Chapter 73
That’s Not What’s Important Right Now
Just yesterday.
Zikvert had left the Imperial Academy and was running across the plains near the city of Xelphon.
“…!”
A severe headache throbbed in his head.
In his wolf form, Zikvert passed out for half a day.
When he woke up, another entity was speaking inside his mind.
[Are you the Serdiya of this era?]
“Who are you?”
[A star that gave power to your ancient ancestors. My name is Kaishan. Consider it an honor to hear my precious name, little wolf.]
What is this?
Zikvert brushed it off as insignificant.
What was more pressing was finding Riche in Xelphon.
Zikvert, still in his wolf form, stood up.
[Wait! Hold on!]
Kaishan shouted at Zikvert, who was about to start running again.
[Why are you in such a hurry? The power that allows you to transform into a beast is from me.]
Zikvert shook his head vigorously.
The voice ringing in his mind was incredibly annoying. He wished it would leave.
[No. There’s nothing around here that can serve as my vessel.]
“Riche is in danger.”
[Who is Riche?]
“…Rtiom.”
[Oh, Rtiom?]
Kaishan howled in amusement.
[If Rtiom is in danger, then follow my directions.]
“Why should I?”
[Because there are people targeting Rtiom there.]
“…”
And so, following Kaishan’s guidance, Zikvert found himself here.
In an underground temple adjacent to the Lom Desert.
“On the day of reckoning, the creation of Lord Tita…”
A priest dressed in white robes continued his sermon.
Zikvert, in his spider form, moved out of the temple.
* * *
Using the unique properties of the black star fragment, it wasn’t difficult to locate Kaceley.
With a ring on her finger, Riche walked along the street, touching a wall, imagining Kaceley as she moved.
[Meow.]
After narrowing down the paths where Kaceley’s figure appeared, she mapped out his movement routes.
Riche staked out one of the alleyways, eventually catching Kaceley, who had transformed into a cat.
“Instructor Kaceley, I found you.”
Kaceley struggled in Riche’s arms. When Riche loosened her grip, Kaceley landed on the ground and returned to his human form.
He was shorter than Riche, with gray short hair and hazel eyes. Kaceley asked Riche,
“How did you find me?”
“I followed you.”
“Followed me?”
Kaceley’s eyes sparkled. Followed? He hadn’t noticed at all. Had she been stealthy enough not to get caught?
Kaceley handed Riche a certificate of passing.
“Congratulations, Trainee Riche Lodwick. You’re the first to pass my preliminary task.”
To think she would catch him in just two weeks.
Kaceley felt more pride than frustration.
As expected, she had what it took to be his apprentice.
“As a celebration for passing, should I treat you to something nice?”
It was time to lure Riche in.
Though Kaceley asked with sincerity, he realized his mistake when Riche replied after receiving the certificate.
“No, participants and examiners aren’t allowed to meet privately.”
She was right.
If he had known he’d lose this much time during the preliminaries, he would have changed the task to a duel, like Lodwick’s.
“Ugh. What a waste.”
Kaceley could only watch Riche leave, unable to say a word. Observing from afar, Kaceley’s assistant, Rix, clicked his tongue in disapproval.
* * *
“…”
Riche walked through the streets, holding the certificate. There were 3 months and a few days left until the finals.
[What should I do until then?]
‘Who knows.’
**Python let out a yawn, bored.**
It would be nice to visit the Forest of Beasts if there was nothing else to do, but with the contractor unable to leave the city, a trip to the graveyard was out of the question.
[Morgan Daiel managed to go outside. Can’t we do the same?]
‘We can’t. Morgan went because it was part of his preliminary task.’
The other day, the morning in Xelphon had been quite noisy. It was because the cart Morgan Daiel had dragged back from the Lom Desert was far from ordinary.
The cart was filled with the hearts of beasts. But what really stunned people was what came after.
A giant heart, tightly bound in ropes, was being dragged along the ground, hanging from the cart.
It was so huge that people watching from afar thought a large bear was lumbering down the road and ran inside their buildings.
“Did he catch something that big?”
“By himself?”
People opened their windows and gathered along the roadside to witness the spectacle.
Eventually, more and more people couldn’t take their eyes off him and followed Morgan. By the time he received his preliminary results, he was surrounded by a crowd.
“Twenty-nine, …thirty. You’ve passed.”
With the word “pass,” applause erupted from the crowd.
Good grief. Last year, he caused a ruckus with his victory, and now this. He’s a popular guy.
The swordsmanship examiner handed over the certificate and asked,
“Why is one of them so large?”
“Oh, the thirtieth beast was just really big.”
If it was that big, most people would run away and hunt another beast.
The examiner’s expression showed exhaustion.
It seems like Morgan Daiel is going to win again this year.
And back to the present.
Riche recalled the Morgan she had seen in the last few days and Ian, whom she had seen in her memories of the ornament.
‘Morgan… was Ian.’
Is that why she felt that way?
Those overwhelming emotions she sometimes felt when she saw Morgan.
Was that her unconscious longing for Ian?
“I will keep living, for you.”
Those words Ian had said to her as a child. Riche had thought that it was her words that gave Ian a reason to keep living.
If Ian was living for her, that was fine. After all, the eight-year-old Ian she had first met was a child who had no attachment to life. If he survived because of her, that was good.
But.
[You must survive if Rtiom is to survive.]
The last six years.
She had become a burden to Ian. She had caused him to abandon everything and leave.
After Duke Gerwer was imprisoned, Ian finally found a place to live. That young Ian.
“It’s just a piece of glass…?”
Ian, why don’t you resent me?
The day she returned the ornament, Riche swallowed the words that almost slipped from her lips. All of the misfortunes you’re experiencing right now are because of me. Because I went back in time.
[Riche, I miss you.]
Why did you call me with such a gentle face?
Out of all the truths you poured into that piece of glass over so many days, why was there not a single word of resentment toward me?
Riche wanted to grab Ian and ask, but she couldn’t.
‘Not now.’
Riche wiped away her tears.
Calling Morgan by Ian’s name now would undo all of Ian’s efforts to live as Morgan Daiel.
For now, she couldn’t call Morgan by his real name, Ian. Especially not after what Hikenka had said to Ian.
**[Change your name. It’s the easiest way for death to find you.]**
Three years from now.
At the age of 19, in the basement of the Gerwer Duchy, Riche had met her previous life’s death.
If she could pass this moment, then Ian’s death would stop chasing him.
‘Python, what will happen if Ian and I survive past the age of 19?’
[You’ll forge a new fate. Humans are like that. When they overcome near-death struggles, a new life opens up. I saw many of them on battlefields in my time.]
Python spoke cheerfully on purpose, knowing his contractor was worried about Ian Dwain.
Ever since the day she returned the ornament, her pillowcase had been soaked countless times.
She’d even forgotten about returning the star fragment to its owner.
Judging by how she used it today to find a cat, she didn’t seem intent on returning it at all.
[Morgan Daiel, do you think you’ll always be the headmaster’s favored hound? Remember, a hunting dog without use ends up on the dinner table.]
Python recalled the moment when that Professor Declan or whatever had spoken harshly to Ian Dwain. Luckily, that memory played out in front of him.
‘Who would give back a star fragment once it’s in their hands?’
Python snickered inwardly.
Meanwhile, Riche was thinking over what Python had said and made up her mind.
At 19, Ian’s fate would change.
‘I will survive for you, Ian.’
—
In a village half a day’s ride from Xelphon City.
Inside a large tavern, a handsome man sat at a worn wooden table, looking out of place.
His neat, stylish suit, polished shoes, and clean-cut appearance, with sky-blue hair and cool blue eyes, made him stand out. His warm smile only added to his charm.
People in the tavern stole glances at him, some contemplating whether to strike up a conversation, but the person sitting across from him stopped them.
“…”
Due to the hood of his robe, the man’s face was obscured, but his large build suggested he could be a successful mercenary. His stoic demeanor made it even harder for anyone to approach the table.
As a result, the area around them was practically deserted.
The blue-eyed man spoke casually to the man across from him.
“So, Siegbert, I get that this kid you’re protecting is supposedly some ‘great star’ or whatever.”
“Kid?!”
“He’s not my son.”
The blue-eyed man pointed to a child about five years old sitting next to Siegbert, who shared his red hair and green eyes.
“Is that the reason we’re delaying rescuing Riche?”
A few hours earlier.
Lily’s letter had arrived in front of Lovenhaph.
Brother, it seems like Riche might get kidnapped.
Go and be the hero.
Coincidentally, Lovenhaph had been working near Xelphon.
He immediately dropped everything and rode toward Xelphon, only to find Siegbert, transformed into a wolf, running alongside his horse.
“You can’t go that way,” Siegbert had said, dragging him to this village instead.
After they sat down in this quiet tavern, Siegbert began explaining.
“Nice to meet you, Hibetzman. I am the great star, Kaishan.”
“What are you doing, Siegbert?”
Siegbert had started speaking nonsense about a star inside his body and how it was using him to communicate.
‘Honestly, I thought he had lost it.’
Lovenhaph had refused to believe him, and Kaishan, in Siegbert’s form, stepped outside in frustration.
When he returned, it was the usual Siegbert and the child sitting before him now.
“I briefly came out as a thought form. I can’t stay long like this because I don’t have enough power.”
The fact that he was talking like a shaman about thought forms was suspicious, but since he was claiming to be one of the great stars that created the first generation of powerful beings, Lovenhaph continued his questioning.
“Why did you come to this village? If Riche is in danger of being kidnapped, we should head to Xelphon immediately and request contestant protection. Or at least alert Derkedeon.”
“We know who’s behind this.”
The child, Kaishan, answered.
Lovenhaph asked him directly, “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“You said ‘they.’ It’s a group, right?”
Kaishan grinned.
“You’ve got a sharp mind, Hibetzman.”
“Why are they trying to kidnap Riche?”
“They plan to gather powerful beings and release the true form of the great stars. Rtiom is the bait to capture those beings.”
The true form of the stars.
Kaishan mentioned that Derkedeon and Lovenhaph both had those true forms inside them.
They were after that? It didn’t feel real yet.
“Two of the other stars are trapped in some kind of prison, right?”
“That’s how it was the last time I saw them. The one that gave Rodwick his power is unknown, but your star hasn’t been released yet. If it had, it would’ve come looking for you like I did.”
“Well, whatever.”
Lovenhaph looked at Kaishan.
That conversation wasn’t what mattered at the moment. What was important was,
“When are we going to take down these kidnappers?”
It was all about eliminating Riche’s enemies.
