Ch.399Side Story: The Predecessor

Owen Baltani.

He could be called my only disciple, the boy to whom I entrusted my legacy.

Though he was my successor, I never taught him any magic.

Because he didn’t need it.

He seemed somewhat confused about this, but still, during our final battle, he performed for me to show his growth.

That was the Owen I knew.

[He learned necromancy?]

The Dark Spiritmaster responded with surprise as we sat around the campfire. She wore an expression that suggested she didn’t know whether to be happy or concerned about this.

[Why would he do such a thing?]

Stella, on the contrary, clearly understood the current situation.

Owen Baltani had no need for necromancy. Some might argue that it wouldn’t hurt for him to be able to use it, but in reality, it would only cause him harm.

“There must be some reason.”

He wouldn’t have gone against my teachings and pursued necromancy without cause.

“Is he still unable to recognize his own talent and ability?”

Necromancers are abundant across the continent. Of course, their numbers are fewer than ordinary mages.

But Owen is different.

Some might say, what’s so special about merely comforting the dead with music? Isn’t that inferior to necromancers who manipulate souls?

I can’t say that’s entirely wrong, but…

That’s precisely what made Owen Baltani unique.

A musician who comforts souls, emerging from Griffin Kingdom, a land that rejects Black Mages.

Unlike me, the first Spiritmaster, his inability to manipulate souls was actually Owen’s greatest strength, incomparable to anyone else.

That’s why I chose him as my successor. If I had wanted a Black Mage as my successor, I wouldn’t have insisted on Owen.

“You two were with the kid while we were away.”

Findenai, who was leaning against the carriage some distance away smoking, questioned Stella and the Dark Spiritmaster accusingly.

They were the ones who spent time with Owen and taught him various things while I was away.

Stella, seemingly feeling responsible, answered with a gloomy expression.

[Even then, Owen was confused about his identity. Why he wasn’t being taught necromancy.]

[But he had found his own answer! We didn’t tell him directly, just gave him hints!]

“Yes, I know.”

I wasn’t trying to blame Stella and the Dark Spiritmaster. After all, Owen had found his own answer.

But now that answer had been shaken.

‘Something must have happened.’

I don’t know what it is.

I was already planning to meet Owen, but it seems I need to go sooner than expected.

* * *

“When is Shinwoo oppa coming!”

“Waaah! I’m dying! I’m dying without oppa!”

Erika Bright, who had come to Greyford for the Grand Mage examination, was in a room provided by the royal family for her comfort, but she couldn’t relax at all.

“Ah! I should have just gone with him! Should have forced my way!”

“It’s winter break, and we listened to the professor for nothing!”

“……”

The two girls, freed from the shackles of the Academy during winter break.

Shinwoo Kim had brought Elenoa and Aria to Greyford to avoid exhaustion, but ironically, they were exhausting Erika.

“Both of you, please leave.”

Erika spoke to the two who were restlessly moving about in her room, but they didn’t budge from her bed.

They weren’t bothering Erika without reason, though.

“When Shinwoo oppa comes, he’ll definitely look for Erika first, so we’re staying here.”

“……”

Surprisingly clever.

But Elenoa’s assertion that Shinwoo would definitely come looking for her first when he arrived in Greyford didn’t displease Erika.

“Ahem.”

Erika cleared her throat and said nothing more to the two.

“But he really is late. Hasn’t it been a while since he left Norsweden?”

Aria muttered while popping a snack into her mouth from somewhere. Elenoa reached out to steal her snack but couldn’t match Aria’s reflexes.

‘That’s true.’

Whether they fought over snacks or not.

Erika pondered Aria’s words.

She wasn’t wrong.

She had heard that Shinwoo had departed from Norsweden, and by now he should have arrived with time to spare.

While Norsweden itself was far from Greyford, Shinwoo’s magically-powered carriage couldn’t be measured by normal speeds.

‘Is he stopping somewhere on the way?’

Erika hoped he would come as soon as possible.

Partly because she missed him, but also for Owen, who was undergoing various trials to become a Spiritmaster.

The boy’s complexion had noticeably deteriorated recently.

She wondered if there was anything she could do to help, but Owen seemed to be putting up a wall, and the timing never seemed right to approach him.

As a Grand Mage candidate, she wasn’t supposed to meet casually with someone like a Spiritmaster candidate.

It could start unnecessary rumors.

So personally, Erika wished Aria and Elenoa would go check on him, but…

“Come on, give me some! Are you really that stingy with just one snack?!”

“Buy your own! What kind of princess steals commoners’ snacks?!”

“I love it! I really do! Actually, stealing your food tastes the best! I love taking things from someone who has so little!”

“You crazy girl! If oppa knew about this, he’d be horrified!”

“No way! No way! Shinwoo oppa would just sigh, cross his arms, and sexily scold me saying, ‘Haa, take it easy, Elenoa.'”

“Oh? You’re pretty good at imitating him.”

“Right? I practiced in front of a mirror.”

“Can you do others too?”

“Ahem.”

Elenoa cleared her throat, lowered her eyes with a serious expression, and whispered softly.

“I am a necromancer.”

“Oh! Ohhh! Princess! Do another one!”

“I will listen to your story.”

“Amazing!”

Erika shook her head as she watched the two immediately offering snacks and continuing their Shinwoo impersonations.

Owen was likely already sensitive enough, and if these two went to him, it was obvious what they would say.

They would probably just intimidate him by telling him not to bother Shinwoo and to keep to himself.

“I love you, Elenoa.”

“Wait, the voice is completely different, but that unique tone and atmosphere is there?”

“I’m talented in many ways, you know.”

“Say you love me too, using my name!”

“Aria, you fool.”

“This girl……”

Erika simply turned away, pretending not to see the two starting to quarrel again on the bed.

* * *

“Well done. You provided excellent comfort for those who fell to the epidemic this time.”

“Thank you.”

While Aria and Elenoa were rolling around in Erika’s room impersonating Shinwoo Kim…

Owen Baltani, undergoing trials to become the second Spiritmaster, bowed his head to the bishop before him.

Since the position of Spiritmaster was related to souls, and the religious community had been so severely burned by the first Spiritmaster, they were determined to have a say in the important matter of selecting the next Spiritmaster.

As a result, Owen was now solving tests posed by bishops and addressing soul-related incidents occurring in various regions.

The once small boy had grown considerably over time and now had the appearance of a young man.

Though he had matured physically through his growth spurt…

His shoulders were slumped, his skin had dark spots, and he had lost weight.

He was a completely different person from the Owen Baltani of old.

“Then I’ll give you the next trial in a few days. You’re truly close to becoming the Spiritmaster now.”

Owen bowed his head again to the chuckling bishops and departed.

Outside, the current Saintess Lucia was waiting for him.

“Owen, let’s talk for a moment.”

“Saintess…”

Lucia spoke to him with genuine concern.

“Your face has become very gaunt. You’re pushing yourself too hard right now.”

“……”

“You don’t need to take these tests from the bishops. King Orpheus himself clearly stated that the bishops have no decision-making power in this matter.”

While it was true that Owen needed to be tested to become the Spiritmaster, the royal family had already decided that he didn’t need to be at the bishops’ mercy.

“But the Spiritmaster faced all the bishops head-on.”

The boy named Owen refused to back down and was engaged in a battle of nerves with the bishops.

“The Spiritmaster never avoided anyone. He moved forward proudly and firmly. I must follow in his footsteps. He entrusted me with a role.”

“Ah, Owen…”

“I’ll take my leave now. As you said, I’m tired and need some rest.”

With those words, Owen left the temple.

Lucia could only wistfully watch the back of the boy who had grown taller but was still a child.

She understood his concerns all too well, and his feelings were completely comprehensible.

When your predecessor’s halo shines too brightly to even look at, it can only be a burden for the successor.

As Lucia had become the Saintess after Stella, she fully understood those feelings.

“Ah, Deus.”

Because the path he had walked was so dazzling, the boy named Owen Baltani appeared all the darker in comparison.