Volume 6 Chapter 12-2 The Truth is What Grandpa Always Said
"If Charl had left that magic book... this wording is undoubtedly a hint."
Ellie stood up, shaking her head and looking over the lined coffins.
"The hint has been here from the beginning..."
Touching a nearby coffin, Ellie began to speak about why there were burial goods resembling sacrificial offerings for her own grave.
Of course, it served as a medium for necromancy, but still, there was no need to prepare a coffin.
"The coffin... the stone sarcophagus signifies the beginning for me and Charl."
A small island far east from the royal capital.
The two who grew there became known as great magicians.
It seems to be a famous success story in Ellie's time, but still, no one knew their childhood.
In contrast to ordinary girl Ellie, Charlotte was an orphan who lost her parents.
The small church on the island was where Charlotte made her hideaway.
The empty stone sarcophagus in the chapel must have been a splendid bed for young Charlotte.
"I was concerned about Charl. That's how I first spoke to her."
Ellie took Charlotte's hand, and the two young girls experienced many things together.
Of course, the opposite was true as well...
Only Ellie was always by Charlotte's side, and only Charlotte was always by Ellie's side.
As the two grew up and it was discovered they possessed immense magical power, suddenly more people surrounded them.
Unlike sociable Charlotte, shy Ellie eventually found herself outside the circle...
To escape the noisy surroundings, Ellie often visited the stone sarcophagus that served as her bed.
Folding herself into the solitary stone sarcophagus, Ellie could be freed from the outside world and be alone.
Thus, whenever Ellie spent time in the sarcophagus, Charlotte would always come to pick her up.
Ellie rescued Charlotte, who was once alone, and now Charlotte rescued Ellie, who was alone.
For both of them, that church's sarcophagus was a symbol of their bond and a fresh start.
"Even though your positions have changed since childhood, your friendship remained unchanged..."
As Cecilia murmured this, Ellie smiled and said, "I am grateful."
"So, what about 'the beginning...'"
"It's about the stone sarcophagus. And if they hide here──"
"Will Lady Charlotte come to get me?"
Unbelievable.
Randy, with a look of disbelief, heard Ellie nod uncertainly, "Perhaps."
(Is it possible? After such a large-scale seal has been placed, for Ellie to simply enter the sarcophagus...)
Randy pondered, but immediately grasped how difficult what he had just *considered* was.
"So, it means it's dependent on Ellie's soul..."
"That seems to be the case."
Ellie nodded, but the conditions were so challenging it felt like a joke.
It required someone capable of calming Ellie's turbulent soul and accepting it, to reach here and lie down in the sarcophagus.
(Indeed, Ellie's soul itself is sealed at the shrine...)
As Randy thought that far, he noticed that the seal on Ellie's body was quite relaxed.
No matter how much time had passed, the seals placed ostentatiously at several shrines would not be undone by the ancient king.
"Why──"
Ellie shook her head in response to Randy's outburst.
"That's the opposite. *Normally*..."
What Ellie explained was that one must prepare the vessel, the body for the soul, and only then could the soul be released.
Otherwise, there was a risk that the runaway soul could fly away to who knows where.
It's said that in the worst case, it might even lead to the soul's passing.
"That's why I must have made it ostentatiously a simple barrier. To ensure no one could approach. And..."
"The seal on the body cannot be undone; it was a bluffing challenge thrown down."
Randy groaned at such a cunning move.
"But still, with that method, Ellie's soul and body will be──"
"I think Lady Charlotte believed."
Liz, who had appeared unexpectedly, smiled.
"I believe Lady Charlotte had faith in Ellie. That she could overcome her negative emotions and... that someone would surely appear to help Ellie."
Liz, glancing around at everyone present, bit her lip, thinking, "No matter how much time has passed."
"Well then, I've got to meet those expectations."
Everyone nodded at Randy who clapped his hands loudly, each starting to choose a coffin.
"Lady Eleonora is in the center, isn't she?"
"Then I'll be right next to her."
"Then I'll take the opposite side."
"Saintly Lady, that emotionally belongs to Lady Elizabeth, you know."
In the bizarre situation where everyone somehow fit into the coffins, Ellie returned and furrowed her brow, asking, "Why?"
"Why, you ask..."
Everyone exchanged glances, directing looks at Randy as if to say, "You tell her."
"There are so many coffins here. Besides, it's a *funeral*, right? We believed that *many people would help you*."
With a smile, Randy pointed at a coffin, listing the names of those who had been involved with Ellie one by one.
Soon, what seemed like countless coffins were quickly filled...
"Ah, Wayne got left out."
Everyone smiled at Randy's grin, saying, "What a shame."
"...Seriously... you fools."
With her head down and shoulders shaking, Ellie stepped into the coffin in the center, saying, "L-Let's hurry up and go."
"Wait, wait. If you lie down, there's a chance it might fly somewhere. We go first."
At Randy's words, everyone hurried, lying down in the coffins they had chosen.
"I can't fit in this big one."
"Shut it. Just bend your knees."
"Wouldn't it be better to just chop off your head? It would be quieter."
"That's too cruel. Let's keep it to the legs."
"Well, if you're not big, you're not Sir Randolph."
Surrounded by her noisy comrades, Ellie smiled despite their chatter, settling her body into the coffin.
Just like back then... no, what was different from back then was the fact that, even when she entered the coffin, her lively companions refused to leave her alone.
That day, and the next day, Charlotte hadn't left Ellie alone.
Now, instead of her, it was Randy and the others who wouldn't let Ellie be alone.
"Everyone..."
The moment Ellie muttered that, a huge magic circle appeared on the ground, illuminating the entire room.
When the magic circle enveloped the room, there was nothing left in the coffin when the light subsided.
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