Chapter 256


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That day—the day we captured Ryūgūin in the royal capital and had that conversation with Mika and the other two.
We all shared our thoughts and discussed our future paths.
The three of them seemed to have found their own distinct paths to follow, and we were about to face a true farewell.

I would go my way, and they would go theirs. Our lives would never intersect again until death.
During that cheerful conversation, I keep wrestling with whether or not to accept the reality of a life without them in it.

「You three said you wanted to make amends to me, right? In that case, would you listen to a request I have?」

With those despicable words, I stop them from leaving.
Fighting back nerve-wracking tension, I reach into my magic bag. Even in that moment, I’m still hesitating.

Should I say it, or should I suppress these feelings?
If I speak these words, it will bind them to me.

Is that really okay—?
I ask myself over and over and over again.

But in the end, I take out the bracelets from my magic bag and hand them to the three of them. They’re magic items I had asked Chloa to make.
They’re bracelet versions of the miniaturized 「Crane’s Guidance」 spell, compact enough to wear without needing to keep them in a magic bag.

Of course, the three of them don’t understand what I’ve given them.

「The bracelets I’ve given you are teleportation devices.」

They give me puzzled looks, wondering why I would give them such things.

「Mika is going on a journey of atonement. Angie is becoming a teacher. Eris will continue training with me.」

I had separated from them once before.
That’s exactly why I understand certain things more clearly now.
Separating from them again—

「I think Mika, Angie, and Eris will each follow their own paths from now on.」

Looking back, I can still feel the pain in my chest from that moment.
I couldn’t bear it anymore.

「No matter where you are or what you’re doing, please come see me.」

The bracelets I gave them are teleportation devices with cutting-edge technology built into them.

「I just can’t accept that this is the end…」

Yes, at their core, they’re just magical devices.
But more than that—

「You don’t have to agree. But if you still feel the same way I do, I want you to put them on right here and now.」

They are chains forged from my burning, possessive ego—chains meant to bind them to me.



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First, I sense a familiar presence behind me.

「Son-in-law, I’m baaack!」

「Welcome home, Sensei.」

Sensei, wearing a light purple kimono in a disheveled way, makes herself at home… well, it is her house originally, so I guess it’s fine?
Anyway, as soon as she enters, she flops down without any sense of propriety, her kimono coming loose. Is she a cat or something?

「Sensei, your kimono is getting wrinkled.」

「No worries, no worries, this thing isn’t trained so cheaply.」

What do you mean ‘trained’…? Rather than trying to make sense of it, I just respond with 「I see.」

「Come now, you’ve been here many times, shouldn’t you be used to it by now?」

Sensei calls out to the woman peeking in from the entrance—Mika.

「Then, excuse me…」

Her voice is clear and pleasant.
Mika timidly enters the cabin and comes to stand next to me as I continue my preparations.

「Ichiro, have you been well?」

「Same as always. How about you?」

「I’m doing well too… however,」

「However?」

「Through this journey, I’m truly beginning to understand what I’ve done.」

I’m not the one who experienced it. I can’t say anything half-hearted.
Still, there are words I want to convey.

「Healing those who have made mistakes—I think you and Sensei can do that to the fullest.」

「When you say it, it’s somehow embarrassing…」

「Stop that. You’re making me blush.」

Mika is really easy to read.
She used to be criticized for never changing her expression, but now she turns bright red at my words.

「Besides, I think this:
Ryūgūin’s existence itself was like the embodiment of unreasonableness. But even without someone like Ryūgūin, there are plenty of unreasonable things in this world. I think the two of you can look cool while crushing such misfortunes.」

A Saint & Sensei combo? That’s got to be unbeatable.
I can’t imagine them losing.

「Ichiro, please stop.」

Perhaps my emotional outburst was too much, as Mika crouches down and hides her face.
And inside the sleeve of her clothes as she groans 「uu,」 the bracelet I gave her glints with light.

「Son-in-law, I heard something interesting,」

Sensei, who has transformed into a being that just lounges around waiting for meals, asks me with a familiar phrase despite her relaxed posture.

「That dark guild that was operating in the shadows of the royal capital—you’re the one who wiped them out, aren’t you?」



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