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"Mastermind" Volume 4 Epilogue Part 1
🕑 Added 2023-06-05 11:10:24 +0000 UTCThe excitement of the Lion King Festival had completely disappeared by about a week later.
The nobles from both domestic and foreign lands who had enlivened the capital, as well as the stalls, had vanished, and the atmosphere had returned to how it was before the preparations for the Lion King Festival.
The same was true in many of the academies in the capital. Conversations praising those who participated in the various competitions had decreased, and instead, only discussions about class assignments or summer vacation could be heard.
During the midsummer break, on the rooftop during lunchtime...
"...It's quiet, isn't it?"
"...Yes, it's quiet."
Two people were present in that place, Ren and Licia.
Ren sat on a bench, while Licia leaned against the rooftop fence.
Ren wondered if this peaceful academy life was their everyday life or if the recent extraordinary events had become their new normal. They had experienced various things, and as a result, Ren couldn't help but think that they were somewhat similar.
"Ren, you were still tired until yesterday... How about today?"
"I'm back in top form. How about you, Licia?"
"Me too. I've finally regained my energy to the level it was before the Lion King Festival started."
Rather than physical injuries from the battles, they had experienced exhaustion of magic power and mental fatigue. Since then, there had been many things happening, and they had only recently found moments of true relaxation, finally being able to spend such peaceful time.
"Today, after a long time, shall we visit the Holy lion’s sanctuary?"
"...It might be a good idea."
"Someday, huh? It seems like it's time for us to take a break."
Although they were talking about taking a break, they had already had sufficient time to rest. It had only been a few hours, but the time in Roses Caitas felt incredibly dense. After the battle with the Sword Demon, what happened to the two of them in the place they fell into afterward...
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
The area around the hole where the two of them fell was starting to collapse, making it difficult for them to use natural magic to escape upwards and take root in the crumbling space.
The free fall, breaking countless rocks and debris, seemed to continue indefinitely... The time that seemed to last forever ended a few seconds later. Their bodies plunged into an underground lake that appeared below, connected to an underground water vein.
Licia used her sacred magic to protect them from the falling objects, and they let themselves be carried by the water's flow for a few minutes. Occasionally, they surfaced and immersed their entire bodies in the water.
"Phew!"
"Cough! Cough!"
As it began to brighten, Ren surfaced first, followed by Licia, who coughed while spitting out the swallowed water.
"Ren! Can you swim!?"
"I'm completely fine, but Licia...!"
"Don't misunderstand. It's just that I haven't had the experience of swimming!"
"Oh, I see. For now, hold onto me!"
Ren also felt like he had never swum before, but there was no problem. The two of them resurfaced outside Roses Caitas, somewhere along the river flowing under the bridge in the gorge.
The water's momentum was not as strong as expected, and the words "clear stream" seemed fitting for this area. It seemed that the two of them had been carried by the water's flow leading outside.
"Licia, give me your hand."
"Sure. Thank you."
Ren, walking through the shallow water, offered his hand to Licia, and the two proceeded to walk towards the riverbank.
Licia grabbed the hem of her skirt and wrung out the water from the river. As for Ren, he summoned a sword of flames and cut down a nearby tree.
Although it was a living tree, the sword of flames ignited it without hesitation.
The skirt still clung tightly to Licia's skin even after wringing out the water, making her slightly uncomfortable.
"Fufu, it's funny how we come to appreciate a bonfire even in summer," she chuckled.
They planned to take a short break before heading back.
However...
"Look over there,"
Licia said, looking up.
They could see a bridge leading to the mountains where Roses Caitas was located. It was visible from their line of sight, towering at a dizzying height. However, their focus wasn't on the bridge but rather what lay beyond it—Roses Caitas itself.
From their current position, they couldn't see a wide area due to the angle, but the Cage of Time had disappeared. Faint voices of surprise could be heard from the people nearby.
"As expected, it's broken,"
"Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to get out. I had a feeling it would happen. What I'm curious about is how much time has passed since then."
"Since then... you mean from the time we entered the Cage of Time, right?"
"Yes, exactly. But as you can see, checking our watches isn't possible."
It was only natural that the watch was broken. The dial cover was cracked, and the hands were nowhere to be found.
"I'd like to complain to the Elfen Church about this, but that would probably make things overly complicated."
"Yes... If we started questioning the relationship with the Demon king’s cult, saying things like 'Why were only we involved?' it would be troublesome. We should consult with Ulysses-sama or Radius on what to do,"
Ren suggested.
"You're right. But if things get really complicated, let's escape together just in case."
"Oh my... We'll be completely wanted then."
Of course, they were only joking. They both laughed. They didn't think the situation would become dangerous. Moreover, there should be no one who knows that they were inside Roses Caitas.
Unable to come up with an answer by thinking about it now, they looked up at the bridge again. However, both of them simultaneously sat down on the gravel ground and started gazing at the bonfire.
"We can't move our bodies at all, so let's rest a little longer."
"Yes... I already want to sleep right now,"
Licia agreed.
Perhaps because they had let their guard down, their whole bodies felt unusually sluggish.
It would be good for Licia to heal their bodies with her sacred magic, but it wouldn't be right to burden her unnecessarily. Ren didn't consider relying on Licia's power even for a moment. For now, it was better to rest their bodies here for a while.
"How should we get back from here?"
"Well... Is there any staircase or something around here?"
"At the bottom of this gorge?"
"...As I say it myself, it doesn't seem likely."
"In that case, we'll have to climb the mountain."
Ren concluded.
"Again..."
Licia sighed.
Thinking about the future made them feel down. However, there was no greater joy than surviving.
――――Several minutes later, Fiona and Klonoa rushed to where the two were.
Fiona had plans to watch the martial arts tournament with Ren and Licia in the afternoon, so she waited in the aerial garden. Upon receiving a report of a disturbance in Roses Caitas, she hurried there with Klonoa.
Klonoa was the one who found them and sensed their presence at the bottom of the valley.
"――――Both of you, let's first go to a safe place."
Even without knowing the situation, Fiona instantly understood that the two people by the riverbank were involved in the commotion.
In the end, the safest place happened to be near Ulysses. This was due to various factors and reasons.
On their way back to the Imperial Capital, Ren and Licia heard something from Klonoa.
"The more I hear, the stranger it sounds... Maybe the people outside suddenly saw the seals disappear. I don't know why the two of you were trapped inside the seals..."
"Klonoa-san, does that mean...?"
"Yeah. The two of you were trapped in a space where time didn't pass."
Ren and Licia looked at the clock in disbelief.
It hadn't even been two hours since they heard the hymn of the choir.
In other words, the people outside only noticed the collapse of the time cage after the battle inside the time cage had ended.
They had no way of knowing what Ren and Licia had been doing.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
The two informed only close individuals of what had happened. Only members of the Clausel and Ignat families, as well as Klonoa and Radius, knew the truth about the time cage.
That day, what the two had discussed was placed under a gag order by Radius.
Leave the rest to me――――he and Ulysses said with a strong and indignant voice.
As the two relaxed on the rooftop, they heard the sound of a bell.
It was the sound of a bell that usually indicated the start of the afternoon class, but there were no afternoon classes today. It wasn't just limited to the two of them; the academy had a day off in the afternoon. It was due to the preparations for the Lion King Festival. The teachers had work to do during that period.
"Shall we go home?"
"Yes."
The two left the rooftop.
When they opened the door to return to the school building, the door made a creaking sound.
Inside the school, students were bustling, some preparing to go home and others enjoying conversations with friends before leaving.
Kaito, who saw the two, called out to them. Licia distanced herself a little, considerate of not disturbing the two.
"Hey, Ashton! How about grabbing a meal now?"
"Sorry. I was actually planning to go home already."
"Oh... then I'll invite you next time!"
Kaito turned around and hastily spoke to Ren.
"I couldn't say it because we haven't been able to meet much lately, but thanks for the Lion King Festival! Thanks to you, it was a fun time until the end!"
"But the semifinals and finals didn't take place, right?"
"Well, that's the only regret. But it can't be helped. The uproar was all about the unsealing of Roses Caitas, so there wasn't any time for that. The sixth and seventh days were like nothing because of that."
Ren scratched his cheek with a wry smile and looked in the direction of the day after tomorrow.
There, Licia was standing, also wearing a wry smile just like Ren.
"It seems like it was amazing. The situation inside Roses Caitas."
"What was so amazing about it?"
"It was the remnants of the battle. The square where the legendary statue was said to be had completely disappeared, leaving behind a huge hole that extended underground. There must have been an incredible battle back there."
"...I see. That's possible."
"Right now, the Elfen Church is investigating. They still don't know why the seal suddenly broke."
Everything Kaito mentioned was about the events after that in Roses Caitas. Since only a limited number of people knew about the story of the two who were involved, the conversation had not progressed much beyond this.
After finishing the conversation, Kaito said, "Well, see you!" and went somewhere.
"Ren."
Licia returned nearby with light footsteps.
After hesitating for a moment, she smiled wryly just like before and said,
"If we were to say that we were the ones who did it, what kind of reaction do you think we would get?"
"If it was Leonardo-senpai, he would probably laugh it off and say, 'Don't be ridiculous' with a smile."
"Hehe... That's probably true."
Come to think of it, the aftermath of that incident was left to Radius and Ulysses.
It had been several days since Radius said he would come to talk if anything happened.
(I wonder if there's nothing important enough for them to inform us about.)
Since the sixth day of the Lion King Festival, Radius hadn't shown his face to Ren after he and Licia entered the time cage. That's what Mirei told him when she came to the academy, saying he was busy with the time cage incident.
Leaving the school building and passing through the school gate, they were planning to head to the station as usual and return to Ellendil.
However...
Just a short walk outside the school gate, Radius appeared before the two.
He looked at the surprised Ren and Licia and said,
"I'm sorry, but can I have some of your time starting now?"
After a long time of not seeing his face, Radius suddenly said that.
