Chapter 12
Her heart was to be delivered to Halslake the moment the war ended.
But now, she had no idea what had become of it.
Though she had placed a contract on her heart, she had returned to seven years ago—and this wasn’t even her original body.
Charmant had been curious.
Why had Elyum, who hadn’t even wanted war, needed a mana amplifier?
Were they secretly preparing for war after all?
“Aheel Durf.”
For the first time, Charmant looked him squarely in the eyes.
To her surprise, Aheel Durf looked startled, eyes widening in confusion. He quickly masked it, but she had seen it.
“…Have you decided to take the request?”
“Why do you need it?”
“Hm.”
Aheel Durf looked away, curling his hand into a fist and clearing his throat.
Incredibly, he looked embarrassed.
That only made Charmant even more curious about his thoughts.
“You’ve always been weird, but if you’re asking—fine. As you probably know, aside from the mages of the Tower, Elyum doesn’t support magic at all.”
In truth, Charmant hadn’t known, but she nodded anyway.
“Only a tiny few make it into the Tower. But when I visited the academy, I saw quite a few kids who could use magic.”
“Ah.”
Mana was something you were born with.
In areas rich with natural mana, about one in ten people would be born with it.
But even if you gathered a large number of mana-bearers, only a tiny few ever became true mages.
It took immense time and effort to nurture someone with mana into a proper spellcaster.
That’s why mages were always few and far between.
Even a mighty empire like Rüntvelt was no exception.
It was also part of why Charmant, who could wield both sword techniques imbued with aura and magic at the same time, had been so revered.
“I wanted to try turning Elyum into a true nation of magic. The king is unimpressive, but the prince shows promise, so I’m hopeful for the future.”
Ah, right—they’d said the Tower Master of Elyum and its prince were close friends.
She vaguely recalled hearing that while researching Elyum.
And sometime later, the king had abdicated, and the prince had taken the throne—though it hadn’t lasted long.
“Magic is all I know. If I succeed at this, then at least people might be able to protect their own country. That’s all.”
Aheel Durf awkwardly cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck.
So it wasn’t about preparing for war…
To Charmant, his words sounded genuinely pure.
Someone with Aheel Durf’s level of power might be expected to harbor grand ambitions—but he didn’t. That was unexpected.
She, who had been nothing more than Rüntvelt’s dog, had no right to judge. Still, the thought came unbidden.
And she felt a bit ashamed.
After all, he had never once acted dishonorably, even when their weapons were drawn against each other.
Compared to her—someone who had never hesitated to use whatever means necessary to achieve her goals—he was a person of unwavering principle.
While she was lost in thought, she suddenly felt something heavy in her hand.
Snapping out of it, she realized a coin pouch had somehow appeared there.
“…?”
“The sooner, the better. If it’s not enough, charge the rest to the Tower. I’ll handle it quickly. And if you need to adjust, or—well, whatever. You can come find me if you need anything.”
“No, but the request is for tomorrow—Ah.”
Before she could finish, Aheel Durf had vanished in an instant.
There hadn’t even been a visible magic circle—he was just gone, leaving not a single trace.
He dumped the request on her like that and told her to find him if she needed anything? How?
Charmant stared blankly at the empty floor, coin pouch in hand, unable to hide her disbelief.
Inside the pouch were more than twenty gold coins.
When she’d looked around the market earlier, none of the menu boards or shop price tags had even listed gold coins.
Most items could be bought with just a few coppers.
“Another failed self-rule day…”
Charmant’s shoulders drooped in disappointment.
She felt the urge to beat herself up.
Why is it so hard to follow just a handful of rules?
Still, if she could keep the Halslake mana amplifier out of Rüntvelt’s hands, she might be able to slow down their war preparations.
She couldn’t offer up her heart again like last time, so if she had to find another way…
The elves of Soro Forest—there’s no other way but through them.
Luckily, she’d once made plans to reach Halslake through multiple routes.
She’d even tried asking for help from the Soro Forest elves, who were said to be the only ones they communicated with.
But now, she needed to find a way to reach the Soro elves from here. She couldn’t just abandon her shop and head out.
Thinking she might at least find a map in the house, Charmant reached for the doorknob.
Then suddenly, a thought struck her.
“Ah.”
Maybe that method would work?
Though night was quickly approaching, if she used that method, she might be able to contact the Soro elves immediately.
Just as she was about to head back inside, she turned around.
She looked into the air for a moment, then made a circle with her thumb and forefinger.
Fweeet—
She whistled.
Even after, she kept her head up, waiting.
A bit anxious.
Her body had changed—would her whistle even be recognized now? Was this foolish?
Time passed, until the world was fully swallowed by night.
Still, no sign.
Charmant let out a dry chuckle and lowered her head.
“It really was a ridiculous hope—”
Just then—
Rrrrrrrrrr—
A high-pitched screech split through the sky like a whistle.
Charmant’s eyes widened.
She looked up sharply.
A pitch-black figure swooped through the sky and rapidly descended toward her.
Though surprised, Charmant instinctively raised her arm to receive the massive bird flying toward her through the twilight.
The heavy black bird perched briefly on her arm, enough to make her stagger, then flapped its wings, as if uncertain whether it recognized her face, and made to take off again.
Charmant’s face lit up with joy.
“Bucky.”
Grrrrook!
The giant bird cried as if it understood.
“It’s me. Do you recognize me?”
Charmant smiled as she spoke, and the bird stared at her as though peering into her soul.
Pitch-black feathers. Pitch-black eyes. Pitch-black beak. Pitch-black claws.
A bird that could see souls—she could only hope it would recognize her.
The bird held her gaze in perfect stillness, like the calm of night, then suddenly let out a grumbling sound and bumped its head hard against her face.
“Yes. You still recognize me, Bucky.”
The legendary spirit beast Seiac—a creature said to be nearly impossible to encounter even once in a lifetime.
They understood human speech, could snatch a calf and fly off with ease, and at times displayed sharper insight than people.
Their pitch-black eyes, capable of seeing souls, were more precious than any other spirit beast’s abilities.
They looked like a blend between raven and eagle, massive in size, and their entire body was void of any color—utter blackness.
Rumor had it they cut themselves free from their mother’s womb, but in truth, Seiac didn’t lay eggs. They gave birth once, then died—fulfilling their lifespan.
They were extremely calm, cautious, and never harmed without cause.
Bucky was a spirit beast that Charmant had found on her own, long ago.
She’d first met Bucky when she went on her very first mercenary job at the age of thirteen.
Her mother had died giving birth to her. Her father had followed shortly after.
Raised as a burden in one house after another, she ran away at twelve.
She spent a year doing menial labor in a mercenary office before receiving her first assignment.
It was a job so risky and underpaid that no one else wanted it. She volunteered and went up the mountain.
Though the mission succeeded, she came down limping—and witnessed the moment Bucky was born.
Charmant had held her breath and watched.
As the newborn Seiac emerged, its jet-black mother turned to white ash and disappeared.
But for some reason, the newborn, which should have taken flight immediately, fell to the ground.
Charmant rushed over and caught it in time to spare its wings—but the baby Seiac was in poor condition.
She took the tiny creature into her arms and began to nurse it back to health.
Perhaps she had seen her younger self in dying Bucky.
Though she had to spend every last coin she earned from that mission on treating him, Charmant gained a friend who would never betray her.
A companion who always appeared like a shadow and protected her through countless missions.
That was Bucky.
Because of time reversal, Bucky looked a bit younger than she remembered.
She’d thought the bird wouldn’t recognize her in a different body, but Bucky did—without hesitation.
And that gave her an incredible sense of comfort.
As if reading her heart, Bucky bumped his head against hers again, letting out a warm, rumbling cry that vibrated through her.
Charmant couldn’t hide her happiness either.
In the middle of this chaos, she had finally found someone who recognized her.
The bird’s greeting knocked her hood from her head, but she didn’t even notice.
“Have you been well?”
