Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: More Radiant Than Gold☆ (2)
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Ohh.
Ohh…?
Oooooh—!!
A sudden surge of energy flowed through my body. It was on a completely different level from what I'd absorbed from the cores of the Svart Industrial High School's magical armor puppets.
‘This energy...!!’
Hilde, right beside me, was the first to notice the change.
“Lara, you… your hair is glowing…?”
“Yup☆ It is─♪ Will you call me 'Super Aetherian Clara'?”
“What… in the world…”
Hilde was flustered, running her fingers through my light pink hair, which had begun to glow with a soft golden light. And occasionally, she would bring her nose close to sniff it.
“What on earth happened to Lara…!”
*Sniff—*
*Sniff—*
Suddenly, I could hear ragged breathing from behind me.
‘But why is she sniffing...? I haven't washed my hair in over a day.’
…
Well…
Whatever.
It wasn't important, so I decided to ignore it.
Hilde spoke with her nose buried in my faintly glowing golden hair. Her voice was muffled by the strands covering her face.
“Lara's hair carries the scent of a different kind of aether… What is this familiar yet strange fragrance…?”
“Ugh… that's, that's gross.”
“…The Violet Spindle, did you just insult Lara's hair by calling it dirty?”
“N-no, I meant your actions right now…”
“…”
Freyja stared at Hilde for a while with a fed-up look. Then she pointed at my neck and said in a startled voice.
“Y-you brute...! There are golden flowers blooming from the scar on your neck! And inside your clothes, wh-what's that light...?!”
“Oh my...☆”
What was that all about?
I hurriedly pulled back the collar of my shirt.
Golden flowers were blooming from the scar that snaked like a thorny bush across my chest and neck. Like clusters of grapes the gods were said to have eaten long ago... luscious golden buds would form, then scatter, leaving brilliant afterimages.
*Pop—*
*Pop—*
They grow in an instant.
Bloom in an instant.
And scatter in an instant.
The golden flowers grew enough to cover the scar.
Countless golden petals emerged, entered my hair and body, and returned as a warm, gentle energy. This endless cycle and layering eventually became enough to conceal my own wounds.
‘This should be... enough to completely fill the void in my aether.’
Like a field of golden flowers bathed in the evening glow.
Radiant aether poured endlessly from my body. And all this golden aether originated from the same place.
“…!”
I raised my head and looked toward the source of the golden energy.
Following the path of the golden energy… I found it all originated from a cat idly swishing its tail in the distance.
“Ugh, where…? Huh, senior…?”
And just as I expected, next to the golden cat was Lotha, stirring awake while clutching the first grimoire.
‘The master of gold... a color only one person possessed until Lotha used the first grimoire in the game. But I never expected 'her remnant,' which only existed as an item effect in the original story, to appear in person...’
I thought I now knew the identity of the golden cat.
“[The Golden Witch]…”
“…!”
“…!”
Hilde and Freyja heard my mumble. They whipped their heads around to look at the golden cat again.
*Twitch.*
The golden cat twitched its small ears in affirmation and spoke to me. Its voice was rhythmic, like someone reading a fairy tale.
“To be precise, I am a memory she left behind, and her final act of defiance. A manifestation of the will to understand the laws of the universe, even within the spindle woven by [Fate].”
“I-I see...!”
“I am a thought-form, composed of the medium of [Fate] known as aether, within this chaos-filled universe. You could say I am an entity that has hidden itself to carry on her final wish.”
“I-I see...!”
“…Child, to be honest, you haven't understood a single thing I've said, have you?”
“I-I see...☆”
Oops… I’d been found out.
‘Even with a brain like Zhuge Liang's, there are things I just don't know...!’
It was the golden aether cat that only appeared as a skill effect for the awakened version of Lotha in the game. Even if I asked about its origins and purpose… I wouldn't know the answer.
“This era's 'Saintess' has peculiar tastes, but in this way, she's just like 'her.' I suppose [Fate] does connect those of similar dispositions.”
Me?
A Saintess?
And 'her'...?
Could it be... [The Saintess of Sacrifice] whose name was written on the corner of that statue...?
‘That's an epithet that doesn't appear in the game, which only features [The Fate of the Three Heroes]...’
The golden cat… The Golden Witch let out a deep sigh, then looked toward the colossal black serpent slowly advancing on the World Tree.
“…To put it simply, I am an avatar trapped within a grimoire that can only be understood by a child with the fate of [Gold], when the time comes for the beast god of chaos to appear.”
“…”
“That child needed to be prepared enough to face her own [Fate], but…”
For some reason.
I felt I knew why she, who was supposed to appear late in the story, had shown up now.
‘Because Lotha... has become more confident than she was in the original story...’
The path Lotha has walked.
Me, Kara, Alvitt, Freyja... and the moment she walked out of the checkpoint at the gate on her own. All of it helped her grow faster than in the original story.
The Golden Witch said to me.
“It seems no coincidence that the only 'Saintess' and 'Witch' capable of accepting my aether are in the same place at this very moment.”
Then, fixing her gaze on the 'Serpent' once more, she murmured in a bitter voice.
“But what has shaken this world into chaos was not... [The Dragon Crouching in the Abyss]... but the power left behind by [The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle], after all... 'The Prophet' and the Dragon's apostles...”
“…!”
The Prophet's name, suddenly spilling from the lips of The Golden Witch.
“This person called The Prophet...!”
But at that moment.
The shock of another collapsing barrier washed over us.
*Ruuuumble—!!*
Amidst the roar, the maniacal laughter of the green dragon, Ófnir, could be heard. He stood atop the giant serpent's head in a pose like a menacing praying mantis.
“[Khahahahat—!! Khahak, khahahaha!! I!! Will succeed—!!]”
In the path of [The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle], magic armaments made of black aether were forming and firing at those who tried to block its advance.
*Whoooosh—!!*
*Shushushuk—!!*
A tidal wave of black armaments.
Thousands, tens of thousands of black aether armaments of different shapes formed endlessly. Faintly contained within them was the energy of the aether skills from the noble faction students of Public Vana Boarding School.
“…!”
Seeing this, Freyja spoke with violently trembling eyes.
“Th-those are...!”
“Correct. They are the dregs left behind by the [Fates] of the apostles... now offered to the 'Serpent's' body. The 'Serpent' erases the [Fates] of others, endlessly cycling as it masters all the knowledge of this world. It seems it has now absorbed the 'Golden Armaments' I left behind as well... Attacks using the 'Golden Armaments' will no longer work.”
“Th-then... is there no way for us to fight the 'Serpent'...? Is this... is this... to be destroyed by foolishness our [Fate]...”
Freyja murmured despairingly, closing her eyes.
“M-my [Fate] is... 'Ignorance'... a-an idiot... who can do nothing. In, in the end... no matter how much I struggle to escape my [Fate], this is what becomes of me...”
“…!”
This was the first time I'd heard of Freyja's [Fate].
She considered it a curse she could never change, no matter how much she struggled. That was why she had detached herself from the story in the game.
‘…Freyja.’
For the first time, I completely understood Freyja's resignation. I could see why she had lived such a lonely and desolate life.
“…You are a strange child. Your [Fate] seems closer to that of this era's sage than anyone else.”
“What?”
But even after hearing that.
The Golden Witch spoke to Freyja in a nonchalant tone.
Like a young girl who'd just heard a child ask a question with an obvious answer.
“There is nothing closer to the truth than knowing that one 'does not know.' Rather, it is when one thinks they 'know' that ruin and arrogance find their way in.”
Freyja said in a desperate voice. Her shabby purple cat ears trembled pitifully.
“Th-then what are we supposed to do now...!”
“…”
The Golden Witch looked at Lotha, who was now fully awake.
“Starting from ignorance... we must create a new magic.”
“Yes…!”
Even though Lotha had just woken up, she somehow seemed to know what she had to do. The letters on the first grimoire she held in her arms were glowing with a soft golden light.
The Golden Witch swished her tail as she looked back at us. Her golden eyes glittered as she looked from me, to Hilde, to Freyja, and then to Lotha.
“Using all of my remaining aether, let us create it.”
“…!”
“…This seems it will be a very joyous meeting, and a farewell ceremony.”
“A-a farewell ceremony...?!”
The Golden Witch said one last thing to us.
“Before we begin, I will take one question from each of you. Is there anything you wish to ask?”
After we had each resolved our curiosities.
We roused the students of the Inquiry Faction and had them head to the 'Sage's Chamber'. And in the center of the 'Sage's Chamber,' the one who would create a new magic with the help of The Golden Witch was…
…not Freyja, but Lotha.
***
The Inquiry Faction's library.
The rooftop below the spire containing the 'Sage's Chamber'.
We arrived back at the place where I had fought fiercely with Ófnir.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Hilde, fidgeting restlessly while constantly looking my way.
Me, in a fully charged (temporary) state, glowing with a soft golden light.
Freyja, her somber expression gone, back to her usual self.
The three of us decided to head toward [The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle].
“…”
I looked at the scars on my body, from which golden flowers still popped up, and thought.
‘My body feels really good, actually. Assuming I'm the evasion tank in my current fully charged (temporary) state, is our party a bruiser, a magic dealer, and a tank...? Not a bad composition. With a team like this, we have a chance...!’
Now that we had a way to approach [The Serpent of Wisdom and Cycle].
I was quietly rekindling my fighting spirit for the battle to come.
“…”
As I was lost in these thoughts.
Hilde subtly took my hand and spoke.
The way she just grabbed it without asking was unusual.
“…Lara, are you really okay?”
“Yup☆ Perfectly fine─♪ In fact, this might be my golden age☆ Are you itching for a fight? Shall we have a light spar~☆”
“…I'm fine.”
“Hmm─♪”
“…?”
“…I thought you'd take the chance to discreetly check me out while gauging the 'distance'~☆”
“…”
“You always do it secretly☆ Sneakily♪ Without a word~☆”
“…”
I chuckled and teased the girl who had troubled my heart all day. Surely she'd overlook such petty revenge.
‘You should start realizing... that I get startled when you touch me without saying anything.’
Hilde looked into my faintly glowing golden eyes and said.
“…Because Lara asked me to trust her.”
“…”
“So I will trust you, always.”
“Ahaha…☆”
…
…
…
I didn't know anymore.
If I let my thoughts continue down this path, something terrible might happen.
So I just quietly nodded.
“…Yeah. Thanks. For trusting me.”
“…No. Thank you. For keeping your promise.”
“…”
“…”
From the side, I could hear Freyja tapping her chest as if frustrated.
“Y-you crazy bitches... y-you crazy bitches... Are you trying to burn down the World Tree...!”
“The World Tree... why would it burn☆”
“Th-there's a reason... Ugh...”
“…?”
Just as I was about to ask the true meaning of that ominous prophecy.
“Let us begin. The tale of gold.”
“…!”
*Fwaaaaa—!!*
A dazzling golden light began to erupt from the Sage's Chamber.