Chapter 75 – The Forbidden Archive

The demons are targeting Stella.

Then, was the attempted kidnapping before the entrance ceremony also carried out under the demons’ orders?

But the timing is off.

If they were targeting Stella, they should have been after her much earlier.

Even before she met me.

She was that airheaded, gullible, and dangerously carefree girl who had been wandering around Gevihennum before.

If they had targeted Stella then, there would have been no issue. So why now?

It’s not as if Stella has come of age.

Although she’s always saying she’s a genius, her talents haven’t fully bloomed yet.

She’s still rather inept due to her lack of a proper master.

She also has no money and seems to be a bit lacking in common sense.

So, they saw some kind of potential in Stella that I haven’t? What kind of crazy person could do that?

When I asked Sarah to look into it, she said that there were many direct descendants of the Verheigen family aside from Stella.

Three direct relatives above her.

Although they have large age gaps, the three are exceptionally talented.

The eldest son of the Verheigen family is a grand mage who reached the 7th Circle at the age of 32.

The second daughter, aged 27, is a 6th Circle mage.

And the third son, who is the same age as the second daughter, is a 5th tier knight.

And the youngest, Stella, is a 3rd Circle mage.

The least talented of them all.

Of course, according to what’s known, she is the youngest 3rd Circle mage and she’ll reach the 4th Circle soon.

But she’s not the kind of genius that would shock the world.

Kaloso was a 6th circle mage at 17.

So why are they targeting her?

Is it some kind of potential that only magic users can see?

If so… it might have something to do with Stella leaving her family and acting like a homeless person.

Is the family itself working with the demons and planning on handing Stella over to them?

“…It’s too soon to be sure.”

I cut off my endless chain of thoughts and closed the book.

First, I had stored the information about the Legion Commanders in my head.

And with that, the suspicion that Stella was in danger, and that the Verheigen Marquisate might be working with the demons had grown stronger than ever.

But even so, I didn’t have time to spend too much on just one topic.

I needed to extract more information.

I roughly organized the information that was cluttering my mind, and opened the next book.

[Return of the Battle God.]

It was unbelievably thick.

It was as if they recorded everything Arisa did after returning to the empire.

Judging from its thickness, it felt like Arisa herself must have agreed to have it recorded.

If only I had a book like that…

Tch, I clicked my tongue and began reading quickly.

As Fabiana had said, Arisa returned with all of my weapons. But, there was a one year gap after the sealing of the Demon King.

She probably didn’t spend her time at the World Tree. Sparkle had said she had only stayed there for a week.

Then what did she do during that time?

Even if she had walked back, it wouldn’t take a year.

I read the next page with those questions in mind.

“…Hmm.”

It seems she did a lot after her return.

She stayed at an inn in the capital that we used to visit, before storming the imperial palace to claim the title of a duchess, and then securing the land that is now known as the Duchy of Eustetia.

And then, she built the Heavenly Sakura Palace in the Duchy of Eustetia, killed all the monsters around it, and welcomed her new citizens.

She also sprinkled some elixirs that were left over on the land to make it fertile, and planted cherry blossom trees.

Then, she returned to the capital and built an orphanage, a casino, and a library.

Heavenly Sakura Palace, an orphanage, a casino, and a library.

At first glance, they seem random and impulsive, but that’s not true.

Building a massive palace instead of a mansion for herself was something Arisa had always wanted to do.

The orphanage was for Paulo.

The casino was for Luna.

The library was for Kaloso.

And Arisa made all of that happen.

It wasn’t just through brute force.

She used her position, her achievements, and the blank-check-like agreements she obtained from the Emperor after defeating the Legion Commanders.

And it wasn’t even reckless.

Looking at the details, she was exceptionally good at politics.

Arisa Eustetia… how?

That woman’s mind is as empty as a flower field.

So innocent that it was almost crazy.

Yet, to have accomplished all of that, while being aware of all the political aspects, is unbelievable.

I don’t think that Arisa was pretending to be dumb. Because it wasn’t acting dumb, it was 100% genuine idiocy.

Just what is it?

Why does it feel like she’s smarter than me…?

Even though I’ve studied the duties of a noble… I couldn’t handle the work, but how did she do it?

Was this a made-up fairytale? No, it’s too much to be called a mix of truth and fiction, it may be 100% fiction.

The Arisa that I know was…

“…Hmm…”

…Still someone who got things done when it mattered.

I clicked my tongue at the feeling of defeat.

After building all of the places that her comrades had mentioned, her behavior was nothing short of what you’d expect of an incredible duchess.

Reviving the economy of the empire, boosting public sentiment, increasing the imperial family’s power, improving the Holy Kingdom’s image.

Whether it was a neighboring kingdom or any other country, she smoothed the relationship with all of them.

In some ways, she was better at politics than the emperor.

At this point, I didn’t want to read anymore…

I didn’t want to read any more texts praising Arisa, that was something I could find in those stupid fairytales.

I quickly skimmed through the pages, not bothering to remember anything that didn’t catch my eye.

Then, I found the word I was looking for.

[Arisa Eustetia took on a disciple.]

[The identity and the appearance of the girl who was chosen as her disciple are unknown even to the Empire.]

[However, according to the rumors, she looked a bit like Arisa Eustetia.]

[It was said that she had pink hair.]

“…A disciple.”

A hidden identity and appearance.

Pink hair.

All the missing pieces had finally fallen into place.

A disciple with pink hair.

After taking on that disciple, and once that disciple reached a certain level, Arisa disappeared.

And then.

A changing of the generations.

The Emperor, the nobles, and even Eustetia.

After Arisa’s disappearance, everything changed.

That’s when those stupid fairytale books and novels were published. When the play about Arisa was made, and when the story of Arisa was sung by countless minstrels.

“…Hah.”

I looked at the pink hair in my field of vision. It was the same color as the beautifully blooming cherry blossoms, the color of spring, the color that that girl said she loved.

I touched, rubbed, and clenched my fingers.

It was the same color, but it was different.

It wasn’t Arisa’s color.

I am,

We are,

Not the descendants of Arisa Eustetia.

The current Eustetia family doesn’t share even a single drop of her blood.

The worried expression my father had kept coming back into my mind.

I remembered what my father had said before I came to the academy.

I remembered what he would always say.

‘Ellie, you are Eustetia’s cherry blossom.’

‘You are Eustetia.’

‘No matter what anyone says, you are Eustetia.’

The expression he had made every time he said that. A pitiful, aching smile.

Father had known all along.

Then why did he hide it? Because he was worried I’d get hurt? Because he was worried it would discourage me?

“…Really.”

Just how much did he care for me?

A bitter smile spread across my face.

Perhaps, this smile was the same as the one my father had always worn.

I let out a hollow laugh and turned to the final page.

There, only a short sentence was written.

[After that, Arisa Eustetia left the empire and went on a journey.]

[Her exact destination was unknown, but she had left behind some vague words before leaving.]

[She said she was going to keep a promise.]

I closed the book.

For a moment, I closed my eyes and thought of Arisa.

With what kind of face did she build the Heavenly Sakura Palace? What feelings did she have when building the orphanage? What was she thinking as she created the casino? And what was she feeling as she opened the library?

“…She wouldn’t have been smiling.”

Descendants not by blood, but by bond.

A child she had taken in as a disciple.

Why did she do all of that?

And why was I born from such an unusual relationship?

It wasn’t a coincidence.

Paulo, Luna, Arisa, Kaloso.

Those four, and Yurpia… or maybe the Demon King.

Whoever the other party was, my comrades must have made some kind of contract.

A peace treaty with the Demon King? That’s nonsense.

Anyone who has met the Demon King would know that’s a load of bull.

The Demon King is not someone who would make a peace treaty.

So, this must be a contract.

A contract made under certain conditions.

…Hoping to find a clue to that contract.

I turned the cover of [The Demon King’s Sealing.]

It was more of a document than a book in terms of thickness.

Of course, there was a thick cover for protection, but the content itself was very short.

It was about 10 pages.

And even those pages weren’t densely written but spaced out for readability. A personal manuscript.

Judging by the first sentence, it seems to be about events that happened after my death.

And.

I recognize this handwriting.

[Ronan is dead.]

[Ronan died in Arisa’s place, to protect her.]

Luna.

Luna Secrid Pranensia.

She had handwritten the document herself.

[Even so, we couldn’t afford to stop.]

[We had to kill the Demon King.]

[That’s why we’ve come this far, that’s why Ronan sacrificed himself, and that’s why we’ve made a mountain of corpses.]

[So, we pushed forward.]

[Building Ronan’s grave was delayed until after we killed the Demon King.]

[I feel sorry, but that idiot Ronan would have been fine with it.]

[If he was upset about it, he shouldn’t have gone and died by himself.]

[And, Ronan would hate being buried here. If he knew we built a grave in the Demon Realm, he’d jump right out.]

[So should we build his grave in front of the Demon King’s castle?]

“…Heh.”

She wrote her personal thoughts in a document intended to share information.

But… something felt off.

There was a gap between the information.

It wasn’t spaced out for readability, but intentionally removed.

The erased parts were all about Kaloso.

All the information about Kaloso had been erased.

Was the person who erased it… Arisa, who had brought this to the empire?

Why?

Before I could think of an answer, the sentence on the next page wiped all my scattered thoughts away.

[We were defeated.]