The Rebirth Of The Hero’S Party’S Archmage [EN]: Chapter 259

#4 That Disciple’s Epilogue.

Reuniting with family in this life was so boisterous, but reuniting with family from the past life was not.

“You’ve come to visit Headmaster Atlante’s grave? Please, follow me.”

The Osarius School Magic Tower in the North… how many years has it been since I last came here?

After being reborn, I didn’t even think about coming.

‘Going means having to acknowledge it. It means seeing it with my own eyes and realizing it. That I can never meet them again.’

So much has changed.

The structures were built much more luxuriously than they were 300 years ago.

And it was nice to see the students all wearing the formalized version of the robes and hats that Lynn wore during the turbulent times….

Amidst such waves of change, strangely enough, the main building, which was the old magic tower, had few changes.

“We are upholding Headmaster Atlante’s wishes. She asked that this building be kept in its original form.”

“Why?”

“She said she was worried Lynn might get confused when he returned.”

In the distant past.

Her tombstone stood on a hill where the sunlight shone and the wind rustled.

“Ooh! The sunlight shining so brightly makes it feel like a place where justice is alive and breathing… is what I mean!”

“Nen, you have to be quiet here. Aki, take care of Nen for a bit.”

“Aki, yessir!”

“You don’t have to shout either….”

The Osarius School magician, who was walking ahead and looking at Aki and Nen with a pleased smile, said.

“Isn’t it excessively simple for the grave of the head of one of the Eight Great Schools?”

“Yes.”

Though that was the answer, rather….

It’s quite amusing that it’s precisely because it’s so simple that you can tell this is the real burial place.

Next to the Headmaster was the grave of the Senior Disciple. Apparently, he was to be the next Headmaster.

“According to their wishes, all the heads of our school only erect such stone slabs for their graves.”

“I see.”

“We also only educate one disciple at a time, on a one-on-one basis. One magician trains only one to three Osarius magicians in their lifetime.”

“Reason unknown. Efficiency low. School requires many disciples depending on size.”

Mir’s sudden remark made the other person look embarrassed. Rain quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

“No, well, it seems it wasn’t like that before. Before it became one of the Eight Great Schools.”

“There is a rumor passed down by word of mouth from the Headmasters… but it’s not accurate.”

“Please tell me.”

“Headmaster Atlante always lived with many regrets.”

“Regrets? What regrets?”

“Not giving Lynn more affection. So, she did this so that the disciples wouldn’t make the same mistake.”

Rain felt a pain as if he were clutching his chest.

“Is that so?”

I see, that’s how it was.

That’s what you were thinking, Auntie.

On the stone slab, the old scene was faintly revived by the hands of a great artisan.

Auntie putting a hat on Lynn as he left the magic tower, and the sight of his fellow students crying as they watched….

“Then, please call me again if you need anything.”

After the guide left, Rain stared at the stone slab in silence for a long time before finally opening his mouth.

“Headmaster, I’m here.”

When Miria looked at him with worried eyes, Rain stroked the stone slab and said.

“After returning from that expedition, I wanted to tell the Headmaster these words. One is that the expedition during the turbulent times wasn’t hard for me at all.”

A bitter smile formed on Rain’s lips as he placed his hand on the head of the boy wearing a hat on the stone slab.

“The other is… thank you for raising me.”

You are the mother of my life.

If you hadn’t reached out to me that day, if you hadn’t taught me magic, this story wouldn’t have even started.

Miria smiled faintly and stood next to Rain.

“The Headmaster said something similar.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She said that you were a child she raised like a son, so she knew all your thoughts. And she was very proud of your growth conveyed through the letters.”

“A child she raised like a son, so Auntie thought the same way as me.”

Rain let out a soft chuckle and looked up at the clear autumn sky.

“Headmaster, I’m going to take the rank test. I’m going to go to the place where I got 4 stars with you back then. Soon, a magician who will obtain the 7-star magic rank for the first time in twelve hundred years will appear, and the empire will be buzzing.”

However, that smile soon melted into the air, and the gaze that had been lifted up also fell down.

“I wish I could have shown you that 모습 [image/figure] first….”

Rain handed Mir to Miria, then knelt respectfully in front of the grave and bowed.

His shoulders heaved intermittently, and dew fell on the grass in front of the tombstone.

Until the midday sun turned into twilight and cast a dreamlike shadow on the world, his head was never raised again.

Aki and Nen, who had been playing on the ridge of the tomb, returned, tilted their heads, and then bowed in front of Rain, following him. And they fell asleep like that.

Only Mir glanced up and made eye contact with Miria.

“Reason for said action unidentifiable, object in bowing direction not biological entity but inanimate matter.”

Miria smiled deeply and placed her chin on top of Mir’s head.

“You think that’s just a stone, don’t you, Mir. It’s not.”

“Requesting explanation.”

“A grave is, well, a passage. A passage that allows you to communicate with someone you can’t meet anymore. Even though it’s one-way rather than two-way.”

Someday you’ll know too.

Someday you’ll come to a place like this and tell your story.

“Mir is smart, so I think you’ll always do well so that you don’t have regrets like that.”

Tu Reina didn’t even have that opportunity, but you, who received a new life, surely….

“Mir, even if you hear the explanation, you won’t understand. I judge the explainer’s intelligence to be insufficient.”

“What?!”

At that moment, Rain, who had risen from the deep bow of farewell, lightly tapped Mir’s cheek.

“You don’t learn that by hearing it, Mir. You’ll naturally learn it as you live.”

“Explanation required as to why acquisition of wisdom requires deferment.”

“You’ll find out on your own. And don’t worry. I’ll be by your side until you realize it yourself.”

In this life, definitely.

Mir doesn’t actively show affection like Aki or Nen, but he becomes unusually docile when he receives Rain’s touch.

His expression doesn’t change, and he doesn’t rub his face or head against the touch, but Miria could still tell.

That Mir likes Rain as much as Aki and Nen do.

“Let’s go now, Miria.”

“Okay.”

“It’s time to officially declare ‘This body has arrived’ to the Empire.”

There’s no need to list each and every detail of what happened in the 7-star rank acquisition.

To put it simply, the Imperial magic world was turned upside down, and only troublesome things happened.

There was still one place to go for business, but if I had known it would be this serious, I would have done that business first….

“How are you still alive?”

“I’ve been living diligently.”

“What enlightenment did you gain from your journey in the Adrion Continent?”

“I wonder.”

“Are those your wife and children next to you? If so, is the rumor that you become a great magician if you live as a virgin for 100 years actually false, and you have to have three children before you turn 20?”

“?”

While on the way to see the last business, surrounded by unwanted guests, a helper like the dawn’s twilight appeared.

The golden-haired Crown Prince, Raida Aigin, with a hundred imperial soldiers.

Raida deployed the imperial soldiers and rescued us from the unwanted guests.

“You still seem to enjoy attracting people’s attention.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Hmph. Let’s walk for a moment. Can I leave the baby dragons with your woman for a moment?”

“She’s not my woman.”

“Well, really?”

Raida had greatly increased his reputation over the past two years, that is, while Rain was on his journey, for suppressing the stirrings of the abyss in the Akrad Continent.

“My father’s retirement due to illness has been confirmed, so the Imperial Election will be held early next year. I’ll probably take the throne in about two years.”

“Is your election confirmed?”

“Highly likely. Two elector counts have already promised to support me.”

“I see.”

“Look at the ground soaked in autumn rain over there. Do you see the water collected? Stagnant water is bound to rot, and as I’ve lived in the world, the world is like water.”

“Are you trying to say that the Empire is stagnant water?”

Raida picked up a stone from the roadside.

“As expected, you understand my words at once, so I like you very much. The Empire has a history of a thousand years. The corruption that has stained it is beyond description.”

And he threw the stone into the water collected in the ditch, causing ripples.

“I want to make that water flow in a new direction. Starting with creating ripples in the stagnant water.”

“……?”

“If that happens, the elector counts who reign like kings in each region will quickly turn their backs. Would the nobles who benefited from the old ways be any different? You never know what might happen.”

Raida turned his head and looked straight at Rain.

“I need a backing to suppress the dissatisfaction of such nobles with both force and intelligence. And that card is you, the 7-star Great Sage Rain Ludwig.”

So it ends up like this….

Is this also my destiny? No, I had already assumed this would happen when I was talking to Shirin and Valensidith.

As Rain met Raida’s intelligent gaze, a magic circle suddenly appeared on his palm.

“My teacher said to me, ‘Become a person who can share the light of magic.’”

And the moment he broke that magic circle, the ground shook, and the puddles scattered here and there were connected into one and soon began to flow as a stream.

“It seems that time has come. But it’s a minimum of 9 years and a maximum of 15 years. I have no intention of working beyond that. For now.”

Raida chuckled politely.

“Either way, in 10 years, either you or I will be falsely accused of being a tyrant and be kicked off the throne, or we will be remembered as reformist rulers in history books.”

And after gracefully climbing onto the saddle of the white horse that had come running at the sound of his whistle, he looked down at Rain and nodded.

“I’ll prepare the official robes in advance. I’ll put your name first on the cabinet I’m launching. You’ll be busy for the next 10 years, so rest now.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Don’t increase the number of children too much. You won’t be able to take care of state affairs while taking care of your family. What’s the point of ruining your back before you even see state affairs?”

“……I’ll be able to fix it even if it’s ruined. But I won’t use it to the point of ruining it in the first place.”

“Haha, you’re still funny. It’s ridiculous that I’m only giving you this greeting now, but congratulations on your safe return, Rain Ludwig. Thanks to the gods who guided your path back here.”

Raida kindly left fifty imperial soldiers behind and left.

Under their protection, Rain was able to arrive at the last place. The place where his youth was, Magic University .

Surprisingly, as soon as he entered the campus, he was able to meet ‘those guys’ who were chattering about something.

“Young Lord?”