EP.195 After the curtain falls (1)
The altar is smashed and the barrier begins to collapse.
The swirling black storm subsides, and the black barrier that covered Aplia begins to crumble. Looking at the collapsing barrier, it feels like black snow is falling.
The center of the barrier, where the altar was located.
There, looking at the collapsing barrier, the two students slumped down in their seats.
“Whoa, whoa….”
Chloe, having squeezed her mana to its limit, lets out a rough breath. Cold sweat ran down her spine. The girl, pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion, takes a deep breath of the cool autumn air as the darkness lifts and rushes in.
It was helpful.
accomplished something
Chloe feels strangely rewarded by that fact.
“···go back. Yes, good job.”
Resty also sat down on the floor and patted the heads of the familiars flocking to his side. The star-covered wolf purrs at Resty’s touch.
After a tight tightrope walk, I succeeded.
I’ve dealt with things I thought I couldn’t deal with.
Resty’s heart beats loudly as he witnesses with his own eyes an impossible plan leap into the realm of the possible. I feel like I have taken a step forward as a wizard.
“Okay, you got it. really.”
And the conductor who directed everyone.
“Really, I did it.”
Although Ayla’s legs are shaking, a smile forms on Ayla’s lips as she still stands with both feet on the ground. What is revealed in a smile are countless emotions.
The joy of success.
Proud to have moved forward on my own feet.
A sense of relief that the job was done well in the end.
Besides that, a smile that is filled with countless emotions cannot be expressed in just one or two lines. Ayla looks behind her with a smile on her face. There are people there who are with him. Ayla said to them.
“Everyone did a great job.”
Thank you for joining us.
“Thanks to you, I was able to succeed.”
Thanks to you all.
“I will never forget this help.”
Because they do not forget, their efforts will receive their fair value. Ayla nodded her head slightly and put her last words into her mouth.
“Thank you, everyone.”
The barrier is broken.
Sunlight leaks into Aplia, which had been immersed in darkness. Students who were locked in a nightmare will soon open their eyes. Ayla feels that the long play is coming to an end.
“Princess.”
And, Resty says:
“You can leave us behind. “It looks like knights will be coming soon… I think now is the only time I’m going to meet someone.”
I am glad of that consideration.
Ayla nodded slightly and started walking towards somewhere. After taking a few steps with shaky legs, Ayla soon started running.
The hem of the skirt is shaking.
It is a leap with no trace of elegance.
This is an action that would have been reprimanded if the people in the royal palace had seen it.
However, that is not important to Ayla now. No one is watching, but even if someone saw him, he would still be running like he is now. Ayla ran and ran, catching her breath.
I ran through the square, where soot remained here and there.
I ran along a stone wall with long sword marks.
After running and running like that, she arrives.
There is someone Ayla was waiting for. Ayla says that person’s name.
“Professor Rania!”
There is a different name I want to include, but I decided to hold on to that desire for a while. For when it’s just the two of us face to face. Ayla stopped as he called her name.
And then she looks at Ayla.
Gray hair sparkles in the sunlight. As if weary, half-closed blue eyes look towards Ayla.
“Ah, princess.”
She walked unsteadily, carrying Kelhalm, who seemed to have fainted, hanging limply over her shoulder, and looked around. Her barrier has cleared and light is coming in. She smiled as she understood the meaning.
“It looks like you made it.”
That smile becomes familiar to Ayla’s eyes.
The face, the voice, everything is different, but for some reason it’s a familiar smile. It was a smile I saw sometime ago.
“I’m glad you’re safe.”
However, the meaning is different from the smile I smiled back then.
“You are amazing.”
It is not a smile made to reassure.
It is a smile like that of an educator who is amazed at what has been accomplished and smiles at the growth of his students. That gentle smile is more precious to Ayla than anything else.
“···Because you asked for it.”
Ayla’s voice trembled a little.
Because there is so much I want to say.
“I really did my best.”
Because you asked.
Because it was a request from you who saved my life and became my color. Because I really wanted to help.
“Was I helpful?”
Ayla asked a question.
The gray wizard answers that question.
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“Sure.”
An answer without any hesitation.
So, a word that feels sincere.
Ayla smiles brightly at that one word. Brighter than ever. He smiled brightly and without a trace. It is like a child’s laughter.
The child who was loved by the stars became an adult.
However, in front of someone, I still wanted to remain a child.
2.
I heard that the incident that hit Aplia is coming to an end. The reason why I say ‘I heard the news’ rather than ‘it’s going’ is… I had no way of knowing the trend of the situation.
‘That’s right, I’ve been stuck in bed for several days.’
Bed conditions at the mansion.
Thanks to my teacher who had me locked up halfway with my eyes wide open, I was unable to take a single step outside and had been lounging around in bed for several days.
“Please get some rest, Raniel.”
“Should I chain you up?”
Of course, it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand Master’s thoughts.
Because I knew very well how serious my physical condition was. To borrow Cardi’s words…
“It would be healthier to be a walking zombie.”
It was roughly like that.
It wasn’t particularly critical, but it wasn’t to the point where I could live my daily life. You’ll have to stay in bed a little longer for the time being.
‘Actually, this is a cheap deal.’
If we were to put these events in a row, it would be surprising that it ended up like this.
The stimulation of the curse and the resulting contamination of mana.
The rampaging mana was destroying the inside of the body, and the circuit was overloaded to suppress it. That alone would have left me sick for a while…
‘There was even a battle there.’
To the extent that it puts a strain on the body.
In that battle, I used up all my mana, so I thought it would take at least a month to fully recover. In fact, even this was possible because Cardi poured all sorts of medicinal ingredients on me.
“Whoa…”
I just sigh when I think about what I’ll have to worry about for a month, but I still don’t feel too bad. Because it was something worth working hard on.
Aplia is safe.
Not a single student died, and even the three students who were designated as sacrifices were all fine.
‘There···.’
Kelhalm was also able to be saved.
Right now, you might not be able to open your eyes because you’re out of mana, but soon you’ll be able to open your eyes.
It was truly rare.
The work was completed so neatly.
If all I had to do in return was to worry about it for about a month, wouldn’t it be a deal I would welcome with both hands? At least I thought so.
‘I think it would be okay to take a little break during this time.’
There were many people I needed to meet, such as Kalt, Kelhalm, Cardi, etc… but it wouldn’t be too late to move after my physical condition improved.
It would be okay to rest a little now.
With that thought in mind, I reached out to the head of the bed. What I held in my hands were several novels. It was a novel given to me by Dean Aaron, who came to visit me yesterday, saying he was sick.
「A story about a wandering swordsman」
Holding the book in one hand, I slowly raised my head before turning the pages.
“···That’s why.”
Opposite the bed.
A girl sitting on a chair, smiling brightly, wondering what was so fun about it.
“Aren’t you going back to Aplia?”
“yes? “There’s nothing to do even if I go.”
Fourth princess, Ayla.
She came to the mansion, brought a chair and placed it next to me, and was looking at me in that same position from before. As if under surveillance.
“···Since such an incident occurred in Aplia, wouldn’t it be necessary to return to the palace… or at least strengthen the guard? “Is it okay for you to stay here?”
I’m sure it is, but why are you here?
As I looked at Ayla like that, she shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth.
“That’s because the current faction is divided into two.”
He then calmly began to explain the internal circumstances of the royal family.
“The royal knights who say they need to take me to the royal palace and protect me, and the knights who say Aplia is better because the hounds are gathered in Aplia… and the royal family is currently in a dizzy state, are fighting bloody battles.”
“···yes?”
“Leruelle and the Guard Captain have put a little more emphasis on the latter, so there will be a settlement soon… but it’s a little noisy right now.”
It’s noisy.
It was a word with many meanings.
“So you came here to avoid the commotion?”
“That’s true too, right?”
Grumble. Ayla approached, dragging a chair. As the distance became a little shorter, Ayla looked at me and smiled.
“I had a great desire to meet my teacher.”
“…If anyone sees it, they will think it’s been a few years since we’ve seen each other again.”
“I didn’t know the identity, so it’s only been a few years, right? Isn’t it only 7 years? Mr. Raniel.”
Not Rania, but Raniel.
I couldn’t help but secretly avert my gaze from Ayla, who pronounced that name with force.
“You approved it on the spot, but you’re not going to deny it now. Yes? Mr. Raniel?”
“······.”
“Oh my, why are you avoiding my gaze?”
Ayla’s voice was strangely excited.
“Are you by any chance embarrassed?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“I think I would be a little embarrassed.”
I tilted my head.
There is nothing to be ashamed of, right? I don’t think there’s anything I can’t say in this form. As I was thinking about that, Ayla cleared her throat loudly.
“You said this in the combat magic class, right? “The ‘great’ gray wizard.”
My eyes opened wide.
“The class you are learning is a fundamental class created by the ‘great’ gray wizard…”
“for a moment···.”
“Well, the Gray Wizard is great. Anyone can see that you have achieved a great achievement. From now on, when calling the Gray Wizard, shouldn’t we call him ‘great’?”
Ayla looked at me with a mischievous smile.
“What do you think, Raniel?”
I was out of breath.
‘···I did it.’
I said something I couldn’t say.
Maybe it was because I was half-focused in class, but I ended up saying something I couldn’t say.
“Well, maybe you want to show off.”
As I was unable to raise my head in shame, Ayla spoke in a playful voice.
“I never even imagined that the Gray Wizard could have a side like this.”
‘···Couldn’t I have been caught by someone who shouldn’t have been caught?’
Suddenly such a thought passed through my mind.
As I was seriously contemplating whether I should cover that mouth or not… a voice with a completely different feel from before rang in my ears.
“Really.”
A voice mixed with a slight sigh.
“I didn’t think you were this close.”
Ayla looked up and saw that she was still smiling. However, the smile disappeared a little from the corner of his mouth… and a strange bitterness took its place.
“I’ve been waiting since you said you retired.”
“···Is that so?”
“Yes, I waited. All along. “Don’t you know, Raniel, how much I’ve been looking forward to this meeting for seven years?”
7 years.
“It’s been 7 years.”
Enough time for a child to become an adult.
“Compared to that time, I have grown a lot, and my knowledge of magic has also increased a lot.”
“Your grades are definitely good. “You are consistently ranked among the top four performers…”
“No one knows.”
Ayla laughed bitterly.
“Back then, you praised me every time I turned a page. “By tapping my head like this.”
She said, touching my bangs.
“I kind of miss that. “It was even more so because I lived in a place where there were only pretentious people, people who wanted to use me, people who saw me as a tool…”
“Is that so.”
“I did. But, it’s okay now.”
Ayla straightened her shoulders.
“I don’t want to worry about that anymore.”
An unadorned voice, an unadorned gesture.
“Seeing through the stars, understanding through the stars, choosing through the stars… I’m going to stop doing all that now.”
Therefore, her natural voice and natural gestures.
“No matter what others say or what anyone thinks of me…”
that.
“Now, I guess I’ll choose.”
It was a change I had not hoped for.
“Raniel said so.”
“Stars don’t live life for you.”
Did what I said reach her?
As I looked at her choosing to change, I felt a strange sense of pride. I felt fortunate that this child could change. really.
“Stars are everything to me.”
Because Kyle never changed.
“Because without stars, I am nothing.”
As someone who knew what the guy who entrusted his life to the stars was like now, I couldn’t help but be happy about Ayla’s change.
“…it won’t be easy.”
“So shouldn’t we try?”
The princess who chose to move forward.
I smiled as I looked at her who had confidence in herself in the truest sense of the word.
“It’s a good mindset.”
“When you say that, it really reminds me of the old days.”
Ayla chuckled and laughed out loud.
And then he slowly stood up.
“Well then, I hope you get well soon and we can see you again in Aplia as soon as possible.”
And then she calls my name.
This time, a different name than before.
“The great Professor Rania.”
The voice was full of mischief until the end, and I ended up laughing bitterly.
She was still a princess who could not let her guard down. really.
3.
It’s been a week since I was in the hospital.
When I was finally able to move my body, the place I headed to was Aplia. There was a need to keep Aplia’s situation in mind…and there were people to meet.
Students did not roam around Aplia.
A temporary school closure has been announced in the next two weeks or so, and most students will be returning to their homes or staying confined to the central academic building.
‘Dean Aaron is going to scream again.’
I smiled bitterly as I pictured Dean Aaron pulling out his hair. From the dean’s perspective, it would be something that would make blood and tears flow.
The square near the Central Academic Building was devastated.
All the tiles were turned over, and the building was covered in soot and sword marks… It had turned into an environment reminiscent of a battlefield.
‘Superhumans and disasters ran rampant, so what is this…?’
Keeping those thoughts to myself, I walked and walked along Aplia. If you walk like that, you will soon find yourself in the forest.
The wind blows and the fallen leaves crumble.
And at the end, there was a figure sitting on a stump waiting for me. I waved his hand at him.
“Kelhalm.”
“Are you here?”
He looked at me and said.
“Ashen wizard.”
A word from the author (author review)
It was packed in plenty 😀
