Chapter 64 - The Choice

Azriel Esthera was a wizard. She was already a wizard since she was born. Even when she was not aware of the fact she was a wizard, she was one. Wizards were the people who explored and pushed forward. If one remained in his place, he could be a magician but not a wizard.

‘The primal dragon doesn’t inherit legacy to the complacent.’

It was a phrase that Azriel saw in a book about magic and mana when she was young. Being born with mana meant that one was born with such a tendency.

Therefore, wizard Azriel Esthera’s choice had already been decided. And the choice of the girl, who grabbed the hand that was held out by the white wizard at the winter water, had already been decided as well.

‘Let’s try this way.’

The way toward the distant wizard called Rhema Reshith. She was determined. Azriel briefly smiled.

“Rhema, you said I should ask anything I want.”

“Yes, go ahead. What do you want?”

“Teach me magic, everything you know about magic.”

Rhema’s face stiffened. He kept silent for a while and barely continued.

“I clearly said that you might be killed by me if you learn magic, Azriel.”

“I already learned magic from you, Rhema.”

‘Esthera,’ When she recited the spell, stars that formed from her hand made a small light. Azriel held out the light that lingered over her palm.

“Or is this okay because it’s only ‘conjuring’? Are you going to kill me right away if I learned ‘magic’?”

“…Not right away.”

“Then when are you going to kill me? When you want to? Did you teach me magic to kill me?”

“I don’t want to kill you, Azriel!”

His voice went up. Startled, Azriel disheveled the light. She had never seen Rhema raising his voice. By the standard of the average person, he raised his voice only a little, but it was a rare occasion for him.

‘If you don’t want to kill me, just don’t kill me,’ She did not say that. There must be a reason that could not be helped even though he did not want to. His distorted face and raised voice were proving that. If he could not say it, she just had to find out what it was, she thought. Azriel asked like a whisper.

“If you did not teach me magic with a purpose of killing me, that must mean there’s another possibility.”

“That’s…”

“There’s a scenario that you don’t have to kill me, isn’t there?”

“There is. But Azriel, that is, when you become like…”

Rhema, who was rambling as he answered, stopped talking all of a sudden. He shook his head narrowly and said in a dry tone.

“That scenario will, even if it’s possible, make you miserable. No, it’s impossible.” 

“Why is it impossible?”

“Azriel, why are you trying to choose a way that will make you miserable? You can enjoy anything.”

“I don’t want to live with my eyes closed, Rhema. I don’t think I should.”

Rhema instantly understood what she meant by ‘the eyes.’ It did not only mean the actual eyes or the eyes that saw mana.

“You said I’m a wizard with the dragon eye who appeared in a thousand years. Maybe that means I’m the most suitable person among all the people who have been born so far.”

“What do you mean by ‘most suitable’?”

“The most suitable person who can achieve the impossible thing you said. The person who wouldn’t get miserable even after staying beside you and learning magic.”

With a pale face, Azriel smiled. The golden eyes sparkled like a star that guides a way in the darkness.

“I won’t be miserable, Rhema.”

The star that he picked up shone its light in the direction that he never imagined. Rhema’s thought stopped.

“So, please teach me magic.”

The girl chose to become a wizard.

ACT 4 : Secret and Sign

Azriel’s body, which had been weakened, was almost recovered after her memory came back fully and sleeping a lot. As soon as she heard that long distance teleportation magic would not hurt her body, she wanted to visit the Hanora Village.

The village where she arrived with Rhema had been ruined. It was an abandoned village where people left a long time ago.

“What happened?”

Azriel asked, looking into Hannah’s house which had collapsed halfway. Rhema, who was standing a few steps away from her, quietly answered.

“I treated everyone who was hurt or suffering from the side effects of the memory magic. I also erased all of their memories. I filled in the pit that formed in the village and fixed damaged houses.”

She was slightly surprised. He said he would try his best to return things as they were and it seemed he really tried.

“But why did everyone leave?”

“It was impossible to revive the dead… Since there were quite a few people who disappeared without leaving their bodies, a rumor that the village was cursed spread and people left one by one.”

“…I see.”

Azriel walked toward the village chief’s house, where Tom used to live. The house that disappeared completely when a pit formed stood still as if nothing happened. It was just shabby after being vacant for a long time.

“Did Tom die?”

She needed quite a lot of courage to ask this question. Afraid of hearing the answer, Azriel bit her lip.

“If you’re talking about the son of the village chief, he wasn’t swept away. He was alive. His relatives took him.”

She let out a long breath that she was holding. Deep relief filled her. If her childhood friend was killed by Rhema’s hand, she might have weighed down by guilt.

“Are those who left doing well?”

“It didn’t seem like there was a big problem until they left. I didn’t check after that. Do you want to meet them?”

“No, that’s enough.”

Rubbing her eyes, she turned around.

“Rhema.”

“Yes, Azriel.”

“Can you promise me that you wouldn’t harm the people I know?”