“Yes, I finally understand. Now, there’s only one thing I must do...”
Just as Kanami had said, I had no choice but to do what must be done. I must never stray from the path again.
“I don’t need this anymore...”
Standing up, I walked over and placed the book I’d kept hidden in my robe—the heroic tale of the Sovereign Queen Lorde I’d guarded all this time—upon the now-empty throne. There was no time for sentimentality. If I didn’t hurry, I wouldn’t catch up to him.
“Thank you. My dear family, Rouge. I’m truly glad I met you.”
“Family! I’m so glad! You’re really yourself again now!” Only then did Rouge finally shed all the worry plastered on her face, revealing a beaming smile. Seeing the smile of the girl I’d worried about, I felt reassured and turned to head outside the castle.
“Well then, Rouge...I’m off.”
“Huh, you’re leaving? No way! If you fight again, you’ll die! You don’t have to fight anymore! Let’s return to everyone together, okay?!” Rouge’s words conveyed her desire to start everything over with our family in the castle.
But I couldn’t do that. “I’m sorry. Please let me go... I am a dead person from the past. Therefore, guiding you who live in the present can only go this far.”
I had a place I had to go back to. And I couldn’t take Rouge and the others there.
“Please, all of you, join forces and keep moving forward. I won’t be there, but I know you can do it. Because you are my best students. You can survive anywhere. You can become anything. None of you will ever lose sight of yourselves again. As long as your home is here, no matter how much the world’s tribulations assault you, what’s truly important will never be lost. That’s the paradise I was aiming for.”
That paradise was already complete. In the end, I’d built it in a future too far away...but still, this country was a paradise. In other words, I could have saved the North all by myself, without relying on the Sovereign Queen Lorde. If I’d wanted to, I could have surpassed her at any time.
And in this paradise I’d created, the Jewelculi whom I’d saved would live on. It had come too late for the sorcerers of a thousand years ago, but their descendants had reached it.
“Professor! You’re finally smiling...” Rouge was surprised to see the look of accomplishment on my face.
Perhaps a full smile was rare for me. Thinking it was good that the last expression I showed her was a smile, I turned my back to Rouge too. Heading for the exit of the throne room, I offered my final words.
“Rouge, I leave the rest to you. Decide the future of this Northern Alliance by your own will. This nation of Viaysia was born from the strength of the oppressed. Therefore, you are the ones most worthy of carrying on its legacy. After I disappear, nations across the world will surely begin moving. I wish I could be involved in the aftermath myself, but that is impossible. It’s terribly selfish, but I will now attend to matters I must handle personally, and then I will vanish.”
I stated it clearly. I would not look back. Without seeing her expression, I listened only for her reply.
“O-Okay! Don’t worry! We’ll be fine! Because you saved us! Saved us—no, saved everyone in the North! So, really, you can leave the rest to us living in the present! We’ll handle things ourselves! We don’t need the legendary Sovereign Queen Lorde or the chancellor!” Her voice trembled slightly, but she didn’t falter until the very end.
“Truly, you are a student I can be proud of... With this, I can finally focus on what I must do, without worry.”
“Does that mean you’re going to fight the people outside?”
“Yes. They’re formidable foes, but they are enemies I must defeat with my own hands.”
“I’m not worried at all. Because I know you’re strong, professor.”
“Of course. I’m strong. Invincible.” Rouge was seeing me off without hesitation, and I responded in kind. “You must wait here. This place is safe. Though the sealing magic formula has been broken, its sturdiness remains unquestionable.”
“Yes I will. I’ll wait here in the castle you left behind until the battle ends...”
And then, the final moment arrived. Without even looking back, I knew Rouge was waving. We exchanged farewells.
“Goodbye, professor. Go safely.”
“I’m heading out.”
I passed through the throne room’s doorway and stepped out into the outer corridor. Due to the effects of my Anti-Founder Magic Seal, it was filled with a vast amount of vegetation. Even though I had done it myself, the journey was a bit taxing on my battered body.
The arm that had been sliced off by Kanami was stitched together with plant fibers, but the bone and nerves remained unconnected. The mere vibration of walking sent searing pain through it, causing my body to stiffen violently. Countless fractures and bruises made it impossible to tell where it hurt. Blood flowed unchecked from the wounds, so I had no choice but to cover the exposed flesh with tree bark to force a stop to the bleeding.
I felt like I was about to collapse. Honestly, my body wasn’t fit for walking anymore, let alone battle. Even from just my brief stint pretending to be a doctor, I could say with certainty that absolute rest was required. More than that, it was astonishing that I was alive at all.
But my body felt light. My steps felt lighter than when I’d walked through the castle days ago, lighter than when I’d walked through it a thousand years ago. Guided by the map in my mind, I pushed through the thick undergrowth, taking the shortest route from the corridor toward the outer wall.
I had to catch up to Kanami. No, that was wrong. I had to overtake him. I had a duty to reach that place before Kanami did. I now understood the meaning of his words. I absolutely couldn’t leave my precious family alone. On top of that, I needed to prove that my feelings for my family were even stronger than his. I was the strong son who carried on grandfather and grandmother’s will. I was Ide, the younger brother my sister was proud of.
“Wait for me!” Dragging my feet, sometimes nearly falling, I kept moving forward along this path. I wouldn’t wait for my sister’s return—I would go and meet her myself. And this time, I would save her.
Her younger brother had never been weak. He was a strong man who could spread his arms wide before her when she fell. From now on, no matter how powerful the enemy, I would absolutely protect her.
So just a little longer! Please wait just a little longer, sister!