Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Coincidence, Perhaps Inevitability (5)
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I walked down the road as the evening sunset fell.
Emerging from the shabby shop, I strolled along the alleyway. My steps felt light. It was as if a weight had been lifted from my chest.
'I said what I wanted to say, and heard what I wanted to hear.'
In other words, we had a real conversation.
Although I'd known Cardi for a long time, it felt like today was the first time we'd truly talked. Everything before had been more like cryptic riddles than actual dialogue.
For the first time, we'd conversed.
For the first time, I'd glimpsed the true heart of the man named Cardi.
And what I'd sensed there was... ridiculously enough, the very same thing he'd said to me.
"You resemble him."
Chewing over Cardi's words, I let out a chuckle. Resemble him. He thinks we resemble each other. Truly.
"Ugh-hah."
I stretched, exhaling shortly.
Walking the alley bathed in sunset glow, I soon arrived at the capital's central square. I stared at the fountain in the middle for a while.
Come to think of it, this was the place.
The spot where Cardi and I first met.
Suddenly, the scene from back then flashed in my mind. It was old history, but recalling it was no problem. It must have been around the time I'd lost my hometown and aimlessly headed to the capital.
The capital: land of opportunity.
Where all encounters begin.
We'd arrived chasing vague possibilities—the chance for two kids who'd lost everything, home and parents alike, to become something more.
'But things were very different.'
The village elders had described it as beautiful and glamorous.
A place where anyone could become something.
The capital wasn't that. Or maybe it was, for some. But not for two green refugee kids.
The capital was harsh.
No one cared about us.
Days were grueling. We rummaged trash bins and begged to survive.
"Kids from my shop."
That's when we met Cardi.
Caught begging in the square by guards, he got us released and brought us to his place.
"One's a prodigy mage in the making, the other's blessed by the stars. They've got the talent."
Cardi muttered that as he fed us. He let us rest for the night. That evening, he casually told me,
"Begging in a busy spot is a smart idea in itself. But it'll only get you by day to day, won't it?"
He gave me advice.
"Unlike your friend, your talent's already awakened. Someone will recognize it. So don't bow your head to anyone. Chin up. Straighten your back. Square your shoulders."
Be confident.
Smiling, he said that.
"No one notices a head-bowed kid in rags. But people get intrigued by someone proudly enduring their lowly birth—whether for good or ill."
He laughed as he spoke.
"Show your talent boldly. If there's a mage there, they'll spot it."
I followed his advice.
From the next day, I stood in the square. Kyle stopped coming out, running errands for Cardi instead... but I kept showing up.
Head high. Shoulders back.
I drew up mana, hoping someone would see me. Days passed like that. Then I met the one who recognized my talent in the square.
My master.
Elder of the Ashen Mage Tower.
From nothing, I was taken in by him and became a mage. Looking back, it was all coincidence.
Meeting Cardi in the square.
Following his advice.
Meeting my master that way.
All overlaps of chance. But amid those coincidences, my will was there. I didn't let them drift by idly. That's how I seized the opportunity.
"Coincidence."
Coincidental meetings, coincidental chances.
"Perhaps... inevitability."
Making it inevitable was my part to play.
I smiled unwittingly. Overlapping coincidences led me here. Truly wondrous.
'From a mere kid who'd lost his home...'
Now knowing even histories no one else did. I smiled bitterly, perching on the fountain's edge—the place that decided my life as a mage. Here, I envisioned my path.
I thought it was a solitary road.
A path no one had walked.
But no.
Long ago, others had trod the same way. Prouder than anyone. They reached the end before me, but failure, not success, awaited.
At the road's end, they lost everything.
Their journey failed.
But it doesn't have to remain failure.
Whether their journey was mere failure or a great foundation for the future... that's for the one walking their path to decide.
'So that's for me to decide.'
I walk the path they left.
But in a different direction.
That was my life... and
"May our sacrifice have been noble."
The lives of those who died for me.
Chin.
I stood and started walking.
To prepare for the tomorrow to come.
2.
The guest who'd come was gone, the noisy party over. Cleaning scattered paper scraps, Cardi glanced around.
"Mm, ugh..."
Chloe sprawled asleep on the sofa. Belnoa slept on a blanket on the floor. Crammed in the shop's cramped corner, curled up tight, they didn't look uncomfortable.
'To them, you're like a parent.'
A voice echoed in his ears, and Cardi smiled wryly. He fetched another blanket, draped it over Chloe, and returned to his seat.
Night deepened.
Deep night, yet sleep wouldn't come.
Elves naturally sleep a lot. They don't die without it, but eternal life is tediously monotonous. Yet Cardi had always differed from other elves.
He lived immortality like a fleeting mortal span.
Skimping sleep for research and magic study earned him the title of grand mage. He'd always needed little sleep... but since that day centuries ago, Cardi stopped sleeping entirely.
Closing his eyes brought them back.
Memories of that dazzling era replayed.
He'd lose himself unwittingly.
To him, sleep was poisoned wine. Sweet, but inescapable once indulged. So Cardi stayed awake. Endured nights sleepless. For centuries on end.
"......"
Silently, Cardi reached for the shelf.
Dustless shelf. Deep inside, a single frame. A blank photo to others... but not to Cardi's eyes.
Thud.
He set the frame on the table.
Then closed his eyes briefly. Recalling the most beautiful era.
"Hey, Cardi."
The Mage Tower that etched all records.
Before departing for the Demon King's territory, Cardi visited with comrades, logging their entire journey.
"How about we leave a group photo?"
Just before leaving, Glorea suggested it. Typical abruptness from her. What had he said then?
"We've already recorded everything. Do we need a photo too? Seems unnecessary."
Something like that.
Gloria puffed her cheeks, poking his chest repeatedly.
"Always efficiency this, efficiency that! Do it without nitpicking need! Photos have their own vibe. Do I have to explain?"
Cardi hadn't understood.
But the other two did, patting his shoulders.
"Hahaha! Yeah, a photo's fine. If I fully become a dragon, I won't fit in this tower— it'd collapse. So leaving a photo for me to see would be good."
Belial beside him burst into hearty laughter.
Ganikalt polished his armor and said,
"One photo's fine. Not a bad idea. Let me shine my armor first."
Looking at them, Cardi shook his head, thinking humans were hopeless.
"Ganikalt here! Belial there!"
The church-like Mage Tower.
In warm sunlight, they lined up. Changing rags, polishing armor, striking what they thought their finest poses on the dais. Cardi watched from afar.
"Ahem. Hey, Ganikalt. My face okay? Dragon scales keep popping—looks hideous."
Belial slung an arm over Ganikalt's shoulder.
Ganikalt shrugged.
"Tough look. Emphasizes manly charm—not bad. Just face forward. You or me, we're orcish next to Cardi anyway."
"Harsh words..."
"Not wrong."
Ganikalt removed his helm, holding it. Before the glowing record circuit, he smiled faintly.
"Come on, Cardi."
And Glorea
"Hurry and stand here."
Grabbed Cardi's arm, pulling him onstage.
Then whispered in his ear,
"Smile, Cardi."
His past self
That self thought humans incomprehensible, forcing a reluctant, awkward smile. Recalling it now, Cardi opened his eyes.
"...I see."
He gazed at the photo before him.
Viewing that most radiant era, Cardi smiled bitterly. His photo self wore a truly odd expression.
He hadn't understood then.
Only now did he.
"That's why she wanted the photo."
The era more devoted to life than any other.
The most brilliantly shining time.
A photo left unaware it'd be their last. Even after ages, it hadn't faded.
Cardi stared at it long.
Sometimes, viewing it brought loneliness. All had left his side. He alone remained, enduring centuries. Excruciating solitude.
'...But.'
Now, not as lonely as before.
Cardi eyed the sleeping kids in the corner. Chloe, resembling Glorea; Belnoa, gifted like Belial.
And finally, recalled the mage who'd stayed here today. The one sharing his centuries-held secret... Cardi smiled faintly.
"A kid who resembles me."
Gazing at the frame, he murmured.
"Truly resembles."
Coincidence or inevitability?
Didn't matter. As long as that one reached where he couldn't... coincidence or fate, what did it signify?
Long, long night.
Yet even it ends.
Sun rises, tomorrow comes. Time flows endlessly onward. The elf of millennia watches countless dawns.
I miss it.
Murmuring, Cardi covered the frame.