The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 144

144

The Ludwigs ran like mad, forgetting all about their dignity as nobles and heads of the family.

With their legs, now skin and bones, Bream Ludwig refused to be carried and ran all the way to the mansion, panting for breath. Keivan followed close behind, anxiously watching his wife, lest she fall.

“Congratulations, Lord.”

“Blessings of the gods upon you, Madam.”

The servants bowed deeply, throwing open the doors that stood in their path.

They didn’t even bother to change their mud-caked shoes (if Serena Bran had done this, her tutor would have scolded her severely), and mud and flower seeds were smeared across the carpet as they ran.

And… and… and… the moment Bream reached the small banquet hall where the family usually dined, he stopped blankly.

“Hey, you. Aki, it’s understandable since you only eat street food, but you, who learned all the table manners, how can you eat with food all over your mouth?”

“Hyung [older brother], gimme, gimme.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s wipe your mouth first, look over here. Ugh, so dirty.”

It was a natural voice… the sound of everyday life that should have been naturally by their side… but a treasure that had been unfairly taken away….

It was exactly the same.

The voice of his son, which he had hopelessly longed for in his dreams and barely managed to recall from his memories….

“Ma, Shi, SSer!”

“Yes, yes, Aki, how’s the chef’s cooking in our mansion? How does it compare to what I used to make?”

“Ah, ah-bah, more, more!”

“You like my cooking better? Ha, you… flattery won’t get you anything, you know?”

The boy, sitting next to Bran Ludwig, had black hair as he fed an unknown red-haired baby on his lap, wiping the baby’s mouth. His eyes, like his father’s, were red, and his gaze, like his mother’s, was soft yet strong.

“Flattery, flattery, flattery, flattery.”

“Pipi, eat as much as you want. I gave you the corn you were always demanding, the whole sack. You better finish it all.”

“Finish, finish, finish, finish.”

An uncontrollable tremor swept through Keivan’s heart. But reason suppressed the tremor.

This isn’t real.

They all died, they said. They disappeared during the Black Spot incident, and their fate was never confirmed… Yes, confirmation of their fate….

“Rain… ?”

Then Bream Ludwig called out the name of his son, who could no longer answer even if called, the son who had died half a year ago and had his name engraved on a tombstone.

“Huh?”

An impossible response came back. He raised his head, smiled faintly, and raised his hand as if glad to see them.

“It’s been a while, Mother. Or rather, Father, it feels like it’s been a really long time since I’ve seen you. You didn’t come to the final exams or the festival.”

Keivan was about to say that he was busy with work, that he was sorry… but his throat was blocked, and no voice came out.

Son.

My proud son.

In the faint breath that barely escaped, Keivan’s vision blurred, and he barely managed to support his collapsing body by leaning against the wall.

“Headmaster Madelia told me that I was already a dead person? Miss Casena was doing just fine. A funeral, huh, I was a little sad. But it turned out well in the end.”

Keivan barely opened his mouth at his son’s nonchalant reply, but soon he stammered.

“The funeral, well, uh, um, that child… ?”

“Oh, this kid? She’s definitely not my daughter, I was asked to–”

“–Ah-bah!”

“Not your daughter? She looks so much like you–”

“–Pah-pah!”

“What do you mean she looks like me? Everything from her hair color to her eye color is different–”

“–Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo.”

“Ugh, can you be quiet for a second, you troublemakers! I can’t even have a conversation!”

“Tako-wouble [Trouble]!”

“Trouble, trouble, trouble.”

For the first time in a long time, the banquet hall was filled with boisterous laughter, but Bream Ludwig heard nothing.

Like someone possessed, she walked over and caressed the face of the boy who was smugly closing his eyes, waving his fork, and muttering something.

With that touch, with that warmth, she could recognize him immediately. It wasn’t some kind of detection magic or sensing magic. She just knew because she was his mother.

“Uh, Mother?”

She even remembered the cozy warmth of the day the boy was born….

Without even feeling the heat of the tears flowing down her cheeks, she hugged the face of her son, who had returned from death, and began to cry.

Keivan, who had staggered over, also embraced his wife and son with both arms and wept silently, and Rain finally lowered his blinking eyes powerlessly.

“I’m sorry for making you worry.”

Faint tears welled up in his eyes. He was happy to be reunited with his parents, but the main reason was elsewhere.

If.

Just a hypothetical.

If Lin’s body had been able to wake up from the Major Summoning Ceremony 300 years ago, it felt like those idiots would have welcomed him like this too.

– Lin?

First, Rista, who stayed by my side until the day I died, would have greeted me….

And while Rista playfully made fun of my clumsy movements, I would be doing rehabilitation exercises, and then the others would have received the news and come one by one.

Kies from the palace festival.

– Kies……!

– ……!

– Ack, stop, stop it! Don’t pat me!

Friede with Tureina and Pipi from .

– Lin?

– Lin, Lin, Lin!

– Sifu [Master]!

Kies would have messed up my hair like crazy, Pipi would have pecked at my cheeks repeatedly, and Tureina would have clung to my legs and cried. Rista and Friede would have watched and laughed.

In the end, everyone would have laughed like fools, forgetting the pain they had to overcome to get to this moment, and talked about how they finished the expedition.

And the next day, they would have talked about the future, not the past…

– I’ll head back to the Magic Tower first to say hello to Headmaster Ajumma [aunt/older woman, a familiar term] and my fellow students.

– And then?

– And then… we decided to go on a trip together, didn’t we?

If I had answered while shyly turning my head, they would have exchanged surprised glances before bursting into laughter. Just like they always had.

It would have been nice if that were the case.

It would have been really nice if that could have happened…

“Awoo?”

“Ooh-ah?”

At that moment, Aki and Bran, with their mouths full of seasoning, spices, and bits of meat, tilted their heads in unison, not understanding the adults’ tears.

* * *

“So, you’re the Rain who led the beastmen and descended from Trident Point as a traitor?”

My father’s eyes widened as I told him everything from when I went to Harbardonia with Karen Den’s power to crossing the barrier.

It was my parents’ bedroom. After a bout of crying, my mother didn’t even have the strength to sit up, so we had to come here.

I placed my hand on the crown of Aki’s head as he sat on my lap.

“Yes. And this is Alakish, the guardian of Harbardonia’s avatar.”

“Awoo.”

“Amazing. Such an adorable child… is the avatar of a True Dragon.”

Then, my mother, who was leaning against the headboard of the bed, rebuked me with a pale face.

“Why do you always choose such dangerous things to do…?”

“Yes?”

“It’s fine when you’re with the True Dragon, but going to the barrier alone… and taking the lead when crossing Trident Point, what if something had happened to you…!”

Then, she coughed painfully and spat out blood, and my father hurriedly wiped the blood with a handkerchief and fed her herbal medicine brewed by the doctor.

“Your mother understands everything and knows you had no choice. But she was so worried that she’s like this.”

“Is Mother’s health… not very good?”

“She stopped eating because she thought you were dead, so she’s just lacking nutrients. But don’t worry. Now that you’re back, she’ll get better in no time. She’s always been healthy.”

Now that I’m back…

It would be painful for my parents, but it was time to tell them the story that the Water Dragon Yerise Lika had told me at Trident Point.

When I finished the story, my mother shook her head wildly as if she couldn’t understand the situation and didn’t want to.

“No, no, I don’t want to send you anywhere anymore… Who would harm you here? Your father is the head of the Magic Family, and the Cyon Archduke will protect us too…”

“I have to leave right away this dawn. She said that if I stay in one place, something like the Black Spot incident will happen again.”

And… I had to give a bitter smile as I looked down at Aki, who was looking up at me and tilting his head.

“As I said, I would have died if it weren’t for Alakish. I promised to take Aki to Antarctica. So that he can grow up in the arms of his own kind.”

“…!”

“You don’t have to worry too much. I’m incredibly strong now. Two weeks ago, I even fought the Magic Star and drew [tied].”

In fact, I put some restrictions on myself, so it was as good as winning, but let’s give credit to the Magic Star here.

My mother stared at me blankly, then buried her face in her hands and collapsed onto the bed, and an unbearably uncomfortable silence flowed.

It was my father who broke the silence with a sigh mixed with a smile, as if he couldn’t help it. My father put his hand on my shoulder and gestured for me to follow him.

“Don’t worry too much about Brim. She’s just not thinking straight right now. Why wouldn’t she be? Above all, her beloved son has returned, but he says he’s leaving again.”

“Father…”

“Of course, I’m not comfortable either.”

I was about to retort, but I had no choice but to close my mouth at the deep sorrow in my father’s voice.

Why was I so stupid?

When Yerise Lika told me to choose, I didn’t think about my family at all. I’m still a fool, whether in my past life or now.

“But I also know that you have to go. But I’m too worried to send you empty-handed.”

The place my father led me to, refusing even the servants’ assistance, was the head of the family’s office.

The cool yet humid night air of late summer flowing through the large arched windows on the east and west sides, and the starlight seeping into it.

Memories of my childhood coming back to life in that starlight, my father smiling as he sat me on his lap.

– Rain, someday you will sit here. You don’t have to become a great magician. Just be someone who can be kind to everyone.

I almost made the same mistake as in my past life, and a sigh mixed with a hollow laugh escaped. I almost realized its importance only after losing it again.

In the past memories, it looked so big, but as I watched my father’s back getting smaller and smaller, my eyes became inexplicably red.

My father lightly pulled out a heavy bookshelf with telekinetic magic, then placed his hand on the heavy iron door installed on the back wall.

“Father, what is this…?”

“I was going to show it to you later, when I handed over the position of head of the family to you. That’s how all succession ceremonies are originally done.”

Then, a five-layered magic circle rose brilliantly from its surface and began to play a fascinating melody of light.

Five layers, 5-star (五星)? [Five stars, likely referring to a high level of magic proficiency]

Who on earth set up this barrier?

The barrier, which recognized the blood of only those who were allowed to enter, that is, the direct heir of the family, shone brightly, and the next moment, the iron door opened on its own with a roar.

“This room is where the relics of our founder, Ryuken Ludwig, are kept. It is also our family heirloom.”

The founder of the Ludwig family, Ryuken Ludwig, was one of the five great archmages who were active around the 5th century. The relics of that great senior archmage?

When I entered the secret room following my father, I was silent for a moment. Because its figure, which deeply absorbed the starlight and reflected it as a streak of light, was so beautiful.

My father called out the name of the item that only appeared in books describing the lives of past archmages.

“Serecia (Dawn’s Blood). The robe that Ryuken Ludwig wore. You can touch it.”

The fabric of the robe was deep and heavy, as if weaving blood into the shape of clothing. Instead of a hood, the collar rose high to the eye level, showing dignity.

Lost in thought, I reached out to the robe and let out a hollow laugh. Thump, thump, thump… The magic contained in the robe resonated with the magic in my body and rippled.

My father, who was watching me touch the robe with a dazed smile, said.

“As you know from the book, each and every thread that makes up the fabric is an independent magic power. In short, it can be said to be a robe of pure magic.”

Of course, I know it well. The mysterious power that keeps the wearer comfortable by thinning or thickening the fabric according to the external temperature and climate was one of the characteristics of Serecia.

What is more widely known is the magic resistance ability, where the robe deploys a defensive magic with its own magic power to block attacks against the wearer.

In addition, even if the fabric is torn due to fierce combat, it was said that the damaged part is filled as the robe’s magic power recovers.

“This really existed. I thought it was just a legendary artifact that only appeared in books.”

My father smiled.

“Yes, it is the robe that the founder always wore on his adventures towards the truth. Now it’s your turn to wear it.”