Chapter 78 - Playing with Water Balls
"Gah! Hey, get away for a bit, you brats!"
"Toak, let's play!"
"Toak, pay attention to us!"
On the way to the flower field with Kurune, Toak came out of a house, being swarmed by children.
From the towel wrapped around Toak's head and the tools he was carrying, I could tell he was doing furniture work. He probably came to see a house to make furniture or came for repairs, something like that. In the middle of that work, he got attached to by the village children, and his work wasn't progressing.
That must be it.
"Ahaha, it's lively. Are they siblings?"
"...Yeah, I think so."
While Kurune and I were having that conversation as we walked down the road, Toak must have overheard us.
"Ah! There's the rumored mage over there!"
He pointed toward Kurune and me.
That bastard Toak, he intends to make us take care of the children at this opportune moment.
"Really!?"
"Eh? Is that her? The person Mom was gossiping about, saying a mage had come?"
"Can that big sister use magic?"
Then, the children who had been clinging to Toak's legs and arms all looked toward Kurune at once.
"...Heh? What?"
Leaving the bewildered Kurune aside, Toak pointed his finger like a commander and raised his voice.
"It's a mage! Attack!"
""Waaaaaaaah!""
Following Toak's command, the children came rushing over.
What the children desired was the rare mage. A mere hunter was not what they were looking for.
With that, I quietly moved away from Kurune's side.
"Ah! Hey, Aldo, you're running away!?"
"I'm not a mage, after all. You're going to teach magic and studies to the village children, right? Isn't this a good chance to introduce yourself?"
Spouting those lines, I slipped past the side of the rushing children.
The children crowded around Kurune, who was holding a staff and dressed exactly like a mage.
"Big sister, is it true you're a mage?"
"Show us some magic!"
"Show us, show us!"
"It can't be helped! I'll show you! I'm going to use magic, so stand back for a bit!"
Though she was quickly surrounded by energetic children, she had traveled through many villages during her adventurer days. She was used to dealing with children and prepared her magic with good humor.
As I walked while watching that scene, Toak, who was sitting in front of the house, spoke up.
"Is that your adventurer comrade mage, Aldo?"
"You've already heard about her. Rumors spread fast."
Kurune only arrived yesterday, guided by Aisha. Since she went to Elgis-san's house to give her greetings around evening, I didn't think there was much time for rumors to spread, but...
"It's not just an adventurer, but a mage, so it's only natural everyone would be interested. It's rare for a mage to come to a rural village like this."
"True."
A large proportion of mages are nobles, and even if commoners become one, most of them head to the city in search of work.
"""Uoooooh! Amazing!"""
While Toak and I were talking, the children's excited voices rose.
Looking in the direction of those voices, Kurune, surrounded by children, was creating a water ball with a proud face.
"...Ho, so water really does come out of nowhere."
Toak seemed surprised by this too, his narrow eyes widening as he spoke in an impressed voice.
In a rural village, you almost never see magic. It was probably Toak's first time seeing magic too.
"It's really water!"
"It's cold!"
"Can you drink this?"
The children poked the water ball floating in the air with interest.
It was a little funny that one child had the same reaction as Aisha.
"Look, look, I can move it like this too!"
Seeing the children's joy seemed to make it fun for her; as Kurune moved her staff, the water ball began to move in sync.
Watching the water ball move freely around them, the children were in high spirits.
The children started running to catch the flying water ball, but the water ball floating in the air suddenly turned and headed toward the children.
"Splash!"
"Wapu!?"
Along with Kurune's voice, the water ball burst, and the children were soaked.
"Ahahaha! This is fun! Kurune, do it more!"
"The water is cold and feels good!"
Even though the peak of the summer heat had passed, it was still a hot season during the day.
The children begged for Kurune's magic as if they wanted to be covered in more water.
"Yeah, I'll put out plenty!"
Naturally understanding that, Kurune created a large number of water balls as if this were her moment.
Her ability to create ten at once and control them shows she isn't an A-rank adventurer for nothing.
As usual, she demonstrates her true strength in useless places.
"Go!"
When Kurune raised her voice and swung her staff, several water balls chased after the children.
The children looked up with joyful faces and tried to run away, but the water balls were faster, splashing and soaking the children's backs and such.
"Ahahaha! It's a pincer attack!"
"...That female mage, she's merciless, using pincer attacks and feints against children."
"She's childish."
I had no choice but to fully agree with the words Toak leaked, so I replied with a wry smile.
Nonetheless, the children didn't mind that at all, enjoying themselves as they soaked their clothes with cold water.
Kurune, playing with the children using magic, also looked very happy. She was launching water balls with a lively expression.
While I was idly watching, thinking what a peaceful sight it was, Kurune's eyes met mine.
And then, Kurune smirked as if she'd thought of something interesting.
"Toak, stand up. We're running."
"Ha? Why?"
While Toak answered with a dazed voice, dozens of water balls were floating around Kurune.
The children cheered at Kurune, who had created so many water balls.
"...Hey, this is only targeting Aldo, right?"
"...You should think about your own initial actions and then act accordingly."
"............"
When I answered like that, Toak stood up in an instant and started running, and I started running in the opposite direction.
◆
"Bye, Kurune!"
"Play with us again!"
"We're all going to that classroom thing Kurune's opening!"
"Yeah, look forward to it!"
The soaking wet children left while raising energetic voices.
Among them was Toak, also soaking wet, following the children with an unsatisfied face.
Having parted with Toak and the children, we started walking toward the flower field again.
"I understand Toak, but why me too..."
"It's because you were just standing there blankly. Besides, it feels good in this season, so isn't it fine!"
So saying, Kurune smacked my soaking wet shoulder.
Perhaps because my shirt was sticking to me, the impact of Kurune's smack felt strong.
So I was made soaking wet just as a byproduct.
As a result, Toak and I brilliantly became prey to Kurune's water balls.
Setting aside Toak, who became prey five seconds after it started, I could have avoided them if it were a slightly wider place. How was I supposed to avoid a massive amount of water balls on a single path stretching between fields and houses?
If it were a bit wider, I think I could have avoided them all, but as expected, it was impossible with just a single path.
"Even so, I'm surprised that Aldo has blended into the village properly. Toak-san, was it? You even have friends."
"Wait a minute, Kurune. That makes it sound like the old me didn't have any friends?"
"Was there anyone you could talk to properly besides the party members?"
Guh! She suddenly blocked off Keel and Elliot. Do party members not count as friends because they're comrades?
In that case, if I think of people I was close to in the Royal Capital...
"...The Guildmaster or something?"
"His name?"
"............"
Seeing me fall completely silent, Kurune laughed, saying, "See?"