Book 3 Chapter 4

Episode 53

Dormitory, Twin Dragon Battle.

As soon as I returned to my room, I placed Toureina's book on the desk and was about to collapse, but then Pipi came to mind, and I went up to the second floor.

Krista Warden was using the best room among the first-year students on the second floor of the [True] dormitory.

"……What is it?"

But there was a guest already waiting in front of Krista's room. No, perhaps 'gatekeeper' would be a more fitting term than 'guest'?

The girl with a braided ponytail, Gertrude Fenton, was leaning against the outer wall, yawning.

"What are you doing there?"

Then Gertrude smiled cynically with her sunken eyes.

"Hmph, I'm keeping watch. By order of the young lady."

"Why are you keeping watch?"

"So that no one eavesdrops or accidentally enters the room. It's corn time."

"Corn time?"

"It would be faster to see for yourself," Gertrude gestured with her chin, telling me to open the door, skipping the knock. When I opened the door without much thought, wondering what it was…

"Corn, corn."

First, a familiar voice was heard. It was Pipi.

"Corn~ Corn~!"

And sitting in front of her, feeding Pipi corn kernels held full in her palms, was Krista Warden. It was a voice and face I had never heard or seen before.

At that moment, Krista sensed my presence and turned to look this way… The gazes of the descendants of the two noble houses met in mid-air.

"……"

"……"

I quietly cleared my throat, then feigned ignorance and closed the door. The next moment, a tremendous sound of footsteps echoed, and the door burst open.

"You, you, what?! Why did you arbitrarily open someone else's room door and crash in?! We were doing something, we were doing something!!! Don't the descendants of a noble house know basic etiquette like knocking, you idiot?!!!"

Krista, her face flushed crimson as if about to explode, poured out a torrent of words as if resigned to fate, revealing an earnestness never seen in her usual demeanor.

"No, Gertrude told me not to knock and to just open it…"

I tried to point to the accomplice, but the tomboy had already run off, not a trace of her to be seen. That little brat…

"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were in the middle of such an important matter."

"Im-important matter? W-what are you talking about?"

"No need to pretend. Even I lost my mind when I first met Pipi… no, Peach, because she was so cute."

Just as Rain brushed under his nose, Pipi flew over and settled affectionately on his shoulder, pecking at his earlobe as if asking why he was so late.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. Something came up."

Krista, who had been watching enviously, met Rain's gaze, then suddenly folded her arms haughtily and turned her head away with a huff.

"Cute? This beast? Don't be ridiculous! I am the young lady of the Warden family. Do you have any idea how much trouble it was when you left this fellow with me and disappeared for the entire holiday?"

Of course, it was a lie.

Krista recalled the fantastic holiday she had spent with Peach. Memories of exploring the city together and chatting merrily as they walked around the campus…

Pipi looked back at Krista and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you."

For a moment, Krista wanted to hug Peach. She wanted to say that she was more grateful… if it weren't for the gaze of her rival and the dignity she had to maintain as a child of a prestigious family.

"That's enough, could you please disappear quickly? Now I can finally rest and study comfortably!"

Krista felt a pang in her chest and closed the door.

Rain, unaware of her true feelings, exchanged glances with Pipi, then had to scratch his head, looking embarrassed.

"Hmm, I entrusted you to her because she was the most reliable one… I didn't realize it would be such a nuisance."

"Pipi, nuisance, Pipi, was a nuisance."

"No, no, you're not a nuisance, it's my fault."

Just as I was about to turn, the door burst open again, and Krista's sand spearmen handed various pet supplies, including a cage, to Rain.

"All the expenses have been charged to your family."

It was clear that Pipi had been pampered immensely, judging by the thoughtful selection of items.

But this fellow, why did she treat Pipi so well if she said it was a nuisance? Perhaps it was just her decisive personality, making sure everything was done properly.

"Oh, it's all good! Thank you."

"That's enough! What are you doing? Just leave already!"

As Rain was pushed down the stairs by Krista's sand spearmen, almost like being chased out, Pipi sat on top of Rain's head and looked back.

Immediately, Krista's face, which had been watching his retreating figure with a regretful, apologetic, and dejected expression, brightened.

She subtly checked if anyone was watching, then nervously waved both hands, whispering "Good night," just as she had done throughout the holiday.

* * *

A little past midnight… Rain sat at his desk, arms folded.

On the neatly cleared desk lay only `The Life and Achievements of Toureina, Disciple of Rin and Friede, Priestess of Tobacco Ash`.

For some reason, he couldn't find the courage to open the book. Why, truly why?

"Pipi, do you remember Toureina?"

"Toureina, Pipi's friend. Rin's friend."

"How was she? …After I disappeared."

Pipi, who had been vigorously flapping her wings at the welcome name, immediately turned away from Rain and said nothing when asked that question.

"What's wrong? Did you two fight in her later years?"

"……"

"Pipi?"

She remained silent, as if something really had happened.

Good grief, Toureina, that tomboy. What's she doing, making people worry like this even 300 years later?

With a short, deep breath, he collected his thoughts and opened the first page of the book. He retraced the life of his disciple through the written word.

[Childhood]

The content recorded in her childhood was all known to Rin… and it was the same as the content recorded in the biographies of other comrades.

[After the war ended and Friede, the Priestess of the Fire Dragon, decided to take Toureina as her disciple, her formal witch training began.]

It was nothing new. Toureina was a genius among geniuses, showing immense talent not only in magic but also in sorcery.

'By the way, Friede's disciple… I wonder if she knew how great that was.'

Unlike wizards who use an academic system, witches, who always cultivate talent through a master-disciple system, find their master to be a great asset.

And Friede was a Priestess.

One of the two top figures who oversaw the rituals of the Republic, her status reached not only the Republic but even the Empire.

The fact that the Fire Dragon Bel'dakidun personally bestowed upon her the title 'Witch of the Fire Dragon (later Priestess)' makes any further explanation of her standing unnecessary.

「At the age of thirteen, she was formally ordained as a witch, becoming the youngest witch in history.」

That's amazing… I heard the country was turned upside down when Friede became a witch at fourteen, but she was a year faster.

[At that time, the honorific name she received from her master was Tobacco Ash, so she came to be known as the Witch of Tobacco Ash.]

The reason for the name was so ridiculous that I burst into loud laughter in the middle of the night.

[It was said to have been named that way after she became a formal witch, with the meaning that she should always remember to clean her ashtray…]

For Rain, who knew Friede's eccentric tendencies well, it was not surprising, but others must have been quite bewildered.

'Ha, the Witch of Tobacco Ash…'

What if I had lived in that era? I would have teased her mercilessly, called her by that nickname while holding my stomach and laughing every time we met.

- Master, please scold our teacher. She gave me a strange nickname. I can't even change it…

- Why, it's good. It rolls off the tongue. Who would forget it once they hear it? Pfft, puhahahahat! Kies, she's Tobacco Ash, Tobacco Ash.

- Rin! Won't you stop? Toureina is tearing up! There, there, it's okay, it's okay. Stop crying. It's okay.

While Krista comforted Toureina, Kies would have chuckled with me, and Friede would have brandished her pipe and shouted:

- Hey, hey, hey! I racked my brains to give you a good nickname, and what, it's strange? Life is fleeting, truly~. Kids these days don't appreciate a teacher's grace at all.

- I don't like it, I don't like it! Master has such a cool nickname, the Priestess of the Fire Dragon…!

- *Sigh*, a cool nickname is truly useless. Later, it's only embarrassing when you introduce yourself, you know? A funny nickname sticks in people's minds several times better, and you can make people roar with laughter when you introduce yourself, how good is that?

In that world where all my comrades were alive, I was confident I could enjoy every moment of daily life.

It was just type on a single sheet of paper, yet why did its weight feel as heavy as lead in my hand?

In the anguish of a vision that flashed before my eyes like a daydream, I suppressed the sharp pain in my chest with a bitter smile and turned the page.

[Adulthood]

Toureina's achievements in adulthood were quite remarkable.

「At 29, Toureina, who for the first time in continental history mastered both magic and sorcery, began traveling the world, selflessly healing the powerless and poor.」

From this time on, Toureina began to gain fame as a saint… The years that had transformed that little girl into this simply astounded me.

Perhaps the reason she wasn't immediately subjected to an inquisition wasn't because she was my or Friede's disciple, but because of this background?

It was commendable that she mastered 5-star magic at the age of twenty-nine, and she even became a Three-Basket Witch, mastering all three stages of the Dragon Sutra (Dragon Sutra; a scripture written in Dragonic, forming the foundation of the incantations used by witches): the Vinaya Pitaka, Sūtra Pitaka, and Abhidharma Pitaka.

Toureina was a monster who inherited the skills of both Rin and Friede.

[After seven years of healing countless people, Toureina returned and was designated as Friede's successor, the Priestess of the Fire Dragon. This was unanimously approved by the Republic Council, and she became the 'Priestess of Tobacco Ash'.]

The subsequent entries listed Toureina's activities as a priestess, serving the dragon race and guiding humans, much like a typical biography of a great person.

After serving as a priestess for a remarkable 80 years, the record concluded with her stepping down from her position amidst praises and descending back into the secular world.

A slightly amusing detail might be that even after she turned 100, her appearance remained the same as when she was appointed as a priestess in her youth.

"So that's strange. Why is this a forbidden book? There's nothing problematic about it?"

As I mumbled that, I inadvertently broke into a wide smile upon seeing the stunning portrait on the next page.

[▲ Toureina, Priestess of Tobacco Ash]

ㆍShe always cherished and carried the conical hat left as a memento by Rin and the pipe inherited from Friede.

That little brat grew into such a beauty… If the painter wasn't bribed, it's truly astounding.

She must have had an enormous number of men pursuing her, so why didn't she get married? Did Friede preach her great celibacy theory, "All men are wolves," or something?

"Pipi, look at this. Did she really carry this old, smelly thing as a memento?"

Pipi, who had been dozing, facing the wall as if sulking, checked the portrait, then, as if delighted, flapped her wings vigorously and circled around the book.

"Toureina, Rin's hat always wore. Toureina, no one could touch the hat."

That conical hat was special to me.

It was a gift from the Dean when I left the Magic Tower.

Because the southern sun is strong, so my face wouldn't get sunburned… But it probably didn't have much meaning to Toureina, so I was a little happy that she cherished it.

"Oh, goodness me. It's an honor, an honor."

I chuckled, feigning scorn to hide my joy, then sank deep into the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling.

'The youngest witch in history and the longest-serving priestess in history…'

She just monopolized all sorts of genius titles. Did she learn some spell of eternal youth during her journey with the knowledge she gained?

Suddenly, I wondered. What kind of unique abilities might this fellow have created?

The first half of the book dealt with Toureina's actions, while the latter half listed the unique abilities Toureina created.

'Representative ones like Ice Vortex and Blazing Chill, you say?'

Most of them involve freezing the body and then amplifying healing power through healing artifacts and enhancement magic… At that moment, my eyes widened.

'Aren't these similar to the "Lord's Minor Great Reversal"?'

The 5-star magic I created for the first and last time by combining magic and sorcery with Friede's help because I didn't want to die. The magic that sent me to this era 300 years later.

'Kid, was that so impressive to you?'

It was more than just impressive; it seemed like an obsession, which was perplexing.

There wasn't just one way to use healing artifacts with incantation-type Altygma, but all of them were similar to the "Lord's Minor Great Reversal."

Did she try to research the "Lord's Minor Great Reversal"? No, there's no need for that. It's an era of peace…

'That only has meaning in urgent situations like wartime, hmm, I don't know.'

What was certain was that Toureina's life was undeniably great, and there was nothing in it that would lead to her being interrogated as a heretic.

That's just based on this book, but… I just wanted to believe that.

I wanted to remember that the first disciple I ever taught, the little girl who used to annoy me by calling me 'Master, Master,' had become such a revered great person.

'Yes, you lived diligently…'

By the time I blankly closed the book, dawn was breaking. The morning light bounced off the dew in my eyes, scattering tragically in rainbow hues.

'You did well, kid.'

And I'm sorry.

I said I'd come back, but I couldn't.