Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Ashtray Shrine Maiden
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Dormitory, Twin Dragon Hall.
The moment he returned to his room, he considered just flopping onto the desk after placing Tureina's book on it, but then he remembered Pipi and headed up to the second floor.
Christa Warden occupied a room on the second floor of the [True] dormitory—the best one among the first-years.
“……What?”
But there was already someone in front of Christa’s door. Or rather, it was more like a gatekeeper.
The girl with pigtails, Gertrude Fenton, was leaning against the outer wall, yawning.
“What are you doing there?”
Gertrude gave him a cynical smile with her hollow eyes.
“Heh, I’m on watch. By the young miss’s orders.”
“Watch for what?”
“So no one eavesdrops or accidentally barges into the room. It’s corn time.”
“Corn time?”
Better to see for yourself, Gertrude gestured with her chin, skipping the knock and urging him to open the door. Curious, he swung it open without a second thought...
“Corn, corn.”
First came a familiar voice. It was Pipi.
“Corn~ Corn~!”
And there sat Christa Warden in front of it, feeding Pipi corn kernels cupped in her palm. It was a voice and face he’d never heard or seen before.
At that instant, Christa sensed his presence and turned toward him... and the gazes of the two great houses’ heirs met in midair.
“…….”
“…….”
He cleared his throat awkwardly, pretended nothing happened, and shut the door. The next moment, thud thud thud—frantic footsteps rang out, and the door flew open.
“You, you, what the hell?! Why are you opening someone else’s door without knocking?! Don’t you know basic etiquette as a great house heir?!”
Her face flushed beet red, as if it might explode, she unleashed a barrage like she didn’t care anymore. There was even a desperation about Christa that he’d never seen before.
“No, Gertrude told me to open it without knocking...”
He tried pointing fingers at the accomplice, but the rascal had already vanished without a trace. That little punk...
“Hey, sorry. I didn’t know you were in the middle of something so important.”
“Im-important? Wh-what are you talking about? I have no idea.”
“No need to play dumb. Even I was floored by how cute Pipi... I mean Pitch was when I first met it.”
As Rain rubbed under his nose, Pipi flew over and landed affectionately on his shoulder, pecking at his earlobe like it was scolding him for being so late.
“Sorry, sorry. I had some stuff to deal with.”
Christa, watching enviously, met Rain’s eyes and suddenly crossed her arms haughtily, turning away with a huff.
“Cute? This beast? Get real! I’m a lady of the Warden house. Do you have any idea how much of a nuisance it was since you dumped this thing on me and vanished for the whole break?”
Of course, it was a lie.
Christa recalled the fantastic holiday she’d spent with Pitch. Exploring the city together, hanging out on campus, laughing and chatting...
Pipi turned to Christa and bowed its head.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
For a moment, Christa wanted to scoop up Pitch and hug it. She wanted to say she was the one who was grateful... If only her rival’s eyes and the dignity she had to maintain as a great house daughter weren’t there.
“Just go already, will you? Now I can finally relax and study in peace!”
Christa shut the door, her heart breaking.
Oblivious to her true feelings, Rain exchanged glances with Pipi, scratched his head awkwardly.
“Hmm, I left it with her because she seemed the most reliable... Didn’t think it’d be such a hassle.”
“Pipi nuisance, Pipi was nuisance.”
“No no, it wasn’t you, it was my fault.”
As he turned to leave, the door burst open again, and Christa’s sand golem maid handed over the cage and various pet supplies to Rain.
“I charged all the costs to your house’s account.”
It was clearly packed with tremendous care—Pipi must have lived like royalty.
But she called it a nuisance, so why go all out like this? Maybe her straightforward personality meant she just did everything properly.
“Oh, this is all great. Thanks.”
“Whatever! What are you waiting for? Get lost!”
Pushed out by Christa’s sand golem maid, Rain descended the stairs like he was being chased. Pipi climbed onto his head and looked back.
Just then, color returned to Christa’s face as she gazed wistfully, regretfully, sadly at his retreating back.
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she timidly waved both hands and whispered, “Good night.” Just like she’d done throughout the break.
* * *
Just past midnight... Rain sat at his desk, arms crossed.
The spotless desk held only 『The Life and Achievements of Tureina, Disciple of Lin and Fride, the Ashtray Shrine Maiden』.
For some reason, he couldn’t muster the courage to open it. Why? Really, why?
“Pipi, remember Tureina?”
“Tureina, Pipi’s friend. Lin’s friend.”
“What was she like? ...After I was gone.”
Pipi flapped its wings excitedly at the fond name, but at the question, it turned away from Rain and said nothing.
“What’s wrong? Did you two fight at the end or something?”
“…….”
“Pipi?”
It stayed completely silent, as if something really had happened.
Damn, that rascal Tureina. Making people worry like this even 300 years later.
He took a short breath to steady himself and opened the first page. He retraced his disciple’s life through the printed words.
[Childhood]
The childhood records were all things Lin already knew... exactly as recorded in the other comrades’ biographies.
[After the war ended, as the Fire Dragon’s Shrine Maiden Fride decided to take Tureina as her disciple, formal witch training began.]
Nothing new there. Tureina was a genius among geniuses, showing immense talent not just in magic but in shamanism too.
‘Still, Fride’s disciple... I wonder if she knew how big a deal that was.’
Unlike mages who used academic systems, witches trained disciples through master-apprentice traditions, so who your master was became a tremendous asset.
And Fride was a shrine maiden.
One of the two top figures overseeing the republic’s rituals, her prestige reached not just the republic but the empire too.
The Fire Dragon Bell’Dakidun personally bestowing the title “Fire Dragon’s Witch (later Shrine Maiden)” said it all.
「At age thirteen, she was formally appointed as the youngest witch in history.」
Impressive... When Fride became a witch at fourteen, the whole country flipped out, and this was a whole year earlier.
[The title bestowed by her master at the time was Ashtray, so she came to be called the Ashtray Witch.]
The reason was so ridiculous he burst out laughing in the middle of the night.
[It was meant to remind her never to forget to clean her ashtray even after becoming a full witch...]
Rain, who knew Fride’s psycho side well, wasn’t surprised, but others must have been shocked.
‘Ha, the Ashtray Witch...’
If I’d lived in that era, how would it have been? I’d have teased her endlessly, clutching my sides laughing every time I called her by that nickname.
- Master, scold your teacher for me. She gave me this weird title. I can’t even change it...
- Why? It’s great. Rolls right off the tongue. Who’d forget it after one hearing? Pfft, hahaha! Hey Kies, Ashtray, Ashtray.
- Lin! Cut it out! Tureina’s about to cry! There there, it’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t cry. It’s fine.
While Rista comforted Tureina, Kies would’ve laughed with me, and Fride would’ve swung her pipe yelling,
- Hey hey hey! I racked my brain to give you a great nickname, and it’s weird? Life’s fleeting, really~. Kids these days don’t appreciate their master’s grace at all.
- I hate it, I hate it! You have such a cool title like Fire Dragon’s Shrine Maiden...
- Sigh, cool titles are useless. Embarrassing to even introduce yourself later. Funny ones stick ten times better, turn self-intros into laugh riots—how’s that not great?
In that world where all comrades were alive, I’m confident every day would’ve been a joy.
But these were just words printed on paper, so why did they weigh like lead in his hand?
Amid visions flashing like daydreams, he suppressed the sharp pain in his chest with a wry smile and turned the page.
[Adulthood]
Tureina’s adult achievements were remarkable.
「At twenty-nine, the first in continental history to master both magic and shamanism, Tureina began traveling the world, healing the powerless and poor for free.」
From then on, she gained fame as a saint... The years that turned that brat into this were astonishing.
Maybe that’s why she avoided heresy trials—not just because of me or Fride, but this background.
Mastering 5-star magic at twenty-nine was impressive, but she also conquered all three stages of the Dragon Scripture—the foundational incantations for witches: Precepts, Sutras, and Treatises—becoming a Triple Scripture Witch.
Tureina had inherited all of Lin and Fride’s talents—a true monster.
[After seven years healing countless people, the Fire Dragon’s Shrine Maiden Fride designated her successor; the republic’s council unanimously approved, making her the ‘Ashtray Shrine Maiden.’]
Her later deeds were listed as the saintly acts of a shrine maiden serving dragonkin and guiding humans.
After a whopping eighty years in the role, she stepped down amid praise and retired from the world.
The fun bit: even past one hundred, her appearance remained as youthful as when appointed shrine maiden.
“So that’s weird. Why’s this a forbidden book? Nothing wrong with it.”
Muttering that, he turned the page and couldn’t help grinning at the stunning portrait.
[▲ The Ashtray Shrine Maiden, Tureina]
· She always carried Lin’s leftover bamboo hat as a memento and Fride’s bequeathed pipe dearly.
That brat grew into such a beauty... Unless the painter was bribed, incredible.
Guys must’ve swarmed her, so why no marriage? Did Fride preach her great “all men are wolves” celibacy theory?
“Pipi, check this out. She really carried around that worn-out smelly thing as a relic?”
Pipi, dozing while facing the wall sulkily, checked the portrait, then flapped excitedly, circling the book.
“Tureina always wore Lin’s hat. Tureina wouldn’t let anyone touch the hat.”
That hat was special to me.
A gift from the academy head aunt when leaving the tower.
The south has harsh sun, so it wouldn’t burn your face... But it probably meant little to Tureina, yet she treasured it—made him a bit happy.
“Oh man. What an honor.”
Hiding his joy with a mocking chuckle, he sank deep into the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling.
‘Youngest witch ever and longest-serving shrine maiden...’
Swept up every genius title. Did she learn immortality shamanism from our journey?
He wondered what abilities she’d created.
The book’s first half covered her life; the second listed her creations.
‘Like Ice Spiral Correction, Ember Frost Link?’
Most froze the body then amplified healing with holy tools and enhancement magic... Intriguing, then his eyes widened.
‘These are like Juyeo Soge Daeban?’
The 5-star spell he’d made with Fride’s help—first and last time mixing magic and shamanism—not wanting to die. The one that hurled him 300 years forward.
‘Brat, was it that impactful?’
More than impactful—obsessive. Odd.
Healing holy tools via chant-type altigma had variations, yet all resembled Juyeo Soge Daeban.
Did she research it? No need in peacetime...
‘It’s only useful in dire wartime... Hmm, no clue.’
One thing clear: Tureina’s life was exemplary, no heresy.
At least from this book... He wanted to believe that.
His first disciple ever, the whiny brat who’d pestered him sassily, became this revered figure. He wanted to remember her that way.
‘Yeah, you lived well...’
By the time he dazedly closed the book, dawn was breaking. Morning light refracted off the dew in his eyes, scattering mournfully in rainbow hues.
‘Well done, kid.’
And sorry.
For promising to return... and not making it.