〈 Episode 321 〉 Gray Magic Tower (4)
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Gray Elder, Cranbel Eleanoa.
I know what beliefs the character ‘Cranbel Eleanor’ lives by. She knows very well what kind of magic (??) she is pursuing.
Cranbel Eleanoa is a wizard who sacrificed everything she had for the Gray Magic Tower. Cranbell gave up all the benefits she was owed, the power and fame she could gain by taking responsibility.
Only for the sake of the Gray Magic Tower.
Therefore, Cranbell’s life was like a gray magic tower itself, and that is why he was called an elder (？？). Knowing that fact, it was difficult for me to believe in the possibility of Cranbell’s betrayal.
“I guess you didn’t choose it yourself.”
“haha. “You sound quite confident.”
I spoke clearly to the elder.
“I know you won’t do that.”
He was a person who wanted to live righteously.
He was a man who never forgot his duty as a wizard.
Such a person would not choose to defect of his own will. That would be tantamount to denying the entire life one has walked.
“···Raniel, I guess that’s what that friend said.”
I nodded silently.
The elder smiled bitterly and sighed.
“Yes, Miss Rania.”
“Please speak.”
“Do you know what is eating away at my body?”
Of course I know.
Because it is planted in my body.
I nodded and answered.
“I know.”
“At first I thought it was a demon, but it wasn’t a demon. “What do you think it is?”
The moment I tried to pronounce shade, the root of my tongue stiffened. An elder means an object that is not close to information. I took a short breath and continued speaking.
“···It is difficult to explain in detail, but it is accurate to say that it is different from Magi. “It’s like a curse that’s a little more nasty, soggy, and cannot be purified.”
“Curse, curse…”
I asked a question to the elder who was pondering the word curse.
“How did that happen?”
The elder does not know that this is something that came from the Demon King. Naturally, he would never have encountered the Demon King. Nevertheless, a curse is implanted in the elder’s body.
Where, how, why on earth.
I needed to know why.
In response to my question, the elder slowly opened his mouth. But what came out of his mouth was not the answer I was expecting.
“Just ask one question.”
The elder answered the question with a question.
“Can you cure my illness?”
He looked straight at me.
The blackened eyes are regaining their original color.
“······.”
I was silent in front of those eyes.
The body of the elder that I saw reflected in my eyes was already blended with the shadow and could not be separated. The shadow spreading from the heart had already invaded the elder’s brain. It’s amazing that he’s alive now.
The soul has already been stained black.
There is no way to turn back a soul that has become unable to distinguish between what is white and what is black.
‘···Because even that Cardi couldn’t find the answer.’
The answer I found is also meaningless in this situation.
Even if the shadow-devouring mana is injected into the elder’s body, even the elder’s soul will burn. While I was wondering how to explain this, the elder smiled bitterly as if he had read my expression.
“It seems there is no way.”
The elder looked at me.
“Then, can you kill me?”
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please kill me
Rania was silent for a moment at those words.
If you only ask whether it is possible or impossible, of course it is possible. It was possible even if it wasn’t for me. What was important was the intention in making this request.
While Rania frowned, trying to read the elder’s intentions, the elder opened his mouth.
“Thirty-seven to be exact… Oh, do you know how many days have passed since I woke up?”
“I believe it’s been four days.”
“Then it must be the 33rd.”
The elder said, touching his chin.
“Can you kill me in 33 days?”
“Why the 33rd?”
“Because 33 days is the time given to me.”
What happens after 33 days?
The elder gave a short answer to that question.
“I will no longer be myself.”
The elder laughed bitterly.
“I know this is a difficult request. That’s a difficult request. However, I have no choice but to ask you a favor.”
He raised his hand.
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He pointed to Rania’s heart with his raised fingertip.
“It seems like you have the same thing as me, and unlike me, you have a way to fight it.”
Just as Rania felt the shadow of the elder, the elder also felt the same thing from Rania the moment they held hands. The elder continued his words with narrowed eyes.
“So only you can kill me. “It’s a difficult request, but only you can do it.”
Even though he is talking about his own death, the elder’s voice is extremely calm. It’s a voice that sounds like it’s discussing someone else’s death. This is the moment when Rania, who feels uncomfortable with that, is about to ask her question.
Dang, daeng.
The bell rang.
The bell rang for one hour, and the elder slowly closed his eyes. The elder looked at Rania with tired-looking eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
He opened his mouth with difficulty.
“Can you come back next time?”
2.
After leaving the elder’s office, I walked and organized my thoughts. Think about what you just heard from the elder. But there is still no answer.
After 33 days, please kill me.
Please kill yourself the day you stop being yourself.
This is something only you can do.
The elder said so.
I don’t know the meaning of those words. I don’t know how to take those words, or even where the shadow that is eating away at the elder’s body originates.
‘···It’s complicated.’
Although it is full of unknown things.
Still, there are a few things we can be sure of.
The elder wishes for death.
accepted his own death.
Resigned to life, waiting for death.
The voice of this person, who seems to have been preparing for death for a very long time, is extremely calm. I frowned as that voice kept ringing in my ears. The elder I remembered was a passionate person, but why?
“What on earth happened…?”
I was walking while muttering like that.
I made eye contact with Resty, who was waiting for me at the end of the hallway. Resty came towards me with her brisk steps.
“Did you have a good conversation?”
I saw Resty.
I saw Resty looking brighter and more energetic than usual.
“Is it because I talk about the professor a little too much? The elder also shows a lot of interest in Professor Rania…”
Every time Resty talked about the elders, his words became longer. He seemed to have a lot to say, so his sentences were rambling and the same story would pop up over and over again.
I listened to the story as I walked.
Resty, who was following me and talking, looked happy and burst into laughter several times. Originally, Resty would not have been a person who laughed very much, but whenever he talked about his elders, he would laugh lightly.
A light laugh, as if a burden had been lifted.
A smile as if this situation is enjoyable.
I couldn’t just look at that smile in peace. Because the elder’s voice was still lingering in my ears.
“The elder really woke up…”
“I would like to ask you a favor.”
“Really, I feel like I’m enjoying every day these days.”
“After 33 days, can you kill me?”
On the outside, I was laughing and agreeing with Resty’s words, but on the inside, I had to think about the elder’s words. I walked, feeling like my throat was clogged.
“Professor Rania.”
Just before I left the gray magic tower, Resti stopped and called me out. I turned my head and saw Resty.
“thank you.”
She smiled at me.
It was the same smile she gave me one day in Aplia’s garden. What blew then was the spring breeze, but the wind blowing now is the hot breeze of summer.
An unpleasant wind laden with moisture.
Resty’s hair swayed in the wind blowing from the open door of the magic tower.
“Thanks to the professor who told me not to do anything I would regret, thanks to those words… I think I was able to come this far. “He was able to confidently stand before the elder who opened his eyes.”
Resty Eleanor smiled brightly.
“It’s thanks to the professor.”
A bright smile and a sincere voice.
At that time, when I saw that smile, how did I respond? I remember saying things like, “It’s probably a good thing, I’ll cheer you on.”
“······.”
I couldn’t bear to say that now.
I opened my mouth but couldn’t find anything to say.
I just nodded slightly and walked away with my back to Resty.
The summer wind blows.
Perhaps it was because of the wind carrying humidity and heat, or because of this damn hot weather… It was a little difficult to breathe. I felt like my stomach was blocked.
3.
thud.
When I returned to the mansion, I closed the door and took off my clothes. After roughly unbuttoning my sweat-soaked shirt and putting it back on, I slumped down on a chair.
“Whoa…”
All I could do was use magic to cool my sweat, but my mind was so complicated that I couldn’t even do that simple task.
“Can you kill me, Rani…?”
What the elder asked me to do.
Ending someone’s life after being asked to do so is not something I have done once or twice. Because this was common on the battlefield. For those who wanted a comfortable death, I was happy to do so.
So, ending an elder’s life is not a difficult task. However, the image of Resty laughing happily while telling stories about the elders keeps flashing in my mind.
“······.”
I bowed my head.
Drops of sweat fell to the floor with a thud.
I thought as I looked at the drops of sweat that had fallen.
What will happen to Lesti if the elder dies?
The way to predict the changes that would happen to her was simple. Resty is a child who is very similar to me. So, how would I react if I were in a situation like she was with Resty?
I assume a what-if situation.
Let’s assume that the teacher is in the position of an elder, and in the same situation, I am in the position of Resty. And, if a situation like now happens…
What if Master dies in the end?
How should I react and how should I act?
“If I kill Master with my own hands…”
That was the moment I muttered.
Cheonggrang.
I heard the sound of a glass breaking behind me.
I was startled and turned around to see Master, who had opened the door and entered.
“Uh, Master? “When did you come?”
“······.”
Master did not answer my question.
Master looked at me with trembling eyes and continued speaking in a trembling voice.
“What did you just say…?”
Kill me? you me?
After muttering that, Master staggered and took a step back. He looked very shocked, and I belatedly remembered what I had muttered.
“ah.”
I hurriedly stood up from my seat.
“Well, that’s not it…”
“Don’t come closer.”
Master flinched and took a step back.
I took a step forward to clarify the misunderstanding, and Master took a step back again. While the distance between Master and I did not narrow, Master’s expression became more serious.
“What did I do wrong to you?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. No, tell me a little story…”
“I didn’t do anything wrong, so why…!”
“That’s not it!”
While my mind was already complicated, I had to sweat for a while to resolve Master’s misunderstanding.
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fantasy,
