Chapter 398
Chapter 398
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 398
Chapter Title: The Shifting Situation (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After the party celebrating her promotion to a Certified Grade 5 Mage, Shina arrived at her dorm, pleasantly tipsy.
She had received numerous bouquets, but the one she brought inside was the one from Shirone.
As she took off her shoes and looked down, she saw dozens of congratulatory letters from various institutions.
Gathering the pile of letters, Shina sat at her desk, brushed her hair back, and looked through them one by one.
The Tormia National Defense Magic Research Institute, the Royal Magic Museum, the Climate Association, the Mage Pension Service—the list was endless.
“Whew, I guess I’ve really made it.”
Shina stood up, shrugging off her outer coat. The hangover wasn’t an issue, but she was sweaty and wanted to wash up first.
Tossing her top onto the desk, she found a seal from an unusual institution among the pile of letters.
“Kaizen Sword Academy?”
Having been born into the Olipher family and lived her entire life as a mage, she had no particular connection to the world of swordsmanship.
“Was it someone I met at the Teachers' Association?”
Shina tore open the letter and looked at the name.
Parka Kuan.
“Ah… Mr. Kuan.”
Kuan was the man she'd met last year when she went on a blind date, pressured by the Olipher family.
She remembered it as a not-unpleasant meeting. He was a man whose speech was cold and attitude frosty, but he never crossed the line into rudeness.
“How did he know to send a letter?”
He might have heard through the Teachers' Association. But since swordsmanship and magic were completely different fields, it was something he would have missed if he hadn't been paying close attention.
“I should send a reply to this one.”
Clad only in her underwear, Shina sat back down in her chair. She opened a drawer, took out a sheet of stationery, dipped her fountain pen in ink, and brought it to the paper.
Tap.
The dot on the blank paper remained motionless for a long time.
‘Armin…’
If there was one person whose congratulations she wanted, it was Armin.
The one who had given up his own two eyes for her when they were children. Without him, she wouldn't have even dreamed of reaching this position.
Shina put the letter, marked only with a single dot, into the drawer. She felt sorry for Kuan, but with the lingering image of Armin, whom she had already let go, there was no empty space left in her heart.
‘Is he doing well? It seems he hasn't released any new work either.’
Not a single letter had come from him since he left while working in Creas.
Since he was someone who used to write at least once every three months, she was worried something might have happened to him.
‘Then again, he's much smarter than I am.’
Who was she to worry about him?
Even though she was now a Certified Grade 5 Mage, in front of Armin, Shina was still the crybaby little sister from their childhood.
Shina looked up at the ceiling and gave a sad smile.
“Hehe. Armin, I did well, didn't I?”
* * *
It was the most terrifying dream of his life.
From a city-sized hole torn in the sky, countless Mara invaded.
Beings known to humans as demons, fiends, and gods were annihilating all life on the surface.
And so, he lost everyone.
Among the corpses that carpeted the field, everyone Shirone loved lay dead.
‘No! No!’
Shirone wailed before Amy's body.
Her unblinking eyes stared resentfully at the dozens of Mara floating in the sky.
‘Aaaaargh!’
Ataraxia gathered at a terrifying speed. As every hair on Shirone's head stood on end, a colossal flash of light tore through the heavens.
The Mara were engulfed in the light and vanished.
The moment the entire world was filled with light, darkness surged in from the edges, rapidly consuming it.
Shirone was left alone in the darkness. For the last human left in the world, even the word 'solitude' felt inadequate.
Shirone fell to his knees, sobbing. He screamed into the darkness, begging for the return of those he had lost.
“Shi-ro-ne.”
A murky voice tore through his eardrums.
A small, thin flash of light passed, and the darkness split open vertically, revealing a giant eye.
Shirone's eyes flew open. Reflected in the center of the massive eye was his own face, twisted like a demon's.
“…! …!”
Shirone screamed, coughing up blood. Never in his life had he hated something so intensely.
But his voice was inaudible, as if submerged in water.
The giant eye, merely embedded impassively in the darkness, continued to speak in its murky voice.
“You have the right and the duty to answer the questions that remain.”
“…! …!”
Tears of blood streamed from his eyes. All manner of curses and insults were hurled at the eye.
Having lost all self-control even in his dream, he pounded the darkness with both fists. Resentment, indignation, and longing were contained in his trembling shoulders.
The giant eye looked at Shirone for the first time. There was no movement of the pupil, but he was certain it had.
As if he had suddenly grown ears, Shirone could finally hear his own voice in the dream.
“What? What questions do I have to answer?”
“…”
The eye asked.
“Gasp!”
Startled awake, Shirone shot upright. The partition on his desk, covered with sticky notes, came into view.
‘My room. I'm in my room…’
Shirone slumped back onto the desk. His forehead was drenched in a cold sweat, and his body felt drained, as if from exhaustion.
“Whew, what was that? Why did I have such a strange dream…”
Feeling the texture of the paper stuck to his cheek, he sat up. Among the densely written notebooks, a single phrase caught his eye.
Heaven's Destruction.
He had fallen asleep while researching magic all night. He was literally developing a spell of mass destruction. The stress of still having no solution, he thought, must have caused the nightmare.
It was already 5 a.m.
Shirone neatly organized his notebooks. He had already filled over ten of them with ideas related to the Heaven's Destruction magic. His understanding of the God Particle had deepened, but the probability of meeting the criteria Gaold proposed was still zero percent.
‘No, there has to be a way. Probably…’
If completed, it would be the most destructive magic in the world. Yet, the reason he couldn't give up was that a faint resonance, like an answer, still echoed in his mind.
After washing up with warm water, Shirone packed a notebook and pen into his crossbody bag and left his dorm.
Senior year had started in winter, and now summer was approaching. The nights had grown shorter, so dawn had already broken, and the air was as refreshing as sparkling water. The cheerful chirping of birds echoed from the forest.
‘Can I really go to heaven?’
When he first met Gaold, a year seemed like it would pass in a flash. But living through the busy schedule of his senior year, all the promises related to him felt like they were hazily unraveling, like a dream.
“Huh? Shirone?”
Shirone turned his head and saw Maya sitting on a garden bench, blinking. In her hands, she held a mug of steaming coffee.
“Maya, what are you doing at this hour?”
“Hmm? I always wake up at this time. I have to play the morning music. What about you?”
Though Shirone woke to the sound of music every morning, he had never considered the minor hardships that came with it.
“Ah, right. I just woke up early. I had some time, so I'm taking a walk.”
“I see.”
Though they had grown closer since taking the high ground, moments alone like this were rare, creating a slightly awkward atmosphere.
Lowering her head and rubbing the mug with her thumb, Maya mustered her courage and gestured to the spot next to her on the bench.
“Want to sit?”
Shirone didn't refuse. He had come out to clear his head, but spending time with Maya wasn't a bad choice either.
While mages drew sharp lines around their personal territories, Maya would stride right over them to soothe another's pain.
Since mages disliked burdening others with their own problems, Shirone had been taken aback at first.
But now, he had to honestly admit it.
Her kindness was an oasis, moistening Shirone's heart, which was gradually growing barren from the intense senior year schedule.
“Want some? It's still warm.”
Maya offered him the coffee, mixed with sugar and milk. Stressed as he was, Shirone had no reason to refuse something sweet. Of course, it was because it was Maya that he could accept it so freely.
“Yeah, thanks.”
As Shirone put the mug to his lips and drank, Maya's face flushed, and she smiled shyly.
“Is something wrong? You look down.”
Shirone groaned and leaned back against the bench.
“I've been working on an idea lately, but I can't seem to find a breakthrough. I've been losing sleep over it for days. On top of that, I had a terrible nightmare today. So I'm not in a great mood.”
Even to Maya's eyes, Shirone looked much thinner. She had assumed he wouldn't have any worries, given his string of successes as a senior, but it seemed that wasn't the case for someone at his level.
“Don't overthink it. It's like that for me sometimes when I sing. If I try too hard to sing well, I get strangely tense, and it doesn't work out.”
Shirone, too, had experienced the insight that the mind cannot flow unless the heart is empty.
But that alone couldn't form a great river.
Only when one pushes to the absolute limit and then breaks the dam can the mind finally become a great torrent, reaching a stroke of genius.
“Hmm, I don't know. Whether it's easy or hard, it has to make sense. At this rate, I might go crazy.”
Shirone tilted his head all the way back. Diligent birds were flying across the sky, searching for their morning meal.
Maya's expression turned sympathetic. How deep must his worries be for the dark circles under his eyes to be so pronounced?
“Shirone…”
Maya's hand covered Shirone's. Even so, Shirone's gaze remained fixed on the sky.
There was no way to know if he was oblivious, lost in thought, or knowingly allowing it, but the mere fact that she was holding his hand made her feel like her heart would explode.
“Shirone, could you tell me what's wrong? Even the most brilliant people can miss the little things. You might find a solution if you ask someone else for help.”
Shirone slowly blinked.
‘Hmm, ask for help? That's not a bad idea. But this is a state secret, so who could I possibly… huh?’
Shirone's eyelids froze open. He was so still that, from a distance, one might have thought he was dead.
Maya didn't notice the change in Shirone.
She wanted to comfort Shirone. Not just anyone, but her. As his woman.
She felt herself leaning toward Shirone. The thought of whether this was really okay crossed her mind, but if he disliked it, he would have shown his refusal when she took his hand.
Maybe Shirone was also waiting for what would come next?
Drawing objective courage from her subjective thoughts, Maya slightly parted her plump lips and moved toward Shirone's.
“Shirone, maybe I…”
“The God Particle.”
“Huh?”
Incomprehensible words spilled from Shirone's lips.
Get help. There's a limit to what I can do alone.
The faint light flickering in his mind amplified at an incredible speed, sending shivers down his spine. Finally, with a refreshing feeling like his brain had been cleared, his mind went blank.
“Maya!”
“I-I'm sorry! I just…!”
Maya quickly recoiled. Only after coming to her senses did she realize what she had been trying to do. It was a perfect situation to be mistaken for a pervert—or maybe she really was one.
Shirone set the mug down with a clink and stared intently at Maya.
“Um, Shirone, you see, the reason I did that was…”
And without waiting to hear her out, he pulled her into a hug.
Maya's eyes widened. Her mind went fuzzy as a wave of ecstasy, like she had gained the whole world, washed over her.
“Thank you, thank you so much! I've finally figured it out!”
Shaking Maya vigorously by the shoulders, Shirone, looking half-dazed, slung his crossbody bag on and bolted.
“Sorry! Something came up! See you later!”
As Shirone, running at full speed, stumbled and nearly fell, Maya shot to her feet. But before she could cry out, he regained his balance and disappeared to the other side of the park.
Maya could hear her own heart pounding. Today wasn't just a lucky day; it was a windfall.
Maya shouted with a happy smile.
“Shirone! Do your best! You can do it!”
In response, Shirone raised a clenched fist.