Deputy Tower Master Aldebrand (1)
"Once you've gathered all your companions, make me your first target."
Selen felt her heart drop into her stomach.
She had felt something like this before, during her battle with Clitia—but the circumstances could not have been more different. Back then, Clitia had been the Banished Saintess: a villain who had wandered the continent leaving slaughter in her wake. A Public Enemy who had to be brought down.
But once the prejudices and misunderstandings had been stripped away, the Clitia she had come to know was someone else entirely. A nobility that had never abandoned her faith, even after excommunication. A senior of the Hero's party—rough around the edges, yet with a gentle side. The previous Saintess, who had never broken even in the face of the harshest reality.
Selen had wanted to grow close to her. She had been so happy when Clitia let her call her Unni.
"Do you understand? I'm telling you to make me your party's first target."
But right now, Selen resented her.
"Why? Why would you suddenly ask something like that?"
She had believed Clitia would stay by her side as an advisor. And now that same woman was calmly telling her to kill her. She was so shaken she could barely get the words out.
"I've been thinking about this for a while."
Clitia went on in a quiet voice, careful not to wake the two who were still asleep.
"Selen, do you know how a Hero's party grows so fast?"
"I know, but..."
The Goddess's blessing. A Hero's party under the Sun's protection grew far faster than ordinary people. Combat training, in particular, became exponentially more effective. That was why they were never thrown straight into Demon King-occupied territory—they could not afford to fall before they even reached him. For a time, they focused solely on hunting various enemies and honing their skills.
"Take down a powerful enemy and you get stronger, fast. I know from experience."
"So that's why you want us to hunt you?"
Selen shook her head, her refusal absolute.
"Unni, I don't want to get stronger that way."
She poured every ounce of sincerity into the words. Clitia's lips curved into a faint smile.
"There's the way a girl your age actually talks."
A peace that did not belong on someone who had resolved to sacrifice herself. Proof that she had lived every day ready to die. Had she been living with death at her side ever since the excommunication? Bitterness flooded Selen's chest.
"You don't get it?"
"Of course I don't..."
"Listen. You already know my body is packed with Holy Power I can't release."
Through the near-prophetic instinct that dwelt in every Hero, Selen began to understand why Clitia was asking them to hunt her.
"Probably far more than the current Pope. When I die, where do you think all that Holy Power will go?"
"To the most sacred object nearby."
"And if there isn't one?"
"...To a sacred person."
And those with the highest priority were beings blessed by the Goddess—the Hero and her companions.
"Correct."
Getting the answer right brought her no joy at all.
"Now do you see what happens if your party kills me?"
A vast tide of Holy Power would flow into every one of them, amplified by the blessing that already accelerated their growth. It would probably outstrip even the most powerful holy spells.
"My Holy Power will bless you. It'll light the path ahead and push you forward from behind."
"......"
"Keep training like that. With your talent, you could become the strongest Hero's party in history. Then you'd actually have a shot at the Demon King."
She was right. For the sake of everyone suffering under the Demon King's army even now, it was a proposal she ought to accept. Her mind understood perfectly. But she did not want to say yes.
"Selen, strong people as useful as I am are rare."
"I don't want to measure people by how useful they are."
"No. You have to."
The distance between them closed. The pale rose of Clitia's complexion looked shadowed today.
"A Hero has to rise by standing on others."
"I..."
"Wake up. Countless people and other races are looking to you alone."
They drew even closer. An infinitely grave presence pressed in on her.
"Do you know why the Demon King's army still hasn't conquered the continent? Because the Demon King never leaves his castle. He just sends his subordinates."
A truth most people chose to ignore. Coming from the Saintess of the Hero's party that had come closest to the Demon King, the words carried even more weight.
"Our party was considered the greatest of all time. And we still weren't even a match for him."
Clitia's body trembled slightly, as if recalling something from the past.
"If the Demon King ever leaves his castle, it's over. He has to be killed before that happens. That's why you have to hunt me. Do you understand?"
At last, Selen understood. No words of hers would change Clitia's mind.
"You've suffered enough. You deserve to live happily now. You have that right, Unni."
Still, she made one last stand—following the very advice Clitia had given her, to fight to the end even against an enemy she could not defeat.
That single sentence decided everything.
"I should have died with my companions that day. This life is the price I pay for selfishly surviving alone."
Selen locked her head in place, fighting the urge to look down. Then she said what she had to say.
"Alright. No—I understand."
She made a vow. That as a Hero, she would not be weak.
"Why are you crying?"
But she did not have the willpower to catch the tears falling from her eyes.
"How are you supposed to do this with a heart that soft?"
Selen quietly accepted the gentle hand that wiped her tears away.
"I'm sorry. I put too heavy a burden on you."
"No. I'll bear it."
"Explain it to the others for me."
Clitia turned on her heel and started walking.
"You're leaving?"
"Yeah. We'll meet again anyway, wherever your next companion is."
Selen watched Clitia's receding figure without end. Even after she vanished completely from sight, Selen could not look away for a long time.
"Lady Clitia."
"What."
"Are you really going to sacrifice yourself?"
"What's with you all of a sudden?"
I stepped out of the forest and came to a halt.
"This was your plan. Why are you acting like this?"
"Now that I'm actually thinking about you dying, I feel... unsettled."
"I don't want to die either."
Shameless as it was, I wanted to live a long, long time. I still needed to fight more powerful opponents and savor every defeat. Someday, I wanted to hear it again—the Goddess's warm jokes and encouragement.
"But it has to be done."
The advantages of my death were simply too great. Clinging to life would just make me think of my old companions, and I would be ashamed. Both thoughts lived in my heart at once.
Then a greedy impulse surged up, along with a brilliant scheme.
"There's one thing I want to add to your plan."
News that might cheer up the gloomy Sun-bask.
"What is it?"
"Before I fight the Hero's party, I'm going to grab a holy relic."
I forgot sometimes, but I was a proper reincarnator. The knowledge of Apolis Tales was still intact in my head. This was a point in the past, so there was not much I could actually use—but some of it was still useful, like when I had gone to the Abandoned Temple and awakened Sun-bask.
"What kind of holy relic?"
"One that'll patch the holes in your plan."
A stroke of fortune I had never been able to reach because of practical constraints. Now the conditions lined up perfectly. I could claim it.
"It might even let me split my life in two."
I said it with all the gravitas I could muster. No reaction.
"Sun-bask, you listening?"
"Does our church even have a relic like that? Even the highest-tier holy spells can't work a miracle like that. Don't tell me... you're going to dabble in black magic? Good heavens!"
A stream of chatter packed with disbelief. If she had a face, I bet she would be spraying spit everywhere.
"It's not black magic."
I had no interest in ending up looking like Liam. I would rather just die than become undead.
"It's a holy relic made by a priest of another god."
"Another god? You sound like some cult leader."
"They really existed. A long time ago."
In ancient times, there really had been countless gods. Now there was only our Goddess, who represented the sun. Why only one remained... even I did not know. I was not the kind of hardcore lore nerd who memorized every dusty bit of worldbuilding.
Anyway, the gods were gone, but the relics remained. If I could just overcome the various problems, it would be an enormous help.
"Alright. So where is this amazing relic now?"
"Somewhere I normally can't go. The exact location is unclear."
"That's awfully vague."
I knew that, but it was the truth, so there was not much I could do about it.
"Once I have the relic, we'll follow your plan."
I would lose to the Hero's party and die. Then I would live a new life with my second one.
A so-called identity reset. Once I came back, I would change my name and my appearance. With a little magical help, I would figure something out.
It was a perfect plan. Except for the part where I was lying to the Hero and her companions. It really was for everyone's sake. But no matter how it turned out, it was still deception. They were such good-hearted kids. It kept nagging at me.
"Something about this feels off."
"You too?"
"A plan this unclear is bound to fall apart the moment a variable shows up."
It was realistic enough to make me uneasy.
"Anyway, I'll be cheering you on, Lady Clitia. Even if I still don't quite believe it."
"Just watch closely."
I started walking again.
"Let's head back for now."
It was time to return to the Purple Magic Tower. I strode along until I stopped near a certain boulder.
"Deputy Tower Master."
"How do you keep finding me?"
The Deputy Tower Master materialized out of empty air, grumbling like he had had enough.
"Riella put a tracking spell on my robe that finds you."
"That explains it."
Mentioning Riella's name shut down the complaints, as expected. A useful old guy in more ways than one.
"You were hiding and heard everything I said, right?"
"If you mean that insane talk about splitting your life in two, then yes. I heard all of it."
"Let's work together on one more job."
"Right now?"
There was a place I could not easily reach on my own.
"Take me to the Purple Magic Tower's treasure dungeon."
"...And how did you find out about that?"
A pointless question. The answer was already decided.
"Riella told me, of course."
Having a friend as Tower Master was the best.