Ch.55The Witch of Lament (3)

Twenty years in the Subspace of Sighs.

Alreina had now reached the level where she could easily slaughter dragons.

Anyone who does one thing for 20 years would reach the level of a master, especially Alreina, the protagonist of the original story.

Using the piled-up dragon corpses as stairs, Alreina descended, dusting herself off as she returned to Eonel City.

“Thank you for your hard work, Hero!”

The soldiers guarding the city’s outer gate greeted her.

“Those creatures never seem to get tired of it. They keep coming back despite being defeated every time.”

“I know. They should have given up by now.”

Alreina responded casually as she entered the city.

Eonel City. This was the base where Alreina had been training during this “season.”

Over the past 20 years, the world of the subspace had changed five times.

Each world consisted of completely different natural environments and civilizations. During the five changes that occurred every four years, Alreina had mastered various techniques and increased her combat power.

“Welcome, Hero. I just finished baking bread.”

After buying a few loaves from the bakery, Alreina entered the inn where she had been staying for four years now.

After washing up, Alreina sat on the bed in her underwear, tearing off pieces of bread while lost in thought.

It’s been four years here already. Time to move on to a new world.

What would the next world be like?

Could there be a world even more troublesome than one where dozens of dragons appear every day?

Getting attached and then leaving, getting attached and then leaving again—this really isn’t a good way to live.

Alreina thought this while listening to the noise from the street.

But to think that a single magician could create five such vivid worlds.

That means what that female magician said before I entered this place—

That reality is a world created by someone and that I am the protagonist of that world—might actually make sense.

Even now, Alreina sometimes found it difficult to distinguish whether this was the Subspace of Sighs or reality.

When she asked others out of curiosity, they treated her like she was crazy.

The fictional characters in this world all firmly believe this is undeniable reality.

Perhaps the outside world that I believe is real might also be a virtual reality created by some genius.

If so, who is that man who sees everything happening in the world?

A god who created the world? A returner from the future?

That must be it. Otherwise, how could the owner of the potion shop in Starting Village know such things?

Then the walkthrough I have isn’t just a guide but a book of prophecies or a grimoire containing the world’s secrets.

If I meet that man again, I should ask him. Who he is, and why he chose me.

For that, I need to finish my training and leave this Subspace of Sighs.

But when will I be able to leave? Isn’t being able to kill a dragon with a single sword strike enough?

And when I go outside, will I be able to return to my original form?

Alreina sighed as she stood in front of the full-length mirror mounted on the wall of her room.

If I return in this body, that man definitely won’t recognize me.

If I go back as I am now, Alreina would be in her mid-thirties.

I don’t know how old that man is, but he seems to be in his twenties, which would make me his noona.

I don’t want that…

“Perhaps he would prefer that appearance?”

Turning around, Alreina saw the female magician smiling at her.

“Oh? Did you come in here?”

“No, you came out.”

“What…?”

Alreina, feeling slightly dazed, slowly looked around.

The crackling fireplace with toad decorations, the small and cozy interior.

And the cottage chair where Alreina had been sitting 20 years ago.

“Sigh, I should just die…”

The Witch of Sighs’ lament came from the other room.

What’s going on…? Am I back? Without any warning?

Looking down, she saw her leather armor instead of the underwear from before.

Her height and body were the same. It was her body from 20 years ago, or rather, 20 seconds ago.

“Thank goodness.”

The female magician smiled as Alreina sighed with relief.

“How was it there?”

“Not bad. It was difficult, but I think I’ve reached the level I wanted.”

“That’s good. Now you need to leave again, right?”

“Already…?”

Although she had spent 20 years in the subspace, in reality, it hadn’t even been thirty minutes since she entered the cottage.

It was a sudden farewell, but there was no reason for Alreina to stay longer.

“What can I do? I’d like to have a meal together, but because of my mother…”

“Sigh… I don’t even know how many years I’ve been starving…”

Hearing the Witch of Sighs lamenting, Alreina quickly came to her senses and bowed deeply.

“It’s fine. I’m already extremely grateful for you opening the subspace for me.”

“Wait a moment. Can you open your bag?”

When Alreina opened her bag, food items like bread and cheese that were good for traveling flew in from the kitchen and into her bag.

“It takes time to leave the forest, so eat these if you get hungry on the way.”

“Thank you… I’m sorry for only receiving things.”

“Creating a subspace is nothing, and giving food is no big deal either. We won’t see each other again anyway, so don’t feel burdened.”

“We won’t see each other again?”

“Why would we? You should go your own way. I’ll stay cooped up in this forest with my mother, doing boring magical research.”

“Sigh… magic or whatever, I should just die…”

As the female magician moved her finger, the toad statue by the fireplace suddenly jumped forward.

“Eek?!”

“Follow that. It will guide you to the path out of the forest.”

The tip of the long tongue that came out of the toad’s mouth glowed brightly, like a lantern.

“Goodbye. I can’t see you off. Actually, my mother was making a fuss about food before you came out. So, goodbye, little one.”

“Sigh… I’d rather starve to death…”

“Alright, Mother. I’ll prepare the food now.”

As the female magician went to the kitchen, the toad pushed Alreina’s leg with its body and went out the door.

“Ah, wait! Thank you! I will never forget this kindness!”

“Finish your task and live happily with that man.”

“I will! Thank you!”

Stepping outside the cottage, Alreina was once again enveloped by the eerie energy of the remote forest.

However, it wasn’t the same feeling as when she first entered the forest.

The bright light coming from the tip of the tongue of the waddling toad statue a few steps ahead.

It felt like that light was driving away all the bad things around.

Looking back, the cottage was barely visible behind the large trees, rocks, and moss.

Yes, Alreina. It’s time to go again.

I’ve become strong enough over these 20 years, so let’s move forward again!

And someday, I’ll return to that man!

* * * * *

After the imperial magician left, we waited eagerly for the royal palace’s evaluation team to arrive.

However, two weeks passed without any news.

Could it be that the imperial magician ignored my request and left? That can’t be.

Although magicians are arrogant, they aren’t inherently bad people.

I made another original copy just in case, but it would take too long to transport it by land…

While I was considering whether to send Liberone again, knights who were patrolling the village rushed to the hall.

“Brother Jack! Someone has arrived!”

“Who?”

“Someone from Odelin City has come to see the administrator.”

“Odelin City? Suddenly? How many people came?”

“Ten people, but including the guards, it’s essentially just one person.”

One official from Odelin City accompanied by nine guards.

No matter how I think about it, there’s no reason for anyone from Odelin City to visit our village.

I looked at the administrator, but he just scratched his head with a puzzled expression.

“Administrator, is it inspection season?”

“No… the regular inspection is after the autumn harvest…”

“Then a special inspection? No, that wouldn’t happen either. Didn’t we send a simplified document about our city promotion?”

“We did…”

“What could it be? Let’s welcome them first.”

As I was getting up, the hall door opened and a young man entered.

“Hello. Are you the administrator?”

He immediately extended his hand to me, but I pointed to the side and said,

“This person here is the administrator. I’m the deputy administrator.”

“Ah, I see. Nice to meet you, Administrator. I’m the deputy mayor of Odelin City.”

“I’m Bellamy, the administrator of Starting Village.”

I expected the administrator to hide behind me in shock at the mention of deputy mayor, but instead, he stood straight and shook hands.

Now that I look at him, the administrator is quite tall.

But why on earth has the deputy mayor of Odelin come all the way here?

“I’ve heard about it. Regarding Starting Village’s application for city promotion.”

After looking at the administrator’s appearance, the man turned his gaze back to me and spoke.

“I see. That’s right. We can’t continue to live in a village, enduring inconveniences forever.”

“Very true. However, there’s a procedural issue.”

“What kind of issue? You’re not going to say we needed separate approval from Odelin City, which has administrative control, are you?”

The deputy mayor smiled.

“You sent the application directly to the royal palace. That’s problematic.”

“According to the royal administrative regulations, there’s no need to obtain separate approval from the city with administrative control when applying for promotion. That’s because if a village becomes independent as a city, the benefits gained from administrative control would decrease, so they would never approve it.”

“Since we’re talking about regulations, I should mention that I’m a graduate of the Imperial Public Service. There’s probably no one who knows the regulations better than I do. Being in such a small village, you seem unaware…”

“Excuse me… which class are you…?”

The administrator, who had been silent, asked, and the deputy mayor proudly puffed out his chest and answered.

“I’m the top graduate of the 65th Imperial Central Administrative Examination, Administrator. That’s why I’ve risen to deputy mayor at such a young age. Ah, of course, you don’t need to feel too intimidated. I’m not trying to scare you…”

“Kids these days… don’t even bother to check up on their seniors…”

“Pardon?”

“I’m from the 61st class…”

“What…?”