Chapter 385

Chapter 385

For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

Episode 385: Do It! (2)

Rebecca, who seemed to have lost her words, closed her mouth. I confidently demanded of her.

“Do it!”

Of course, I didn’t demand the cancellation of Elisha’s expulsion just because Elisha, as a current academy student, was more appealing than Elisha, who wasn’t.

-…….

“Please don’t look at me like that. It’s really not like that. It’s a Yandel joke.”

-…Then what’s the real reason?

“Elisha was cleared of false charges this time and was freed from my slavery, right? I want to spread that fact widely and refute the interesting rumors I heard recently.”

-If you’re talking about recent rumors… are you referring to the story that Carla killed former Count Kipros?

Normally, rumors wouldn’t spread this quickly. Kipros was stripped of his title and exiled, becoming a fallen noble.

He was just lucky to have good ancestors, and wasn’t particularly talented, so even if he died, no one would care…

But the one who killed Kipros was different.

A woman who looked exactly like Carla wielded tentacles and committed mass murder. How could that not be reported?

“Actually, there’s a story behind this…”

When I briefly explained the background of Fake Carla’s birth, Rebecca’s voice, which had been filled with hollow laughter, became serious.

-I see… I understand. I’ll make an announcement that Elisha is being readmitted as a student and subtly leak the story about the corrupted Carla. Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get the diploma even if you don’t attend classes.

“Thank you. I’ve already informed the Levantin Empire about the general situation, but I can’t rely on them alone. Her actions are too fast.”

Fake Carla stormed into Kipros’s mansion before she was even three days old.

The Levantin Empire would announce that the tentacle-wielding Carla was a fake created by an Evil God, but she might attack somewhere else before that information could spread.

In that sense, there was no better place to spread news than the academy, where talents from all over the continent gathered.

If the children of prestigious families here contacted their homes even once, more than half of the continent would know about Fake Carla’s existence.

After that, I talked to Rebecca about the recent continental situation and had some casual conversations.

And when I thought it was time to get up,

-Take this.

“What is this?”

Rebecca handed me two books with no titles written on the cover. One was very thick, and the other was as thin as a notebook.

-The thick one is a grimoire that collects the original spells I used. It consists only of intermediate and high-level spells. It will be useful for you, Student Yandel.

“…Is it okay for you to give me something like this?”

-It’s only natural for me to give this much to a successor who does the work I couldn’t finish. Besides, I’ve already revealed my original spells, so it’s not that great except for some kind annotations.

Those annotations are what make it great.

With the explanations from the creator herself, it would be easier to learn and apply.

This alone is a great gift, but… the real deal was next.

-And the thin one is a book that summarizes the thoughts I had on my way to becoming an archmage.

“…Huh?”

-It sounds grand, but honestly, there’s nothing all that important in there. The level of an archmage isn’t something someone can lead you to—and even among archmages, each person’s path is different.

“That’s… true.”

Even the level of a high-level mage isn’t something one could reach just by being led there.

How much harder must the path to archmage be?

If you make a mistake, it could become an obstacle that blocks your path. Rebecca couldn’t be unaware of this…

-Don’t think too complicatedly. As I said before, I’ve removed anything that might hinder you. What’s inside is not about enlightenment, but about frustration.

“Frustration…?”

-I heard you took a considerable risk in the process of defeating the Grotesque Proliferation.

“Ah.”

-Anyway, you succeeded, and it seems there was no other way. I won’t mention it separately, but it was a very dangerous attempt.

That’s right. Although it’s a memory from the time distortion that I’ve almost forgotten, I still sweat profusely just from those faint impressions.

-This is a kind of wrong-answer notebook. When you hit a wall, but it’s dangerous if you don’t overcome it right away, open it and refer to it. You need to gauge whether your plan is reckless but achievable, or just reckless.

“Chairman…”

Even if it’s a wrong-answer notebook about failure, not enlightenment, its value doesn’t diminish. Rather, it’s even more necessary at a higher level.

Rebecca, embarrassed by my touched reaction, replied.

-It’s an adult’s role to help a child who’s walking a dangerous path on their own. Don’t rely on it too much, just use it as a reference.

“Yes! I will!”

Since I revealed that I’m something similar to Fafnir’s child, more people have been trying to give me things.

But? The more mama there is, the better, right?

After leaving the Chairman’s office, I went straight to the dormitory.

They said they were tired and wanted to rest, but the women were waiting for me, delaying dinner.

We warmed up the cold food with simple heating magic and ate together, and I took out the books I received from Rebecca and briefly explained what happened.

She probably knew that I would read them with my group when she gave them to me.

We decided who would read them first, and even fed Faye, who was more focused on the research journal than dinner.

We were going to sleep together nicely, but somehow we ended up sleeping separately.

That’s because I was going to read the grimoire I received from Rebecca until I fell asleep, and Faye was determined to stay up all night to absorb the knowledge in the research journal.

“Ugh…”

I must have fallen asleep on the living room sofa while reading. When I woke up, it was dawn.

I decided to read this much and sleep properly in bed.

I put a bookmark in the book and closed it, and was about to go to the bedroom.

“Huh?”

A faint light was visible in the distance. I thought it was coming from Faye’s workshop, but when I looked closely, the direction was completely opposite.

That’s… the terrace?

I casually tucked the book I was holding under my arm and approached the light source. The person there was unexpected.

“Helena?”

“Ah, Brother. You’re awake?”

Unlike Faye, who had no concept of day or night, Helena, who was a model of good living, sleeping early and waking up early, was awake at this hour?

I asked, feeling a little puzzled.

“I didn’t expect you to be awake at this hour.”

“Hehe. It’s not like I always live a model life. Sometimes, I have trouble sleeping.”

Helena, wearing a slightly see-through slip, didn’t have the usual strange holiness.

Now that I noticed, the medallion she always wore, except when sleeping, was also missing.

Feeling my gaze, Helena opened her mouth with her unique, gentle smile.

“The Righteous Radiance is sleeping now. Just like the sun shines on all things in the world during the day and is quiet at night, she always sleeps at this time unless she’s paying special attention.”

“What about Clara?”

“I left her behind.”

“……”

That’s too much.

“Just kidding. Clara is also sleeping now. She says that when everyone is asleep at night, she turns off her consciousness for a while to save divine power because she’s bored being alone.”

“That’s understandable. She can move around the medallion, but she can’t go far. Waiting quietly is hard for anyone.”

“Waiting… yes. Endless waiting is like that.”

No, everyone wakes up when the sun rises, so it’s not like it’s an endless wait?

…But Helena’s expression was too melancholic.

Is this that? Is it dawn sentiment?

As I nodded, pretending not to know, Helena suddenly started laughing.

“Hehe…”

“What’s wrong, Helena? If there’s something funny, let me know. Except for weird jokes.”

I’m still not used to Eurelia’s jokes. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to them.

“It’s not a funny story. It’s actually a bad story. It’s about when I was quietly praying in Solaris, surrounded by enemies.”

“That’s…”

At that time, Helena was maintaining the barrier for the Grand Church and the people who had taken refuge inside, without any guarantee that support would come.

“To be honest, I was very scared at the time. It was a situation similar to when Clara faced her end, wasn’t it? And the Lord seemed to have made some kind of decision.”

“Uh, well. I heard that the Righteous Radiance made that decision thinking of Helena.”

“That’s probably true. She probably thought of giving me a painless death. In fact, I realized everything the moment the Lord forced my consciousness to sink. And I accepted it. ‘This is, this is my end’.”

Helena, saying that, slightly raised her head and looked up at the sky.

The sky was still dark. But that didn’t mean the sky was empty.

The reasonably bright moonlight and the faint but definite starlight filled the sky.

“Look. Even in the dark night, light exists. But at that time, I was only focused on the darkness. It was an inevitable situation. But when I opened my eyes, I saw you, Brother.”

Helena, saying that, turned her head towards me!

“It was a truly amazing experience. I thought it was the end, but it’s hard for those who haven’t experienced it to understand that there’s a next time.”

Helena was approaching cautiously but closely.

She stopped only when her soft chest was almost touching my upper body.

“Do you know what I was thinking at that time, Brother?”

“Uh… You hate the Righteous Radiance for using your body to mate with me without permission?”

“…That’s not wrong, but my biggest feeling was regret.”

“Regret?”

“Yes. I wanted to see the moment you came to save me. Of course, I don’t intend to be in danger again, so don’t worry.”

Helena, adding a word with a chuckle, hugged me.

A light hug that only shared our warmth, with almost no pressure.

In that state, Helena whispered in my ear.

“It’s the wee hours of the morning when even the sun in the sky is asleep, so I have something to say. It’s something I can’t tell anyone, but… will you keep it a secret, Brother?”

“Of course, if Helena wants me to.”

As I nodded, Helena moved her head closer. She stopped only when her breath tickled my ear.

In a voice that was careful not to be heard, but filled with a longing that couldn’t be endured without speaking.

“Sometimes, I like you more than the Righteous Radiance.”

“……”

Oh my god.

What is this cute confession?

While I was momentarily stunned, Helena, slightly tilting her head, kissed my cheek.

Smack.

A soft and ticklish sensation.

But Helena, whose face turned redder than my brain could process, moved away faster.

“I-I’m going to sleep now! Brother, please be careful not to ruin your condition by sleeping too late!”

“……”

I suddenly thought, watching Helena’s retreating figure.

Dawn sentiment… might not be bad.