Chapter 140

“An egg?”

Aint carefully picked it up.

Was this really a Saintbird egg?

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a Saintbird.”

— To be precise, it’s an egg. Even so, I understand why the First Emperor left this behind.

An adult Saintbird was a colossal creature, easily over five meters tall.

Its back was wide enough to carry a human, and the First Emperor used to ride one.

That’s why the Saintbird became the symbol of House Armian.

“But is this really okay? It’s been nearly a thousand years. Shouldn’t it be dead hundreds of times over by now?”

A thousand years was too long.

Even for a Saintbird, which lived for hundreds of years, it should have died of old age several times over by now.

Even if it had been preserved by magic, it was hard to believe it could still be alive after so long.

This wasn’t a simple object—it was a living being.

“…It’s warm.”

For some reason, Aint could feel warmth from the egg.

— Could it really be possible, even if the First Emperor used some method?

— Check the box.

Inside were countless engraved magic circles.

Neither Gardner nor Aint, both being swordsmen, could understand what they meant.

“If I knew what these meant, I could figure out the egg’s condition… but like this, I’ve got no idea.”

— Take it to Fernan.

“To Fernan, the Senior?”

— Yes. This is too big to tell just anyone, but Fernan is different. He might expect something in return, but he’s the one who gave you this box and has helped you many times.

— Most of all, remember it was Fernan who gave you the Saintbird’s heart.

He had the most, and for that very reason, he could examine the egg without greed.

— He’s the one who best understands your value.

“True.”

Aint took the egg and box to Fernan.

“So this is the chest, and this is what was inside?”

“Yes.”

It was already evening, but despite being busy with guild matters, Fernan received him privately.

“…Incredible.”

Seeing the engravings and inner circles, Fernan couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Is it really that amazing? I don’t really get it…”

“There’s a magic stone embedded inside this box. That stone absorbs mana from the surroundings and turns the box into a semi-permanent container.”

To Rosalia, this would be an irresistible treasure—the pinnacle of all her research.

‘This isn’t like magic lamps.’

Magic lamps only absorbed mana to produce light—a simple and low-efficiency mechanism.

This, on the other hand, was on a completely different level.

‘Did something like this exist a thousand years ago and get lost?’

If so, there should be records—but he had never seen anything like it.

‘Or was it something only the First Emperor could make?’

Maybe he deliberately kept it hidden.

‘That’s something to figure out later…’

Fernan examined it thoroughly and finally understood.

“This is a high-level freezing magic circle.”

“Freezing?”

“Yes. The level is so advanced that even I don’t understand half of it. But most likely, when the lid closed, the egg was frozen.”

“Frozen…?”

“In ancient research, there were attempts to preserve living creatures in hibernation through magical freezing. Many survived intact even after centuries. This is probably the same.”

Fernan continued analyzing.

“There’s also a magic circle to thaw the egg. The catalyst is blood—probably Armian blood. Tell me, are you okay?”

“Eh?”

“To meet the conditions, a few drops wouldn’t be enough—you must’ve needed a lot of blood.”

“That’s why it took me so long to open it. Yeah, it needed a lot.”

Aint scratched his neck, smiling awkwardly.

“In conclusion, this egg was placed into hibernation to be given to you. But even with extraordinary magic, there’s no guarantee it’s still alive after a thousand years.”

Fernan placed both hands on the egg and closed his eyes.

He channeled mana into it, but the shell rejected it.

‘Is it repelling me?’

Of course—it was a Saintbird.

Intrigued, he controlled the mana flow more precisely.

As he projected it onto the shell—

Crack—

The egg split in two.

From within, the head of a white bird emerged, locking eyes with Fernan.

“……”

Piiiiiiiiiiiiii—

Crash!

The screech echoed as the office windows shattered into pieces.

***

“……”

Fernan was dumbfounded.

Pipipipi—

He never imagined it would actually hatch after a thousand years.

Nor that, upon doing so, it would follow him everywhere.

The first thing the creature did was perch on his shoulder and rub against his cheek.

When he returned it to Aint, it flapped its wings and flew right back to Fernan.

If Fernan moved, it followed.

“…I didn’t cause this.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Aint was also surprised.

The idea of being able to raise a Saintbird had made him happy—but the white bird paid him no attention. It only sought Fernan.

Piiiiiiiiiiii!

If they tried to forcibly separate it, it screeched until the windows shattered.

“…There’s no helping it. I’ll look for a solution and come back later.”

“…It’s not like I’m trying to keep it.”

“I know. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Aint left, resigned.

— Is this the effect of Saintbird imprinting?

— I can’t blame Fernan, but it’s annoying.

“Totally.”

— What a waste, what a waste!

That’s how Gardner felt—and so did Aint.

This wasn’t just any creature—a Saintbird, a legendary beast on par with a phoenix.

Losing it like this turned his stomach.

If it hadn’t been Fernan—and if it hadn’t been such an inevitable accident—Aint might’ve let out the first brutal curse of his life.

— Let’s resign ourselves. Leave it in Fernan’s hands, and we’ll think about how to reclaim it later.

“What if we never can?”

— Then think of it as payment. Fernan gave you the Saintbird’s heart and handed you that box.

That thought gave him some comfort.

He had lost the Saintbird—but in return, he had its heart.

“Still, it’s so frustrating! I wanted to fly a Saintbird like the First Emperor!”

— So did I! Damn First Emperor! If you were going to leave this behind, you should’ve told me!

For the first time since he’d known him, Aint heard Gardner curse the Emperor.

***

“May a bag of gold coins fall on me from the sky…”

“Pii?”

— Kyu?

The bird and the golem stared at each other across the table, tilting their heads curiously.

It was a rather confusing situation—the box had contained an egg, which had hatched just fine after a thousand years, and above all, that it had imprinted on Fernan the moment it was opened.

“Is this what they call the imprinting effect or something?”

Aint had heard that birds, upon hatching, regarded the first creature they saw as their parent.

They said it wasn’t a universal rule, but—

“Pii!”

Apparently, Saintbirds fell into the category where it was.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be clinging to him just for making eye contact when it was born.

“…I hope it doesn’t hold a grudge against me for this.”

Fortunately, Aint wasn’t the type to forget what he’d been given and only think about what had been taken.

“But, what am I supposed to do with this thing?”

It wouldn’t leave him alone for a second, and even if he brought it along, it wasn’t just any bird.

With its two pairs of wings, anyone would recognize it as a Saintbird.

“This really is a problem…”

At that moment, Wooden thumped his chest firmly.

“You want to take care of it?”

— Kyu.

— Kyu, kyu, kyuuu, kyu.

Wooden made a series of sounds, and the Saintbird looked as if it were about to cry.

— Kyuuu…

But in the end, when Wooden shook his head firmly and looked at Fernan, the Saintbird nodded in resignation.

Its serious expression seemed to say it would be hard, but it would endure it.

‘…Could it be that, as a spirit, he can communicate with a magical beast?’

Whatever the case, it was a relief.

“Then, Wooden, take care of this little one. Don’t leave this room under any circumstances.”

— Kyu.

Before leaving, Fernan activated the protective magic circle in his office.

It was a defense spell that prevented anyone from entering except himself; he had installed it to prevent intrusions, but now it served the opposite purpose.

With everything ready, Fernan headed to the professors’ tower.

“What is it now?”

After a while, Professor Rosalia entered his office, while Fernan waited sipping coffee.

“Seems like you were busy.”

“I was researching something. What do you want?”

“I brought a gift I’m sure you’ll like.”

“A gift?”

“This.”

It was the box that had held the Saintbird egg, with the semi-permanent magic stone embedded and the complex engraved magic circles.

“…This…”

Professor Rosalia immediately recognized its value.

“Where did you get this?”

“I stumbled upon it and thought it might be useful to you. Both the freezing circle and the semi-permanent magic stone.”

“Stumbled upon it? And you expect me to believe that?”

“It actually belonged to Aint.”

“…Was something like a semi-permanent magic stone already developed? At such a high level…?”

Rosalia fell silent for a long while—perhaps because this meant her years of research had only been following in someone else’s footsteps.

“Are you okay?”

“There’s no reason not to be. In all my years of study, I’ve never seen a record of this magic being completed.”

If it had been used a thousand years ago and then lost, it was almost as if it had never existed.

“Besides, this method is a bit different from the path I was pursuing.”

“Which is exactly why I thought it might help you, professor.”

“And how did you know what it was?”

“I’m first in theoretical studies, aren’t I?”

Fernan said it calmly.

Maybe his combat skills weren’t worthy of first place, but in knowledge and written exams, he was ahead of everyone.

“The freezing circle is on a level that even surpasses mine. Whoever made it was definitely a great mage.”

If it had been someone who fought demons alongside the First Emperor, it was only natural they had that level.

“I’ll have to investigate it more thoroughly, but I’ll gladly accept it.”

“Consider it a gift from your investor. Use it well.”

Fernan smiled calmly.

After all, nothing was more satisfying than earning favor using someone else’s resources.

“Before you go, give me some cigarettes.”

“You already finished them all?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“I say that because I’m about to smoke more than ever.”

Rosalia’s eyes gleamed with that research-driven greed unique to mages as she stared at the box.

***

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, a month had gone by since the start of the new semester.

That meant the moment foretold in the prophecy book was approaching.

Aint, Luina, Aria, and Verian had already been warned about possible emergencies.

Fernan, too, had thoroughly prepared, with plenty of holy water stored in his subspace.

The Mercenary King had agreed to the commission, and the troops stationed at the black stone mine were ready to march south the moment they received the order.

“All that’s left is for Flauros to descend.”

“You say that like you’re hoping the demon appears.”

“No way. No one wants it not to appear more than I do.”

However—

No message came from Frazia.