Chapter 315
Chapter 315
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 315
Chapter Title: The Wheel of Causality (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Shirone, still reeling from the mental shock, lay in bed, fast asleep. Vincent and Olina were seated on the opposite bed, while Amy sat on the floor, gazing out the window.
Reina, who had been lost in thought, spoke with a look of relief.
“Phew, those were four long days.”
Amy, who had been enjoying the pleasant breeze, turned around.
“I know. By the way, I was so surprised. To think that Orkamp wasn't his biological father.”
Vincent recalled the moment and shook his head.
“I was just as surprised. When my wife entered the Grand Hall, I thought for sure we'd be spending the rest of our lives here.”
Reina looked back at Olina.
“So, what are you going to do? Are you going to tell Shirone the truth?”
“I've thought about it, and I think it's better not to. Though he'll find out eventually.”
Amy asked.
“Why not? Queen Eliza went to the trouble of sending an official document stating he's not her biological child. You have to make it clear to Shirone that a woman like that is definitely not his real mother.”
“I saw the look in Shirone's eyes when he entered the Grand Hall. Maybe he already knew. The fact that they weren't his biological parents.”
Reina agreed with her.
“True, he's smart and perceptive. Shirone said he has no parents other than the two of you. Perhaps he said that assuming other biological parents might show up someday?”
Thinking about it that way, it all made sense. At first, they thought he'd said it out of a sense of betrayal, but Shirone wasn't the type to throw such a tantrum.
“He's a good boy. He raised his voice in front of the queen, but he's truly more than we deserve. I'm too ashamed to face my son after getting him caught up in this.”
Reina offered words of comfort.
“Don't think that way. It couldn't be helped. The time and place where they abandoned their son matched, and it was the only case of an abandoned child at that time.”
“Wait a minute!”
Amy held up her hand, as if she'd realized something.
The handmaiden who abandoned the son had clearly stated she left him in a stable in the Valley of Dawn. That was why Shirone was invited to the royal castle as a likely candidate. But the results defied expectations; they were not father and son.
“Then... who in the world is Shirone?”
Realizing the meaning behind the question, everyone fell silent.
If he wasn't Orkamp's child, then who was Shirone abandoned by?
Vincent vividly recalled the events of that day. He had heard a baby crying in his sleep and headed to the stable. But he couldn't find any trace of anyone having been there.
What happened that night? Why couldn't Orkamp's child be found? What had Shirone realized that made him say such a thing to Orkamp?
Holding countless answers deep within, Shirone was merely lost in a deep sleep.
* * *
Armin arrived in Toshuka Village. He had heard the news of Shirone's safety on his way back.
But now, his own problem remained. If rumors spread that he was involved with a Black Line mage, his superiors would not stand idly by.
*It should be fine. I made sure to explain things clearly.*
He had explained to Amy why he wore the mask, so she would keep her promise.
Even if she didn't, it couldn't be helped. That was the basis of trust.
Having set his mind at ease, Armin looked up at the house surrounded by a time-reversal field. It was deathly still.
He sighed and cast a Flicker spell, and the scene inside the room greeted him.
The moment he arrived at the spot where he had cast the Stop spell, the flow of time returned, and the vase shattered with a crash.
Keira glared at Armin. Her gaze had been drawn to the falling vase, making it impossible to confirm how much Armin's position had changed.
“How many days... have passed?”
“Let's see. About four days...”
Keira bit her lip, suppressing her anger.
“So you went after all? Even after I tried so hard to stop you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Don't even think about lying! Otherwise, there would be no reason to cast a time-reversal field!”
Armin lied nonchalantly.
“I was angry for a moment and just needed some time to think.”
Keira scoffed. Who would believe that?
But what made her furious was that there was no way to confirm it. Lying so brazenly meant he had left no trace behind. Thus, he still held the upper hand.
“Hmph, fine. I'll smooth things over with our superiors. For now, report to me.”
“I'll say it again, I didn't go anywhere.”
Keira gritted her teeth.
Armin had been famous for his stubbornness since he joined the organization; once he clammed up, there was no way to make him talk.
Just then, a small bird made of red light passed through the wall. It was a Telebird sent from their superiors.
Not to mention the level of photon shaping, but delivering information over a distance of 78,000 kilometers was impossible for anyone but a mage who had reached the pinnacle of information magic.
A red-glowing Telebird signified a Grade 1 crisis situation.
The bird glowed red, carving letters into the empty air. Keira's face turned pale as she deciphered the code in real-time.
“No way. It can't be this fast...”
Armin watched the red bird vanish like a flame and walked to the window. Before going to Kazra, he would have thought the same as Keira, but not anymore.
“I've changed my mind. Let's go back, Keira. I have something to report to our superiors.”
He wasn't the type to back down from his stubbornness on a whim. Keira guessed that the incident in Kazra and the news delivered by the Telebird were not unrelated.
“You know something, don't you?”
Armin remained silent to the end.
He hoped Shirone could enjoy his school days, even if just for a little while longer. Because on the day everyone found out, the world would never leave him alone.
*We may meet again sooner than I expected, Shirone.*
One-Third (1)
The Kingdom of Kazra severed all diplomatic channels.
There was no official statement. They only communicated via hotline that sovereignty had been transferred to the Kashan Empire.
Their allies were greatly displeased, but with Theraze backing them, they couldn't openly exert pressure.
It was the power of the Three Imperial Houses, and so the Kingdom of Kazra faded from the world's attention.
Shirone rested for a few days before returning to the academy. The advanced class curriculum was over, but with the graduation exam—the magic academy's biggest event—looming tomorrow, the atmosphere on campus was electric.
His return to the magic academy meant he wasn't royalty, so his classmates' attitude toward him was still chilly. However, since nothing was certain, they couldn't hurl insults at him like before.
Before leaving the academy, Shirone had been secretly hurt, but compared to the humiliation he suffered in Kazra, this was mere child's play. Besides, he had too many worries on his mind lately to care about what others thought.
A monster was sleeping inside his heart.
The proof was the sense of emptiness in his mind, the feeling that some vast memory had once existed there.
At first, it was just a feeling. But as he rested, an outline began to emerge, as if a fossil were being excavated.
While some memories were completely lost, scenes that had left a strong impression were gradually becoming clearer.
When the Demon God had forcibly expanded his mind, the pain had been unbearable.
No, was that really the case?
In truth, at the end of the pain, he had tasted an explosive sense of liberation. The feeling of accelerating through his rampage was as ecstatic as being on a drug, and a thrilling pleasure surged through him each time he cast a spell.
*No. That wasn't me.*
It wasn't him. It was a new being, a fusion of the incarnation called Shirone and the Demon God. But following that train of thought only led to the conclusion that it, too, was himself.
The Demon God was still sleeping deep within Shirone. And the key to releasing the seal was still in his hands.
*I must not open it. If I can't control myself, then nothing can be mine.*
The Demon God had taken control because he was weak. To reverse their master-servant relationship, he needed a power so strong it wouldn't waver under any circumstances.
Shirone went to the training grounds. With the regular curriculum finished, there were no students in sight.
After performing numerical sequence exercises for about an hour, he calmly opened his eyes and focused photons. As he made a magical action of holding a ball with both hands, a photon was born between his palms.
The Demon God had expanded his mind to the very brink of his Adamant Body's resilience collapsing. It was impossible to think it had been a calculated attempt. If not for the Adamant Body, he would have already become a wreck, holed up in a corner of his room.
Shirone was surprised by the compressive force of the photons, which was different from before.
While preparing for the Paranormal Research Society's presentation, he had strengthened his Spirit Zone by rebounding his mind daily. But this was an extreme rebound, incomparable to that.
As he focused the God Particle, the light source of the Photon Cannon gradually shrank, transforming into a white sphere with a distinct outline. It was like watching platinum burn in the sunlight.
Compressing it further from here would cause the density to soar exponentially, creating a spell called Dark Sphere, but it would inevitably lead to a loss of control.
Shirone pressed the photon from above and below. When he threw the disc-shaped photon, a flash of light curved swiftly, cutting through space before returning.
He caught it, split it in two, and shaped them into shurikens. The moment he extended his hands, the shurikens pierced through space, then spun in reverse and came back.
When their forms didn't collapse even after being shaped twice, Shirone split them into even smaller pieces.
He shaped eight throwing blades—each with a streamlined, bird-like body and crescent-moon wings—and held them between his fingers.
As he swung his arms in an X-shape, the eight blades reacted sensitively to the air pressure, scratching at the air in every direction with a sound like a swarm of locusts. If any winged creature had entered the radius, it would have been turned to juice in an instant.
As the blades lost lift and slowed, Shirone swept four into each hand. Their density had weakened considerably. The moment he clumped the blades together like clay, the photons exploded, scattering blade-like flashes of light. Shimmering fragments of light, like flower petals, floated before his eyes.
“Hmm...”
By controlling the luminescence of the photons, he could now perform detailed shaping without using a Fractal Battery. Since function comes from form, the utility of his photon-based magic was incomparable to before.
But Shirone didn't look satisfied.
As he was lost in thought, chin in hand, he sensed someone behind him. He turned his head to see Iruki and Nade standing there, their jaws dropped.
“Oh? When did you guys get here?”
Nade was too stunned to answer.
He had heard that Shirone went straight to the training grounds after returning and thought it was typical of him, but it was the complete opposite. He was using magic on a completely different level than the Shirone of a few days ago.
“What was that just now? A new spell you developed? What's it called?”
“It doesn't have a name. I was just trying a few things. I've managed to get a handle on the photons' luminescence. But using them like weapons seems inefficient. I'm going to think about it a bit more.”
Due to their nature, photons are extremely weak to shaping, so spells that incorporate shaping consume a great deal of mental energy. Unless it was significantly more effective than Photon Cannon, there was no reason to turn it into an offensive spell.
Iruki came to a conclusion.
“So you're saying the magic that left us dumbfounded was nothing more than a simple experiment. The kind of trash-among-trash magic you'll never look at again.”
“...No, it's not that bad.”
Iruki let out a chuckle and asked.
“What in the world happened? I heard sovereignty was transferred to Kashan, but...”