The neck of a Great Mage was no different from that of an ordinary person. A little thinner and paler. That was the extent of my thoughts.
"How is it?"
I met Dersia's gaze as she looked down at me with a slightly bitter expression. I did everything I could. And so, I achieved this result.
A result that could be called a victory. However, I had to beg the loser. If Dersia decided to throw a tantrum right here, saying she didn't care about the outcome and didn't want to lose her memories, then we could no longer remain Master and disciple.
And Dersia was the type who cared not one bit for honor.
"Is it still not enough?"
To the question I asked, feeling as if one second was a thousand years, Dersia slowly shook her head.
"You have grown a lot."
"Ah, yes. I received a lot of help..."
"I'm speaking of something more fundamental."
Dersia looked at the crown of my head.
"You've grown taller." ...
What?
"... Taller?"
What is this all of a sudden? As I made a bewildered face, she calmly stated the fact.
"Compared to when we first met, you've grown by about two knuckles. Checking it this close, it's a noticeable change."
"I'm in my growing years. Is that a problem?"
"Then you can still grow for quite a while."
"I suppose... so?"
"In that case, you will have to devote every one of those moments, all that time that will never come again, solely to survival."
I realized what Dersia was saying. She continued to speak calmly, her neck still in my grasp.
"I understand your goal of escaping the Deep Sea. I also understand that you do not wish to become a mere creature of survival for that purpose. But you must know how much time that will consume."
"Yes. I suppose so."
"You are not an elf. You were born with the fate of a short life. You must pour all of your most precious time into survival."
Pausing for a moment to choose her words, Dersia met my eyes.
"To remain human, you will have to give up your entire life. Is it truly worth that much?"
"Yes."
I answered immediately with a light smile.
"A hundred years at most. We're a race that lives the latter fifty with ailing bodies. It's not that long."
For my part, it was a light joke. However, it seemed to be a perfect fit for Dersia's terrible sense of humor.
"That is true."
Different from her usual decaying sneer, a gentle curve formed on her lips, one that seemed to come from genuine laughter. The elf's breathtakingly beautiful smile was fleeting. Soon returning to her usual self, she pried my hand from her neck with her own slenderer one.
"I cannot deny it. It is my loss."
"Oh, really?"
"I'm just saying that. You tried very hard, but it seems you're not accustomed to battles between mages."
"Huh?"
As I tilted my head, Dersia tapped my hand. My hand—it was frozen in the shape of gripping her neck and wouldn't move.
"What is this?"
"The moment it touched my skin, I immobilized the muscles with a slight electric current."
"... Wait, you can do that as a 2-Star?"
"No. Not unless the opposing mage commits the foolish act of reaching out and touching my skin on their own."
"Ah."
"From now on, even if victory seems certain, threaten with a sword or other magic. Direct skin contact is exceedingly dangerous."
"Yes, ma'am."
A cold shiver ran down my spine. Did I lose after all? After coming this far.
As I clenched my now-freed hand, Dersia added as if to comfort me.
"Just by manifesting your heart-realm, most magical battles will not pose much of a problem for you. No, more than that... I've asked this before, but you really did try to win against me."
"There was a lot at stake. And about manifesting the heart-realm... yes. There are actually some restrictions."
"Restrictions, you say?"
"... Yes, ma'am."
I would have to explain the details later. There was something else to do first.
"... Did he really win?"
Brimdal approached, shaking his head as he looked at me.
"That monster, with the body of an 11-year-old. You're a curious fellow every time I see you."
"She went easy on me."
"That's not something just anyone can do. I know because I crossed swords with her."
"Heh, what an amazing kid."
Azrael approached, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"I couldn't even face her since she was 170. So, which memories should I erase?"
"What? Don't erase them."
I recoiled and pushed Azrael away from Dersia.
"Hey, what are you doing? You have to use the victor's rights."
"People learn from their mistakes. My Master is an elf, so I'm sure she'll learn even better. If you erase her memories, she might do something else next time."
"Instead of this incident, I could just erase all her impure memories and turn her into a doll that only listens to you. How about that?"
"Stop with the terrible suggestions. I need my Master, not an obedient 9-Star mage."
Well, actually, I did want that a little. Having something like that would be the best. Still, obtaining it at the cost of using up Dersia would be a loss.
I refuted Azrael's nonsense one by one.
"In the first place, the condition was just to make her take this seriously. I have no intention of entrusting my Master's memories to a disgusting shaman like you. I never planned to from the start."
At my firm reply, the expression of Dersia standing beside me gradually hardened. Why is she acting like that? Despite my sharp retort, Azrael roared with laughter, enjoying it.
"Hehe, you're really driving the nail in. How does it feel, Dersia? Huh?"
"... Jern, my apology is late."
Dersia bowed her head deeply.
"I am sorry. If we had talked a little more, this would not have happened. In the process of prioritizing my own enlightenment, I did not listen to your opinion at all."
"Ah, no. It's alright."
"It is not alright. If you hadn't come to find me, I would have sought you out in a week, kidnapped you, and then begun my experiment with you placed among dozens of fallen elves."
"That's really not alright."
It was a good thing I came. Thanks to Ciel. Speaking of which, where is Ciel?
"Sir Brimdal, where is the head maid?"
"... Head maid?"
Brimdal made a stunned expression, then looked at me as if he'd realized something.
"You mean that girl Ciel. That one over there would know."
I stared at Dersia with serious eyes. Dersia tried her best to avoid my gaze. It was the first time she had ever avoided my eyes.
"Don't worry. She isn't hurt."
"... Let her out."
Dersia snapped her fingers— and not long after, Ciel emerged from the ground, tightly bound by all sorts of roots. Ciel's expression did not look very pleased. We looked at each other for a moment.
As if reading something from my expression, she looked at Dersia, who had turned her head away. Her eyes widened as if in genuine surprise.
"J-Jern."
"Yes."
"I can't believe it, but if I were to infer from the fact that Sia let me out and that you're standing here so confidently."
"Hmm, is there really a need to infer? What you're thinking is correct."
"No. I have to ask even if I know."
Ciel looked back and forth between me and the back of Dersia's head with an expression bordering on shock.
"... Did you manage to persuade Sia in that state?"
"It was a bit coercive, though."
"Heh heh....."
Ciel leaned against the roots, looked up at the sky, and let out a low groan.
"Are you saying you refuted the answer that a 9-Star mage, Dersia no less, found after months of research? That should be impossible even for most demigods."
"It's because my Master didn't know the way I've grown."
"Would a tiger care about a cat's training? No. Not even a cat. Young Master Jern is a mouse. A mouse."
Ciel, who had suddenly spewed something akin to criticism, came up behind me as soon as the roots released her and glared at Dersia.
"And my master is a wicked tiger who only came to her senses after being bitten by such a mouse."
"... I am sorry, Ciel."
Dersia expressed her apology to Ciel in informal speech.
"I was not in my right mind, and I made a judgment I shouldn't have. I did a terrible thing to you as well."
"Have you nothing to apologize to me for? I almost burned to death because you impersonated the World Tree."
"Azrael, I feel not the slightest bit of remorse towards you."
But it wasn't the same for Azrael.
"I didn't go through with it because of Jern's dissuasion, but my thoughts are the same now as when I left this place. I only came because I thought I could make it more useful this time."
"What thoughts are you referring to?"
"Eternal rest."
"Hmph."
Azrael snorted and refused.
"As if I would follow a stupid plan to turn all elves into books."
"They are better off dead. But to simply kill them would be a waste, as their returned memories contain many ancient relics from a now-forgotten history. Recording that and then having everyone take their own lives is the only salvation left for the elven race."
Her extremely radical thinking hadn't changed at all.
"Hey, child of man. Your master still treats elves this way. What do you think?"
"Well, to be honest, I also think a better life for the elves is to die."
"?"
At my answer, Azrael's face looked as if he'd been betrayed.
"What, didn't you risk your life fighting your master because you felt sorry for us?"
"That's not it. Are they even living a life? Can you call that living? I think they're just biological machines acting according to pre-programmed settings."
"Rather than continue living like that, waiting for a savior who might never come, wouldn't it be better to just die?"
"That is what I am saying."
"... Master and disciple, a pair of raving lunatics."
Watching Azrael grumble, Dersia added another comment.
"The extinction of the elven race is also for the sake of humanity. In the first place, it's better if the savior never comes."
"Why is that?"
"In the past, countless elves besides myself have challenged the world. In worlds with magic, and worlds without."
"In worlds with enemies, and worlds without. They ran wild as all sorts of heroes and demons in numerous worlds."
"In the end, they had their memories taken and were turned into primitive beings."
"If a savior were to appear and Azrael were to free all those elves, the current era would become a terrible age of chaos."
"Aha."
In Earth terms, would it be like a frozen Guan Yu, Hitler, and Genghis Khan all being released in the same era? That would be terrifying. As I shuddered, Azrael waved his hand dismissively.
"Then I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of this hell now. And return the elves."
"Are you still planning to wait for a savior who will never come?"
"... Heh, to be honest, I was starting to lose my strength. That is, until today."
Azrael looked at me with a lingering gaze.
"I can see a possibility. I just didn't expect to see it in a human."
Dersia immediately pulled me behind her, shielding me from Azrael's gaze.
"If you lay a hand on Jern, I will kill you."
"I have no intention of laying a hand on him. Didn't I just say I saw a possibility?"
"And I am not just going to leave either."
"What? You mean there's still more bullshit to deal with?"
Regardless of the horrified look on Azrael's face, Dersia looked down at me and muttered.
"Jern, it seems there are many things I must hear from you."
"I also have many things to ask you, Master."
There are things one can only ask a 9-Star mage. There is help I can request from mages who know I am one of the fallen ones and do not care. Dersia nodded, then looked at Azrael.
"However, those are things that can be done later. Right now, there is something to be gained from that shaman."
"What is that?"
"Your past memories."
"... Ah."
That's right.
I took out the drawing I had in my pocket, which seemed to be of me and my mother, and showed it to her.
"I already learned a certain amount from my conversation with the princess."
"The princess? Do you mean Lumia?"
"No. Her older sister."
"... How on earth?"
Dersia made a bizarre expression. It wasn't something I could explain simply, so I shrugged.
"It's a long story. The important thing is, I could have found out, but I refused. I felt I would get too deeply entangled if I accepted the reward."
"You did very well."
Dersia nodded with a rare look of relief.
"The First Princess is a dangerous person. She hides an unknowable secret."
"Ah, I found that out too."
"You are probably mistaken. It is not something that can be known so easily."
"It is a secret history that the Imperial Family tries its best to hide, and for me as well, it is only in the realm of speculation, but—" "She's a prophet, isn't she? But it doesn't seem to be simple prophecy."
Dersia was speechless for nearly thirty seconds. Barely managing to compose herself, she asked again.
"... What on earth have you been doing?"
"Well, I got into a fight with a Red Lotus officer..."
"A fight?"
"Let's talk about this later. What about my past?"
I steered the conversation back on track, feeling it was about to go off on a tangent.
"... I have a mountain of questions, but let's do that for now. So, you don't know any details other than this drawing, correct?"
"Yes."
"In order to survive in the heart-realm, it is most important to know how it was composed. Also, we must find out what the Red Lotus was doing in the past."
"Is that so."
I nodded in agreement.
"But how?"
"We will use that shaman."
Not 'utilize,' but 'use.' Azrael, of course, protested.
"What reason do I have to use an elven art, permitted only for elves, on a human?"
"Otherwise, the elves in the hollow will gradually find it difficult to breathe."
"Child of man, do you really want to serve such a thing as your Master?"
"Of course."
There was no one on Azrael's side. Even Brimdal seemed wary of the shaman. In the end, Azrael sat down behind me with a sullen expression.
"If I see any sign of you trying anything funny, I will kill all the elves instantly. Look at his memories before the age of five."
"I get it, I get it. Would I play games when the lives of the elves are at stake?"
Watching Azrael's hands massaging my head, I suddenly grew curious and asked.
"So, when the curse starts, will my memories return or something?"
"No. I will extract and examine your memories from before you were five. Then I'll tell you."
"Does the extraction take long?"
"I manage memories spanning thousands, tens of thousands of years. Ten years? That much is..."
Suddenly.
Azrael's words stopped.
"Mmm... what is this?"
"What is it?"
"Something's... for your age, your memories are quite long, aren't they? This is at the level of a young man, not a boy."
"... Ah."
Can he see the memories of my past life? As I thought that, Azrael tilted his head.
"No? There are only eleven years' worth of memories, so why do they seem so long? This is one strange kid."
"... Just do what you have to do."
"Tsk, you brat with no respect for your elders."
Should I call it a relief? It seemed he couldn't check my memories from Earth. Azrael extracted all the memories and sat down.
"It is done. Is there anything you can't remember?"
"Jern Aspandil, 11 years old, mage, fallen into the heart-realm, Deep Sea, Red Lotus. I remember it all."
"Hmm, it seems it's true you've lost your memories."
"What about my past?"
"Wait a moment..."
Azrael closed his eyes and began to ruminate. It seemed he could review the extracted memories. ... It was an unbelievable ability.
I could somewhat understand why all the elves had entrusted the management of their race to this man. Showing a shaman-like solemnity for the first time, Azrael remained completely still for several dozen minutes. After enough time had passed to make one wonder if he had died.
His eyes flew open, and he glared at me.
"... Child of man."
Seeing his serious expression, I braced myself.
My past.
A past that probably caused me to fall into the Deep Sea. What kind of torture was there? Was I kidnapped by the Red Lotus?
Or did I fall into the Deep Sea alone? But it was said that the Great System does not form on its own. So the Red Lotus—or some other existence—might have done this to me.
I considered all sorts of possibilities. And then, Azrael opened his mouth.
"... In your past, you."
"Yes."
"Lived very comfortably and happily."
"?"
"I have seen many wealthy people in my time, but never have I seen a three-year-old with ten maids."
Hmm...
I guess I was born with a golden spoon.