Adwin continued speaking.
“Yesterday, my mother’s soul was in turmoil from longing and sorrow for my father. I’ve never seen her soul shake that violently before.”
“……”
“That’s how I noticed. Even though it was clearly a single soul, I could see two different emotions.”
“Huh?”
“How should I put it… it felt like the soul was mixed with another? It looked like my mother’s soul had been fused with soone else’s.”
At first, it didn’t quite make sense.
However, Xenia, who as a paladin was perhaps more familiar with the concept of souls than anyone besides necromancers, nodded.
“So another soul was placed into Mariana.”
“Is that even possible?”
“It’s extrely rare, but not unheard of. Usually happens when necromancy goes wrong.”
She paused for a mont, as if searching her mory.
“When a clumsy necromancer summons a strong soul into their body, they get overwheld. ‘Devoured’ would be the right word.”
Adwin shook his head.
“No, Xenia. It’s not being overwheld or devoured. It’s fusion. The two souls beca one.”
“Huh? That’s impossible.”
“But that’s exactly what I felt. It’s just… judging by the fact that my mother’s mories and personality remain unchanged… it seems the fused soul has sunk below the surface.”
Xenia still looked sceptical, like it didn’t add up with common knowledge. But Neril and I, who had less understanding of souls, found his explanation easier to accept.
Clap.
Neril lightly clapped her hands and said,
“Oh. Got it.”
“Huh?”
“Even if we strip every single resident of the domain, we won’t find any spell that opens the Gate to the Underworld.”
I asked with interest.
“Explain more.”
“It’s not that soone opened the gate and summoned the souls. It’s more like they sensed the soul that had rged with Marianna and were drawn to it.”
“That’s possible?”
“There’s a place that necromancers call the Underworld, that paladins and clerics call the bosom of the gods, and that mages call the realm of nothingness.”
“……”
“Opening the gate to that place isn’t easy. So rather than that, it makes more sense to think that the wandering spirits who hadn’t yet passed on were drawn to the scent of an old soul and sward toward this Raynus Territory.”
Hmm?
That would an the soul fused with Mariana… was so kind of celebrity among souls?
Who could it be?
Judging from the situation, the one who implanted the soul in Mariana must have been Idria.
And if it’s a soul Idria handled…
Sip.
Then, now more composed, Adwin took a sip of tea and said to ,
“There’s sothing else I’ve been aning to say since yesterday.”
“Yeah?”
“Your soul is very unusual too.”
“What do you an?”
“It’s not fused with another like Mother’s. It feels more like… sothing is supporting you from behind.”
“……”
“And that soul behind you seems really special. Yeah, it’s like a non-human entity. A black fla rising from the deepest part of the world.”
Suddenly, Adwin began to have a fit again.
While Xenia was calming him with her usual technique, I turned to Trail.
‘He says you’re special.’
[Smart kid.]
‘While we’re on the subject, why don’t you tell your story? It’s been a while since we t, but you’ve never said a word about your background.’
[…]
‘Or should I take a guess first?’
Truth is, I’d had a hunch for a while now—“Could it be…?”—that kind of gut feeling.
But just as I was about to say more, Trail finally spoke.
[I am simply Trail.]
‘That’s just being evasive.’
[It’s Trail, I said. Punk.]
The way he dodged the question told it still wasn’t the right ti.
So I decided to drop the topic for now.
Then Neril’s voice ca.
“This is fascinating. So you’ve got a ghost—or, not quite, but sothing—clinging to you too?”
“Who knows. That’s not what’s important right now.”
“We’re talking about a so-called hero’s soul, what could be more important than that?”
“Finding a way to restore Mariana to her original state.”
At that, Neril closed her mouth.
I continued.
“If your theory is right, then if we can separate the soul fused with Mariana and send it back to the Underworld, all the strange incidents in the domain would resolve on their own.”
“That makes sense, but… Adwin said the fusion is already complete. Can they really be separated again?”
“That’s for him to answer.”
I looked at Adwin.
“What do you think? Is it possible?”
“Phew. Asking whether it’s possible or not is aningless. What matters is whether I can do it or not.”
“That’s the sa thing.”
“Well, uh. Right.”
Back to his usual self, Adwin fell into deep thought.
“I learned necromancy from Mother from start to finish. There’s a spell that was developed by a necromancer among the heroes of the past.”
“Then it’s doable.”
“But she was the one who taught it to . Do you really think she wouldn’t have noticed changes in her own body? And yet she couldn’t do it.”
“So it’s not an ordinary soul. That’s why it’s difficult.”
“Exactly.”
His face darkened.
But I wasn’t particularly worried.
“I think you’re way more capable than Mariana.”
“Huh? Haha…”
“I’m serious.”
“……”
“She may not have even realized another soul had rged with her. But you noticed what she didn’t.”
Mariana didn’t know what had happened to her.
But Adwin did.
That’s a huge difference.
We fell silent for a mont to give him ti to think.
And then—
“I’ll do it.” Read complete version only at novel·fire·net
His face was filled with firm resolve.
We conveyed our conclusion to Mariana.
As expected, her first reaction was denial.
“Another soul has rged with ?”
“Not just rged, but fused. That’s what Adwin says.”
“Sigh. I’m a necromancer, you know. There’s no way I wouldn’t notice sothing like that.”
She tried to laugh it off.
Adwin seed about to say sothing, but I spoke first.
“Then may I ask you one thing?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
“You t a woman nad Idria on your way back from the capital, didn’t you?”
Idria.
The mont they heard the na, Neril and Xenia quickly turned their heads toward .
They rembered her as the one who gave the Gem of Desolation to the Martial King.
anwhile, Mariana’s eyes widened in shock.
“H-How do you know that?”
“I’m familiar with her. You’ve heard what happened in the Lior Territory, haven’t you?”
“……? You an the duel between you and the Martial King?”
“There’s more to that story.”
Ting.
I flicked the Gem of Desolation up and caught it.
Then I showed it to Mariana and briefly explained the situation back then.
That the Martial King had used the gem to drain the vitality of the people.
And that the person who gave him the gem was a woman nad Idria.
Marianna’s face turned pale.
“S-So that’s what happened. I knew she wasn’t ordinary…”
“Could you tell more about what happened that day?”
“There’s not much to say. She told I was a good vessel or sothing, then disappeared. And then…”
She glanced at Adwin and her face turned sorrowful.
“The next day, my husband disappeared.”
“……”
“I stayed in town for days, frantically searching for him. I even tried summoning his soul, fearing he might be dead. But there was no response.”
“I see.”
“I couldn’t keep Adwin waiting forever, so I returned to my hotown, thinking that if I waited there, Sol—my husband—would co back eventually. It’s already been thirteen years, though.”
Adwin quickly took her hand.
Mariana gently stroked his hand and said,
“Son, do I really have another soul inside ?”
“That’s how it seems to .”
“…I see. If you say so, then it must be true.”
She smiled warmly.
“I’ve never once told you that you’ve surpassed , have I?”
“…!”
“Necromancy is dangerous. I was afraid you’d get arrogant and try to summon a soul too powerful for you. Arrogance leads to mistakes, and in necromancy, mistakes an getting devoured by the soul you summoned.”
“……”
“And you were… well, a bit reckless a few years back.”
She left a lot unsaid, but we all nodded at once.
Yeah, Adwin could be like that.
“But in the end, the one who got devoured was . I’m not worthy, either as a mother or as a teacher.”
Adwin tightly held Mariana’s hand.
“Mother! Please don’t say that.”
“My son…”
“You are the one who raised this wretched friend of the dead and the necromancer of darkness, Adwin Ayn. The primordial fla itself. A radiant light nad hope. The misty twilight beyond…”
Adwin kept piling on the praise in an effort to console Mariana.
Marianna’s expression turned slightly pale.
Xenia whispered to .
“Ophelia used to pound the ground in regret later. I wonder if he’ll be okay.”
And so began a ti of waiting.
There was no room for us to interfere in the necromantic task of separating souls.
Adwin had shut himself away with Mariana and hadn’t erged from the room.
Two days passed like that.
The rest of us enjoyed the full bloom of spring.
Plop.
Neril picked up a stone and tossed it absentmindedly, then said,
“Is it really okay for us to be this laid-back?”
“There’s nothing for us to interfere in this ti.”
“We’ve always been running around doing stuff directly. This feels too relaxed—it’s unsettling.”
Workaholic huh?
Sotis it’s fine to just take a break.
That’s what I thought, but Xenia strongly agreed with Neryl.
“I feel the sa. More than that, I wonder if this will really boost our reputation?”
“…!”
“You just made the face of soone who totally forgot. Mr. Mide.”
Right! I had completely forgotten.
Xenia continued.
“Even if Neril’s guess is right and the ghost commotion ends because the soul fused with Mariana disappears… no one will know that Mr. Mide was the one who resolved it.”
“Well, technically Mide didn’t really solve it.”
“Then this land will just be another place we passed through. Aside from recruiting Adwin, we’ll have gained nothing.”
“And who knows if he’ll even follow us. All in all, it’s a bad deal.”
“At least we didn’t invest anything, so it’s not a loss.”
As I watched the two of them murmuring away, I felt a tickle at the corner of my mouth.
These guys were more concerned about my reputation than I was—and I’m the one trying to beco a hero.
[A truly exemplary hero party.]
‘Yeah. Before the regression, I never imagined they’d be this type of person.’
[By the way, Xenia made a very good point. Are you just going to let this slide?]
‘Ugh. My original plan was to accuse Mariana and earn fa from that.’
That way, I would’ve even surpassed the fa score of Kaeld, who got the fake Hero’s Sword.
But Mariana wasn’t the culprit, and things got twisted and ended up like this.
Should I start so rumors now, even if it’s a stretch?
No, that won’t be enough.
I need sothing big to make it count…
That’s when it happened.
“Huh?”
“Ah.”
Neril and Xenia, who had been chatting casually, suddenly froze.
I tilted my head and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“It broke.”
“It broke.”
“You two know you’ve been acting more and more alike lately?”
They both shot a sharp glare.
See? That’s what I an.
“What broke?”
“My magic that was hiding Tivre.”
“Huh?”
“Xenia, yours must be the prison ward breaking, right?”
Xenia nodded.
I folded my arms and said casually,
“Maybe the Holy Knights sent reinforcents? They might’ve sensed Neril’s mana trace and reported it.”
“The Captain left everything about Neril to . If you’re right, Mr. Mide, soone overstepped.”
Neril shrugged.
“So, what now?”
“Let’s go check. I’m bored of waiting anyway.”
“Yeah. Xenia, you said he was locked up under that castle, right?”
Xenia nodded.
We stretched and stood up.
At the ti, we didn’t think much of it—just a little after-al stroll.
But soon we’d realize—
The big mont we’d been waiting for was right there.
Tivre’s gums hurt. A lot.
More than his anger toward Mide and Xenia, or his confusion about why he was imprisoned underground—what dominated his mind was the pain in his gums.
He felt like he’d sell his soul to the Demon King just to forget this pain.
A thought unbecoming of a holy knight, perhaps—but that’s how bad the pain was.
And his wish ca true.
Not thanks to the Demon King, though.
“Ugh…”
At so point, Tivre’s consciousness faded away.
And another soul took over his body.
“Where is this place?”
The voice was Tivre’s, but the tone was clearly different.
He slowly stood up.
Then felt the flow of mana that was hiding his body.
“Invisibility magic, huh. Seems like the work of a skilled mage.”
To think there were mages of this caliber in this era.
He was montarily impressed, but quickly dismissed it and ford hand signs.
As if it were a lie, Neril’s magic was dispelled, and Tivre’s figure was revealed.
The vengeful spirit of soone who had once wandered the continent.
Most souls are completely deranged—without a necromancer’s aid, even basic conversation would be impossible.
But his eyes were calm and steady.
He thought rationally.
‘I sll sothing nostalgic. It’s her. Right—this is her holand.’
A glint flickered in his previously calm eyes.
“They even sealed it with a prison spell. Seems the owner of this body committed quite a few cris.”
That too was a powerful ward.
He could undo it with magic, but there was a simpler way.
Thud.
He lightly stomped the ground.
A strange magic circle rose automatically beneath his feet.
He tapped it with the tip of his foot.
And then—
Rumble! Crash!
The building collapsed.
The man had been in the underground prison of the castle.
With a single magic circle, he brought the whole place down.
The chaos from the crumbling walls and ceilings shattered the prison spell as well.
Screams erupted all around.
“Gyaaaah!”
“Wh-what’s going on!?”
“Everyone evacuate! Get out of here first!”
Amid the cries of the guards, the man began to hum softly.
‘First, I need to find her… wait, damn.’
Wobble.
His legs suddenly gave out.
The body he had possessed wasn’t much to look at—a diocre holy knight at best.
It had so divine power, which he’d converted into mana, but that single spell had drained all of it.
He really ended up with a lousy vessel.
He was already annoyed that the body had missing teeth—he couldn’t even pronounce things properly.
“I need to eat first. I can’t face her in this weak state.”
Swish.
He waved his hand and brushed aside the fallen stones above him.
Blue sky ca into view.
He slowly rose into the air.
“I’ll be right there to greet you… my hero.”
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