Book 5 Chapter 2

Chapter 104

"A message came from the Papal State."

The Headmaster's Office of <Delaiten>.

Although it was a place with eight sides open with arched glass, due to the low-lying rain clouds, the morning in the Headmaster's Office was not just dim, but eerily so.

"I'm told that due to the unusual internal and external circumstances lately, the graduating students' visit to the Papal State cannot proceed as scheduled."

On the faces of the two people in that place, Madelia Page and Valencidis, shadows fell to the extent that they couldn't read each other's expressions.

"Is that so?"

It was a tone of regret.

Her eyes weren't visible, but perhaps the emotion reflected in them was something born of relief.

The event at the Papal State means that <Delaiten>'s top graduating student would pay respects to Lin's corpse.

"It would be troublesome to jump to conclusions and be disappointed. It's just that it can't proceed as scheduled, not that it won't proceed at all."

"Exactly what?"

"The event has been significantly moved up. Specifically, to two weeks from now. So, you can go to the Papal State in two days. A carriage for travel has been prepared for you."

Was this, too, an unavoidable fate…? Valencidis swallowed a short sigh inwardly.

"Yes, I understand."

"And one more thing, unlike before, the student council protocol won't be prepared. You won't be able to receive congratulations from your student council peers and juniors. This part couldn't be helped as it was a strong request from the Papal State."

Was it called a blessing in disguise?

Originally, I was going to try and prevent him from coming, even if it meant breaking a leg or two… because if he came, he would surely die.

This is very much to my liking, Valencidis nodded with satisfaction for the first time.

"Thank you for the past three years, Headmaster."

"There's no need for thanks. Just as <Delaiten> is your pride, you are <Delaiten>'s pride. I merely gave what was due."

That too is only until today. My name won't be recorded in <Delaiten>'s graduation roster, I suppose.

I knew it from the start.

I knew it since enrollment… but lately, strange imaginations would pop up, making me feel an unbearable sense of regret.

That imagination wasn't particularly about the distant future.

It would probably be about two years later.

It was about meeting the current 2nd and 3rd-year executives after a long time, visiting the school, and teasing Rain Ludwig, who would be acting as student council president.

And if he needed help, giving him help as a senior (of course, after teasing him with things like, 'Do you really need our help? Ask loudly so everyone can hear, Rain Ludwig') … and also chatting about the festival from two years ago.

"And you're not graduating with this. You'll have to come back to school, won't you? Don't create strange atmospheres with your juniors and peers as you just did. It'll only make you both embarrassed."

But I know. That it can never come true.

Because childhood is over now.

Knowing this better than anyone, Valencidis completely swept that imagination from his mind with a pained, bitter smile. He turned his body with a salute.

"Yes, then I'll be going now."

* * *

As soon as the seasonal festival successfully concluded, summer arrived as if on cue.

As the scorching temperatures and humid winds began to blow from the south, sweat started to pour even when standing still.

The heat in <Delaiten>, located in the southern part of the Empire and adjacent to the Red Mountains, was so intense that it brought tears to one's eyes compared to being in the central regions.

The academic affairs department officially approved the wearing of summer uniforms. There isn't a separate summer uniform; one just wears a blouse without the school uniform cloak, like Cassena.

"Look, how comfortable it is to wear this!"

Cassena skipped ahead across the school grounds with an excited face.

Perhaps due to her arduous rehabilitation efforts combined with the power of Magic-Protein, Cassena's recovery was swift. She could now lightly run without crutches.

He clipped the student council badge, which had been on the cloak, to his blouse's chest pocket and replied with a sigh.

"You could wear it like that even before the summer uniform order came down only because you're a young lady."

"What are you talking about! You could have, too!"

"No, I couldn't."

"Yes, you could! If I ask Mom to do it, everything works out!"

He closed his eyes tightly and gave up on replying.

What an incredible young lady!

Why are parents infinitely weak towards their daughters…? That's why they become so ill-mannered.

'Well, I'm not in a position to talk.'

According to Pipi, Tourayna also rebelled against Friede.

But I remember raising him incredibly strictly, hitting him on the head even for a single mistake… Was even that considered weak?

Hmm, I'm not sure what strict education truly means.

"But why has your expression been so rotten lately!"

"Because the guy I'm looking for isn't around."

"Who!"

"Who else? The student council president."

For two weeks since the festival ended, student council activities had entered a lull, and Valencidis hadn't shown his face at the student council even once.

Most tasks were delegated to Felix, and while he supposedly approved only important matters personally, there was no way there would be any important matters now that the seasonal festival was over.

Whether that guy was intentionally avoiding me or we just kept missing each other, I hadn't seen Valencidis since hearing those strange words back then.

Even so, where would that guy go…? Until he graduates from school, he's inescapably stuck here.

Come to think of it, I'd never deeply considered it.

Why would a capable person like Valencidis have to spend three years at <Delaiten>? To enjoy his youth?

A black magician wouldn't likely do that, and that's not his personality to begin with. Then why? For me, it was to legally see Lin's corpse…

- My mother's successful creation to receive Lin's soul is me!

- This body is simply the reincarnation of Archmage Lin!

Could it be that what Valencidis was aiming for was… this is crazy, a stream of curses involuntarily spilled out.

And then, he shot past Cassena, who was grumbling beside him about what he was thinking, and ran towards the school main building.

"Valencidis!"

As he flung open the classroom door and shouted, the 3rd-year students stared blankly in their direction.

"What's that?"

"Is that first-year out of his mind?"

"Watch your mouth. That's Sir Rain."

If it were just a typical first-year, they might have dealt with this rude behavior, but if the opponent was a great noble from an influential family, it was a different story.

In the midst of such whispers, a familiar face walked over. It was Maya Snark of the Ten Great Clans, whose probation had just been lifted.

"Are you looking for Valencidis, young master?"

"Yeah. Where is that bastard now? Didn't he come?"

"He packed his bags and left a while ago. I didn't ask where he was going."

Maya shrugged her glasses, her eyes indicating she didn't know much either.

What?

He left school without telling anyone around him?

As he narrowed his eyes with a strange question, Vice President Felix, who had just returned, looked between Maya and Rain with a puzzled expression at the situation.

"What brings you to the 3rd-year classroom, young master?"

"I came to look for Valencidis… but he's not here."

Felix's reaction then was somewhat strange.

"Oh, didn't you hear? Ah, of course you wouldn't know. It is quite a bewildering matter, after all."

"…?"

"The Papal State moved up the top graduating student's ceremony, so he just left for the Papal State by carriage. I just came back after seeing him off."

What…?

Just then, raindrops began to fall one by one from the dark clouds that had swallowed the sky, settling as dew on the window.

The end of childhood was approaching, for both Rain and Valencidis.

* * *

The sunlight filtering into the underground temple through cracks in the ground was strangely refracted and twisted, making the temple dark and eerie as night, even during the day.

It was a place where sinister myrrh smoke rose and ancient yin energy simmered, just like always, but one important thing was different.

The shaman with the straw hat, who usually just sat on the throne and observed the shadows' meeting like a bystander, was now dressed in women's attire and had descended the stairs.

"Is everyone ready?"

As Tourayna asked softly, taking a puff from her pipe, the writhing figures on each of the thrones successively prostrated themselves.

[North, no problem~ Killed a hundred people~ Squeezed their blood hard~ Drew a magic circle~!]

Number 4, always mischievous.

[The south has also been drawn accurately.]

Number 5, always diligent.

And Number 7, whose thoughts were unfathomable.

[The east will be finished within two days. Haha, it was a bit slower due to the intense surveillance from those 'Children of Gold' fellows, but we'll finish it perfectly.]

Magic circles have been drawn in the east, south, and north, so only the west remains. This poses no problem as Tourayna can create it herself when she moves.

The center of the magic circle is the Papal State.

The magic circle made of blood is a blend of 5-star magic and 5-star sorcery, and the overall meanings of the ten runes carved into it are as follows:

[Crack in the World Axis]

On the day of the grand event, a crack will appear in the seal of one of the forgotten kings, the Lord of Time. The world will face upheaval.

"Everyone worked hard. See you at the Papal State now."

As Tourayna tied Lin's straw hat strings and then tapped the wall with Friede's pipe to empty the ash, a gust of wind swept through, extinguishing all the abyssal lamps that had been lighting the temple with an eerie blue.

Then, hair that was once a blue color holding the light of the sky, but now merely dyed in the dark blue of the abyss, fluttered ominously.

In Tourayna's hand, as she tucked the pipe into her waist, a quiet tremor arose, filled with both sorrow and joy for the impending encounter.

'Now, I will end this unreasonable story and call back the story that should never have ended….'

* * *

Valencidis's journey to the Papal State made me fall into deep thought for several days.

Is he really after Lin's corpse?

What exactly does he plan to do with it?

The soul is here, so nothing would happen no matter what trick he tried with the corpse.

'And even though Valencidis is an incredibly powerful individual, he's nothing compared to the Mad Dragon in the Papal State…'

Haraderiman, the Mad Dragon.

One of the three Divine Dragons granted power akin to godhood by <Those Who Came>… Its power is indeed so mighty that it can be called a Divine Dragon.

If one were to compare, even a hundred Valencidises wouldn't be enough. Though that's probably impossible.

'Not only Haraderiman, but the Papal State is also the general headquarters of the Golden Dragon Legion…'

Each Divine Dragon bore and commanded five True Dragons (眞龍) as their offspring and loyal subordinates. These True Dragons of the Golden Dragon Legion, holding the title of Cardinal, were known as the five pillars of the Papal State and had protected order.

'No matter how much I think about it, I can't believe Valencidis would try something against such beings.'

Valencidis is a reasonable guy, so he clearly wouldn't attack.

In that case, is this just an unnecessary worry? Will that damn bastard just see my corpse and come back?

There's no need to worry. Lin is in the Papal State, of all places… So who am I worrying about right now?

'No, something feels ominous. I can't explain it, but…'

Should I go after Valencidis to the Papal State right now? It's a week's journey to the Papal State, so it's not impossible.

'No, if I'm going to decide, it's only now, with exactly one week left until the event.'

But if I did that, the problem is I would be marked as an unauthorized absence from school, and my position as the top student would become uncertain…

- I'm proud of you.

- You're truly my bloodline!

Top student or not, I thought about just chasing after him recklessly many times, but each time, the faces of my mother and grandfather flashed before my eyes.

'Ah, this is driving me crazy…'

As I sighed and tore at my hair, a powerful impact suddenly struck my back.

"What?"

I irritably snapped my head up and saw a familiar pale purple face.

Cassena Page.

Realizing it, and before I could even reply, she grabbed my nape tightly and ran out of the classroom.

"No, wait, wait a minute. What are you doing right now?!"

"Rain has been sighing heavily for three days, it's pathetic, I can't stand it! So I'm trying to make him stop sighing!"

"It's not something that'll be solved by getting some fresh air…"

Just as an uncomfortable silence seemed to settle in with a deep sigh, a confident smile spread across Cassena's face as she glanced back at me.

"Didn't I tell you? My mom does everything I ask for!"

"…?"

"Because you wanted to see the President so badly, I told my mom exactly that! So she said she'd send us both to the Papal State as student delegates!"

Student delegates?

What is that?

The one who answered that question was Madelia Page, who was waiting for us at the school gate with the family carriage prepared.

"Originally, after the student council executives congratulated the top graduating student on their graduation and presented flowers, they would pay respects to Lin's corpse. That was the tradition."

"…?"

"But this time, an official document opposing it came down from the Papal State."

Indeed, Haraderiman isn't a fool either. He's tens of times smarter than I am, if anything.

But it's a bit disappointing.

If it were me, I would have just canceled the graduation ceremony itself to prepare for any contingency…

"However, in your cases, your identities are clear, and above all, Cardinal Joshar is said to have actively agreed to your visit."

For a moment, hearing that welcome name unexpectedly, I involuntarily broke into a bright smile.

Cardinal Joshar.

He is the True Dragon who gave me the brocade staff (錦營杖) when Lista received official approval from the Papal State and the party finally set off for the South Pole.

'So the Papal State knew, after all? That I had returned…!'

No, no. Let's not jump to conclusions. I might get disappointed if I expect too much. I'm satisfied enough just having one old friend.

"Thinking it would be a good experience for both Cassena and you, I hastily inquired through a Griffin rider. Do you like it?"

Instead of answering, I put my fingers in my mouth and whistled.

And as I vigorously called its name, *flap, flap*… I heard the clear sound of wings, and a warm presence landed on the top of my head.

Madelia's and Cassena's eyes widened almost simultaneously, and as Rain chuckled and tilted his head, the parrot mimicked his gesture.

"My friend can come along too, right?"

"Together, together, together."

Sun parrot, Pipi.

Madelia's expression was hesitant for a moment, but when Cassena looked at Pipi, her eyes sparkling with excitement, Madelia eventually let out a bewildered laugh.

"To use my daughter as a hostage, you truly are a bold one. Alright, fine. Have a good trip."