Book 3 Chapter 8

Chapter 57

“Lord Rista, do you have a moment?”

Around the time Rista Alter Schurpain announced the recruitment of fellow mages to the Mage Alliance, ‘The Story of the Beginning’ thus commenced.

“I am Atlante. I am the dean leading a school on the northern frontier. It’s called the Osarius School, though you probably haven’t heard of it…”

“It’s an honor to meet you. Please, just call me Rista. Are you perhaps interested in joining an expedition?”

Atlante was momentarily surprised.

Rista’s kindness was out of the ordinary. She must have been receiving enthusiastic offers from the seven major schools and five great families, yet how could she be so kind to the dean of a small-to-medium school, not even a mid-sized one?

She was a talent beyond rumors. That’s why Atlante felt even more confident. Confident enough to entrust that child to her.

“It’s not me, but there’s a bright student in our school. They’re already a 4-star mage. Could you take that child with you?”

“A 4-star mage, yet a child? How old are they?”

“Thirteen years old.”

Rista’s expression instantly darkened.

How should she tactfully refuse this? And what dark intentions might be lurking behind this request?

“Thirteen years old… No matter how talented, they’re too young to go to the battlefield. If you’re looking to get rid of a troublesome child or something, there are many other ways.”

“I hope you don’t misunderstand. It’s not about that.”

“…?”

“They are clearly bright and excellent… but if they continue to grow as they are now, they probably won’t mature into a wonderful person. Trapped in their own world.”

At that moment, a single emotion that flickered through Atlante’s eyes instilled a vague sense of trust in Rista.

Was it sorrow?

Or was it the bitter feeling of a teacher who couldn't guide their student's growth to the very end? She couldn't tell, but she could clearly see the sincerity hidden within that sadness.

“I’ve already taught them everything that can be learned from books. So, could you now teach them about the world (世界)? So they can become a wonderful adult.”

That was the story of the beginning.

And the story of the end.

This story, which has not ended even 300 years later, began right here, like this.

“Alright, I’ll meet them. But the decision isn’t mine or yours, Dean. It’s the child’s.”

* * *

I didn't want to get close to her.

I didn't want to become friends.

When I visited the tower of Page Manor again that evening, and when I opened that door once more to face this hysterical girl, those thoughts immediately came to mind.

“My lady, I am Rain Ludwig.”

Casena turned her head from the telescope she was looking through and glared at me.

Had she been crying continuously?

Her red, swollen eyelids trembled, then she snapped her head towards the wall and spoke.

“Why are you here again?”

“It’s the Headmaster’s request. As a junior cadet, it’s not something I can refuse.”

“Mom making a fuss is like an annual event, it’ll be over in a day or two. Just say I kicked you out and leave.”

I had something to receive, so that wouldn't do… As I didn’t leave the room, Casena glared at me as if dumbfounded.

“You’re not leaving? I told you to go.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Actually, I made a contract.”

Casena had to bite her lip to suppress her rising anger. Her patience was reaching its limit.

“Contract, my foot! You, don’t you take my words seriously? Surely you know who I am.”

“Hmm, isn't it Lady Casena?”

“If you know, just leave, please…”

Rain didn't leave.

After exchanging such bickering two or three times, Casena’s anger finally exploded.

“I told you to leave! If I say one more word, you’re headless! Do you understand? My uncle is the Archduke of Arpien and my mother is the Countess of Page!”

My father is the Count Ludwig and my grandfather is Scalzi Ludwig… such words wouldn't work on her.

“I know.”

“Then why aren’t you listening to me?!”

Suddenly, Casena’s eyes seemed to tremble, then a book flew at Rain, cutting his forehead and drawing blood.

Perhaps she thought he would block it with magic? Casena herself, who had thrown the book, stammered with surprised eyes before sharply turning her head away.

“Does it hurt? If you don’t want to see more pain, get out. You don’t need to be here unless you enjoy listening to me rant!”

“I do. I have a contract with the Headmaster.”

“What kind of contract is it, anyway?!”

“If I had to explain, it’s a contract to make a certain lady, who has become a wreck, function as a person again.”

“You, you insolent…!”

Casena frantically began throwing all the furniture in the room at me… Here, I used magic to protect myself. I don't like pain.

“Who are you? Ludwig? Count Ludwig? Should I make your family extinct? If I just whine to my father or uncle, you're all finished, you bastard! Get out!”

“…”

“Why are you here?! Do you like me? Do you like seeing me like this? Do you enjoy seeing a cripple crawling on the floor?!”

After throwing everything, and when there was nothing left to throw, Casena finally began to sob.

No, that’s not right.

Only one thing… the astronomical telescope placed by the window where the twilight filtered in, she did not throw no matter what.

Only after the chaos subsided did Rain speak with a low sigh.

“I didn’t come here to comfort you, nor do I have any intention to. I’m not that kind of person.”

If it were Rista or Friede, they would offer words of comfort with a beautiful smile, but as I said before, I am not such a person.

I am a mage by nature.

I follow reason, not emotion.

Therefore, I picked up the book that had torn my forehead and was now lying at my feet. *Beyond the Continent*, a travelogue written by the famous adventurer Willang.

“Instead, I can make you walk.”

Casena, who had been sobbing with her face buried in her hands, suddenly lifted her tear-filled eyes.

“I can even make you walk to the lands described in this book.”

“Impossible. My spine, my spine is broken.”

“It’s called magic (魔法) because it makes the impossible possible.”

“Don’t play nasty tricks! If you’re going to use telekinesis to move my legs, forget it! These unsightly legs, forcing them to walk will only make them look uglier!”

Bell Sidious. Rain's eyes glowed red, and soon he began to mathematically solve everything that registered in his vision.

“The form of the magic circle is a pentagon, the rune to engrave is *se* (細; minute).”

The signals that move the body are all faint electrical currents emanating from the central nervous system.

If a part of the organ sending those currents is currently damaged, then resolving it with lightning-based magic would do the trick.

“Relax your body, and just accept it comfortably. If you try to resist the force, you'll get hurt.”

Casena’s legs twitched. Casena just blinked, seemingly unable to believe the reality unfolding before her eyes.

“This is a thigh movement, this much force moves the toes. Hmm, then if I do this…”

The next moment, Casena stood up from her chair. Of course, since those legs wouldn't support her weight, a bit of telekinesis was also added.

“Lie, it’s a lie. This, this can’t be possible…”

As Casena’s eyes trembled as if convulsing, Rain sent a series of electrical signals with magic, and Casena’s legs began to walk.

One step, one step.

Like a child taking their first steps, but clearly one step, then two steps… Rain folded his arms as if to observe.

“This is the potential of magic.”

“…?!”

“It’s not my body, and your body isn’t intact either, so it’s a bit awkward, but you can walk like this. Do you now feel like learning some magic from me?”

In fact, manipulating another person’s neural circuits to move their body like this was something Rain had only considered in theory during his Lyn days.

But now it was possible.

Because through Bell Sidious, he could see the flow of magical power within the body. He couldn't help but admire anew the power of the bloodline limit that made theory a reality.

“…”

Was she confused, or was she horrified? Casena, who had been unable to speak for a long time, finally let out a trembling breath and shook her head wildly.

“Get out, get out! You wicked bastard!”

“?!”

“Do I look like a fool? This, this cheap hallucination magic… Get out before I kill you! Guards! What are you doing?! Why aren't you dragging this guy out!”

Oh, oh dear? As the guard knight immediately rushed in at Casena’s shout and politely escorted Rain out, I thought blankly.

‘Is this how it turns out?’

I naturally thought it would be a development like, ‘Wow, this is magic, it’s so cool! I should try learning magic too!’

“…This isn’t right, is it?”

* * *

“Oh dear~ I’m so relieved that little pest is finally leaving the magic tower.”

The day Lyn left the magic tower was unsettling from dawn.

His fellow students, who couldn't be called intimate but were never adversarial, began to casually blurt out such remarks one by one.

Saying that he was heartlessly leaving after learning everything without acknowledging the grace he received, or that he was bewitched by the beauty of the hero and lost his mind…

“Wow, someone's really lucky. With that talent, even a beautiful hero herself nominated and took him.”

He didn't particularly refute them. He knew well that arguing with hostile people was merely tiresome.

He simply packed his bags quietly.

When he left the tower, Dean Atlante and Rista were waiting in front of the school’s main gate.

A total of eighteen students were lined up on both sides of the stepping stones leading to the main gate, their eyes gleaming sharply, as if they had come out to sneer again.

“Lyn.”

In the silence that bordered on sneering, it was the senior disciple who spoke when Lyn had just reached the entrance. His voice trembled mournfully.

“Go safely. We’ll all be waiting only for the day you return.”

For a moment, Lyn doubted his ears.

He turned his head to stare blankly at the senior disciple, and the eyes of his fellow students, who had been busy scoffing since dawn, became wet with tears, and they shouted:

“If you die, we won’t let you rest, you hateful little rascal! We must meet again…!”

“We’ll gladly take on Dean Atlante’s hysterics for you…!”

“Write letters whenever you have time! Understand? If you don’t send any, we won’t let you off the hook…!”

The sudden transformation of his surroundings into a sea of tears caused intense confusion, and his gait became strange. No, the act of walking itself became impossible.

And along with it, his eyes grew uncontrollably hot, and the world shattered into a hazy blur.

It was then that Dean Atlante deeply placed something on Lyn’s head. It was a conical hat.

“Mages don’t cry. People will look down on you, you know?”

“…”

“Those fools can’t even do magic well, yet their acting is just as bad. How could they not even for a single day….”

Whether it was meant to hide Lyn’s tears, or to conceal the Dean’s own tears, only Rista, who was standing beside her, would know.

“The south has a hot sun, you know. You’ve only lived in the north, so if you go unprepared, your skin will sting a lot.”

Lyn was silent for a moment.

The conical hat hid the source of his tears, but it couldn't hide the rain of tears that incessantly streamed down his cheeks and fell to the ground.

“Dea-Dean Atlante…”

He had to express his gratitude.

He was indebted in an unspeakable way. The grace of being taken in, the grace of being taught magic, the grace of being given food and a place to sleep to an orphan who had nothing…

He had to convey that gratitude, but all that came out was a painful gurgling sound, like an animal whose lungs had been pierced by an arrow.

“Lyn, will you make a promise?”

Placing her hand on Lyn’s head, the teacher spoke. In a voice mixed with pride, tinged with bitterness, and filled with affection.

“That when you return, you will have become a wonderful adult who can share the light of magic with others.”

That was the farewell to his teacher.

And as we all know, the boy never returned to his fellow students. What returned five years later was only the news of the Archmage’s demise.

The war ended that way, and in honor of the boy's achievements, whose name was etched on the memorial as the Archmage of the Hero's Party, the Osarius School was promoted to a major school.

No fellow student welcomed that reward, which was received in exchange for the boy's life.