"It's already finished?"
Raon blinked as he looked at Merlin, who was inhabiting the body of a cat.
"You said it would take about two weeks."
Merlin had said it would take about two weeks to wake Sia, but she had finished preparations much faster than that.
It wasn't that he didn't trust her skills, but he was a bit worried.
"Yep. All done!"
Merlin nodded, stretching her back like she was doing a cat stretch.
"Are you sure it's okay?"
Raon bent his knees to meet Merlin's gaze.
'There can't be any problems with Sia.'
Rimmer was dead, and Alice was in a state where it wouldn't be strange if she never recovered. Not only the Light Wind division and the annex building, but the atmosphere of Zieghart itself was gloomy. If there were problems with Sia too, even Sylvia and Glenn might break down, so they had to prepare as thoroughly as possible.
"Yes. The preparations are perfect."
Merlin said there was no need to worry as she gently wrapped her long tail around her ankle.
"I didn't finish early for any particular reason. I just stayed up all night."
She said she had been continuously adjusting the magic formulas since returning to Zieghart, pressing the ground firmly with her front paws.
"...You've been pulling all-nighters for over a week?"
"Yeah. Everyone's feeling down, right? I wanted to create something happy, even if just a little."
Merlin smiled, saying it was her first time doing something that could help others.
"Ah..."
-You can trust her. As I said before, that madwoman's magical talent is no less than your swordsmanship.
Wrath nodded his face that was sticking out over the bracelet up and down.
-However, even that madwoman is changing. Saying she worked hard to lift the gloomy mood, it's something she would never have said before meeting you.
He let out a dry laugh, saying it was a strange thing.
-But I suppose this is what it means to be human. Influencing each other...
Wrath smacked his lips, saying it had been a while since he'd seen a good side of humans.
'I thought the same thing.'
Working on magic all night to lift Zieghart's gloomy mood - all he could do now was believe in her.
"Thank you, Merlin."
Raon bowed his head to Merlin with his hands clasped in front of him.
"That's unnecessary! We don't need to say such things to each other! She's not a stranger."
Merlin shouted that it was fine, waving her front paws gently.
"It's too early now. Let's start this evening."
She stretched out all four legs, saying it would be better to wake Sia when everyone was present.
"Then now..."
"Yeah. I came to tell you!"
Merlin grinned, saying she wanted to tell him first.
"...Thank you."
Raon lowered his gaze and said thank you. Merlin had told him not to, but it was all he could think to say.
"Come on! I said it's not necessary!"
Merlin waved her front paws, saying it was fine.
"Then I'll get a little sleep too. I can't make mistakes later."
She yawned widely, saying she needed to replenish her energy with some sleep.
"Come to the Lord's Manor around 7 PM."
"Got it."
He nodded, remembering the time.
"And this little one..."
"Huh?"
Raon looked at Merlin with wide eyes.
"Oh, do you have another request today?"
"Of course. All the children I contract with must have their requests fulfilled."
Merlin nodded, saying she was fulfilling the requests of all the animals whose bodies she borrowed.
"This one wants some grooming. Cats can groom themselves, so the fact that it's asking must mean it's envious of dogs."
She said to take good care of it, then jumped into his arms.
"Then I'll ask for a baby seal cut. Poof!"
As Merlin lowered her front paws, her soul disappeared and the cat's eyes began to glow blue. Meow. The cat raised its head as if telling him to hurry up.
"Baby seal cut..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he examined the cat from various angles.
"The fur is too short to become a seal..."
Meow! The cat scratched its front paws fiercely as if telling him to do it no matter what.
-Th-This king knows nothing!
Wrath retreated into the bracelet as if he found it bothersome to get involved in this matter.
"Ah..."
Raon's mind went blank for the first time in a while.
* * *
Raon went to Sylvia's room at the appointed time. Knock knock. He called out to Sylvia while knocking with the back of his hand.
"Mother. It's time to leave."
"Alright..."
Unlike her quick response, Sylvia didn't come out of the room for a long time.
"Mother?"
Thinking it was strange, he opened the door and entered, seeing Sylvia sitting on the floor with her hands clasped.
"I-I'm nervous..."
Sylvia trembled, her lips so dry that vertical lines were visible, saying her legs wouldn't move well. For a Grandmaster to become like this, she seemed to be extremely nervous.
"I'll support you."
Raon let out a short sigh and grabbed Sylvia's arm, putting it over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry..."
"No, I understand completely."
It was natural for her to be this nervous. She was about to meet her daughter again, whom she thought was dead, and who had almost fallen into an eternal sleep but was now about to wake up. Thud! As he was supporting Sylvia down to the entrance, there was a sound of someone falling on the stairs. Looking down, he saw Edgar trembling with his head on the floor.
"S-Sorry. I'm nervous..."
Edgar laughed awkwardly, saying he had also missed a step due to nervousness.
"M-My arm isn't moving well, could you support me too..."
"Do it yourself."
Raon ignored Edgar, who was reaching out his hand, and went down the stairs.
"That's harsh! Raising a son... Well, I didn't raise you, but..."
Edgar threw out a joke, trying to lighten the heavy, tense atmosphere.
"Oh, honestly..."
Sylvia also seemed to relax a bit from Edgar's playfulness, loosening her stiff arms and legs and standing on her own.
"Is this gender discrimination? Or is it mom-dad discrimination?"
"..."
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Edgar slowly crawling down the stairs.
'They're alike...'
Seeing Edgar softly easing the atmosphere while being no less nervous than others, Rimmer's face naturally came to mind. Although Edgar was much more talkative and Rimmer was lighter, the two had some inexplicable similarities.
'It would have been nice if they could have been together a little longer.'
It was regrettable that he couldn't see Rimmer and Edgar becoming good friends who got along well.
"...Let's go."
Raon clicked his tongue briefly and opened the front door to go outside. They headed to the main building in a carriage that had been prepared in advance. Receiving polite greetings from the swordsmen guarding the Lord's Manor, they entered the audience chamber at the innermost part of the Lord's Manor.
The red carpet that was always visible had disappeared, as if prepared in advance, and several layers of geometric patterns were engraved on the clean marble floor.
"You're here."
Glenn nodded as if it had been a while. He looked more at ease than before. It seemed he had now accepted Rimmer's death.
"We greet the Head of House..."
"That's enough."
Glenn waved his hand as if it wasn't necessary when Raon, Sylvia, and Edgar tried to greet him.
"Everyone looks so tense!"
Federick chuckled as he examined Sia on the bed.
"How is my sister's condition..."
"How is Sia?"
When Raon was about to ask about Sia, Sylvia rushed in first.
"Excellent. This old body worked until it was bent, so it can only be good!"
Federick waved his hand, saying Sia's condition was good and not to worry.
"Haa, thank you."
Sylvia exhaled a long breath as she held Sia's hand, and Edgar held her shoulder beside her.
'However...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Karoon standing by a pillar below the platform.
'Why is that person here?'
A heavy tension hung in the air due to Karoon, who he thought had no reason to be here. Although Denier was suspicious, he couldn't say Karoon wasn't a spy at all.
"Did the Central Martial Palace master come as well?"
Raon approached Karoon's side and bowed his head.
"There's no need to think it strange. I just wanted to see the child who will become a new member of Zieghart."
"...I see."
Karoon gave an answer befitting someone obsessed with Zieghart as he calmly folded his arms. It seemed there was no need to worry after all.
"Oh! Everyone's here!"
A clear voice rang out in the air, and Merlin popped out suddenly.
"Then let's start right away without waiting."
Merlin said the preparations were all done as she wiggled her finger. The mana spread around the Lord's Manor began to gather in her grasp.
"Wait a moment!"
Sylvia grabbed Merlin's wrist and shook her head.
"Wh-What will happen when Sia wakes up?"
She trembled her lips as if she didn't know how to treat Sia when she woke up.
"You should think of when you parted with miss. Your body will probably move naturally."
Merlin held Sylvia's hand with a gentle gaze and stood in front of the magic circle.
"Then please bring the lady over here."
"...Alright."
Sylvia and Edgar carried Sia with trembling hands and placed her on the magic circle. The two stood right next to the magic circle, clasping their hands as if ready to move at any moment.
"Then I'll begin."
As Merlin took out the Soul Crystal from her bosom, the multiple layers of magic circles drawn on the floor seemed to come to life, naturally rising to envelop Sia's surroundings. The Soul Crystal and dozens of magic circles resonated, spreading an emerald light that seemed to contain the sea throughout the entire Lord's Manor.
"Soul Realm Expansion."
As Merlin chanted the spell, the magic circles that had been rotating dizzily like a kaleidoscope connected into a single plane, and the Soul Crystal floating in the air melted down with a blue light and seeped into Sia. A brilliant flower of light, like the grand trajectory of a star orbiting the galaxy, bloomed and subsided at Sia's head.
With a whoosh, Sia slowly descended to the marble floor along with the gradually fading magic circles.
"Mmm..."
"Sia!"
"..."
Edgar, Sylvia, and Glenn looked at Sia with eyes tense enough to burst. The Lord's Manor became so quiet that everyone's breathing could not be heard.
"How did it go?"
Raon couldn't hold back and spoke to Merlin, who had lowered her hands.
"Whew..."
Merlin exhaled heavily and slowly lifted her eyelids.
"It was successful. She'll wake up soon."
She nodded with eyes that had become so faint they seemed about to disappear.
"Ah..."
Merlin tried to smile but fell backwards as if her strength had left her.
"Are you okay?"
Raon moved urgently to catch Merlin as she was about to fall.
"Don't worry. I just used up a lot of energy."
Merlin waved her hand, saying it was no big deal. Looking at her condition, it seemed she had overexerted herself using magic.
"Merlin. You should..."
Just as Raon was about to tell Merlin to take care of herself,
"Mmm..."
A faint moan escaped Sia's lips, and she slowly lifted her eyelids.
Red eyes that closely resembled Sylvia's took in the world for the first time in 20 years.
"Ah..."
Sia slowly turned her gaze and trembled her lips when she saw Sylvia and Edgar on her right.
"Mom? Dad?"
She reached out a trembling hand towards Sylvia and Edgar with the voice and tone of an unsullied child.
"Sia!"
Sylvia and Edgar couldn't hold back and burst into tears, running to embrace Sia tightly. As if they would never let go again.
"Waaah!"
Sia also wailed like a child and hugged Sylvia and Edgar.
"...Finally."
Glenn also took a long, deep breath with his trembling hand covering his forehead and eyes, as if moved.
"The miss has an adult body with a child's mind."
Merlin smiled weakly, raising her head slightly.
"I thought it would be difficult in many ways for her to return to her original age, so I used the Soul Crystal to adjust the magic so that her mind could grow to match her body."
She waved her hand, saying it wouldn't take long for Sia's mind to grow.
"And I erased all the evil deeds she did while brainwashed as the Green King. I thought it would be nice if the miss could just live brightly."
Merlin looked at Sia with somewhat bitter eyes. She seemed to be recalling her own experiences.
"Thank you."
"I said thanks aren't necessary! I just..."
She was saying such words weren't needed, but then closed her eyes. It seemed she had fainted from using up all her mental energy.
-Sniff!
Wrath turned his head sharply, unable to look at Sia and Sylvia.
-I-It's sad. But it turned out well!
He sniffled as if eating pasta, rolling only his eyes.
"..."
Raon closed his eyes after looking at the hands of Sia, Sylvia, and Edgar that seemed like they would never separate. One person left, and one person returned. Where there are meetings, there are partings. He felt he understood a little more about the life of people that Rimmer had told him about.
'You're teaching me until the very end.'
Raon wiped away the tears that had formed in his eyes as he looked out the window full of stars. Even though he was indoors, he felt like he could feel that person's clear wind blowing.
'Thank you, master.'
* * *
After the time of tears, joy, and sadness had passed.
"So."
Glenn looked down at Karoon standing below the platform, his back against the throne.
"You said you had something to say?"
He stroked his chin with a slightly brighter expression thanks to Sia.
"I have a proposal I'd like to make."
Karoon bowed his waist, saying it was an official matter.
"If you think I'll allow everything today, you're mistaken."
Glenn shook his head heavily, telling him not to take advantage of the current situation.
"I have no such intention."
"Then speak."
He wiggled his finger with a resolute gaze.
"Raon Zieghart and the Light Wind division..."
Karoon raised his calm gaze, not minding Glenn's warning at all.
"Please promote them into the Light Wind Palace."