"I'm sorry, Rest..."
Verloid Hahn, the Academy Director, stared at the closed door and sighed, the apology heavy on his breath.
He had been honest with Rest when questioned about Leonardo Gascoigne, yet there were still truths he had kept buried. It wasn't that he intended to deceive the boy. He simply believed that a student who had yet to reach his twentieth year—even one as accomplished as Rest—had no business knowing the darker realities of their world.
(If Lord Gascoigne went so far as to seek him out personally... then it's almost certain. Young Rest is one of the Reincarnated People.)
Rest had been vague about his origins, but the Director had seen through the ambiguity long ago. He was well aware that "Reincarnated People" existed; for eons, they had shaped the course of history in profound ways. The core members of the Council of Sages—those who called themselves the "Planets"—were all individuals who had been reborn into this world from another.
(The Queen Dowager... Lady Frederica was one as well. If only I had the strength then that I possess now, I might have stopped her from falling into corruption...)
A bitter grimace twisted the Director's features.
He and Frederica Aiwood had been more than mere acquaintances. He had watched, powerless, as a tyrant claimed her, forcing her into a marriage she never wanted. He had failed to protect her fiancé, who had been his own dearest friend.
That tragedy had been the catalyst for the Queen Dowager’s descent. She had turned to darkness and used her gifts for all the wrong reasons.
(If I had held this power and status back then, perhaps I could have saved her...)
But in those days, he was just a mage with a bit of talent. He had not yet been invited into the Council of Sages, nor did he possess the influence to challenge a king. It was unavoidable. It had to be. And yet, the memory of his own impotence as he watched a woman lose herself to corruption remained an unhealing wound, even after all these decades.
"Rest... stay the path. Grow stronger. Become more resilient than I ever was."
He spoke to the empty room, his mind drifting back to the words the boy had uttered during his entrance interview.
'I want to be happy. I want to become the kind of man people call a success.'
'The sense of inferiority from being unloved by my parents—the weight of being abused by the very people who should have been my family—it still haunts me.'
'I want a family where we care for one another. A family built on love. We might argue, but no one would ever be crushed or cast aside. I want a family where we truly understand each other... as many as I can find.'
It was a simple, profoundly human wish. But the Director knew just how treacherous the road to such a dream could be.
(Just as the Council of Sages strives for the peace of mankind... there are enemies in this world who seek only ruin. Those who crave the fires of war and pray for the end of the Human Realm.)
Rest was not yet ready to learn of the organization that stood in opposition to the Council. Aside from the Council members themselves, only the national leadership of the various kingdoms were privy to such terrifying secrets.
(Eventually, they will realize that Rest is a Reincarnated Person of immense power. They won't leave him alone. Just as they led Lady Frederica astray, they will try to drag him down into the abyss and turn him into an enemy of humanity...)
That was what Gascoigne feared. He had issued that stern warning because he was terrified of Rest falling into the hands of the enemy.
"For the sake of your dream... you must continue to grow."
So he could find that precious family. So he could protect them with his own life. Verloid wanted Rest to reach heights he himself never could.
(Until the day you can defend those you love with your own hands... I suppose I can't afford to rest yet.)
The Director steeled his resolve once more. It was far too early for retirement. Even if his back throbbed with every step and his mana no longer flowed with the vigor of his youth, he had to remain on the front lines.
To nurture the next generation and entrust the future to them—that was his duty as a wizened pioneer, and as an educator.