Chapter 154

‘I’m so glad I brought Brassidas.’

I don’t know how many times I had this thought.

Brassidas, who had lived so long no one knew his exact age. Thanks to him, the forgotten methods of dismantling dungeons were brought back into the light.

“But we must be careful. The mages of the dungeon prized their own safety above all, always keeping their senses sharp to the surface.”

Brassidas gave a firm warning.

Everyone nodded with deep respect for the Archmage, but the deeper we went inside, the more the mages’ eyes grew crazed.

“No way… the original form of a lost magic circle.”

“That’s a Night Pearl—before the Eastern Continent was cut off!”

Even as people were hurt from fiddling with things, their zeal never cooled. Not even the injured ones.

Seeing that blind obsession with research, and their cruelty in caging spirits, one truth was reaffirmed for me: my mother had been right to raise me under the temple’s protection.

“Minuelle, your face is pale. Are you all right?”

Esadien’s worried voice came, and I reflexively started to nod—then changed my mind and spoke honestly.

“I’m worried about Kaius.”

“Since Gabbie hasn’t said anything, he must be safe.”

But what exactly counted as ‘safe’? My heart was restless.

“At the same time, another thought came to me. If… they had found me as a child, then there would be no ‘me’ now.”

Esadien’s grip on my waist tightened. When I turned to look at him, I drew in a sharp breath.

His eyes gleamed with a murderous light, more terrifying than when he had faced Austin.

“I’ll kill them all.”

“Calm down, dear.”

I was about to say, this is family, not war, when—

Rumble!

A terrible sound erupted, and stones of all sizes began to fall from the ceiling.

Some drew their swords immediately, but many who had been studying the murals screamed too late.

Then flames from Gabbie swept overhead.

Strangely, the stones passed right through the fire without burning. An illusion.

Gabbie barked:

— Get a grip!

But then people began to suddenly fall asleep or see hallucinations.

At last Brassidas stepped forward.

“Everyone, fall back and release your mana for now.”

He meant to take control of the mana spreading through the place himself.

So then, what could we do?

“Gabbie, absorb as much of the spirit power as you can.”

And Esadien commanded the knights: “Old-era mages cannot use magic without their wands! Strike quickly, subdue and bind!”

“Yes, sir!”

Two currents formed in the dungeon—mana flowing into Brassidas, and spirit power flowing into Gabbie.

Perhaps because this was the energy of the wind spirit, Gabbie’s form swelled, growing huge like a giant.

I nearly blurted, Go, Gabbie! Body slam!—but held it in for the sake of the mood.

Still, Gabbie, sensing my thought to some extent, rolled his eyes at me before charging forward.

Columns, walls—everything shattered before him, and the knights rushed in after.

Behind us, Brassidas held the dungeon together with the mana he had gathered.

And I—

“Kaius! Kaius! Where are you?!”

I screamed the child’s name at the top of my lungs as I searched, not even realizing when I had been separated from Esadien.

With Gabbie draining the spirit energy, the dungeon mages had lost much of their power—but that also made finding Kaius harder.

“Kaius!”

How long did I run like that? A faint scent of rosemary brushed my nose.

I followed it blindly as it grew stronger, like a hand guiding me. My lungs burned, but I didn’t stop.

At last—I found him.

Kaius, looking younger than the last time I’d seen him, was trapped inside a transparent sphere floating in the air.

He saw me, panting, and gasped. His tiny lips moved, clear as day:

…Mom.

It wasn’t a playful call this time. Realization stung me with tears.

In this moment, I didn’t think about strange family dynamics, or whether I could be a mother.

All I thought of was saving this child who wanted to lean on me.

“Hold on… just a little longer!”

I gathered power in my hand to strike—

—but suddenly Kaius’ face twisted in despair. He threw himself against the transparent wall, sparks of violet lightning crackling over it, hurting him, but he kept pounding with his tiny fists.

Run!

That’s what he seemed to be shouting.

But I couldn’t stop. If I had meant to stop, I never would have come this far.

Above all—

Slash! Splatter!

Blood sprayed across the sphere from behind me. A heavy thud fell, and then a familiar voice rang out: “Don’t look back, Minuelle.”

…Because I had a husband stronger than anyone.

With tears in my eyes, I smashed that cursed sphere while meeting Kaius’ vivid green gaze.

The knights and mages bustled about.

“Books! Take every book!”

The mages rejoiced, suddenly gifted with ancient materials money couldn’t buy.

“Listen, the empire now is called the Preseria Empire!”

The knights firmly bound the dungeon mages who could not accept reality.

They muttered in disbelief: “We were to found a Mage Empire… only we could save oppressed mages…”

But it was exactly that conviction that had led them to imprison free spirits and drain their power.

It was infuriating—but their judgment in court, or within the mage society, was a matter for later.

For now, what we needed most was warmth.

I hugged Kaius tightly. Esadien embraced both me and the now-shrunken Gabbie.

The four of us huddled close.

— Those mages had almost finished a weapon, one developed for generations in the dungeon. I thought I had to stop it somehow.

It was then Esadien and I came to Nantier.

Kaius confessed that he had put the dungeon mages to sleep and fled with what little strength he had. But he hadn’t expected the lingering effect to cause trouble with the milk delivery—and apologized.

— Just taking on a human form to meet you took me days. I didn’t have time to think of anything else.

Every time Kaius called us “mom” and “dad,” my chest ached sweetly.

I hugged him closer and asked, “Why didn’t you reveal yourself right away? Why not just ask for help?”

— I sensed the fire spirit’s power, but I had to be sure you could be trusted. And no one else could understand a word I said.

Ah. So that “abubu” babbling had actually been his desperate attempt at communication?

— And honestly, I thought maybe I could just live like that. I’d always wanted to be human… and you two loved me.

“Then why give up?”

— If I kept pretending, everyone would end up hurt. So I tried to quietly put you to sleep, take your power, and leave…

Kaius glanced at Gabbie. The fire spirit scowled.

— Hmph. You’ve got some nerve, planning to steal power like a thief. Spirits should have pride.

As if Gabbie had forgotten how he once shoved a “contract” on me to freeload.

But I didn’t care. What mattered was that he had still helped save Kaius.

“You’re both good kids. You’ve worked so hard, for so long.”

I ruffled them both.

— Mom.

Kaius tilted his head back under my touch.

— Are you crying because of me?

“Hm?”

Only when droplets hit his pale forehead did I realize I was crying.

“Minuelle. It’s all right. They’re both free now.”

Esadien’s lips brushed my temple, my eyes, my cheek, with words of comfort.

I sniffled.

“Thank you too.”

“You don’t need to thank me. Your wish is always mine.”

“…Ugh, I love you so much, Esadien.”

His laughter spread warmly through my back.

Then Kaius grabbed my hand and pressed it to his chest.

— Something’s all bunched up here. It feels heavy, but warm too.

“That’s called emotion, Kaius.”

— How do you know?

“Because I learned it too, when I met your mom.”

— Mom, you’re amazing. You can even make things like this.

— Hmph. Our Minuelle does have a way of bulldozing through.

Was that praise or criticism? I couldn’t tell, because right then Kaius pouted and hugged me tightly.

— I’m jealous. I wish you really were my mom.

“Kaius.”

Esadien placed a hand on the boy’s head.

“Even without blood, you can still be family. That’s what ‘your mom’ said.”

Kaius looked between us, then smiled.

— Dad, you’re a good guy.

“You need to learn some manners.”

— Heehee. Nope!

He stuck his tongue out cheekily, then suddenly vanished—only to reappear a short distance away.

“Kaius?”

He winked with one eye, then blurted something absurd:

— My little sibling will be calm, cool, and elegant—unlike me.

Why was he suddenly talking about siblings?

If a child like him was born again, calm and elegant or not, they’d definitely be a handful—restless, curious, nibbling at everything.

But Kaius didn’t care what I thought. He laughed, twirled around us, hugged me again, and deliberately pressed his face against my belly.

— I’ll come back!

And with that, he vanished like a gust of wind.

“Kaius? What, he just leaves like that?”

I blinked, but Gabbie reassured me:

— That’s how wind is. It’s stranger for it to stay still.

Esadien, though, seemed lost in thought.

“Dear? What are you thinking?”

“…That we’ll need to work hard to give Kaius a sibling.”

“What?! In front of everyone?!”

Couldn’t he see the jealous stares of lifelong bachelor mages who had never once left their underground dungeon?

But Esadien only held me proudly in his arms, eyes blazing.

“We must return at once.”

Oh no. How many days this time would he keep me from leaving the bedchamber…?

But my fears were misplaced. Once home, Esadien immediately called for the physician and priest.

“I’m not sick, you know.”

“I know.”

Then why a check-up?

The answer came within the hour.

“Congratulations. You are with child.”

“It’s so early you must not have felt anything—but well done to summon us so soon.”

“Our first child—Kaius already told us.”

The words flew over me, leaving me dazed.

I was pregnant? Me? People always said honeymoon babies were rare…

Everyone around me smiled, but reality didn’t sink in until Esadien dismissed them all and knelt at my feet.

“Minuelle.”

“It’s… real?”

He hugged my waist and looked up at me in reverence.

“It’s real. Truly real. Thank you… thank you so much.”

Seeing his radiant face, my hands trembled as countless emotions crashed over me.

The strongest of them all was—

“I’m happy.”

Joy.

I leapt up and hugged Esadien tightly.

“This is amazing… Esadien, how do you always give me such happiness?”

“You’ve stolen my line.”

We laughed at each other, faces mirroring the same joy.

“Let’s raise this child kind and strong, healthy and bright.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s shower them with love.”

“Yes, Minuelle.”

Many trials had passed, and more would come—but I decided not to fear them in advance.

Because this man—the one who loved me back with all his heart—was on my side.

That would never change, for all our lives.

That’s the end of VLTOB, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed it. The angst really drew me in and I love their happy ending. It feels a bit bittersweet to end this since we saw so much of their journey.