Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
APM Note: Merry christmas, ive got a present for you all. 12 Chapters (that doesnt mean i didnt get around uploading ne chapters the past 2 months, it does not ok?). Please dont blame the Translator for me being too busy.
Iris
Despite some accidents, the heavy feeling in my heart had settled down after a night’s rest.
As promised, Reiji-san and I were sitting in a room in the mansion, waiting for everyone to come so that we could talk about what had happened the day before. However…
Aside from the three of us, nobody else had arrived.
The sound of a clock, ticking in a steady rhythm.
The sound of fingers tapping on the table.
These sounds echoed loudly inside the room that’s otherwise completely silent, making the atmosphere much more tense than it should be.
As I couldn’t bear the silence, I attempted to strike a conversation…
“U-Um… Reiji-san…”
“What’s up?”
“S-Sorry, please forget I asked…”
What should I do, I couldn’t even look at him in the eye at all, let alone talk to him. But when he wasn’t looking at me, I couldn’t help but glance at his profile… What’s happening to me?!
I dejectedly slumped over the table. If only things could return to how they used to…
“…So? Are you two seriously flirting with each other even when I’m sitting right between you?”
“W-We didn’t do anything like that!”
“…What the hell are you on about?”
Spoke Nii-sama, who had been sitting between us, resting his cheek on his hand and tapping the table with the other hand.
Somehow, he looked incredibly and extremely annoyed.
Could someone please come over so that I can be released from this torment…?
After a while, the door to the room finally opened, and we three let out three sighs of relief… but when I looked at the clock, not even ten minutes had passed.
“Sorry, keep you waiting, huh?”
“Captain Walter? What about the others?”
Aside from him, the only ones who came into the room were Ashley-sama and Leonhardt-sama.
“We asked them to stay out of this. Don’t worry about them, once you’ve told us what you found, we’ll decide whether it’s necessary to disclose this information.”
“I understand…”
Even though I still felt a sense of unease, I begin to talk about the things I couldn’t say yesterday, as I was prompted to. The memories I saw when I purified the “Wound” in that mine.
The “Wound” in that place was artificially created by a surviving Lightwing race, whose wings had turned jet black as if it were darkness taken shape.
When I told them about it, a heavy silence fell over the room.
“So it was a wise decision to gather only us. If the public know that the revered Lightwing race is creating ‘Wound’ and harming people, it’d certainly result in a mass panic.”
Leonhardt-sama broke the silence with a difficult face as if he were enduring a headache.
After all, despite having gone extinct, the Lightwing race was still looked up to as an object of worship. As a Lightwing myself, I felt that stronger than anyone else.
But as it turned out, a member of the Lightwing race had reappeared, as an enemy of humanity, rather than its savior. To the general populace, calling it a shock would be an understatement.
“Well, I can’t keep it a secret anymore, can I? The previous king, Aureolus, knew about this all along, but he gave us strict orders not to talk about it… for the same reason, of course.”
“…Eh?”
“My apologies for keeping it from you… but Aureolus and I had once fought the one you talked about.”
“You two… fought him?”
Sighing deeply, Captain Walter uncharacteristically scratched his head.
“Have you heard of the Death Serpent? He’s a demonic-looking guy who controls a horrific serpentine monster, that’s where he got his name from.”
“Yes… I know that name.”
As said in the game lore, Death Serpent was a calamity that ravaged the northern continent before being repelled by Walter-san with the sacrifice of many of his comrades.
Although his name was the only thing known, the scars he caused still ran deep, and the devastated land was still sealed off.
Back in the game, such sealed off places were known as Forbidden Zones, raid dungeons of the highest end whose difficulty was levels above others.
“I see. That explains why so little is known about such a major disaster.”
Leonhardt-sama said with a look of understanding.
“But… it’s hard to believe a Lightwing has been alive for hundreds of year, even if he’s a long-lived race.”
Lightwing has a longer life span than human, but it’s only 150 years on average and 200 years at most.
“Nevertheless, just as the two of you look unchanged from seven years ago, it’s possible that this Lightwing man has found a way to survive into this age… and it’s not difficult to imagine why he resents humanity.”
Leonhardt-sama gravely concluded.
The Lightwing race… they were remembered as the Goddess’ apostles, and should have been treated with the utmost respect. However, in reality, their history was largely one of slavery thanks to their innate healing ability being abused by others.
Especially during the final period of the previous magical civilization, as the number of individuals of the species decreased and their rarity increased, Lightwing blood became a kind of status symbol for the ruling powers of the time. In the end, after endless interspecies marriage, the number of pure-blooded Lightwing decreased past the point of no return, and the few remaining members were placed under surveillance before fading away from history.
If he was a survivor of that time period, he must have felt a great deal of resentment… I experienced a glimpse of it firsthand yesterday.
“Yes… It was an overwhelming feeling of resentment… But I also felt sorrow from him…”
My blood ran cold, and my body trembled when I remembered what happened yesterday. Could a person really store up this much hatred?
How dare you… HOW DARE YOU?! Curse you all… CURSE YOU ALL TO HELL!
The cries of anger I once heard in the dream echoed in my head.
If this Death Serpent was the same person as the man in my dream, then I’m certain that his hatred hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
And if it’s really him… then he must be my…
“If you ask me, I somewhat sympathize with his situation… but that doesn’t excuse what he’d done.”
Captain Walter’s words pulled me out of my thoughts.
When I quickly raised my face and looked at him, his expression was that of visible concern. He must have thought I was depressed because I fell silent in front of everyone.
“…Miss, I do feel bad for you that your only kin in this world is our enemy, but we aren’t going to sit still and wait for our doom because of some centuries-old grudge. Don’t hold it against us.”
“Please don’t apologize… I feel the same way.”
Although I’d only passed by two towns so far, I’d interacted with many people in this world. The women of the border village, the members of the mercenary company, and even the people of this town.
They were all simply trying to live their lives to the fullest, unrelated to the events of the past. I think it’s unjust that people living in the present have to die because of a tragedy they had nothing to do with.
“Truth be told… I don’t wish to fight him. But if we can’t talk it out and he leaves us no choice, then… I would… I would…”
I would fight.
As I was about to say that, a hand suddenly placed on my head and ruffled my hair.
“Don’t say stuff like that, it doesn’t suit you.”
It was Reiji-san, reaching out to me from the side.
My heart started to beat faster, even as my feelings began to calm down. I let out a small “Ah…”, but couldn’t say anything else.
“I’m sorry if this is too much to stomach for you, miss… You’re looking rather unwell.”
“R-Really?
Everyone immediately nodded in unison.
In a hurry, I wiped out my tears that had seeped into my eyes without me knowing and made myself presentable again.
“By the way, was the ‘Wound’ from before the only one that the Death Serpent had opened?”
“Yes, that seems to be the case. The other two I’d cleansed so far had a more complex, cracked shape, and they didn’t call out to me unlike this one.”
“I see… Unfortunately that doesn’t bring us any lead to find him, assuming he’s still at large…”
Everyone fell silent again at the Captain’s words.
“…Wait. Did you just say two?”
Reiji-san, who seemed to realize something, suddenly raised his voice.
Oh, no. I completely forgot to tell them because of all the things that happened right afterwards…!
“I’m sorry, I forgot! Right after I was first sent to this world, I found a small ‘Wound’ and purified it…!”
Because said “Wound” was much smaller than the other two, with only a phantom that I could handle on my own, I completely neglected to inform those two of it!
Doesn’t help that normally I would block out all memories of that time I was completely on my own, and neither Reiji-san nor Nii-sama wanted to probe into it.
“…Father.”
“Mm. If possible, I would like to accompany them both until they returned to the royal capital.”
Ashley-sama and Leonhardt-sama exchanged glance with faces even more stern than before. Could it be that I’d done something really wrong…?
“Your Highness Irisria.”
“Y-Yes?!”
My body jumped up and my back straightened like when I received a lecture that I’d been getting lately… I hated myself that I’d gotten used to being yelled at to the point it’d become a conditioned reflex…
However, the scolding I expected never came, and instead, Ashley-sama kneeled down on one knee and took a posture of apology.
“I hope you pardon my sudden departure. Now that our work here is done, the Shadow Regiment and I are to be relieved of your escort duties and return to our original mission.”
“Is that… the investigation of the western frontier?”
“Yes.”
Ashley-sama nodded at Nii-sama’s words.
To the west of Count Roland’s territory, beyond the village we first visited, there was a vast coniferous forest and a rugged mountain range.
According to the stories of the few adventurers who had returned, beyond the forest lies a frigid land dotted with settlements of a few indigenous races. Because of its harsh environment, the land remained largely untouched by civilization.
In short, it was a place that remained unknown to us.
“Is there anything we can do to help-”
“I appreciate your concern. However, you have your own goals to pursue, don’t you?”
“Your Highness Irisria, the Shadow Regiment under my father’s command are experts in this kind of activity. Only they are capable of doing this mission.”
“…Understood.”
Seeing the determination within Ashley-sama’s eyes, I decided to not pursue this matter further.
“Please… come back safe and sound. You’re… someone who was like a grandfather to me once.”
“You flatter me, Your Highness. But I’ll engrave your words within my heart.”
Ashley-sama suddenly gave me a smile, and I let go of his shoulders at last.
“…Almost forgot, your name’s Reiji, correct?”
“Me?”
Ashley-sama stood up and seemed to be about to leave the room, but suddenly stopped and turned to Reiji-san.
“Once I return… Would you like to become my disciple?”
“What? But I still have to…”
“You have potential, like a diamond in the rough. My swordsman’s intuition urges me to take you under my wings and train you with my own hands. And then… about the future of the adorable princess I consider own granddaughter…”
“Yes?”
“Lend me your ear for a moment, will you?”
Ashley-sama then whispered something into Reiji-san’s ear.
“…?! Wha… What the…”
“Not a bad idea, don’t you think?”
Ashley-sama had an uncharacteristically large grin on his face. Given Reiji-san’s flustered look, I wondered what he said.
“I get the idea, I think… I’ll consider it. Thanks for the offer, gramp.”
“Mm, I expect a good answer.”
After saying that, Ashley-sama left the room.
“Reiji-san! Um…”
“Hmm?”
Since Ashley-sama left, Reiji-san had been absentmindedly thinking about something with his hand on his chin, only looking over at me when I called him.
I still couldn’t look at him in the eyes at all… but…
“W-What did A-Ashley-sama say to you…?”
“Uh, about that…”
For a moment, his gaze wandered as if he was lost in thought, but soon Reiji-san looked away from me and stared into the distance.
“You’re… a genuine princess in this world, aren’t you? If we’re stuck in this world for life and I want to be by your side, then I need social status of my own… you know…”
“…Eh?”
I couldn’t hear the last part because his voice became so small toward the end, so I tried to ask him again…
“…N-Nevermind! Forget what you just heard! I’ve got stuff to do, see you!”
Reiji-san stormed out of the room in a hurry afterward.
In the end, things became incredibly awkward between us, and we were unable to hold a normal conversation with each other…
Two days passed in the blink of an eye as we prepared to leave this town, and the day of departure finally came.
APM - Translation 