──「Fortitude」──
◆ Grade
: Rare
◆ Description
: You become mentally and physically resilient.
──────
The trait’s description was simple. There was nothing in particular to think about. The sensation was faint, yet distinct.
The world was becoming clearer.
At least, that was how I felt.
“Will you be going in alone?”
Primienne asked. I nodded silently.
“It would be better to wait until support arrives……”
“There is no need.”
The vineyard had transformed in an instant into a magical space. Vines and trees undulated like living creatures. Above all, the mana concentration had risen by at least one percent.
Considering that even the most sacred of famous mountains had a concentration hovering around 0.1 percent, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the inside was completely different from reality.
“No need, you say? How disappointing, my dear husband~”
Click, click—the sound of high heels ill-suited to a field. An elegant smile.
Josephine approached, sweeping back the hair by her ear.
“Lord Zeit will be arriving soon as well, so please wait just a little longer.”
Without even looking at her, I shook my head.
“Count Freyden will have no means of dealing with this either.”
“……Well now. The family head would be delighted to hear that~”
Of course, Zeit was a perfect knight. However, when it came to magic, and also in terms of the mental fortitude this space would test, he was unlikely to be superior to me.
“This space will not break simply because one tries to break it. If one does not know magic, one will only be a hindrance.”
“You may be the only person who would call our family head a hindrance, my dear husband~”
“I alone am enough. No, it is better that I go alone. It is an imperial command His Majesty gave to me.”
“Mm…… Please do try not to die?”
I advanced alone.
That vineyard had already become a forest, and the trees that had grown enormous had swallowed the entire sky. Such a bleak landscape was more than enough to stir human fear, but I paid it no mind.
One step.
Two steps.
I merely moved forward slowly.
“…….”
Branches of trees cast dark shadows. A wind of mana licked at the hem of my clothes.
The sensation unique to a magical space touched my mind, and fog rose on all sides as I walked. That dim fog soon projected certain memories like a silver screen.
I walked through the vineyard and watched the scene.
—……Knight Julie.
The underground Marik.
A place where, once in the past, Deculein had challenged himself in order to be acknowledged by Decalane. A mission to recover the “mana core” Decalane had ordered.
He had advanced into Marik with Julie as his escort, but Deculein had been ambushed by someone there.
—Yes. I am fine.
Julie was running through the dark underground. Though she had suffered a fatal wound, she carried Deculein on her back.
—Do not worry. The exit is near.
She transported Deculein while coughing blood. She tried desperately.
And yet.
—……It is because of you.
Deculein blamed her.
To those words, Julie answered.
—Yes. I am sorry. It is all my fault.
—…….
Then Deculein lost consciousness, and time rewound a little farther.
A cold, desolate sickbed.
Deculein lying upon it, and Decalane looking down at him.
A memory I had never seen.
—Tsk. Useless wretch.
At his father’s reproach, Deculein quietly closed his eyes.
—I never believed in you from the start, but…… Freyden is proving troublesome.
—……Freyden.
As Deculein murmured softly, another contemptuous gaze pierced down at him.
—Yes. The one who attacked you in Marik was Freyden. I told you from the beginning that Freyden would interfere with us.
—…….
—Did you think it would be fine if you used one of Freyden’s bloodline? Hmph. A great house of margraves, already in possession of an outstanding figure like Zeit—do you think they would look kindly upon the child born by killing his wife? Take it.
Decalane tossed something down.
—It is the bracelet Igris gave to his daughter. The girl seemed pleased to receive it, but they used it instead to track your location and attack you.
The bracelet Julie had worn in Marik. The object she had cherished for no reason.
Deculein silently stared at it, rusted and corroded by demonic energy.
—That mad dog of Freyden is the problem. Leaving aside the fact that he charged in at Marik ready to abandon his own daughter, the man is psychologically cornered right now. It would not be strange if he ran straight to the Imperial Palace and confessed everything.
—……Father.
To Decalane, who was speaking all on his own, Deculein asked only one thing.
He asked what his father had never once asked his son until now.
—Are you glad that I did not die?
At that, silence settled in the sickroom for a moment. Decalane looked down at Deculein, and Deculein looked up at him.
Soon…… a sigh flowed out, as though in disappointment.
—You fool. You are the first Yukline to collapse in Marik.
Decalane left, shaking his head.
—…….
At that very moment, Deculein made a certain resolution.
He steeled himself. Rather, he smiled.
He would be indifferent to his bloodline dying, and to killing his bloodline.
Because that was Decalane, and also Yukline……
……Thus, the first memory disappeared, and I was still walking the path of the vineyard.
“A worldline.”
No, I was walking the worldline of the person known as “Deculein.”
Memories entangled within the fog beyond. Time unfolding like a film.
All of it was Deculein’s trajectory……
—Your husband, Giletheon, too!
The second memory.
Between the enormous grapevines, another past spread.
—And that daughter you love so much! I will kill them all!
Deculein strangling Sylvia’s mother, Cielia, to death.
Tap—tap, tap—
Like rain pouring from the sky, all that passion pounded against my heart, and the moment Cielia’s breath ceased.
—……How is it? Do you feel a little better now?
Another shadow approached from behind.
—Deculein.
Giletheon.
His expression hardened as he looked at the dead Cielia. For the briefest instant, a light of sorrow passed through him.
However, the human emotions of a wizard quickly faded.
—She was a woman who would not have lived half a year even if it had not been you.
—…….
—With this, it is established, Deculein.
Giletheon held out his hand to Deculein. Deculein did not take it. He merely smoothed his hair, wet with rain, straightened his disheveled clothes, and asked in return.
—……Giletheon. A wizard’s contract is made in blood. You know that, do you not?
— I know. I will help you kill Decalane. In addition, I will keep the secret by “oath”……
“……So it was a secret pact.”
I was still walking through the vineyard.
Deculein’s memories that I had not known, memories continuing from childhood, seeped in of their own accord.
With mental strength, and also with my obsession for order, I sorted these memories.
Deculein’s and Kim Woojin’s. I separated and stored them thoroughly. So that they would not mix together in confusion.
……Then, at that moment.
—Knock, knock. Professor. Are you there?
A voice echoing through this “vineyard of the worldline,” somehow bored and lacking the will to live. Red hair that drew the eye.
I looked at her.
“Sophien.”
The young emperor, Sophien.
She was lying on the grass, calling for “Professor.”
—Professor?
However, the professor who answered those words was……
—Yes. I am here.
Me.
To be precise, my voice flowed from the mirror Sophien kept by her side.
—……I see. Strangely, I have been lasting quite a long time lately.
The young Sophien’s murmur.
A memory I did not know.
Neither Deculein’s nor mine.
A worldline of unknown identity.
—Professor. How many times have I died so far?
—149 times.
—Mm…… Since today is December 31st, tomorrow will be January 1st, then.
—Yes. If you endure until tomorrow, you may consider yourself fully recovered.
—Hmph. As if.
I quietly listened to their conversation.
My footsteps, which had been advancing through the vineyard, had already stopped.
—Your Highness.
Suddenly, the voice of me that I did not know sank low. In that voice and its resonance, there was no heartbeat.
The heart was dead.
—What is it?
Sophien asked back with an innocent face.
—I will be watching over Your Highness always, wherever and whenever.
—……All of a sudden?
—It is not all of a sudden.
—…….
—Even if I cannot be seen for a while…… I will always be within Your Highness’s path.
Within that conversation and scene, I belatedly recalled it.
—Professor. Are you now telling me, as though you are about to leave, that you will not leave?
The independent quest that had abruptly ended, 「The Demon’s Mirror」.
The attribute that had become my origin, 「Mirror」.
—……Your Highness. May I ask you to promise me one thing? Just as, one day, I kept Your Majesty’s promise.
Listening to the words spoken by a me I did not know, I pondered.
—From now on…… no matter what happens, do not take your own life “by your own hand.”
Which “cycle” was this world on?
“Hey~ Over here—!”
At that moment, a booming voice approached and swept all the fog away.
Beyond the cleared worldline. There stood a single cabin, and on its floor sat a person waving his hand.
“…….”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
I knew at a glance who he was as he smiled at me, and he recognized me as well.
“Deculein!”
Rohakan.
I approached him as he swung his feet on the cabin floor, then asked in a somewhat bewildered voice.
“……Rohakan. You have become a boy.”
I looked at him.
A boy far younger than the face I had seen before, with only traces of the old Rohakan remaining. He grinned.
“That I have.”
“…….”
Though his state was more severe than I had expected and somewhat disconcerting, the reason Rohakan had become so young was simple.
“There is not much time, so sit down quickly. Let us talk. Kkulkkeol.”
His death was truly not far off.
* * *
Julie hurriedly arrived at the vineyard, but entry was denied. Primienne and Josephine blocked her way.
She glared at the two of them in turns with an incredulous expression.
“Are you saying Professor Deculein went in alone?”
“Mm-hm.”
“Yes.”
“Hup!”
Julie abruptly drove her shoulder forward. However, Josephine and Primienne, as well as the knights nearby, obstructed her.
“Why are you stopping me! Rohakan is inside—”
“It is an imperial command.”
Primienne answered. Julie was rendered speechless at once.
“His Majesty entrusted the pursuit and execution of Rohakan solely to Professor Deculein. There is no room for a third party to interfere.”
“…….”
An imperial command. Unless the emperor changed his order, there was nothing a knight could do.
Julie glared at the vineyard and said,
“……Does Yeriel, that young lady, know?”
“Yes, we have already informed her.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she trusts the professor. So, Knight, you should trust the professor as well.”
“I do not trust Professor Deculein. Nor do I intend to.”
Boom——!
Just then, a vibration rang out.
Everyone looked that way. Josephine was the first to smile.
“……My lord, you have arrived~?”
“Yeah. Haaaaam——.”
Zeit approached, yawning as though he had only just woken up.
He asked,
“Rohakan is inside here?”
“Yes~ But Professor Deculein has already set out first, so please wait outside~”
“……Is that so? Then, well.”
At that, Zeit sat leaning against the base of a nearby tree without another word. Julie’s eyes widened as she asked again.
“Lord Zeit. Is it all right for you not to enter?”
“You said Deculein is inside.”
“Even so, the opponent is Rohakan.”
“Yeah. I know that.”
Zeit waved his hand in a swish.
“It’s discourteous to interfere with a duel. Of course, what courtesy is there to speak of with a Black Beast bastard like Rohakan…… And, Julie.”
“Yes.”
“If something happens to Professor Deculein, would that not be beneficial to you?”
“……No.”
Julie shook her head firmly. Zeit grinned and asked,
“Why not?”
“Because it is a matter I must resolve myself……?”
At that moment, she spotted a small airship whirring in the sky.
Whirr—whirr—
It was Sylvia, equipped with a helmet.
“Ahem. Ahe-hem. Then, I will be just a moment.”
After clearing her throat awkwardly a few times, Julie quietly moved in that direction.
* * *
Chomp, chomp—chomp, chomp—Rohakan was eating grapes.
As he ate grapes as white as snow, he continued speaking.
“There are fanatics in this world. Fanatics who seek to resurrect a god. But those fools do not know. That the fanatic they are trying to resurrect is, in truth, yet another fanatic.”
I nodded.
In the latter half of the main quest, the “god” resurrected by the Altar was, in truth, nothing more than another fanatic who worshiped a god.
Of course, it was true that he was the final boss, one nearly equal to a god.
“At any rate. I wanted to live until I could stop it, but it seems those Altar bastards deliberately waited for my death.”
Rohakan handed me a cluster of grapes. I plucked one off and ate it as well.
As though he found the sight of me eating grapes fascinating, he watched with rounded eyes before asking,
“Deculein. You must have seen many things on your way here.”
“Yes.”
“And read the letter I wrote.”
“……”
I nodded silently.
“As you must have seen on your way here, you have already died once. You died for Sophien. By good fortune—that is, as people often say, because everything happened to line up—you overcame that death…… but there will not be a second time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. If things continue as they are, you will certainly be killed by Sophien. Of course, you will say you are fine with that, won’t you?”
“Yes. I do not fear a death that has yet to come. However…… Rohakan. There is one thing I am curious about.”
At that, Rohakan looked back at me and gave a faint smile.
As if he already knew what I wanted to ask.
“Ask.”
“Did you truly kill the Empress?”
“……”
His answer was slow to come, and the silence stretched on.
Rohakan, who seemed to be pondering it, put a grape into his mouth. Then he said,
“If not me, then who are you saying killed her?”
Other than Rohakan, there was one other.
Someone who could have killed the Empress.
“……”
But I did not say it. Rohakan looked at me and chuckled.
“In any case, Deculein. I am now becoming mana. Growing closer to the sky, and to nature.”
“Yes. I can feel it as well.”
More than half of Rohakan’s body was already magic power. Its volume was far too vast to call human, and far too pure.
He said,
“Deculein.”
“Yes.”
“First, today, kill me.”
His tone was as casual as if he were asking me to run an errand for green onions.
When I stared blankly for a moment, Rohakan chuckled and continued.
“This is my gift to you. Take my head and offer it to Sophie. Though this face has become a little younger, there can be no doubt that I am Rohakan.”
I had come here so that I would not kill Rohakan. However, Rohakan had already become one with mana.
The life remaining to him was, at most, a week.
“I do not know whether that child will like it or hate it…… but it will surely be of help to you.”
「Main Quest: Life」
「Main Quest: Rohakan’s Words」
Two core quests appeared at the same time as his words. The reward for the former was a Rare Trait Catalog, and the reward for the latter was a Catalog Enhancement Ticket and shop currency.
Along with an increase in the quality of my magic power, I would be able to acquire a Unique Trait.
It would certainly be helpful.
“You can do it, can’t you?”
Rohakan asked.
I did not hesitate.
“Yes. I will kill you.”
“Good—”
“However. Before that.”
However, what I wanted right now was not a simple system reward.
“There is something I desire.”
Strangely enough, ever since coming to this world, I had always been in the position of teaching someone. From back then, when I knew nothing at all, until now, when I wandered in search of what I did not know.
That was why, perhaps, what I longed for most at this moment was—
“……For the time you have left, once more.”
A superhuman who had reached the realm of a great mage, and gone beyond it.
“Please become a proper teacher to me.”
The teachings of someone I could truly acknowledge as my master.