3rd Year Mission Activity (8)

Of course, after we fell into the gorge, the expedition team had been in an uproar. From what I could see, they'd dragged in every other exploration party to rescue us. But that didn't last long. Once they spotted the ancient kingdom, their attention was completely hijacked.

"Ooh, this is..."

"An ancient kingdom actually existed... and it's so well-preserved!"

The scholars let out cheers of delight as they scurried around inspecting every corner of the ancient kingdom. Their interests had fully shifted over there. Most of the expedition team followed suit, heading off to investigate the kingdom. And why not? That had been the whole point of assembling the team in the first place—to search for traces of the ancient kingdom.

Thanks to that, I didn't have to deal with any hassle. With the barbarians guiding us, I returned to camp with the group.

"Kyle, are you okay? Does anything hurt? Your body's like a block of ice... Want some coffee? Or tea? Ah! Here, hugging me like this should warm you up."

Rana, still shaken from my fall into the gorge, stuck right by my side and showed no signs of letting go. Not even for a second since we'd reunited.

I soothed her as I spoke. "Don't fuss too much. Check on the princess too."

"Got it!"

Only then did Rana peel away from me for a moment and head toward Ariel.

"How are you, Princess? Not hurt anywhere? Ah, you're cold? Here, wrap up in this blanket and hug Sally—it'll help."

"Thank you, Rana."

"Hehe, no problem."

The two chatted amiably. It was a heartwarming sight, if you liked that sort of thing.

Crunch. Then came the sound of someone biting into fruit nearby. My master was munching on the apple Rana had peeled for me.

"Why are you eating someone else's food?"

"What kind of talk is that to your sky-high master?"

"Please stop doing things that don't suit you..."

Serious when it counted, but otherwise endlessly frivolous and playful. If only she'd act her age.

"I just caught a super rude thought from you, cutie?"

"Must be your imagination."

She always had a knack for that. I dropped the banter and just ate the rest of the apple. Then my master slyly sidled up to Rana and hugged her from behind.

"Ah! Master Kyle's master! What are you doing?"

"Just~."

They'd exchanged names on the way back, and I'd given Rana a rough rundown of who she was. Wanting some quiet rest—and figuring the three of them could chat—I lay back on the simple camp bed and stayed out of it.

Laughter and chatter filled the air for a bit. Then, at some point, a conversation I couldn't ignore drifted into my ears.

"Do you like our disciple, Rana?"

"Yes! I do!"

"Haha, so honest and cute."

She said it loud enough for me to hear, like she wanted me to. Right after, my master turned her head my way.

Tch, having to hear this crap all the way out here. I rolled over, not wanting to listen.

Then my master messaged me via magic.

I closed my eyes and blocked the magic. Finally, some peace...

"Cutie! That's cheating!"

Peace, my ass. Block the magic, and she just comes over to nag in person.

That evening, after a simple meal of rations, the expedition team returned. I stepped out beyond the camp.

"Damn, it's freezing."

Inside the ancient kingdom, magic had kept me warm, but out here it was still pure northern continent weather. And at night, it got even worse.

As I took in the gorge's scenery, someone approached.

"Our cutie. What brings you out here this late?"

Noah Celestia. My master.

"What else? Came to see you off."

"So considerate in these moments. Brought coffee—want some?"

"If you're offering."

I took the cup she handed me. It had magic to keep it from cooling. I sipped slowly.

"How much time left?"

"About twenty minutes. Barely enough for a short chat."

"Plenty of time."

We'd already covered everything worth saying yesterday and earlier today. This was just for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the send-off and some idle talk. Besides, my master and I didn't need long-winded chats. We knew each other too well.

"Here, take this first."

She handed back the orb she'd taken from me earlier.

"Stabilized it and tuned it to your mana signature. Pour in mana, and the spell inside will activate externally."

"Modifications?"

"All set up. You know how, right?"

"Yeah."

I pocketed the orb. Right then, her legs began to fade bit by bit.

Looking up at the sky, she spoke in a wistful tone. "Ahh, having to part from my cutie again. So sad?"

"What're you moping about? It's not like we'll never see each other."

On the day this world fully formed. The day it was recognized as a true world. We'd meet again.

"Is our time the same? Do you know how long it's been since I last saw my cutie? A whole hundred years. Who knows how long till next time."

"Not that bad. Compared to your record. Three hundred years or so?"

"Exactly two hundred ninety-nine years and four months. Argh! Should I just plop down here forever?"

"Cut the nonsense. Any reason to wreck this place?"

Leave a dimension-representing archmage revered by all mages here, and every power under the sun would come sniffing around. And the chaos that'd follow was obvious.

After that, we silently admired the starry night sky while sipping coffee. The twinkling starlight reminded me of some moment from the past.

Then my master murmured softly. "Our cutie... are you happy?"

"What's with the sappy question."

"Just asking. You suffered so much before coming back here."

I pondered her words briefly. But not for long. I finished my coffee and answered.

"Well, yeah, I'm happy."

Things didn't always go to plan, I had to babysit the protagonist, and stress piled up constantly. But...

"At least happier than before."

Compared to those days, my heart was far more at peace and content now. Sure, even I got bored or annoyed sometimes—I'm human. But this feeling was undeniably true.

"That's a relief."

She sipped her coffee too, then looked at me with a gentle smile.

"You know I love you, right, my cutie?"

"......"

"Don't get the wrong idea. I mean as my disciple."

"Who said otherwise."

Damn, I wasn't even thinking that, and she calls me out.

"Anyway, seems like you're loved by plenty besides me. All women, too. Heard you have more girls besides those two today? Never a day without one chasing you."

"Don't make it sound like my fault. I'm innocent."

"Who said anything?"

She beamed at me. Never lost an argument. A third of my speech patterns and personality came from her.

"More importantly, take good care of our lady. You treat Rana great, but neglect Ariel?"

"...Not my fault."

It was all the emotions built up in this Kyle Arden body.

"Who knows."

"What bullshit."

"It happens."

Yesterday too, and today—nothing but weird remarks. But it wasn't the first time, so I ignored it.

"Ah, time's up."

By then, her body had mostly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vanished. Just her head and part of her upper body left. Soon, she'd be expelled from this world.

"Really the end now. Oh, anyone you want me to pass a message to?"

"Mm... Just say hi to the old man. No one else."

"Heavenly Demon uncle?"

"Yeah, that geezer."

"Got it~."

She spoke as if it were truly final. I saw her off.

"Take care."

"Then, my cutie..."

She reached out, pulling my head close. Knowing what it meant, I didn't resist.

Mwah— Her lips touched my forehead. Something she'd done every time back when I was her disciple. I'd dodged it then, feeling babied. But not this time. Who knew when we'd meet again after today.

"See you later?"

"Yeah, later."

With that, her form vanished completely. The only trace left was the warmth on my forehead.

I wasn't particularly sad. Partings like this had happened countless times between us. Crying over it would be weird anyway.

"Guess I should sleep..."

I muttered and headed back to camp.

Meanwhile, at the same time in the Justia Holy Kingdom.

"I'm thinking of scaling it up this time—what do you say?"

Hyang asked. Ppalgan scowled in response.

"Do whatever. And don't call me for crap like this."

He vanished back to his domain after the curt reply. Juhwang spoke next, but not normally.

"Sounds fun. I wanna see that reserve saint guy's face too. Hey Parang, I'm brewing some killer booze this time—need pure water..."

"...I'm out."

"Parang! Where you going!"

Parang fled Juhwang's nagging, and Juhwang chased after, leaving his domain. Still not a shred of cartel vibes in sight.

Hyang, leading the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meeting, sighed.

"What do they even think the exchange meeting is..."

If it were at another academy, fine—but in the holy kingdom's domain, it was different. A chance to gather faith and divinity.

Then Norang burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! What'd I tell you? Just us three."

"You know that's not possible, Norang."

"But it's true. Those three always bail with some excuse."

Chorok chimed in, agreeing. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The three strong personalities were a real headache.

"I'm with Hyang. We skipped last year, so scaling up sounds good."

"Me too!"

Norang shot up a hand, backing Chorok.

"Meeting over? No more to say? I'm off to prep."

"Ah! Wait up! I got stuff too!"

Norang and Chorok left their domains, chatting. Hyang let out a deep, pained sigh at the scene.

"Haa... You say the other three are the problem, but you two are too..."

They stuck around till a point, then bailed. Leaving her to clean up alone. At least they helped with prep directly—unlike the others.

Anyway, meeting done. Time to inform the saintess. Hyang spoke to Estella via stigmata.

"Estella. Can you hear me?"

"Nothing much—we're holding the exchange meeting this time. So prepare..."

The moment "exchange meeting" left her lips, a huge reaction erupted from the other end.

"Yes. So..."

Her words cut off, but Hyang couldn't help smiling. How could she not be happy when the girl she saw as a daughter was this excited?

"That thrilled?"

Yes, as long as Estella was happy. Please let this joy last forever... Praying that no grim, ominous future loomed, the god of light bestowed a blessing upon Estella.