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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“There’s no way. May radiates mana, so I knew she was in Elgrid, but Rin is completely hidden.”
Eris had already searched for Rin once, so she was certain.
“We came all this way, and we have no leads.”
“I know…”
May and Eve frowned. Eris was about to speak when a group of professors approached.
“Acting Headmaster! Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Ah, busted.”
May scratched her head, but the professors looked furious.
“What is the meaning of this letter?!”
A half-bald magic professor thrust a letter at May. It read, “Resignation.”
“Resignation? Are you joking?! You’re the acting Headmaster!”
Eve and Eris looked at May.
Eris whispered,
“You can stay if you’re not coming. We’ll bring the Sherpa to visit later.”
“Why don’t you go back to Yggdrasil? We’ll be quick.”
May brushed Eris off and stepped forward. Her eyes, previously full of energy, now looked dull.
‘Those are the eyes of a working adult,’ Eve thought, making a note.
“I don’t understand the problem. Why are you so upset about my resignation?”
“Are you serious?! What about all the work? The meetings? The meeting with Pales Academy?!”
“That’s your problem. Are you incompetent?”
“Acting Headmaster! This is no joking matter!”
A red-faced professor sputtered, but May remained calm.
“I’ve finished my work. Postpone everything else until the Headmaster returns.”
“Irresponsible! Finished your work? Your desk is piled with…”
“That’s not my work.”
May’s voice turned cold.
“Did you forget I was the Headmaster’s secretary? I received double the usual workload when I became acting Headmaster. Yes, you’re all annoyed. You lost your temporary position to a young woman, a year out of the academy.”
The professor’s mouth snapped shut. May had taken on extra work to avoid giving them any ammunition.
She’d become an adult.
“The meeting with Pales? Their Headmaster won’t be there either. The venue is set. Why do I need to go?”
“…”
“The academy will function just fine without a Headmaster. I’ve made sure of it. And…”
She punched the professor lightly in the chest, her eyes cold and sharp.
“Firing a secretary is the Headmaster’s prerogative. I’ve already been fired. So shut your mouth before you get hurt.”
“…Uh…”
The stunned professor started hiccuping. May smiled faintly, feeling a twinge of satisfaction.
“I’m getting married. I won’t send invitations, so don’t bother contacting me.”
She flipped him off and turned towards Eve and Eris. Eve was scribbling in her notebook, while Eris had her arms crossed, looking displeased.
“You can’t get married.”
“Shut up. Don’t cry when Daniel hugs me first.”
“He’ll hug me the moment I call him ‘Sherpa.’ And hugging you wouldn’t be pleasant. You’re too flat.”
“…Bitch.”
May had no comeback.
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“Ugh, we need a magic boiler.”
Sen McLean groaned under the weight of the firewood.
She was in Pallem Village, built by hunters on the beast-infested Pallem Plains.
The villagers were skilled hunters.
It was Daniel, Rin, and Ares’s hometown, but now… it was deserted.
Sen placed the firewood in the shed and entered the house. It was warm inside, filled with the aroma of baking bread.
She felt her annoyance melt away. The smell of fresh bread was one of her newfound joys.
“Welcome back. I made apple pie. I’ll cut you a slice after you wash up.”
“Apple pie!”
Adriana, once known as the Witch of the Black Forest, now wore an apron instead of a robe, oven mitts instead of holding a staff.
She’d become obsessed with baking, and her skills in potion-making translated well.
“Give me a slice now.”
As Sen went to wash up, the Grand Witch, sitting on the sofa, reading, spoke.
The witches’ village had been destroyed by the Time Priestess. Only Adriana and the Grand Witch remained, and the Grand Witch had retired.
Adriana had no intention of rebuilding. The witches had fled to the forest to escape the gods’ notice, but the gods were no longer a threat.
The witches were finally free.
But they had nowhere else to go.
Daniel McLean was dead, and Diana McLean worked at the Dragon’s Boundary. With Sen alone in the village, Diana had readily agreed to let Adriana and the Grand Witch live with her.
Daniel’s wish for Sen to have company had been fulfilled.
“Here you go.”
Adriana handed her a slice of pie and glanced at the book the Grand Witch was reading. It wasn’t a book, but a diary.
The Grand Witch’s life story, written by herself.
“I never imagined my life would end in such a cozy place,” she murmured, her eyes filled with a strange nostalgia.
“Don’t say that. You have plenty of time left.”
“Hee hee hee.”
Adrina couldn’t fathom how long the Grand Witch had lived.
“I’m done washing up!”
Sen jumped over the sofa and landed beside the Grand Witch. She’d grown taller in three years, but she’d also become more childlike.
She was reclaiming the childhood she’d lost in the Chokugen Faction.
Two former witches and a former assassin, eating pie together. They had plenty of money. The Grand Witch’s savings, along with Daniel McLean’s pirate loot, had all gone to Sen.
Crackle.
Bzzt.
A crack appeared in the air, and a cold wind blew through it.
Before they could react, a figure with long silver hair, enough to cover the entire living room floor, stepped out.
“C-can you help me?”
She looked emaciated, her cheeks hollow, dark circles under her eyes. The picture of a broken woman.
“Don’t you miss Daniel McLean?”
It was the Goddess of Time.
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The Goddess of Time and the God of Life had created the Divine Realm. Life had created it, and Time had decorated it.
Like decorating a house, they’d made it beautiful and captivating, filled with wonders like rainbow waterfalls and starlit seas. Even the Goddess of Death, creator of the underworld, acknowledged Time’s aesthetic sense.
Now, the Goddess of Time stood before a canvas, holding a paintbrush.
She had restored the continent’s lost memories, losing most of her power in the process, but she didn’t regret it.
It was a blessing for Daniel McLean.
Those who knew him would remember his sacrifices, his struggles, the horrific future he’d averted.
But for the others…
Remembering their deaths, three times over, had plunged the continent into chaos.
“…”
She should have been enjoying the chaos, but instead, she was painting a boy’s face.
The face of the boy who’d waited patiently for an elf to awaken.
She’d painted his face countless times. The piles of portraits surrounding her were almost obsessive.
She put down her brush.
Another portrait of Daniel McLean was complete.
A masterpiece.
But she bit her lip.
“No.”
She set it aside and started a new canvas.
“The Daniel McLean I saw… he was more than this.”
His unwavering resolve, his quiet strength in the face of despair… these paintings couldn’t capture it.
He’d shone brightly in a grey world, a flickering candle flame that refused to be extinguished. He’d fought silently, endured, and triumphed.
She wanted to capture that fragile strength, that almost artistic spirit, so she kept painting.
A communication window appeared, connecting her to the underworld.
The Goddess of Death.
Time frowned.
“What is it? You contacted me.”
She was already irritable.
– You seem down. Life’s worried about you.
She knew Life was worried. She just ignored him.
“Just tell me what you want. We’re not friends.”
She was annoyed that Life had talked about her.
But Death sounded strangely confident and relaxed.
– I was going to offer a little pick-me-up to a fellow powerless comrade, but you’re being cold.
“I’m hanging up. Don’t contact me again.”
Time was about to end the call, but…
– Are you sure you won’t regret this?
“What?”
A small boy sat beside Death, held captive by a chain.
– Ta-da!
– Gah! I almost suffocated!
– You’re already dead.
Time felt like she’d been hit by a ton of bricks.
“Uh… uh…?”
It was Daniel McLean.
Younger, but it was him. The boy she’d been painting endlessly.
Death pulled him into a tight embrace.
– Look who it is! I thought you’d miss him.
Time felt a surge of irritation. Get your fat lumps of flesh away from him!
“You bitch! What did you do?! Daniel! Daniel McLean! I need to…!”
Death pressed him against her cleavage. Time felt her brain short-circuit.
– We’ll be having fun, so you behave. I’ll call you later.
“Wait! Daniel, I…!”
The connection cut off. Time reached out, her hand grasping at empty air. She sat back, breathless, but her hand reached for her brush.
She’d seen him, the man she thought she’d never see again.
She had to capture his image while it was still fresh in her mind.
She painted for a long time.
The portraits surrounding her numbered in the hundreds.
His face on the canvas became clearer, more detailed, but her own face grew thinner, paler.
She was a goddess, immune to illness, but her deteriorating appearance finally prompted the God of Life to intervene.
“Stop this.”
“Let go.”
She glared at him, her eyes sharp and dangerous. Even Life took a step back.
But he couldn’t give up.
“Look at yourself. Reduced to this by a mere human.”
“A mere…?”
“I told you, we are the wielders, not the wielded. Don’t degrade yourself by…”
She lunged at him, grabbing his collar, her eyes blazing.
“You dare call him ‘mere’ after witnessing his final moments?!”
“…His end was beautiful. But…”
“Shut up. That’s enough.”
She pushed him away and returned to her canvas. She was wasting away, painting Daniel McLean. He knew she’d been deteriorating since she learned he was in the underworld.
“Are you going to keep painting? You’ve been like this since you learned he’s in the underworld.”
“…”
“You know why, don’t you?”
She’d painted him before because it was the only way to remember him.
But now…
Knowing he was with the Goddess of Death, the paintings were just a substitute, a way to cope with her desire. And the more she painted, the more she resented Death’s presence with him.
“Ask for help.”
“…Help?”
“Yes. You’ve been too engrossed in your painting, but there are others on the continent searching for him.”
“What?”
Time stood up abruptly.
Life sighed and continued,
“And I believe they have a chance. With a little… divine intervention, bringing Daniel McLean back to the continent isn’t entirely impossible.”
“Is that… possible?”
Time hadn’t paid attention to the continent lately. Life opened a small rift in the air.
“But at this rate, the pieces won’t fall into place. You need to act.”
“Explain. Clearly.”
And that’s why she decided to descend to the continent.
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