Chapter 47 : Side Story – The Girl Finding Her Way

That day, Teperi’s discovery of the cave was both accidental and yet, not accidental at all.

‘There’s a cave in a place like this.’

It wasn’t a path people usually frequented, but it wasn’t a place she had never passed by either.

It was quite surprising that the mischievous neighborhood kids hadn’t found such an excellent hiding spot.

The entrance was narrow and almost buried in the ground, but the space inside seemed quite large, as the interior wasn’t fully visible.

Maybe it was a place where they had built a secret base just for themselves.

‘Should I go inside?’

She had plenty of time anyway.

The quiet but incredibly boring country life had further nurtured her already active curiosity.

Teperi slipped inside without much hesitation.

‘Is this really a cave?’

She felt a sense of wonder right from the entrance of the cave.

The cave, which she thought would be about the size of a shed at most, was excessively deep.

As it grew darker, luminous jewels embedded in the walls appeared.

Stairs led deeper and deeper down.

Setting aside the fact that expensive luminous jewels were in such a secluded place, the smoothly carved stone stairs were definitely not

something village kids could have made.

Could this possibly be the place called a dungeon she had only heard about?

She had occasionally heard local adventurers who returned home talk about them while drinking.

Perilous traps and monsters swarming from all directions.

Places called tombs of darkness and treasure.

The emotion of fear, hidden behind curiosity, began to creep up.

If she were to get hurt and collapse here, who would come to save her?

In a place already devoid of people, there would likely be no one to hear her underground and come looking.

Teperi had unfortunately been born mute.

Although it was fine now that she had grown up a bit, she used to be bullied a lot because of it.

If not for her inherently kind nature, she surely would have become warped.

‘What should I do?’

After hesitating and pondering for a moment, Teperi slapped her own cheeks with her palms and started descending again.

This was because it wasn’t even certain it was a dungeon, and she figured she could just run away without hesitation if it seemed dangerous.

If she got scared and ran away without knowing anything for sure, she would become a laughingstock.

Her body was light, and she was a fast runner too.

Her innate adventurous spirit also played a part.

After walking for some time, the end of the stairs came into view.

At the end was a huge room made of crystal.

The crystals, smooth as glass and sparkling like jewels, reflected the light from the numerous luminous jewels on the walls, brightly

illuminating the room.

Awestruck by the sight, Teperi marveled at the beauty of the colorful lights.

Even the fireworks she had seen only once in her life hadn’t brought such a sensation.

Once she calmed down somewhat, her surroundings came into focus.

She had already realized while descending the deep stairs that this was no ordinary cave.

A clean room without a single bug or bat.

Statues erected here and there.

A dark blue crystal cave room.

In its center sat an octagonal altar.

It was where the light from the countless luminous jewels, reflected by the crystals, finally converged.

‘What’s that?’

Teperi scurried closer like a squirrel.

The altar was densely covered with characters she couldn’t read.

Although she knew nothing about magic, seeing the various symbols and squiggly letters reminded her of the script called Rune language,

said to be necessary for using magic.

Part of the reason she thought so was because she couldn’t read the letters herself.

‘Can I touch it?’

Stories of fairy tale protagonists suddenly came to mind.

Mystical experiences encountered in hidden temples or cliff crevices.

Tales that made one’s heart pound just hearing them were things girls her age always dreamed of.

‘Alright.’

Of course, placing her hand on it didn’t cause anything special to happen.

Since nothing dangerous occurred, Teperi grew a bit bolder, tapping the altar and walking around it a few times, but nothing changed.

‘What? It’s nothing special.’

She felt a little deflated.

She hadn’t actually expected much, but it was true she felt slightly let down.

It was when, overcome with disappointment, she plonked her butt down and sat perched on the altar.

Rumble!

The cave began to vibrate violently, and the luminous jewels, which had been emitting a soft glow like moonlight just moments before,

suddenly started brightening.

Shining like the scorching sun, the luminous jewels grew ever brighter, filling the room with light.

It was already bright, but with the added light reflecting off the surrounding crystals, she couldn’t possibly keep her eyes open.

‘what do I do?’

Her plan to run away at the slightest hint of danger had long since vanished due to the overwhelming light.

Determined to crawl up the stairs if necessary, she got off the altar and crawled awkwardly, fumbling around.

Just then, a refreshing breeze blew from somewhere within the cave.

Despite it being a cave seemingly sealed on all sides, a gentle breeze blew, enveloping Teperi’s body.

What came from her was clearly not a voice.

Yet, she could hear it distinctly.

Emotion-filled telepathy flowed out like words according to her will.

That was how Teperi obtained the Mystic ‘Emotioner’.

That should have been the end of it for the day.

If this had followed the original story.

[ why isn’t it ending?]

No matter how long she waited, the vibrations shaking the cave showed no sign of stopping.

The trembling, vibrating luminous jewels finally shattered, shooting one last beam of light towards the altar.

The lights gathered together, forming a single cluster of light.

As the luminous jewels broke, the vibrations ceased as if they had never happened.

Fortunately, the brightness dimmed enough for her to open her eyes, but the cluster of light hovered in the air like a will-o’-wisp, flickering.

The characters inscribed on the altar lit up sequentially, each forming its own pattern.

[I-I have to get out now.]

Now that the vibrations had stopped was her chance.

Teperi swallowed hard and took a step back.

It was then.

The cluster of light poured into Teperi’s head before she had a chance to avoid it.

She felt a splitting pain in her head.

Unable to bear it all, Teperi collapsed onto the floor and fainted.

Just before she collapsed and lost consciousness, she heard a voice from somewhere.

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn’t inside the cave.

It was the grassy field just before she entered.

The entrance to the cave was already gone without a trace.

Teperi, who opened her previously closed eyes, was a different person than before.

Memories.

Six years’ worth of memories were injected into her mind.

The one special thing was that they weren’t memories of the past, but memories of the future yet to happen.

‘Oh my god…’

It was too vivid to dismiss as a dream.

Although there were many fragmented parts, they were definitely events from the impending future.

Going to the academy, learning magic, having various experiences, fighting demons…

She couldn’t believe all of this was going to happen to her.

It was too vast and grim a future for a mere country girl to imagine.

Her head throbbed from the countless memories that had flooded in all at once.

After that day, her life changed completely.

Because the mute girl could suddenly communicate.

Also, as if struck by a whim, she began studying magic.

Her magic improved at a very fast pace.

Because they were things she had already experienced once.

However, she kept the future memories carefully hidden.

Not only was it unlikely others would believe her, but it was also an excessively grim future.

Within the memories that felt like recollections of the past, she remembered one person.

It wasn’t her childhood friend Riitz, nor Pontego who had liked her.

Trea Ludveck.

The person who would criticize and interfere with her every time they met.

Arrogant, always thinking she was right, engaging in political maneuvers, and obstructing her at every turn.

Someone who knew nothing about magic yet always acted confident.

The only person who disliked her, who had always been loved, right until the very end.

The person who wished for everyone to survive but ended up being gang-raped and becoming prey for demonic beasts.

“Please believe me! If you listen to me, we can save everyone!”

After the demon invasion, the academy was largely divided into two opinions.

The opinion that, as academy students, they should save everyone, and the opinion that they should act as strategically as possible and save

only those they could.

Sadly, the possibility of the former happening was objectively slim.

The lives of all humanity were at stake.

Regrettably, they had to think realistically about possibilities rather than hopeful thoughts, and Teperi also agreed with that opinion.

However, Trea seemed to truly believe she could save everyone.

With some unknown confidence, she kept shouting for people to believe her.

But more and more people turned their backs on her.

Because in terms of combat ability alone, she was terrible.

Politics, after all, arise when interests align.

What was needed in a chaotic era was not a schemer, but someone with power.

In the end, she fought the demons alongside a very small number of people and died.

Horribly.

Her screams did not reach where Teperi was.

A week later, seeing her corpse, Teperi grieved.

Although she was someone Teperi didn’t get along with at all, and though she looked down on others, her desire to protect was genuine.

So she cried.

Holding the defiled corpse that lacked limbs.

She suddenly remembered what Trea had said right before going out to fight.

Trea looked down on everyone with her usual cold eyes.

“Do you wish for me to give up? Wake up, commoner. This is the rightful duty of a noble.”

She doesn’t remember anything after that.

The memory was blank, as if someone had cut it out.

But she knew very well that this memory was real.

And one more thing.

The voice she heard just before fainting.

“Protect the world from those who possess the Blue Spear.”

The Blue Spear, it was a type of Mystic passed down in legends.

A Mystic that allows one to learn magic just by seeing it once, and gain power or knowledge by touching the air a few times.

A Mystic so incredible it could look down on Teperi’s own talent.

It was an antiquated term found only in old books, a word even she had only stumbled upon by chance in the library.

The voice told her to protect the world.

Was the owner of the voice a god?

If so, is this a prophecy?

Are those with the Blue Spear trying to destroy the world?

She didn’t know for sure.

In fact, she knew nothing at all.

But Teperi decided.

To protect the world, and her.

She would act.

Outwardly, like an innocent girl from the countryside.

So that no one would notice.

She would play the part of a lovely girl who knew nothing and giggle sweetly.

Fortunately, she had a talent for acting.

But she would protect.

So that she would never meet such an end again.

‘What is this?’

Trea, whom she met again after two years, had become slightly different from the person in her memories.

The aura she felt outwardly was different from the past when they first met.

Her previously pathetic amount of magical power had greatly increased, and her magic skills were comparable to, no, even greater than her

own.

‘Did something change because I returned? Did I disrupt the future I know?’

The future tends to change even due to truly insignificant things.

She had already experienced such things several times in the past two years.

She decided to greet her first.

To see if this was the Trea Ludveck she knew.

‘What if she had become some insignificant person I didn’t recognize?’

[May I sit next to you?]

Teperi first hid her emotions and poked her back with a smile.

Telepathy filled with utmost kindness.

Everyone would surely smile and welcome her.

Trea slowly turned around and looked at Teperi with her red eyes.

“Teperi?”

She muttered, looking at the name tag with narrowed eyes.

While she examined the name tag, Teperi looked at Trea.

‘Somehow, she seems different from the person I knew.’

Fortunately, that seemed to be a misconception.

“And you, are you mute? I can’t hear you properly.”

Trea said with a cold smile.

That sharp tone was definitely characteristic of her.

[O-okay. I’ll be going then.]

Teperi covered her mouth and quickly ran off.

Finally, finally, she had met her again.

Perhaps because she had thought only of her for two years, her heart strangely pounded.

[What should I do, I think I’m falling for her.]

During the four years of academy life in her memories, she had learned various emotions.

This was definitely a heart-pounding emotion.

A feeling she hadn’t felt from anyone else.

Trea had always been a cool person, confident and charismatic.

Even her appearance.

Somehow, along with her chest, her lower body also felt hot.

There was no girl who knew nothing.

During the four years spent at the academy in her memories, she too had learned what there was to learn.

She wasn’t particularly fond of men, but she surprisingly had a strong libido.

‘It would be okay to touch her a little, just a tiny bit, right?’

[This time, you…]

I will protect you.

I will have you.

The two phrases lingered in her mouth.

It’s fortunate she’s still the villainess noble daughter.