The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 183

The Grand Martial Arts Tournament concluded successfully, ushering in a lengthy festival.

With achievements as impressive as Akie’s, Chunhwa Illyong, also known as Celine, secured victory in the adult division.

“Wasn’t the adult division final totally awesome?”

“Seriously, Celine turned it around.”

“Both the student and the master are amazing.”

The final match, a dramatic come-from-behind victory against her arch-rival Moreon, sparked immense excitement, though I missed it.

I was preoccupied, listening to the tale of the Slime Slayer, Kora.

“Then, esteemed guests, I hope you thoroughly enjoy the festival of the Blue City, Terbenopl!”

It was the republic’s grandest New Year festival, spanning a full ten days, dwarfing the Delraiten seasonal festival in scale.

Legend had it that if the laurel wreath winner entered a shop, not only they but everyone present would receive a free meal.

‘Originally, it was a festival honoring the consuls who returned victorious from great wars….’

It seemed the festival had evolved with the extended period of peace. I didn’t mind the change.

“Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch! Akie Punch!”

Cheers and confetti rained down wherever Akie went.

Celine, the adult division winner, stood beside her, but it seemed there could only be one superstar.

“Try this, Akie!”

“Akie, eat this!”

“No, our store’s food is more delicious!”

“Akie, try that too!”

Akie basked in the adoration of Terbenopl’s citizens.

Whenever Akie tasted something and beamed, the citizens clutched their chests, overwhelmed. Everyone offered food, eager to witness that radiant smile.

Watching the scene from the clock tower, I smiled.

‘Was it a pleasant experience, Akie?’

I hoped it would become a cherished memory in her immortal life. Because this was all I could offer her….

For three days since the festival’s commencement, I guarded Akie from dawn till late at night in Bel Shidios, yet strangely, I felt no fatigue.

It was odd.

Very odd.

Around that time, I sensed Valencia’s presence behind me. He materialized through space with black magic.

“The ship to the archipelago?”

“Secured.”

“I wish we could depart immediately, but….”

The Slime Slayer, Kora, wasn’t in a condition to travel.

While awaiting Kora’s recovery, I also hoped Akie could savor the festival a little longer.

The practical reason was the difficulty in finding a ship during the festival.

“Regardless, we must wait for the fleet to assemble. It’s beyond our control.”

“Hmm, the Linked Ship Fleet, you mean.”

“Is something troubling you?”

“No, nothing.”

“If you intend to leave, now is opportune. Fewer passengers are traveling due to the festival. Post-festival, your baby dragon will attract too much attention, hindering your movements.”

Ships sailing from Terbenopl to the Tersh Archipelago, be they merchant vessels, deep-sea fishing boats, or passenger ships, always journey in fleets.

This is due to pirate bases on the South Sea islands and frequent attacks by sea monsters inhabiting the deep sea.

Therefore, witches bind the ships with chains of power, safeguarding the fleet from various perils with magic during their voyage.

This is the Linked Ship Fleet.

Imagine numerous ships moving as a single entity.

Of course, wealthy individuals could hire powerful witches or wizards to sail independently, but they were a rare exception.

Thus, I had to await the fleet’s formation.

“I simply find it an ingenious method.”

Such a system was unnecessary when the Red Dragon Legion held sway.

The moment someone contemplated piracy, a fireball would descend from the sky, deterring any such thoughts. Sea monsters, too, feared the dragons patrolling the skies.

It was a sign of an era where dragon protection was waning.

“So, when does the fleet depart?”

“The day after tomorrow at dawn.”

“The day after tomorrow, huh.”

“How is Kora’s condition?”

“I checked recently, and she’s much improved. She’s eager to leave immediately. She also seems to have bonded with Pipi, who is acting as her bodyguard.”

“Okay, then now….”

My words were cut short as I took a deep breath. I shifted my gaze from Akie to Celine beside her.

Hoo, a low sigh escaped me.

I suppose this is what they mean when happy memories become burdensome baggage.

‘But Akie, you must grow accustomed to it from now on.’

You will someday be with me too…….

I shared that story with Celine that night, as she grappled with over a hundred membership applications.

Celine didn’t utter phrases like, “There’s still a festival left” or “Are you leaving already?”

“Okay, you have to go.”

She spoke with resolute eyes, as if accepting a predetermined fate.

Yet, I detected a slight tremor in her voice.

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

I never imagined arranging someone’s farewell would be so difficult.

“I wish to accompany you, but….”

“No, you must work diligently to revive the sect.”

“I know. Because I’m the sect leader now. Did you know? Some survivors scattered across the continent are gathering. There are fewer than ten, but it’s all thanks to Akie.”

Akie and Celine’s victory preserved the Chunhwa Sect’s position as one of the Six Great Sects. Consequently, Celine became the youngest sect leader among them.

“Anyway, thank you for informing me early. No, I should thank you for telling me like this instead of vanishing suddenly.”

“…….”

“I have a gift to bestow upon you as a master.”

“A gift, huh.”

“Don’t inquire. I wish to surprise you.”

“Then, I also have something to say. Perhaps I should have said it long ago, but….”

“What is it?”

“After we part this time, we may never meet again. I cannot disclose the reason.”

Akie reveled in the festival the following day as well.

As the republic’s largest metropolis, boasting a plethora of delicacies, the variety and quantity of food overwhelmed even her prodigious appetite.

I summoned Akie, who returned with a full stomach that night.

“Come here, Akie.”

“Akie, sleepy.”

“I’m going to temporarily darken your hair, so people won’t recognize you.”

The human form adopted by the Dragon race exists in the intermediate realm between illusion and reality.

It is a temporary form.

Therefore, even if Akie’s hair were dyed, it would revert to its original color within two days.

But, in any case, one day will suffice this time…….

The farewell transpired at dawn, after her hair was dyed.

“Akie, sleepy…….”

Akie rubbed her eyes.

Before the South Sea, where the sun had yet to rise, above the waves that gently lapped, mirroring the night sky.

The familiar scent of salt, the chirping of seabirds, the city’s colors at dawn, the shouts of early-rising fishermen…….

If Akie shares my personality, she will never forget these trivial scenes for the rest of her life.

“Yeah. Sorry for making you sleepy. Because I have something to give you.”

Celine placed a leather strap around Akie’s neck. Attached to the strap was a tree.

The symbol of the Chunhwa Sect, Jeokchongmok [Crimson Pine Tree].

And I illuminated it. The laurel wreath of victory transformed into a form of light immediately after the award ceremony.

“Ooh……?”

Akie’s eyes widened, her sleepiness vanishing, as she looked back and forth between Celine and Jeokchongmok, smiling brightly. Celine placed her hand on Akie’s shoulder.

“It was truly fun, Akie. Teaching you was the greatest fortune of my life.”

“Luck?”

“Yeah. It was like a light shining in the darkness…… You’re still young, so you don’t understand what I’m saying. Akie, you must depart now. And I cannot accompany you.”

Akie blinked blankly and looked up at me.

I felt a pang of frustration.

When I nodded, Akie looked at Celine and tilted her head.

“Why can’t you go together?”

“Because I have responsibilities, and Akie has a destination.”

“When the work is done, we can go together! I’ll wait, Akie will wait!”

Akie didn’t realize this was a permanent farewell.

I knew, and Celine knew too.

Because I had told Celine.

Yet, for some reason, Akie seemed to exhibit extreme aversion to this farewell. As if parting meant never seeing each other again.

“Akie…….”

Celine bit her lip, as if all the memories they shared were flooding back. She couldn’t speak for a long time and lowered her head, but then stood up resolutely.

“The first principle of a Chunhwa Sect disciple!”

It was what Celine made Akie repeat before every training session. Akie clenched both fists and answered.

“Like a dragon, martial arts are for pwotecting the weak and helpless!”

“The second!”

“Like a dragon, martial arts are for shining a light on the dark pwaces of the earth!”

“The third!”

“You must have the heart of a dragon in your chest!”

A lonely light flickered in my eyes as I watched.

The end of a relationship is…….

The memories of shouting those words with Celine will continue to surface in Akie’s mind in the future.

– Lynn, will you promise me? That when you return, you will be an adult who can share the light of magic with others.

The last moment with Headmaster remains vivid in my memory.

“Always remember those things!”

“I will!”

“Good! If you hold that belief in your heart, we’re not parting, Akie. We’re still together. Because I’ll always be in your heart.”

When Celine poked Akie’s chest with her index finger, a flower-like smile bloomed on Akie’s face, who had been restless.

“Then are we weally still together?”

“Of course. Have you ever seen me lie?”

“I saw it a lot!”

“?”

“???”

“Ahem, anyway! Take care of your cold…… and always be healthy, Akie.”

I could see Celine barely suppressing the cliché phrase, ‘let’s meet again,’ from escaping her throat.

Did she fear that even those words would become a wound when Akie later recalled this brief relationship?

Celine chuckled and patted Akie’s shoulder twice.

“Then.”

And she turned away, from Akie, and from the moment of eternal farewell. Because a master cannot show tears.

“…….”

Akie, not fully comprehending the situation, looked up at me blankly.

I felt something similar yet different.

That day, I knew what to say but couldn’t. But now, Akie wants to say something, but doesn’t know what to say.

I didn’t want Akie to experience the same regret as me.

‘Look at me, Akie.’

First, I showed her how to clasp her hands together.

Then, after telling Akie the words she had to say, I gently pushed Akie’s back.

“Always be healthy.”

Celine was attempting to complete the farewell with an air of indifference. She was trying to maintain the master’s composure.

“Master.”

If her first disciple hadn’t clasped her hands together politely, she might have succeeded.

Everything crumbled from there.

After a moment of silence, Celine turned around and hugged Akie tightly.

[The fleet will depart in two hours. Those who have not yet boarded, please use the designated boats with your boarding passes…….]

And she remained like that until the announcement echoed through the pier.

Because there are emotions that words cannot convey, as if to preserve that last vestige of warmth.

Too young to grasp the meaning of her master’s tears, Akie patted her back.

‘You’re several times better than me, Akie.’

At that sight, a shadow of the past emerged, and a sad smile appeared.

Why was it so difficult to express even a simple thank you at that time, at that farewell…… How much I regretted that for the rest of my life.

I placed my hand on Celine’s shoulder and conveyed my sincere gratitude.

“Thank you for teaching Akie well, Celine.”

“I’m the one who should be thankful. For entrusting Akie to me that day, really…….”

The last thing Celine handed me was two hair ties and a Chunhwa Sect uniform.

“You mentioned Akie looks good with pigtails, right? It’s very easy to do with these.”

Celine waved the entire time as we boarded the boat and headed towards the distant horizon where the fleet awaited.

And likely, even after we vanished completely beyond the horizon, she would have stood there blankly, waving her hand.

Because Headmaster did so, as written in the letter sent by Great Senior Brother.

And surely, if I were in a situation where I was sending Toureina away, I would have done the same.

Is the heart of a master always the same?

“Why is Master crying? Is it because the sea breeze is stinging?”

Akie, who was gazing at the departing pier and Celine, turned her head and asked.

Unable to answer, I paused rowing and placed a bamboo hat on her head.

The summer dawn was spreading across the horizon. The dawn of the past, unseen, was superimposed on that dawn.

The dawn of that farewell day, which aches in my heart every time I recall it…….

“Akie, take a good look at that dawn. Because that dawn will help you meet Celine again later.”

This memory will undoubtedly be sad and heartbreaking.

But.

At the same time, it will warm one side of your heart and become a strong pillar of your soul…….

“I pray that this memory of today will support the immortal journey that Akie will walk.”

Looking at Akie feels like gazing into a mirror of the past.

The current mirror merely reflects and cannot alter anything, but the past mirror is different.

I can teach her what I couldn’t do in the past, and what I had to do…….

“Ah.”

Perhaps that’s the heart of a parent, I mused.

And maybe.

Was this the heart of Headmaster towards me, I wondered.

“Yeah, so this was your heart…….”

A path unseen in books begins to emerge from a certain moment, and one walks on that path. Beyond that horizon of intelligence, towards truth.

Socrafres.

– You can inherit the progress of ‘unique magic’ research from the surrounding environment.

– Progress 76.7% => 79.8%.

At that moment, as I contemplated the smiles of Headmaster and Allakish simultaneously, Akie rested her chin on my shoulder and smiled brightly.

“Then Akie will watch with Aba!”

“Why?”

“So that Aba can meet Master later too?”

I don’t know what was so amusing, but Akie giggled.

So I simply laughed too.

When I’m with Akie, I can forget all the sadness and laugh like an old boy. I don’t yet know the reason.

I’ll discover it on the day I reach the truth.