Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Next Mage Tower Lord, Resti (Part 1)
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People often bind themselves without realizing it.
The reasons for those bindings don't have to be grandiose.
Childhood nightmares, regrets from mistakes... things like that cause people to limit their own potential.
And.
That was true for Resti Eleanor, the next lord of the Ashen Mage Tower, as well. Resti reflected on her past.
The memory she recalled was from quite a long time ago.
A story from before she had even received the family name Eleanor.
In other words, from her time at the orphanage.
Resti had been a slightly unusual child even at the orphanage.
While the other kids played outside, Resti holed up in the orphanage library. It was filled with all sorts of books because the director was a retired mage.
Resti loved reading books.
She enjoyed analyzing and exploring things. She was born with the natural talent of a mage. So, it was only natural that she became interested in circuits.
"She's such a unique kid."
"Always holed up in the library, right?"
"What's wrong with that? Quiet kids are good."
The teachers who saw her reading laughed.
They just had those light thoughts when they looked at Resti.
No one could have imagined it.
That a child who hadn't properly learned magic would complete the summoning circle for a familiar drawn in a grimoire.
Scritch.
Like piecing together a puzzle, Resti drew the circuit.
She assembled it piece by piece, completing the circuit. Just finishing it was an incredible talent.
If she had merely completed it.
There wouldn't have been any problem.
But Resti infused it with mana.
She knew that was what truly 'completed' the circuit.
After all, it wasn't the first or second time she'd done it.
Resti would sneak out at night and summon spirits to play with. So, she thought this time would be no different.
And so.
She mistook the familiar for something like a spirit.
"Huh?"
Her fortune was that she had talent.
Her misfortune was that her talent went beyond limits.
Young Resti didn't have enough mana.
If there's not enough mana, the circuit doesn't activate. That's normal. The problem was that Resti's talent wasn't normal.
Kkiiig.
Her talent found a way to compensate for the lacking mana. Her starlight-filled eyes naturally realized 'how' to supply the mana.
It modifies the circuit.
What Resti wanted was for the circuit to activate.
Her talent responded to her wish.
The mana-intensive 'control' circuit is dismantled.
And so, the half-baked circuit is completed.
The completed circuit emits light.
A familiar from another world is summoned into reality.
"D-Director!"
"Evacuate the children, quickly!"
The summoned familiar was different from Resti's imagination.
It wasn't cute like a spirit. It wasn't kind. Saliva dripped from its gaping maw.
Sharp teeth, sharp claws.
And blood-red eyes.
It was a beast.
Familiars are different from spirits.
Unlike spirits, which are inherently gentle and intelligent, familiars move by instinct.
The summoner's role is to hold their reins.
Resti hadn't known that and removed the control circuit. The result was disastrous.
Grrroooaaarrr!
The uncontrolled familiar rampaged.
The guards who arrived late suppressed it, but not without casualties.
Someone got hurt.
Blood splattered.
No one died, but there were injuries.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
Resti felt fear at that fact.
She felt terror at her own talent.
In the end.
She extinguished her own light.
She even forgot that she had done so.
"So you're the kid from the rumors."
Soon after, Resti was taken in by an elder from the Ashen Mage Tower who had heard the rumors.
Even after being adopted by the elder, Resti didn't use her talent. She didn't cover her eyes with that halo of light.
Because the world she saw that way terrified her.
Because she couldn't imagine what might happen.
"Yeah, you're scared, aren't you."
The elder understood Resti.
He never forced her to use her talent, even until his dying moment.
He merely offered advice at the very end.
"You've become able to handle everything you possess. You're already an excellent mage."
Advice she couldn't accept at the time.
"It's telling you to keep going until you're satisfied."
But now, she understood that advice.
Recalling it, Resti closed her eyes. The halo enveloped her pupils.
The flame she had once extinguished.
She held that flame in her eyes once more.
"......"
With the halo drawn forth, Resti opened her eyes.
Upon opening them, what she saw was the scenery of Aphria.
In the garden on the outskirts of Aphria.
Sitting on a bench with a full view of the garden, Resti gazed at it.
Afternoon sunlight drowsily illuminated the garden.
Flower petals swayed in the spring breeze.
The scent of spring lingered with the rustling grass.
The world viewed through platinum-tinged eyes was a bit brighter and clearer than before. Feeling the warmth of the coffee cup in her hand, Resti thought.
...It feels like I have a little more leeway now.
That was just the feeling.
She had always lived being chased by something.
Lived suppressing something.
Now that she had unraveled it, her mind felt much more at ease. Feeling a strange sense of liberation, Resti casually turned her head.
Everything seemed a little different.
But some things hadn't changed.
When she turned her head to look beside her.
"......"
There sat a mage.
Her hair was ash-gray.
Her eyes were blue. Whether by her slender limbs or her figure, she didn't seem much older than Resti.
Her appearance was no different from the students'.
However, the sharp suit different from student uniforms added gravitas to her look. Her unique mystical aura contributed as well.
She sat with her legs crossed, back against the bench rest. One arm draped over the bench, the other tilting a coffee cup.
Sipping her coffee like that.
Her demeanor was the same as always.
Like someone holding starlight, she had a soft glow. That light felt comforting to Resti.
"So."
Eventually, she parted her lips from the coffee cup.
Slowly turned her head to look at Resti.
"What is it you want to ask?"
2.
"Grade top student, Resti."
Aphria's dean, Aaron, flipped a page.
Resti Eleanor.
The adopted daughter brought in by the Ashen Mage Tower elder.
And the next lord of the Ashen Mage Tower. When she first expressed her intent to enroll, Aaron was quite flustered.
Because it was the Ashen Mage Tower, of all places.
Originally, each mage tower specializes in different fields based on their color.
For example, White focuses on basic mana operation and elemental magic studies. Black researches the concept of stocking spells.
Red, Green—though their fields differ, they all have specialties.
So, if it had been the next lord from another mage tower... her enrollment wouldn't have been so surprising. You could just think she wanted to learn a different field.
In fact, Belnoa and Rak were examples of that.
But the Ashen Mage Tower was different.
The Ashen Mage Tower has no specialty. It deals with all fields of magic studies.
So, being the next Ashen lord means...
Mastery of most fields.
She's no longer at a student's level. She could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with professors without falling behind much.
Such an exceptional child enrolled at Aphria.
As Aphria's dean, Aaron wanted her to gain something from it.
...Not necessarily magical advancement. That's not what Aphria was built for.
He thought long and hard.
And came up with his own answer.
"That's why I asked you a favor."
Aaron turned his head.
There sat his old friend, chin propped up.
Rosel van Trias.
Aaron had asked the man called a sage.
"To find me a capable professor."
"I remember."
It was a conversation from some time ago.
He'd said 'capable professor,' but Rosel had guessed who he meant.
A mage outstanding by Rosel's standards.
That could only be the Ashen mage, Raniel.
"You were hoping for my first disciple."
"Yes, I figured you, of all people, would know the whereabouts of an Ashen mage."
"...Did it have to be Raniel?"
Rosel asked, and Aaron shrugged.
"This child."
Thud. The page he pointed to had 'Resti Eleanor' written on it.
"I'm not as sharp-eyed as an Ashen elder or you. I'm not great at spotting talented kids either."
But, Aaron continued.
"I could tell this child hasn't broken out of her shell yet."
Unbloomed talent.
Aaron didn't know what it was. But as a long-time educator, he had a hunch.
That the talent was on the verge of blooming.
But hadn't encountered the decisive trigger.
What could serve as that trigger?
It wasn't hard to figure out.
"And I vaguely sensed it was related to an Ashen mage."
"......"
"That's why I told you. If possible, even a special lecture... if you could invite her in some way."
"You did."
Aaron smiled wryly.
"If possible, I wanted those two to meet."
"Why?"
"Breaking through the surrounding shell doesn't always require a grand trigger."
A few short words.
Even a few lines of text can bring enlightenment. What's important is who says it. The existence of someone who understands.
Aaron simply thought that for Resti, that person was the Ashen mage Raniel.
"Still, well..."
Thud. Aaron closed the file.
"This is probably my greed."
He knew it was greed.
It wasn't just for Resti; it would lead to growth for all students... but calling in a sage resting after retiring from the battlefield wasn't right.
It would be rude to the Ashen mage too.
If he appeared in any capacity, the royals wouldn't let him go. Neighboring countries were eyeing Raniel as well.
That would disrupt his hard-earned peace.
Aaron sighed.
"In any case, I hope you keep an eye on Resti. You're the only one who seems fit to teach her."
"Hmm."
Rosel removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"I think there's someone even more suitable than me for that."
He turned his head.
Rosel's gaze went to the sunlit window. Aaron tilted his head at the vague words.
"...What do you mean?"
"You'll see."
3.
What she wanted to ask.
There were plenty of things she wanted to ask.
How the professor appeared there.
What that note was.
Had she anticipated Skeval's attack?
What on earth happened when she covered her with the robe and headed deep into the forest?
Such questions arose.
But she didn't particularly want to pry for answers. They weren't that important.
The important thing is...
That Professor Lania had looked after her.
And helped her.
Just those two things.
What she really wanted to ask was something else.
"Um..."
Resti hesitated for a moment.
Her mouth wouldn't open easily. She wondered if even asking would be rude...
As Resti stayed silent, Professor Lania smiled and spoke first.
"Don't hold back. Just say it comfortably. It's fine."
"...Professor Lania."
Resti continued slowly.
"I heard you studied magic under Elder Rosel for a very long time."
"That's right. About ten years. Though I was only officially recognized as a disciple recently."
"Then."
Something she had always wanted to ask at least once.
Resti put it into words.
"Have you ever met Lord Raniel?"
At that question, Professor Lania smiled wryly.
"Yeah."
And answered.
"A lot. Tons."
Author's Note (Afterword)
The lower part (Part 2) will be up soon.