秘密入口

A wave of bloodlust crackled in the command room, momentarily replacing the earlier relaxed vibe. 

With a pale expression, he stared at Glover.

"...What do you mean by that? How is he?"

Dan placed a hand on Allen\'s shoulder and sought an explanation from Glover, his tone of voice similarly cooling down from earlier. 

"......It\'s not life-threatening, at the very least."

The news had Allen heave a sigh of relief, the tense air in the room slightly lightening up.

"I’m not aware of the details as well... But Dongo-kun, who apparently became timid when the chain hatching began due to the accident, fumbled in controlling his wand... eventually causing a mana berserk state in the mana stone. 

Seeing that nothing could be done to resolve it, Commander Hugo abandoned the mission of dealing with the Hellrowcasts and immediately ordered everyone to evacuate… The report didn\'t say it directly, but Dongo\'s death was all but confirmed. However, before the mana stone could blow up, Al-kun rushed in to save Dongo-kin, ignoring the evacuation order. He grabbed the stone bare-handed, and wrestled control over the mana from its berserk state, suppressing the incoming explosion. 

......But he paid the price by losing his left arm. Commander Hugo personally handled the matter in order to avoid necrosis. That\'s pretty much all I know."

Allen slammed the table with his fist, then he staggered down on a chair. 

Given how straightforward the guy was, Allen could already imagine Al unhesitatingly rushing up to Dongo. 

A heavy, profound silence dominated the command room.

"......Also, right before his arm was severed, Al-kun seemed to have casted an astonishing ice spell, turning the area tens of meters around him into a frozen land. That earned them time to stabilize the situation until the blue flamingos dropped in at the site. 

I’ve already explained what this means… for our kingdom. According to Hugo\'s analysis, Al sucked in the rampaging energy of the mana stone into himself and released it at once. Presumably, he must have already worked out a theoretical plan beforehand."

Allen felt his vision go dark. 

He remembered it. It was one of the many magic spells he had fantasized about and prattled off to him with a smug grin. That said, he absolutely didn\'t believe in such a method that was built upon self-sacrifice. Neither has he heard of Al having such a thought. 

Al shouldn\'t have ever thought of using it himself for sure. But— he must have fumbled around for an answer. The door to unlocking the myriad possibilities of a mage. How he could bring the fantastical spells his good friend Allen had explained to him. 

The only reason why he used it directly must have been to save Dongo. 

And having suggested the option to Al in an indirect way, Allen believed he also had a hand in how it turned out. That he was somewhat responsible for what had happened.

Such thoughts swirled inside Allen\'s head.

"... As a hero who saved the nation from a grave situation, the Kingdom would surely guarantee his future. So much so that he would never feel inconvenienced in his life—"

"I don’t want to hear about that. We all know how much he had been adored by others, yet he never cared for such luxury. What I need to know is his future itself. He has a dream. A vow. That he would become the world\'s greatest Ice Mage. He took that oath in the name of his deceased father. He cherished it more than his life."

He knew nothing would change by lashing out at Glover, however, Allen\'s tone couldn\'t help but turn increasingly sharp. 

Glover made a long sigh, closed his eyes for a moment, and continued. 

"He... could still pave a path as a researcher. But, having lost one of his arms, he probably would never reach the greater heights he envisioned... unfortunately."

Allen found himself at a loss for words as Glover broke down the cold verdict to him. He stood up, his steps wavering, and turned toward the exit door.

"............I would like to be alone for a while. Either way, leaving the base is forbidden."

◆◆◆

"......You’ll catch a cold, Allen."

As I quietly gazed at the night sea atop the tower erected on a steep cliff overlooking the bay, Dan called out to me in a hushed tone. 

He had been around for tens of minutes already, but he remained in a tree shade while looking at my state, making his presence known. It was probably his way of allowing me to stabilize my mind. 

"Dan, I........... he lost his dream because of——"

I opened my mouth to say it was my fault, but he instead put a hand on top of my head, and rubbed it with clumsy movement, interrupting my speech.

"It\'s not your fault."

He had always been present by our side, watching as I took Al for a ride on my crazy plans and theories, so he must have already assumed my inner state and flat-out cut my reasoning. 

The state of my mind that I thought had already stabilized wavered as Dan\'s palm cradled my head, and tears streamed down my cheeks in abundance. 

"......It\'s not your fault."

He didn\'t turn to glance my way. He just repeated the same sentence. 

Our gazes stared at the night sea for a while. 

Listening to the sound of the waves while looking at the dark sea, Dan quietly chimed in.

"......Al was supposed to travel to the Royal Capital via land route. But after you pulled that move and warded off the threat of the Empire, they managed to provide flawless medicare for the journey. We’ll depart for the Royal Capital by ship tomorrow morning."

"......Understood...... We\'ll need to get some sleep then. There are also some preparations to do tomorrow. Today\'s been... a very tiring day."

I stood up and let out a despondent voice. Dan gave a mild tap on my back.

"Get a grip of yourself, Allen. Such an expression doesn\'t suit you...... Do you remember what Al said when we were about to depart from the Royal Capital? —I just find myself looking for an answer for the future whenever I’m by Allen\'s side, for better or for worse. 

He isn\'t the only one who feels that way. Everyone has been led astray by you, and they now wish for a straightforward way of life, focusing on what they want to be, devoid of any vanity. The same goes for me, and it\'s just as much for Leo. Al may be a happy-go-lucky person, but he\'s not a simpleton. He’ll never give up on something he absolutely cares about. That’s what I believe. 

Everyone will sympathize with him. But only you— you must never look at him with pitying eyes. There\'s no saving him if even you feel pity for him...... Besides, don\'t you believe in him as well?"

Being asked that question, I recalled Al\'s face— his bottomless optimism, his straightforward gaze, his unceasing passion. 

"I believe in him... I believe in Al… He definitely won\'t fall… no matter what happens! He’s a one-man optimism parade after all! He’ll definitely rise!"

As I muttered so to persuade myself, Dan gave me another pat on my back.

◆◆◆

While he escaped the jaws of death, the tragedy of Aldol Engraver was far from over. 

He lost his Ice Attribute Conversion talent along with his left arm. 

The precise cause of this had yet to be unearthed, but it was alluded to losing an essential aspect of his body, creating a deficit. Some speculate it was due to casting a spell beyond his capacity, overburdening his body. The diagnosis hadn\'t ruled out any chance for him to recover, but the current healing techniques weren\'t that advanced yet.

The dream he had sworn before his father\'s grave... The hard work he had strenuously stacked from 12 — it was said that his potential as a mage blossomed completely at the age of 12 — up to his first year in the Academy all vanished like a fleeting thought.

Eventually, when it came time for the class promotion, he was demoted to Class E. 

In the beginning, many protested against his demotion despite saving the nation at a perilous moment.

But the fact remained he had lost his arm. He would surely have a rough time keeping up with the practical lessons, which was obvious enough. But above all, his presence in Class A would only be painful to everyone around him and the person himself. Godorfun believed that this would be the case. That was how his demotion was settled. 

Aldol Engraver lost the golden future he almost had in his grasp by a decision of his own making. 

He was like a tragic protagonist of his story, having sacrificed himself for the good of the nation. This earned him a wave of sympathy and commendation throughout the Kingdom.

—The Postscript about the «Great Cascade»—

Aldol Engraver lost everything. The story of his life had come to an end. Everyone believed so— except for a number of his friends who adored that passionate soul of his.

E/N - Dang, that was pretty heavy. I highly doubt this was it for Al though. Not if the MC has anything to say about it.

T/N - Well, one thing is for sure, it\'s going to be a long ride.