Chapter 561: Jealousy is My Power (61)
Chapter 561: Jealousy is My Power (61)
‘Tears are a woman's most powerful weapon.’
I was currently experiencing the sheer force of that old adage. Specifically, in a corner of the unconscious—this bizarre, lightless space.
Moist eyes, sobbing breaths, and shoulders trembling faintly—these sensations hammered against my five senses one after another. The girl facing me was pouring out a mournful cry.
My heart ached.
How could it not?
Even if she had no memory of me, she wore the face of my fiancée. My heart was already wavering, and I had to force myself to swallow the words of comfort that almost escaped my lips.
I had no choice.
Senior Elsie’s dilemma wasn't the kind of thing that could be resolved with mere consolation. Having repeated those same thoughts to myself countless times, I knew that better than anyone.
I had only just decided on my own answer a short while ago.
There was no way Senior Elsie could have reached the right answer before me.
Unlike me, she hadn't had the chance to truly grasp what was at stake in this fight.
Everything dying and collapsing.
A crumbled civilization and precious people bleeding out—that horror could only be fully understood by those who had witnessed the future firsthand.
Just like me.
But we couldn't just sit here crying forever.
"Is... is being weak a sin...?"
The girl asked, her voice tinged with a hint of fury.
A deep hostility had settled into those blue eyes. However, I doubted that emotion was directed at me.
Soon, Senior Elsie began to pour out all the words she had kept buried.
"I've worked like a dog until now! I stayed up all night, collapsing over my books just to study... I trained until the veins throughout my entire body felt like they were tearing apart! Do you think that's all? I've fought life-and-death battles against all sorts of mythical monsters!"
I remained silent instead of answering.
At my silence, Senior Elsie’s voice grew even louder.
Her teeth were clenched tight, and the bloodshot veins in her eyes dyed the tears welling there a crimson hue.
"That's... that's enough! Even if it's not me, there are plenty of people to fight... I don't want to fight anymore! Because I... I'm just weak...!"
"You're right. Because you're weak."
Taking Senior Elsie’s words, I repeated what I had said before.
"It's because you're weak that you end up in such a state. Rolling on the ground, becoming a wreck, nearly drawing your last breath... enduring all sorts of insults and pain, even losing those precious to you. Isn't that right?"
Every word I spat out targeted Senior Elsie’s wounds.
She was someone who had crossed the threshold of death multiple times.
And hadn't she recently lost a precious family member at the end of a battle?
Her uncle, whom she had always admired—the Archmage Reynold Lainella.
Naturally, she couldn't be perfectly fine without any scars. It was only natural for Senior Elsie to explode in a fit of rage.
"Yeah, so...!"
"Because I was the same."
But I cut her off before she could finish.
At my sudden confession, Senior Elsie closed her trembling lips. For a moment, she looked at me with an expression of utter incomprehension.
"I almost died several times too. I acted like it was nothing, but inside, I was terrified. So I asked myself every day: Why me? Why does it have to be me?"
Fortunately, she seemed to have decided to listen to me for the moment.
Of course, a strong sense of questioning still lingered in her gaze.
Then why?
She seemed unable to understand why I was being so cold, even though I clearly understood how she felt.
So, I continued in an even firmer tone.
"No matter how much I asked, I never got an answer. Maybe it was just bad luck."
"Just bad luck...?"
"Yes, bad luck. What other reason do you need? Anyway, the important thing is that no matter how much you question it, the facts don't change."
As I spoke, I picked up the jet-black rod that had fallen to the ground.
It was the item Senior Elsie had dropped when she collapsed. It was also the only memento left by Reynold Lainella.
Perhaps the meaning contained within this small rod was too immense.
Senior Elsie remained silent and did not take the rod I offered. Her tearful gaze turned toward me without a word.
"Are you going to keep crying?"
"I... I..."
"You can't get anywhere by just running away. We are carrying the fate of the world on our shoulders."
That was the truth. This was the reality we faced.
Even if we wanted to run, there was no place to run to. No matter how much we stepped back, it was a situation where only a cliff remained behind us.
Could we still run away?
It was impossible. The number of lives we carried was far too many.
Even while feeling a pressure that seemed ready to crush us at times, the option to abandon it all did not exist.
Under this premise, my relentless persuasion continued.
"Let's go back together."
"I... I mean..."
"You can't just live your life being pushed around, Senior Elsie."
Those words were the finishing blow.
Senior Elsie’s body stiffened for a moment, and her breathing began to calm down noticeably. Gradually, the moisture vanished from her eyes, and her face took on a strangely determined light.
Yes, if it was the 'Elsie Lainella' I knew, this was how she should be.
A foul-tempered woman who hated being looked down upon more than anything.
Wasn't that exactly who Elsie Lainella was?
Soon, a low voice leaked from Senior Elsie’s lips.
"...No."
However, the content was the exact opposite of what I had expected.
I couldn't open my mouth for a while. My lips opened and closed several times.
Senior Elsie questioned me back.
"Why should I?"
"Senior Elsie, I told you... there's nowhere to run anyway. On our shoulders, the lives of so many...!"
"So what?"
It was a short question that pierced through to the core.
I fell silent at her attitude, which was almost brazen. Only then did a thought flash through my mind.
How could I have forgotten?
My opponent was that 'Elsie Lainella.'
"What do I care if others die? You think I should get hurt and suffer because of some trivial sense of justice? Don't make me laugh... No, absolutely not! Whether the world ends or not, what does it have to do with me?!"
The woman with the worst personality in the Academy, a bundle of selfishness and sensitivity.
"I'm never going back, so deal with it... and don't come looking for me again, okay?"
Before she was 'corrected' by me, Senior Elsie was always like this. No, perhaps this was her true nature, and she was just trying hard to hide it in front of me.
It was before I, in my flustered state, could even voice a rebuttal.
Zap! I felt a sensation strike my heart.
It was lightning magic. I wondered why she was being so quiet; it seemed she had been contemplating how to take me down that whole time.
Because I was so caught off guard, I didn't have the leeway to block it. Perhaps because it was the world of the unconscious, I hadn't even felt the sign of mana moving.
Through my whitening vision, an afterimage of Senior Elsie formed.
Looking at those eyes filled with hostility, I thought:
This isn't good. I have to take her back...
That was the last of it.
I soon lost consciousness and then woke up again.
On a bed in the temple.
And the Great Witch, who greeted me as I sat up gasping for breath, delivered a bolt from the blue with a sullen face.
"......We've been played."
The result was the Sword Duke's defection.
It was undeniably tragic news.
Seria opened her eyes around evening.
She had already been suffering from mysterious headaches lately. Having fainted, her head couldn't help but throb even more. A faint groan escaped from between her teeth.
She couldn't remember the last scene she saw. She only remembered losing consciousness in a split second.
Could she have been hit by a strike so fast she couldn't even react?
But where could such a powerhouse have come from?
The unanswerable questions only worsened her headache. As Seria held her forehead and pushed her upper body up, a clear voice rang out from somewhere.
"Oh, you're awake?"
Seria's gaze naturally turned toward the source.
Sitting there was a cute girl with dark blue hair. Humming to herself while sewing, she looked exactly like a teenage girl.
The 5th Princess of the Empire, Cien.
In her hands was a familiar stuffed doll. It was a doll modeled after the man Seria loved, a piece of work that showed meticulous craftsmanship.
I wonder how much that would cost?
Inadvertently counting gold coins in her head, Seria let out a low voice.
"Where is this...?"
"It's the temple. Sir Ian left because he had other business, and I was asked to stay behind to look after you, Senior."
Cien's eyes remained fixed on the doll as she answered without hesitation. The girl's touch as she sewed stitch by stitch was incredibly devoted.
She didn't seem particularly interested in Seria's physical condition, though.
It was something Seria hadn't expected in the first place. The Princess generally had no interest in anyone other than Ian.
Without even letting out a sigh, Seria asked her second question.
"Other business?"
Once again, Cien spoke in a cheerful tone.