C852
"Is it done already?"
Raon blinked as he looked at Merlin, who was inhabiting the body of a cat.
"You said it would take about two weeks."
Merlin had said it would take about two weeks to wake Sia up, but she had finished the preparations much faster than that.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her abilities, but he was a little worried.
"Yes. It's done!"
Merlin nodded, stretching her back as if she were doing a cat stretch.
"Are you sure it's alright?"
Raon bent his knees to meet Merlin's gaze.
"There can't be any problems with Sia."
Rimmer was dead, and Alice was in a state where it wouldn't be strange if she never recovered. Not only the Light Wind division and the annex building, but also the atmosphere of Zieghart was gloomy. If there were also problems with Sia, even Sylvia and Glenn could collapse, so they had to prepare as well as possible.
"Yes. The preparations are perfect."
Merlin said there was no need to worry as she gently wrapped her long tail around his ankle.
"I didn't finish early for any particular reason. I just stayed up all night."
She said she had been continuously adjusting the magic formulas since she returned to Zieghart, pressing firmly on the solid ground with her front paws.
"...Have you been up for more than a week?"
"Yes. Everyone is depressed, right? I wanted to create something cheerful, even if it was just a little bit."
Merlin smiled and said it was the first time she had done something that could help others.
"Ah..."
-You can trust her. As I said before, that crazy woman's magical talent is no less than your swordsmanship.
Wrath nodded, pointing his finger at his face that protruded from the bracelet, from top to bottom.
-However, even that crazy woman is changing. To say that she worked hard to lift the gloomy mood is something I would never have said before I met you.
He let out a dry laugh, saying it was a strange thing.
-But I guess this is what it means to be human. To influence each other...
Wrath clicked his lips and said it had been a while since he had seen the good side of humans.
-I thought the same.
Working on magic all night to improve the gloomy mood of Zieghart; the only thing he could do now was believe in her.
"Thank you, Merlin."
Raon bowed his head to Merlin with his hands clasped in front of him.
-¡That's not necessary! ¡We don't have to say those things to each other! She's not a stranger.
Merlin shouted that everything was fine, gently waving her front paws.
"It's too early now. Let's start this afternoon."
She stretched out all four paws, saying it would be better to wake Sia up when everyone was present.
"Then now..."
-Yes. ¡I came to tell you!
Merlin smiled and said she wanted to tell him first.
"...Thank you."
Raon lowered his gaze and thanked her. Merlin had told him not to, but it was the only thing he could think of saying.
"¡Come on! ¡I said it's not necessary!"
Merlin waved her front paws, saying it was fine.
"Then I'll sleep a little too. I can't make any mistakes later."
She yawned widely, saying she needed to replenish her energy by sleeping a little.
"Come to Lord's Manor around 7 p.m."
"I understand."
He nodded, remembering the time.
"And this little one..."
"¿Eh?"
Raon looked at Merlin with wide eyes.
"Oh, do you have another request for today?"
"Of course. All the children I have a contract with must have their requests fulfilled."
Merlin nodded, saying she was fulfilling the requests of all the animals whose bodies she borrowed.
"This one needs to be fixed. Cats can groom themselves, so the fact that he's asking must mean he's envious of dogs."
She told him to take good care of him and then jumped into his arms.
"Then I'll ask to have a baby seal's fur cut. ¡Puf!"
As Merlin lowered her front paws, her soul disappeared and the cat's eyes began to glow blue. Meow. The cat raised its head as if telling him to hurry up.
"Baby seal cut..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he examined the cat from various angles.
"The fur is too short to become a seal..."
¡Meow! The cat scratched its front paws vigorously, as if telling him to do it no matter what.
-¡E-This king doesn't know anything!
Wrath took refuge in the bracelet as if he found it annoying to get involved in that matter.
"Ah..."
Raon's mind went blank for the first time in a long time.
* * *
Raon went to Sylvia's room at the agreed time. Toc toc. He called out to Sylvia as he knocked with the back of his hand.
"Mother, it's time to leave."
"Alright..."
Unlike her quick reply, Sylvia didn't come out of the room for a long time.
"Mother?"
Thinking it was strange, he opened the door and entered, seeing Sylvia sitting on the floor with her hands clasped together.
"I'm nervous..."
Sylvia trembled, her lips were so dry that vertical lines were visible, indicating that her legs weren't moving well. For a Grand Master to become like this, she seemed to be extremely nervous.
"I'll support you."
Raon let out a short sigh and grabbed Sylvia's arm, putting it over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry..."
-No, I understand perfectly.
It was natural for her to be so nervous. She was about to reunite with her daughter, who she thought was dead and who had almost fallen into an eternal sleep, but who was now about to wake up. ¡Pum! As he helped Sylvia down to the entrance, the sound of someone falling down the stairs was heard. Looking down, he saw Edgar trembling with his head on the floor.
"L-Sorry. I'm nervous..."
Edgar laughed awkwardly and said he had also lost a step due to nervousness.
"M-My arm isn't moving well, could you support me too...?"
"Do it yourself."
Raon ignored Edgar, who was reaching out to him, and went down the stairs.
-¡What a tough job! Raising a child... Well, I didn't raise you, but...
Edgar cracked a joke, trying to lighten the heavy and tense atmosphere.
"Oh, honestly..."
Sylvia also seemed to relax a little at Edgar's playful attitude, loosening her stiff arms and legs and standing up on her own.
“Is this gender discrimination? Or is it discrimination between parents and children?”
"..."
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Edgar slowly descend the stairs.
'They're the same...'
Seeing Edgar gently calming the atmosphere without appearing any less nervous than the others, Rimmer's face naturally came to mind. Although Edgar was much more talkative and Rimmer more quiet, the two had some inexplicable similarities.
"It would have been nice if they could have been together a little longer."
It was unfortunate that he couldn't see Rimmer and Edgar become good friends who got along well.
"...Let's go."
Raon clicked his tongue briefly and opened the front door to leave. They headed to the main building in a carriage that had been prepared in advance. They received polite greetings from the swordsmen guarding the Lord's Mansion and entered the audience chamber in the innermost part of the Lord's Mansion.
The red carpet that was always visible was gone, as if it had been prepared beforehand, and several layers of geometric patterns were etched into the clean marble floor.
"You're here."
Glenn nodded as if a long time had passed. He seemed calmer than before. It seemed he had accepted Rimmer's death.
"We greet the Head of House..."
"That's enough."
Glenn waved his hand as if it wasn't necessary when Raon, Sylvia, and Edgar tried to greet him.
"¡Everyone seems so tense!"
Federick chuckled as he examined Sia in the bed.
"¿How is my sister...?"
"¿How is Sia?"
When Raon was about to ask about Sia, Sylvia rushed to intervene.
"Excellent. This old body worked until it bent, so it can only be good!"
Federick gestured with his hand, saying that Sia's condition was good and there was nothing to worry about.
"Jaja, thank you."
Sylvia let out a long sigh as she held Sia's hand, and Edgar held her shoulder by her side.
'However...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Karoon standing next to a pillar below the platform.
'Why is that person here?'
There was a great tension in the air because of Karoon, whom he considered had no reason to be there. Although he suspected Denier, he couldn't say that Karoon wasn't a spy at all.
"Did the Central Martial Palace Master also come?"
Raon approached Karoon and bowed his head.
"There's no need to think about it in a strange way. I just wanted to see the boy who will become the new member of Zieghart."
"...I see."
Karoon gave a response worthy of someone obsessed with Zieghart as he calmly crossed his arms. It seemed that there was no need to worry after all.
"¡Oh! ¡They're all here!"
A clear voice echoed through the air and Merlin suddenly appeared.
"Then let's start right now without waiting."
Merlin said that all the preparations were ready as she moved her finger. The mana that spread throughout the Lord's Mansion began to accumulate in her hands.
"¡Wait a moment!"
Sylvia grabbed Merlin's wrist and shook her head.
"¿Q-What will happen when Sia wakes up?"
Her lips trembled as if she didn't know how to deal with Sia when she woke up.
"You should think about the time you were separated from the lady. Your body will probably move naturally."
Merlin held Sylvia's hand with a gentle look and stood in front of the magic circle.
"Then please bring the lady here."
"...Alright."
Sylvia and Edgar carried Sia with trembling hands and placed her in the magic circle. The two stood next to the magic circle, clasping their hands as if they were ready to move at any moment.
-Then I will begin.
When Merlin pulled the Soul Crystal from her chest, the multiple layers of magic circles drawn on the floor seemed to come to life, rising naturally to envelop Sia's surroundings. The Soul Crystal and dozens of magic circles resonated, scattering an emerald light that seemed to contain the sea throughout the Lord's Manor.
"Expansion of the Soul Realm."
As Merlin chanted the spell, the magic circles that had been spinning dizzyingly like a kaleidoscope connected into a single plane, and the Soul Crystal floating in the air melted with a blue light and seeped into Sia. A brilliant flower of light, like the grand trajectory of a star orbiting the galaxy, bloomed and faded on Sia's head.
With a hiss, Sia slowly descended to the marble floor along with the magic circles that were gradually fading.
"Mmm..."
"¡Yes!"
"..."
Edgar, Sylvia, and Glenn looked at Sia with eyes so tense they seemed about to burst. The Lord's Manor became so silent that no one could hear anyone's breathing.
"How did it go?"
Raon couldn't help himself and spoke to Merlin, who had lowered her hands.
"Uf..."
Merlin exhaled heavily and slowly raised her eyelids.
"It was a success. She will wake up soon."
She nodded with eyes that had become so weak they seemed about to disappear.
"Ah..."
Merlin tried to smile but fell backwards as if her strength had abandoned her.
"Are you alright?"
Raon urgently moved to catch Merlin as she was about to fall.
"Don't worry. I just used a lot of energy."
Merlin waved her hand and said it was no big deal. Seeing her condition, it seemed she had overexerted herself using magic.
Merlin, you should...
Just as Raon was about to tell Merlin to take care of herself,
"Mmm..."
A faint moan escaped Sia's lips and she slowly lifted her eyelids.
Red eyes that looked very much like Sylvia's looked at the world for the first time in 20 years.
"Ah..."
Sia slowly turned her gaze and her lips trembled as she saw Sylvia and Edgar to her right.
"Mom? Dad?"
She extended a trembling hand towards Sylvia and Edgar with the voice and tone of a pristine child.
"¡Yes!"
Sylvia and Edgar couldn't hold back and burst into tears, running to hug Sia tightly, as if they were never going to let go.
"¡Waaah!"
Sia also cried like a child and hugged Sylvia and Edgar.
"...Finally."
Glenn also took a deep breath and with his trembling hand covering his forehead and eyes, as if he were moved.
"The lady has an adult body with a child's mind."
Merlin smiled weakly, slightly raising her head.
"I thought it would be difficult, in many ways, for her to return to her original age, so I used the Soul Crystal to adjust the magic so that her mind could grow and match her body."
She waved her hand, saying that Sia's mind would soon grow.
"And I erased all the bad deeds she did while she was brainwashed as the Green King. I thought it would be good if the lady could live happily."
Merlin looked at Sia with somewhat bitter eyes. It seemed she was remembering her own experiences.
"Thank you."
-¡I said there's no need to thank me! I just...
She was saying those words weren't necessary, but then she closed her eyes. It seemed she had fainted from having used all her mental energy.
-¡Oler!
Wrath turned his head sharply, unable to look at Sia and Sylvia.
-E-It's sad. ¡But it went well!
He sobbed as if he were eating pasta, only rolling his eyes.
"..."
Raon closed his eyes after looking at the hands of Sia, Sylvia, and Edgar that seemed never to separate. One person left and another returned. Where there are meetings, there are farewells. He felt he understood a little more about the lives of the people Rimmer had told him about.
"You're teaching me until the end."
Raon wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes as he looked out the window filled with stars. Although he was inside, he felt he could feel the clear wind of that person blowing.
-Thank you, master.
* * *
After the time of tears, joy, and sadness passed.
"Then."
Glenn looked at Karoon, who was standing below the platform with his back against the throne.
"You said you had something to say?"
He stroked his chin with a slightly brighter expression thanks to Sia.
"I have a proposal I would like to make."
Karoon bowed his waist and said it was an official matter.
"If you think I'll allow everything today, you're wrong."
Glenn shook his head strongly, telling him not to take advantage of the current situation.
"I have no such intention."
"Then speak."
He moved his finger with a determined look.
"Raon Zieghart and the Light Wind division..."
Karoon raised his calm gaze, not caring at all about Glenn's warning.
"Please promote them to the Light Wind Palace."
-
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