Youngest 140
by CristaeEpisode 140
Come to think of it, the camp was already entering its final days.
‘A few more days and I’ll see him!’
Dad, away on business…
Being apart somehow made me miss him even more.
To the mightiest father—please, not a hair harmed, come back safe and sound so I can squeeze you tight.
‘And please teach me how to jump rope…’
“……”
Leviathan sniffed the air for no reason.
‘What is this? Feels like my daughter is desperately calling me.’
He leaned against a pile of barren rubble.
Though the days-long march hadn’t tired him physically, his expression grew ever more haggard.
“Bright eyes, a cute little nose, lovely lips…”
He muttered, head bowed.
Unable to bear it any longer, one of the knights asked,
“What… are you doing?”
“I’m looking at my daughter.”
The Heroic Duke replied coolly, lovingly stroking a golden locket.
“……”
The knight, a little unnerved, edged away. Here we go again.
At that moment, a blue-haired knight approached.
“Could I… take a look as well?”
“I’ll allow it, just this once.”
“Thank you.”
Leon joined Leviathan in gazing at the minuscule image of Rubian inside the locket. He really was fortunate to serve such a benevolent lord.
Whew…
He felt recharged from seeing his daughter’s face.
“So, what do we do about that now?”
Leviathan tucked away the locket and looked up.
A parched thunderstorm flashed across the darkened sky. Not a drop of rain fell—an ominous weather.
“The Mage King himself is on the move. There must truly be something there.”
Leon murmured, clenching and unclenching his fist.
The Delcan Ruins.
Leviathan had just finished conducting reconnaissance on those ruins.
Through the bustling throng of mages, a man had appeared, trailing a long priest’s robe behind him.
Strikingly handsome, yet with a gaze as black and dead as could be—the chilling, hate-consumed King of the Mages.
‘So, I was right, Ditrian.’
Recalling the Emperor’s face, Leviathan mused.
The Mage King, caught in a kind of trance, vanished into the underground entrance to the ruins.
“It seems he’s found some odd entrance. But…”
Leon frowned, adding,
“Why are they storing the corpses of Dark Beasts? I thought we incinerated all of them.”
“Who knows…”
Leviathan flicked the end of his unlit cigarette with a tap.
Indeed.
Near the underground entrance to the ruins, numerous Dark Beast corpses had been piled up—ones he thought they’d already destroyed.
And… these were Dark Beasts of a kind he’d never seen before.
“Will they discover something in the ruins beneath us?”
What are they planning?
Leon muttered bitterly.
“Dark Magic…”
Leviathan scarcely realized he’d spoken aloud, and surprised even himself. Could it be—they’d found some hint about dark magic beneath the ruins?
A glint flashed in his gaze.
Suddenly, the tense air sharpened, and the lieutenants stiffened.
“We must gather evidence.”
“Evidence? But we aren’t mages… How on earth—”
After all, they couldn’t very well haul a Dark Beast corpse along on horseback.
Leviathan, aware of this, fell silent in thought. Then—a thought struck him.
“Ah.”
He rummaged in his coat and drew out a small object.
“That glass bottle…”
A blue ribbon was tied to the neck, and dried blood stained the side.
“So much blood—I see.”
“I’ve carried it everywhere. In any case, this bottle should be able to hold traces of dark magic—that is, remnants from those Dark Beast corpses.”
“A magic tool, is it?”
Leviathan couldn’t bring himself to answer easily.
But what was certain: with the trace of dark magic in this bottle, he had once been able to track a dark mage to their lair.
“I can sneak in at night then…”
Leviathan shook his head.
“No. If that lunatic catches even a whiff of trouble, we’re in real danger… I’ll go myself.”
For all their skill, even these seasoned knights could only do so much without drawing the Mage King’s wrathful attention.
Only Leviathan himself could see such a task through with certainty.
“We’re sorry, my lord.”
The knights appeared deeply ashamed.
“When night falls, we move.”
As he tucked the glass bottle into his coat once more, something caught his attention.
“But… catching a rat should be within your skill, no?”
Leon followed Leviathan’s gaze.
Among the jumbled ruins, far from where they stood, they both sensed the presence of another observer.
“Leave it to me.”
Leon stepped forward.
Not much time passed.
“Aaahh, spare me… Just spare me, please!”
A filthy, dust-covered mercenary flopped to his knees.
“So.”
Leviathan crushed the man’s knee with his boot.
“Who are you, lurking about since earlier?”
“Um, actually, I’m here for a similar reason… In fact, we might even be on the same side?”
“……”
“Heh heh heh. Please, just let me go.”
Allen laughed awkwardly, bowing low.
The next day.
“Professor!”
“There you are.”
I trudged along, huffing.
Yuliope, waiting for me in front of the administration building, swiftly picked up my basket.
“Shall we just meet at the dining hall from now on? It’s gotten quite heavy…”
“It’s fine! Today’s lunch is strawberry sandwiches!”
“Oh ho.”
“With so, so much whipped cream spread on them!”
Whoever first thought to pair whipped cream with strawberries—what a brilliant mind they must have had.
I babbled away with excitement. Yuliope grinned and patted my head.
“I see. Well, let’s go inside. We have a lot to talk about.”
His face was positively bright.
That smiling expression told me right away that he’d solved the archive problem.
“Yes! Strawberry sandwiches!”
“Please try to eat at least half today. You never finish… Hmm? Rubian, your knee’s scraped.”
Yuliope looked down at the bandage on my knee.
“Oh, I got hurt jump roping yesterday. I wasn’t very good at it…”
I’d hurt the same spot all over again, thanks to Haben.
“……”
“Professor?”
Yuliope fell silent at my puzzled call, and murmured softly,
“Jeks was in charge of class, right?”
Whoa, what was with that voice?
“Y-yes… Why?”
His manner had taken on a strangely cool edge; I blinked in confusion.
“How is that bastard even managing his class?”
Did—did he just say ‘bastard’? The ever-so gentle, well-mannered Professor Yuliope, obsessed with his salary but otherwise mild, really just said that?
Catching my eye, he gave a rough laugh.
“Don’t worry. That bastard’s my junior from the Academy.”
Is that really the issue here?
Regardless, Yuliope began drafting up a rigorous mental discipline curriculum for his junior, with an icy smile on his lips.
I watched him, rather taken aback.
‘Somehow…’
It felt familiar…
Suddenly, I found myself grinning.
“Still, it’s a little touching…”
“Sorry? What is?”
“You got mad for my sake, because you were worried.”
“Excuse me?”
The young professor wore a look as if this was the oddest thing he’d ever heard.
“If something happens in class, my salary gets docked—that’s all.”
“……”
“Rubian—this might sound harsh, but, when you talk to your parents, you’ll… spin it nicely, yes? If you must tell on someone, just mention Jeks. Please avoid naming Yuliope, the homeroom professor…”
“Ugh… Professor, you’re hopeless!”
Yuliope only laughed.
“You and your salary obsession!”
It was really ridiculous!
But surprisingly, that very morning, Yuliope taught me how to jump rope.
He must’ve been bothered by the fact that I’d hurt myself because I wasn’t any good at it.
“Hmm. First, your rope is much too long.”
“Really?”
“That makes it hard to skip.”
“Ohhhh.”
He quickly adjusted the length for me.
“And don’t try to swing your arms and then jump—think of jumping as soon as you start swinging.”
“Hmmm…”
In the backyard behind the administration building, I slowly weighed his words, and tried jumping as I swung the rope.
“Gasp.”
I did it!
I really did it!
I jumped rope!
“Professor!”
“Very well done.”
Maybe he’d be better off teaching PE than researching old books?
He smiled warmly and patted my head.
“If you hang onto that feeling and keep practicing, you’ll be able to do all sorts of tricks.”
“All sorts…?”
“Hopping on one foot, double-unders where you spin the rope twice in a jump…”
Advanced techniques!
“I’ll work hard!”
With determination sparkling in my eyes, Yuliope nodded approvingly.
Bright sunlight poured over us both. Yuliope lifted his hand to shade his eyes, gazing up at the sky for a moment.
“It’s been a while since I spent time outside. I was always holed up in my study or in the library…”
Glancing at Yuliope’s face, which looked a little more cheerful, I skipped the rope once more. I still couldn’t do it consecutively, but it was real progress.
“Rubian?”
“Yup?”
“Would you like to come to the archive with me during free time today? Tomorrow’s the last day, after all.”
Thunk. The jump rope dropped from my hand.
“Really?”
“Yes. In truth…”
Yuliope smiled broadly.
“The archive problem has been resolved.”