Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: The Prophecy Points to Death (3)
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While listening to Belnoa's story, Lania quietly recalled the events from a few days ago. The time when Chloe, who had gone to the battlefield alone, returned.
That day, Lania went to meet Chloe.
Lania opposed Chloe heading to the battlefield.
She felt it was still too early for the girl. And this wasn't just Lania's personal judgment—the Knight Commander had said the exact same thing.
Chloe was still an unfinished Hero.
Mages, especially those of the Wizard class, required an immense amount of time to master their craft. It wasn't for nothing that mages were considered high-value assets on the battlefield.
How much more so if that mage also possessed the qualities of a Hero?
She was a once-in-a-millennium talent, the first in hundreds of years of history.
From a strategic standpoint, no one would want to rush such a talent into battle and risk losing her. From a humanitarian perspective, no one would wish for a young girl to throw herself into the fray so soon.
For those two reasons, Chloe's participation in the battlefield was put on hold.
It would be right for her to head out only after sufficient training and reaching a certain level as a mage. That was the judgment of both the Knight Commander and Lania, who was in charge of Chloe's education.
"I want to show them."
However.
"Even a small battlefield is fine. I need to show the world. I feel obligated to prove the potential that Lord Galrahal saw in me."
Chloe didn't think that way.
She wanted to stand on the battlefield.
It didn't have to be the front lines. Even if it wasn't a dangerous one, she needed to make her name known to the world.
"So that my convictions aren't just empty words."
She had to prove that what she said at her Hero inauguration wasn't mere posturing. Chloe said as much, and in the end, her request was granted.
"Chloe."
On the day Chloe returned from the battlefield, Lania visited the room where she was staying.
"Ah, Professor Lania."
Chloe greeted her with a somewhat weary look.
Beside her was the Hero's uniform, soiled with dust and bloodstains. Seeing it suggested the mission hadn't been easy at all, and Lania let out a short sigh.
"...It's not easy, is it?"
"Yes, a little."
Chloe gave an awkward smile.
"The knights blocked the front, and I drew the circuits from behind... um, well."
She hesitated before finally speaking with difficulty.
"I was a bit late."
Hugging her knees, Chloe bowed her head.
"Was it because of the mana realm? The mana density was different from usual... It took time to grasp the flow. I think I was about ten seconds late."
Ten seconds.
"People died."
Chloe said.
"Because of my mistake, I was ten seconds late... and in those ten seconds, people died. After the operation ended, I saw the bodies being carried away..."
Lania sat silently beside Chloe.
"Ah, so this is it. This is what Lord Destel meant. This is what Lord Galrahal meant by someone always dying... That's what I thought."
"...And so?"
"I thought it wouldn't be easy."
"It isn't. Kyle and I felt the same."
Lania had felt exactly the same thing once.
When she went to the battlefield with Kyle, Raniel had racked up brilliant achievements. From her first battle, she piled up feats and began drawing the world's attention.
Yet, people still died.
If chanting a spell was delayed by even one second, dozens of soldiers could be swept away in that single second. A place where one action, one mistake, decided lives and deaths. That was the battlefield.
"Lord Galrahal pushed forward while enduring this."
Lania gave a bitter smile as she watched Chloe murmur. Even as she spoke of hardship, Chloe's eyes showed no intention of stopping. Perhaps she didn't even need Lania's comfort.
'...She's doing well.'
She's advancing on her own strength.
Lania felt proud of that fact, yet worried at the same time. She let out a short breath and smiled at Chloe.
"I hear rumors about this operation everywhere."
On her way here, she had brought a newspaper and unfolded it.
It detailed Chloe's exploits. Since she didn't have a title yet, it referred to her as "Chloe, Hero of the Holy Flow," but...
"Look at this."
『We saw potential.』
『She has the qualities.』
『Light swept the field. Kyle's starlight is the symbol of victory, Galrahal's starlight the symbol of protection, Chloe's starlight is still unknown, but...』
We saw potential.
The value of that light was certain.
It might be premature, but all the knights who witnessed Chloe's performance said the same.
"They saw potential in you."
Potential in the young Hero.
Potential meant hope. Chloe's exploits gave the knights a glimmer of hope, proof that she was succeeding as a Hero.
"You did well."
Lania patted Chloe's head.
"Isn't this your first step as an idol?"
"...Is it?"
"It is."
Chloe smiled bashfully and stood up.
"I won't be going to the battlefield for a while, so I need to train harder."
She pushes forward without rest.
Swallowing her anguish and anxiety inside, she looks only ahead. Watching Chloe's back, Lania suddenly thought it resembled her own.
A familiar unfamiliarity.
That familiarity made Lania feel a twinge of unease.
"I'm falling behind. I can't move forward. Chloe keeps advancing..."
And now, time has passed to the present.
"I'm stuck in place."
Lania watches Belnoa pour out her worries before her. Belnoa feels an anxiety as if chased by something. This sight, too, is familiar to Lania. Where had she felt this familiarity before?
"At this rate, I won't be able to stand by her side..."
'...Can I stand by your side, Raniel?'
Ah.
'Lately, I've been thinking that. You keep moving forward, while I'm stuck in place. Is this okay?'
Lania narrowed her eyes.
Words she had heard once before. Before things truly soured with Kyle. Back then, she hadn't thought much of the question... but now, she regretted it.
"Hey, Belnoa."
Lania clenched her fist.
Then she swung it at the muttering Belnoa's crown. It landed with enough force to make a loud crack echo.
"Get a grip."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
"Ugh!"
Belnoa clutched the back of her head and looked up.
Having kept her head down the whole time, she hadn't seen Lania's expression. Now, looking up, she saw Lania's complicated look.
"Feeling better?"
"...Yes?"
"Are you feeling better?"
Lania shook out her hand lightly as she spoke.
"Aren't you obsessing too much over your realm?"
"...Obsessing?"
"I get that your shadow sorcery has a next stage. And that its power is incredible. But does that mean you're weak right now?"
She poked Belnoa's forehead with her index finger.
"Your combat sense is better than most active-duty mages. You didn't even fall behind against a battle mage renowned on the battlefield. And you weren't even at full power then?"
"That's..."
"Be honest. You're stronger than Chloe right now. Who do you think would win if you two fought?"
If judging purely by single-strike power, Chloe might be stronger. But overall, Belnoa had the edge thanks to her battlefield-honed senses.
"Of course, Chloe will keep getting stronger. She's growing fast—even I can see that. You'll catch up soon enough, and at this rate, she might even catch up to me."
But, Lania said.
"Does that mean you can't stand by her side?"
Belnoa fell silent at those words.
With her index finger still on Belnoa's forehead, Lania bent down to meet her eyes.
"Why do you think I scouted you?"
Her blue eyes reflected in Belnoa's retinas.
"You have the talent. The qualities. Guts too. That determination you showed staring down a traitor—I rate that very highly. Not just anyone can do that."
So.
"Don't be impatient. Even without a new sorcery, you more than qualify to stand by her side."
"But..."
"Or what?"
Lania added.
"Did Chloe tell you not to stand by her? That you're not needed because you haven't learned a new sorcery?"
Belnoa shut her mouth.
It felt like a blow to the head. She had actually taken one, but this was a mental shock as well.
"...I think I was a bit hasty."
"Yeah?"
"Yes, Chloe changed so much... I thought I needed to change quickly too. I got too rushed."
"Good, as long as you get it."
Lania let out a short breath and stood up.
"Hm..."
As she turned to leave, she glanced back. Should she say this or not? It might be meddling.
"By the way."
After pondering, Lania finally spoke. Since she was already meddling, might as well go all in.
"She hasn't changed that much."
"Yes?"
"You don't change just because you try. She's just pretending. Pretending to be fine, to be okay. Because she thinks she has to."
Perhaps it was from experience.
A mage who had acted for so long that her personality had truly changed let out a wry chuckle.
"So go talk to her."
Before things fall apart completely.
Swallowing the last part, Lania waved her hand dismissively. Belnoa, after hesitating, nodded and stood up. Judging by her direction, she was probably heading to Chloe's dormitory.
"Do your best."
Lania murmured and let out a short breath.
It might be her imagination, but in Belnoa and Chloe's relationship, Lania saw echoes of herself and Kyle. Of course, they differed more than they resembled, but still.
Belnoa and Chloe were still at the starting point.
No conflicts had arisen yet, and they tried to understand each other. Even if problems cropped up, emotional rifts could be mended easily, as if they never happened.
But that was only if noticed in time.
If ignored until it was too late, and enough time passed... it would grow uncontrollably. An irreparable chasm would form.
One side would grow exhausted.
The other would be disappointed.
And what about the one left behind?
How much time had she spent in solitude? Lania hoped Chloe wouldn't end up like that.
'So I meddled a bit.'
Lania scratched the back of her head awkwardly.
"...Was it unnecessary meddling?"
For Lania, who had very narrow human relationships, advising on others' was extremely difficult. Having done something hard, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Wasn't unnecessary meddling the mark of an old fogey?
"Am I getting old too, tsk..."
Lania's murmur echoed through the forest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
The Saintess Sara had been having nightmares lately.
It was hard to dismiss them as mere dreams. They were too vivid. And she kept having the same one repeatedly these past few days.
In the dream, the Death Scythe, Ganikalt, appeared.
At first, terror kept her from looking around as she fled. But repeating the dream gave her some leeway. Fear remained, but now she could barely turn her head to survey her surroundings.
Thus, Sara gathered information.
She observed the constellations more precisely and, upon waking, sketched the background from the dream. While compiling this, Sara had to admit it was truly a prophecy.
"I've never dreamed in my life, and now at this moment I do... and it's always the same dream. So I checked the church records..."
She investigated records of prophets.
Historical records of prophets numbered on one hand. And all five had pointed to one existence.
"They all hinted at the Death Scythe."
All five prophets cried out death.
In their respective eras, from different locations they spoke of... and the Death Scythe truly appeared there.
"...What do we do?"
"We should report it first."
Kyle said calmly.
"Did you have a way to pinpoint the date?"
"I saw the constellations, but I can't read stars... Should I ask the church's astrologers?"
"No need."
Kyle shook his head.
"I can read them."
"...You, Kyle?"
Sara blinked in surprise.
"You can read constellations? How? Even in the church, only a select few can..."
"I don't know. I don't remember clearly, but I've been able to since very young. Probably after coming to the capital."
It wasn't a lie.
Kyle truly could read the constellations and predict dates quite accurately. Knowledge implanted in his head without his knowing.
As Kyle read the stars.
Sara bit her lip, watching his profile. The scenery from the dream, the inevitable future. She hadn't told Kyle everything.
'Won't you step back?'
In the dream, Death asked.
Two answered Death's question.
Though their voices didn't reach her, Sara saw their forms.
Kyle, wielding the holy sword leading brilliant light.
And the mage with ashen hair flying.
Battered and broken, they charged at Death. She hadn't seen the end, but predicting it was easy.
'They die.'
Humans can't resist Death.
The prophecy pointed to Kyle and Raniel's deaths.
It was a fixed future, certain to happen.
"Kyle."
Therefore, Sara resisted.
"Let's pull out from here."
To reject the fixed future.