—There are few references to the songs of the minstrel. Nothing special. However, at the end of a certain song, the phrase ‘giant and emperor’ is particularly concerning. Lyrics close to the prophecy that the giant recognizes the emperor and the emperor recognizes the giant. Reading those bizarre lyrics, I’m hoping for some reason that Sophien is happy…
Sophien flipped through the pages of the poetry book again, quickly discovering the verse.
[The emperor and the giant recognize each other, and all humanity and the giants, having otherwise no attachment to the world, are wandering in search of something to replace the nothingness. When a light is turned on in a dark world, darkness will cover the continent. Only then will humans know. They will realize like the giants. In the end, what was lost was a knot, the end that was not given to them. The stigma left like a curse…]
Lyrics lacking a melody. The Emperor closed the book and flipped through the next stiffly.
「Archaeology: Evidence of Giants」.
Many of Deculein’s thoughts were buried in this document. Sophien rested her chin in her hand and read.
—The continent is vast. It must have been the same for the giants. Though they had large bodies and far-reaching wisdom, that alone would not have been enough. However, given more time, they would have been able to see everything in the world. They could have crossed continents, sailed the seas, and reached the end of the world. At the end of it, the giants would have lost their will to live.
Sophien suddenly raised her eyes and looked across from the table. Deculein appeared like a fantasy in the empty seat, sitting upright and reading a book. His thoughts were conveyed in a whisper.
- But the humans couldn’t. A human body cannot handle a world so vast. They couldn’t see it and didn’t dare cross it. Humans harbored the desires of giants, but they did not have towering legs or infinite time. They wanted to step across all the lands of the world, but they couldn’t. They wanted to reach the truth, but they couldn’t. They wanted to be the most powerful being, but they couldn’t. Humans are, after all, ‘dead beings’…
…Now she knew what she had in common with the giant.
“Hmph.”
Sophien knew nothing of the distant future. As time passed, and when the time to return to nature arrived, would she repeat this infinite regression, or would that moment be the last? Until the end comes… but if it was not the last, the end did not exist for her.
“…”
Humans always want their needs to be met. If they don’t have money, they want money; if they have no one to keep around, they want someone. If their dignity is impugned, they want to honor it. So, bizarrely, immortal humans would eventually wish for death at some point. The reason Deculein wanted her happiness came from that contradiction.
“Do you think they would not want death if they were happy all their life?”
Maybe they would. If this life were as happy as this winter, she wouldn’t even consider the thought of dying. However, if you felt happy every second for the rest of your life, you would be classified as mentally ill. In technical terms, you would be suffering from mania.
“Librarian.”
Sophien called for Lexil standing next to her. Lexil bowed his head.
“Yes. I’m here.”
She looked at the cover of the book for a moment.
“Can you erase it?”
“Yes. It is possible.”
Lexil replied as if he had been waiting. Sophien closed her eyes and nodded.
“Erase it.”
“Yes.”
Lexil laid his hand on his book again, and Deculein’s thoughts were erased. Sophien picked up the book again, opening the pages. Deculein’s thoughts no longer resided in it. She read the book slowly.
Rustle… Rustle…
Sophien accepted the countless sentences, falling silent. But, at some point, she lifted her face. With sunken eyes, she looked to the empty seat opposite her.
“For some reason… I want you to be here.”
* * *
The Round Table’s Grand Hall. Epherene and Allen sat in the grandstand as Deculein’s disciples, separated by glass from the main hall.
“…There is something strange about this atmosphere.”
“I know.”
Epherene nodded agreement to Allen. As such, the composition of the hall was too daunting. Deculein sat in the center of the hall, and the 24 chiefs of the Round Table sat around the center looking down at Deculein.
—Monarch Deculein.
The eldest wizard spoke. Epherene knew his name was Zechtain, the head of the Pagon school of destruction.
—You submitted an unproven thesis to the Floating Island without saying anything to the Round Table. Do you have anything to say on this point?
His tone was aggressive, but Deculein looked straight into Zechtain’s as he answered.
—It’s a thesis that hasn’t been proven yet, so what does it matter?
—…
Zechtain’s brow twitched, a gesture mimicked by the other heads sitting around him. Even Ihelm was surprised, but not Epherene.
—Have you forgotten the Round Table?
—There was nothing to forget about. I simply submitted my thesis.
—…
Zechtain quickly became speechless. At that moment, Epherene had a thought. This meeting wouldn’t last long. The other side would renege first.
—I don’t think we’ll need the prepared documents. I didn’t know that Yukline would disrespect the Round Table so much.
—Disrespect… did you forget the amount that Yukline has donated to the Round Table?
Most of the old wizards cleared their throats and stared at Deculein.
—Even if the Floating Island accepts your thesis, it is not entirely your work. Kagan Luna. You just followed the intention of one who has already died, the teaching assistant under you.
At that moment, Epherene bit her lip. Why was that damned old man suddenly selling her father’s name to attack Deculein?
—That’s right.
Deculein answered matter of fact.
Hmph-
The old men twisted their lips and shook their heads. However.
—But his daughter is my disciple.
—…Disciple?
At that moment, Epherene startled, and the faces of the Round Table furrowed. Allen turned to Epherene, eyes narrowed.
“Oh, that. Well… hey. Assistant Professor Allen is not a disciple but a partner? That… kind of relationship.”
“…Hmm.”
Allen quickly turned his head away jealously.
—If a school is created, that child, not me, will lead it anyway.
—…The reason is?
Epherene looked to Deculein, her face frozen in place.
—She will take care of providing the proof. So, it’s a fixed thing.
—…
Zechtain’s wrinkles deepened. He clicked his tongue.
—I don’t think we’re on the same page. The Round Table won’t simply stand and watch.
Then a smirk crept across Deculein’s lips.
- Well. If you don’t, neither will I.
Even though the 24 heads looked down at him, he didn’t step down.
—But not all of you will agree with that.
Rather, his power alone appeared enough to overwhelm the Round Table. Everyone hid their emotions, but Deculein knew what they were thinking. He glanced around at them with a deep smile.
—There is still plenty of time… I’ll listen more carefully to what you have to say.
He wore the snake-like smile that Epherene hadn’t seen in a while.
—How dare you! The invitation ends here; leave the Round Table!
Whether that cold retort was terrifying, whether he was scared, Zechtain quickly kicked out Deculein.
* * *
As soon as I returned from the Round Table, I received several threatening letters. Most of them were from the Round Table, but there were also some from who I presumed to be the Altar and Demon Blood, as well as those from Rohakan.
[Hey! Disciple. It’s nice to see you doing well. I heard that you got the Round Table in an uproar. Those old men should be scolded once in a while, but I didn’t know you would be the one to do it. You did scold them, right? Don’t be the one to get scolded. And, do you know what the coin enclosed with this letter is? Voice’s World. It’s still a long way from being officially opened but keep it. Don’t throw it away because you can communicate with it. Let’s keep in touch. Hahaha.]
“…So that’s what I think. To be honest, I think the Round Table shouldn’t exist anymore.”
While reading the letter, the middle-aged wizard visiting my office spoke. It was Devron, hood pulled up. This one seemed to have made up his mind to stick with my camp.
“I see.”
I nodded and took out a golden toad from the drawer.
“Take it.”
“Ah, you don’t have to”
“A decorative and magical artifact. It responds to aggressive magical powers and murderous intent, so it won’t be bad to keep around.”
“…Yes.”
Devron didn’t hesitate to accept it. His tone grew more polite.
“There must be magicians who agree with me. I will approach them as carefully as possible.”
I nodded silently as Devron bowed his head.
“Yes. Then, I’ll go.”
“Go carefully.”
“Yes.”
Devron tightened the robe around him once more and left. Then, Epherene walked in.
“…?”
Epherene glanced at Devron’s back, then looked to me again.
“What do you want?”
“Oh. Here… I have compiled the thesis up to the part I understand.”
She set down the documents. There were a total of 300 pages. I skimmed it for a while, finding no noticeable problems.
“There doesn’t seem to be any major mistakes or leaps in logic.”
“Oh, thanks-“
“Are you ready to leave?”
“…Yes?”
Epherene’s bright eyes shone blankly upon me. I put down the thesis and stared at her.
“We’re going north soon. Did you forget?”
Then Epherene’s jaw fell slightly.
“Oh, right!”
“Get ready.”
“Yes!”
Epherene quickly ran away. I didn’t know what she would prepare, but she had grown, so I was sure it would be fine.
“North….”
Now, the number of enemies would gradually increase, and the world would enter the middle phase. It wasn’t impossible to predict what the Altar would do, but… we needed to be well prepared.
“…”
I looked out the window of the office, checking the blue sky and white ground. Evidence of winter covered both as bare trees peeked up from the snow.
* * *
The northern business trip was next week, so Epherene, Allen, and Drent were busy preparing their luggage. The three of them walked around together and grabbed this and that for their trip.
“First, we bought emergency food… bedding… what is it, Drent?”
Drent was fiddling with stones in the middle of the market. Epherene felt sad for some reason, watching him with those empty eyes.
“Are you still working on that stone?”
“Huh? Ah… it seems I’m almost there.”
Deculein’s Stone Test.
With Rose Rio in the lead, Epherene, Louina, Kreto, and other wizards began to clear one by one, but Drent was still struggling.
“…Sigh. I was the one who gave a hint, so why am I the only one who can’t do it?”
As he said, Drent was the first to hypothesize that a password was embedded in the stone.
“Forget it. That’s not a test, anyway. Get ready to go north.”
“Huh? Isn’t this a test?”
“Yeah, they said we were mistaken. It was just a performance evaluation.”
“Oh… still, it is an evaluation….”
Drent seemed down again, and Epherene and Allen started moving busily again.
“Done! Now that! Bring your armor! We should wear leather armor inside too. You know how many monsters there are in the North?”
“Yes! Now we’re talking!
All three of them went into a building with a sign reading ‘Army Shop.’ And…
Next week arrived.
Hooonk-!
The horn roared. Epherene and Allen, standing on the platform, looked at the train’s smoke blowing in the wind.
“…Gulp.”
The day of their trip was here. Epherene swallowed hard at the tension building up late. However, looking at Deculein standing next to her, she immediately calmed down. He looked like he was going to a vacation spot.
“Professor. What are we going to do in the North?”
Deculein answered Allen briefly.
“Exploration and investigation.”
“Explore?”
“Yes. The north borders on unexplored land.”
The North was called an extreme land, but strictly speaking, it wasn’t. Even further north, there was an unfamiliar and unexplored land, a non-human continent famous for holding the name ‘Annihilation.’
“Investigating by inferring the condition of the unexplored land, and pursuing a magical discovery based on the magical phenomenon of the north.”
Deculein turned to Epherene.
“If we are lucky enough to witness the aurora, you will be able to experience a momentary step forward.”
Aurora, the most famous magical phenomenon on the continent. It had a reputation for being a special event that raised the level of a wizard by simply observing it.
Creek—
The train stopped, and moments after, the captain and station attendant got off to first greet Deculein.
“It’s an honor to have you on our train, Professor! An honor!”
Deculein didn’t answer but turned to Epherene, Allen, and Drent, still fiddling with the stone.
“Let’s go.”
* * *
…The Imperial Palace still bloomed in winter, but the atmosphere of this mysterious place where eternal spring and eternal winter coexisted felt subdued today.
“He’s moving around a lot these days, huh? Last time he went to the Round Table, and now he’s heading north.”
The cause of the overall down atmosphere was Emperor Sophien. She heard something today on the news that Deculein had left for the North.
“It must be because it is winter. The Round Table, and the North. There will be a lot of things to prepare for.”
Jolang bowed and answered. Sophien looked down to her board with clear dissatisfaction.
“The day we scheduled the 5th game of Go for… hmph. He’s not even a fly.”
Jolang read her face to see whether or not to agree with this complaint or to watch.
“What will you do, Your Majesty? If Deculein doesn’t come back by the day-“
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…Yes.”
Jolang thought he did well by just watching.
“Let’s start the northern patrol.”
“…?”
He was stunned for a moment by Sophien’s declaration that followed. He couldn’t understand what he had just heard. However, Jolang was not foolish enough to ask for clarification in haste.
“Why are you so surprised? The northern patrol was always done by the Emperor.”
Sophien laughed with disdain. Jolang quickly bowed.
“Yes, Your Majesty. The Emperor also visits the northern estates once a year in winter-“
“Right.”
Sophien interrupted Jolang.
“So, that means I will do the same.”
“I understand…”
Jolang shrugged without a further word.
“Get ready. One horse will suffice. Did you say his name was Twilight?”
The stallion of the Imperial Palace was special. In a way, it could be said that it resembled a tiger. The most outstanding mare and male horses on the continent were interbred, raising an impeccable mount for the Emperor. Thus, he, like a tiger, ran only for the Emperor and galloped through the air.
“Yes, Your Majesty. We will prepare.”
“Good. Now leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty…”
Sophien stood as soon as Jolang left to head to her dressing room. What kind of clothes would she wear north, what clothes to wear to face him, no, to patrol.
“Hmm.”
Sophien looked through the numerous outfits and pondered.
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