CHAPTER 127

"Elric!"

At that moment, Heize hurried forward and threw her arms around Elric, pulling him into a tight embrace. Her face was filled with worry for her younger brother.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Elric was covered in dust, and his body was full of large and small scratches, so it was natural for her to be so concerned.

"I'm… fine…!"

Elric tried to reassure his older sister, but before he could finish, he suddenly collapsed.

Heize was startled and quickly supported him.

Snore.

"...?"

Hearing the unexpected sound of snoring, she blinked in surprise.

Herman and Blue Hawk, who had been trailing behind Elric, chuckled.

"Don't worry. He's just fallen asleep from overexerting his mana. His wounds will heal soon enough as well."

"Really?"

Heize checked Elric's pulse at Herman's words and finally let out a relieved sigh.

Just as Hermann had said, Elric's pulse was calm, and his wounds—remarkably—were healing right before her eyes as if some kind of magic was at work, accelerating his recovery.

"Still, it's true that he's exhausted, so a few days of rest should be enough."

"Thank you."

Only then did Heize realize that Herman and Blue Hawk had played a significant role in helping Elric escape the explosion unharmed.

She quickly bowed her head in gratitude, but Herman waved it off casually as if it was nothing.

And then—

[Thank you.]

Hearing Augustine's voice in his ear, Herman was slightly surprised, but he quickly smiled and nodded.

Thus, the chaos on the Black Snowfield came to an end.

***

Elric had a brief dream while unconscious.

In it, General Winter appeared.

However, General Winter no longer looked like a lifeless doll.

Her features were fully formed, and her expressions were free and natural. Elric hadn't even realized she could smile like that—her face was full of happiness.

Elric thought that if the God of Camellias were to take the form of a child, she might look like this.

"Thank you."

"Did you come just to say that?"

General Winter nodded her head vigorously in response, and Elric couldn't help but chuckle.

Then, he reached out his hand toward her.

For a moment, General Winter flinched at the unfamiliar gesture but soon squeezed her eyes shut and, with newfound courage, leaned her head into his touch.

People might think I was really mean to her, Elric thought, scratching his cheek as he gently patted her head.

'...Well, I did give her a hard time.'

For a moment, Elric felt a twinge of guilt but decided to push it aside.

General Winter's expression gradually softened. Like a cat contentedly sitting on a warm cushion, she quietly enjoyed his touch before slowly opening her eyes.

"Have fun wherever you go. And do not cause trouble. Got it?"

Elric didn't know where General Winter was going. Maybe she would be absorbed into the Winter Seal as pure mana, or perhaps she would follow Otto Han to wherever his soul resided.

But no matter where she went—

Elric hoped she wouldn't suffer anymore. He wished for her to laugh, not feel lonely.

Despite her age, General Winter was still like a playful child, fragile and transparent like glass that had been shattered countless times.

Nodding as if she understood, General Winter looked up at Elric with her wide eyes and asked,

"You'll play with me again, right?"

Again.

Elric hadn't expected that and blinked in surprise.

Then he chuckled and nodded.

"Of course. Just don't leave me out because I'm too old."

Giggling!

With the same laughter a child would make, General Winter quietly vanished.

***

Elric opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

Had General Winter cast some sort of magic before she left?

He thought his body would feel heavy from exhaustion, but he felt surprisingly light. His mind, too, was clearer than it had been in a long time.

'How long have I been unconscious?'

Elric glanced around.

Judging by the elaborate decorations and curtains, it seemed he had been brought back to the palace in Anthromorph.

Looking outside, he saw the moon in the sky. He wondered if he should lie down a little longer, but then the door suddenly opened.

"You're awake?"

King Velence entered the room with Irina.

Elric quickly tried to get out of bed, but the king rushed over, shaking his head.

"Don't get up. You're still recovering, so take it easy."

Elric was about to say that he was fine, but thinking it would sound strange, he simply nodded and sat back down.

'Besides, I don't feel like getting up just yet.'

The mattress was much more comfortable than he expected. He wondered where he could get one like this for himself.

"How did you know I was awake?"

"Lady Camellia told us."

"The God of Camellias?"

It was then that Elric noticed that neither the God of Camellias nor Mephisto were by his side, making him tilt his head in confusion.

Since both were absent, he assumed they had gone somewhere for the same reason, but what could it be?

"The God of Camellias is taking a stroll in the garden. I asked her for a favor."

King Velence sensed Elric's curiosity and explained before asking Irina to bring forward what she had carried in.

Irina handed Elric a small book. The material looked quite old.

Elric took it hesitantly and frowned. The book was clearly a rare manuscript.

"What's this? You've already given me the treasure map and the research documents…."

"It's Tiger King Yul's diary."

"...?"

Elric's eyes widened.

That explained why Irina had looked nervous when handing it over.

If it was indeed a diary from the Tiger King's household, it would be an extremely valuable artifact. Why were they giving it to him?

King Velence spoke with a mysterious expression that was hard to read.

"I found it while going through the archives last night. As I was reading through it, I came across something rather surprising. I marked the spot, so take a look."

Intrigued by the king's words, Elric quickly flipped to the bookmarked page and skimmed through it.

The text was written in the beastmen's language, so it took him a little time to fully understand, but—

Before long, Elric's eyes began to shake with shock.

February 14th.

–I found an interesting human and brought him to the tribe. He claimed that a beastman had taken him in as a child. The human had rare blonde hair and green eyes, something almost unheard of among humans. He used Body Strengthening Art….

February 16th.

–The human, who I was worried wouldn't integrate with the tribe, quickly settled in and made friends. Though he still had conflicts with Ralph, with whom he had clashed when he first arrived….

February 17th.

–As I was considering where to settle down, the human suggested a place….

February 29th.

–The human seems particularly interested in my Body Strengthening Art. In fact, his version of the art bears a strange resemblance to mine. Although styles of the Body Strengthening Art vary greatly between tribes, his is remarkably similar to mine, though it appears incomplete….

March 31st.

–Lately, there have been strange occurrences—snowstorms and unsettling weather. I heard rumors that some tribes have decided to flee. The elders of our clan once spoke of a time when something similar happened in the past….

April 15th.

–Preparations are underway to investigate the rising number of casualties….

April 16th.

–We are preparing to leave. I am curious, though—what does the human feed that tree of his? It grows so well....

For a moment, the room was enveloped in silence.

Sh-sh-sh.

The only sound was the quiet rustling of pages as Elric read on, hardly daring to breathe.

The fact that Elric was so engrossed in the diary was a testament to how much it shocked him.

'Was this really… not just an arrangement?'

How was this possible?

The contents of the diary perfectly matched the events he had experienced during the arrangement.

Though the diary did not explicitly name anyone, referring to him only as "the human," the details—introducing Anthromorph's current settlement, his conflicts with Ralph, and being guided by General Winter—were unmistakable.

And beyond all that—

The part where it mentioned coveting the Tiger King's Body Strengthening Art was undoubtedly referring to him.

At the end of the diary, there was a note about General Winter:

May 6th.

–I finally met the General Winter I had heard of only in legends.

May 7th.

–The wretched human who had been spying on my Body Strengthening Art has disappeared. He said he was leaving for good. And then, like a phantom, he vanished.

–As if he was nothing more than an illusion.

–But I clearly remember his name.

His name was Elric Melvinger.

He said he was a distant descendant of the Melvinger family.

"…!"

Elric stopped breathing altogether.

He snapped his head up.

The shock of discovering something so unexpected left his mind in a whirl.

He instinctively reached for the Magical Amulet hanging from his neck.

What on earth was this "arrangement" he had experienced?

"I thought it was strange that your name was mentioned in connection with the Melvinger family, so I brought it to you. Of course, it could be that an ancestor of the Melvinger family had some connection to the Tiger King, but I thought it was worth showing you."

King Velence's words brought Elric back to reality, and he nodded.

Though his mind was still full of questions, he needed to be polite.

"Th-thank you. Also, if it's not too much to ask…."

"Yes. You're welcome to take the diary with you. But it's an important historical document for us, so please keep it safe and return it when you're done."

"…Thank you for understanding."

Elric took a deep breath, trying to calm his chaotic thoughts.

Looking back, there had been many strange things about the arrangement.

Everything had felt too real, too vivid.

'Almost like the people were truly alive…!'

But it was too absurd to believe it was reality.

Time-warping 400 years into the past was impossible, and the fact that the experience had repeated itself until the mission succeeded was equally unbelievable.

Even if magic could perform miracles, this kind of magic was unheard of.

If such a thing were possible, it would be akin to possessing the power of an all-knowing god. But if that were the case, why had the Melvinger family fallen so far?

'Otto Han did say to come to his private residence, right? Maybe there's a clue there about this mystery.'

Elric felt an urgent need to travel south beyond the Great Wall. The trip to the northern lands had left him with far too many unanswered questions.

'I also need to check out the report left by the Tiger King. If he really remembered me, there might be something hidden there.'

Elric felt guilty about it, but he had already made up his mind to tell his companions that they would leave the Black Snowfield first thing in the morning.

But—

As if to hurry his plans along, something urgent was already in motion.

Bang!

"Elric!"

The door suddenly flew open, and Sean rushed in, out of breath as if he had been running.

Something had clearly happened. Elric noticed his friend's pale face and frowned.

"I'm glad you're awake…. I was worried what we'd do if you hadn't woken up."

"What happened?"

"I just got an emergency message from my house. They're calling for your immediate return."

"An emergency message?"

Sean nodded heavily.

"A war has broken out in the empire."

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