Homecoming
Finally, it felt like I could live again.
I had left paper and charcoal behind and could speak at last. I never knew that putting my thoughts into words could make me so happy.
Orcs, in the end, were no different from humans—only their appearance set them apart. The passion to explore magic burned the same in Suxus as it did in me. Knowing Suxus, he probably would have liked anyone who used magic, human or insect, it wouldn't have mattered.
Coming to Orun had been the right choice. I learned so much about this world. The conditions for casting magic were little different from before, and other races each used their own languages. I still hadn't fully figured out why magic activated every time I spoke, but I'd gained enough control that it no longer mattered.
To cast magic you need precise pronunciation and an understanding of the spell's structure—so how was it even activating? Spells that formed icicles or generated water used different words, but the magical structures I knew were similar. The black sphere, though, was built on a structure even I couldn't comprehend. I couldn't interpret it at all.
So how had it been cast? What exactly had the Fragment of Knowledge given me? Only when I could handle this power properly would I truly deserve to call myself a Sage. There was still a considerable gap between the image of a Sage I held and what I looked like now.
Had Tiable always been such a talkative child?
All the words she had been unable to say came pouring out at once, a constant stream of chatter.
"What's that?"
"What's this?"
"Shu, Su, Svine, Pa, Haxen…"
The barrage of questions was a little exhausting, but her cute mispronunciations made it easy to forgive.
"Is my pronunciation weird?"
It was as if she had read my mind. Had she caught me holding back a laugh?
"…"
I couldn't say a word. Better not to lie if I was going to get caught.
"It's weird, then…"
She drooped, hanging her head and shrinking her already small body further.
"You'll get better with practice."
"Okay!"
Looking at Tiable's bright smile as she lifted her head, I couldn't help but smile myself. Her mouth moved faster than before, never stopping for a moment.
Then, midway through, a fairly large spell activated. It was only a small chunk of ice, but launching an ice block in the middle of the street drew stares from the surrounding orcs. After that, Tiable suddenly went quiet.
"…"
"Aren't you going to practice your pronunciation?"
"Scary…"
What a cute little thing.
Before leaving Orun, I was looking for a carriage when Tiable tugged on my pants as if she had something to say. I knelt down to her height, and she came close to whisper in my ear.
"I, teleport."
After saying that, her words cut off and she said nothing more. When I looked where she had been standing, Tiable was gone.
I was thoroughly stunned. I don't think I have ever been this shocked in my life. I just stared blankly at the spot where Tiable had been.
What in the world…?
Then, a moment later, I spotted Tiable a short distance away. A little bundle of cloak popping into existence among the orcs made her easy to find. Tiable was flailing both arms in panic, looking every which way—probably searching for me.
I placed a hand on the head of the flustered girl. Slowly, Tiable lifted her face. When our eyes met, she gave a sheepish little grin.
"Here, hold on."
Then she held out both hands. The moment I took them, Tiable said something. The scenery around us had been a noisy street, but in an instant we were inside a quiet room. It was a room I had never seen before, so I looked around, and Tiable spoke.
"Here, Hugo's house."
We had returned to Sepia…? Did mages normally live this conveniently?
Redrago seemed a little disoriented by the unfamiliar surroundings, but once I told him it was Hugo's house, he quickly returned to his usual self.
I had cast teleport without meaning to and was pretty shaken. I hadn't expected a teleport spell to activate mid-conversation. I would have to be more careful from now on.
I wasn't sure if it counted as lucky, but no one was home. Hugo would have gone to the guard station for work, and Hwia… where had she gone off to?
We left the house and headed for the guard station to find Hugo.
"Hugo."
"Re—Redrago, sir! Wait, Tiable—!"
Hugo barely got Redrago's name out before recognizing me beside him and charging straight at me. If Redrago hadn't grabbed me and pulled me behind his back, Hugo would have bowled me over for sure.
Looking at Hugo's back as he dove into empty air, I said,
"Hugo, hi!"
The moment he heard my voice, Hugo shot up at incredible speed and spun around.
"Just now—Ti, Tiable? You can talk properly now?"
He pointed at me, stammering in disbelief.
"Yeah!"
Hugo slowly got to his feet, straightened his clothes a little, and stood before Redrago.
"Redrago, sir—so the journey was to open Tiable's mouth."
"If you had told me that in advance, I never would have disobeyed my superior's orders."
I had never seen him speak so formally before.
"I, Orun—"
I hurriedly stopped myself. That was close. Where we had gone was supposed to be a secret. But I had already said Orun.
I glanced at Redrago. The sweat beading on his face as he avoided my eyes made the lie obvious to anyone.
"Uh, well, something like that."
He really was terrible at lying…
"Orun…? Oh, what's that bracelet on your right arm?"
It was probably fine to tell him, right? I looked at Redrago, and he nodded as if to say it was okay.
"Mana bracelet!"
"Mana bracelet?"
When Hugo looked at Redrago, clearly not understanding, Redrago explained in his place.
I still… needed more language practice.
"Hugo, what's this country's name?"
"Hmm? Ah, I suppose you might not know yet."
"Our country's name is 'Sepia.'"
Sepia…? I had seen that somewhere before. Right—at the skewer shop, the currency unit was sepi. I couldn't figure out why the word Sepia felt so familiar.
Sepia… huh.
As I mulled over the country's name, Hugo spoke up.
"Tiable, do you remember where you came from?"
"Don't remember."
Of course I remembered everything from my past life, but I couldn't say where I had come from. It still didn't feel like the right time to tell them.
"Oppa! I'm ba— Tiable!?"
Hwia took one look at me and ran straight over, squishing my cheeks.
"It's been so long! I've missed you so much…"
"Hia, hii."
She kept kneading my cheeks, so my pronunciation came out all wrong. A small breeze fluttered Hwia's hair, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Hia, nice to meet—glad."
"You can talk properly now…?!"
"She started speaking after traveling with Redrago, sir."
For some reason Hugo said it with a proud puff of his chest.
"Is that so, mhm! Tiable's back after so long—want to go play outside?"
"She just got back today, so she's probably tired. Let's all go tomorrow."
"Yeah? Then tomorrow it is!"
Without even asking my opinion, it was decided we would go tomorrow. Well, I was going to go anyway.
"Mmm… Tiable…"
Hwia even called my name in her sleep. Why did she like me this much?
"Horpe~? Tomorrow, attack Sepia. Got it?"
A woman with reddish-purple hair stroked Horpe's cheek and whispered in a snakelike voice. With empty eyes, Horpe stared straight ahead and answered.
"Yes…"
"Once you've destroyed Sepia, you'll be free~"
"I said I wouldn't need you anymore after Sepia falls. Kihi."
As she said this, a chilling laugh echoed through the room.
"… … … Yes…"
After a long silence, Horpe opened his mouth. Satisfied with the answer, the purple-haired woman vanished in an instant.
After she was gone, the only sound in the quiet room was the drip of Horpe's tears.
Horpe was the king of Horn.
A few years earlier, a woman with reddish-purple hair had appeared before him.
"W-who are you?! What do you want!"
"Why would you need to know my name?"
"What do you mea—"
The woman who had appeared before him seized Horpe's head in an instant and poured mana into him. Purple vein-like patterns began to spread across Horpe's skin where the mana entered.
"Ugh…! Gh…"
He couldn't get a single word out, only trembled violently.
"Kihihi."
When Tilia withdrew her hand, what remained was Horpe staring blankly ahead with empty eyes. Like a doll, simply still.
"They only told me to brainwash him for now. This should be enough, right?"
"I'm already so excited!"
"Once I leave, act like nothing happened. Horpe~"
"…Yes."
And then the woman vanished without a trace.
After that, she came back several times to give him orders.
"They say a sudden attack on Sepia would raise suspicions for sure."
"Let's start by slowly smashing the little villages first~"
"Destroy that village today. Horpe."
"This time—"
Under such absurd commands, the brainwashed Horpe had no choice but to obey.
"Your Majesty Horpe, suddenly turning so aggressive like this—"
"Please stop these baseless attacks—"
Loyal subjects who sensed something wrong pleaded with him, but nothing changed. Anyone who spoke up vanished. Gradually, fewer and fewer people dared to express genuine concern.
And then, at last, the order to attack Sepia pierced Horpe's ear.
"The last…"
Horpe murmured softly.