Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Epilogue (4)
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The capital's streets were abuzz with noise.
Everyone was busy chattering about the unprecedented incident that had just occurred.
And it was well worth the fuss.
A black barrier had enveloped the Harmain Forest.
Aphria Academy students had fallen victim to demonic energy poisoning.
A magic beast terror attack had struck Aphria Academy once again.
Each one was the kind of event that warranted breaking news bulletins.
And they had all happened in quick succession.
In Aphria Academy, right in the heart of the capital, no less.
Given that Aphria was where the heirs of numerous noble houses gathered, the repercussions were massive.
The royal family would have wanted to hush it all up as quietly as possible...
But that wasn't happening. There were simply too many witnesses to cover it up.
More precisely, too many people had seen the barrier.
That black barrier that had unfolded that day symbolized a certain mage.
'A barrier like a black wave.'
At first, it had surged in like a wave, unrecognizable in the chaos...
But a calm reflection made the answer obvious.
A barrier whose dismantling method had only recently been revealed.
The barrier of the ancient lich, Skeval.
In other words, Skeval was the mastermind behind this incident. A calamity-level monster had appeared in the capital. Newspapers were flying off the shelves. Rumors spread like wildfire through word of mouth.
Around that point, one question arose.
'Just who...'
It was strange, when you thought about it.
Despite a being of that magnitude appearing in the capital, there had been no casualties whatsoever.
So then...
'Just who faced off against Skeval?'
Who had resolved this incident?
Aphria's faculty all gave the same answer in unison.
The Hero had appeared.
The Hero had stood against the barrier.
That was how the public reports framed it. A joint operation between the Hero, the knight order, and the special forces unit known as the Hounds had repelled Skeval.
But the truth was different.
Only a handful of Hounds who had actually participated in the operation knew the real story.
That an Ashen Mage had been there.
* * *
Immediately after the incident, the Hounds combed through the Harmain Forest, clad in mana-blocking robes.
It should have been a one-day job under normal circumstances, but...
the Harmain Forest was saturated with mana, and even the blocking robes couldn't fully contain it.
Progress was slow as a result.
Nevertheless, as the hunting dogs methodically searched the forest, they finally discovered something deep within.
"Senior, this is..."
"...Yeah. I see it."
The site presumed to be the battlefield where Skeval had been fought.
A small group of Hounds had gathered there. One of them, their representative, approached the scene.
"......"
Hound Kalt stared at the site, lost in thought.
'They really turned this place into a total mess...'
Kalt sighed inwardly.
What lay before his eyes was a forest landscape that resembled utter ruins.
Trees uprooted everywhere.
The ground cracked and split open, littered with drag marks from something slamming down and being hauled around.
And it wasn't sword scars.
Not the marks of slashes or stabs from a blade.
Traces of spells clashing against spells.
Marks left by impact-series spells.
And...
'Ashen dust.'
Kalt smiled wryly.
The incident site held more information than expected. And the Hounds were experts drilled endlessly in extracting it.
"Senior, this is..."
Some had already pieced it together from the scene.
It wasn't hard to figure out. Only one person left traces this distinctive.
"Yeah."
Kalt stated matter-of-factly.
"Traces of the Ashen Mage, Lady Raniel's involvement."
There was no hesitation in voicing the truth of the incident.
It had all been discussed beforehand, after all.
-It's gonna be hard to hide that I was the one who did it anyway.
-Against an average foe, maybe, but Skeval? No way to fight while keeping it under wraps.
Kalt strode boldly toward the center of the site.
The other Hounds followed behind.
-So I left a letter.
-Tucked it under the sturdiest-looking tree. Grab it and report back.
He reached for the letter paper placed at the base of a tree.
It bore the seal used by the Ashen Mage, Raniel. Kalt tore it open and read the contents.
"Hm."
Kalt nodded slightly and turned to the Hounds. Their eyes were fixed on the letter in his hand.
Meeting their gazes, Kalt spoke.
"Lady Raniel's involvement is confirmed. I'll deliver this letter to the palace myself."
"...Uh, Senior Kalt?"
A few Hounds piped up with questions.
"What did the letter say?"
Their eyes gleamed with curious anticipation. Kalt pondered for a moment before relaying the contents verbatim.
"...She had urgent business and had to leave early, so she's entrusting the cleanup to us."
"Urgent business?"
"That's what it says. I don't know the details either."
Of course, it was a lie.
Kalt remembered Raniel heading off, muttering about needing to grade exam papers.
'...Can't exactly report it verbatim.'
Kalt sighed as he watched the Hounds start speculating wildly.
"Get back to work. We need to wrap this up by today."
2.
The Fourth Princess, Aila.
Her eyes widened in shock as she asked again.
Her gaze was fixed on her guard knight, Havel, standing at the door.
"Havel? What did you just say?"
"...Well, Lady Raniel was involved in this incident. Unlike the public reports."
With that, Havel placed a stack of documents on the table.
Aila quickly flipped through the papers Havel had handed her, scanning the contents.
"So, Skeval's subjugation wasn't done solely by the Hero..."
Aila looked up.
"It was closer to Lady Raniel doing it alone?"
"Yes, that's the Hounds' assessment. They said traces of the holy sword being swung were hard to find."
The marks left by the holy sword were distinctive.
They left trails of light atop the cuts. That light didn't fade easily and repelled demonic energy.
'No such traces mean...'
The holy sword hadn't been wielded at all.
Aila furrowed her brow.
"...Why wasn't this fact made public? Everyone thinks the Hero did it."
She shot Havel a dissatisfied look.
'This is basically stealing her achievements, isn't it?'
She didn't hate the Hero.
But from Aila's perspective, who admired Raniel even more, this was deeply unpleasant.
"...Lady Raniel explicitly instructed not to reveal her involvement."
"What?"
Aila tilted her head at the response.
Misinterpreting her reaction, Havel added more.
"The palace says they've sent the subjugation reward and compensation to Lord Rosel's address."
"No, wait. Not reveal her involvement? What does that mean?"
"Ah, apparently Lady Raniel left a letter at the scene. That's what's in it."
You'll find it in the report.
Aila turned from Havel's words back to the documents.
A few pages in, she found a transcription of the letter discovered at the site. Aila skimmed it. It was written in straightforward prose.
The key points boiled down to this:
Do not disclose her involvement.
Decline all offers of high positions made to her.
She had no intention of rejoining the knight order or any similar group for the time being.
It plainly stated what needed to be conveyed.
As she read on, she reached the final line. Unlike the rest, it was addressed differently.
To those who would first discover this letter.
To the Hounds.
-I have urgent business and must leave first.
-I'm leaving the cleanup to you.
Aila narrowed her eyes.
'...Urgent business?'
What could it be?
Aila summarized the situation.
The Ashen Mage, whose whereabouts had been unknown for months after retiring, had suddenly appeared. And there was good reason for it.
'The ancient lich Skeval's assault on the capital.'
The assault had been thwarted in advance, but if action had been even slightly delayed...
The damage would have been incalculable.
It was certainly an incident worthy of drawing the Ashen Mage.
The regrettable part came afterward.
'After handling something that big...'
Without a word, without revealing herself, the Ashen Mage had vanished. Leaving only a letter about urgent business.
"Hmm..."
Aila rested her chin on her hand, blinking.
'What in the world are they up to?'
It was a mystery.
She'd always been a bit enigmatic, so she must have her reasons. Aila murmured as she recalled the Ashen Mage from memory.
"...What a shame."
The child beloved by the stars, Stella.
Was even this talent not omnipotent? Aila felt regret at missing the meeting she'd longed for.
"I wanted to meet you."
There were words she desperately wanted to say.
Aila opened a drawer. Inside were dozens of sealed letters.
The Ashen Mage, Raniel.
Letters she'd written since childhood, intending to send to that mage. Ones she'd agonized over sending but ultimately tucked away unsent.
Aila pulled out the most recent one. She'd finally mustered the resolve to send it, but now she couldn't.
The Ashen Mage had retired.
There was no way to deliver a letter to her. She could go through her master, but...
'Lord Rosel said he doesn't know Lady Raniel's whereabouts either.'
Even that wasn't certain.
She stroked the envelope absentmindedly, belated regret washing over her.
'If I'd known, I would've sent at least one before the retirement.'
Aila let out a deep sigh.
"There was something I absolutely had to tell you."
3.
Three days after the incident.
Repairs to the buildings were nearing completion, as was the removal of lingering demonic energy residue from Aphria's dorms.
Dean Aron was pleased with that fact.
Clearing out demonic energy was a tedious, time-consuming ordeal under normal circumstances. Not a speck could be left behind.
That's why he'd planned another extended break, but...
Fortunately, the Saintess who arrived with the Hero had swept away all of Aron's worries.
Clap.
With a single clap from the Saintess and a flourish of her priestess robes, the demonic energy dissipated. Before the radiant light, the lingering darkness vanished without a trace.
"It was nothing short of a miracle."
Aron nodded, offering sincere praise.
"Thanks to that, a short-term suspension of classes should suffice. Truly a blessing. We've averted the worst."
"......"
"Plus, all the students poisoned by demonic energy have fully recovered thanks to you, Lady Saintess. A true act of grace."
Aron sipped his tea with a smile.
"Isn't that right, Rosel?"
"...Yeah, sure."
"Why the long face? You look like you bit into a bug."
Aron shot a glance at his friend seated across from him.
'...Did something ruffle his feathers?'
His already sharp eyes seemed even sharper today.
"It's nothing. Just a bit tired."
"...What kind of nonsense is that?"
"It happens."
Rosel set his coffee cup down with a clink.
"So, why'd you call me here?"
"Nothing major. How's Miss Lania holding up? I heard she was poisoned by demonic energy..."
Aron trailed off.
He'd heard the news a day after the incident.
Professor Lania hadn't shown up, and it turned out she was recovering at home from demonic energy poisoning. She'd been near the barrier, apparently.
'Makes sense. With that slender frame, enduring the demonic energy from the barrier would be tough.'
Not to mention beating apostates barehanded.
She had more magical knowledge than met the eye, but still... she was a delicate girl without battlefield experience.
'...Though calling her delicate might be a stretch.'
Whatever the case, thinking of that girl suffering from demonic energy didn't sit well with Aron.
'And she came to work today, even in that state?'
Dragging her ailing body to campus.
He admired her dedication, but wished she'd take better care of herself first.
'Come to think of it, is the Saintess still here?'
Then she could just ask her.
"That's exactly it."
Aron clapped his hands.
"Rosel."
"What is it, Aron?"
"If you asked the Saintess on behalf of your disciple..."
"Absolutely not."
"...Huh?"
Rosel's eyes bulged.
"Absolutely, under no circumstances."
"Wh-Why react like that? Wouldn't it be good for Miss Lania too?"
Good for her, good for her.
Rosel had heard the Saintess was staying on campus and promptly confined his disciple to the estate.
Well, tried to.
'That kid's not the type to obediently stay put...'
In the end, despite Rosel's pleas, his disciple had come to work at Aphria.
"Hoo..."
Imagining Raniel holed up in the faculty lounge, Rosel pinched his brow. Today alone, keeping her from crossing paths with the Saintess had him breaking out in cold sweats.
The Saintess was roaming all over Aphria.
Leave Raniel unsupervised, and they'd bump into each other for sure.
'Especially the cafe. I have to keep her from going there at all costs.'
How many times had he grabbed Raniel by the scruff when she tried heading for coffee and forced her back to her seat? Being on high alert all day had left him mentally and physically drained.
Rosel had his reasons for going to such lengths.
The Saintess and Raniel.
Let those two meet, and... he couldn't even imagine the fallout. But one thing was certain: it wouldn't end well.
-Oh, that crazy bitch?
-What would you do if you ran into her?
-Hmm...
What had his disciple answered?
-Dunno. Probably nothing much.
-Though I'd probably rip all her clothes off first. At least yank her hair out.
-What? No violence against people!
His disciple had answered with a smile.
-But Master,
-She's not human.
The bright, cheerful voice of his disciple echoed in his ears.
The image of her smiling innocently while cracking her knuckles floated before his eyes.
'If those two meet...'
Rosel had a gut feeling.
'One of them dies.'
And high odds it would be the Saintess. Rosel wasn't confident he could handle the aftermath.
'Please, just stay in the faculty office...'
* * *
Knock knock.
"Come in."
I poked my head out and looked toward the door.
A student stood there.
"Resti?"
"Hello, Professor Lania."
She bowed her head politely.
"What brings you here?"
"I thought I should return this. And I have a few questions..."
I glanced at the clock. I'd been thinking of grabbing a coffee anyway.
"Wait a sec."
I draped the cape hanging over my chair and stood up.
"Like coffee?"
"Pardon?"
"We'll talk over coffee. Let's go."