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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Several seasons had passed in Clarice. A young man with light green hair walked through the school grounds.
His name was Edwin Gwynne. An honorary graduate of the academy, a guardian of this place, and a legendary cadet who had been elevated to the rank of a quasi-war hero.
Of course, Lev Denec was behind all of his achievements, but in the end, it was Edwin who was known to the world, just as he had intended.
“Haa.”
He let out a short sigh after visiting the administration building for work. No one looked down on him for his origins anymore.
“It’s Edwin!”
“Amazing…!”
“I heard he’s a genius through hard work!”
On the contrary, his popularity was soaring day by day… but now, he had to do it alone, without Lev.
[Keep an eye on Yellody Latasia.]
This was Lev’s last request before he left on his long journey. Edwin had also heard reports that someone who looked like Yellody Latasia had escaped while they were investigating the collapsed demon lord’s castle.
Well, with the demon lord gone, he had to at least accomplish this to be worthy of being called a hero.
“Next, Edwin.”
At that moment, an administration building staff member handed him a letter.
“Another piece of mail. Shall I return it to the sender?”
“…”
Since Edwin had no family, mail was usually from Psyche, recruitment offers from major guilds, or marriage proposals from nobles. But the most frequent sender was someone else.
A letter from Melissa Prominence, the former princess of the Prominence Duchy. Edwin had been blocking and returning her letters for two years now.
“Why don’t you just read it once and reply, telling her not to send any more?”
He had heard that Lev had even forgiven Liris.
“I should.”
At the smiling staff member’s suggestion, Edwin finally decided to read the letter.
.
.
.
“…”
[Hello, Edwin?]
The letter, which began casually, was longer than he expected, considering she sent one every day. It didn’t say she missed him, regretted anything, or longed for him.
Just about Melissa’s daily life and small things. And her constant gratitude and apology.
.
.
.
I’m really… sorry for waiting for your reply without permission.
-Melissa
Even without checking all the previous letters, he could guess that the ending was probably similar.
“……”
Like the ink smudged by Melissa’s teardrops, she might have softened a little. As Edwin was contemplating whether to reply…
“Hello, Senior Edwin?”
“…?”
A girl with pigtails appeared out of nowhere. She looked fresh, like a new student who had just outgrown her childhood. But she was a girl with promising beauty.
“My name is Emma. I’m a new student at Clarice, and I’m helping out at the administration building during the break.”
“Ah, so you’re that kid.”
Edwin, as Emma’s direct senior and an Elder, knew a little about her from her interview. The youngest girl who had survived the raid, [Lord of Pleasure], organized by the once infamous guild [Crow Fey]. She was also a commoner, like him.
“By the way, Senior Edwin, you’re close with Senior Lev, right?”
“…”
Why were so many people looking for that guy, Lev?
“We’re close, but…”
“I also have a connection with Senior Lev~.”
“Uh… you do?”
As Edwin reacted, Emma pointed at the letter he was holding and said, “Then, stop staring at that and buy me a meal.”
“Huh? Ask Lev to buy you…”
“Forget it. That person isn’t even at Clarice. Whatever.”
“Uh…”
“Come on! I’ll buy the snacks, so let’s go…!”
Emma casually linked arms with Edwin and started pulling him away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
In Lev Denec’s personal magic tower in the Artina territory, a holy and noble woman asked, as he was inspecting a dimensional gate, “Are you leaving today?”
“Yes.”
Her name was Psyche. The current Saint, and a former Saint.
Lev stood up and asked her, “Are you alright, Saint?”
“Yes, thanks to your care, I’m slowly recovering.”
Although Psyche had transferred all her holy power to Aria, the position of Saint had become vacant when Aria became Lev’s subordinate.
Therefore, Psyche, as a suitable candidate, had become the new Saint again. Of course, she was a much weaker Saint compared to before.
“That’s a relief. Please take care of this place.”
“Of course.”
The gray-haired boy smiled and began to adjust the incantation of the dimensional gate again. Psyche murmured, “Lastly, I have one request.”
“…Speak.”
“May I hug you once?”
Lev knew that she wasn’t saying this out of romantic feelings. It was probably to feel Krun’s trace. Knowing the pain of losing someone who wouldn’t return, he readily agreed.
“Of course.”
-Hug.
Psyche gently approached and hugged him from behind.
“Thank you, Cadet Lev.”
“…”
“For saving me, for defeating the demon lord… and…”
“…”
“…for helping me sort out my feelings for Krun.”
Psyche also knew. He wasn’t Krun. His personality, his appearance. But in the way he helped her and the things he pursued, she could feel Krun’s footsteps.
And most importantly, he had carried on Krun’s will. That’s why she was so… grateful.
Slide.
Psyche released her arms and stepped back a few paces.
“Wherever you are, I, as the Saint, will earnestly pray for your well-being.”
“Thank you. You too, Saint.”
.
.
.
Click, clack.
As Psyche descended the magic tower stairs, a woman with her arms crossed stood at the entrance. A woman with jet-black hair. It was Liris Larochelle.
Psyche smiled and asked, “Aren’t you going to say goodbye?”
“…”
She didn’t answer and just quietly nodded before leaving. She thought she didn’t have the right. Soon, she would confess everything.
That she had worshiped demons… and the wrongdoings she had secretly committed at the academy. But she wanted to at least express her gratitude for being pulled out of the abyss.
‘Thank you… junior.’
The sky over the Artina territory, as Liris looked up, was a very, very deep blue.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Hmph, is it done?”
The dimensional gate’s incantation seemed to have been successfully unlocked. In the end… I had regained my memories. Thanks to Liris.
Her promise to help me regain my memories wasn’t a lie. That day, the weapon she had pointed at me was indeed the cursed sword. The same one Aria had used to stab me.
Tremble, tremble.
But she had handed the sword to me with trembling hands.
“Are you going to do something drastic?”
“…No, it’s fine. Take it.”
“…?”
“You said you wanted to get your memories back.”
“Why this…?”
“Because your blood is absorbed in it.”
That’s right. The bloodstains on the sword were all mine. To be precise, it was the blood that had been in my body before I activated the soul spring.
And since it was a cursed sword, it was a given that it had absorbed a considerable amount of my blood. Liris had explained it to me in a weak voice.
“When demons die… they find a new body through the soul spring, right?”
The fact that she knew this information was not ordinary…
“And the source of that memory is connected to the blood that was in the previous body.”
She was truly a demon aficionado.
“Even a small amount will help you find your memories.”
That was the whole story. After that,
“You, again?!?!”
This is the last time.
“…!”
…I had asked Hazel, who had become a master of alchemy, to extract the blood to find my memories, and I had entered a state of recreating a situation similar to the soul spring.
My memories had returned slowly, gradually. I had wandered around the places where I had memories with Aria and sometimes Yeriel, talking to them.
“I’m so glad…! I, Lev… was worried…!”
“I’m sorry, Yeriel.”
I had cried and laughed, sharing countless emotions with them. It had taken a lot of time. And it had also taken a lot of effort to gradually make the demon lord’s power, which Aria had purified, my own.
I had to turn back the timeline, normalize everything… and most importantly, it was the only way for me to return to my original world.
And so, two years had passed, and after numerous trials and errors, I had finally been able to open a dimensional gate to my original world using the demon lord’s authority.
.
.
.
“Is this it? The gate to your hometown.”
Looking behind me, everyone, led by Selena, had arrived.
“You all came.”
Whoosh…!
The opened, pale blue dimensional gate welcomed us. And Aria strode up to my side. I asked her, “Aren’t you scared?”
“Not at all. Not as long as I’m with you.”
Since the safety of the dimensional travel hadn’t been verified yet, I was going to test it with Aria, who had become my subordinate. If it was successful, I could invite Yeriel, Selena, and Lily to my world later.
“Then, everyone, goodbye for now. Thank you for everything.”
“Lev…! Don’t worry about here…! Go! And you too, Aria!”
“Yes, Yeriel.”
I smiled at Yeriel’s smile and said my goodbyes.
“I’ll be back soon anyway, so there’s no need for a long farewell…”
“I don’t want to.”
At that moment, the girl, now with brown, straight hair, bowed her head and began to express her feelings.
“Lily…”
Two years had passed, and Lily Forger, who had belatedly hit puberty, had a slightly more mature appearance and no longer clung to me like before.
“Hi, Lily?”
“…Hmph.”
On the contrary, it was a little sad that she didn’t even talk to me and just disappeared.
“But you came to say goodbye, right?”
“…”
As I took off her pointed hat and stroked her head, her eyes began to well up.
“Don’t go.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“…Lev is mean. You have too many girlfriends.”
“…”
I was speechless at her sudden, sharp remark, as if a silence spell had been cast on me.
“Th-That’s, sorry…”
“But, you don’t have a daughter, right?”
“Uh, uh…?”
I had a bad feeling.
“Lily wants to be Lev’s daughter.”
“……!”
Everyone fell silent at Lily’s shocking statement. Unless I had gotten into some trouble in middle or high school, I wouldn’t have a daughter this big.
‘No, the fact that I’m even seriously considering this…’
“Lily, what are you talking about…”
As Selena tried to stop her, looking bewildered, I stroked her head again and whispered, “How about a little sister…? I don’t have one.”
“You don’t…?”
“No. My one and only little sister. And the advantage is that you can always come to our house and play as if it were your own.”
“Ooh…! I want to be!”
Lily’s eyes showed the innocence of a child again. But then, with a sad expression, she gripped my sleeve.
“…But you have to come back soon.”
“Yes, I promise.”
After we pinky promised, Lily finally let go of my clothes, and I was able to get ready to go with my backpack.
“I still can’t believe there’s another dimension… but if there is, you have to invite me.”
The platinum-blonde elf Selena, who didn’t open her heart to just anyone.
“Lev, go! I’ll always be waiting here for you!”
The mage Yeriel, who was kind and gentle to everyone… and especially sincere to me.
“Yes, someday, let’s all live together at my house.”
“……”
A moment of silence fell at my words. And then, everyone smiled, as if they couldn’t help it.
“Lev is so greedy…”
“You’re very greedy, Lev.”
“No, he’s just a playboy.”
“Lev, you idiot!”
They were all my connections. My very precious connections.
“Shall we go then…”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Aria’s eyes were as clear as ever. The desire to find out my true identity, the uncomfortable feelings—they were all gone. Now, there was only a sign of trust and affection.
“……”
I exchanged a subtle glance with Aria, and then, I entrusted myself to the dimensional gate leading to South Korea, hoping that only happiness lay ahead.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Finally, it’s complete~
Thank you for following Lev Denec’s story. See you again in the next project~
