〈 Episode 313 〉 Interlude (1)
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The night was deep.
Raniel, who was sitting on the bed and combing his hair, suddenly looked out the window. A wide open snowy field, pouring starlight. Raniel, who was looking at the snowy field sparkling under the starlight, raised his head.
The wide-open night sky.
Come to think of it, was the hair of the shadow dragon lord seen during the day exactly that color? While thinking such foolish thoughts, Raniel looked at the night sky.
There are stars floating in the sky.
The platinum-colored star shines brightly. As always.
Raniel’s eyes were shining blue as he looked at the stars. Even when he was very young, when he became the next Gray Magic Tower lord, and when he went on a trip with Kyle… Raniel would often look up at the sky.
The shining star is the same as always.
However, Raniel’s perspective on it is very different from the first time. That gaze is no longer dull. It’s not an eye that sees things that don’t interest you.
“······.”
Questions, doubts, or anger.
Raniel frowned without realizing it and rubbed the corner of his eyes with his fingertips. A wizard is a being who must always think cool-headed and cannot be absorbed in one perspective.
Thinking over that fact, Raniel shakes his head.
It is still too early to draw conclusions.
Think about it a little more.
I will definitely have to judge it only after seeing it with my own eyes. This is probably a question we will have to think about for a long time.
Really, for a long time.
2.
Ganicalt, the sword of death, appears in the Kennel Snowfield.
A curse dragon that attacked the refugees.
Two disasters struck the North, but not many people died. Most of the damage occurred in the latter, but because of Kelhalm and the warrior who appeared on the spot, the damage was minimal.
‘The terrain has changed, and now it should be called Kennel Canyon instead of Kennel Snowfield, but…’
It is surprising that the sword of death only caused this much damage. This is what Raniel himself, who prevented the disaster, thinks. In the past, when blocking the sword of death, we had to make sacrifices that are incomparable to now.
It is truly something that can be called a feat.
A several-day banquet was held in the north to praise the feat. The dead are commemorated and the living are blessed.
“Eat and drink as much as you want. “You are the pride of the North.”
With the banquet for heroes in full swing, Raniel rested his chin and looked at the table he was sitting at. It was the most ornately decorated table for four, but Raniel was the only one sitting there.
Rattling.
Raniel turned his head at the sound of dishes coming from next to him. There is an elf chewing meat there.
“···No, you were there too.”
“What did you say?”
“It is nothing.”
“Aren’t you going to eat this? Then I eat it.”
Remia reached out to the plate in front of Raniel.
Raniel’s eyes turned cold as he glanced at that figure and then froze.
“Aren’t you an elf?”
“of course. “You wouldn’t know it if you saw it?”
“I think I heard that elves are vegetarians and live only on fruit. Isn’t it?”
“That’s a discriminatory comment against elves. Even elves eat meat these days. Who the hell did that?”
“You, you idiot. “You did it.”
This is what Remia said as she threw her plate at herself after getting some meat from the devil and grilling it for her. Elves do not eat meat, so why give them meat?
“I? when?”
Raniel’s molars chattered at Remia’s shameless attitude. Raniel sighed, suppressing the urge to throw his plate.
‘Even if I deal with it, I’ll only get angry.’
Conversation is with humans.
I’m not that stupid idiot. With humans. Raniel, who controlled his anger like that, turned his head and looked in front of him. There are two empty seats there.
Saint Sarah.
Champion, Kyle Torben.
The seat for two people is empty.
They followed the ancient dragon wizard and have not returned until about ten days later. Only one letter arrived.
“I think it will take a long time.”
“Don’t wait.”
“I’ll come back when the time is right.”
It was a letter written in Kyle’s handwriting.
In the end, the banquet proceeded without the main character, and Kyle did not return until the day the banquet ended.
* * *
“Ah, Professor Rania.”
I was finishing my drink and turned my head when I heard a voice. Lark was standing there. Lark came towards me, limping, as if his body wasn’t fully healed yet.
“Are you enjoying the banquet?”
I shook my glass and smiled.
“The alcohol is delicious. “It’s a bit of a shame that I don’t have anyone to drink with.”
I glanced at the empty seat.
Remia said she didn’t get much to eat here and moved to a table near the center of the banquet. Thanks to that, she was sitting alone at the table for four.
“You sit down too.”
“Eh, then…”
Lark sat in the empty seat.
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I sipped the remaining drink and opened my mouth.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“it’s okay. Rather, everyone is surprised. “I didn’t know the injury would recover so quickly.”
“I guess so.”
I chuckled.
“Because you’re half a hero now.”
“···yes? “What do you mean?”
“You pulled out a sword in the center of the Holy Land, right?”
The sword(?) that Lark pulled out from the center of the sacred place.
It is the sword used by the first warrior Ganicalt and the first holy sword. Lark held the object filled with a large amount of starlight, and the holy sword recognized Lark as its owner.
“If you use a holy sword, is that a hero or what?”
“Is that so?”
“It’s like that.”
Suddenly, the phrase I saw in the Northern Tower came to mind.
“If someone becomes a symbol of victory, if someone finds comfort in seeing him, if the path he walks is correct… that person is a warrior.”
I patted Lark on the shoulder and grinned.
“This is what the original owner of the sword you got said. According to that, you too have become a hero.”
Lark’s role in this fight was big.
If it weren’t for Lark, I would have really had to put my lifespan on the scale again.
‘and···.’
If it happened like that.
There was a high probability that that place would be my last performance. Because I was really prepared to die.
“thanks. lakh.”
“yes?”
“You played a big role in this fight. In my eyes, you too were a warrior. “Thanks to you, I survived.”
I handed Lark a drink.
“Would you like a drink?”
“No, I’m not yet…”
“Uh huh. “If an adult gives you something, just take it.”
As I was filling my glass to overflowing, someone approached the table. I looked up to see if it was a warrior who had come to stop me from giving him alcohol, but the person there was not a warrior boasting massive muscles.
Belnoir and Chloe.
The two people who attracted the most attention at this banquet were looking at me and smiling bitterly.
“I came to see that you were sitting alone.”
“We can’t drink strong alcohol like that, Professor. “Mrs. Palia prepared it here separately.”
Belnoir and Chloe sat down.
Belnoir filled the glasses with champagne in his hand and set them down in front of Chloe, Lark, and me.
“We’ll have a drink with this.”
I smiled and lifted the glasses, and the four glasses clinked together with a loud sound. I laughed inadvertently as I watched Laque, who was talking about whether it was her first time drinking alcohol, Chloe who was gulping down a drink, and Belnoir, who was sipping with bravado.
“aha.”
They are kids.
‘and.’
You’re growing well.
Looking at the children who have grown so quickly in that short period of time makes me feel like I have become an old person. I smiled bitterly and tipped my glass.
It didn’t feel too bad.
3.
After the banquet was over, I immediately prepared to return to the royal capital. Our schedule in the North is over. It happened during the semester in the first place, and there were quite a few people I needed to tell in detail about what happened in the North.
Before leaving, I stopped by the White Magic Tower for a moment. Because there were many items provided to me by Magic Tower.
“Oh, are you here? “I was waiting.”
When I arrived at the magic tower, what greeted me was a brightly smiling white magic tower lord. That smile was now becoming burdensome, so I inadvertently took a step back.
“···What is it?”
“Well, anyway.”
“Why are you even here to pick me up? “Someone who is the lord of the magic tower.”
“I’m attending a noble person, so of course I have to come to meet him, right?”
As I took a step back, the White Magic Tower Lord took a step towards me. After repeating this a few times, I reached out my hand and stopped the white magic tower lord.
“Well, are you here to pay the bill?”
“price? Oh, no need. Something like that.”
“···yes?”
The White Magic Tower Lord smiled brightly.
“If you can’t block the sword of death, the entire White Magic Tower will fly away, and you’ll be satisfied with just seeing it once in the first place?”
Is that it?
As I blinked, the white magic tower lord looked at me with his arms spread wide and his sparkling eyes.
“A huge tree like the world tree!”
she shouted in a loud voice.
“A pillar of light stretching high into the sky. A circuit so huge that it is difficult to capture at a glance! “The flash of thousands and tens of thousands of spells emitting at the same time…!”
The white magic tower lord approached me with great strides and held my hand tightly with both hands.
“I’m satisfied with just seeing that.”
“Uh, uhh…”
“What, dragging them into the White Magic Tower? I was arrogant. What do you mean? “You should treat him as a teacher.”
She pointed inside the magic tower.
“The payment has been made. Shall we talk for a moment?”
“No, it’s okay…”
“Don’t do that. wait for a sec···.”
“No, let’s leave this for now…!”
“cookie! coffee! “I’ve prepared a lot of delicious food for you, so just give yourself a little time!”
I had a feeling that it was going to be very annoying, so I tried to pull away and run away, but the white magic tower holder grabbed my collar and hung on. And that too, while the wizards of the Magic Tower were watching.
“please! a little bit!”
In the end, he falls down in the snow and begs.
It was difficult to ignore that crying voice.
* * *
Raniel, who was finally released after an hour, got into the carriage with wide eyes. Raniel leaned against the back of the carriage, feeling mentally tired.
“Uh…”
I’m tired.
I am very tired.
Raniel let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.
When I came to the North, I was with Sarah, but when I return to the capital, I will be alone. There hasn’t been much contact from Sarah and Kyle yet.
When we return to the capital, there will be a lot of work to do.
First, we will have to prepare for Lark and Belnoa’s trials, and we will also have to study ‘Focus’, Galahal’s ability that Chloe inherited.
‘And again…’
It was around this time that Raniel was thinking about what he had to do with his eyes closed. Squeak, and the door opened. It was the coachman who opened the door.
“uh? “When did you come, young lady?”
“···yes?”
The coachman asked Raniel.
“Didn’t you run over there earlier?”
“···Me?”
Raniel blinked.
The direction the coachman pointed was the opposite direction from where Raniel had come. Ran El said, pointing in the direction he came from.
“I’m from here?”
“what? weird···.”
The coachman tilted his head.
The coachman blinked a few times and sighed and muttered, “Ah.”
“Ah, looking at you again, I see that you and the lady are dressed a little differently. “You look a little younger.”
The coachman muttered something unintelligible.
Raniel blinked and looked away. What she saw was the direction her coachman had pointed.
There were no footprints.
“Miss, do you have any sisters who look like you?”
“doesn’t exist.”
“okay? “It’s strange…”
“I guess you saw it wrong.”
Leaving behind the muttering coachman, Raniel looked in the direction the coachman pointed. That place is the Kurakt Mountains. There was no sense of popularity.
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fantasy,
