Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

"I'll turn in first. Allen, you have first watch tonight, right? See you tomorrow."

"I'll get going now, too. I've got a rough idea of where the space-shifting traps are, so tomorrow should go smoothly.” Evan flashed a relaxed smile that didn't quite match his typical arrogant expression and disappeared into the tent.

'I'm surprised, he’s not acting like himself.’

Allen was dumbfounded as he smiled bitterly, thinking of how Vestla must be reacting at the moment, too.

Allen knew. He understood what she was saying.

After all, no matter how he tried to justify it to himself, he knew he couldn’t really fit in with them.

He would do anything for his brother, and nothing could measure up to that drive.

In the first place, he had only come to find a way to save Julius. What point was there in taking his ventures in a new direction now?

He shouldn’t have enjoyed it, and he shouldn’t have let himself become vulnerable. 

"Allen.”

“……”

"Allen?"

"…Ah, ha. I didn't hear you, I was lost in thought. What did you say?"

William shook his head and asked Allen with a careful expression, "Well, are you okay? You looked really worried about something…”

Allen shook his head in dismissal.

"I was thinking about whether or not we could use the space-shifting trap, and if we could, the possibilities and limitations of keeping it running so that we can return.” 

William gave a blank look at Allen’s reply, unsurprised, as if he’d had the same thought on his own.

"…No, that’s something you can think about tomorrow."

"I'm the team leader, so it’s something I should consider in advance.”

"That's so like you, Allen, no— Captain." William burst into an uncontrollable laughter at Allen’s reply paired with a small smile.

"By the way, I'm the only one on duty right now. Wouldn't it be better for you to head in and rest now?"

"I-I have things to think about, too."

"Well then."

A comfortable silence settled over them. The bonfire burned with brilliant light, as if to show Allen a mirror image of himself, constantly burning away at his lifespan.

Crack, crackle.

“Did you know?" William's eyes did not stray from the bonfire. "I thought at first that every aristocrat was a monster. Those ruthless blue bloods were so cold-hearted toward my family, just gobbling up anything and everything we had.”

That was why he had humbled himself at first, and then grew to have mixed feelings about their behavior as time went on.

"I mean, you aren’t wrong.”

There were actually quite a few nobles like that.

They may have been aristocrats, but they behaved like merchants, too—like a pack of wolves.

One person in particular came to Allen's mind.

The one who abandoned his own son for the sake of power and prestige.

"But I can't say it’s right, no— I couldn’t."

William shook his head.

It didn't take long for cracks to form in his prejudice.

When he came to the Academy only a few weeks ago, he was afraid of everything. William had grown up as an orphan, essentially a lowest-class citizen.

If it hadn’t been for one passing sorcerer who recognized his talent, he wouldn't even be alive.

"Evan is the kinda guy who is arrogant on the outside but soft on the inside. He tries to appear perfect so as to not shatter that image.”

Sometimes, he was too aggressive about it, so he came across as overly arrogant.

William had been nervous to speak in front of him at first, but now he felt no pressure from Evan’s arrogant appearance.

"Ariel has a lot of pride, but she loves to joke around, too. You know? She deliberately says misleading things to see how Evan and I will react."

Basically a princess. How much must he have blushed and cowered in the beginning, each time he accidentally made eye contact with her?

She’d used her attitude to get to know the group in a playful way, so he understood what kind of person she was.

"Allen, I thought you were… impartial. You’re the second in our class, yet you didn’t discriminate against anybody. And you helped me out a lot at the beginning. I learned that you are all… really nice people. So nice that I wouldn’t even hesitate to hang out with you all.”

The stuttering student who, at one point, was unable to get along with his peers due to his background was no longer there.

Allen bowed his head low at his sincere words, avoiding eye contact with him.

"…Why are you saying all this?”

"I-I just wanted to tell you. I wanted to thank you.”

William laughed faintly.

"Well, it's kind of weird to just tell you my… evaluations of other people, so to speak… I'm actually looking for my sister. Have I told you I'm an orphan?"

"…No, you never mentioned it."

"I'm looking for my sister. She was sold as a slave a long time ago, and I wanted to come to the Academy by any means because of that. Of course, I was a little lost at first, but…” He smiled as if he had recalled his Academy life, and soon answered with a confident look. "I think that I can find her now. Her name repeats on loop in my mind, but all I can remember of her is that she and I have the same curly black hair.”

He was so full of hope and determination.

Allen began to speak somewhat impulsively at the sight. Yet at the same time, he realized that even if he were to share this tale, his background would prevent Evan from being moved by it.

"I’m here because I want to find somebody, too."

It was a secret that only Linbelle, Inellia, Vestla, and Catherine knew. A secret he hadn’t even told Rachael yet leaked out of his mouth.

"May I ask who it is?”

Allen fell silent upon William’s question, causing the latter to question if he had crossed the line. William rose from his seat with an awkward smile.

"You'll find them one day, I’m sure of it."

"Of course…"

Allen grinned a little, mulling over his words. His smile showed none of his usual concern.

"You think so?"

"Yes!"

Allen found it funny how William said he could do it without knowing the full story, but… he didn’t think it wasn’t a particularly bad thing.

"W-well, it’s getting late! I should get going now!"

With that remark, he hurried away.

His steps quickened.

Looking at the redness of William's ears, Allen could see that he was barely containing his shyness.

But he paused for a moment, and then turned his head to glance back just once.

“I think… I would be okay living this kind of life from here on out. So, maybe I shouldn’t try so hard to do everything all on my own.”

He spoke to himself, his smile broad unlike before.

"We're teammates, aren't we? Of course… they might not look the most reliable. But who knows? We might just toss out a good idea or two."

“……”

He then quickly walked off, not waiting for a word of reply.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Allen couldn’t say anything as William made himself scarce.

‘Have I gotten too soft?’

[…Are you alright?]

The light of the bonfire didn’t reach his bowed face. Allen did not answer Vestla's question.

Not a single word was exchanged.

* * *

* * *

(Jaqnelle, one of the Top Eight, enters the megaruins to prevent further accidents.)

Hours after the accident, news sources across the continent spread the announcement. It was met with a great response, just as the Academy professors had expected.

Jaqnelle is really here?!

When? How? No, is it true that we're still going to go into the ruins?

Our group is going in. Tomorrow. And then we’ll definitely meet him inside!

Even students who were hesitant to enter the ruins out of initial anxiety changed their minds in nearly an instant. The influence of his presence on students was palpable. 

One of the Top Eight.

Even if they didn't know why he was there or what exactly he was going to do, it didn't matter.

His presence alone was reassuring.

However, their sudden jump in motivation was so hasty that many entered the ruins unprepared and were promptly eliminated. The professors couldn't hide their bitterness upon hearing of this trend, but what could be done about it after the fact? They made mental notes to add more mental training to the curriculum next semester.

"Alexius, is this the right place?"

"Yes, this should be it."

Allen's party entered the ruins early in the morning, anticipating the other groups of students flocking in shortly after.

They went swiftly through the plummeting spiral staircase, through the familiar gray passage, and inward. But today, their goal was not to go down as fast as possible.

"What if I mess something up again?”

"Hmm… Honestly, at this point I feel like the other students were just lying…”

Allen comforted them with a wry smile.

"How many people can really remember exactly what happened when they were eliminated?”

They spent yesterday gathering information about the location of the space-shifting trap, asking those who had already been eliminated.

Although William, Evan, Ariel, Milred, and Alexius had collected various pieces of information…

Rumble.

When Alexius triggered the trap, the floor opened and closed in an instant.

"…It's a dud again."

This was the fifth time already.

Unfortunately, despite searching as hard as they could from early morning until daylight had broken, their efforts had borne no fruit. 

The trap in front of them was just a trap, not the space-shifting trap. 

"Don't worry! It's okay if we can't find it today. I'll talk with the others to ask for more detail. So…"

"No."

Allen cut her off flatly.

"Why?" Milred asked, rather curiously as to why Allen had done so.

"Someone will notice our actions from yesterday and the motivation behind them."

"But even if someone notices, won’t it be fine as long as we still find it first? We can still accomplish that next time.”

Allen shook his head.

"It won't be easy to get information anymore. The reason why we were able to do so yesterday was largely because there happened to be an accident."

If it weren't for that, their peers would’ve seen them simply as competitors, and wouldn’t have given them information so easily. But because the accident prohibited their entrance to the ruins and created anxiety, they were able to obtain information through small talk.

"They must have known that we were inquiring about the space-shifting trap, so everyone must’ve known, too, that our group was moving with the goal of being the quickest to break through to the bottom floor."

It would all be meaningless if they didn't find the trap first.

People only cared who came in first place, and first place alone. In other words, no matter how much effort the second place put in, or how much they had gone through, it would all be meaningless to others.

"Maybe they’ll share the information in exchange for something else. Like relics or money."

William nodded, as if sympathizing with Allen's words. "Th-that’s certainly an option."

The memory of shame from his prying question from yesterday still had yet to fade, and when their eyes met, the back of his neck flushed red.

"Even so, it would take a lot of time to check every single location… What should we do?"

"Based on what Allen said… There must be other people outside who want to make a trade for the space-shifting traps by now.”

Evan looked perplexed at the issue, which he’d assumed would be easily resolved, still going without a solution.

With that, the party moved on to three more places.

The next trap was a blade-like gust of wind, and the following was an extensive gravity field. 

And the third was a few bursts of flame fluttering and refracting in the air ahead of them.

Seeing his party becoming increasingly motivated, Allen stepped forward.

'I'll have to help them out here.’

Originally, he wasn't going to get involved so that his team members could be the ones to find it, but he changed my mind.

There was no telling what kind of monster would pop out from the ruins if they just lingered. Perhaps it was the right choice to reach their goal quickly so they could get out.

"Alexius, may I have the map?"

"What? Of course…”

Alexius looked puzzled, but gently handed the map over to him.

For the last week, the map had been littered with white lines. Allen began to rule out possibilities using all the information that his team members had gathered.

"From here to here, I think we should ignore this part completely."

"What? A-Allen? What do you mean…?” Ariel asked, surprised.

In response to Ariel's question, Allen briefly gave an explanation to the members of the team. "When something shifts through space, the moving matter ripples and disconnects. With this in mind, the places that I just pointed out have no possibility of spatial movement due to their geography."

"Allen, even if it's a possibility…”

"Even if there is a space-shifting trap there, we’ll still have time to check it out after trying somewhere else first.”

Allen continued with an unusual intensity, causing them to close their mouths.

"The four in the northwest and the two in the southeast are the same. The strange dizziness that you feel while moving through space is not motion sickness, but the unconscious resistance response to the illusion."

Allen's fingers moved along the map. His team members followed the trail he’d marked.

"We’ve heard of one place in the east, one in the west, and two places in the south that were said to have moved with the waves of space, so that would appear to be a space-shifting movement at first glance, but those are actually a trap that compresses space itself."

"…Why is that?"

"Because as something ripples through space, it sends out walls of wavefronts. The waves as they travel in space form an ellipse of constant magnitude that stretches up and down."

"I see…"

"Do you have any more questions?"

Evan shook his head, wondering if he had done something wrong since he’d been the one to instigate Allen's onslaught of unstoppable answers.

"No, I’m good…”

"Then I will continue to explain."

Allen ruled out more than a dozen traps for various reasons.

"Someone reported that this place is an altar. Moving through space into an altar is far too conscious of an effort, very likely to be performed by some being from a different dimension, rather than moving to some other random location within the ruins…

"And remember that they also said that there are square magic circles and mirrors decorating all four walls of the room. It's not a space shift, it's a technique to seal something within the mirror…

"And then the three cubes with a sword in the center… Again, it's a very rare and difficult technique. When you get too close, you'll be transported inside one of the cubes…”

The party had no choice but to nod their heads absent-mindedly. They couldn't find any holes in his logic.

Aside from the convoluted explanations as to whose theories he was basing his logic on and where they were verified, Allen's explanation was easy and coherent enough for the non-sorcerers to understand.

Evan was awed, having watched Allen’s passionate lecture. "…Allen, you really are a sorcerer, huh?"

“I didn’t want to waste my knowledge on only practicing magic when necessary. I thought it would be helpful for times like now.” 

“Y-you know what they say: ‘A sorcerer isn’t a sorcerer if they aren't crazy about magic.’”

William murmured the famous saying, recognizing that Allen was human after all.

"I think I covered it… Does anyone else have any more questions?"

Excluding all of the places that they’d ruled out for one reason or another, there were only two spots left.

"No…"

"Hmm, then how about we get going now. We don’t have time to spare."

"Allen, I knew that you had some knowledge of the spatial system, but I didn't know that you were capable of anything like this…”

Allen whispered in a low voice, uncaring of Milred’s gaze, "Well then, let’s get going."

The time had come to end their exploration and dungeon practice in the megaruins.

* * *

Julius's group returned to the ruins yet again, having achieved great results over the last few days.

"Let's take a little break. I'll go and keep watch on the path for a while."

”You go do that."

When Julius allowed it, Erini disappeared to the other side of the passageway, promising to scout for a while.

The remaining members of the group began their short break.

As everyone else sat down, only the boy of medium height looked around, as if to satisfy his voracious curiosity.

"Well, if you look at the structure and style of these ruins, it’s definitely not a castle or any kind of religious structure.”

Speaking in a thin yet husky voice, Mattias concluded his assessment with ease, as if his observations were of no extra effort at all to him.

"…Not a castle?"

Mattias nodded at Aveline’s questioning voice.

"From my observations, yes, not a castle."

"Why? There are four spires, and I think the structure is pretty reminiscent of one."

"Well, as you know, the ruins are the legacy of the fallen ancient empire."

The legacy of the ancient empire, said to have once dominated the entire continent and blossomed into a brilliant civilization.

Step, step, step.

"And the ancient empire made tremendous progress in many ways."

From things like magic, spiritual methods, technology, and martial arts to techniques that revolutionized agriculture, and advancing their methods of food acquisition all across the continent.

"The ruins, which we can understand as a memorial of that progress, contain a variety of artifacts and lost technologies from that period."

"Who doesn't know that? Don’t just repeat the obvious, and get to the point.”

Mattias nodded at Aveline's snort.

"You’re right. Well, it’s because of this that the styles of the ruins sites can usually be sorted into various types, coming from the different regions and periods of the ancient empire. But here… I don't see a clear purpose behind the architecture."

"What?"

"Buildings have many purposes. Living, studying, training… Even storage. So, it's the same with ruins.”

Magical developments were usually concocted in someone's laboratory or in the main tower of a now vanished ancient school. The ruins that elves dedicate all their energy to finding were branches of the World Botanical Garden, rumored to have mainly studied plants.

"But this place has no purpose?"

"Well, I'm getting there…”

At Julius's question, Mattias frowned for a moment, as if he were thinking to himself for a moment. As soon as he was about to answer, someone else chimed in.

"Wait, I'm sorry to interrupt, but what role does this place play?”

Rather than Julius, it was Bielli Kazanaf who spoke, the princess of a small marine kingdom at the southern tip of the continent, with distinctive dark sea-green hair.

She was also an upperclassman—a sophomore—who joined the group at the same time as him.

"It's… I think it's maybe a prison? No, it has to be more than that… I think it’s here to seal something away… Something like that.”

"…A prison?”

—————

—————