……The lot of Sophien the regressor is noble.
From birth, she possessed the bloodline called “direct imperial lineage,” which had granted her the destiny of being the noblest human in this world. As the legitimate heir and eldest daughter, hers was a flawless legitimacy for which even the history of the Empire could scarcely find precedent.
And yet, in that life of perfect dominion, there was nothing that could truly give it meaning.
It was a paradoxical life in which she was tormented by death yet could not die, a life in which even a future death was uncertain.
Did the romance known as a “natural death” truly exist for her?
Would the final passage of birth, aging, sickness, and death open for her as well?
If, at the very moment she grew old and older still, and died naturally, she returned once more to that day of January 1st.
If death did not continue, but merely repeated.
Then how should that life be brought to an end?
No—could it even be brought to an end at all?
Thus, when humans vaguely imagined and feared their distant deaths, Sophien contemplated a universe in which her death did not exist. She reflected upon the endlessly repeating cycle of death.
That was why she had yearned for ennui.
If she learned everything slowly, thought lazily, and looked upon things with indolence, she could forget that distant cycle, if only a little.
She could escape.
……And some bastard had destroyed that “defense mechanism.”
From the moment she met him in his position as her instructing mage, through the passing seasons until now.
He had always forced her to learn. He demanded that she face the world directly, and taught her emotions other than indolence.
At first, it had been interesting.
She had simply accepted it as something curious.
But as time passed, he lodged himself like a thorn in the deeper parts of her being, and when she looked at him, she felt pain, or joy, or anger. She began to sleep and to dream. She began to imagine a future in which she was not alone.
It was unfamiliar.
“……Hmm.”
Chirp, chirp— chirp, chirp——
Before she knew it, the morning sun had risen, and birds were chirping.
Sophien silently looked at Deculein.
“……He is asleep.”
Ahan, beside her, did the same.
“So he is.”
Deculein was asleep.
Of course, he was not sprawled out.
In the secret bedchamber of the Imperial Palace. Outside its door, he was sleeping while standing silently like a knight.
“He came to the Imperial Palace as he pleased…… and yet nothing happened until morning. Did he not say he had seen a future in which I died?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. It was quite eerie and strange of him, unlike the Professor…….”
At any rate, Sophien smiled in disbelief.
“Your Majesty, what shall you do?”
“……I wonder.”
Sophien stroked her chin in thought.
“First, this is punishment.”
She extended a finger and poked Deculein’s cheek. Even so, he did not wake.
“Your Majesty. Please be careful. The Professor will dislike it greatly.”
“……What can that measly man do if he dislikes it?”
The only person who could call Professor Deculein “that measly man.”
Ahan looked up at Sophien with eyes full of profound admiration.
“However…… doing it twice feels a bit improper.”
She quietly withdrew her finger.
Even an emperor had subjects who were difficult to touch.
Instead, she gazed intently at the sleeping Deculein.
“……Ahan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Suddenly, Sophien recalled Rohakan’s prophecy.
That one day, she would come to love Deculein, and because of it, she would kill him.
That she would end up killing, with her own hands, the only being who could become the “meaning” of her life.
“I, perhaps, for the sake of this Professor……”
—No, that’s not it! This is really urgent! Aaaagh! Aaaaagh! Agh! Aaaagh!
“…….”
—Agh! Aaaagh! Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!
“……What lunacy is this?”
A scream rang out from beneath the stairs of the bedchamber.
Just as Sophien narrowed her brow, Deculein slowly opened his eyes.
“Professor. You have finally awakened. Nothing happ—”
—Aaaagh! Let me go! Let me goooo——!
Once again, a bizarre cry rang out.
Deculein listened quietly to the chaotic voice, then muttered like a sigh.
“……Is it Epherene?”
“Epherene? You mean your disciple?”
“Yes. It seems something has happened to her.”
Deculein spoke shamelessly, pretending he had never slept. In fact, his outward appearance was flawless.
“Then go.”
“No. Your Majesty’s danger is still—”
“Hah. If I were truly in danger, I would have died while you were sound asleep.”
At that, Deculein clenched his teeth imperceptibly. Sophien laughed at the sight.
“You are embarrassed too, it seems?”
“……Ahem.”
Deculein merely cleared his throat in silence.
* * *
The prison of the Imperial Palace.
I narrowed my brow as I looked at Epherene, who was locked behind iron bars.
“Hehe.”
The one actually confined seemed inexplicably pleased, smiling brightly. She was not a puppy, yet there she was, hehe— hehe—
“Speak.”
“Professor, I came back to now! I was so shocked when I saw the calendar! February!”
I looked at her wrist. There was a bracelet whose broken part had been reattached with a band.
“What happened?”
Epherene shook the iron bars excitedly.
“That thing called a god must have stopped interfering. If it continued when everything had already been exposed, it would lose an important piece of its forces.”
“Ah, then is that surrender? Is it over?”
I looked at the pocket watch hanging at her waist.
“No.”
“Huh? Why?”
“His Majesty’s authority is still with you. April 9th has not even arrived yet. If your regression is permanent, that is a problem in its own way.”
The mental strength I had consumed overcoming the regression was quite severe. Even by the standards of 「Iron Man」, the headache and fatigue were difficult to endure, and they still lingered in my body.
“Ah…… then I’m still in danger?”
I shook my head at Epherene’s concern.
“No. You are not in danger. On the contrary, you are safer than anyone else in this world.”
“……?”
Epherene’s eyes went round.
“Huh? Why?”
“You are only in danger when His Majesty dies. Not as you are now.”
“So why?”
“Because if you die, the authority will return to His Majesty.”
“……Ah!”
It was a characteristic of the authority. Just as the authority that had left Sophien had come to Epherene, if Epherene died, it would return to Sophien.
“Therefore, the Altar will never kill you. Even if you thrust out your neck and beg them to kill you, they would instead kill those who tried to kill you.”
“Umm…… is that a good thing?”
Of course, there was still the danger of kidnapping, but as long as she remained alive, responding would not be difficult. Epherene was not that easy of an opponent, either.
“What are you going to do now, Professor?”
“I will have to step into central politics.”
“Politics?”
“Yes. I remember every name you gave me.”
The list of those who had cooperated with the Altar, or belonged to the Altar’s network.
I would slaughter every last one of them.
If they had crimes, I would tie them to them; if they had none, I would create them.
I would tear them all to pieces.
“Yes. Then I’ll devour the Mage Tower. By mobilizing all the knowledge of my two years. And, Professor. Come here for a moment…….”
Epherene checked the empty prison, then beckoned for me to come closer.
“Stop making a fuss and speak from there.”
“Oh, seriously…… This is a secret. Actually…….”
Gulp— After swallowing, she recited the words as if leaking top-secret information.
—Assistant Professor Allen is alive.
“…….”
“How is it? Shocking, right? Actually, this seemed like Assistant Professor Allen’s privacy, so I wasn’t going to tell you. Hup—”
Creeeak— Just then, the door to the underground prison opened.
Epherene quickly clapped both hands over her mouth.
“Ah, Professor! I’m sorry!”
The knight who entered was Delric. With several subordinate knights behind him, he first saluted—Loyalty!—then glared with eyes full of indignation, like saw blades.
“No, how dare they! What insane knight bastard locked the Professor’s disciple up here?! I’ll find him and beat him half to dea—”
“Enough. It is true that this girl caused a disturbance.”
“Sir Delric~!”
Epherene, behind the bars, smiled brightly and waved.
“It’s been so long~”
“……Um?”
Delric wore a somewhat awkward expression. Epherene flinched in response.
“Ah, right. We’re not close anymore.”
“Uh…… I will open it first.”
“……Yes.”
Delric opened the iron bars with a key. To Epherene, whose face looked quite bitter, I spoke as if whispering.
—Forget the memories from before.
“…….”
“And, Delric.”
“Yes!”
Delric turned to me and saluted.
“Soon, two knights will be selected separately as exclusive guards for His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. Is that so?”
“For now, I will recommend you.”
“…….”
Delric’s expression hardened.
Round eyes, a half-open mouth, widened nostrils. As if time had stopped, or as if his breath had ceased.
Epherene grinned and tapped his shoulder.
“Congratulations. If it’s a recommendation from the captain of the Imperial Guard, isn’t that practically confirmed?”
As if that were the signal, Delric moved again. He looked at me with eyes brimming with tears.
“Professor…….”
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Then work hard. Keep in mind that your loyalty now belongs to His Majesty, and that Yukline stands behind you.”
“……Yes! My loyalty belongs not only to His Majesty, but also to you, Professor…… Hey, you bastards! What are you doing, not saluting already?!”
“““Ah, yes!”””
The subordinate knights, who had also frozen like Delric, belatedly saluted, and I left the prison with Epherene.
* * *
……One spring day, at the lake of the Imperial Palace.
Plop—
Sophien was fishing again today.
However, this time, she was not alone.
Far away, at another spot, were Deculein and Epherene, and not far from her, the knight Delric was also keeping strict watch.
“Ahan.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Ahan, who was cooking with the fish Sophien had caught, answered.
“As the Professor said, it truly seems that curse has disappeared from within my body.”
“Is that so?”
The authority of regression. It was not with her now.
“It feels quite refreshing.”
“I am glad, Your Majesty.”
Sophien twisted her lips. It was sincerity that looked like a sneer.
“However, for some reason, I feel as if I knew it beforehand.”
……Tap.
Ahan, who had been slicing raw fish, stopped moving her knife and looked up at her.
“Ahan. I received a ‘prophecy.’”
“A prophecy…… you say?”
“Indeed. That someday, in the not-too-distant future, I would kill Deculein.”
Bubble, bubble—!
There was a bite. Sophien merely stared at the seething surface of the lake.
“If you simply do not believe such a prophecy…….”
“I have no choice but to believe it. Because it was Rohakan’s words.”
“…….”
“However, I do not want to kill the Professor.”
Sophien rested her chin on her hand and smiled.
“In that case…… right now, I am thinking this. If I am not to kill the Professor, is there no choice but for me to die myself? If I quietly go along with the Altar bastards’ plan, will the prophecy not go astray?”
Rohakan’s prophecy would be overturned, and Sophien would obtain the salvation called death.
“……If the current me is thinking such a thing, could the past me not have thought it as well?”
“Your Majesty! You must not.”
Ahan knelt and bowed her head. Her face was nearly tearful.
Sophien shook her head.
“Hmph. It is merely a supposition. In any case, I cannot overcome regression like Deculein. My mental strength is not as strong as that stubborn wretch’s.”
Regression was no longer her authority. However, she could not leave that authority with a child named Epherene forever.
For it was a shackle and a curse that only she could bear, that only she must bear.
“……If Your Majesty passes away, this Empire will fall.”
“No. My eyes are accurate. So long as that man Deculein is here, the Empire will run smoothly. Besides, who knows?”
Splash——!
Sophien lifted the fishing rod.
The fish that surged up, scattering the current, was an arangdungi. A species Deculein had once told her about.
“Perhaps I am, in truth, a monster who deserves to die.”
It was then.
Splash——!
The roar of some stone plunging into the lake rang out. Sophien turned to look in that direction.
—A-Aaagh! S-save me! Save me! I fell in! It’s d-deep here! Professor, Professor! It’s deep! Too deep!
It was Epherene.
It seemed she had fallen in while fishing, but Deculein was ignoring her and focusing only on his own fishing.
—Glub, glub! Professor, ah, hey! Hey, Deculein! Glub, blegh—
Delric, who rushed over belatedly, fished her out. The dazed Epherene clung tightly to Delric’s back and gasped for breath.
Meanwhile, Deculein, who had caught quite a few fish, seemed to be inching his way over to them.
No doubt to boast about the fish he had caught.
“……So this is everyday life? This is a first for me.”
At Sophien’s strangely contented words, Ahan smiled as well.
“Yes. It is, Your Majesty.”
The sunlight settled gently over them. Deculein walked through the clear breeze, showed them his basket, and said,
“I have ten. How fares Your Majesty’s catch?”
Just as expected.
The professor, whose competitive spirit was as tremendous as his vicious personality, demanded competition every time they went fishing like this. This, too, was part of his effort to prevent his own idleness.
“Six. You win, you damned professor.”
“Congratulations, Professor.”
Sophien and Ahan smiled, each for a different reason.
* * *
Blazing— blazing, blazing, blazing—
The fierce sunlight beat down with a bright glare. The morning was slowly growing hot.
At last, the university’s opening day had arrived.
“How many times has the semester started now?”
Epherene sat on a bench in the university courtyard, sucking on an ice cream as she muttered with a sigh.
The cherry blossoms in full bloom and the couples everywhere were an eyesore, and some nameless unease still lingered in a corner of her heart, but in any case, it was peaceful, so that was good.
“Epherene?”
Just then, a voice called her. Footsteps slowly approached.
“Ah— Miss Yeriel!”
Yukline’s businesswoman, and Deculein’s younger sister, Yeriel.
“Here. Eat it while it’s warm.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
The food she handed over was the latest in cutting-edge snacks, a “waffle” newly invented by the Yukline family.
This pastry with strange patterns, topped with whipped cream, was the greatest dessert of the day—something you couldn’t buy even if you had money, because the line was too long.
“Chomp…… Huaaah.”
With one bite, her brain melted into mush. Epherene fell into ecstasy at the crisp sweetness she was tasting for the first time in her life.
“This is really…… Who on earth invented this?”
“No idea. I just took it from my brother’s junk for now.”
“His junk?”
“Yeah. If you go to his study, there are a bunch of inventions drawn up by him—or whoever. Anything among them that looks decent, I turn into a business item and put it out.”
“Aha…… That really is amazing.”
A magic professor, a dessert inventor, a member of the Emperor’s Imperial Guard—how could one person be so inhuman?
“Yum.”
Epherene took another bite. Yeriel chuckled and asked,
“Are you going to class soon?”
“Yes.”
“Me too.”
“……What?”
Epherene found Yeriel’s words strange. Yeriel laughed softly as well.
“What do you mean, ‘me too’?”
“Why? What? I’m a student here too. I didn’t withdraw, and I wasn’t expelled. Got a problem with that? Ridiculous.”
“No! No, no. It’s not that I have a problem……”
“Hm. I’m just going to take some liberal arts classes. Business administration and economics. Of course, learning by running into things head-on is the best, but I should still know the theory.”
“Mm. True.”
Epherene changed the subject as she ate the waffle.
“Oh, right. I’m thinking of entering the magic competition this time.”
“The magic competition?”
“Yes. It’s a competition where several mages form a team and implement grand magic, large-scale magic, things like that.”
Before the regression, she had had no time because of her thesis, but now she had plenty.
So she was going to conquer every external activity she could and gorge herself on academic society activities until she burst.
Yeriel said,
“Hm…… Really? Then my brother can supervise you there.”
“What? Come on……”
Epherene shook her head. A cherry blossom petal settled on the crown of her head.
“Would the Professor really do that? He’s incredibly busy.”
“Just ask him once. I think he’d do it if you asked. And you’d rather have my brother than, what was it, Lellin or whatever, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s true, but~ do you know how annoying supervising is? And honestly, I also think the Professor would make things way too harsh, so I’m not really……”
……Ten minutes later.
The 77th floor of the Mage Tower.
The Head Professor’s office.
“I will take charge as supervisor.”
“……What?”
Epherene’s eyes trembled as she looked at her academic advisor. Saliva pooled in her mouth, and for some reason, her heart began to pound.
Deculein said while signing his work documents,
“I heard that you are entering the magic competition.”
“Ah~ Well…… that is true, but if you’re busy, I’m fine—”
Thud—!
Before she could say she was fine, Deculein’s seal was stamped onto the [Magic Competition] participation form.
Epherene’s mouth fell open, and Deculein returned the application as he said,
“However, I will tolerate nothing less than the grand prize.”