Elf Tensei Kara no Cheat Kenkoku-ki

Negotiations with Erin seemed to have reached a temporary resolution, and early in the morning, I bid farewell to Azul and her group. We informed them about the upcoming wedding three weeks from now, Azul will come to celebrate our marriage and also receive a guidebook on iron-making techniques and the workshop blueprints.

Today, Roleau and the others were supposed to return. The fact that there had been no communication so far meant that the delivery of equipment to the Empire had likely been completed safely.

「I feel unusually tired.」

I had been working in the workshop, trying to compile the documents to give to Azul as soon as possible, but a strong wave of sleepiness overcame me. I had a strong resistance to physiological needs, but this was unbearable. So I decided to give up work and take a nap.

「Hey, it's been a while.」

In an empty white room, a young man I had never seen before, who looked like "me," spoke to me. It was another encounter with "me" in my usual dreams. The current appearance of "me" was likely one of the five sealed within me. I could understand the sudden drowsiness now. This guy had called me.

「I thought you had gone missing, and now this sudden summons… What have you been up to all this time? It couldn't have been anything good.」

For the past two months or so, "me" hadn't initiated any conversations or even responded when I called out. This was the first time something like this had happened since I became aware of "me."

「You're being quite harsh. I did my best as a decoy, masking our soul's wavelength, and trying to gain as much time as possible.」

「…To escape from that girl back then, huh? What exactly is she?」

I asked, but the answer was quite predictable. The one I had summoned through [Samsara Recursion] was Suzina, the great sorcerer. He was the only "me" that I could access, that had his memories sealed. Also, Suzina's name was the same as the sorcerer who had once saved the world alongside the high elf ancestor Shurano. They were undoubtedly the same person.

Strangely enough, this idea had never occurred to me until now. Perhaps "me" had been interfering.

「You already know, right? Suzina was born in this world and saved it. That girl is Suzina's legacy. She's a girl created from the woman he loved, his blood, and the Yggdrasil once guarded by the elves.」

I understood the reason for the strange nostalgia I had felt when I heard the voice of that girl. Those were emotions that had leaked out from "me."

Apart from that, I had questions as someone involved in magic.

「Is it really possible to create a person with magic?」

My magic couldn't accomplish something as complex as that. Even when I summoned Suzina, all I could do was manipulate the mind to some extent. But what "me" was talking about was in the realm of fairy tale magic.

「Magic is more powerful than you think. But it's probably beyond your capabilities right now. I'm not being mean by imposing limits. If you had unrestricted knowledge, you'd probably try it, and it would lead to irreversible consequences. Think of it as a father worrying about his son. In fact, as soon as you gained our knowledge, you started making plenty of dangerous things.」

I was momentarily speechless. It was as “Me” said. As soon as I received the knowledge, I started making saltpeter, producing gunpowder, and preparing drugs. I was also involved in various other activities.

「It was necessary! It was for Erucy to become stronger and prosperous!」

「Is that really so? Couldn't there have been other ways? Did you really gain so much that it was worth unleashing a weapon that could kill thousands of people? It seems to me that you were blinded by immediate gain and sowed the seeds of future destruction.」

He looked at me with the eyes of a teacher watching a student.

「Why did you release the knowledge, then? To laugh at me when I fail?」

「No way! I'm on your side. Haven't I helped you many times? That knowledge is to counter Ashno. That child can do everything a high elf can.」

「If that's true, Erucy will be finished if she becomes an enemy.」

「Count on it. I don't know the reason, but that child intends to cooperate with the Empire, and despite your threats, the Empire is diligently preparing for war.」

「Did you find that information through magic?」

「That's a secret. That's why I made sure you could prepare weapons to fight a large army without magic while you still had time.」

「What if I never tried to make gunpowder?」

「I knew you would make it, you’re too straightforward.」

High elves have various traits, but their direct combat abilities are not much different from Heroes. What's troublesome is their absolute dominance over mana of all attributes.

Within the perception range of a high elf, all mana obey them. In other words, only the person a high elf gives permission to, can use attribute magic in their vicinity.

Currently, we are using wind magic to increase arrow accuracy and range, and we rely on it for scouting as well. If both of those are blocked, we won't be much different from humans. The fire foxes have fewer disadvantages due to their superior physical abilities, but it would still be a losing battle.

In such a situation, defeat would be inevitable in no time.

Wait, come to think of it…

「What if we convince her to become an ally? She's originally your daughter, right?」

Turning her into an enemy is terrifying, but if she became an ally, there would be a no better ally.

「If “Me” becomes the primary personality, it’s possible. Can you stop being Cyril and become a part of “Me”?」

「Obviously I can’t! I decided to live in Erucy with Lucy and Kuu as myself .」

「I agree with your decision to remain independent, and that is why I support you. But you see, Ashno only wants Suzina, not you.」

「Ashno doesn't know about reincarnation. If she ever realizes, you might just become a treasure chest to her, one she wouldn't mind breaking to get to the treasure inside.」

Imagining being held captive by Ashno and slowly breaking down sent a shiver down my spine.

「In that case, how about I impersonate Suzina? If I have Suzina’s memories, I could at least mimic Suzina's behavior.」

「That might work. But you see, that child is jealous and lonely. To her, I'm a father, a brother, a lover, and a friend. She won't tolerate someone else taking her place. At the very least, she has to be the most important.」

「What would happen if she can't tolerate it?」

「She'll resort to force.」

If what “Me” said was true, then my lovers Lucy and Kuu, and Yukino, who I thought of as a sister, were in danger. Even Roleau who I more or less consider a friend could be in danger.

「By the way, why does “Me” want to help me? “Me” base is Suzina, isn't it? Isn't she more important than Cyril? Doesn't “Me” want to crush Cyril and live as a father with the daughter “Me” loves as Suzina?」1.

The "Me" who had been relentlessly pursuing mastery of magic had changed after a fateful encounter when living as Suzina, but since then, "Me" had stopped taking over that era's "Me" and had become a behind-the-scenes figure. In other words, the true identity of "Me" was undoubtedly Suzina.

「True, I love Ashno more than you. But I want to free that child from my curse.」

The “Me” who likes to laugh and look down on me, for the first time, looked at me with a serious expression.

「Throughout my thirty reincarnations, the biggest mistake I made was when Suzina was on his deathbed, I made a promise to Ashno, who cried and begged me not to leave her. ‘Don't cry, I'll be reborn someday and come to see you again.' I made that promise.」

The promise that only I in the world can fulfill. If someone else tries, it becomes just a lie.

「I've regretted saying those words for a long time. That child, with no lifespan, believed in those words and waited for me. For a very long time. The last time we met, I almost died from guilt when I heard that child's voice.」

「Five hundred years! Five hundred years! During that time, I've kept that child bound to me. And I'll keep meeting and binding her in the future. Because I kept my promise, she'll continue to expect the next meeting. That child will continue to chase my shadow forever.」

In thirty-one lifetimes, “Me” must have parted with people countless times. But I'm sure Ashno is the only one who had kept bound to “me” even after the “me” of that time had died.

「It’s time for that child to let go of her father.」

「Is that why you don’t want to see her?」

「Even if it took more than five hundred years, I believed that someday, she would think my words were a lie.」

TN: It’s like this in the Raw, Cyril is talking in a detached way about his personality, not about himself.