Maydare Volume 2 Chapter 10 - A Golden Wind Blows (Part 1)

Kept you guys waiting long enough...oh and the cover for vol 5 is out! I'm so excited

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Once upon a time, there were three great magicians in this world.

The Black Demon King was a breathtakingly beautiful man with black hair.

He reigned as the king of demons in a snowy country, and he prided himself on building his own fortress.

The White Sage was a white-haired magician who commanded much respect.

With Great Spirits accompanying him, he was able to control the forces of nature at will.

The Scarlet Witch was a red-haired witch who wore a bright red dress and a pointy hat.

She was arrogant and cruel, using hair, tear, and blood magic to create and destroy various things.

The three magicians fought all the time, but that didn’t mean they were on bad terms.

They acknowledged each other’s strengths and sometimes gave advice and praise to each other.

Then one day, the White Sage said to the other two,

Since we are three such powerful magicians, why don’t we not only compete, but also create something truly wonderful together?

At first, the Black Demon King and Scarlet Witch found it bothersome, but the White Sage managed to get them to cooperate by tricking, threatening, blackmailing, and deluding them. 

And so, a sand castle gradually took shape. A utopia of their own.

They were like children playing in the sand at the beach.

The magicians built a very large fortress on a solitary island in the south.

When completed, everyone rejoiced, celebrated, and praised each other’s strengths and their accomplishment.

And then, the three no longer needed to cooperate with each other.

Goodbye, then. I guess this is goodbye.

More days of fighting. Let’s keep the quarreling moderate.

Farewell, my friend. Goodbye, neighbor of my heart.

The male great magicians parted cleanly, but the Scarlet Witch, not knowing whether she was sad or lonely, or happy or joyful, shed tears.

They say that those tears soaked into the labyrinth they built underground, and the first layer was filled with gems of tears, creating an impregnable salt labyrinth.

They made a vow.

They vowed that one day, without fail, they would use this fortress to protect what was important to each other.

Now then. How could a group of three people who were so close that they quarreled with each other to such an extent end up causing a war so great it reduced the center of the world to ashes?

Well, you see.

It was because a cruel Savior from another world had come.

A merciless Savior with golden hair and garnet eyes——

〇 

It was strangely nostalgic. But I felt like I had a dream that was like an act from a fairy tale.

“Are you awake, Miss Makia?”

“...Professor Ulysses?”

I heard the voice of Professor Ulysses from Spirit Magic Studies, but it was pitch-black in front of me.

I put my hand over my eyes. There was something like a cloth was wrapped around my eyes.

Someone slowly raised me up. I felt soft hair and cloth, smelled a nice scent, and then felt the cloth around my eyes fall off. It seemed that Professor Ulysses had removed it.

I saw a bloody cloth. I remembered the spell I had used yesterday, and the repercussions.

“I...cried a lot of blood, didn’t I.”

“You’re unexpectedly calm about this, Miss Makia.”

Professor Ulysses smiled with a complicated expression on his face.

This seemed to be the infirmary of the palace. I remembered that Thor brought me here yesterday, I received treatment, and then I slept on a bed in the infirmary. Because I was feeling painfully dizzy. 

“Was I asleep for several days, like last time?”

“No, the incident occurred last night. I sincerely apologize, you were in so much danger and I couldn’t even be there myself…”

Professor Ulysses bowed his head apologetically.

I shook my head, but I stared at the professor and asked him about yesterday.

“What happened...afterwards?”

Yes. I was very curious about that.

The professor raised his head and slowly began to tell me.

Eugene Batiste, found in Diemo Cathedral with his body petrified, had been officially pronounced dead.

According to the report from the knights who investigated Eugene Batiste’s lab, home, and surrounding area afterward, they found in his room a photograph of him with his fiancee, Lira Pisket, medical records regarding her illness, records of many experiments, and various forbidden magic books.

Apparently, they also discovered a diary in which he wrote about his regret and repentance for the days where he hid the fact that he was a Guardian while looking after the Savior Airi.

The diary, which was written day after day without a single break, came to an abrupt end one day.

That date was my birthday. Yes, it was the day that I received the mark of the Guardian.

“So...on that day, Professor Batiste…” 

“Yes. His body must have been taken over by the forbidden ‘Puppet Magic.’”

Apparently, many other pieces of evidence were found, and Beatrice and Nicholas were exonerated.

But the loss of the magician Eugene Batiste was a great loss to the Kingdom of Ruschia, and Professor Ulysses, as his friend who was the same age as him, had a sorrowful expression on his face.

“Eugene Batiste. There is no other magician like him who is so talented, hardworking, single-minded, honest, and who never spoke ill of others. He was the pride of the Kingdom of Ruschia.”

“...Yes.”

“That was why everyone trusted Eugene Batiste. We thought that he would never betray us, that what he said was always right. We should have been more suspicious that he wasn’t chosen as a Guardian. He was just that special.”

I wondered how much despair such a special magician must have felt when he realized he couldn’t save the only one he loved.

As a Guardian, a magician, and a man, he weighed all kinds of options, struggled, wavered, and suffered.

An extremely crooked being called the 〈Blue Jester〉took advantage of that.

I saw a distortion of magic in that blue clown.

“Sir, I met a blue clown who called himself the〈Blue Jester〉. What exactly is he?” 

He was more different, more evil than any magician I had ever met.

The professor’s expression changed slightly.

“Yes...That is a name originally known from old fairy tales, but in the field of magic history, he is said to be one of the great magicians who actually existed. It’s unclear how long he has been around, but it’s said that he appears at junctures in history, using his special〈Puppet Magic〉to sneak into various people, gain their position and power, and influence the world from the shadows.”

The professor continued with a mysterious look on his face and his finger on his chin.

“We don’t know at what point Eugene fell under the〈Puppet Magic〉of that person. But what we do know is that the〈Blue Jester〉is a member of the Hermedes Heavenly Empire in the north. The Heavenly Empire is already preparing for war by playing the great magician card.”

The great magician card…

That clown had told me. The great magicians of this world have gone around and around, and now they’re returning.

“It seems that the〈Blue Jester’s〉target was you, Miss Makia.”

”It...seems like it. Apparently, he had mistaken me for the〈Scarlet Witch〉...”

I think I had two choices: being brought into the ranks of the Heavenly Empire, or being killed.

That fear that I was about to be sucked into “something” dark and stagnant still remained faintly.

I wondered what would have happened to me if I had been sucked into that thing. 

I glanced at Professor Ulysses and saw the most serious expression I had ever seen on his face until now.

“Miss Makia, do not listen to the words of that jester. He has an eye on you. Everyone knows that the〈Scarlet Witch’s〉magic has a power of ‘destruction’ greater than any weapon of destruction.”

Indeed, my ancestor was a witch who used magic so powerful she opened a hole in the center of the world. It was just as he said, everyone knew that.

“I’m...just one of the Guardians. And I can’t even perform that role well.”

“You do have a point. Why were you chosen as a Guardian…”

“...”

I guess even Professor Ulysses didn’t think I was suited to be a Guardian.

I felt slightly embarrassed and gripped my blanket tightly.

“One more thing. You seemed to have knowledge of the world Airi was in.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly that subject came up, and I froze for a moment.

Professor Ulysses was staring at me with a searching look in his eyes.

He probably heard about what I said to Airi last night, either from the other Guardians or Airi herself. I grimaced a little and looked down. 

“I heard about what happened last night. I understand why you got angry. Airi can be a bit overly presumptuous.”

“...”

“However, Airi herself is very shaken, and she has locked herself in her room and is confined to her bed. I don’t know if she will be able to fulfill her role as Savior in the future. I need to know the circumstances of you two.”

“I’m...sorry about that.”

Even Professor Ulysses was someone on the Savior’s side. He might be disappointed in me.

Even so, I wondered if he would listen to me.

“You might find this hard to believe, but…”

I didn’t know any other way to get through to Airi.

Still, I felt I had to say it.

“Professor Ulysses, I have memories of my ‘past life.’”

“...”

“In my past life, my name was ‘Oda Kazuha.’ I was in the same world as Lady Airi, and I was her school friend. Well, in the end we became romantic rivals, though.”

“...Romantic rivals?”

“Oh, no, that’s not important.”

I blurted that last part out, but that wouldn’t matter much here. I hurriedly waved my hand to cover it up.

“So...at one point, I was killed by a man with blond hair and red eyes. It was right on the first of May. On the school roof, together with my male childhood friend…”

I spoke haltingly, recalling the events.

“Lady Airi was also there, and I thought she had also been killed by the same man. But she was alive, and she was summoned to Maydare as the Savior…”

Even I no longer understood what I was saying as I talked.

I’m sure Professor Ulysses had his mouth hanging open.

“Blond hair...red eyes… I see.”

However, Professor Ulysses looked strangely convinced.

For a moment, there was a meaningful smile that wasn’t like him on his lips.

“Sir? I knew this was going to sound strange…”

“No, not at all. If there is such a connection between Airi and you, I at least find hope in it.”

“Hope?” 

Was he talking about the hope that we would restore our relationship as Savior and Guardian?

I was feeling slightly complicated emotions. The professor quietly stood up and moved to the window.

He turned his back to me, stared out the window, and spoke to me.

“To tell you the truth, there are a few people in this world who have their ‘past life memories.’ 

“Past life? Like me?”

Did that mean there were other people who have been reincarnated from other worlds? 

Professor Ulysses didn’t respond, and he was silent for a while.

“I’m sorry, you’re convalescing and I’m talking to you about strange things. We can talk about this later.”

“B-but…”

I was curious about what he was talking about. What other people had memories of their past lives?

But the professor turned around and whispered to me in order to calm me down.

“Don’t worry. ...You must not be impatient.”

It was as though he was saying those words to himself.

Professor Ulysses’s smile was as gentle as usual and somewhat sad as I sat on the bed, confused. And then he said this.

“I have always been waiting for your return.”

Autumn in the Kingdom of Ruschia was intensifying, and the weather was getting much cooler.

The “Potato Report” assignment was now in its final stage.

For about a month, we grappled with potatoes. And we coexisted with potatoes.

We were finally freed from that potato hell, and my team members were in somewhat high spirits.

But I was the only one absent minded lately…

“O~i, Leader~?”

Frey was snapping his fingers in front of me, but I was in a daze, sitting with my chin in my hands, my eyes and mouth half open. I was unconsciously devouring the sunflower seeds that were meant for my hamsters.

“Makia has been like that for a few days now, and she’s been lax in a lot of things,” Lapis said.

“Did the thing with Miss Beatrice affect her? She was found not guilty and is already as lively as ever, though,” Frey said.

“We have to finish the report in the next few days. If Makia is useless, we’ll be at a serious disadvantage,” Nero said.

Everyone was saying whatever they wanted~~.

But it couldn’t be helped. I was the only one who knew the truth of that day.

Professor Eugene Batiste’s death was made to be an accident, and the capital and magic school were enveloped in the grief of those who respected him and were helped by him, but now everyone had forgotten about that and were looking forward to the harvest festival being held in a few days. There was nothing really wrong with that, though. 

Now that I thought about it after everything had settled down, it was a very tragic case.

Professor Batiste’s only crime was that he hid the fact that he was a Guardian, and everything else was done under the manipulation of the blue clown. I’ve never even met the real Professor Batiste, in the end.

Furthermore, I’ve confronted Airi with a rather shocking truth.

At the time, I felt like there was a weight off my shoulders when I said it, but later, I agonized over it…

“Who is the one responsible for making Makia this way?”

Ah, Lapis was quietly getting angry.

She glared at Frey and Nero and began to search for the culprit. Her prosthetic hand was so strong that the table she was pressing down on dented with a creak.

“I, I had nothing to do with it! Probably.”

“I didn’t really do anything either. Hah...maybe she’s mad because I installed a power generator to the hamster spinning wheel?” 

Frey was cowardly trembling, and Nero hit hard with a mysterious airheaded remark.

“...It's fine. You guys did nothing wrong. It’s just that there’s a lot of things on my mind and I’m overwhelmed. It’s just one of those things, you know?”

With a sigh, I laid my head down on the table.

“Hmph, I don’t care about that girl anymore. I’m an evil witch to her anyways.”

“...?”

My team members looked at each other.

It seemed that Frey of all people had decided there was something wrong with the sulking me after all, and he went behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, then started massaging them for some reason.

“There, there, Leader. I have no idea what happened, but don’t be so down. We all know very well that you’re a surprisingly good person.”

“...”

“That’s right, Makia. Your enemy is my enemy.”

“Makia, Team 9 probably wouldn’t have made it this far without your power. We need you.”

It seemed that it wasn’t just Frey, but also Lapis and Nero who were comforting me.

I had a sulky face at first, but my eyes were gradually getting moist.

I also felt more at ease when I was with my team members who accepted me for who I am. 

“Are you here, Makia O’Drielle?”

Just then, the door to the atelier banged open, and my tears receded.

“Beatrice!?”

I was surprised that someone had come to visit me, and even more surprised to see who it was. It was Beatrice and her butler.

With an oddly stern expression on her face, Beatrice strolled into our atelier and stood imposingly in front of me. W-What was going on?

“Makia O’Drielle, I have come to return what I borrowed from you.”

“Hm? Did I lend something to you?”

“How daft. I came to repay the favor you had done for me!”

Her face somewhat red, Beatrice snapped her fingers. Her butler, Nicholas Harbury, who was standing behind her, placed a large box in front of me.

“What’s this?”

“I am sure Miss Makia will be pleased by this.”

Smiling, Nicholas Harbury opened the lid of the box.

“!?”

Oh my! There was my favorite, lemon pie, covered with fluffy meringue. And it’s a whole pie!

“What’s going on, Beatrice! Huh? What is this? I’m allowed to eat this??” 

“Of course. That’s why I had the Asta family’s patissier prepare it.”

Beatrice swept her hair over her shoulders, still acting prim.

Nero read the air and very gently held out a silver fork to me.

“Eh, you all are fine with only me eating it? I can just dig in?”

“Go ahead.”

At the urging of my team members, I began to poke at the lemon pie from the edges with the silver fork.

It was a shameful indulgence to eat an entire pie. 

“Wow, the meringue is so thick. Wow, it’s so crispy and fluffy.”

The browned surface was crispy and fragrant, yet the thick meringue had a fluffy texture and a sweetness that was just right. The balance with the lemon curd that had a strong taste was perfect, giving it a refined taste. The pie crust on the bottommost layer was still flaky, like it was right out of the oven, and the saltiness of the butter worked well with it. It played the supporting role of complementing the main flavor well.

“As expected of the Asta family’s patissier! The flavor is first-class!”

“It’s because you helped with my and Nicholas’ case. I heard it was very difficult for you afterwards.”

“Well, yeah. But I heard both you and Nicholas proved your innocence by not being timid and making your case. Not bad.”

“...But of course.” 

Beatrice averted her gaze to the side, fidgeting a little, like she was trying to say something more to me. I was still absorbed in the lemon pie, though…

“Makia.”

Oh. Unusually for Beatrice, she called me by my first name only.

When I looked up with a mouthful of meringue, she was looking at me with a very serious look in her eyes.

“The fate you will bear in the future will be very heavy, it seems.”

“...”

She knew I had been chosen as a Guardian.

Perhaps she also knew that afterwards, I had fallen into a delicate position as a Guardian.

“Many other people may say unnecessary things. They may hurt you. But I, Beatrice Asta, will always lend you my aid if you ask for help.”

Beatrice put her hand on her chest and told me once again.

“Next time, we will definitely help you...Makia.”

Not expecting such reliable words, I stopped poking at my favorite lemon pie and just stared at her.

She also stared back at me. 

In our overlapping gazes, there was none of the usual hostility or rivalry, only a strangely comforting feeling of connection.

What exactly was this?

“Fufu. Young Mistress Beatrice has been worrying over what she should do to thank Miss Makia for a long time. The only thing she knows is that Miss Makia likes lemon pie.”

“H-Hey, Nicholas, what are you talking about!”

The long silence was broken by the butler’s slip of the tongue.

Beatrice was tugging on her butler’s tie as her face went red with anger.

The other team members, who had been silently watching the scene, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

As for me, I felt a surge of warmth in my chest.

The anxiety, loneliness, and vagueness that I had been carrying around were gently melted away like the meringue in a lemon pie.

To that extent, I could feel Beatrice’s strong will in her words and gaze.

I had probably forged a bond with her.

“Uuuuu, thank you, Beatrice. Beatrice~~~~”

“!? M-Makia? Why are you crying!?”

Because I started crying, she got extremely flustered, but I think I was just tormented by all the things I couldn’t do anything about, and it made me feel helpless.

But the enthusiastic encouragement of Beatrice, who was the only one who knew my circumstances, supported me strongly.

It wasn’t just Beatrice.

My team members were worried about me the whole time as well.

It was time to recover the spirited Makia and rejoice in my youth like a student.

That was my original goal. I had been dreaming of being a student at this school for a long time, and I’ve worked hard to come here.

“But please don’t get the wrong idea, Makia. I have no intention of giving up first place for the Potato Report. Garnet Team 1 will take it again.”

“Oh my, I wonder about that. It’ll be worth seeing how far a young lady could go with potatoes. This time, first place will go to Garnet Team 9 for sure!”

We had something nice going on, but we ended up glaring at each other with sparks flying between our eyes, and in the end, we turned away from each other with a huff.

Yes, that’s right. We had to be like this.

In this way, we were aware of each other, stimulated each other, and improved each other…

Regardless of who was the one laughing in the end, if we could support and help each other in times of need, then I’m sure we could become true friends.

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