Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Epilogue (3)
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Me and Kalt sat on a bench on the outskirts of Harmain Forest, gazing at the setting sun. Naturally, no one comes all the way out here.
It was on the complete opposite side from Aphria, and right now, knights were patrolling the area around Harmain Forest with eyes wide open.
As long as Kalt was in charge of this place, no one would ever come to this sector.
We sat there, chatting for a while.
About how the incident had unfolded, whether things were okay on his end, how it had all been resolved smoothly here...
As our conversation was wrapping up...
"Whew..."
Kalt stretched and opened his mouth.
He let out a sigh and straightened his back.
"In any case, it looks like the incident has been neatly wrapped up."
"Seems that way."
"Very neatly, in fact."
Just as Kalt said.
The incident had truly ended without any significant damage.
Resti, who had been possessed as the medium, had returned to Aphria unscathed, and even there, only the outer walls of the buildings were damaged... no casualties reported.
"It's all thanks to you, Lady Raniel."
"You think so?"
"...Shouldn't you at least act a little humble here?"
"It's the truth."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, honestly, even if I hadn't stepped in... I think Kyle would've handled it somehow."
"But the medium would've died."
"Probably. Back at the start of the journey, maybe not, but now he doesn't really care about casualties."
He avoids troublesome matters on purpose.
His reputation as the Hero won't crack just because one or two people die in the middle of a mission. Kyle knows that well.
Success of the operation matters more than a couple of sacrifices right away. That's the mindset Kyle has.
So...
'...He could've saved her.'
But he wouldn't have bothered.
The moment Resti, possessed by Skeval, appeared before the altar, Kyle probably would've cut her down on the spot.
"It wouldn't have been the wrong call."
It would've been easier that way.
No need to take unnecessary risks.
A moment's hesitation can lead to an uncontrollable disaster. That's what you learn from battlefield experience. Even if you can save someone, sometimes you have to let go.
If you lack the ability.
If you don't have the capacity to spare.
"You have to know when to give up sometimes."
I rested my chin on my hand and stared at the sunlight.
"Still, as much as possible... it's better to save even one more life."
"Is that so?"
"Don't you think?"
"If that's what Lady Raniel says, then sure."
Lady Raniel, huh.
I glanced at Kalt for a moment.
"Hey, can't you stop calling me 'Lady Raniel'? It feels kinda weird."
"...You told me not to call you 'Captain,' didn't you?"
"That was wrong from the start. 'Captain' isn't something you call a person."
Kalt pondered for a bit before speaking up.
"How about 'Senior' then?"
"Senior? Me?"
As far as I remembered, Kalt had been a knight on the battlefield even before I arrived. And now he was calling me senior?
'Doesn't that feel a bit off?'
As I tilted my head, Kalt added,
"We hounds just call anyone stronger than us 'Senior.' It's not like we have a strict hierarchy."
"Oh..."
Now that I thought about it, 'Senior' did feel better than 'Lady Raniel.' I nodded slightly.
'That's one thing.'
But there was something I'd been curious about since last time.
I opened my mouth to ask.
"By the way, Kalt."
"Yes?"
"How did you recognize me?"
"Pardon?"
Thinking back, it was pretty strange.
So far, only the elf and Cardi had recognized me. Skeval didn't count since he was behind it all.
'Even my master didn't recognize me at first.'
Aila, the Star-Blessed Child Stella, hadn't recognized me either. Kyle, the Hero blessed by the stars, hadn't either.
'Come to think of it... isn't this guy kinda unique?'
A guy who hadn't received anything from the stars recognizing me was a bit amazing in itself.
"Well... Senior."
Finally, Kalt answered my question.
"Do you happen to know what my habit is?"
"Dog nose? Sniffing?"
"That... is part of it, but."
Kalt pulled something out of his coat pocket.
It was a magical tool like a small memo pad with pages bound together. He flipped through the pages one by one as he continued.
"I make notes of everyone's habits and little movements around me, or memorize them all."
"...Really?"
"That way, it's easier to spot possessions or brainwashing. Why do you think they call me Tracker for nothing?"
With that, Kalt held out the magical tool to me.
I checked the page he had open.
"...Whoa."
It was all information about me.
I handed the memo back to Kalt in shock. He shrugged proudly and said,
"When all those little habits overlap perfectly, it has to be the same person, right? Even in that short battle, I spotted over ten habits I'd seen before."
"Uh... yeah..."
This guy has a bit of a creepy side to him.
I shook my head and sighed.
"...Well, since you don't know magic, you could be convinced by that."
"Pardon?"
"Nah, just a thought."
I shot a glance at Kalt, who was tilting his head.
Kalt was ignorant of magic. He wouldn't know about the structure of deals with the stars. If he did...
'He wouldn't be so sure either.'
As a mage, I knew.
How impossible it was to fundamentally transform the body or corrupt the soul.
Temporarily changing an arm or leg? Possible. But permanently altering the entire body... at least not with spells.
As an example, if you cut off a limb and graft someone else's instead of regenerating... mana wouldn't flow through that part.
The stars had decreed it so.
It was a rule, a taboo.
'The body and soul granted at birth cannot be interfered with in any way.'
What could interfere with it...
'Beings beyond common sense. Things unbound by rules.'
The Demon King.
Just that black sludge heap.
"No wonder he didn't recognize me."
I muttered as much.
Those who receive something from the stars tend to overtrust them. The stars' teachings are never wrong.
Aila hadn't recognized me.
She seemed to sense some similarity, but treated me as a separate person.
'Because the stars judged it so.'
Kyle hadn't either.
He seemed to grasp some clue, which was why he provoked me at the end. But even he didn't ultimately see me as the same person.
'...Because the stars whispered it to him.'
He just stared at me blankly, looking flustered.
'The stars don't see me as Raniel.'
Maybe they think the soul is different.
There was no way to know right now. Only one person I could ask about this.
Cardi.
The one who seemed to know about the curse on me.
I sighed as I recalled the mysterious silver-haired elf.
'...Might need to pay her a visit.'
There were things I needed to ask.
About what this shadow of the stars really was.
Still, that could wait. I'd figure it out step by step. For now, I wanted to appreciate how the incident had ended on a good note.
I smiled faintly and looked at Kalt.
"Anyway, good work, Kalt."
"Yes, you too, Senior. Though honestly, I'll be busy with cleanup for a while."
He gave a wry smile as he said it.
"In case any traitors show up, we'll have to patrol extra hard for a bit."
"I see."
"Yes, so, Senior."
Kalt suddenly asked,
"Is that girl who was chosen as the medium okay?"
At a glance, it sounded like he was asking about Resti's condition, but knowing Kalt's personality... it was a different kind of question.
'Any risk of defection?'
That's surely what he meant.
To that question, I rested my chin and declared firmly.
"She's fine."
"...Really?"
"She seemed resolved."
Moreover. I muttered as I tapped the corner of my eye.
"She seemed to have realized something."
What she possessed.
I recalled Resti's eyes from the end. Eyes shimmering with platinum light.
Different from the Hero's star blessing.
Different from Stella, beloved by the stars.
It was a completely different kind of talent.
And that talent was on the verge of blooming.
When it fully bloomed, and Resti claimed it as her own...
"She might even catch that madwoman Gletus."
"...Pardon?"
I chuckled, envisioning a not-too-distant future.
Aphria, the cradle of magic where talents who would lead the era gathered, right?
Indeed, just as they say.
"Ngh."
I stretched languidly and stood up. I took a deep breath and cracked my neck a couple times for good measure.
In any case, the noisy incident was over.
Unlike the battlefield, where new crises popped up right after one ended, now that it was done, it was back to daily life. With a proper job, work would follow too.
I wondered what tomorrow would bring.
It wasn't hard to imagine.
Probably sitting in a café... sipping coffee while planning the curriculum and grading exams.
Thinking about those days...
Surprisingly, they didn't sound so bad.
"Heading out?"
"Yeah. Gotta get back. Exams to grade."
"Haha."
Kalt let out an inadvertent laugh.
I turned to look at him.
"...What?"
"Nothing, just feels unfamiliar."
"What does?"
"When you said you're a professor, I thought it didn't suit you at all. Figured you'd be beating up students or something."
"...This isn't the battlefield, why would I."
"Just saying."
Kalt looked at me and said,
"Still, you seem to fit the role better than I thought."
"You think?"
"Yeah, looks like your second job is pretty satisfying?"
At that, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Hey."
Second job, my ass.
"It's not two, it's three, you idiot."
Next Lord of the Ashen Mage Tower, mage of the Hero Party.
After quitting both... now I was playing professor at Aphria.
From active duty at the Mage Tower.
To retirement, then professor.
It was a more logical career path than I expected, and I ended up laughing without realizing it.
2.
Three days after the Aphria attack.
Resti, who had been under protective treatment for those three days, was finally able to leave the infirmary today. She stopped by her dorm to change clothes.
From patient gown to uniform.
She draped a cape over her shoulders and reached for the robe hanging in the closet. The robe that Professor Lania had draped over her that day.
'The emblem of the Ashen Mage, Raniel.'
It was originally the Ashen Mage Tower's emblem... but about three years ago, the Ashen Mage Tower changed it. To signify that it now solely represented the Ashen Mage.
Why did Professor Lania have it?
No questions there. All of the Ashen Mage's belongings would have gone to his master, Elder Rosel.
It wasn't strange for Professor Lania, Rosel's disciple, to have it.
"......"
Resti stared at the robe for a moment.
It was an emblem she'd seen to death in the Mage Tower.
Every document the Ashen Mage had worked on bore that mark, and the elders would throw them at her for comparison.
Back then, it pissed her off every time she saw it. She'd fold the papers to hide the emblem.
But now...?
No particular feeling.
If anything, looking at it brought Professor Lania's face to mind, making her feel a little good.
"Weird."
She gave an awkward smile and stepped out of the room. Robe in one hand, exam paper in the other.
Her destination was the same as always.
Professor Mana Trading's office.
Before heading there, Resti glanced at the mirror. Her eyes reflected there shimmered with rising platinum light.