Chapter 75 – Reminiscence

Reminiscence

Long ago, in a rural village of the empire, a girl with exceptional talent for magic was born.
“Mom, look at this! Isn’t it pretty? This is what they call mana!”

The girl’s name was Milene.
She had independently grasped the flow of mana, and with just one old magic book her parents had bought, she quickly reached a level where she could use basic magic.

This was a significantly superior achievement compared to other children her age who had entered magic towers as apprentices or received systematic education from private tutors, and seeing this, the girl’s parents realized.
That the girl was what they call a genius in magic.

“…Yes, it’s beautiful.”
Like any parents, the girl’s parents hoped for her to blossom with the talent she possessed.
However, circumstances were not favorable. They were living a life where even getting by day to day was challenging, and even the single old magic book the girl had was purchased after a full month of saving.

…Of course, it was an environment far too inadequate for the girl to develop her talent.
Nevertheless, as they say flowers bloom even in mud. The girl’s talent shone despite such an environment, and the girl’s parents finally made a firm decision.

“Honey, I heard that a magician who came to the neighboring village is looking to take talented children as disciples. Let’s send Milene to him. We can’t leave our child like this.”
“…Let’s do that. Our Milene is too bright a child to stay in a village like this.”
They decided to entrust the girl to a magician who was said to be looking for children to take as disciples in the neighboring village.

The next day, the girl’s parents, holding her hand, went to the neighboring village and after much inquiry, found the lodging where the magician was said to be staying.
Just as they were about to knock on the door, it opened automatically.

“Wh-What?”
“Is this what they call magic…?”
“Please come in.”

The interior was simple. A staff that looked expensive at a glance was leaning against the wall, a fine-textured robe was hanging on a coat rack, and next to it, a magician with a kind smile was sitting in a chair.
The girl’s parents had rarely met magicians before, but somehow they could tell.
That the magician before them was one of great skill.

“Um, we heard you were looking for children to take as disciples, so we came. We are just uneducated country folk, but this child was born with talent too great for us. If you would take her as your disciple, she will surely become a great magician.”
The girl’s father explained to the magician why they had come all this way.
Watching this, the girl’s mother held the anxious girl’s hand tightly and bowed her head towards the magician.

“I see. Well, let me examine the child a bit.”
The magician said this and began to closely observe the girl.
“Child, can you raise some mana for me?”

“Yes.”
At the magician’s words, the girl showed him the flow of mana she had shown her mother.
Then, interest began to stir on the magician’s face.

“Has this child ever been taught magic before?”
“Uh, no. We weren’t in a position to…”
It’s a simple task of just concentrating mana from the air, but the difference between learning it and realizing it on one’s own is great.

…A momentary greedy desire flashed in the magician’s eyes at their answer and disappeared, but they didn’t notice.
After a brief pause, the magician spoke to the girl’s parents.

“Hmm. She’s sufficient to be my disciple. I’ll take her.”
At this, the faces of the girl’s parents, who had been anxiously waiting for the magician’s answer, began to light up.
“Re-Really?! Thank you!”

“Thank you so much!!”
“Haha. No, I should be thanking you for being able to take such a talented child as my disciple.”
The girl’s parents, who had been repeatedly bowing to the magician, soon bid farewell to their daughter.

“Milene. Listen well to the magician.”
“Don’t overdo it. Always remember we love you. We’ll see you later, Milene.”
The girl was smart.

…Therefore, she fully understood that the reason her parents entrusted her to the magician was for her own sake.
“I’ll be back. Mom, Dad.”
In the end, the girl quietly followed behind the magician.

——–

“I’ve found an excellent test subject.”
The magician, with a satisfied expression, took the girl’s hand and headed somewhere.
“Um, Magician sir. May I ask what your name is?”

“My name?”
“…It’s Erdas. One who pursues the truth of magic.”

“How boring.”
Milene briefly recalled those memories. They were now colorless memories that evoked no emotion in her.
After all, she liked the present moment.

“Shut… up…”
Ariel, pinned beneath her, let out a frustrated voice.
“Did Helion give you a lot of trouble? You can’t use any strength at all, successful product.”

“Don’t… call me… successful product!”
“Oh? Trying to use magic?”
Ariel, driven by anger, tried to cast magic by scraping together the last of her mana, but with a single gesture from Milene, she ultimately withdrew her magic herself.

“You thought well. It would be sad if your friends died, right?”
The reason Ariel withdrew her magic herself was because of Pfel and Cherni, who were being held hostage.
The sharp magical blades aimed at them, who were unconscious and caught in Milene’s magic, would surely strike them before Ariel could take any action.

…In the end, even the last attempt was in vain, and Ariel’s mana was completely depleted.
“You vile bastard…”
Curses involuntarily spilled from Ariel’s mouth.

Even though she had consumed a massive amount of mana to escape Helion’s barrier, Ariel wasn’t one to be easily defeated by Milene. In fact, the fact that Ariel had a slight upper hand until the middle of the battle proved this.
“I guess people do become weaker when they have more people to worry about? I think I read that in a book.”

But the problem lay elsewhere. While Milene used magic without any hesitation, Ariel had to consider the collapsed Pfel and Cherni as well. And her remaining mana too.
On top of that, the unseen figure of Saya was also a factor making Ariel’s heart race.

“Anyway, I’m disappointed. Successful product.”
…Milene wasn’t one to fail to perceive this, and Ariel, with Pfel and Cherni taken hostage, ended up being helplessly subdued by Milene.
‘Damn it…’

“Boring. Not fun. Boring. Not fun. A successful product losing to a failed product. Erdas-nim told me to just play for a while, but I’ve already won.”
…She wanted to sew that blabbering mouth shut right away, but the situation didn’t allow it. Her body was already in tatters, and even moving a finger was difficult.

The situation was the worst. Her vision was blurring, and the desire to close her eyes was creeping up.
But she couldn’t do that. She didn’t even want to imagine what would happen to the children if she gave up here.
Ariel struggled to keep her consciousness from fading.

…The only chance was now, while the one sitting on top of her was being complacent.
“…Sigh.”
When Ariel didn’t respond to her words, Milene started staring into space with her chin resting on her hand, as if bored.

…Her melancholic gaze, pretending to have some sort of story, made Ariel’s blood boil.
“You know, successful product. I thought I’d be happy if I beat you, but why do I feel like this?”

‘How would I know, you damn brat.’
She almost let out a curse involuntarily but barely held it back. She needed to buy time until her mana recovered even a little.
Fortunately, Milene didn’t seem to have any intention of killing her right away.

“Hey. I have something to ask.”
Ariel spoke to Milene, who was using her as a chair, after barely suppressing her anger. It was to divert Milene’s attention while buying time to recover her mana.

“What is it? If it’s about sparing your life, I haven’t decided yet. You, or those guys. Kyahat. Don’t talk about the little dragon, it’s not interesting.”
“…Who are you really? Why did you side with Erdas? Do you also believe in that nonsensical talk about the truth of magic?”

“Me? I’m Milene, right? Don’t tell me you don’t remember my name? I’m so sad.”
‘Was she originally like this?’
The first time Ariel saw this Milene was when she infiltrated the Black Market with Marian before.

At that time, this girl in maid attire seemed like an ordinary person. Was it all an act?
“Was my name really Milene? Yes. Because Mom said so.”

…No matter how you look at it, this girl’s current state isn’t normal. It’s hard to have a normal conversation. Has she gone mad?
“Sorry. I recently had an experiment done by Erdas-nim, so I’m a bit dazed. Kyahat.”

“Experiment?”
“I told you. I was a test subject just like you. But I’m a failed product.”
…It seems this girl was also a test subject from the tower.

There were other test subjects in the tower besides me. I thought everyone else had died by the time I escaped… I never imagined there would be someone left.
“When you burned down the tower, I was underground. Isn’t that fortunate? We could meet again like this!”

“…If you were also a test subject, why are you following Erdas’s words?”
“Hm? It’s obvious, isn’t it? He made us strong, strong? Oh? Did I ask to be made strong…?”
Milene tilted her head as if puzzled by my question. It seems she’s been brainwashed by Erdas…

“Wake up. You’ve been brainwashed by Erdas. It’s not too late. Break free from him. I’ll help you.”
“Brainwashed…? Ouch. My head hurts.”
Upon hearing my words, Milene grabbed her head with both hands and started complaining of a headache.

‘There’s a reaction.’
She seemed mentally unstable from the start. Things might go more smoothly than expected if it’s now.
“Try to remember the days in the tower. Following those who made us suffer so much. It’s strange, isn’t it?”

“Days in the tower…? I was tied to a chair… I hated needles. The feeling of my head being messed with, magic, electricity… Oh? No. I was happy. Every day…”
Milene, who had been muttering incoherently, suddenly started laughing maniacally.
“Kyahat, kyaha. Kyahahahat!!!”

…To me, that laughter sounded almost like crying.
‘Stay calm…’
As I quietly watched her, I silently prepared for what might be my final counterattack.