Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Part 5: The Greatest Talent (1)
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Late into the night.
A man folded a single letter thinly and slipped it into a tiny tube. He attached the tube to a pigeon's leg and released it into the sky.
"The magic world is about to face upheaval."
He recalled the contents of the letter carried by the messenger pigeon.
[Welton Count's eldest son, Jamie Welton. Age 7. Estimated 4th Class or higher. A once-in-a-millennium magical genius has appeared in the world.]
This short letter would soon shake the entire Kingdom of Seldam.
No, the entire continent.
The man returned to his room with a face full of anticipation.
Moments later, several more messenger pigeons rose into the pitch-black sky.
The contents in all of them were identical.
The greatest talent had appeared.
Early morning.
Jamie had gone out for a walk.
He had only slept a few hours, but thanks to the Full Body Breathing Method, vitality overflowed through his body.
Kreek!
"You know what refreshment feels like too, huh?"
Kreek kreek!
Black, perched on his head, flapped his wings in response.
Jamie chuckled and headed to the park from yesterday.
From early morning, the Simon household servants were bustling about. With it being the last day, there was apparently a lot to prepare.
Avoiding them, he entered the quiet park, where the fresh scent of grass tickled his nose.
Jamie flicked dewdrops off the leaves with his finger as he walked toward the central lake.
"It's so peaceful."
The quiet space made yesterday's noisy incident feel like a lie.
Jamie used magic to push away the moisture from the bench and sat down.
"They're finally leaving."
All of Lizen's events would conclude today.
He wanted to return to Hyes quickly and rest. But first, he needed to meet Jane's reincarnation.
'What was her name again?'
Come to think of it, he hadn't heard her name.
Finding her wouldn't be hard since Ash was so noisy.
He'd have to make time during the day.
As he was thinking that—
Plop—
It was the sound of clear water droplets.
Plop roll—
Next came the sound of jade beads rolling.
Jamie stood up and scanned his surroundings. No presence was felt nearby.
He spread his mana to expand his senses.
Due to his immature realm, scanning the entire lake was impossible.
Plop—
Jamie moved toward the direction of the sound.
He didn't actually know why he was heading toward the noise. He just felt like he had to go there.
He crossed the lake and entered a forest with no paths.
The deeper into the forest he went, the clearer it became.
After parting long grass, Jamie had no choice but to stop.
"Undine."
A two-foot-tall lifeform in the shape of a girl made entirely of water was smiling while creating water droplets around her.
It was the lower water spirit, Undine.
But something was off. Spirits were inherently invisible to the naked eye. They only became visible in one case.
"Oh. Young Master Welton?"
The encounter was sudden.
Jamie swallowed dryly and looked toward the voice.
There, the eldest daughter of Viscount Valle was looking at him with surprised eyes.
"Uh... your name?"
"Rebecca. Rebecca Valle. But more importantly, are you feeling okay?"
Rebecca approached Jamie with quick steps.
"I was so startled when you collapsed yesterday. You looked fine on the outside."
Unlike her younger sister Ash, she had noble etiquette ingrained in her body, so her speech and tone felt mature beyond that of a child.
"Ah, I'm fine. I wasn't feeling well and used magic, so I must have been slightly exhausted. Thanks for worrying."
"I'm glad you're okay."
Jamie felt a pang in his chest at Rebecca's bright smile. Her smile was as beautiful as ever, past and present.
But the emotions he felt for her were sadly not those of a lover.
'Even a water spiritist—just like her.'
His past life's image overlapped.
'Diablo! Never forget me.'
He recalled her final moments.
Jane, who never lost her smile until the end.
The powerless trash sorcerer who screamed before her.
All of it overlapped with Rebecca's appearance.
"Why do you have such sad eyes?"
Rebecca tilted her head at Jamie's gaze on her. He looked like someone who had experienced something incredibly sad. Was it because of yesterday's incident?
She'd heard from Ash that he was just 7.
She was young too, but still three years older than Jamie.
She approached him with a bright smile.
"Everything will be fine."
With that, she gently embraced Jamie, who was smaller than her.
Jamie was startled by the sudden hug but closed his eyes at the familiar warmth.
The black sorcerer had abandoned the emotion called love. No form of love remained for him. What he felt now wasn't love.
'This is just the remnants left in past memories.'
Remnants that would soon scatter and vanish.
So for now, he'd savor it a little more.
"Feeling a bit better?"
"Thank you."
Rebecca shook her head with a faint smile at Jamie's thanks.
"My father said that hardships shared with others disappear faster."
"Viscount Valle?"
"Yes. Come to think of it, Father and Count Welton are sworn brothers, right?"
Jamie nodded.
Viscount Valle was Count Welton's sworn brother who shared drinks long before being his loyal subordinate.
Ash apparently didn't know that.
As expected of the eldest daughter.
"I regretted not talking much yesterday, so I'm really glad we met like this."
"I'm happy you say that."
"Hee hee."
Her laugh was identical to her sister Ash's.
Even if she was Jane's reincarnation, her upbringing was different, so there were quite a few differences.
That was better, actually. If she were exactly like Jane, it would have been more confusing.
"By the way, I thought the Valle family only contracted with wind spirits, but that doesn't seem to be the case?"
"Ah... yeah. I wanted to contract with a wind spirit too, but it didn't work out."
Rebecca's expression looked a bit bitter.
She said that, like Ash, she had shown exceptional affinity with nature since childhood.
So she tried to contract with a wind spirit, but strangely, it refused her.
The spirit liked her as a person but couldn't contract—that sort of thing. On a day she was troubled by that, the water spirit Undine came to her.
It said to contract with her, that it was fate.
Spirit contracts were a major family matter, so she should have told her father, but she ended up contracting as if possessed.
'Influence from her past life.'
That was the only explanation.
Jane had been an extraordinary water spiritist. She commanded over a thousand high spirits, and even contracted with the Water Spirit King to gain power rivaling gods.
Her affinity with nature had transcended human limits.
Rebecca was that Jane's reincarnation.
Her affinity, especially with water, was overwhelmingly high. And the water spirit itself proposed the contract.
'The Spirit King must know something.'
Jane had a soul contract with the Water Spirit King.
Unlike normal spirit contracts, it was one where they staked their lives on each other.
So even after reincarnation, since the soul didn't vanish, it was likely aware of Rebecca's existence.
Jamie finished his thoughts roughly and asked worriedly.
"Did Viscount get... mad at you?"
"No. Father's not like that. He was just a little disappointed."
A water spiritist born in the Valle family, known for wind spirits—it must have been troubling for the family head.
"But it's still special."
"What is?"
"The spirit coming to you directly to propose a contract. I've never heard of anything like that in my life. It's a shame you couldn't contract with a wind spirit, but for a water spirit to choose you personally."
Jamie trailed off.
Rebecca didn't ask. She knew what he meant.
Chosen by a spirit. Something other spiritists could only dream of, with the potential to even contract with a Spirit King in the future.
Her potential was greater than anyone else's in the world.
"Believe in yourself."
Jamie said that and stood up.
"And thank you for today. I'll be going now."
"Ah, okay."
Rebecca watched Jamie walk away.
For some reason, her face felt hot.
She rubbed her soft cheeks with her small hands.
"Why is this happening?"
Her heart tickled strangely.
It felt like someone she'd known for a long time. Even though that couldn't be, what was this aching emotion?
Rebecca, who was told she acted mature for her age, was still too young to understand what she felt now.
Rebecca stared at the spot Jamie had left for a while.
"Come to think of it, I didn't drop the formal speech."
Jamie scratched his cheek.
With Ash, it had been informal from the start. Not because he wanted to, but the situation forced it.
His first meeting with Alf hadn't been pleasant, and he was in a bad mood, so it naturally shifted to casual speech.
He could have gone informal with Rebecca too. There were plenty of chances. But he didn't. He didn't know why.
"Don't kids usually drop formalities first?"
Rebecca was more mature than typical kids, though.
Kreek—
Black replied as if asking why he was asking him.
Well, asking a non-human like Black about human behavior was rude.
"Rebecca, huh."
Through their brief conversation, one thing was certain.
She wasn't Jane.
She was Jane's reincarnation, but that didn't make her Jane. She resembled her in appearance but was a completely different person. So he wouldn't think of her as Jane.
Rebecca was Rebecca.
"We'll meet again someday."
The black sorcerer buried the old memory deep once more.
He wouldn't forget the past.
He couldn't forget it even for revenge. He was just covering it up. Once everything was settled, he'd bring it out again.
"Hey!"
Then a familiar voice called from behind.
Turning around, Alf stood there with a boy he'd never seen before.
As Jamie fully turned, Alf flinched dramatically. The boy next to him looked at Alf pitifully.
Jamie glanced between them before speaking to Alf.
"I thought you'd never show your face in front of me again."
"I, I didn't come because I wanted to."
"Then what? To apologize? Did the Count order you?"
"……."
"It was real?"
Jamie thought it was such a childish situation, but then realized he was a child now.
Alf standing awkwardly and the boy next to him were kids too.
"But who's that?"
"My little brother."
"Why'd you bring your brother? Scared to apologize alone?"
"Because I gave my big brother the artifact."
"……."
Jamie was speechless at Lennon, the boy who jumped in. So the brothers had teamed up to screw him over.
Even if they pulled every dirty trick, he wouldn't lose, but learning it was two instead of one soured his mood.
"Name?"
"Lennon. Lennon Simon."
Jamie's eyes narrowed.
He could see Lennon's body clearly.
Alf might have been called talented as a child, if not a genius, but Lennon had even greater talent.
He'd heard the Simon Count had no interest in his sons.
'His standards are too high for this level.'
And that expression.
He thought he was hiding it well, but being young, his poker face was immature.
Lennon was looking down on Jamie. His eyes, the corner of his mouth, his confidently squared shoulders said it all.
He'd clearly come to apologize formally because the Simon Count ordered it.
And Lennon said he gave his brother the artifact. At first, Jamie thought it was to cover for his brother, but no.
He said it because he looked down on Jamie.
But that wasn't the only problem.
'That idiot Alf.'
He didn't even realize he'd been used by his little brother.
The fact that Lennon was missing yesterday was proof.
Alf didn't care. Not because he was stupid, but because outwardly Lennon acted like he worshipped him.
It was a matter of perception.
'Not an ordinary sly one.'
And quite meticulous too.
Still young, so his meticulousness had flaws, but a kid like this could cause big trouble grown up.
"Alf, you're in for a rough time."
"W-what do you mean?"
"You might not be the successor. Right, Lennon?"
"What?"
Lennon didn't answer.
Only Alf frowned with one eye and asked back.
Jamie strode toward them.
"W-what!"
Alf backed away seeing Jamie approach quickly. But Jamie's target wasn't him.
At close range, Jamie and Lennon faced each other.
Their heights were similar. Probably their ages too.
Yet this young kid had such vicious thoughts. Jamie thought of the Simon Count. Lennon was his blood. If that cold, ruthless personality twisted, it'd be exactly like this kid.
So correcting it before it went further wrong was important.
"The mastermind of the incident deserves punishment fitting it."
"……I came to apologize to you on my father's orders."
"What's the point of an apology on someone else's orders?"
Jamie didn't know how to fix things nicely. Nor did he care to learn. Being nice just meant taking the long way around.
What he preferred most was—
"I...!"
Lennon's words didn't finish.
His eyes clouded over.
And then he saw nothing but darkness—
'Wha......'
There, Lennon's body froze, unable to do anything.
Not just his body. His mind, his thoughts slowly stopped. All senses stripped away. Nothing felt. But thoughts wouldn't stop.
Consciousness was sucked into the abyss.
He wanted to scream for help, but couldn't do anything.
In the vicious terror, he flailed his arms—
'Did I have arms?'
A world where such illusions became reality.
"There won't be a second time."
A massive purple eye flashed open in the world of darkness.
Lennon couldn't breathe.
The ominous evilness making him want to vomit revived his fading senses, making him writhe.
And his body stiffened again.
His outstretched fingertips hardened like stone.
"Lennon!"
"Huck—!"
Lennon gasped roughly and collapsed.
Blood vessels in his whites burst entirely.
The metallic taste and stinging in his mouth were from stomatitis caused by extreme stress.
His nostrils were raw, hives rose on his skin.
A short but eternal time.
Lennon couldn't comprehend what he'd experienced.
He tremblingly lifted his head to look at Jamie's shadowed face.
He smiled and warned.
"There won't be a second time."
Overwhelming terror dominated Lennon.
Lennon said earnestly.
"I, I'm sorry."
Alf just tilted his head at his brother's change.
Jamie turned away from them.
His preferred method.
Shock therapy.
'I'm too kind.'
He recalled the hell he'd shown Lennon and smiled brightly.