The Youngest Hides a Lot - Chapter 275

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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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Side Story Episode 1
Ch. 0 ????, ?? years old, ????
The child had endured an exhausting day.
Grueling days were rare on the battlefield, but today had been particularly draining.
The child slipped away from the Barracks and ran through the forest path alone.
The hood of the mage’s robe fell back, revealing soft silver hair that fluttered in the breeze.
Within moments, the exhausted child collapsed against a nearby tree, leaning heavily against its trunk.
“So sleepy….”
The Mage King had said I was a special child. A child with extraordinary power.
So it was only natural that I would craft combat magical artifacts in this place, establish defensive barriers, and devise countless magical circles to capture the Dark Mage.
But today, I was overwhelmingly tired.
Yet I had no desire to sleep in the Barracks, which reeked of sweat and who knew what else.
The Young Mages’ quarters always carried a musty stench. I had always despised it, and sometimes it made me feel inexplicably sad.
In the distance, black smoke rose into the air. The mages had begun burning corpses and beast remains.
“Good.”
That charred smell truly disgusted me.
“Once they finish, I’ll have to go back.”
I rubbed nearby herbs between my hands and inhaled their fragrance. My nose felt refreshingly clear.
At the same time, my stomach growled loudly.
Glancing around, I spotted a raspberry bush. I crawled over and eagerly plucked and ate the berries, pocketing a few for later.
“Ahhhhhh.”
Once my stomach was satisfied, my entire body relaxed.
Alone now, my eyes, which had been burning red all this time, gradually shifted to a blue hue. It was not intentional on my part.
‘When will I be able to return to Arcadia?’
I had no idea.
Or did I even want to return?
I didn’t know that either.
I simply wished for a cleaner, more comfortable place to sleep….
Could such a place even exist?
…I had no idea.
It had not been long since I left the Kingdom.
I knew little about the world. My memories from the Kingdom were also somewhat hazy.
Only the image of the Mage King stroking my head remained vivid.
“You must go and capture the Dark Mage alive. Do you understand?”
“Especially, you must not let that cursed Zebert Duke steal the Dark Mage’s head from you….”
“Zebert….”
I rolled the name around in my mouth with a wide yawn. There was no particular reason.
Then suddenly, I realized something.
‘Everyone has a name.’
My clear eyes sparkled with wonder.
‘Even the wild berries I’d eaten just moments before.’
The small flower growing beside my hip.
Even the massive tree I was leaning against….
Everything had a name.
‘I was called “Seventh”….’
Thinking about it carefully, that didn’t seem like a proper name at all.
“So then.”
A sudden gleam of clarity flickered across the child’s previously dull eyes.
“Could I have a name too?”
In that moment, the ‘power’ within me seemed to surge and tremble.
As if answering my words, or as if it absolutely had to.
“I can? …Hmm, then what should it be. I hope it’s something really cool.”
Let me gather all the impressive words I know.
“How about GrandMegaSuperUltra?”
The power trembled violently.
“No? Then… HamCheesePeanutButter!”
Throb, throb!
“Sigh… Then, then IWantToSipSweetJuice, is it!”
All were rejected.
“That’s so mean.”
My motivation seemed to crumble.
I’d just have to put off naming myself for later.
Besides, right now….
“Yaaaaaawn.”
I had to surrender to my eyelids growing heavy.
Sleep resembled death.
It couldn’t be avoided or refused. And both always existed beside me.
The smoke from burning corpses continued endlessly.
In this battle, the Dark Mage’s surprise attack had caused severe casualties among the front-line mages. The sensation of dozens of layers of barriers being torn from a distance remained vivid.
The child closed her eyes as if shaking off the thoughts. It’s not scary. I mustn’t be afraid. I’m fine alone. I’m absolutely fine.
Thud, thud.
Then, an unfamiliar sound began to reach my ears from somewhere.
The fear swirling in my mind seemed to draw closer to reality.
‘Could a Dark Mage… be coming out?’
Had I cast a barrier or not?
I should be vigilant, but my consciousness grows distant and hazy.
Rustle, rustle.
Is this sleep or death?
I’m not sure. Either way, I was so accustomed to both that it didn’t seem to matter.
Thud, thud.
…So.
Whose footsteps have I been hearing since earlier? An ally?
If it’s a Dark Mage, I’m dead, aren’t I?
Ah, come to think of it….
I can’t afford to die just yet….
‘We promised to decide on a name….’
In my hazy consciousness, I found myself recalling the promise I’d made with the Mysterious Man trapped in the cave.
He had hair like the night sky, and those two distinctive tear marks beneath his eyes….
But that was all.
The thought evaporated quickly.
Thud-thud, patter-patter….
The approaching footsteps came to a halt.
Our eyes met.
“….”
“….”
Year 8 of the Human-Beast War.
Before young Rubian recovered her past life memories, on a certain day.
* * *
If you became an omnipotent ruler of space and time
where would you wish to go—
the future,
or the past?
Rubian scratched my chin.
“Hmm….”
Beneath long eyelashes, blue eyes blinked open and closed repeatedly.
‘This ancient language….’
In other words….
Could it be that?
‘A form of temporal magic?’
A stone monument before the massive cave.
Rubian lightly touched the empty air with my fingertip.
The surrounding landscape rippled and warped as if a transparent barrier had been cast over it.
It was a thick curtain of magical power.
Surely beyond this lay an enormous surge of mana.
“Hmm….”
“Rubian, what are you doing? Aren’t we going? The cruise departs soon.”
Just then, Kalid’s voice called from far away.
“Oh, coming!”
Rubian answered cheerfully and turned away from the monument without hesitation.
This was the Western Continent, land of the infidels.
It was because Kalid wanted to come and see for himself.
“The lands of the infidels are nothing special. Just abandoned ruins scattered about.”
Kalid grasped Rubian’s hand and offered a brief assessment.
“Tch. That bastard Allen made it sound like there was something here for me… When we get back, he’s dead.”
The chief deity of the Continent was the Goddess.
But this place had once been home to those who worshipped the Dragon God, who stood in opposition to the Goddess.
It was also the location Allen had directed Kalid to visit back when he was investigating his own origins.
However, Kalid had always prioritized Rubian’s matters over his own, so he’d continuously postponed coming here.
Moreover, having discovered his own identity in the process of helping Rubian, he hadn’t felt much necessity for it.
Beside him, Rubian let out an amused hum.
“Still, there are quite a few ruins bearing traces of the Dragon God. The magical energy here is incredibly unique, isn’t it?”
“That’s all there is to it. Tsk, we should’ve just gone on a gourmet food walking tour with Zebert Duke and the locals of the Western Continent instead.”
“Ah… that would’ve been nice, I suppose.”
The cruise’s maiden voyage tour was already nearing its end.
The revelation that Rubian could use magic again had lifted the entire journey’s atmosphere considerably. The affection index of the two secretly dating lovers was at its peak.
‘Well…’
Rubian swung their linked arms back and forth as she pondered.
‘Something seems to be in that cave.’
Her gaze slid toward the cave, then quickly returned to its proper place.
She considered telling Kalid what she’d just seen, but decided against it.
‘Do we really need to explore further?’
If she was truly concerned, she could always dispatch Mage Tower mages from the Empire once they returned.
Besides, that cave was firmly sealed with thick barriers, so there seemed to be no risk of it causing damage to the surrounding area.
‘It’ll just fade away naturally!’
Most importantly…
If you were to become an omnipotent master of space and time…
Rubian felt no desire whatsoever toward the monument’s advertising tagline(?)
‘I absolutely don’t want that.’
An omnipotent master of space and time or whatever!
‘I’m just so incredibly happy right now!’
Rubian looked up at Kalid with a radiant smile.
Beneath the brilliant sunlight, the beautifully sculpted man smiled back with a soft chuckle.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Seeing herself reflected fully in his tender grayish-blue eyes, a joy that felt like possessing the entire world washed over her.
“Heh. Just! Kalid, should we join the food tour right now?”
“…You want to?”
The two eagerly departed the ruins.
Convinced they would never return to this place again.
Of course, strong convictions always breed exceptions.
At that moment, Rubian had no way of knowing.
Exactly several months later.
“I’m back, I’m back…! Finally!”
I never imagined I would choose to return to the past, twenty-two years ago….
“Wait… Hold on. Kalid! Isn’t that… isn’t that Mother? Up in the tree!”
“Where…. Ah. Yeah, I think you’re right.”
And then.
“…Why, why is Mother aiming an arrow at….”
*Whoooosh!*
…I never dreamed I would witness the circumstances of my own birth.
“Why is Mother aiming for Father’s back of the head?!”
*Thunk!*
I truly never could have imagined this.

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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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