Book 2 Chapter 16
Episode 40
After taking the written exam on the last day of exams and returning to the dormitory, three suns were still hanging high in the sky.
I heard that the grades would be announced on Monday after grading was finished over the weekend, so from now until the weekend, it would be a perfect holiday.
If the exams had proceeded as originally scheduled, I would have immediately enjoyed the late-month holidays, but since the exams were moved up by a week, there's no such thing.
“Oh, as expected. It went up, it went up.”
As soon as I returned, I looked for Rin’s diary. It was the moment a pleasant hypothesis was definitively proven.
Socrafres.
- You can inherit the progress of ‘Unique Magic’ research from the surrounding environment.
- Progress 40.0% => 40.8%.
Right, fighting strong enemies boosts the progress. This is a very satisfying result. But for unique magic to increase just from a brawl, I wonder if this is correct.
‘I should pack this too…….’
I packed the diary along with a few pieces of clothing into a bundle. I was planning to go out somewhere for a short 2-night, 3-day trip. A so-called power-up journey, perhaps.
- Rin, would you like to come to our shrine in the Red Mountains after the expedition?
This is a story from 300 years ago.
Frede once said that on the day I consumed nearly 50 magic potions and fought for nearly four days.
- There's a very potent elixir called Dragon's Breath. I'll give it to you. Your magic power will increase tremendously.
- Can you give something like that away as you please, Frede?
- What do you take me for? I'm Frede, the priestess who serves the Fire Dragon Bel'dakidun. I'll treat you to the full course of the Red Mountains, just come.
Therefore, I plan to visit the Fire Dragon's shrine, where all the hostile dragons have now departed.
Tch, of course, the fact that I was in a dormant state for 300 years due to the Great Cycle of the Lesser Realm bothers me.
Still, isn't it possible Frede was sure I would return and prepared the elixir? If there's no elixir, I can just consider it physical training.
‘In my current state, going to the black market feels somewhat unsettling…….’
I feel somehow uneasy in this physical condition, unable to use the mental barrier, which could be called a trump card, and unable to fully utilize Bell Quirius.
“With this, all preparations are complete.”
I slung the bundle onto my back and carefully looked around the room for a moment. There shouldn't be anything I forgot to pack.
“Then, shall we go and check?”
Frede, did you really prepare the gift you promised, or not?
* * *
The Red Mountains, representing the south, were sacred mountains (神山) that served as a border between the Divine Human Empire and the Dragonian Republic.
Because the Fire Dragon Bel'dakidun resided there with its legions for nearly a thousand years, the entire mountain range is imbued with potent magic, and it is considered a holy land by many believers, mages, and witches to this day.
After the legions departed, the mid-northern and northern areas of the mountain range where <Golden Rose> is located became imperial territory, while the mid-southern to southern regions, where major shrines are situated, reverted to the Republic.
The peak representing the Republic is Mythic Fire Peak (神火峰), where the Fire Dragon once resided. To this day, priestesses reside there with witches who preside over rituals (祭), transmitting the Dragon's teachings.
‘The place I’m going is not here…….’
It's Snowfire Peak (雪火峰), where the priestess resided and prepared rituals before the legions departed for the South Pole. In short, it's where Frede was.
“Hey, young man.”
As I climbed the Thousand Steps (一千階段), carved into the rock face and directly connecting the foot of the mountain to Mythic Fire Peak's shrine, sweating profusely, a voice came from behind me.
“……Hmm?”
Wiping away sweat, I turned around and saw a middle-aged man sitting on the side of the stairs, unwrapping a cloth and eating oatmeal biscuits.
“Where are you hurrying off to at this hour?”
He was dressed as a traveler, but the well-defined muscles all over his body suggested he was no ordinary pilgrim.
“From what I see, you don't seem like a young man going to worship at Mythic Fire Peak. Is your purpose to desecrate another shrine?”
“……?”
“There's no need to be so wary. To come to the Red Mountains to desecrate at such a young age, you seem to have a sad story, so let me tell you something.”
It was quite amusing how he carried on the conversation by himself without me saying anything, so I decided to listen silently.
“Don't go to Snowfire Peak, if nowhere else. Although it has been neglected for nearly 300 years, no tomb raider who went there has ever survived.”
“……Why? You said it was neglected.”
“How would I know? They say the demon raised by the priestess guards that place.”
“A priestess? A demon? Does that make sense?”
“That's just what it's called. I once closed my eyes and went only as far as the entrance, and I nearly died. If I had gone further, I surely would have died.”
Are Frede's successor priestesses all psychos?
Something was funny, so I chuckled.
That Turaina fellow was accused of dabbling in black magic, and now the current priestess raises a demon? No, Frede herself wasn't normal to begin with.
Perhaps misunderstanding the pure laughter, the middle-aged man sighed as if the ground would collapse.
“It seems my story has only fueled your ambition for sudden wealth. I know well that the voices of elders don’t reach the hot-bloodedness of youth, but it would be good to reconsider.”
A summon? Or a magical beast?
Whatever it is, I'll need to be wary. Priestesses are the most outstanding figures in the Republic, not just in title but also in skill.
“Thank you for the information. Thanks to you, I won't be ambushed.”
I lightly replaced my thanks with a chuckle and climbed the stairs again.
Around the time my calves started to cramp, a winding mountain path opened up next to the Thousand Steps. It was the path leading to Snowfire Peak.
I picked up one of the lamps illuminating the Thousand Steps and entered the mountain path, lighting my way.
The mountain at night was both quiet and boisterous. Crickets chirped endlessly, and eerie cries, whether from wild animals or magical beasts, could be heard.
“…….”
I shouldn't dwell on memories.
When undertaking such adventurous endeavors, echoes of memories inevitably surface. It was a night like this when I first met Frede.
- This tiny fellow is our party's mage?
- Uh-huh. What do you think, cute?
- No? Our Pipi is cuter?
How many hours did I walk, reminiscing about the past, chuckling to myself, and then becoming melancholic repeatedly?
The gently sloping ascent ended, and the view opened up, revealing a temple built of red igneous rock, displaying its ancient grandeur.
Had even a temple said to be built by dragons succumbed to the ravages of time? The paving stones of the road were cracked, weeds grew luxuriantly in the garden, and the once splendid plate glass windows were shabbily broken.
‘I've come all this way without a plan…… it really feels like I have no plan whatsoever.’
Where should I go?
Should I go inside the temple first? Something might turn up if I go to the priestess’s bedroom.
No, first, let's take out Rudien and have him detect something.
- They say the demon raised by the priestess guards that place.
Was it just a rumor? I don't see any such creature anywhere. I don't feel any presence either.
Still, just in case, I cautiously surveyed the surroundings repeatedly, and only after a long while did I leap over the vine-covered main gate of the temple.
A desolate silence filled the ancient holy site. This silence, as if it could break at any moment, was somehow eerie.
Snap…….
It was the moment I stepped on a twig.
A graceful three-story pagoda stood on top of the temple, and from the apex of that pagoda, phosphorescence suddenly flashed.
“……?!”
Intense hostility.
As soon as the sensation of my back bristling surged, something at the apex dramatically spread its wings in both directions.
Then, flames swirled, forming gigantic wings and a beak…… and soon, scattering sparks, it soared high into the night sky.
“Surely that’s…….”
In that instant, a dizzying thrill shook my mind. My reason strenuously suppressed the dazzling delusion, like hope, that flashed into my memory.
Whoosh───!
The flames rapidly dived like an arrow. If I hadn't rolled forward, my entire body would have been incinerated. Because it's that kind of creature.
‘It can’t be. How could it be…….’
The flames, sweeping just above Rein's head, immediately entered a glide and then soared back into the sky.
- Rin, say hello. This is Frede. And this is Pipi. She's a child Frede raises like her own daughter.
Taking advantage of the moment, Rein ran through the moss-covered colonnade of the temple.
Just then, light reflected dazzlingly off the plate glass of the shrine…… and before the heat could engulf him, Rein once again flattened himself on the ground.
Roar────!
Intense heat swept over my head. A burning smell hung in the air, as if a few strands of my hair had been scorched.
Was it because of that smell?
I remembered that when we first met, the creature that landed on my head suddenly breathed fire, burning my hair and creating this very smell.
- Ahahahahahahaha! Pipi got one in! I, Pipi, am the mascot of our party, that's what it is!
Frede laughed so much then…… that creature's antics were the underlying reason for my quick friendship with Frede.
‘But…… no, this is impossible. 300 years have passed since then.’
My feet, which had been blindly running towards the temple's main gate, stopped involuntarily. After all, there were no eyes to see or ears to hear.
What if…….
What if, truly…….
What if, even remotely, truly, what if…….
It took an enormous amount of strength just to make my throat vibrate. The voice that barely escaped cracked weakly in a high pitch.
“Pipi…… is that you?!”
The flames circled in the sky, seeking an opportunity to instantly kill the intruder.
“Pipi, it’s me! Rin!”
As the flames flapped their wings, afterimages of fire were beautifully scattered everywhere like a blanket of stars…… leaving a long streak of light, it began its descent.
“It’s Rin───!”
The boy cried out, as if sobbing.
A cry he hadn't been able to utter even once since his reincarnation…… that cry for which there was no one to say it to…… with a voice mixed with sorrow, doubt, and ecstasy.
“……?”
The fiery attack, plummeting with terrifying heat, stopped abruptly. Right before my eyes. The flames tilted its slender beak.
“Rin? Rin? Rin?”
It was an awkward resonance, as if trying to imitate that voice for the first time in a very long time, but it soon began to call out the name well.
“Yes, it’s me…… we used to compete to be the mascot and all that…….”
Pipi was the Sun Parrot Frede had brought into the party.
It was a species so rare across the continent that it couldn't be obtained even by offering gold and jewels, and it was famous for having intelligence comparable to a human child.
Not just intelligence, but with its mysterious trait of freely manipulating flames despite being an animal, some corners even revered the Sun Parrot as a legendary creature.
“Not Rin. Looks different. Pipi recognizes friend.”
As if enraged at being deceived, the Sun Parrot began to spout flames several times more intensely than before.
I might have burned to death right then and there.
If I hadn't instantly cast a semi-circular barrier of water magic around my body……. Water and fire collided, and thick steam billowed up.
‘It's really Pipi……?’
Is this emotion, surging hotly within my chest right now, confusion? No, isn't this…… the feeling of joy?
“Pipi, I look different, but it’s me. It’s really me!”
I shouted towards Pipi, who was violently ravaging the water barrier in a frenzy of anger at being impersonated by a friend.
How could I not have a memory to share with this creature? Something that could instantly let it know it was me…….
At that moment, something flashed in my mind like lightning. Everyone in the party laughing brightly.
“Look at this, don’t you remember?”
A magic circle shattered in Rein's palm, and the water curtain that formed the barrier scattered into countless droplets, dancing like snowflakes.
It was a magic Pipi loved.
It was the magic that made Pipi dance joyfully. Pipi loved it, so Frede loved it, Lista loved it, Kiese loved it, and Rin loved it too.
A fragment of memory that was utterly trivial yet utterly brilliant, belonging only to us back then, unwritten in any book.
“…….”
Perhaps it glimpsed the same memory in that magic; Pipi, who had been circling in the air cautiously, suddenly landed on the ground and stared blankly at the water droplets.
“Rin? Rin? Rin?”
“Yes, it’s me…… I’m Rin.”
Instantly, the flames that made Pipi’s body larger than an eagle hissed and extinguished.
Without the flames, it was just a charming parrot with golden feathers. A crest (羽冠) that spread up, down, left, and right like a sunflower, and a cute, flower-like head blooming in its center.
Pipi flew onto Rein's shoulder, excitedly bobbing its head back and forth continuously.
“Rin, scaredy-cat mage Rin, Pipi’s friend.”
Instantly, my vision blurred.
The feathers, which were lustrous 300 years ago, were now hideously frayed, and its beak and claws were broken and worn by the elements, making it unsightly, yet it was Pipi.
It was the same Pipi that had accompanied me to the ends of the earth, come snow or rain.
“You, how…… until now…….”
My legs gave out, and I slumped to the ground. From my vocal cords, sounds that were neither crying nor laughing continued to escape.
This was no mere reunion.
Pipi was a being who sublimated echoes I thought I would never reach again into memories. It was a link, holding onto a past that was now beyond grasp.
“Rin said come again. Rin came.”
Pipi, seemingly overjoyed, climbed up and down Rein’s head and shoulders, bobbing its head and backside merrily.
“You fool…… why me…… after 300 years…….”
Tears flowed incessantly from the boy’s eyes, but a smile of joy was on his lips.
“Rin wait, Frede said. Pipi waited. Until friend comes. Always. Because friend.”