Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: Reunion (8)
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“Aphria’s mad bitch...!”
In the midst of this fateful reunion, Sara’s reaction was one of utter shock. She gasped sharply and clung tightly to Kyle’s side.
“W-Why is that lunatic here? Kyle, say something...!”
Sara grabbed Kyle’s arm and shook it.
“Why is she here...! And why are you just standing there? An unbeliever who doesn’t worship the gods, setting foot on this holy ground—it’s blasphemy! Blasphemy, I tell you...!”
She shook him so violently that just grabbing and yanking his arm made Kyle’s head lolled side to side.
“We who are chosen by the stars have a duty to punish that unbeliever. Defiling this holy land—she needs to be dealt with right now...”
Not long ago, when they first headed here, she had grumbled about not wanting to go to that “cursed land.” But now, she called it holy ground and clutched Kyle’s arm tightly.
“You!”
Sara pressed her chest against Kyle’s arm and pointed at Lania.
“You won’t get out of here unscathed!”
She looked quite confident.
Lania’s eyebrow twitched. Without a word, she reached out and grabbed Sara’s pointing finger.
“Hold on...”
Kyle, who had been rubbing his eyes, belatedly reached out to stop the girl, but it was too late.
Crack!
“Kya啊啊啊啊악!”
Sara’s finger bent at a right angle.
She screamed and flailed about, and Kyle belatedly grabbed Lania’s wrist, pulling her away from Sara.
“Ugh, uuuugh!”
As her broken finger healed, Sara glared at Lania with tear-filled eyes.
“Kyle, hurry!”
Clinging to Kyle, Sara pleaded.
‘You’re dead now!’
Sara was certain Kyle would show this girl the Hero’s spicy fist. Whenever she hugged his arm like this and asked, he always listened.
“...Sara.”
But today, his response was different.
Kyle called her name with a sigh. Sara slowly looked up at him. His gaze looking down at her was quite cold.
‘...What?’
Why that look?
Sara swallowed hard.
“W-Why? That crazy bitch right now...”
“Things are getting complicated, so just stand back for a bit. I’ll explain later.”
“No, Kyle, what do you...”
Kyle pushed Sara’s body away.
Then he called out to Remia, shoved Sara off onto her like a burden, and... walked toward the girl. Sara’s pupils shook violently at the sight.
“K-Kyle? Did you forget the incident at Aphria last time? And she just broke my finger! My finger hurts...!”
She spoke in a trembling voice, but no answer came. It was complete dismissal. For some reason, Sara felt utterly betrayed.
“Remia, Kyle’s...”
“Quiet, Sara. Kyle’s in the middle of something important right now.”
“Remia, even you...!”
No one empathized with her.
Sara’s clenched fist trembled. But she couldn’t bring herself to suggest separate rooms like last time. In fact, Kyle had granted her wish back then, and Sara had spent lonely nights for a while because of it.
In the end, Sara could neither advance nor retreat.
Her broken finger had healed quickly, but it still hurt.
“Ugh, eeeeek...!”
She stomped on the innocent stone floor repeatedly, glaring with bulging eyes. Her gaze was fixed on the girl with ashen hair. Coincidentally, the girl was looking back at Sara.
“You, you...!”
“What, you crazy bitch.”
“W-What did you say?”
Unlike Sara, who ground her teeth, the girl’s response was refreshingly blunt. Lania just smirked mockingly.
‘...That thing.’
And there was one person watching the entire scene. The ancient great sage, Cardi van Armiel, stared at the saintess of the era with wide eyes.
‘That thing... is the saintess?’
Cardi doubted his own eyes.
As he remembered it, the saintess was practically the embodiment of the Delorhim Church. She had to be more devout than anyone, always refining herself to convey the gods’ words... overflowing with grace.
Gleria Bell Armias.
The first saintess had naturally been such a being. When alone with Cardi, that was one thing, but in front of others, she was perfection itself. Devout, reverent, exuding grace in every gesture and habit.
Cardi thought of Gleria.
Recalling her image, he looked at the saintess before him.
“Eeeeek...!”
There was not a speck of grace in her furious stomping. Her speech and actions were utterly vulgar.
‘What the hell...’
It wasn’t a saintess; it was just some empty-headed brat.
Cardi’s face crumpled like he’d bitten a bug. Contempt filled his yellowish beast-like eyes. Sara herself didn’t notice that gaze...
Twitch.
Remia, who had been watching Cardi closely, caught the contemptuous look from the elves’ savior. She hurriedly covered Sara’s mouth.
“Sara, be quiet for a sec...!”
“Mmph, mmph! Mmph!”
Remia dragged Sara to the corner.
Cardi pressed hard between his brows and let out a long, deep sigh.
“Hoo...”
Now he somewhat understood why Raniel shuddered every time the names saintess or divine archer came up.
“The world truly has come to an end...”
Cardi’s sigh hung low.
2.
I looked at Kyle standing before me.
He looked exactly the same as the guy I remembered. Even the hollow eyes after encountering the Demon King were identical. Staring straight into those eyes, I opened my mouth.
“I asked what your identity is.”
Last time, and this time too.
Kyle posed the same question to me. He nodded, and I pressed my lips tight.
‘...Even after all this, he hasn’t figured it out?’
Honestly, I was a bit surprised.
Sara and Remia, who hardly cared about others, was one thing. But Kyle was different. He had seen my fighting style up close.
Ashes to Ashes.
He surely knew I was the only one who could use that technique, the only battle mage on his level who could fight him toe-to-toe...
Yet, he still hadn’t realized.
Of course, changes in gender or soul corruption were metaphysically impossible. But with this much evidence... I thought he’d have noticed I was Raniel.
‘Then, there must be another reason.’
Only one reason came to mind.
‘The stars.’
Aila, the child loved by the stars, had suspected me but never been certain. Only after I chose independence did she confirm my identity.
In other words.
‘The stars don’t recognize me as Raniel.’
Because he trusted the stars, Kyle was turning a blind eye to his instincts. He was still living his life entrusted to the stars.
‘Pathetic bastard.’
I muttered inwardly and spoke.
“Why don’t you ask your precious stars?”
“They didn’t give an answer. They just whispered that you’re the one I missed.”
“Missed? Me?”
“I don’t know the reason. The stars just whispered it.”
The stars’ whispers.
Prophecies that always had their ambiguities.
“......”
I closed my mouth and pondered.
‘What should I say?’
He suspected my existence but wasn’t certain. All that remained for him was doubt.
Why I used the same techniques as Raniel.
What connection I had to Raniel.
Why I could hold this holy grail.
The answer to those doubts was simple. Say I was Raniel, and while you stagnated, I progressed. As a result of progressing, I earned the right to seize the holy grail.
However.
‘But I don’t want to.’
I didn’t want to do that.
I still didn’t want to reveal my identity.
‘Just... no.’
I just didn’t want to. I couldn’t explain it logically, but instinctual revulsion welled up. Especially to him, I didn’t want to reveal it until the end.
“...A disciple.”
So, I lied.
A terribly flimsy lie.
“Disciple of the Ashen Mage, Lord Raniel... practically his successor. That’s why I know everything. He passed all his techniques to me.”
A light lie.
A lie full of room for doubt.
“...I see.”
Yet Kyle accepted the lie.
Because he still blindly trusted the stars, he didn’t even doubt such a simple lie.
The situation turned convenient.
A few more lies, and it would all wrap up neatly. Kyle would drop his suspicions and never ask the same question again.
Should I be happy about that?
But the more lies I uttered, the more my expression twisted. The contempt in my eyes toward Kyle only grew.
“Then the right to hold the holy grail...”
“Because I traveled with Lord Raniel.”
“Then the reason Raniel chose you...”
“Must be because I had the talent.”
“I see. That makes sense.”
Simple questions and answers exchanged.
But it wasn’t a conversation between people. It felt like talking to a nodding doll no matter what I said. I sensed a wall from him.
The encounter with the Demon King.
The breakdown from helplessness.
The wall I’d felt from him ever since that day. In conversation with someone who blindly followed only the stars’ voice, I found no value.
“Then that guy...”
“Hey.”
In the end, I cut Kyle off.
“Is there any point to this?”
It was just a waste of time.
I snapped at him with a scowl.
“Get to the point. What is it?”
I asked, and Kyle exhaled briefly.
“...I was ordered to search for the holy grail. And it’s in your hands. It’ll probably end up in Raniel’s hands.”
Kyle pointed at me and asked.
“What does he plan to do with the holy grail? He’s not trying to become a transcendent. Someone who never had a wall from the start can’t break one.”
“Probably not.”
“Then what does he intend to use it for? What’s his goal that he wants this holy grail? If there’s no valid reason...”
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
“I plan to drag you, the one holding the holy grail, to the front lines. The Knight Commander will decide.”
He meant it sincerely.
And by his standards, it was justified. If he couldn’t hold the holy grail himself, kidnapping me who could was the right choice.
“......”
I closed my mouth briefly, then opened it again. This time, what came out wasn’t a lie.
“Cultivating transcendents.”
“...What?”
“Cultivating transcendents through the academy. Ultimately, securing a four-person party composed entirely of transcendents.”
I raised my hand.
“In other words.”
My fingertip pointed at Kyle.
“Cultivating a Hero Party to replace you.”
What you couldn’t do.
A party to accomplish what you gave up on.
That was my goal.
“That’s the Ashen Mage’s purpose.”
“...Replace me?”
“Because I no longer see potential in you.”
Kyle fell silent briefly.
The silence wasn’t long. He slowly opened his mouth and asked me a question.
“Is cultivating transcendents part of that plan—you?”
“None of your business.”
“...If you’re a product of that plan, you have plenty of potential. Creating a party to replace me...”
Kyle fiddled with the hilt of his holy sword.
“Definitely something he’d think of.”
Pfft, Kyle let out a chuckle.
I narrowed my eyes at the sight.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Kyle took a step back.
“I see. It’s a convincing reason. More than the knights on the front lines... the holy grail is needed more by the candidates he chose.”
He muttered and looked at me.
“I’ll tell the Knight Commander. A letter will go to him soon, so write the details there... He’ll understand the reason.”
Cultivating a party to replace him.
Even after I said it outright, Kyle’s attitude was excessively calm. I frowned at his nonchalant demeanor. Something felt off.
“All I needed was justification anyway. Taking the holy grail to the battlefield wouldn’t have much effect. Few knights face the wall, and they probably won’t overcome the trials.”
A sense of incongruity.
“You said Cardi. This holy grail was also placed in the Sanctuary of the Sword, right? The trials the sword transcendents there underwent...”
“Yes, trials through the holy grail. The kingdom gifted it to the Sword Saint who founded the sanctuary.”
“I see.”
I felt the incongruity.
Kyle, who had been talking with Cardi, turned back to me and continued. But his words didn’t register.
“I’ve heard about the trials in the Sanctuary of the Sword. Not just anyone can pass them. If you think of them like the stars’ trials... even making transcendents on the battlefield would take a long time.”
I took a step toward him as he stepped back.
“You.”
I grabbed Kyle by the collar.
“What are you?”
This wasn’t him.
He wouldn’t accept the situation like this, nor acquiesce to the emergence of a replacement for himself.
“What the hell are you doing right now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You wouldn’t act like this. No way.”
I yanked Kyle’s collar.
“Who the hell are you...”
“Ha.”
Kyle let out a hollow laugh.
“What do you know about me to say that? Did he tell you about me?”
“......”
“The me he remembers is different from the me now.”
I stayed silent, and Kyle spoke.
“People change. They have to.”
Kyle’s black eyes looked at me.
“Raniel hasn’t changed. No matter what he sees or goes through... he hasn’t changed. But I’m different. Unlike him, I’m human.”
A human who ends up changing.
Emotion laced his voice.
“I’ve changed too. That’s all.”
Kyle grabbed my wrist.
I released my grip on his collar. Only then did Kyle let go of my hand and step back.
“My apologies. I won’t apologize for the rash attack, but I’ll apologize for my comrade’s rudeness as well.”
I silently watched him.
“Sara, Remia. Let’s go.”
“Mmph, mmph!”
“Yeah, got it.”
He left with his comrades.
I stared at his back for a long while. An inexplicable sense of incongruity lingered, but I couldn’t pinpoint its source.
“...Cardi.”
“What.”
Only after Kyle left did I speak.
“You said that guy’s contracted with the stars.”
“Seems like it.”
“That.”
I looked at Cardi.
“Tell me the details.”
There was something I didn’t know.