96 – Land of Specters (2)
Thunk.
“Haah…”
The door closes. Aris let out a bitter sigh with a sour expression. As expected. It turned out as she expected, that Prah had a special relationship with Asti.
Honestly, she had some suspicion. No, she could not not know. Even when she was close to him, he was never as close to any other girl.
“After he distanced himself from me, I have continued to spend time with Asti, so it’s something I couldn’t ignore.
“I can’t help it.”
She thought she couldn’t help it. Even if she had quickly realized her feelings, she wouldn’t have felt this bitterness.
They say you only realize the value of something when you lose it, right? Although she had felt this emotion since she grew distant from Prach, it shook her heart even more intensely today.
For a moment, she stepped outside the headquarters. It would have been nice if it rained on a day like this. But contrary to her wishes, the sky was clear.
“I hate it, really.”
She mumbled slightly. Even if she said she couldn’t help it, her angry heart wouldn’t disappear. Asti must have had some advantage that Prach didn’t have, which made him open up to her.
However, she had no intention of resigning herself. She had already made up her mind. She didn’t want to treat Prach like an object anymore. She just wanted him to look back at himself. No matter what it took.
She didn’t want to cling to someone like she used to. Through her experiences with Prach, she had grown little by little as a person.
“Let’s not think about anything related to Prach. It will only make me bitter… For now, I need to focus on what I have to do.”
She went to Prach’s room, not simply to spend time with him.
She had something to ask him.
How did he become so strong in such a short period of time?
Alice recalled the battle she had with Setwee a while ago. At that time, when Prach displayed his brilliant performance, she was consumed by intense self-deprecation.
Magic that didn’t work on Setwee. In that situation where she could do nothing but beg Prach and Ruslan for help, she felt both self-deprecation and powerlessness.
The powerlessness struck her painfully, and she thought that she had to become strong somehow.
…Of course, it was a little awkward to ask Prach about it now, so she had to come up with a way to become strong on her own.
Honestly, it would be a lie if she didn’t feel impatient. But thanks to her slightly grown mental resilience, Alice could objectively evaluate her state.
“It won’t change anything if I’m impatient. In the end, magic is a study of cultivation. I have to make an effort to understand magic more and accumulate more magical power. Ah.”
When her thoughts reached that point, she soon understood in her own way why Prach became strong so quickly.
“…Prach didn’t become stronger in a short period of time. He simply reached the culmination of what he had accumulated. Considering Prach’s efforts so far, it was actually strange that he hadn’t demonstrated his potential until now.”
She was someone who knew better than anyone how much effort Prach had put in. There was no one who knew him as an effortful person as much as she did. Because of that, he was able to reach that point.
Suddenly, she began to feel ashamed of herself.
She had been distracted by strange things, neglecting her cultivation to that extent. Of course, she was at an age where love and other matters were important, but this world was currently threatened by the existence of hell.
And she was a student of Seluce Academy, established to exterminate those hellish beings. In other words, it meant that she was not fulfilling her duty.
There were students who thought that their duties were not important, and she was one of them… However, recently, her thoughts had gradually changed as she experienced the events of the recent magical crisis, the outbreak of magic creatures.
She felt the sense of urgency that she could die tragically if she made a mistake.
And that thought reached its peak during the battle with Setwee.
She believed that an unusual incident would occur, and she felt that she could not rely solely on someone else in any other battle.
“For now, I’ll deal with Prach later. Now… Yes. I need to focus on what I have to do.”
She lowered her head from looking at the sky and looked ahead. The task at hand was not to waste time idly like this.
It was time to accumulate more magical power and knowledge of magic, even if it was just a little.
* * *
A week passed by faster than she thought. Adrienne honestly had no peace of mind. She had persuaded Archbishop Antonio and the Third Commander Ars to join her, and she organized an investigation team to explore the land of the spirits.
She already had complete authority from the Pope. Because she could autonomously structure the investigation team, she had no trouble selecting only the talents she needed and putting them in the team.
Of course, Luslan and Prakh were included in the team. Since Luslan had willingly agreed to join the investigation of the land of the spirits, the only remaining person was Prakh.
“So, you came to find me.”
“Yes, senior.”
“But why me, out of all people?”
“Because you were strong enough not to lose in the battle against the Holy Knight Esthe.”
“There are many strong individuals in the Holy Empire besides me. There are also Commander Knights participating in this mission.”
“That’s true. But unless we know when and where unexpected variables will arise, we definitely need to be prepared.”
“…Are you overestimating me?”
“Anyone who saw you that day would only be able to overestimate you, senior.”
“I’ve mentioned it before, it was just a coincidence….”
“It was just a coincidence. Is that what you think?”
Prakh nodded at Adrienne’s words.
“I think differently. Even if it was a coincidence, even if the candlestick opposed the Holy Knight Esthe and borrowed strength from you… it means that you possessed at least the minimum qualification for that candlestick to react.”
“Hmm….”
“Please trust me. I will repay you in any way I can.”
“Then… there is a condition. I don’t need a separate repayment, just fulfill that condition for me.”
“A condition? Please tell me.”
“Is it okay to take my acquaintances with me?”
“If they are acquaintances… Senior Asti?”
“No. There are acquaintances who came to the Holy Empire coincidentally when they heard rumors about the land of the spirits. You probably saw them at the Academy too. Nea and Lina….”
“Ah. I know Lina too. She was always with you, senior…. Is there any reason?”
“That guy has a tendency to attract spirits around him.”
“What?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“I was a bit suspicious too… but it turned out to be true. I learned tactics because of it. He was constantly being followed by spirits, and he was treated like a figure of talent. I thought that maybe I could somehow drive away the spirits if he was treated as the embodiment of genius of the spirits.”
“Ah….”
“The Lady may have some aversion, but isn’t the study of sorcery not solely for wicked purposes? There is even a faction in the Imperial Tower dedicated to researching sorcery.”
“I don’t particularly have any aversion. The problem lies in using sorcery for malicious deeds, not in sorcery itself.”
“Anyway, both that guy and Nea know how to use sorcery. So, if they travel together, it might make it easier to communicate with the spirits and also help resolve their grudges.”
“Indeed… It seems that pouring holy power to purify the spirits’ land is not enough. It would be a better approach to find out why the spirits cannot leave this world and carry grudges, and release those grudges. I like that idea.”
“Then, I will talk to them separately tomorrow.”
“Yes. And we will depart in three days. There will be no cumbersome procedures such as departure ceremonies planned, as the purpose of the investigation team is to quickly determine the cause of the spirits’ land manifestation and the grudges they carry, and eliminate that land.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you for willingly accepting my proposal. I feel secure having someone like you, a senior, by my side.”
“…That’s an exaggeration. But as I said earlier, I am not an extraordinary person.”
“It’s not just because of your strength that I overrate you. It’s the courage to stand against Sen Tohi with your immense power. I am overrating that courage.”
“Ah.”
“In such situations, there are not many people who can move forward. The strength to overcome adversity. That is your greatest asset as a senior. I hope you can demonstrate that strength in this investigation as well. Of course, if the investigation ends successfully, you will receive a well-deserved reward.”
“I don’t need a reward…”
“No. It’s an unreasonable story that, despite willingly giving you my time, there is no reward. You can look forward to it. The Holy Kingdom is quite prosperous.”
“…Well, I know that very well. In that case, I will gladly accept.”
Adrian and Frakh smiled at each other.
everyone growing up, noice….