“Looks like you are distressed by something.”

“Huh?” Sezh gasped.

She was sure she heard someone’s voice, but when she turned her head, let alone a person, there wasn’t even a shadow except for hers. Was it just a hallucination? Or a ghost?

“No, the voice was definitely from over here, so why did I turn around?”

As she turned back to the window, Sezh saw Eton relaxingly wearing a cheeky expression as he sat on the sill. Surprised, Sezh hastily stretched out her hand in reflex. She grabbed Eton’s collar and pulled him down into her room.

Eton’s expression remained jovial as he fell and rolled into the room.

“Do you know what floor my room is on? Your arms and legs would all break if you fell from here!”

“Hm… “

“I thought someone was coming and went to open the door…”

Sezh, who finally put an end to her rant, glanced at Eton with a puzzled face. Actually, how did he come up here in the first place… at this height…

“You have a strong grip for a shorty. If you train it well, you could be a solid fighter.”

“I-I’m not really interested in that.”

“Is that so…” Eton smirked.

After that, he furrowed his brows as he turned to a book placed at the corner of her bed. It was the book that she borrowed from Raytan, The Wizards of Delhender.

Crap, Sezh felt like she’d been caught red-handed.

“Ah… I’m just kind of interested… in this and that…”

Eton picked up the book.

As soon as he flipped open the thin cover, Eton automatically gave a brief, languid chuckle.

“Isn’t it like this, Sezh? Now, Delhender doesn’t have any mages at all.”

“But there is still a temple, and priests … there’s also the Archmage too.”

“Proper mages are the ones who have power over the elements. Like me for instance, I can handle fire. But your mages can only use a bit more magic than ordinary people. They’re very weak. That’s all they have. Now, they’re just in shackles. Shackles that force these people to stick to the temple for the sake of that bit of leftover power.

“If it was all shackles…”

“Originally, the one who led the temple was the Priest, not the Archmage. That title must sound so amazing to people. They may sound similar, but the Priest, who could truly use magic power, and the Archmage, who has power in name only, are completely different.”

Sezh tilted her head in confusion. If Eton said the current mages do not have enough ability, then why…

“Then why does the temple still exist?” Sezh asks.

“…”

“Well, could it be… to assist the Empire during ceremonies and events? But it would be okay to have other people do that… Also, the reason why people with magical power are pulled in to work in the temple… “

“Well, what do you think?” Eton interrupted.

“Huh…?”

“It’s simple. The reason for keeping them in the temple was already decided from the beginning. In the first place, Denhelder’s temple…”

Eton stopped his speech.

“In any case, this is a book filled with a lot of useless content. There are just names of empty husks written in here.”

“Husks?”

“Didn’t I say it before? Proper mages are already gone. This is a book created to monitor the lineage of those mages. I’m afraid you will only find diluted bloodlines.”

Sezh’s face was perplexed. He said that, but can’t Eton clearly use magic with what he calls ‘real ability?’

Sezh faltered before asking him again, “Then, that means you’re just an empty husk too?”

“What?”

“You just said it. That there are currently no proper mages left.”

“Ha,” Eton snorted. “Honestly… you’re an expert at making false assumptions. But yeah, that doesn’t sound so wrong right now.”

He laughed bitterly.

“But there was also some information about the First Priest. Even if I didn’t live in the same generation, I know there must be some history behind the First Priest, right?”

“….The First Priest?”

“Yes, it appears in the closing text on the last page of the book.”

Sezh stared at Eton, who was flipping to the last page. He instantly became weird. He was acting like an old mage who nostalgically reminisced about friends long gone. But all of the people in that book died a very long time ago. Is Eton a descendant of one of them? Of course, she couldn’t find his name in there, but it might have been missing …

Sezh stretched her neck out to see the page that Eton was staring at.

“I think this is the name of the First Priest.”

She pointed at the word written in the ancient language.

“I’m curious too. Too bad it’s written in the ancient language, I can’t read it.”

“…”

“However, Brother Raytan pretended to know it. And I know he definitely can’t. I learn Kazaki too, so it’s as clear as day that he—”

“… What did you say?”

“What?”

“What did he read? What did he say this word is in ancient language?”

“Um… He said the name is Syarhwina.”

“….What?”

His face stiffened as if frozen.

“Syarhwina. He told me it’s Syarhwina.”

His red eyes, which were similar to Raytan’s, shook strongly. Sezh tilted her head again. It just sounded like a name that randomly came out of her mouth, but why was he reacting so strangely?

Moreover, Eton suddenly started questioning her.

“Your brother… Is he able to do fire magic? You know, like me?”

“Eh, him doing that? There’s no way.”

“… “

“I know that Brother and Uncle share the same eye color, but there’s nothing more. Even your hair color is different, right?”

“Hair color,” Eton laughed as if he was falling apart.

“Uncle’s hair is navy blue, not black.”

“It’s not.”

“What?”

“It wasn’t before.”

“How can people change their hair color casually?” Sezh asked with a stumped face.

Eton was silent.

Was it one of the abilities of a mage? Sezh tilted her head and squinted both of her eyes.

“Anyway… you Uncle. You’re a scammer. You tricked me that you could teach magic to people with no ability!”

“…”

“I should’ve known…”

Sezh continued with her rambling, but Eton didn’t answer her at all. His red eyes were fixed on one place: that page of the book where Syarhwina’s name was written.

Coincidence. It had to be a coincidence. A coincidence. The black hair that he used to have in the past. The crimson eyes, too. And also his name. Now, he was said to understand an ancient language forgotten in everyone’s memories.

No.

It couldn’t just be a coincidence. Eton chewed on his lips.

“Anyway, you were lying to me, right?” Sezh asked.

“…”

“Well, I never actually believed it. Magic, my foot.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“What?”

“Teaching you magic.”

Sezh’s facial expression became absurd. What’s the point of saying anything if he is just going to forget about it again?

“Nevermind, I didn’t even dream of it in the first plac—“

“Hold this.”

Eton suddenly handed her something. It was a stone. Correctly speaking, it was a black stone that was cut in half.

“What is this?”

“I told you to hold it.”

Well, she won’t die just by holding a mere stone. Sezh looked up at Eton while putting out her hand. The moment her hand touched the stone’s surface, she could feel a creeping warmth in it. There was a flame inside the stone!

“Ah!”

Sezh, who was unbearably surprised, threw the stone away. She then hurriedly reached for her hair.

“The stone only touched your hand. Why are you grasping your hair?”

Eton picked the stone back up.

“N-No… I thought my hair would get burned off too, like Sister Lillian’s.”

“Would it really?” Eton laughed, but Sezh couldn’t understand why.

“I didn’t lie that you can use magic. I just showed you the proof.”

Eton’s hand wandered into the sleeve of his coat. He then placed the stone in a pocket there.

“What was that?”

“It’s a magic stone. To be precise, this is a stone that contains sealed magic.”

”But it looks like it was split in half…”

“So it can absorb power back up again.”

Eton shrugged his shoulders as he said, “If it was any ordinary person, their whole body would be burned as soon as they touched it. But you didn’t get burned, did you?”

That means if she didn’t have any magical ability she would simply die! Sezh’s sulky face had a full-on pout.

“You didn’t get hurt,” Eton murmured as he flipped her hand over back and forth.

“But I think your magic element is not related to fire.”

“S-so I-I really can use magic?”

“How many times do I have to tell you? However … I don’t think your element is fire, but it isn’t far behind compared to it … Depends on how you will use it. It could kill people… but it could also save them … “

Frankly, she wanted to say that all magic can kill or save people depending on its use. However, Eton’s expression was so serious that she decided to keep her mouth shut.

“Wind… “

“Wind?”

“Right, maybe… No, it’s clear it is.”

“What… wind is nice in the summer,” Sezh spoke while still trembling.

“Wind is nice in the summer? How powerful the wind is. You really don’t know anything.”

“Ah, yes…. What. That’s right …”

“I know someone.”

“Yes?”

“A woman who could control the wind wonderfully.”

Who was also… so beautiful and unmatched with anyone when it came to be so mystifying … Eton recalled Syarhwina’s face while still studying Sezh’s face. The sapphire irises that embody the blue sea are now gleaming under his scarlet eyes, like those times. Shining like that woman’s eyes. With those eyes back then…

“Ah, perhaps you can introduce me to her so I can ask for some help… “

“That’s impossible.”

“Why?”

“That person is already dead. Died a long time ago.”

The empty tomb. Where he can’t even see the skeleton. Eton remembers a place where not even a single blade of grass was growing, only dry sand. His face went blank.

“That-that is such sorrowful news…”

While staring at her, Eton spoke.

“A perfect wind when I come back. If you know how to do it, I’ll give you a prize,” Eton cleared his stiff expression and declared with a smile.

“When you come back? Are you going somewhere?”