*
Upon arriving in the Royal Capital, there would be many tasks to tackle. But if I had to choose the very first one to do… only one thing comes to mind.
“First, I have to brag.”
After relaying that he was safe to Rosel, Raniel immediately dashed into a narrow alley of the Royal Capital.
To meet the ancient Elf.
And to brag about it.
“Heh, hmm.”
The light footsteps and the humming of a song echoed through the alleyway.
*
The ancient Elf, Cardi, who has lived for countless years.
Having faced various trials, he had even fought the Master of the Demon Lord that engulfed half the world. This Elf seldom shows his emotions about trivial matters.
‘No wonder.’
Having dulled his emotions over centuries, it’s likely that nearly nothing could surprise him. Regardless, Cardi always appears composed.
His responses to any tale consist merely of “Hmm,” “I see,” and “Indeed.” Although he has shown signs of being surprised recently…
‘That’s rare enough.’
But wouldn’t he be surprised this time?
Is he going to stutter in shock? If that’s truly the case, it would surely be entertaining. Lost in such silly thoughts, Raniel began to spin his tale to Cardi.
“Well, that happened.”
As Raniel finished recounting the story, he propped his chin up.
Cardi was facing away from him, busy organizing the shelves, and showed no sign of any emotional change.
“Why no reaction? I defeated the Death’s Blade! I hurt him! Made him bleed!”
“······.”
“Hey? Cardi? Hey?”
“······.”
“What’s going on?”
Even after poking him, there was no response.
‘Ugh, such a boring Elf.’
While pondering this, as Raniel was about to conclude his story with a casual “Anyway, that’s how it was,” clatter!
Cardi’s hand, which was tidying the shelves, dropped, followed by the sound of glass shattering. An astonished Raniel widened his eyes and turned to glance at Cardi. Cardi slowly tilted his head, turning to face him.
And at that moment, Raniel realized.
“What?”
He learned that an Elf’s eyes could grow that wide.
“What did you say? The Death’s Blade, what’s that?”
He discovered at that moment how wildly that pupil could tremble.
“Ganikalt was defeated? Defeated…?”
Cardi’s pupils began to quiver.
“Defeated? Ganikalt? That guy?”
Cardi bent over.
He leaned close, his face almost pressing against Raniel’s, firing rapid questions.
“He bled? That guy actually bled? He admitted defeat and withdrew?”
“U-uh…”
That was one very intimidating gaze.
While Raniel stuttered in response, Cardi’s barrage of questions continued.
“What did he get hit with? Did magic work on him? No way that’s possible! How on earth…?”
“No, it wasn’t me. It was Kyle with a sword…”
“…a sword?”
Cardi’s head creaked as it tilted to the side.
His eyes grew even bigger. Raniel couldn’t help but mentally gasp at the realization that those eyes could expand beyond their limits.
“You mean he defeated him with a sword?”
Did I hear that wrong?
Is there a serious flaw in this statement?
Has he lost his mind?
Reading the look in Cardi’s eyes as if to ask those questions, Raniel slowly nodded.
“Yeah. With a sword.”
At first, Raniel felt flustered by Cardi’s overwhelming reaction, but the longer it went on, he began to derive a strange pleasure from the situation.
‘I’ve gained mastery over the Grand Magus’s emotions!’
An ancient Elf who had lived for over a millennium.
A Grand Magus and the first Master of the Ashen Tower.
What kind of figure is holding his breath at every word I say? Concealing his twitching smile, Raniel continued.
“It seemed like the same technique, but Kyle pushed him back. He simply sliced through his ribs. Like slash, slash!”
“Whoa…”
“Black blood was splattering everywhere! You should have seen it! The snowfield turned dark with blood like that…”
Cardi wiped his eyes.
After a long sigh, he plopped down into a chair. With a somewhat dazed expression, Cardi murmured.
“Remarkable.”
Cardi muttered.
“Really, remarkable. How can those who haven’t even lived half a century…”
After mumbling despondently, he eventually burst into laughter. Cardi laughed out loud. As if in disbelief, or perhaps joy.
“Impressive. Truly.”
“This time, Kyle did play a significant role. He told me I could do it, but I never thought he would actually pull it off. Not this quickly.”
Raniel chuckled lightly.
Suddenly, he gasped.
“Oh right, Cardi.”
“What?”
“Has Kyle shown you anything? He seemed to know that Ganikalt was the First Hero.”
Cardi flinched.
He paused his teacup, and after lowering it, he slowly opened his mouth.
“…Well, I didn’t show him anything, nor did I tell him. He just happened to come across it.”
“Came across it?”
“I tried a few things a long time ago.”
Cardi retrieved a dusty magical tool from the back of a shelf.
“Do you remember the magical tool in the Magic Tower in the North?”
“The recording magical tool?”
“Exactly. A magical tool created using the peculiarities of the Kurakt Mountain Range, utilizing the twisting of time.”
Cardi tapped the magical tool lightly.
“This also shares the same principle. It records my memory so it can be viewed whenever. Though it’s already ceased functioning.”
Raniel poked at the magical tool.
It was an artifact that had long ceased to work.
“It was made centuries ago, just when Arcadia was about to collapse. I used to play visual recordings whenever I felt lonely. Just watching those happy memories felt like going back to the past.”
Cardi chuckled wanly.
“I used it so much that the magic stones were entirely worn out. I thought it would last a hundred years, but it didn’t even last a year. Anyway, this magic tool was already broken long ago…”
Cardi tapped the table lightly.
“It was during the time you and Kyle stayed in this shop. Kyle was curious about my true nature, so he rummaged through.”
“…That happened?”
Raniel knew he was curious about Cardi’s identity, but never thought he would go that far. As she blinked, Cardi continued.
“Yeah. Well, I thought it would be useless to look for it. Both this magical tool and that picture ultimately can only be recognized by those with the right qualifications.”
But then, Cardi added.
“The moment Kyle touched the magical tool, it inexplicably activated. A magical tool that had long lost its magic stones and shouldn’t work, a magical tool that displays nothing to those without qualifications.”
“Is that possible?”
“Not at all.”
Cardi chuckled softly.
“It’s impossible, yet it happened. Whether the Hero’s starlight reacted with the magical tool, I cannot say. Only that it occurred, and Kyle’s memories were completely erased.”
Of Cardi too.
Everything he saw in the magical tool.
All that vanished without a trace.
“So that’s why I chased Kyle away. If he accesses information again and his memory fades away… I had no assurance he would still be sane at that point.”
Raniel pondered, fiddling with her chin.
After a moment, she spoke up.
“But Cardi.”
“What is it?”
“In the end, doesn’t that mean the stars must approve for him to see it?”
“Probably. It’s a memory the stars erased from this land.”
“Then.”
Raniel bluntly stated.
“Isn’t it possible that the stars wanted him to see it?”
“Showed him and then wiped his memory? For what reason? Why go through that trouble?”
“I can’t say for sure. It’s just a thought that crossed my mind.”
“That’s odd.”
Cardi crossed his arms and remarked.
“The stars move according to set rules, not as beings with intent. Your words imply the stars act intentionally.”
“…Just.”
Raniel sighed, tilting her head back.
“Just lately, I’ve been getting that feeling.”
Even as she looked with her head tilted back toward the window, the stars were hidden from view. The sun hadn’t set yet, and the sky was not easily visible here.
Yet she still reached for the stars.
Gazing beyond the window where the stars should be, she murmured.
“I’m beginning to wonder if the stars have some intention, or perhaps a purpose.”
“Purpose?”
“Something beyond merely keeping rules… Like they have some agenda. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just feel that way.”
Listening to Raniel, Cardi fell silent.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked.
“If the stars indeed have a purpose… what do you plan to do, Raniel?”
Raniel smirked.
“First, I have to see for myself.”
To verify with her own two eyes.
“And if that purpose sounds a bit dodgy… well, there’s nothing to be done.”
She stretched out her hand toward the sky.
With her outstretched fingers, she clenched tightly.
“I’ll drag it down. Below.”
Raniel glanced at Cardi with a grin.
“Just like you guys did.”
2.
After arriving in the capital, Rania was busy for a while.
She had to detail the fight against Ganikalt, the Death’s Blade, and submit her report. Moreover, since she had participated in the battle under ‘Rania’s’ name, she had to prepare explanations and clarifications.
Since no one had seen the fight and all traces of the battle had vanished, she managed to gloss over it somewhat, but… suspicion could not be avoided.
Rumors spread.
Whether Rania is related to Raniel or not, the rumors regarding her status as a powerful mage only grew. Rania didn’t bother to stop these rumors.
“Rania van Trias is the heir who succeeded the magical lineage of Raniel van Trias.”
She even chose to publicize it.
Rather than just being part of the same family, it was mentioned that she had inherited the very magical lineage from the ailing Ashen Mage. This led to various commotions.
“She inherited the magic from the Ashen Mage.”
“That means she inherited the responsibility as well, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t she also head to the battlefield?”
Such discussions did circulate, but they quickly died down.
Initially, the Ashen Mage bore no responsibility nor obligation to participate in the battlefield… and there was no reason for it to pass on to the heir.
On the contrary, the nobleman who spoke such nonsense couldn’t escape social criticism. Ultimately, while bowing his head, the accomplishments of Rania van Trias began to surface.
These were some incidents hidden from public view.
“Repelled the traitors in the Night City, Kadinak.”
“Northern front, defeated the Death’s Blade.”
Although not all details were revealed, just a few incidents were sufficient to create a stir. Having thwarted disasters, the public began to understand the value of the title held by Rania van Trias.
Wise One, and Guide.
A fitting figure for such titles.
Without any obligation, she dedicated herself to humankind to prevent disasters. Even after achieving such feats, she did not seek reward. As numerous facts were unveiled, Rania found herself busier than ever.
And then came a decisive incident.
“I expected as much, but you are indeed a greater figure than I anticipated.”
First Princess Lruiel.
A figure nearly equivalent to the next monarch.
“I pay my respects to you for your dedication to the nation.”
The highest-ranking woman in the land.
The Princess Lruiel, who would not bow her head to anyone, lowered it in respect toward Rania.
In a public setting, no less.
“Didn’t I say that? I want to properly honor you someday. In a grand setting.”
With Princess Lruiel whispering into her ear, Rania could only smile bitterly. In formal occasions, she was presented with invitations to numerous prestigious positions.
Rania declined them all.
Refusing leadership roles, honorable positions, and everything else, she returned to Apuria once more. As if expecting this, Princess Lruiel made no attempt to hold her back.
And the rumors continued to spread.
*
“Did you see the news?”
“Professor Rania…”
“Yeah, I knew she was impressive, but…”
On the day Rania returned to Apuria after taking a vacation, the halls buzzed with students gossiping. Unsurprisingly, the topic was about Professor Rania.
“So that’s why she was in the North…”
“To face the disaster, alongside the Hero.”
“…Is it really that professor?”
“The one who was screaming after losing, or no, winning… that professor?”
“Well, that’s Rania, but going to the North was the great Mage Rania van Trias.”
“…What’s the difference?”
“A big one.”
If it had been last year, there would have been reactions like “If it’s that professor, there’s bound to be something.” But now, it was different.
“Let go, let go, damn it! Just let go!”
“Come here! Come here, damn it!”
“I lost. I lost, I’m saying!”
An event etched in the minds of the students.
They will never forget the incident from last autumn, when Professor Rania, who had lost in a duel, was shaking her fists at the air.
“Seriously, it just doesn’t match.”
“I agree.”
“Especially this phrase, it’s a bit off, isn’t it?”
Someone pointed at a phrase written in the newspaper.
“Flawless Hero, Rania van Trias.”
“Successor of the Ashen Mage…”
“Boasting both beauty and humility…”
As newspapers tend to do, the contents were inherently exaggerated. The discrepancy between the image of Professor Rania they had and the persona described in the newspaper was so large that it made the students chuckle.
click, click.
Then, footsteps echoed down the hall.
The students halted their laughter. They tucked the newspaper neatly into their bags. Then, they turned their heads to see who was approaching.
Someone was walking down the corridor.
The gentle early summer breeze ruffled the ashen hair. As she brushed away her flowing locks, she lightly nodded at the students.
Unlike last year, she didn’t wear a blank expression.
When greeting students in the hall, Rania often smiles now. It was the same this time. With a soft smile, she passed by the students, and only after the sounds of her footsteps faded did one of the students speak up.
“Wow.”
He let out a gasp.
“We’re screwed.”
“…Yeah.”
“She definitely heard everything. She heard it all.”
“Now, when Rania smiles, it scares me.”
…Rania van Trias is said to be as beautiful as or more beautiful than an Elf. People follow her to every event she participates in, just hoping to see her even the slightest smile, no matter how reluctant.
But not for the students.
To the students, Rania’s smiles feel like a death sentence. Their past year’s experiences made them realize this truth.
What does it matter if she’s pretty or beautiful?
When they see her with bloodshot eyes from staying up all night working on assignments, she looks more like a witch than an Elf. To the public, Rania van Trias earns all kinds of praise, but to the students, she is nothing short of a nightmare.
A nightmare in Apuria.
An extremely fearful nightmare.
*
