Chapter 249 - Chapter 248: Advice from a Senior I Put Aside for Now
In a room at the inn, without lighting a lamp, Mika sat on the bed hugging his knees.
After his conversation with Ozendorwa, Mika had locked himself in the room without eating anything.
"......Runesee."
The whisper vanished into the dimly lit room.
A "Wraith" with a self.
A single girl caught in a curse.
We only spoke for a very short time.
Still, it was clear that the girl was a bright and good child.
Why did such a girl end up becoming cursed...?
Grip tightened in his clenched hand.
Thanks to the Tranquilizer, the turmoil in his chest quickly subsided.
"What on earth is happening...?"
The reddish-brown haired youth, Ecrease, who died half a year ago.
The man resembling Hibujiza who kidnapped Kistil and Nerisfeene and forced Mika to use magic.
Certainly, these two share several common points.
It isn't just the same handwriting or the same spelling mistakes.
The drawn-out tone of voice.
The power to cause explosions with the same word, "Burst".
Most of all, both possess an uncanny, unworldly quality.
Mika shook his head and buried his face in his knees.
Certainly, one could interpret these as indicating a single possibility.
But it was too strange.
Impossible.
Unbelievable.
That the reddish-brown haired youth, Ecrease, was possessed by Hibujiza!
Mika could not accept his own thoughts, simply hugging his knees and wandering into a deep abyss with no answer.
Zzzzt...
How much time had passed?
Before he knew it, rain had begun to fall, drifting in slightly through the open window.
Mika moved quietly and went to close the window.
Looking through the window, he saw the street lights floating in the night darkness.
Suddenly, a chill ran through him.
(If Hibujiza were watching this room from somewhere in this night darkness...)
Having such an imagination, he turned his face away and left the window.
Creak...
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he held his head as if bowing it.
"Kistil... Nerisfeene."
Mika wanted to see the two of them.
When was the last time he felt lonely about being alone?
Back when he was Kuhashi Ritsu, loneliness was a friend, and a precious time where he could be himself that could not be replaced by anything.
He had lived alone for more than half his life, and had hardly ever felt lonely about it.
Being alone was even a comfort.
At that moment, a sphere of light floated around the room, fuyo-fuyo..., and came before Mika.
"Hehe... yes, that's right. Fee, you were there."
When Mika reached out his hand, Fee landed on it.
Then, it intensified its light once.
"I'm not depressed or anything. Thanks to this Tranquilizer, I can't even get depressed."
His mind was forcibly prevented from falling into a negative spiral.
When Mika made a smile, Fee intensified its light once more.
"Ah, I'm fine now. ...Thank you."
When Mika said that, Fee began floating around the room again, fuyo-fuyo...
■■■■■■
Day of Fire, Week 3, Month 1 of Fire.
Early morning, in front of the boys' dormitory at the Magic Academy.
Just as it was getting light, while the students were still asleep, a figure emerged from the dormitory entrance.
"Even so, isn't that too early? The main gate is still closed, you know?"
Mika asked Paraleira while taking off his deep hood.
Paraleira glanced at Mika, said nothing, and tried to walk away as is.
Mika sighed and walked alongside Paraleira.
"If you want to kill Hibujiza, it's impossible with bare hands. He has monster-like physical abilities... probably."
When Mika said that, Paraleira glanced sideways at him.
"......Why do you know such a thing?"
"I met him. We had a brief conversation, at least."
If you call kidnapping hostages and fighting like that a "conversation".
Paraleira turned her eyes burning with hatred toward Mika.
Mika ignored her and continued speaking.
"Just for your reference, Hibujiza can travel from the Royal Capital to the Am-Tast Trade Alliance via the route passing through the Viscountcy of Braikosloa in less than twenty hours. I don't know the specific route, and it might be a method other than running."
When Mika said that, Paraleira stopped.
She thought for a moment and glared at Mika.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking...!"
"I don't expect you to believe me. How you take it is up to you. But if you just charge in blindly, you'll be killed easily and it'll be over."
Ideally, I should have told Paraleira about "Burst" and "Tear Apart" as well.
But Paraleira right now is too dangerous.
If I give her information related to magic and she herself can manifest it...
(She would likely fall in an instant.)
Paraleira's hatred was that strong, and too pure.
"If you don't want to die in vain, come up with a plan. She might dodge even [Explosive Flame]. My recommendation is to slice her neck off in an instant before she notices."
That is how Ozendorwa actually killed the reddish-brown haired youth, Ecrease.
Well, Ozendorwa has a technique of striking outside the opponent's awareness, so that might be why.
Probably, one should think that unless there is "something" comparable to that level, Hibujiza cannot be killed.
(Whether the reddish-brown haired youth, Ecrease, is possessed by Hibujiza or not, it's better to think of him as a monster of similar caliber.)
Mika watched with a somewhat heavy expression as Paraleira, lost in thought, began walking again.
■■■■■■
Day of Earth, Week 3, Month 1 of Fire.
Fifth Knights Order office.
Today was the first time in a while he had come for training.
Though, only Mika was coming for the first time in a while; during Mika's absence, Rimliche and Basal had been coming for training.
"Haaaaaa!"
With a shout of spirit, Basal lunged sharply and unleashed a full-power strike.
Mika calmly dodged it with a back step.
"Tah! Ha!"
Basal continued to launch a barrage of attacks from there, pursuing.
But Mika dodged even that without difficulty.
"Taaaaaaah!!!"
A barrage of attacks launched one after another, three strikes, four strikes, five strikes.
However, slowly, the sword path dulled, losing its sharpness.
And then—
"Yah!"
Mika lunged sharply into Basal's diagonal slash, pressing a Short Sword to his throat.
Basal, with the tip pointed at him, twisted his face.
"......I-I yield..."
Hearing Basal's surrender, Mika lowered the Short Sword.
As soon as Mika lowered the Short Sword, Basal exhaled loudly, "Haaaaaa...".
"Mika-dono. What on earth happened?"
"Hm?"
Basal wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked such a thing.
"The aura when facing each other, or rather, the pressure I felt from Mika-dono was incredible."
Certainly, today Basal seemed to have attacked with a lot of urgency.
"Just having a sword pointed at me by Mika-dono made me feel like a sword was constantly pressed to my throat."
So, Basal said with a pained expression.
It seems his mind was disturbed by that aura, and he was hurriedly driven to attack.
"...So, experiencing actual combat makes a difference, does it?"
"Ah, that's probably a different reason."
While saying that, Mika removed the Tranquilizer from his right arm.
"!?!"
Basal jumped back suddenly, but it seems he stumbled in his haste.
He fell down loudly, Zuzazaa...
"Hey, hey, are you okay?"
Saying that, Mika immediately put the Tranquilizer back on.
"W-what, what is it!? What is it!? What is going on!?"
Basal stared in shock.
Should I have told him beforehand?
Failure, failure.
Although a bit distant, some of the knights training in the surroundings seemed to have noticed the killing intent suddenly released by Mika.
They were looking this way with surprised faces.
Mika raised one hand, making a gesture as if apologizing for startling them.
Then, he offered his hand to Basal, who was still rolling on the ground.
"I have some circumstances. As you can see, without this Tranquilizer. Basal seems to have [Aura Detection], so I think you can feel something just by facing me."
"......Circumstances, is it?"
Basal grabbed Mika's hand and stood up.
Then, he brushed off the dust from his tracksuit.
"Well, let's leave that aside."
"It feels like a bit too much to just leave aside..."
Basal made a somewhat complicated expression.
"Tomorrow, we're all going shopping, so you come too, Basal. Or rather, I've already made a reservation."
"...As usual, you're so forceful. Well, that's fine. What are we going to buy?"
Hearing that, Mika raised one eyebrow.
"......Secret."
"Mika-dono..."
Basal looked exasperated at Mika, who invited them and then said it was a secret.
Actually, he intended to invite everyone in the Leventein Group as well and go on a small shopping trip.
Well, the items to buy were already decided, and the pre-order was already completed.
That was the Magic Bag.
It would be convenient to have, and especially for Basal, Mika still had his Sword in custody.
So, he asked Adelriese to prepare a number of them.
The shopkeeper uncle came to the coffee shop, and they performed the mana registration there.
This was a mobile sales event at Adelriese's magic tool shop.
(If I tell them beforehand, they will definitely refuse.)
Thinking that, he hadn't told anyone what they were going to buy yet.
Especially regarding the price, he had asked the uncle not to tell anyone.
In the past few months, various things had happened to Mika.
No matter how strong the power one possesses, one cannot say they are absolutely safe.
He had been made painfully aware of that.
And when looking back at Mika's journey so far, he felt he wanted to give something to everyone in the Leventein Group and Basal.
The reason we could have fun together despite everything was largely due to the existence of the Leventein Group.
And the fact that he gained a friend and sword rival named Basal was truly a great thing.
He thought he should convey that gratitude a little.
However, it was still embarrassing to convey it with words again.
So, he decided to take the form of a gift.
Ah, Cecilia is just an extra, an extra.
If I don't give her one, she'll seem troublesome, so I'll just give her one as an afterthought.
And he was also arranging gifts for various other people.
Well, mainly related to Rish Village.
He asked Nozzemueller, the boss of the Underground Magic Tool Association, to prepare bracelets with moderate effects.
This was a bracelet that used only "Orichalcum" as a catalyst.
A bracelet packed full with a full set of resistance-type [Enchantments].
Also, decent amounts of strength and stamina.
It wasn't as overwhelming as Mika's supercharged bracelet, but it was an item that even adventurers wouldn't have.
He would give this to Amalia, Loretta, the two from House Scobata, Radi, Ninetiana and Diego, Dur, Horatio, the Village Head, and so on.
Of course, he had also ordered a portion for Kifrod.
Since it was mass production, he had permitted Nozzemueller to increase staff and was having quite a number of people diligently produce them.
And then, Mika's three fiancées.
Kistil, Nerisfeene, and Cleiria.
Of course, he would give gifts to all three.
These were specially made.
For these three, he would fully use "Orichalcum" as the material.
A special bracelet made of pure "Orichalcum".
He intended to make items with outrageous performance, like Mika's supercharged bracelet.
So much so that handling the power might be confusing at first when equipping them.
Man, the raw material market is going to be in a total uproar because of this.
Sorry about that.
Mika and Basal took a break and went to invite Rimliche as well.
Rimliche was repeatedly launching powerful slashes against a knight.
"Oh, Rimliche-dono is putting in a lot of spirit as well."
Walking while watching Rimliche's training, Basal let out such a comment.
(...?)
But looking at Rimliche like that, Mika felt a vague sense of incongruity.
In a word, it wasn't like her.
And the knight receiving Rimliche's attacks looked a bit troubled.
Mika jogged quickly toward Rimliche.
"Rimliche. Time to rest soon."
He called out, but Rimliche continued swinging her Short Sword with single-minded focus.
"M-Mika-kun...!"
The knight fighting Rimliche called out to Mika.
It seems he was troubled because Rimliche's hands wouldn't stop.
Mika quickly circled behind Rimliche.
"Yaaaaaaah!"
With a shout of spirit, he grabbed Rimliche's arm that had been raised.
Even with her arm grabbed by Mika, Rimliche did not try to stop her attacks.
With the corners of her mouth raised.
"Rimliche!"
"Huh...?"
When Mika called out strongly, Rimliche finally blinked her eyes open.
"Huh? Mika-kun? What's wrong?"
Mika sighed, "Oh boy...", and looked at the knight.
"Sorry. It seems she got a bit too absorbed."
"A, ah... Since she was swinging her sword looking so happy, I couldn't stop her either. You saved me."
"No... I'm sorry."
It seems she was so absorbed that she couldn't even hear the knight's voice to stop her.
She seemed troubled because she didn't want to hurt anyone and was having fun.
"What happened?"
At that moment, Basal walked over.
"No, Rimliche just got too absorbed."
"Aah... Well, I understand. Sometimes you get absorbed and keep swinging your sword. I myself, when I got absorbed in the past and swung my sword, I realized my palms were peeled off and covered in blood—"
"That's just you, Basal..."
"Wait, Mika-dono!? That's not the flow where you agree with me!?"
How absorbed do you have to be to end up like that?
Mika shrugged his shoulders exasperatedly and looked at Rimliche.
"Are you okay, Rimliche?"
"Y-yes..."
She nodded, but Rimliche's expression darkened slightly, and she seemed to be lost in thought.
(It's honestly rare for Rimliche to look happy while swinging her sword.)
Rimliche always approached her Short Sword training with great seriousness.
I have never seen her swing her sword with fun or amusement like Mika.
For the serious Rimliche to swing her sword with the corners of her mouth raised like that...
Mika stared fixedly at Rimliche's face.
"Was it fun?"
"...Eh?"
He asked Rimliche that.
"You looked like you were having fun for once? You were smiling."
"Au..."
Rimliche looked down and became a little dejected.
"Oh, so Rimliche-dono has finally realized the joy of the sword!"
"So, don't compare me to you, Basal."
"That's harsh!"
While talking like that, they took a short break.
After that, they moved their bodies thoroughly until evening.
On the way back from training, they walked toward the gate of the Second Wall.
Mika pulled his robe hood deep over his head to hide his face, just in case.
By the way, wearing this in summer is naturally hot.
So, he cast "Gust" loosely inside the robe.
"......So, you're staying at various inns for now, right?"
"Yes. It's a bit troublesome, but there are people who arrange it for me."
Lebrantes of the Information Broker Guild was arranging various things.
Lebrantes was no longer just a handyman, but a concierge.
Mika glanced sideways at Rimliche, who was silently following behind.
Rimliche was a bit listless since then.
"Sorry, Basal, go ahead. I'll see Rimliche off."
When Mika said that, Basal nodded.
It seems Basal also realized that Rimliche's condition was strange.
"Rimliche."
While waving lightly to Basal to say goodbye, he called out to Rimliche.
Rimliche had her eyebrows in an 'eight' shape, looking very troubled.
"Excited?"
Sitting at a seat in the back of the coffee shop, he listened to Rimliche's story.
"She said that as she swung her sword, she kept getting more and more excited."
When Mika repeated the content of the story, Rimliche nodded vigorously.
"I thought I should practice more seriously and with more determination..."
It seems she got excited on her own and became absorbed.
To the point where she didn't notice even when called.
Hearing Rimliche's story, Mika narrowed his eyes.
(Ah... there are people like that. People who get absorbed easily.)
Just like someone from somewhere.
There are people who are troublesome.
Thinking such things as if it were none of his business.
Mika scratched his cheek.
He couldn't deny that he had a similar experience, so he should be a little careful.
One could say he was putting himself aside, but more importantly, there are things only an experienced person can say.
"I often get absorbed like that too."
He made such a preamble.
"Because of that, I've been in big trouble. Almost dying and such."
Mika said it in a light tone, but Rimliche's face clearly stiffened and turned pale.
Mika smiled brightly at such a Rimliche.
"As a senior who has suffered terribly many times, my advice is that you should fix it before it becomes a habit."
Seriously.
If you leave it alone, you'll die.
Quite seriously.
"If it happens during training, you can forcibly stop your hands. Even in the middle, you can just cut the practice short."
In Mika's case, it was usually in the middle of actual combat, so he couldn't cut it short.
But if it's training, there are such methods.
"Well, you shouldn't worry too much about one or two failures. Training is to find out failures. Rather, you should think it's good that you found out."
"Hmm... maybe that's true..."
It seems she couldn't be that bold due to her personality.
"Well, if anything else comes up, I'll listen to your consultation."
"Yes. Thank you, Mika-kun."
Did she feel a bit better?
Maybe she felt a bit relieved knowing she wasn't the only one.
Mika moistened his throat with tea and decided to get to the main topic.
Actually, the time he took to talk with Rimliche was not a coincidence.
Even if there was nothing about Rimliche in the training, he intended to call her out and talk.
"Rimliche, how about that side?"
When asked by Mika, Rimliche seemed to guess immediately and tightened her expression.
"I'm just practicing a little bit, so I can't do it that well yet... But I can do it to some extent."
It seems Rimliche could now create fire, ice, and even hot water.
Mika nodded once and put on a serious face.
"I don't think there's much to worry about for Rimliche... but don't use that magic [that] when you're angry."
"When I'm angry?"
Not understanding the meaning, Rimliche tilted her head.
"Well, it's not just anger, but don't put strong emotions into that magic [that], something like that."
"......What happens if you put it in?"
Rimliche tilted her head even more.
Now, what should I say about this?
The exact content is a bit hard to say.
But without specifics, it won't be conveyed, I suppose.
As Mika was wondering what to say, Rimliche smiled.
"I understand. I'll be careful."
She accepted it so straightforwardly.
This child is really a good, obedient child.
"Sorry... I couldn't explain it well."
"No, I thought you should know anyway, right?"
When asked by Rimliche, Mika nodded.
Seeing that, Rimliche also nodded.
"I understand. Thank you for telling me, Mika-kun."
Even though Mika couldn't explain it well, Rimliche thanked him like that.