* * *
* * *
“What are you planning to do? You’ll know when you see.”
Aplia Academy’s professor’s office.
The professor in charge of advanced mana trading and basic elemental spells sipped his tea and shrugged.
“I am teaching. I think I will continue to do this until I retire.”
Kelhalm Bel Artia.
He is a super magician who was once called a madman, but was liberated from madness after losing his mana. He was a professor at Aplia, and as the person who had recommended him, I shrugged.
“I guess you’ve adapted well?”
“There is no need to adapt. I was originally an educator. The past hundred years have been nothing but an aberration.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Although he was originally an educator, Kelhalm headed to the battlefield to keep his promise to his students. Now that he has kept his promise and is free from mania, Kelhalm may be back to square one again.
sniffling.
I chuckled at the sight of Kelhalm sitting in the professor’s office, leisurely sipping tea and preparing materials for the next class. You seem to be doing well.
“Now that I think about it, Aplia has been in a bit of a commotion these days.”
“Because it is going to be bigger. The war is over, and while the capital is being expanded, I heard that Aplia will also be expanded. I heard that it will also accept students from other countries.”
I heard it from my teacher.
Aplia’s reputation for producing outstanding heroes grew even higher, and as soon as the war ended, it received enormous support from the imperial family.
Establish a branch branch of Aplia in the expanding capital.
Attracting international students from other countries.
For example, forming alliances with numerous other academies and magic towers.
It was something that made my head hurt just by listening to it. Is that why? Master hinted that Dean Aaron was now bald. Unfortunately.
“As the scale grows, new professors will be hired.”
“I guess so.”
“I heard that the archmage, Cardi Van Armiel, is also interested in Aplia.”
“Maybe he’ll come soon? I think I heard you’re applying for alchemy and mana trading.”
I heard this from myself a while ago.
Cardi hinted as she dusted off the store and organized the items containing memories. I’m thinking of getting a teaching job at Aplia.
“Are you there too?”
Kelhalm immediately asked a question.
I sighed and touched my chin.
“Well, it’s not like I don’t have any ideas…”
Aplia’s professor. He honestly does a good job.
I think I’ll probably come back here if I ever have to work again. That was a bit later.
“I just want to rest for the time being. Do nothing. About a year? I feel like I just want to do that.”
“is it.”
Kelhalm chuckled.
“Hey, you need to get some rest.”
“yes?”
“No one will say anything about you taking a break. It might be a good idea to take this opportunity to gather your thoughts.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Thoughts about what to do next.”
I flinch.
I stopped while I was reaching for the teacup. I slightly turned my gaze and glanced at Kelhalm. Kelhalm was looking at me with an expressionless expression as always.
However, is it because he was freed from madness and his emotions returned?
The corner of his mouth had a gentle smile on his face. Kelhalm spat at me with an old man’s laugh that did not match his youthful appearance.
“I’m telling you not to get carried away, but to think carefully about what you want to do.”
He sipped his tea.
“The days to live are long, and time passes. These days, I feel the passage of time. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Kelhalm said.
“I was liberated from eternal life. I could no longer slow down aging with my overflowing mana. So I was able to feel the passage of time. After a hundred years, I learned what it means to grow old.”
“okay?”
“I don’t know if some people are afraid of getting old, but at least for me it’s not a bad feeling. It means that I too have returned to being human.”
He let out a long breath.
Kelhalm spat out and laughed lightly.
“Thanks to you.”
“I guess it’s because you didn’t let go.”
“Anyway, take a break and think about it.”
Kelhalm stood up, saying it was soon time to go to class. Standing up, he lightly tapped my head with a stack of papers.
“Young guy, don’t act like you’ve already bought everything.”
“What is he saying now.”
“Now live happily. Don’t just work hard.”
Kelhalm waved his hand and walked away. After looking at the back for a while, I stood up.
“retirement.”
“what?”
“I’m retiring. What should I do? I have to retire now. I’m finally going to throw off this damn conquest and retire.”
Destel smiled as if he felt relieved.
“I’ve been living my life saying I’m retired, like I always said. So now I have to retire. I’ll rest well after retirement. I’ll have a lot of money, and I’ll try all the things I’ve never been able to do before.”
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“For example?”
“I told you about my dream.”
Destel let out a long sigh while sipping cheap beer. We were drinking on the rooftop of a small building owned by Destel, and for a gathering of two warriors, the snacks were very simple.
Cheap beer, cheap beef jerky and grasshoppers.
Destel didn’t bring anything else, saying that these were more to my liking. After eating it, it seemed delicious. I chewed some beef jerky and listened to Destel.
“I’m thinking of learning acting. Professionally.”
“You’re good at acting.”
Destel chuckled at my words.
“The ones I’ve played are all warriors, but not all the roles are as flashy and cool as them.”
“That’s right.”
“There will be sleazy villains, petty businessmen, and vicious merchants who only look out for their own interests. A true actor must know how to play such roles cleanly, right?”
Destel was smiling as he told the story. She’d known Destel for a long time, but she’d never seen him smile like that. Destel said with a smile.
“I plan to learn acting from famous actors, try acting in a famous theater company, and go see a lot of plays that I’ve been putting off.”
“Is that so?”
“You’ve never seen a play, right? I’ll pick out only the masterpieces later, so be sure to watch them. It will change the quality of your life.”
“Will the quality of life change?”
“It’s changing. People should enjoy art since ancient times. Only then can their lives be enriched.”
Destel smiled as he drank a glass of wine, ate some beef jerky, and raised a toast to the night sky.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Not a hero, not a coward, not a coward, not anything… but the young man who loved acting shook his drink and laughed. exclaimed De Stel, shaking his glass.
“For our tomorrow.”
“What is that cheesy toast?”
“For our! tomorrow!”
“Don’t scream, it’s embarrassing.”
“Our! Tomorrow…”
“Okay, I got it.”
I thought he would keep yelling until he responded, so I reluctantly raised my glass and said.
“For our tomorrow.”
“Your voice is small.”
“For our tomorrow!”
“Now it’s worth listening to.”
“You crazy bastard.”
“Isn’t this what you drink for this taste?”
Destel giggled and raised his glass.
For our tomorrow.
We clinked glasses together, not for something grand like humanity’s future, but simply for our future. “Chaeng,” a clear sound rang out.
The drink tasted good.
So much so that you forget that it’s cheap beer.
What do you plan to do from now on?
While enjoying the festival for the past 10 days, I asked everyone the same question. They each gave different answers to the same question. I sank down on the sofa, pondering their answers.
Well, because I had nothing to do today.
There was nothing to do today, not tomorrow, nor the day after tomorrow. The only thing left for me to do now was attend the warrior’s retirement ceremony and give a speech there about the changed world.
What’s more, the preparations for that were already completed long ago. There really was nothing to do anymore.
‘There’s really nothing to do.’
How long has it been like this?
No, was there ever a time like this?
When I think about it now, I feel like I was always being chased by something. When I was young, I was driven by a sense of duty to become something, and ever since I entered the Gray Magic Tower, I have been obsessed with the compulsion to prove myself. Needless to say, it was a time when he was a wise man.
Even when I was exiled from the hero’s party and returned to the capital, I was driven by a sense of longevity and responsibility. If I think about it, I was constantly being chased by something.
Sense of duty, responsibility, sense of mission, obsession, obsession, longevity.
I was caught up in those things.
I’m not saying it’s particularly bad. Because of those things, I was able to come this far. Sometimes people have to be chased by something to be able to move forward. I mostly did that.
But now…
Now all those things have left me.
Now that I was freed from everything, I was feeling a little bit of desolation rather than liberation. Everything was unfamiliar and awkward. The reality that there was nothing to do and no need to do anything was just unfamiliar.
‘Shouldn’t we do something?’
But what should I do? There’s nothing to do.
In the end, since there is nothing to focus on, all that comes to mind are idle thoughts. Kelhalm’s words, Destel’s voice talking about his dream, and the voices of my acquaintances talking about what was next rang in my ears.
Although I was the one who asked them questions.
Round and round, the question came back to me again.
『What are you going to do with your life from now on?』
It was not easy to answer the question.
Because I’ve never thought about ‘what happens next’ when everything is over. It was a question that needed to be considered from now on. As I lay stretched out on the sofa, I let out a long breath.
I relaxed my body and closed my eyes.
From the open window, I could hear the sound of the fields shaking in the wind. The sun shining down was quite warm. It was late morning, broad daylight with the sun high in the sky. I can’t believe I’m lying down on the sofa in broad daylight and meditating.
‘It’s unimaginable.’
With my eyes closed, I pictured the following.
What’s next for me that I’ve never thought about before. I wondered what I would do in a world where everything was over and peace had been found.
Let’s go find a good restaurant.
A tour of famous dessert shops? It might be okay to travel to a country you’ve never been to before. I think it would be fun to investigate the ruins.
It’s also worth thinking about going to see a play recommended by Destel. I think it would be fun to read a novel I’ve been putting away for a while, and it would be fun to go on a food trip.
I think it would be a good idea to learn something. Okay, maybe I should ask Kalt to teach me the sword. I think it would be good to learn archery from Remia.
Otherwise, I should just do some research after a long time. I could probably write dozens of papers just based on what I’ve discovered over the past few years. If I put my mind to it, I can overthrow the entire academic world. I think it would be fun to watch them scream.
Otherwise, this, this or that…
Ah, this too…
“aha.”
Inadvertently, I burst out laughing.
I smiled and muttered.
This is what it feels like.
Thinking about what’s next, leisurely thinking about what to do tomorrow, this is what it felt like.
“Not bad.”
It wasn’t bad, really.
I now feel like I understand what Destel meant by ‘looking forward to tomorrow’. I could do anything, so thinking about what to do was fun in itself.
“Ugh…”
I let out a long breath and stretched out my arms and legs. I lay down on the sofa with my arms and legs stretched out and closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the pleasant breeze.
Because the blowing wind felt good.
Because the sun was warm.
Because there was nothing else to do.
Because there was enough time.
Let’s sleep for a bit.
With that thought in mind, I relaxed my body.
* * *
Tak, tak.
As the sun was setting, Roselle returned to the mansion. There was no answer to what he said. I heard you’ve been shooting here and there a lot these past few days. It looks like you went out today too, right? Anyway, it’s hard to see your face even when you come back.
This was the moment when Roselle took off his coat and hung it on a hanger and started walking. Roselle entered the living room and blinked.
This is because Raniel, sleeping on the sofa in the living room, came into view. It looks like he started sleeping in the middle of the day, but he didn’t look like he was going to wake up. As he got closer, he heard new breathing.
Roselle inadvertently burst into laughter at Rania’s seemingly relaxed expression.
Sreuk.
Roselle brought a blanket from the room and covered it for Raniel.
“Umm,” Raniel turned over and hid his head under the blanket that Roselle had covered him with. Roselle laughed because it looked just like a turtle or a snail.
“Anyway.”
Okay, get some rest, guy.
If you’ve been running for that long, it’s time to rest.
fantasy,
