NOVEL NEXT Chapter 135
Blink blink.
Leona’s strange noise made me blink.
“…If ninety-seven years old is a past specter, then the Vice Headmaster is an ancient specter?”
“Wh… what!”
Leona’s face turned bright red.
“I didn’t mean it like that! And! I have to count in beastman years?!”
But that still means she’s over 100 years old, right?
Of course, I didn’t say it out loud.
That would probably earn me a hefty smack.
“Well, of course?”
“The Flame Sovereign could be an even older existence than me.”
“…Huh?”
“Though I’m not certain. But in my memories… I mean, I think I’ve seen the Flame Sovereign in my memories from 400 years ago.”
Again with the strange noise. To say it seems like there’s a Flame Sovereign in her 400-year-old memories…
If it’s there, it’s there, and if it’s not, it’s not.
What does “I think” even mean anyway?
I tilted my head in confusion, and Leona let out a small sigh.
“…This is why I didn’t want to talk about it… Ugh, I’m gonna say it just once, so listen well.”
After taking another sip of her Mint Chocolate Latte, Leona cleared her throat and spoke in a serious tone.
“Normally… an ordinary being who isn’t a demon race can’t retain memories going back over 400 years. They’d definitely go insane. And that applies to me too.”
“Well, of course?”
“You have to lock, erase, or throw away memories from the past to continue your life. And I’m the locking type.”
“Then just unlock them.”
Leona shook her head.
“It’s not that easy. Once something is locked away, it takes a really, really long time to unlock it and rummage through it. After that, trying to lock those memories away again… it takes a long time again. In the process, I can’t do anything. I’d be unable to move, like being in a brain dead state.”
“Hmm…”
“Of course, just because the memories are locked doesn’t mean they’re completely submerged in the depths. If a familiar situation arises or there’s a trigger to recall intense memories, they might faintly resurface.”
I’ve never lived for 400 years and didn’t plan to, so those methods sounded alien to me.
I didn’t know what it felt like, or what… mood it brought.
Then what about Luna and Paulo.
What about Kaloso? Arisa.
How are they coping?
Are Luna and Paulo even conscious?
Kaloso that bastard probably managed somehow.
As for Arisa?
Thinking about it now leads nowhere.
Anyway, I understood Leona’s words.
“So, you saw the Flame Sovereign’s figure in those hazy memories.”
“Yeah, for sure. Every time I see that idiot’s face, voice, and actions, it pops up in my head.”
“…Well, it is hard to forget… such a person.”
I remembered the emotionless face of the Flame Sovereign, who expressed countless admiration, tears, and emotions.
Her way of speaking was unique, and her thought process was strange.
It’s someone you easily can’t forget.
“But that’s not all.”
“What else is there?”
“This is just my speculation, but the Flame Sovereign… seems like she doesn’t belong to this world?”
Doesn’t belong to this world.
I recalled what the World Tree lady had freaked out about before, probably when handing me that purple elixir.
“This elixir was brought from the hometown where I, the flame sovereign, was born and raised!”
“It was specially made by my mother and handed down to me! My mother commands the primal spirits and is a mage who created a new magic at the end of magic!”
“Huh? Why would someone like that give it to someone like me? Neno-om! How dare you!!”
“Of course, it’s true that I nearly had my roots pulled out by a demon race in this distant world. But! This was merely a trial that I needed. You shouldn’t belittle it as a silly act!”
There was more to say, but what was it again?
Didn’t the World Tree lady mention there’s a being at the pinnacle of the gods in her hometown?
Well, that’s irrelevant anyway.
“Are you saying she came from another world… another dimension?”
At my words, Leona’s eyes went wide.
“Another dimension? How do you know about that?”
“…It’s in storybooks.”
Since I couldn’t say I heard it from the World Tree lady, I just made up an excuse.
Puhaha! Leona burst into laughter.
“Do you really believe such things exist? You’re acting all old-fashioned while also being so naive? Guess kids really are kids.”
“Vice Headmaster said something strange too. That she’s not of this world’s existence.”
“Yeah, right. What I said was just as strange. But I… I’ve lived a long time, haven’t I? So I made a guess based on my life experiences and memories.”
Must be nice to be that old.
I thought to be sarcastic, but Leona spoke first.
“The Flame Sovereign feels as if she’s living in a different timeline.”
“Actually saying she came from another dimension is more believable.”
“Wha? Why are you being so sarcastic?!”
“How can anyone believe that? Where’s the evidence?”
“My experience and thoughts are the evidence! There’s no one in this world who knows more than I do or has gone through more!”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“When a master speaks, just take it and accept it! This foolish disciple keeps arguing!”
Leona, grinding her teeth, paused her frenzy and leaned back in her chair.
“Haa… Anyway, that’s what I think. The Flame Sovereign… Okay, maybe she’s not as dangerous as you say. But, I still can’t trust someone like that. She’s the most suspicious among the six pillars.”
“What do you mean by specter?”
“The Flame Sovereign has no scent.”
“I guess she bathes well.”
“You’re doing this on purpose to irritate me into spilling more crucial info, aren’t you?”
Tsk, so sharp for no reason.
I shrugged and shook my head.
“Not at all.”
“You’re very brazen… Anyway, it’s not that kind of scent. Humans, demon races, beastmen, elves, spirits, dwarves, dragons. Everything living under this sky has its own scent. Even the air. But the Flame Sovereign has no scent at all.”
“But the Vice Headmaster said she caught a whiff of the Flame Sovereign as soon as she came in here.”
“That’s not the Flame Sovereign’s scent. It’s the faint residual smell of mana that lingers when she uses her power. That fades after a day.”
Power… For sure, the Flame Sovereign seemed to read past memories right in front of me.
“That’s why even I can’t find the Flame Sovereign. There’s no scent, presence, traces, or even a sense of existence.”
It’s not just because of that veil-like presence the Flame Sovereign carries; I didn’t expect that there’d be something inherently off about her face.
“Then has the Flame Sovereign ever harmed the world, teamed up with demon races, or concocted suspicious potions or something?”
“No, never. The Flame Sovereign maintains strict neutrality.”
“Neutrality?”
“Yeah. That idiot doesn’t take sides with humans or demon races. She even says she shouldn’t belong anywhere. The only thing she does is follow the traces of heroes and gather them.”
A person who stood in such neutrality, even one living in Gebihenum, suddenly approaching us…
I think it’s only natural for Leona, who despises demon races, to be cautious.
But then.
“That neutral person has now become Stella’s master.”
“What? Stella? Master? Wuh?”
Leona tilted her head.
Her tail slightly curled, forming a question mark.
“If she became a human mage’s master
, shouldn’t we see it as her taking the human side?”“…What do you mean?”
Should I explain or not?
I’ll explain. I trust Leona.
I decided to trust Leona, whom my mother believes in.
All the things that happened.
From the labyrinth in the underground waterway to meeting the Flame Sovereign again at the Training Grounds, to her becoming Stella’s master—I began to recount the tale.
*
A considerable amount of time passed.
I told everything that needed to be said and omitted what didn’t.
Naturally.
I kept quiet about Stella or about Akasha and what Arisa left behind at the end of the underground labyrinth.
Me, Yurasia, Stella, Pina.
I only mentioned that the four of us consumed the elixirs that Samaela left behind while fleeing.
Weapons. There’s no need to disclose that just yet.
It hasn’t even been created, and we won’t have a chance to carry it around at the Academy anyway.
Leona reacted strongly to everything I said. Among all the responses, the most prominent was malice. The malice towards those who attempted to abduct and murder Pina.
Next came guilt.
Guilt about her ineptitude and ignorance.
Then she bowed her head, thanking me.
Grateful for surviving, grateful for protecting Stella and Pina… those awkward words.
Lastly, she scolded me.
She scolded me for doing reckless things.
After I mentioned that my mother also scolded me, her anger lessened.
Leona calling me old-fashioned—well, I think she’s the oldest person among the people I know.
I’m so tired of the nagging.
“So, the Flame Sovereign is teaching Stella right now?”
“Yeah. She probably is?”
“Why on earth would you entrust that idiot to her?”
“She’s not a bad person. I think she’s suspicious but not a bad person, so I went with it. Well.”
Leona couldn’t refute my words.
Especially when the Flame Sovereign had shown no behavior up until now.
Whether she is a good or bad person is unknown.
In the first place, dividing good and evil in this world is ridiculous.
So, is she a benefactor?
At least she was benevolent to me.
That’s why I asked her to become Stella’s master.
It wasn’t a request made with pure intentions.
I thought that it would greatly benefit my advancement in the future, leading me to that decision.
I don’t regret it.
…Actually, I felt a bit edgy thinking that Leona couldn’t track the Flame Sovereign, but it was mentioned earlier that there’s an identifiable presence at the Shurium Training Grounds.
She claims that when Leona returned to the Academy and smelled herself, it would emit that presence to announce her innocence.
Anyway, I was glad everything worked out in the end.
Oh right. There’s still one unresolved matter.
“Anyway, it’s settled, Vice Headmaster.”
“…What now? What are you trying to say?”
Leona cradled her head as if she was weary of the conversation.
“Honestly, I’d be lying if I said I’m not worried. So, can Stella come here to learn at the Training Grounds?”
“You want to bring the Flame Sovereign… to the Academy?”
“Well… if she becomes an official professor, that would be great, but if not, then sneaking in would be ideal. It seemed like she snuck in last time when she came to visit me too, right?”
“For Pete’s sake… I told you to secure the Academy better. Pina got abducted, and the Flame Sovereign just comes and goes as she pleases… Haah.”
Leona sighed, heavily laden with frustration, and pondered for a moment.
Tick tick, ten minutes passed.
“Wuh?! What, what is it suddenly?!”
In a princess-like embrace, Leona lifted me up…
Having stepped on the open window of the Training Grounds, she said, “I need to have a word with the Flame Sovereign. If I go alone, she’ll run away, so let’s go together.”
“No. What about my lesson? I have many questions to ask!”
“I’ll tell you everything when we come back. So keep it zip. Or do you want me to chew your tongue?”
“No, at least let me see the stance—”
With those words, Leona jumped into the air.