TL/Editor: raei
Status: 5/week mon-fri
Illustrations: none
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'The space-time wizard Gerard.'
Though they had met several times before, Ian felt unusually unfamiliar with Gerard today.
Despite bringing gifts enough to fill several carriages, Ian strangely didn't feel happy about it.
Why was that?
Ian knew the answer.
It was because Gerard was a crafty space-time wizard.
'Space-time wizards know the future.'
Space-time wizards, who handle the magic of time and space, are both teleporters and prophets.
They use their magic to cherry-pick futures, trying to create a 'better future'.
The problem is that they never reveal what this 'better future' actually is.
Apparently, the moment they speak it, the future becomes tainted?
Ian calmly stared at Gerard.
He had felt it before, but Gerard had been looking out for Ian with some purpose in mind.
Ian didn't know what that purpose was.
He hadn't really cared much either.
Gerard had always advised Ian that 'good things will happen'.
But not today.
Ian was curious about the 'future' Gerard had seen.
It was an unavoidable situation.
Even for Ian, the fight with the dragon had been tough.
"Before I say I'm glad to see you. I have a question first."
"What is it?"
Ian's 'question' felt strange. Questions didn't seem to suit a space-time wizard.
Ian wasn't a space-time wizard, so he didn't know how much Gerard knew or from where.
Gerard himself had said that space-time wizards weren't gods, so he likely didn't know the details beyond major events.
Ian asked bluntly.
"The space movement scroll you gave me before."
"..."
"Did you know I would use it in this battle?"
In the past, Ian had thought he should only use the space movement scroll for escape.
But after feeling an ominous sign this time, he immediately attempted spatial movement.
Ian had been able to defeat Predius just in time.
Gerard hadn't said a word about the space movement scroll, and the result came entirely from Ian's own judgment.
Gerard slowly opened his mouth.
"Yes. I knew."
"!"
"Ian. In the future I glimpsed with space-time magic, there were countless [branches] where you used the space movement scroll."
Ian could have used the space movement scroll at any time.
Even for an excellent space-time wizard like Gerard, it was impossible to accurately observe when that moment would be.
"You made the 'choice' to use the space movement scroll to save Talian, and after that choice, the future where [Talian survives] was safely fixed in the past."
All Gerard had done was hand the space movement scroll to Ian.
But after passing through countless universes of possibility...
They had reached a future where [Talian survived the black dragon's attack].
"Gerard. Then did you give me the space movement scroll to save Talian?"
To Ian's question, Gerard answered sharply.
"No. The person I wanted to save was you, Ian."
"..."
"You probably know this too. Countless fates of death have brushed past you. Your death creates a branching of world lines far greater than you can imagine. I wanted to prevent that."
Ian nodded.
He had certainly gone through a lot of hardships traveling the empire.
Visiting the land of northern barbarians, fighting black wizards...
It seems the [world line] changes depending on whether Ian lived or died.
For now, the world line where Ian was alive was being maintained.
"Ian. Your survival has exceeded the critical point of any event existing in this world."
"...Critical point?"
"Yes. The great stem of fate that can no longer change."
Gerard looked straight at Ian and said.
"The fall of the Holy Empire."
------
The fall of the Holy Empire.
Such a grandiose phrase popped out that Ian's brain froze for a moment.
Wait. Wait a minute. Let's sort this out.
"Ah. So, Gerard, to prevent the fall of our Holy Empire..."
"No."
Gerard denied Ian's words.
"You seem to have misunderstood me. Ian. By saving Talian, the future has crossed the critical point of [the fall of the Holy Empire]."
"That means..."
Gerard said with a mechanically expressionless face.
"The Holy Empire will soon fall."
"...!"
It was a shocking statement.
Ian felt a deep shock twice.
One was from Gerard calmly stating the fact that the empire would fall.
The other was that the damn space-time wizard had finally uttered a proper prophecy...!
'He said it crossed the critical point.'
In other words, it meant that no matter what was done, the future could no longer be changed.
[The fall of the Holy Empire] was already a confirmed future.
That's why he could say it out loud!
"Wait! Gerard! The empire is really going to fall?!"
"A necessity bordering on extreme coincidence."
Ian thought for a moment.
If Ian became a master of space-time magic and could even reverse the flow of time...
Would he go back to the past and try to change fate?
The answer was 'no'.
'What's my life about?'
Ian becoming a wizard was purely coincidental.
A coincidence mixed with the guidance of a space-time wizard.
So, let's say Ian moved according to the space-time wizard's will.
Does he regret becoming a wizard?
If he had lived as a serf's son all along, he wouldn't have clashed with black wizards or fought dragons to the death.
But Ian didn't regret becoming a wizard.
He had seen a new world, and now everything around him felt like it belonged to Ian.
Ian's friends.
The Knights of Santiago and Golden Finger Takarion.
Belenka, Kira, and Maria.
The people of Talian, and even Lucy Talian, the lord.
'I've already come this far.'
To borrow Gerard's expression, Ian had [crossed the critical point].
There was no turning back now.
Either protect what Ian had.
Or have everything taken away by the Golden Rule Society.
And Ian's way to stand against the black wizards was, of course, magic.
He needed to reach even higher realms.
So high that the enemies couldn't reach him no matter how they tried.
"Gerard. I know you made me a wizard."
Ian looked straight at Gerard and said.
"You saw some [future] and made me a wizard. To intertwine my fate with that of the empire and the Golden Rule Society. Isn't that right?"
"I can't say."
Gerard avoided answering, but Ian didn't mind.
"But whatever you're planning, I'm the master of my own fate."
"..."
"I know that space-time wizards can only foresee fate, not directly influence it. Especially for someone like me who can [change world lines], you can't lay a hand on me, right?"
Gerard kept his mouth shut.
Because Ian's words were correct.
Space-time wizards could predict the future, but they couldn't speak their prophecies out loud.
The moment a prophecy mixes with reality, errors happen, and those errors grow larger as they extend into the future.
Let's say Ian suddenly decided to kill himself right now.
All of Gerard's foreseen futures would fly out the window.
That was the limitation of space-time magic.
"If I don't like the future you've planned, I can overturn it."
Ian was serious.
Future predictions don't determine the future.
Small presents pile up to complete the future.
Ian, living in the present, has the power to change the future.
"The same goes for me, Gerard."
Eredith looked at Gerard with cold eyes.
Ian was her only disciple.
She absolutely couldn't stand by and watch her disciple be used as a long-term pawn by space-time wizards.
"If you try anything funny with Ian... you'd better be prepared."
After Ian and Eredith each said their piece, Gerard looked rather flustered.
"As long as your will remains strong, the future won't change easily. I have no intention of altering your futures either."
"How can we believe that?"
"That's right."
As Ian and Eredith stared intently, Gerard scratched his cheek.
"Hmm... You need proof, is that it?"
The only proof a space-time wizard could offer was, of course, prophecy.
But the future gets tainted by the present the moment it's prophesied...
"Alright. I'll tell you about the future."
"!"
"!"
Both of them were surprised at the same time.
What's going on today?!
Gerard making two prophecies in one day!
"Is it okay to tell us?"
Eredith asked instead.
Gerard spoke in his characteristic blunt tone.
"Of course, it's dangerous. But if it's to intertwine our fates, then so be it."
It meant it was a huge challenge even from Gerard's perspective.
He wanted to gain Ian's trust, even if it meant taking risks.
"Ian. The future I hope for you is..."
Gerard declared solemnly.
"A future where you become a teacher."
"...?"
For a moment, Ian was dumbfounded.
What...?
---
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