Chapter 815 – 6th Wish (After)

000

It is a generally known fact that dwarves are heavy drinkers and have a strong tolerance for alcohol.

Mining work is no different from being in a dark, gloomy, dusty mine all day long and overworking your muscles.

Then, he takes the precious metal he obtains to a boiling furnace and hammers it again and again, not even caring about scorching his skin.

Then, even the strong body of a dwarf could not withstand the moisture escaping from the body, and alcohol was needed more than anything else to wash away the fatigue of a hard day.

Also, if dwarves have a harder time getting drunk than humans, the alcohol that humans drink is no different from water.

It is somewhat understandable that alcohol made using a special brewing method was popular in dwarven society.

And those characteristics were passed down to her mixed race, Bourbon.

The moment Cleon drank it, she felt a burning sensation in his internal organs, and filled the glass with ‘Ifrit’, a liquor that made Cleon feel so painful that he could tell the location of his esophagus and stomach one by one even without opening his body. I drank it.

＂… Puh-haa!＂

She gulped down the ifrit without stopping with her hands and neck, and smiled cheerfully as she drank the secret drink made by her compatriot for the first time in a long time.

“You’re having a drinking party with such good drinks, but you’re not inviting me? I’m sorry, Artis.”

＂Huh~ You can drink that without water?＂

Artis clapped his hands as if he was surprised by Bourbon’s behavior, and Cleon looked a little tired looking at the two people, but she gave her hand a small squeeze, thinking that somehow everything went according to plan.

“Okay, then. Your drinking partner will be Bourbon. I’ll put Layla on her bed.”

＂Oh. Lila, when did you collapse? Okay~ I have to come back quickly~＂

As Artis said this, he naturally waved at Cleon, who was leaving the living room of her mansion with her Lyla.

As she left, she made eye contact with Bourbon, but Bourbon just smiled and nodded and didn’t say much.

Even as a man, Cleon felt indescribable gratitude at the sight of the handsome black knight, and closed the living room door.

Atis and Kshat would not be able to endure drinking with Bourbon. Drink it in moderation, and you’ll pass out.

What’s important now is to somehow wake up Lila, who is the only key to solving Cleon’s doubts, and ask her about the cylinder.

Cleon took her to her bed in her room and took her medicine out of her bag.

On the way to fetch Bourbon, she bought Lila some sobering medication, thinking she needed to wake her up after rescuing her.

During the Festival of the Five Elements, there are many people who drink all night long, so there is a lot of demand for this medicine, so it is not difficult to obtain it.

Cleon takes it and gently pours it into Lila’s mouth, which looks somewhat distressed, and makes sure that her throat grunts.

With this, she will soon come to her senses and wake up.

Now that I think about it, I wasn’t able to hear it properly because I was in a hurry, but I think they said there was something to be careful about when taking this medicine…

While Cleon was thinking about such things and carefully examining the small brown medicine bottle, Lila, who had been trembling, suddenly raised her upper body –

＂Sooooo!! Keck! Wow!”

She was screaming with a voice and expression that a girl should not make.

＂Kaaah…! What, the bitter taste keeps rising up in my throat…! What on earth did you feed me…! Ugh…”

Lila puts her hand on Cleon’s shoulder and continues to cough to the point that she’s in tears.

As Cleon looked at her like that, she unconsciously looked at Lila with a look of horror on her face.

＂Radish, water…! Quickly!”

When she asked for her water, Cleon jumped up from her seat, ran to her kitchen, filled her cup with cold water, and returned to her room.

Lila, who was panting to the point where she was having trouble breathing, probably because she continued to cough while Cleon was doing this, only after drinking a single shot of cold water from the cup that Cleon gave her did she sigh loudly, as if she was feeling a little better.

＂Ugh… I thought I was going to die… What happened really…＂

As if her head was hurting and her mouth still had a bitter taste, he blew on her palm and sniffed it before taking his own hand.

＂Hey, over there. Lila? “

And Cleon was wondering whether it was okay to talk to Laila or if it was better for her to stay quiet, but when she realized that she didn’t have much time, she called her name.

Lila then glances back at her Cleon, blinks, and puts her hands behind her waist.

“Ah, ah! It was Cleon! I also thought Artis had fed me something strange as a joke.”

Could it be that the appearance just a moment ago is the nature of a woman seen in a place where a man is not present?…

Lila cleared her throat as if she was embarrassed and smiled sweetly at Cleon.

＂Hmm… Didn’t you go out to the market with the kids? Why here?”

＂… That’s actually─＂

As Cleon said that, she briefly explained to Lila the details of her time travel and what had happened so far.

As she listened to the story, Lila’s expression changed in many complex and subtle ways, but to explain the story, she needed to say that she and Noctis were on a boat together, so she was prepared.

＂Huh… Indeed. So, while watching the fireworks with the girl from that noble family, I got caught up in another incident.”

＂Is there a need to emphasize that part…?＂

＂Heung.＂

Even though Lila reacted to Cleon’s words by crossing her arms and pretending to be offended, she soon sorted out what Cleon said in her head.

Then, he talks while pointing to the bag he has.

＂Take out the cylinder.＂

＂Ah.＂

In response to her words, Cleon took out the cylinder filled with her magical power, an item that was believed to be the culprit behind everything that had been quietly sleeping inside her bag, and handed it to her.

Lila watched the group of sparkling magical energy closely, raised her hand and seemed to be checking something, and then shook the cylinder in her hand as if mixing a cocktail.

Cleon, who is nervous that he might suddenly explode, waits for Lila’s diagnosis to be completed.

Soon she put the cylinder down on the bed and spoke.

“And. This is about to explode.”

＂…＂

As soon as Cleon hears that, he grabs her cylinder and steps behind her, and Lila bursts out laughing.

＂Ahaha! It’s okay, it’s not like it’s physically exploding or something, but the various things that are built up inside… Of course the magic power, but also the anger… The sorrow… The emotional parts are mixed and mixed to create a kind of pseudo-thought form. Even if you use magic to turn back time, those parts will remain. If it continues to accumulate, it may gain substance and escape from the inside of the cylinder.”

In response to Lila’s words, which do not know whether she is trying to reassure Cleon or scare him, Cleon speaks as he carefully places the cylinder down on the bed.

“How to solve it? As expected, is it to release and purify the magic power within?”

“It would be best if it were possible, but… The thought form contained within is no different from gaining freedom. A skilled shaman may be able to purify at least part of it, but if even a little bit is absorbed into the spirit vein before that, she might reappear as a ghost?”

“… Okay. So what’s the best thing to do?”

Cleon sighed at her words and asked, but Lila closed her mouth as if she was a little worried, and then she answered him.

“Originally, if you grant the wish of the thoughts within you, you will attain Buddhahood. And Cleon knows who that is, right?”

“Ah… Nayuta. A woman who was the lover of Rakshasa and a great shaman in the distant past.”

Her body, which turned into a tree along with the Rakshasa, was absorbed into the sacred tree through the spirit vein, and then flowed out through her magical power overflowing from the spirit vein.

And, it must have been the tree ghosts that Cleon faced during the day that took shape.

In other words, each one of them was Nayuta’s alter ego, a ghost containing her thoughts.

＂As a result of Nayuta’s wish to meet Rakshasa again, time is being turned back again and again. Of these, the one with the most magical power right now is inside this cylinder, so this wish is given priority over the wishes of Cleon and that girl who were around.”

Since she is a great shrine maiden, Lila guessed that one of the reasons would be her high affinity with the magic power of the divine tree.

“But then why is time being turned back? If you want to see a Rakshasa, wouldn’t it be right to say that something in the shape of a Rakshasa appears?”

“What good would it be if we met while dead? What she means by wanting to see the Rakshasa again is that she wants to meet the ‘living Rakshasa’ again. This is the desire. So, you probably want to turn back time to when the two were alive. However, turning back hundreds of years is impossible no matter how much magical power you have. Even if we used the magic power in that cylinder, Cleon’s magic power, the limit was to turn it back for about an hour.”

The magic power that manipulates space and time consumes an absurd amount of magic power.

If it were possible to turn back one hour with the magic power of a few people, no matter how many times she repeated it, she would never be able to go back to the time she was alive and meet a Rakshasa.

It’s really unfortunate for her though.

“Should I at least look for a necromancer?”

＂You’re kidding, right?＂

When Cleon responded to Lila’s words, she shrugged her shoulders.

“The Rakshasa soul is possessed by Cleon, right? In that case, all we have to do is make Nayuta have her true self somehow and resolve the resentment we have not shared. Her necromancer is definitely risky in many ways, but this time she thinks it will be the fastest.”

Cleon sighed at her words and shook his head.

＂A soul polluted by necromancy does not easily return to the spirit vein.  If you even think about purifying it, isn’t post-processing a more complicated method?”

“Well, if you think that far.”

She shrugged her shoulders at Cleon’s words, looked at Cleon again, and then spoke.

“Then what about asking to temporarily possess someone’s body? Like Cleon”

“… In other words, doesn’t that mean that someone has to become a ‘noble person’?”

At Cleon’s words, Lila closed her mouth for a moment and then nodded her head.

＂I wonder if that will happen… But you stay sane like Cleon, right? If a ghost without malicious intent possesses you, there is a high possibility that you will not be caught up in destructive impulses even if you become a ghost. Moreover, the opponent is the spirit of the great priestess. Even if you become a nobleman, if you can control yourself or if the wavelength of your body matches…”

Listening to Lila giving a long theoretical explanation, Cleon sighs at her.

She speaks to Cleon, interrupting her.

“Of course, I understand that Cleon wants to avoid causing as much harm to others as possible. We can’t just leave this situation alone, right? It is also true that we have to escape from the time loop.”

＂But…＂

Cleon didn’t want to admit her words, but he felt that her will to refuse was slowly weakening.

Tindalos was increasing by one each time went back.

If this continues to be repeated, one day Tindalos will appear in a way that will be difficult for them to deal with, and if something unexpected happens along the way…

When she thought about that, she felt her mind becoming complicated.

At that time, Lila clapped her hands and raised her voice as if she had just had a good idea.

“Okay! Let’s ask Kuon!”

＂What…?＂

Cleon looks at her, thinking that Lila has told her absurd story again.

＂Because Kuon is of the bloodline of a great shrine maiden, he and Nayuta have a good chemistry. So, even if Nayuta’s soul resides in her, there is a high possibility that her will not be taken away from her. Just like Cleon coexisted with a Rakshasa who had the same soul wavelength.”

Of course, there was cooperation from Bangui University.

Lila adds.

＂Main hall of the Temple of Asteris. If it is under the sacred tree, it will be the location where the sacred energy of purification is strongest. The place where nobles are usually sealed is also inside the temple, right?”

“And what if Kuon and Nayuta can’t be separated?”

Making a wish come true means that time will no longer go back.

If Nayuta possesses Kuon’s body and stays in her body forever, Cleon will have turned his companion into a nobleman with his own hands.

Nothing may happen right away, but the condition may worsen over time.

Silence flows between the two once again.

At that time.

Her [I will take responsibility for her and take her with her.]

A young man’s voice was heard from inside Cleon.

It was the voice of a Rakshasa that Cleon had heard in a nightmare he had recently.

[I thought you couldn’t speak anymore.]

When Cleon thought that it was the Rakshasa’s fault that his arms stopped after seeing the tree ghost during the day, he unconsciously uttered a sarcastic remark against him.

In response to Cleon’s reaction, the Rakshasa silences his mouth for a moment and then answers.

[Because there was nothing I could do, I just stayed quiet, but if I can meet Nayuta once again… I can cooperate.]

[Take him with you, how? Where?]

[It is impossible for a human to directly drive away a ghost that has become a thought form, but if it were me who was also a thought form… If Nayuta does not reject it. She will be able to free her from her possession.]

After hearing Rakshasa’s answer, Cleon thinks about something for a moment, then nods his head as if he understands.

It was the result of thinking about what Rakshasa had done for Nayuta and how he had helped her in her nightmare.

“Okay. Let’s ask Kuon.”

When Cleon said that, Laila hesitated for a moment before answering him.

“… I brought it up, but is it okay?”

“They say there is a way to solve it. That guy.”

When Cleon says that and pokes his chest with his thumb, Lila nods her head.

“… Then wait. I will prepare a tool that can inject the magical power inside the cylinder into a person. Put it in your bag and go to the next loop.”

As Lila said that, she immediately got up from her seat and walked closer to her desk.

With only a few minutes left until the fireworks show, she quickly grabs her tools and moves around, creating something skillfully.

And the next moment – when something like black smoke begins to rise from the corner of the room, Cleon summons Caliburn, holds it in his hand, and takes a fighting stance.

Until Lila completed her magic tool, she would protect her, not allowing even the tip of her claws to touch her.

And—

A few minutes later, as Lyla was wiping the sweat from her forehead, Cleon cut down two Tindalos and continued to battle the others while they regenerated.

When Lila saw that, she put the cylinder and magic tool in Cleon’s bag and threw her bag at Cleon.

＂Cleon!＂

＂Wow…!＂

Cleon suddenly received a bag that was thrown at him, and immediately after that.

Lyla creates a powerful force of flame in her hand, and she blows away the surrounding Tindalos along with the walls of her mansion.

“La, Laila!? What are you doing!”

“Time goes back anyway, right? In that case, this would be faster.”

Her Cleon looks at her in bewilderment at her actions that seem to only think about the present.

And, Lila is talking to Cleon.

＂Escape from the loop properly! Got it!? “

The moment I said that, an even louder explosion was heard from afar.

With the now familiar feeling of dizziness, Cleon collapses in his seat.

And, with the feeling of being sucked in somewhere, she held on to her bag tightly-

It was to move on to the next retrograde.