Sword Saint's Reincarnation

Book 3 Chapter 31: Last Days in Ceotha (2)

After wrapping up his lesson, Rylan followed his family to their room, while Jasmine and Hayden stayed behind to talk to Damian about magic. As a group, the Flamehearts and Sarah made their way down the Mage Tower until they reached the entrance to their bedroom. Rylan walked up to the door and pushed it open, allowing everyone to enter. He then followed suit and shut the door behind him.

He then looked at Gerard, who was walking toward the main table.

“What about your duties to Cantavega, Father?” he asked.

Gerard pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked at Rylan with a conflicted expression.

“With Mar’s support, I’m sure another Fifth Circle Mage can replace me,” Gerard replied.

“You dedicated many years to being Cantavega’s protector. Who will take care of the Flameheart manor and its employees?”

Gerard furrowed his brow and sighed.

“There are people I can trust to do it, Rast among them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pleased to leave Cantavega behind, but it’s not more important than you. The town will sort itself out.”

Rylan slowly nodded. However, there was one more problem in his mind, and one that wasn’t so easily solved. He looked at Sarah, who wore a conflicted expression. She was sitting on the edge of her bed.

Of course, she already knows.

But he needed to make it clear to everyone else, too.

“Sarah,” he said, making her flinch. She looked into his eyes. “What will you do about your family?”

Gerard blinked and looked at her, while Elizabeth, who had also been staring at Rylan, did the same. Regis and Lillia followed suit.

Sarah looked at the floor. Rylan stared at her with kind eyes.

She can’t leave them behind.

Sarah’s whole reason for working at the Flameheart estate was to support her family. It was why she had forcefully endured Rylan’s previous self. Now that she was confronted with the possibility of going to another kingdom entirely, they were the number one thing she needed to think about.

“…I don’t know,” she replied. “But I need to be with them.”

Elizabeth slowly walked up to her, sat down next to her, and grabbed her hands gently.

“We’ll bring them along,” she said softly. “With Rylan’s protection and Mar’s support, I’m certain we’ll be able to keep them safe. I won’t let you be separated from them.”

Sarah looked at Elizabeth with a trembling lip and nodded, then looked down again. Rylan grinned at them.

“I promise I’ll protect your family, Sarah,” he said. “But I also don’t think the Empire will attack outright.”

She looked up and smiled at him. Her smile was brighter than usual.

“Thank you, my lord,” she replied. “I believe you.”

Rylan smiled back at her. It was almost unbelievable how their relationship had progressed, considering what he had been like just over a year ago, before remembering his past life. From someone who used to despise him, she had become a close friend.

“I need to send them a letter,” she continued. “Let them know what’s going to happen. Then, I’ll need to travel there and bring them over.”

“You won’t do it alone. I’ll go with you,” Rylan said.

“Oh, I’d like to go, too,” Aelfric said from the side, making Rylan look at him. He was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed and a smile on his face.

“Should we all go together?” Lillia asked as she looked around.

Regis nodded beside her. Gerard and Elizabeth traded a look before nodding almost at the same time.

“It’ll be good for me to go to Cantavega,” Gerard said. “It’ll help with organizing everything ahead of time.”

“And I can go anywhere at any time,” Elizabeth said with a grin.

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Rylan chuckled. Being the sole daughter of the Astassier house didn’t constrain her in the least, but that wasn’t surprising, given her relationship with her family.

“Then, we’ll all go fetch Sarah’s family,” he said in a clear tone, then looked at Sarah with a smile. “Don’t worry. You won’t need to go through anything alone.”

She stared into his eyes for a few seconds with a mysterious gaze before breaking into a bright smile, nodding. Rylan walked over to Aelfric’s bed and sat beside him.

“How’s everyone feeling today?” he asked as he looked around.

Aelfric sighed and leaned backward until he flopped on the bed.

“Mana Cultivation is hard,” he said in a slightly frustrated tone. “I thought it would be as simple as magic, but it isn’t. Is Aura complicated, too?”

Rylan shrugged.

“You’ll understand it soon enough. You’re talented,” he replied.

Sarah looked over her shoulder at Aelfric.

“It’s not that complicated, young master. It’s only a matter of learning how to strengthen your body with it. Young master Rylan has already made everything clear. We only need practice,” she said.

Regis scoffed lightly.

“Easy for you to say,” he replied. “Rylan has already said that’s where your real talents lie. It’s difficult for the rest of us.”

Gerard rubbed his beard and looked at Rylan.

“How did you even come up with it, anyway? You did it shortly after remembering your past life, with only a First Circle’s worth of mana in you. How did you make the System acknowledge the Skill so quickly?” he asked.

Rylan smiled at him.

“Being the Sword Saint has its perks. The memories of how Aura behaved were just really fresh in my mind. Besides, it wasn’t that quick. I needed a whole day to get the hang of it,” Rylan replied.

Lillia tilted her head at him with an interested look.

“Say, what was it like in your past life? You mentioned magic existed, but it wasn’t powerful or popular,” she said.

Rylan nodded. Everyone in the room had already listened to him talk about his past life in-depth, and he had already mentioned his past life’s ‘magic’ to them. He rubbed his chin.

“It was very rough,” he started. “Slow, ineffective, and ultimately worthless when compared to Aura. I saw some potential in it, but as someone who had already reached the peak of Aura, I didn’t feel threatened by it or compelled to seek more power. It was just interesting. Looking back, maybe I should have delved into it, but I doubt it would have changed that life’s outcome.”

As he talked, Rylan was filled with some bitterness. Remembering how Roland’s life had ended was still difficult.

Lillia nodded and sighed, flopping down on the bed just like Aelfric.

“I wish I had your Complete Prodigy Trait,” she said with longing.

Rylan laughed.

“I wish I had it, too.”

Gerard looked at him.

“It’s been a long time since we changed your Trait through training,” the man stated. “Do you think you’ll be able to change it again soon?”

Rylan shook his head.

“Probably not. Getting rid of a negative Trait is easier than improving an already-positive one. But I do think I’ll be able to change it again, just not soon.”

Aelfric raised his body, sitting up again, and looked at Rylan.

“Can you beat a Seventh Circle Mage right now?” the boy asked with a grin.

Rylan looked at him, chuckled, and ruffled his hair.

“Unlikely. Sixth Circle Mages are easy, but from the Seventh Circle onwards, things become much more complex, as Damian has already explained to us. The imperial Mages’ spatial manipulation was already enough of a pain in the ass.”

Aelfric smiled.

Rylan continued to talk and joke around with his family, treasuring every second. Sarah jumped in after a few minutes, looking much more relaxed now that they had included her family in their plans. The more he talked to them, the warmer his chest felt. He laughed and created conjectures about the future with them. Gerard detailed his plan of what to do with Cantavega, while Elizabeth took some time to speak badly about the Astassiers, especially Nathan and Gael, her face contorted into a frown.

After some time, however, Rylan detected two approaching mana signatures, ones he recognized. He went silent as everyone else still talked, expanding his perception as he circulated both his mana and Aura. The identities of the people who were still on the outside of the Mage Tower became clear.

What are Gael and Nathan doing here?

He stood up, attracting everyone’s attention, and looked at Elizabeth.

“Gael and Nathan are here,” he said.

Her expression sank in real time. She gritted her teeth and stood up. After exchanging a few glances, everyone else did too, but Rylan gestured at them to calm down.

“They’re probably here for me. I’ll go see what they want,” he continued. “No need for everyone to come along.”

“I’ll go with you,” Elizabeth replied almost immediately.

Rylan grinned helplessly at her.

“They won’t convince me to do anything. Don’t worry. I’ll just go see what they want.”

She frowned, but after a few seconds, she slowly nodded and sat back down.

“If they try to sell you anything, come back and we’ll discuss it. Don’t make any hasty decisions. My father and brother can’t be trusted.”

Rylan nodded at her.

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

He then walked up to the door and left the room. Descending the Mage Tower, he considered the possibilities. Why were they here? Were they going to try to recruit him again? No, they were no longer in a position to do that. He was now Ceotha’s strongest fighter. He gained nothing by joining the Astassier house except for influence and prestige, both of which would come naturally as long as he had enough power. As such, another possibility became more likely.

They want to join my side.

The difference was small, but significant. Rylan would be the one at the head of the alliance, not Gael and his friends.

This might be interesting.

He continued on his way down to the Mage Tower, finally reaching the bottom floor. He looked ahead to see Gael and Nathan talking to the woman behind the circular desk at the center of the giant room. The floating books still flew around above them. Once he descended from the last step of the stairway, Gael met his gaze.

Keeping a serious expression, Rylan quickly approached them until they were within a few meters of each other. The older woman bowed at him.

“Hello, Rylan,” Gael said. “We were just trying to reach you.”

Rylan nodded at him.

“Hello, Gael. I know. What brings you here?”

Gael nodded back, looked at Nathan, who was staring at Rylan, then back at Rylan.

“We know where Jason Cousteau is,” he said in a heavy tone.

Rylan froze.