by Okina Baba
As I think about that, I sense something magical from the town.
From my perspective, it’s fairly weak, but it seems like it’s going to be on a pretty big scale.
Big enough to wipe most of them out.
Just then, a light bulb goes off in my head.
As the magic user in the town prepares a spell, I prepare one of my own.
The magic user’s magic activates.
It’s some massive AOE fire attack.
Wait, is that the Scorched Earth spell the earth dragon Araba used on me a long time ago?
Whoa. I didn’t know there were any humans who could use the same kinda magic as an earth dragon.
Its scale and strength aren’t anywhere near Araba’s, but it’s still damn impressive.
Hmm? Wait a sec, why does this magic user have an Appraisal icon?
Ah! I know!
That’s the damn old man who burned down my home with magic in the Great Elroe Labyrinth ages ago!
Fancy running into you here!
Now I can take my revenge for the home you burned!
Oops, while I was thinking all that, the magic-using old geezer finished his spell.
Hellfire burns its way across the ground.
No big deal, though, since the spider army’s not there anymore.
Right before the mage used his spell, I activated Teleport and tossed the spider army right back into the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
From the mage’s point of view, it should look like his spell wiped them all out.
What are they gonna do back in the labyrinth?
Don’t ask me. That’s their problem.
Childcare?
Hey, it was the Parallel Minds who popped ’em out, not me.
Anyway, looks like this case is closed.
As for the old mage… Hmph. I guess I’ll let him off for now.
If the guy who’s supposed to have destroyed the spider army suddenly dies, it’ll look unnecessarily suspicious.
Like this whole situation isn’t already gonna raise a whole lotta questions.
But it took guts to stand up to that giant army of spiders and risk his life to shoot off that huge spell, so I’ll take that into consideration and let him live this time.
You better appreciate my incredible generosity, pal!
All right, guess we’re done here.
With that, I teleport back to where I came from along with the puppet spiders.
THE OLD MAN TAKES AN APPRENTICE
The town wall and gates have crumbled to the ground.
Soldiers rush about, trying to fix it.
I look on, not at them but at the field beyond them.
An army of white spiders attacked this town, but someone miraculously drove them back.
And that someone was me.
At least, that’s what everyone else believes.
The massive Inferno Magic spell I invoked, Scorched Earth, burned up not only the spiders inside the town but those outside its walls as well.
The wall and gates within its range were destroyed, too, but that’s a small price to pay for protecting the rest of the town.
If my spell really did destroy those spiders, that is.
I stare out at the field.
It’s been burned into a wasteland, with nothing else remaining.
But I know what I saw.
Beyond the flames, I saw the master, far in the distance.
A white spider, now with the upper half of a young woman.
Though her form may have changed, I would recognize that great being anywhere.
As well as the signs of the master’s magic, which she activated as if timed to match my own.
No, my magic didn’t vanquish those spiders.
That master took care of it before I had the chance.
I was in a hazy state of duress as my MP ran low, so I do not know exactly what magic the master used.
But I have no doubt that she moved them out of the way of my spell.
Otherwise, there’s no way I could have won against that army of spiders, especially their nine leaders.
When I last met the master, it was as enemies, and I nearly lost my life.
But this time, it appears my life has been saved instead.
I still have so much to learn.
Why have I been striving to reach the pinnacle of magic power?
In order to be saved?
No, surely it was in order to save others.
When I was young, I had to use magic to dispel the fiery sparks that were attempting to descend on the Empire or else be burned alive.
For at the time, the desperate battle against the demons was underway.
But then the Demon Lord was replaced, and around the same time, the hero and previous sword-king both disappeared, so the war settled into an almost eerie stillness.
Perhaps it is because it has been so long since that war that I’d forgotten the fervor I once felt.
Striving for the pinnacle of magic.
That was only supposed to be the means, not the end, but somewhere along the way, it ended up becoming my main goal.
I am weak.
After my encounter with that great being, I became painfully aware of my own weakness.
And I have aged.
So many years have passed that I forgot my original goal.
If a weak old man like me strives for the pinnacle of magic, just how much strength might I gain in the process?
If I’ve gained strength, how much can I do for others with it?
“Oh, there he is, dammit. Hey, geezer!”
“Aurel. I am your master, you know, for all intents and purposes. Is that really any way to address me?”
“If you ask me, ‘geezer’ is damn well good enough for any jerk who’d leave a cute little girl like me all alone and run off to who-the-hell-knows-where.”
Urgh!
I can’t argue with her there!
“Oh yeah. Sir Hero wants to talk to you, geezer.”
Aurel pushes forward the boy next to her.
Oh yes. I knew I recognized him from somewhere. It’s the boy hero.
The one who stood bravely against that spider army despite his youth.
“Um, thank you very much for saving me before.”
The boy hero bows his head deeply.
“If you wish to thank anyone, thank Aurel there. I only saved you because she came crying to me, begging me to do it.”
“Wha—?!” Aurel’s face turns bright red.
Is she embarrassed that I let slip how she cried, or is it something else?
The boy hero, too, fidgets bashfully at her reaction.
Ah, youth.
They’re nothing more than infants, really.
“Um! You are the famous mage Master Ronandt, aren’t you?”
Working up his courage, the young hero changes the subject.
“I am indeed.”
“Erm, then, um… Please make me your apprentice!”
Oh?
An apprentice, eh?
I raise my eyebrows, but Aurel looks even more surprised.
“What’re you saying, guy? This geezer’s a total weirdo! If you become his apprentice, you’ll turn into a weirdo, too, y’know!”
How very rude!
Perhaps I should fire her already?
“E-even if he is a weirdo, he’s shown that he really is powerful. He defeated all those spiders, after all. I want to become stronger, too. So please help me get stronger. I’m begging you!”
Wh-why has it already been decided that I’m a weirdo?
Still, an apprentice…
“Won’t you please?”
I consider it for a moment.
I thought my goal was to reach the pinnacle of magic.
But that was only ever a means to an end.
My real goal was to help people.
But I am weak and old, with little time left.
I cannot lie to myself any longer.
Ever since my enco
unter with those three earth dragons, deep down, I have known.
I am not strong enough to contend against the truly powerful, and I never will be, no matter how much hellish training and effort I might undertake now.
So how can I be of the most help to people going forward?
An apprentice, eh?
“Very well, then. I shall make you my first apprentice.”
“You mean it?!”
“I do indeed.”
I doubt I shall ever reach the pinnacle of magic.
So instead, perhaps I should take on an apprentice to teach everything I know.
If that apprentice can be of help to others in the future, so much the better.
And this boy is the hero.
They say the person chosen as hero is always one of righteous heart.
From what Aurel has said, this boy is courageous and true.
If I help him to be strong, he will surely use that power for good as well.
“But my training will not be easy, you know.”
“Yes, sir!”
And thus, I took on my first apprentice.
To think, I set out to become that great being’s apprentice, yet wound up becoming master to an apprentice of my own instead.
Truly, one never knows what turns one’s life will take.
THE PONTIFF’S DECISION
“I see.”
After hearing my subordinate’s report, I’m unable to suppress a sigh.
The first information I received via Fartalk was that the capital of Keren County in Sariella had been attacked by a swarm of spider monsters.
Our soldiers, who were in the middle of a departure ceremony before leaving to attack the next town, were caught in this attack, though they fortunately managed to fend it off.
However, they took heavy losses and will no longer be able to march on as scheduled.
This means an immense delay to our plans.
In fact, it’s no longer clear whether we will be able to carry out this plan at all.
The spider army that attacked is most likely connected to Lady Ariel.
When we spoke in person, however, I didn’t get the impression that she was too attached to the Goddess religion.
Which leaves only one possible culprit in my mind.
The Nightmare of the Labyrinth.
A highly unusual spider monster, which Lady Ariel insisted was not her subordinate.
That is the only other being I can think of that could do such a thing.
However, this doesn’t quite seem to add up.
Lady Ariel stated that she had things “under control” with the Nightmare of the Labyrinth.
Though she declined to share any details, I assume that means they’ve reached some kind of agreement.
If so, why would something like this occur?
It doesn’t make sense.
However, the fact remains that it happened.
If what happened at our battle before was the work of the Nightmare of the Labyrinth, it must be supporting Sariella, acting separately from Lady Ariel.
If so, would it not be foolish to attack Sariella any further?
The elves are acting behind the scenes to create some kind of human trafficking ring.
The demons now have Lady Ariel as their Demon Lord.
There is a great deal that must be dealt with outside of Sariella.
And it might be dangerous to risk making an enemy of the mysterious power known as the Nightmare of the Labyrinth at a time like this.
“We shall reexamine our invasion of Sariella. Keren County will still be incorporated into Ohts, but let us refrain from attacking them any further.”
I see in the back of my mind the image of a certain man holding a young infant as I give these orders.
SPIDERS OF THE SAME STRIPE
After I defeated the Parallel Minds, I teleported back to where I’d come from, but Güli-güli was still there.
“Is it done?”
I nod in response.
But he continues to sit there wordlessly, and I certainly can’t start up a conversation, so the silence stretches on for ages.
The puppet spiders are totally frozen, presumably due to nervousness, which means the awkwardness only keeps deepening.
Right when so much time has passed that I’m starting to think I might die from the stress, the Demon Lord and the rest of our crew return from town.
You’re late!
You only ever stay one night; why did you choose now of all times to stay two?!
How do you think I felt keeping silent for two whole nights?!
“Whoops, that was longer than planned. Sorry, sorry.”
Sorry ain’t good enough!
The Demon Lord smoothly ignores Güli-güli without missing a beat.
Mera and Vampy are staring at him like crazy, but since the Demon Lord is ignoring him, it looks like they don’t want to be the ones to say anything, either.
The Demon Lord continues ignoring Güli-güli as she places a barrel firmly on the ground.
Ooh, a barrel.
You know what that means.
It’s gotta be booze!
Without further ado, drinking time begins.
As usual, the Demon Lord is knocking ’em back like water, and Güli-güli is keeping pace, too.
Hey, wait a sec! Why’s he drinking with us?!
Mera drinks a little bit, but mostly he just sits there looking pleased.
Over and over, his gaze keeps drifting toward Vampy, who’s once again snuck a sip of alcohol and passed out immediately.
Uhhh, what? Is this that lolicon thing I’ve heard people talk about?
Nah, I’m sure this is just a parental figure gazing fondly at his ward.
“So, what’re you doing here, Gülie?”
Aha, the Demon Lord finally brought it up!
“I had business with that thing,” Güli-güli responds coolly. “And since I was here, I thought I might pay you a visit as well.”
Wait, was he talking about me just now?
“That thing? What am I, chopped liver?”
Güli-güli looks at me, startled.
What are you so surprised about, pal?
“Ah, apparently White here starts talking when she’s drunk.”
“Is that so?”
Trying to cover his surprise, Güli-güli delicately takes another sip.
For some reason, that strikes me as so funny that I bust out laughing.
“Also, she starts laughing real easily.”
“Yes, I can see that.”
Everything’s suddenly so hilarious that I start pounding Mera on the back as he’s sitting next to me.
Somehow, that sends him flying into the air.
Hrm.
I thought I hit him pretty lightly, but it still sent him flying, huh?
The sight of him launching into the air like that sends me rolling around in an even bigger fit of laughter.
“Is he dead?”
“No, he appears to simply be unconscious.”
The Demon Lord and Güli-güli examine Mera seriously.
C’mon, don’t worry! The laws of comedy state that nobody dies from stuff like this!
“Well, I’ll heal him just in case. Anyway, what’d you need with White?”
“Its copies were running wild, so I had it stop them.”
As soon as she hears the word copies, the Demon Lord sits up with a jolt.
“So she really did have copies, huh?”
“You knew about this?”
“More or less.”
Ooh.
“Wait, for reals? How’d you know that? What are you, an ESPer? Huh? Are you?”
“An ESPer? More like an ace detective! I figured it out through pure reasoning! Bow before my powers of deduction!”
“Ooooh! Clap, clap, clap.”
“Bwa-ha-ha! That’s right—applaud me!”
For some reason, we’re kinda hitting it off right now.
“…I had wonder
ed why your personality transformed into this, but now I think I might understand.”
“I know, right? White might seem super-cool and quiet, but this craziness is what she’s like on the inside!”
“Craziness?! Whaddaya mean, ‘craziness’?!”
Just like that, we start arguing uproariously over pretty much nothing.
After we go on yelling like that for a while, things eventually quiet down.
“Ariel. Evidently, this creature’s copies intended to destroy all humanity.”
“Oh yeah?”
“And the reason they went on that rampage is most likely that they absorbed the queen taratect’s soul.”
“Huh! How ’bout that.”
“Ariel. Do you hate humans so much that you wish to destroy them?”
The Demon Lord takes another drink before she responds.
“Sure I do.” Finishing her glass, she launches into a rant. “Yeah, I hate them. I hate ’em so much, it drives me crazy! I hate those assholes who let Lady Sariel be their sacrifice so they can go on living their stupid lives, I hate this world that runs on Lady Sariel’s constant suffering, I hate every last bit of it!”
The glass in the Demon Lord’s hand cracks and breaks into pieces.
Ahhh.
So the Demon Lord is the reason my Parallel Minds went rogue.
I guess if the parent carries this much buried fury, it’s no wonder that would have an effect on her child, my mother.
And by absorbing Mother, my Parallel Minds inherited that, too.
Although I still think it’s pretty weak that beings who’re supposed to be copies of me would let themselves be influenced by something like that so easily.
“But that’s not what Lady Sariel wants. Which is why I’ve been holding back all this time. You feel the same way, don’t you, Gülie?”
“Indeed. I suppose I do.”
“Wow, that’s dumb.”
The Demon Lord and Güli-güli turn toward me in unison at my absentminded comment.
“Sorry, what was that?”
“That’s dumb, I said. I mean, am I wrong? It’s stupid to not do something you really wanna do just for someone else’s sake. I mean, what’s the point in not doing what you want? That kinda life’s no fun. Whatever other people might say or do, what matters most is what you yourself wanna do! Right?”
It doesn’t make sense to hold back for someone else’s sake.
I’ll happily trample all over someone else if it means I get to do what I want.