Leave a comment

As we come closer to the city of Raum, its dignity was shown before our eyes.
I have visited before, and one of the city’s most notable structures is the spire of the Magic Academy which was far larger compared to a large castle.
Is it just me, or is the tower much higher than before?

「Nicole-chan, Nicole-chan! Look, it’s a really tall tower!」
「Ye, yeah, I see it. Please don’t move too much. You’re making the carriage sway more than it should……Ugh」
「Ah, I’m sorry? Nicole-chan, are you feeling sick again?」
「Implying again is just overstating it」

I’ve only been sleeping and eating since the time I received my injury, but it’s not really that relaxing as it could be imagined since I’m receiving the vibrations directly from the floor as the carriage moves.
For someone like me who is physically weak, and has no resistance to motion sickness because of my weak vestibular system, it was mostly suffering that I received instead.

「Umm, are you still not feeling well, Nicole-sama?」
「Hmm, I feel a bit better now. Thank you Finia」

Now that there is more space in the carriage since most of the baggage was already cleared out, a small hammock was created using the blankets I am currently resting upon.
This cut off most of the vibrations and made the trip more comfortable, the demerit is that it swings around for a while when the carriage shook strongly.
There were also times when I decided to get off the carriage and join the adventurers walking for a change of pace.
It stings my right hand a bit because of the motion but it was way much better than suffering nausea when I’m riding the carriage.

「Nicole-sama, if you are like that…… you won’t be able to rest properly」
「If I keep sleeping all the time, I will lose my hard-earned muscles. Won’t Finia be more anxious instead if I become too weak that it started to affect my training?」
「But that is……」

During this trip, Finia was also trained in swordplay by the adventurer Leon.
It would have been much better if she learned from Lyell, but it was too late since we already left the village.
But still, she was studying the way of the sword so enthusiastically and was slowly but surely improving as the training goes.
I even thought that she might actually possess a gift for it.

Well, since I am her master, she just couldn’t let herself stay inside the carriage and would join me for a walk instead. And even if she is tired from training, she would still continue taking care of me.
Also, since my balance is currently bad due to the fact that I could only use one hand, there were times when I feel like I would stumble or fall.

「Sorry about this?」
「Don’t worry, it’s part of my work. Besides, it was originally my――」
「I won’t accept that. You don’t really have to blame everything on yourself, you know Finia?」
「What, is it really fine?」

She became a person who would always want to carry all the blame to herself because of her past experience.
The correction of this character of hers is something that I would like to fix during this trip.

When I changed my view to look over the town, I realized that there was a woman standing by the gates.
Usually, it was gatekeepers that would receive visitors, but I could see the gatekeepers standing in the far back. It seems like it was she who instructed them to stay back.

「That is?」
「What happened?」
「Over there…… Maybe, that person is――」

By the way, at the moment that I noticed her, it seems like they have also noticed us.
And then, before we noticed it, a bob-cut woman with big golden cat ears on her head dashed towards us with tremendous speed.

Taking advantage of the beastman’s physical ability, she was dashing at full sprint towards us and was leaving clouds of dust behind her.
Seeing that, Leon and the others were on alert, but she easily slipped behind them before they could even prepare.

The house drawing the carriage was shocked by the sudden appearance of a woman before it.
Noticing the horse, she immediately activated some sort of magic.

「Crimson one, Ultramarine two, Jade one. Tranquility」

Normally, you would need to prepare a lot of things before activating magic and there were only a few who could activate it as quickly as Maria.
This means that before she arrived, she has already read through the reaction of the adventurers along with the surprise of the horse.
The cat-eared girl…… No, the beautiful girl opened her arms wide and hugged me.

「Welcome! You are Nicole, right? Just like what I’ve heard, you really look like a doll and is really cute」

In battle, she will not hesitate to make cold decisions. In peaceful times, she is usually indifferent to people.
A former friend of mine……That is Cortina, a warlord that could single-handedly bring the downfall of an army of thousands.
But it’s the first time for me to meet her in this body. I have to make sure that she doesn’t notice that I know her as much as possible.
I have heard from Maria about her before, but the difference between that and what I know is very different.

「You are Cortina-san?」
「That’s right. You sure know your stuff, eh?　Did you hear about us from Maria? I don’t think Lyell would be the one to even mention about us」
「Yup」
「Eh, Cortina-sama!? One of the 6 Heroes?」

Hearing my words, Michelle raised an astonished cry.
Well, it was only natural that she or Maxwell would pick me up. After all, it was the daughter of Lyell and Maria that came to visit.
The adventurers and Michelle-chan’s parents were also shocked by the sudden event of meeting one of the legendary Heroes.

Even so, it’s really hard to pretend in front of Cortina and her sharp intuition, I need to be careful not to blurt out things that I haven’t heard from my parents.
But well, the softness of this hug squeezing my cheeks isn’t that bad.

There was also a time that I actually confessed to her. And yes, I was utterly rejected.
At that time, Lyell and Maria were about to get married and I was desperate…… that is now a part of my Dark History. And that secret is what I would definitely defend no matter what.

「Hmm, that right hand, were you injured? Were you caught up in a battle with monsters along the way?」
「Ah, yes. Vultures」

She then aimed her looks at the adventurers after hearing my words.
It was certainly because of their carelessness that the people they escorted has to engage in battle, but because it was also a close call for them, all I could do is pity them instead of blaming them.
For now, I’ll take over the mistakes of those adventurers who were literally shivering from fear due to being glared at by a Hero.

「Actually, it was because they were dealing with chimera blobs that were waiting to ambush us. So it’s not Leon’s fault」
「Is that so? Well if you say so then I won’t pursue it……」

Cortina then glances at Finia as if to confirm what happened. After only receiving a small nod from her did she finally believe me.
My words alone couldn’t show that much legitimacy of what happened, that’s why she turned to Finia who is acting as my guardian to verify what happened.
Then after confirming the situation, she decided to drop the matter at that.

「Well, I guess it couldn’t be helped. Auburn Two, Ultramarine One, Gold One. Envelopes with a healing wind. Recovery」

Cortina may have high physical abilities, but she is not well versed in close-combat.
Even in terms of Magic Ability, she doesn’t reach the spot of Maxwell or even reaches Maria’s level.
If I were to describe her skills, it would be broad and shallow. Even if she has high dexterity in using her skills, it would still be incomparable to those who specialized in a single field. But well, her true ability lies not in her broad number of skills.

After a while, the pain in my right hand slowly diminished as I watch Cortina’s healing magic activating.

「That should be okay now? If it’s only on that level then it wouldn’t be something that I can’t deal with」
「Thank you」
「Oh, you can properly say your thanks. Good girl, good girl」
「That is a matter of course……」
「Well, you see, there are many children here who are feeling too proud of themselves, you see? And because of that, the first job of teachers is to break their swelling pride and putting them in place 」

Now that I think about it, she was also a teacher in the academy.
Because there are a lot of noble children who were deemed to be geniuses by their peers, the teachers are probably having a hard time.
Even adding to that is Cortina’s diverse set of skills that is not really that prominent if one only witnesses one side of it.