The Reincarnated Transcendent Wants to Fill the Hole in Their Chest - Episode 15: The Weak

Episode 15: The Weak

—That day too, the Wind Dragon was watching the city.

It lay before the cave, staying low. Watching the city, observing the castle at its center.

Humans, and their movements. The buildings being reconstructed—the barrier tower.

The unpleasant presence of the barrier—and that man’s magic and pressure.

“……”

Suddenly, the Dragon turned its gaze to the castle gate. There, the man had come out from the castle.

Unlike the human prey it had seen before, this was a white apostle of the god. An enemy of the black god. And above all—

“――GUUUU”

…The Dragon swallowed its emotions and continued watching the man.

It observed his every move. And while doing so, turned its attention to his surroundings as well…

“……？”

And then, the Dragon noticed one thing.

The golden-haired elf beside the man—it had seen her a few times before.

The Dragon wondered what she was. A woman who always stayed close to the man.

…Could she be his mate, or something like that—

—At that moment.

“――――！！”

The Dragon instantly dropped to the ground.

A moment later, a white torrent tore through the air above it.

A pure white spear. A cross-shaped radiance that had once obliterated a giant.

It had crossed the tens of kilometers from the city to the mountains in an instant and now flew toward the Dragon.

“……GI”

—A roaring sound.

The spear blasted away the cave behind the Dragon. The mountain was gouged out.

The terrain changed. Trees fell. And the soil crumbled and tumbled down. It all came falling down onto the Dragon—

…However, the Dragon didn’t move an inch.

It simply held its breath with all its might.

“――”

Only to not be found.

From when the sun was low in the sky, to when it sank beyond the horizon—

…the Dragon didn’t move a single muscle.

◆

—It had been a few days since Ternelica told him she liked being here.

In that time, Konoe had been troubled.

What exactly was this girl who always stayed near him? He had no idea.

He was so troubled he couldn’t sleep at night. But no answer came.

The more he worried, the gloomier he felt.

Even so, because he had things to do, he left the castle for the first time in a while—

It was then that—

“….”

He had a bad feeling.

Konoe summoned his spear and threw it.

Acting on instinct, the spear tore through the sky and struck near the summit of a mountain far from the city.

…Konoe formed a second spear in his hand and kept watching the area of impact.

“……”

“…Konoe-sama? What’s wrong?”

“…No.”

He watched for a while. But nothing moved.

So, using Ternelica’s voice as a cue, he relaxed his guard.

He didn’t feel the presence of anything dying. Maybe it had just been his imagination.

He wanted to go check the site directly… but to travel all the way to the mountain, even a short time would leave the city defenseless.

The Wind Dragon that had escaped the other day might still be out there. Acting recklessly would be foolish—Konoe thought.

So, he let out a short breath and lowered his gaze—

“…?”

…Hmm?

Ternelica was staring intently at Konoe’s hand.

No, more precisely, at the spear in his hand.

“…What is it?”

“Um, Konoe-sama’s spear—it’s so white and beautiful.”

She clasped her hands over her chest and spoke.

Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

“…Really?”

“Yes, very much! It’s the color of the god of life. It reminds me of the one I saw in the capital long ago!”

“A pure white without blemish. It’s so wonderful!” Ternelica went on.

There was no shadow in her expression. She seemed to be genuinely admiring something beautiful.

“……”

“…? Konoe-sama?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

To that Ternelica—Konoe felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

And he thought, well, it’s not exactly common knowledge. Ternelica probably doesn’t know.

—The meaning of an Adept’s weapon being white.

The holy weapon that changes color, form, and ability based on the nature of each Adept—remaining white means something.

She likely didn’t know what that meant.

About Adepts, their divine armaments, and their unique magic—Origins.

“……”

Konoe averted his eyes from the smiling Ternelica.

Then, he took a step forward toward his destination.

Today’s goal was the city. Specifically, the barrier tower within it.

◆

Recently, Konoe hadn’t gone out to the city.

He had only been healing the plague inside the castle and keeping watch over its perimeter.

The reason, simply put, was that he had been sulking.

Collapsed streets. Withered fields.

People in ragged clothes hauling rubble.

A city that had lost its people, homes, and industries.

Their lives had been saved. But they had lost everything else.

It had only been a few days since the incident.

But just those few days were more than enough to feel despair.

From the castle watchtower, it looked like the reconstruction of the barrier tower was going decently.

But the rest of the city was far from recovered.

With no end in sight, everyone must be exhausted.

The atmosphere was probably terrible. Public safety might have worsened too.

So Konoe intentionally turned his attention away from them.

Someone with a strong sense of justice might’ve stepped in to help.

But Konoe was only diligent.

He didn’t do anything outside his duty as an Adept.

That’s just the kind of person he was.

“……”

Even so, the reason Konoe came to the city today was that two-thirds of his contract period had passed.

Only ten days remained.

The barrier tower had to be fixed before that, or he wouldn’t feel safe returning to the capital.

If Konoe and the barrier were both gone, the city would easily fall if the Wind Dragon attacked again.

So he thought it was time to go down and check the progress.

As he passed through the castle’s main gate, Konoe imagined what was surely now a ruined city.

It reminded him of his past self, and he felt unpleasant.

So he decided—once this was done, he’d return to the castle immediately.

Konoe passed through the gate and descended the long staircase.

Step by step, as he walked down, the city came into view.

The place he had intentionally looked away from while focusing only on detecting monsters—

“…Ah?”

Konoe muttered. Then stopped.

He was confused. Because what he saw was—

“……………………What… is this?”

—There were smiles.

There were lively voices of many people.

Men pulling carts of supplies and running around.

Women cooking for communal meals and calling out loudly to the crowd.

Elderly men weaving ropes from dry grass.

Children imitating them, helping out.

There was no gloomy atmosphere.

Even amidst piles of rubble, people’s eyes shone.

They hadn’t given up—they were looking forward.

Their faces were lifted as they walked on.

“……”

Konoe blinked several times at the sight of these people.

Just like a few days ago—no, they were even more spirited.

Smiling, walking forward.

…Why? Konoe wondered.

He thought surely everyone’s spirits had been broken.

They had nearly died, suffered. He thought they must’ve given up.

“Konoe-sama?”

“……”

Konoe couldn’t respond to Ternelica’s voice.

He stood still for a moment. Then he finally stepped forward.

Ahead of his gaze stood the barrier tower. And he began walking toward it.

Only a few hundred meters.

He walked those steps, one at a time.

—On top of rubble, there were men covered in dust.

They moved debris, piece by piece.

The stones from stone houses were heavy and solid. Even carrying one was tough, and a literal mountain remained.

…Yet they worked while cheerfully singing.

—Near a well, women cooked.

Using vast ingredients delivered from the castle, they prepared communal meals.

Peeling mountains of vegetables, making repeated trips from the well to big pots to fetch water.

…Yet they welcomed and served the people in line with bright smiles.

—Children ran between the gaps of the people.

Delivering messages, carrying light items.

Their running looked clumsy, their breathing heavy.

…Yet, arms full, they were doing their best to help however they could.

—Under simple tents made from cloth, there were elderly people.

Doing crafts while sitting down, or taking care of small children who couldn’t work.

Their bodies creaked, and their movements were slow.

…Yet they wore gentle smiles and steadily did what needed to be done.

“……”

Watching them, Konoe finally arrived at the barrier tower.

Unlike other places, magical reconstruction was underway here.

Some cut stone using earth magic.

Some lifted them with telekinesis.

Others used golems to carefully remove the damaged parts.

Floating with levitation magic, some engraved magic circles onto the rebuilt walls.

Because the barrier tower was crucial, all magic users had probably been gathered here.

Thanks to that, progress was clearly being made.

“……”

Konoe looked back on the few hundred meters he had walked.

There were still the same energetic people there, no matter how many times he looked.

Children’s cheerful smiles. Helping out, sometimes being given snacks.

The elderly were respected, offered hands, and even asked for opinions.

The atmosphere was clearly better than just a few days ago.

—The weak… were smiling.

“……Why?”

He hadn’t expected this. He never thought it would be like this.

He didn’t believe the weak could remain unoppressed in such harsh conditions.

After all—Konoe was someone who had been oppressed.

He had grown up being trampled on as one of the weak.

When he was little, abandoned by his parents, Konoe was a nuisance no matter where he went.

There was no one who reached out a hand to help him. Not relatives, not teachers — they all looked at him with eyes like they were seeing something unpleasant.

So Konoe endured, endured, and before he knew it, he had become the person he was now.

“…Why.”

Were humans always like this?

Konoe found it strange. After all, everyone should have been in pain. They had been afflicted by a fatal disease. Their whole bodies had rotted.

Adept healing magic also had the effect of healing the mind. But still, it wouldn’t have been strange for their hearts to break. It wouldn’t have been strange for them to fall into despair.

They were in pain, surely they had been suffering.

And yet, for some reason, everyone was smiling.

Men, women. Children, the elderly.

“…Why.”

It was an unbelievable sight for Konoe.

He wanted to suspect it was a lie… No, he actually did suspect it.

He wondered if everything in front of him was just a surface. And that behind it, the children were being tormented.

“………………”

“…Ah, ouch!”

It was at that moment. It’s unfortunate to say “just in time,” but — a child nearby had fallen.

A young boy. Probably not even ten years old. Clothes not very clean. A thin body.

Such a child had fallen hard. He scraped his hands and knees badly.

The boy groaned in pain as he lay there.

His slightly raised face had tears welling in his eyes.

Konoe approached the child.

He thought he’d confirm it for himself.

“……”

“…Ugh, it hurts… uh, huh?”

When Konoe knelt down beside the child, the child saw Konoe and blinked in surprise.

The tears pushed out by his blinks trailed down his cheeks.

“…Adept-sama?”

The child murmured with his mouth open in a daze.

Konoe held his hand over the child’s head.

“……?”

The child looked curiously at Konoe’s hand.

He stared intently at the hand above him.

“……”

At the sight of that boy, Konoe felt some of the strength leave his body.

Then he placed his hand on the child’s head and gently used healing magic.

The boy’s body glowed briefly. And the wounds on his knees and hands healed cleanly.

“…Ah… Adept-sama! Thank you so much!”

The child looked at Konoe. His eyes sparkled.

Eyes that looked at him like he was seeing something amazing, with admiration.

“……”

Konoe stood up and started walking again.

And he recalled the feeling of that healing.

The child’s body had no other injuries besides those on his hands and knees.

There were no bruises hidden under his clothes, no scars.

In other words, Konoe’s suspicion had been denied.

There was no child being tormented in secret.

…Well, that being said, it was only one case.

Other children might be different. There might still be some suffering behind the scenes.

Yes — ever-skeptical Konoe believed that was still highly likely.

“……”

But. Even so. And yet.

Konoe, somehow, just a little —

…The younger self of him, from long ago, for some reason —

It felt like he could smile, just a little.

◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

“……”

—Behind such a Konoe.

Ternelica, alone, blinked.

She tilted her head. She was looking curiously at Konoe.

She simply watched his back as he walked, slightly hunched over.

And she remembered — the image of Konoe up until now.

Ternelica had been by Konoe’s side for twenty days straight. She had watched him the whole time.

So she recalled Konoe’s words, expressions, gestures in her mind.

“………………………………”

Ternelica lowered her eyes sadly.

And gave a small nod.