Chapter 130: ’He’s... not in this world...? How?’

To use that Artifact, Calcarea couldn’t just use it whenever she wanted.

It was an incredibly unique and demanding artifact. To put it simply, in order to use it, she first had to satisfy the artifact’s hunger, which demanded a certain supply of Mana be given to it once a week.

Only after the Artifact was satisfied would it allow Calcarea to use it, just once. And even then, she still had to donate her own Mana as the cost of the search.

If it weren’t for Aveela asking, Calcarea would have held herself back from using the Mirror, given how much Mana she’d have to hand over.

Besides, true to her reputation, Calcarea actually had a soft and caring heart. Thinking that her comrade in arms was in such a dire situation was reason enough for her not to hesitate, or even question whether using the mirror was worth it.

She activated the Mirror Artifact right away, meaning to help Aveela immediately, carrying a small flicker of hope about the missing man.

So when Calcarea thought this matter would be resolved quickly,

’Wh-what is this!?’

Calcarea’s body nearly collapsed. She was lucky there was a table in front of her she could lean on to stay standing.

Her face had gone pale, sweat pouring down, her lips parted as she tried to drag in ragged breaths.

There, the Mirror showed a reflection moving at tremendous speed, out of this world, crossing through the stars of the universe.

How far would it go?

Calcarea didn’t know.

But she understood this wasn’t something she could endure. Before the Mirror could travel much further, Calcarea cut off the Mana flowing into it like a waterfall.

She couldn’t hold on any longer. Her Mana had been drawn out until it was nearly dry, even making her nose bleed and her head spin.

"Eugh...!"

It was a sight no one would have expected: the mirror behaving as though Julian was no longer in this world at all.

It was also the first time anyone had seen a Rank-A, a figure who stood as one of the highest pillars of humanity, look so overwhelmed, so fragile and helpless.

"Calcarea...?"

Aveela watched with a sharp gaze, anxiety hidden beneath her cold expression.

She stepped closer and touched Calcarea’s shoulder, making sure the woman was alright.

"I’m fine." In response, Calcarea raised one hand to show she was okay. She did feel dizzy, but that was more because her Mana had just been drained so fast and in such a massive amount.

Her body was struggling to keep up with the process. Lucky she’d stopped the artifact in time, or else Calcarea might have ended up in far worse shape.

After a moment to steady herself, Calcarea lifted her gaze. Every pair of eyes in the room looked tense, waiting for her to say something.

’What is there to say?’

Of course, they’d probably all already drawn their own conclusions, or at least made some kind of guess.

But Calcarea believed that whatever they’d come up with was likely close to what she already knew herself.

She looked at the clothing for a moment.

"This really is something he wears, isn’t it?"

Her gaze shifted toward Julian’s disciple, the girl who had handed her the clothes. Kina.

"...Yes. I’ve seen it myself. Master wears it often."

"Ha..." Calcarea gave a short laugh, looking a little lost as she glanced sideways and found Aveela completely rigid and tense.

"Aveela, I’m sorry... But it seems the person you’re looking for isn’t in this world right now."

***

"Aveela, I’m sorry... But it seems the person you’re looking for isn’t in this world right now."

That sentence, Aveela had known it was coming, but she still found it hard to react.

Her head felt hollow, along with her own eyes, her gaze dropping as she looked down.

’He’s... not in this world...? How?’

Aveela understood that Julian was a little abnormal. The way he’d arrived in this world in his original body, even though that happened decades after Aveela’s own reincarnation.

Yes, Aveela herself wasn’t normal either, but compared to Julian, she could only say that what had happened to her wasn’t nearly as unique or special as what had happened to him.

That was why, before, she’d tried to push Julian to train harder and pursue strength.

But what was this?

After arriving in this world, after everything that had happened, after the way the Aliens had invaded it, Aveela’s life had sunk into something far worse than ordinary loneliness.

Yes, she really had been lonely, but that loneliness came from missing everyone she’d once known so badly.

Her previous life, her previous parents, her friends, and that foolish actor who was always smiling.

And then there was this life too. Aveela had been born to parents who could be called caring, she’d had a few friends, a few people she could call close to perfect.

But compared to her previous life, she felt far emptier. And just as she’d started realizing she probably needed to appreciate what she had in this world more, all of it fell apart again once the Aliens arrived.

At that point, everything was gone, leaving only Aveela behind, and the pain of it had been enough to make her shut herself away.

That was how she’d come to be known as one of the Rank-As who was extremely hard to talk to, let alone befriend.

At least, that was true until she found Julian. A foolish actor who couldn’t manage to do anything on his own.

—Eh... how should I even address you? Well... whatever you’re comfortable with, really.

—Hmm... since you’ll be my manager, I’ll just call you Manager, then?

—What kind of answer is that? Haha.

Aveela’s memory wandered for a moment as she thought back to the day she became Julian’s manager.

Back then, Julian, to Aveela, could be boiled down to a single word: ’pitiful.’

No, actually, two words.

’Pitiful’ and ’lucky,’ both at once.

It was a bit hard to explain, but that was what Aveela had thought of Julian.

That was also the reason Julian had become someone she could never take her eyes off of.

The day Julian arrived in this world, she’d felt deeply sorry for him, that a man who’d spent his life in such simplicity now had to get caught up in a world this dangerous.

And it was after that, that Aveela’s resolve had reignited, the desire to make sure this world stayed safe, a feeling she’d long since forgotten.

Until then, she’d only fought for humanity because it was the one thing she had left in this life.

But once Julian arrived, Aveela had sworn to protect this world no matter the risk, for the sake of one person alone.

So that man would never have to struggle.

And yet, here she was now.

’I haven’t even kept my promise yet. He hasn’t even been in this world that long, and I’ve already failed at so many things.’

Aveela felt something pressing urgently in her chest, her stomach twisting with a wave of nausea.

It was... worry for herself, a kind of worry she hadn’t felt in a long time, because...

’I guess I still haven’t changed.’

She was still just as weak and helpless.

What did it mean to be a Rank-A if you couldn’t protect something precious to you?

At this point, what could she even do?

Aveela realized she’d gone quiet for too long. Even with her face still cold, at least the people around her could tell she had to be in a complicated place right now.

After a while, she simply glanced toward the disciples Julian had left behind.

Reaching Julian was difficult, but here, there was still something she could do while she waited for him to come back.

Yes.

He would come back.

Aveela believed that.