The Great Valenos Swings His Sword
The great Valenos sword cut through the air. The dance of ice flowed smoothly in straight lines and diagonals, filling the territory's training grounds with its resounding echo. Two years ago, he'd taught Karin swordsmanship here. Since then, he hadn't seen her face even once.
Was it because it had been so long since he'd come here? Or because he'd spent sixteen years of his life in this place? Old memories began to well up vividly.
'This is where the frost mana first ignited.'
After that, he'd gone into his father's study every single day, scouring parchment scrolls for magic. He'd devoured them, practiced relentlessly, and adapted them for real combat. It wasn't just the parchments. He'd spun his core, forged an Ice Blade, and refined his magic circuits to perfection. He'd handled rune languages, arranged them meticulously, and diligently studied fairy and spirit tongues to align them properly. He'd even created new incantations. These were things he hadn't accomplished in his past life, so it thrilled him to no end. Above all, it was fun.
In his past life, his desire to learn magic stemmed from wondering if swordsmanship alone had its limits. That's why Rian Rose had thought, If I can't wield it, at least I'll learn the knowledge. Those efforts had now borne fruit. Even after a thousand years, the world hadn't changed much. If anything, civilization remained on a similar level.
'Well, we smashed magitech completely.'
Would those scum who only clung to demons bother learning technology? Rowen sighed at the pathetic fools who formed the demon cult, swinging his sword with thoughts of smashing their skulls.
Watching him from afar were two women. One with long black hair cascading to her waist, beautiful and captivating. The other with recently grown red hair styled in a two-side-up, adding to her charm. Mio's hair wasn't that long. It was long, sure, but short compared to Arahan's. Still, seeing Arahan made her wonder if Rowen preferred long hair, so she'd grown hers out impulsively. Not fully adjusted yet, she'd tied it up on both sides. Her already cute face gained even more appeal.
Mio muttered toward Arahan.
"Suspicious."
"What's suspicious, ma'am?"
"...Rian was the one who caught a cold, but you've got it too."
The two watched Rowen sweat it out up close. Arahan and Mio glared at each other.
"Just so you know, I've spent way more time with Rian than you."
But those words didn't faze Arahan. Of course not—Mio hadn't done the things Arahan had. What good was long time together? Confirming even a sliver of a place in his heart was enough for now. It gave her a trigger to suppress her overflowing emotions, even if just a little. So Arahan smiled down at Mio condescendingly.
"...What the hell! That cocky look. No respect for your elders?!"
"An 'elder' trying to seduce an eighteen-year-old boy? Sounds like you wanna storm the imperial prison yourself."
"And what are you, then?"
"Heh, the age gap between the young master and me isn't that big. Not like some hag over a thousand years old."
"Urk..."
"More importantly."
"More importantly?"
Arahan turned her eyes from Mio, gazing solely at Rowen with flushed cheeks. Mio's curiosity ballooned.
"Argh, what is it already! Stop dragging it out!"
"You really want me to say it?"
Gulp.
Arahan's expression was so infuriatingly smug. Mio swallowed hard, unable to resist her curiosity. She's picking a fight! Backing down now is like running away with my tail between my legs. She steeled herself momentarily.
"...Spit it out."
"I kissed the young master."
"Say that again, you bitch. What did you say?"
"I said I kissed the young master. Anything wrong with that? I just did what you couldn't, as usual. Don't flip out. It'll tarnish a great mage's reputation."
Mio's hand trembled. She pointed her index finger at Arahan, clamping her mouth shut.
"You... you...!"
"Yes, you called for me?"
"Nooo! Ugh, I'm going insane! So that's how you caught his cold? ...For real?"
"Yes. We went all the way."
Mio's face hardened. Arahan, perhaps feeling she'd gone too far, smiled and said to Mio,
"Kidding. We didn't go all the way."
"...Phew, good, that's a relief."
"The last time we did was about a week ago."
Arahan smirked at Mio.
"And did you bite a rag with that mouth of yours? 'Bitch'? Ah, were you talking about yourself?"
"...What."
"The young master's foul mouth must be your influence."
"No it's not! It's because of Rian that he's rough!"
"...Stop calling him Rian already. Someone might hear."
"How I call that guy is my choice. Besides, Rian isn't exactly a rare name, is it?"
"It's not common. And the young master now is Rowen."
"To me, he's Rian."
For a moment, Mio fell silent. She bowed her head, trembling, then lifted it cautiously to ask Arahan,
"...Did you really do it?"
"Any reason I'd lie?"
"None! That's the problem. You really... man and woman, that...?"
Mio flushed crimson, twirling her red hair. Her apple-red face, mismatched with her age-appropriate killer figure and immature personality, somehow charmed even more. That very sight made Arahan sense a threat. The faint desire that she might steal the young master away fueled her to check Mio.
"Living a thousand years and still so shy. When a loving man and woman share a room, there's only one thing they do."
"Still! Rian is... Rian is my...!"
"He's my young master. Frankly, I don't like this rolling stone trying to dislodge the firmly embedded one."
"Pot calling the kettle black!"
"You pine for Rian Rose, but I pine for Rowen Valenos. Past lives? Who cares? Above all, his past life memories are nothing but bad ones for him."
Above all.
"In this life, he's suffered pain and piled-up misfortunes, leaving his heart in turmoil. I know Rian Rose's story well too—from my master. But even so."
"Rowen had us. Me, Uba, Abel, Lea too. You gonna deny even the memories we made together?"
"That's exactly why I'm saying this. The young master's past life was an incredibly unhappy one. Even if he had companions like you and Master Uba, it's fact that his father died to the Demon King."
"...That."
"You think it's great that he reincarnated carrying such awful memories? And worse things happened this life than the last. Not just his father—his brother Kael passed too."
Mio mulled over Arahan's words.
...She might not be wrong.
Rian was just his past life memory. She was still viewing him—the man living now as Rowen Valenos alone—through the lens of the past. Arahan asked Mio,
"Even if the young master isn't Rian from his past life, could you still love him, mage?"
"...I."
"I could. It doesn't matter who he was before. I love Rowen. That one sentence explains everything."
"I... I love him too! From a thousand years ago... right up to now!"
"I know. But I'm telling you—I'm the one comforting his past, and the one by his side now."
Mio felt a chill. The murky, dark gleam in Arahan's eyes. Obsession and love embodied, peering deep into Mio. It bordered on madness. The desire to devote everything to Rowen, to stay by him, to be loved—it had taken form. Mio had never seen such a phenomenon.
"...Why are you like this?"
"Heh, it's not a matter of why. It's proof of how much I adore the young master."
* Cave. An underground space devoid of light. Dim, cold, pitch black. But this place was different. Walls of ice everywhere, slippery floor, surroundings lit bright by pure mana stones. These were stalactites formed from mana that escaped the Soul Spring. Above all, the Soul Spring glowed on its own. The reason it shone without external light lay in the spring water—a bridge between the spirit realm and the present world, infused with ancestors' power and souls.
Drip.
A water drop fell from an icicle, hitting the spring with a clear ring. Ripples spread in round waves. Despite an environment hostile to life, a white tree stood there. The soul core planted by progenitor Valenos. To let humans survive in the North, progenitor Valenos—the Spirit King—had created this nexus of life.
"It's been a while."
Rowen gazed at the Soul Spring before him. He hadn't undergone the adult rite, but that didn't mean he couldn't inherit ancestral power. He wasn't Rian from his past life. He was Rowen Valenos now. From the blessed came the blessed, and the blessed received new blessings—an infinite cycle. It was young Valenos's turn to inherit that cycle.
In his past life, the Spirit King had refused him power. But now was different. Rowen approached the Soul Spring, replicating Uba's actions from before. With the spring pristine of foreign matter, he submerged half his body. Cold yet warm energy rose. Myriad spirits began revealing themselves faintly.
Rowen sensed doubt in the spirits' subtle reactions. Because he was illegitimate? As a non-pureblood bastard, were they saying things like 'mixed in' or 'ambiguous'?
...Crunch.
It irritated him a bit. Same as his past life. Mana shortage forced him to use every means. Yet the great Spirit King Valenos showed no pity. Fine, he was an outsider then. But now? Hearing even lesser spirits question his 'qualifications'?
Rowen ignored their voices with all his might, focusing. He poured his swirling mana fully into the spring. Opened the gate to the spirit realm. His core spun fiercely. The bloomed mana flower, ready, craved his blood.
Hummm—
From the depths, a spiral waterway surged. Carefully. He trickled mana bit by bit, syncing body and spring water. A communion of souls. The great Valenos sensed his descendant's aura and stirred his heavy form.