Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Two Similar People (1)
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A night had passed since the terrorist attack by the traitor.
A lot had happened in that single night.
Until the morning sun rose, the knights busily patrolled the academy grounds. The extermination of the beasts had long since ended. The problem was the possibility that some had laid eggs or given birth to young.
Of course, there was no way the beasts could have reproduced in that short time. The chances were extremely slim.
However,
They couldn't overlook it.
They couldn't ignore even the slightest possibility.
This was the heart of the capital, an academy where nobles studied. It had to be perfect.
"Strive for perfection upon perfection."
Under the lead of Aila's guard knight, Havel, the knights scoured every inch of Aphria Academy. In the end, no beast eggs or young were found.
However, they didn't find absolutely nothing.
"...This is."
The corridor in the research building where the professors' offices gathered.
At the entrance to that corridor, the knights had gathered. It was a place they hadn't reached until dawn, delayed by clearing debris.
Gulp.
The knights swallowed dryly.
'It looks just like a wild beast rampaged through.'
The walls were collapsed, cracks ran across the floor. In the deep pits gouged here and there, the beasts' corpses were embedded.
Drip.
The blood flowing from the pits dyed the corridor red and blue.
'Gruesome.'
Havel clicked his tongue briefly.
"...So the beasts don't hesitate to kill their own kind."
The headless corpses even looked like they'd been bitten and torn by someone. Either way, it was a horrific sight.
Havel shook his head and walked down the corridor.
Sweat beaded on the hand gripping his sword. Whatever beast caused this carnage was no laughing matter.
'No presence.'
Until he reached the end of the corridor, no beasts made themselves felt. There was only one corpse lying at the end.
'What is it.'
The corpse of an unknown beast. A grotesque form that seemed a mix of several beasts. Havel examined the headless corpse.
'Torn... ripped off?'
The cut at the neck wasn't clean.
It barely qualified as a cut at all. It looked like it had been grabbed and torn.
'Looks like a beast with immense strength rampaged.'
Havel looked to the end of the trail of blood.
There stood a door untouched by the chaos, without a single scratch.
"Ugh."
A stench wafted from beyond the door. Havel grimaced at the rotting smell piercing his nose.
'Is the super-strong beast in there?'
He strode toward the door.
Creeeak.
Havel endured the stench and opened the door. Peering inside with his nose pinched, he saw nothing. Just an empty cavity, no beast corpses.
'What the hell is this place?'
He couldn't figure out what it was.
"This is..."
Simply.
"Bone fragments?"
That bone fragments were scattered on the floor.
That was all Havel could discern.
2.
The fourth floor of the central academy building.
Aila was listlessly rolling around on the bed. Her guard knight, Havel, had asked her to stay in the room until the situation was sorted.
"Mm."
Lying on the bed, hugging a pillow, Aila stared at the ceiling. Cooped up in the room like this, old memories surfaced.
'It was like this back then too.'
The betrayal of the court mage, Gelric.
After that terrorist incident settled, Aila had been confined to her room under heavy knight guard for a while.
"It's already been seven years."
It was when she was around ten.
Aila gently closed her eyes. Just closing them and recalling brought that day's scene vividly to mind.
She could never forget.
She must never forget.
'That's the promise I made.'
She closed her eyes and listened.
The cries of the beasts chasing her that day echoed in her ears like hallucinations. The clank of knights' armor blocking the feral beasts, Gelric's light footsteps and laughter pursuing her, lingered in her ears.
-This way, Princess.
-If only you come, they can live.
A chilling laugh.
-If I bring you, He promised me an undying army. Have you imagined it? An undying army. One no one can stand against!
A mad voice.
-Princess, this way...
-Don't listen, Princess.
And the knights blocking him.
-We'll hold here.
-Run!
Back then, Aila hadn't thought to look back. She was too busy fleeing in terror. She hadn't even seen the faces of those who died protecting her.
Recalling it now still made her heart race.
Cold sweat trickled down her nape.
She ran and ran. When the knights' armor sounds faded, Aila reached the library.
There was a man there.
-Princess?
Ash-gray hair.
Blue eyes shining between sharp features.
Raniel van Trias.
The man tilted his head at Aila, then his gaze shifted to the mage behind her. The two mages' eyes met in the air.
-So you're the famed mage from the rumors.
-Court Mage Gelric? What happened to you?
-Step aside, young mage. I don't want unnecessary sacrifices.
The ash-gray haired mage didn't move.
He stood firm, pulling Aila's hand.
-One moment, if you please.
He removed his robe and handed it to Aila.
-Hide behind and wear this. For now, I've drawn the circuits, so it'll protect you from the impact.
Aila slowly nodded.
Then she hid under the desk, pulling the robe over her head completely. The loose robe fully covered her body.
And then the shock began.
The library started shaking.
With the robe over her, Aila curled up. Like burrowing under blankets, she hugged her knees and bowed her head.
She closed her eyes and covered her ears.
After that, her memories blurred. The ground shook several times. Light seeped through her closed eyelids. Noise leaked through her plugged ears.
Something flashed.
Something shattered.
How much time passed like that.
Tap.
Someone touched the robe. Aila flinched but soon realized no hostility and slowly lifted the robe.
Aila looked around.
Toppled bookshelves. Books scattered on the floor. Corpses of numerous beasts.
And.
The traitor Gelric's corpse with a pierced heart.
Black blood flowed from him, soaking the floor.
Aila looked up.
......
There stood that man.
He was slightly bent at the waist, looking down at Aila.
-Are you alright?
Soot marred his ash-gray hair. A faint haze dulled his once-clear blue eyes. He was far from unscathed.
Battered.
Yet the man stood firm on his own two feet.
-Get up.
He extended a hand.
-Princess.
He spoke in his usual voice and smiled at Aila. She recalled that smile.
She recalled the feeling from back then.
...Was it the sunlight flooding in?
Or was it her first prophecy as Stella, the Star-Blessed Child?
That day, in Aila's eyes, that man—
Raniel, who would later be called the Ashen Mage—had looked like a shining star.
Pfft.
Recalling it brought an involuntary smile.
Aila slowly opened her eyes. She shook her head lightly to dispel the memories.
Looking back now, it was funny.
She could call it a childhood embarrassment.
'Back then, I thought it was love at first sight, probably?'
At the time, she'd thought it puppy love, blinded by infatuation. But considering that man's—Raniel's—achievements now...
'That must have been my first prophecy.'
Perhaps it was a prophecy as a child of the stars.
That's what Aila thought now.
"Still, it was my first love, in a way."
Pouting her lips, Aila murmured.
"What is he doing now, I wonder?"
No one knew his whereabouts.
Rumors said he'd been recruited by ancient dragons, or invited by ancient elves.
Either way, just rumors.
No sightings of the Ashen Mage circulated.
'Still, there are people who resemble him.'
The Ashen Mage Raniel.
Thinking of that man, another person's image kept overlapping in her mind.
Lania van Trias.
It might be rude to the professor, but Aila sensed traces of Raniel in her.
'The vibe is similar.'
It wasn't just the ash-gray hair and blue eyes—those distinctive features. Appearance alone made linking them hard.
The Raniel Aila remembered was sharp.
Prickly, sensitive, with a tense edge to his impression.
In contrast, Professor Lania?
Her eyes were a bit sharp, but not prickly or sensitive. Rather soft impression.
'A bit aloof too.'
Either way, they didn't look alike.
Of course, excluding looks, there were connections: Rosel's disciple and adopted child, exceptional mage, dismantled Skeval's barrier, etc.
Many links, but.
Not decisive enough to overturn Aila's intuition.
Aila's eyes were certain Raniel and Lania were different people. Even the stars affirmed it.
'So they must be different people...'
But why.
Aila kept feeling they were the same.
Just a feeling.
Not intuition. Maybe her own similar experiences causing illusion.
"Probably just my imagination."
Aila smiled wryly.
To begin with, a man turning into a woman was absurd. Not even polymorph—gender reversal insulted and betrayed the stars that blessed the body from birth.
"Sigh..."
Aila sighed and rolled over.
Then, a voice came from outside.
-Princess.
"Yes, what is it?"
-Professor Lania is here to see you.
"...Pardon?"
Suddenly?
"W-Wait a moment!"
Aila jumped out of bed. She brushed her tousled hair and draped a shawl over her shoulders.
"You can come in now!"
-Yes, understood.
Soon the door opened.
Aila swept back her hair falling over her ears and glanced at the entering figure.
Professor Lania.
With a faint soap scent, she entered. Skin fresh as if just bathed.
But what caught Aila's eye was different.
Her outfit was a bit different from usual.
Not neat robes, but casual clothes that looked comfortable. Aila tilted her head.
'Hm?'
Not the robe she'd gifted. But she soon recalled a reason.
'Must be in the wash, soiled.'
Soaked in beast blood. Nodding slightly at the thought, Aila spoke.
"What brings you here, Professor Lania?"
"Uh, well... Hello. Princess."
"...?"
Something felt off.
Unlike usual, her response was awkward. She could barely meet eyes.
"...What's wrong?"
"No, um. It's just..."
She hid something behind her back.
Aila narrowed her eyes.
"What's that?"
"Pardon?"
"What you just hid behind your back. What's that?"
"Ah, that... um."
Aila peeked sideways. Lania shifted half a step too.
"...What are you doing?"
"Mm..."
After hesitation, she revealed what she held.
'...Clothes?'
A pure white shirt.
Golden embroidery on the collar—she recognized it as her gift.
"Why this...?"
"Here."
She pointed to one side of the shirt.
A tear mark. And clumsy stitching.
"...It's torn?"
Aila's eyes narrowed.