Chapter 161, If It Were Now (6)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

The second space of Syspanian that they found was even more sorrowful.

 

He felt that way for no particular reason. Perhaps it was because his companion was different. Kalian tried for a moment to think of Allan.

 

“This is the place.”

 

After plainly stating this obvious fact to Plants who was following behind, he walked steadily forward and stood before the fragment of Arcus Tempus. Plants, who had walked silently, stopped beside Kalian.

 

Plants’ light green eyes could be seen briefly scanning the fragment. He seemed unable to recognize what it was. That was natural.

 

Turning his gaze away from Plants, Kalian closed his eyes without explaining anything.

 

Bern.

 

To open wide the window of this deep place where he had stored the only complete memory of that one person who no longer existed.

 

He opened his eyes as Bern, who had lived his entire life looking away, who had lived protecting and fought to protect, who had died unable to protect anything in the end.

 

With those eyes, he looked at the golden ring placed before him and opened his mouth.

 

“…Arcus Tempus.”

 

Whether this would be poison or medicine for Kalian and Plants, he still could not know. Without knowing, he began to reveal things one by one.

 

“Originally it was in Secritia, and in the ‘present’ timeline, it was completely in Secritia until last year. Then, I heard it suddenly disappeared, but recently it was discovered here, with only this fragment remaining.”

 

Like someone’s old story being casually told, like an embellished experience tale heard this morning, like a quite plausible legend from a book.

 

As if it were not his own affair, the words that came out of his mouth continued.

 

“It is known to be an object with the ability to turn back time just once. It was thought to be a Divine Artifact, but nothing has been clearly revealed.”

 

Having said that much, Bern turned his unsuitable red eyes toward Plants. In that state, he opened his mouth again. It was not resentment, but with a face showing slight curiosity.

 

The question of why it had happened.

 

“One day, a war broke out between Secritia and Cyries over this thing.”

 

He did not say that Bern and Chase had tried to protect this from Plants. There was no reason to create wounds by saying such things.

 

Seen up close, it was a tragedy that someone had experienced and still could not escape from. But seen from afar, it was merely a war between two countries. A simple war with clear cause and result. The kind of war that had always existed.

 

Someone won and someone lost.

 

Someone died and someone survived.

 

Bern understood that was all there was to it.

 

So, he chose his words so that Plants could at least see it from a place one step removed. That was the maximum consideration Bern could offer.

 

*Haa.*

 

Nevertheless, a sound that was either like a sigh or a self-deprecating laugh burst from Plants’ mouth.

 

Plants was clever.

 

He ignored the consideration Bern had offered and deliberately walked one step closer to listen to Bern’s words. He realized that Plants of the past had started a war to steal that thing, and thus many people had suffered tragedy.

 

“It was all just.”

 

The thing hidden in this place.

 

Plants could not have gauged how much weight the secret he had urged them to uncover together would carry.

 

“Just to steal this thing?”

 

The voice saying this already trembled.

 

Plants probably thought that what was hidden here was some object related to Bern’s secret, and through that, he had wanted to know together about the affairs of Bern that Kalian was keeping pressed down. That was what Bern thought.

 

He would not have thought he would see with his own eyes the cause that directly brought about Bern’s death and Secritia’s destruction.

 

“Yes. Just this thing.”

 

Bern, who had replied this way, took in a breath for a moment.

 

He still breathed. Since Plants was also breathing, both knew they were still living. So, he opened his mouth without stopping. Rather than letting him have long thoughts, it would be better to tell him other words.

 

“No envoy came. It was written in a letter tied to the ankle of a single hawk. I don’t know how you knew, but asking for this thing. It was a demand without even a proper reason written, so I refused.”

 

Having said that, Bern unknowingly smiled briefly.

 

It had been a short letter with no explanation or reason. Looking back on it, he smiled thinking it was quite the typical behavior for Plants.

 

Plants, who found talking bothersome, would have been capable of sending such a letter. When he suddenly thought of this, he briefly smiled.

 

A quite painful smile.

 

The day he had first brought up stories about Bern’s past to Allan. Allan had said, ‘Since both Chase and you came to me regarding matters related to the Arcus Tempus, the two must be brothers indeed.’

 

Like the smile he had shown at Allan’s words then, he smiled a painful smile with similar but very different meaning.

 

“If it were now. Would I have understood your short words?”

 

If it were now, wouldn’t he have been able to understand what feelings had led to writing that letter, before thinking that the Mad King was making an unreasonable demand? Wouldn’t he have understood all the words not written in that letter?

 

“Well, anyway, it’s already too late. What’s done is done with anyway.”

 

He did not dwell on recalling the letter’s contents again.

 

In case he might recognize and understand it. Because that was ridiculous and frightening.

 

Bern, who had turned his gaze from the silently standing Plants to the fragment, traced the unknown characters written on the rim of the ring one by one. Because there was no proper place to rest his eyes.

 

“Less than a month after sending the bird back, the war began.”

 

As soon as those words ended, Plants’ head turned toward Bern. Bern stood silently for a moment, and Plants spoke.

 

“That’s. Strange.”

 

It certainly was strange.

 

Cyriesus and Secritia were not that close. Yet for a war to break out less than a month after the bird flew back.

 

“Even you find it strange. How much more so for us.”

 

Instead of saying how surprised, how flustered, and how despairing they must have been before that unexpected war, Bern just shrugged his shoulders and replied lightly like a joke.

 

“Despite the distance from Cyriesus to Secritia, they came so quickly. We didn’t even anticipate it.”

 

They had known nothing all along.

 

They knew nothing until they discovered countless Mages and Knights near the border.

 

With so many soldiers approaching the border, countless spies delivered no information whatsoever. He had considered whether they had betrayed Secritia like now, but it was not something he could rashly judge. As far as Bern remembered, they had only been loyal birds.

 

“All the birds might have died. Or someone might have had the same thought as me and prepared secretly.”

 

The spies’ betrayal, the spies’ deaths, or Teleportation Magic Circle, and so on.

 

These were now only assumptions, but he could not confirm whether the spies had not delivered news, or had been unable to deliver it, or if there was some other reason. Even if he could confirm it, many things had already gone wrong, and it would be useless.

 

Bern’s calm voice continued.

 

“That was how it had erupted.”

 

At the time, it was even more so. There was no time to confirm what the reason was. When they confirmed the army, it was already too late, and everything ended before they could confirm more.

 

“As you already know, Valkan was strong, so we could not stop them. Moreover, you didn’t even touch the territories and entered straight into Secreta. It would have been fine if you had come more leisurely, but how consistent you were.”

 

At the end of those words, Bern made a laughing sound.

 

Plants would never know how much cursing Bern had directed at Plants then.

 

“Secritia’s Knight Order was completely annihilated. My Master who taught me the sword, Knight Taillan Kastrin. He delayed Valkan’s entry for three days. During that time, we made the final preparations, and everyone except me… died. I held out quite long too, but I don’t remember exactly how many nights passed or how many mornings came. Probably I didn’t lose in holding out compared to my Master. Then, someone who was Valkan’s Commander stepped forward.”

 

Bern, who recalled the Mad Mage who had asked for his name before attacking, smiled briefly once more.

 

“The result is as you already know, like this.”

 

Having said that, Bern tapped his own body.

 

That was how it ended.

 

And it began again.

 

That was the meaning it contained.

 

That was the extent of Bern’s memory. He deliberately did not mention what Plants had looked like that day. That would only be poison for Plants, so there was no reason to voice it.

 

“My story ends here.”

 

Having finished speaking this way, Bern closed his eyes once more.

 

He gathered up the thoroughly scattered memories again. He collected what had gathered in his hands and placed it again in the deepest bottom of the man now known as Kalian.

 

After composing himself that way, he returned to being Kalian and opened his eyes. He could see Plants silently exhaling a long breath.

 

A sunken voice continued from Kalian’s mouth.

 

“As I mentioned, time can only be turned back once, and I heard that Arcus Tempus, which was complete and in Secritia on the day I came, had also disappeared. But we found it again here like this. I was going to break it so it could never be used again, but unfortunately.”

 

Kalian stretched out his foot and tapped his toe several times against the empty air in front of him. Small sounds of his foot touching something rang out with tapping noises.

 

“I’m troubled because I can’t even vent my resentment or anger.”

 

Kalian, who had stubbornly refused the position Plants had offered for him to resent and had only cursed, said this.

 

Plants, who had listened to all of Kalian’s words without saying anything, quietly opened his mouth.

 

“Right.”

 

Since it was words containing no sentiment whatsoever, Kalian said with a strange smile.

 

“If you gather them, you might be able to use them. If your memories return, you might want the Arcus Tempus again.”

 

It was also saying that he might be able to reverse the things current Plants regretted most, and if he remembered the reason why the past Plants had wanted it, he might want to turn back time again.

 

“Right after finishing talking, you’re barking.”

 

Plants immediately retorted.

 

“How do you make it disappear?”

 

And he asked.

 

He understood that it was no longer an opportunity or blessing. So, he meant to tell him how to eliminate it.

 

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m thinking of going to meet Syspanian.”

 

At the mention of meeting Syspanian, Plants’ eyes narrowed again, but Kalian did not explain. He had said he would tell about Bern, not that he would reveal everything about Kalian as well.

 

“I’m planning to resolve the urgent matters first before going.”

 

Plants, who well knew he was the one who had caused the ‘urgent matters,’ frowned. Soon Kalian looked around the stone wall fragments once, then turned his feet toward the stairs.

 

“Wait a moment.”

 

Plants called out to stop Kalian’s footsteps.

 

There was still something to ask.

 

Kalian, who had just been about to leave, turned his head to look at Plants, and Plants asked briefly.

 

“Your name. What was it?”

 

Kalian did not answer immediately.

 

He turned his head back with a face difficult to read and looked at the stairs going up outside. It was not because he did not understand that Plants was asking him to tell Bern’s name. He just stood there looking silently, momentarily dazed.

 

“It’s not difficult to remember. Please tell me.”

 

“Preferably along with your age too.”

 

Kalian, who had been standing still at some distance from Plants, began to laugh. Though it was a quiet sound, it was a clear, refreshing laugh that burst forth.

 

“I am…”

 

Kalian, who had brought out all of Bern he had kept inside, opened his mouth.

 

“Kalian, older brother.”

 

And then he took straight steps to be rained on, to wash away all remaining emotions.

 

This time too, he did not reveal his age.