Tia’s Smooth Life After Regression - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Tiya’s Smooth Regression Life

Chapter 14

Meanwhile, at that moment in Lev’s room.

Lev, who had grown haggard from fighting a high fever for four straight days, stared out the window with a sullen expression.

“Melody.”

“Yes, young master.”

“By any chance, last night…”

Did Tiya come?

The boy couldn’t finish his sentence and just fidgeted with his hands. The candy wrapper crinkled in his palm.

“No, it’s nothing. I just had restless dreams.”

“What kind of dream did you have?”

“Someone asked to borrow something from me.”

“So did you lend it to them?”

“I can’t remember clearly.”

But it seemed like he received this candy in return.

It had already been several years since he stopped eating candy when taking bitter medicine.

Melody, who had been watching the listless Lev, cleared her throat and muttered in a slightly louder voice as if talking to herself.

“Come to think of it, the young lady said she overdid it with yesterday’s outing, so she’d be resting in her room all day today. I wonder if she’s bored all by herself?”

Such obvious acting.

Lev unwrapped the candy, put it in his mouth, and rolled over.

And so, it would be much later when the manor’s people finally realized that Tiya had disappeared.

* * *

The Western Territories.

A hired carriage raced across the pathless wasteland, kicking up dust.

After running for a long while, the carriage stopped near an abandoned village that had been deserted for ages.

Creak. With the sound of hinges twisting, a person wearing a black hood stepped down from the carriage.

Concealing their entire body was suspicious enough, but their destination being ruins made it even worse.

Throughout the entire journey here, the coachman had been glancing sideways at the carriage interior until his neck nearly twisted.

He wondered if he might be carrying the ghost that was said to appear in the abandoned village.

However, the passenger didn’t vanish without a trace, and the sensation of silver coins in his hand was all too real.

“I’ll return in an hour.”

“Y-yes, yes. I-I’ll be waiting.”

The coachman watched trembling as his passenger disappeared into the abandoned village, stepping on the mist-covered twilight ground.

‘One hour. I’ll only wait exactly one hour.’

The coachman began counting seconds in his mind, suppressing his urge to flee immediately.

Unaware of the coachman’s fear, the suspicious visitor strode boldly across the abandoned houses.

And the moment they set foot in the village center, the eerie incident the coachman had feared occurred.

Their tall stature suddenly collapsed downward as if sinking into the ground, leaving only the black hood like a cocoon in that spot.

After a moment, the hood rustled and—

“Phew, I nearly suffocated in there!”

Tiya, her face bright red, wriggled out from under the cloak.

After rolling up the oversized clothes and organizing them neatly, Tiya headed straight for the village well.

“The frost spirit’s egg is supposed to be in here, right?”

【That’s right. This is definitely the place.】

Winter, who had served as Tiya’s compass and guide throughout the journey, answered.

Originally, spirit eggs were so rare that they were difficult to find, and no one could know what kind of spirit would be born from them.

Except for Winter, who came from the future.

【A few years later, a spirit’s egg will be put up for auction in an underground market. The man who purchases it will become a spirit mage who commands a frost spirit.】

【The seller, who made a fortune, bragged about discovering the spirit’s egg in this village well, causing the area to swarm with explorers for a while.】

Fortunately, thanks to the growth potion and Winter’s guidance, they had safely reached the place where the frost spirit’s egg was said to be.

But the truly important final hurdle remained.

Tiya turned her bag upside down and spilled out all its contents.

These were the meteorites she had purchased at the market based on Winter’s advice.

【I explained that you need a mage to extract a spirit’s egg in its natural state, right?】

Tiya gathered the meteorites and built a stone tower.

【But we don’t have money to hire a mage, nor time to build trust that a hired mage won’t betray us and steal the spirit’s egg. So…】

Clap. Tiya, having finished building the stone tower, dusted off her hands. Then she crouched in front of it and asked Winter.

“Now I pray to the Star Deities through this makeshift altar, asking ‘Please choose me,’ right?”

【That’s right. Then one of the Constellations will bestow baptism upon you. That’s how you become a mage.】

【So to save Lev, you have no choice but to become a mage.】

It was something she had prepared for. Tiya nodded resolutely and clasped her hands together.

Winter, positioned across from her, asked one last time about Tiya’s intentions.

【Even if you become a mage, you really won’t regret it?】

It was natural for Winter to ask that.

Mana—the power that all humans possess.

For those who reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship, mana becomes aura, and for those chosen by spirits, it becomes the power to command spirits.

However, Constellations transform the mana of humans they baptize into a new power called ‘magic power.’

Spirits are pure beings.

They abhor those who go against the natural order and will never dwell within a mage’s body.

In other words, Tiya becoming a mage meant—

【To obtain the frost spirit’s egg, you’ll have to pay a very heavy price.】

It meant she could never become a spirit mage.

Tiya blinked slowly.

It would be a lie to say she had no regrets. She had always wanted to become a spirit mage.

So even after deciding to become a mage, a small regret the size of a candy rolled around noisily in Tiya’s heart.

But this morning at dawn, even that small regret melted away, leaving only the sweet scent of sugar.

“Winter. I thought that Father would only smile at me if I became a spirit mage.”

Winter had said that even if she became a spirit mage, Father wouldn’t love her.

So Tiya thought she needed to restore Father’s emotions.

She thought that was the only way to receive Father’s love.

But that wasn’t the right answer.

Because in truth, Tiya had been a precious daughter who received Father’s abundant love from the moment she was born.

“But today I saw Father’s smiling face, didn’t I?”

Father smiled at me.

I made spring sunlight dwell in Father’s eyes.

I was Father’s most precious daughter, like a treasure in his world.

“I’m satisfied with just that.”

With eyes that shone quietly like the sun rising over winter fields, Tiya looked up at the sky.

Late autumn, when the days were short.

In the dark evening sky, countless stars twinkled with their own light.

To become a mage, one had to be chosen by one of those Star Deities.

“So right now, I’m more afraid that the Star Deities won’t choose me than not being able to become a Spirit Mage.”

Perhaps reading the worry in Tiya’s eyes, Winter spoke in a soothing voice, unusually gentle.

【You don’t need to worry about that either. If you hadn’t become a Spirit Mage, you surely would have become an excellent mage.】

“Winter said that, so I came this far, but…”

Still lacking confidence despite Winter’s encouragement, Tiya hesitated before closing her eyes tightly and clasping her hands together as politely as possible.

“Star Deities. Please choose me as your baptized. I absolutely must become a mage.”

Silence.

“If you choose me, I’ll give you goodnight kisses every night.”

Silence again.

“And also. And…”

The familiar silence cut off Tiya’s words.

As Tiya carefully opened her eyes while choosing her words, she saw Winter’s hands covering her clasped hands protectively.

The relief of not being alone.

Her next words flowed out before she could even think them through.

“Please let me prove myself.”

In those words, she placed her wish for the power to save her family, to save Vladijef.

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