novelraw Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114 : Chapter 114
Chapter 114: Fire and Water (4)
I was a 4th Rank mage.
It was the truth, and I had introduced myself as such to Aroshu.
Despite that, when I said I would kill Aquins, a 5th Rank and the Star of the Deep Sea, Aroshu did not try to stop me.
“Then I shall look for Aquins.”
He said so and immediately took the lead.
‘Is it loyalty?’
Aroshu revered the Star that was Harad.
That reverence was almost burdensome, and it resembled faith more than loyalty. Herbis of the Watchtower of Fire had been similar.
‘Are there only oddballs in the Red Tower?’
Aroshu was an oddball too.
His Origin was fire, yet he did not act like fire.
“Is this the path of the Red Tower?”
I asked Aroshu's back as he advanced without hesitation.
Aroshu immediately stopped walking and looked back at me.
“You know of the Tower’s paths!”
Aroshu marveled again.
His characteristic narrow eyes curved softly.
“But Star, for the Red Tower, there are no paths.”
He spread his arms wide.
“For us, the Boundary itself is no different from a path. Because the great fire has given us freedom.”
Aroshu spoke just like Seria.
How was he, bound to the King, any different from her, who blindly believed in Laan?
“You must know a great deal about the Boundary.”
“That is correct. There is no tower with as vast a knowledge of the Boundary as the Red Tower. The Red Tower is the only tower that can conquer the Boundary.”
Aroshu emphasized again that if there was one who could conquer the Boundary, it would be their King.
This time, at least, it wasn't baseless.
Even in my opinion, that had a good deal of truth to it.
Who other than the Sun could illuminate this harsh land?
“The knowledge of the Boundary must be from old records.”
Records from when the King was alive, probably.
The current Red Tower was not strong enough to feel freedom in the Boundary.
“……Yes. It is a record that will soon be updated.”
Aroshu's face was slightly stiff.
“I am not pointing it out. It is admiration. The longer records are preserved, the more precious they become. Could you tell me about it as well?”
His stiff face brightened up completely.
“Tell me as we go.”
I made Aroshu, who was about to open his mouth right away, walk again. After that, he chattered on endlessly.
His chattering was more detailed than I had thought.
It was as if a map of the Boundary was drawn in Aroshu's head. He remembered all of the many terrains and the many magical beasts that inhabited them.
‘There are some incorrect parts.’
As it was old knowledge, its accuracy was lacking, but it definitely had value.
I memorized it all without missing a thing, overlaying Aroshu's information onto the map in my head.
“Have you memorized it all?”
“Unfortunately, I could not memorize it all. The amount is enormous.”
“Haha. You need not be impatient; you will be able to read as much as you want when you go to the Red Tower.”
Aroshu did not repeat himself.
“Where are we going now?”
“We are heading for the Path of Ivory. I judged that Aquins, having received information from the Ivory Tower, would be aiming for the Path of Ivory rather than the Path of the Deep Sea.”
“So the Red Tower knows the paths of other Mages’ Towers as well.”
My eyes gleamed.
Aroshu shook his head as if he felt my gaze, even with his back turned to me.
“That is correct. However, I regret to say that the paths I know are but a small fraction.”
“Once we arrive at the path, isn't it only a matter of time before we figure it out?”
“Haha. As expected of a Star.”
Aroshu laughed and praised me.
I couldn't see his face, but I read his sincerity. But that was all. Aroshu did not explain about the path.
‘This is a path too.’
The environment had changed five times on our way here, yet we had not encountered a single magical beast.
I didn't know which tower's path it was, but Aroshu was clearly using it.
‘The Red Tower knows all the paths in the Boundary.’
But Aroshu was not willing to divulge them.
‘Even though I am the Red Tower’s Star.’
Why?
‘Because I'm not yet a member of the Tower? That seems most plausible.’
Indeed, Aroshu seemed eager to take me to the Red Tower as soon as possible.
Grumble.
How much time had passed, the clock chimed.
To be precise, it was Ellen's stomach. Grumble. The sound was transmitted again through my arm wrapped around her waist.
Ellen was trembling with a flushed face.
She seemed embarrassed that she was the first among the three to feel hunger.
“Time has flown by! Do you happen to have any food?”
“None.”
I showed him my empty hands.
Kubel had packed some, but I had thrown it all into the tunnel when I first spotted Aroshu.
I, who lived in the Boundary, should not have freshly made food.
“I shall go and find something edible.”
-Ppiik!
“And something for our prospective Guardian to eat as well!”
Aroshu gave a big wink at Fireball's cry and left the path.
I quietly looked down at Ellen.
She was more accurate when it came to human presence.
“You won’t hear him anymore.”
Not long after, Ellen opened her mouth.
“You did well.”
I removed my arm from around her waist.
“Ah.”
“What? Is he back?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Ellen looked dejected.
It must have meant that the acting until now had been an ordeal.
That was what I found strange.
“By the way, why are you so bad at acting?”
“The beginning was too sudden.”
“Even so……”
Ellen herself was an act.
For her, acting was daily life.
“I-I’ll try. Hold me again.”
Ellen swayed her hips and pushed out her waist. It was a sign for me to wrap my hand around it.
“It's fine. We'll start when I feel him.”
“……Do whatever.”
Ellen put a cigarette she took from her bosom into her mouth.
I burned the cigarette to ash.
“Why. Did I do something wrong?”
“Items from the continent are a no-go. We are in a situation where we have been living in the Boundary for several months already.”
That was the reason I had thrown away the food Kubel had so kindly packed.
There must be no traces of the continent.
“You don't trust Aroshu, do you?”
“It would be strange to trust him. He's from the Otherworld.”
“But he's the person His Highness the Grand Duke told you to meet.”
So that's why she followed along so meekly.
Ellen trusted not Aroshu, but Grand Duke Aratus.
“He arranged a meeting, he didn't say to trust him.”
“……I’ll try to be mindful.”
Ellen did not argue back.
In the past, she would have found a way to nitpick my words. It was the reward of regression.
-Ppiiiik!
Just then, Fireball let out a thin, long cry.
It seemed to mean it liked Aroshu.
“Fireball, do not give him your heart. Or abandon me and follow him.”
-Ppiik…….
Fireball acted like a scolded child forcing a nod.
“Why are you doing that to a child. Poor thing.”
“You never know.”
Having regressed, I had to be cautious.
Even more so when the place I stood was the Boundary.
“You don't trust him that much, yet you suggested going to catch Aquins?”
“It's me who doesn't trust him, not him who doesn't trust me. Aroshu would probably fight alongside me if I wanted him to.”
“You’re pretty mean, too.”
“Don't you like it?”
Even if Ellen disliked it, this time I couldn't help it.
I had no intention of joining hands with the Otherworld.
At least, I, who had regressed for only half a year, did not.
“No. Well, it’s your decision.”
Fortunately, Ellen did not seem to have much aversion to it.
It was probably because the opponent was from the Otherworld.
“However, he didn't seem to trust me completely either. Hiding things about the elder is one piece of evidence.”
In Aroshu's mind, I was a Star.
The second-in-command of the Red Tower.
But Aroshu did not tell me about the existence called the elder.
Even though there was no one above me except the King.
“It must be because the Star that is me has not yet been verified. Even if I burned the watchtower, he didn't see it himself.”
“……Do you always sound people out, calculate, and act like that?”
Ellen had a fed-up look on her face.
It seemed she had been following along without much thought until now.
“It depends on the opponent.”
“What about me?”
“I don't. Why would I?”
I already know everything, anyway.
“Then that’s fine.”
Ellen seemed satisfied.
“What did you think of him?”
“Aroshu? He was excessive in a different way from Herbis.”
“And?”
“Hmm.”
Ellen furrowed her brow and crossed her arms.
“I didn't like him.”
“Got it. I'll keep that in mind.”
I nodded.
“Why do you believe me so readily. It's just my feeling.”
When I believed her without question, Ellen was the one who became flustered.
“That's why I believe it, because it's your feeling.”
“…….”
Ellen was often sharp.
In my past life, I tended to trust that sharpness.
Ellen bumped me with her hip.
“Come here.”
I wrapped my arm around Ellen’s waist.
At that, Ellen stood stiffly for a moment.
“Are you okay?”
“……Try doing it harder.”
Squeeze.
“Try grabbing it completely.”
“Like this?”
“Mhm. That’s fine.”
Finally, Ellen seemed to have gotten used to the acting.
* * *
Aroshu brought back one wolf magical beast and five hearts.
He butchered the wolf, lit a bonfire, and only after grilling it thoroughly did he speak to Ellen and me.
“Please eat!”
“Thanks.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it!”
Even though Ellen and I had taken the first bites, Aroshu did not touch the meat.
Instead, he carefully placed the five hearts in front of Fireball.
“Do you perhaps eat this?”
-Ppiiik!
“Oh dear. You do eat it, but it seems the taste isn't to your liking. Next time, I shall catch a tastier one for you!”
-Ppiik!
Fireball pecked at the heart.
Aroshu looked at the creature with a fond expression.
“You called this fellow a Divine Beast. Can you tell me more? Since I'm from the continent.”
I scratched Fireball's head.
Ppiik! The creature cried out happily.
“Ah. I met this fellow by good fortune.”
“It must be fate!”
“The fate of the Red Tower.”
Aroshu took in both me and Fireball with a brightly blooming face.
“The great Red Tower and Moon Tower have Divine Beasts. They are beings who submit only to the King.”
“This one follows me, though?”
“It must be a fitting destiny for the Star to act as a substitute in the King's absence.”
The Moon Tower needed fire.
That must have been the reason the rabbit did not attack me.
“The Moon Tower’s is a rabbit, and our Red Tower’s Divine Beast is a three-legged crow.”
I turned my gaze to Fireball.
It had two legs.
“It has two.”
“Won't it grow one as it matures?”
It had a point. Since it was a magical beast, not an animal.
It wouldn't be strange if another leg appeared at any time.
Of course, it wasn't a satisfying answer.
“You, you have never actually seen a Divine Beast.”
“Most are like that. They are such noble and free beings.”
It seemed Aroshu knew little about Divine Beasts.
When my and Fireball's meal was over, he approached the bonfire and picked up a piece of meat. Ellen was eating quietly beside him.
“You eat quite a lot!”
Aroshu said to me.
Ellen glared at Aroshu, but he did not react.
“Be careful. My wife is fearsome. She's as strong as I am.”
“Is that so?”
Aroshu tilted his head.
Even though she's not a mage? That was the look on his face.
“Isn't that why she followed me all the way here? It's a difficult thing to do with love alone.”
“You speak the truth. As expected of a Star!”
Aroshu's focus was solely on me.
‘He’d get along well with Seria.’
It was to the point where I wanted to introduce them if only I could call her here.
Of course, Seria’s eyes would probably pop out.
‘The same would go for Aroshu.’
Just as the Church ostracized mages, the Otherworld also hated the Church.
When the meal was over, Aroshu extinguished the bonfire.
He covered the white ashes around it with dirt, and pushed away the warmth that lingered in the surroundings. Only after dealing with the bloodstains all around did he start walking the path again.
Somehow, Ellen seemed to have a lot she wanted to say.
I occasionally glanced down at Ellen, but she did not open her mouth.
I belatedly realized that the reason was the sharp intuition Ellen had occasionally shown since our past life. A huge amount of mana was felt from afar.
……A river was flowing.
It was a desolate, rocky area that seemed to have not a single drop of water, but what flowed over it was clearly a river.
And a river that seemed to be flooding, the kind one might see during a heavy downpour.
The river's current was quite formidable, and I could gauge its velocity at a single glance.
It wasn't just because the place they stood was on high ground.
Nor was it through the mana I felt.
It was obvious that the river was the manifestation of a mage, but the reason I could grasp the strength of the current at once was…… because there was a person in the center of the river.
The river roared because of that person, splitting into two streams, and then merging again.
If that were all, I would not have been surprised.
The Mages’ Towers keep each other in check, and fights between mages must occur secretly in the lawless Boundary.
“……Aura?”
“Aura.”
Ellen and I spoke at almost the same time.
The person who was blocking, no, enduring the manifested river was holding a sword. A clear aura bloomed on that sword.
‘He’s strong.’
He was barely holding on, and it seemed even that wouldn't last much longer, but…… the very fact that he could do so was proof of his martial prowess.
What the man was enduring was a manifested river.
“There are two of them.”
Just as Ellen said.
Behind the man with the raised sword was a woman. She was hidden by the fragments of the river and was hard to spot without focusing. The woman had collapsed.
“It seems the wife is the mage over there.”
It was then.
Aroshu spoke.
“Does this happen often?”
“It happens rarely. This is an opportunity. Aim for the moment Aquins takes the woman’s heart.”
A mage becomes vulnerable when devouring a heart.
It is because their mind is captivated by the pleasure.
“Aren't they asylum seekers?”
“They must be mages who were refused asylum.”
Refused.
‘Was there such a case?’
This was another unexpected answer.
“You are not like fire. Very cautious.”
“Because the Red Tower is lacking many things.”
It wasn't just the King who was absent.
The Red Tower also had few mages.
So Aroshu was just being patient.
While waiting for the King who would one day return as prophesied.
Just then, Ellen spoke.
“Are you going to do that?”
Her eyes said that she couldn't.
It must be because the man looked like a knight. I felt the same way. When one speaks of aura in the Boundary, one can't help but think of a Serzila knight.
But he couldn't be a Serzila knight.
This was the Second Stage Boundary.
There was no need to mention it.
Of course, Ellen knew that too as she sent me that look.
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t want to do that.”
“Then let's not.”
Ellen drew her sword.
She was ready to join the fray immediately.
“You must aim for the mage.”
Aroshu added just then.
“A mage who has manifested their Origin tends to be vulnerable to their own defense.”
It was a sound argument.
Manifestation becomes both a strength and a weakness.
I had already told Ellen about this before.
“It will be difficult, but ignore the Origin and go for Aquins……”
“Do as you wish.”
I cut Aroshu off.
“You can do that.”
I checked Aroshu out of the corner of my eye.
For some reason, he had a pleased look on his face.
“……If I ask why, you’ll just say it’s a secret again, right?”
“Correct.”
“Then I guess I have to. Since I'm the one who'll regret it.”
Ellen jumped down without hesitation.
Right into the middle of the river, making Aroshu's advice moot. Her primary target was the man and woman adrift in the river.
“She is truly strong!”
Aroshu, who saw the river split, exclaimed.
He looked to be in a good mood.
“She won't last long. I have to join in.”
The river's current was less than I thought.
Certainly. Compared to his past life, he was considerably lacking. But he was still a 5th Rank. Ellen alone could not endure it yet.
“Yes, that is so. Although he is a fake, Aquins is a mage who has achieved a great feat.”
Great feat.
The Otherworld sometimes referred to manifestation that way.
“It will be difficult for the Star as well for now.”
“I suppose so.”
“Watch, and if it does not seem favorable, then go. Or it would be good to wait until everything is over, and Aquins takes the heart.”
Aroshu's judgment was rational.
“My wife is over there.”
“She is someone you will part with anyway.”
Aroshu was looking at me.
He had been like that the whole way here. Come to think of it, the advice just now was the first time Aroshu had spoken to Ellen.
“You said they were those who were refused asylum.”
I pointed at the man and the fallen woman.
The man had just collapsed. Ellen stood before the two of them and blocked the river.
“Only the husband would have been refused.”
“Why?”
“Because he is not a mage.”
The mage who had passed must not have been able to bring herself to abandon the man who came with her.
“The members of Paradise are solely mages.”
“My wife?”
“This is a good opportunity. Abandon her now.”
“Was that your plan from the start?”
“Yes. She was a wench unbecoming of the Star. Aura? How lowly.”
Aroshu grinned.
“It is lowly.”
I laughed along with him.
“The world is full of fucking bastards.”
This is why.
I could never like the Otherworld.