Volume 2 - CH 21

“Just as I thought, you are the little brother from my previous life.”

These words were a little different from what I was expecting. When I tried to determine why teacher Tristan had phrased it in this way, I immediately understood the answer to my own question.

“So that means that, at your core, you are teacher Tristan?”

“While there truly are two individuals co-existing within me, for the most part, you’re right.”

Teacher Tristan, who held my previous world’s older sister’s memories, and my previous world’s older sister, who had become teacher Tristan. They might seem to be the same, yet they were completely different. 

In my case, since I had regained my memories from my previous world at the same time as I had I gained awareness, it felt as if my previous world’s self was living a second life. However, in teacher Tristan’s case, he only had my older sister’s memories. It was likely that he had regained these memories after his personality as ‘Tristan’ was already fully formed.

From the things I had noticed, it was certain that teacher Tristan had been heavily influenced by the previous world. Since there were two personalities existing alongside each other within him, their circumstances might seem very complicated. However, if I were to get straight to the point, both his body and his mind were that of a man.

“When did you realize that I was your previous world’s older sister?”

“I first suspected it during the entrance exam dance.”

Fol had implied that Sophia and her were the same, and Lady Sophia herself had said that Fol’s way of leading and mannerisms were very similar to mine.

From that moment on, I had been pondering the various possibilities, like that Fol’s tutor might be a transmigrator, or that the tutor could even be my older sister. It was purely just one of the numerous possibilities. However, I had somewhat of an inkling. 

This inkling gradually changed into conviction.

It would be impossible for someone who wasn’t very knowledgeable about the original work to write the script of Espressivo of Light and Darkness in order to find transmigrators. From that, I understood that they must have been a serious fan of the work. Moreover, there was the thorough method of gathering information through Luke and Chloe. Furthermore, it was someone who wasn’t trying to force me into having no choice but to save Fol. They had constructed a relationship that would make me believe that I wanted to save Fol myself. Even without definitive proof, I couldn’t help but feel traces of my older sister’s behavior in these things.

This hunch of mine became a certainty after I realized that she was teacher Tristan.

Using Luke and Chloe, teacher Tristan had been probing whether I could save Fol or not. The one who had played this important role was him, without a doubt. From there, I was certain that the possibility of the female transmigrator being teacher Tristan was correct.

I confirmed this during our black tea conversation that we had the other day. If he were a real servant, he would have shown an interest in my knowledge of black tea. It could be said that, at that point, his response had been unnatural. Even less natural was his choice of drinking that black tea with milk.

Drinking black tea with milk harmed the black tea’s intrinsic aroma. There was nothing wrong with drinking it this way as a preference, but it wasn’t a viable method for testing the black tea’s flavour.

That conversation couldn’t have happened between ‘Tristan’ and ‘Cyril’. It was a reenactment of a conversation my previous world’s older sister and I often had. Therefore, I believed that teacher Tristan was a transmigrator, and that it was my older sister who was inside of him.

That was the reason why I asked her if it was alright for us to make an appointment after the School Festival. Teacher Tristan must have realized that I was the person he was looking for.

His answer was that it wouldn’t affect the result. 

In other words, he was saying that he had devised a plan on how to save Fol, even without rushing. It meant that he believed that, if it was me, with my memories of my previous world, I would be able to cure Fol’s illness. In conclusion, the illness Fol was suffering from was connected to the magic field I had majored in in my previous world.

“What she’s suffering from is a special case of magical overcharge illness, isn’t it?”

“…Impressive.”

A smirk appeared on teacher Tristan’s face. Most likely, he was assessing me, just like his words suggested. However, an indescribable feeling took hold of me. His gesture completely overlapped with my older sister’s mannerisms when she was cosplaying.

But anyway, we were talking about Fol’s illness.

“It’s not because she can’t control her magic, right?”

From time to time, people who were unable to sense magic were born. Combined with magical overcharge illness, it would become an exceedingly troubling affliction. However, Fol was using wind magic.

“Lady Fol’s magical resistance is extremely high.”

“…So it’s difficult to drain?”

To extract another person’s magical power, essentially, meant stealing those powers; therefore, some resistance would occur. However, this resistance was stronger than under normal circumstances. 

Not being easily influenced by someone else’s magical powers was, in and of itself, proof that a magic user was amazingly skilled.

At any rate, it seemed that Fol, being unable to get her magical powers drained by others, would have to use her magic, consuming her own saturated powers.

However, magic hadn’t really progressed in this world, so spells that would consume a huge amount of magical power didn’t exist. 

Actually, the spells that Fol was using consumed an unusually small amount of powers as well. Apart from people whose magic restoration rate was low, a person with magical overcharge illness would have inexhaustible magical powers.

As such, it became impossible for their powers to run dry, and the mental and physical burden it brought had to be substantial.

“I understand her situation. However… why isn’t she releasing her magic?”

""

Although it was exhausting to use one’s magic, when it came to simply releasing one’s powers, it wasn’t really all that tiring. When one released their own powers, the resistance would become irrelevant, and no matter how severe a case of magical overcharge illness it was, they should be able to deal with it.

“Do you even need to ask why?1 I was looking for a transmigrator with magical knowledge in order to acquire that technique.”

Surprisingly, it seemed that spells to release one’s magical powers didn’t exist in this world. Apparently, they had even asked around the neighboring countries, where magic had advanced more, but they weren’t able to acquire the desired spell.

If that was the case, then, without using a spell that would consume a lot of magical power and with high magical resistance, I could understand that it was possible that the magical overcharge illness would lead to Fol’s death.

However, it was strange.

Although, in general, I kept the fact that Lady Sophia had magical overcharge illness a secret, I had, of course, reported it to the head of the family and to my father. More importantly, I had also informed them about releasing magical powers as a countermeasure.

Nevertheless, neither the head of the family nor my father had come forward. If that spell was a yet unknown one, they would have said something.

I found it hard to believe that the head of the family and my father would dismiss something they didn’t know, much less when Lady Sophia’s life depended on the contents of that report. They would definitely investigate the information thoroughly. 

If that was the case… did they know about it and not tell me on purpose? …I didn’t have definite proof, but there was precedent with the black tea as well. It seemed like a likely possibility.

“…Cyril, is something the matter?”

“No, I simply realized that there’s a matter that I have to look into a little. However, saving Fol won’t be a problem. She should be fine once I teach her a spell for releasing magical powers, right?”

“So you accept?”

“Of course.”

None other than Lady Sophia had asked it of me, saying that she wished for me to save Fol. Even if someone else were against it, I would fulfill that wish with all my might.

“However, wouldn’t it have been better if you were to consult me from the start, without doing it in such a roundabout way?”

“…Are you really asking me that?”

“That was a foolish question, wasn’t it?”

He didn’t know what kind of person I was. If he were to reveal things like: “You might be the only person who can save the princess” to a scoundrel, there was no knowing what kind of compensation that person might ask for.

Even if that wasn’t the case, to entrust the life of a princess to a subordinate of a marquis household was a dangerous act. It was necessary to keep it a secret, at least until he were  certain that I could save her.

“In the first place, it’s only natural to be cautious. At first, I truly suspected that you planned on taking over the marquis household and establishing a harem.”

“…Huh? What are you saying?”

“You really have no self-awareness, huh? You’ve been raising the villainous daughter to your liking, and haven’t you even taken the prince’s place in the scene where he meets the heroine?”

“…That was just a coincidence. I was just trying to make Lady Sophia happy.”

“You’re still as unaware as ever, huh? Geez, you even raised a character flag from The Eve of the Festival!”

“…The Eve of the Festival?”

When I asked what he meant, puzzled, he said that there was a work called ‘The Eve of the Festival’ that was a spiritual successor to Espressivo of Light and Darkness.

“So you don’t know because you never played The Eve of the Festival… Anyway, let’s move on.”

“You can’t just mention that and then move on…!”

Just like the name suggested, there was both light and darkness in Espressivo of Light and Darkness. It was a given that even in The Eve of the Festival there would be a villainous daughter about to fall into darkness.

Still, that I had raised a character flag was… too unsettling.

“I’ll tell you about it later. First comes Lady Fol.”

“…Alright.”

If I wanted teacher Tristan to tell me about it in great detail, I would have to hurry up and save Fol. Certainly, I wasn’t as enthusiastic of a fan as my older sister was. But as a bandwagon fan, I absolutely wanted that information.

While he was persuading me to save Fol for emotional reasons, he had even properly set up the conditions of our exchange as well.

Certainly, a person who had both my older sister’s and teacher Tristan’s memories wouldn’t overlook anything. 

Such being the case, we returned to Fol’s bedroom in order to save her.

""

“Welcome back, Cyril. Will it be possible to save Fol?”

“Yes, of course. Please do not worry.”

Following those words, both Lady Sophia and Fol’s face lit up. Judging from the nod Lady Sophia gave Fol, she was probably encouraging her. It was as if she was telling her: “As long as it’s Cyril saying so, then it will be alright.” 

“Fol, would it be alright for Lady Sophia to know about your illness?”

“Eh, you want to tell Sophia?”

“I know that you are keeping it a secret, but, if possible, I would like to get your permission for this.”

“…Well, if it’s Sophia, I don’t mind.”

Fol informed Lady Sophia that she had magical overcharge illness quite readily. Naturally, Lady Sophia was surprised, saying: “That’s just what I have, too.”

“Eh, you have it, too, Sophia? Then…”

Fol’s blue eyes were tinged with red. Concluding that it was dangerous for her to be swayed by emotion, I interjected: “Please, do not worry.” 

Then, I explained to her that, unlike herself, Lady Sophia would be fine. To Lady Sophia, I explained that Fol didn’t just have magical overcharge illness, but also a high magical resistance.

“So it’s difficult to drain her powers? If that’s the case, shouldn’t she simply release them herself then?”

“…It seems that no one else besides you, my Lady, and I know this spell.”

“No one else besides Cyril knows about it? Ah… so it’s just like with your black tea.”

‘How could that be?’ Normally, in such a situation, I would expect to get asked questions like that. However, Lady Sophia was satisfied with my brief comment. I was a little concerned about the way she thought of me.

“At any rate, the plan is to teach Fol the spell to release her own powers. Since that’s the case, there’s something I wanted to consult with you… would you teach Fol that spell, Lady Sophia?” 

“Me? I don’t think I would be able to teach Fol how to use the spell as well as you could, Cyril.”

“Of course, I would help out with that.”

Lady Sophia scrutinized me. She probably understood that my intention was for the public to think it was Lady Sophia who saved Fol.

“Would you mind telling me the reason why?”

“I was warned by Master Grave not to stand out too much. I already went onto the stage for the play. However, for this matter, if possible, if I could ask it from my Lady…”

I couldn’t finish what I wanted to say. In an instant, Lady Sophia’s eyes were dyed red.

Why was she suddenly on the verge of falling into darkness? Did I say something wrong somehow? No, nevermind the reason, more importantly-

“Lady Sophia, please allow your powers to be released. Lady Sophia!”

“…Ugh.”

When I called out to her forcefully, my Lady suddenly came back to her senses and allowed her powers to flow out. Faint particles of light were rising from her body. Accordingly, Lady Sophia’s eyes returned to her normal colour as well.

“…Oh, so this is how you release magic?”

“Certainly. Although she allowed for her powers to reach saturation, in the blink of an eye she’s… with this method…”

Teacher Tristan and Fol continued to speak out words of admiration. It seemed that, unexpectedly, she had just proved that it was possible to release your own magical powers.

“I apologize for making you witness something so unsightly. I briefly lost my composure.”

Lady Sophia fixed her appearance. I didn’t sense any of her earlier anger in her current state, but… she was simply very skilled at keeping up appearances, so it wasn’t like her anger had been forgotten. What on earth was the cause of this anger? I believed that, unless I got rid of this source of anger, I might not be able to get her to cooperate. However, Lady Sophia’s attitude had turned around and she had now accepted the role of the instructor.

With this settled, the long-term anxiety was dispersed. Nevertheless, since we were given this opportunity, we should test every method we could.

“Fol, may I touch your arm?”

“My arm? Why?”

“I am aware that your magical resistance is high, but I wonder whether I would be able to draw out your magical powers if I were to try?”

Fol looked troubled. Naturally, she had been told that she wouldn’t live until her graduation after this very method had been tested. What’s more, given that she was a royal, well-known magical users must have already tried to drain out her powers as well. It was only natural for her to think that it would be impossible, but-

“Lady Fol, I believe it is worth trying out.”

Teacher Tristan, fully aware of her situation, displayed his support. Fol had to trust her teacher a great deal. “If you say so,” she said and held out her arm to me.

“Well then, please, excuse me.”

I took hold of her arm and tried to draw out her magical powers. Certainly, the resistance was high. Fol’s magical resistance was of the highest level. Considering that she had magical overcharge illness, she seemed to also be exceptionally talented as a magical user. 

However, being resistant to magic wasn’t just a matter of talent. Originally, there was a technique that made one resistant to other people’s magic. If it were just a high natural resistance, there were ways to deal with it. 

I interfered with Fol’s magical powers and tried to draw them out from inside her body.

“Uwah… ugh.”

I was heavily dragging out the magical powers from inside of Fol. The value of her resistance was certainly high. However, I seemed to have been able to draw out those powers that were about to overflow.

“…How do you feel?”

“Eh? Ah… I feel as if the heat that was inside my body subsided a little.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

I only pulled out those powers that were about to overflow from their vessel. Therefore, I believed that she would get saturated again right away nevertheless. However, if I were to diligently draw them out, Fol’s condition should not deteriorate any further.

“Eh, eh? You drained my magical powers…?”

Even if she was only half-convinced about the release of her powers, the fact that I had drawn them out was unmistakable. Perhaps because it had finally sunk in, Fol’s eyes slowly widened. The blue of her eyes intensified, resembling a perfectly clear sky, and large tears had appeared in them.

I turned to look at my Lady. Realizing what I had in mind, she immediately nodded.

“Well then, I shall take my leave here. Fol, let’s see each other at the academy again.”

“Then, I shall escort them on their way.”

Teacher Tristan instantly guessed what my intentions were, just like Lady Sophia had. We informed Fol that we were leaving and, the moment we walked out of the room, Fol’s sobbing voice resounded from the direction of the closed door.

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Next chapter should be the last part of this arc and also the last chapter before the Epilogue!