Chapter 121 : At the Academy (3)
Chapter 121: At the Academy (3)
The crimson flames twisted endlessly, forming the shape of a serpent.
Indeed, its appearance wasn’t much different from the serpent I remembered.
But the energy it harbored was beyond anything I could dare to comprehend.
Suddenly, a thirst rose within me.
Unconsciously touching my neck, the Serpent of Flame recoiled slightly and tilted its head.
― “My apologies.”
With those words, the overwhelming energy that had filled the surroundings instantly dissipated.
Only then could I catch my breath.
The Serpent of Flame looked at me and continued.
― “Ever since you uttered my name, I have wanted to converse with you.”
― “Those who know my name are extremely rare.”
― “That is why I remember each and every one of them.”
The flames surged like waves, and another head sprouted from the serpent.
The second head burned more violently, flicking its tongue.
― “But I, who know that you know my name, do not know your name.”
― “So, tell me with your own mouth.”
The voice was deeper and more resonant than the earlier polite one.
I looked at the serpent and answered.
“Lian Gwendil.”
― “Lian Gwendil. Lian Gwendil…….”
The Serpent of Flame, Taranis, repeated my name slowly, as if to commit it to memory.
― “I remember now. Your name.”
― “I shall carve your name into a corner of the burning embers.”
Taranis paused for a moment, then spoke again.
― “Surely there are things we wish to ask each other.”
― “I shall answer your question, so you must answer mine as well.”
― “If answering is difficult, silence will do.”
The two heads took turns speaking.
I agreed with his words that we likely had things to ask each other.
As I nodded in understanding, the polite one spoke up.
― “How did you come to know my name?”
― “Who told you my name?”
The deep, resonant voice added:
― “……It is not my intention to extract a confession. Nor is it to interrogate. It’s just as I said earlier—few know my name, and most of them have perished with the passage of time.”
― “I am searching for something. I ask this to retrace my steps.”
I answered without hiding anything.
“I read it in a book. Yours, and all the other Spirit Kings’ names as well.”
At my answer, Taranis tilted his head slightly.
It felt like he was pondering my answer, trying to determine if it was truth or lie.
― “It is the truth.”
― “Would you mind telling me who wrote the book?”
This time, I answered firmly.
It was obvious how tangled things would become if I answered that honestly.
“That’s difficult to answer.”
― “Not ‘I don’t know,’ but ‘difficult to answer’……”
― “I understand.”
Taranis slowly nodded, as if respecting my silence.
― “What is it you seek from my contractor, Cecilia?”
After a moment of hesitation, I replied.
“I want her to grow.”
― “Growth. Growth, you say.”
“Yes.”
― “Please be more specific.”
“To the point that she can make contracts with other Spirit Kings like you.”
― “……”
Taranis stared at me silently.
― “Why?”
“I can’t say.”
The polite voice spoke no further.
Instead, the deep, resonant voice spoke for the last time.
― “……My questions are done.”
― “Now it is your turn.”
I slowly raised my hand and exposed my collarbone.
Then, pointing to the Brand engraved there, I spoke.
“I want to know about this.”
― “Your question is quite vast.”
I gathered my thoughts and spoke again.
“I want to know its name, its origin, and its ability. Also, why it’s engraved not only on me but also on Cecilia.”
Taranis answered.
― “Speaking of its name is meaningless.”
― “Just as the wind is called by different names depending on the direction, region, and season, so too is it with that.”
― “As for its origin, it is the same as ours.”
― “Asking where a flame began is no different.”
― “You already know what power it holds, so there’s no need to elaborate on that.”
In short, it was like trying to grasp smoke—his words lacked any real substance.
I looked at him with a face that clearly showed I wasn’t satisfied.
Then the polite voice followed up.
― “It grants a kind of qualification.”
― “Not only to you, but also to Cecilia… and to everything else.”
Qualification.
Qualification, he said.
As I listened intently, he added quietly.
― “In the language of you Clerics, it could be said to grant the position to witness the miracle of the gods.”
― “Or you might think of it as aiding the breaking of the shell and a rebirth.”
“……”
I couldn’t make sense of it at all.
Suppressing a sigh, I said,
“……If possible, could you explain it in simpler terms?”
― “Hmm.”
The polite one tilted his head.
Then the deep voice's head flicked its tongue and spoke.
― “All destinies have their own predetermined path and end.”
― “It helps one deviate from that destined path and end.”
He nodded once again.
― “This is a different concept from fatalism.”
― “For example…… a fish living in water can go anywhere within it. Be it sea, river, stream, or pond.”
― “But it cannot leap out of the water and fly in the sky.”
― “However…… that thing opens a path for the fish to fly in the sky.”
At that point, he shook his head.
― “Regrettably, that is all I know.”
― “You already know plenty.”
― “Also, I know nothing about Cecilia, and even if I did, I hope you understand that I cannot speak of the contractor to a third party.”
“……”
It was still difficult to understand.
‘But……’
Rahma, Talia Poas.
And even Princess Velita.
I could now vaguely grasp why so many people desired and were obsessed with it.
― “……It’s quite long ago—no, extremely long ago.”
Then, Taranis suddenly spoke.
― “A Spirit once became a King through that.”
― “Perhaps because of that, among high-ranking Spirits, stories about it have been passed down like legends.”
― “They say it is a sign and qualification of a King.”
Taranis flicked his tongue.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but it looked like the serpent curled its lip into a mocking smile.
― “As the years pass, stories that fade tend to get coated in mystique and, when bloated, harden into truth.”
“Ah, so that’s why……”
So that’s why the high-ranking spirits had been so frantic back then.
At his words, I found myself nodding without realizing it.
It was at that moment.
Grrrrk.
A strange sound rang out.
It came from the head with the deep voice.
― “Hmm……”
He suddenly let out an odd sound, then began to twitch in an unusual manner.
I watched him tensely, not knowing what was happening.
Soon after, he vomited something up.
It was about the size of a fist, round and transparent—shaped much like an egg.
Inside it, a faint light flickered in various colors, undulating as if it were alive.
― “Did you say humans punish traitors with decapitation?”
Taranis, who had vomited up the egg, spoke slowly.
― “But we are different.”
― “We shatter their very existence into pieces and return them to the source.”
At his words, I instinctively understood what it was that he had just expelled.
The high-ranking spirits who had schemed since Cecilia was young to become her bondmates.
In other words, the ones who had rebelled.
This was their end.
― “Take it.”
― “It’s yours.”
At Taranis’ words, I frowned slightly.
“……Why are you giving this to me?”
― “If you falter, Cecilia will falter too.”
He stated with certainty.
And then, he added with conviction in his voice.
― “I don’t want to see her collapse like that.”
Taranis looked at me steadily.
― “Besides, you are one of the humans whose name I have chosen to remember.”
― “It wouldn’t be pleasant to watch such a human fall due to lack of strength.”
― “Take it.”
The Serpent of Flame stared at me.
He flicked his tongue with a hiss.
― “If it’s you, it’ll seep in the moment you pick it up.”
“……”
I slowly walked up to the serpent.
The egg he had vomited…
No, would it be more accurate to call it a remnant of a spirit?
Whatever it was, it emitted a quiet light.
Fragments of dazzling, multicolored light shattered like pieces of glass.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I reached my hand toward it.
And then……
“……”
Cecilia was, as always, surrounded by countless spirits.
A dialogue with the spirits.
At first, it had been immensely awkward.
But now, it had become so familiar that it would feel strange not to do it—long since a part of her daily routine.
She sat on a worn bench, silently listening to the spirits as they spoke.
To those without “eyes,” she would simply appear as someone absentmindedly staring into space while sitting alone on a bench.
Step, step.
At that moment, the sound of someone walking approached.
The footsteps were deliberately loud, as if their presence was meant to be noticed.
“……”
Recognizing who it was, Cecilia didn’t say a word, but her expression twitched ever so slightly.
It was him again.
“Greetings, Miss Everglenn.”
An elf—Jeil Envarso.
A man who persistently hovered around her, never tiring of it.
‘……Creepy.’
Cecilia found him unsettling.
Especially because it was blatantly obvious he was trying to approach Lian through her.
“The weather is nice, isn’t it?”
“……”
“Out for a stroll as well?”
“……”
“Training tirelessly is good, but sometimes it’s important to recharge.”
“……”
Cecilia didn’t answer.
In fact, she openly displayed her disregard for him.
Yet Jeil Envarso didn’t care in the slightest. He just kept chattering away with whatever he wanted to say.
“……”
Even the spirits were silent.
Usually, if someone irritated her, the spirits would react furiously, refusing to let it slide.
But when this elf showed up, they would all hold their breath and suppress their presence.
This, too, was one of the reasons Cecilia found Jeil Envarso so unsettling.
“Now that I think about it, there was quite the event a few days ago.”
Jeil Envarso murmured quietly.
“A pillar of fire. A pillar of fire, indeed.”
“The Forest of Secrets, of all places.”
His tone was vague, as though he knew everything.
It was the kind of tone that irritated just about anyone who heard it.
Finally, Cecilia glanced sideways at him and spoke.
“If you’ve got something to say, say it.”
“Ah.”
Jeil Envarso smiled faintly.
“I’d like to become better acquainted with Lian Gwendil.”
“……”
“I was hoping you might put in a word for me.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Hm.”
He muttered while stroking his chin.
Then, snapping his fingers, he said,
“Then how about this? I’ll offer proper compensation.”
Cecilia answered disinterestedly.
“I don’t need money.”
“I’m not talking about gold and jewels. Besides, I don’t have much in the way of wealth anyway.”
Jeil Envarso said.
“I’ll give you power.”
“……?”
He spoke like a devil from an old folktale.
“I may not be talented, but I can sense the presence of the spirits lingering around you. Surely, you know how important it is to call spirits by their names.”
“……And?”
“I’ll give you their names.”
Cecilia still looked entirely disinterested.
Jeil Envarso said,
“I dare say—those names are more than enough to protect what you seek to protect. They are……”
Abruptly, he stopped speaking.
Then, with a look of astonishment, he stared closely around her.
“……Huh.”
After a moment, he muttered, truly dumbfounded.
“You already knew.”
Four spirits had taken their place around her.