Memoirs of a Wicked Magician - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 2
Part 1. Northern Magic Tower Outer Residence
2. A Certain Faction’s Mage’s Return
“Liliope, what are you doing?”
A voice that suddenly pierced her ears jolted Liliope back to awareness.
“Why are you staring off into space like that? Are you hurt somewhere?”
Light flickered back into her violet eyes, which had been unfocused moments before. The breath she’d unconsciously held resumed, filling her lungs.
Liliope felt blood beginning to return to her numb limbs as she blinked her dry eyes slowly open and shut.
‘What? What is this? Why am I in a place like…?’
The brilliance of a chandelier, studded with gems and gleaming, was the first thing to penetrate her vision.
Spread across the dining table before her were ornate vases, metal candelabras, and an array of sweets that any child would covet.
Liliope’s blank, wide eyes fluttered in confusion.
How could this be?
She had been in the dark forest, drenched in torrential rain, yet somehow the world had transformed into a bright, warm interior.
“Goodness, really. Why are you like this? Aren’t you listening to me? Look this way, will you?”
But her shock was far from over.
Before her senses could fully return to reality, warmth suddenly brushed against her cheek.
Drawn by the oddly familiar voice and touch, Liliope turned her head numbly.
“…Caliona?”
Her lips parted in astonishment, a breathless sound escaping them.
Before Liliope’s eyes was the face of a young girl wearing an expression of concern.
Hair black as ebony, eyes a deep violet like ripe grapes.
Save for eyes that once gleamed sharp enough to pierce anything now softened into roundness, and a gaunt face that still retained the plumpness of youth, the girl’s features were painfully familiar to Liliope.
It was only natural. This girl was none other than Caliona.
Yet something was wrong. Her sister was dead—she was certain of it.
Liliope could still vividly recall that chilling sensation when her sister’s cold, lifeless body had touched her fingertips.
Then how was Caliona here before her eyes, and in such a young form?
“Am I… dreaming right now?”
“What? A dream?”
Caliona laughed softly at Liliope’s dazed murmuring.
“The food does look nice enough to be a dream, I suppose. It’s been ages since we’ve eaten something this delicious. Still, your stomach’s sensitive, so don’t rush—start with some warm soup slowly, so you don’t get sick.”
She playfully pinched Liliope’s nose before turning back to her own meal.
Young Caliona’s face wore a soft, joyful smile as she split a golden-brown pancake and spread butter between the halves.
The vast dining hall was not occupied by just the two sisters.
It was filled with the sound of children greedily devouring the mouth-watering food scattered about.
Liliope was too busy watching Caliona’s profile to notice anything else.
She couldn’t tell if she was dreaming or had arrived in heaven. But either way, seeing her dead sister alive and breathing before her eyes felt nothing short of a miracle.
“Hey, look at those girls eating.”
Yet Liliope could not linger in that wonder.
“Hmph, anyone would think they were princesses. Acting so refined when they’re just orphans from the slums like the rest of us!”
A nameless boy sitting across the table suddenly jeered loudly, then carelessly hurled the pie he’d been devouring whole at them.
It landed directly in Liliope’s soup bowl, splattering broth everywhere.
“Liliope! Are you all right? Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”
For a moment, Liliope felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, then Caliona seized her hand and confronted the boy across from them.
He looked to be about fourteen.
The red-haired boy, who appeared to be around the same age as the sisters, didn’t bat an eye as he sneered at them again.
“Pathetic. Everyone’s gorging themselves, but you two act like highborn ladies—one of you nursing vegetable broth like some refined diner, the other picking at a crust of bread while waving forks and knives about like you’re something special. What, aren’t you hungry enough yet?”
“What we eat and how we eat it is none of your business.”
“Why would it not be? It’s right in front of me, and it ruins my appetite!”
The boy brazenly grabbed a fresh loaf and tore into it crudely with his bare hands.
Caliona clearly had no stomach for further argument. She brushed the boy aside and turned her attention to Liliope.
“Liliope, show me your hand. Oh no! Look at that—it’s turned red.”
Liliope watched silently as Caliona carefully dried her soup-splattered hand with a napkin.
“It looks like you scalded it slightly. Does it sting? Wait here, I’ll cool it with cold water.”
My sister is worrying about me…?
She’s being kind to me, just like she used to be.
Suddenly, an aching longing welled up, and Liliope’s eyes grew hot with tears.
“What’s this? Crying over a few drops of soup?”
“Liliope’s skin is delicate, I’ll have you know! See? It’s red because of you!”
“Tch, hardly noticeable. Such a drama queen.”
Even so, something seemed to trouble him, for the red-haired boy glanced at Liliope.
Caliona fixed him with a sharp glare.
But then… what was this?
This situation, this conversation.
She had felt it dimly before, but somehow it felt uncannily familiar, as though she had lived through it once already.
“Captain, forget those girls and eat faster! The other kids are cleaning out the place—there’s barely any meat pies left!”
Even the impatient whining of the boys sitting beside the red-haired one stirred something in the depths of her memory.
“Relax. There’s a Welcoming Feast or something opening later, I heard. So just eat your fill for now.”
“A Welcoming Feast? Captain, what’s that?”
“Didn’t you hear the guide mentioning it when we arrived at the dining hall? I’m not entirely sure either, but it sounds like some kind of welcoming ceremony. I suppose they’re going all out to show their appreciation for a future Great Mage like myself joining the Northern Magic Tower.”
The moment the boy said this, boasting as he spoke, Liliope’s face went deathly pale as if she’d been drenched in ice water.
A Welcoming Feast.
The Northern Magic Tower.
Words she could never overlook had spilled from the boy’s lips.
“Hmph. It’s absurd that an ignorant boy like you has the aptitude to enter the Magic Tower. You’ll probably be kicked out any minute for making a mistake.”
“What? No way! I was the top dog in the Slums! Everyone said I was the smartest!”
“Smart? Playing at being leader of street urchins at your age just shows how immature you are.”
“You— take that back right now!”
As young Caliona and the boy bickered again, Liliope hastily lifted her head and looked around.
Before long, her skin prickled with gooseflesh, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
No wonder the interior decorations had seemed vaguely familiar—this dining hall was part of the Northern Magic Tower’s Outer Residence, the very place she had been cast out from.
This was where guests newly arrived at the Magic Tower were received.
Liliope had only seen this place once in her life, the day she’d entered the Northern Magic Tower with her sister’s hand in hers, yet the memory remained vivid.
How could she forget? She had recalled this day countless times throughout her life and regretted it.
“No… I have to get out of here right now.”
There was no time for further thought. Liliope bolted from her seat and pulled Caliona with her.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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