Volume 2: Chapter 034: Ulysses (Yunosis)’s Final Memory
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
[1] Did I overlook something? [1] What had I missed?
No matter how many times I asked myself this, no answer came to me.
At that moment, all I could think of was that I needed to find Kaya and see him as soon as possible. That I would have to punish him. The thought of having to punish this protege of mine pained me.
Then, there were the feelings of responsibility,
[1] Prince Ballad, one of the trusted comrades in the Hero’s party had been murdered.Allen was missing and Lilia had apparently been severely injured.
I learned of this from a report by someone close to the Sanctuary.
Apparently, the Kingdom of Fregister had been taken over by the rebel forces and that… [1] that Kaya was the main culprit and mastermind.
In fact, there had been a few rebellions against the royal family ever since I started serving at the royal palace.
While it was true that a royal family could not rule with the full support of the people, Fregister had been operating well despite some internal conflicts. At that time, I was more concerned about the external problems coming from the northern and western kingdoms, figuring that the local people could handle their own drama without me.
[1] In other words, I had decided to overlook this matter.Could Kaya have really…
I thought about it over and over again. What was Kaya’s point in doing something like that? After the coup, he disappeared without even attempting to become the king of the land.
I decided to track him down.
Kaya the Hero already has power equal to that of a Demon King.
I was the one who had nurtured him that way.
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“I’m sorry, but this is my transgression. I must be the one to stop him.”
“So you’re going… You’re going to leave me and Shuma behind?”
“I’m sorry.”
[1] I truly am sorry.Eltear looked worried.
However, she understood why I had to go and stood there, swallowing every excuse I gave her.
I knelt in front of Shuma, who was next to Eltear and made this promise to him.
“Once everything is over, let’s go to ‘that place’ together. It’s a promise. So, until I come back, you must stay by your mother’s side, Shuma.”
“Yes, Father.”
My child’s response sounded very dependable.
That’s right, let’s go look for that place together, Shuma. I promise this.
As I stroked Shuma’s cheek, many thoughts passed through my mind.
“Well, it is time for me to go. Eltear, please… take care of Shuma,”
“Make sure to come back safely.”
“… …”
“No matter what happens, don’t die… okay? And come back. Come back even if nothing goes well.”
“Indeed… I shall put an end to it all and be sure to return. Do wait for me.”
“Of course.”
My final sight was my dear wife, who promised to stay by my side. She must have been very anxious, but she sent me off with a smile, as usual.
I think I managed to reassure her.
It will be fine. I can’t die after all.
That’s right.
I will definitely come back.
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(Final Memory)
Southern tip of the Great Ruhara Desert, Eastern Continent
[1] I found Kaya in an abandoned town situated in a desert not far from Fregister. I had no idea what he was doing here, but that had nothing to do with my goal today. [1] I had to speak to him and… depending on his answer, I may have to strip him of his title of Hero. For now, he was just a rebel. A traitor to Fregister.
“Why did you kill Prince Ballad… Kaya?”
“… …”
“Wasn’t he a good comrade of yours?”
“… …”
He stayed silent, [1] his blue eyes staring fixedly at me.
Until now, I had the impression that he was merely indifferent, perhaps even shy. However, at that very moment, he appeared [1] painfully cold and heartless.
“You understand that I must now strip you of everything. Your title of hero and your sword. Although I do not know how you get your hands on it, the Sanctuary did say that it was proof of your identity. It is an item of great power, therefore…”
I struck the ground once with the Spirit Scepter.
A loud and solemn sound rang out, reverberating through the abandoned village lending strength to the spirits surrounding me.
I remember the hot dry scent of the desert, [1] the air was so dry that it made breathing difficult.
“7th Summoning… Spirits, become chains!”
The Spirits around me transformed into chains and [1] several magic circles appeared under Kaya’s feet.
Kaya did not move at all.
The magic crackled and chains of blinding light flashed into existence and snapped around him. That’s right, the 7th Summoning is a binding magic that traps its target.
I did not hold back at all as I poured my magic into the spell. [1]
More and more chains of light flashed around Kaya. [1] Did he not resist because he wanted to be caught?
“Capture… complete…”
The golden sword had fallen from Kaya’s hand, striking the ground with a muffled thud.
I picked it up.
“What a shame. I truly thought of you as my own son. You were talented, popular and a good friend. At least… that’s what I had believed…”
However, that was all in the past.
Just how did things come to this?
“Kaya, if you could tell me… the reason why you had done this… please tell me. I refuse to believe that you killed Prince Ballad without any reason. Lilia is still unconscious and Allen is missing. Just what happened…”
The Hero, who had been at the core of the rebel army disappeared almost immediately after the coup was done. Things were being negotiated between the surviving royal family and the army. It was a confusing and chaotic time for everyone, but I’m sure the kingdom would be able to survive this challenge.
Still, just why would you do something like this, Kaya?
“What are you looking at, White Sage?”
“!?”
[1] The voice came from behind me. It was a voice I had not heard for a long time, but I immediately recognised it. At the exact moment I recognised the voice, the person I had put under Spirit Chain transformed into the missing Allen.Then, there was a jolt and it took me another second to realise I had been stabbed in the back.
“Wha…”
Blood started pouring out of my chest and back, but I gritted my teeth and said, “That’s… illusion magic… I never taught you that kind of Black Magic… however, this is pointless. Healing spells have been written all over my body. Stabbing me does nothing…”
“Is that so, White Sage?”
[1] The person speaking was Hero Kaya. He rarely speaks, but there was no mistaking that calm, measured cadence. [1] “Why don’t you take another look at the sword that stabbed you?” [1] The sword that had stabbed me…? [1] I looked down at the shining blade sticking out of my chest. As for the Blessing of Goddess that had fallen next to… Allen, an ominous mist floated off of it like a coating of some sort, leaving a sword that was neither black, red nor blue. It was a dull-misshapen sword with no special abilities at all.With this double revelation, the pain hit me along with a fear that I had never experienced before.
“White Sage, unfortunately, your healing ability doesn’t work on injuries caused by this sword. As for that sword… that is the Dark King’s Fate, a sword of death forged to kill Demon Kings.”
“K-kaya… why…”
I fell to the ground with a thud.
The smell of the hot wind, the gritty sand, the flickering blonde hair… the man before me had the icy gaze of someone who was far cry from a ‘Hero’.
Kaya [1] plucked the Blessing of the Goddess out of my chest. I saw his face in the brilliance of the sword. He looked a little sad… I think. Although, with my consciousness going in and out, I cannot be sure what I was seeing was true.
“Well, it’s about time…”
With both the Blessing of the Goddess in one hand and Dark King’s Fate in the other, he looked down at me.
Was it because of the ochre sand? My vision was becoming hazy. Everything was turning pure white.
“Kaya…”
“You have fulfilled your role. You will become the foundation of this world. Farewell, White Sage.”
[1] At that moment, it felt as though there were two Kaya existing at the same time. One I knew, and another that do not recognise. Even if I were to reach out, I could not touch him.As I grew weaker, the chains binding Allen began to crack and fall. Allen’s colourless eyes were open as he fell beside me with a thud. He was already dead.
Ah.
What is this?
How did it come to this?
Why am I here?
I have to… reach out to Kaya, but something murky and dark was dragging at my feet, sucking me down.
The Hero was standing over me, waiting for me to die.
I never thought that seeing blood seeping out endlessly like this would be so frightening.
I had never felt such pain before.
He picked me up.
“Am I… dying?”
The moment these words left my lips, fragments of a memory came to me. It came as long snapshots of encounters and partings that began in a cotton field where fluffy cotton flowers nodded in the wind. The passing merchants.
The Crimson Witch and the Black Demon King.
And the green…
“No matter what happens, don’t die… okay? And come back. Come back even if nothing goes well.”
I can’t die here. I made a promise, didn’t I?
I promised to stay by her side. To grow old together once this is all over.
I don’t want to die.
I had wondered many times whether I could even die or wanted death.
I was afraid of not dying, but at that moment, I didn’t want to die.
Are you telling me to die and leave young Eltear and little Shuma behind?
I, who understood the loneliness of being the one left behind? Am I to leave them behind?”
“No…”
I stretched out my hands. To the one I love. To my little son.
To that gentle green place.
Ah.
Sorry.
“… …”
The only thing I managed to grab was a handful of dry sand… there was none of the purity or freshness of the Sanctuary.
My tears fell and that little patch grew distorted.
And…
I died.
There is no eternity. Only a pitiless end that stretched out all white and terrifying.
Eltear.
My beloved.
Why are you screaming… in that Sanctuary…
You died covered in blood.
… was this your end?
Faced with this unknowable vision, tears fell from my eyes.
I saw Shuma and I laying in our coffins.
Had she been left alone to struggle under the weight of her position and… died in despair?
I watched it all happen.
Even as she lay dying alone, I could not move closer, not even to comfort her.
It was exactly like how we are ‘now’.
“Stay strong, Ulysses!!”
A bright red flash distorted this fuzzy white vision. An intense pain shocked me out of my daze. It felt like… someone had just slapped my cheek.
“Ulysses!”
“Maki… chan…”
She grabbed me by the collar and called my name in a clear, strident voice, over and over again.
“Ulysses!! Who are you? You’re Ulysses!!”
“… …”
“That’s all in the past. People from the past, memories from the past and emotions from the past! Those are all illusions! All dried up dust from the past!!”
“But… Maki-chan… what should I do? I can’t let go…”
All this pain, all this wretchedness… I am to blame for all of it.
I pondered over my past decisions, wondering why didn’t I do this or that, and ways I could have done things differently.
“Well, if you want to just stay here forever and miss all those people who are no longer here!!”
“… …”
“Percelys is still waiting for you… She is waiting for Ulysses, not Yunosis!”
Her words pierced into my mind, whether I liked it or not.
I just… wanted to quietly hold on to my memories, but it looked like she would never forgive me if I did that.
I was crying.
Maki-chan too. She was gritting her teeth and crying.
“Stay strong, Ulysses. No one blames you!!”
“… …”
You are a wonderful person.
Each word struck like a baseball bat.
[1] That is… she struck me with her little fists over and over again. As though trying to replace one pain with another.Trying to wake me up.
Trying to cover up my pain.
“Thank you, Maki-chan… but would you allow me to say one thing?”
After catching my breath and grabbing her shoulders, I met her gaze.
“Those words, allow me to give them back as they are…”
Her blank expression at that moment was so funny that I laughed.
However, it’s fine.
I am… Ulysses.
Ulysses Claudio Le Ruskia.
Right now, the one I shall meet now is Percelis. The one who is living in this current time.
I shall never forget this moment of pure joy and pain for the rest of my life.
As for the Crimson Witch… that I would one day consider you, my former enemy, a precious friend?
Thank you.
I have woken up.
“That’s right… I should go… and pick some white bellflowers.”
I never want to think of this life as a ‘do-over’ of my previous life.
Nor do I want to see it as an atonement.
While it is certainly a fresh start, I believe that this is just one of the choices I make for a yet knowable future.
[Gumihou: Well, okay I like him a little better now]
[1] The ‘confusion moment’ was just plain confusing. Redid it to show Yuri’s confusion while readers remained clear about what’s going on.
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