The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 169

169

The 《Malyung Daily》, considered the leading newspaper among the intellectual class of the Empire, reported the events at the Red Mountains on its front page as follows:

An imposter claiming to be the legendary shaman Tureina resurrected one of the three wheels of time by borrowing the body of Archmage Lynn, but Peyquartere Miloné Alter Gaumris and Yuliana, the shaman of the constellation, suppressed it.

The Rivendell School, which suffered the loss of Dean Dadan Karain, also suffered devastating damage to its executives, but through this heroic struggle, it further enhanced its status as the Empire’s top battle mage school.

The witches involved in this incident will all be taken to the ‘Children of Gold’ [a religious order or institution] as soon as they regain consciousness…….

“Is it really okay to do it this way?”

Yuliana, the shaman wearing a pure white conical hat, asked with a bitter look, holding a smoking pipe in her mouth.

Once called the Mythical Peak and said to contain the breath of the Fire Dragon, the Bellachior Temple, which had stood tall, was now in ruins.

The ground was rotting and melting, even lowering its altitude, and a young man stood in the ruins of that temple.

“This is enough. More than enough. It’s best if my identity and whereabouts remain unknown.”

The young man, whose name was Lane Ludwig, wore an old bamboo hat pulled down to his eyes, once worn by Archmage Lynn and the great shaman Tureina.

In his right hand, he held a red-lacquered smoking pipe with a golden dragon artistically embossed on it.

Originally it belonged to Friede, the Fire Dragon’s shaman, and later it became the property of Tureina, the shaman of cigarette ash.

“Tureina’s body will be cremated and immediately enshrined here. In the basement of the new temple to be built.”

“So it has been decided.”

“The Papal State has also agreed to conceal the information… as I said before, Tureina’s influence is enormous.”

In other words, the story will go that the temple was destroyed by a fake Tureina, and Tureina’s remains were enshrined in the basement of that temple.

“This could be an opportunity to revive the Northern Republic.”

“I hope so. So, is it really okay for me to take this?”

“If I keep it, the ‘Children of Gold’ will soon find fault with it, saying it was an item of heresy and take it away. It’s right for you to take it. Isn’t it?”

Yuliana chuckled and glanced to the side, where Miloné, leaning against the Supreme Star Sword Gaumris stuck in the ground, replied.

“Yes, I know. I’ll pretend I didn’t see such relics. In the first place, Cardinal Yoshhar also asked me to respect your will as much as possible.”

“Aren’t you curious about the reason?”

She freely uses the advanced version of Brain Burst Hemorrhage, Cremation Burst Hemorrhage, and gets along so well with a sun parakeet named Pipi, so I wondered if she might think I was Lynn’s reincarnation.

I had such thoughts, but it seems like it was just an excess of self-consciousness, to put it bluntly.

Miloné simply shrugged with her characteristic blunt attitude.

“Everything the dragon does is right. So the soldier just has to faithfully carry out what they are entrusted with. Thinking deeply doesn’t suit me. Tureina seems to have forgotten that.”

In the first place, who would believe in reincarnation in this era where the Three Lives are denied?

Even I, who had mastered most of the knowledge of that era when I was Lynn, didn’t believe it, let alone have such delusions.

Still, perhaps feeling uneasy, Miloné tilted her chin slightly and stared at me before asking.

“Are you and Tureina master and disciple? Like Yuliana?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve raised so many disciples. I admire that. Teaching someone is such a troublesome thing.”

I didn’t lie.

I just didn’t say that I was a master.

“But it seems she saw Lynn awaken in the end. She died smiling. Although she didn’t seem to know that she had been possessed by Nariaduke.”

“I… ended it before that.”

“You gave her peace before she knew the truth.”

Just because Miloné only played a supporting role this time doesn’t mean she’s weaker than me.

It’s just that our compatibility was bad.

The compatibility between a mage and a swordsman has always been like that. If Nariaduke hadn’t been able to fly… above all, Miloné had to fight while protecting others.

Strictly speaking, she is still several levels short of Rista’s skill.

If it had been Rista, she would have suppressed the space with her swordsmanship, whether Nariaduke flew or not.

“I’ll give you one warning out of concern before we part ways. The Philosopher’s Stone mixed in your soul belongs to the Red True Dragon, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Peyquartere generally receives the Philosopher’s Stone from about a dozen Wyvern priests. In short, we just have a lot of Philosopher’s Stones, but the quality of yours is much higher.”

“What’s the main point you’re trying to make?”

“I was just about to say it. Since the body is human, there are bound to be limits.”

Miloné pointed to her hair, which was cut as short as a man’s. The hair that turns white as a result of the reverberation when the Philosopher’s Stone is imbued.

“The quality of the Philosopher’s Stone is so high that there hasn’t been any reaction in your body yet, but if your hair starts to turn white, be careful. It means you’re using your lifespan as the price of power.”

That could happen.

Well, that’s normal.

It’s a miracle that my hair didn’t turn white when I merged with the dragon’s soul without undergoing a primary human body modification process through drugs.

“I’ll take your advice to heart.”

“Then, may the blessings of the gods be with you on your path.”

Miloné bluntly exchanged conventional farewells and formal handshakes, then slung Gaumris over her shoulder and left.

“Don’t be surprised. That’s surprisingly polite and courteous for her.”

Yuliana smiled and turned her head downwards when Miloné’s heavy footsteps were completely out of earshot.

The young man also looked down there.

To the coffin where Tureina was sleeping, befitting the status and dignity of a shaman. The young man thought that even this was an excessive honor.

The shaman, who had even put down the smoking pipe she always held in her mouth, knelt respectfully at the head of the coffin, her voice trembling quietly.

“You always had a face that carried all the sorrows of the world, but in the end, you left smiling, Master.”

Yuliana sadly smiled as she caressed her master’s face, the cold cheeks of the master who had given value to her who had nothing, with a sorrowful gesture.

“When you taught me sorcery, I thought the way you smoked was so beautiful that I couldn’t quit this terrible habit…….”

Was holding her cold hand tightly and not letting go for a long time her farewell to her master?

The young man once again felt the pain of something gripping his heart tightly and gave a bitter smile.

I had to say goodbye like that 300 years ago. At that time, on that day 300 years before all the fighting ended…….

“Please burn that letter… with the body. You can take it if you want.”

“Aren’t you going to cremate with her?”

“We have to clearly distinguish between public and private matters. The Northern Republic has lost most of its red witches in this incident. There are mountains of things to do even after cleaning up this mess.”

“I have no idea how to fix it.”

“No, ironically, I know exactly what to do. Just do what Tureina used to do.”

Yuliana pointed to Tureina’s face with her chin and smiled weakly.

“Just take in many disciples and teach sorcery without charge. Children who will protect the new era.”

“…….”

“Ah, I almost forgot the most important thing.”

Yuliana took something out of her long sleeve and handed it to the young man.

It was an object with red leather straps intricately woven together, and a garnet sparkled beautifully in the sunlight at the very center.

When the young man accepted it with a puzzled look, the shaman explained.

“It’s a spell with the power to hide the dragon’s soul. I’ve cast a 5-star illusion spell on it.”

“Hide the soul?”

“If you wear it, the witches won’t be able to read the dragon’s soul from the True Dragon’s fetus. Would you say it looks murky?”

“Ah.”

“It’s become an era where even witches are hard to believe. It’s a small reward for this incident.”

She added that the leather strap is also a magical tool, so it grows with the wearer. The young man gave a weak smile.

“Thank you. Aki would like it because it’s so cute.”

Unlike the shaman, the young man did not show any particular sadness, and the shaman did not find this strange. It’s just that his relationship with her is shorter than hers.

“Yes, finally… thank you so much for allowing a master who didn’t deserve it to leave in peace…….”

The shaman, who covered her eyes by lowering the brim of her conical hat, grabbed the young man’s shoulder once with force and went down to the temple gate.

The voices of the witches and wizards who were collecting the bodies and cleaning up the ruins made the temple corridor noisy from dawn.

“Now it’s just us, Pipi.”

The sun parakeet, who was sitting blankly on the young man’s shoulder, landed on Tureina’s hand.

“Cold, cold, cold.”

“It’s cold, isn’t it.”

“Tureina, cold. Warm, Tureina, Pipi’s friend, warm. Cold, cold, warm.”

Pipi was running around busily on the body, trying to warm the body of the corpse that had already become uncontrollably cold, to the point of sadness.

The young man, who was staring blankly at the sad scene of farewell, took out a small scroll from his arms.

It was a letter that his former disciple had written to him 27 years ago.

I thought I had already recovered, but it felt like it took at least an hour to unfold the scroll of the letter and read the words.

[Dear Master Lynn.

I am writing a letter to you today as well. When I wondered why you wrote letters to the magic tower every day, Master Friede explained it to me like this.

A letter is a way of expressing in writing a certain feeling that can only be captured at a certain moment in time.

But it’s very difficult.

No matter what I did on any day, no matter what I experienced, whether it was spring, summer, autumn, or winter, the feelings I have for you and what I want to say are always the same.

As I walk the path of life, memories of you come to mind everywhere. But my memories are gradually fading due to the erosion of the abyss.

Isn’t it strange?

Now, the faces and voices of Rista, Kies, and Pipi have been completely erased, and I can’t remember anything other than their names, but the memories I shared with you always come back to life vividly.

Every day, always.

You came to me as a light when I was dying in the midst of the grief of losing my family. You taught me how to live and showed me how beautiful the world is.

So every day, day after day, I am writing letters to you. I’m afraid that these feelings, these emotions, might suddenly be forgotten one day.

But there’s nothing I can do for you. You’ve been trapped in that ice for almost 300 years…….

I lived my life, but it’s just so frustrating that you, who saved the world, can’t.

If you wake up again, you’ll be angry with me. You’ll be greatly disappointed.

I should have protected the world that you and Master spent your whole lives building, but instead of protecting it, I ruined it all. I knew all along that this would happen if I fell into the abyss…….

But I couldn’t stop. Because you are more precious to me than this world.

I will not ask for forgiveness.

I will receive definite punishment at that time.

I do have a desire to rebuild the world that I ruined with you again that day, but that will be impossible. My life is also coming to an end.

One thing, if there is a wish I pray to the sky, the sun, the moon, and the stars, it is to be able to meet you even once before this body and soul disappear.

I hope the day will come when this letter reaches you, and so the day when my wish comes true…….]

The young man put the smoking pipe in his mouth at an angle and lit it. The tobacco leaves borrowed from the shaman of the constellation began to emit acrid smoke.

He tried to inhale the smoke into his lungs, but what didn’t work in his previous life doesn’t work in this life either.

Coughing painfully, he shook the burning tobacco leaves onto the letter.

The fire that caught on the letter swallowed the letters written in tears instead of ink one by one, and soon fell one by one onto the corpse of the old shaman…….

The flames that were burning the letter paper began to transfer the fire to the oil-soaked firewood in the coffin in the next moment.

The young man breathed the dragon’s flames into the faintly flickering embers. So that the sacred fire can give rest to that body, to that soul.

“Tureina, Tureina, Tureina.”

The sun parakeet pecked at the shaman’s forehead, saying its last farewell. Until its throat reached its limit and was completely hoarse.

At that time, the summer breeze that flew by, brushing against the flames burning the old girl, took off the young man’s bamboo hat and shook his red hair violently.

In that last gust of wind, countless dewdrops sparkled.

At the end of that last gust of wind, one star disappeared forever from the constellation in the soul of the boy who had become a young man.