〈 Episode 314 〉 Interlude (2)
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There will be a lot to do when you arrive at the royal capital.
However, if you choose what to do first… there is only one thing that comes to mind.
“I have to brag about it first.”
After telling Rosell that he was safe, Raniel ran straight into a corner alley in the royal capital.
To go meet the ancient elf.
And to show off.
“Hmph, huh.”
The sound of cheerful footsteps and humming songs echoed through the alley.
* * *
Cardi, an ancient elf who has lived for a long time.
This elf, who has battled not only the Battle of the Mountains but also the master of ten thousand demons that covered half the world, does not show his emotions about most things.
‘It has to be that way.’
Some emotions may have been worn down over hundreds of years, and there will be very little that can surprise him. Anyway, that’s why Cardi is always relaxed.
No matter what you hear, all you can do is respond with three words: ‘Hmm’, ‘I see’, and ‘Indeed’. Recently, I have often reacted as if I was surprised…
‘Even that was rare.’
But won’t we be surprised this time?
Maybe he’s stuttering because he’s embarrassed. If that were true, it would be fun. With such foolish thoughts in mind, Raniel told Cardi a story.
“Well, that’s how it happened.”
After finishing his story, Raniel clenched his chin.
Cardi was showing her back to Raniel as she was organizing the shelves, but no change in emotions was felt on her back.
“Why no reaction? I defeated that sword of death. He said it hurt him. “I made you bleed.”
“······.”
“hey? Cardi? hey?”
“······.”
“what?”
Even if I touch it, there is no answer.
‘Anyway, you seem like a boring elf.’
Thinking like that, Raniel said, ‘Anyway, that’s it.’ This is the moment to end the story.
Clink!
Cardi’s hands that were organizing the shelves went limp, and the sound of glass breaking continued to ring out. A perplexed Raniel opened his eyes wide and looked at Cardi. Cardi turned his head shakily and slowly looked behind him.
And, I found out about Raniel for the first time that day.
“what?”
That an elf’s eyes can get that big.
“Bang… Geum, what did you say?”
At this moment, Raniel realized for the first time that the pupil could shake so loudly.
“Defeat Ganichalt? “You won…?”
Cardi’s pupils fluttered.
“Defeat? Ganichalt? “That guy?”
Cardi bowed.
He put his face towards Raniel, who was sitting and sipping tea, and asked a series of questions.
“Did you bleed? That guy bled? He admitted defeat and stepped down?”
“Uh, uh…”
Those eyes are very burdensome.
Raniel stuttered to answer the question, but Cardi’s questions did not stop.
“What on earth? Did the magic work on him? No, that won’t happen, right? “How on earth…?”
“No, I didn’t do it. Kyle, that guy with a sword…”
“···knife?”
Cardi’s head jerked and tilted.
Those eyes got a little bigger. Raniel inwardly clicked his tongue at the fact that his pupils, which he thought had already grown to their limit, could grow even larger.
“Did you win with a sword?”
Did I hear wrong now?
Isn’t there a serious error in that sentence itself?
Hasn’t this guy gone crazy?
Raniel slowly nodded to Cardi, who seemed to be saying that with his eyes.
“huh. “With a sword.”
Raniel said.
At first, Raniel was also embarrassed by Cardi’s overly embarrassed appearance, but as time passes, Raniel feels a strange sense of pleasure in the situation.
‘I have taken control of the great sage’s emotions!’
An ancient elf who has lived for over a thousand years.
A great sage and the first magic tower lord of the Gray Magic Tower.
A person of that caliber is losing his breath at every word he says. Ran El, who covered the corner of his mouth that kept twitching by pretending to rest his chin, spoke.
“I think it’s the same technique, but Kyle pushes it. They just cut off my ribs with a knife. Just like this, pummeling!”
“Huh…”
“Black blood was dripping down, and you should have seen it? The snowy field is turning black, and there is so much blood…”
Cardi wiped the corners of my eyes.
He let out a long sigh and sat down on the chair. Cardi continued, his face half mesmerized.
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“Amazing.”
Cardi muttered.
“Really, it’s amazing. “What are these babies who haven’t even lived for half a hundred years yet?”
He was muttering helplessly and eventually burst into laughter. Cardi laughed out loud. She looked disbelieving or amused.
“That’s amazing. really.”
“Kyle’s contribution is big this time. He said he could do it, but I didn’t think he would actually do it. “So quickly.”
Raniel let out a faint laugh.
After laughing like that, Raniel let out a short sigh.
“That’s right, Cardi.”
“What.”
“Have you ever shown Kyle anything? “He even knew that Ganicalt was the first hero?”
I flinch.
Cardi, who was tipping her teacup, stopped moving for a moment. Eventually, Cardi put down the teacup and slowly opened her mouth.
“···well. It’s not what I showed or what I said. “He just happened to reach it.”
“You reached it?”
“I’ve tried a few things in the past.”
Cardi brought in a dusty magic tool stored in the deepest part of the shelf.
“Do you remember being in the Northern Magic Tower?”
“A magic tool that records those memories?”
“okay. A magic tool created by utilizing the twist of time, a unique feature of the Kurakt Mountains.”
Cardi tapped the magic tool.
“This too has the same principle as that. It’s a magic tool that records my memories so I can open them at any time. “It’s also a magic tool that has already stopped working.”
Raniel touched the magic tool.
It was a magic tool that stopped functioning a long time ago.
“This is a magic tool made hundreds of years ago, when Arcadia was just about to be destroyed. Whenever I needed time, I would play a video using a magic tool. “It was like going back to the past just by looking at the happy memories.”
Cardi laughed bitterly.
“I used it so much that all the magic stones were worn away. Originally, I thought it would last a hundred years, but it didn’t last even a year. Anyway, this magic tool was broken a long time ago…”
Cardi tapped the table.
“It happened a long time ago, when you and Kyle stayed at this store. That’s when Kyle put her hand on the forehead tool. “He must have been curious about my identity, so he was searching the store.”
“…Did something like that happen?”
I knew Kyle was curious about Cardi’s identity, but I never thought he would do something like that. As Raniel blinked, Cardi continued speaking.
“Okay. Well, I didn’t think there would be any use in looking. “This magic tool and that photo… ultimately only a qualified person can recognize it.”
But, said Cardi.
“The moment Kyle touched the magic tool, it started working as intended. A magic tool that cannot be operated because the magic stone has already worn off, and a magic tool that shows nothing if you are not qualified.”
“Is that possible?”
“It’s impossible.”
Cardi chuckled.
“It happened even though it was impossible. I don’t know whether the magic tool reacted to the hero’s starlight or not. “It just happened, and Kyle’s memory was completely blown away.”
Also about Cardi.
What I saw in the magic tool.
Cardi confirmed that it was all gone.
“That’s why I kicked Kyle out. “She wasn’t sure that if she accessed the information one more time and her memory was lost . . . her mind would still be intact then.”
Raniel smoothed his chin.
After thinking for a moment, she opened her mouth.
“But, Cardi.”
“what.”
“In the end, isn’t it possible to see it only when the stars allow it?”
“I guess so. “Because it is a memory that the stars erased from this earth.”
“then.”
Raniel let out a sigh.
“Didn’t you let the star see it on purpose?”
“You showed me and erased my memory? Why? wherefore?”
“I don’t even know that far. “I just think that might be the case.”
“That’s strange.”
Cardi said with her arms crossed.
“Stars are beings that move according to set rules, and are not intelligent beings with intentions, right? “What you’re saying makes it sound like the stars are acting intentionally.”
“···just.”
Raniel sighed and tilted his head back.
“It’s just that I feel like that these days.”
Even if I tilt my head and look out the window, I can’t see any stars. Not only has the sun not set yet, but the sky is not visible from here.
Nevertheless, Raniel reaches for the stars.
She muttered as she looked through the window at the sky where the stars would be.
“I wonder if the stars have an intention, a purpose.”
“purpose?”
“It’s not about following the rules, it’s about something else… I mean, I get the feeling that they’re aiming for something. “I don’t know what it is, but it just feels like that.”
Cardi was silent after hearing Raniel’s words.
After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth.
“If the stars really have a purpose… what do you plan to do, Raniel?”
Raniel chuckled.
“I’ll have to see it first.”
See it with your own eyes.
“If the purpose sounds a bit lame, then what can you do?”
She stretched out her hand towards the sky.
I grabbed it with my outstretched fingers.
“We have to pull it out. Under.”
Raniel chuckled and looked at Cardi.
“Just like you did.”
2.
After arriving in the capital, Rania stayed busy for a while.
Because I had to give a detailed account of the battle with Ganicalt, the sword of death, and upload a report. In addition, since he participated in the fight as ‘Rania’, he also had to write an excuse and statement regarding it.
No one saw the fight up close, and all traces of the fight were blown away, so it was limited to a reasonable amount of circumspection, but suspicion cannot be avoided.
Rumors spread.
Whether Rania is related to Raniel or not, rumors are growing that she is a magician equivalent to him. Rania didn’t bother to stop the rumor.
『Rania Van Trias is the successor to Raniel Van Trias’ magic sword.』
Rather, they chose to make it public.
Not only did they belong to the same family, but they also inherited the magic power from a gray wizard with poor health. It created a big and small commotion.
『I inherited magic from the Gray Wizard.』
『Isn’t that also an inheritance of responsibility? Shouldn’t she also head to her battlefield?』
Although such a story circulated, it quickly died down.
In the first place, the Gray Wizard had no responsibility or duty to stand on the battlefield… and there was no reason why this should be passed down to the next generation.
Rather, the nobleman who spoke so loudly could not avoid social criticism. In the end, as he bows his head, the achievements of Rania Van Trias become known one after another.
Those are some incidents that were hidden from the public eye.
『Repulse the apostates of Cadinac, the city of night.』
『North, defeating the sword of death.』
Not everything has been made public, but just a few incidents are enough to cause repercussions. Only then did the world understand the meaning of Rania Van Trias’ title due to her feat of repelling the disaster.
A wise man and a guide.
He is a person worthy of that title.
Even though he had no obligation, he devoted himself to humanity to prevent disaster. Even though he accomplished such a feat, he did not expect any reward. As numerous facts were revealed one after another, Rania’s days became a little busier.
And, there was a decisive incident.
“I expected it, but you were a much greater person than I thought.”
1st Princess Leruelle.
A person who is no different from the next king.
“I salute you for your dedication to your country.”
A woman who sits in a higher position than anyone else in this country.
Princess Lruel, who would never bow to anyone, bowed her head in respect to Rania.
And that too in public.
“Didn’t I tell you? Someday, I want to properly praise your achievements. “At a grand event.”
Rania only smiled bitterly at the words of Princess Lruel quietly whispering in her ear. In her official capacity, Rania was offered all sorts of positions for her princess.
Rania refused all of that.
Refusing territory, a position of honor, or anything else, she returned to Aplia again. Princess Lruelle did not grab Rania as if she knew she would do so.
And the rumors continue to spread.
* * *
“Did you see the article?”
“Professor Rania…”
“No, I thought you were a great person…”
On the day Professor Rania returns to Aplia from his vacation, Aplia is noisy with students whispering. Naturally, the topic is about Professor Rania.
“That’s why I went to the north…”
“To deal with disaster, together with the hero.”
“···Really that professor?”
“In that duel, lost, or won…? Anyway, the professor who was yelling?”
“That is Professor Rania, and the one who went to the North is a great wizard named Rania Van Trias.”
“···What’s the difference?”
“It’s a big difference.”
If it had been last year, even after hearing the rumor, I would have reacted the same way, thinking that there was something going on with that professor, but that’s not the case now.
『Let go, let go, damn it! Let go!』
『You come. Come here, bastard!』
『I lost. I, I lost.』
An incident engraved in the minds of students.
Students will never forget that incident that happened around fall last year. The sight of Professor Rania screaming and punching the air after winning the duel was not easily forgotten.
“No, really… that match doesn’t work.”
“I agree.”
“Isn’t this phrase in particular a bit off?”
Someone pointed to a phrase written in a newspaper.
『The perfect hero, Rania Van Trias.』
『Following the footsteps of the Gray Wizard…』
『Not only good looks, but also humility…』
As with any newspaper, there are bound to be parts that are exaggerated. The students burst into laughter because the gap between the Professor Rania that came to mind and the character portrayed in the newspaper was so great.
Again.
And then, the sound of footsteps echoes in the hallway.
The students stop laughing. Fold the newspaper and put it in the bag. Then, I turned my head and looked at the place where I heard the footsteps.
Someone is walking down the hallway.
Gray hair sways in the early summer wind. Rubbing her shaking hair, she nodded slightly towards her students.
She is not as expressionless as last year.
Rania often smiles when greeting students in the hallway. It’s the same this time too. She smiled faintly as she walked past her students. And again, again and again. Only when the sound of footsteps could no longer be heard did one of the students speak up.
“and.”
He let out an exclamation.
“We’re screwed.”
“···huh.”
“You heard everything. “You listened unconditionally.”
“I’m scared now when Professor Rania laughs.”
···This is Rania Van Trias, who is said to be comparable to elves or more beautiful than elves in the world. There are people who follow her at every event she participates in, just to see her reluctant smile.
But not for students.
To students, Rania’s bright smile is like a death sentence. Her experience over the past year has made her realize that fact for her students.
What are all the pretty and beautiful things?
If you look at her bloodshot eyes after staying up all night working on a task, she looks like a witch, not an elf. Rania Van Triasina receives all kinds of praise from the public, but for her students, she is nothing but a nightmare.
Aplia’s nightmare.
A very scary nightmare.
* * *
fantasy,
