NOVEL WEB Chapter 61
It’s been two days since I escaped the Hero Party.
“……”
If I said I didn’t feel a bit empty, I’d be lying.
I just sat there blankly on the bed, staring out the window.
If the Mine City Lakr was filled with gray, this place was filled with white.
The snow-covered city below the Mansion sparkled in reflection of the dawn.
As the night lights faded and the sun filled the void, people came out, breathing white mist as they headed to their own places.
The sight of the city coming to life never fails to entertain.
But that’s all there is.
I’m just sitting here, unable to do anything.
‘If only I could use magic…’
To forget the nostalgia of the Hero Party, I would have immersed myself in research.
But the master key and pen were likely taken by my mentor, as they didn’t summon.
‘Is this really the end…?’
To be honest, I didn’t want it to end like this.
I participated in the Hero Party for the selfish purpose of gathering materials for magic research.
But now, the party felt much more important than the materials.
I want to go back to Lakr right now and reunite with everyone from the Hero Party.
I want to see Ariya smiling softly.
I want to see Serelin showing her reliable side.
I want to see Rapirie laughing mischievously.
I want to see Nia leaning on me, asking for compliments.
And…
······I miss Aswel.
I don’t even know why.
“Really?”
Do I really not know the reason?
When I used the Infinity Atelier and encountered ‘that’, I felt like all the information of the Lakr area was flooding into my head.
And among that was the information of the emotions of the Hero Party.
The feelings Aswel had when he looked at my unconscious self.
It was a very faint moment, but it was stronger and hotter than anything else.
Since when had I tried to hide and ignore those feelings?
“······Aswel.”
This is bad.
The more I think of him, the more my thoughts spiral out of control.
Without permission, it began digging deep into my heart, finally trying to unearth the feelings I tried to hide.
I couldn’t stop it.
I pressed my hands against my chest, but I couldn’t hold back the storm of emotions and thoughts swirling around.
‘Aswel, I…’
Do I really only think of you as a Hero?
At that moment of realization, the door opened.
“Rui.”
“······Kunder.”
Kunder Stormblast.
He was the son of my master and the dragon who had learned magic with me in the past.
Kunder, still wearing a cold expression, bluntly stated, “Mother is calling.”
*
With Kunder’s help, I arrived at the Ice Castle located beyond the Mansion and over the hill.
This castle, which I had reached on foot after my reincarnation, was beautiful no matter how many times I gazed at it.
“Come in, Rui.”
“Master.”
And there was El Stormblast, the owner of this castle.
My master welcomed me as she sat on a chair that was stained white with frost.
Rumble…
Kunder, who had brought me here, disappeared in a flash of lightning.
Now, only my master and I remained in this vast space.
But since this situation had been common since long ago, it didn’t feel awkward.
“If you’d like to sit on my lap like old times, feel free.”
“······I’m fine, Master.”
A momentary impulse arose, but I restrained myself as best as I could and waited for my master’s words.
“Rui.”
“Yes.”
“As you know, you can no longer return to the Hero Party from now on.”
“······.”
I had somewhat anticipated this the moment Kunder brought me here.
She may not know the details of the original story, but she would know that the descent of Mercadieu shouldn’t happen right now.
And considering that I had used magic to stop Mercadieu, she would want to prevent it at all costs.
However, hearing such a fact directly from my master made my heart sink.
“Do you know why?”
“······Because I used my unique magic.”
There may be the descent of Mercadieu, but from my master’s perspective, it was hard to consider that my fault.
So the use of my unique magic, which had been warned about before, was indeed my fault…
“No, there’s an even more important reason. It’s the descent of Mercadieu.”
“······What?”
Wait a second.
I found it difficult to grasp my master’s words immediately.
In other words, it sounded like she was saying that I had summoned Mercadieu.
“You probably don’t know. If you did, you wouldn’t have entered the Hero Party by yourself.”
“Master, what do you mean by that…?”
“Rui, there’s a law in this world called ‘The Causality of Heroes and Demon Kings.'”
Hearing my master’s words left me utterly speechless.
No wonder—the original story didn’t mention this concept at all.
*
The Causality of Heroes and Demon Kings.
“The beginning started from the first battle.”
The first Hero and the first Demon King.
Their fight took place long before the birth of the primordial dragon.
“How much time has passed, and how many heroes and demon kings have been born, I couldn’t say. After all, this is the first time I’m seeing a hero of this generation too.”
The dragon named El Stormblast had lived for nearly a thousand years.
Even she was seeing a hero for the first time.
“The disconnect in records and information means the only link to past heroes lies within the church’s ‘prophecy.’ We have no choice but to rely entirely on that prophecy.”
And within that prophecy exists a single phrase.
[As the light grows brighter, the darkness grows stronger. As the flames rise, so does the smoke. Next to the infinitely shining light, there shall ultimately be infinite darkness, so beware of it.]
“Light represents the hero party, and darkness signifies the demon king’s forces. Until now, there have been various debates about this interpretation… Rui, you proved that.”
“………….”
“Blood-Penalty Mercardie. From the days when the demon king didn’t exist, tales of sightings and actual observations have occasionally surfaced. Such transcendent beings cannot easily traverse worlds.”
Just like a massive ship cannot dock at a small port, or a colossal airplane cannot land on a short runway.
Transcendent beings of ‘rank’ cannot meddle in each other’s worlds.
“However, if causality applies, there are exceptions.”
But the moment the hero party intertwines with the demon king’s forces, everything changes.
“Then, what happened in Alpares and Lakr was… because you entered the party.”
Because I, unlike in the original, entered the party, the two incidents were altered.
Not just one gloomy fortress appearing, but dozens.”
It was not the demon race Rastok, but rather his master Mercardie and Behiraja who descended.
It was because ‘I’ joined the hero party.
“As the darkness deepens, the light does not bloom, but as the light blooms, the darkness also appears. That’s another phrase of the prophecy.”
And this unfair law applies only to the hero party.
The strengthening of the demon king’s forces doesn’t automatically bolster the power of the hero party, nor does it grant access to the stronger ranks.
However, the moment even one transcendent being enters the hero party, the demon king’s forces gain the ‘legitimacy’ to manifest a corresponding rank in this world.
‘What the heck…’
As I quietly listened to my master’s words, my vision began to blur.
So, did innocent people get hurt or almost die because of me?
Did the hero party have to go through that hardship because of me?
‘Because of me.’
“However, I still don’t know if that causality applies to the ‘demon king’ and ‘hero.’ But Rui, do you understand now? Why I brought you here through Kunder.”
“………Yes.”
“From now on, I will search for a way to reverse that ‘causality’ with you. That way, your companions won’t fall into greater danger.”
“I will find a way to reverse that ’cause’ with you. Otherwise, your former companions will fall into greater danger.”
The master said this and snapped his fingers.
“Kunder.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Move Lati’s belongings here.”
From that day on, I couldn’t step outside the Ice Castle even a single inch.
It wasn’t confinement.
The master permitted me to go out to the Mansion or the Stormblast territory if I wanted.
But I chose to confine myself to this Ice Castle of my own will.
Most of my time was spent conducting magic research with the master or interpreting the prophecies.
About a week passed like that.
“Lati. Eat.”
Kunder came over with some food and offered it to me, but I didn’t really want to eat.
“······The master is waiting. I don’t have time to eat······.”
I tried to pass by him, but Kunder grabbed my arm and stopped me.
“I told mother. You can’t conduct research if you’re not in good health, so eat up.”
Why is he being so annoying?
I was about to get angry at Kunder for the first time.
I had hardly felt anger since coming to this world, but something was boiling up inside me.
“Kunder, who do you think you are······!”
“Lati!!!”
Boom!
At that moment, someone burst through the door of the Ice Castle as if to destroy it, calling my name.
I turned my head and saw a familiar face.
“Sister Lati…?”
A woman with striking red hair was approaching me, tears streaming down her face.
“Look at you…! You’re so skinny, you look like you’re going to wither away…!”
“Ugh, bleh.”
“Kunder!! If Luis is here, you should have contacted me!!”
“Lati, it’s actually because I didn’t want to bother you…”
“Then be a proper older brother! You’re always asking me, ‘What should I do to be a good brother?’ but you treat Lati like this right in front of her?”
“·········.”
“I might as well cancel the wedding and take Luis away myself?!”
“S-sorry.”
“······Luis! Now that I’m here, don’t worry! I’ll take care of you better than this husband who can’t even do his job right!”
“Ah, no… Ugh.”
Even though I wasn’t feeling well nor good, her sudden appearance turned everything upside down.
The woman who laughed and seemed to mold me like dough was Lati Stormblast.
Kunder Stormblast’s wife and a member of the Inferoblayno Dragon clan ruling over the volcano near the Empire.
At the same time, she had been the one who cherished me more passionately than anyone else during my days at Stormblast.