Elias Ashcroft died a man who built machines that changed the world—and understood nothing about the people he built them for. Reborn in a rural village with his memories and genius intact, he has one goal and one alone: this time, he'll use his gifts to make his family's life easier. Bamboo water pipes. A heated bathhouse. A purification-stone toilet. For his tired mother, his aching father, his adoring little siblings, these small miracles are enough.
But small miracles don't stay small. The
An Old Soul's New Heart - Promise Under the Rainbow
The morning in the capital city of Langlen carried the scent of rain-washed air.
Puddles remained in the gaps between cobblestones, and thin light filtered through breaks in the gray sky. Elias Ashcroft stood half-hidden behind his father Toma Ashcroft's back, looking up at the crowd gathered in the plaza.
(So many people gathered like this.)
The lord's messenger from Victor Kestrel's castle had arrived after the commotion in Hornberry Village had settled. That day, Elder Bern's lies had been exposed, and Seraphina's protection in the village had been formally recognized. But the root of it all—the one who had orchestrated the attack on Toma and deceived the village—had yet to face judgment.
The "Darius Trading Company," which conducted extensive business in the southern regions. The dagger left behind that night by the ruffians, its hilt bearing their crest. Toma had gripped it tightly and headed to the lord's residence. Some time had passed since then. And today, a formal trial was being held in Langlen's plaza.
In the center of the plaza, a stone platform had been erected. Standing quietly atop it was Victor Kestrel. Draped in a gray overcoat, his arms folded behind his back, his figure radiated an oppressive presence even from a distance.
Below the platform, a single man sat bound with rope, kneeling. His frame was heavyset, but his complexion was ashen, beads of greasy sweat streaming down his forehead. Darius Vein. This was the first time Elias had seen the man's face clearly.
(So this is the man who tried to hurt my family.)
Something cold sank deep in his chest. Even with his habit of processing emotions logically, this sensation refused to be easily dismissed.
"……It's beginning,"
Toma murmured low. His voice carried a tension different from his usual taciturn nature.
Lily Ashcroft fidgeted beside Elias, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Her reddish-brown twin tails swayed gently in the morning breeze.
"Hey, big brother. That guy's totally freaking out, isn't he?"
"Of course he is. The consequences of what he did are standing right in front of him,"
Elias answered flatly, but his thoughts ran differently beneath the surface.
(It was Father who brought this judgment down.)
Days ago, Toma had gripped the dagger with bloodied knuckles and said only, "I'm going to the lord," before leaving the house. It was the first time Elias had ever heard his taciturn father speak with such intensity. From that day until now, Elias could only imagine what thoughts had driven Toma along the road to Langlen. But the result stood before him now.
On the platform, Victor raised one hand. The murmuring crowd fell silent in an instant.
"Witness, come forward,"
A single, brief command. Yet it carried an undeniable weight.
Toma stepped forward slowly. Elias, Lily, and their mother Lianne Ashcroft watched his retreating back. Toma rolled up his sleeves. His arms still bore vivid purple bruises—marks from the beating he'd taken that night at the hands of the ruffians.
"……This is the proof,"
He said only that. Yet gasps echoed throughout the plaza.
"That night, five men broke into my home. They were hired thugs. In front of my wife and children, they beat me and threatened my family,"
Toma's voice did not waver. But Elias noticed his clenched fists had turned white.
"The dagger they left behind bore this company's crest. But that's not all—this man paid several villagers to spread vicious rumors about us,"
Murmurs spread through the plaza.
Then another figure stepped forward. An elderly man with salt-and-pepper hair cut short, his skin weathered by the sun—Doran Haze, the village elder of Hornberry. Even in his age, his frame remained lean and taut from his years as a hunter.
"I have something to say as well,"
The elder looked back and forth between Victor on the platform and the bound Darius.
"This man sent messengers to our village repeatedly, pressing money into the hands of our people. He spread the rumor that 'that family harbors dangerous outsiders,' poisoning the very air of our village. There is no doubt—it was this man,"
"The Ashcroft family helped our village with their water technology. They were our benefactors. And this man tried to destroy them with the power of money—I cannot forgive that,"
The elder's voice reached every corner of the plaza. As Elias listened, he felt warmth spreading through his chest.
(Even he came forward to testify for us.)
Martha's spiteful words, Elder Bern's cold gaze. For these past weeks, the village's atmosphere had been far from kind. Yet behind it all, the elder had been watching the situation unfold.
Darius's face grew paler by the moment. Sweat fell from his forehead in steady drops.
"N-no……! Th-that was just for business! The water rights in the village, through legitimate means——"
"Legitimate means, you say,"
Victor's voice cut through Darius's words like a blade. Low and quiet. Yet that very quietness froze the air of the plaza.
"You hired mercenaries to raid a private home, bought villagers with money to spread rumors. Where, exactly, is the legitimacy in that?"
Darius's throat convulsed. He tried to speak, but no words came.
"You wounded my people in my territory. All for money,"
Victor stood motionless, looking down upon Darius. In his eyes burned something colder than mere anger.
"Darius Vein. I revoke your merchant's license. As of today, you are banished from Kestrel territory. You will never set foot in these lands again,"
The moment the judgment fell, a great roar swept through the plaza.
"W-wait……! I have a family……!"
"And now you speak of the family you tried to destroy?"
At Victor's words, Darius collapsed to the ground. Soldiers seized him by either arm and dragged him away.
Applause erupted in the plaza. Someone shouted, and the sound rippled outward like a wave.
"Well done, Ashcroft family!"
"Those children weren't at fault at all!"
In the midst of the cheers, the people of Hornberry Village who had kept their distance from the Ashcrofts now approached awkwardly. Martha was among them. She bowed deeply before Lianne.
"……I'm sorry, Lianne. I was deceived by that man too,"
"……If you understand now, that's all that matters,"
Lianne smiled gently, tears glistening in her eyes. At the softness of her voice, the tension drained from Martha's shoulders.
Lily thrust both fists into the air and shouted.
"Serves you right!!"
The villagers around her burst out laughing.
"Now, Lily! Try to behave yourself!"
"But he was the worst!"
Laughter broke out across the plaza. The tension that had gripped the air began to ease. Elias watched the scene unfold, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
(So this troublesome farce is finally over.)
That thought had barely formed when Victor descended from the platform and turned his gaze toward Elias. Felix—Victor's aide—whispered something in his ear. Elias sensed the meaning of that look without being told.
"Elias. And you as well, Miss Seraphina. I have something to discuss with you both,"
---
Victor Kestrel's private chambers were quiet. Thick carpet absorbed footsteps, and beyond the window, rain-washed clouds drifted slowly across the sky.
Elias stood beside Seraphina, facing Victor. Seraphina's green hair shimmered like silk in the light filtering through the window. Yet her expression was unusually tense.
"……There's no need to hide it anymore,"
Seraphina murmured softly. Victor sat deep in his chair, regarding them both in silence.
(She's going to tell us something.)
Elias sensed it in the air. For these past weeks, Seraphina had never revealed why she had fallen, or who had been pursuing her. But now, in her eyes, something like resolve had taken shape.
"I came from El Valeen,"
Seraphina began to speak quietly.
"You know of it, don't you? The island floating high in the sky, far above the earth. That is my homeland,"
Elias nodded. He knew of it conceptually—the elven island floating three thousand meters above the ground. On clear days, it appeared as a faint shadow in the sky, or so he'd heard.
"That island is kept aloft by ancient technology—the Zehle Mechanism,"
The Zehle Mechanism. The fusion of magic and machinery, an ancient technological system lost some twelve hundred years ago. Elias had heard of artifacts excavated from ruins, but he'd never known that it sustained a floating island.
"……That mechanism is breaking down,"
Seraphina's voice trembled slightly.
"It has been degrading slowly over centuries. At the current rate, in a few decades——the island will fall,"
Silence fell. Elias turned the weight of those words over in his mind.
(The island will fall in a few decades……)
This was no mere rumor. For those who actually lived there, it was a doomsday clock.
"We have been searching for someone who could repair it. But the knowledge of the Zehle Mechanism on the surface has been almost entirely lost. Even among the elves, there were few who could understand it,"
Seraphina paused. Her jade-green eyes fixed directly on Elias.
"So I came to the surface. It's true that I was being pursued. But more than that——I was searching. For someone who could understand this technology,"
"……When I saw your home's water system,"
Seraphina's voice softened slightly.
"The way you combined bamboo and mana stones to circulate water. It was——remarkably similar to the principles of the Zehle Mechanism. For a human child to arrive at such understanding through self-study alone was impossible,"
"I thought——maybe this child could do it,"
Something stirred quietly in Elias's chest.
(She saw my invention and became certain……?)
He had thought her a girl he'd happened to find. But it was different. From the beginning, she had come with purpose—to this village, to this house.
A flat voice echoed in his mind.
'Master. I will analyze the theoretical framework of the Zehle Mechanism,'
(Aleria……)
'High compatibility is confirmed between the knowledge of my previous existence and the design philosophy of the Zehle Mechanism. Repair is——theoretically possible,'
The moment those words spread through his consciousness, Elias felt his chest grow warm in a way he hadn't anticipated.
(I can……)
In his previous life, no one had needed him. He'd received endless praise. But it was praise for his inventions, not for Elias himself. That lonely life where he could only process his wife's face and his children's voices as data.
(No one was searching for me.)
And yet, now.
Seraphina——seeing Elias's own abilities——had come searching for this boy from far above the sky. It wasn't chance. It was necessity. He had been found.
(I am……needed, aren't I?)
His throat tightened. Elias exhaled quietly, keeping it hidden. But he could feel warmth spreading across his cheeks.
Victor remained seated deep in his chair, silently observing their exchange. Finally, he spoke.
"……An intriguing story,"
Victor's voice carried its usual rational tone.
"If the floating island falls, it will affect the surface as well. I will keep this matter in mind,"
With that, Victor rose and left the room with Felix in tow. Only Elias and Seraphina remained in the private chambers.
---
As they left the castle, a great rainbow arced across the rain-washed sky.
The seven-colored arc stretched gently over the rooftops of Langlen. Elias looked up at it, then glanced at Seraphina's profile beside him.
"……It's beautiful,"
Seraphina murmured softly. The light of the rainbow reflected in her jade-green eyes.
Elias said nothing. But in his mind, the words he'd just heard still swirled.
(The island will fall in a few decades. Maybe I can fix it.)
It should have been a heavy topic. Yet strangely, there was no fear. Rather——something was beginning to burn quietly deep within him.
Seraphina turned toward him. Her hand reached out and gently touched his.
"Elias,"
His name was called. That alone made his chest tremble.
"……
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