Chapter 2 — 봄의 안배
Part 2, Episode 3
Spring’s Arrangement
A man presumed to be “Spring” approached Elric with a gentle smile.
Elric recalled what he knew of “Spring.”
He’d already combed through every family record in his investigations.
And the Spring he had seen in his dreams could be summed up in a single word.
Pacifist.
A man whose warmth and manner suited the name “Spring” perfectly.
Even the other Four Seasons had left a note asking, “How does someone like that survive this brutal world?”
Of course, Elric hadn’t believed those accounts.
No matter how warm and mild his temperament, in the end…
Because he’s a Merbinger.
Elric widened his eyes and braced himself, determined not to be fooled by that warm smile.
Spring, seeing this, chuckled amiably and said to Elric,
“No need to be so tense. Do I look like I’m about to do something to you?”
Elric’s mouth itched to answer, “Yes,” right away.
But he held it in—for whatever arrangement lay ahead.
“You are...?”
“Arseus Merbinger. Most call me Spring. Distant descendant—just as expected, you’ve made it here. I truly wanted to meet you.”
Seeing Arseus—“Spring”—smiling so brightly, Elric remembered the first time he met Otto Han.
Back then he’d radiated an overwhelming presence too…
He couldn’t tell how vast the gap was between Otto Han and Arseus.
But even compared to that time, this Season still loomed like a giant.
I still have a long way to go.
He’d thought he’d grown a great deal, yet he still felt lacking.
“More than that—when you say you wanted to see me...?”
“The Founder once said it. That after you went through Otto—that brat—you’d come straight to me.”
Arseus spoke while staring off, as if lost in reminiscence.
Brat...?
Elric’s expression turned a touch odd.
The Otto Han he knew was a middle-aged man with glasses and a bushy beard.
Hearing Arseus treat that Otto like a child felt strange.
From Arseus’s point of view, though, it was natural.
He was known to have died or retired long before Otto became head of house.
The exact circumstances were unknown.
But from that, Elric could at least infer that Arseus predated Otto by quite a margin.
And there was another reason his expression had turned odd.
“The Founder talked about me?”
That the Founder had peered into his distant future and even mentioned him to Arseus.
So the whole arrangement... the Founder is involved after all.
What had been a hazy suspicion was now truth.
“Yes. He didn’t go into detail, but he mentioned you now and then.”
“Can I know what he said?”
“Hmm. Sorry, but I can’t tell you the details. Even when I asked the Founder about you, he wouldn’t answer.”
Arseus apologized as if he truly regretted it, the way one would soothe a child.
That demeanor shook Elric.
Hmm... He really does seem as gentle as the records say... Was I too on edge before an ancestor?
He felt a little sorry for having been so wary of someone like this.
“More importantly, tell me—how was the test that Otto brat left you?”
Seeing Arseus’s warmth, Elric thought this must be what it’d feel like if his grandfather were still alive.
“When I first met Sir Otto Han, he was in the guise of an elderly gentleman.”
So Elric began chatting merrily about what had happened with Otto Han, like a grandson telling stories to his grandfather.
As he talked, his tension unwound on its own.
Before long the two looked like a grandparent and grandchild reunited across time—or, judging by appearances alone, an uncle and nephew.
“I see. But unlike that Otto brat, I don’t intend to make my test meander. I don’t even have the mana left for that. There will be exactly one try.”
Remembering how he’d died and come back multiple times during Otto Han’s test, Elric brightened at the words “exactly one.”
Knew it...! There’s a reason Spring is called Spring.
He felt all the more apologetic for having been wary of Arseus because of what he’d suffered under Otto.
Buoyed with excitement, Elric asked about the test.
“What’s the test?”
“Before that, a brief homily on Spring. Do you know what the season called Winter signifies?”
Elric felt the question was anything but light.
This must be part of the test, too.
He didn’t answer rashly, but thought it through.
He recalled what had happened with Otto Han, the Winter: Chapter 6 he’d gained there, and the various Authorities.
The calamity that brings drought and bad harvest, that means starvation and massacre: the north wind.
Snow that piles without end and resets all to blank; the cold that robs all life: sleet and killing frost.
Plum blossoms in snow. Absolute Zero...
All of these pointed to two things.
“Cold and death. That is what the season of Winter signifies.”
Arseus smiled, pleased with the answer.
“Yes, you seem to know. Right, death. The season when all living things are bleached white and fall asleep. Then what is Spring?”
“Buds awaken and leaves grow—so, a season of conception?”
“Bingo. Then what’s needed to cross from Winter to Spring?”
Elric suddenly snapped to attention.
For some reason, the cozy smile on Arseus’s face reeked of Merbinger.
“...I’m not sure?”
“You have to die and come back.”
Still that gentle smile.
Yet a chill that hit like a blade.
Caught off guard, Elric recoiled from that smile and shouted,
“Fuck! What are you pulling this time!”
He tried to spring away, but it was already too late.
Light flared at Arseus’s fingertips, and the halo of it swallowed Elric.
* * *
When Elric opened his eyes again, he was in a field befitting Spring.
A peach-blossom paradise with a soft breeze and warm sunlight.
But the unease only deepened.
These... all artificial.
Everything he could see—even the sun.
Compared to Otto Han’s test, this was crude to the point of embarrassment.
Even if it was a mindscape—nearly a world unto itself—you could excuse it, perhaps.
But absolutely not here.
Because—
a Merbinger’s arrangement would never be this slapdash.
Grind—
Elric ground his teeth and yelled,
“Damn it. I should’ve known the moment he played nice! Aaargh—!”
He had to scream just to vent how badly he’d been duped.
“You fool. What were you trusting, in a bastard even the demonfolk call a devil.”
[Urgh!]
Even with Mephisto mocking him with those crescent-moon eyes, Elric had no retort.
There was a reason the other Seasons hadn’t treated Arseus lightly just because he was gentle.
If you’d seen how Arseus acted toward the demonfolk, you never would.
That Spring who massacred the demonfolk—that was his true face...!
In the end, Merbinger gonna Merbinger.
But what the hell does he want me to do?
Die and come back.
Suspicious as hell.
Don’t tell me he wants me to kill myself?
He’d said there was only one chance.
If that chance was suicide...
As unease crept up—
shadows began to climb the hill one by one, taking human form.
Each one looked exactly like Elric.
“Doppelgängers...?”
Roughly twenty of them.
The moment they confirmed each other’s faces, they grimaced and unleashed spells at one another.
“【Freeze】.”
“【Break, and break again】.”
“【Bind】.”
“【Blow through】.”
All of them were the same Winter magics.
“...Don’t tell me ‘die and come back’ means kill the other mes?”
Elric watched the melee with a dumbfounded look.
“Ah, for—dammit.”
But soon he became a target too, and all he could do was sprint, cursing, as icy clouds and frozen spikes crashed down over his head.
* * *
Meanwhile.
Blue Lion Herman, Isabel, and the Six Blue Hawks were arriving in the eastern region.
With the Blue Lion clan bringing their entire families, the place bustled with people.
“So this is Red Lion Keep.”
“Just as we heard, it’s well run. Fitting for the shield that guards the border.”
They had come here to relocate their base at Elric’s recommendation.
Trusting Elric, they’d decided to vacate Blue Lion Castle near the capital and move entirely to the east.
Thanks to that, Red Lion Keep was lively with rare guests.
“You’ve had a long journey.”
It was Andre of the Red Lions approaching Herman.
“Not at all. We’re grateful for the warm welcome.”
After greeting Herman, Andre also addressed a man hidden among the Blue Lions.
“You too—welcome.”
The man lifted his hood just enough to show his face and nodded without a word.
It was Batu.
Batu, whose mind had been cleansed of dragon-blood erosion, now bearing a more tempered strength.
Andre noticed and gave him a faint smile, then turned back to Herman.
“I heard your lord was briefly waylaid.”
“He told us to go ahead. He’ll join us shortly. Seems he had to settle matters with Neresta.”
Herman nodded as he spoke, though a faint discomfort pricked at him.
Elric was now both his lord and his future son-in-law.
But what nagged at him was Tasha, who clung to Elric’s side.
Isabel isn’t saying anything; I’ve no right to, either.
If the person involved is fine with it, what can you do?
Of course, as a future father-in-law he could say a word to his son-in-law...
He’s hardly got the leisure to fool around just because we’re away—and even if he did, he isn’t that kind of man.
Knowing Elric’s situation, Herman could let the discomfort pass.
In truth, even after the triumph and investiture ceremonies, Elric had so much work piled up he’d been handling it in a carriage.
Relocating the family seat.
Merging the eastern borderlands with the mountain tribes’ territory.
And pioneering new lands besides.
Of course... he’d delegated a great many of those to Herman.
“-Lord Blue Lion, you were a merchant, weren’t you? You’ll be far better than me at building up a domain.”
With flattery like that, he’d basically dumped the workload on Herman.
It was irksome, being worked by a son-in-law already.
But what can you do—he’s also your lord-to-be.
“Haa...”
He sighed at the stacked tasks, yet part of him was excited.
The east, under the mountain tribes’ sway, had seen less development.
Which meant plenty of mines, and ample rainforest—good for cultivation, too.
And with war pushing refugees from parts of the imperial heartland, population wouldn’t be a problem for a while.
Just come back safe. Isabel and I will manage and tend this place somehow.
Herman looked at Isabel, her face full of worry for someone.
She was gently caressing her belly.
And this will be the home my grandson will soon live in. We’ll make it worthy.
The Talent-Devouring Mage