Royal Magician – 195

Chapter 195 – The One I Don’t Mind Regretting

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Royal Magicians Order Headquarters, central meeting room.

When I opened up the thick doors, the cold air absorbed into my skin.

There were rows of empty seats in the vast room.

The only expectation was the chair in the far back, where Mr. Ernest was sitting.

“Sorry for calling you this late.

It almost sounded like he was talking to someone else.

It felt rather lonely, but in order to avoid mishearing him, I walked until I was standing next to Mr. Ernest.

“I don’t mind. More importantly, I heard that the captains and vice-captains were supposed to be here?”
“That meeting finished earlier. I was waiting in order to tell you the results.”
“I’m sorry for being late.”
“It’s fine. For now, I will not ask why you did not return, or why you continued the search without permission.”

He looked at me quietly for a moment.

“We are ending the search for Luke Waldstein.”

The low voice echoed through the room.

“Ending… What do you mean?”
“It was the wish of the prime minister and His Royal Majesty. We cannot continue to use so many resources towards a single person.”
“But Luke is the captain of the 7th unity. He is famous here and abroad. This will be an unfathomable loss. But more than anything, he has worked hard for this country. I believe it is in this country’s best interest to help Luke.”
“I understand how you feel. However, the king believes that it would be wrong to use the people’s taxes to help one of his own. And the prime minister thinks he is beyond saving in the first place.”
“Beyond saving?”
“He is no longer alive.”

I could not breath.

I wanted to object.

Surely that was not possible.

However, there was not a single reason for me to believe that.

A whole week had now passed.

If the culprit wanted to erase Luke, then this was more than enough time to do it.

I stared down at my feet and closed my eyes.

I pursed my lips tightly and then raised my head.

—Even so, I could not give up.

“Still, it is possible that we still have time. If I don’t act now, I might regret it later.”
“There is one other thing. It is possible that he has been taken to a place where we cannot investigate.”
“Where is that?”
“The theocratic state of Claless.”

Said Mr. Ernest.

“The relationship between these two countries is not good. We do not have the authority to conduct investigations there, and as long as we are in the Royal Magicians Order, we cannot act there. That is why it is the most likely place for him to be. In fact, there are some people who think Luke Waldstein has betrayed us by his own will.”
“Betrayed? What do you mean?”

I was confused.

“There are some who claim to have seen him take out state secrets, and hand them over to the Dragon Order. There are even rumors of him being seen during the assassination attempt of the Saintess last week.”
“…”

Luke might be alive.

I was more relieved by that possibility.

Still, that also meant I had to defend him. As I was the only one who could.

“That is clearly a strategy to trick us. It would be very easy with a transformation potion.”
“There is more. Some of the nobles have accused him of being involved in criminal activity.”
“It is the other way around. Luke knew these nobles and controlled them behind the scenes. Now they are using this opportunity to take him down. At the very least, the one thing that is a clear truth is that Luke was attacked and removed in a way against his will. I found a witness to that.”
“You did?”
“Someone saw Luke on that day. He had lost consciousness and was being taken away.”

And so I told Mr. Ernest about what I learned.

“I see. I will look into it tomorrow. Depending on the results, we may reverse the decision.”
“Thank you.”

Once the attack was revealed, they would surely consider continuing the search.

Perhaps there would be fewer personnel, but it increased the chances of finding him.

Now having the right to investigate Claless was bad, but surely there was a way around that.

(I have to continue the search no matter what.)

The following morning, I headed to the unit 1 Captain’s office after being called by Mr. Ernest.

“One of my men questioned the man who you talked to.”
“Thank you for acting swiftly.”
“What he said was different from you. Luke Waldstein was not unconscious. And he was walking with someone by his own free will.”
“…Huh?”

I felt my blood grow cold.

And my mouth became dry.

“That’s wrong. Yesterday, he said…”
“This is a difficult decision for you. Either you are lying for him, or there is an enemy informant who detected our movement.”

Ernest said bitterly.

“Regardless, we cannot investigate the matter in Claless. And so with this current situation, the conclusion is that the Royal Magicians Order will not search for him.”
“Just the 7th unit… No, allow me to go alone. I will take full responsibility…”
“It is a very closed country that hates any outside interference. You are a vice-captain. Any action on your part could lead to an international incident. This is too much for you to handle. And as a leader within the order, I could never allow you to go.”

Said Mr. Erenest.

“This world is often unfair and irrational. No matter how painful and unbearable, you must find a way to accept it.”

That day, I could not focus on my work at all.

As Luke was gone, I had to take his place as the vice-captain. And yet I could not do it.

What was I doing? Should I even be here right now? I could not help but wonder.

My friend might be in great trouble right now.

If I don’t act now, I may never be able to see him again.

“Are you alright?”

Ilis looked at me with suspicion.

“Sorry, I’m just a little tired.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m smarter than you already, and you losing focus like this will give me more opportunities to knock you down and take your place. In fact, you should just go and take an eternal nap right now.”

Ilis said with a confident smile.

Just then, Miles came up to me.

“Here. Please check this.
“Fine… Hey, isn’t this my job…”
“Ilis said I should do it, as you seem preoccupied.”
“Huh? I told you to not say that! Uh, he’s lying!”

Ilis said frantically, and Miles smiled.

They had been quite the problem case before, but they were friends now.

“Thank you. Sorry for being so unreliable.”
“Not at all. In any case, you really can take it easy today.”

They said, and so I decided to do just that.

I went to the 7th unit office and sat down.

The two of us had spent so much time here, and now it seemed so big and empty.

No one was sitting in the other chair.

There was no coat on the hanger.

The desk with the unprocessed documents. It was just not like him.

Everything reminded me of his absence.

Was this right?

Of course, it was not.

However, there was nothing that I could do.

It was the organization’s decision. And this country had a strained relationship with the one where he was likely in.

There had been numerous conflicts over mineral resources near the border, and under the ecclesiastical law of the theocratic state, the authority to investigate personnel belonging to organizations of other countries was not recognized.

So as long as I was in the Royal Magicians Order, I could not cross the border in order to help him.

He had faith in me, and gave me the position of vice-captain.

It was a great promotion.

I was happier than I could have hoped for. I was blessed.

This really was like a miracle.

Still, there was a hole in my heart.

Humans were selfish creatures.

Why did I feel so sad, just because someone was no longer next to me?

“Are you alright?”

I raised my head.

Ms. Leticia was standing there.

I must have been so tired that I didn’t even notice her coming into the room.

“Of course, you are not.”
“Why are you here?”
“Misha told me. She is worried and wants me to check up on you.”

Misha was such a nice person, but had no luck with men. Still, she lived happily with her cats.

I felt grateful as I turned to Ms. Leticia.

“I’m sorry for making you all worry.”
“It’s fine. I wanted to talk with you anyway.”
“You did?”
“Yes. As someone who had been watching you. And watching him. There is something that I have to tell you.”

She said as she fixed her eyes on me.

“I respect you both as individuals. But what I especially like is that you have your own ruler to measure things by. You are not shaken no matter what other people say. And that is very important.”
“But you have that too, Ms. Leticia.”
“I had nothing but foolish revenge. The root of it all was different from you. Perhaps that is why you seem more clean.”

Ms. Leticia put a hand on my shoulder.

“Right now, you are wavering between two important things. Your job and a friend. And you cannot choose both.”

I looked down.

For a moment, I could not say anything.

I searched for the words inside of me.

“In truth, I just want to go. Without thinking about anything. But that will cause trouble to a lot of people here. Even worse, it could cause trouble for the entire country.”
“But if you do nothing, then you might lose him.”

I nodded.

I didn’t know what he really was to me right now.

Still, he was an important friend that I would never want to lose.

“The important thing is that you choose with your own free will. That way, you will have no regrets. I think you should choose the one that you could live with if you do regret it.”
“I could live with?”
“Sometimes, there are choices in life that you will regret no matter what. It is not only a matter of right and wrong. Sometimes, it’s a little of both. Both choices may be wrong. You might regret both of them. And you will wish you made a different decision.”

Ms. Leticia said carefully.

It felt like she was trying to convey something that was very difficult for her.

“So you should choose the one where you could bear to regret later. The one where a mistake will not keep you up all night. Follow your heart. Don’t think about troubling others. No matter what you choose, or what happens, I will be on your side and support you.”

Choose the one you don’t mind regretting.

Those words helped to untie the complex knots in my mind.

Like the northern star above a dark sea.

I didn’t know if it was right.

But there was a clear answer for me.

“I have decided.”
“I see.”
“I always wanted to be like you. You were so amazing and impressive.”
“And now?”
“I like you even more.”

Ms. Leticia’s eyes widened a little.

And then she said.

“You should walk the path that you believe in.”
“Yes.”

It didn’t take long to get the papers ready.

Speedy work was what I was good at.

I was going to submit them to Mr. Ernest, but then I change my mind and went to Mr. Gawain’s office instead.

As he was very nice, he could not deny you if you requested something directly.

This would probably be better for the members of the 7th unit as well.

I knew this decision would look bad to society.

They would be right to blame me, and some will be saddened.

I felt really bad about it, and wished it could be avoided.

But I made the decision that I could live with.

I would take the pain and mistakes with me.

All for something that I did not want to lose.

And so I would leave my beloved workplace behind.

There was no going back now.

But I knew it would be fine.

◇　　◇　　◇

Gawain Stark found the envelope just as the crimson light started to pour into his office.

It was from Noelle Springfield.

Inside, there were several smaller envelopes.

He had an idea of what they were.

He calmed himself and took one out.

And with swift movements, he opened the letter.

“She really did it.”

The words echoed in the quiet room.

He leaned back in his chair and held his temples as if to cover the smile that threatened to appear on his face.

“Seeing recklessness as dazzling, does that mean I’ve grown up too?”

The envelope on the table.

It read ‘Resignation.’

And the gold pocket watch of Adamantite rested quietly inside.

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