Chapter 54: The Third Downfall (4)

[54] 8. The Third Downfall (4)

What is it that intellect ultimately seeks?

If life is a tool, then what is that tool meant for?

Why did God create humanity?

These are questions that countless scholars and mages have asked, but no one had been able to find an answer.

At least not until three months ago.

At this very moment, I declare:

The answer is love!

Love is the essence of the human spirit, the culmination of life. All people in this world are inevitably drawn towards lo…

“Ugh.”

“What nonsense are you spouting this time?”

My cheek, stretched out by his telekinesis. Beyond it, I could see Rem’s face.

“Let’s not get lost in thought when we’re together, okay?”

He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, displeasure in his eyes.

“Hehe…”

I just chuckled.

I knew it was just his way of asking for attention.

His personality might be twisted, but that was how he expressed affection, and I didn’t mind it.

No, in fact, I just loved the fact that he was by my side.

“Ahh, who’d think this clumsy airhead is the top student at the academy…”

Rem sighed, releasing my cheek. I quickly rested my head on his shoulder and grinned.

“Still, you like me, right?”

“…”

Rem didn’t answer, but his ears were turning red.

Warmth spreading through my heart, a smile twitching at my lips.

Unable to bear it, I hugged him.

“Get off me, people are watching!”

“Who cares! Just once! A quick hug!”

“Hey! Where are you putting your hands…?! Hey! Hey! You!”

My name is Parsley,

And I’m the happiest girl in the world.

***

It’s been three months since I officially started dating Rem.

And during those three months, I learned the essence of happiness.

Happiness is…

Walking hand-in-hand with the person you love,

Eating with the person you love and talking about magic,

Leaning against each other and watching the sunrise together.

That’s right! Love is the essence of happiness!

Love is the greatest emotion! It’s the one and only thing humanity should strive for…

“You’re spacing out again.”

“Oweeeek-”

Rem pulled on my cheek, bringing my mind back to reality. I saw the library come into view.

Resting his chin on his hand—a prosthetic hand—he narrowed his eyes.

“Didn’t you suggest coming to the library to study?”

“I-I was just about to!”

I retorted, and then I turned my gaze toward the book, desperately trying to focus on the content.

This was because my grades had been dropping lately, dangerously so, as I had been prioritizing spending time with Rem over studying.

Of course, I was still managing to maintain my position at the top, but if this continued, then I would probably have to hand it over to Marianne.

But who am I?

The intellect of this era, the greatest genius of this time.

A possessor of beauty and intelligence!

The very thought of me being forced to hand over my throne is absurd!

I collected myself and poured my heart and soul into the book…

…For about ten minutes.

To love something means to be drawn toward it, to have your eyes glued to it even without realizing it.

When I came to my senses, I was staring at Rem.

“If you have something to say, just say it.”

“…!”

I barely swallowed the scream that was about to escape my mouth and stammered.

“W-What do you… m-mean…?”

“You keep looking at me. Don’t you have something to say?”

…I don’t really have something to *say,* I just wanted to *look*.

But my pride wouldn’t allow me to say it.

As Marianne said,

The one who loves more is the loser.

…Of course, it felt like I’d already lost a long time ago…

I hurriedly changed the subject.

“I-I was just… w-wondering if my, y-you know, the prosthetic hand… I made for you… is working alright.”

Rem looked down at his hand.

It looked less like a hand, more like a bunch of broken gloves forcefully stitched together.

It was the ‘masterpiece’ I had completed last week after much struggle.

He flexed his prosthetic hand smoothly and said,

“Well, there’s no problem…”

Rem’s brow furrowed.

“Let’s be clear. We co-designed this together.”

Co-designed. Those words made my blood run cold.

“It’s not co-designed. It’s based on my research.”

“Who was the one who found a fatal flaw in your research and fixed it?”

“I was the one who finished it!”

“I was the one who made the final design,”

Rem said with a smug grin.

I could feel my cheeks burning with annoyance.

I might love him, but I couldn’t possibly love *everything* about him.

His competitiveness, that inability to just lose. It was sometimes so annoying that I wanted to slap him.

…Well, that’s probably why it’s so lovely when he does concede.

“Shut up!”

A shout shattered the library’s silence.

Everyone in the library turned their gazes to a single spot.

Standing there was a familiar face.

Professor Killian.

That skinny, skeleton-like man was grabbing the librarian and shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Why wasn’t I approved?! Where in the world is there a more qualified mage than I am in that field?!”

However, the librarian seemed used to this. With the usual bored expression of an office worker, he said,

“I’m sorry, Professor Killian, but I’m not an assessor. I can’t answer your question.”

“Then bring me the assessor!”

Professor Killian roared.

“For my research, I require direct human experiments! Grant me a Healer’s license right this instant…!”

It was then that I cast a ‘Silence’ spell around Rem and me.

Killian’s annoying voice disappeared. Rem looked at me with a puzzled look.

I shrugged.

“There’s no need to listen to his nagging, right?”

It wasn’t the first time he’d acted like this, I added with a disgusted look.

… Human experiments were currently allowed in the Magic Tower, on extremely wicked criminals.

But, of course, not all mages were allowed to perform them.

Because those blinded by the effectiveness of human experimentation often fell into the path of heresy.

Only mages with exceptional skill and sound moral character were granted permission.

And the most concrete proof of this ‘recognition’ was the Healer’s license.

… That was what Killian was trying so desperately to acquire.

I glared at him, then turned my gaze back to Rem and asked,

“Rem, are you really going to stay under Killian?”

Closing my book, I added,

“I told you, I can get you a different professor.”

My mother might not give a damn about me, but I’m still the tower master’s daughter. There were quite a few professors who tried to win my favor.

If I asked them, having Rem transferred wasn’t that hard.

“It’s not like I want to keep playing ‘pillar-husband’.” (TL Note: What Rem meant is that he doesn’t want to keep supporting and cleaning up after Killian.)

However, Rem’s answer was always the same.

“And I already told you. There are still things I want to learn from Professor Killian.”

He put the books he’d been reading into his subspace pocket, one by one. The titles flashed by.

[Resurrection and Life]

[An academic and ethical study on necromancy.]

[What Lies Beyond Death: Based on Bree-Git’s Research from 23 Years Ago by Nicolai]

They were the books I had borrowed on his behalf.

I stared at him, shocked.

“Don’t tell me those are the ‘things’ you want to learn.”

“Of course not. As I said, he just asked me to sort them out.”

And then, Rem stood up, as if he were about to leave. He slung the subspace pocket over his shoulder.

“… Are you leaving already?”

A disappointed voice escaped my lips.

Rem’s face was painted with both regret and discomfort.

“Judging from the ruckus he’s making now, it seems like I should get back to the lab early.”

“I see…”

… I was going to ask if he wanted to go back to the Winter Garden.

I forced the words down.

Marianne told me that clingy women tire men out.

Besides, we didn’t even make plans.

…But still, I wanted to be with him.

I lowered my gaze and tightened my grip on my interlocked hands.

“Spacing out again.”

“Huh…?”

A shadow passing over my face.

A soft and moist touch landing on my forehead.

A light sound as it pulled away.

Then Rem’s grinning face came into view.

“I’ll be back soon, just wait for me on the platform.”

And with that, he left, leaving me behind.

I realized that Rem had just kissed my forehead only after he disappeared from sight.

Clutching my burning face, I sank to the ground. Rubbing my lips, unable to stop smiling, I muttered,

“That jerk…”

***

Rem built a magic platform to show me the three-colored night view.

After we started dating, we built a small cabin on that platform.

Well, it wasn’t so much that we *built* it, but more like it *formed* on its own.

The items we brought each time we came here accumulated one by one, becoming a small cabin.

“___!”

Using telekinesis, I picked up the kettle, which was whistling loudly. I poured the tea into a cup and sat down at the table.

I gazed at the Magic Tower, shrouded in darkness, through the small window.

I was waiting for Rem.

Because Rem was always busy in the lab with Professor Killian, I often had to wait for him like this.

And I actually enjoyed this time.

This is because I could indulge in a special fantasy, a fantasy only possible here,

That this isn’t a cabin, but our *home*, and that I was a wife waiting for her husband to come back from work.

A sweet, sweet fantasy.

Of course, that fantasy would become a reality soon enough.

As soon as we graduate, I was planning to propose to Rem.

Marianne said it’s customary for the man to propose, but patience was a virtue I did not possess.

… Besides, that ‘C’ girl could come back…

I pushed those anxious thoughts aside and started thinking about more practical matters.

Now that I thought about it, how many kids should we have?

One thing was certain, we had to have a lot.

Superior humans have an obligation to leave behind superior offspring. For the sake of the next generation, we needed to have as many children as possible.

But the problem was my lack of knowledge.

Of course, I, Parsley, am a genius of the century, so I know the principles of pregnancy and childbirth perfectly.

Theoretically speaking, I was already an excellent pregnant woman. And I really thought that was enough until a few days ago.

But Marianne, hearing my views, just burst out laughing.

And then she showed me… ‘it’.

My face burned just thinking about it. And then I couldn’t even raise my head as the images followed.

How the hell do you put it in, and then take it out…

[Parsley, I’m almost there.]

Blue letters appeared before my eyes, dispelling those shameful thoughts. I immediately stood up and looked towards the Magic Tower.

And sure enough, I could see a single light approaching.

My heart fluttered.

Smiling, I watched the light grow closer.

“…?”

But a moment later, my smile turned into a frown.

Because the movements of the light were strange.

It kept swaying, as if it were staggering.

Unable to ignore my suspicion, I covered my eyes with my hand.

[Ars Fee]

It was like I was looking through a telescope as the light approached.

Narrowing my eyes, I examined the figure holding the light.

And then, a moment later…

I started to run.

I sprinted along the outline of the platform, feeling a sensation scratching at my heart.

And when I stood before the light, it revealed Rem.

His face was covered with bruises.

His legs staggered.

His hair was a mess.

His robe splattered with blood.

Rem, struggling to smile with his messed-up face, said,

“Sorry, something came up.”

***

‘The moment I fell in love with him, I felt as if our bodies were connected.’

A sentence I once read in a novel, words I had considered a simple metaphor back then.

How could simple emotions bind two bodies?

How foolish I was.

I carefully cleaned Rem’s wounds, my heart twisting with each cut I saw.

It felt as if each wound were being transferred to me.

By the time I’d finished with the first aid, my heart was as battered as Rem’s body.

Suppressing my tears, I glared at him.

“Did Killian do this?”

“No, I just fell while walking…”

“Do you think I’m that stupid?”

How could you get that many bruises on your face from a simple fall?

I was about to say something more, but stopped myself. It didn’t seem like he was going to listen.

His stubbornness was one of the things about him I couldn’t love.

Instead, I said coldly, picking up my bag,

“I’m going to report this to the disciplinary committee. It might be hard to get his professor qualification revoked, but at least he won’t be able to touch you again.”

“What, why go that far? We were just… letting our emotions get the best of us…”

“Does that justify making someone look like this because of ‘emotions’?”

My voice was much louder than I intended.

Rem’s eyes flashed with surprise before softening.

“… Parsley, it really is nothing. We just had a minor argument. I can handle it.”

“What do you mean ‘handle it’?”

I set my bag down and stepped towards him.

“What exactly is the problem?”

Rem’s lips pressed together. Seeing that, I spoke with a hint of desperation,

“Remember when I confessed? I told you I’d be by your side. I told you that even if I can’t do anything else, I can at least do that.”

I gently cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at me.

“So let me stay by your side.”

You seem distant whenever this happens. I added, looking into his eyes.

I tried to get a little closer to him.

“I told you, it’s really nothing,”

But he drew a line, stepping back, his face softening.

Again.

There was a room, a room deep inside his heart, locked shut. A place he would never open to anyone.

And I, his girlfriend, was no exception.

When I tried to get close, he would step back.

When I asked him questions, he would close his mouth.

When I pressed him, he’d change the subject.

I’ve only ever been allowed inside twice:

The day I confessed,

And the day I gave him new eyes.

I know now that those were exceptions, rare exceptions.

Another thing I couldn’t love about him.

“Sigh…”

… But it was also a flaw so trivial compared to his other traits.

Sighing, I stretched out my arms.

“Hug me.”

Without a word, Rem stood up and hugged me. I buried my face in his shoulder, mumbling,

“Tighter.”

He held me hard enough to make it hard to breathe. Only then did I wrap my arms around him,

trying to calm the storm that was raging inside me.

…

…

…

“… Feeling better now?”

He asked after about ten minutes.

He was stroking my hair, and I simply shook my head.

“Want to stay like this a bit longer?”

I nodded again. Soon, his voice flows down from the crown of my head.

“Sorry.”

“… Don’t apologize if you don’t plan to fix it.”

“Sorry for that too.”

A bitter chuckle, and then he spoke,

“It’s just that, I…”

But he trailed off as soon as he started.

And then, once again, a long silence.

A silence so deep I could almost hear the stars flowing by.

But even silence comes to an end.

“You know, Parsley.”

His voice was weak, trembling.

Confused, I tried to see his face,

but he had buried it in my shoulder. All he did was reveal his emotions through his shaking voice.

“What if… just… what if…”

His trembling hand tightened its grip on me.

“What if I… did something terrible? Something unforgivable?”

“Rem…?”

“Even so… would you stay by my side…?”

I was taken aback

because I realized that he was terrified.

He was clinging to me as if his life depended on it.

I knew this was a turning point.

A chance to finally enter the room he’d kept locked away.

My impulsive tongue moved faster than my thoughts.

“You idiot, did you really have to say that?”

Holding his head to my chest, I said,

“I’d stay with you even if you were a polymorphed goblin.”

So don’t worry,

I added in a whisper.

Rem’s trembling gradually subsided. And before long, his hands had regained their usual calmness.

At that moment, I felt a light shine in my heart.

Finally, I had taken a step closer. I finally…

“Uh…?”

Rem suddenly let go of me. He stepped back, his face devoid of emotion.

He had the same expression as my mother’s.

“Rem…?”

“Parsley,”

He looked at me with emotionless eyes and spoke.

“Let’s break up.”

***

“Why did you do that?”

“…”

“Vice-captain, why did you do that?!”

“… I don’t know.”

“What?”

“Why did I do that?”

“Vice-captain…”

“There was a reason! I had to do it!”

“Vice-captain!”

“But why can’t I remember?… I can’t…”

“Vice-captain!!”

“…Captain? What…”

“Just keep telling the story.”

“But…”

“Just do what I say.”

“… Okay.”

******

TL Afterword: Hello Buttercat here, I will now start translating the author’s note as well. Why? No reason, just wanted to.

*****

Author’s Note:

Woof!

(I was going to split this into two, but I decided against it!)

Bark! Bark! Bark!

(Thank you again, Chronitz, for the 5 coins!)