Youngest 172
by CristaeEpisode 172
“Oh, then Ruby, you should have a birthday party in the capital too. No way we’re losing to the emperor’s son.”
“But, but he’s royalty… Wait, if I did have a party, would anyone even come?”
“No one?”
“Hm… Let me see. Titi, Jerdin, Licht, Olivia, um, and…”
What sort of people will you meet? What kind of adult will you grow up to be?
Leviathan looked down at Rubian, who was counting off names on her fingers with delight, feeling both anticipation and regret.
“And last… Dad!”
She tossed her head back and smiled up at him.
It was at that moment.
‘What’s this?’
Leviathan felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
“…”
He paused, if only for a brief instant, before returning to his usual calm and gently tugged down the edge of his child’s sleeve.
“I’ll attend for sure.”
He traced a doodle on her palm as if signing his name, making Rubian giggle.
‘…Why did that dream suddenly come to mind?’
Leviathan kept walking as he pondered.
Lately, he’d often been plagued by strange, nameless dreams.
Dark nights, beneath a hazy moon.
Dreams of facing someone—and dying.
He never remembered anything after waking, except for the cold, sharp sensation of a blade slicing through his heart.
“You shouldn’t have stood against my father.”
‘When Rubian grows taller… will she be about my height?’
He startled himself with the stray thought and shook his head.
What are you thinking?
It was only a dream.
Naturally, it would vanish like a mirage upon waking…
Just an ordinary nightmare.
Once again, Rubian’s diary!
This really is a diary just for me. (Isn’t it?)
The notebook my family scrawled in doubled as a homework diary anyway, so I just turned it into a family exchange diary.
And now I’ve bought a new diary!
Does it have a lock?
Of course not. Mwahaha! I realized I didn’t really need one after all.
Why? Because I’m a mage!
A high-ranking mage from Arcadia, the now-vanished land of mages.
That’s how I got dragged into the Human–Dark Beast War, became a fugitive, and ended up a child with a few too many secrets…
But in the end, I got to meet Dad and my family like this, so I think it’s good I didn’t give up.
Of course, the reason I didn’t give up was partly because I realized I had reincarnated into this ‘novel.’
Hmm… So, sometimes—
No, lately it’s been pretty often—
I find myself wondering where this body was really born.
Will I find out someday?
Would something change if I did?
Hmm, who knows.
In any case, time to write in my diary!
I’m in the capital!
Licht’s birthday party was incredible. Pure extravagance and splendor.
And above all, so many people. He works hard at the academy, travels all over the Empire for fun, so he has tons of friends!
From the looks of it, with all the rumors about making him the next crown prince, maybe this was largely for show, to keep the other princes’ ambitions in check… Hmm, from what I can tell, he’s doing more than fine.
Ah, and on top of how extraordinary Licht’s party was—I barely survived.
With all those eyes and all that attention, my poor heart just isn’t big enough yet…
If Khalid hadn’t been with me, I might’ve run away. He blocked some of the crowds for me and found places where I could take breaks from time to time.
Of course, the mana he secretly shared was a HUGE help!
Wow, my birthday party, wow…
Are you really allowed to make this much fuss? Am I going to get in trouble?
His Majesty the Emperor said to me, “For a moment, I thought a new imperial holiday had been established without my knowledge, Princess.” (Come to think of it, who the heck sent invitations to even the Emperor?)
Anyway, for another year, things are noisy as ever…
I am now fourteen!
Ah, right! Khalid took off his fourth bracelet and gave it to me.
Ugh… Dad left on a magical beast hunt… (tears)
Uh, is it okay to write this kind of thing?
Oh well, since this is just for me, it doesn’t matter, right?
So…
Since morning, I’ve had no energy, a pounding headache, and just felt off all day. My mood was down for no real reason…
I thought I was coming down with something, but all of a sudden, my stomach hurt so badly.
At first, I panicked, thinking it was pain from my Crest growing. But…
Turns out, it wasn’t.
That is—well.
It started.
That once-a-month thing.
I was trying to clean myself up alone, but Mom caught me. She said she had a feeling it’d be about this time.
It was a bit embarrassing, so I tried to hide it, but Mom explained with a huge, happy smile that this just meant I was growing up healthy and there was nothing shameful about it. She explained everything with such care.
And I think… seeing her like that made me even happier.
Because in my past life, I didn’t know what to do, and ended up struggling all alone.
Heh, I’m really glad I have a mom.
I passed the academy transfer test.
Kind of bragging but…
I took first place! (Joy)(Cheers)(Applause)(Applause)(Applause)
One of the happiest days of my fifteen years!
But what’s even crazier is that Kal got second place. I thought all he did was swing a sword day and night—when did he have time to study?
Anyway, soon I’ll be at the academy with my brothers and friends! Even if it’s only for a short time, I’m going to have a lot of fun!
Tonight Titi slept over at our house.
We wore cute pajamas and snuck snacks under the covers in the same bed. Not that anyone would have scolded us for snacking anyway.
I’m older than Titi, but we swore we’d always be best friends. To celebrate, we shared one secret each…
And Titi—well.
She confessed that she told Jerdin she liked him. And… he turned her down!
Dear me.
I was going to tell her about the time I snuck out with my brothers in disguise to go play downtown…
Titi is more grown-up than I am…
These days I find myself seriously wondering what liking someone really means.
(But what does fate hold for our trio now…?)
The investigation of the magic runestones is already in its final stages.
There’s a place left on our list that has the formula for the Oath Sigil. Where could it be?
Ah, today Khalid gave me the fifth bracelet.
Sixteen years old!
Kal underwent his coming-of-age ceremony first and was knighted.
“Whoa~ Sir Khalid~,” I teased about three hundred times, and he didn’t even flinch.
Hm, I seem to recall he’d get embarrassed about things like this before…
We’ve narrowed the final candidates for the magic runestone to three locations.
I’m still checking the last spot myself, but I can’t find a trace even after scouring the imperial archives! Where are you hiding?!
Anyway, Dad’s decided to go to one of the three, and as for the rest…
Khalid left without giving me the last bracelet.
Once again, he just left a note behind, like the wind! Not even a mana channel left open—told me not to waste my power and cut the circuit. Ugh, so annoying!
Of course, I know he went to look for the magic runestone for my sake… but it still drives me crazy that he left without saying goodbye. I’m preserving this note as evidence of my grievance.
Khalid Riorc! Think neat penmanship makes everything okay? See if I don’t make you pay when you come back, just you wait! You utter @%!@^!
.
.
.
Oh wow, so this is where I left my diary!
It feels a little weird to write in here again after so long.
So… what was I jotting down before?
Oh, that’s right.
I’ve been kind of busy lately!
I have to prepare for the academy graduation exams, there was a funeral, and I’ve had to sneak visits to the imperial archives as often as I can.
Licht and I are still investigating the last remaining location, but honestly, there hasn’t been much progress. To tell the truth, it’s making me anxious.
I think tomorrow I’ll go see Professor Yuliope and review the research on ancient place names again.
In a few days, I’ll be eighteen.
Amazing. Eighteen!
Back then, I thought I’d be out of the ducal household before I turned eighteen… Hah, with hindsight, what a laugh.
Oh, and Khalid…
Ever since that note, two years ago.
He still hasn’t returned my last bracelet.
.
.
.
Wait, wait a second.
My thoughts are all over the place, so this might be a bit scattered.
How do I even explain this?
Today, talking with Professor Yuliope, a strange possibility suddenly occurred to me.
The final location of the magic runestone.
Until now, I had focused mostly on ‘magic’ and only thought of it as searching for a place that matched the name in the documents.
But if I shift my perspective just a bit…
What if I simply try to list the places that have a special ‘runestone?’
Don’t I already know such a place?
That is—
Our house in Zelox.
…Past Herb Hill.