Rasmus knelt before the Progenitor, bowing his head in respect.
“I am your descendant, but I did not revive you.”
“Oh, is that so? Nevertheless, I’m glad to meet you. By my senses, it’s been about five hundred years. My bloodline is still alive… oh, no, that’s not right. You’re being kept alive, aren’t you? I couldn’t do that for various reasons, but I see. So, my blood is indeed fading.”
Progenitor Yuna Miharasaki, without being taught anything, was quickly gathering and grasping information on her own.
“Now then, I wanted to meet the human who revived me… oh, it seems they’ve arrived.”
As Yuna spoke, a figure walked towards the Alway Ducal Family. It was Cassandra Hagedorff. It seemed Crysta Oken was not present; she was alone.
“…Cassandra.”
Rasmus muttered her name softly, and Cassandra smiled. She then stood before the Progenitor, gracefully gathered the hem of her dress, and bowed.
“I am Cassandra Hagedorff. it was I who revived you.”
“Yes, thank you. You seem to have prepared a wonderful vessel. However, your power was forcefully sealed and then forcefully released. There are distortions in the body… there, there… okay, that’s better.”
“Um, Progenitor… what are you doing now?”
“What am I doing? I’m fixing the flow of magic power and various other things. There were distortions throughout your body. If I can’t do this much, I can’t survive a war.”
Cassandra was speechless. Fixing the distortions in the flow of magic power within one’s body was impossible with modern magic. No, that was beside the point. The Progenitor was inhabiting Olivier’s body, someone else’s body, and the fact that she could do such a thing despite not being the original owner was nothing short of astonishing.
“It’s a truly excellent body. The magic power, the potential… your Stamia isn’t what it used to be, and it’s not as strong as mine was in life, but it’s a comparable physique. You said your name was Cassandra, right? I thank you again.”
“Your words are too kind.”
“…Oh my, you have the blood of my descendant and a priestess flowing through you. Furthermore, you’ve inherited some of my power from when I was alive. It’s a shame I can’t reclaim it.”
“You can’t reclaim it?”
“Of course not. I would if I could, but it’s not mine anymore. Now then. Cassandra, let me ask you.”
“W-what is it?”
Progenitor Yuna faced the Duke and asked.
“You must have had a reason for reviving me. In this era, there are no signs of demi-humans. There seems to be no war either. Yet, you revived me. I assumed there was a considerable reason, but am I mistaken?”
“You are correct. I am a descendant of Yuugiri, the priestess who served you, Progenitor. We have a lifelong wish passed down through generations.”
“Yuugiri… that child, I remember her well. I see, you are her descendant. How nostalgic. Now, tell me what that wish is.”
Cassandra straightened her posture, looked directly at the Progenitor, and declared with her chest puffed out.
“One was the revival of Progenitor Yuna Miharasaki. That has now been fulfilled. The other is to return you, Progenitor, to your original world.”
“…Hoh. You intend to send me back to Earth?”
With an intrigued expression, the Progenitor reached out and touched Cassandra’s chin.
“What is the method?”
“It is already prepared. As long as you, Progenitor, are here, we can send you back to your homeland immediately.”
“That’s a wonderful offer. I’m very happy that Yuugiri’s descendant is thinking of me like this. However, that’s impossible.”
“Why not!?”
The Progenitor shook her head at the Duke, who raised his voice in clear disagreement.
“Do you think I didn’t try anything during my lifetime? I have attempted every summoning and transfer magic, past and present, in this world. I would have used anything to return. But it was impossible. And now, I don’t believe it can be achieved in this modern era where magic has regressed. More than anything, I can’t return in this body.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“…Ah, so that’s it… I seem to have misled you by appearing this way.”
Saying that, the Progenitor snapped her fingers. In an instant, her form changed, becoming that of Olivier, the body’s owner.
“Olivier… why?”
“You did indeed revive me. But, it’s just my soul inhabiting this body; it hasn’t become my original self. What I’ve shown you until now was an illusion. I was merely projecting my past self.”
Creaking, the strength in Cassandra’s chin increased as the Progenitor’s fingers tightened their grip. From a mere touch, it had become a firm grasp. While there was no pain, it was strangely terrifying.
“Besides, do you know how many centuries it’s been since I came to this world? Even if I returned to a world where no one I know exists, wouldn’t I just feel a sense of emptiness!”
“B-but…”
“Even if, even if! If I could return to Earth, transcending the very concept of time, wouldn’t my mom not recognize me if I were in someone else’s body!”
