Chapter 125 – Mimir’s True Intention

We took Aisha-sama to her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. Because we were worried about her, we decided to stay at the Heart mansion.

Had it been an hour already?

Aisha-sama slowly woke up.

[...forgive me. I think I got too excited. This is probably the extra energy that came with Fate’s healing.]

She smiled after getting up from the bed.

Perhaps she had accepted the fact that Mason-sama had returned alive. Aaron who was sitting on the bedside smiled in relief.

[That man... if he finds out that I’ve been healed, he must feel very surprised as well. I wonder if he’ll act exactly like me?]

[Hahaha, I believe Mason still has not changed from who he was in the past.]

[Really now, Aaron-sama.]

It is as Aaron said, I guess. The people of Heart mansion will surely be very surprised with Mason-sama’s return.

But the man in question didn’t seem to be as surprised with himself being alive. When we met him at the south gate, he seemed to be more worried about Roxy than anything else.

He’s an amazing person.

He had experienced something beyond any common sense, but no one would be able to tell from a single glance.

I was also similarly a Holy Knight. But I suppose there were differences in terms of resolve and determination.

I could feel that after seeing Mason-sama’s expression when he met Roxy.

As Aaron saw, Aisha-sama herself seemed to have calmed down, so we decided to leave the room.

[Well, I should take my leave. You must prepare to greet Mason who has returned.]

[Eee, won’t it be better if Aaron-sama and Fate stay?]

[No... I cannot do that. We would just be a third wheel in this long overdue family reunion. Let us just visit again on another day.]

[I see... thank you for your concern.]

[Fumu. well then, Fate, let us go.]

[Yes.]

The thought of staying inside a woman’s room for a period of time also irked me.

Reunited with long lost family, is it...? I’m somewhat envious. My father died from a sickness when I was still young. My mother seemed to have passed away soon after giving birth to me.

Perhaps, if this miracle happened to Mason-sama, then my parents... no way.

I should give up on such a petty wish. After all, I already had my own family now.

Aaron and Mimir...as well as Shara who, despite working as a maid, was already like my own little sister.

Before, I never thought that I would have this kind of family. And even so... I...

[Fate, what are you doing just standing there!]

Aaron put his hand on my shoulder. He looked at me, as if wanting to say something, but then left the word just like so.

[Please wait for me, Aaron! Aisha-sama, excuse me...]

[Come visit us again. I’ll be waiting.]

I left the room and chased after Aaron.

As if something wrong happened, Haru rushed in to the room, but from the lively echo in the hallway, I could already tell. Well... too bad that we’ll miss out on Mason-sama’s homecoming.

I caught up to Aaron and walked on his side. For a while, he remained silent.

But soon later, he suddenly stopped and looked straight at me.

[Oh Fate, what will milord will do from now on?]

He then probed me.

[Nowadays milord seems strange compared to the past. Like your mind is not here. As if you’ve already planned to do something far away from here.]

[About that...]

Seeing me having trouble in replying, Aaron took a guess.

[Is it about Myne? Then if it is I am also worried about her...]

[.....]

[Looks like I guessed right. Alright... shall we go?]

[Not now. I think, I will go as soon as I find her location]

[I see... does Roxy know about this decision?]

[No.]

Hearing that Aaron’s expression turned cloudy.

[Alright. But when the time comes, I want you to inform me. I want the send you off grandly. Agreed?]

[...Yes.]

After that conversation, Aaron went back to Barbatos mansion to check on Mimir’s condition.

I should’ve told him some more.

He adopted me, and even passed on the position of Barbatos family head to me, which I’m very grateful to him. He wouldn’t allow me to leave silently.

It’s the least I can do to repay the benefits I’ve received.

Before leaving Heart mansion, I thought about calling Roxy.

There she was! However, she’s still talking to the servants. Their reactions were fairly similar to that of Aisha-sama’s.

Looks like this news was really hard to believe.

Roxy explained things carefully. Seeing how it went, I guessed it’ll take a while.

I thought that the presence of an outsider would only add to the confusion.

So I decided to go home, which did not missed Roxy’s notice. She sent me a glance, which I replied with a smile and a light handwave.

I supposed the message ‘I’ll meet you again tomorrow’ had been transmitted.

When she’s done explaining to one servant, another one was already waiting. It’s all in preparation for Mason-sama’s homecoming.

Speaking of which, Roxy’s homecoming party was fairly big as well.

Then Mason-sama homecoming party should be just as big if not bigger. I should return to Barbatos mansion immediately to prepare a celebration gift that won’t embarrass us.

It’s strange to feel happiness and uneasiness at the same time like this.

After leaving Heart mansion, I didn’t directly returned to Barbatos mansion, but instead went to the military district.

I wanted to report what happened today to Raine. After all, without her, the matter of me and Roxy switching body due to Goblin shaman’s magic won’t be solved.

The holy knight residential area was also getting lively. Apparently the news that the return of Mason-sama and the soldiers had spread here as well.

Passing through some people on my way, my eyes landed on the cemetery at the side of the gate leading to military district. I’ve always passed it without caring. But it’s been several months since then, and its significance finally entered my mind.

Entering the site, I saw tombstones arranged in neat line. This wasn’t the place where the holy knights were buried. It’s where their servants were buried.

This was the final resting place of those who served the holy knights throughout their life. Although, if the holy knight in question had bad conduct, sometimes they didn’t even bury their deceased servant here.

It’s a convenient place to bury the dead. A graveyard.

As for Heart family, I heard that when their servants died, the deceased servant will not be buried here. Instead, the deceased will receive a proper burial in their homeland, the Heart territory.

Greed seemed to be worried about my out of place action.

『What’s the matter? Going to a place like this』

[Ah, I’m just thinking to see an old friend.]

『Is that so.....』

I looked at a certain grave. I placed my hand on its brand new tombstone.

[Hi, Rafal, are you feeling well?]

Back then, I remembered that Gluttony skill activated. I devoured Rafal’s soul.

Which means, he’s actually inside me. Not like Luna, he’s probably among the dead souls I saw under the spiritual world.

When I called his name in front of his grave like this, does that mean his soul can hear it from that hellish place...? Maybe it’s just my mind playing tricks on myself.

He desperately tried to destroy the Capital, but it was nothing but revenge on his part.

He was broken when the only one cared for him, his mother, died. I could understand after reading the remaining content of his diary.

Nobody was willing to aid someone who did not have a proper skill like his mother... day by day, his hatred to the absolute rule the world only grew larger.

However, what Rafal was trying to do was,

[Unforgivable no matter what.]

That was what crossed my mind, but someone else actually said it. I’m quite familiar already with the owner of that devilish voice.

Without turning around, I called her name.

[Mimir? How is your condition?]

[Thank you for the concern but I’m alright. More than that, I never expected that Fate-sama would be here of all places.]

Mimir stood beside me with a bouquet in her hands.

The grave was in good condition, so she probably visited here regularly. This shows how kind she really was. Despite being experimented on by Rafal, despite all the pain he inflicted upon her, she still came here anyways.

She then told me about Rafal’s descent into that madness. I already got the gist of it since I also heard about the result of her interrogation at the palace.

However, this would be the first time for me to hear it directly from Mimir’s mouth. People tend to be unwilling to be reminded of painful memories after all.

[When I and Rafal went to the mountain city, he found something buried deep within the ground.]

[Is it the nightwalker origin?]

[Yes. As far as I know...it was just a palm sized red stone back then]

[The nightwalker origin, Shin, apparently scattered similar red stones around the world, hoping for a chance of revival.]

[I was told that it’s the philosopher’s stone. First of all, it has the capability to heal wounds. This world has no recovery magic, so this ability sparked the interest of Burix researchers.

Of course, to the researcher, this so called philosopher’s stone was something enticing.

If it’s just a regular stone, then they wouldn’t even care about it.

[Starting from that point, Rafal began to act strange. He said that he heard voices coming from that stone... at that time it didn’t bother me that much.]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

[I think I know of the consciousness dwelling inside the stone... it was Shin trying to further his own cause by reigniting Rafal’s old hatred. That’s how I felt when I was battling them]

He even goaded Myne to follow him by bringing up the matter about the door to that land.

If anything could urge Rafal to go that far, then it would be Shin.

Rafal had a grudge against the kingdom for its policies that made his mother suffered, and he had a good amount of power as the heir of Burix family.

And then, there was also Shin who helped him out.

Area E――the power of Tenryu which no human could oppose... I guess I get it now.

Aaron’s words back then echoed back in my mind. With great power comes great responsibility.

There is something I need to tell to Mimir. It must not be postponed any longer.

[I’m very sorry for killing both Rafal and Hado. Back then, I...]

[It’s alright. There is no other choice. Rafal planned to destroy the capital, and there were also those atrocities he did. I myself had done terrible things to Fate-sama before anyways...]

[In that case, I guess I was apologizing for nothing. Even so, I’m still glad that Mimir decided to join the Barbatos family.]

I tried to flash a smile at Mimir. Is it working?

Well, I guess it’s a bit awkward.

The girl herself didn’t respond. She put the bouquet in front of the tombstone. It was a beautiful white flower bouquet.

She then turned to me.

[I heard that a lot of different things are being tried on Hausen. It would be nice if all that work well]

[Yeah. Everyone is working hard. Soon enough they won’t be needing my protection.]

[That’s no good. There must be something left to be done.]

[Mimir...]

[I’ve made my decision. Rafal is in you. I will be watching you from now on. So, please show it to me properly. A path that is different from what he took]

[Thank you]

The both of us stood there without saying anything else for a while.

Let’s visit here again sometime. As we walked out, Mimir said something to me.

[You should tell the truth to Roxy-sama. There are a lot of things people won’t understand unless you say it upfront. I knew about your condition from sucking your blood. But she’s different from me. You should tell everything to your important person!]

[... I guess I will.]

[I’ve been watching for a long time. She’s someone important to Fate-sama even when you were still working for Burix family. It always bothered me when I saw it.]

[Ahahaha. So that’s why you kept trampling on me.]

[I suppose so. I apologize for that times. However, if you like it, then please tell me. I would be happy to oblige!]

[Please wake me up in that way next time then.]

[Fufufu...please look forward to it]

When a relationship entered a certain level, a painful memories could even become a joke as if it didn’t matter.

The meaning behind Aaron taking Mimir to Barbatos family. I think I can understand it now.

That said, I should be able to do the same with Myne. Even if that door to that land could bring something she couldn’t afford to miss.