I made my way down using the wood steel as stairs. One step at a time as twenty pieces of steel naturally alternated and became footholds. At first, having Sophien on my back was a bit uncomfortable, but soon I grew used to it. The passenger’s name was Sophien Ekater von Jaegus Gifrein. She was no less than someone from the Imperial family. It was worth giving up my back for that noble bloodline…
I was forced to think like that.
“…”
Sophien didn’t say anything for her part, probably immersed in her thoughts.
“…The temperature.”
Just then, Sophien began to mumble. She pressed a little closer to my back.
“Are you okay?”
“…I can adapt to it.”
Sophien’s potential was the best in the human world, but she was still only a bud. Judging by her peculiar boredom, she was still a long way off from flowering. Even in this Snow Globe, she only ate ice cream and water.
“It is because Your Majesty has been lazy in training.”
“…”
“If you had been more diligent in your magical training, you wouldn’t be—”
“I got it, so just shut up.”
“…Keiron.”
I called Keiron instead of Sophien. He was following us, protecting Sophien’s back.
“Are you okay?”
The amount of Snowflake Obsidian I had was enough to cover only Sophien. Keiron had no choice but to stand on his own.
“I’m okay.”
Keiron replied that way; I believed him too.
“Don’t get lost and follow.”
“אח בשבילך”
Then Sophien chanted a spell, creating a warm fire near Keiron.
“Your Majesty.”
“I will not tolerate failure.”
At the Emperor’s command, Keiron simply nodded. There was an unusual smile on his lips.
* * *
Tick-tock-
The sound of pages being turned and the gentle ticking of the clock. Epherene was reading Sylvia’s novel, and Sylvia was watching her with hawk-like eyes. Idnik, Gindalf, and Rose Rio stared at them from the side, amused.
Gulp-
Sylvia was quite nervous. She didn’t want to show it, but she wrote it for it to be read in the first place.
“…”
Sylvia’s only hobbies were writing and painting. Between them, she had been particularly focused on the novel these days; its working title was Blue Eyes.
She scrutinized every single line on Epherene’s face.
“…”
At some point, Epherene raised her head. Had she read it all? Or was it not fun? With sweat slicking her palms, waiting for her to respond, Epherene opened her mouth.
“Sylvia. You’re good at writing.”
“…”
It was a compliment. It had been a while since her heart started racing like that, but she forced herself to stay calm. Sylvia looked at Epherene with a hard face. She chuckled while fiddling with the manuscript.
“This is fun. Do you have the ?”
“I haven’t finished it yet.”
“Oh? The mysterious vibe makes me want to read the soon.”
Sylvia deliberately tucked her chin in. She tried not to show any emotion on her face.
“Then, are you publishing this?”
At that question, she only nodded.
“Wow~, I’ll buy it later.”
“…Do as you please.”
“Now!”
Gindalf spoke up with a laugh, drawing their attention.
“If the meeting is over, let’s start in earnest. Hey, Carla?”
Carla and Jackal turned around. Epherene was slightly surprised; were they pretending not to see them until now?
“Sorry for the late start. Please, train this girl.”
“…It seems like only four times will do.”
“Okay.”
Nodding, Carla placed her hands in her robe. She took off her hood, revealing her eyes: red and dazzling. The moment she looked into those eyes, Epherene’s consciousness sank into the abyss. She passed out without a word.
“…”
Sylvia looked at Epherene as if it were ridiculous. Then, she called an employee passing by and ordered.
So, three minutes later.
“Ahh!”
Epherene woke up.
“Whoa! What is that?! I almost died!”
Then she grabbed Gindalf by the collar. Gindalf chuckled, and Epherene put her trembling hands down.
“How was it?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so surprised. But what was it? It was very-“
“It’s mental training. I insisted on Carla helping out, so you only have four chances.”
“Do I have to do this three more times?”
Epherene put her hand to her heart.
Thump-thump-thump-
“Epherene, your mental power is not bad. It’s just that you lack a system.”
Rose Rio jumped in with an explanation.
“The easiest way to build a system is to build yourself a ‘mental guardian’ in your head.”
“A system?”
“Yes. Picture the most honorable thing in your head. It doesn’t have to be human. It can be a doe, a lion, doesn’t even matter if it’s a dragon. If you do it just once, it will fight for you.”
After listening to her blankly, Epherene nodded. Mental guardian – right now, there was only one person that came to mind.
“Yes. I will try.”
“I mean, hey, Sylvia. Would you like to do it too?”
At Rose Rio’s prompting, Sylvia shook her head.
“I’ve had enough.”
“…Really? Well then. Carla?”
“Oh, but wait, I’m not ready yet—”
Epherene concentrated and waved her hand, but Carla wasn’t waiting.
“Yeah.”
“Ugh-!”
“…”
With a nod, Carla again glared at Epherene, plunging her into the depths of the abyss. Meanwhile, Sylvia received her order of food.
“This is the Mana Roasted Chicken.”
The chicken fried with mana powder was the worst food, like chewing a soft stone, but it didn’t matter to her who couldn’t taste things. Rather, it was the best food. If you want to become an Archmage, diet is also important.
“…But you will eat that?”
Rosé Rio looked at Sylvia with astonishment.
“Don’t do that. No matter how important magic is, that kind of food is not for humans to eat.”
“Don’t mind me.”
Sylvia responded in a cold tone. Rose Rio was bewildered by how she looked so different from when she had met her on the Floating Island before.
“Kuhbrrukuuubraaargh-!”
Epherene woke with a strange scream.
Ding-
At that moment, the door of the inn opened, and a new guest stared inside.
“Huh? What’s that? Epherene? Gindalf, too?”
Yeriel of Yukline. She tilted her head as she looked at the famous wizards gathered around Epherene.
* * *
Deculein plunged deeper down into the darkness while Sophien continued to think as she rode on his back. She analyzed the transfer of mana to figure out the difference in time. The source of the time dilation was coming from underground, caused by this huge wave of mana flowing from the bottom.
“…I don’t know.”
In this way, the understanding of the phenomenon was clear. Sophien’s insights were always accurate. However, doubts remained. She continued to wonder.
“Why do you…”
To her, the value of her death was infinitely light. However, Deculein- to be exact, the Deculein in the previous episode, had told her:
─From now on… no matter what happens, don’t take your life by yourself.
She knew Keiron’s loyalty, but she still didn’t know what to think of Deculein. He died without explaining to her what he meant.
“Deculein, why won’t you let me die?”
“…”
“My memory is eidetic. Even if I go back to the past, I have the confidence to make sure that everything is put together correctly.”
Stomp, stomp.
Deculein continued to move down. Frustrated by the silence, Sophien punched him in the back. Then, the answer came out like from a vending machine.
“Your Majesty. Do you know why giants disappeared?”
It was an ancient tale. Sophien answered subconsciously; almost all the history of the continent was in her head.
“Because death was scarce…”
With that, she grasped Deculein’s implication. Sophien stared at his wide back, with her eyes wide open.
“Yes. There is a process considered a challenge for humans. The driving force behind that challenge is the death awaiting at the end. Without death, life would be futile. Your Majesty knows better than anyone.”
“…Hmph. Would it be possible for a sudden death that never existed to occur because you said that? I can commit suicide without your knowledge.”
“Then I will swear.”
“What?”
Deculein recited an oath all of a sudden. Having been with Deculein for hundreds of years, she knew a promise to him meant eternity. No, more than that. The oath of this venomous bastard would remain even if the timeline changed.
“I don’t know what I mean to Your Majesty. I could be just an ordinary subject, a troublesome teaching wizard, or the head of a family called Yukline.”
Sophien looked at the back of Deculein’s head. She wondered what kind of expression this professor was wearing, but she couldn’t see it.
“But if Your Majesty ignores my will and takes her own life.”
“Deculein. Shut up.”
Sophien seemed to know what he would say next. Deculein continued as she expected.
“I will do the same.”
“…You are cheeky. You don’t know the moment of return.”
“Do you think I will not know? I probably know you more than you do.”
At that moment, Deculein touched down on the ground. He had finally reached the bottom of this cliff. However, Deculein still carried Sophien, who mulled over his words with no small amount of dissatisfaction.
Know you better than yourself. That was a statement close to rebellion…
“Deculein. Please, take care of Her Majesty.”
Suddenly, a voice approached from behind. Sophien turned around, but Keiron’s body was already frozen.
“Your Majesty. I will follow you sooner or later.”
“…Keiron.”
“You know I won’t die. Perhaps this moment is an important one for me. All this time, I was stagnant…”
Keiron became a statue as those final words left him.
“…Come on time.”
Deculein didn’t look back, and Sophien believed in him too. The two moved on. Believing in their not-so-distant destination, navigating through the freezing dark. They reached the end of the cold.
—…I knew you would come back.
A voice that gave Sophien a small shock vibrated the walls around them.
“…”
Sophien looked up at him, into his big lake eyes. Those giant eyes reflected Sophien.
—The passage is here.
The giant’s magic created an oval-shaped portal.
—Children, go ahead.
Deculein went inside. He couldn’t afford to have a conversation with the giant.
Whoong-
A small wave of mana, a dazzling swarm of lights that bordered on near blinding. After that, the place they returned to was Sophien’s bedroom.
“…”
The Snow Globe was still atop the table, and Sophien was still on Deculein’s back. Deculein recognized the [Quest Clear] notification floating in the air.
“…Deculein.”
“Keep this Snow Globe. Wait for Sir Keiron to come out on his own.”
Sophien looked at the Snow Globe, feeling sad for some reason.
…Sorrow. It was a feeling she hadn’t felt for a long time.
“Your Majesty. There is no perfect human being in this world. Also, Your Majesty is more imperfect than any other human being since there is no death for you.”
“…”
Deculein laid Sophien on the bed. Her frozen body wouldn’t move properly.
“The first step is to acknowledge that fact. It is acknowledging the lack and accepting the loss.”
“…”
“Your Majesty is a human being. Like us.”
Saying so, he covered her with a blanket. With only her face sticking out, Sophien regarded Deculein with squinted eyes.
“I’ll leave.”
“…Don’t you need to take a rest?”
“No.”
Deculein nodded and turned away. As he was about to leave, Sophien caught him.
“Professor.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know about human relationships.”
“It’s natural since it is Your Majesty. I understand.”
“Do you love me?”
“…”
Deculein didn’t answer. Sophien felt awkward as that silence grew, quickly correcting herself.
“If not, forget it.”
“Yes.”
Deculein went away like that, but Sophien was suspicious for some reason. She let those doubts fade away and focused her attention on the Globe.
“…Keiron.”
The most loyal knight in the world remained inside there. He said he would come out on his own, and Sophien believed him.
“I will be waiting.”
* * *
Deculein did not reappear until the funeral, the burial of the coffin, and the reporting of the dead to the Hall of Knights concluded.
“You are so cold, Professor.”
“Hey. Yet he came and went. He just…”
“Showing his face is Yukline’s face.”
Several knights in Freyhem were outraged at Deculein as the external cause of Veron’s death was ‘He fell and died while escorting Deculein.’ Every day since Julie learned the truth about Veron was a hell where she fell further into the pit.
“…”
Julie didn’t say anything during that time. She didn’t respond to any of the knights.
“However. They fought together, that’s enough. Veron would’ve wanted it too.”
However, that moment was the critical point. Clenching her jaw, she left her subordinates and climbed into the car. She started the car and grabbed the steering wheel.
“Huh! Captain! Where are you going?!”
“Captain!”
Vroom-!
The old car roared like a wounded beast and moved forward. The place where she drove her brittle old car was the Yukline mansion.
“…Where is the Professor?”
Julie questioned the guard at the tightly closed front door. The guard remained silent.
“Where is he?”
No matter how many times she asked, nothing changed. Julie nodded as if she understood, then took up position by the guard.
“…”
She was determined to wait until Deculein arrived.