Chapter 9 – Yuuki, Iris, and Odette Attend the Magic Guild Orientation
A few days after the incident in the ‘Black Forest’, I headed to the royal library with Iris and Odette. Our objective, of course, was to find the present-day location of Fira Village.
200 years had passed since I died in my past life. The War of the Eight Kings had happened in the interim, changing the very shape of the countries and the locations of the villages.
The only person who might know would be Rhodelia of the Grail Trading Company. But her ancestors had left the village to start their business right after I died, so it was a long shot. I’d sent an inquiry to Rhodelia, and this was the message the bat brought back:
“‘Fira Village existed only for our Lord. After our Lord was lost, we were not to cling to that land. We were only to prepare for his reincarnation.’”
I sent back a simple reply: “Sorry. I think I educated your ancestors wrong.”
…Though I have a strong feeling it wasn’t my fault.
And that’s what led the three of us to the library. We had apparently been expected; a librarian immediately brought us to a private reading room and provided us with a current map and an old one. We spread both maps out on the table. The new map was from a few years ago. The old one depicted the lands right after the War of the Eight Kings, making it about 150 years old.
“This should be perfect,” Odette said, looking at the two maps. “With your past-life memories, you two should be able to spot the village at a glance, correct?”
“…”
“…”
“…Why are you both looking away?”
“Well, for the last hundred and fifty years of my past life, I almost never left the village,” I admitted.
“You had it good, my Lord!” Iris chimed in. “I never took a single step outside it.”
Iris—Alice—had still been a child back then, so she’d never left. As for me, I’d wandered for 50 years, but after settling in Fira Village, I spent the next hundred and fifty cooped up in the old castle playing ‘village guardian deity.’ I didn’t have much confidence in my geographical memory from that time.
“It was 200 years ago. I’m sure you had your reasons,” Odette said, ever so understanding.
“…You’re a good person, Odette.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, can you remember anything?”
“Anything, huh…” I closed my eyes, digging through my past-life memories. My wandering days were 350 years ago. I tried not to think about that time, but forcing myself to remember…
“To the north, there was an inland sea. I crossed it… then climbed a mountain to reach Fira Village. And the Sanctuary Church… they came from the east. There was a major city there, where they had a branch. A river also flowed through the town at the base of our mountain, with its source nearby.”
“You remember all of that quite clearly.”
“It’s 350-year-old information, so I’m not 100% sure. But if we look for those conditions…”
“Right here,” Iris said, pointing to a spot on the old map. It was a mountainous region in the northeast of a small, long-gone kingdom. To the south was an inland sea, and a river flowed nearby. The shape of the inlet… it looked just like the terrain I’d seen from the sky back then. There weren’t any other places that matched, so this had to be it.
“It was surprisingly easy to find.”
This was the royal library, after all; its collection of maps and documents was first-class. If I had tried to find the location of a 200-year-old village on my own, it would have been impossible. I had to be grateful.
“So, where does that correspond to on the new map?”
“…It’s north of the capital,” Odette noted. “This area is… let’s see.”
“It’s about a five-day ride from here by horse,” Iris added. “However, it’s very close to the border of the neighboring country. It would be dangerous to go by noble carriage. It would be better to go incognito.”
I looked at the spot she was pointing to. Fira Village wasn’t on the new map, but I could recognize the terrain. I had no idea if my old castle was still standing, but the Lord that Lyle and the others had stolen should be there. The Lord of Nosferatu, which bore my name.
I had to go. I’d been planning to visit my old home at some point anyway. It wouldn’t be so bad to travel the same route I had 200 years ago.
“Still… looking at this map really makes you feel how much time has passed.”
I compared the two. The names of the countries, towns, and villages on the old map were gone from the new one. They had either vanished or been renamed. The war the Sanctuary Church started had truly reshaped the world.
The place where the capital of Fira Village’s old kingdom used to be was now just empty land. There was a small village nearby and some noble’s territory to the north, but that was it. Further north, a new nation had formed in the last two hundred years: the Gaiul Empire, a military state. It shared a border with our Kingdom of Liestia, but things were currently peaceful. That was good, but—
“Iris, you’ll have to stay behind for this trip.”
I couldn’t exactly take a princess to a town near a hostile border. I wouldn’t even be able to come up with a plausible excuse.
“…But I… I wanted to see the ruins of Fira Village, too…” Alice pouted, her shoulders slumping.
“You must be patient,” Odette chided gently. “As a princess, you can’t be absent from the capital for a ten-day round-trip incognito. It’s impossible.”
“And the distance is too great for summoning,” I added. “Even if I could, you’d have no way back except with me. If a princess went missing for several days, it would be a huge problem.”
“…Ugh.”
“You have to sit this one out. I promise I’ll tell you everything I find.”
“…Promise?”
“Have I ever broken a promise?”
“You still haven’t made me your bride! You said you’d watch over me until I grew up, but you died first! You said you’d never make me cry, but—”
“I’m sorry! I was wrong!” I quickly stroked her head.
Iris’s cheeks were still puffed out, but she seemed to relent. “…Fine. I’ll be patient this time.”
“It’s not like I can leave immediately anyway,” I said. “The Magic Guild orientation is coming up.”
The event that had been postponed because of the Dorothea incident was finally back on. The three of us would be participating. That’s when we’d be entering the great dungeon, Elysium. I’d have to use the opportunity to return the Holy Sword, since I did summon it without permission.
“After the orientation, I’ll head out. Will you need a guardian knight for anything in the meantime?”
“Not for a while.”
“There is the early summer festival in a month, but Her Highness has no public duties until then,” Odette confirmed.
“Got it. I’ll apply for a vacation as my reward for capturing Dorothea. I’ll use that time to go to the ruins of Fira Village.”
“No fair. I want to apply for a vacation, too,” Iris grumbled, dangling her feet. “Not that I’d be able to travel freely even if I got one.”
“Things would have been simpler if I’d just asked for a noble title as a reward.”
“Brother Cain said no to that, though. My shortest route was to have House Grossalia promoted three ranks at once, have you marry me, and then we’d go to Fira Village on our honeymoon.”
“Noble rules are a pain,” I grumbled.
Odette pressed her fingers to her forehead. “Listening to you two makes noble titles sound completely worthless… You really don’t care about status at all, do you?”
“I’m just being Alice! I’m a good princess, I swear~”
“Hey. Your ‘Alice’ accent is showing, Iris.”
“Hehe. It’s my strategy to get you to call me ‘Alice’. I’m a maiden, you know~”
“You…”
“It’s your fault I died a maiden in my last life, my Lord! You’re going to take responsibility this time. I’ll make sure of it!”
“Don’t just announce things like that…”
“…Hmph.”
“I know, I know. I’ll keep my promise in this life. Is that good enough, Alice?”
“…Ehehe.”
“This is getting embarrassing to listen to…” Odette muttered. “Should I… just go home?”
“No, we need you here.”
“Master and servant across time, parent and child in a way… and yet also fiancés. Your relationship is just so… complicated.”
Is it? As far as I was concerned, Iris was Alice’s reincarnation, so I would protect her and stay by her side. That was it. Seemed pretty simple to me.
“Right, Odette, you’re also getting a reward from Prince Cain, aren’t you? What did you ask for?”
“The right to explore Elysium, the Capital of Ancient Magical Civilization,” she declared, puffing her chest out with pride. “It’s the same right you received for defeating Alex Kielce: permission to delve to the C-rank levels. If I can conquer the third level, I’ll officially become a C-rank mage.”
“Skipping right to the intermediate ranks, huh.”
“I have you to thank for it, Yuuki. Without you, it would have taken much more time.”
“‘More time,’ not ‘impossible.’ That’s so like you, Odette.”
“But of course. I do not underestimate my own abilities.”
“If you had a Lord, you wouldn’t misuse it,” I mused.
“I agree,” Iris added. “Odette would use the power of an ‘Ancient Artifact’ for the good of the people.”
Iris and I leaned in and whispered.
“In that case, we should probably help Odette get promoted.”
“I agree. If Odette becomes the head of the Guild, we can stay in touch even after we… go missing. We’ll be able to get information from the capital and the royal family.”
“Alright. I’ll come up with a plan later.”
“Let me know when you do.”
“I can hear you! Stop plotting such outrageous things!!”
We got yelled at.
But I meant it. Aside from Iris, I trusted Odette more than anyone in the Magic Guild. She knew about Iris’s condition and chose to stay by her side. On top of that, she had tried to yield the ‘Guardian Knight’ position to me during the trial. She was loyal, had a strong sense of justice, and was a skilled mage. A world run by people like her would be safer for “less-than-human” people like me and Iris.
I explained all this to her (with Iris nodding along enthusiastically).
“…”
Odette just turned bright red and fell silent. She stared at me for a long moment, then said just one thing,
“…I think I understand now… why your villagers adored you for 200 years.”
After that, we left the private room and returned the maps to the librarian. The three of us exited the library together. Odette’s face was still red. Iris, on the other hand, had immediately switched back to her princess-mode and climbed into the royal carriage waiting out front. This had been an official, approved outing. She headed back to the western villa.
“Guess we should head back too.”
“Y-Yes, quite.”
Odette and I started our walk back toward the noble district. The sun was already setting, staining the sky a deep red. We were both in our Magic Guild robes. The setting sun was too bright, so I pulled my hood down low. When I glanced over, Odette had done the same.
“…You know, Yuuki,” she began quietly.
“…What’s up, Odette?”
“I… I’m truly glad I met you. Even if you weren’t Iris’s Lord, and not a reincarnated guardian deity, I’m sure… I’m sure we would have become friends.”
“Thanks, Odette.”
“Even when you and Iris one day disappear from the human world, you will always be my precious friends. Please… don’t forget that.”
“We won’t. I’ll never forget.”
Feeling a little embarrassed myself, I kept my hood low and said, “I don’t know how long my life will last, but until the day I’m gone, I’ll be sure to pass on the story of our dear friend, Odette Sley.”
“That’s far too much, so please stop!”
We laughed, making small talk like that, and returned to our neighboring lodgings.
“Welcome home, Lord Yuuki. A letter has arrived from the Magic Guild.”
“Dinner is ready too, Master~.”
Martha and Remy were there to greet me. Remy grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward the dining room. Chiding her softly, Martha handed me a rolled-up piece of parchment.
It was sealed with the Magic Guild’s crest. It was the announcement for the trainee orientation, to be held in a few days.
Trainees would be split into pairs to navigate the first level of Elysium. The course was open, and the first pair to reach the mages waiting at the goal would be commended for excellence.
As expected, I was paired with Iris. Odette was paired with some count’s daughter I didn’t know.
Elysium was where the specter of the Sanctuary Church had appeared. I had a bad feeling about it. But Iris and I had my ‘Mistel Blood’ and her ‘Quasi-Mistel Blood,’ so we should be able to handle any minor trouble. I’d bring Dick along, just in case.
“…Better get prepared, just in case.”
I thought to myself as I headed to the dining room with Martha and Remy.
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