The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 256

#1 Interlude, Prologue to the Epilogue (1)

Rem and Bart parted ways in the yellow city of .

They said they would wait for the Adventurer’s Guild to arrive and receive their contribution rewards. Of course, their real intention was to protect the city until then.

I appreciated that they didn’t brag about it.

“You’re really not coming with us?”

“Are we you? We don’t work for free. We’re going to take all the credit for taking down the Diamond-rank monster and the Black Church Pillar.”

Rem grinned and shrugged, showing off the Serwebon [likely a type of weapon or artifact] strapped to his back.

“But you know what? Friede praised me this time! Kheuheu! She said the arrow I shot at the end looked like it was shot by my ancestor.”

“It didn’t look like that at all to me.”

“No, come on. You didn’t even see it then!”

“I don’t need to see it to know. And why is Friede ‘Friede-nim’ [a respectful honorific] and I’m just ‘you’? You need to show some respect for me too.”

Milia, who was holding the exhausted and sleeping Aki, sighed as if she couldn’t help it, but a smile played on her lips.

“Still, it’s a bit sad to part ways here. It’s really over.”

Then Bart held out his hand to Milia.

“If you ever need us, contact us anytime. Just like this time, we’ll rush to wherever you are.”

Rain shook his head with a wry smile.

“No, I can’t keep relying on you guys.”

“You didn’t rely on us, Rain. Rather, thanks to you, I feel clearer about what to do in the future. It was a very precious experience this time.”

“That’s right. And following you around means a lot of crumbs fall our way, which is beneficial for us too. And even though it was tough, it was fun. Really.”

Rem then held out his hand, asking for a farewell handshake.

Rain stared at it blankly, and only after Milia took Bart’s hand and winked at him was he able to clasp Rem’s hand.

“I was glad to have you guys as friends too. Really. If even one of you hadn’t been there, this journey would have…”

Then Rem shook off Rain’s hand and scoffed.

“Hey, stop it. Just because you’ve lived twice doesn’t mean you’ve lived long enough to know anything.”

“…?”

“Listen, old mage. At times like this, you just part ways coolly. What’s there to be serious about? We’ll meet again anyway.”

Ah, right.

We can just meet again.

Since it’s that simple, there’s no need to put weight on each of these farewells.

“Now, we’ll take care of the world, so you just go to some mountain valley and happily take care of the kids, that’s what I’m saying.”

Soon, the hands of the other three people were stacked on top of Rem’s outstretched fist. Bart said.

“More than anything, I’m still a little worried about the First Pillar, who hasn’t appeared yet. I’ll contact you if I get any information.”

Yes, the First Pillar…

He went down below the Barrier, but I don’t know why. But his danger seems incomparable to the other two.

“Don’t ever try to catch him by yourselves, and if you find him, call this old man. Got it?”

He was the one who controlled Zernex, so there’s no way to even guess what kind of power he has.

‘It would be nice if I could defeat him.’

But in my lifetime, I never faced that unidentified being.

「That is not your task.」

On the day I left , I heard Karenin’s voice in a faint dream, already warning me like that…

「That one is currently unifying the demons in the Demon World (魔界) [Makai, a common term in fantasy for the demon realm], so it will take quite a long time.」

The Demon World is deep below the Barrier, the world where demons live.

It was a forbidden land even before [likely a significant location or structure] was built. If a human enters, they will die.

“Then are you saying I should just stand by and watch?”

No answer came back.

Just as I was about to ask again, I woke up as if I had been kicked out of the dream.

When I wiped the cold sweat from my face, I saw the faces of the three dragons sleeping soundly next to me.

‘Can I really just stand by and watch?’

There must be a way.

Surely, there must be a way to empower these kids. If there isn’t, I have to find it.

“What’s the reason the Southern Republic has collapsed so much?”

I asked Shirin, who had become my companion until we arrived at the Red Capital, .

Shirin is a living witness to 200 years of history.

The Republic had served as a bulwark for humanity until it was destroyed by Zernex.

“Evil always flourishes in the shadow of justice. My teacher was also worried about the era after he disappeared.”

“…?”

“Even if you try to make people walk the path of good through strict rules and control, humans will eventually fall into evil.”

“Still, it doesn’t seem like slavery existed when Friede was alive.”

“Of course not. But we didn’t have the same leadership or dignity as our teacher. Forcibly suppressing it would only lead to an explosion in a bad direction someday. Our teacher told us not to interfere as much as possible.”

Shirin said with a look of shame.

“Compared to when I was a child, about 200 years ago, the world has deteriorated to the point of being embarrassing. Not technologically, but humanly.”

“Friede influenced the era for about 100 years?”

“Yes. When she was the center of justice…”

“100 years, I should set my goal around that long too.”

100 years.

That’s about how long it will take for Aki, Nene, and Mir to grow close to adulthood.

Aki uses the power of two true dragons, Nene has the power of ten wyverns, and Mir is a combination of a true dragon’s soul and Toureina’s soul.

If we combine that power, we can overcome even when the First Pillar appears. I hoped so.

“Thank you, Shirin. Thanks to you, my future goal has become clear.”

Let’s aim to spread a positive influence throughout the world.

Let’s lead the world on the right path until these kids become the center of good.

‘I’ll leave the rest to you guys.’

Rain smiled as he looked at the sleeping three siblings.

And ten days later, the group arrived at . They decided to stay in the Red Capital for a while.

They were exhausted from the journey, and they wanted to help rebuild the city.

‘Still, the most important reason for staying is the Great Library of the Holy City in .’

This place is famous for having the most books in the world.

Even the Central Library of has to take a step back, or so they say.

I was about to face the ancient books with a reverent heart, but as expected, there was a troublemaker.

“Shh, be quiet.”

“Aki, be quiet!”

“Setz, be quiiiiet!”

“…”

“…”

“Aki, dash!”

“Setz, daaaash!”

The problem is these two tomboyish sisters…

Even if I quiet them down, it’s only for a moment, and soon they’re giggling and making a fuss.

If I hadn’t come with the former priestess Shirin (there’s someone else in the current position), we might have been kicked out already.

“Look at how people are frowning. Take after your younger sibling, you two…”

There seems to be something wrong with what I’m saying, but it’s true.

Mirngardia is quiet.

She didn’t even know how to whine from the moment she was born. She doesn’t run up to me babbling ‘Ma kiome’ [untranslated baby talk] or cover my face with drool.

She’s just quiet, calmly nestled in Seresia’s swaddling clothes like a lake. For reference, Mirngardia is, hmm, the only boy among the dragon siblings.

Milia showed some concern. She wondered if there was confusion about gender identity because of Toureina’s soul.

But as Karenin said, Mirngardia doesn’t remember his days as Toureina.

“You’re supposed to be older sisters… What will your younger sibling learn from you, huh?”

“I’ll take care of Aki and Nene.”

Feeling sorry for me, Milia said she would take care of the kids. Then Shirin pulled Setz Nene towards her.

“I’ll take care of Nene.”

“?”

“Even dragons need gifted education. Yellow dragons are not a race that learns martial arts like red dragons. More than anything, they must learn to love justice. Because they are seekers of good and evil.”

I immediately grabbed Shirin’s shoulder.

“No, no, no, if I leave it to you, I feel like something irreversible will happen.”

That was the intuition of a sage who had crossed the threshold of truth. Then Shirin gave a bitter smile.

“Aren’t you worried that Aki has already grown up close to adolescence, but Setz Nene is still in the same state as before?”

“Hmm…!”

“For dragons, physical growth is directly related to mental growth. The fact that there is a problem with Rin-nim’s education method is undeniable.”

“Keuk…!”

“So, please leave it to me.”

Such stubbornness, it would be no problem if Setz Nene refused like Aki did in .

But Setz Nene has strangely followed that girl well since the first time they met… Even now, she wouldn’t have followed anyone else.

Before I could stop her, she was already far away.

“I’ll take that as permission, and goodbye. And be quiet inside the Great Library.”

I should have stopped her then…

Anyway, so I was left alone in the Great Library with Mirngardia.

It was a strange feeling.

I still vividly remember the day 300 years ago when I fell asleep while reading a book in the Great Library, and Toureina gently lifted my bamboo hat and smiled.

– Master, you’ll catch a cold. Sleep in bed.

As I was lost in a heartbreaking reminiscence, I was about to open the book I had taken out when it happened.

Mir, who had been fidgeting on my back, crawled onto my shoulder and then onto the desk, and began to touch the books piled on the desk.

“Mir?”

It was a mysterious sight.

As if he knew how to handle books, Mir carefully spread the book on the desk and began to read it from the beginning.

No one had ever taught him letters, but as if he could see the form of the letters and see through them.

“Mir, can you read?”

“Inputting information, not difficult.”

I couldn’t close my mouth.

Aki and Nene were just stuttering at that age!

It was strange that his language usage was literary rather than colloquial.

“Books, a treasure trove of knowledge, need a lot of information. Mir needs concentration, do not talk to him.”

I couldn’t read my book until late at night because I was watching Mir.

Mir turned the pages in an instant, and the fiercely flashing light in his golden dragon eyes showed extreme concentration.

He finished one of these thick books in about an hour, and absurdly, he remembered the contents without missing a single word.

“Not difficult. Information memory calculation.”

They say that the yellow dragon is the seeker of good and evil, the red dragon is the judge of destroying evil, and the white dragon is the seeker of wisdom…

Oh, why are there tears?

Aki and Nene just need to be healthy. Yes, health is the most important thing, of course.

“Mir, doesn’t your head hurt from reading books all the time? Shall we go out for some night air?”

“Not necessary. All information can be acquired through books, does not feel the need for external stimuli.”

At that moment, my past self came to mind.

I remembered answering similarly when the headmistress said that.

In an unavoidable bitter smile, Rain stood up abruptly and forcibly hugged Mir and headed out of the Great Library.

“Illogical behavior, incomprehensible, suspected hearing impairment, recommends visiting a treatment facility.”

Mir, who was on my back, said that, but he didn’t act like those red cuties or yellow tomboys over there.

As it was, I left and climbed to the top of the western peak of the Kellimute volcanic zone, which surrounded the city like a folding screen.

Mir fidgeted slightly in my arms, perhaps because he didn’t like the dark atmosphere and the eerie chirping of the night birds.

“Demands a hearing on the relevant actions. Mir has a mission to absorb information.”

I was going to give him a good experience, but he was being picky, which was exactly like the Rin of the past, so I burst out laughing.

It was right then that Mir tilted his head.

A red and dazzling band was wrapped around the horizon, and soon a warm and brilliant ray of light began to shine from the lowest part of the world and rise.

“Look at that, Mir. That’s dawn.”

It was probably the first time that Mir’s eyes, which had always been expressionless since he hatched from the egg, widened.

“What does the book say about dawn?”

“Faint light… when it is… bright…”

“But what does it look like in person?”

As if overwhelmed by the wonder of nature, as if thrilled by the providence of creation, Mir could not take his eyes off the dawn that was painting the world in extreme colors.

“Dazzling, warm…”

In a voice that seemed excited and moved, he chose and chose the vocabulary he had learned from the book and answered like this.

“And, and, and, beautiful…”

The emotion that surged at that time was a sense of pride that made my whole body tremble, and a sense of déjà vu that made my heart ache.

“Mir.”

Rain placed his hand on Mir’s head. Just like the headmistress had done.

“What do you want to achieve in this beautiful world?”

Mir did not answer.

But I could see a clear light shining deep in his emotionless eyes.

As if a lake that had been blackened by the darkness of the night was dazzlingly reflecting the morning star of dawn.

I didn’t ask what kind of light was seeping into his heart. I just told him the same thing as that person.

I couldn’t do it in my previous life, but this time.

“Whatever it is, I’ll always be there to support you.”