Chapter 385: Do It! (2)
Chapter 385: Do It! (2)
Rebecca remained tight-lipped, as if she had lost her words. I made my demand to her with total confidence.
"Do it!"
Naturally, I wasn't demanding the cancellation of her expulsion just because Elisha looked hotter as an active Academy cadet than as a regular person.
—...
"Don't look at me like that. It's really not like that. This is just, you know, a 'Yandel Joke.'"
—...Then what is the real reason?
"Since Elisha was cleared of the false charges this time, she’s been freed from her status as my slave, right? I want to spread that fact far and wide, and also use the opportunity to refute some interesting rumors I've heard lately."
—If you mean recent rumors... are you talking about the story that Lady Carla murdered the former Marquis Cyprus?
Normally, a rumor wouldn't spread this quickly. Hadn't Cyprus been stripped of his title and exiled, reduced to a fallen noble?
He was just a guy who happened to have good ancestors; he didn't have any special talents, so even if he died, he wasn't someone people would care about...
However, the person who killed Cyprus was a different story.
A woman who looked exactly like Carla was swinging tentacles around and committing mass slaughter—how could that not be reported?
"Actually, there's a bit of a story behind that..."
When I briefly explained the background of Fake Carla’s birth, Rebecca, who had been letting out hollow laughs, turned serious.
—So that happened... I understand. While announcing that we are readmitting Lady Elisha as a student, I will subtly leak the story about the 'Fallen Carla.' ...Ah, and don't worry about classes; I'll make sure you get a proper diploma even if you don't show up.
"Thank you. I've already relayed the general situation to the Levantine Empire, but I felt like relying on just one source wasn't enough, given how proactive that thing is."
Fake Carla had stormed Cyprus's mansion before she was even three days old.
The Levantine Empire would eventually announce that the tentacled Carla currently on a rampage was a fake created by the Evil God, but she might attack somewhere else faster than that information could spread.
In that sense, there was no better place to spread news than the Academy, where talents from across the continent gathered.
If the children of prestigious families here just sent one message back home, more than half the continent would know about Fake Carla's existence.
After that, I talked with Rebecca about the recent state of affairs on the continent and shared some light small talk.
Then, just as I was about to get up, thinking it was time to leave—
—Take this with you.
"What is this?"
Rebecca handed me two books with no titles on their covers. One was incredibly thick, while the other was as thin as a notebook.
—The thick one is a grimoire containing the original spells I used. It consists only of intermediate and high-level magic. As you are now, Student Yandel, you should find them quite useful.
"...Is it really okay for you to give me something like this?"
—It is only natural to give this much to a successor who is doing the work I couldn't finish. Besides, I made my original magic public long ago, so aside from some rather kind annotations, it's nothing too grand.
Those annotations were exactly what made it grand.
Since they included explanations from the creator herself, it would be much easier to learn and apply.
This alone was a magnificent gift... but the real prize came next.
—And the thin one is a book where I organized the thoughts I had while on the path to becoming an Archmage.
"...Huh?"
—It sounds grand when put that way, but in truth, nothing particularly important is written in it. The realm of an Archmage isn't something one can reach just by being led; even among Archmages, everyone's path is different.
"That... is true."
Even reaching the level of a High Magician isn't something one can achieve just by being guided.
How much more so for an Archmage?
If one isn't careful, such a guide could actually become an obstacle blocking one's own path. There was no way Rebecca didn't know this...
—Don't overthink it. As I said before, I've erased anything that might interfere with your progress, Student Yandel. What is contained within is not about enlightenment, but about frustration.
"Frustration...?"
—I heard you took quite a reckless gamble in the process of defeating Ugly Prosperity.
"Ah."
—Regardless, you succeeded, and since it seems there was no other way, I won't mention it further. ...However, the fact remains that it was a very dangerous attempt.
She was right. Though the memories of that time distortion were mostly faded now, just those faint impressions were enough to make me break out in a cold sweat.
—This is a sort of Correction Note. When you hit a wall, but it's a moment where you'll be in danger if you don't overcome it immediately—open this and refer to it. You should at least be able to gauge whether your plan is reckless but achievable, or if it's just plain suicidal.
"Chairman..."
Even if it was a Correction Note filled with failures rather than enlightenment, its value didn't fade. Rather, because it dealt with such high levels of mastery, it was all the more necessary.
Rebecca replied awkwardly to my deeply moved reaction.
—It is an adult's role to help a child who is walking a dangerous path of their own accord. Don't rely on it too much; just use it as a reference.
"Yes! I definitely will!"
Ever since I revealed that I was something like Fafnir's child, the number of people trying to shower me with things has increased.
But? Mamans? The more? The better? Right?
*
After leaving the Chairman's office, I headed straight to the dormitory.
I'm sure I said I was tired and wanted to rest, but the women were waiting for me, having delayed their meal.
I used a simple heating spell to warm up the food that had gone cold, and as we ate together, I pulled out the books I received from Rebecca and briefly told them what had happened.
She probably knew I'd read them with my companions the moment she handed them to me.
After a pleasant dinner—where everyone decided on the order of who would read first, and we even had to spoon-feed Fay, who was more focused on the research journal than her food—we finished up.
I had intended for us all to go to sleep together... but somehow, it turned into everyone sleeping whenever they felt like it.
That was because I intended to read the grimoire Rebecca gave me until the moment I fell asleep, and Fay looked ready to stay up all night absorbing the knowledge in the research journal.
"Ugh..."
Maybe it was because I was rolling around on the living room sofa while reading. When I snapped out of it, I realized I had dozed off, and it was already dawn.
Since it had come to this, I decided to stop reading for today and get some proper sleep in bed.
With that thought, I tucked in a bookmark, closed the book, and was about to head to the bedroom.
"Hm?"
I saw a faint light in the distance. I thought it might be leaking from Fay's workshop, but looking closely, the direction was the complete opposite.
Is that... the terrace?
I tucked the book under my arm and approached the light source. The person there was someone I hadn't expected.
"Helena?"
"Ah, Brother. Are you awake?"
Unlike Fay, for whom day and night didn't exist, Helena was a practitioner of a healthy lifestyle, sleeping early and waking early. Why was she awake at this hour?
Feeling a bit puzzled, I asked.
"I didn't expect you to be awake at this time."
"Fufu. It's not like I always lead a perfectly disciplined life. Sometimes, there are days when sleep just won't come."
Helena, who was wearing a slip that was slightly translucent, didn't exude her usual mysterious holiness.
Now that I looked, she wasn't even wearing the medallion she always carried, except when she was in bed.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, Helena spoke with her characteristic gentle smile.
"Righteous Light is currently sleeping. Just as the sun that illuminates all things in the world during the day is quiet at night, she always sleeps at this time unless I specifically call for her."
"What about Lady Clara?"
"I just left her behind."
"..."
That's cold.
"I'm joking. Lady Clara is also sleeping right now. She said that since it's boring to be the only one awake at night when everyone else is asleep, she turns off her consciousness for a while to save holy power."
"I can understand that. She's someone who can move a little around the medallion but can't go far from it. Waiting around is hard for anyone."
"Waiting... yes. I suppose a wait with no promised end is always like that."
Well, everyone wakes up when the sun rises, so it's not like there's no promised end...
...But Helena looked so melancholy right now that I couldn't bring myself to say that.
Is this what they call 'dawn vibes'?
As I nodded along, pretending not to notice, Helena suddenly began to laugh softly.
"Fufu..."
"What is it all of a sudden, Helena? If there's something funny, don't keep it to yourself. ...Unless it's one of those weird jokes."
I'm still not used to Eurelia-style humor. And I don't think I ever will be.
"It's not a funny story. In fact, it's a bad one. It's about when I was quietly praying in the besieged Solaris."
"That was..."
At that time, Helena had been maintaining the barrier for the Great Temple and the people who had taken refuge inside, without even a promise that reinforcements would come.
"To be honest, I was very terrified back then. Wasn't it a situation similar to how Lady Clara met her end? Even the Lord seemed to have made some kind of firm resolution."
"Uh, well. I heard Righteous Light made that decision with your best interests in mind, Helena."
"I suppose so. She probably intended to let me meet a death that wasn't painful. ...Actually, I realized everything the moment the Lord forcibly suppressed my consciousness. And I accepted it. That this was my end."
Having said that, Helena tilted her head slightly and looked up at the sky.
The sky was still pitch black. But that didn't mean the sky was empty.
The moonlight was reasonably bright, and the stars, with their faint but certain presence, filled the expanse.
"Look. Even in the dark night, light exists like this. But at that time, I was focused only on the darkness. It was a situation where I had no choice. ...But when I opened my eyes, I saw you, Brother."
With those words, Helena whipped her head around to look at me.
"It was truly an amazing experience. I thought it was the end, but to find there was a 'next'—it's hard for someone who hasn't experienced it personally to understand."
Helena approached me cautiously but closely.
She only stopped when her soft chest was almost touching my torso. She continued.
"Do you know what I was thinking then, Brother?"
"Uh... that you hate Righteous Light for using your body to mate with me without permission?"
"...That's not entirely wrong, but the strongest emotion was regret."
"Regret?"
"Yes. Because I wanted to see the moment you came to save me with my own eyes. Of course, that doesn't mean I intend to put myself in danger again, so please rest assured."
Adding that with a giggle, Helena pulled me into an embrace.
It was a light hug, with almost no pressure... just sharing each other's warmth.
In that state, Helena whispered into my ear.
"Because it's the dead of night when even the sun in the sky is asleep, there's something I want to say. It's something I can't tell anyone else... Brother. Will you keep a secret for me?"
"If that's what you want, Helena, then of course I will."
When I nodded, Helena pressed her head even closer. She only stopped when her breath was tickling my ear, and then she whispered softly.
Her voice was cautious, as if afraid someone might hear, yet filled with a yearning that she couldn't bear without speaking.
"Sometimes... I like you more than Righteous Light, Brother."
"..."
Good heavens.
What is this adorable confession?
In the moment I froze, Helena tilted her head slightly and kissed me on the cheek.
Peck.
It was a soft, tickling sensation.
But before my brain could even process it, Helena, whose face had turned beet red, pulled away and hurried off.
"I-I should go to sleep now, Brother! Please be careful not to stay up too late and ruin your condition!"
"..."
Watching Helena's retreating back as she left those words behind, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Dawn vibes... might not be so bad after all.