Missed Opportunities

Lady Luck has nothing but bangs.

──Leonardo da Vinci

 

From my point of view, the civilization of this village was around two or three hundred years behind that of Scarlet's. Agriculture and livestock hadn't yet began and metal utensils were only used sparingly. The buildings were all made of wood and there were no brick houses.

Given that this village spoke Scarlish, there were three possibilities that came to mind.

—First, someone from Scarlet came here by chance and built the village.

But that's impossible given the location of this village with it being across the sea.

Second, it was taught by a reincarnator like me.

Although I'd never met a reincarnator other than myself, it wasn't impossible.

However, the village chief said that the "Magus of Genesis" taught them words and magic.

If I assume that there was a reincarnator, would they have taught magic first?

Only I would have. I was ignorant of science and engineering, and the only thing I had was knowledge of magic and my imagination that continued to think about what I would do if I could actually use magic.

The more likely route for a modern person would have been to try to use science to approach the problem.

If there was a reincarnator, it would have been a modern English speaker. The words used by this village are too similar to the English I know for that not to be the case. The small differences in pronunciation and colloquialisms could be explained by the several centuries that have passed.

And then there's the third. That is…

The possibility that the 'Magus of Genesis' he spoke of was a reincarnated Ai.

"Um, this Magus of Genesis you spoke of… are they still alive?"

"Of course not. It's a story from long ago after all."

I wonder how many years ago 'long ago' is. People say 'long ago' even for things that happened just twenty or thirty years before, so I have no idea what that means.

… No, I remember that feeling from when I was human, or even when I was a hundred years old. But I've long since lost that feeling. I don't know if it was the me of six hundred years ago or even farther, but I've changed a lot.

"Is… is there anything that's left of the person? Something they wore or something?"

"Oh, there is. Would you like to see it?"

I was surprised when I got a positive response to the words I said without much hope.

"There is? I'd love to see it!"

"Please come this way."

Taken by the village chief who quickly agreed, Rin and I were led to the back of the house.

"This is the clothing that the Magus of Genesis wore."

"… So this is it?"

"Yes. It's a treasure that has been passed down in our family."

It was a single piece of clothing that seemed to have been made from animal skin.

It was set up on a mannequin—just a wooden doll—in the center of the room.

It looked like it was very old. It was in poor condition and torn up to the point it didn't look like it could be worn.

However…

Is this really the clothing that the Magus of Genesis wore?

I was about to say something rude, but I made sure to hold it back.

It was obviously something for a man.

It was easy to tell with how it looked on the mannequin given that it was the same height as me and had broad shoulders.

[Was this really the clothing that the Magus of Genesis wore?]

While I was thinking, Rin was writing down the things I wanted to ask but couldn't on a piece of paper.

"Of course. We've been keeping it as a treasure to remember our great ancestor."

That said, there were nuances between speaking a question out loud and writing it on paper. Rin's question was probably interpreted as just surprise and the village chief didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Was it possible to reincarnate as the opposite sex? I mean, it seemed less of a jump than reincarnating as a dragon.

Of course magic is born from will. If Ai had reincarnated, it would be because of the power of magic. She would have reincarnated to meet me again, so it's hard to imagine that she would have reincarnated as a man.

… Well, I figure my own desire was about half of it, but I still shouldn't be wrong.

Assuming that to be the case, I suppose it would be another reincarnator? Looking at the clothes with a simple design, I couldn't tell anything about them. The simple clothes looked like ordinary fur clothes that were worn in Scarlet a few hundred years ago.

"Is there anything else… like something with writing on it?"

"Unfortunately, there is nothing of the sort."

I thought that I'd be able to learn a lot more if there were even a piece of paper or a clay tablet, but it seemed that wouldn't go as well as I'd hoped. If there were at least some kind of interaction with the elves, I could have heard about what happened back then…

"By the way, you not having any interactions with the elves… the monsters I mean—is that something that the Magus of Genesis taught?"

When I asked, the village chief frowned.

"I'm not sure, but it's natural that you wouldn't want to have any interactions with those strange creatures."

He spoke as if spitting it out. Yet another point of discomfort.

If Ai were the reincarnator, she wouldn't have any prejudice against the elves.

Of c ourse, that prejudice could have been cultivated after she died. But no matter how much I thought about it, it just didn't work out.

"Thank you very much. I was able to hear a very interesting story."

I thanked the village chief and we left the village.

In the end, we still didn't know the identity of the Magus of Genesis, but there was one thing that was clear.

It was either Ai or some other reincarnator from Earth.

And that they died a long time ago.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"Mentor, are you okay…?"

"I'm fine."

After leaving the village, we headed to a place where I wouldn't be seen transforming into a dragon. I smiled at Rin who'd looked up at me in worry.

Honestly, I wasn't very calm on the inside.

Possibly… possibly, Ai reincarnated into that village and ended her life once again.

I hadn't made it in time. There was no way that knowledge of Scarlet had reached this village from across the sea. Even if she had reincarnated, what could she have done? More like even if she had reincarnated in this far away village, I hadn't notied at all.

When I thought about that, I felt like my chest was being squeezed.

"Mentor…"

Rin squeezed my arm and looked at me with eyes that seemed to be asking me something. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

[Can you hear me?]

It was at that moment I heard a familiar voice in my mind.

"Nina? What's wrong?"

The tramission magic should not have been able to span between Scarlet to where I was.

I'd figured it would have been the same even if the relationship between us was reversed.

[I have no idea why it worked, but I'm glad I tried. Come back as soon as you can.]

Nina said it in a hard voice.

[… Aqua's condition has suddenly changed.]