Book 5 Chapter 16

Chapter 118

"But in the overall framework of how to use power, Kasena might be closer to that person than you are."

At that assessment, Kasena seemed even more flustered than I was. Alakishi waved her hand as if to correct a misunderstanding.

"Of course, it's still embarrassing to compare her to that person, but I mean I saw such a possibility."

Alakishi reportedly paid attention to the fact that Kasena had drawn a magic circle on her palm beforehand to respond to an emergency.

But wasn't that assessment a bit too old-fashioned? Most Remedier-type mages leave an index on a page in preparation for such situations.

While I harbored such doubts, Alakishi uttered a Draconic Word, and from her left, right, and behind, spearheads, blades, and arrowheads of flame were constructed in sequence.

"As I, Alakishi, recall, Karenden always approached battle in this manner."

"……?"

"From as few as four to as many as ten… she would pre-construct the powers she judged necessary for an anticipated situation, like this. So they could be immediately drawn out and used when needed."

What in the world was that… I let out an incredulous laugh, and Kasena pinched my elbow.

"Rain, don't just be amazed, explain it to me!"

"It's just… some impossible method. I can't do it. No, every mage probably can't do it, can they?"

"Even our mom?!"

Of course, Director Madelia is below me.

To explain it in the way Remedier-type mages use magic, it would be like floating a paper with 90% of a magic circle drawn on it in the air, then drawing the remaining 10% whenever needed to activate the magic.

Since the magic isn't fully constructed, it's natural that runes can be easily modified or mathematical formulas adjusted to the situation right before use.

'It's not just floating the necessary magic. Is it like bringing tools? Tools that can be quickly assembled.'

The reason for the clear limitations of the Remedier type was that they couldn't perfectly control variable situations.

It's easier to understand it as a puzzle: instead of a puzzle piece that perfectly fits in its place, do you force in a similarly shaped one?

But the method Karenden used… it seemed to compensate for the shortcomings of not only Remedier but also Jorhen types.

However, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't understand.

"Magic is either not activated or activated, one of the two… how is something like that possible, and not even a Draconic Word?"

Alakishi calmly explained my question as if admonishing me.

"The power you call magic is, from the beginning, no different from the power Karenden used, or the miracles fairies use. It has merely been standardized to be easier to use."

The first descendants, the fairies, unlike humans who could only use the miracles of Tercia, could wield the miracles of all gods.

Terbel's divinity of thunder.

Shurigan's divinity of bloodlight.

Maxentia's divinity of crescent moon, etc.

Of course, unlike magic, they were the exclusive property of a very few, so only those anointed as Judges and priests could use miracles.

I once saw 'Simian, the Wandering Judge' during my Lyn days, and his power was mighty enough to be called a miracle without exaggeration.

But those miracles were actually of the same lineage as magic?

Fairies used to sneer, saying that humans created magic because they weren't worthy of using miracles, so they tried to imitate them.

"But aren't miracles and magic completely different in their very method? Miracles are about praying. Magic is about calculating."

"No, all powers the gods received from the Mother of Light are powers of invocation. Not in the realm of reason, like calculation or computation."

Power of invocation? Wasn't that the power the Faykorians used to awaken their ultimate holy sword?

Does that connect further up to the divinity of the <Ones Who Came>? I should have asked Rista in detail if I had known this.

Alakishi, who seemed lost in thought for a moment, suddenly looked at me.

"Yes, now I think I understand. Why you, unlike Kasena, cannot wield Draconic Words."

"Oh, what is it?"

"You are trying to control power too rationally. The power of the gods and the power of Draconic Words are not like that. They are about wishing, invoking, and receiving."

Wishing and invoking?

Did that mean Kasena, who desperately wanted to walk and was relatively free from the realm of mathematics due to her bloodline limitation, could quickly grasp how to use Draconic Words?

Hmm… could it be seen as an extension of what the Dean Auntie told me, 'magic is about pouring your heart into it'?

"There's no need to be impatient. Think calmly and think again, and the answer will come."

"Hoo… I'll only live for about a hundred years at most. I can't help but be impatient."

"No, it's alright. With your character, you will reach it someday. You have the same scent as Lord Karenden."

As Alakishi smiled kindly and gently patted my head three times, Kasena nodded with her arms crossed.

"That's right, Rain will be able to reach it! You're super smart!"

At that time, amidst my shyness, I couldn't understand why Alakishi mentioned my character rather than my intellectual brilliance or technical skill.

But looking back later, wasn't that the very signpost leading to the truth?

The lamp guiding me to the truth, which the Ancient Dragon, who had lived continuously since the Age of Invocation, had deeply, deeply thought about, analyzed, and revealed to me.

But the reason I would only realize this much later might be because I would receive something even more precious shortly after.

* * *

Our trio's camping was always carried out with clear role distribution.

Alakishi would make a fire around us like a barrier (a landmine-style Draconic Word that ignites instantly if a ghost appears) to ensure the safety of the camp. Kasena would watch and learn by following her.

Meanwhile, I would cook simple meals over the campfire in the center of the barrier, using game caught by Pipi or ingredients Griffion had prepared.

"Alakishi?"

But today, something felt subtle.

I thought Kasena and Pipi were going to do the barrier work alone, but Alakishi remained by my side, carefully watching my work.

"Don't mind me. I'm just watching and trying to remember how to cook."

Oh, an Ancient Dragon cooking?

As I mentioned before, once dragons reach adulthood, they absorb vital energy from nature and don't need to consume food separately.

Alakishi had only eaten skewers once because Kasena kept urging her, and I'd never seen her eat anything until now.

"You're going to cook? Why?"

It was such a novel thing that a strange curiosity arose, and I asked lightly, but Alakishi remained silent for a long time.

In this forest north of the wall, where no birds chirped and no insects sang, the only sound was the pine trees swaying in the wind.

Then, just as Kasena was about to return, Alakishi turned the basket she had been carrying carefully on her back to the front and placed her hand on the dragon egg inside.

"This Alakishi's daughter will have no memories that can serve as a lamp for her heart."

"……?"

"This harsh empire has no friends to share her young days with, no scenery to hold in her heart. She will be born and live in a land of only cold, fear, and madness."

Alakishi stroked the dragon egg with a regretful hand and smiled sadly.

"But if I, Alakishi, can clumsily make her a meal with a genuine flavor… wouldn't she have at least one thing to remember?"

I was momentarily speechless. What could I have said at that moment?

Though she had never expressed it, Alakishi had suffered through the fourteen hundred years she had lived here. That's why she was worried.

Her daughter's life, who would have to live an eternity alone in this land, just like herself… while her own kind was at the far southern end.

- Lyn.

- Lyn.

- Master.

- Lyn.

Was it because I knew the sorrow of someone who had to live with all the relationships built throughout their life severed, that a corner of my heart ached?

"Come with us, Alakishi."

Was that why, for the first time in my life, I spoke whatever came to mind without thinking?

"Firstly, it's impossible to monitor north of the wall anymore. Aren't the beastfolk withdrawing?"

"……!"

"The Fire Dragon might also surely use Alakishi in a better place. If she tells you to go back? Then you can go back then."

Kasena, who had been at a loss due to the heavy atmosphere, immediately nodded furiously.

"That's right! Come with us! Who would say anything?"

Alakishi's golden dragon eyes seemed to widen with some anticipation, then quickly sank dispiritedly.

"It's impossible. The mission given to a dragon with their name is absolute."

"I have a connection with the Fire Dragon. Things might work out. Really."

"Stop. I believe she gave me the name Alakishi (Mission) because she knew of this life."

Alakishi gently placed a hand on Rain's head, her voice quite changed.

Dragons receive a name at birth. And they live a life befitting that name. For reference, Yoshuhar means benevolence in Draconic.

Within that direction of life, the name Alakishi received was too harsh. A mission, does that mean to live and die only as commanded?

"Still… your sentiments truly make me happy."

Then, suddenly, she broke into a full smile and let out a chuckle, Puhuhut?

It was astonishing enough that a Red Dragon smiled, but to burst out laughing like this was truly bewildering.

"Huhu hut, to ask me, Alakishi, to go south with you. You two are the first humans to say such a thing."

Because everyone took it for granted that Alakishi monitored the Abyss here…

At that moment, was the poetic thought that arose in Alakishi's mind, like spring sunshine accompanied by a quiet bell, a daydream?

Was it a dream scene of her, her daughter, Rain, and Kasena, laughing and chatting as they headed south to where the Legion was, somewhere in a field of reeds where the warm southern sun shone dazzlingly?

A dream that could not be realized, a daydream, that's why it was so beautiful and so poignant… Alakishi gave a wry smile.

"Perhaps that's why the fact that I must part ways with you tomorrow makes me feel an inexpressibly deep regret."

Rain and Kasena lowered their gaze, their lips miserably pressed together.

Alakishi had done everything for us, but she was so angry at her own helplessness that all she could do was teach us how to cook…

The Red Dragon always smelled of burning firewood on a winter's day, but today, that scent felt even more ephemeral and sad.

"Then, shall we start cooking right away?"

If so, let me do what I can do now. So Alakishi can make the best food for her daughter.

That is my repayment.

A dedication to the dragon who guarded her mission for a thousand years, to you who protected and guided us this far.

"Hmm, I'll watch carefully and remember."

"No. Cooking is important to do yourself."

"…I'll try it later when I'm alone."

"Tsk, seriously! You have to do it together, I'm telling you. Come on, follow me and try."

Alakishi hesitated for a moment, as if embarrassed to show her clumsy skills, but she quickly learned how to prepare food, how to cook it, and how to season it.

As the world was tinged with twilight, arctic rabbit skewers were completed.

Mine had excellent aesthetic elements, while Alakishi's had crooked pieces of meat pierced through the skewers and some charred black parts.

"Alright, then I'll eat!"

If it were me, I would have hesitated, remembering Alakishi's dragon food, but Kasena, who had never experienced it, bravely (?) picked up two skewers at once and bit into them one after another.

Alakishi's expression, watching Kasena chew the meat anxiously, felt somehow fresh, and a smile naturally formed on my face.

And after a long moment, as if enjoying a delicacy, Kasena swallowed the piece of meat, and her face blossomed.

"Wow, it's really delicious! Both of them!"

Alakishi looked at me with a bewildered expression, as if she couldn't believe it. I picked up a skewer Alakishi had made and said.

"The person who taught me magic often made me cook. She said it was because the core principles of cooking and magic are similar."

"Cooking and magic?"

"Both magic and cooking are about putting your heart into it… Alakishi will surely be able to make good food too."

Alakishi looked at me with surprised eyes, then nodded with a wistful smile.

"Yes, I truly hope so."

Then, a rustling sound came from the bushes behind us.

There should be a barrier, how… Kasena, who was the first to turn around, gasped and held her breath.

The next moment, a wolf appeared, staggering before our eyes. I muttered.

"White wolves…?"

That, it seems, was the signal of destiny.

A connection that had bloomed faintly and fleetingly in this harsh land, a signal sent just before it was severed.