CHAPTER 17**
I woke up around noon.
Honestly, I thought I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I was out the moment my head hit the pillow. It seems I was more on edge than I realized. I mean, I’m no man of steel. I’m just a guy who’s died and come back a few times.
I got up with a messy head of hair and brushed my teeth with salt toothpaste.
About 100 years have passed since Transferees first appeared in this world. Thanks to them pulling the classic, “Ah, this is a thing called a [toothbrush],” quite a few modern items have become commonplace.
Of course, complex devices like computers or mobile phones couldn't spread into general society. There was a great war shortly after the Transferees appeared, and things like power grids and electricity require massive national resources. Those resources were, naturally, concentrated on the This-worlders who had lived in this country for ages. There was no way the This-worlders would willingly share their resources with outsiders like Transferees.
Besides, this was a world where magic was more developed than science. Even with the Transferees’ knowledge and Abilities, they hadn't been able to gain the upper hand in the war against the This-worlders. The rift between them was too deep for the Transferees' knowledge to spread.
Still, thankfully, people of any world covet useful things. Starting with simple tools like toothbrushes and toothpaste, and extending to clothing, Transferees introduced various bits of modern knowledge. I heard that just 100 years ago, they used a primitive toothpaste made from powdered animal bones mixed with medicinal herbs. All hail the knowledge of Transferees.
After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I felt refreshed. The strangely gloomy mood from last night was overcome by the new morning.
As I came out of the bathroom, I saw Aranseol rushing toward me.
Things felt a bit awkward after yesterday.
“Harua, my master and Lady Rapiel are here.”
But her next words blew all my worries away.
I quickly followed Aranseol to the entrance, and sure enough, there were Soun and Rapiel. Sohan was standing next to Soun as well.
“Lady Rapiel?”
“Harua!”
The moment Rapiel saw me, she cried out.
She rushed inside and pulled me into a tight hug.
For a second, my face was buried in a heavy softness, and I thought I was going to suffocate. I already knew it, but her chest possessed terrifying destructive power.
“Thank goodness. I’m so glad.”
Rapiel let out several sighs of relief.
Only then did I realize she had come all this way because she was worried about me. She had been so busy with work that she’d sent me on an errand in the first place. She must have heard the news about the airship crash. And yet, worried about me, she had dropped everything and rushed here in a single step.
I was not unaware of how much that meant.
“Aranseol.”
“Master.”
While Sohan closed the door, Soun called out, and Aranseol stood before him.
Soun placed a hand gently on top of her head.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
He didn’t say much. But that alone seemed to be enough for Aranseol, whose expression welled up with emotion. Though she had endured bravely, every moment had been a brush with death. In front of an adult, she became a child again.
“Lady Rapiel, I’m fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“Of course not! Who do you think trained you as a Holy Mage? You would have gotten a scolding from me if you got hurt.”
Let’s keep the fact that I died a secret.
“Yes, you’ve raised him very well indeed.”
Just then, a familiar voice sounded as Ririran appeared from inside the house.
When our eyes met, she gave me a warm smile. It seemed she had successfully returned the Spiritwood’s essence to its rightful place.
“Rapiel, Soun, it’s been a while.”
“Ririra.”
Rapiel finally let go of me and dabbed at her eyes. She must be getting sentimental in her old age.
“That boy was a great help to me. You have a fine disciple.”
Rapiel looked at me with a puzzled expression. She didn't yet know how I had helped Ririran. Meanwhile, I glanced over at Aranseol before looking away.
“Ririran, I heard the Sinner of Sloth appeared,” Soun said, having apparently heard some news beforehand.
Ririran took out a new pipe.
“Yes, there are things to discuss regarding that matter. The Sinner of Sloth was after my life, and their side will believe that I am dead.”

Both Ririran and Cosmic Jac had been plunged to the bottom of the deep sea. Anyone would have assumed they were both dead. Furthermore, the Sinner of Sloth… it was clear there were more people behind him.
“So for the time being, it would be better to cause confusion by letting them think I’m dead. I’ve hidden the truth from all but a few trustworthy fairies, so let’s use this to our advantage.”
Ririran didn’t explain how she had faked her death. She just gave me a short smile. It was her way of showing me she was keeping her promise.
This meant I could trust her in the future.
“Let’s discuss the rest when we get to your place.”
Ririran landed lightly between us.
“Let’s go.”
With that, a magic circle appeared beneath our feet, and our vision shifted.
In the next moment, I was standing at the entrance of Rapiel’s mansion.
It strikes me every time, but spatial magic really leaves you dumbfounded. To think we could return so quickly from a place it took Aranseol and me so much effort to reach. I could see why Cosmic Jac had been so persistently targeting Ririran. Her spatial magic was practically cheating.
As if anticipating our arrival, the head butler was already waiting at the mansion entrance. He skillfully guided Soun and Ririran inside.
As Ririran and Soun walked ahead, deep in conversation, Rapiel came to stand beside me.
“I heard about the airship.”
“Was it a little cool?”
“I thought I was going to have to scold you.”
It's sad to get scolded for doing a good deed.
But instead of scolding me, Rapiel placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You did well, Harua. Thanks to you, many people were saved. I’m proud that you’re my disciple.”
Rapiel smiled warmly. It had been a long time since I’d seen her smile like that, free from her usual exhaustion. That alone made the effort worthwhile.
“I should have gone around shouting, ‘I am Harua, disciple of Lady Rapiel!’”
“If you did that, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face, so please don’t.”
Rapiel said this as she began to walk past me.
“Lady Rapiel, is a war going to break out?”
I asked her the question that had been weighing on my mind.
Rapiel’s shoulders tensed.
The news that a war might be coming.
I didn't know exactly who would be fighting whom. I just knew it was likely an extension of the old war between Transferees and This-worlders.
She turned back to me with a bittersweet expression.
“I will make sure a war doesn’t happen.”
To that end, Rapiel was working through the night. That must be why she had called upon powerful figures like Soun and Ririran.
“So, Harua, you don’t worry and just focus on mastering your holy magic.”
In this era, the calm before a storm that could erupt at any moment, the only answer was to get stronger if you wanted to survive.
I could feel the grim determination in Rapiel’s back as she walked away. It was the image of an adult shouldering a heavy burden to prevent the next generation from inheriting the age of suffering they had endured.
Living as an adult isn't easy in this world either.

At Shishiroka’s grave, set up within the mansion grounds, I recounted the events I had just experienced.
Talking to Shishiroka had become a habit. Whenever something big happened, a day would come when I felt the need to tell her about it. It must be boring for Shishiroka, just lying there. I hoped my stories brought her at least a little entertainment.
Looking at the white flowers placed on the grave, I brushed myself off and stood up. Just then, I saw Aranseol walking this way.
“Harua.”
She no longer stiffened when she saw me. Instead, she offered a gentle smile.
“Looks like you were talking with Shishiroka.”
“I’ve already told her everything, so she’ll be bored if you talk now.”
“It’s fine. You’re a better storyteller than I am, Harua.”
My storytelling skills, acknowledged even by a This-worlder.
Aranseol gently stroked Shishiroka’s gravestone.
It was still summer, and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. The heat still got to her.
“There’s something called the Star Cluster Meeting coming up.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a gathering for the disciples of the Lords or those of equivalent standing.”
A get-together for disciples, huh? I suppose the disciples of powerful figures like the Lords could be considered elites. It would be good for them to get to know each other, since they’re all destined for high positions somewhere someday. But in dramas, those kinds of gatherings never turn out well. If that’s how it is in modern society, I doubt this world would be any different.
What a damn society of connections.
“Okay, have fun.”
I wondered why she was telling me this.
Aranseol stared at me with a strange look in her eyes and spoke again.
“Harua, you can go to the Star Cluster Meeting too.”
Ah, right. I’m Rapiel’s disciple too.
I forgot.
“So you want to go together?”
“You remember what Lady Ririran said, about a war likely breaking out.”

Of course I remembered. It was the first thing I asked Rapiel when we got back.
“We can get a lot of information if we go to the Star Cluster Meeting.”
These were disciples raised by powerful figures from all over the world. They must have heard various things, so they’d be privy to all sorts of information.
“There might even be a clue to preventing the war.”
Preventing the war.
Hearing those words, I looked back at Aranseol.
But as always, Aranseol’s eyes were sincere.
She wanted to stop the war.
Of course, I don’t want a war either. But I didn’t understand why she was making this proposal to me.
“Aranseol, I told you before, but I’m not the kind of person who lives a life of self-sacrifice to save others.”
Maybe because I threw myself in to save her that one time. It seemed Aranseol was starting to have some strange misconceptions about me. My goal is to protect my own skin, not to harbor some grand ambition of saving the world.
“Preventing a war would be beneficial for you too, Harua, wouldn’t it?”
No one wants a war. The only ones who want war are those in power and the idiots they incite. As she said, I absolutely do not want a war.
“I doubt the disciples would have that level of information, though.”
“Yes, it’s just a possibility. But disciples of those who don’t interact with my master or Lady Rapiel will be attending as well.”
Aranseol calmly tried to persuade me, who was still being uncooperative.
I didn’t know why she was trying so hard to convince me. Was it because I was there when she decided on her life’s goal?
Somehow, it felt like a stray cat that wouldn’t open up to me was now clinging to me after I fixed its injured paw.
Aranseol gripped the hem of my clothes.
“Let’s go together. Please?”
This foxy girl.
Honestly, with a pretty face like that, don’t push it on me with those big eyes.
Aranseol knows very well that she’s pretty. When others’ gazes gather on her, she subtly straightens her posture and shows off. So she also knew how to use her looks. The faint coquettishness emanating from her teased my eyes.
Before the recent incident, there was a distance between us. So there was no reason for her to use her appearance. It was natural, as she had not a speck of a reason to look good for me.
But after the incident with Cosmic Jac, the relationship between Aranseol and me had changed.
I still detest This-worlders.
Aranseol still hates Transferees.
But ‘Harua the Transferee’ and ‘Aranseol the This-worlder’ were slowly becoming separate concepts. We were okay with not hiding the fact that we hated ‘someone’ from each other.
Perhaps that’s why Aranseol’s true personality was beginning to show itself to me as well.
“Alright, fine. I’ll go. Happy now?”
Besides, I had already decided to start seriously building connections. I was bound to pick up a thing or two from these rising stars.
“Great!”
Aranseol beamed, a wide smile on her excited face.
To think this girl who smiled so easily had maintained such a poker face in front of me.
“Yo, Aranseol, Harua.”
Just then, Sohan appeared, yawning. A whiff of perfume told me he’d just spent the night with another woman.
Aranseol’s face instantly turned to ice.
That was incredibly fast. I don’t think even Cosmic Jac could keep up with that speed. She’s spent more time with Sohan than with me, yet she remained consistently cold toward him.
“An invitation came for the Star Cluster Meeting. What do you say, want to go together?”
Sohan showed me a letter. It was an invitation stamped with a flame crest. The crest must have been from the organizers.
Sohan sidled up to me and whispered.
“For the record, there are a ton of pretty girls there.”
He never changes.
Just then, Aranseol stared intently at me as I talked with Sohan.
For some reason, a sudden impulse hit me.
If your reputation gets too good, you get criticized for doing one bad thing. But on the other hand, if you’re a bad guy, doing one good thing makes people see you in a new light.
“How pretty? As pretty as Aranseol?”
I felt the need to lower Aranseol’s expectations of me a bit.
Aranseol flinched.
Her eyes darted slightly before she subtly straightened her back, a posture that proudly showed off her appearance. It was kind of funny, like a crow-tit puffing out its chest.
“Harua, I’ll tell you this now,” Sohan said with a serious face.
“There’s almost no one in this world as pretty as Aranseol.”
At Sohan’s dead-serious words, Aranseol frowned.

And she slumped her shoulders again.
It seemed she didn’t like Sohan’s praise.
“Well, I guess there aren’t many people as pretty as Aranseol.”
When I casually agreed, Aranseol’s face brightened.
She straightened her back again.
Why did the same words elicit completely different reactions?
Following Sohan’s lead wasn’t helping.
“Anyway, I’ll take that as a yes.”
Oblivious to Aranseol’s reactions, Sohan sauntered off. Judging by his yawning, he was probably going back to sleep.
“Aranseol.”
“Hm?”

Aranseol, who had become a puffed-up crow-tit, turned to me, smiling brightly.
I could feel the trust in her eyes.
“...Never mind.”
It seemed trying to lower my standing in Aranseol’s eyes was a lost cause.
I can only hope that when she eventually realizes what kind of person I am, she won’t be too disappointed.