Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Reiji
“Recreating… the Lightwing?”
If such a thing existed, no wonder every country would want it for themselves at all costs. Is that why it was stolen…?
“Unfortunately, no one was able to find out how to use it, so they slowly lost interest and dismissed it as a legend…”
“I don’t get it. Didn’t your ancestors create that book?”
“As painful as it sounds, the truth of the matter is very unclear. The book first appeared during the end of the Old Magic Era. By that time, the Lightwing race had all but disappeared from the world.”
I think I’d read something like that in the game’s lore.
At the end of the Old Magic Era, the Lightwing race, whose blood had been diluted by forced intermarriage with other races, had mostly lost their wings and healing arts.
The few remaining who still retained their ability were placed under Acropolis’ custody at the center of the world.
At present, most of the royal families of each country were descended from the Lightwing race.
But none of them possessed a silver of power the former Lightwing race once had.
It was a hard to stomach story… and that’s why the book’s existence is really dangerous.
“In the end, the battered and bruised Lightwing knight who once accompanied Sacred Daughter-sama suddenly turned up at our village with the book, and asked for it to be sealed there.”
“Can you tell me more about your… village?”
So I’m assuming the soul sealed in the White Book belonged to the Sacred Daughter, who was probably the mistress (?) of this knight guy.
If the story Aini-san told me was true, I have to wonder why the knight decided to leave such an important item in the hands of unrelated people. What if they got greedy and stole the book for themselves?
“That’s… I’m sorry, I can’t tell you at the moment… Oh, right, when you look at me, which race do you think I am?”
“…Huh? Aren’t you human?”
Aini-san doesn’t have wings like Saul, nor does she have horns on her head like Miriam. By process of elimination…
“No… Several people in my village, me included, despite our thin blood, aren’t strictly humans.”
“Don’t tell me you’re…”
A person who looked like a regular human, but actually not.
I knew someone else who fit that description perfectly.
“…Actually, if you don’t want to talk about it further, I won’t pry. I’m in your debt after all.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Reiji-san. You’re a big help.”
“Still… if someone found a way to use the book no one had been able to use, could they have used it on Iris?”
“It’s hard to believe, but after seeing such a powerful Lightwing with my own eyes, I can’t help but suspect that the book has something to do with this girl.”
“…”
Memories that I had completely forgotten came flooding back to my mind.
“When you two changed classes, did you have three options?”
“Um, a unique race called Lightwing.”
“Saul, Reiji, something’s happening!”
The day we were thrown into this world, there was indeed something strange going on during her reincarnation event.
I didn’t give it much thought due to so many things going on, but a white book was certainly present during her reincarnation.
Unthinkable as it might sound, there’s only one way I can think of it.
Someone had brought over the “White Book” into our world, and put it inside a video game there.
But who did it? And why?
“So… If you happen to have any clues as to the book’s whereabouts, I would appreciate it.”
“Sorry, I’m in the dark about this too. Once I discuss this with Saul, we’ll get back to you if we find anything, is that okay?”
“Of course… and please do keep this matter to yourselves.”
When we returned to town, the commotion had been completely quelled.
The guards were now either returning to their homes, or running about to clean up the aftermath.
It was still dark, but dawn was approaching.
Apparently, some people had volunteered to open up an emergency kitchen. The nice smell of what seemed to be soup wafted in the air.
In the meantime, Aini-san escorted Iris back to the clinic, followed by the overly enthusiastic knights… well, she’s their Princess after all.
I left those guys to it and looked around for Saul, but found old man Walter instead.
It seemed that the rest of the mercenaries had caught up to this place.
“Hello there, old man. You’re faster than I thought.”
“So you’ve returned with the young lady, Reiji… Good work out there.”
We bumped our fists in celebration.
To be honest, I was glad to be praised by a great warrior such as him… but confirming our situation took higher priority.
“It seems that everything has been taken care of. Any casualties on our side?”
“Nothing serious at all. That prince kept most of the enemies at bay… though it caused another problem later on.”
“Problem? What happened?”
“Don’t worry, he isn’t injured or anything. Think about it, when a guy with such an appearance single-handedly protected the entire town, you know the ladies aren’t gonna leave him alone.”
“Ah…”
Looks like he was in a great predicament. Too bad, ladies, he’s actually Ayame-chan on the inside.
“I have something important to discuss with him, so can you get Lenny-san and Philias-san to take care of Iris?”
“No problem. I’ll call them over…”
Old man Walter’s words trailed off mid-sentence.
His gaze was fixed behind my back.
I turned around to see the grandpa from before, who had apparently finished giving instructions to the knights, looking at old man Walter with eyes as if he were watching his grown son.
“…What are you doing here, Master?”
“Long time no see, young Walter. And didn’t I tell you to stop calling me Master? I have nothing more to teach you, so you should regard me as an equal.”
So that grandpa and old man Walter were master and pupil?
“……Leaving that aside, we’re here to expel the rats that have become active recently. We’ve destroyed the nest, but we can’t let our guard down for a while yet.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem if you’re here, sir. Since you’ve brought the knights with you, I have a favor to ask.”
“Hmm… You wish to divert my knights away from the mission entrusted to us by His Majesty? You’d better have a good reason.”
“If this isn’t good enough, I don’t know what else. A ‘Wound’ has occurred in this town’s vicinity. I’m sure this is a matter of the highest priority for you as well.”
“…Tell me more about it, in details.”
I bowed my head and excused myself when those two started having a heavy discussion, then resumed my search for Saul.
I darted my eyes around and saw a certain pair of siblings coming toward me… Zeltis-san and Philias-san.
“Hey, Zeltis, nice save with the sword. Thanks.”
I took the long sword from my belt and returned it to its owner. This thing really did save my life.
…Though, I must find a replacement weapon soon enough. Using “Form is Emptiness” in extended combat was practically impossible.
“Good to see you again, Reiji-kun. It seems that both you and the Princess have safely returned.”
“She’ll have to stay in bed for a few days because of poor health, though.”
“Oh, no… Why does misfortune have to befall the Princess again…”
I let out a chuckle at the crestfallen Zeltis. This guy’s such a weirdo, but he’s good at heart.
For now, I left him alone in his own fantasy world and talked to Philias-san next to him, who was stunned speechless by the news.
“So, Philias-san, can I leave Iris in your care for a little while? I have an urgent matter to discuss with Saul. She’s supposed to be at Aini-san’s clinic.”
“Got it. I’ll get Lenny and go there as soon as possible.”
“Thanks.”
As for Saul, well, it didn’t take long for me to find him.
He was completely trapped by the women surrounding him from all sides, from whom he wanted to break free but couldn’t do anything rough.
“Where’re you from?”
“Do you have any lover?”
He answered their questions with a smile, but I’m sure he’s pretty fed up by now. His facial expression hadn’t moved at all since a while ago.
It sure is a good thing that no one finds out he’s a prince…
In contrast, the jealousy of the men around me was like a volcano about to erupt. Yikes.
Back in the game days, I used to have a fan club, perhaps because I was accompanying Iris all the time. Guess this is how it feels from an outsider’s perspective…
When I was thinking about such things, my eyes met Saul’s.
“Hey, Reiji, you’re back at last!”
“Yeah, Iris’ safe now. Can I talk to you for a bit-”
“I’ll be there in a sec! You hear him, ladies, I’m sorry but I have to go with him! It’s important!”
As soon as he got himself a legit excuse to leave, he pushed past everybody and broke through the “encirclement” with lightning speed.
“…Thank goodness, you saved me.”
“It was rough, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah… I’d rather tank five Frost Panthers at once than deal with that.”
“…If I may start from the conclusion, I think the book that appeared during the reincarnation event was indeed the ‘White Book’.”
We then moved to the outer wall of the east gate from which I had just returned and discussed what I had heard so far.
Saul was listening intently with a serious expression on his face all the while, and said such a thing when I finally finished.
“You seem really certain.”
“Yes, everything’s finally come together. I don’t blame Reiji-san for not knowing, though, because you’ve never met him.”
“Who?”
Little by little, Saul… Ayame-chan recounted her story.
“…Twenty-five years ago. I wasn’t born at that time, and neither did you nor Onii-chan until a year later. I can only think of one event from that year that might be relevant.”
“And? I’m wondering about that myself, but I can’t seem to remember anything…”
“That’s understandable. He didn’t come into spotlight until a few years after his arrival.”
Ayame-chan gave a small cough and began speaking again.
“On that year… the unparalleled genius of unknown origins… Mr. ‘Aureo Uber’ came out to the world. You may know him better as the creator of the game we played.”
“Huh…?”
According to Ayame-chan, he was the one who introduced a new VR technology that he built himself from the ground up, which was so groundbreaking that it was indistinguishable from magic.
But twenty-five years ago, he was just a nobody who just submitted his thesis on the basic theory.
At that time, most people thought of his idea as “mere fairytale”, but a complete prototype was finished just a few years later.
“Sometimes, I wonder how he somewhat resembles the King of Nordglacier in the game, but I think I finally have an answer.”
The White Book we thought of as only an object in “Worldgate Online”.
The previous king of Nordglacier disappeared around the same time as the book.
“Hey, don’t tell me that Aureo guy is…”
“This is still purely my speculation… but I can’t think of any other possibility… We now have another thing to confirm once we meet up with Higami-san.”
After a short pause, Ayame-chan firmly spoke.
“Aureo Uber is the same person as this world’s ‘Aureolus Nordglacier’.”
(Author’s Note)
The protagonists’ side finally connected the dots.
APM - Translation 