Chapter 1114 – #265_Last Interlude – DeepL
#1108
1.
It was a long, long time ago.
A memory of a time when Kether didn’t need to demonstrate her iron-blooded martial prowess, when she spoke plainly and without the suspicious use of the first person.
Kether gazed down at the wide-open hills, a mix of green and gold, and declared her intentions.
“Blanche, I’m going to build a witch’s city here.”
“Here?”
“To be more precise, these wonderful Mendel hills are part of the Gehenna estate. From what I’ve heard, grapes are a specialty here. It would make a wonderful wine-producing region, wouldn’t it?”
“Have you named it already? Psyche thinks Ketter’s hooves are the best in the world.”
Psyche Teagarden, the Witch of Aries, who was like a sister to Erelim, hung back with her arms crossed and gave him a pin glass.
“My personal opinion, but your names are always terrible. Why don’t you think about it a little more, instead of just going with whatever comes to mind? Value is in the name.”
Tiferet wrinkled her nose, her luscious pink hair fluttering in the breeze.
But Kether was unperturbed.
“The name is fine, but it’s what’s inside that counts. My city will be a home for witches.”
“That’s a new one…. Isn’t that what we’re here for?”
Next to her was the ever-so-loud twin witch, Zemenaido.
And Calliostro, the youngest of the group, but second to none in terms of fussiness.
Nukelavi, who argued with Kether about everything, big and small, and eventually chose confrontation and never entered Gehenna.
Yesod, who embraced everyone with his gentle smile.
There is Adonai, who is quick to calculate, Kohav, who is loyal and trustworthy, Gremory, who is a mischievous but upright man, and Opriel, who is shy and quiet.
More than six hundred years later, these faces are no more, except for Calliostro and Psyche.
They have all passed away, having fulfilled their witchly duties and left their mission to the next generation.
But are memories to be glorified?
I see that they are only remembered as nostalgic friends, even though they disagreed and fought in many ways.
Sometimes I miss them.
“I agree that witches killing each other isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
“I’m getting tired of hiding our magic from humans, because we don’t know what will happen when the ‘mystique’ comes crashing down.”
“It’s more productive to stay together and study magic in peace.”
“Clifford, all those idiots want to do is kill each other.”
In a world of weak logic and chaos, these comrades found peace.
Comrades in arms, united by a single purpose: to create a world for witches.
By day, she travels the world, searching for forgotten lands, seas, and rivers to incorporate into Gehenna.
At night, they would stay up all night debating how to run the city.
“I want to build a theater in the city.”
“If my sister and I performed there, it would always be full, right?”
“Ohhh, that’s tempting. I would visit you often.”
“I thought you liked the sea?”
“Hmph, I’m still thinking about it. Wouldn’t it be strange if Jim, the sea mother, left the kingdom?”
“I’m going to build a great library, and gather all the witches’ knowledge there.”
“I’d love to have a merchant’s council, but aren’t merchants the lifeblood of a city? A city is only as vibrant as its logistics.”
“Then I’ll build a bathhouse. Roman style. I was really impressed when I traveled there.”
At this point, everyone was in unison.
They believed that what Ketter was trying to accomplish was for the good of witches, and they were tired of the struggle.
The tragedy of losing dear friends and lovers in the struggle was not unusual at this time.
As Kether went through the many trials and tribulations of forming the Gate, the great witches, who would later become counts, dukes, and other dignitaries, lent their talents to help in various ways.
Erelim, who excelled in magic, was Kether’s assistant.
It was more of an assistant than a horse, more of a nag, and Erelim found herself watching Kether’s focused form whenever time permitted.
Like all the witches here, Erelim loved Kether.
It wasn’t a pity, or a passionate longing.
Admiration, reverence, respect, loyalty, trust, adulation, friendship.
She couldn’t find a word other than “love” to describe the mixture of feelings.
Kether was a loving mother, a strong sister, a good friend, and a leader of all.
Erelim loved Kether.
She loved her, and she loved Gehenna, the city they had built together.
2.
“The President?”
“Count Kohav. Do you wish to repeat yourself?”
“Ah, yes. Then….”
Yvonne Kohab looked at Erelim with a strange expression, then continued her presentation.
This meeting of all the faculty members of the Truth and Justice Society, including the president, Blanche Erelim, was held once a quarter.
It’s a meeting to handle the affairs of the academy and the city, and to set the direction of the academy’s future operations.
The Qixil Academy of Truth and Truthfulness has already built such a solid foundation that special topics rarely come up.
Who would dare to challenge its authority?
What event would cause the Society to take a backward step?
In normal times, the agenda would be a simple matter of running the Society.
But this meeting was unusually long.
At its center was an agenda that concerned both the Hessian Society and Count Sinciu.
“The growth of the Hesed Society is explosive. It’s living up to its name as a magical university, offering quality instruction at a bargain price, and even though it’s still in the midst of its trial semester, it’s garnering rave reviews. Even newly naturalized exiles are flocking to the Hesed Society for its accepting attitude.”
“Not only that, but we’re on the verge of proving our research capabilities by taking on a big project on the refurbishment of the ‘gate’. The deadline is set for six years, but given the existence of ‘dimensional magic’ among his magnetism, it is assumed that he will show explicit results within half a year at the latest. By explicit achievement, I mean the complete restoration of the door.”
“We are also continuing to improve our relations with the Emerald Tablet side, which has been an indirect check on our progress.”
“I think it’s time for us, the Society of Truth and Truthfulness, to do something about it.”
Outwardly, Duke Erelim shows little emotion.
Even her closest confidante, Yvonne, sometimes couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
An old witch who has lived for over a thousand years is hard to read, even among the transcendent witches.
However, it was known through various circumstances and events that she harbored animosity towards Xin Xiu.
It was a clear hostility that could not be explained by simple envy or jealousy.
Count Kohav was therefore cautious in his reporting.
So were the other department heads.
“…….”
Duchess Erelim is currently the most admired woman in Gehenna.
It’s not blind respect, but a reverence that stems from her immense accomplishments.
Cynthia’s latest major accomplishment pales in comparison to Erelim’s centuries of work.
The response that the deans put together was also aggressive toward the Hesed Society.
Even if they don’t specifically begrudge the Hesed Society or Xiu, they share the stance that “Duke Erelim’s enemies are our enemies”.
“There are several things the academy can do about this. The first is to lower the threshold for full membership in the Society to attract more powerful witches.”
By its very nature, the Society has strict criteria for full membership.
They are also restricted from belonging to more than one organization.
Since the Hesed Society has partnered with the Gunso Society, the latter has been making a big push for transfer, so it’s a way to cut the cord by hitting the players first.
“There are also ways to dry up the funding stream of the Hessian Society by drastically increasing the participation rate of research services, and there are ways to confuse the decision-making by including people who were once distributed voting rights of the Hessian Society.”
The Hesed Society’s slowness to act in the face of its remarkable achievements was not only due to its vertical and conservative decision-making structure.
Even when the Hesed Society was well established, it could mobilize more hands than it ever imagined if it set its mind to it.
The deans gathered here are witches who would gladly follow the cause of Duke Erelim over the betterment of Gehenna as a whole.
“That’s enough.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve heard enough. Thank you.”
Erelim interrupted Count Cohav’s presentation of “101 Ways to George the Hessian Society.
The truth was, she still didn’t understand Kether.
After all, he had been by her side for hundreds of years.
Despite our disagreements, I bent over backwards to do her bidding.
Together, we created and built a city, and when she was no longer able to intervene in the world, I stood silently by.
But why did Kether make that choice?
Why would she leave her inheritance to a man she’d never met and not say a word to the man who was ready to give his all for her?
The answer is still unanswered.
Day after day, I visit the ivory tower, but Kether is nowhere to be found.
The man she shouldn’t have hated, but couldn’t help but hate.
I think of Xinxiu.
The feats he’s achieved, the explosive growth that reminds me of Kether’s past, stir in me a mixture of admiration, jealousy, and resentment.
But.
“We will not be taking any further action against the Hessian Society.”
“What?”
“Let’s move on to the next item on the agenda.”
I caught the puzzled look in the Dean’s eyes and the surprised expression on Yvonne’s face.
That was it.
I didn’t need to understand.
There was no way she was going to like Xinxiu.
But if this was her last hold on her.
If Cynthia taking on Kether’s mark was a choice for the good of the city.
If Cynthia was truly proving her choice.
Set aside your doubts, your pride, your self-righteousness.
It was a final tribute to her friends who had become stars, and to the Kether she once loved most.
