”
“…What?”
Verian blinked in bewilderment at the secret that had been so abruptly dropped on him.
“Is that something you should be telling me?”
“Normally, no. But I think there's a problem with the Mother Tree's branch. I might need some help, just in case.”
“Why me?”
“Pernyan said so. That I could trust you and ask for your help.”
“…What?”
Aria smiled brightly and leaned forward.
“Vile Breed transformation.”
The quiet whisper entered his ear.
“He said if I mentioned that, you'd help me unconditionally while keeping it a secret.”
“…That damn Pernyan Fallenberg!”
“That's no way to talk about your senior. I'm going to tell him everything.”
“Tell him, I don't care…”
Wait a minute.
“Then you also know about the Vile Breed…?”
“I've fought more than my fair share of demonic beasts. A veteran warrior, you could say.”
“…What nonsense is this?”
What did she mean?
“It means I might need your help.”
Aria shrugged.
“Am I some pushover who helps whenever asked?”
“So, you're not going to help?”
“Damn it.”
Verian cursed.
He was furious, yet on the verge of tears at his own inability to refuse.