Chapter 765 – Even if the Blood Flowing Through Those Veins Is Not the Same as Mine

000

Aqua’s body collapses due to Lila’s blow.

The body was already frozen by Lila’s magic, and it was the finishing blow in a situation where there was no escape or evasion.

Galatea, even though it was not wielded by Cleon, was a famous sword among famous swords, and she corrected her trajectory on her own, making it the most important part of Aqua’s body without any problems even with Lila’s poor swordsmanship skills.

She cut the spirit stone, which could be said to be her core, in half and dismembered Aqua’s body.

Aqua’s shattered body showed no signs of regeneration, and the magic power was quickly lost from the body, and Aqua, who was a spirit, died like that.

It’s been a long time – or maybe it’s the first time she’s swung a long sword like this – but Lila let go of Galatea as if her body had lost all strength, and she transformed into a human form in the air, spinning around and landing lightly on the ground. Br〉

＂Haa… Haa…＂

When Cleon approaches and looks at Lila, who is sitting down while taking a deep breath, Galatea speaks.

“For the first time, I think I really felt the sensation of the sword penetrating the opponent through my hand.”

“It’s okay, you can do that. Can you stand? Lila.”

When Cleon extends her hand to Lila, Lila tries to take it, but then she shakes her head as if she is tired.

“Sorry. She wants to sit down for a moment.”

Apparently, I didn’t even have the energy left to stand.

Of course, it is not unreasonable for Lila to do so, because just a moment ago, she devoted all her magic to a duel with a magician who was at a disadvantage to her.

The narrow terrain was unfavorable to Laila, and the battle in a place where magical support was provided to her opponent was like a time-limited fight that seemed to slowly burn out her nerves.

In such a fight, at the end, he came up with a final idea that he had never shown to anyone before – an anomalous move that took advantage of a seemingly contradictory phenomenon called freezing through flame magic.

They say it is theoretically possible, but if it were possible for anyone, all the fire wizards in the world would have done the same thing.

Unless you experience it yourself, you won’t know how difficult it is to simply take away heat and freeze the other person.

But in putting her theory into practice, Laila proved her own genius.

Of course, in return, a large amount of her magical power was consumed.

However, the reason why Lila’s expression is dark is not simply due to her lethargy and exhaustion due to losing a lot of her magic power.

Even though he doesn’t remember it, he had to destroy with his own hands the friend he had made in his childhood to forget his loneliness.

No – the expression ‘destruction’ is too arbitrary.

Killed. It would be correct to say.

“… Lila did the right thing.”

Cleon had no choice but to comfort him like that.

And when Lila heard Cleon’s words, she quietly nodded and stood up.

＂Are you okay now?＂

“Huh. She can’t sit forever… Because there’s still work left to do.”

As Lila said that, she turned her body to face the outside of her magic tower.

“We need to decide what to do not only with Aqua, but also with Ventuna and Petrus.”

There are two spirits ahead.

Lila still has some work to do.

001

While Lila and Cleon left the house to chase after Aqua, who had run away, the remaining people took on different roles to check for damaged parts of the mansion or clean up the mess.

Except for Cuon, who is devoted to treating Petrus, and Ventuna, who has a complex expression in many ways next to Petrus.

At that time, Amelia hears a knock on the front door and wonders if Lila has a guest.

However, the other person will know that there is someone inside, so if you go to the front door and open the door-

There, standing there, was an elderly man – Laila’s uncle, Fromme, who had greeted them last night.

Yesterday, I saw him from a distance, so I didn’t really know, but he was older and had a bent back, but when I saw him up close, he was a little taller than Amelia, so I had to look up.

The intimidating feeling emanating from the wrinkled forehead, the shadow between the eyebrows, and the bushy beard gave off a heavy yet eerie atmosphere, like that of a wild bear.

“… He’s one of the kids Lila brought with him yesterday. “Is Laila there?”

When Fromme asked a question while looking down at herself, Amelia shook her head and answered.

＂No, Lila is now… For something else.＂

“Okay… Then, is my idiot grandson here?”

Amelia fell silent for a moment at his words.

It was immediately clear who he meant by the idiot grandson he was talking about.

Because somewhere, his appearance and Petrus’s appearance looked similar.

Therefore, Amelia couldn’t help but think for a moment about how to respond to him.

Are you telling the truth? That your grandson, along with other humans from the four great families, attempted to take the secret garden from Laila and commit her crime.

Lila told Fromme about her grandson and told her that Petrus must be banished.

In addition, Petrus is currently receiving recovery magic from Kuon, and Lila said that the side effects of the runaway magic core have damaged the nerves in his body to the point that he may have to live with paralysis for the rest of his life.

A nervous system that has been twisted like that will not recover no matter how much recovery magic is used.

When Lila was thinking for a moment about whether she should show her grandson like that to him.

Fromme sighs and talks to her.

＂What happened to Petrus as well? I knew before that that guy had something strange sticking into his arm. So, don’t be surprised if he gets that side effect. Tell me.”

Apparently, Fromme was somewhat prepared for Petrus to end up like that.

But then.

“… It would be harsh for that child to say that.”

The one who spoke instead of Amelia, as if covering her, was Ventuna, who came to know that Frome had come.

＂… Of the Gailgazer family.＂

When Fromme called her by her family name, as if she couldn’t remember her name, Bentuna answered him with her bitter smile.

＂This is Ventuna, Acting Chief Fromme. It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen you in person like this.”

＂… It’s okay to say hello. So, where is Petrus and what is he doing?”

As Fromme spoke as if that was the only thing that mattered to him at the moment, Ventuna ran her fingers through her hair and explained to Fromme most of what had happened to him.

Then, Promme closed her mouth for a moment and looked distressed, but then shook her head.

＂… Yes, that idiot did that…＂

“I tried to change his mind, but unfortunately he didn’t give up. That’s probably why he allowed Aqua to escape.”

After listening to her explanation of the self-inflicted designation, Fromme nods her head as if she understands.

Then she asked Amelia carefully.

“Can I go inside? “I want to see my grandchild’s face in person.”

“That’s… Yes, I think it’ll be okay.”

Probably, even for Lila, she would have been allowed inside if she had already figured it all out.

That’s why Amelia nodded and walked towards where Cuon and Petrus were.

When I turned my gaze into the already open door of the room, I saw Petrus lying unconscious on the bed, his upper body discolored brown as if he had been burned.

And the figure of Kuon, who continues to cast recovery magic on Petrus.

＂… Stupid guy.＂

Looking at Petrus, Kuon, who was concentrating on healing magic, probably heard Fromme muttering, raised his head in surprise and looked in his direction.

＂Mr. Fromme? This, this-“

“Don’t worry. I already heard the whole situation through the guy over there.”

Fromme stopped her with his words as she tried to get up from her seat, as if she needed to make an excuse.

Then, pointing with her thumb at her Ventuna behind her, she approached her own unconscious grandson and silently extended her hand.

Then, the magic that appeared in his hand was an enchantment magic that Lila also sometimes uses on Cleon’s weapons.

It was an elemental magic that granted a specific element to the target.

Of course, Fromme’s attribute is the earth.

Thinking that the elemental magic of the earth attribute had flowed from his hands towards Petrus, his body, which Kuon had been holding on to while using recovery magic, was slowly recovering.

Kuon is surprised to see that.

However, Kuon is not the only one surprised.

＂…＂

As the earth magic element flowed into the body that had been shattered by the magic core, Petrus, who had been unable to open his eyes, could be seen slowly opening his eyes while they were hidden by his long bangs.

And those eyes were also full of surprise towards Fromme.

“─Why…”

＂Why? You stupid guy. It’s been a few years since my son and daughter died, so there’s no way I’ll suddenly have a grandchild. “You wouldn’t know it if he had risen from the ground.”

Even though his mouth denied that he was his grandson, that voice – the voice that Peter always heard when he was admonishing him, the voice that was strict yet somehow human and gentle – did not change.

“… He must have used a spell to manipulate memories.”

“Yes, for the first few years.”

And then, seeing that Petrus’ body had almost recovered, Fromme withdrew her hand from him and sat down on the chair near her as if she were helpless.

Petrus still couldn’t get up, but it was clear that almost all of his body’s functions and the pain from his wounds had recovered.

“I’ll tell you, Petrus. In magic that manipulates memories, if the contradiction with the target’s memories is not resolved, the sense of incongruity will be realized and will be quickly resolved.”

What Petrus manipulated was the fact that he was his grandson.

However, if you compare Petrus’ age with the age at which Fromme’s child died, it is impossible to come up with a year in which Petrus could have been born.

Fromme, who was vaguely feeling that part of her, slowly realized that Petrus was not her own grandson as her own memories returned.

“Then why didn’t you kick me out…? If you had known that I was not your biological grandson, but something else – an earth spirit…”

In response to Petrus’ question, Fromme closed her mouth as if thinking for a while and then-

Soon, she was slowly telling him why she had let him play her grandson.

“… Even though you may not be my biological grandson, your presence was special to me, who had lost all of my family. It’s okay if you can’t use magic, because humans can choose a path other than magic. I just wanted to be a family with you. It’s just that kind of story.”

＂…!＂

After hearing all that, Petrus once again looks surprised, and his mouth slowly becomes twisted.

And, his eyes, which were covered by his bangs, were once again covered with his arms.

＂Kuh… Laugh…!＂

And, sobs echoing in the room.

Kuon got up from the chair he was sitting on and tried to go out of the room to make room for the two people.

And Amelia and Ventuna, who were also watching the scene at the door of the room, seemed quite surprised by Fromme’s words.

No – somewhere Ventuna even seemed agitated.

＂Are you okay? Mr. Ventuna.”

When Cuon asked that question, Ventuna suddenly came to her senses and resumed her usual demeanor, tossing her long hair to the side.

However, that facial expression is a sad smile that still seems unable to hide some bitterness.

“Of course, it’s okay. I was just a little surprised.”

“… Me too, I never thought Mr. Petrus was a spirit and not a human.”

When Kuon answered as if she didn’t know that was the reason why she couldn’t fully recover with her own recovery magic, Ben Tuna looked at Kuon for a moment and then asked a question.

“If you were in the same situation – would you have made the same choice as Mr. Fromme?”

It was when, even among her family and colleagues, there was a non-human being that she deceived.

Like Fromme, it is a story about whether one can overcome such things and acknowledge their existence.

“Well… If that doesn’t actually happen, I’m not sure what will happen.”

However, Kuon responded with a wry smile to the content that could not easily be imagined, even if it were just a family story.

“I see… That’s honest. Baby.”

But there, she seemed to have heard in Ventuna’s mind that she had not answered, ‘I am sure she will never do that.’

He looked much better, turned away from her, walked out into the hallway, and tried to close the door to make room for Frome.

However, the moment her eyes met Lila, who was looking up with her arms crossed behind her, she felt a surprise that almost made her heart drop.

＂La, Laila.＂

When did you come back? Before he can say those words, Lila passes by Ventuna and enters her door.

“I have a lot to say. For now, later. “After I finish the story about Petrus.”

And, Cleon, who was standing behind Lila, stayed by Ventuna’s side to prevent her from escaping like Aqua.

For someone watching, her emotions were very complicated,

＂Haha…＂

Looking at Cleon’s face like that, Ventuna lets out a dry laugh as if it’s funny.

Cleon knew full well why she was smiling, so she didn’t say anything.

─ And, upon seeing that Lila has entered her room, Fromme looks up at her.

Lila also knew what the situation was like, having heard most, if not all, of the conversation between Fromme and Petrus outside.

＂Okay… I’m acknowledging his existence. Uncle Fromme.”

Then Fromme slowly nods her head and answers.

“Okay. I will treat him the same way as before. Even if Petrus is not human – he is still my grandson.”

In response to Fromme’s answer, there was a bit of silence between Lila and him.

Because Lila knew well what that meant,

The moment that tension was released was when Lila let out a faint smile without realizing it.

It was not a sneer, but rather the smile of a kind person who seemed somewhat relieved.

Fromme couldn’t help but be surprised when she saw that smile.

Of course, it was surprising that Lila smiled at her own choice – but even more surprising was the fact that she was able to smile so kindly.

This was because it was something that could not help but be surprising to those who knew her well when she was young.

“… Honestly, I was relieved. When Petrus is told that he is not, in fact, human. He was worried that he might collapse, clutching the back of his neck from shock.”

＂What?＂

To Laila’s words, Fromme responded as if she was dumbfounded.

However, the fact that she cared about herself – that she had become a person who knew how to care about others – somehow made her feel relieved.

Just as I was wondering if her warm mood would continue, Laila’s expression changed once again.

This time, she also looked a little sad – and seemed to have a mixture of self-reproach.

“─But Petrus is a spirit… And a spirit that was part of the magic tower that his grandfather sealed away. And did you hear what he was planning to do?”

“Okay. In order to lift the seal on the Magic Tower, they tried to take over the mansion.”

“If the plan had been implemented smoothly, a great disaster would have occurred on this continent. When you think about that, even if you are your uncle’s grandson, that sin is heavy.”

Promme knew very well that there was nothing wrong with what Lila said, so she nodded her head obediently.

“Originally, the punishment for the most serious crime committed in this village was banishment from this village. But.”

“… It is prohibited to take items from the Magic Tower outside the village. This is a rule that your grandfather and I made together, so I know it well.”

To Fromme’s answer, Laila adds, “If so,” She tells him.

“If it follows the rules. We must destroy him. Just like I destroyed Aqua a little while ago.”

＂…＂

From Me, too, she answered, nodding her head once again to her cause.

Lila saw his reaction, took a deep breath, and spoke while making direct eye contact with him.

“… So – decide. Uncle Fromme.”

Then she raised her hand and pointed at Petrus, who was silent.

“Are you going to make me destroy that guy? Or – will my uncle personally monitor that guy and make sure something like this never happens again?”

＂…!＂

At Lila’s words, everyone present, including Fromme, looked surprised.

She just said that Petrus, like Aqua, must be destroyed.

No, she thought she had to destroy Petrus all the way from that magic tower to here.

The reason she changed her mind was probably because she felt something when she saw Promega thinking about Petrus.

In an atmosphere that seemed to require an answer to the reason, Lila sighed and scratched her head.

“… This guy doesn’t have as much hatred for humans as Aqua. I don’t know if it’s personal hatred towards me. Aside from that, this is a guy who would lay down his life for his comrades. Considering that I tried to unseal the magic tower with Aqua, and that I had a strong sense of camaraderie with those spirits… From a human’s point of view, it’s a huge inconvenience, but I can understand it to some extent.”

After hearing Leila’s answer, Fromme closed her mouth for a moment, then looked back at Petrus.

And then Laila went on to talk to Fromme.

“But one thing. If you accept Petrus’ presence, there are conditions. It’s impossible for us to just say okay and move on from this incident. Let us announce Petrus’ identity and everything that happened this time to the villagers. I’m going to reveal the truth, and I’ll leave it to Promme’s uncle to convince the villagers.”

“… I get it. Even if it means getting stoned, I will try to persuade the villagers.”

After hearing Fromme’s answer, Lila turns around and comes out of her room.

Fromme must have noticed her, but a barrier was set up in this room to prevent Petrus, who had recovered, from escaping.

“… It’s a pretty weak choice.”

Even with that in mind, Ben Tuna pointed out that there was something soft about Laila’s choice, and Laila snorted and looked at her.

“If Uncle Fromme hadn’t recognized this guy, I wouldn’t have said this. Aqua died as a spirit while retaining the spirit’s pride. Petrus continued to think about where to stand on both sides, but eventually went along with the plan. Regarding that part, I have no intention of being supportive. So, being alive itself would be very painful. Petrus, who has lost all of his magic core, magic organs, and nerves, can no longer use magic no matter how much recovery he gets from Uncle Fromme, and he probably can’t even return to his spirit form. … Petrus as a spirit is dead.”

＂…＂

Ventuna does not deny Laila’s words.

However, Lila speaks to Ventuna as if it is not over.

＂… What’s left is you. Ventuna. The last magic tower spirit left in this village.”

“─Yes. I guess so.”

Ben Tuna nodded as if she had been expecting it.

Then, Lila led him along with Cleon, and she headed to the old bedroom, where she found a hint about them.

It was because I thought there was no other place to end this story.