Epilogue Under the same sky

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at my brothers question. “Your asking this now? This is why I did all this, right?”

“Yeah, but this is a huge amount of money, a fortune.” Zachs made a, not exactly disagreeing face, but one that wanted to make sure I won’t regret this.

It was close. I made 6000 Gold in prize money and with what the girls raked in I arrived at 7600 Gold.

(I really have to thank the golden knight and the church by the way. The confiscated all of Sanakia's winnings. Thanks bunches.)

Luckily for me, Cassandra's foray as slaver was quite profitable and she was delighted to donate all her savings, 2600 Gold, to my cause.

Naturally, traveling expenses for a group of five(We did drop of Fisti back at her home village) was nothing to sneeze at and when all was said and done I just barely scrapped the 10.000 Gold coins I needed together.

Which bring us here, to the royal magic academy of Zeth’s capital.

“Safe your breath, Zachs. That head of his is as thick as a Stone Guardian’s.” Beatrice sat on a chair too big for her and dangled her feet back and forth. “Ugh, we are waiting for hours! Femto is currently enjoying a nice vacation in hell’s springs. I wanted to stay with her!”

I sighed, much to my brothers amusement. For some reason, he took a liking to the bratty ex witch right away. “Sorry, but we rather have somebody along that has a clue about magic. In case you haven’t noticed, Zachs and I are as magic as a rock.”

Of course this wasn't the first time I explained this to Beatrice on the journey to Zeth’s capital, but that certainly didn't stop her complaining. And of course, I also had one other reason for bringing her along.

“And I told you, Mr. dense as rock, these guys are ripping you off. If I still had my magic I could perform the location ritual for a tenth of that price! Unfortunately, a certain SOMEONE made sure I can’t do this anymore. Hm, geez! I wonder who is responsible for stripping the mighty witch of miracles of her powers!”

“I wonder who that scoundrel was”, my brother asked with a chuckle. “Have no fear, young Lady, I will bring him to justice without fail.”

Zachs gave her a salute with his walking stick and Beatrice groaned.

Luckily, we where ushered into the office of the headmaster before the annoyed ex witch could chew my ear off completely.

Inside the very fancy office, a magician in extremely luxurious robes awaited us. “Mari Beta! It is an honor to welcome a finalist of the **** Tournament in my humble institute of learning! Welcome, Welcome!”

“Thanks. It is good to see you again, Mr. Alphorne”, I smiled politely.

“I must say, when I first laid eyes on you two years ago, I never dreamed how far you would come.” He laughed boisterously. “You have exceeded my expectations by a tremendous margin! If you were a citizen of this fine Kingdom I would immediately claim you as my ****, buhu, buhu.”

I guess this was meant as a compliment?

“How about a discount?” Zachs suggested as we took our seats in front of his gaudy gold desk. “He would happily write you an autograph. Or a hundred.”

The magician sighed deeply. “Oh, believe me. I would. But there are rules and regulations in place when it comes to matters like this. Is there a bigger villain then bureaucracy, if so I haven’t met them!”

“Riveting. How about you cut the theatrics, Radon?”, Beatrice sharply snapped in. “Just perform that low level cantrip you are oh so proud of so we can get out of this garish place.”

Radon Alphorne did not particularly care to be addressed like this by a girl that could very well be his grand daughter. However it didn't take long for realizations to dawn. “This sharp tongue...the complete lack of any tact, but no! Impossible, you can't be!”

The witch seemingly enjoyed that because she unabashedly cackled. “Yes, it is I, Lady Beatrice, the great witch of miracles. Currently without magic, but I wager I could still do a better job then you!”

“Beatrice? Witch? B-But that isn’t...I mean…”

He stammered like this for a good while, much to my annoyance and Beatrice’s amusement. Finally, the magician gulped and cleared his throat. “M-Mr. Beta. She...Lady To is...your ****?”

Lady To? Well, I suppose I never learned her family name.

“Well, we don’t really have slaves in Helman”, My brother explained. “So, I guess she is more like a pet? Ouch! Don’t bite me! It was a joke! A joke!”

I already regret taking her along. “I take it you two know each other?”

“Uhu, this guy used to be my betrothed”, Beatrice happily announced.

“What! But he is triple your age! At least!”, Zachs blurted out.

“As if such a thing matters when it comes to political marriages”, the witch cackled. “How’s Emi? Does she still have that ponyboy?”

The mage rubbed his chin. “She does actually. As a matter of fact, she just recently won the Zeth Nationals with him.”

“Do we want to know what that is?”, Zachs whispered to me.

No, No, I don’t think we do.

“I used to be her preschool teacher”, the mage explained. “And I even divorced my wife, all so that I could marry her.”Alphorne sniffed before lowering his voice somewhat. “Mr. Beta...I-if you where to...sell her to me, I would cut your fee in half. N-No by two thirds!”

He looked very serious and I suddenly felt very sick. My brother visibly cringed as well. I hope Beatrice can handle this.

“Only two thirds? Are you stupid or something? I’m worth ten times that!”, Beatrice huffed. “Besides, even a fool like you should have realized that Mari would never sell me. I have the poor sap completely wrapped around my finger!”

“If it weren’t for these safety orders...”, I grumbled.

“I..I see, yes of course.” It seems this whole affair has caught Alphorne quite off guard.“Yes, well, then...hm, perhaps we should get to matters at hand? The location ritual.”

“Yes”, I nodded, thankful to finally get to it. “The funds...”

“Indeed, my secretary has already confirmed your liquidity. Everything is in order.” The mage cleared his throat. “Then without further ado I will attempt to locate your sisters mind. I will have to enter your memory for that, so please pardon the intrusion.” He stood up and walked behind us.

Beatrice snorted at that, but Alphorne ignored her and put a palm on Zach’s and my forehead. “You might note a slight tingling sensation as I probe your mind. Please pay it no mind.”

I gulped. It was finally time. The entire tournament. All the hardship I endured, all of it led to this moment.

“Mind Search!”

…

Five seconds of silence passed.

Then, the magician slowly removed his hands, returned equally slowly behind his desk and sat down. “I am sorry to inform you that your sister is no longer with us.”

Another awkward moment of silence followed.

I see.

It was the words I feared.

“H-Hold on!”, my brother spoke up. “That’s it? That’s all we are getting?”

Alphorne gave Zachs a sympathetic smile. “I’m afraid so.”

“Can’t you try again?”

“It wouldn’t change the result. If your sister was still on the continent I would have found her.”

My brother was about to stand up, clutching his walking stick to the point of shaking. “So, she is dead then”, he pressed out.

“That I do not know. But the mind that made up Ceri Beta does no longer occupy our plane of existence. Dead, either of the body or the spirit is indeed very likely, but she could also have slipped through a portal into a different dimension. It is a more common occurrence then one might think”, he mused. “Perhaps there is some comfort in this? I could direct you to some specialist in portal magic, if you wish to pursue this avenue further. We do have an excellent department on the subject. Although I must warn you that the prices...”

“Whelp, That's 10.000 Gold coins down the drain.” Beatrice clapped her hands. “Give my regards to Emi. Shall we go out for dinner? I know an excellent...ah...Mari?”

I silently stood up and left the office.

So, Ceri is well and truly gone, huh? Even if she was still alive, there was no possible way I could ever reach her. In a way I expected this answer.

Before long, I found myself outside the school gates. The inside of the academy was magically sealed so the heath and noise caught me a bit off guard. Of course, that much should have been obvious. Ragnarokarc was a bustling and loud metropolis. In a sense it very much reminded me of Rasheul.

I looked up in the hot Zethenian sky.

When I was little my brother used to comfort me by saying that me and Ceri would both look up at the same sky no matter where we are.

I feel weirdly unmoved by it. So many years had passed since that day, that I wonder if this was ever truly about my sister. Regardless, in a sense this did finally gave me the closure I so long desired.

My quest was finally over.

Lets go home.