Chapter 163, Not Peaceful At All (2)

Translator: Hedge

Editor: Lizzz

 

He had only wanted to live.

 

When he stepped onto the road, rain would fall, and when he grasped something in his hand, he would have to let it go, and when he barely escaped and climbed up, he would be called to come back down again.

 

Was it his choices that were wrong?

 

Or was it his fate that was wrong?

 

Well.

 

Since he was living while trying to save even the bastard he had so despised, it was hard to blame anything for a life that had gone as wrong as it could go.

 

*Haa…*

 

So, Kalian just let out a single sigh.

 

And then, he went back down to the underground of Heisia Palace, which he had turned away from without hesitation just moments before. At least he was thankful that he did not feel that sinking feeling again while thinking of Bern.

 

As he went down below, something rather unfamiliar caught his eye. The stone door that was always closed was open.

 

It was a door that had always opened briefly and then closed immediately, but now it was wide open. As if waiting for an invited guest. When Kalian stepped inside in response to that sudden invitation, the stone door closed with a sound that had now become familiar.

 

From that alone, Kalian could realize once more that the owner of this place had indeed come to visit.

 

Kalian, standing before the door, stopped the step he was about to take. And he looked ahead silently. It was because he had discovered something unexpected.

 

The flutter of wings.

 

The delicate flutter of wings of a life that would never suit this rain.

 

*Flutter.*

 

It was a butterfly.

 

A single small, black butterfly passed in front of Kalian. And then it flew around here and there in the room, fluttering its wings. It flew as if casually examining the carvings on the stone walls, but as if it was well aware of the gaze following it.

 

His gaze lingered on the black specks of light that sparkled and disappeared following the butterfly. If there were a black star somewhere in that sky, Kalian thought it would be like scattering its footprints.

 

*Flutter flutter…*

 

Soon the black butterfly acted as if flying around had become tedious. When its wing beats became noticeably slower, the butterfly turned direction and flew toward the fragment of the Arcus Tempus.

 

Then, it easily passed through the wall that Kalian could not enter no matter how hard he tried, and landed ostentatiously on top of the fragment.

 

Watching this, Kalian drew a delicate arc like butterfly wings at the corner of his mouth.

 

“Black butterflies.”

 

He spoke to that small black butterfly like this. It was an excessively polite tone for something said to just a single butterfly.

 

“Usually signifies death. That’s why they’re not very welcome.”

 

As if it understood those words, the butterfly fluttered its wings once.

 

Then the black particles of light that had been sparkling following the butterfly gathered around it. It created the appearance of a small universe centered around the butterfly.

 

How could the color of the night shine so brilliantly!?

 

Kalian watched the jet-black sparkle for a while with genuinely admiring eyes. The gradually gathering specks of light soon grew large enough to hide the small butterfly’s frame, then continued to expand in size. And then, as if alive, it moved and shaped itself.

 

It transformed into the appearance of one with nobility incomparable to that of Humans.

 

“So you alone could welcome me, couldn’t you?”

 

As the glimmering light clung momentarily to the ends of her long, curling hair gradually disappeared, Syspanian, who had been the butterfly, who had been the light containing the night sky, who was also a great being herself, revealed her form. Thus, she conveyed her answer to Kalian’s words.

 

Kalian bowed his head with a deep smile.

 

“I greet the supreme and great Syspanian.”

 

He neither affirmed nor denied the statement that he would welcome death.

 

Sigmund Khan Syspanian, the Ancient Dragon who had appeared before Kalian once more, nodded her head. And after looking into Kalian’s eyes silently for a moment, she opened her mouth.

 

“I sought to understand. So I called you again.”

 

Right now, Syspanian was not emanating any of the pressure that would elevate her very existence. There was no feeling of that tremendous fear that made one want to bow their head and immediately kneel, that made one want to strangle oneself. Not only that, she was not even revealing the most fundamental sense of existence that comes with having life. It felt as if no one was here, as if Kalian was alone in this place.

 

Thanks to this, Kalian could contemplate for a moment.

 

Whether he should make excuses and try to make her understand why he had destroyed the palace where she had once lived, or whether he should apologize for cursing how Syspanian’s Blessing was too weak because she was being too considerate.

 

“What understanding do you speak of?”

 

Syspanian turned her head to look at Kalian.

 

Kalian had just entered the room. And Syspanian moved her feet to stand in front of the mural where the last carving was engraved as she answered. Though the distance between them was quite far, it was a small but clear voice that seemed to whisper in Kalian’s ear.

 

“Anything would be fine.”

 

[Haa… First King Harts-ara.]

 

[Just what exactly did you find appealing about such a person that you proposed? It’s impossible to have a proper conversation with her.]

 

Now he understood. [Being terse with words must be hereditary. Rmain does not speak at length, and Randel hardly speaks at all. Then there is the final remaining bastard, who is like a boiled pea, always cooked with emotions. Thinking about him only gives me headaches, and talking about him would be a waste of air…]

 

Seeing such a Kalian, Syspanian seemed to smile a little. Her expression did not change at all, but somehow it felt that way. As if she had just read Kalian’s thoughts.

 

Fortunately, Syspanian did not try to reproach him for refreshingly eliminating the old palace where she had lived.

 

“You do not distinguish those who may step where fragments of calamity lie.”

 

[Fragments of calamity?]

 

Syspanian called the fragments of the Arcus Tempus that. She named the Arcus Tempus as a calamity.

 

Because it was such an accurate expression, Kalian unconsciously let out a laugh. Then, he began to gauge the meaning of what Syspanian had said.

 

And after a moment, he realized that Syspanian was now reproaching Kalian for bringing Plants to this place.

 

About informing someone unrelated to the entanglement of time of the facts and showing them the Arcus Tempus. About the rashness of that action.

 

“Do I not even have the right to be healed?”

 

So he asked this.

 

[Can’t I even do as much?]

 

“Embracing blades that no one would know about, getting wounded, festering, rotting. Cutting away and cutting away the rotten parts until nothing remains at all. Must I live like that? Should I?”

 

It was resentment.

 

Yes, he resented. He vented his anger.

 

To Syspanian, who knew many things but could not tell him anything, and actually borrowing Syspanian’s ear to speak to Serenty, he conveyed resentment like venting anger. Even though he already knew well and understood, having decided to accept it all, he still spoke like that.

 

*Rustle…*

 

Syspanian turned her body toward Kalian.

 

The ends of her long hair brushed against the stone wall. That small sound seemed as loud as a heartbeat.

 

Syspanian looked at Kalian’s blood-colored eyes with those red eyes that seemed full of life. Finally, gazing deeply into those eyes of the same color as her own, she laid down an answer like a leaf dropped by a quiet breeze.

 

“I have understood.”

 

She answered only that.

 

That she understood Kalian’s response to her reproach. That she understood the inner feelings he had held tightly, crushed with all his might.

 

[‘I’m troubled because I can’t even vent my resentment or anger.’]

 

Only then did the words he had said to Plants earlier come to mind.

 

Syspanian had seen Kalian bringing Plants into the place where the Arcus Tempus was, where the calamity was. She had seen and heard even his inner thoughts. So, she had come like this. To listen to the resentment and venting that he could not express to anyone.

 

Only now did he realize this.

 

Kalian, who finally understood why this considerate Ancient Dragon had come to this place, bowed his head.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

The Mage’s clothes were not wet at all.

 

Plants looked at Allan with some bewilderment, finding it curious and feeling a bit awkward holding an umbrella with his own hands.

 

It was Allan who had thrown out the comment that Kalian had stopped being afraid of his older brothers’ crazy antics and then disappeared. This was the first time they had encountered each other like this since then. Of course, they had met several times due to Valkan’s matters, but each time there was definitely one Mage whose mental faculties were clearly not intact, always interfering.

 

“Greetings, Prince Plants. What business brings you alone to such a place?”

 

Allan bowed to Plants and immediately asked a question.

 

In Cyries, Royalty could not speak first until they had received greetings, but it was not so in Liberen. However, Allan had not spoken to him like this because he was confused about such etiquette. Of course, he was not being rude either.

 

He just did not care about it.

 

Because he was someone with enough ability to get away with such things.

 

Actually, it would be hard to say that Plants was keeping etiquette well either. If he had been, he would not have come out in just a thin cardigan, and there would have been no reason for him to be standing holding an umbrella with his own hands. Was he not Royalty? He, who should always stand straight without holding anything in his hands, even if it meant getting rained on.

 

Instead of pointing out Allan’s attitude, Plants closed his mouth for a moment.

 

Whether to say he was standing blankly in the rain organizing his thoughts, or to say he was deciding again where to go after the younger brother who had come with him suddenly ran off, or to say he was deeply contemplating how to accept that the legendary ancestor Dragon who had suddenly visited the Royal Palace was living and breathing in the underground of Heisia Palace.

 

“You.”

 

So, he just asked back like this. Because he was a Prince, it was fine to not answer and pass it by.

 

When it came to observing etiquette, it was better not to be Royalty. However, at times like this, what position could be more comfortable than being Royalty?

 

“I’ll excuse myself for a moment.”

 

Allan, who had been watching Plants’ demeanor, slightly bowed his head and said this.

 

Since he was asked what he was doing and responded by asking what the other was doing in return and then answered by Allan that he would excuse himself, they were in a situation where they were each just saying what they wanted to say.

 

Regardless, since Allan had said he would excuse himself, he continued with what he intended to do. He had not said it to ask permission. After all, if Plants was a Prince, then Allan was Allan Manasil.

 

*Snap!*

 

When a crisp sound came from Allan’s fingertips, Plants’ hair and clothes, which had been soaked by the rain, instantly dried and became clean.

 

When Plants thought about it, that younger brother of his had gone down without ever drying his clothes. But, since they were not close enough for him to care about such things anyway, that was fine.

 

Since the rain had not stopped, he would get wet again soon, but the momentary comfort that had arrived was not entirely unpleasant.

 

“Mage. Why did you come here?”

 

So, Plants asked a more precise question, expressing this more comfortable feeling.

 

He did not know much about Magic, but hadn’t Kalian said something was calling him? So, Allan might have come to this place after sensing Syspanian’s presence. But if he had, Allan would not be able to maintain such a leisurely attitude. For Plants, she was just a really old ancestor, but for Mages, was she not an absolute being with meaning beyond that?

 

“I came to briefly look around.”

 

Allan answered like this, confirming Plants’ thoughts. Since he did not know that Plants had already seen what was below, he did not precisely state his reason for visiting as ‘wanting to examine the carvings on the walls carefully again.’

 

“It would be better to come later.”

 

Plants answered like this.

 

The ends of his cardigan were getting wet again, gradually becoming heavier. He should have known better than to wear something this long when coming out.

 

Plants turned his head to look toward the stairs as he continued speaking.

 

“My younger brother is currently looking around.”

 

It seemed that Kalian and Plants had come to this place together, and he was reacting as if he already knew there was something ‘below.’ Therefore, Allan looked at Plants with a complicated expression, and Plants nodded and opened his mouth.

 

“I heard. The Arcus Tempus. And what I did too.”

 

Allan was someone who knew all of Kalian’s secrets anyway. Plants knew this too. So, Plants did not brush it off but clearly informed him.

 

Allan, who had been looking at Plants’ face for a moment, smiled gently and nodded.

 

“I heard that he shared it with you, and it seems it was true.”

 

Among the many conversations that had passed between Master and Disciple on the day Chase left Cyriesus, there had been talk about Plants. It included the story of how Plants, with an expression like the world was going to end, had eaten the fresh tangerines that Chase had brought together with him. That was why he said it.

 

Plants, who could not have understood the meaning of Allan’s words, frowned. Kalian had shared so many things that he did not even know what he was talking about, but Plants could clearly tell that Allan’s face looked like someone happy that his kid had made a friend, which was extremely annoying.

 

Still, he was not the type to be so lacking in propriety as to tell the Archmage, who had lived more than three times longer than him, not to bark. Without any other choice, Plants just kept his mouth shut.

 

“I understand. I’ll come back later.”

 

Allan said this without adding other explanations. Whatever it was, Kalian was already underground, checking something. Plants was asking him not to interfere, so there was no particular reason for him to go down now.

 

However, instead of immediately returning, Allan looked at Plants for a moment. And he spoke as if giving advice in an unwavering voice.

 

“Even if you have nightmares later, don’t confine yourself in a tower you didn’t build yourself, saying you’ll bear with it.”

 

The wise Mage knew well what Kalian, who was like his own child, would be most worried about right now.

 

“He threads this path not for blaming nor for placing responsibility. It is a path someone walks alone to keep others alive. So, he would not wish for you to punish yourself unnecessarily.”

 

Whether it was Secritia or Cyries or Chase or Plants. Was Kalian not someone who was embracing everything that had been broken for reasons, saying he would restore it all?

 

“I know. I too am aware.”

 

Plants answered briefly.

 

Allan nodded. If he said he knew, if he said he understood, that was enough.

 

Thanks to this, Allan ended up looking at Plants again like looking at his kid’s friend, and thanks to this, Plants ended up frowning again.

 

* * *

 

He asked if the black pebble was a Divine Artifacts made by someone.

 

Syspanian answered that it was indeed made by someone.

 

“Since it contains the power of the other side, it’s not something touched by Serenty’s hand.”

 

She meant it was not a Divine Artifact made by Serenty.

 

[But it is another riddle-like statement. ‘The power of the other side’?]

 

“The children who trust you have stepped forward. When the time comes, you too will know.”

 

Instead of saying that she could not tell him about it with her own mouth, Syspanian informed him like this.

 

Though he did not understand exactly who the ‘children’ meant, Euria suddenly came to mind. Therefore, Kalian thought he should check if Euria was still investigating it and answered.

 

“I understand.”

 

And after keeping his mouth shut for a while, he asked again.

 

“Are the fragments of the Arcus Tempus perhaps something you’re looking for?”

 

“I placed what appeared in the world here in this place.”

 

Syspanian nodded and answered, and Kalian felt as if the whole world was swaying following that nod.

 

“Where are the other pieces?”

 

“They haven’t appeared yet.”

 

“Then why did you seek this one out and place it in such a place?”

 

Syspanian let out a low breath.

 

As if conveying her final words.

 

“Because it has become something you must collect yourself.”

 

Without telling him whether Kalian needed to collect this calamity to use it or collect it to destroy and eliminate it.

 

Syspanian, who had stayed in front of the stone wall where the last carving was engraved for a while, turned her head.

 

Then, a single black butterfly flew past Kalian’s side and disappeared from sight.