Chapter : 20
I let out a deep sigh and lay down on my bed.
As soon as my body sank into the soft mattress, exhaustion came flooding in.
…And worries about the future came as a bonus.
‘That was the first time I used the power of darkness in front of others.’
This time, the duration was short enough that everyone brushed it off in confusion, but things wouldn’t always go that way.
Once I start using real darkness—not just hiding it in shadows or briefly dimming the surroundings—people won’t be able to overlook it so easily.
‘Just like Master did today.’
A mage can wield their attribute in many ways—like how my master summoned light to create orbs and clones.
But because each spell draws from that specific element, its nature inevitably reflects the caster’s attribute.
So if I start using darkness the way my master uses light, my power will stand out just as much as his.
‘Still, I don’t want to hide my magic anymore just because I’m afraid of people’s eyes.’
Before I recovered the memories of my past life, I always hesitated to use my abilities.
But now, it doesn’t bother me.
That life wasn’t easy… but because of it, those memories have become a great source of strength.
It even feels like a chance to finally get closer to the self I’ve long ignored.
“Darkness.”
I summoned my staff and called upon the darkness.
Though it’s always with me, I can only talk to it when I summon it through my staff.
[Why’d you call me?]
“Don’t go wild like that again.”
If my master hadn’t been there today, things could’ve gone terribly wrong.
This was something I needed to make clear.
Of course, darkness wasn’t going to take it quietly.
[That’s because you never use me in front of people, Themis! I want to work hard too!]
They say a mage’s personality and essence determine the nature of their element and its temperament.
Seeing how rebellious mine is…
Maybe it really does resemble me.
Still, seeing darkness so restless made me feel a little guilty.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. I’ll keep using you from now on.”
[Really?]
“Yeah. I plan to get more comfortable using you during this next assignment.”
[Huh? What’s gotten into you? You feeling okay?]
Ahem. I felt oddly guilty at that reaction.
Guess I really never cared about anything outside of my master until now…
“I really mean it this time. I’ll do better.”
[Yeah, you will, Themis.]
When I said it firmly, darkness let out a laugh.
I couldn’t even see its face, yet somehow that laugh sounded… mocking.
[So what does this have to do with Achilan, anyway?]
…See? It knows too well that everything I do has something to do with my master.
There’s no point trying to argue. I’d lose anyway.
[Why are you going that far for him?]
Because darkness knows me too well.
“Ugh, suddenly I feel sleepy…”
I forced a yawn and dismissed my staff.
Naturally, darkness began to fade as well.
[Huh? Wait—]
It would probably nag at me later, but that would be future me’s problem.
Once darkness disappeared completely, I closed my eyes.
Now that I was lying down, the flood of thoughts came rushing in again.
Sure, today’s events allowed me to show some of my skills—but there was still a big problem.
‘Why did someone try to harm His Majesty the Emperor and Princess Aria?’
That wasn’t something that happened in the original story I remembered.
The first assassination attempt I could understand—it only hurt background characters like me, so it might’ve been left out.
But the second one? That targeted both the Emperor and the protagonist, Aria!
‘There’s no way the original story just skipped over that.’
The first attempt could’ve been omitted—but the second one definitely didn’t exist before.
That means the story has changed.
And I need to figure out why.
‘Because events like this pile up and cause a butterfly effect.’
If things are diverging from the original, there must be a reason.
Since I was the one who started altering the story, I need to think about the consequences those changes might bring.
‘The rebels…’
I now had every reason to investigate them properly.
In the original story, they directly opposed the royal family and tried multiple times to take Princess Aria’s life.
Thankfully, the royal family and the temple eventually joined forces to wipe them out completely—but before that, their deeds were unspeakably cruel.
‘They extorted money and goods from civilians to fund their rebellion… and even committed assassinations like this without hesitation.’
I dug through my memories.
In the story, it was Princess Aria who tracked down the rebel leader hiding in the underground ruins of the capital.
At that time, she possessed my master’s mana core, and thanks to its overwhelming power, her influence was absolute.
After the final battle against the rebels ended in victory, Aria went to the temple with Everett—and there, she confessed her love to him.
‘All while my master’s life was hanging by a thread because he had given her his mana core.’
I can’t accept that.
That someone’s happiness must come at the cost of another’s suffering.
‘Aria overexerted herself fighting the rebels for so long that my master had to give up his mana core prematurely.
If the rebels were eliminated earlier, that could’ve been delayed.’
But reading the story doesn’t mean I know everything about the rebels.
The narrative mostly followed Aria’s perspective, and even when the leader was captured, details about them were scarce.
All I knew was their appearance.
‘Uncommon red hair, green eyes, and a serpent-shaped necklace they always kept hidden.’
But someone with such a striking appearance wouldn’t just walk around openly.
‘And they were the cautious type—constantly changing hideouts.’
Still, maybe I could send out a request to an information guild or something.
Of course, there’s always a chance the guild’s already under rebel control.
If so, any request I make would leak straight to them.
But if the request is simply to find a “red-haired, green-eyed man,” it wouldn’t sound too suspicious.
It’s not like I’m asking them to find the rebel leader.
A great mage’s disciple looking for someone who happens to match that description?
Suspicious, maybe—but not enough to confirm my intent.
It might even catch the rebels’ attention.
And who knows—maybe one of them will approach me first.
‘Anyway, Master will be busy with interrogations again tomorrow.’
After a good night’s sleep, I’ll head out—for shopping and a little fieldwork.
‘Maybe I should pack my things before bed?’
I got up and started to gather what few clothes I had, then let out a dry laugh.
‘I don’t even have a travel bag.’
Well, I hadn’t planned on ever leaving the Magic Tower, so I guess that made sense.
‘No, come on! I can do this! Let’s stay positive!’
I pictured my master’s face.
And just like that, I felt like I could do anything.
By dawn, the Magic Tower was in chaos.
Mages scheduled for questioning were scrambling to gather evidence to prove their innocence.
“…Themis, this letter came for you.”
Even Master’s only secretary, Rider, was swamped.
To most, he was simply the Archmage’s secretary, but in truth, he was also the head of the Tower—its true master.
Naturally, he was deeply involved in the investigation to identify which mages had conspired with the rebels in the palace attack.
“Really, what a mess this has become.”
The dark circles under his eyes said it all.
“It came in as urgent mail, so I’m giving it to you personally. It’s from Lord Everett—did something happen?”
“Ah, yes. I asked him for a favor.”
I broke the seal bearing the mark of the god Prua and unfolded the letter.
“The deployment will take place in five days.
When the time comes, I’ll come to the Tower to escort you.
It’s an honor to accompany you, Lady Themis.
I look forward to working with you.”
