Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: First Step (5)
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A pure white space, yet it wasn't painful to look at.
Of course, it wasn't just some place with an amusing quirk like that.
The person standing before my eyes, and the strange knowledge this space imparted...
It was fascinating in all sorts of ways.
So, who exactly was this person?
"Who the hell are you? How are you here, and—."
"Hold on. I'll explain one by one. First, let's introduce ourselves."
She smiled with a soft, gentle grace.
That smile brought someone to mind.
It overlapped with Hepiriya?
The vibe was oddly similar, but I decided to go ahead with the introductions first.
It felt like that's what was needed to move things forward.
"I'm Edn Rlangbur. From the Empire."
"The Empire... I see. I'm Luciana, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom."
...Pardon? Saintess?
Her odd words made me furrow my brow on instinct.
Wasn't the current Saintess Hepiriya?
Two Saintesses? No way.
As my thoughts started veering into weird territory, she tilted her head.
"By the way, what year is it now?"
"Imperial Calendar 672."
She drew in a small breath at my words.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before settling back.
Then she gave a faintly wistful smile.
"I see. So the current Saintess is Hepiriya, then."
"You know Hepiriya?"
"Of course. She's such a cute girl."
Cute, huh.
She was cute in all sorts of ways and always drew the eye, yeah...
No, that's not the point.
Her words sparked my curiosity about where Hepiriya was.
We must have been caught in that space-time storm together.
"Do you happen to know where she is? She probably got swept up with me."
"I do. But talking to you comes first."
At least Hepiriya was safe, it seemed.
I let out a sigh of relief, and she chuckled lightly.
"You two must be close?"
"Well... something like that. More importantly, what is this place? All this strange knowledge keeps pouring into my head."
Knowledge kept flooding my mind.
But it felt intuitive, like I could use it on instinct without fully understanding it.
And a hunch told me it would all evaporate once I left this space.
She pointed at my hand, as if understanding my reaction.
"Your hand?"
I lifted it, and there in my grasp was the magic tome—the very one that had dragged Hepiriya and me here.
Why was it in my hand?
More than that, why hadn't I noticed?
As I stared at it in confusion, Luciana drew my attention.
"Ahem. Doesn't it feel strange?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"Not just now. You must have broken the magic tome's seal to enter. Didn't you feel a powerful pull then?"
Come to think of it, yeah.
Pondering it, it had felt different from usual.
For some reason, curiosity had overridden everything, making me act on impulse.
Like my curiosity was even more intense than normal?
I explained as much, and she told me it was a feature of the magic tome.
"By the way, this space and the knowledge being injected into you? All power of the magic tome."
"Got it. But how do you know all this? And what's your deal?"
What I really wanted to ask went beyond mere introductions.
She had to know that.
She nodded slightly and swept her hand through the empty air.
The surrounding space warped.
"I don't know exactly. I've just... known for a while now. Like a substitute, I guess? I'm a soul. A dead person."
"...Dead?"
What the hell was she talking about?
She was standing right there, perfectly alive—.
"You can see it too, right? I have no body."
"...You're right."
Maybe because of the knowledge flowing into my head, my vision had changed.
It was ridiculous that I hadn't noticed until now.
I could see the flow of space-time here.
Luciana before me existed not as a living being, but as a soul.
Above all, I realized this place was made of magic.
That's right—space magic, which I'd searched for with eyes wide open and never found.
"Never thought I'd find space magic in the Holy Kingdom."
Why was there a magic tome here? And space magic, of all things?
I asked Luciana, but she just said she didn't know.
I was about to examine the magic tome when I remembered something else I hadn't asked.
I looked up at her, and she tilted her head.
"Why did you want to see me first? What do you need to tell me?"
"Ah, that."
She paused for a moment.
I was about to press her out of curiosity but held back and waited.
Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long for an answer.
"The magic tome let me stay in this world, and my mission was to pass it on. Now that I've done that, I won't be here much longer."
"And besides that?"
"Same answer. I really don't know. Feels like I'm just a clueless guide."
That's what I'd been thinking.
Her role apparently ended there.
So, maybe it was time to bring Hepiriya here?
"Ah, can't do that anymore. With what I just said, control's passed to you."
"What the—."
I gave her a pitiful look, but she seemed just as helpless.
I sighed and searched the space for Hepiriya.
Then I twisted it slightly to pull her in.
Wow, and she said we can't do this once we leave?
As I sighed in regret, Hepiriya arrived.
"Ahh!"
She flinched in surprise, shoulders jumping.
It was cute, but explaining the situation came first.
I gave her the quick rundown and pointed to Luciana.
"The Saintess. Probably the previous one."
"...Sister?"
Huh. So Luciana was telling the truth.
I hadn't quite believed her since she knew so little, but they really were close.
Hepiriya stared blankly before rushing over with teary eyes.
"Sister!"
"Hepiriya. Hehe, you've grown so much."
The two shared an emotional reunion embrace.
Sisters parted for so long, meeting in a place where the boundary between life and death blurred.
Hepiriya buried her face in Luciana's chest, tears streaming like chick peas.
She clung tightly to her waist, determined never to let go again.
"I missed you, Sister...! I thought I'd never see you again..."
"I'm sorry, Hepiriya."
Hepiriya poured out long-buried emotions, while Luciana gave a bittersweet smile and stroked her hair.
After sharing warmth in silence for a while, they parted.
Hepiriya spoke first.
"...So you're really dead, then?"
"Yeah."
Luciana seemed calm, unsurprised.
Normally, someone would ask how she knew.
Then again, Hepiriya wasn't normal.
Edn quietly faded into the background to watch.
Hepiriya lifted her head, her gloomy expression turning resolute as she stared straight at Luciana.
"Sister. What the hell happened? Why couldn't we find any trace of you?"
"That..."
Luciana fell silent, averting her gaze.
She bit her lip, as if in pain—or reluctant to speak.
Hepiriya grasped Luciana's hands and locked eyes with her.
Luciana kept dodging, but Hepiriya persisted until Luciana finally surrendered with a smile.
"Really. I can never win against you."
"Sister..."
"I'll tell you what happened."
Her voice was calm and soft, but the words that followed were shocking.
As Hepiriya had suspected, the archbishops were to blame.
The problem was the details.
They'd lured the Saintess out and tricked her into capture.
Naturally, Luciana had resisted with the Goddess's power, but they'd come prepared.
They sealed every trick she had and took her.
What happened after was too horrific to speak aloud.
Hepiriya staggered as if dealt a massive blow.
If Edn hadn't rushed in to catch her, she would have fallen.
"E-Edn."
"It's okay, Hepiriya. Let's get out of here first and think. We can deal with this later."
If we couldn't leave, even revenge would be impossible.
She knew that and nodded.
But Luciana thought differently.
"You don't have to bother with revenge. I—."
"Luciana. Revenge is something the living do when they can't bear it anymore. And you don't have to hide what you want, either."
Thanks to the magic tome, even if briefly, I'd tasted a higher spiritual state.
I could somewhat sense her emotions.
She wanted revenge too.
Whether a Saintess should harbor such feelings was beside the point.
Honestly, it was gruesome enough for any third party to hear—there was no way she didn't want payback.
She probably just didn't want Hepiriya dwelling on it.
Luciana stared at me in surprise before chuckling.
"Right. I see."
"Pardon?"
She nodded as if understanding.
To an outsider, it looked like agreement, but now that I could sense emotions...
...What exactly did she get?
I couldn't make sense of her reaction.
But time wasn't on my side.
The space sustained by the magic tome began to crumble.
I tried to control it urgently, but no dice.
I instinctively knew it had reached the limit of the sustaining spell.
"Once you leave, you'll lose the insights gained here. But at least one will stick."
"...Thank you."
"No need. I'm just the guide. Thank the magic tome."
No more time.
The space shattered, returning us to reality.
Hepiriya and I bid her farewell.
She waved back, then seemed to remember something.
"Edn, right? Protect Hepiriya. Like a man would."
"Ahem. I'll... I'll do my best. No, I will."
Not sure if she even needed my help.
With that, the space broke apart.
Like glass shattering and scattering.
It was beautiful, but soon the dingy cave filled my view.
"Haa, we're back."
I sat Hepiriya down first.
Still in shock, I leaned her against the wall.
"Thank you, Edn."
"No problem. Rest here. I'll check if anything's changed."
I stood and began scouting the surroundings.
But the magic tome's temptation lingered.
"Argh, just one quick look, then search."
I opened the tome still clutched in my hand.
Flipping through, it was all blank pages.
Well, the beginning was visible, but the rest? Nothing.
Then I noticed something odd.
"What? Why does this handwriting look like mine?"
No, beyond similar—it was almost identical.
This was incredibly strange.
Even stranger than gaining my first insight and building an Inner Realm without realizing.