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Chapter 229: An Old Promise (3)
Empathizing with others is simple.
You just need to read their words, expressions, and emotions, then respond with sympathy.
Edna, too, had trained extensively in reading emotions to develop her social skills.
“……”
But now that she had entered Sasha’s inner world, the first emotion she felt was despair.
All the training she had gone through to develop social skills felt completely aningless.
The emotions now flooding into her were ones she had never experienced in her entire life.
‘Are these human emotions?’
She knew that humans, compared to other intelligent species, were capable of feeling far more complex emotions.
And she thought she understood them.
But she was wrong.
‘Far more vivid than I imagined…’
Countless indescribable emotions swirled within her, as complex and varied as paints blending on a palette, trying to consu her entirely.
If she didn’t concentrate, she might lose her sense of self in the overwhelming tide.
Swallowing hard, Edna imdiately sensed the danger of the situation.
‘Need to escape as soon as possible.’
But before that, she had to resolve Sasha’s inner demon.
From the depths of the emotional lake, she spotted a flickering light.
“…Sasha.”
Spotting her, Edna dove down into the lake without hesitation.
* * *
“Hah, a baby can sense magic? Tower Master, who is this kid? Where on earth did you pick her up from?”
“Pick her up? What, does Sasha look like a stray cat to you?”
“…You’ve already given her a na, haven’t you?”
At first, everything just felt good.
She could feel that everyone cherished and cared for her deeply.
Of course, it was only later, as she grew older, that she realized their affection ca with expectations.
But even then, it didn’t weigh heavily on her.
Because she was confident.
“Sasha, from today you are officially my disciple.”
“Whath’s a dithiple?”
“Hmm… it ans soone like my other self.”
At three years old, she beca her master’s official disciple, and she was so happy she bragged about it all day to everyone she t.
Even the fact that the older boys always around her were now called “senior brothers” excited her.
It made her feel like she was truly part of one big family.
“Hm, it’s true. Sasha’s incredibly talented.”
“I’m that good?”
“In terms of potential alone, you’re the best mage I’ve ever seen.”
The best potential, the most promising prodigy, the future Archmage.
The titles attached to her grew by the day, and so did people’s expectations.
eting those expectations wasn’t even that difficult.
Just by showing magic to her master, everyone would applaud in awe.
At that ti, just seeing the joy and amazent on people’s faces made her happy.
“From now on, you all are the future and hope of the White Tower.”
The first ti that expectation felt heavy was when her master passed away.
More precisely, when the war ended and the White Tower entered its reconstruction phase.
People’s hopes for Oscar Sage’s disciples had multiplied tenfold.
“I’m a bit scared.”
“Of what?”
“What if we’re not… you know? Not as great as people think?”
“……”
Seeing her anxious expression, Lloyd gently patted her head.
“That’ll never happen. Don’t forget whose disciples we are.”
“Yeah.”
But the eldest brother she always leaned on for comfort left the White Tower.
“Hey, cheer up. Leaving ho is just a road to suffering. Lloyd’s probably already regretting it.”
“Really?”
“Maybe? Whether we take him back or not, well… that’s sothing we’ll seriously have to think about later.”
The weight of expectations once shared by three now rested on two shoulders.
It was then she first felt how burdenso people’s expectations could be.
But it was still okay.
Because she still had her second brother — strong, cheerful, always reliable.
“He left this letter and disappeared. His room is completely empty.”
The letter from her second brother only said: “Take care of the White Tower.”
“…Nothing else?”
“He left with one of the high-level magic tos, but we don’t know which one exactly. We’re doing everything we can to find out…”
“It’s fine. Assign all his pending duties to .”
Before she knew it, she was alone.
What she had once thought of as a warm, protective fence had been blown apart like it had been hit by a typhoon.
‘Was it because the pressure beca too much for them? Because they were afraid they wouldn’t et expectations?’
Then what about her?
What about the one who was left behind?
At first, she tried her best to understand them.
But as ti passed, resentnt toward the two began to grow.
“……”
Whether it was a blessing or a curse, she didn’t have ti to dwell on those negative emotions.
She barely had enough energy just to deal with the problems in front of her.
But even if she pretended not to notice, the seed of those feelings had already taken root — and was steadily growing.
[White Tower records the lowest performance among all magic towers again this year.]
[White Tower, which lost everything 20 years ago, still shows no sign of revival.]
Crrrck.
Her fingers crumpled the newspaper without realizing it.
But Sasha’s eyes were fixed on one sentence.
‘…No new winds have blown.’
She didn’t know who wrote it, but that was when she first realized that the pen could be sharper than any blade.
She was already aware.
Compared to the expectations others had, her current results were lackluster.
‘Level 7 Tower Master.’
Of course, being at Level 7 was an incredible feat — not sothing anyone could dismiss.
But for so, it was a dream.
For others, rely a pit stop on a longer journey.
As the Master of the White Tower, as Oscar Sage’s disciple and successor, she knew she couldn’t be content at this level.
Everyone thought so — even Sasha herself.
‘I have to grow more. Even more.’
But the wall she hit wouldn’t break no matter what she tried.
The more ti and effort she poured in, the more impatient she beca.
While the other Four Great Towers surged ahead, the White Tower felt like it was stuck in place.
And thinking that she was the reason for that — made it unbearable to sit still in her room.
“I think I need to take an outside request.”
“Again? You’ve barely been back a few days.”
“It’s fine. Please take care of the Tower while I’m gone, Deputy-Master.”
She deliberately accepted external missions to leave the Tower.
It was like a form of atonent.
If the Tower Master herself had to take on field missions due to lack of personnel, then of course she couldn’t focus solely on growth.
“……”
At so point, even breathing inside the White Tower beca suffocating.
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She found herself pathetic for feeling that way, yet she continued to take requests and travel across the continent.
She didn’t want anyone to see her afraid of being expected to succeed.
Maybe… deep down, what she was really waiting for was the mont when people would stop expecting anything from her.
‘But…’
That’s when a ray of salvation descended.
Oscar Sage.
Her master, who had once built her warm little fence, had returned.
She believed that with him by her side, she could overco her weakness.
That if he watched over her, she could withstand the weight of expectations.
But she was wrong.
-So, you're the successor of Oscar Sage… the White Mage?
-If the dead Oscar Sage saw this, he’d regret it to the grave.
Even the demon she t in the Red Mountains knew.
That she was unworthy.
And through that battle, she realized it too.
That with her current strength, she couldn’t even protect the people she cared about.
“……”
When her master returned, she had secretly wanted to show off.
That she’d grown so much since she was a child, that she’d beco strong enough to protect others.
But even that had ended in failure, and in the mont her life was saved by her master, who was only Level 6—
Sothing inside her snapped, and the demon in her heart began to whisper.
‘Don’t expect anything anymore.’
Now, all that remained in her heart was fear.
The brilliant, gifted Sasha Maestro her master once knew no longer existed.
She had faded away, lost among countless failures and endless retreats.
She had died.
Even if the whole world knew that, she wished her master would never find out.
Because at least in his eyes, she wanted to remain a proud student—always.
“……”
But now, everything was ruined.
Sasha buried her face in her knees, hugging them tightly.
In this journey, she hadn’t been of any help.
She’d been disgracefully defeated by a demon, and had shown nothing but her own weakness, falling into the demon’s temptation.
‘…He must be disappointed.’
She had wanted to show him only her best—her proudest self.
And the fact that she couldn’t even manage that made her feel pathetic.
Tears stread down her cheeks.
‘I wonder what’s happening outside.’
Had Edna made it out safely?
Were the White Tower’s records recovered?
The fact that she was still alive probably ant the party hadn’t been wiped out.
Then maybe—just maybe—she should try to overco this demonic temptation and rejoin them.
“……”
But she was scared.
She feared the cold looks, the ones that would ask her, “Why only now?”
It was worse because, when she’d first joined, she was known as the White Tower Master on the cusp of Level 7.
Everyone had looked to her as the ace of the party.
‘It doesn’t matter anymore.’
Just as Sasha was sinking deeper—much deeper—into the lake of her emotions, her expression gloomy…
“It does matter.”
A voice whispered in her ear.
Startled, Sasha raised her head—and saw a young girl approaching her.
“The mont you think it’s too late… is often the earliest possible mont.”
“...Edna?”
“It’s been a while, Sasha.”
The dragon she t after 21 years had shrunk significantly from the image in her mories.
Noticing Sasha’s glance, Edna spoke up.
“I used too much power, so I’m in this form now. Just a burden, really.”
“No, not at all. But… how are you here?”
“There’s no ti for a full explanation, but in short, things are bad. If you don’t overco the demonic illusion, everyone will die.”
“What…?”
Sasha’s eyes trembled.
She instinctively shook her head.
“But… a demonic illusion isn’t sothing you can just overco by wanting to.”
“I won’t go into detail. You already know how.”
“...You’re saying I already know the way?”
“Yes.”
This illusion was born from her shattered self-esteem.
It arose because the genius who once bore everyone’s expectations had broken down and co to fear them.
Because she couldn’t fulfill her gentle wish to protect others, her heart had beco sick.
Edna looked directly at her and said,
“Sotis, we don’t understand the people closest to us. Right now, that’s what’s happening to you.”
“I… don’t understand what you an.”
“Oscar isn’t as strong as you think he is.”
“…?”
Hearing sothing so foreign, Sasha tilted her head.
Everyone knew her master was strong—not just her, but the whole world.
But Edna shook her head firmly.
“See for yourself.”
Within the droplet Edna summoned, Sasha saw her master’s face.
It was covered in sweat and blood, his body full of wounds.
But his eyes—his eyes were clear, and still very much alive.
“This is…”
“This is the situation outside.”
After a pause, Edna continued,
“Oscar is strong, yes. But what truly makes him strong… is that when it matters, he isn’t afraid to lean on others.”
“…My master?”
“Everyone faces crisis at so point in their lives. But in this planet’s entire history, no one has ever overco those monts alone.”
“……”
Sasha silently gazed into the droplet.
Relying on soone, receiving help—that always seed like the stance of the weak.
She believed that soone truly strong should be able to push forward without needing anyone.
‘But…’
Even the person she thought was the strongest… was waiting for her help right now.
Then what were the shackles—what was the cage—that had been choking her all this ti?
“…Ah.”
Could it be… that it wasn’t soone else who locked her in a cage, but herself?
She thought others had pushed her to the edge, but in truth, she’d been the one driving herself there.
The mont she realized that, Sasha let out a hollow chuckle.
At the sa ti, the voice of the demon that had been whispering relentlessly fell silent.
“……”
How long had it been since she felt so at peace?
Seeing Sasha’s sharpened gaze, Edna spoke.
“It’s ti to return now.”
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