The Boy and the Girl Approach the End.

"Congratulations on your victory, " the old man said as he stared at the fireplace.

We were located in the reception room of the Liberion residency. The beautiful marble fireplace was lightning up the space with its luminous flame.

The old man summoned me for one last conversation before my departure from the capital. Those were the words that he opened the conversation with. I had some mixed feelings about what he said. After all, I didn't actually win. But it seemed that the result was as good as victory for Lord Cornelius.

After a short think, I replied.

"...It wasn't a victory. The official result was a draw."

Cornelius paused for a bit. His eyes reflected the flame in the hearth. He took a pipe in his hand, and began smoking.

"It was essentially a victory. Maybe not in the fight, but definitely in the bigger picture," he spoke and released a puff of smoke from his mouth, "you've achieved all the things you've come to the capital for, so how could it be anything other than victory?"

I hesitated slightly before my reply.

"...But I couldn't finish the fight."

The old man's eyebrow slightly rose in surprise. Then, he laughed slightly.

"Haha, greedy aren't you? That's fine. At the end of the day, you need that kind of will in order to change the world."

His words made me go silent for a second. Maybe it was just the influence of Fabian's memories, but like the boy, I couldn't quite get the old man's question out of my mind. The one about which will shaped the world.

Could human will truly bring change into the world? No, what interested me wasn't some philosophical waxing about higher matters. What genuinely mattered to me was much simpler and more limited than that. Just how set in stone was the magical potential of humans? That's what I wanted to know.

After all, if human will could truly change the world, if magic was really nothing more than a byproduct of our will—then wouldn't it mean that our potential was only determined by ourselves?

After some hesitation, I spoke.

"So... what was the answer at the end of the day?"

"The answer to what?"

"To... to your question. Who is it that shapes the world? That's what you asked me back then."

It was a question that Fabian spent a long time thinking about. What was the answer that the boy found? I didn't have the memories in regards to that, but I believed that the boy must have reached his own conclusion.

The old man took another breath of his pipe and then replied.

"Who knows?"

"Wha—?!"

He said it with such ease that it stunned me.

"I don't really know the answer either," he continued, "the only thing I do know is that there are people who vehemently believe in one or the other."

His words brought me out of my silence.

"So... so which answer do you believe in?" I asked.

For the first time since the conversation started, he shifted his gaze from the fireplace and directed it at me.

"Why would it matter what this old man thinks? Is it not more important what a youngster like you believes in?"

What I believed in?

If we truly weren't limited by some predetermined factors like talent or fate, or will of the Deas... If humans really did define their own potential—then it was something incredibly beautiful.

That's what I thought at least. That's what I wanted to believe in. But I struggled to convince myself.

Originally, I thought I could succeed at spellcasting because of Fabian's talent. And then, I believed that I hit my limits because of the lack of the said talent. Eventually, I was able to regain confidence. Instead of searching for reasons for my failure, I thought about what I could do to succeed.

And it worked. I was able to use magic from a completely new angle. But was that really a case of my will allowing me to surpass my potential? Could I genuinely say that I went beyond the predetermined rules? At the end of the day, it was the knowledge from my previous world that enabled me to win. It was almost like a cheat code. A cheat code that still worked within the laws defined by the world.

The magnetism spell that I used was a clear example of that. The reason why I could use it, was because electricity was connected to magnetism in the first place. I was following the natural laws, not shaping the world to my will.

"I... I don't think I know the answer. What I want to believe and what I actually think... Those are still at odds," I said after a lengthy think.

"I see..."

In response to my words, the old man replied only that. He didn't ask for my reasoning or anything else. As he mulled over my words in his own way, he seemed somewhat thoughtful. That's how he always was. I lacked the memories needed to confidently state that. But somehow, I was still convinced that was the case.

As I started leaving the reception room, a single thought was stuck in my mind. I was confident that a certain genius mage could probably do what I couldn't. He could truly believe in human potential. 

You would be hard-pressed to find someone who went beyond predetermined rules more than him. He could handle Magia Nobili despite not belonging to a special lineage. Fabian was the definition of someone who changed the world with his own hands. And his research was a prime example of that.

I hoped that someday I could share that conviction with him. If I still had enough time, that is.

***

While Ayumu was having a conversation with the old man, Dion Au Darius was meeting a visitor. A secret guest to his mansion. Someone outside of his direct sphere of influence.

"...To think that you would contact me of your own..."

As Dion spoke, his words were somewhat thoughtful. What happened to his son still occupied a corner of his mind. Right now, however, he wasn't Viktor's father. He was the head of the prestigious Darius family. His focus was on the person in front of him. 

In a certain sense, that person was the one who allowed the entire duel to occur in the first place. Even though Dion, hardly had any right to blame them.

"I just wanted to make sure that you're not going to take any action. I doubt you would go against His Majesty, but caution never hurt anyone."

His visitor's voice was clear as a bell and melodic as a beautiful song. But it lacked the gentleness that it usually possessed. Unlike normally, it had a distinct lack of emotional inflection. Almost as if its wielder had no feelings inside their chest.

The visitor's name was none other than...

"Maria Aes Alcia."

It was Fabian's fiancée, the Genius of the Golden Road. The target of many rumors among nobility to this very day. The vixen, who hid under the mask of gentleness.

And now, that mask was gone.

Just like back when she realized that something was wrong with Fabian. It was that same emotionless and cold Maria that terrified Ayumu to no end. Almost as if Fabian's kindhearted fiancée had never existed.

She put down a vivid red stone on the desk.

It was called a gem of control. The gem was a rare thing; it allowed a mage to enforce their will onto a being that was less intelligent and less powerful than the user. One of the popular usages it had was for taming magic beasts... and monsters.

"This stone... I found it in the forest near Delsea, on the day of the previous Red Moon."

That was the same day that the village was attacked by the lupens. The implication behind Maria's words was obvious. But Dion was fully intent on playing dumb.

"Hmm... I've heard that the village under the Berions was attacked that day. Are you implying that another human did it on purpose? I suppose there are many who aren't so positively minded towards the Berions..."

Maria wasn't planning on breaking through or tearing apart his fake ignorance. She didn't need to.

"Just so you know that I've preserved its mana traces precariously. I might not be able to do a good job with it, but if I were to contact the court mages and His Majesty... I'm sure they would be able to find the perpetrator."

"I see..." Dion replied, "surely, you'll be able to do it. But what does that have to do with me?"

Maria smiled ever so slightly. But her smile was so cold that it would terrify most normal people.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask Your Grace if he had any idea of who the criminal could be. Many of high ranking nobles as well as old lineages have a bone to pick with Berions. Your Grace's family is much closer to those circles, so I was just wondering if you had an inkling..."

Dion's face remained unmoving.

"No... I don't think I could help you. God forbid I knew someone who would stage an attack on his fellow noblemen. But..." he paused before his final words, "...if there's anything else I can help you with, be my guest. I'll do all in my power to accommodate you."

Maria's slight smile widened ever so slightly. But that only made it seem more terrifying. Because despite the obvious change, it unnaturally remained just as cold as before.

"I'll be frank. Don't get in the way. I don't care about anything else you do, but don't you dare interfere with us any longer. You will pay."

She no longer maintained a mask of pretense. With the same cold tone that completely lacked in inflection, she stated her demands.

Dion smiled slightly.

"But of course. I would never think to get in the young prodigy's way..." he replied.

Maria didn't reply. She simply picked up the gem, turned around, and began walking away. As her steps echoed in the room, just as she was about to reach the door, the count spoke.

"I see... So underneath the sheep's clothing... was the mask of a demon, huh?"

Something about his words bothered her, and Maria stopped. Then, after a short pause, her hand reached for the door as she addressed a final question to the count. A doubt that she had had since the very beginning.

"Have you... Have you been planning this since the start?"

Dion raised his eyebrow in surprise.

"Planning...? Of course not. How silly. Who in the world plans for their ambitions to fail? I sincerely hate the Berions' cruel research that leaves no room for human error. It's just that... Things tend to clarify themselves once you poke them enough. Whether it's my son, the young prodigy, or you... And I'm a deeply curious man, you see? Young Fabian, for example, proved that he was deserving. Although, I truly didn't expect what would happen to Viktor..."

That wasn't quite the answer that Maria wanted to hear, but she now understood enough. Dion Au Darius was not the kind of man you wanted as your enemy. No matter the outcome, he would find a way to gain something from the confrontation. And due to her miscalculations, he might have learned too much.

As if to confirm her thoughts, Dion left some final words to Maria.

"Oh, forgive me. I was sort of assuming that you meant young Fabian... When you were talking about not getting in the way, did you, perhaps, mean..."

He smiled somewhat viciously.

"...to not get in your way?"

Maria narrowed her eyes in response. Seeing that, the count continued.

"I don't know why you're doing it, but I hope you admit the truth to your fiancé. The truth that you forced him into that duel. You could have easily prevented it after all—the evidence is right here. Whatever your goals might be, was it really worth it to make him suffer for them?"

Maria didn't reply. She left the count's room, quietly closed the door and muttered.

"...That's none of your business."

After all, what right did a puppeteer have of accusing another puppeteer?