by CHIROLU
“Leave this place.”
The Lady Oracle’s words signified that she had rejected him. That cool, flat tone, which none would ever expect from her youthful outer appearance, reverberated quietly throughout the empty, silent space.
“Becoming involved with me will mean your death. Leave this place.”
Despite this, or perhaps precisely for that very reason, Smaragdi got the feeling that he mustn’t abandon this girl. He felt that flat, emotionless tone was actually the result of her desperately fighting her feelings.
“...Death comes for us all eventually. I believe that until that time comes, we have to try to leave something of value behind.” With a gentle look in his green eyes and a smile on his face, Smaragdi accepted even this prophecy of his own death. Seeing that, the Lady Oracle’s stoic expression was shaken by surprise, letting a bit of the childishness fitting of her age shine through.
This was the first meeting between Smaragdi and the girl driven to despair by her ability to see the countless futures that could occur.
As soon as he saw her, Smaragdi could tell why his pupil had been searching so hard for a magic instructor. To start with, it was exceptionally rare for mana traits, colors not normally possessed by a race, to manifest in multiple places. Not all people with high levels of mana possessed a mana trait, but all who had mana trait were born with a great deal of mana.
It was difficult to handle great power. But if one wasn’t able to restrain it, then they would be at the mercy of their own power.
Her power was so great that it had been necessary to have her undergo training since she was very young. Learning how to manipulate mana and cast magic was a matter that could not be avoided for devils, as it was tied to their everyday life.
“Pleased to meet you.”
The Lady Oracle’s expression shifted to one of bewilderment in response to Smaragdi’s words. She couldn’t understand how he could still offer such a gentle smile, even after being rejected and told he was fated to die.
Seeing the Lady Oracle like that concerned Smaragdi, and his smile shifted to a frown.
“Though... I can’t imagine they’d let an outsider like me serve the Lady Oracle so easily...” Smaragdi muttered with a sigh. Those words flowed forth so smoothly that Smaragdi realized he was already completely set on becoming involved with this young, tiny “Lady Oracle.” He decided that he couldn’t possibly abandon a girl with such a look in her eyes.
“I don’t believe you need to worry about that, Guru,” Smaragdi’s pupil replied.
“Aspida.”
“Several priests with divine protection from Banafsaj have acknowledged that you will come to serve the Lady Oracle.”
Smaragdi’s brow wrinkled slightly in response to Aspida’s words. Glimpsing over at the girl herself, Smaragdi saw that the Lady Oracle wasn’t questioning Aspida’s words.
So this is the temple’s way of thinking, is it...? The temple has continued to govern for a long time since the passing of the previous king, but to think that things had grown so distorted...
Smaragdi didn’t possess any divine protection.
Vassilios was ruled by the temple and the demon lord selected by the gods, so its people possessed deeper faith than those of other nations. But precisely because he lived out in the town, he questioned the idea of prioritizing the will of the gods in all matters.
And above all else, he had misgivings about the way the people of the temple didn’t question anything as long as it was the will of the gods.
Entrusting everything to prophecies granted by the power of the gods... Normally, it would be impossible to have absolute trust in someone you never even met... To not even have any doubts about that...
The way that divine protection from Banafsaj manifested itself was the gift of prophecy. Smaragdi was of course aware of that. However, he still found it greatly worrying for them to rely on that alone. If you could declare that something was secure because it had been prophesied, then there was the danger that someone could be convicted of a crime from a single prediction even if they hadn’t done a thing.
As a priestess with high-ranking divine protection, the girl before him now would later come to play a great role in the temple. In that case, as a teacher, he may have been able to imbue a different sense of values in her than those of the temple.
Behind his gentle smile, Smaragdi was thinking about what he could accomplish by getting involved with this girl.
†
The Lady Oracle’s name was Mov, a word that meant “purple.”
When Smaragdi heard her age, he was a little surprised. From her outer appearance alone Mov looked a little younger, but on the other hand, her expression seemed so terribly mature, making her seem to be older than her actual age.
Devils were a long lived race, and they spent a relatively long time as adults. As someone who still had some time before he entered old age but had already lived for quite a while, he found those who were still young quite charming.
With magic, one first designates an element, then make a declaration under their name to exercise control, then after vocalizing the effect to occur, one declares the keyword in the form of its spell name. Without that process, the spell will not activate. Alongside that, mana control techniques were also desired.
What Smaragdi taught Mov were matters related to the spells in the Holy and Dark attributes that she could use, as well as delicate mana control techniques.
“You’re rather good at memorizing things, aren’t you, Mov?” Smaragdi said in a gentle tone, only for Mov to cast her gaze downwards a bit. She had a look saying she rejected him when they first met, so Smaragdi hadn’t thought she would open her heart to him easily. But looking at her, it would seem that she had acknowledged his abilities as an instructor.
In terms of pure talent, Mov is far above me... I’m just more knowledgeable about handling my power because I’ve lived so much longer. Those thoughts were his true feelings, rather than mere self-deprecation.
Lacking in physical strength and possessing below-average levels of mana, he far from excelled as a specimen of the devil race. That was how he assessed himself. Because he possessed the capability to calmly make assessments, he was able to accurately grasp the reality of things.
Rather than letting that humble him, he instead focused his attention on learning to most effectively employ the power he did have, gaining a depth of knowledge in the process, which was a “talent” in its own way. And because he knew frustration and envy towards those with natural ability, that made him especially well-suited to teaching others.
While he instructed Mov, Smaragdi learned the details of just what had happened to her. That was proof that the gap between them was closing bit by bit, but he couldn’t simply feel happy about that. After all, it was tied to learning her heartrending past.
Though Mov was a priestess with a high level of divine protection, she had apparently been tasked with serving at the side of a certain child in the depths of the temple. It would seem the reason was because they were the closest in age, but Smaragdi could hazard a guess as to just who it would have to be to have someone as respected as the “Lady Oracle” serving them. And it was precisely because of his realization that he understood he shouldn’t broach the subject carelessly. After all, that child had become a victim of the Second Demon Lord.
“I could not do anything... Even though they call me the ‘Lady Oracle’... I was unable to protect even a single person...” Mov muttered with a sigh. Smaragdi sensed from those words just how deeply that had scarred her.
She wasn’t just tormented by the terror of the murder, but also her feelings of helplessness in regards to her own ability.
Smaragdi gently smiled, listening to all her complaints and grumbling. The time slipped by slowly and quietly for the two of them together here in this room in the temple, where a cool breeze blew through.
“...Have you been here in the temple all your life, Mov?”
Seeing
her give a nod in response to his question, Smaragdi stroked Mov’s hair. “I see... You’ve really given it your all, haven’t you?” he said in a kind voice, only for Mov to grab tightly on to his sleeve. This was a habit she’d been repeating from time to time as of late.
“It’s true that you possess a greater power than me, Mov, and may even have the strongest divine protection of anyone in the temple... but you’re still just a child, right?” His voice was so very gentle and kind. The green color of his eyes was like that of fresh leaves, and they had a warmth about them like spring sunlight.
“It makes us adults happy, when we get to pamper children.”
Devils would only allow those who were very close to them to touch the areas near their horns. But at some point, she had come to accept Smaragdi even touching her golden horns themselves.
The girl... she’s still so young, but she’s had the responsibility of a full-grown priestess thrust upon her...
Smaragdi held back a sigh that almost slipped out without him even thinking about it. That wasn’t how he should be presenting himself to the girl before him now.
For devils, a few years wasn’t at all a long amount of time. But even so, it was sufficient for a child to grow up quite a bit.
Seeing his excellent pupil Mov now earned a clear reaction from her teacher, Smaragdi. The assignments he gave her were most certainly not trivial tasks, but even so, she handled them with deceptive ease. However, that all led Smaragdi to one particular conclusion.
“There may not be all that much left for me to teach you.”
Mov looked shocked in response to those words, which were said in a kind tone but clearly declared their parting. It was rare for her to ever let her emotions show that clearly. That was proof of just how much she had come to rely on Smaragdi over these last few years, and how he soothed her heart.
Seeing Mov so pained troubled Smaragdi as well. He felt like his determination was about to waver, but on the other hand, he was starting to grow concerned over the sense of relief simply seeing Mov had begun to bring him.
“You’re not as afraid of women as you used to be, right?”
“But...”
“You should study under all sorts of people, not just me.”
Smaragdi’s expression grew clouded, seeing Mov grasp his sleeve so tightly. Rather than trying to shake her off, he gently placed his hand over hers.
“You’ll come to hear a great many voices and meet many people. Even if it’s just in the narrow confines of this shrine, please don’t limit your world further by trying to only ever involve yourself with me and me alone.”
It had been expected that Mov would come to rely on Smaragdi as he strived to watch over her and help heal the deep wounds of her heart.
He didn’t want to abandon her. However, this child would come to hold a great deal of authority in the temple. It wouldn’t do for her to become dependent on anyone, blindly trusting their words.
Mov was approaching the end of her childhood and becoming an adult woman. Taking that fact into account as well, he felt that now was the time to put an end to things.
“Though with that said, it’s not as though I have nothing left to teach you. It won’t be for such long periods as it’s been up until now, but I’ll still stop in at the temple from time to time.”
“Really...?”
“I’ll definitely keep coming to see you, so be sure not to push yourself too hard.”
He had realized that Mov’s voice was quivering. Even so, Smaragdi made sure to smile, so that it wouldn’t be too heartbreaking. It was a little awkward, but Mov smiled back at him.
Just as he had promised, even after he decided to distance himself from her, Smaragdi made periodic visits to the temple. It wasn’t the kind of intimate time together the two had shared in the past, with both sides instead clearly maintaining the distance appropriate for entertaining a visitor. As the next grand priestess, she was escorted by a chamberlain as if it was only natural, and didn’t get close enough for any friendly contact.
Even so, Smaragdi thought that that was necessary.
As Mov grew, so did the number of people who unjustly suspected Smaragdi of trying to grab hold of power through her. That wasn’t his intention at all, though. The current distance he had taken, watching over her as she grew into an intelligent young lady, felt appropriate to Smaragdi. That had surely been the sensible, logical decision to make.
It was only natural that they were teacher and pupil, and that was the relationship he was trying to maintain.
That was shaken a few years later, when Mov had stopped maturing and fully become an adult, on a certain day, late at night.
Sensing someone’s presence, Smaragdi lifted his gaze from the book he had in hand. Fitting to the commonly held values of the devil race, his dwelling was almost entirely an empty space. The only things he’d count as having value were the books related to his profession that he had gathered over a long period of time. However, almost all of those were simply copies. It was highly unlikely that a burglar would purposefully target this man’s dwelling in the rougher part of town. Even so, he took hold of the gnarled staff he normally never used, just to be safe. An expert in magic control like Smaragdi didn’t need such a tool to assist him, but it was only natural for him to want to keep such a thing close at hand, on the off chance it became necessary to use it as a weapon to beat his opponent with.
“Smaragdi...”
However, the small voice he heard from outside at that time truly caught Smaragdi off guard. It had come from a visitor he had never expected. Even having guessed at the owner of that voice, he couldn’t completely shake his disbelief when he opened the door. And even when his expectations were confirmed, he couldn’t wipe the look of astonishment from his face.
Amongst the dark of night, her brilliant purple hair and the silk she wore covering her head shone dimly in the pale light from inside the room. That silk headdress would normally be used to guard against the strong midday sunlight, but instead that accessory was being used to hide her eye-catchingly dazzling long hair, except for the bit that could be seen at the sides of her face.
She was supposed to be concealed away in the depths of the temple, but here she was in town, without even a single escort, in the dead of night. And she had known where his house was... There were countless questions he wanted to ask her. However, Smaragdi held back those words.
Just as he had done when she was a child, with a gentle smile and a kind tone, he called out to her. “What’s wrong, Mov?”
With that question alone, the tears she held back started flowing freely as she sobbed away. With her movements, the silk slipped off her head and fell to the floor. The silver ornamentation dangling from her now exposed golden horns sparkled in the light alongside her overflowing tears.
Smaragdi could not help but feel unnerved, seeing Mov sob as her shoulders trembled slightly. If he was going to treat her as a woman, then it wouldn’t do to invite her into his home so lightly. However, he certainly shouldn’t turn a girl who was unfamiliar with town away late at night.
Smaragdi opened the door to his home wide, deciding to postpone the decision on what to do till later, focusing on first stopping her crying.
“Something happened, right? If I’ll do, then would you care to discuss it with me?”
Looking like a child, she gave a nod and entered in through the door she was being invited through. As she sat down in the chair offered to her, the bright colors about her instantly brightened up the otherwise plain room.
Now fully visible in the light of the room, Mov’s tears slowed from the relief of seeing Smaragdi, and it was like all the tension drained from her body. Noticing that, Smaragdi also felt a little relieved too.
“Oh water, please grant my wish by my name and show yourself. 《Manifestation: Water》
Smaragdi chanted off that spell so smoothly it was like he was singing, filling the inside of his pitcher with water called forth via magic. He t
hen grabbed a handful of dried herbs from a container on a shelf and tossed them inside.
The water that he then poured into a cup gave off a slightly sweet scent.
“The aroma of this flower is said to be effective at helping one calm down. Go ahead and drink a little.”
“Thank you.”
Smaragdi sat down before Mov and watched over her as she gulped down the water. When he saw her expression had calmed a little, he asked in an intentionally relaxed tone, “So, just what happened?”
“...Lady Epilogi, she handed down a prophecy...”
“Lady Epilogi did?”
Smaragdi was also very familiar with that name.
Even since back when the previous king was alive, the one in charge of managing the temple was a woman with high-ranking divine protection from Banafsaj, who was called the grand priestess. That woman’s name was Epilogi.
The power of those with the divine protection of Banafsaj was that of prophecy, but the things that an individual could divine varied from person to person. There were those who could predict weather and natural disasters in advance, and those who could sense danger ahead of time. Their degree of precision also varied based on the strength of their divine protection.
Those various phenomena had their own complexity about them, and amongst them, the ability to read people’s futures in particular only ever appeared in priests and priestesses with the highest-ranking of divine protection. That also manifested differently from person to person.
Mov, who was called the “Purple Lady Oracle,” was able to see through countless possibilities.
Immediately after being exposed to the terror of the Second Demon Lord, all of the possibilities she could see with her power were overwritten with death. Death came equally for all living things, so the possibility of death followed everyone. There was no helping that Mov ended up with such deep scars on her heart, after being tossed about by her own ability and being surrounded by nothing but gloomy and ghastly futures.
Epilogi also saw people’s futures, but her power was to voice a future that was fated to be, more a proclamation than a prediction. At times it was only fragments, but that power was never wrong and guided a great many people and the very nation itself.