“This... was this all done by you alone?”
Looking at the gruesome battlefield before her, Semilis could easily imagine what a brutal clash had taken place here.
Shulim said nothing, only nodding silently.
“Why didn't you call me back...?”
“You had the chance, didn't you? Why didn't you call me back?!”
“I...”
Shulim opened her mouth but ended up offering no explanation.
“You—”
Semilis was somewhat exasperated, yet she understood why the girl had done it.
Her expression grew uncharacteristically lonely.
“How can I be at peace with you like this...? That was a wolf pack led by a giant forest wolf...”
Shulim hung her head.
“...I'm sorry.”
“...But.”
“I'm so glad! Shulim, you're alive.”
“Se... Semilis...”
Shulim raised her head to look at Semilis, an inexplicable surge of sadness welling up from within her heart.
“Alright! Let's not talk about it anymore!”
Semilis suddenly laughed, speaking aloud, “To think you routed a whole pack led by a giant forest wolf all on your own! Shulim, your growth has completely exceeded my expectations!”
“...”
“Ah! To think you resolved everything in just half a day. I originally planned to use magic to trick your family so you could take your time over a few days. Not only were you incredibly fast, but the result is simply jaw-dropping!”
“...”
“Well, looking at it this way, you don't have to camp out in the forest tonight. You can sleep in your own comfortable bed! Let's head back right away. You should make it in time for dinner!”
“Oh, and by the way, before we leave, we can't have you going home looking like this~!”
Shulim's current state was pitiful.
Covered in wounds, her clothes in tatters, and her entire body filthy beyond recognition—if a beggar from the old district saw her, they would probably address her as their chief on the spot.
Whoosh~!
Particles of green light showered over Shulim.
The grime was instantly swept away, and all her injuries, both internal and external, healed in an instant. Even her clothes gradually reverted to their original state under the bizarre light.
In fact, they looked even more exquisite than before.
“Great! My beautiful Shulim is back!”
Semilis nodded in satisfaction, then scooped up Shulim and soared into the sky.
“Oh right, we need to clean up here too~!”
Glancing down at the gruesome scene of the goblin settlement, Semilis casually cast a spell.
“Fireball~!”
Then, Shulim watched as what looked like a miniature sun slowly descended toward the goblin settlement.
Boom—!!!
A brilliant light erupted across the earth. Not only was the goblin settlement vaporized, but several kilometers of the surrounding forest were incinerated by this single blow.
Was this... a Fireball?
Whoosh—!
A shooting star rapidly flew into the distance from where the sun had crashed into the earth.
...
The forest outside Mente Town.
A shooting star landed beside an inconspicuous small lake.
Shulim looked around. Semilis had not brought her directly to the edge of the forest as she usually did.
“...”
“...”
Silence lingered between them.
In the end, it was Semilis who broke the quiet. Forcing a smile, she said, “What's wrong, Shulim? Aren't you going back—”
“Say, Semilis...”
Shulim cut Semilis off.
She raised her head, staring quietly into Semilis's beautiful, emerald-like eyes.
“—Are you leaving?”
“...”
Semilis's smile stiffened, then slowly faded away. She hung her head with a lonely expression.
“So you noticed...”
“Because I've been with you for a long time, Semilis.”
“A long time...? It's only been three years.”
“Three years is not short for a human.”
“...”
“Is that so... Right, it's already been three years.”
“Semilis...”
“Will you come back?”
Semilis raised her head, gazing back into Shulim's eyes.
She reached out, gently pulling Shulim into her embrace and stroking her hair.
“Shulim, you once said my eyes are very beautiful, right~?”
“But you know, I think your eyes are also the most beautiful I've seen in tens of thousands of years! So... so... don't miss me too much.”
Shulim felt a sharp pang in her chest.
She forced herself to endure it.
Only after a long while did she say in the calmest tone possible, “I'll think of you occasionally.”
“Haha~, I see~!”
Semilis released Shulim, kneeling down gently before her to stroke her petite cheeks.
“My Shulim is so strong. That way... I can be at ease.”
“...”
“Mhm!”
Shulim nodded vigorously.
“I... I will definitely not ruin your reputation, Semilis! So... so... you can return to the celestial realm without any worries! Just wait to hear about my legend!”
“Hahaha~!”
Semilis responded with a hearty laugh.
“Then I'll be waiting for Shulim's name to reach the celestial realm!”
“Mhm!”
Shulim nodded vigorously once more.
“Well then, Shulim...”
A complex, profound magic circle expanded beneath Semilis's feet. It was reminiscent of the one from three years ago, yet slightly different.
“—Farewell.”
“Farewell, Semilis...”
Semilis and the magic circle transformed into a beam of light, soaring into the sky before vanishing.
Her waving right hand stopped mid-air. Shulim stared at the empty space where the familiar figure used to stand.
“...Semilis?”
However, no one answered.
...
The celestial realm, Tiramsuin.
As a beam of light unfurled, Semilis descended onto a pristine white space.
The moment she returned to Tiramsuin, the smile she had maintained when leaving collapsed. Holding her head, she crouched on the ground, murmuring sorrowfully, “I... I wanted to stay by your side too...”
“...Semilis, what's wrong?”
A figure materialized before her.
Semilis slowly raised her head, meeting that familiar and gentle gaze.
“Mother Goddess...”
“Did something happen? Wait... your body.”
Traia noticed something unusual about Semilis's body.
“How could your fairy core be so severely depleted? If this continues, your origin source will be damaged... Semilis, you must enter slumber immediately.”
Hearing this, Semilis immediately pleaded.
“I know, Mother Goddess, but... could you give me a little more time? A hundred years... please, just give me another hundred years.”
“Sigh...”
Traia let out a sigh.
“It seems you have met someone very important. However... no.”
“With your current state, dragging this out for even another minute increases the risk of your origin source taking damage and collapsing. You must enter slumber right now.”
“But, Mother Goddess...”
“This time my slumber will last too long. If that happens... I will miss it.”
“I promised her I would always keep an eye on her. I only came back to stop my condition from worsening. So... even if it's selfish, I want to ask for Mother Goddess's help to just maintain my current state.”
“...”
Traia watched the fairy before her in silence.
In tens of thousands of years, this was the first time Semilis had pleaded with her like this. Even when she had experienced such hardships in the past, she had ultimately walked out of her pain on her own...
“I understand. Tell me what happened to you... Besides, even if I intervene, given your current condition, you will still have to sleep for ten months to wake up briefly for about three days of activity. Can you accept this?”
“I... I accept.”
With only a slight hesitation, Semilis nodded and agreed.
Though it was an extremely short duration—barely three days in a year—as long as she woke up periodically like this, she wouldn't miss that child's growth...
After that, Semilis recounted everything she had experienced in the mortal realm to Traia in detail, a tale of a human girl with unprecedented all-element aptitude...
Semilis entered a long slumber to repair herself.
In the pristine white space, a quiet murmur echoed.
“A girl with all-element aptitude.”
“And a descendant of that person.”
“Could it be...”
The voice spoke no further, and the pristine white space fell back into a long, deep silence.
...
The mortal realm.
That day, Shulim returned home very late.
Although she appeared calm, as her parents, they keenly detected the abnormality in their daughter's heart.
The Hayeral couple deeply wished to comfort her and help her process her emotions, but because they didn't know the root cause, they couldn't find a way. Even when they secretly asked her friend, Fran, they got no answers.
On the contrary, her behavior remained exactly the same as always: practicing swordsmanship and reading in the morning, then heading out in the afternoon and returning only late in the evening.
Yet, the more normal she acted, the more uneasy the Hayeral couple became. It was as if every time their daughter returned from outside, the mysterious, hidden wound in her heart worsened...
...
A month later.
Beside the same ordinary little lake.
Her mana completely depleted and sweat dotting her forehead, Shulim lay upon the large boulder where she had first met Semilis, quietly staring at the sky.
“Where exactly is Tiramsuin...? Can Semilis see me from up there...?”
A gentle breeze blew through the trees, rustling the leaves as a peaceful quiet settled over the forest.
After a long while, Shulim spoke to herself again.
“I've been behaving badly...”
“...If Semilis saw me right now, would she be very disappointed...?”
“Even though she told me I was strong when she left...”
Shulim sat up, gazing at the lake in front of her.
Currently, she seemed to have lost her sense of purpose, mechanically coming here every day, desperately practicing magic as if to vent until all her mana was drained.
Was this any way to keep her promise to Semilis?
“...I cannot go on like this. Semilis hasn't left; she might be watching me from the celestial realm right now! I cannot let her down!”
At that moment, a spark reignited in Shulim's eyes. After a month of dejection, she had finally found herself again.
She stood up and walked away, heading back toward Mente Town.
She would probably still visit this place frequently in the future.
But from now on, things would be different.
Even without Semilis by her side, she would continue to train on her own!
When Shulim arrived home, Rezerian and Lilia stared at her blankly. Although she looked no different from before, something had clearly changed! The unknown knot in their daughter's heart seemed to have unraveled.
“I'm sorry, Father, Mother. I've worried you both this past month!”
Shulim apologized obediently. Just as her parents could sense her hidden distress, she could also sense that they had noticed it.
Rezerian and Lilia broke into relieved smiles, the dark cloud that had hovered over them for the past month instantly dispersing.
“It's fine. Although we don't know what happened, as long as you can pull yourself together again, Shulim, that's all that matters!” her mother, Lilia, said with a smile.
“Excellent!”
Rezerian also wore a happy grin.
“Lilia, I suddenly feel today is a wonderfully grand day. We should celebrate. How about some roasted Horbivelo steaks tonight?”
“Really?!”
Before Lilia could even speak, Shulim's eyes lit up as she stared expectantly at her mother.
Lilia could only nod helplessly.
“Alright, alright, alright~! Let's do that.”
“Yay~! We're having roasted meat!”
“Lorenz, bring out the grill!”
“Right away, Milord!”
“Mrs. Yeager, help me get the steaks from the kitchen and prepare the tableware.”
“Yes, Milord, I'll go right away.”
“Jessica! We're grilling tonight, so we'll be counting on you!”
“Leave it to me~!”
...
Just like that, Shulim's life returned completely to its normal track.
Though her life's mentor would no longer accompany her, the journey of the Seventh Witch was only truly beginning.
——— Interlude ———
This was the day before Semilis assigned the final quest.
“See you tomorrow, Semilis!”
Shulim waved goodbye as usual.
Behind her, however, these words appeared in Semilis's eyes:
【Shulim Hayeral
Race: Human (Female)
Age: Ten years old
Life: C+-Class (new!)
Mana: C+-Class
Magic Aptitude:
Fire Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Fire Blessing),
Water Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Water Blessing),
Earth Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Earth Blessing),
Wind Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Wind Blessing),
Light Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Light Blessing),
Dark Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Dark Blessing),
Non-Elemental Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Non-Elemental Blessing)
... ...
】
“...Haha, she really is quite amazing. To be infinitely close to B-Class at just ten years old... Even throughout history, she would be considered an unbelievable genius! Well, although her talent was already unprecedented to begin with...”
“Mhm! But this is also thanks to my wonderful guidance!”
Fairy Queen Semilis lifted her chin proudly.
“Ugh—”
Suddenly, she clutched her chest in pain, her face turning pale.
“...Is there no more time?”
Because she had never done this before, it was only after Semilis had actually bestowed the seven Blessings that she realized just how dangerous it was.
Her fairy origin source had almost collapsed!
She hadn't expected that giving so much away would have such a massive impact on her. But now that they had been bestowed, it was too late to say anything.
Normally, as long as she returned to the celestial realm in time to enter a slumber, her origin source could have slowly recovered without any permanent loss—at most, she would have just lost a vacation.
Yet, upon meeting the young girl's eyes, the naive thought of returning a bit later had inexplicably bubbled up in her mind.
And then...
Just wait a little longer.
Just a few more days.
She'll reach D-Class soon. Once she does, I'll...
She learns so fast! Hmm... Let me observe a bit longer. After all, she is such an unprecedented case...
She's already reached C-Class?! So fast! Can she go even faster? I want to keep watching, let's wait a little longer...
And now, this child has finally neared the edge of B-Class.
Though she had always made excuses to stay, was there finally no more time left now...?
“I really wanted to keep staying by your side. I'm sorry, Shulim...”
“At least let me see you truly stand on your own before I leave...”
——— (End of Volume 1) ———
Rate on N.U.
