The Extra’s Academy Survival Guide - Chapter 287

One can never fully understand another. In the end, the only one able to fully understand you was yourself. You were only able to imagine what it was like because it was you.

It was not difficult for her to imagine what kind of life Lucy Mayreel had lived after Ed passed away. That was why she could roughly guess what kind of life the Lucy of that world had endured.

She imagined it. A world where Ed Rothstaylor died but she survived. Given how her life was entirely for the sake of keeping that man alive, what purpose could she find after he died?

She could ask Lucy, who was crying in her arms, that question. However, it was something she could tell without asking. She hugged Lucy, who was grieving and sniffling. She always had an expressionless look on her face, but seeing heartbreak replace it made her chest sting.

The Lucy of that world had survived, but she never told anyone. Acken Island had slowly turned into hell while she lived in seclusion, never appearing before anyone else. There must have been a good reason. A much more important reason than stopping Yennekar, who was devoured by her grief, and saving those who remain on the island.

Closing her eyes, she thought it over. After all, this was another version of herself. There were enough clues to piece the puzzle together.

“After I decided to turn Acken Island into a sanctuary, I couldn’t find Ed’s body despite searching every corner of the island.”

“You took Ed’s body, didn’t you?”

Yennekar speculated that the Lucy of that world had taken Ed Rothstaylor’s body. It was reasonable as Lucy herself felt that she would have done the same. If she had lost Ed, she would try to get him back.

That was because, even though she knew what was lost was lost, she couldn’t simply dismiss the long relationship she had with him. She may have been able to let Glockt go before, but she couldn’t do that with Ed.

The difference between a mentor-and-student relationship and that of close companions who had lived together… might seem small on the surface, but in truth the two were completely different. Only then did she realize just how much more Ed had come to mean to her than she had thought.

The whole time, the Lucy of that world must have been researching Celestial Magic while preserving Ed’s body. It wasn’t a meaningless goal, either. After all, she already knew someone who had studied Celestial Magic his entire life, who had actually successfully created a resurrection spell.

Professor Glast, who had long since left this world. Lucy had never used that Celestial Magic to save Glockt because he was someone who deeply believed such magic was a sin. Seeing a man like him live so firmly by his ideals, only to violate them by bringing him back, would have been an insult to his name.

However, Ed was different. Without even realizing it, at some point, Ed had become someone who meant more to her than even Glockt did. He didn’t have qualms about such forbidden magic as Glockt did either. He was simply a close companion of Lucy’s who always tried his best to survive. That was why it wasn’t hard to imagine that the Lucy of that world was willing to do whatever it took to bring him back alive.

However, Professor Glast was gone. All of his academic records had burned. Even though Lucy may be a genius in magic, her academic understanding and research of Celestial Magic were no match to that of a professor. So, she must have had to study Celestial Magic from the bottom.

Not only that, but it was also resurrection magic, which was considered taboo. She couldn’t ask anyone for help. It went without saying that researching such magic was a punishable sin. The more people that got involved, the bigger the consequences would become.

That was why Lucy Mayreel would have needed a space where she could study Celestial Magic without being interfered with by anyone else for a long time. Of all the places Yennekar could have made an isolated sanctuary, Acken Island would have been the most ideal location with how isolated it was from the rest of the world.

Lucy closed her eyes as she thought about it. The location… The cave on the west coast, where Glockt’s grave was located, would have been suitable. It was a space that only Lucy and Ed knew. Compared to the actual facilities on campus, there was very little chance she would ever get caught.

There, she would take care of Ed’s body while gathering research materials under the rubble of the destroyed Silvenia Academy. All for the sake of studying Celestial Magic. If she somehow succeeded in reviving Ed, she might go down in history as a forbidden magician and an enemy of the magic world. She might have to hide in the shadows like Zellan for the rest of her life.

But none of that mattered to her.

She was going to take on that burden alone. Writing down the theory of Celestial Magic on hundreds of thousands of sheets of paper, she was willing to accept a future that was purely dedicated to research.

Professor Glast had to spend his entire life to succeed in his Resurrection of the Dead spell. However, Lucy was a genius when it came to understanding magic power, and the speed at which she learned magic theory was also impressive. Even though Glockt was a scholar, there was a chance that Lucy would have succeeded much faster than he was able to.

Regardless… It was clear she would have to dedicate a lot of time. It might just be five or maybe ten years. Of course, the suffering she’s going through would make it feel much longer. Despite Acken Island turning into a living hell as the few people left behind slowly die, she would remain, sitting in that dark cave by the coast with a pencil in hand as she wrote down and developed new theories of Celestial Magic.

The number of papers filled with theories soon began to fill the entire cave. She soon forgot the passage of time…when she suddenly stopped her hand, lowering her head.

She was tired. Lonely. Depressed. In pain. All those years, she focused on the one goal of bringing him back. At some point, all of those emotions built up past her limit. Her emotions overwhelmed her as she felt her tightened fist slowly losing strength… She couldn’t stop the tears that ran down her face.

All those emotions finally exploded one fateful day. Lucy began to understand why she saw something of Zellan in that girl’s sorrowful expression. Amputator Zellan… she looked just like the Lucy who had lost Ed. If she had lost him, she would have been no different from that magician wandering the world with nothing but emptiness inside.

As if intuitively recognizing that, Lucy was afraid to get near Zellan.

She patted her on the back as tears fell down from her eyes, saying, “It must have been hard.”

She couldn’t comfort the Lucy that was in front of her. What she must have gone through in that immeasurable sadness…the only thing Lucy could do was try and sympathize with her pain.

The Lucy of that world was very different from herself. She looked more haggard. All kinds of research scrolls and small books tied with strings were all over her body. Just looking at that, Lucy knew that if she had lost Ed in her own world, it wouldn’t have been much different.

But it must have been much too painful…too much to bear. The Lucy of that world slowly opened her mouth.

She then began to speak in a voice that struggled to gather any strength, saying, “You are who I wanted to be.”

Even if it was nothing more than a hopeless and distant goal. Even if it felt like something that she could never reach… She just wanted to confirm the possibility that it existed. A life where she wasn’t empty on the inside.

Everyone who struggled to survive deserved respect. Life was full of value, which could make every day you survived shine. The Lucy of that world was able to confirm that such a version of her existed out there in the vast world of possibilities.

And there was no saying that she couldn’t achieve that.

Lucy nodded, holding her close. There was no need to say much.

“Yeah.”

One day, all the sadness will come to an end. Even if it seemed much too far away, it would eventually arrive as long as you didn’t stop moving forward. Just like how you chased a butterfly, not worrying about what would happen next, one day that beautiful butterfly would sit right there in both your hands.

Closing her eyes, she imagined it. A day when Ed finally opened his eyes thanks to Lucy’s efforts in researching Celestial Magic. When Ed woke up and saw Lucy, the smile that would be on his face… Lucy would then cry, hugging Ed with tears streaming down her face.

But there was still a lot to do. She still had a long way to go. They would have to release Yennekar from the Time Prison, calm the vengeful Lortel, and find where Velbrok went into hiding to finish it. Since they had already cut off a decent section of his heart, it shouldn’t be too difficult to finish him off. Still, a long and arduous adventure awaited them. However, the two of them would certainly overcome all those hardships ahead of them.

After doing all of that, they could finally leave in search of a new home. Ed, who was officially dead, and Lucy, who committed a taboo. Neither of them would be able to go back to the life they once lived, but none of that mattered.

It didn’t matter whether they went to live together in the Lamelin Mountain Range or off by the Clem Coastline next to the sea. For the two of them, where they lived wasn’t important.

“When that time comes, you will also be able to see just how valuable and worthwhile our life is,” said Lucy, reaffirming her thoughts.

The Lucy of that world might think that such a future was too far away, but one day, she would surely be able to look back at the hardships she endured to realize just how grateful she was to have survived and never given up.

Lucy held her tightly in her arms as she sniffled, ” …It’s time for you to go back.”

The Lucy of that world she wiped away her tears. However, Lucy didn’t have the magic power to go back even though she wanted to. She had spent it all defeating Yennekar. It would take at least a few more years to recover.

However, the Lucy of that world stayed silent as she slowly took out the Phoenix Ring from her pocket.

“Th-that’s…”

Glast’s Golden Phoenix Ring was destroyed when Lucy borrowed more magic power than it could handle to defeat the Great Sage Silvenia. However, in that world, the phoenix ring remained intact. It was only then that Lucy remembered that Silvenia had never intervened in that world. That meant nothing had happened to the ring. It was simply a keepsake of Ed’s.

The magic power that exuded from the Phoenix Ring… Gathering an enormous amount of Celestial Magic Power, the Lucy of that world slowly passed it onto Lucy. Lucy was in disbelief… She looked up as she carefully listened.

“There isn’t enough magic power. If you don’t concentrate…you might not be able to return to the world you want. Which is why…you can’t get distracted now.”

“…What?”

“I’m happy I was able to meet you. I feel relieved knowing that you exist. Being able to confirm that there is a possibility where I can live such a life…” The Lucy of this world wiped away her tears as she spoke with her teeth clenched. “Now, you must go back to where Ed is looking for you.”

The Lucy of that world had a determined look on her face as she continued to explain, saying “When you return to the flow of different worlds and possibilities, concentrate on finding Ed Rothstaylor’s Magic Power.”

In a space where hundreds of thousands of different possibilities branched out, Ed was still wandering, searching for her. Lucy needed to grab his hand no matter what.

“He is still searching for you, so you have to leave before it’s too late.”

“What about you?”

“I have a lot I need to do. I’m going to be busy.”

The Lucy of this world spoke with a smile on her face. Lucy was someone who rarely ever smiled. Seeing her smile in front of herself was strange.

“Thank you for staying alive.”

After saying that, Lucy’s body felt as if it was floating. The Celestial Magic Power that wrapped around her body was much more powerful than she knew.