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My childhood as Rain Hagwell can be summed up in a single phrase: I was an absolute egoist.
I was born into the Hagwell family, a prestigious house in the magical powerhouse known as the Hitia Duchy. Apparently, my magical talent far outstripped that of my older sister, Teruche.
Once my parents realized this, they wasted no time enrolling me in the Academy.
As for Teruche, around the time I entered the Academy, she took a position as a lady’s maid and guard for the daughter of a certain household who had just been born.
The disparity in how our parents treated us, the fact that I was a Singular Mage of Space Leap—hailed as the pinnacle of magic—and the constant praise of "genius" from everyone around me naturally went to my head.
At the time, I truly believed, without a hint of irony, that the world revolved around me.
I believe the turning point came when the girl Teruche served—Shion Nasturtium—enrolled in the Academy.
Her magical talent easily eclipsed even mine, despite my status as a Singular Mage.
Inevitably, the title of "genius" within the Academy began to drift away from me and settle on Shion.
As one could infer from a member of the Hagwell house serving as a retainer to the Nasturtium house, their family was naturally of a higher social standing than ours. My parents had strictly warned me to avoid any action that might incur Shion’s wrath.
However, in my ignorant arrogance, I picked a fight with her anyway.
The reason was simple: I found the situation intolerable.
One day, I called out to Shion at the Academy.
"I hear you’re a genius? If that’s the case, why don't you teach me some magic?"
Though my words were phrased as a request for instruction, I was clearly looking for a fight. I intended to prove to Shion—and everyone watching—that I was the superior one.
"Um, are you Teruche’s younger sister?"
Shion looked bewildered by my sudden confrontation, yet she maintained a calm, gentle aura.
"Lady Shion, there is no need to listen to my foolish sister's nonsense. We don't have much time before the next lecture; let us head to the hall."
Teruche, who had been walking behind Shion, stepped between us. Looking back now, I realize her actions were meant to protect both me and our family from my own stupidity.
But the me of that time couldn't possibly have understood that.
"Shut up, you failure. I'm talking to Shion right now, the one they call a genius."
The moment those words left my mouth, Shion's atmosphere grew heavy.
"By 'failure,' are you referring to Teruche?"
"Who else? After all, Big Sis is an underachiever with less talent than me, which is why she’s stuck as your servant, right?"
"Take that back. In terms of raw magical talent, you may indeed be superior to Teruche. However, a person's value cannot be measured by magic alone. In fact, Teruche is multi-talented, and I am always learning so much from her."
The air surrounding Shion grew colder by the second.
If the current me were there, I would have fled immediately, but back then, I was merely gloating internally that she had taken the bait. I failed to grasp the gravity of the situation entirely.
"Hmm, what should I do? Oh, I know! Let’s have a magic duel! If I lose to you, I’ll take it back."
"Lady Shion—"
"—Fine. Let’s settle this."
Teruche tried to intervene again, but her efforts were in vain. A duel was held just as I desired.
The result was a crushing defeat. It was a loss so complete that anyone watching would have walked away knowing Shion was the superior mage.
That was my first... mistake.
As I mentioned before, my parents had told me to avoid Shion's wrath. Because I had picked a fight with her, it caused quite a stir.
I was only a child then, and there is no longer anyone left to tell me exactly what transpired in the aftermath, so I don't know the full details. Even so, I understood even as a child that my parents had faced some form of punishment.
Some time after that, on October 20th of the Four Holy Era Year 619...
I don't think I will ever forget that date.
When I visited my parents in response to their summons, a young man with an eyepatch over his right eye was standing there with them. My parents asked me to teleport the people led by this eyepatched young man to a specific location.
"That place isn't even that far away. I don't think there's any need for a teleport."
"The guard is tight. That’s why we want to infiltrate using your Space Leap. Human experimentation is being conducted there, and we want to rescue the victims as soon as possible. Please, lend us your strength."
I still remember clearly how the eyepatched young man answered my question.
Combined with the fact that I was losing my sense of identity after my defeat by Shion, the idea that I would be helping people led me to accept the request.
And so, I teleported them to the designated location—the Village of Dawn.
This was my greatest... mistake.
I was soon forced to learn exactly what that action brought about.
A few days later, when I returned home as usual, the inside of the house was painted crimson. Not just the furniture and the walls, but my parents and the servants—everything.
As my mind went blank at the sight, I heard a woman’s voice. "You’re back."
When I turned toward the voice, I saw Teruche. Her clothes were splattered with blood.
"What is this... Big Sis, did you do this...?"
"……"
"Answer me!"
"If you have the energy to snap at me, then you're doing well enough. Rain, teleport us to the Village of Dawn this instant. You can do it, since you did it a few days ago, right?"
Teruche’s cold gaze was more terrifying than the surreal, blood-soaked scene. I immediately jumped to the place where I had sent the eyepatched young man and his group.
"What is... this..."
The scene shifted from the blood-stained house to a place where most of the buildings had collapsed. I had been told this was a settlement, but there was no one there except for me and Teruche. A short distance away, several crude, grave-like mounds had been dug.
Perhaps the stench that had filled our house was still clinging to my nose, for I smelled that same scent here as well.
"Look directly at what you have caused," Teruche said in a hollow, detached voice.
"...What I caused?"
"Until a few days ago, many people lived here. The ones who turned it into this were the group you teleported in."
"B-But, they said they were rescuing people from human experiments..."
"It’s true that you may have simply followed orders without knowing the truth. However, there are things in this world that cannot be dismissed with 'I didn't know.' ...Take this. There is money inside, food for a few days, and several changes of clothes. Leave this country at once."
Teruche handed me a storage magic tool.
"What do you mean...?"
"Exactly what I said. Normally, there might be room for extenuating circumstances, but for this incident, that is impossible. If you stay in this country, you will be killed sooner or later. So, leave while you still can—"
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"——I haven't seen that in a long time..."
Those were the first words I muttered upon waking.
What I just saw was a dream, but it was my childhood—a history devoid of lies or falsehoods.
Now, I spend my days as an explorer for the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky, living a life that could almost be called peaceful. Those days are enjoyable, and lately, the times I look back on the past have decreased.
Perhaps that's why I had this dream; it felt like a self-imposed reminder not to forget my past sins.
"...Wait, what?! Is it already this late?!"
When I sat up and checked the time, I realized it was already past the hour I usually leave my room. I hurriedly stood up, swapped my pajamas for my clan uniform, and quickly tidied my appearance before rushing out.
"I'm sorry I'm late!" I apologized the moment I burst into the Strategy Room of the First Unit.
"Morning, Rain!"
"Good morning. Did you get held up somewhere?"
Lucre and Wil, who were already in the room, welcomed me with their usual smiles. Perhaps because of the dream, their casual kindness felt incredibly warm.
"S-Sorry. Um, I was... sleeping until just now..."
No matter the reason, oversleeping at my age was humiliating. I couldn't help but stammer.
"I knew it! You did oversleep!" Lucre cheered.
"Seriously? I figured you were off on some errand..." Wil added.
As I listened to them, my face grew hot.
Ugh... oversleeping at my age is way too embarrassing!
"Hehehe! Then that means I win the bet. Today's lunch is on Wil!"
"Che, fine, I guess I have no choice."
"Wait! It's my fault for being late, so I'll pay for lunch!"
When I blurted that out in a fit of guilt, the two of them looked at me blankly.
"Why? Even if you were late, it was only about five minutes. It didn't cause us any trouble," Lucre said.
"Yeah," Wil agreed. "Besides, Rain, you've been doing all the paperwork lately to cover for Big Sis Selma and Orun. You're probably exhausted. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if you took the day off. We can handle the admin stuff too, even if we're not as fast as you."
"Yeah! I'll help too!"
My heart swelled at their consideration. I realized once again that Lucre and Wil were wonderful comrades—better than I deserved.
"...Thank you, both of you. But I'm fine. I've been leaving the labyrinth investigations and everything else entirely to you two, after all."
"Oh? You've got your spark back!"
"I'm glad you're feeling better! If you're moping around, Rain, we can't get into the groove either!"
"............ Hehe, leave it to me! As the big sister of this group, I'll continue to lead the way! Well then, let’s do our best today!"
""Yeah!!""
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Deep within the Explorer Guild in Tsutrail, two men sat in a small room where normally only the Guildmaster was permitted to enter.
One was an elderly man who had been entrusted by the Guild General Headquarters with the management of the southern continent, including the Great Labyrinth—Guildmaster Leon Conti.
The other was the old man whom Orun adored and called "Grandpa"—Cavadele Evans.
"—That should do it."
Cavadele lifted his hands from the magic circle inscribed on the floor.
"Is the alteration of the spell formula finished? That was swifter than I anticipated," Leon remarked.
"Even if I call it an alteration, I've only tinkered with the bare minimum. More importantly, I appreciate your cooperation, Lord Leon."
"In addition to your true identity, you correctly predicted the first imperial invasion, the murder of the King, and several other events. I have little choice but to cooperate. I have no desire to die, but I am prepared for what's to come."
The "first imperial invasion" referred to the assault on Regrif Territory by the "Hero" that had occurred while Orun and his companions were away. Cavadele had contacted Leon around July of the previous year, revealing his identity and prophesying future events.
Those prophecies had all become reality. Leon had been skeptical at first, but after seeing everything guessed so accurately, he could no longer doubt.
Because there was still one prophecy remaining that Leon could not afford to ignore.
"However, is this truly the only way? A way to avoid the future where Tsutrail is overrun by the Cyclamen Cult?"
"If you only wanted to avoid the raid on Tsutrail, there would be other ways. But that wouldn't be a fundamental solution. Eventually, everything would be overrun, and that would be the end."
"So, you've decided to gamble by weighing the lives of the people living here?"
"To gain something, a price must be paid. In this case, it just happens to be the lives of the residents of Tsutrail. But rest assured. As I told you before, this price is, in a sense, a facade. The thing truly being paid is something else entirely."
"…………"
Leon's face clouded with sorrow as he grasped the true meaning of Cavadele's words.
"I’ll leave this with you," Cavadele said, handing over a bracelet-type magic tool.
"What is this?"
"A tool to send a mental transmission to a designated target. It can only be used once, and only for a few seconds, but I managed to construct it somehow. Using this... that is your final job."
"...Are you truly satisfied with this conclusion?"
"Hoh-ho-ho. Of course I am."
Cavadele laughed off Leon's concern, his gaze drifting toward the distance.
"...I was never able to do anything for my son. In truth, I likely only took things away from him. This is my atonement. Since I closed off my son's future, I want to at least give my grandson an infinite one—"