144. The Dream Witch (2)
144. The Dream Witch (2)
- 1 -
Late evening. Libertas's training room, where moonlight seeped through a magic window.
Gathered there were not only Libertas, but also her student Sonia, her escort and mercenary Shue, and her invited instructor and guest Mure.
"It seems you've hit your first wall, Lady."
Myur Relix spoke first.
Her voice was as gentle and cool as ever. Like her blue-silver hair reflecting the moonlight.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself."
Libertas glanced at her askance.
Though Mure's aristocratic way of speaking lent itself to that impression, it was also an inflection that revealed her true nature.
A personality that wasn't entirely pleasant.
"Did I appear so? My apologies."
"It's fine. I find this quite amusing myself."
Even for Mure, who possessed such a personality, she found herself unconsciously smiling whenever she saw this particular student.
- This is fun!
"You cheeky thing."
'What I find amusing is not the magic, but you, my lady.'
A woman who held the most noble status in the Demon Realm, smiling subtly as she stroked her mischievous crow.
Every time she looked at her, her curiosity simmered.
It was her first time teaching a dungeon lord as a student, and her talent was truly astonishing.
She couldn't yet know whether it was a power born of being a Dungeon Lord or her own personal talent, but she was certain of one thing.
That this talent belonged to Libertas's very soul.
'And...'
Even aside from such a mage's curiosity, Libertas was beautiful enough to captivate anyone who looked at her instantly.
So much so that one would be afraid to approach or touch her carelessly.
"May I offer a hint?"
"If you feel the need."
Upon hearing Libertas's answer, Mure nodded and raised one hand.
Her blue-silver mana began to draw a certain three-dimensional shape in the air.
"For magic anchored to coordinates in the spirit world and the celestial sphere, the two most crucial elements are 'mental fortitude' and 'emotion.'"
"Curses, specters, and spirits. They all have deep connections to fate (緣)."
"As expected, you are brilliant. Between these two, the realization of magic relies on emotion, and stability relies on mental fortitude."
The three-dimensional shape drawn by the mana undulated like a wave, but its peaks and valleys were sharp.
It was a shape Libertas recognized.
'It looks like a distorted surface graph. But this is....'
She also realized immediately.
That these points merely represented the coordinates of every spirit and specter existing in the celestial sphere.
"This must be because one must draw out souls by synchronizing with emotion to cast magic, and the caster's mind must not waver, lest they be swept away by the souls."
"You understand well. And..."
Mure spread a single ripple across the graph-like shape.
That ripple shook every surface, disrupted the balance, and began to form a particular shape.
"This is what the spirit world looks like when a spell is being cast."
"A sight I have seen before."
Soon, all the points converged into one, creating a lumpy sphere utterly indescribable from any single direction.
"My Lady. Your mental fortitude is tremendously outstanding. It likely won't collapse no matter what spell you cast."
"That's pleasant to hear. But it's not a compliment, is it?"
- It wasn't a bad thing to say!
Mure affirmed Libertas's words.
The solidity of one's mental fortitude was clearly a great advantage when casting magic rooted in the spirit world.
Since magic that draws upon the power of souls inevitably gives commensurate feedback to the caster's own soul.
That burden could drive a soul mad, or in severe cases, kill it.
"In that regard, My Lady, this soft yet firm mental fortitude of yours will never collapse, no matter what soul magic you cast. It is truly admirably flexible (柔軟)."
It wasn't merely solid.
A soul that could absorb all shocks flexibly and gently, and quickly recover from the wounds incurred in the process.
That was the source of the mental fortitude Libertas possessed.
"However..."
But the emotions were different.
"Your emotions are sufficiently strong, yet they aren't being expressed outwardly. To be precise, they aren't being expressed enough to resonate with the souls of the spirit world."
The lumpy sphere in Mure's hand gradually converged, becoming a perfect sphere.
But the sphere did not move from that state; it was merely tightly condensed.
It would never leap forth or explode.
Just like someone who did not reveal their emotions outwardly.
"Yes."
Libertas gave a simple affirmation.
Because it was a fact she had felt herself.
Her soul magic was second to none in its structural solidity, but that was all.
It was perfectly configured in the formation stage, but the phenomenon was never realized.
This was because the language souls spoke was 'emotion,' and since a sufficient expression of emotion was not made, the souls could not understand the phenomenon she desired.
"So to speak, My Lady, in the eyes of souls, you are like someone afflicted with aphasia."
"Aphasia..."
At Mure's expression, Libertas could not hide the bitter smile that naturally surfaced.
Considering what she had experienced in the past, she thought, it was indeed no wonder if she had truly developed aphasia.
That thought came to mind.
"You are so beautiful and wonderful that they wish to follow you, but because words cannot reach them, the souls must feel frustrated as well. Though they still follow because you, Lady, carve a path with your other magical talents."
"That may well be the case."
Among magic that takes coordinates in the spirit world, she could certainly do many things by fusing it with necromancy, elemental magic, or others to cause different phenomena.
The resonance with the spirit world aside, she could forcibly press and suppress it with her magical talent to create a complete phenomenon anyway.
But that way, it would be difficult to obtain the true soul magic she desired.
And she found magic fun; she enjoyed its phenomena.
"... May I look inside you and discern the cause?"
"..."
Thus, she was now troubled even by these words, which she would normally refuse firmly.
Whether it was alright to touch the things that might still be slumbering inside her.
She wanted to handle magic well.
She wanted to possess all the magical knowledge in this world.
She coveted it that much.
Above all, she already knew that this matter of the heart was something she would have to overcome someday.
"Of course, if you still do not trust me..."
"I am not foolish enough to use someone without giving them my trust. It's just..."
Shaking her head firmly, Libertas froze as if petrified, her gaze fixed to one side.
Then, with a sigh, she let out a single word.
"...I simply lack certainty."
- Master. Are you lonely?
"No, Mary. How could I be when I have you?"
Watching that sight of her, Myur Relix felt her heart well up once more.
This noble woman was wavering.
Though it was so slight it was hardly noticeable.
And there were people in this room who had read it faster and more certainly than Mure had.
Two, in fact.
"Teacher. It's okay if it's not right now."
"Or, shall I do it...?"
"Sonia... Shue."
'Oh...'
Taking a step back, Mure took in the scene of the two women who were suddenly beside Libertas, observing them all in one frame.
A werewolf with long white hair and ruby-red eyes.
A mage with short gray hair and eyes that emitted a blue light.
Both were keeping a respectful distance and guarding her.
'This is also intriguing.'
As if by habit, she placed a hand on her own cheek and surveyed the dynamic between the three.
It was apparent at a single glance.
That these two were paying Libertas more than ordinary attention.
That these two, whom one would normally call fated (緣), were simultaneously sheltering one person.
"Let us stop here for today. I need to think about it."
"Of course, My Lady. I will prepare and wait. Whether it is I who examines your heart, or someone else."
"Very well. Go and rest."
"May you have a comfortable night."
As Mure departed, giving a single bow of her waist, a smile still lingered at her lips.
She had lived many more years than the others here.
Though she felt goodwill and curiosity towards Libertas, it was merely that for a special student.
As the direction of her affection was different from the start, she had no reason to fight with the others.
At least for now.
- 2 -
"You were rude to the instructor, Shue."
In the spot Mure had left, I looked at Shue with a feigned stern gaze.
"But that person... she looked at you suspiciously, Master."
A subtle tremor stirred in Shue's usually placid eyes.
It wasn't her usual bestial nature, but a clear welling-up of emotion.
Though it was only a slight outburst mixed with some sincerity.
A sigh-laced reply escaped me.
"Feeling curiosity as a teacher towards a student is rather a desirable virtue, Shue."
"...I'm sorry."
"Yes."
When I pulled the honestly apologizing werewolf by the neck, she naturally rested her head on my lap.
Tears did not flow.
I didn't find it surprising.
I knew she had considered Mure a rival and had acted quite calmly for it.
Even her jealousy was something I intended to embrace and bear.
"Sonia."
"I apologize. Teacher."
Next, my gaze turned to Sonia.
Unlike Shue, she was looking at me with firm eyes.
Unlike Shue, who acted on emotion, her eyes seemed to believe she had a justifiable reason.
"Teacher. That is a dangerous method."
Though Sonia had learned curses from me, she practically had no aptitude for pure soul magic.
What she did have was an aptitude for spirit arts or necromancy.
It was a rare thing, but not an impossibility, so it wasn't something to worry over much, though it seemed to bother her personally.
She had recently begun to delve deeper into her studies, after all.
"Examining the inside of the heart in another way... revealing one's own mind ultimately creates an opening to be controlled."
In the end, it meant she too had accumulated enough background knowledge to properly worry about this matter.
"I am aware of that. But apologize properly to her later."
"Yes. Understood."
Sonia's appearance as she nodded in answer to me was somewhat reliable.
Except for how she was stealing glances at Shue, who was leaning on me.
"Come here."
"Ah..."
"Quickly."
"Yes."
Sonia, having approached me, carefully pressed her cheek against my hand.
It was obvious she was paying attention to Shue beside her, and then, seeing something from Shue, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.
When I poked Shue's head, she stopped glaring.
'It doesn't seem like she's without jealousy, but...'
More than that, she still showed me her 'human' side.
Her humane compassion.
'To sympathize with someone you ought to hate.'
It would have been extremely difficult for me.
Because I had many people I hated.
Because I was not someone who knew forgiveness like her.
I hated The Father, who was stained by the evil of others and drove me to my limits.
I despised Mother, who was not only weak but steeped in cultish delusion.
I scorned my younger sister, who was tainted by The Father's evil and begged me to cover up the crimes she had committed.
And beyond that.
The society, the nation, the world that made my family that way.
'I hated everything.'
The hatred, once unleashed, poured out like a waterfall.
That waterfall swept away many things.
The lives, the futures, and even the possibilities of countless people.
Fixing its direction solely upon criminals was my only limit.
But among them, there were certainly not only evil people.
'I went too far.'
It was only when the sewage amassed by that waterfall rose up to my neck that I thought I had to rebuild the levee.
But rebuilding the levee of self-restraint, once shattered, took many long years.
So I was afraid. To open that levee again.
'What lies beneath the hatred poured out without reserve?'
I became afraid even to look beneath it, into my own heart.
"Master can overcome it soon..."
As if reading my thoughts, Shue spoke, meeting my eyes.
Looking into her crimson eyes, like a lake without ripples, I felt the tempest in my heart subside.
"Will I?"
"Yeah."
With a firm nod, her silver hair rippled softly.
"It's not about faith or worship..."
When I held that hair in my hand, she rubbed her cheek against my hand and continued.
"Master is that kind of person. You didn't collapse even when alone. But now that we're here too, Master will be okay..."
"Many people fall and tumble in difficult situations."
"But few people turn their gaze upwards to try and crawl back up even a little from that situation."
Holding one of my hands, pressing it firmly and speaking slowly, word by word, Shue went on.
"Everything of Master's was a tool to protect your people and yourself."
"A tool to heal the pain of the soul..."
Every time that warm touch was conveyed, a mellow warmth spread through my heart.
It felt as if my troubles were being tossed this way and that, pushed aside.
"That's right, Teacher."
Sonia added her voice from the other side as well.
"I don't even know myself very well... but still, I wish to help as much as I'm able. Please, let me be of strength to you."
- Cheer up! Master!
Following Sonia, Mary added a word as well.
Before I knew it, my heart felt much lighter.
The others who weren't here now would have surely felt the same, had they known my situation.
"Thank you. All of you."
Unnoticed, a small smile had bloomed at the corner of my lips.