Book 20 Chapter 31

Chapter 194

"Argh!"

As Rin's scream echoed through the arena, laughter seeped out from here and there.

It wasn't derisive laughter, but rather because her appearance was exceptionally cute.

Rin was currently nearing eighteen but still looked incredibly young and had a small physique, making her believable as someone in her early to mid-teens.

"……Oh dear, Lady Rin just got hit by her disciple."

"……But why is Lord Lysta specifically training Lady Rin in staff techniques?"

"……It's also a step towards combining literary and martial arts! Perhaps she thought that in the pursuit of martial arts, she might gain a hint towards truth, so she first sought out the teachings?"

Cecil Duren's eyes gleamed.

She was the undisputed president of the Magic Alliance's internal secret organization, the 'Great Mage Rin Fan Club.'

Yousrin (a mage from Combat Division 1 who had secretly come to spy on Rin from the <Langbard> Workshop), who had joined the fan club as No. 892, shed tears and gave enthusiastic applause.

"……As expected of Lady Rin! Her wisdom is deeper than the sea and higher than the sky! I must emulate her mindset!"

While they were making such a fuss, Toureina, the one who had actually struck Rin's crown with the staff, was flustered and didn't know what to do with herself.

"I, I am, [The Strongest Mistake]……"

In situations overwhelmed by bewilderment, she was a girl who could only speak by oddly mixing lines from [Rin's Quote Collection] like this.

Meanwhile, Rin, while rubbing the bump that had formed on her crown, stared blankly at Toureina before absentmindedly picking up the staff again.

She had somewhat expected a punishment for mimicking her tone, but there wasn't even that.

"That's enough for today."

"Rin!"

"You can just come out here again tomorrow morning. We've already used up all 2 hours of today's allocated time."

Rin tossed the staff aside and began walking out of the arena.

"Rin……"

Why was her gait so unsteady?

While it was partly due to muscle soreness from overworking her unused body, there was an even more important reason.

It was because her vision was wavering darkly.

- Lysta will die soon.

The reason was one thing: what Freide had told her earlier.

It wasn't just words.

It was the blade of truth (眞實) that pressed close to Rin's throat, choking her.

'Lysta is going to die…?'

No, wasn't it actually obvious?

That thought occurred to her.

Having wielded immortal power with a mortal body, wasn't it a natural progression to sacrifice one's lifespan as the price?

'Am I a fool?'

Am I a fool for believing Lysta's words like an idiot?

'No, I just wanted to believe it.'

She had vaguely noticed it, but…

In books dealing with the lives of the Feyquaria, they disappeared from history, vanishing at a young age.

When asked why, Lysta had smiled brightly as usual and said, 'I'm giving them a chance to retire quietly and live a carefree life'…

- The World (世界).

- Rin, you can do it, right?

- What? A regionally biased hero? How can you say that! That's too much, really too much!

- Rin, tell me your true feelings!

- Rin, could you come back to this <Terbenople> later and take a look? After the war… what this place will have become.

Memories of the past four years with Lysta, so joyful that they were as vivid as yesterday's events even now… swept through her mind like a raging torrent (怒濤).

'Then what… have I been doing for these past four years?'

No, no.

Rin vigorously shook her head.

'Now is not the time to think about such things.'

Time is precious.

To waste the precious holiday before deployment on such regrets and remorse.

'If humans could always know the right answer to everything, they wouldn't be human, but gods.'

Realistically, as a mage pursuing truth, there is only one thing I can do…

To not stop thinking.

To continuously explore the best course of action.

'There must be a way. Mages are mages precisely because they make the impossible possible!'

Find it, discover it…!

Think and think again; I can't just think the same thoughts as usual.

'If I only think the same things as the mages of history, I won't reach a solution.'

What I can do, what I can do for Lysta in her situation… I need to find that out.

"Sval, you don't want Lysta to die either, do you?"

"Kkyuuit!"

"It's time to advance this magic again."

A magic that had been pushed far down the priority list after the hero's party was formed, as life-threatening situations had greatly diminished.

'That magic, the one that Sval used to save my life during the confrontation with Ken Sherman.'

It's still incomplete, and I had no idea where or how to tweak it to finish it, so I had eventually put it aside.

'I don't know how long this break will be, but during that time, I will definitely complete this magic, even if it means using all the vast knowledge of this Holy City Grand Library…!'