Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Tale of the Beginning
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“Lady Rista, do you have a moment?”
Around the time Rista Alter Shyrfang publicly announced she was seeking a mage companion at the Magic Alliance, “The Tale of the Beginning” opened like this.
“I am Atlante, the head of a school in the northern frontier. Osarius Academy—doubt you’ve heard of it, but…”
“It’s an honor to meet you. Just call me Rista. Are you perhaps interested in joining the expedition yourself?”
Atlante flinched for a moment.
Rista’s kindness was beyond protocol. She must be fielding fervent offers from the Eight Great Academies and Five Great Magic Houses, yet here she was, being this cordial to the head of a minor academy that wasn’t even mid-tier.
She was more than the rumors suggested. That conviction only grew firmer. She could entrust that child to her.
“Not me—there’s a brilliant disciple at our academy. Already a 4-star mage. Could you take him with you?”
“A 4-star mage, and you call him a child? How old?”
“Thirteen.”
Rista’s expression darkened instantly.
How to politely turn this down? What dark ulterior motive was lurking here?
“He’s thirteen—however talented, he’s too young for the battlefield. If you’re just looking to offload a problem child, there are plenty of other ways.”
“Please don’t misunderstand. It’s not like that.”
“...?”
“He’s certainly brilliant and exceptional…but if he keeps growing like this, he won’t turn out well. He’ll be trapped in his own little world.”
In that moment, an emotion flickering across Atlante’s eyes planted a vague sense of trust in Rista.
Was it grief?
The lament of a master who couldn’t guide her disciple’s growth to the end? She couldn’t say for sure, but she could clearly see the sincerity hidden in that sadness.
“I’ve already taught him everything he can learn from books. So, could you teach him about the world now? Help him become a fine adult.”
That was the tale of the beginning.
And the tale of the end.
This story, three hundred years later and still unfinished, began right here like this.
“Alright, I’ll meet him. But the decision isn’t mine or yours to make. It’s his.”
* * *
I don’t want to get close.
I don’t want to get friendly.
When I returned to the Page estate’s tower that evening and opened the door to face this hysterical girl again, those thoughts hit me immediately.
“Miss, I’m Rain Ludwig.”
Kasena turned from the telescope she’d been peering into and glared at me.
Had she been crying nonstop?
Her reddened, swollen eyes twitched as she whipped her head away to stare at the wall.
“Why are you back?”
“The Chancellor asked me to. A lowly cadet like me can’t refuse.”
“Mom’s forcing this is an annual ritual. It’ll blow over in a day or two. Just say I chased you off and go.”
I had my own reasons for being here, so that wouldn’t work… As I stayed put, Kasena shot me an incredulous glare.
“Not leaving? I said go.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because of a certain contract.”
Kasena bit her lip to suppress her boiling rage. Her patience was at its limit.
“Contract my ass! Don’t you get what I’m saying? You know who I am, right?”
“Hm, aren’t you Miss Kasena?”
“If you know, then just leave already, please…”
Rain didn’t budge.
After two or three rounds of back-and-forth, Kasena’s anger finally exploded.
“I said get out! One word from me, and you’re done for! Got it? My uncle’s Archduke Arfun, and my mom’s the Page Marquess!”
My father’s the Ludwig Marquess, and my grandfather’s Skalji Ludwig… But words like that wouldn’t get through to her.
“I know.”
“Then why aren’t you listening!”
Her eyes trembled furiously for a second, then a book flew at Rain’s forehead, splitting the skin and drawing blood.
Did she think he’d block it with magic? Even Kasena, who threw it, looked shocked, stammering before whipping her head away.
“Doesn’t it hurt? If you don’t want to see worse, get lost. Unless you like hearing me bitch!”
“I’m staying. Because of my contract with the Chancellor.”
“What kind of contract is it!”
“If I had to explain, it’s a contract to turn a ruined young lady into a proper human being.”
“You arrogant little…!”
Kasena went berserk, hurling every piece of furniture in the room at him… Here, he used magic to shield himself. Pain’s no fun.
“Who the hell are you? Ludwig? Ludwig Marquess? Want me to wipe out your whole house? One word to Dad or Uncle, and you’re all finished, you bastard! Get out!”
“...”
“Why are you even here! You like me? Like seeing me like this? Enjoy watching a legless cripple crawl on the floor?!”
Once she’d thrown everything—and there was nothing left to throw—Kasena finally broke into sobs.
No, not quite.
One thing alone… No matter what, she never hurled the astronomical telescope by the window as dusk filtered in.
Only after the chaos subsided did Rain open his mouth with a quiet sigh.
“I’m not here to comfort you, and I’ve got no intention of doing so. Not that kind of person.”
Rista or Fride would have offered gentle smiles and soothing words, but as I’ve said before, I’m not that type.
I’m a mage by nature.
I pursue reason, not emotion.
So, he picked up the book rolling by his feet, the one that had split his forehead. *Beyond the Continent*, a travelogue by the famous adventurer Willang.
“But I can make you walk again.”
Kasena, who’d buried her face in her hands and sobbed, lifted her tear-soaked eyes.
“Walk to the lands in this book.”
“Impossible. My spine—my spine’s ruined.”
“That’s why they call it magic—turning the impossible possible.”
“Don’t play sick jokes! If it’s telekinesis moving my legs, forget it! Forcing these ugly legs to walk would just make it more pathetic!”
Bell Sidias. Rain’s eyes burned red, swiftly dissecting everything in his vision through mathematical analysis.
“The magic circle’s pentagonal, the inscribed rune is fine (細; minute).”
The signals that move the body are faint electrical currents extending from the central nervous system.
If part of the organ sending those currents is damaged, lightning-element magic can fix it.
“Relax your body and just accept it. Resisting will hurt.”
Kasena’s legs twitched. She blinked in disbelief at the reality unfolding before her.
“That’s the thigh moving. This much force is for the toes. Hm, then like this…”
The next moment, Kasena rose from her chair and stood. Of course, those legs couldn’t support her weight, so he added a touch of telekinesis.
“Liar… This is a lie. There’s no way this could…”
As her eyes spasmed in shock, Rain sent a sequence of electrical signals via magic, and Kasena’s legs began to walk.
One step, one step.
Like a toddler taking its first steps, but unmistakably—one step, then two… Rain crossed his arms smugly.
“This is magic’s potential.”
“...?!”
“My body’s not mine alone, and yours isn’t fully intact, so it’s a bit awkward. But you can walk like this. Feel like learning some magic from me now?”
Truth be told, manipulating someone else’s neural circuits to control their body was something he’d only theorized back in his Lin days.
But now it was possible.
Thanks to Bell Sidias letting him see the flow of mana in the body. He couldn’t help but marvel anew at the bloodline limit that turned theory into reality.
“...”
Stunned? Shocked? After a long silence, Kasena finally exhaled a trembling breath and shook her head wildly.
“Get out! Get out, you bastard!”
“?!”
“You think I’m an idiot? This cheap illusion magic prank… Get out before I kill you! Guards! What are you doing? Drag this guy out!”
Huh? What? As Kasena bellowed, her escort knight rushed in and politely escorted Rain out. He thought dazedly,
‘How did it end up like this?’
He’d assumed it’d go like, ‘Wow, magic’s amazing! So cool! Guess I’ll learn it too!’ or something.
“…This isn’t right?”
* * *
“Whew~ That stuck-up prick’s finally leaving the magic tower. What a relief.”
The day Lin left the magic tower was chaotic from dawn.
Classmates—not close, but never outright hostile—were casually tossing out lines like that one by one.
Ungrateful wretch who bit the hand that fed him, learned all he could and now bailing heartlessly, blinded by the hero’s beauty…
“Man, must be nice. So talented, the hero lady herself picks you up.”
He didn’t bother arguing. He knew debating with the hostile ones was just exhausting.
He just quietly packed his things.
As he exited the tower, the headmistress and Rista waited at the academy’s main gate.
Eighteen classmates lined both sides of the stepping stones leading to the gate. Were they here to jeer again? Their eyes gleamed sharply.
“Lin.”
In the silence thick with mockery, the senior disciple spoke up just as he reached the entrance. His voice trembled with gloom.
“Come back safe. We’re all waiting for your return.”
He doubted his ears.
Turning blankly to look at his senior, he saw the classmates—who’d been sniping barbs since dawn—their eyes welling with tears as they shouted,
“If you die, we won’t forgive you, you ugly brat! We gotta meet again…!”
“The headmistress’s hysterics—we’ll take ’em for you…!”
“Write letters whenever you can! Got it? Don’t, and you’re dead…!”
The surroundings turned into a sea of tears in an instant, throwing him into intense confusion that messed up his steps. No—walking itself became impossible.
And inevitably, his own eyes burned hot, the world blurring white.
That’s when Headmistress Atlante deeply pulled something over Lin’s head. A conical hat.
“Mages don’t cry. People look down on you.”
“...”
“Those idiots can’t even cast magic right, yet their acting’s that bad. How not even one day…”
Whether it was to hide Lin’s tears or her own, only Rista—standing beside them—knew.
“The south’s sunlight is harsh. You’ve only known the north, so going unprepared will sting your skin bad.”
Lin couldn’t speak for a moment.
The hat hid the source of his tears, but it couldn’t block the rain of them streaming down his cheeks to the ground.
“H-Headmistress…”
He had to express his gratitude.
How to put into words the debt he owed. For taking him in, teaching him magic, giving a homeless orphan food and shelter…
He had to say thanks, but all that came out was the gurgling agony of a beast pierced through the lungs by an arrow.
“Lin, promise me?”
Placing a hand on his head, his master spoke. Her voice laced with pride, tinged with bitterness, filled with affection.
“When you return, promise you’ll be a wonderful adult who can share the light of magic with others.”
That was his farewell to his master.
And as we all know, the boy never returned to his classmates’ side. Five years later, what came back was merely the great mage’s cenotaph.
The war ended like that, and to honor the boy—who as the great mage of the hero party had his name engraved on the memorial—Osarius Academy was promoted to a Great Academy.
Not a single classmate celebrated the reward bought with the boy’s life.
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