Chapter 16:

The Girl and the Adventurer

The Young Archivist's Records


“So, that is how you met Elisabeth.”

“Yes. For all she did for me, I couldn’t just ignore her last words.” Archon Burgundy replied, with a somewhat more relaxed expression than before. “Even if that means bringing ‘the one Emerald chose’ --- you --- here against your will.”

“So, she handpicked me. I wonder why.”

“I don’t know. Maybe Amber knows something; Lavender told me to introduce you to Emerald at once, but Amber ‘at some point’. It’s probably a good time to pay her a visit soon.”

“Before that, let me uphold my end of the promise and tell my story.” I responded.

“For a life-changing revelation like that, you are pretty nonchalant, huh.”

“You are not the first one to tell me that.” I turned to the coffee machine and requested, “Vendie, can you please give me two cans of coffee? It is getting cold here.”

The vending machine obliged, and three cans of coffee rolled out: a can of cream coffee and a can of black coffee.

“Did you give it the name?”

“I did.”

“Quite tame name for a dangerous mind-altering artefact like that. Seriously, what is going on in that brain of yours?” Archon Burgundy seemed a little bit frustrated.

“You are not the first one to say that… now, let’s get back to the original topic. About the grave I used to visit and the promise I keep.”

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“It’s not that interesting of a story, really.

“I might not look like it, but I was born in a fairly rich and powerful family. My mother was a politician, and my father was deeply involved in colonial enterprises. Both came from distinguished families, both were very accomplished, and furthermore they were blessed with exceptional children. Needless to say, they had very high expectation on me.

“But I couldn’t live up to it. I was feeble, uninspired and introverted. To make it worse, that feebleness was an uncurable medical condition: whenever I get excited or passionate, my body would be unable to handle it and I would collapse. If I was ‘blessed’ with anything, it was this unnatural ability to read people’s hearts.”

“So you can read other people’s minds like some Elves? That would explain why you could read me so well.” As expected of an Archon of an ancient civilisation, Archon Burgundy did not seem to be surprised such a power exists. “It’s her specialty not mine, but if I recall correctly, Elves especially are known to be more capable in their psionic abilities, but even then, true psychics are rare among them. I think historically some humans have psionic abilities too… like that Joan of Arc could do precognition. But then wouldn’t you be troubled by your ability?”

“…In any case, it isn’t something that grand.” I did not deny. “I can’t read complex thoughts, after all. But thanks to it, I got used to malice, even if that was coming from your parents. Eventually, I just stopped to care, and just did what I was told like a doll.

“Thankfully, even though I wasn’t a genius like my parents, my grades weren’t bad. My mother then decided that I was to become an academic and sent me to an elite boarding school at the age of 10. I was chased away from home.”

“…Your mother probably thought that your feebleness will get in the way in other fields of work. And you did become an academic, an exceptional one at that. But that is not the whole story, right?” Archon Burgundy obviously tried to be considerate, but his curiosity overwhelmed him.

I nodded. “Just like you had Elisabeth to guide you onto a different path, there was a person who led me on an adventure, however brief it was.

“His name was Yuuki, my classmate and my first friend. I can talk about him for days and days, but I will save that for another time. What is important is that he was the person who encouraged me to go on adventures, and to be more curious about the universe.

“See, he was fascinating by adventure stories both past and present, fiction and real. So when we first met, he tried to talk about the newest space discoveries for hours and hours; even about Elves, who were our enemies. Of course, I had zero interest at first; but since I understood his nature at first glance, I tolerated it. Eventually, he got me into it too, and we became so friendly that I would visit his family from time to time. At one point, I truly shared his dreams.” I smiled.

“…Then he died in the war.” Archon Burgundy said. He knew.

“Well, of course you know. Kexteran background checks are not a joke. But allow me to supply some more details.

“When the Federation began to gather forces for the Sirius campaign, a draft was imposed on anyone 16 and above --- and that included us. The teachers attempted to keep me out of the military using a medical exemption, but I insisted to go with Yuuki, who couldn’t dodge it because his family wasn’t powerful. In the end, I was assigned to Admiral Smith as a secretary, while Yuuki served as a sailor on the Admiral’s flagship, the Victory.

“Thinking back, that might have been my father’s meddling. Admiral Smith was his friend, after all.

“Life on the Victory, for all the hardships of a military lifestyle, was surprisingly comfortable. Maybe it was my family’s meddling, or it was simply because that the Victory was the flagship of the fleet, the Victory was well supplied with amenities. Most importantly, Yuuki was there. I would meet with him every day after my shift, and enjoy our meals as we witnessed the spacefaring ark sailed in the sea of stars.

“Gradually, we got used to the shifts, came to enjoy the food, and even gained the trust of the crew. Yuuki’s knowledge of Elven language and culture proved useful, so he was recommended for officer training, and later joined us at the bridge. In the meantime, Admiral Smith gradually stopped to treat me as a daughter of his friend, but as a trustworthy secretary. It seemed that we all had a great future. If we survived the Sirius Campaign, that was.”

“…the Victory was destroyed by an Elven artefact, if our record is correct.” Archon Burgundy looked up the Kexpedia.

“I think they call it the ‘Flower of Yggdrasil’, which is apparently a closely guarded and cherished treasure of the Elves, present on their homeworld since time immemorial. That’s something I’ve only learnt after I came here, anyways.” I sighed. “Apparently, it actually does look like a beautiful flower.

“But back then, all we knew was its untraceable lightning attacks coming out of the void. Its lightning attacks went through our shields and armour like they never existed, and electrocuted the sailors and destroyed the engines. The only way to stop it was to destroy the enemy ship carrying the aiming device, but it was often difficult to identify; decoding Elven transmissions was the most effective way to find it.

“And it was the same on that day. Victory was repeatedly attacked by the artefact, and despite its multitudes of failsafes and our best attempts at mitigation, we began to die. Each time the artefact attacked, a dancing lightning shot would kill a person on the bridge.

“First it was the chief navigator, then the helmsman, then the quartermaster and the captain. The Admiral died after the tenth shot, at which point the senior officers were wiped out. In the midst of all of this, Yuuki and his team continued to decipher Elven communications. But the attack did not stop, and his teammates continued to fall. Eventually, Yuuki got hit too, but not before he successfully deciphered the Elven code.”

“…and he died. You, as the last one standing on the bridge, sent out the information, and managed to survive the battle.” Archon Burgundy filled in the rest of the details.

“Despite getting hit by the last lightning shot and somehow surviving, yes. Though it did lasting damage to my body, made me mostly wheelchair bound, and doctors told me I had less than ten years to live. I was 18 back then.

“Obviously, I could not fulfil my military obligations anymore. The press made me out to be some sort of heroine, and the higher ups in the military tried to keep me in the military, going so far as to giving me an idle post in the HQ. But I refused; I had strayed far enough from the path set by my parents, and was thoroughly punished. I decided to go to university, but before that I paid my parents a visit.

“But I ran away pretty much the moment I saw them. They were with a little girl, about ten years my senior. She was cute, active and healthy, and my parents were smiling and laughing. They were genuinely happy with her --- that much I could tell, even without my ability.

“She was my replacement --- my little sister that I never knew. I turned my wheelchair and ran away. If not for my promise with Yuuki, I might have killed myself.”

“And that promise was?”

“‘Live.’ His last word.”

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The melancholic stories told, the young Archivist and the Archon rested in silence, each sipping their lukewarm can of coffee. As the last sunray was consumed by the sea of clouds, the young Archivist finally stood up, and presented her offerings to the dead.

To her precursor that travelled beyond the stars, a mature and unadulterated black.

To the one who gave her the courage to live, his favourite can of the bitter and sweet.

Unaware that her life would be changed forever as Vendie began to glow in green, the young Archivist offered her prayers.

Koyomi
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