| Author: Kashiwagi Masato | Original Source: Syosetu | Word Count: 2393 characters |
| Translator: PunishedLyly | English Source: Re:Library | Word Count: 1253 words |
| Editor(s): Fire | ||
After that, I’ve tried everything I can to get Arytte’s age out of her, but she wouldn’t say it at all. Hmm, well she is the 29th of their ranking, so she probably isn’t as young as she looks, but considering how stubborn she is about it, then it could be likely that she’s more than a thousand, right…?
「My lady, I think we should camp around here for tonight.」
「I see. Then Est, please help Hans out.」
「Certainly!」
Hans parked the carriage slightly off the path. The sun is still up, but the twilights are still short these days. It’ll turn dark quick, so it’s necessary to set up camp early.
「Hey, Arytte. Are you going to eat din-「Yes!!」…… Okay.1」
「Nn, I’m raring to cook.」
Urania and I take turns on cooking duty when camping out. I was told that Est’s training couldn’t include cooking lessons as their time was limited, and since Hans’ work already entails almost everything but cooking, we insisted on shouldering it. Rather, this is one of our hobbies too, so we were glad to do it.
Our dinner for tonight will be grilled skewers. While Hans and Est are setting up camp, Arytte and I gathered some dry branches. We have a portable stove, so we could just cook with that, but isn’t the mood pretty important for times like these? Besides, a campfire at night is also really important for warding off magic beasts.
I ignited the gathered branches with “Burn”. In the first place, this is actually the proper way of using “Burn”, but since the amount of magic power used can adjust the heat, I just use “Burn” for nearly any fire attribute attack I need. While there are a lot of flashy fire magic like “Flame Arrow” and “Fire Blast”, I can’t help but see these as useless. To begin with, if I need maximum firepower, then it would be “Corona Burn’s” time to shine.
「Oh! Aren’t you quite skillful with magic power!」
「What? You can tell?」
「Obviously! I work with magic power, you know? And I can’t do that properly if I can’t see magic power.」
Well, that makes sense. I guess I was still subconsciously judging her by her appearance, but she is a high spirit, huh.
「You’re effectively utilizing all your magic power in your magic, none of them are wasted at all. With how it looks, I suppose there’s no need for me to clean up here!」
「Your duty is to convert magic power to mana, right? Say, would you mind showing me how you do it?」
「Hm? Let’s see, is there a cluster of magic power near-……. Oh, there is! Alright then! I’ll show you how!」
After saying that, Arytte flies off. She has a chubby physique, but the wings on her back seem to work properly, as she flew with no issues.
「Hans, are you two done setting up?」
「Yes, all that’s left is the arrangement of our sleeping area.」
「In that case, would you mind if I borrow Est?」
「Not at all.」
On this trip, I’m not allowed to act alone. Well, I don’t really think that there are that many people who can successfully ambush me, but there are various other reasons for this. Anyway, Hans is still occupied and Urania is still busy cooking. With that, I took Est along with me. Naturally, there’s another reason for this.
「Geez! What’s taking you so long!? I’m going on ahead!」
「Sorry, my bad, I’ll be there in a moment! Est, let’s go! Pfweeee, pfwee!2 Corazon!」
「Yes, my lady!」
After calling for Est, I whistled to summon Corazon. Hans told me that female Chasseur Dragons rarely let people ride them, but these girls let me ride on their backs and listen well to what I say. The females are larger than the males, so for this time, I decided to ride with Corazon.
It’s not really secure since there’s no saddle and bridle, but that’s where magic comes in. I feel bad for Est with how desperately she’s clinging on to me, but since Corazon runs a lot faster than a horse, it’s pretty fun. I hear the idiom run like the wind a lot, but these words definitely describe the exhilarating feeling I have right now. I have been lacking exercise a bit since I’m in the carriage all this time, so this is perfect.
We immediately caught up to Arytte, or so I expected, but despite her appearance, Arytte is flying at practically the same speed as Corazon. What the heck is a spirit even!?
「Whoop, we’re here!」
「Hm? This place…… was there a battle here?」
The place Arytte led us to was a place deep in the forest, 20 minutes away from the highway while riding Corazon. The surrounding area is scorched, damp, and full of what seems to be the remains of earthen walls. It’s probably the aftermath of an adventurer, or mercenary, fighting either magic beasts or monsters. The reason I didn’t include bandits is that I can tell from the level of destruction. Practically no regular person can cause this level of destruction.3
「That’s right, two souls have left for heaven in this exact place. Also, there’s a ton of magic power around. Unlike you, it seems like the caster was quite sloppy with their use of magic power. It’s just all over the place.」
‘Haah, so messy, seriously.’ Arytte shakes her hands as if to mirror those words. These hand movements gradually turn into what looks similar to a dough kneading motion, and at the same time, I feel the magic power around the area move.
I hurriedly switch my 【Magic Sight】 on. As Arytte said, the magic power in the surrounding area is scattered all over the place. And I see that every time Arytte does her kneading motion, the scattered magic power bunch up in a lump.
「First of all, I gather the magic power in the surroundings like so. Dealing with them one by one is a hassle, you see.」
After gathering all the surrounding magic power into a cluster, she then kisses that clump of magic power. She looks like a pure maiden as she does so, but her stomach though…… Nope, I said nothing.4
To my surprise, the moment her lips touched the magic power cluster, it scattered and disappeared. Almost like how the magic I used against Est did in the past.
There was another question that came to my mind as I was listening to Arytte’s story. The ability to turn magic power into mana, is this something only unique to spirits? If this isn’t the case, then maybe……
And right at this moment, this question got a clear answer. Est’s ability to erase magic. It doesn’t actually erase magic itself, but it disperses the magic power that said magic is composed of.
「Arytte, there’s something I want you to look at.」
「Hmm? Wha~t?」
「Est, try doing it.5」
I created a “Light Ball” and had Est erase it. Est somehow erased the “Light Ball”, or more precisely, the magic power used to maintain its form.
「That’s a surprise…… I never expected to see a demi-spirit in this place……」
