Maydare Volume 6 Chapter 1: The Vabel State

 Hey guys welcome to Volume 6! There are lots of reveals in this volume, like what really happened five hundred years ago, and the Scarlet Witch's past! And prepare your tissues because it's going to be a sad one~

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Mea Dea, Mea Dea, Mea Dea

Mea Dea, Mea Dea, Mea Dea

Whose call is that?

Who is the one this story will save?

Who started this story, and for whose sake?

Whose unrequited love did this story begin from?

Return――

“...Hah!”

I, Makia O’Drielle, woke up from a shallow sleep.

I still felt like I was dreaming, but right now I was staring up at a pure white, unfamiliar ceiling.

Where was I again?

Why was I sleeping…?

“You’re awake, Milady?”

Peering into my face was the knight, Thor Bigreitz.

He wasn’t dressed in his knight uniform, but the deep red garments of the Kingdom of Ruschia’s delegation. 

He held my hand and stared at me so closely that his black hair almost brushed against my cheek.

“...Thor.”

Thor’s eyes up close were the color of violets, considered the most exalted eye color for a magician. However, one of his eyes was a prosthetic.

Thor lost one of his eyes in a recent battle at Lune Ruschia Magic School as the price for using powerful magic. 

Perhaps because I was looking at him from up close, I could feel the slight difference in color, and was brought back to reality from my dreamy state of mind. I was just a bit shaken.

“...Um, I, I…”

Thor's face was so close to mine that my eyes roamed around, flustered. Thor, still holding my hand, spoke with his crisply handsome face.

“You are Makia O’Drielle, the daughter of the baron of Deliafield in the Kingdom of Ruschia.”

“I didn’t forget my name or anything,” I immediately retorted….

Certainly, I had been going through a lot recently, and my own existence tended to feel vague and unclear. 

Because I had “two past lives.”

The first was as an ordinary high school student on Earth.

The second was as the legendary <Scarlet Witch> who lived here in Maydare.

I remembered the first one from quite some time ago, but the second one was so long ago that I had yet to recall the memories from that one.

However, it was confirmed that the <Scarlet Witch>, who was famous as the worst witch in the world, was my previous life. The fact that I could use her first incantation and spells was proof of that.

Thor was also someone who went through two past lives like me.

He had no memories of his past life on earth when he was a normal high school student, and he hardly remembered his second life where he was the <Black Demon King>. 

Who am I?

We always carried these doubts with us.

Thor didn’t seem to have any interest or attachment to his past lives, so I think that’s why he purposely told me my name in the present.

“Hey, Thor, when I did fall asleep? I remember that we were on a magic ship headed for the Frezier Empire, but I can’t remember anything after a certain point.”

I got up on the bed and looked around restlessly.

This was a strange room by all accounts. It was nothing like the rooms on a ship from the Kingdom of Ruschia to the Frezier Empire.

Seeing my uncomprehending face, Thor explained.

“It’s not strange that you don’t remember. We disembarked while you were sleeping, and now we’re in the air on a flying boat.”

“Huh? In the sky? Wait, why did I fall asleep?”

“Milady, you fainted as soon as you saw that.”

“‘That’?”

“You might faint again if you see it, but…”

With a slightly cautious expression, Thor opened the curtains of the window beside my bed.

I also turned around.

“Wow…”

It existed there, as if covering the bright blue sky beyond the window.

The World Tree Vabilophos.

The great mother tree, said to have existed since the beginning of the world of Maydare.

The tree worshipped in Vabelism extended countless branches and leaves from its gigantic trunk. 

It was like a green umbrella covering the earth.

“Even from the ship, we could see the World Tree ‘Vabilophos.’ Milady, the moment you saw it, you fainted.”

“Oh, that’s right, I remember now.”

I recalled everyone buzzing excitedly on the deck.

Airi had called me over excitedly, so just as I was wondering what happened, I saw it.

A gigantic tree that cut across the sky――

For some reason, I felt like I knew that thing.

Someday, somewhere, I’ve seen it. 

Was this what they called deja-vu? A fierce sense of nostalgia overwhelmed me, and tormented by aheadache and the ringing in my ears, I lost consciousness.

“W-Why did I collapse…I don’t understand it at all. Ah, I’m sorry! I made everyone worry because I suddenly fainted for no reason.”

I buried my head in my hands and apologized frantically. “That’s a given,” Thor said, surprisingly calmly.

“Lady Airi was so worried about you that she cried. However, Bishop Eska, who was waiting for us at the port, saw you unconscious and told us that it’s a common occurrence, so everyone was relieved. We decided to let you sleep quietly for the time being.”

“...Oh, I see.”

While listening to Thor, I put the situation in order in my mind. 

We, the Ruschian delegation, were heading from the Kingdom of Ruschia to the Frezier Empire on a magic ship. However, as soon as we arrived at the port, it seemed that Thor and I were the only ones instructed to head to the Vabel State first.

We were then abducted by Bishop Eska, who had been waiting for us at the port, and put on this flying boat…and now we’re here.

“I see. I understand now. So it’s just you and me go to Vabel separately from everyone else.”

“That’s the situation.”

“Okay. But I really wanted to see the famous Magic Crystal Palace at the Frezier imperial palace…”

I heard that the imperial palace had been rebuilt not too long ago, and that it was the most beautiful castle in the world, constructed with an abundance of magic crystals and cutting-edge magic.

I was looking forward to seeing it, but…if that was the case, there was no helping it.

We weren’t here for sightseeing, but to fulfill our roles.

I guess there must have been some meaning to the fact that only Thor and I were sent to Vabel first.

I was relieved to understand what was going on, but Thor was still watching me with a worried look on his face.

“Would you like something to drink?”

“Yeah.”

“Is salt apple juice fine?”

“Mm, yeah.”

I nodded like a child, and the diligent Thor, with practiced movements, used magic to peel the salt apples and squeeze their juices to prepare my drink.

I brought a lot of salt apples, a specialty of my hometown of Deliafield, and Thor seemed to have brought them to this flying boat.

But still, watching Thor trying to do something for me reminded me of our relationship as a knight and lady back home.

Just like when we returned to Deliafield, and on board this boat, Thor seemed to want to take care of me as though making up for lost time.

So I, too, tended to dote on Thor these days.

After Thor became a Guardian and we were separated, I went to the magic school in the capital and worked hard to get top grades in order to see him again.

Those days were nostalgic to me already.

“Here you go, Milady.”

“Thank you, Thor.”

As I sipped his special salt apple juice, I suddenly remembered a dream I had while I was asleep.

“Hey, Thor, I feel like…I had a strange dream while I was asleep.”

“A strange dream?”

“Since it was a dream, I only remember fragments, but…”

I put down the glass of juice and let the words spill out in a daze.

“There were ten children crying and screaming under a big tree.”

I remembered only that vision clearly.

What were they screaming? What made them cry?

I didn’t remember anything important. 

“By big tree, do you mean the World Tree?”

“It probably is. I might have been struck by its magical power just by looking at it…”

Ten children…

In the dream, the big tree that welcomed the ten children who had nowhere else to go was like a great mother.

I could only recall the warmth of the sun filtering through the leaves in my short nap.

“It has to be a dream about our previous lives, Milady.”

“Previous lives…?”

“We’re heading to the Vabel State right now. It’s the Vabelism headquarters that enshrines the World Tree Vabilophos.”

“...”

“Maybe the World Tree wants to tell you something, Milady.”

Indeed, we were just heading to the huge base of the tree that I saw in my dream.

I had a premonition.

Under that tree, I felt like there was some sort of truth that I must know.

In the center of the vast forest region of Frezier, the World Tree Vabilophos, which could be called the symbol of this world, stood. 

The giant tree had existed since the era of Maydare’s creation myth, and was the object of worship of Vabelism, the world’s largest religion.

The headquarters of Vabelism, the Vabel State, was located directly under the world tree.

Vabel was very small, but it was an independent state, albeit within the Frezier Empire.

The airship that carried us landed at an airfield outside Vabel.

Flipping the deep red garments with the Ruschia emblem engraved on them, which I still wasn’t used to wearing, I left the airship with Thor holding my hand.

“...Mmm. Being on the ground feels much better.”

Finally, I was able to look up at the large tree from up close.

The World Tree Vabilophos. It really was like a giant green umbrella…

And then…

“Hey, Makia. It looks like you’ve woken up without any trouble.”

A man with a familiar overbearing tone and raspy low voice leaned over me from behind and put his rugged arm on my shoulder.

He was wearing an upright bishop’s mitre, dressed in bishops’ vestments and holding a prestigious bishop’s staff, but with his gray hair, wicked expression, and jagged teeth that were too distinctive, he was a bishop who looked like a villain.

“B-Bishop Eska…it’s been a while. You look as needlessly energetic as ever.”

I managed to greet him as my body leaned forward under his weight.

“Well, duh. My energy will save the world. Anyways, I heard you fainted right when you saw the big tree. Kuh-hah, you’re way too much of a small fry.”

“...I, I can’t really defend myself from that.”

“Train more! Both your spirit and body!”

He was a meathead bishop until the end.

For me, Bishop Eska was like my master who taught me how to use magic in actual combat, and trained my mind and body. 

However, he had a very aggressive, un-bishop-like attitude, and he was pestering me for some reason, which made Thor, who was standing next to me, visibly annoyed.

“Bishop Eska. Please do not use Milady’s slender shoulders as an armrest. Your muscles are making her lurch over.”

Thor was speaking to Bishop Eska in such a blunt tone.

“Ah? I don’t remember training her to be such a weak witch. I made her a warrior who could survive in the harshest of battles, ain’t that right, Makia?”

“Umm…”

“Milady is the daughter of a baron! Because of you, she’s become somewhat of a muscle-brain. She started doing muscle training everyday in spurts. It’d be one thing if she was improving her magic skills!”

“What’s your problem? You must be thinking that your existence is meaningless if she gets strong, don’t you. You’re pretty cowardly for a knight. Or is it because you are a knight?”

“I’m saying that I don’t want Milady to be like you. She is still the daughter of the O’Drielle family!”

The two men were glaring at each other with me in between.

I could see where Thor, a former knight of the O’Drielle family, was coming from.

On the other hand, thanks to Bishop Eska’s relentless training, I was able to do my best in spite of the physical and mental pain caused by the recent incident at magic school.

“Ah, um. …Ooooh~!”

I made a big show of pointing at the World Tree while interrupting them glaring at each other.

“Look, a big white bird just flew from the tree!”

In fact, I did see a big bird, large enough to be seen from here, take off from the top of a branch high up on the big tree.

“Oh, that’s the spirit Belbird. It’s a silver bird spirit that lives in the World Tree.”

“It’s a spirit?”

“The tree is inhabited by hundreds of spirits. They are the ancient spirits of the world, and sometimes they become familiars for bishops like me, and sometimes they don’t…”

Come to think of it, Bishop Eska had said before that he had made contracts with about a hundred spirits who lived in the Holy Land. Was he talking about the spirits that lived in the World Tree?

“So, how is it? The World Tree’s huge, ain’t it?”

Bishop Eska looked at the great tree with pride.

“You could say that Vabel is a religious state that protects the great tree. The roots of the great tree stretch all through Maydare. Therefore, the will of Vabilophos is the will of Maydare itself.”

I raised my hand like I was in class.

“Excuse me. I’ve been wondering about this for a long time, but since the Vabel State is an independent country, is there a king?”

“The king equivalent is the archbishop, an old bastard nammed Dergstad. But, there is someone else in Vabelism who’s as great as the archbishop. Do you know who it is?”

Thor answered Bishop Eska’s question solemnly.

“...Is it the Green Priestess?”

“Right answer. But add “Lady” to that name. The Lady Green Priestess is the voice that takes the World Tree’s will and transmits it to the world. In other words, she is the great ‘power of prophecy.’”

“...”

Thor and I gave each other sidelong glances.

“Um, then Bishop Eska, just how high up are you in Vabel?”

“Ah? Me? Well…I guess I’m seventh in the pecking order,” Bishop Eska counted on his fingers and answered in a matter-of-fact manner. “What’s with that ‘Wow, what a letdown’ look on your faces?”

“...No, it’s nothing.”

Because he always acted so self-importantly, we thought that he might be a pretty important person in Vabel.

Well, being the seventh most important is pretty great on its own, though…

“Haaa, it’s fine. That’s just the public ranking. If I have too high of a position, I won’t be able to leave the country freely, and I can’t accidentally fire a gun, throw a hand grenade, or inadvertently threaten someone.”

“...Accidentally? Inadvertently?”

“I had experience being the top during the era of the <Archbishop of Holy Ash>. I wasn’t just the top, I was the one who created the Vabel State. But in this life, I’ve decided to live freely and as I please.”

“Is that something a bishop is allowed to say?”

As always, I couldn’t keep up with the bishop who was full of surprises…

Now, I learned a lot of things about Vabel.

It was Archbishop Delgstad, not a king, who ruled over the state.

However, the one who was considered the most exalted was the Lady <Green Priestess>.

It was said that the Savior, summoned from another world, had the custom of gathering four Guardians and coming to the Holy Land to receive the prophecy of the <Green Priestess>.

Just like the Lord-class magicians who had left their names in history, she was given a <Colored Alias>, but I heard before that this role was hereditary, and the women who inherited the blood and powers of the Green Priestess had held this position for generations.

So, didn’t that mean…she wasn’t one of the ten reincarnated magicians like us…?

We traveled on a magic boat riding the flow of the canal that stretched from the airfield to the entrance of Vabel. As the boat approached the gates of the state, I noticed a dome-shaped green curtain enveloping the nation. 

“Wow! Is that Vabel’s magic wall!?”

“Milady, it’s dangerous to lean over the boat. You can’t even swim!”

“Eh, wah, wah–”

As I leaned out of the boat a little with excitement, Thor immediately reached out his arms and tried to support me. Recalling my inability to swim, I grabbed his arm without thinking. 

Bishop Eska completely ignored me and calmly surveyed the magic wall that unfolded before us.

“Remember it. This is the great barrier that’s one of the famous landmarks of Vabel, the ‘Green Curtain.’”

“Green…Curtain…”

I’ve also learned about it in my “International Magic Studies” class, which was a secondary subject in Lune Ruschia Magic School. 

The Vabel State’s domain was surrounded by an extremely powerful barrier called the “Green Curtain.” Basically, it was a large-scale magic wall that covered a wide area, and no one could pass through it without permission from the state. Also, the strong and powerful barrier would never let destructive magic or weapons to penetrate it.

I heard that the Holy Land held an enormous amount of magic power due to the blessings of the World Tree, but I wonder how much magic power they consume in a day…no, no, it was scary just thinking about it.

“Welcome, foreign guests.”

We disembarked from the boat and were greeted by several bishops at the gates of Vabel.

They were upright and stern men who were the very image of “bishops.” Unlike Bishop Eska. Completely unlike Bishop Eska.

The aforementioned Bishop Eska was acting pompously toward the bishops who were much older than him.

“The Savior, Guardians, and the Ruschia delegation will attend an international conference at Frezier Palace before coming here. But only these two, who are Lord-class magicians, were brought here by my authority. The Lady Priestess’s prophecy said that it would be better that way, so we changed our plans suddenly.”

“Yes, we have already heard about it. Please wait while we open the gates.”

After saying that, the bishops did the procedures for our entry into Vabel and prepared to open the gates.

This is going to take a while, Bishop Eska said irritatedly, but it did end up taking a lot of time.

“Um, Bishop Eska, does this mean we don’t have much to do with the title of Guardian anymore?”

I asked him in a hushed tone about something that had been bothering me recently.

He gave a sour look at my blunt question, something I didn’t see too often.

“...Well, originally, Lord-class magicians should have never been chosen to become the Guardians of the Savior. Basically, by the ‘laws of the world,’ they should have been excluded from the process.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a given. The Savior and their Guardians are the ones who will be defeating the great magicians, after all.”

Both Thor and I were shocked, but it made sense when he put it that way.

“The key is probably the fact that you two passed through another world during your reincarnation. There must be some kind of secret technique to remove yourselves from the ‘laws of the world.’ …Although, I don’t know much about that kind of thing. You’ll have to ask Kanon, the specialist, for more information. He should be here the day after tomorrow.”

“Uh, I don’t think he’d be such an easy person to talk to…”

I recalled General Kanon in distress.

That man with the blond hair and garnet eyes, who was like a “god of death” to me.

Just remembering that person made me shudder with fear. 

“What are you so afraid of? He just killed you in one or two of your past lives.”

“N-No… I think it’s perfectly normal to be scared if that’s the case.”

I can’t just crush everything like you, Bishop Eska, I said.

But it was only then that he spoke with a serious expression on his face.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of with him. In fact, Kanon is that way because he’s too kind.”

“Huh…?”

For some reason, Bishop Eska clicked his tongue after saying that.

“Anyways, once you touch the World Tree, you’ll recall your past life. The World Tree will give you back your memories.”

“Give me back…my memories?” Thor asked back with a mystified look on his face.

“That’s right. You two will return. You’ll have to face the truth, even if you want to. Prepare yourselves for that now.”

“...”

The giant gates opened. Thor and I would finally enter the Vabel State.

As soon as I entered, I felt the tense, sacred atmosphere, and my back straightened.

The clear, pure air of the Holy Land had a somewhat nostalgic scent.

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