Youngest 235
by CristaeEpisode 235
“Senia!”
“Ah!”
A woman shot out like an arrow, swept Sebelena into her arms, and rolled across the floor.
“Uh…?”
“I was just about to go see you!”
“W-wait? Senia? Sister?”
Sebelena stared blankly at the gaunt woman sprawled atop her.
Though her face was still sickly, her eyes sparkled with vitality.
‘What is this? Some kind of magical manipulation?’
No, that can’t be.
Senia no longer has the power left in her body to do something like that.
“How… did this happen? Who treated you?”
Suppressing his confusion, Licht asked the question. Senia blinked at the man, studying him, and as if she recognized him at last, she wrinkled her brow.
“You helped me at the Academy, didn’t you? Astute as always, Your Highness.”
“That was ages ago…”
“For now, come inside.”
Rising to her feet, she ushered the two of them into the hut. Sebelena followed, as if bewitched by a ghost.
“I’d like some explanation, first—”
“Seniaaa! Time to take your medicine!”
Just then, a group of people squeezed through the rickety hut door.
They bustled in, holding shimmering blue herbs, but froze at the sight of unfamiliar guests.
‘They look about Rubian’s age…’
Licht narrowed his eyes.
“Who are they?”
At Sebelena’s question, Senia grinned broadly.
“Children.”
“…They’re adults.”
“Children of the Gorge!”
Sebelena frowned, unable to make sense of it.
“No way…”
At that moment, Licht’s eyes widened as he watched the scene unfold in a daze.
Long ago, he had offhandedly asked Rubian how she had managed to escape the Mage Kingdom. Now, the words she once said echoed in his mind.
“I helped the child mages of Canalran Gorge to escape.”
“Senia, did you take your medicine? How are you feeling?”
“Fine.”
“That’s great. The mana herb really seems to work. But replacing a destroyed core will take more time. From our experiments so far, it might take about a year? Of course, you’ll have to take this medicine for the rest of your life. We’re even trying to turn it into small tablets… Are you interested in helping?”
“I’ll do anything I can.”
“Perfect.”
The young man smiled and set down his tray of herbs.
Licht asked hurriedly,
“Wait, are all of you… the child mages Rubian rescued? The survivors from Canalran Gorge?”
At that, the dozen or more people who had been bustling about abruptly stopped moving.
“What? The seventh… Do you know Rubian?”
With that question, people flocked around Licht.
“Is she healthy? Is she doing well?”
“Senia said the girl adopted by the Duke’s house is the seventh—she’s not being neglected, is she? No one is mistreating her?”
“Where is she now? Is she happy?”
The barrage of questions was like a downpour, leaving his head spinning.
“So… you’re the ones who healed Senia.”
He managed to mutter, and a woman with long, braided hair shrugged her shoulders. She had seemed wary of the unexpected outsiders at first, but relaxed once Senia nodded slightly.
“We’ve spent the past years studying how mages who lost their mana cores could survive. It was the only way for us to keep living, too.”
“There were so many friends we couldn’t save, though,” someone added gloomily.
“Finding the mana-healing herb in Eosia was an unbelievable stroke of luck—or maybe a reward for all our effort.”
Licht nodded, turning over her words in his mind. Though simply spoken, they contained stories of hardship and sacrifice that made his heart heavy.
After a moment, he asked again,
“But… how did you know Senia was alive here?”
“Well, that was thanks to the last one to be reunited with us. Ah, there she is, now.”
“Drukan! Did you finish the base?”
Drukan?
Licht turned his head.
He met eyes with a woman carrying a small pot like a brazier. Her familiar carrot-colored hair was tied up in a messy knot.
“Asha Drukan’s…”
Sister?
“She was rescued by Rubian, too.”
“Eeep!”
Clatter, tumble, tumble…
“A-a-aah!”
The woman, having spotted the prince, widened her eyes to the size of lanterns. She must recognize my face, Licht thought. When he quickly shook his head, she caught on and fell silent with a gulp.
When asked what had happened, she explained,
“A long time ago, Sister Asha told me about the ‘second one’… Right around then, these kids came to see me…”
“Ah…”
“I just thought I’d pay her a visit—didn’t tell my sister—and ended up here. The timing was lucky…”
That slow way of speaking—it was clear she was Asha Drukan’s sister.
“…I see. But…”
“Why did we save a woman who was once the Mage King’s underling?” the braided-haired woman said with a smile, as if anticipating Licht’s next question.
“If that’s the case, Rubian had no reason to save us, either.”
Her expression said, Having received kindness for no reason, we returned it for no reason.
“And if Rubian saves someone, there’s always a reason.”
Senia fidgeted, then quickly bowed low. The other mages, evidently used to such apologies, playfully patted her back as they passed.
They bustled about the room, set a large brazier atop the fire, and stirred. They trimmed fresh mana herbs and added them in order, then tossed in various other ingredients. Before long, a comforting warmth filled the hut.
“……”
Licht turned and met Sebelena’s gaze.
“It appears…”
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug.
“We should tell the lady that she needn’t worry about that letter anymore.”
“…Yes.”
He turned his eyes to the busy scene.
Could Rubian, fleeing from Canalran Gorge, ever have imagined a day like this would come?
That those she saved would rescue a dying Senia, and that Senia, newly saved, would again help Rubian one day.
“Rubian has been rewarded for her kindness,” Licht murmured without realizing it.
“Some might call it a trite, predictable story,” Sebelena said with a laugh.
“But I do prefer endings where goodness wins.”
“……”
“It’s even better if it’s cute, besides.”
To that, Licht gave his full agreement.
The portal flashed once, emitting a blue light.
“My laaaaady!”
Sebelena rushed out of the portal and immediately showered my cheeks with noisy kisses.
“Thank you. Thank you so much!”
“Heh, Princess…”
Sebelena spoke rapidly, as though spilling all she’d learned in Eosia. I just blinked in astonishment.
“It’s all thanks to you.”
“No, I—oh… wow.”
So things could turn out like this.
‘I never imagined it.’
That the children of Canalran Gorge would go on surviving that way…
Wait. If that’s so…
‘Then it’s possible to live even without a core, isn’t it?’
I thought to myself, dazed.
“Kind and cute is the best!”
Sebelena rubbed her cheek against mine again.
To be kissed by the woman who’s my type—my heart pounded furiously.
“What are you staring at, Sir Khalid? She’s mine.”
“…What…”
I barely managed to extricate myself from Sebelena’s grasp. Leaving the two of them glaring sparks at each other, I approached the prince, who’d been hesitating at the edge.
“Licht?”
“Rubian, it’s been a while. Are you all right?”
Licht asked, but it was he who looked gaunt and hollow-eyed—seeing how much he’d suffered weighed on my heart.
Instead of giving him a long-winded answer, I playfully tapped his arm.
“If you knew everything I’ve been through, you’d be shocked out of your mind.”
“Really?”
At that, Licht’s face relaxed, and he gave me a gentle smile.
“Take your time, tell me everything. Don’t leave out a single detail.”
“Of course.”
‘Still, he seems all right.’
Knowing his temperament, he must have spent a lot of time brooding alone.
His plan to deal with the First Prince had failed, and he’d ended up putting me in danger along the way.
The kind, perfectionist Licht surely turned all his blame on himself. Anyone can lose their way, if they’re trapped in one train of thought for too long.
That was why I sent him to Eosia—to give him something else to think about.
‘But I’m the one who was helped, in the end.’
Licht said he would help the children of Canalran Gorge, who wandered stateless, to settle in Babylon. The same would go for the mages who would soon be freed.
Looking up at the prince, whose gaze had softened, I chattered away.
“You know, I learned the secret of my birth, made plans to raid the Mage Kingdom—and also…”
“What else?”
“I became a Crest Master.”
Heh heh heh, heheh…
“That’s…”
Licht’s pretty eyes narrowed slightly.
Normally he never spoke so bluntly, but this time was an exception.
“That’s really not great.”
Why! Why is it always like this!
At last, the day to depart for the Mage Kingdom.
“Take care, Ruby. Don’t push yourself—if it seems impossible, give up on everything and sob your eyes out. Mommy will come for you right away.”
After a final, tight hug from my mother, I scrambled aboard the ship.
The long blast of the horn sounded, sails unfurled. As the wind pushed the vessel forward, the hull floated smoothly across the waves.
“If anything happens, always hide behind Leviathan!”
The port slipped away. Mother, Grandfather, and Void, their faces full of worry, slowly shrank to dots as the ship sailed on.