The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 216

216. Arolle Cave

The underground ruins we were summoned to were called the Arolle Cave.

‘Located on the border of the Solond Kingdom… This is my second visit.’

The first visit was with my fellow members of the Hero Party.

– It is a cave representing the Solond Kingdom, with a total of 26 caves.

That’s what Friede explained.

Caves 1 to 13 are buried deep underground, and in that underground, there are temples, statues, and altars of the primitive kingdom.

The primitive kingdom worshiped the Lizard Lord Neigalas. The king of that kingdom was Hairkan, one of Neigalas’s five vassals.

– And caves 14 to 26 were installed to suppress the abyss of that primitive kingdom.

Dominating the upper caves were dragon statues of various sizes and shapes.

「Are you ready?」

The dragon statues of the Red Dragon Legion, which had now left this land, stood majestically, and in the center of the cave, a statue of Shalesarum sat coiled.

The flames of Shalesarum floated in the air above the statue. He said that he could amplify his power even a little with that method.

Valensidice, who had Prince Obin lying at the foot of the statue’s pedestal, placed his hand on the boy’s forehead.

「Hurry. If you can’t wake him from his dream, his body will revert to its primitive state.」

My mission was to confine Obin, whose primitivization was progressing every moment.

I didn’t know when he would go berserk… I formed a knot seal and spread a square barrier around him.

Akki came to my side for the last time, buried her face in my arm, and rubbed her face against it.

“Abat, Akki is going now.”

“Yeah, do your best.”

“Don’t get hurt. Okay?”

“Everything’s fine, but why are you talking like a superior? If you’re going to use honorifics, use honorifics, and if you’re going to use informal speech, use only informal speech.”

“Okay.”

Every time I stroke her head and hear her grumble, ‘Appu,’ a new and touching sensation strikes my heart.

I’m not trying to be biased, but there’s definitely something different from Setsunen. Is it because of Alakish’s heart dwelling in her soul?

Valensidice took a deep breath, and the moment he exhaled, Shalesarum’s flames blazed more dazzlingly than my power could ever compare.

“……!”

I instinctively closed my eyes and opened them again, and Shalesarum and Akki were gone, and Valensidice was lying next to Obin.

“He’s connected to the dream… Please don’t be late, Valensidice.”

* * *

Valensidice, whose consciousness had recovered, was in a palace that brilliantly reflected the sunlight.

‘The Sun Palace, Barain.’

The Solond Kingdom’s historic capital.

Judging by the strict security, it seemed to be near the inner palace where the royal family resided.

As befitting Valensidice, who was skilled in stealth, he lightly waved his fan and hid himself in the darkness.

– You must not be caught by the members of the dream until the right moment comes.

That’s what Shalesarum had warned.

– The moment the dream judges you as a foreign substance, the situation will worsen. And the master of the dream will not recognize you and will push you away.

If there were real royal guards and court wizards, it would have been difficult to infiltrate so easily, but since it was realized as a dream, it wasn’t as strict as reality.

“Hahahaha, come here!”

“Try to catch me, Your Majesty.”

As he passed by the front of the palace, he heard the king’s voice, who was reveling in debauchery with a dozen women.

The late king of Solond, Rakabir.

He was famous for wielding tremendous tyranny for his own luxury, earning the resentment of all the people.

‘If there was a beautiful maiden, he would surely take her as a concubine, and he raised taxes nearly threefold to renovate the palace to his liking.’

Originally, he wasn’t like that, but it was said that he went mad with a sense of loss because the queen gave birth to a mute prince, the heir to the kingdom.

But the gods were not indifferent, and Rakabir died of a sudden heart attack at the young age of 30, around the time the plague began to spread.

There was no way a proper prince could have been born under such a king.

‘The royal family is like harmful insects that must be eliminated from this world.’

And yet, a disciple?

How can you correct the disposition he was born with? It’s a different quality from the nobles.

‘Stop. Focus on the mission, Valensidice.’

Obin’s presence, that is, the center of the dream, was felt in the Junggung Palace [Queen’s Palace], where the queen resided.

“Come here, Prince.”

Hiding in the shadows, Valensidice easily infiltrated the interior of the Junggung Palace and was able to see the scenery of the dream from which Obin could not escape.

“Hold him once.”

A woman with a sickly and frail impression was leaning against the headboard of a bed that was more like a sickbed.

The clothes she was wearing were not the elegant and splendid clothes of the queen, but rather a patient’s gown, and she was holding a baby in her arms.

“You must support his neck and hold him. Carefully and kindly.”

Obin, who was hesitating and faltering, approached her and carefully held the baby.

“Prince, I will tell you why you were born as a prince.”

“Ah, aah?”

“It is to care for and serve the people. Not to reign like your father.”

At that teaching, Valensidice couldn’t help but swallow his breath.

If the king and nobles had even a little bit of consideration for the people’s circumstances, if they had hearts like the dragons.

This world would have been more beautiful than it is now, and I wouldn’t have had to kill my teacher with my own hands.

“The people are just like that baby. Frail, powerless, and weak. The reason the gods made the prince a prince is to protect and care for such people.”

“……!”

“That is the mission that you, as a member of the royal family who inherits the blood and will of the great mage Leaguewind, must take responsibility for and fulfill until the last day of your life. The prince must keep this in mind for the rest of his life.”

“Ah, aeh……!”

“You are promising this mother now. That you will become a kind king, even if you cannot be a great one.”

Obin, who was mute and unable to speak, had no way to answer except to nod his blushing face wildly.

The queen hugged the prince, who was holding the princess, with her arms so thin that only bones remained.

As if holding the most precious treasure in the world.

“You will experience many despairs in your life, but you will surely meet people who recognize your worth. Because you are kinder than anyone else.”

“…….”

“I’m sorry for giving birth to you unable to speak. I’m so grateful that you call such a worthless person your mother and follow me. Now, I will entrust the princess to you.”

Tears welled up in the eyes of the queen holding Obin, and in the eyes of Obin held in her arms.

Perhaps the prince sensed it. Just like on the day he was last able to be with his teacher.

That this is the end… Perhaps because of a sense of kinship, Valensidice felt a corner of his heart becoming solemn.

“Your Highness, we will give everything to protect you.”

The queen’s insight was not wrong, and the guards of the escort became one mind and followed Obin.

From a young age, Obin traveled around the kingdom to examine the circumstances of the people, and it was because of this habit that he was able to uncover Elamas’s scheme.

As soon as the prince found out about it, Elamas poisoned the king, and the prince was disguised as if he had abandoned the kingdom and fled without even holding an accession ceremony.

The guards who accompanied Obin on the journey to find Leaguewind’s Cheonpasikjeok [a legendary flute] and in the pursuit of the Dawn Brigade died one by one.

“Please, become a great king…….”

“Never mind me, please hurry and protect your body…….”

“You must escape…….”

Contrary to Valensidice’s expectations, the prince did not make the guards die in his place. The guards simply gave their lives willingly.

The last guard was Bisram…

Before he knew it, the scenery had changed to a place familiar to Valensidice.

‘The city of beginning, Orbenheim.’

The world of the prince, who was holding the hand of the dying old guard and suppressing his sobs, began to darken again.

‘Is the dream ending?’

No, it can’t be that easy.

The darkness cleared in an instant, and the scenery of the Sun Palace Bara began to unfold again.

Obin chose to stay in this dream. In the time when all his loved ones remained. In the sweet illusion called the past.

“Stop, mute prince.”

Valensidice finally pulled himself out of the shadows.

Obin was crossing the courtyard of the Junggung Palace. He must have been thinking of meeting his mother with a happy heart.

I can’t let that happen.

“Are you going to continue to stay in the past like this? In an infinitely and meaninglessly repeated time?”

“……?”

“What’s the point of doing that?”

There was a problem here.

Obin didn’t recognize Valensidice, and he stepped back warily.

‘Is it because he doesn’t have memories of the past timeline?’

Almost at the same time as Valensidice frowned, the elements of the dream rushed in to exclude the foreign substance that had intervened in the dream.

“Intruder!”

“Protect the Queen and the Prince!”

The Royal Guard of the Solond Kingdom.

The guards, whose swordsmanship was fierce, quickly surrounded Valensidice and pointed their swords at him.

‘Damn it, there’s no time…….’

It’s not a problem to get out of here, but right now, Obin’s body outside is slowly turning into a primitive man. The moment he turns into a complete primitive, everything is over.

* * *

I seemed to be focusing all my energy on maintaining the barrier, but my mind was completely elsewhere.

– I am Rista Alter Schirpen, a Fey Querier belonging to the Gwangryong Orthodox Church.

Even now, when I close my eyes, it comes to my mind vividly.

The meaning of my name is spring breeze, but in fact, it was Rista who blew like a spring breeze into my life.

If my life started with the meeting with the headmaster, the meeting with that guy completely changed my life.

– The world (世界) [Shikai in Japanese, often used in fantasy to denote a powerful ability or realm].

According to Shalesarum’s explanation, Elamas’s current ability is necromancy (死靈術) [Shiryō-jutsu in Japanese, the art of manipulating the dead].

It was said to be a forbidden art that revives the bodies of the dead with the power bestowed directly by Neigalas, the lord who annihilates death, and manipulates them at will.

Whether or not to leave the memories of the previous life in the revived body is up to the necromancer’s discretion…….

– During the Black Spot incident, Tureina took Lin’s body, and Chief Ocelot took Rista’s body and Schirpen. It seems they handed it over to Elamas.

Since Valensidice testified to that, there is no doubt that Elamas revived Rista’s body and is using her as his sword.

Is it because of me?

It’s because of me.

Because I left a promise to return, Rista’s body couldn’t rot and remained in the basement of the Papal State, and that’s why it’s like this now…….

“Aruu?”

Setsunen, who was hanging on my back, wriggled and poked her face over my shoulder as if worried. I briefly placed my cheek on her head to reassure her.

“It’s because I’m concentrating on healing my body while maintaining the barrier. Setsunen’s power is completely medicinal.”

Perhaps because the powers of the two Yeouiju [magical orbs] were combined, the speed of the body’s restoration was unbelievably fast.

There was no ultra-high-speed regeneration comparable to an absolute life form, but even with the naked eye, I could see the internal organs returning to their places and the torn blood vessels and flesh being sealed.

Setsunen tilted her head as if to ask if it was true.

“Aruru?”

“Yeah, medicinal.”

“Aruaroo!”

And she powerfully throws out her fist.

A bad habit learned from Akki.

“Our Nen is much more docile than Akki unnie [older sister]. If it were Akki, she would have soaked my head by now.”

“Aru.”

Setsunen nodded solemnly as if agreeing.

No, is this kid slandering her sister?

She should shake her head firmly at this time and say no… I have to scold her sternly.

“Hey.”

Then, from the darkness, Miria opened her mouth with a voice and face completely identical to Rista.

“I have something to ask.”

She had always maintained a cold and serious attitude, but this time she had an even more serious expression than usual.

She straightened her back, pressed her chest with her fist, and stared at me as if glaring at me.

As if she had something to say, she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth several times before I could hear her voice.

“Who the hell are you?”