Chapter 144 - Chapter 143: What Must Be Protected
The 2nd Month of Wind, the 1st Week, Tuesday.
The harsh lingering heat of the previous month, the 1st Month of Wind, where people said things like "Zansho," has ended, and it has become thoroughly autumnal.
"Start!"
With Colina's shout, several children, including Mika, broke into a run all at once.
Inside the academy grounds, in the grassy areas and forest zones, training necessary for exercises had begun to replace the paintball games done since entering the middle school division... or rather, that was what it was supposed to be.
Mika and the others ran through the grass at full speed, keeping their postures slightly low.
And they jumped into the trenches dug at the edge of the grassy area.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
Since this had already been done repeatedly in rotation, it was quite tough.
While catching their breath inside the trench, they moved their positions to make way for the children following behind.
To avoid bumping into each other when jumping in.
The teacher watching by the trench confirmed that everyone had jumped in and gave a signal.
This time, it was not a shout, but a hand signal only.
It was a bit of an exaggeration to call it hand signals, but they gave instructions like "one person go," "two people go," "everyone go."
Receiving the instruction to "everyone go," Mika and the others jumped out of the trench all at once and headed toward the forest.
Then, they advanced while crawling under ropes stretched throughout the forest.
These ropes were set at heights that required bending the waist or crouching to avoid hitting them, or heights that could only be passed by crawling.
However, in Mika's case, he could proceed just by lowering his head slightly or leaning forward a bit, except in the crawling areas.
So, although the time was not being measured accurately, Mika's speed was outstanding, boosted by his high physical abilities.
He caught up to the group ahead of him almost immediately.
"Hey, move it, Polnard."
"Wait, wait, stop it, Mika-kun."
Having passed several waist-bending areas and crawling zones, Mika teased Polnard, who had finally caught up.
"Go ahead first, Mika-kun."
"Eh, no."
"Why!?"
"It's you again, Mika! Will you stop causing trouble and train properly!?"
A shout came from the physical education teacher, Kefkof, who noticed Mika teasing Polnard.
"If you have so much energy to spare, you start over from the beginning!"
Saying that, Kefkof pointed toward the entrance of the forest zone.
"Eeeh... again...?"
In fact, this was not the first time he had to start over.
If you know it, don't do it, but how can anyone take such a boring training seriously?
Just let us play paintball already.
Mika helplessly returned to the first area where one must bend down to proceed.
"You're an idiot, aren't you."
"Shut up."
Cecilia, who had just arrived from the trench into the forest zone, retorted.
And Charlene arrived a little later.
It seemed these two were in the same group today.
"You're out of breath quite a bit. Are you okay?"
"...I'm... done..."
Having been forced to repeat this many times, she looked quite exhausted.
Naturally, [Physical Enhancement] was prohibited in this training.
Recovering stamina with [Heal] was also forbidden.
Although the academy turned a blind eye to it after the training was over.
"Well, it's almost over. Just a little more, hang in there."
"...Yeah..."
Speaking to Charlene, who was breathing heavily through her shoulders, Mika continued to advance deeper into the forest zone crisscrossed with ropes.
■■■■■■
After the academy ended, Mika was in District 3.
Kistil's childhood home, which he had visited many times before.
Sometimes Mika came here to cast [Heal] on Kistil's mother.
For a while after protecting Kistil, he had avoided approaching her father out of caution, but due to her sickly mother, he had started visiting again.
"Here, this should be fine now."
"I'm sorry as always. Mika-kun."
"No, it's fine."
Kistil's mother had been extremely depressed since Kistil was sold to her father.
She seemed to truly regret not being able to protect her daughter.
Her despair was so overwhelming that it made Mika feel painful himself.
So, he decided to tell her only that Kistil was safe.
That she was currently with Mika.
However, he could not reveal the location.
Even though he had given the father money and said "I bought her," there was no contract or document.
If the father found out where she was, he didn't know what actions he might take.
Therefore, he had not told the mother the location either.
(...I never thought I would come to understand the Village Head's feelings.)
The Village Head had lent a huge sum of five million Rats without even a loan receipt.
When he heard about it, he thought, "Is he sane?", but now that he was in the same position, Mika was taking similar action.
He could only give himself a bitter smile about this.
(When you are actually in that situation, such things become unimportant.)
It was acting on emotion, nothing more.
It was certainly not a good thing.
But he did not regret it.
If the father tried to use the lack of evidence to do something, then next time...
"...Mika-kun. Mika-kun."
Mika was lost in thought, his mind elsewhere.
It seemed he had been called several times.
"Oh, yes. What is it?"
Kistil's mother had a pained expression on her face.
Even though he had just cast [Heal] on her.
"Thank you so much, as always."
"No, please don't worry about it."
After such exchanges, the mother tightly closed her eyes and lowered her head.
"...But, you don't have to come here anymore."
"Eh?"
He could not understand what she was saying immediately.
"You don't have to worry about me."
"But..."
Even if using [Heal] makes one feel reasonably energetic, it does not cure the illness.
It only restores stamina.
"I will also decide to forget about that child..."
"What!?"
At the sudden words, Mika couldn't help but raise his voice.
But seeing the mother's painful expression, he realized the truth.
(She intends to cut ties for Kistil's sake...)
She truly wanted to live together again.
It was natural since they were family.
But as a mother, she could not protect Kistil.
Because she could not protect Kistil from that father...
"Please take care of that child..."
The mother bowed deeply to Mika.
She was cutting off the connection between herself and Mika to reduce the possibility of the father finding out Kistil's location.
Mika could not answer immediately.
How was he supposed to respond to this?
"............Very well."
He did not know what to do.
Without knowing, Mika nodded.
(What I must protect is Kistil and Nerisfeene. I cannot take on her entire family...)
Even if things are good now, a line must be drawn somewhere eventually.
Perhaps Kistil's mother felt that Mika was dangerous.
Not just for Kistil, but for her family as well, she saw that Mika would not abandon them.
Unable to say anything more, Mika bowed his head slightly and left the house.
He turned back along the path he had come, his steps heavy.
After walking a little, he saw a boy running toward him from the opposite direction.
The boy was about the same age as Mika.
Passing Mika forcefully, the boy ran into Kistil's childhood home.
(...Kistil's younger brother?)
He had heard about him, but this was the first time he had seen him.
(............)
Kistil's family would likely face various hardships in the future.
The father was the father.
Still, this was something they should have resolved themselves.
It was not a story where an outsider like Mika should stick his nose in.
("...Maybe I'll go hunting magic beasts this week.")
Mika muttered softly.
He couldn't take it out on anyone, so he would let it out on the magic beasts.
Thinking such things, Mika walked home.
■■■■■■
The 2nd Month of Wind, the 3rd Week, the day of the moon.
Walking along the edge of the high-class residential district, facing a slightly cold autumn wind.
Just a short distance from home, he spotted a patrol soldier.
Soldiers patrol this area very frequently.
He thought it would be easier if they built police boxes, but they probably haven't thought of the concept of a police box yet.
(............Hm? An interrogation?)
He thought it was just a routine patrol, but it seemed they were stopping a suspicious person.
The person stopped was released immediately.
They walked off in a direction different from Mika's.
By the way, the term "interrogation" (Bangkake) apparently comes from the first time someone says "Konbanwa" (Good evening) to stop them.
He suddenly wanted to read a novel about a shark swimming in a new "P" (Pi).
He wanted to be a cool man who suited hardboiled stories.
Thinking such trivial thoughts, Mika tried to walk past without stopping.
"Huh? Mika-kun?"
A burly knight who was giving orders to the patrol soldiers called out to him.
It was quite rare for soldiers or knights on patrol to speak to Mika.
Given his age, and above all, he was wearing the robe of a Kingdom Army Mage.
During the summer when he took off his robe, perhaps, but there were no soldiers who would speak to Mika, who was instantly recognizable as an academy student from the Magic Academy.
However, this knight knew Mika's name.
Looking closely, the knight's face looked familiar.
"Oh, um..."
It was familiar, but...
(He's from the Fifth Knights Order, right? I saw him at the barracks? Did I hear his name...?)
Seeing Mika confused, unable to recall the name, the knight smiled.
"I am Neilmeier. This is our first time talking like this. I sometimes see Mika-kun at the barracks, but I didn't speak up because it would interfere with training."
"Oh, is that so? Thank you for your help always."
Saying that, Mika bowed his head slightly.
"Hey, hey, stop that. We should be the ones thanking you."
When Mika bowed, the knight named Neilmeier became a little flustered.
So, he lowered his voice slightly so the surrounding soldiers wouldn't hear.
"My unit belongs to Captain Shesbarno. If I say 'the day we were in the Moddese Forest', will you understand?"
Saying that, Neilmeier bowed lightly to Mika.
"You saved the company, didn't you? I heard from the captain that it was an amazing fight."
It seemed this person had not witnessed Mika's battle with the Chimera.
Perhaps he was among the knights who had left the forest.
"More importantly, that mage-hating captain seems to like Mika-kun. When I heard the story of him storming the barracks, I laughed too."
He spoke with a laugh, as if it were funny.
But his expression quickly darkened.
"Ah... if it weren't for the commander's torture afterwards, it really would have been a laughing matter."
"About that, I'm sorry..."
Hearing that, Mika felt embarrassed as well.
Ozendorwa had truly retrained the Fifth Knights Order.
Well, he had heard about it from other knights during sparring sessions.
"Haha, well, it is true that we were slack. It's important to get our act together."
Neilmeier laughed.
"So, was something happening around here?"
"No, just a normal patrol. Sometimes we speak to people like this, like harassment, to make those thinking of doing bad things nervous."
"Oh, I see."
Speaking to people is very important.
It would have a higher crime deterrence effect than just knights and soldiers patrolling.
"Is Mika-kun's house around here?"
"Yes, it's just over there."
When Mika said that, Neilmeier crossed his arms with an impressed look.
"Haa, you live in a nice place. Your parents must be very wealthy—"
At that point, Neilmeier froze.
"............You didn't earn this yourself, did you?"
He asked with a hesitant tone.
He must have heard from Shesbarno or others that Mika was an adventurer.
"Oh, haha... how about that?"
"Hey, hey, hey, seriously!?"
Neilmeier put his hand to his forehead and looked up at the sky.
"Adventurers make that much money!? Should I try being an adventurer too!?"
"My house is a very small one. It's not a mansion like the ones all over here."
Even so, it was probably more than Neilmeier's monthly salary in rent.
Neilmeier slumped his shoulders and sighed.
"Well, that must be because you have strength like yours... I couldn't defeat such a magic beast even if I tried."
"Ah... well, that was the first time I saw such a violent one myself."
As they talked, one of the soldiers came to call Neilmeier.
"Then, be careful on your way home."
"Yes, thank you."
"If anything happens, just tell us, and we can lend you about ten soldiers for your home guard."
"Se〇Pium!?"
He couldn't help but shout and retort.
Neilmeier looked puzzled, asking "Se〇Pium?"
"Ahem... it's nothing. If anything happens, please consult with me."
"Oh, ah... well, see you again."
He watched Neilmeier and the others return to patrol.
Well, if anything happens, he would ask for their help.
Mika went straight home, unlocked the door, and opened it.
At that moment, he crouched to dodge Fee, who flew straight at his face.
Leaving Fee behind, he closed the door.
"I'm home."
"Welcome back, Mika-kun."
"Welcome back, Mika-sama."
Kistil and Nerisfeene were cooking in the kitchen.
Nerisfeene's body had almost no more twists or abnormal bends, and she could now move almost normally.
There were still times when she moved stiffly, but she had recovered enough to have no trouble in daily life.
"Huh? Where is Fee-chan?"
"Fee-sama?"
The sight of Fee, who had been in the dining room until just now, was gone, and the two looked around frantically.
At that moment, Fee entered the house through the gap in the front door.
"Fee-sama, were you outside?"
Nerisfeene, who noticed, called out to Fee.
"Don't just go outside on your own. What would you do if someone saw you?"
Mika scolded Fee as if pretending not to know.
Then, Fee busily moved around Mika, bumping into him repeatedly.
However, since it was light, there was no physical effect.
"Annoying."
Brushing his hand lightly, Mika headed for his room.
Fee, treated so carelessly by Mika, went crying to Kistil.
Mika entered his room and closed the door.
"Absorb Wing."
He muttered.
Wings of light appeared on Mika's back, and the dim room became bright.
Mika was using "Absorb Wing" not for mana absorption, but as a light source.
"I should think of a spell for lighting."
Muttering such things, he took off the Magic Bag and placed it on the desk.
If he could create light wings, he could surely create a simple light source.
"Maybe I'll make 'Fee' my magic name."
While almost bursting into laughter, he reached into the Magic Bag.
He took out a letter from the Adventurer's Guild.
This was the letter that arrived last week.
The usual letter listing the number of accumulated commissioned requests.
There, the characters "thirty-one" and "two".
Thirty-one cases of "Curse Removal" within the Royal Capital.
Two cases of "Cursed Objects" had arrived.
"It's piled up quite a bit."
For the cursed objects, he could deal with them after collecting a bit more.
But thirty-one cases of curse removal...
"...It's a luxurious problem, but I'll ask them to stop accepting new ones."
Mika wanted to accept the requests since they had taken the trouble to commission them.
But the number was simply too large.
No matter how many he did, requests came in faster than Mika could complete them.
It was close to the feeling of being rushed when hundreds of bug reports piled up from previous work.
Mostly, regarding debugging, it was common for dozens of issues to be wiped out with a simple fix in one spot.
That was quite refreshing, one could say...
However, removing curses inevitably took time to identify each curse individually.
While attending the academy, there was a limit to how much he could speed up.
"Maybe I should hire people to handle specific tasks."
Hire people with the [Appraisal] skill and those capable of countering the "Unclean Ones" to handle only specific tasks.
If he paid one gold coin per case, there would be people willing to do it.
Mika's earnings would decrease slightly, but he could handle the volume, so his total income would increase.
And he could continue to complete commissioned requests.
"But..."
Managing people was too troublesome.
Ideally, he didn't want to do management of anyone other than himself.
At least, not yet.
"...Stop accepting new requests. Once the current backlog decreases, maybe we'll recruit again."
He would try consulting Yunressa about this direction next time.
Knock, knock.
While thinking such things, the room door was knocked on.
"What is it?"
"Mika-kun. Do you want to go to the bath before dinner? Eat first?"
Kistil asked through the door.
"I want to sweat it out first. Sorry, I'll be quick."
Mika hurriedly put the Guild letter into the Magic Bag and took out clothes to change from the dresser.
These were not the academy-specified tracksuits, but pajamas he had bought himself.
Since leaving the dormitory, even these small parts were changing little by little.
"You don't have to rush. Make sure to warm up properly."
Hearing the clatter, Kistil said with a giggle.
Then, she went back to the kitchen.
(...Next time, I'll think about this properly. For the sake of protecting this life. And for the sake of those who gave me the commissioned requests.)
Turning off "Absorb Wing", in the darkened room, he thought such things.
(T/N: "Zansho" refers to the lingering heat of late summer/early autumn. "Se〇Pium" is a pun on "Seiyuu" (voice actor) or potentially a made-up term for "servant/staff" in this context, playing on the absurdity of the knight offering soldiers as staff. The text uses "Se〇" to censor the middle character, likely implying a word like "Servant" or a specific guild term, but the joke relies on the phonetic similarity to a common Japanese word.)