The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 133



Act 5 Preparations

Aisha’s ordeal was safely brought to a temporary close thanks to Lexaron’s bizarre antics.

We had agreed long ago to venture to the next Magic Palace together.

Aisha readily accepted this time as well.

“Come to think of it, Aisha, there is something I wanted to ask you.”

“Yes, anything at all?”

“Midra Penin, what’s he like in unarmed combat normally?”

The second seat in the first-year unarmed combat class, Midra Penin.

Aisha tilted her head at the mention of his name.

“What’s he like, you ask?”

Aisha slowly stroked her chin.

“To be honest, we aren’t that close. There’s not much I can really say.”

I see, just as I suspected.

I was already quite familiar with Aisha’s circle of friends.

Aisha gives off an aura that makes her seem difficult to approach at first glance.

It’s the imposing presence of the Vizbel family radiating from her whole being.

“Though, I did spar with him once a while back.”

The top and second seat of unarmed combat.

It’s only natural that they would spar occasionally during academy life.

“Strangely, it’s difficult to keep track of his sword.”

“Aisha, you had trouble keeping track?”

“Aye, whether she’s deliberately holding back or what, it’s hard to tell, but she uses a peculiar swordsmanship. Even Hanon-sunbae wouldn’t understand until experiencing it firsthand.”

Peculiar swordsmanship, eh?

I leaned back in my chair, lost in thought.

Midra… that one, she’s strangely unsettling.

Our only point of contact is the student council, so she continues to nag at my mind.

“Shall I look into it?”

“Nah. Aisha, that sort of thing isn’t really your forte, is it?”

Aisha is a girl who favors the greatsword windmill technique.

Such a task as a background check doesn’t suit her well.

In that moment, Aisha seized my arm.

“Sunbae-nim, I can do it, too.”

From noble mtl dot com

Aisha declared, her eyes brimming with earnestness.

Why such sincerity in this area…?

It seemed something had rubbed Aisha the wrong way.

“…Then, might I ask you for the favor?”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Something felt uneasy.

Regardless, with this, I’d secured Aisha as a team member.

Chair in hand, I went in search of another class.

The one I sought was none other than Poara.

A spirit lord contractor, Poara Silin.

Poara looked at me with a curious gaze, seeing me arrive with a chair in hand, but soon smiled brightly after hearing my proposal.

“If Hanon-sunbae is saying it, then of course I have to go!”

“Are you sure? The first-years are able to go to this Magic Palace, too. I imagine there are friends you’ve grown close to.”

As for Aisha, younger students find her difficult to approach, so no one offers her team invitations.

But Poara basically has a fragile-seeming appearance.

She must have received many proposals from various quarters.

“Ah, heehee, I rejected them all, thinking I would be going with Sunbae-nim.”

That pure and adorable junior.

I promptly accepted Poara into the team.

With that, it makes four of us: Seron, Aisha, Poara, and myself.

The remaining personnel to be filled here are already decided.

I promptly strode forth, seeking the Special Disciplines building.

Ascending the Special Disciplines building stairs at a rapid pace, a familiar classroom came into view.

I didn’t bother with a knock, but slid the door open with a creak.

“Grantoni.”

“Ugh.”

As I called out to the person inside, a clatter sounded.

I tilted my head, curious as to what it was.

There, beneath a chair, was Grantoni sprawled.

Grantoni’s skull was pressed flat against the floor.

“Grantoni, did you and the floor decide to become lovers starting today?”

At my question, Grantoni swiveled his head, his face still to the floor.

“Hehehe, not at all. Just practicing some expressions.”

Expression practice?

What expressions could one possibly practice with that skull of his?

I couldn’t fathom it.

“Oh my, dearest husband, why are you holding a chair?”

Just then, a familiar voice echoed from behind me.

There stood Vinesha, dabbing her hands with a handkerchief.

As always, Vinesha was adorned in an outfit laden with ribbons.

Around her neck, a pendant was carefully secured, like a precious treasure.

“Vinesha, are you still using that title?”

Vinesha knows now that the feeling she once felt for me was not love.

So, there was no longer any reason for her to call me that way.

But Vinesha covered her mouth with a hand bearing pointed, long nail art, and chuckled.

“But it’s become so attached to my tongue, you see. Or perhaps, since things have come to this, will you truly become my husband?”

“Saying that, even though you have no intention whatsoever.”

“For the husband who saved this girl’s life, I’d be willing to marry at any time.”

Vinesha seemed much more at ease than before.

Certainly, it seemed much had shifted within her heart with this incident.

“More importantly, I thought Mushika had mentioned it was tomorrow night. You’ve arrived early?”

“I was hoping to make Grantoni a team offer for the Autumn Magic Palace.”

This year’s Autumn Magic Palace would be so much smoother with Grantoni’s presence.

Thus, I truly desired to bring Grantoni along to this Magic Palace.

“Ah.”

At my words, Vinesha displayed a hint of hesitation.

Seeing this, I tilted my head.

“Vinesha?”

“Master, what should we do? Grantoni is…”

“I’ll tell him.”

At that moment, Grantoni interjected in our conversation.

Grantoni fussed about, rising from his seat.

“My soul-kin, I’m currently in a state where my soul magic is unresponsive.”

“Unresponsive, you say?”

Completely caught off guard, my eyes widened.

“Could it be, an aftereffect of the Otherworld?”

“That’s the answer.”

Grantoni casually waved his hand about.

“Perhaps it’s because my soul was separated from my body for too long, needing time to settle. It seems I’ll require about a week or so.”

A week.

At that rate, he wouldn’t be able to enter the Magic Palace.

‘That floor is best suited for Grantoni, if we don’t have the Flame of Battle.’

I glanced at Grantoni with regret, then understood.

I couldn’t ask him to pull forth strength he didn’t possess, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Alright, it’s fine.”

“However, for the sake of my soul-kin, I cannot give up so easily!”

The instant I understood, Grantoni abruptly stood atop his chair.

True to form for Grantoni, always prone to eccentricities, his energy was immense.

“If it’s impossible alone, then it’s possible with two!”

“If there are two.”

“Vinesha, Sister.”

Grantoni called out to Vinesha, and she nodded.

Soon after, light flowed from Vinesha’s pendant.

In response, her pupils shifted to azure.

Musica had entered Vinesha’s body.

“Hello, hello? Long time no see!”

Musica greeted, smiling brightly with Vinesha’s face.

“Though we met only, what, a day ago.”

“A day is quite a long time, wouldn’t you say?”

She was so energetic, it was hard to believe she’d been devoured by a Gwejon.

She grinned at me, bubbling with enthusiasm.

“Just now, what Grantoni said about ‘two’ refers to me. If it’s me, I can fill the part of the soul where Grantoni couldn’t settle.”

Only then did I understand Musica’s words.

“Of course, I know this isn’t an ordinary matter. Anyone with the knowledge of a Soul Weaver would say it’s a dangerous thing to do.”

Musica, undeterred by my silence, continued speaking.

Then, she drew near to Grantoni’s side.

“But lo and behold! I have a tremendous secret that others don’t know. Ta-da!”

From behind Musica, Grantoni spread his arms wide in a flourish.

His arms flailed enthusiastically, as if he were performing a rhythmic dance.

Musica, using Grantoni as a backdrop, propped one foot jauntily on a chair.

Then, she made a V-sign with her fingers under her chin.

“I am none other than the reincarnation of Aquillin, one of the heroes!”

Somewhere, the sound of fireworks exploding echoed, and confetti rained down.

Upon closer inspection, it was Grantoni who’d used a spirit to set off the confetti.

“How is it? Isn’t it amazing?”

Musica turned to me with sparkling eyes.

I met Musica’s gaze for a moment, then raised my hands and clapped.

“Truly astonishing.”

Having already heard the whole story, there was nothing amazing about it.

I realized then that the story Mushika was trying to tell me yesterday was this very thing.

‘So, Mushika too has become aware of the memories etched upon her soul.’

Vinesha had awakened to the memories of her soul in the reverse world.

Mushika, who had been exposed to the world for much more practice than Vinesha.

It was through this process that Mushika came to realize her past life, Aquilline.

I had anticipated this to some extent.

Aquilline, the watcher of souls, was a master soul mage.

If we had Aquilline’s knowledge, it would more than suffice to support Grantoni.

This is reassuring.

“The reaction’s weaker than I thought. So, you knew about our reincarnation, didn’t you?”

The ‘we’ Mushika spoke of referred to the remaining heroes.

As she said, I know of the heroes’ reincarnation.

“Because the timing of the prophecy and the present align. If the grotesque being was going to force a kidnapping, I thought it would be Aquilline’s reincarnation.”

“Amazing deduction! So, do you know who all the reincarnated ones are?”

Mushika asked, her eyes sparkling.

For her, possessing Aquilline’s memories, they were the heroes who shared her era.

Naturally, she would want to know who they were.

“No.”

But even I don’t know everything.

Or rather, there’s exactly one.

A person who, even after playing the game, was never revealed.

The Great Hero, Olfram.

Whose reincarnation he is never comes to light.

However, I know the others, save for him.

“One is Mushika, you’ve already guessed as much.”

At my words, Mushika slowly smiled wryly.

Mushika is borrowing Vinesha’s body.

Vinesha’s memories are flowing out at random because the core of her memories was destroyed once.

That’s why Mushika must have seen some of her memories.

And through this, she learned about one reincarnated person.

Vinesha had, after all, already witnessed a Reincarnate.

A hero who, instead of rising, had exploited the memories of his past, becoming corrupted.

The Fallen Flame,

Rozly.

Mysticism, a faith seeking to imbue all worlds with mystery, revering the arcane above all else.

And at its head, the Grand Mystic.

The boss of Act 5,

Vulcan Zebra.

He was Rozly, Reborn.