Chapter 784: Intermission: Far North Star ~ ~ The Girl Reaching Out for the Moon ~ ~

<Author's Notes>

My apologies. I've been in a bit of a slump, and my writing hasn't been progressing well, so I'm going to post an intermission chapter that I was originally planning to post after the beach arc.

I think this arc will end after about 3 chapters.

It was…… a common tragedy in the Demon Realm. Before the Phantasmal King brought order to the Demon Realm, incidents like this had already happened many times before.

High-ranking Demons, Peerage holders, Six Kings. When one thinks of the Demon Realm, one would think of these beings with great power. However, as a matter of course, there are also weak Demons who don't have the ability to fight.

That's why, yes, it's not that rare. It's a common occurrence that happens every year, but for the people involved…… They were tragic incidents where "a weak being is attacked by a Demon".

It was…… a tragedy that changed the fate of a girl about 18,000 years ago.

The girl wasn't anyone special. She was born from a relatively common race within the Demon Realm, and lived an ordinary, but happy life.

She was loved by her family, blessed by friends, and lived an uneventful life. But one day, tragedy struck her life.

She went for a walk alone in the forest near her town, and was attacked by a Demon on the way. Naturally, the forest near the town is regularly being purged of threats by the town's high-ranking Demons, so there are no dangerous Demons living there. If there were any, they would be low-ranking Demons that even the girl could manage to deal with.

To put it simply, the girl was "unlucky". Yes, it just so happened that a number of unfortunate factors came together that day.

A wounded but strong Demon that had been defeated in a territorial dispute had drifted in from a distant land, and was recuperating their wounds in the forest.

The High-ranking Demon who was in charge of the town's security that day wasn't very good at Wide-area Detection, and failed to detect the weakened Demon's magic power.

And the place where the Demon was lurking happened to coincide with the girl's walking course.

The series of coincidences turned into a threat to her life. The girl was unlucky, but she wasn't stupid.

When she saw the Demon, she recognized that she couldn't handle them, and immediately turned tail and ran away. Holding unto the faint hope that she could escape to the town and be saved……

However, reality is a cruel thing, and the girl was easily overtaken by the Demon. The difference in their strength was obvious, and the girl could do nothing but cry and tremble, fearing her imminent death.

Originally, the girl's life would have ended there…… had it not been for a single miracle……

As the girl was prepared to die, an ice flower bloomed at the edge of her vision————- and the Death King Isis Remnant appeared. Isis' appearance at that place was yet another coincidence.

The Death King had the hobby of collecting memorabilia. The only reason she was there was that the thing she's seeking for was in this forest.

Although her appearance was a coincidence, Isis understood the situation as soon as she arrived and eliminated the Demon that was about to attack the girl literally in an instant.

And then, applying Recovery Magic to the injured girl, who may have fallen while running away, she asked her if she was alright……

But the girl's response to her actions…… was "scream" and "escape". The moment she heard Isis' voice, the girl let out a throat-cracking scream and turning away from Isis, she ran away.

It was a natural result, and for Isis, who was clad in magic power of death…… It's a sight she's seen many times before.

That's why Isis looked sad for only a moment, but quickly thinking that it was just the usual, she moved on to find the memorabilia again.

For the girl's savior, it was just an ordinary "everyday incident".

But for the girl who was saved at that time, it was an "extraordinary incident" that may or may not happen once in a lifetime, and one that she would later "extremely regret".

The girl was tormented by fierce self-loathing in the town where she had escaped.

She had rescued her, saved her life and healed her wounds…… but what had she done to the person who had saved her? Without saying a word of thanks, she screamed and ran away. She wondered if such shameless behavior should be allowed……

However, no matter how much she regretted it, the fundamental fear she felt before Isis' magic power of death remained strong in her mind and she couldn't bring herself to return to that place.

A few years had passed since that incident, and the girl stands at the turning point of her life.

Who was the one who saved her, why did she run away at that time…… She had easily found out the answer to those questions within her mind.

Isis is a famous being in the Demon Realm. After doing some investigation, she found out that she is the King clad in magic power of death, and that she is a being that one can't speak to properly unless they have at least the power of a high-ranking Demon.

She wanted to apologize…… for running away at that time. She also wanted to thank her for saving her life.

She thought about writing a letter to her. However, for an ordinary Demon, she didn't have the means to deliver a letter to one of the Six Kings, the pinnacles of the Demon Realm…… She didn't want to pick any method that would make her run away from her benefactor, Isis' magic power of death. She wanted to properly stand in front of Isis and convey her gratitude with her own mouth.

If that was the case, in order to achieve that, the girl had to reach the realm of what was called a High-ranked Demon at the very least.

However, the act of becoming a Peerage-holder isn't something to be taken lightly. "Only a few geniuses" are able to reach Baron-rank, the lowest of all the Peerage ranks.

And "only a select few" of these geniuses are able to reach the Viscount-rank, and if one wants to be a Count-rank, one would have to be a "monster" that appears only once every few hundred years, even in the vast Demon Realm.

Perhaps, the girl's "Limited Future Sight" may have already been on the verge of manifesting at that time. That's why she was able to understand.

The girl had "ordinary talent". She was never given the talent to be called a genius. Therefore, even if she continued to train desperately, she would not be powerful enough to become a Peerage-holder. Yes, even her "desperate efforts weren't enough".

Now, there are two paths in front of the girl. One is a bright and warm path…… Looking away from the slightest bit of guilt, her life might be ordinary, but it would be filled with happiness.

The other path…… was a dark one, where she can't even see one step ahead. She wouldn't have any choice but to grope her way through, not knowing if there is even a path ahead of her. There is also no guarantee that her efforts will be rewarded.

For years, she wavered. For years, she continuously wavered which path to choose. After that, the girl made her choice…… to throw herself into the darkness where she couldn't see the future.

Because it was Isis who saved her life…… And she decided to dedicate all of her life to Isis……

Saying goodbye to her family, friends, and everything she had, she left.

Again, the girl only had ordinary talent, and she isn't talented enough to become a Peerage-holder…… and so, "she left everything else behind".

Even if she put in 100% of her efforts, she would never become a Peerage-holder. Thus, just desperate efforts aren't enough…… Whether it's food or sleep, family or friends, hobbies or preferences, she cast aside everything…… and holding madness within her heart, a really small possibility appeared.

From that day on, the fight of the girl, who would later be known as the "Far North Star"————— Polaris, began.

<Afterword>

【Far North Star, Polaris】

She is one of the extremely rare among the Count-ranks, someone who had completely ordinary talent and rose to prominence through hard work. If one had to say it, not only had she thoroughly trained her magic power on the level of those who are most talented, the Six Kings' executives, and even though her talent only allows her to see a "limited" part of the future, she has forced herself to break through the limits of her body and magic power through hard work.

She has almost no special abilities, but her basic status value is somewhat like a bug.

T/N: I was translating another chapter of Hazure yesterday, so only 1. Also, my time may have been being taken up by Punishing Gray Raven.