“…Did you… do all this by yourself?”
Semilys gazed at the devastated battlefield before her, easily able to imagine the brutal battle that must have taken place here.
Hulim 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…”
Hulim opened her mouth, but in the end, offered no explanation.
“You—”
Semilys was breathless with anger, but she also understood the reason behind Hulim’s actions.
Instead, her expression took on a rare look of sorrow.
“How am I supposed to feel at ease when you act like this… This was a wolf pack led by a Forest Direwolf…”
Hulim lowered her head.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…But.”
“I’m so glad! Hulim, you’re still alive.”
“S-Semilys…”
Hulim looked up at Semilys, and for some reason, a wave of sadness welled up from within her.
“Enough! Let’s not talk about it!”
Semilys suddenly broke into a laugh, saying loudly,
“To think you managed to defeat a wolf pack led by a Forest Direwolf all by yourself! Hulim, your growth is far beyond what I expected!”
“…”
“Ah! And you solved everything in just half a day. I was even thinking of using some magic to fool your family, so you could take a few days without worry, but not only did you finish fast, the result was jaw-dropping!”
“…”
“Well, looks like you won’t need to spend the night in the forest. Tonight, you can sleep in your own comfy bed! No time to lose, let’s hurry back. You should make it in time for dinner!”
“Oh, right, before we leave, I can’t let you go home looking like this~!”
At this moment, Hulim was covered in wounds, her clothes torn and filthy beyond recognition. Even beggars from the old district might call her their leader if they saw her.
Whoosh~!
Green motes of light showered down upon Hulim.
All the dirt vanished instantly, every wound inside and out was healed in a moment, and even her clothes, bathed in the mysterious glow, gradually returned to their original state.
In fact… it seemed even finer than before. “Alright! The beautiful Hulim is back again!”
Semilys nodded in satisfaction, then grabbed Hulim and soared into the sky.
“Oh right, I should deal with this place too~!”
She glanced down at the ruined goblin settlement below and casually cast a spell.
“Fireball~!”
Hulim watched as a miniature sun descended toward the goblin village.
BOOM——!!!
Dazzling light erupted across the earth; not only the goblin settlement, but several kilometers of the surrounding forest were incinerated by the strike.
Is… is that really a Fireball?
Whoosh——!
A meteor shot from where the sun had landed, speeding off into the distance.
Outside Ment Town, in the forest.
A meteor landed beside an unremarkable little lake.
Hulim looked around; Semilys hadn’t sent her right to the forest’s edge like she usually did.
“…”
“…”
A heavy silence hung between the two of them.
In the end, it was Semilys who broke the silence, forcing a smile as she said,
“What’s wrong, Hulim, aren’t you going—”
“Hey, Semilys…”
Hulim directly interrupted her,
Then she raised her head and quietly gazed into Semilys’ emerald-like eyes.
“—Are you leaving?”
“…”
Semilys’ smile froze, then slowly faded, replaced by a lonely expression as she lowered her head.
“So you noticed…”
“Because I’ve been with you for a long time, Semilys.”
“A long time? It’s only been three years.”
“Three years is a long time for humans.”
“…”
“I see… you’re right, it has been three years.”
“Semilys…”
“Will you come back?” Semilys looked up, meeting Hulim’s gaze.
Then, she extended her arms and gently hugged Hulim, stroking her hair.
“Hulim, you’ve always said my eyes are beautiful, haven’t you~?”
“But, I think your eyes are the most beautiful I’ve seen in thousands of years! So, so… don’t miss me too much, alright?”
At that moment, a sharp ache pierced Hulim’s heart.
She forced herself to endure.
After a long time, she managed to speak in as calm a voice as possible:
“I’ll miss you… every now and then.”
“Haha~, is that so~!”
Semilys let go, crouched lightly in front of Hulim, and stroked her delicate cheek.
“My Hulim is so strong. That… puts my mind at ease.”
“…”
“Mm!”
Hulim nodded firmly,
“I… I will never bring shame to your name, Semilys! So, so… Semilys, you can return to the Celestial Realm with peace of mind! And then, just wait to hear of my legend!”
“Hahaha~!”
Semilys replied with a hearty laugh,
“Then I’ll wait for Hulim’s name to reach the Celestial Realm!”
“Mm!”
Hulim nodded again with determination.
“Well then, Hulim…”
A complex and profound magic circle unfolded beneath Semilys’ feet, reminiscent of the one from three years ago, yet subtly different.
“—Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Semilys…”
Semilys and the magic circle transformed into a beam of light that shot up into the sky and disappeared.
Her waving right hand froze in midair. Hulim stared at the empty space where the familiar figure no longer stood.
“…Semilys?”
But no one replied.
The Celestial Realm, Tilamshuin.
As a beam of light appeared, Semilys arrived in a pure white space.
The moment she returned to Tilamshuin, the smile she’d maintained until now collapsed; she hugged her head, crouching on the ground in grief.
“I… I wanted to stay by your side, too…”
“…Semilys, what’s wrong?”
A figure appeared before her. Semilys slowly looked up, meeting that familiar, gentle gaze.
“Mother Goddess…”
“Did something happen? Wait… your body.”
Traya noticed the abnormality in Semilys’ body.
“How can your Fairy Core be so depleted? If this continues, it’ll damage your very essence… Semilys, you must enter slumber immediately.”
At those words, Semilys pleaded,
“I know, Mother Goddess, but… could you give me a bit more time? One hundred years… Please, just another hundred years.”
“Sigh…”
Traya sighed.
“It seems you’ve met someone very important to you. But… no.”
“Every minute you delay increases the risk of a collapse in your core essence. You must enter slumber now.”
“But, Mother Goddess…”
“This time, I’ll sleep far too long. That way… I’ll miss everything.”
“I promised her I’d keep watching over her. I only returned to prevent further deterioration, so… even if it’s selfish, please, Mother Goddess, help me. Just let things stay as they are.”
“…”
Traya silently gazed at the fairy before her.
For tens of thousands of years, it was the first time Semilys had ever made such a request, not even when she had suffered so much in the past—she’d always pulled herself together in the end…
“I understand. Tell me what happened to you… Also, even if I intervene, with your current condition, you’ll only be able to awaken briefly for about three days every ten months of sleep. Will that be enough?”
“I… I accept.”
Semilys only hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Even if it’s only three days a year, as long as she could wake intermittently like this, she wouldn’t miss that child’s growth…
After that, Semilys told Traya in detail all that had happened in the Mortal Realm—a story about a never-before-seen human girl with affinity for all attributes…
Semilys then entered a long healing slumber.
In the pure white space, a soft whisper echoed.
“A girl with all-element affinity.”
“A descendant of that person.”
“Could it be…”
The voice did not continue. The white space once again fell into a long silence.
The Mortal Realm. That day, Hulim returned home very late.
Though she looked calm, her parents could keenly sense that something was off within their daughter’s heart.
The Lezelian couple wanted to comfort their daughter, but not knowing the reason, didn’t know where to start. Even after secretly asking her friend Fran, they got nowhere.
Instead, Hulim acted exactly as before: practicing swordsmanship and studying every morning, going out every afternoon, and coming home very late in the evening.
But the more normal things seemed, the more anxious the Lezelian couple became. It felt as though each time their daughter came home, the invisible wounds in her heart only grew deeper…
A month later.
Once again by that same ordinary little lake.
Mana exhausted and a light sheen of sweat on her forehead, Hulim lay on the large rock where she had met Semilys, quietly gazing at the sky.
“Tilamshuin… Where is it, really? Semilys, can you see from up there…?”
The wind rustled the trees, carrying the sound of leaves brushing together, filling the forest with tranquility.
After a long while, Hulim murmured to herself again.
“I’ve done something wrong…”
“…If Semilys saw me like this, would she be disappointed…?”
“She even said, when she left, that I was strong…”
Hulim sat up, staring at the lake before her.
But now, she felt like she’d lost all direction, simply coming here mechanically each day, practicing magic desperately, venting herself until her mana was depleted.
Is this worthy of the promise she made to Semilys?
“…I can’t go on like this. Semilys hasn’t really left—she might even be watching me from the Celestial Realm right now! I can’t let her down!”
In that moment, light reignited in Hulim’s eyes. After a month of gloom, she found herself once more.
Then, she got up and left directly, heading toward Ment Town.
She would probably come back to this place often in the future.
But from now on, things would be different.
Even without Semilys by her side, I have to keep training on my own!
When Hulim returned home, Lezelian and Lilia stared at her in surprise. This time, she looked much the same as before, yet something was clearly different! That unknown knot in their daughter’s heart seemed to have finally been untied.
“Sorry, Father, Mother, I’ve made you worry this whole month!”
Hulim apologized obediently. Just as her parents could sense the strangeness she tried to hide, she too could sense their concern. Lezelian and Lilia smiled in relief, and the cloud of anxiety that had hung over the family for a month finally vanished.
“It’s alright. We don’t know what happened, but as long as Hulim is herself again, that’s all that matters!”
Mother Lilia said with a gentle smile.
“Alright—!”
Lezelian also beamed,
“Lilia, I suddenly feel today’s a great day. We should celebrate! How about Hallbiviro grilled steak tonight?”
“Really——?!”
Before Lilia could answer, Hulim’s eyes lit up, gazing expectantly at her mother.
Lilia nodded with a helpless smile.
“Alright~, alright~, alright~! That’s settled then.”
“Yay——! We’re having grilled meat!”
“Laurence, bring out the grill!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Mrs. Yeager, help me get the steaks from the kitchen and set the tableware.”
“Right away, sir!”
“Jessica! We’re having barbecue tonight—it’s all on you!”
“Leave it to me~!”
“…”
And so, Hulim’s life returned completely to normal.
Though her mentor in life could no longer be at her side, the journey of the Seventh Witch was only just beginning.
Interlude
This was the day before Semilys set her final task.
“See you tomorrow, Semilys!”
Hulim waved goodbye as usual.
But behind her, in Semilys’s eyes, words appeared like shining text:
[Hulim Hayeral
Race: Human (Female)
Age: Ten
Life: C+ (new!)
Mana: C+
Magic Affinity:
Fire Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Fire),
Water Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Water),
Earth Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Earth),
Wind Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Wind),
Light Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Light),
Dark Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Darkness),
Non-elemental Affinity S (Fairy King’s Blessing of Void)
… …
]
“…Haha, she really is incredible. Only ten years old, and already almost B-rank—a true prodigy, even in history! Well, that’s to be expected, with a talent never before seen…”
“Mm! But that’s all thanks to my teaching, of course!”
Fairy King Semilys lifted her chin with pride.
“Mm—”
Suddenly, she clutched her chest in pain, her face turning pale.
“…Is my time up already?”
She had never done this before, so it wasn’t until she actually granted all seven blessings that Semilys realized just how dangerous it was.
Her fairy core nearly collapsed!
She hadn’t expected that giving so much would have such an impact, but it was too late to regret it.
Normally, as long as she returned to the Celestial Realm promptly to sleep, her core would slowly recover, and all she’d lose would be a little vacation time.
But when she met the girl’s eyes, an innocent thought arose: Maybe it’s okay to wait a bit longer before going back.
And so…
Just a little longer.
Just a few more days.
This child is about to reach D-rank; once she does, I’ll…
She learns so quickly! Maybe I’ll observe her a bit longer—after all, such an unprecedented case…
She’s at C-rank now?! So fast! Can she go even further? I’d like to see—maybe I’ll wait a little longer…
Now she’s already closing in on B-rank.
She kept finding excuses to stay, but now her time had finally run out…
“I really wanted to stay by your side longer. Sorry, Hulim…”
“At least, before I leave, let me see you truly able to stand on your own…”
(End of Volume One)