Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 331 The Moment of Parting
"Eh!?"

Looking at the memories unfolding before her, Millie couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Sofia Elson had already passed away before Ritas was adopted by Roland.

What has Charlotte, who believes it is a "curse" on Ritas that caused the death of her mother, been doing all this time?
What surprised Millie even more was that the Bathing Goddess, who was also in the audience beside her, seemed completely unsurprised. It was as if she already knew about it.

"Sister Yu, could it be that..."

"Haha, I'm not entirely sure, but I had a vague idea. After all, the young Li probably really believed he was cursed. So, if he was adopted by Sophia, taught by Sophia, and then killed Sophia, he should have already broken all the taboos in the magical world and was researching things like resurrection of the dead."

Although, at the moment, Ritas doesn't seem to take academic taboos very seriously.

"Just for that reason."

"What do you mean by 'just this reason'! So, we're not going to court, Millie. The real logic is often this simple. Just like one plus one equals two—"

The goddess of the bath stood with her hands on her hips, looking rather smug.

There are some things about Ritas that only she, the "goddess," knows.

For example, Ritas's excessive sense of responsibility.

Moreover, there are external factors as well.

That tree witch.

Livis didn't seem like a reasonable person at all. So, if it really was a curse on Ritas that affected her top disciple, then not only would Ritas not be able to become a witch's disciple, but his very existence would be questionable.

Therefore, combining all the information from the past with the information obtained from the fairy tale world, the goddess of bathing made a bold conjecture.

Sofia's death should have absolutely no connection to Ritas. Not even the slightest possibility.

As the goddess of bathing and Millie talk, the scenes in their memories continue to shift.

The old movie filter became even thicker, and the scene before us became even more blurred.

Xia Luoluo's figure had also shrunk considerably.

"How can there be memories within memories?!"

As the goddess of the bath couldn't help but complain, what was revealed to the two of them were Xia Luoluo's memories from when she was even younger.

The first scene presented was one of profound sadness.

Perhaps because she could not remember clearly, the woman, whose face was quite blurry and who was still very young, used her last strength to force out a smile and stroked Xia Luoluo's head, as if she was giving her some instructions.

then
That was Sophie Elson's funeral.

Xia Luoluo stood blankly among the adults dressed in black and white, looking completely bewildered as if she couldn't understand what was happening.

Where is Mom?
She asked in a very naive way.

He kept pestering Roland, who wasn't quite old yet but was already starting to feel dejected, asking him the same question over and over again.

Clearly, she could subconsciously sense unease and knew that something very bad was happening to her.

Despite his immense sorrow, Roland displayed remarkable patience. However, his tendency to speak inappropriately seemed to be a curse he could never truly break.

He tried very hard to be tactful.

But the truth is, in an incredibly cruel moment, he made Xia Luoluo understand the meaning of life and death with exceptional clarity.

Charlotte was a child who was very attached to Sophia since she was little. Until a year or two ago, she would even cry loudly if she couldn't see Sophia for just a few hours.

As a sudden downpour began, young Charlotte realized that she would never see her mother again.

As Xia Luoluo collapsed as if her soul had been suddenly ripped away, her memories began to shatter.

In the fragmented images that could be pieced together, she simply sat blankly on the hospital bed, like a doll, showing no reaction to any external stimuli.

She seemed to be able to sense it, yet she also seemed not to.

I'm just living in a constant state of confusion and bewilderment.

After an unknown amount of time, she gradually became able to perceive more things.

Those were just some gossips from the maids who took care of her.

The maids, already leading monotonous lives in the mansion, were naturally quite bored. And with a young lady who would never react to anything they said, their gossip became even more unrestrained.

During that time, the hottest topic of conversation among them was naturally the fact that the head of the Elson family, the Sword Saint of the Western Frontier, had adopted a "cursed child."

"I don't know why the master adopted such a monster. Even if the master is a sword saint, he shouldn't be able to break free from the curse, right?" "I saw him from afar, and he definitely has a face that doesn't look human." "At this rate, will everyone in this house die?" "Before he kills us, shouldn't we find another place to work?"

Because of Ritas's "reputation" at the time, a great deal of malice arose without any basis or reason, which permeated Charlotte's sickbed.

Perhaps some of the maids had just arrived at the manor and weren't sure what was going on. Or perhaps, in her state at the time, Xia Luoluo mixed up some of her words.

The fact that "the cursed child killed the mistress of the mansion, and now the master of the mansion is about to die" was clearly imprinted in Xia Luoluo's heart.

For the first time in a long time, her finger twitched. But no one noticed.

Then, after some time had passed, fate intervened.

Even amidst his busy schedule, Roland, who never forgot to visit his daughter, made time to go to Charlotte's room. And he brought Ritas with him.

"Age-wise, she should be considered your younger sister. Haha, it's quite strange that you suddenly became an older brother even though you came into this family later, isn't it? But there's no time for you to prepare. Now that you're the older brother, from today onwards, you'd better take on the responsibilities of an older brother."

"How do you carry it?"

Ritas's response was probably just a question. But there was an indescribable sense of sarcasm in his tone.

Looking at Ritas's bloodshot eyes and dark, inky eye bags, there was always an unnatural and strange feeling about him, even though he was dressed neatly.

Perhaps it was out of hatred in his heart. Perhaps it was to protect his father, Ritas's father, in his own way, that he placed his hand on him.

Charlotte's life, which had been interrupted for a long time, has started to run again.

With trembling lips, pointing at Ritas, Charlotte uttered a hoarse and strange sound that no one could understand.

The gradually clearing memories may represent Xia Luoluo's level of lucidity.

She had clearly noticed many strange signs that had always existed.

For example, she needed to visit the treatment center in the mansion very frequently. For example, she saw Roland frantically packing something many times. And for example, the extremely strange looks she received from those around her every time she said that Ritas had cursed her mother to death.

"The sample size is too small, so I don't know if this strange disease is hereditary. Tch, even if it is hereditary, it doesn't pass on any good traits. Let's just leave it for now; maybe one day it will suddenly return to normal."

Mint Elson said this while rubbing Charlotte's head.

But Charlotte had no idea that Aunt Mint was talking about herself.

For a time, she even noticed that fewer and fewer things related to Sophia remained in the house. It was as if everyone in the mansion was in cahoots, trying to make her forget about her mother. Charlotte also felt that the evil Ritas had completely taken over the Elson mansion and was trying to destroy the evidence of her crimes.

Therefore, she has to do something! Otherwise, this family will be doomed sooner or later!

Various memories flashed by.

The section about Ritas has also become increasingly longer.

All of these things, rather than being memories, were more like boomerangs that flew back and pierced Xia Luoluo's body.

The memories within memories have ended.

Lying on the bed, Xia Luoluo's eyes widened as she gradually recalled everything. Every feature on her face seemed to be trying to make several expressions at the same time.

The goddess of bathing and Millie really don't know how to describe Xia Luoluo's current expression, nor can they understand, and don't want to understand, her current feelings.

For the first time in their lives, they clearly witnessed a person seemingly cracking apart.

No.

It's not a feeling, but rather that the space constructed by this memory is truly breaking down as a whole.

As the scene continued to shatter, the outer shell-like part protecting the center of the space also dissipated.

After the soul trapped in the "carrier pigeon" was released, it reunited with its own body.

A third person from the real world, Charlotte Elson, a seventh-year student at the Bayano Military Magic Academy, appeared before the Goddess of Bath and Millie, knees drawn up to her chest.

Xia Luoluo tilted her head slightly, glanced at the two of them with a look of utter despair, and then sighed.

"Why don't you just kill me?"

"Huh? So fast!?"

Upon returning from the memory space, the Bathing Goddess and Millie witnessed the entire area, including the Elson Mansion, dissipating into dreamlike particles. "I see. This area was originally formed based on Senior Charlotte's soul. Therefore, now that Senior Charlotte has retrieved her soul, the entire area is disappearing."

Millie looked around and then concluded.

"Is it time to analyze?"

The goddess of bathing searched around and then ran to the side of little Ritas, who was still breathing, though she didn't know.

"Little Li! Ah, thank goodness, you're still alive. Wait for me, I'll use the Golden Apple now."

As she spoke, the goddess of the bath took out a golden fruit from her pocket. But the golden apple, which had remained unchanged for the past two months and was now rotten and damaged, seemed to have weathered away. At the goddess of the bath's touch, it turned into particles along with the surrounding world and wrapped around her.

"How could this happen! Did the save file just happen to be frozen at the worst possible moment?!"

In contrast to the impatient goddess of the bath, Little Ritas remained calm.

"There probably isn't much difference between bad and not bad, right?"

Little Ritas let out a soft breath.
"Although I've long understood that what you're saying is true, and that I'm just a 'supporting character' appearing on a fictional stage, seeing such explicit scenes still evokes mixed feelings."

Gazing at the area that had nearly half disappeared, Little Ritas sighed with genuine emotion.

As the weight of the golden apple in her hand completely dissipated, the goddess of the bath, who had been silent for a while, also composed herself.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Li. We... are destined not to be able to be with you forever."

"."

Little Ritas, who was about to close his eyes, couldn't help but open them wide. Then, gazing at the girl in front of him who seemed to truly see through and understand him, he returned to his calm.

"It's not something that needs an apology. It's just that from now on, you'll all have to rely on yourselves."

As he spoke, Little Ritas turned his gaze to Millie, who had actually arrived earlier but had been standing quietly to the side with her lips pursed.

"If you want to be a good teacher, you still need to accumulate more experience and enrich yourself in the future. Millie."

"So, from what standpoint are you saying these things? Why can you always act like you're so great?"

Millie, who seemed to want to show a smile, ultimately only managed a bitter smile as she poured out all the pent-up complaints in her heart.

However, there was absolutely no feeling of comfort whatsoever.

Turning their heads, the two girls' eyes met, and then, as if by telepathy, they both inhaled simultaneously.

"Xia Luoluo!" "Xia Luoluo!"

It seemed to be the first time the two of them had been so in sync, shouting Xia Luoluo's name.

With a somewhat dejected air, Xia Luoluo also came over.

"What are you yelling about? And who are you two anyway?!"

Charlotte, who probably didn't have much memory of what happened after her soul was bound, looked at the Bathing Goddess and Millie with a rather blank expression.

The two girls then realized that this was the first time they had met Xia Luoluo in real life in this way.

However, even though she was completely confused, Xia Luoluo knew that now was not the time to dwell on other things.

Approaching Little Ritas, seeing that half of his body was missing and the cross-section of his body was crystallized, Charlotte frowned.

"How did you get yourself into this state again?"

"'again'."

Little Ritas was somewhat surprised by Charlotte's words.

Surprisingly, his future self had done other similar crazy things. It was also surprising that the future Xia Luoluo seemed to understand him well, able to tell at a glance that he was the one who had brought this situation upon himself.

"I never imagined you could grow up."

What do you mean?!

"Also, there's no need for apologies. Save them for that 'Ritas' you know."

Looking at Charlotte, who was already over twenty, and Little Ritas, who was only about half her age, he still spoke to her as if she were someone of lower status.

"Why has it become a prerequisite for me to apologize? And if you don't let me apologize, I'll insist on apologizing!"

The adult Xia Luoluo, who subconsciously started shouting, seemed to merge with her younger self from more than ten years ago.

"I'm sorry, I was so stupid."

The Bath Goddess and Millie, who had expected Xia Luoluo to hesitate and struggle a bit more, exchanged a somewhat surprised glance.

"Just because of the evil name that someone else gave you, 'Child of the Curse,' I became prejudiced against you and blamed all the misfortunes I encountered on you. I even tried to drive you out of my home but never actually tried to get to know you or understand you. I did many things to try to hurt you."

Xia Luoluo's apology flowed more smoothly than expected, as if she had practiced it beforehand.

"So, even without your misunderstanding, you really believe that 'curses' can actually kill someone?"

Little Ritas interrupted Charlotte, asking with an incredulous look.

"You're not going to believe me just because I'm telling you!"

"Also, although you haven't actually hurt me many times, the feeling you give off that I'll accept it as long as you apologize makes me a little unhappy. So, I hope you can put away that relieved look on your face, as if you've finally untied your knot."

"You! You!"

"Furthermore, since you do have the intention to apologize, why haven't you done so yet? I suppose you've never said these words to the 'Ritas' you know."

"Well, it's not like you're not annoying just because you don't have a curse. We live in the same house, and we've had our share of personal grudges over the years!"

Xia Luoluo's answer seemed reasonable at first glance. But upon closer examination, it seemed illogical.

At that very moment, fragments of Xia Luoluo's memory space, which had been shattered but not completely dissipated, were blown by the wind to the side of the group like a petal.

The fragments of memory, which were already fading away, did not bring everyone back into Xia Luoluo's memories; instead, they simply presented two blurry figures.

"W-What should I do, Kurt? I...I...I...I..."

The two blurry figures, like 3D images, were clearly Charlotte and Cortriene as children.

"You're asking me what to do? I'm asking you the same thing! You've been saying how awful that guy is, so I've been trying to come up with ideas for him. And now... sigh, how could you get such an important thing mixed up! I..."

Cortrienne, somewhat frustrated, trembled with anger.

"Ugh, it didn't work out anyway. Nobody's going to blame you, sob. I can't even look at him now! I just want to disappear into a hole in front of him, let alone lift my head."

"I just can't do anything with you."

Seeing Charlotte crouching on the ground, clutching her head in distress, Cortriena sighed deeply.
"Actually, you probably don't need to worry too much about these things. As long as the misunderstanding is cleared up, that's fine. After all, Uncle Roland adopted a child when you were sick, probably so that he could inherit the family business. And since he's an adopted son, there will definitely be many problems along the way. But once you marry him in the future, all the problems will be solved. And by then, you'll be husband and wife, and these little things will naturally all be fine. Well, in fact, all of this was planned by those adults anyway!"

Cortrienne spoke with great enthusiasm, then added, as if to bolster her argument, "..."
"I just heard a similar story from the maids a few days ago."

"I see."

Hearing Cortrienne's words, Charlotte stood up as if grasping at a lifeline.

"I didn't understand the really complicated parts, but basically, all I have to do is give myself to him when I grow up, right?"

"Aaaaaaaahh ...

Halfway through, Xia Luoluo realized something was wrong and desperately lunged at the phantoms of her past memories, trying to stop those images and words from continuing.

But it was all in vain.

The two girls in the memory images were simply "executing" each other with exceptionally clear voices.

In the end, utterly desperate, Xia Luoluo rolled around on the ground in shame.

Meanwhile, the goddess of bathing, Millie, and Little Ritas remained silent, their expressions subtle.

In their eyes, these were nothing more than innocent and naive words, falling into the category of childish talk. But Xia Luoluo's reaction was so strong; did it mean she still took it seriously?

"I believe that every version of myself has the right to choose."

"Aha!?"

Accompanied by Charlotte's strange voice, at the most strange time and in the most strange way, the area of ​​the "carrier pigeon" disappeared completely.

In the same wondrous state of mind, the three girls, guided by the golden particles, returned to the foot of the golden apple tree.

(End of this chapter)