Only the Party Members Returned, Not the Hero

31. Uninvited guest at temporary accommodation (5)

31.

To be called a professor, he was a librarian who was vaguely positioned somewhere between professors and faculty members.

Occasionally, though, I brought some books for Ellen.

“Why are you reading again in a dust pit?”

“Ah, no matter where you sit, it’s a lump of dust, so what do you do? Shall we stand and see?”

“No, I just tried it.”

“What is that?”

“Books, new books. I got it from the ground library. Wanna see?”

“Old books are more interesting.”

“… ….”

“Just kidding, thank you as always. Sairetty.”

“Professor Sairetti.”

“Yes, professor.”

The books Sairetti brought me.

Various history books.

Books about forgotten figures.

I’m not particularly a book fanatic, but when I’m on my guard, I get bored and read a lot of books.

And that kind of knowledge helped me a lot in the written exam.

“You know, Sairetti.”

“Professor Sairetti.”

“Professor, why is there so many books here in the library, but no one is using them?”

“Now, what can I say…. Speaking of forbidden books, it sounds grandiose, but it’s not forbidden because some kind of great magic or dark rituals are written on it, but because it’s outdated and doesn’t need to be read.”

“Can’t we just throw it away?”

“Everything thrown away is money.”

Siretti was often by Ellen’s side, matching his taste for books, but because of her work as a librarian, she had to spend most of her time alone.

He’s a librarian, and he almost looks like he’s in charge of chores.

That day too, I was flipping through a dust pit and picking up old books.

“This is something I haven’t seen before.”

A book about a certain magic was in Ellen’s hands.

“Whoa, Fu Hengchwi!”

Fusus scattered dust when blowing on the cover of a book.

“What did you write, this…. Siretti? Professor? You are not there.”

Ellen glared at the text on her cover, then realized that it was not her continental language and began to roll her head.

If it was not a continental language, there was a high probability that it was Erantera.

“… Fly… Ah… Coming?”

Slowly reading the cover of a book translated into Elantera that she had learned in class, Ellen realized that this book was related to a taboo that was no longer used.

“Pliaote.”

Translated into Continental, it means a mask of treatment.

Ellen sat with her back in the corner of the dusty sober room.

Originally, the candles, which were supposed to be supplied once a day, were piled up next to her thanks to Ellen’s insistence on them.

Hwaruk.

A small, dim light barely illuminates the book and Ellen’s face.

He stammered through the book in Erantera, which he had not yet fully mastered.

A bookcase that turns one by one with a sound.

Rush, Perseok.

Occasionally, when students moved or moved in groups on the upper floors, stone dust and pieces of ceiling would fall onto the bookshelves.

“Ah, sir….”

A book that has become covered in sand.

Forgetting how far she read, Ellen shakes off the stone dust with disgust.

And read it again.

Pliaote, the Mask of Healing.

It must be used voluntarily, and the user’s memory of using this ban can be erased if desired, and is renewed every 15 days unless the user or a higher wizard cancels it.

“Effects are made in one context…. It kills emotions.”

Kills emotions.

Sometimes, it also hides memories that are strong enough to not kill emotions.

“It’s bloody.”

The only side effect is a headache.

“Still, isn’t this a very well-made magic?”

In the past, it was used for the purpose of treatment, but now it is not used because the priests claim that covering up mental problems is not a complete cure.

In an era when wars were more brutal and frequent than now, many veterans complained of pain, so it is said that it was a popular treatment at one time.

As it was created for the purpose of treatment, it was simple to use.

It was enough to activate the magic circle to summon the mana mask and put it on her face.

“Let’s try magic.”

It wasn’t really necessary, but I decided to try it for practice.

As she gathered mana in one hand, her expression hardened for a moment because she remembered the damn thing Elish did.

Slowly, blue mana began to cling to his hands.

Perhaps because no one came, the mana filling her old library was quite refreshing.

As I moved my index finger over the piled up stone dust on the floor, the powder was pushed away and a picture began to be drawn.

He placed one hand on the completed magic circle and closed his eyes.

He muttered softly, imagining the blue mana mask.

“Pliaote.”

Woe.

With the burst of light gone, Ellen opened her eyes.

In his hand, which was placed on top of the magic circle, was a mask that seemed to fit his face perfectly.

“… This is real.”

Slowly lift the mask and look around.

The mask, made of mana and emitting weak light just by being there, was slightly brighter than a candle.

Pliaote.

“… The mask of therapy that kills emotions.”

I hope the day to use you never comes.

Ellen thought so and tried to block her mana, but at that moment a strong flow of mana hit her mask and broke her magic.

It was not an attack on Ellen, but a deliberate move to neutralize magic.

“Huh?”

“… Ellen.”

Duduk, chin.

Cairetti slowly approached Ellen, dropping the new books she was carrying on the floor.

“Professor, uh, uh?”

Letty knelt down in front of Ellen and pulled him into her arms as she sat there.

Ellen, who had not yet reached adulthood and whose body was halfway between a boy and a young man, was held in her arms, her head buried in her chest, and she had to move her head several times to breathe.

“Pliaote is a healing magic, but it is now forbidden. Do you know what the reason is?”

“Oh, no. But why are you hugging me….”

She tried to say something because the professor might have misunderstood her, but Ellen decided to shut her up for a moment.

“Pliaote doesn’t just deal with negative emotions.”

Because Cyretti’s eyes looked so sad looking at Ellen.

“If you decide that magic itself is not helpful to your mental health, get rid of the emotion itself. Emotions disappear one by one like that, and in the end, they become dolls that have lost their emotions.”

Sai Letty said as she stroked Ellen’s hair.

“We have to get over it, Ellen.”

“… I didn’t mean to write it.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“… Yes, that’s good.”

Siretti.

One of the few people who gave Ellen warmth.

A few years later, he is framed and expelled from the warrior school.

***

Smart.

“… Between….”

Smart.

“…… Ah.”

The knocking sound hits my ears unpleasantly.

A small room, and a small knock that resonates even louder.

When did you fall asleep?

I think I had a dream, but I can’t remember.

When he was in school, he seemed to have a dream.

I was in a bad mood because I wasn’t in my right mind.

It seemed like he remembered something from the past that he didn’t want to imagine.

I didn’t want to go out.

I didn’t even want to open my eyes.

In the dark, I wanted to relive that dream I couldn’t remember.

Smart.

f*ck.

Still, you have to get up, you’re a warrior.

I struggled to open my eyes and tried to turn my head to the door, but-

What caught my eye was the white skin.

Knees with legs crossed, thighs, slender body wrapped in gray wizard robes, and white shoulder lines.

When I raised my gaze once more, I saw a strange but not unfamiliar silver hair and black eyes looking down at me.

She’s definitely the woman I’ve seen recently.

Nia Rishkarte.

“…… Archmage?”

Smart.

The knocking sound is heard again, and Nia, placing her index finger on her own mouth, tells her to be quiet.

She waved one of her hands in front of me as if not to be surprised, and then covered my eyes.

I didn’t feel the flow of mana or life, so I lay still.

Perhaps she had a fever, her hands were pleasantly cold.

To the extent that I want to sleep more.

“Don’t be alarmed.”

Just right.

With the sound of finger snapping, I felt the sensation of my body floating in the air for a moment.

As I lay down somewhere soft again, the hand that was covering my eyes fell off.

Nia’s hand fell and the darkness shattered, and the night sky, not the ceiling, was visible through the broken pieces.

The full moon and brightly shining stars.

The night sky would have been beautiful enough even with a small gap in the eyes.

Niarish Kartega with my head on her lap, staring at her into the void.

It felt like a dream.

“Hello, Ellen.”

Her voice was breathy.

The magic tower owner, Elish’s teacher, the archmage…. Anyway.

She blinks, wondering why that woman is right next to me and whether the dream hasn’t woken up yet.

“… Someone, it seems, knocked.”

With that said, Nia lowered her gaze, met her eyes with mine, and laughed out loud.

“In the meantime, are you curious about that?”

“Well, something might happen… Yo. This. And, how did you get in?”

Nia’s hand runs through my bangs.

Perhaps she was breaking out in a cold sweat, the moisture was smeared on her hands.

“The window was open. Sleep more.”

“… You’re not a thief, are you using warp magic?”

“Yes, so sleep more.”

“Who knocked….”

Nia’s hand covered my eyes again with a chuckle and laughter.

The heavy eyelids begin to close again.

Yes, if something had happened, Nia would have noticed first.

Isn’t she a great wizard?

Or, all of this could have been an extension of a dream.

Nia came through my window all of a sudden, so there’s no reason to take me outside.

Even if it’s a dream, even if it’s not a dream.

I wasn’t surprised or uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry, what a big deal it is.”

Nia’s breathy voice lingers in my ears before disappearing.

What kind of magic was cast on me?

My whole body felt heavy, and I fell asleep again.

For the first time in a long time, I was able to sleep without any dreams.