The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 217

217

“What do you mean? Who are you talking about?”

I tried to sound cheerful, but Miria’s eyes didn’t allow any lies.

“Rista, that’s definitely the name of a hero, right?”

“……”

“The assassin you called Rista at the Great Bridge appeared in my dream. I only knew she looked exactly like me, but I didn’t know her name until now.”

Rista in your dream?

Strangely, I didn’t feel any embarrassment. Perhaps a part of me had considered this possibility.

Or maybe my senses were damaged by the unexpected reunion with Rista.

“But she said this: ‘It’s not the time to help Rin.’”

I wish she hadn’t said that.

I was trying to compose myself, trying to calm my terribly painful and agonizing heart…….

I quietly lowered my gaze.

“At that time, only Aki and Nene were around me. Aki and Nene can’t be Rin……”

Normally, Pipi would have jokingly defended me, calling me a ‘fake’ or ‘genuine’.

But Pipi, still confused, was just sitting blankly on the dragon statue, staring into space.

That’s understandable. It can’t be helped. Even I, a human, am having such a hard time.

“Valencia told me that the way you use magic in battle is incredibly similar to Rin’s?”

Strictly speaking, it’s different.

Rin was an Elemental Master who used all eight attributes, while I can only use two now.

I only recently started using the lightning attribute.

“And Pipi said that she is indeed Freeden’s Pipi……”

Miria bit her lip, her eyes saying, ‘I know the answer.’

“Do you really want to hear that answer?”

The wind swirling through the underground chamber scattered dust. As if chasing that dust, I averted my gaze.

“Yeah, I need to hear it. But I’m not forcing you. The choice is yours.”

I know. Telling the past won’t bring me back to that past. There’s no way to get it back in any form.

Where should I start?

How should I begin?

Should I explain?

Should I tell her about the circumstances with Rista, who appeared in my life with her long, elegant white hair?

“I am Rin, a direct disciple of Headmaster Atlante, studied for five years, followed Rista to Antarctica during the turbulent times, and died alone at the end of the journey.”

Simply reciting my past made my heart ache as if it were being squeezed. I held up Black Sheep Rin as evidence.

“The Black Sun, Carenden, took pity on me and brought me back to life in the form of reincarnation.”

Words and pasts that had been festering deep in my heart, the traces of my old life that I couldn’t pour out to anyone.

“Living like that, I met you, who looked exactly like Rista, and this time, Rista……”

I realized it while speaking.

That I couldn’t talk anymore. Because my heart ached so much.

Forcing a smile that seemed like it would break at any moment, I ended the story.

“It’s all old stories that can’t be helped now.”

“……”

“Can you keep it a secret from the others? I’m afraid their attitude towards me will change. I like things the way they are now.”

Miria, who couldn’t even breathe from the shock, said in a daze.

“Wait. So, I am─”

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t have expectations about what Miria was about to say, about that situation.

If Rista had been reincarnated in the same way as me somewhere on this continent, and if we could accidentally meet again one day and finish the story we couldn’t finish 300 years ago.

Ah.

How wonderful would that be?

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t dream such dreams. But dreams are just dreams, and you can’t force them on anyone.

Because at that moment, it becomes a delusion.

“─Just as I am no longer Rin, you are not Rista either.”

Perhaps it was because I used such a cutting tone, Miria could only remain silent.

“I’m Rain, and you’re Miria. There’s no need to worry. You don’t even have any memories, right?”

But this is right.

I have to draw the line like this.

Because the memories that Rista and I built up over five years cannot be expressed in words. Because it’s impossible to build them up again.

– Rin, look at that flower field!

– Rin, will you promise me?

– Rin, we promised, right? That we’d come back and see the world then?

The gaze that had been holding me with some invisible force disappeared at that moment.

I thought I could finally catch my breath, but an even fiercer gaze flew at me.

Along with a faint breath that seemed like it would break at any moment.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“What am I going to do?”

“Don’t play dumb. I’m talking about Rista! According to what I read in the books, Rin and Rista weren’t just comrades.”

I know.

What you’re about to say.

That’s why I’ve been trying to stay silent since earlier, to control my heart.

“I have to end it.”

You’re probably asking if I can do it. I can’t give you a definite answer to that, but I can answer that it’s not something I want to do.

But it’s something I have to do.

Because I promised Rista that I would, someday, 300 years ago.

– If any of us are corrupted by the Abyss and become undead, then let’s all work together to give them peace.

We promised that if this day came, our comrades would gather together and do this.

“In the first place, she’s an undead and has no memories, so there’s no way we can have a proper conversation.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

“Don’t you have any regrets?”

Even though I’m just trying to keep that promise, my tongue felt unusually heavy.

“Regrets, well. If there’s one thing, it’s that Rista left a letter? I wish I had seen that, then I wouldn’t have any regrets.”

When Nariaduke took over my body, the ice of the Great Ice Age shattered, and that letter also disappeared.

I won’t be able to see it now.

Rista’s last words to me…… With a sigh filled with sorrow, I looked up at the sky, and Miria carefully muttered.

“I saw that letter that Rista left for Rin. When I was saving Aki.”

“What?”

“I remember the contents clearly. Not all of it, but just the beginning.”

It must have been around that time.

Obin’s body was agitated inside the barrier of flames, and a strange sound began to come from his skeleton.

Obin made a bizarre noise and tried to lift himself up, placing one hand on the ground.

“The mutation has begun…….”

“Abuu.”

Setsunen must have been scared, as the fist gripping my back tightened.

“Bell Querious!”

Forcibly amplify the magic power flowing through Obin’s body.

This will allow the magic power to somewhat resist the Abyss’s energy spreading throughout his body. To slow down the speed of the mutation.

Miria asked in a flustered tone.

“What, did that stop the mutation?”

“No, it just slowed it down a little. All I can do is…….”

My forehead was wet with cold sweat due to the momentary exertion of extreme concentration. My listless gaze turned towards Valencia next to Obin.

‘Hurry, Valencia. There’s no time.’

* * *

“Bear it!”

While dodging, parrying, and pushing away the swords of the endlessly rushing guards, Valencia quickly moved towards Obin.

“Get His Highness to safety!”

“Blow the trumpet!”

Of course, he didn’t kill anyone.

If he did, he would completely incur their antipathy, and he wouldn’t be able to attempt persuasion.

But what benefit does he get from doing such a troublesome thing?

– Just try teaching him, even if you feel like you’re being deceived.

Because of that guy’s advice?

Because the enlightenment that might bring him to a similar level as that guy might be there?

– It will be an experience you can’t trade for anything in your life, for sure.

That’s how it should have been originally.

And that’s how he should have entered this dream world with a half-believing heart.

But now…….

– You will experience many despairs in life, but you will surely meet those who recognize the value of the prince.

Should he call it a sense of kinship? There wasn’t even time to think of an appropriate word.

“Your Highness, this way!”

One of the guards grabbed Obin and started running towards the side door.

And from the distant sky, cracks began to spread throughout the dream world. It must be evidence that the mind is collapsing along with the body.

If he loses Obin here now, if he can’t persuade him, it’s all over. Yes, but what is?

“Obin! Are you going to keep staying in the past like this?”

“……?”

“Then you’ll remain a pathetic kid who can’t live up to his mother’s heart for the rest of your life!”

Why has Valencia himself lived in such a painful world?

“How dare this guy say such nonsense to His Highness!”

Even while killing his teacher and carrying out the slaughter according to the Black Church’s orders.

“If you’re going to return to that pathetic state on the day you meet your mother again in that sky someday, I won’t stop you.”

Even while becoming a disciple of a legendary shaman, only to realize that the shaman was no different from other black mages, and shuddering with betrayal.

“Shut that mouth!”

Didn’t his teacher entrust everything to him at that time?

– You’ll meet him someday.

Smiling heartily until the last moment of his life, when he was killed by his disciple’s attack…….

– A friend who will understand everything about you and walk the same path as you.

Ah, only at this moment did he realize the reason for his life, which even he couldn’t answer for sure.

Wasn’t it because his teacher entrusted him with a dream? A dream to create a more beautiful world, a better world.

Yes, just as Rain Ludwig said.

Teaching someone is one of the learning processes of understanding the hearts of parents and teachers.

“But what about the queen’s heart, who entrusted everything to you if that happens?”

He wants to help this guy.

Not because of the relationship between teacher and disciple, which hasn’t even been properly established yet.

He wants to see the future of this prince, who knows how to shed tears for the people and throw himself for others.

“And what about your younger sibling who will be left alone?”

The end of the dream is approaching.

The cracks in the world gradually began to swallow the horizon, and there was no end to the rows of guards and soldiers blocking the way.

He just shouted, hoping it would reach him.

“Are you going to leave everything here, abandon it, and leave like this!”

He has always lived wearing a mask, always wearing a mask of hypocrisy and pretense, so it has always been difficult to convey his sincerity.

But hoping that even a little of the sincerity needed to utter that cry would be conveyed.

Did that cry reach Obin’s ears? The moment he saw Obin’s eyes shaking, the cracks spread throughout the entire world, and soon shattered into pieces.

‘The dream.’

Valencia’s consciousness also turned black, and the next moment, he opened his eyes in intense heat.

‘The dream is over, here.’

In the underground, the musty smell and humid air were undulating…… A desperate cry was heard in his gradually recovering hearing.

“Get out of that barrier, Valencia! The mutation is over! It’s too late!”

“Wait, Miria! It looks like that guy has a plan.”

No, it’s not too late.

Obin, who had turned into a primitive man and was rushing towards him with a body nearly twice as large.

Valencia, who blocked his mouth with his demonic hand, grabbed the necklace around Obin’s neck with his right hand.

The legacy of the Archmage League Wind, Yul Gwang Stone.

“Oh, the connection of increase, following the command of the caster Valencia, widen and increase the width to increase its momentum!”

Archmage League Wind, help your descendants. So that they can return to their original state.

If magic is said to be the study of reason, then the incantation based on dragon words is the study of origin.

Valencia, who had reached the edge of the absolute realm of that incantation, resembled the origin of his incantation for the first time in his life.

Woong.

League Wind’s Yul Gwang Stone, the jewel that reflects the light of the sun in seven colors, brightly illuminated the underground with brilliant light.

Somewhere sad, mournful, joyful, and beautiful color…….

That light was once again concentrated in one place. It wrapped around the body of Yul Gwang Stone’s current owner, Obin, with radiance.

“……!”

“……!”

“……!”

The moment Rain and Miria covered their eyes with their hands, leaving a blue afterimage on their retinas, they heard a sound like a rock cracking.

Obin’s body slipped out through the cracks as the primitive man’s body shattered.

Valencia immediately caught Obin, who was falling to the ground, and tried to check his heartbeat.

“Oh, Mother…….”

He was finally relieved to hear the voice of the prince, who was shedding tears in his eyes.

Yes, he’s back…… He was so relieved that he lost strength in his legs for the first time in his life.

Valencia’s defenseless expression, which he rarely showed, hung on his lips.

“Valencia.”

Rain, who was about to say, ‘Have I ever seen such a reckless guy,’ was reminded of that expression.

The expression that appeared on his face when he was teaching Toureina and guiding Aki.

And what kind of smiles his comrades gave him when they looked at him at that time, and what they said.

And how he came to know that that smile was the smile that the headmaster gave him when he was guiding him.

“You realized something as I said, right?”

Valencia didn’t try to hide or conceal that expression. He just closed his eyes and nodded.

“Yes, I’ve decided. I’m going to teach Obin properly.”

This must have been the first time this guy called Obin by his name. It seems like he always just called him the mute prince.

Valencia hugged Obin in both arms, not caring about Miria’s puzzled gaze.

The expression on the guy’s face as he looked down at Obin’s face was as warm as the expression he had briefly seen during the festival.

“So, I’m going to raise him as a talent to illuminate this dark age. Even a piece of trash like me can be a cautionary tale.”

He himself is already stained with darkness, and his body is soaked in sins that cannot be washed away or atoned for.

But if it’s this guy, who is mute but doesn’t resent or blame his situation and instead knows how to cry for others.

Valencia thought at that time that he might achieve something that we had dreamed of.

“I sincerely thank you for giving me good teachings, Rain Ludwig.”