TL/ED – Miso

Elysia snapped to attention as if something had just occurred to her and began rummaging through her bag.

“Jern your master? The scary-looking elf.”

“Dersia?”

“Yeah. She brought something up while she was examining me.”

With a thud, inside the bag were quite a few fairy tale books along with papers covered in messy handwriting.

“She said it was just a hypothesis, but apparently only a talented few are actually capable of Falling.”

“Hmm… I think you heard wrong.”

The Fallen aren’t so different from people who had the bad luck of catching an incurable disease. Not sure what she was getting at, I furrowed my brow, and Elysia shook her head back and forth in protest.

“No! I was born with a strange constitution that suppresses magic nearby.”

“That’s not because you’re a Fallen. You were just in a slightly dangerous state.”

The cause of Elysia gaining that ability was nothing more than a sudden emotional upheaval from her mother’s death. It wasn’t as though she had awakened a new World.

“But it’s not magic either, is it?”

“…True.”

“Your master said I warped my surroundings so that magic couldn’t be used because I hated magic. But not everyone who despises magic develops a constitution like mine. I had the talent for it.”

“I’m telling you, talent has nothing to do with it.”

“Nuh-uh, look at this book.”

The fairy tale book Elysia suddenly shoved in front of my face had this passage written in it:

The reason only nobles are wizards is that those who inherited the blood of the First Wizard are the nobles.

It was nothing more than a heavily sanitized explanation fed to the children of the ruling class about why the ruled were beneath them. I sighed and pushed the book away, and Elysia answered with full confidence.

“The reason only we nobles can use magic is because we inherited the blood of this First Wizard person.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Your master agreed with me too.”

“…What?”

Had Dersia lost her mind?

Looking at the triumphant Elysia, something I’d heard before suddenly came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, Sharmia didn’t Fall either.’

She used magic perfectly fine. Her prophetic ability was supposedly just good luck, something about inheriting a concentrated bloodline.

If that was the case, then Elysia awakening this peculiar World that was neither a proper Fall nor entirely normal could also simply be a matter of bad luck.

“So I was born with the destiny of a Fallen, and that’s why I ended up with this constitution. A body that can actually erase magic because it hates magic.”

“…”

If that was how she put it, well, I could accept that.

However.

“But it’s not talent. You shouldn’t describe it that way.”

I pinched Elysia’s cheek with a somewhat stern tone and warned her.

“Listen carefully, Elysia. The way I am now might look appealing to you. Someone like me who doesn’t have much talent for magic getting commended by the Princess and receiving a prestigious position, it might make being a Fallen seem like a good thing.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I softened the explanation a bit, but every Fallen lives in their own personal hell. Why do you think an organization like the Crimson Circle is made up entirely of Fallen? It’s because only the wicked remain, people so trapped in the worst possible circumstances that they want to drag others down to where they are.”

I emphasized it over and over, watching Elysia’s wavering eyes.

She held at least some degree of respect for me, so knowing I was a Fallen, she could express admiration instead of revulsion. But that sentiment must not extend into goodwill toward the Fallen as a whole.

“Never, ever try to Fall on your own. Understood?”

“…I know! I’m not an idiot, you know??”

Elysia rubbed her cheek with an indignant expression.

“I know that. When I said talent, um… I said it so you wouldn’t feel bad, Jern.”

“If that’s all it was, then fine…”

“What I’m trying to say is, I’m still young.”

As long as Elysia wasn’t developing a fondness for the Fallen, that was enough.

Having regained her confidence, she flipped her bobbed hair with a smug expression and smiled.

“My potential is infinitious. I can erase more than just magic. Maybe, Jern, I could erase your sea for you.”

“I appreciate the thought. But my Deep Sea is fundamentally different from a wizard’s World.”

A wizard’s Abyss Realm and my Abyss Realm were on completely different levels.

In the end, unless someone was on Dersia’s level, an ordinary wizard’s World was merely a personally created world, incomparable in scale to that of a Fallen. The difficulty of suppressing one didn’t simply differ by a few multiples.

And among the Fallen’s Worlds, the Great World was said to be exceptionally vast. Within those Great Worlds, the Three Evils, said to be capable of engulfing entire Worlds, that was my Deep Sea.

Even if Elysia could suppress a Fallen’s World, suppressing the Deep Sea would be next to impossible, and right now, the most she could manage was holding back low-level magic.

…And the word she’d used was “infinite” instead of the correct “infinitious” .

Surprisingly, Elysia conceded readily, as if she already knew.

“Right. It’ll be hard.”

At the same time, she took my hand again.

“But something being hard isn’t a reason not to try.”

“…!”

For a moment, I thought I’d been attacked.

Elysia’s hand felt like something spine-chilling, and goosebumps rose all along my forearm.

The reason was simple.

‘The Current Sense…’

The Current Sense covering her had thinned, causing my senses to waver.

There was no doubt, Elysia had just interfered with my Deep Sea. I swallowed hard and met her gaze, and she gave me a little smile.

“Ah, it really is incredibly vast. I gave it my best shot, too.”

“What did you just do?”

“Things I’ve been practicing. Jern, when I found out you were a Fallen and you left to take down the Crimson Circle… after I looked into what a Fallen actually was, I couldn’t do anything. I just locked myself in my room and cried.”

“…”

“What snapped me out of it was realizing that you’d always been by my side whenever I was in danger. When you were the one in danger, I didn’t want to just sit still this time.”

Our eyes met. It was quite a remarkable thing.

I had grown considerably over the course of all that time compared to where I’d started. The fact that she was at the same eye level as me now, didn’t that mean she had grown too?

“I did a lot of research. Combining what I’d heard from your master before with various materials, it seemed like my cursed constitution might actually be useful. Looking back, it was incredibly reckless, but… I begged and pleaded with my dad and went to a village where Fallen were gathered. To test my ability.”

“Wait, what exactly did Dersia say to you?”

“She didn’t really say anything specific, but your master is seriously weird! She drew my blood and tried to make some kind of medicine? But through that process, I found out that I might be able to suppress the Worlds of the Fallen.”

Seeing the slight disgust on her face, I lost any desire to reproach Dersia for her efforts. So she’d been doing everything she could to try making a World-Sealing Pill.

Elysia continued, her expression still tense.

“Jern. I really do seem to have the ability to suppress Worlds. Actually, even before I heard about it, when you saved me at the Spire… I did something back then. When I recalled that memory and tried affecting other Fallen, I was definitely able to weaken their Worlds.”

“Weaken, huh…”

“R-right now, honestly, I can barely handle even one Fallen. One of them was going berserk and I tried to calm it down, but I failed.”

She smiled sheepishly and quietly showed me her left hand.

I hadn’t noticed since she’d been keeping it lowered, but there was a small burn mark on it.

“It’s a secret from my dad, okay? I haven’t told him yet because I’m afraid he’ll find out I did something reckless if I get it treated…”

“Go get it treated right now before it scars. Otherwise I’m telling him.”

“Noooo…”

She made a face like a wet puppy and poked her index fingers together.

“But I really am confident I can help. You’d just need to come by sometimes and hold my hand, you know?”

“What exactly does it do?”

“I listen to the World you’re in, and when I recall it and reject it, it seems like that World thins out around me.”

“I see. Does it take anything out of you?”

“…Honestly, I get a little tired.”

Elysia, who had just woken up moments ago, yawned and blinked the instant she said it.

“But besides that, there are no side effects at all! Really!”

“Hmm.”

“…Please. Let me help.”

Perhaps thinking my cautious demeanor meant I might refuse, Elysia grabbed my hand firmly and pleaded earnestly.

“And actually, this is a threat. If you don’t let me help, I’ll keep treating other Fallen and improving until you acknowledge me.”

“No, I wasn’t planning to refuse.”

Of course, unfortunately, the odds of Elysia’s ability enabling me to escape the Deep Sea were extremely low. Practically nonexistent.

My Deep Sea was far more tenacious than one might think. In the past and in the future, it had dogged me to the very end.

Even if Elysia reached a level where she could pull me out of the Deep Sea with everything she had, it would only last for the duration she maintained her ability.

The moment she released it, I would be swallowed back into the sea.

‘That said, it’s not as if this wouldn’t help.’

Being able to separate from the Deep Sea even for a single instant held truly tremendous value.

Off the top of my head, I could already think of dozens of ways to put this method to use.

“R-really?”

“Yes. But never make contact with the Fallen recklessly again.”

“…There were knights with me too.”

“It’s far more dangerous than you think. Hostile or not.”

“Okay, okay!”

After I gave her a stern warning, she nodded hastily, as if afraid I might change my mind.

Perhaps because the tension had released, her eyelids began to droop.

“Sorry. Can I sleep just a little?”

“Sure. Get some good rest.”

No wonder she’d been sleeping so soundly in the study earlier.

She must have been using this ability continuously. To grow stronger.

It was an uncomfortable feeling, knowing I was the reason for it.

“The streets here are so pretty at night, so… haaaa, when I wake up, let’s go together…”

“Got it. I got it, so go to bed already.”

I laid Elysia down, tidied up the room, and quietly left.

As I was heading out, Elysia, drunk on drowsiness, called after me.

“Jern…”

“What?”

“You trust me, right?”

I thought about it for a moment.

But I simply couldn’t bring myself to lie.

“Sorry, I can’t trust you yet.”

“Hmph…”

***

Outside the lodging.

As I walked, taking a stroll under the still very blue sky, a strange feeling kept nagging at me.

‘…What an odd feeling.’

It was somehow peculiar and unsettling.

To think that Elysia could actually help me escape.

It felt like salvation had come from a direction I’d never even considered.

“Should I call it luck…”

But then again, thinking of it that way felt like an insult to Elysia, who had gained that ability through her mother’s death.

I let out a sigh and tried to calm my thoughts as I walked along the main road, when I heard a commotion up ahead.

“No, I’m telling you, it’s too dangerous for you to go in…!”

“The water’s not running, so what are we supposed to do! Move aside, I used to work as a mercenary back in the day!”

It was quite an unusual sight. Angry citizens were trying to enter somewhere, and the guards were desperately blocking them.

“Then you go in and clear it out!”

“We’re sorry. We’ve sent for reinforcements, so please just wait a moment…”

As the guards fumbled about trying to push the citizens back, several soldiers who had ridden in on horseback threatened and shoved the crowd aside.

“Stand back! A summons has been sent to the nearest mercenary company. They will arrive to conduct an inspection by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Tomorrow means we can’t open the Night Market tonight! Today’s the most important day, the last day…”

“Think of it as ending one day early. For the sake of safety, entry to the sewers is absolutely prohibited! Many distinguished guests have come to enjoy themselves, and if a fatal accident were to occur, we’d have no face to show to the lord!”

The one speaking forcefully was a knight…

‘Actually, no.’

Even a cursory scan with Current Sense showed his skill was closer to that of an Attendant than a knight. His face also looked awfully young for a knight.

But the sewers? Tilting my head curiously, I approached, and a guard who recognized me brightened up and greeted me.

“Ah, Sir Jern. My apologies for the disturbance.”

“What’s going on?”

“Well… it seems some strange creatures in the sewers have blocked the water again.”

“Strange creatures?”

“Yes. Beastfolk, usually. They’re all long-standing nuisances of Iabon. Unless someone goes in and clears them out, the water can’t be used, and everyone’s in a bind.”

“Huh.”

Who knew something like that lived beneath the city.

“We were assured they’d all been exterminated when a mercenary company was called in before, but it seems they botched the job… ah, my apologies. We’ll get the crowd calmed down shortly.”

“So the Night Market tonight is canceled?”

“Yes. I’m sorry…”

I recalled Elysia, who before falling asleep had been excited about going out at night, and sighed.

She’d pushed herself for my sake, so making her happy for at least one day seemed like basic human decency.

“Would it be alright if I went in?”

“Pardon?”

“As you may know, I’m a knight, more or less. Look at this.”

“Ah, for that you’d need to speak with Sir Lips, the Acting Knight…”

“What’s an Acting Knight?”

“Being such a small city… there’s only one knight, and he’s away at the moment.”

“…”

I had no choice but to show my seal to the Acting Knight named Lips, who was blocking off the sewer entrance, and asked.

“Jern Aspandal. I’m confident in my combat ability. It would be a problem if the Night Market were shut down, so would it be alright if I went in for a bit?”

“…A knight…?”

Lips looked me up and down with disbelief at my young frame, then caught sight of the seal and swallowed.

He at least had enough knowledge to recognize what it was.

“Um, Sir Jern Aspandal? When exactly did you become a knight…?”

But apparently unable to believe someone my age could be a knight, he studied me for a while before asking cautiously, just in case.

The fact that he even asked was impressive. Normally, if someone my age claimed to be a knight, even I wouldn’t believe it. He must have seen the guards being deferential and assumed I was at least some noble’s son.

“Roughly a week ago.”

“W-would it be alright if I verified this?”

“Go ahead.”

I tossed him the seal. Lips caught it carefully and examined it for a while, then…

“Hhhk!!!”

He let out a gasp of shock and practically fell off his horse as he dismounted, then opened the entrance.

“Yes, Vice Knight Commander-nim! Please, go right ahead.”

“…Vice what?”

“I’m sorry. I’m not very familiar with Wax Wings’ titles… if I’ve been rude, I, I sincerely apologize…”

…Watching Lips tremble in abject terror before me,

I finally understood what Brimdal had been about to say when he saw my seal.