episode_0013

Regina Strellachia’s hand, despite its pale appearance, was quite warm and soft.

I carefully helped Regina up. I wiped her tear-stained face and held her hand until the trembling in her legs subsided.

“Now, are you feeling better, Regina?”

“Uh, th-that, Cyan…sir.”

“Yes?”

“You…you can speak more comfortably…”

Regina spoke with a voice still trembling. From her voice, I could sense lingering unease.

So, I cautiously replied to avoid triggering Regina’s trauma.

“Hmm? Oh, I’m just more comfortable using formal language…”

“We’re…we’re friends, right?”

“Of course. Since Regina and I share our own secrets, don’t you think so too, Regina?”

“Yes, yes! But, those…friends usually address each other casually, but Cyan, sir, you…don’t call me that way…?”

“Ah.”

Only then did I understand why Regina was anxious.

In the shattered heart of a girl destroyed by endless cycles, stained with numerous betrayals and disappointments.

Regina seemed to need something firm to hold onto. So, I asked with a friendlier tone.

“Would it be okay if I called you Regina?”

“Oh, yes…! Thank you so much…!”

“Don’t mention it. Compared to what you’ve been through, this is nothing.”

Saying that, we approached the entrance to the safe zone.

As we neared, a foul stench filled the air. Amidst the pungent odor wafting around, there was a mix of malevolent creatures’ enmity.

“Ugh…”

The dense magic inside made my body tremble involuntarily. The potent magic surrounded us as if threatening to devour us once we entered.

“Ready?”

“Yes. Of course, I am.”

“Then let’s go.”

However, merely that wouldn’t stop us. I was already a seasoned adventurer who had experienced countless battles, and Regina had toughened up in such situations.

With a calm voice, I asked Regina,

“Regina, have you been here before?”

“Oh, no…this is my first time here too. I didn’t even know there was a dungeon here…how did you find out about the dungeon, Cyan?”

“…I found out at the library. There was a book about the war five hundred years ago among the history books there.”

Of course, that book was one that couldn’t be obtained through conventional means.

To unlock the [Ancient Lich’s Tomb] dungeon, we had to complete the hidden quest [Legacy of an Archaeologist] first.

“As I mentioned, I said I came from another world.”

“Yes.”

“So, I wanted to learn more about the history of the Arcana continent. While flipping through history books, something fell out from between old books, you see?”

Slowly, I explained the contents of the [Legacy of an Archaeologist] quest to Regina, omitting the fact that this was a game world and excluding the protagonist’s existence.

“I see…I’ve lived 998 lives, but I’ve never experienced anything like this. Perhaps you really are a special being, Cyan…?”

Muttering to herself softly, Regina, holding the hilt of her longsword tightly, exclaimed confidently.

“D-don’t worry…! If strange things appear, I’ll take care of them all!”

“Thank you. Can I trust only you, Regina?”

“Yes, yes…!”

.

.

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If skeletons were the main monsters in the 30-level [Ancient Lich’s Tomb], then in the 55-level [Ancient Lich’s Mausoleum], the primary mob was the Death Knight.

Skeletons were lower-level mobs made from ordinary soldiers’ corpses, but Death Knights were high-level monsters crafted from knights’ corpses at level 45.

Therefore, to an ordinary first-year academy student, the Death Knights were disasters in and of themselves.

…That would certainly be the case.

I turned towards Regina after cutting down the Death Knight with a sword imbued with magic. While I was dealing with one Death Knight, the girl had already surpassed five.

A light friction sound, followed by the inevitable collapse of the Death Knight. A splendid sword that weaved through space with a light leaping sound, “pat.”

Simultaneously, three incapacitated Death Knights fell powerless.

“…It seems endless.”

“Indeed.”

However, the Death Knights rose again. Devoid of pain, fear, survival instincts… devoid of everything that made them human. There was no retreat from the specters wandering around the tomb of a lich who had already perished.

“Grrr…”

“Argh?!”

“Grr, grrrr…”

The Death Knights approached with unpleasant groans. Arms severed, legs chopped off, yet they advanced without hesitation.

Watching these Death Knights, Regina silently drew a magic circle. Regina’s warning, belatedly, “Miss Cyan, be careful…!”

With her words, the magic circle Regina drew began to glow. The intricately designed magic circle rose into the sky, and the temperature in the dungeon skyrocketed instantly.

Dozens of wizards gathered and cast a scaled-down version of the mass-killing spell, [Hellfire], in the narrow corridor.

Thud!

A delayed explosion echoed. Flames suddenly shot out from the air, engulfing the approaching Death Knights and causing a massive explosion.

Melting scraps of metal falling with a clatter. The Death Knights, melted beyond recognition, did not rise again.

“Phew…”

Regina, casually removing her school uniform, smiled at me.

“It seems like everything here has been… taken care of.”

“Thank you, Regina.”

However, for some reason, Regina seemed unwell. Trembling legs, a swaying body, slightly stuttering speech.

Unlike the mental instability she showed before, Regina now appeared physically fragile. I quickly approached Regina.

Just as I supported Regina, her body collapsed almost simultaneously.

Regina, who moments ago was slicing through Death Knights like tofu, now looked so weak that it was hard to believe she was the same person.

“Regina?!”

“I-I’m… I’m fine, just wait a moment… please…”

Nevertheless, even in that state, Regina grabbed my arm and struggled to get up somehow. Despite looking far from okay, she insisted that she was fine.

“No, this is not okay!”

“I-It’s… It’ll get better soon…! So…”

While Regina tried to deny her condition, her body told the truth. A dangerously fast heartbeat, limbs completely devoid of strength.

Struggling to breathe, Regina managed to continue speaking.

“T-This… because of the regression… because of the regression, that’s why… Due to handling power beyond what my body can bear… It’ll get better soon, things like this…”

Despite having exceptional magical control skills thanks to regression, Regina’s body was that of an ordinary seventeen-year-old girl.

Having exerted herself with such a body and even casting mass-killing spells, it was natural that her physical condition was far from normal.

“For now, let’s rest here for a bit.”

“N-No. If we do that, then because of me… Miss Cyan might fail the test…”

“It’s okay. Just let that little thing slide. There’s no need to force yourself into Class A anyway. Besides, Regina is more important to me. She’s a friend who shared her secrets with me.”

Unlike others who are obsessed with grades, I was just an extra dragged into the academy.

Grades at the academy are just a bonus if you do well. Taking care of the girl who fell apart because of me was my priority.

I carefully tidied Regina’s hair as she leaned on me weakly. Slowly closing her eyes as fatigue started to overwhelm her bit by bit.

“If you’re tired, rest a bit. I’ll watch over you.”

“…Thank you so much.”

“What for? It’s something I should do.”

Unable to respond while looking straight at Regina, I blankly stared at the ceiling.

Regina fell apart because of me, so is it really right for me to receive thanks? I pondered.

The sensation of being embraced by someone. The gentle touch pulling me close. The warmth of a caring person. And even the feeling of my face burning red with unknown emotions.

To Regina Strellachia, a returnee, everything happening in this dungeon right now felt incredibly new.

At this moment, she could act with free will as a person named ‘Regina Strellachia,’ not a puppet bound by ‘fate.’

Even the chilly, damp air of the dungeon. The pungent smell piercing the nose. The sticky blood of the Death Knights clinging unpleasantly—it didn’t bother her as much at this moment.

The freedom tasted after hundreds, no, thousands of years was so sweet. The warmth she felt for the first time since being trapped in endless cycles of reincarnation was so comforting.

“…”

Regina instinctively sensed.

That she couldn’t afford to lose Sienna, the girl who boldly declared she would change her fate.

If she let go of this hope that came after thousands of years, she would truly fall apart. Her mental strength had reached its limit centuries ago.

So, even if she had to sacrifice everything, even her body, she had to somehow keep Sienna by her side. To ensure Sienna wouldn’t abandon her.

If she didn’t want to be forever controlled by ‘fate’ with her sanity slipping away. If she didn’t want to become a mere shell of a human.

‘I will never, ever let go of Sienna.’

Regina whispered to herself, holding Sienna tightly.