Moore leads me to the basement of the royal castle. We went down a long spiral staircase and then he opened a wooden door.
“Hoh-, this is some kind of a cellar huh.”
“This way.”
Beyond the door is a large room with walls and ceiling covered with ice. The floor is filled with white cold air, and vegetables and meat are placed throughout the room. Moore didn’t even bother looking at it and continued to lead me to the far end of the room.
“This is it.”
In a strangely open space, it was placed in the farthest back of the large room. No, it would be more accurate to say that someone was there. I was speechless for a moment seeing what he wanted me to see.
A woman was inside a rectangular piece of ice. Her appearance is not flatteringly beautiful, but she is somehow charming and strangely enough, something about her made me feel at ease. She is dressed in white and lies with her hands folded on her chest, as if asleep. However, I was more drawn to the frozen person holding her in his arms. He was an old man in a white robe, Moore, the Great Mage.
“This is my main body.”
“Still alive?”
“No. Already dead.”
“…………”
I was speechless. Yes, he certainly said that the main body is at the bottom floor, but he didn’t say he was alive.
Moore sits down on the floor and lovingly strokes the ice. I also sat down on the floor to listen to the story.
“This is my first wife, Maria.”
“She look kind.”
“Mmmm. She was famous for being extremely good-natured. She was always carefree and no matter where I was or what I did, she would smile at me and forgave me. She was the best woman. Too good for such a worst husband like me.”
Out of nowhere, he brings out two glasses and a bottle of liquor. The label on the bottle was so tattered that I couldn’t even tell what was written on it. I knew right away that it was quite old. He poured a glass of liquor and held it out to me.
“How about a drink?”
“Thanks”
When I took a sip, the moderate sweetness spread in my mouth yet a strong scent pierced my nose. It’s a truly delicious drink that I can’t put into words.
“You already know my purpose, but you don’t know who I am or how I’ve lived.”
“Well, that’s right. That is why I want to ask, who are you really?”
Moore grinned at me. He had given me a clear hint. He knew I would take the bait.
Clink.
Placing his glass on the floor, he straightens his posture.
“Let me introduce myself again, my name is Moore Shigemoto. The man who was once called the Great Mage.”
Shigemoto…… Shige moto…… Huh?
I had a vague feeling that was the case. He is probably the child of Shigemoto Heiji, my closest friend.
“My father told me a lot about you that I was sick of it you see. Well, he said that he used to live in a foreign country called Japan, and that something strange struck Tokyo leading him to end up here.”
“Did Shige-san know that I would be reincarnated in this world?”
“I think he saw it as a possibility. I remember him saying that he wouldn’t believe that he would be the only one who was reincarnated. Thanks to that, my father took me around the world.”
Moore pulls out an old notebook from the subspace on his right. He held it out to me.
“This is?”
“Heiji Shigemoto—my father’s diary. Well, he said that if I ever met a man named Shinichi Tanaka, I should give it to him.”
I took it and carefully flip the page. I think it’s important to read this to get to know Moore better.
『I’m Heiji Shigemoto. I was born and raised in Japan. Ah no, in this case, I should say that I was born in another world and raised in Japan. In any case, I should say that I have been reincarnated in another world. To be honest, I’m still a little confused.』
The characters were written in Japanese. I turned the next page.
『I was born as the third son of a servant couple who worked for a nobleman. The eldest son was good, so he worked in the nobleman’s family. The second son became an adventurer because he was competitive and strong. Thanks to that, my house is relatively wealthy. I am able to keep a diary in this way thanks to my parents and siblings. I want to give something back, but right now, I’m too young so I can only rely on them. Well, it’s kind of frustrating. 』
When I turned the page, the date has skipped. It seems like a year has passed since the last time he wrote on the diary.
『It seems that I have the talent of a mage. And thanks to the lord, he has allowed me to study magic with his son. Both my parents and my two older brothers are delighted. I think this will allow me to return the favor.』
The next page is a month later.
『I was beaten by the lord’s son. It seems that I was more talented at magic than he was. Thanks to that, he was jealous. I’m going to keep a low profile from now on. 』
The next page skipped a few years.
『There is a sad event, my brother, who is an adventurer, died. This world is too full of dangers. I don’t think I’ll be able to write anything more today. 』
The next page seems to be a few days later.
『I have become a servant of the lord’s son, and my parents and brother are happy with the increase in salary.』
The next one was a few years later.
『Young master’s swordsmanship has been recognized and he was given a position. I decided to accompany him to provide support. From today on, I’m a soldier.』
From there, he continued to work as a soldier for a while. It seems that the lord’s son and the others have joined the elite group of the military.
『Young master has been wounded, and there is no one in the squad who can use healing magic, including me. It’s a very tough situation. Still, as a former doctor, I managed to do the best I could. I pray that he will survive. 』
On the next page, it was written that the lord’s son survived. Thanks to this, Shige-san was deeply appreciated by the lord’s son. Looks like the kingdom at that time was in a state of civil war. Some lords revolted and fought fiercely with the king’s camp. It is written that the lord’s son is steadily achieving success on the side of the king.
On the next page, my name finally appears.
『I’m now 25 years old. I still remember it in my dreams from time to time. The strange events that happened in Tokyo and Shinichi’s death. I saw him get killed that day just before I lost consciousness. I’m sure he is also reincarnated in this world. I can’t help but feel that way.』
On the next page, the name of the lord’s son is revealed.
『At last, Pedro-sama has defeated all the anti-royal forces, and now the bloody war is over, and the world is peaceful. Rumor has it that His Majesty will create a new title for him, it said that he will be called “Hero”. This will keep the Rodman family safe. 』
I looked up from the diary and looked at Moore.
“Was Shige-san Pedro’s servant?”
“Apparently, yes. By the time I was old enough to understand, my father had already been traveling around the kingdom as an adventurer. I only found out he was Pedro’s servant after he died.”
I opened the next page.
『Pedro-sama has given me a fiefdom and the title of baron. However, as there is something I have always wanted to do, I passed it all to my eldest brother. This should be enough to return the favor. I decided to ask for a leave from Pedro-sama and decided to go on a journey. I’m ready.』
I see. Then from here, he will start to move from place to place huh.
『I fell in love with a girl I met in a certain village. She is somewhat similar to my wife in the previous life who died and left me behind. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way, and I don’t know how to treat it. It’s going to be a sleepless night for a while. 』
From there, it was all about the girl for a while. It seems that he stayed in that village for quite a long time. His daily state of mind is written in detail, and I am embarrassed to read it. The diary of the day he married his wife is very festive.
『My son has been born. I’m naming him Moore. It means “to live strong and long” in the old village language. He doesn’t need to be a great man, all I want is that he live a long and healthy life.』
Shige-san’s feelings at that time was conveyed through the diary. It must have been because he was separated from his wife and children by death that he longed for it.
On the next page, time flew by several years.
『Moore is now six years old, and I think it’s time to start traveling again. I’m going to find Shinichi somewhere in this world. He’s like a son to me so I can’t leave him alone. I have to find him…….』
Did Shige-san think about me that way?
I didn’t know until I read this.
『Moore is a magic genius. Who knows, maybe this kid will change the world. I’m going to pass on all the knowledge and skills I have to him. 』
Moore’s intelligence is described in detail. I don’t want to call him a over doting father, but he’s elation about his son is a little shocking. Even so, I could see that he was spending a happy time traveling with his wife and child.
From there, it was all about Moore. Forty years have passed since the first page, and suddenly, the content changes.
『I can’t find Shinichi. I thought he was reincarnated in this world, but is that assumption wrong? However, I think it’s strange that he, who died at about the same time and place as me, is not reincarnated here. Perhaps the difference of just a few seconds before death has a big impact on reincarnation. If so, he could be born after I die. 』
Shige-san continued to search for me while adding his own interpretation. In reality, Naoki’s forceful reincarnation caused our time frame to be separated. However, he had no way of knowing such a thing, and it seemed that it had continued to trouble him.
From there, Moore’s exploits were written again, and a certain page caught my eye.
『My son is going to marry his childhood friend, Maria. To be honest, I’m worried. Moore is quite talented as a mage and adventurer, but as a man, he’s shockingly airheaded. As a father, I feel really sorry for her because she’s going to have to go through a lot of pain.』
Moore seems to have been quite popular to woman huh. Well, if it weren’t for that, he wouldn’t have twelve wives. Shige-san must have mixed feelings about it.
Glancing at Moore, he blatantly looks away. Apparently, he is also remorseful.
『Sure enough, Moore cheated on her. I apologized to Maria many times. She just laughed it off saying, ‘Moore is kind, so it can’t be helped.’ What a strong child she is! I’m sure my son will regret it when he lost that great love. 』
Shige-san seemed to already have a vision of the future. I wonder what he would say if he saw Moore now. I wonder if he would get angry, reprimand him saying, “I told you so!”
The next page is several decades later.
『I contracted an epidemic. It seem that I don’t have much time left. Here are my final words. I decided to entrust to my son, Moore, the search for Shinichi. Now that he is called the Great Mage, he will surely fulfill it. That’s my only regret now. Oh, I wanted to at least get that massage again. Shinichi was so good at it……』
The diary ended there.
I snapped it shut and held out the diary to Moore. But he shook his head and refused to accept it.
“So to speak, it is my father’s soul. It is something that you, a friend from his previous life should receive. I’m sure my father would have wished for that.”
“But, isn’t this something that connects you and Shige-san…….?”
“It’s fine. I’ve read enough of it over the last thousand years.”
He gulped down the glass of liqour and exhaled deeply.
“Maria died of the same epidemic as my father. Until then, I had been arrogant. Feeling the pleasure of being praised as the Great Mage, I was happy to get money and woman as I wanted. I forgot my promise to my father, even more, I didn’t realize Maria’s love. I was simply covered in ugly greed.”
He pours liquor into his glass.
“When she died, I was in the company of a woman in our other home. I had been living there for months without returning to the main house. I didn’t even know that Maria had caught an epidemic. You may think I was a fool. I agree. I am also disgusted that I was even known as the Great Mage.”
Moore must have felt deep regret. Even as he spoke, the muscles on his face were trembling. I understood his painful feelings so I couldn’t look at him directly.
“That’s when I finally really understood what love was, and I realized that I had been kept alive by her all along.”
“So that is why you’re trying to bring her back to life?”
“I knew it was foolish, but knowing that my father had been reincarnated, I thought it was not impossible to bring a person back to this world.”
After losing Maria, he traveled the world in search of the way to revive the dead. At the same time, he was also looking for me. He thought that if I was a reincarnation like his father, he might be able to get a hint to bring her back to life. He continued on that journey and eventually met the God Tree.
“I gave up everything to get to the bottom of the dungeon, my family, my children, my friends, my status, my honor. Thanks to that, I finally found a way to revive Maria.”
He made a deal with the Demon King Eva and was ordered to bring back a human who can break the barrier. However, by then, Moore was exhausted. After several years of long and arduous travel, he traversed the Great Dungeon. He had reached his physical and mental limit, and finally held Maria there and ran out of strength.
“I was created on the verge of his death.”
“That is why even if the main body died, you could still exist huh.”
“This is a skill called ‘Pseudo-Body’ that I acquired during my dive in the Great Dungeon. Right now, I have no soul and I’m just a doll with memories. I took on the main body’s appearance before he died and I don’t grow physically.”
After becoming Eva’s subordinate, he returned to the surface and continued to search for the being who would break the barrier. As a result, he finally met me after a long and mind-boggling time.
“I couldn’t believe my ears when God Tree-sama asked me to guide a man named Shinichi Tanaka because it was the same Shinichi Tanaka my father was looking for. Then I realized. It was all part of a great flow to lead you here.”
“You mean, it is fate that Shige-san was sent ahead of time, that Maria died, and that you were asked to guide us?”
“Yes. It makes so much sense that I’m already satisfied.”
Moore’s body began to glow and disappear.
“H-hey!? What are you doing!?”
“I wanted to tell Maria that I loved her. No matter how much she punched or kicked me, I wanted to keep apologizing. I also wanted to say thank you.”
“Wait! Didn’t you want to revive Maria!?”
“I knew from the beginning how stupid and arrogant that was. But I kept struggling, unable to accept reality. Making excuses that it was for Maria’s sake even though I knew she didn’t want that.”
A large part of his body was gone. All that’s left is from the chest up.
“Oh yes, I forgot to mention something. That the elf lady deserves to be recognized as my successor. As a proof to that, I intend to give her the robe that the main body is wearing and the Staff of the Wind God. Please give them to her.”
“I understand.”
“I’m glad I was able to meet you for the last time. Well, I regret a little that I should have gone after getting the massage my father had talked about. Also, if you ever meet my descendants, I want you to help them, for they seemed to have fallen into ruin.”
“Okay.”
With a smile on his face, he turns into a particle of light and disappears completely.
All that is left there was his glass.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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