Chapter: 293
“Shia?”
When I cautiously called out to her, Encia didn’t show any particular reaction.
No, it’s not that she didn’t react; she was yawning as if she was hearing things that weren’t there.
“Hwaaam…. I think I’m hearing Tia’s voice again. It can’t be time for Tia to wake up yet.”
Hmm… So she is really pretending she’s hearing things.
Well, considering she said she’d wake up in a few decades, waking up after about 14 years… that feels a bit early, right?
But… why am I already awake? When I went into hibernation before, I used to sleep for hundreds of years…
I was resolved to only sleep for a few decades this time! But I didn’t expect to wake up this quickly.
Moreover… Maybe because I woke up so early, I still feel a bit groggy.
Well, I can solve that later when I fall asleep again. For now, let’s focus on Encia.
“Sia.”
“Huh… Have I been lazy lately, and that made me weaker? Why do I keep hearing hallucinations?”
“Sia.”
“Ugh. This won’t do. I should ask Cecil to prepare some food to replenish my energy today.”
“Sia.”
“Ugh. Am I finally losing my mind? Why do I keep hearing Tia’s voice…?”
Hmm. This is oddly amusing. It’s funny that Encia hasn’t even realized that I’m awake and calling for her. It feels like I’m playing a little trick on her.
But, I can’t just keep playing around forever.
“Sia. I woke up a little early. It’s not a hallucination.”
“Oh my. Now my hallucinations are even whispering to me that they aren’t hallucinations! Something feels terribly wrong with me!”
What should I do in this case? Should I go to the Church of Life? Do they even treat madness there?
It doesn’t seem like the Life Church will solve your mental problems… No, why do I keep talking nonsense?
It’s quite troublesome when you don’t listen properly, even when I’m talking to you!
“If you keep saying such absurd things, I’ll have no choice but to go back to sleep, Sia.”
“Huh? Oh… Is it possible this isn’t a hallucination…?”
“Yep. It’s not a hallucination.”
Then, Sia’s expression begins to change gradually. Her previously indifferent expression starts to fill with energy little by little.
Her eyes shift from boredom to ones brimming with anticipation.
Then she frantically looks around, as if checking her surroundings, and cautiously whispers,
“Tia?”
“Yep. Sia.”
“Is it really you, Tia?”
Sia keeps asking again and again. Is it so hard to believe my voice is real?
“Yep. It really is me.”
“You really woke up? Already?”
“Indeed. I woke up sooner than I thought. I was expecting that when I opened my eyes next, Sia might have turned into a white-haired old lady.”
“This isn’t a dream, is it? Are you really awake?”
“I’m serious. Were you just fooled all this time?”
Upon hearing my words, Sia suddenly burst into tears.
Was she so happy I returned that she cried? Encia couldn’t hold back her emotions and started crying profusely.
“Tia… It’s really you!”
“Were you really that happy? It’s not right for a grown person to cry like this.”
“It’s really you, Tia! Tia! Tiaaaa…!”
“Okay. Now that I’m awake, please stop crying.”
“Am I dreaming right now? Tia, you really have woken up, right?”
“Right. Were you just fooled while I was away? You weren’t a victim of some scam, right?”
“I wasn’t fooled! Nothing like that! I just can’t believe that Tia is back. That’s all there is to it.”
“Okay. If that’s how you feel, Sia, then let’s go with that. So please stop crying. You’re so beautiful, but you’re ruining your face with all those tears.”
“Ha, but… Tia is back. I’ve been dreaming of this moment forever! And yet… I can’t stop crying. The tears just overflow without my permission… I didn’t realize I had so many tears…”
“Honestly. You’re quite the troublesome lady.”
Encia was sobbing, and I couldn’t help but smile at her.
Now that I think about it, this reaction is rather refreshing. Until now, most people around me… no, my companions, didn’t react even a bit for decades.
There were so many who’d sleep for a hundred years and then say, “Oh, you’re awake?”!
Well, I suppose it’s because humans have such short lifespans.
“Now, please stop crying. You must have so much to talk about, and if you keep going like this, it’ll be tomorrow before we have our chat.”
“Yeah. sniff I need to stop crying now. I have so much I want to say.”
After a little time passed like this.
“Yeah. I’m calmed down now.”
Said Encia, her eyes red from all the crying.
“Honestly, it’s not like I’m a little kid. I just woke up from a long sleep.”
“You just woke up after a long sleep. Fourteen years… that’s absurdly long for a human.”
“That’s actually much earlier than I planned! There were times when I’d fall asleep thinking I was ready, but then wake up after hundreds of years.”
Encia momentarily seemed at a loss for words at my statement.
“Hundreds of years? How long do you intend to sleep?”
“There’s that.”
Even I start to think I’m a little abnormal for feeling sleepy after not sleeping for this long.
Even if I endure it, I can manage, but just being careless for a moment makes me feel like I’ll fall asleep right away. ugh…
In any case, now that the crying’s done, it’s time to have a proper conversation.
“Alright! Now that the crying’s over, let’s talk about what’s built up. I may just have been sleeping, but Sia, you must have quite the story, right?”
“Yeah! I have a mountain of stories to tell! There’s just so much!”
“Oh, I’m looking forward to that! Let’s hear what’s happened while I was sleeping… Oh! Did you write a book?”
“Yep! I did! I faced a lot of struggles and made countless mistakes, but… I managed to write it somehow. In that time, I even took on a disciple.”
“A disciple? You, Sia?”
“Yep! While organizing what you taught into a book, I realized there were areas I needed to teach myself to grasp better. So I decided to take on a disciple. I’ll introduce you to him later.”
“That’s certainly something to look forward to.”
And so, Sia and I began to share the stories that had accumulated over 14 years.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“So, is that why the Master is so lively? Because that Tia has woken up?”
“That’s it! I haven’t been this happy since Tia went to sleep.”
Encia’s disciple looked at Sia with a slightly pouty face.
“Even if the Master says that, you know I can’t hear her voice, right?”
“Huh? Oh, right. Well, Tia’s voice only reaches me.”
Encia’s disciple, Cecil, gazed at Encia with cold eyes.
“To be honest, all I can think is that the Master has finally lost it. Even if she woke up and spoke to me, there’s no way I could hear it.”
“Hm… No matter how you say it, Tia really has woken up and is speaking to me.”
“Unfortunately, no one but Sia can hear my voice.”
“Tia is sorry that she couldn’t let you hear her voice.”
“Well, I don’t believe that statement at all. It’s wonderful that the Master has regained her strength, but…”
Cecil looked at Encia with cold eyes, sighed softly, and continued, “If that’s how you truly feel, Master, then I suppose it’s so.”
After remarking that, Cecil cleared his throat and said,
“Ahem. Hello, Tia. My name is Cecil, the disciple of the Master. I’ve heard a great deal about you, and it’s such a pleasure to finally meet you… directly… or however I should say it.”
“Ah, I see! This kid is the disciple you took in. Oh, please tell him I’m glad to meet him!”
“Tia says she’s glad to meet you.”
While Encia conveyed my greetings, I slowly took a look at Tia’s disciple.
Although he didn’t seem to possess much magical power, the magic within him was neatly organized. It was clear he put considerable effort into mastering his magical control.
Of course, by comparison, he fell short of Encia. However, it was far from ordinary if he could be compared to the exceptionally talented Encia.
And, if he followed Encia’s teachings properly… the total amount of magical power wouldn’t be overly important.
Because Encia’s primary magic was manipulating nature’s magic using just a handful of her own.
Hence, Cecil, as Encia’s disciple, could be regarded as quite an extraordinary wizard in this era.
Ah, but Encia is an exception. Encia is an outlier among wizards, you see.
Even though my magical power had increased compared to 14 years ago, none of it was leaking out of my body.
Encia had perfectly mastered her amplified magical power.
“From looking at your disciple, I can tell you’ve put in quite a lot of effort, haven’t you?”
“Yup, I’ve worked really hard! Oh! Right! Want to see the book I wrote? I wanted to include Tia’s teachings as much as I could, but I think I fell short. Still, it was effective enough to even raise Cecil!”
Encia said shyly. Is that humility? Or is it the truth?
Given she managed to raise her disciple this well, it seems like it’s humility, but either way, I was going to peruse the book.
I shifted my attention to the book Encia had laid open on the table.
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