Chapter 258: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (51)
Chapter 258: Lainella's Fate is Decided by Lainella (51)
It was a languid dream.
Foam of light swept across my vision like waves. The memories of a stranger were re-recording a world dyed in pure white.
No, was he a stranger?
Before I knew it, when I opened my eyes, I had become that man.
With every breath, I felt the tropical humidity.
The soil, stained a faint red, gave off a unique fragrance. With every step I took, beads of sweat rolled down my forehead.
It was the Great Forest.
While I was lost in thought, a single phrase pierced my ears.
"…Binding and Unbinding."
Thwack. The hand axe cleanly split the firewood in half.
It was a task I could now do with my eyes closed.
It had been difficult at first, but I had already been hounded by my pint-sized Master for several years.
By now, I was chopping wood with practiced ease.
At this rate, who would ever think of me as the disciple of the Great Witch?
I looked more like a professional lumberjack.
Unaware of her disciple's inner thoughts, my Master was simply chattering away beside me.
"You must realize the principle. Within the flow, everything is divided into Binding or Unbinding… If you can establish yourself within the flow and unravel others, there is nothing your blade cannot cut."
With that, she took a puff from the smoking pipe she held in her mouth.
The acrid scent of herbs wafted out.
It was the fragrance of medicinal herbs that grew only in the Great Forest. My Master always smoked dried herbs in her pipe like this.
Most of them were herbs with analgesic properties.
Without them, she would suffer so much that she’d groan even during daily life.
The barrier imprisoning the Vampire demanded many sacrifices.
He was a devil who had lived for hundreds of years.
The Fiends who gained power through contracts with the Evil God Omeros were all powerful. Among them, the strength of the Vampire, one of the most prominent, went without saying.
A monster rumored to be able to cut down groves of trees with a single gesture and leap a thousand li with a single step.
There was no way someone with such immense power would stay quietly confined within a barrier.
Every day, he struggled to break the barrier, and every time he did, the Great Witch's body, which formed the core of the barrier, had to suffer.
That was also why the Great Witch took the form of a young girl.
She had taken on the body of her childhood to conserve even the mana required for biological activity.
Only then could she keep the Vampire imprisoned.
In the end, the power the Great Witch could actually use was nothing more than a fragment of her true self.
Though, even with that tiny bit of power, she possessed the skill to manipulate the continent at will.
At the very least, an Expert was no match for her.
Someone like me, for instance.
Perhaps it was because I was still just a novice who hadn't even bloomed my Aura trait yet.
A troubled sigh escaped my lips.
"Binding or whatever, what can a guy who hasn't even properly bloomed the power of his Aura do? I need to awaken my Aura trait first—"
"Tsk, tsk."
My Master clicked her tongue, looking dissatisfied about something.
She planted both hands on her waist, looking ready to scold me.
The disdainful gaze of the tiny girl fell upon me.
"You pathetic fool, are you that anxious? Aura is the manifestation of mental imagery! I have told you time and again that it depends on your mindset…"
I had no choice but to let out a deep sigh at her words.
Well, she was a Master, after all.
It was only natural that I, struggling just to bloom my Aura, looked pathetic to her.
She probably wanted to tell me to think broadly and look far ahead.
But the feelings of someone hanging on that barely visible boundary line were different.
It was like being parched with thirst and knowing a spring was right in front of you, yet being unable to find the path to it.
Especially when there was someone ahead of you.
Suddenly, a certain girl flashed through my mind.
"…No, but still, my Junior Sister is already an Archmage."
"Yes, well said! Haven't you two been treating this Master like an afterthought because you've been so busy flirting lately? I suppose you want to look cool in front of the girl you're interested in, eh? Hmph, men are all the same…"
Clang. For the first time in a long while, the hand axe failed to split the wood and bounced off.
Gasping for a moment, I looked at my Master with trembling eyes.
I looked exactly like someone whose secret had been exposed.
"Hmph, what are you looking at? It's been years since I've lived with you two. Did you think I wouldn't have at least that much intuition?"
"No, no, no! It's a misunderstanding. I've told you several times that Junior Sister and I aren't in that kind of relationship…"
Of course, my Master didn't even pretend to listen to my excuses.
Instead, she simply raised her voice and shouted.
"Second! First says he likes you so much!"
With that, she stuck out her tongue and scurried away.
Sensing the impending development, I pressed my hand to my forehead.
Just as I let out another deep sigh, as expected, I saw my Junior Sister approaching from a distance.
Running over excitedly, she asked me with a giggle.
"My dear Junior, were you that concerned about this Senior?"
"…It's a misunderstanding."
My tone was firm, but she didn't seem to believe me in the slightest.
Instead, she even started provoking me by poking my side with her index finger.
She had a meaningful smile on her face, partially hidden by one hand. It was a bit annoying.
"Oh, come on, don't play dumb… Hey, you know the man has to be the one to confess, right?"
"Ah, seriously, stop teasing me. And how long ago was that? These days, it's an era of gender equality."
"Heh, I guess that's true."
With a smirk, she curled the corners of her mouth and stood on her tiptoes.
As she clung to my arm, her soft touch pressed against my forearm. The sweet scent unique to a woman's body brushed against the tip of my nose.
Then, a sweet whisper heated up my ear.
"…Then, how about 'Ian Lainella'? It's better than 'Elsie Percus,' isn't it?"
I pondered for a moment.
'Ian Lainella' and 'Elsie Percus.'
Neither seemed bad.
While I was conflicted, her persuasion continued.
"We have to think about our children, too… Lainella fits pretty well with any name. There are some unique names among my siblings, too."
Just as I was reflexively thinking, If that's the case, should we go with 'Lainella'?
I suddenly snapped to my senses and flicked her forehead.
With a sharp thwack, a shrill scream escaped her lips.
"…Aargh! Why the hell did you hit me?!"
Having taken the blow, she raised her voice in indignation.
Nevertheless, I simply shook my head and gave her a warning.
"A grown woman shouldn't cling to a man so fearlessly, Junior Sister."
At my words, she wore an absurd expression and swallowed a hollow laugh.
Then, she began to grumble, kicking at the innocent ground.
"Geez, do you think I'm like this with just anyone… A-and, I told you I'm not your Junior Sister!"
As always, she flared up at the title 'Junior Sister.'
I could only manage a bitter smile at that cute sight.
One day, while living that now-familiar daily life, I received a request from my Master.
"First, you'll have to go to the city with Second."
It was the day after the Emperor of the Empire had visited the Great Forest.
Thump. My heart pounded violently.
Only then did I open my eyes and take a ragged breath. The sound of my panting felt exceptionally loud.
It was a dream again.
The stranger's memories, which had been blurry, were now showing specific scenery.
It was also the first time a specific name had appeared directly.
'Elsie.' Judging by the mention of the surname 'Lainella,' it was undoubtedly Senior Elsie.
To think that the 'me' from the future also had a connection with her.
The world truly was unpredictable.
Frowning at the hangover that felt like needles piercing my brain, I stumbled to my feet.
I felt a bit better after gulping down cold water from a canteen.
Looking around to see if anything had changed, the letter on the desk caught my eye. It was the same letter where scribbled words were being added to the back.
There, as expected, another new sentence was written.
[There is no next time. Impossible.]
It seemed that calling him out at my will was now impossible.
I didn't know the exact circumstances, but he was a man who only borrowed my body for a short time and then disappeared anyway.
I could only guess that there was some reason for it.
Still, since I had broken through a desperate crisis, I had made good use of him.
It was a makeshift method based on the fact that I had lost consciousness through alcohol or drugs whenever the future personality possessed me or whenever I peeked into his memories.
To be honest, I hadn't been certain.
I had only tested it once when obtaining information about the 'swindlers' in the back alley.
That day, too, when I fell asleep after getting wasted, a strange phrase had been added to the letter.
Of course, that alone couldn't prove my hypothesis, so it was essentially a gamble.
Asking Emma for a powerful anesthetic poison had also been nothing more than an impulsive idea. I had intended to use it only in a situation where there was no other choice.
That situation had just arrived sooner than expected.
Judging by the fact that I woke up on a bed, it seemed my guess had fortunately been correct.
With a sigh of relief, I prepared to leave the room.
The smell of alcohol still lingered, but time was of the essence. I had to hear what had happened in the meantime.
In just one day, the atmosphere of the mansion had completely changed.
Originally, the mansion had been relaxed and quiet. But today, I could sense an inexplicable anxiety and urgency from the servants.
It was puzzling, but it was a question that would be resolved once I heard the explanation.
The first person I spotted while walking hurriedly was the Saintess.
Her brilliant silver hair was reflecting the morning sunlight.
She was praying in front of a statue of the Heavenly God, which nobles usually kept in their lobbies. Her expression was pitiful and sorrowful.
It was a sight that would make any man curious about her story.
Just as I was debating whether or not to call out to the praying Saintess—
Her eyes slowly opened.
They were pale pink eyes, a color that tickled the heart.
As if she had noticed my presence, the woman shifted her gaze and looked at me. Then, for a while, she scrutinized my face intently.
She seemed confused about who I was.
In the end, I had to awkwardly raise my hand with a faint smile.
"…It's been a while, Saintess."
"Ian."
The Saintess cried out my name softly, like an exclamation, and then stood up.
She approached me with a worried expression.
It seemed I had caused her a lot of concern.
Considering how this prickly Saintess was treating me so kindly.
But it didn't take long for me to realize that was a misconception.
Squish. My face was buried in something.
A soft and elastic sensation—it was a feeling I had felt once before.
the woman's sweet scent pierced my brain.
I felt my thoughts come to a halt for a moment.
"Poor Ian… From now on, if you have a hard time, never hide it. Understood?"
It was a comfort offered by the Saintess as she hugged me tightly.
That very Saintess.
So, I couldn't help but mutter to myself.
What the hell is this?