The Power of the West, Reborn (2)

I brought Citrine with me to the room where Ellie lay sleeping.

Ellie still hadn't opened her eyes; one of the maids was feeding her. She was in no state to chew and swallow food, so her meals were being replaced with some kind of pill...? Something packed with nutrients, apparently.

Today, as always, I poured my pure-white energy into her.

The white radiance spread through her whole body, driving out every trace of the corrupted power festering within her.

"Whew..."

I let out a long breath and stopped the infusion of my Purification authority. Ellie's face looked far better than before, her eyes closed in something close to peace.

"U-um, Successor. Who is... who is she?"

I answered her question with a smile.

"Someone precious to me. My contracted partner — and my lover. Her name is Alice Cumul."

"Ah...! Don't tell me — the Alice Cumul of Cumul Territory?!"

"You've heard of her?"

"Yes! I've always sworn I'd become a commander just like Lady Alice one day!"

"Is that so? Well, it'll be hard to meet her for now. If only Ellie could see you... I mean it."

At my words, Citrine began asking about Alice's condition.

"Lady Alice... why... why is she like this?"

"She took Florence's attack with her own body."

"She... what?"

"...It was an attack carrying Taowu's authority. And worse, it was the kind that doesn't stop once it lands — it spreads through the entire body until nothing is left untouched."

"Then... you too, Successor... was it demons...? Is that why you were like this?"

"That's right. It's one of the reasons I brought you here, too."

"...Me?"

"Yes. Why do you think I brought you?"

At my question, Citrine only gave a small shake of her head, making it clear she had no idea.

Reading her answer, I stroked her head and spoke.

"Your father, too, fell in battle fighting bravely in the war against the demons. And I very nearly lost the most precious person in this world to them."

At the mention of Topaz, the rims of Citrine's eyes turned red.

"Become a knight commander. Become someone truly fine. And lend me your strength so that we never become the same."

"...!!"

"What's your name?"

I already knew her name, of course — but I pretended not to. I'd seen her countless times in the game, yet this was the first time Citrine was laying eyes on me. To her, I was nothing more than a stranger who happened to hold the title of Successor.

"Beryl... I'm Citrine."

"Citrine."

"Yes."

Citrine — a gem of golden yellow, unlike its cousin Topaz. Her eyes, too, glowed that same yellow as her father's.

I looked straight into those eyes and said,

"You'll grow into someone even finer than your father."

"...How can you be so certain? I could just as easily go astray."

"It's a hunch. And your words just now settled it. Kids who say things like that — the ones who genuinely worry they might turn bad — never actually do."

Hearing this, Citrine looked up at me with eyes brimming over, fidgeted for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

"Um... Successor."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry... it wasn't your fault that my father died, and I still blamed you. Just because I was sad. Just because it hurt... I laid it all on you."

"......"

"I'm sorryyy... sob! Back then... I was so frightened... The thing I prayed would never happen actually happened, and I was so shocked, I..."

I simply listened to her in silence.

"You even said all those kind things to me, and I still shoved the blame onto you, the Successor... I knew it wasn't your fault, and I walked out like that anyway... I'm sorry."

Yes. The knot buried in the heart has to be vomited out.

If a child is left in a place where she can't do it herself, someone has to help her — only then can she grow past the wound. Otherwise, the wound festers and worsens until there's nothing left to do but carve away the infected flesh around it. And if you keep carving and carving, sooner or later nothing remains at all.

That was why I had helped make her wound just a little easier to heal.

At this point, I figured she could carry a knight commander's burden as ably as her father someday.

"It's all right. It must have taken real courage to apologize. Thank you, Citrine."

"Sob..! Successor...!"

Watching a young girl cry in front of me made it feel as if I were the one who'd done something terrible to her...

Just my imagination, probably...?

Well, the outcome was good, so that's what counts, right?

I couldn't afford to lose talent this precious, after all...

Sion, and now Citrine too.

I couldn't begin to guess how many promising souls this cursed fate demanded we lose to those demon bastards.

Really — we ought to kill every last one of them.

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Citrine smiled through her tears and spoke to me.

"Thank you. I feel a little lighter, thanks to you. Mother died on the battlefield, and now I've lost Father too... it's been so hard."

In the game, roughly six years ago — back when Citrine was still ten.

Her mother, Emeline Beryl, had slowly closed her eyes with her daughter and husband watching.

Cause of death: massive blood loss from her wounds.

It was an injury she could have survived easily, had there been healers on hand. But at the time, Crystal Territory was bogged down repelling wave after wave of demon raids, great and small, and no healer could be summoned.

In the end, she left one final word for her daughter and breathed her last before the girl's eyes.

That single sentence became a kind of landmark Citrine carried in her heart as she lived on — a talisman of her own.

So it was about time I gave it to her.

Those last words her mother left behind.

"Citrine."

"Yes?"

At the sound of her name, she slowly lifted her head.

I began to speak the testament her mother had left behind.

"Whatever path you walk. Whatever you choose."

".....!"

"Even if the road you take is a treacherous cliff."

"Ah... ah?"

"May the place you arrive at always overflow with light and warmth."

"Hhic..! Mom..! Dad...!"

The moment her mother's testament left my lips, the girl broke down weeping, calling for Topaz and Emeline.

This is how it should be. This is what a girl her age ought to be.

I learned only a year after my own parents passed that crying your fill, when you can, is the best thing in the world. Back then, I couldn't cry — my uncle's family and my aunts' families saw to that. And so the longing only piled up, the ache of missing them echoing and echoing, until at last I could barely force out a breath and let the tears fall.

Her mother would never have wanted her daughter to become what I became.

She'd forgive me... wouldn't she? She isn't going to come looking for me in my dreams, right?

I was still mulling that over when a Status Window message filled my vision.

And that message was more than enough to wipe my mind snow-white.

.....???

The Status Window even tells me things like this...?

And what's with this.

Provisional successor...? Citrine?

My head was stuffed full of question marks. Everything had happened in the space of a breath, and my skull was starting to throb from it.

An out-of-the-blue summons from the White Tiger. I stood there dumbfounded — but I decided to accept.

If the White Tiger herself was calling for me, I judged it couldn't be for any ordinary reason.

The moment I nodded lightly, my mind made up, everything before my eyes began to bleach into white.

And what appeared before me was a breathtaking snowfield.

Strangely enough, even when I touched the snow, it was neither chill nor cold.

Just as I stood there, dazzled by that beautiful expanse of white,

a voice calling to me rolled out from behind my back.

- "Child."

"....??"

Startled by that colossal resonance, I turned my head — and there, crouched low upon the snowfield, a colossal white tiger was gazing at me.

No way.

The being before my eyes... is the White Tiger...?

- "I am she. Fear nothing. Were I to bring you harm, I doubt she would leave me be."

Judging by her manner, this really was the White Tiger — the sovereign who ruled the West.

And from the way she spoke of the Azure Dragon without a shred of formality, the two of them were evidently quite close.

"So you are Lady White Tiger."

At my words, she gave a nod and conveyed her thanks.

- "First — well done, not panicking. It could well have been I, summoning you here without so much as a by-your-leave."

"It's quite all right. The view changed before my eyes and startled me a little, but I was too busy losing myself in the snowfield's beauty to mind."

- "Then I am glad. The reason I called you, of all souls, is to ask one favor of you."

"A favor... you say?"

- "Aye. A favor. Nothing more nor less than this — I would have you become that child's teacher."

Her teacher?

Citrine's swordsmanship was already at a level where she could defeat knights her own age, or even two years older, wasn't it? Assuming she simply kept honing what she had, she would without question surpass even my skill by the time she reached my age.

And I'm supposed to be her teacher...?

As if she'd read my thoughts, the White Tiger sighed and went on.

- "Must a teacher be a teacher of the blade alone? Become one who mends and lifts her spirit — a teacher of that kind."

Ah — a mentor of that stripe, I could manage. But why me, of all people? Anyone could help look after her mental state, couldn't they...?

- "When you return to the mortal world, I intend to bestow the position of successor upon her at once."

What on earth was that supposed to mean?

- "Already, through my own failing, one of my children has betrayed humanity. If I do not raise a successor quickly... we will be unable to hold back the Four Perils and their vile spawn."

"In other words — because of your mistake, you intend to force an innocent child to become a successor of the Divine Beasts?"

- "I carry more than enough regret toward her. That is why I spent the whole of my causality to summon you, a successor of another Divine Beast... I believed that if anyone could guide her rightly, it would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be you."

- "What divine beast in all creation would shove the child meant to be its successor into the pits of hell..! That things have come to this... grieves me beyond all words."

- "Forgive me. A being called a god, groveling before the successor of another divine beast like this — I must look utterly pathetic."

- "You may think so, and I will not fault you. Through my failing, the very territory that serves me was all but destroyed. And so I beg this of you, successor of the Azure Dragon."

- "You, who saved the territory that worships me — you, I can trust. Will you become teacher to the child named Citrine, who is to bear my name, and care for her?"

One mistake, and the White Tiger had very nearly hurled away the territory that served her and the seed of her successor in the same breath.

It seemed she had brought me here to make amends for it.

Citrine was still only sixteen.

If she became a successor at that age, she would be plunged into endless turmoil while shouldering the cost of every choice she made. We are not beings who can block everything, after all. The stress of those she couldn't save, the self-imposed duty to protect everyone — it would wear her down, inevitably.

Successors may be mentally tougher than ordinary people, but at the very age when the mind is at its most fragile and vulnerable, toughness amounts to nothing. At best, she would end up with the fortitude of an average adult.

It would be one thing if someone nearby could care for her...

As things stood, that was no easy feat either.

Gerald and Jewely couldn't look after her even if they wanted to. The territory had come within a hair of being split clean in half — there was no room for anyone to look away, even for a moment.

Which meant there was, quite simply, no one to tend her.

The instant she received the title of successor, people would no longer be able to draw near her. And bearing a god's power, she would never manage a true, easy friendship with anyone.

Worse, she had lost both her parents to the war against the demons — the toll on her would run that much deeper.

Bestow the position on her in this state... and something breaking was one hundred percent guaranteed.

Citrine might act grown-up, but that was only the appearance of maturity — not the real thing.

In the very worst case, she could be beguiled by the demons and enter a contractor's pact with them. That would be the setup for a spectacle that would leave the White Tiger raving and tearing at her own fur.

So that was why she'd called me here — to prevent exactly that.

"May I take some time to think it over?"

- "Aye. Take it. It is a matter that deserves careful thought."

And so I deliberated for a long while there before the White Tiger.

Whether to become that girl's teacher, or not.

I chose.

"I will become her teacher, Lady White Tiger."

- "...! I thank you... successor of the Azure Dragon... for granting the request of this worthless god... truly, thank you. Thanks to you, I may rest a little easier."

The reason I chose was nothing special.

Her old self was a mirror of my own. The way she pretended to be an adult — it was obvious at a glance.

For some reason, I just can't seem to look away from children wearing the face I used to wear.

Sion had been the exact same case.

While I was thinking that, the White Tiger addressed me again.

- "In return — to the one who protected my child and chose the seat of teacher, I too owe a fitting reward. I shall answer one question your heart desires. Even should it concern things that befell in another world."

The right to a question, granted by one who sits upon a god's seat.

And she would tell me anything. So I put to her the one question I had been turning over since long ago.

"Who... summoned me to this other world?"

- "....."

At my words, the White Tiger closed both her eyes and spoke.

- "The Divine Beast, Azure Dragon."

"I... beg your pardon?"

- "The Divine Beast Azure Dragon summoned you to this place. To add one explanation — the Azure Dragon sent you here in order to protect you. It was the best method she could choose. And it was her last."

Best...? Last...?

What in the world is that supposed to mean...?

- "The hour has come. I shall return you now. Ah — your contractor, I have restored with my own power. I purified the fragment Florence left behind, so there will be no trouble there."

- "As for my answer — that, too, you will come to know when the time is right. Having met me, the Azure Dragon will seek you out as well. Then, every question you carry will find its answer. Until then — I leave my child in your hands, Child of the Azure Dragon."

With those words, my vision went dark — different from before.

Light slowly seeped back into the blackness, and the first thing my eyes found was Citrine shaking me awake in a panic.

"Successor! Successor!"

By the time I finally managed to sit up, she was staring at me with a startled face.

"You collapsed all of a sudden — you scared me! You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

I answered her with a smile.

"I'm fine. Nothing hurts."

"Thank goodn— ugh!!"

Suddenly clutching her head, Citrine crumpled where she stood.

Most likely Trait Pain — the same thing I'd gone through when a trait was added to me.

I lifted her lightly and laid her down on the bed beside Ellie.

Even lying down, she was in evident agony.

Trait pain doesn't kill. It only hurts — terribly.

Imagine a pain that squeezes and wrings your skull, layered over a deep throbbing ache — that is roughly what trait pain feels like.

And that was exactly what Citrine was enduring right now.

"Hah..! Hah...!"

Gritting out pained breaths, she clenched fistfuls of the blanket. I wanted to at least loosen her clothes to make her comfortable, but that wasn't something I could do — so there I was, stamping my feet in frustration, when—

"Hyun-ah. You're not cheating on me, are you?"

".....Ellie? When did you wake up?"

"Not long ago. Someone collapsed onto the bed next to me and I wondered what was going on. I didn't expect to wake up to this scene."

I mean, I suppose it could sound a bit suspicious if you didn't know better, but—

"Ellie, what on earth are you saying? She's sixteen..."

To a kid whose head was already about to split open from trait pain, no less.

"Uuurgh..!!"

Dizzy from the headache, she gagged and retched.

I moved to raise her — but Ellie was faster than I was.

"Call a healer and a physician, quickly. It looks like the same condition you had when you were young. No cold sweats, but her head aches and she has no fever. As though only her head is in pain."

As expected of Ellie.

I nodded, left the room, and went hunting for the physician who ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had given me the muscle relaxants and the healer who had mended me on the battlefield.

When I reached each of them and said Citrine was ill, they both urged me to lead the way at once. It was a moment when I realized all over again just how well Topaz had treated the people of this estate.

The healer and the physician I brought back were both women.

Naturally, when they informed me that they needed to examine her, I was summarily thrown out of the room.

...And I'm her teacher, too, you know.

Am I really allowed to be treated like this...

Thus, an hour after I'd fetched them, every examination was complete — and the answer they gave was exactly what Ellie had predicted.

"It's Trait Pain."

"It would seem she is about to gain a new trait."

After the examination, both of them arrived at the same diagnosis: trait pain. The White Tiger had most likely bestowed the trait on her the very moment I left.

The healer and the physician asked that we give the patient a quiet environment in which to rest, and left the room.

Citrine was still asleep, so it was safe to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tell Ellie everything.

First, I pulled Ellie — now safely back on her feet — into a hug. When I simply held her without a word, she stroked my back and murmured,

"Were you worried?"

"What kind of question is that?"

At my answer, she gave an apologetic little smile.

Now it was time to tell her the truth about Citrine.

"So — who is that girl?"

At her question, I began, slowly, to recount everything that had happened.