“Ufufu, they are children with promising future.”
Maribel, the plump and cheerful president of the Adventurer’s Guild Association, said with a satisfied laugh, her body jiggled as she spoke.
Then, a telepathic message suddenly shot out from the staff she was sitting on.
『I never expected you to take a hit. But that’s partly because your body has been getting heavier year by year. When you were lighter, you could fly much faster. Now you’re really heavy… I’m starting to worry I might break under you.』
“My my, you’re such a noisy staff, Jilnitra. You were made from an ancient dragon so you’re not going to break that easily!”
Maribel’s cherished dragon staff, Jilnitra, was no ordinary weapon. Its core was made from the body of an ancient dragon named Jilnitra. And because the dragon’s soul resided within it, it could communicate with its wielder through telepathy.
Maribel had even personally crafted this magical staff, taking inspiration from another legendary staff.
“Now then, with my duties as Guild President finished, it’s time to resume my magic research.”
『Research again? Why not take a little break?』
“No worries! I’ll eat lots of delicious sweets in return.”
『…That’s exactly why you are getting fat!』
Leaving the Guild headquarters behind, Maribel returned to her personal magic laboratory. She usually spent her days entirely secluded here, immersing herself completely in magical research.
“Even my revered Great Sage, Aristoteleus, spent all his time holed up doing magic research too, you know?”
『I don’t think he ate sweets, though.』
Maribel had long idolized and respected Great Sage Aristoteleus. Ever since she was a child, she had admired him, traveling across the world to collect ancient manuscripts that recorded his studies. Along the way, she even acquired several magical artifacts said to have been created by the Great Sage himself.
——That… magical energy… could it… really… be…?
“Huh?”
Maribel suddenly stopped in her tracks.
『What’s wrong?』
“I thought I just heard a voice… Could it be you, Jilnitra?”
『No, I didn’t say anything.』
“Perhaps it was just my imagination…”
——Lend… me… your… power…
“Jilnitra? Did you just—?”
『I didn’t say anything.』
——G… Great… Sage… save… me…
“…Huh? I really did hear something… Was it coming from over here?”
Drawn by some unseen pull, Maribel’s steps led her to the treasury—a room housing historical manuscripts about Great Sage Aristoteleus, magical tools he had crafted, and ancient spell books.
“This staff…”
Her gaze fell on a staff protected by a barrier she had meticulously prepared herself. Although calling it a staff seemed almost wrong. The artifact was circular in shape after all.
The staff’s design depicted a long-bodied dragon, its own tail coiled into its mouth in a continuous loop.
It was the Rainbow Dragon Staff, Ouroboros—said to be crafted by Great Sage Aristoteleus himself, and also the model for Maribel’s own dragon staff, Jilnitra.
However, this staff had likely been sealed tightly by the Great Sage himself.
——I must save the Great Sage…
“Are… you the one speaking to me?”
——Yes…
“What do you mean by you must save the Great Sage!?”
——The Great Sage… has… been reincarnated… in this era…
“W-whaaat!? Is that really true!?”
——But… I am still an infant… danger… is approaching…
“W-what am I supposed to do!?”
——Please… break… my seal…
“So… I just have to break the seal!?”
The staff was bound by an intricate sealing magic, likely crafted by the Great Sage himself—a spell so complex that even Maribel had never seen its full workings.
Still, Maribel had been secretly analyzing this very magic for some time. It was only natural that someone who revered the Great Sage so deeply would want to understand the mechanisms of the spells he had left behind.
“Don’t worry. I already know how to lift the seal. All that’s left is to actually do it.”
『Wait a moment… Honestly, I have a bad feeling about this. You probably shouldn’t trust this staff too much.』
Jilnitra immediately tried to stop Maribel from breaking the seal.
——H–hurry… it… won’t… be in time…
The circular staff pressed her, urgency radiating through every word.
——The Great Sage… entrusted me… so that the seal would break… timed with his reincarnation… but… it’s slightly off… at this rate…
“I… I understand! I’ll release it immediately!” Maribel shouted.
『Maribel!?』
Ignoring Jilnitra’s warning, she dove straight into lifting the complex seal.
“Like this… and this… yes! I can do it! I’m breaking the seal the Grand Sage put in place… and I’ll save him from danger… he’ll definitely praise me—ehehehe!”
Her excitement made her breath quicken as she expertly unraveled layer after layer of the intricate magical binding.
And then—
“It’s… done… it’s broken!”
A burst of rainbow-colored light erupted, and the circular staff floated in midair. Maribel reached to take it in hand, but suddenly—
“!? Aaaahhhhhhhhhh!?”
She screamed at the top of her lungs, her body went limp, and she collapsed to her knees while still clutching the staff.
『Maribel, are you okay? Maribel? Maribel!?』
Jilnitra called desperately, but there was no response from Maribel.
Instead, a sinister voice echoed directly into its mind:(Kuhahahahaha… At last, the accursed seal is broken… Aristoteleus… you shall be the only one I never forgive… I’ll kill you myself this instant, so prepare yourself!)
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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