As expected of a 9-Star mage, Dersia was not one to be trifled with.
"... I will correct two misconceptions."
In an instant, she wiped the corners of her mouth, her expression turning venomous as she shot back.
"Adoption was not part of the conditions. I only said I would accept you as a disciple, that was all."
"To take me as a disciple, wouldn't it be better to adopt me first? Otherwise, I'll still belong to the orphanage. I'm worried there might be legal issues."
"The law cannot bind me. And, did you not realize from the fact that I have not sought you out? Rumors about you have not yet reached my ears."
"Really?"
"I have heard about the thirtieth child who saved the noble children. However, I only learned of it because I inquired, so I did not count it."
She's strict.
Well, once it's announced that I am Elysia's Master, she is bound to hear of it. It is only a matter of time. Dersia opened her book again and let out a sigh.
"To show up so suddenly and speak such nonsense... Who is that child behind you?"
"Elysia, go and greet her."
"Umm..."
Elysia hesitated before stepping forward, her head bowed low.
"Ah, hello... I'm Elysia..."
"She is my grand-disciple."
"I believe I told you that you are not my disciple yet."
"She's a child with a rather peculiar nature, so I brought her thinking Dersia might be interested. You like interesting things, don't you, Dersia? That is why you took a liking to me as well."
"Hmm..."
I was quite confident. Because I knew for a fact that Dersia thirsted for new knowledge. However—Dersia, who had been humming thoughtfully, raised the corners of her mouth as if in a sneer.
"Jern. You still do not know yourself well."
"...?"
What is she talking about?
"That I like interesting things... that is a very drastically summarized statement, but... yes, it is true. I think of myself as a book, and books exist for the purpose of recording."
It was a peculiar way of thinking. Are all elves like that?
"Because I prefer it, I have sought it out. During my life of nearly a thousand years, I have recorded countless things."
"I have seen much, and accepted even more. Thanks to that, even if I see something I do not know, I can now understand it."
Suddenly, Dersia stopped speaking, her hazy eyes staring at me.
"However, I cannot understand even a little bit about you. I cannot comprehend it. How you became that way."
"How you use the magic of this world when you are from that world, how... you think the way you do. Not a single thing."
"Umm, so~ you're not interested in anyone but me?"
"For now, that is correct."
Dersia, who uttered such stalker-like words so calmly, took a sip of her coffee. From now on, I should carry a whistle to call the Imperial guards when I meet Dersia~ I thought, as I earnestly advertised Elysia.
"Still, she's really fascinating, you know? She rejects magic, or cancels it out."
"Magic rejection, anti-magic. I understood both of those a hundred years ago. Even if she can do it, it is not particularly surprising."
"What if I told you she might fall into the heart-realm soon?"
"That would be an interesting event. I will check on it after it happens."
She truly seemed to have little interest. It's not like I'm out of options. I originally brought these to curry favor, but I guess I'll use them like this.
"Please wait a moment."
"?"
I went to the carriage and brought out the magic books I had packed for just such a situation.
"Then let's negotiate. These are magic books from a noble's storeroom. If you'll just take a look at her, I'll let you read them."
"Do you think I would not have seen such things? Even if they were in a storeroom, I have seen almost all of them one way or another. Unfortunately, I have already read everything you have here."
Dersia rested her chin on her hand and gazed at me steadily.
"You said 'almost,' did you not?"
"Yes. That is right. Is that all? I have seen all the magic books of the Lightrud family. Even if you bring others, it will be no use."
"That's good news then."
"... What did you say?"
"Saying 'almost' means you haven't seen all of them, does it not?"
"That is correct, but."
"As it happens, you may not know because you 'haven't heard the rumors,' but I have saved other noble children and they are now in my debt." ...
At those words, Dersia's eyes widened slightly as if in surprise.
"Lending a few magic books from their storeroom to the savior of their children should not be too difficult a task, would it?"
"Now, please write down the magic books you wish to read here. I will ask to borrow only those."
Smoothly, I pushed a piece of paper and a pen across the desk, meeting Dersia's gaze directly. Her eyes held a look of satisfaction. It seemed this had been a sort of test.
"You have a way with words."
"Take that away and there's nothing left."
She then beckoned with a finger, pulling Elysia, who was fidgeting in the distance, towards her. The hesitating Elysia was dragged forward as if tied by an invisible rope.
"Explain. You say she interferes with magic?"
"Ah, yes."
I manifested an elemental spell to show the disturbance.
"Like this. The flow of mana... can you see it?"
"You have already reached that stage? You are fast."
"I've only heard about it."
Dersia observed it intently before turning her gaze to Elysia.
"You said your name was Elysia."
"Yes..."
"Would it be all right if I heard about your enlightenment?"
"Yes? En, enlightenment? What's that?"
"It is the law that constitutes your inner world, something you must never tell another mage. Though in this case, I will have no choice but to hear it."
I glared at Dersia. Dersia casually ignored me and shrugged at Elysia, as if to say she didn't have to talk if she didn't want to.
"If I cannot hear it, I cannot help you."
"Ah, no. I can tell you. But... I don't really know what it is I've realized..."
Dersia reassured the anxious-looking Elysia.
"It is nothing much. You only need to answer a few questions."
"Yes..."
"Elysia, do you—believe that magic truly exists?"
"...?"
What kind of question is that? Elysia, just as bewildered as I was, answered.
"Yes, of course. My father is a mage too."
"Then do you think magic is a natural phenomenon?"
Elysia could not answer. Her lips trembled, and her face became a mask of confusion, as if she herself did not know why she was hesitating. She pondered for a long while.
"I, I'm not sure. I don't think it's natural..."
"Hmm."
Dersia looked at me and let out a chuckle.
"She is certainly in a dangerous state. If I had received a 'yes' to the first question, I would have told you to prepare for a funeral..."
"Alright! Elysia, why don't you go rest in the carriage for a bit? I'll get the prescription from my Master."
"O-okay!"
I sent Elysia away and shot a glare at Dersia.
"She's still a child. You shouldn't say such things in front of her."
"My apologies. The only human child I know is one who thinks nothing of his own death, so it was a slip of the tongue."
I have nothing to say to that. Dersia took out a piece of paper and slowly continued speaking as she scribbled something down.
"She has not fallen. But it cannot be denied that she is in a dangerous state."
"How can she be cured?"
"Cured, you say..."
She laughed as if she found the notion absurd.
"All life ages with the flow of time, their energy wanes, and they reach the end result called death."
"Whether short-lived or long-lived, they have all feared and tried to deny the end that would one day come. Do you think even one has succeeded?"
"No." "Correct. Aging is not something that can be cured. It is a phenomenon, a law of the world. That child's world was simply made that way. Since it is impossible to change the world, she must adapt herself to it."
"Ah, yes."
What a load of crap.
"Then can she adapt?"
"That child is rejecting the very concept of magic. She does not know it herself, but she has obtained an enlightenment of hatred towards magic."
"Hatred, you say?"
"Yes. It is fortunate that her fundamental nature is so pure and tender that she has not even realized her own hatred."
"If she maintains that state of mind, she will not fall. However, if you wish for her condition to improve, she must face her pain and overcome it."
"Hmm... I see."
Her mother's story. I should hear it again. As I was thinking that, Dersia brought up something strange.
"Are you thinking of making her a companion?"
"... Pardon?"
"I am asking if you are going to make her fall."
I stared at her blankly, wondering what on earth she was talking about.
"Do not be so angry. It is a simple confirmation of fact. Did you not say you would do anything to survive?"
"I did."
"You have found quite an interesting possibility. You plan to use that ability of rejection to lessen your burden... is that not your thought?"
"That is also correct."
"There is a simpler and easier method than developing that ability."
Dersia whispered, not like an elf, but like a demon.
"It is to increase your companions. You fill the deficiencies of your own world with other worlds. It is the most rational and effective method chosen by the fallen ones of the heart-realm."
"It will be much faster to make her fall and then have her grow accustomed to that world than to slowly develop that ability of rejection. Are you not aware that you have little time left?"
"A sweet proposal."
"Indeed. If you are going to continue struggling, a better opportunity than this will not present itself."
I glanced at the carriage. A drowning person cannot see ahead. They grasp frantically at anything around them.
Be it a life preserver, another person, or anything at all. I do not think that is wrong. No, I do not even think it is a matter of good and evil.
Isn't one's own life the most important thing? The act of killing to live is called the law of nature. To live within that cycle and deny it is to be nothing more than a hypocrite whose words are empty.
After going through those thoughts, I answered brightly.
"I refuse."
Dersia asked as if she had expected as much.
"May I hear the reason?"
"I do not wish to mistake my enemy."
"... What do you mean?"
"I consider anyone fighting the same enemy a comrade."
In the sense that she is fighting her own world, Elysia is the same as me. As fellow patients fighting the same illness, I had not the slightest intention of infecting her with my disease just so we could grow closer. Dersia stared at me blankly for a moment, then—a deep smile spread across her face.
"I heard you met the Red Lotus."
"Yes."
"Jern, they are a gathering of those who made a different choice than you. What were they like?"
"They were absolute bastards. I would never want to become like them. By any chance, do you know the details about that bunch?"
Dersia rose from her seat, opened the door, and left. Just as I was wondering what was happening, she returned, holding an ancient document covered in a thick layer of dust. Right, she can probably teleport.
She's a 9-Star, after all.
"There is not much data on them. The reason they gathered was, as I said before, to mend each other's wounds and survive, though their purpose was different."
"What is it?"
"The same as an ordinary mage. To reach the Heavenly Realm."
"...?"
As I tilted my head in confusion, Dersia unrolled the parchment and explained.
"I have mentioned before that the Heavenly Realm and the heart-realm are very close. From that, the Red Lotus came up with an ingenious idea."
"To reach the heavens, one must first reach the deepest bottom..."
"Don't tell me—" "Yes. Their goal is not simply to increase their numbers. They are aiming to escape the world by reaching the Heavenly Realm, no matter what it takes."
"Here it is called... severing causality."
"As a 9-Star mage, what is your opinion?"
"It is a pathetic idea not even worth discussing. There is a saying that a falling thing has no wings."
"Do you think something that has already fallen would have any left? They cannot get out of there."
"However, with that as their goal, over the past several hundred years, they have created and managed heart-realm mages, and in the end, succeeded in establishing their own various systems and terminologies, and in standardizing the world."
"Standardizing?"
"Yes. It means they have holistically classified and named the fallen worlds, and discovered their characteristics and methods of survival."
At those words, I felt my heart begin to pound.
"So that means..."
"It may be that the Deep Sea also exists within it."
Seeing the thoughts swirling in my eyes, Dersia advised.
"It is unlikely that it is the same organization as the Red Lotus of that time."
"But it's certain they have their own terminology. They were spouting strange things like the Three Calamities and what not."
"Three Calamities...?"
"I was only thinking of avoiding them... but should I try to make contact?"
"You should. However—" "After I've built up my strength."
"Correct."
I was planning to run away at the mere sight of their tail, but it was the opposite. It seemed I was the one who would have to seek them out. Dersia, who was watching me, narrowed her brow and let out a sigh.
"... I simply cannot understand."
"Pardon?"
"Jern, you are far too mature mentally. Your judgment is more skilled than that of most mages, and you possess the humanity to unfailingly abide by what you have decided."
"You have a bit of impertinence that sometimes tries to cross the line, but it is just at a cute level, so I do not even get angry."
"... Ah, yes, thank you."
What's with this all of a sudden?
"It is not a compliment. The heart-realm is the final destination for twisted individuals to fall into at their end. It is not a place for someone as healthy as you to fall into, is what I am saying."
"That's why I feel it's unfair too. I'm such a pure and tender child."
"As I thought, it is at a cute level."
Dersia let out a small laugh and declared.
"I thought it was a bit much to take a soon-to-die orphan as a disciple, so I was planning to wait, but it seems there is no point."
"You know far too well how to pique my interest. Saving the children was also different from my expectations, but it was a sufficiently brilliant deed."
"So that means—" "Yes, I have lost. I will come for you soon."
"... Is that process really necessary?"
Dersia laughed at my sulky expression and replied.
"You will probably be surprised."
As if looking at a child who knows nothing.
"When you find out what it means to others that I am taking a disciple."
I only realized it later. I should have thought about those words in more detail.