Episode 56: Boy Of The Plateau (5)
“Kaiton, how’s the dispelling magic going?”
“Why? Are you in pain? Do you think you’re going to collapse? Should I get my Dad?”
When she arrived at the Ur house, Muriel, who’d been running around with Fen in the snowfield for a while, sat straight in front of the fireplace as usual and asked. Kaiton, secretly pleased that she sat right next to him, was surprised by her unexpected question.
“No, that’s fine. I can endure it.”
“There’s not much time left. It seems like a little more will do… Why?”
Kaiton was afraid that Muriel might have grown tired of coming to the plateau.
He wanted to check Muriel’s face, but she curled herself up in a gloomy position and buried her head in her knees.
Kaiton gently took his trembling hand off the bookshelf and lightly placed it on her shoulder.
Since his curse remained, he only touched her lightly, afraid that she might feel pain.
“Mure, look at me. What’s wrong? You’re not crying, are you?”
“…You always ask me that, as if you want me to cry.”
It was a relief that Muriel’s expression, when she raised her head, wasn’t too dark.
Muriel roughly swept her tangled hair back and hit Kaiton’s hand away as if he was bothering her.
Kaiton stared blankly at his pushed-away hand and, with an expression that showed no disappointment, and asked in pain, clenching his fist tightly.
“Then what is it? Are you checking if I’m slacking off? You don’t have to worry about that. I’m doing my best, even cutting back on sleep every night. Do you think there are many people at this age who can master a Level 3 composite magic? Build a little more patience.”
“…”
Normally, Muriel would have responded with something cheeky to shut Kaiton up.
But Muriel’s mouth remained tightly closed.
As if noticing the change in Muriel, Fen dug into her lap and whimpered, but instead of her usual bright smile, Muriel got lost in her own thoughts and absentmindedly stroked the white creature.
“W-What… What’s wrong… Say something…!”
Kaiton, oblivious to the fact that he was fidgeting and restless, pulled Muriel with his flushed face.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to come here anymore.”
“!”
“I’m going to the Academy. When the new semester starts, I have to move into the dormiatory.”
“…Then, when is that?”
“In a month.”
“Why all of a sudden?!”
Kaiton shouted in frustration, even though he knew that Muriel had done nothing wrong. He had thought that this day would come someday, but he didn’t expect it to come so soon.
By the time he could use magic of a different attribute besides black magic… By the time they could enter the Academy together… The thought that they could continue to stay together briefly crossed his mind. But the reality that it was impossible for him to enter the Academy due to the expensive tuition pressed down on him.
“You have no talent in magic. You said you’re a saint! Saints are designed to be unable to use magic in order to protect pacio…!”
“…Dad doesn’t believe that I can make prophecies.”
“If you explain it properly…”
“Actually, no one believes me except for you. They say I’m a liar. They say I claim to see the future just to seek attention. So me becoming a hero saves the world someday and a saint is all a secret. Because I don’t want to be treated like a liar again.”
“So you’re going to the Academy? You can’t do magic. You’ll just end up being ignored!”
“It’s okay. I… have different talents, I’m not a fool. I know that.”
“What’s the use of that? Others won’t know!”
“…But you know, Kaiton, don’t you?”
You know that I’m not a liar or a fool, right, Kaiton?
Muriel’s eyes were moistened as she asked.
Kaiton knew that he had to quickly comfort her. Muriel didn’t want to go to the Academy either, so how painful it must be to be forced to. He had to soothe her heart. But Kaiton was afraid that Muriel would go to a high and distant place where he couldn’t follow her, and she’d never look back at him. So, he didn’t have time to figure out how she felt in his urgency.
“I…It’s not enough for me to be the only one who knows. What’s the use of me knowing how amazing you are when everyone else ignores you!”
“I just need that… I only need you…”
“If everyone thinks that way, it becomes the truth! Why else would Ur still be called the Demon King? It’s because everyone believes so! If you go to the Academy, you’ll become a useless fool, a fool who always tells lies!”
“…But I don’t think that way! You’re the fool, you idiot!”
Bang!
Muriel slammed the door shut and ran out.
Ah…he hadn’t even cast a warming spell on her yet…
Kaiton couldn’t even think of following Muriel. He just blankly stared at the place she’d disappeared to, absent-minded.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
“Kaiton. Go and apologize.”
It was Sophie.
She glared at Kaiton with an angry face, with her hands on her hips.
Seeing his usually playful and affectionate mother showing a stern expression for the first time, Kaiton realized what a stupid thing he’d done.
“Why did you say such things? Did you mean them?”
“…No.”
Sophie sighed deeply as she looked at her surprised and daft son’s embarrassed face.
“Then go and apologize before it’s too late. There are things that can’t be undone if it’s too late, you fool.”
“…Apologize for what?”
“Muriel must’ve already been anxious, but you made her even more uncomfortable by acting like that. When you didn’t even mean it… Why can’t you be honest with your heart? ‘I’ll be lonely if we can’t see each other often from now on, but I still want us to be close.’ Just be honest like that.”
“…Do you think she’s really angry? Because I said it like I didn’t trust her?”
“Isn’t that only right? If you don’t know them, whatever someone says, it’s okay, when it comes from someone one cares about in their heart, it really affects them. She’ll be even more upset because she trusted you.”
“I… I was just so angry… I got so mad at the thought of her leaving…”
“Kaiton…Sweetheart…”
When Sophie hugged Kaiton, he was reminded of the curse mark he had left on Muriel. An eternal pain that only he could undo. As long as it existed, Muriel wouldn’t be able to completely leave him.
Sophie affectionately stroked Kaiton’s head, but couldn’t provide him more comfort than that fact.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
He recklessly went down the plateau, without even fully organizing what to say.
Whenever Muriel came to the plateau, she would walk up without relying on anything, so he thought he could catch up with her if he ran a little.
The sound of his breathing quickening rose to the top of his throat. To think Muriel climbed this path everyday, even though she disliked the cold – one side of his chest felt heavy.
“Why are you just standing there like a fool? Prove that you deserve to be on this plateau!”
“There’s nothing I can prove because there’s no qualifications required to be on the plateau.”
In the distance, he saw three figures from the plateau blocking Muriel and threatening her.
“Muriel!”
Kaiton called out her name loudly, to assure her that he had arrived, but Muriel briefly glanced at him and quickly averted her gaze.
Pause.
Did she not hear him calling?
No, she looked back at him, so she must have heard. Or maybe she didn’t recognize him?
That couldn’t be true…
Muriel turned her head away from him as if she didn’t care whether he came or not.
Kaiton became anxious that no amount of apologies would change Muriel’s mind.
“Kaiton knows me. My identity has been confirmed, so isn’t that enough? Just let me go.”
“That’s not possible. If you can’t use black magic, you’re buried in the snow of the plateau. That’s the law of the plateau. Just because you’re acquainted with a clueless person who can’t even use magic doesn’t mean you can go in and out of the plateau as you please.”
“Touch her, and you’ll die.”
Kaiton hid Muriel behind him, creating distance between her and the black wizards of the plateau.
The black wizards sneered. They were troublemakers around the same age as Kaiton who occasionally came to find Kaiton and Charlie, and harassed them, saying that those who didn’t use magic didn’t deserve to be on the plateau.
“Are you pretending to be tough in front of a girl now? It seems two people will be buried today. There are plenty who saw that blue-hair going back and forth between the kingdom and here. If you stand by her, you’ll die too, Kaiton.”
“Wait.”
“It’s dangerous, so stay behind, Muriel. I’ll handle this.”
Kaiton stopped Muriel, who was trying to step forward.
“It’s my business.”
“…”
“I don’t want to cause trouble. I won’t come to the plateau again, so just let me go.”
“And then you plan to bring Sharan’s knights back here with you?”
Thud.
A black whirlwind flew towards Muriel. It was small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, but it was a strong offensive magic. If it hit, it could injure Muriel deeply.
“Muriel!”
Kaiton pulled Muriel into his embrace and reached out his hand towards the black wizards.
Black flames gushed from his hand. It devoured the small whirlwind and continued to grow, attacking the three individuals.
“No!”
“Ahh!”
The screams of the black wizards and Muriel’s desperate cries erupted simultaneously.
“Stop, Kaiton! Don’t kill them!”
“…Ah, I won’t kill them. I was just trying to protect you.”
Kaiton whispered in a voice that sounded defeated by Muriel’s momentum. The massive flames that seemed capable of melting the three individuals quickly extinguished, as he said, and the frightened dark wizards stumbled as they ran away.
An awkward silence settled between Muriel and Kaiton.
Kaiton couldn’t bring himself to embrace or let go of Muriel’s arms wrapped around his back; he simply stood stiff. He had undoubtedly chosen to make that choice without hesitation to save her, but seeing Muriel’s crumpled expression as if she was betrayed, he felt like he had made a big mistake.
Only the lingering heat of his body told him how urgent the situation just now had been, but even that was quickly washed away by the cold wind of the plateau.
It felt like tens of thousands of needles were pricking at his skin.
Muriel’s silence was unbearable, and Kaiton’s heart felt like it was crumbling when her eyes looking at him looked full of reproach.
“M-Mure… Mure. Were you very surprised? Are you… hurt?”
“….”
“Mure… say something.”
“You promised me.”
“Huh?”
Muriel’s hand gripped Kaiton’s arm. He felt relieved by the touch that pulled at his collar. It was pathetic, but Kaiton wanted Kaiton to hold onto him even tighter, to be closer to her. However, afraid that Muriel might push him away, he only lightly rested his hand on hers.
“You promised you would never use black magic again.”
“I… I was just trying to protect you…”
“…That’s true. That’s right.”
“Mure, earlier I…”
“Kaiton, you don’t have to lift my curse anymore. So, from now on, never use black magic again. Not even for my sake. Never.”
“…Why are you suddenly so-”
“I saw a future where the black wizard Kaiton Ur kills me.”
Kaiton missed the timing for the apology that Sophie had told him about.
Because a bolt struck his head out of the blue.
“I’m really scared such a future will come.”
Aaa this is hurting me T-T
