"A reincarnated person..."
"Am I wrong?"
"...How did you know?"
The person before him—Leonard Gascoigne—seemed thoroughly convinced that Rest was a reincarnated person.
There was no point in trying to obscure things any further.
(Besides... Leonard Gascoigne is the man who serves as Chairman of the Council of Sages...)
He had introduced himself as such—Leonard Gascoigne, also known as the "Heavenly Emperor."
Like Verroid Hahn, the head of the academy where Rest was nominally enrolled, he was a member of the Council of Sages.
He was hailed as the greatest magician in the world.
(No way... is it really him? He looks incredibly young, though...)
He couldn't tell the person's age.
If someone said he was a young man, he could see it. If told he was a middle-aged man past fifty, that felt plausible too.
But if this was the real Leonard Gascoigne, he should be well past seventy.
(This is a world where magic exists, so tidying up one's appearance can't be that hard, right? In fact, there are surely members of the Council of Sages over a hundred years old...)
"So, you really are a reincarnated person... These incredible marks of destruction were your doing as well?"
Gascoigne looked down at the blast crater left by God of Flame Genesis.
Surveying the remnants of a wetland that could make one believe a nuclear missile had been launched into it, he let out a sigh.
"This level of destruction... it must require truly immense power. Arrow of Indra, perhaps, or the Sword of Surtr. The Spear of Odin and the Fang of Quetzalcoatl already exist, so those are out of the question..."
Gascoigne rubbed his chin, muttering to himself in a low murmur.
"Now then... what to do about this. It depends on which side you're on, but... perhaps I should just kill you right here?"
"............!"
Rest tensed at Gascoigne's words.
He had no idea what the man in front of him was talking about... but if he was an enemy, he had no choice but to fight.
"Hm? That mana... after causing this level of destruction, you still have that much power left... Could it be that the ability you possess is the 'Ring of Ouroboros'?"
"...What are you talking about?"
"A troublesome ability to wield. Are you managing to make full use of infinite mana that's more often a burden than a blessing? If so... then killing you here would be a bit of a waste, wouldn't it...?"
In front of the wary Rest, Gascoigne continued to ponder.
Maybe he should just attack first... As Rest was wrestling with the thought, Gascoigne nodded with a "Very well."
"Boy, I'll put your sentencing on hold for now. From the looks of it, it hasn't even been twenty years since you reincarnated into this world... This isn't the stage to draw any conclusions yet."
"That's why — what are you even talking about...?"
"Ah, yes, indeed. It's still too early. Whether the ripe fruit falls to the ground, becomes food for the birds, or takes on another form entirely... Now is not the time to give that answer."
Gascoigne ignored Rest's confusion and looked around with a sigh.
And then... he vanished in an instant.
"Wa—!"
"I declare this... the use of this magic against humans is hereby forbidden. Should you break this vow, I will deem you an enemy of the human world and eliminate you with my full power."
"Nn—!?"
Those words were whispered from behind, right at his ear.
Rest spun around in a panic, catching a fleeting glimpse of Gascoigne's figure... which immediately disappeared.
"I've made you a promise, boy. Don't you dare become a fallen fruit."
Once again, Gascoigne appeared before him.
He must have used teleportation magic... but Rest couldn't sense the casting of any spell at all.
From the man standing before him, he still couldn't feel any kind of power.
It was as though he were talking to a ghost.
"Don't tell me — you too are a reincarnated person..."
"Then, farewell."
With those words unilaterally tossed aside, Gascoigne vanished.
This time, he disappeared from the area completely.
"What on earth... was that man..."
It was far too selfish, and far too enigmatic an encounter.
Rest, still unable to make sense of any of it, stared blankly up at the sky.