Chapter 45

Sweat dripped from Esadien’s face as he dodged the barrage of unpredictable fireballs, searching for an opening.  

‘So it was the Cult of Fire.’  

The fury boiling inside me made it clear—this wasn’t ordinary magic, it was the power of flame.  

If it was the Cult of Fire, then their order to bring me made sense.  

’Am I going to have to throw myself in front again like a tank?’

As I hesitated, one of the men who’d been lying on the ground suddenly rose like a zombie. A dagger gleamed in his hand.  

Fireballs burst forward, crowding Esadien’s vision, clearly meant to provide cover.  

Behind that screen of flames, the zombie-like bastard went for Esadien’s back.  

I didn’t even have time to think. I lunged.  

‘Over my dead body!’  

WHACK!  

The heel of my shoe slammed squarely into the back of his head—and promptly snapped clean off.  

‘A… critical hit?’

Even this flimsy paper doll of a body could land a decent blow sometimes!  

“Gurk!”  

The man collapsed for good, a final gasp rattling from his throat.  

That damned shoe. I knew I shouldn’t have worn it.  

Still…thanks for holding on to your dignity until the very end. R.I.P.  

“Minuelle.”  

Esadien had used the lull in the enemy’s cooldown to swiftly dispatch the remaining cultists.  

I expected him to scold me for disobeying his order to stay hidden.  

But instead, he looked me straight in the eyes—and spoke with complete sincerity.  

“Thank you. You saved my life.”  

“Well… just paying back a debt, that’s all.”  

Even though he’d saved me multiple times…  

Ahem. I cleared my throat awkwardly.  

Between us, the High Priest’s amused laughter rang out.  

“Hohoho. You two seem to be getting along better. I knew it—being together is the key to resolving things.”  

Esadien and I responded at the same time—though in very different tones.  

“Thank you.”  

“I don’t know about that. I mean, it’s not like there’s anything to get better.”  

“……”  

Esadien’s eyes drooped visibly.  

I hastily turned away and mumbled, “D-Don’t look at me like that.”  

Tsk-tsk.

The High Priest tutted and turned to console Esadien.  

“You’ve got a long road ahead of you, Your Highness. That one’s from House Karnian—stubborn as they come.”  

“I know,” Esadien said calmly. “That’s why I intend to try even harder.”  

‘Try harder, my foot!’

“High Priest! Whose side are you even on?!”  

“Hohoho. Hmm, let’s see… the side that’s more fun?”  

Ugh. I knew where this was going—if I let her go on, I’d be stuck listening to a string of old man jokes for at least half an hour.  

Time to change the subject—fast.

“What was that about shouting ‘arthritis’ earlier? I thought I misheard.”  

“The flower language of joints is health.”  

“…What?”  

“The body is at its most beautiful when it’s healthy, Minuelle.”  

So what the High Priest meant was that she made their joints not beautiful—in other words, unhealthy.  

“I completely melted their joints earlier. Hohoho.”  

Hearing something so horrifying while watching such a radiant smile made a cold sweat trickle down my spine.  

‘Praise be to you, Plendena. Double allegiance!’ 

I mentally promised to donate a little more in the future, and then decided to confirm what I’d half-suspected.  

“Those guys earlier… they were from the Cult of Fire, weren’t they?”  

As expected, the High Priest’s expression turned razor sharp in an instant.  

“Yes! And I wouldn’t be satisfied even if I chewed them to pieces! Look there, Minuelle!”  

Esadien and I followed her pointing finger upward.  

‘Gasp.’

I hadn’t noticed in the earlier chaos, but now I could see it clearly:  

A massive statue stood where the fire portal had once been.  

“My Plendena’s statue☆Ultra-Giant Crystal Edition! It took 30 years to finish!”  

The lower half of the treasured statue had a gaping, ugly hole in it. No wonder the High Priest was furious.  

She had sensed something wrong the moment the priests began collapsing and had immediately followed the energy trail straight down into the underground chamber.  

“Minuelle, I’ll give you everything you need to wipe out those filthy fire cultists. And yes, I am absolutely biased!”  

She looked like a fire-breathing dragon in her wrath.  

‘Wow… she’s a total Plendena fangirl. And she wants a successor?’ 

She’d clearly be staying in her post for a long time to come. The thought made me chuckle—  

Just then, my eyes met Esadien’s.  

“…….”  

In perfect sync, we both leaned slightly toward each other and whispered: “Minuelle, let’s deal with the temple stuff later…”  

“We’ll talk about the statue damage later.”  

Perfect mutual understanding.  

‘Pfft.’ 

Laughter slipped from my lips as Esadien’s eyes curved gently in amusement.  

It was such a small moment—nothing, really.  

Yet, something hard and heavy deep in my chest began to soften, like mud in warm rain.  

But then, the gentle touch of his hand reaching for mine jolted me back to reality.  

‘What am I even doing right now?’  

Everything’s “melting” and “softening” and—ugh. 

Plastic, glass, and aluminum can all be recycled, but people cannot. That’s a universal truth.  

“Ahem. Let’s go back.”  

I pulled my hand from his grasp and turned away coolly.  

‘Get a grip, Minuelle Karnian.’

* * *

The entrance ceremony of the magic school.

Originally, I hadn’t wanted to make a big show of “Hey, I’m the sponsor!” and reveal my face.  

But the great mage who’d personally chosen Palos as his pupil had gone ahead and (unilaterally) promised him to meet me at the entrance ceremony, so I had no choice.  

…That was the excuse I was half-heartedly giving to young apprentice mage Palos, who sat in front of me.  

“It’s okay. I was curious to know who my sponsor was, too.”  

He said that, but his still-childish face carried both wariness and awkwardness.  

I knew exactly how that felt. That was precisely why I hadn’t wanted to come.  

But I had my own reasons I couldn’t ignore.  

In truth, attending the ceremony was just a pretense—what I really came for was to meet the great mage Brassidas.  

“Thank you so much. I saw the clothes the kids were wearing too. Thank you for that as well.”  

Palos referred to the orphanage as “my home.”  

That meant it was a truly good place for him.  

“No, I should be the one thanking you.”  

On a gloomy day, I’d reached out on impulse—and that hand had grasped an incredible connection.  

Palos didn’t understand why I was thanking him, and looked puzzled, but I just smiled gently.  

“I just wanted everyone to have good memories together, since it’s a special day.”  

Getting into the magic school was a big deal, so I’d heard families usually showed up for the ceremony.  

I didn’t want to see Palos sitting alone, so I’d sent a few carriages for the orphanage, letting everyone attend.  

Having clean, well-made outfits tailored for them was just an extra touch—something I’d done “while I was at it.”  

“A special day…”  

“It’s not? But Palos, you wanted to attend the magic school, didn’t you?”  

His earlobes flushed pink when I mentioned overhearing the argument with the headmaster over his enrollment.  

“…Yeah. But, Sponsor…”  

“Sponsor?”  

Did I just launch a balloon to the moon or something?  

My expression must’ve turned strange, because Palos fumbled and corrected himself.  

“…Lady?”  

Oh dear. First “Sponsor,” now “Lady”?  

I chuckled and reached out to ruffle his hair—then stopped myself. He was fourteen, the perfect age to hate being treated like a kid.  

“Just call me Aunt Minuelle.”  

A six-year age gap was an odd thing. Telling him to call me “older sister” felt like pushing it.  

It stung a little, but “aunt” felt like the safer option.  

Palos did look a bit confused, but he accepted it without complaint.  

“…Aunt Minuelle, why did you help me?”  

“Oh, that’s what you wanted to ask?”  

“If it’s uncomfortable for you…”  

“Not at all. I just figured you must’ve really been wondering.”  

Hmm. I let out a long hum as I thought.  

I couldn’t exactly say it was because I felt a strange kinship with him due to memories from a past life.  

In the end, all I could do was dodge the question.

“Just because.”  

“Just… because?”  

“Yeah. You just happened to be there.”  

Palos frowned slightly, clearly not satisfied with the answer. I reached out and gently smoothed the crease between his brows with a smile.  

“Let’s say a string bracelet led me to you. I used to make a lot of those when I was little.”  

“You did, Aunt?”  

“Of course. That memory came to me, and I bought some to give to my… family. And then I met you.”  

“I see…”  Palos nodded, though his expression still looked unsettled.  

It was the same kind of face I’d been seeing a lot lately, especially when dealing with Esadien—so instead of saying more, I simply waited patiently.  

“But… what if I can’t study as well as I thought I could?”  

I knew it.  

“Well, you did want to attend, so you’ll need to work hard, of course.”  

“What if I try hard and still fail?”  

“Are you scared?”  

“…Yes.”  

Palos was an honest kid. Brave, too.  

Considering how difficult it must be to speak openly in front of a noble, it said a lot—  

just like that girl who’d sold me the string bracelet.  

‘A kid like this… I really don’t need to worry.’

“You’ll do just fine.”  

“…”  

“But I know… that’s not really what you wanted to hear, right?”  

“Honestly, I’m not a mage, so I can’t promise that hard work always leads to results.”  

Though he didn’t say anything, his shoulders noticeably sagged.  

“But that doesn’t mean you should feel so discouraged.”  

I spilled a little tea on the table, then used it to draw a long line with my fingertip.  

“Let’s say this is the path in front of you.”  

“…The path of a mage?”  

“Right. It’s the road you wanted—but at some point, you might start to feel like it’s not really your path after all.  

That’s something only you can realize for yourself.”  

Next to that long path—the so-called “mage’s path”—I drew a few branch-like offshoots, like leaf veins.  

“Or maybe you’ll want to do something else entirely.”  

How many people actually end up doing what they dreamed of in middle school?  

How many work in a field related to their college major?  

Life rarely goes exactly according to plan.  

Just look at me—dealing with elemental spirits and already bracing myself for a rocky road ahead!  

“What if I want to do something else?”  

“Then you’ll need to wrestle with that decision—really think about it. And once you’ve thought it through, make your choice.”  

“What if it turns out to be the wrong path…?”  

“Don’t worry. Even if it is, it doesn’t mean the road ends there.”  

I added even more branching paths to the line I’d drawn with the tea.  

Life is long—and Palos is only fourteen.  

Whether it’s at twenty, thirty, or even forty—it’s never too late to try something new.  

“Even if you start something new at thirty, if you continue until you’re sixty, that’s thirty years of experience. You’ll be an expert.”  

“…I guess that’s true.”  

Palos stared at the faint drawing in the spilled tea as if trying to memorize every detail.  

“Well then, I’ll take my leave. Have a great time with the headmaster and your younger siblings.”  

“Um… will I not see you again, Aunt?”  

“Hm? Me?”  

Ah, that was a little touching.  

A child who’d been so guarded just a moment ago now asking that—it meant he’d opened up to me a little.  

I felt quietly proud.