Chase and Be Chased (1)
Whump. Whump.
Crisp sounds of air splitting rang across the empty lot. The fists cutting through space were swift and packed with power.
Sweat-soaked hair made it plain he had been training for a long while.
The man pouring out sweat as he swung his fists for ages in the clearing was none other than Ellen.
“Hoo.”
He drew a deep breath to ready the next motion. Muscle in his forearms tensed and swelled.
Whish.
He exhaled hard and drove a fist forward. The light, flowing motion almost made it look as if he were dancing.
From a good distance away, Phillips watched him. Satisfaction shone in the older man’s eyes.
“How about taking a short rest before you keep going?”
At Phillips’s voice, Ellen’s ceaseless movements stopped.
“You’ve come, sir?”
“Push yourself like that and you’ll wreck your body.”
Phillips reached for Ellen’s shoulder.
To any onlooker it was the most natural gesture in the world. In that same instant both men’s eyes changed.
Whoosh.
Phillips’s elbow shot toward Ellen’s temple. Ellen coiled an arm around it and stopped the strike cold.
“Not bad.”
“I’ve spent three and a half months here. Thanks to a certain someone, I stay tense every second of the day.”
Three months and a half had passed since Ellen began his training. At first, under the pretext of polishing basics, he had been forced to throw punches and kicks until every muscle cramped. Once the foundations settled, real training began in earnest.
He already knew how to circulate mana inside the body. So most of the time went into sharpening combat sense.
Combat sense comes only from experience, after all.
With those words Phillips attacked him without warning—during meals, during conversation, even while he slept.
“You’ve improved a great deal. Isn’t it about time you headed back to the capital?”
“Has it already been that long?”
Ellen had told him he had roughly four months. That time was nearly spent.
“I’ve rather enjoyed having you around. Shame to see you go.”
“You mean because you could beat me whenever you got bored?”
“Hahaha, exactly. That was the best part.”
Phillips clutched his belly with both hands and laughed. Ellen laughed with him.
Thud.
“I saw that coming.”
“So you did.”
Phillips closed his fist around the punch Ellen had just blocked with his arm.
“When will you leave?”
“At first light tomorrow. Someone’s waiting for me in Harryford.”
Romiu’s face rose in his mind. With that temperament the boy would be fretting and watching the road without rest.
It bothers me more than I expected.
“Thank you for everything until now.”
Ellen bowed deeply to Phillips.
“I enjoyed it too. Give Bentler my regards.”
“Have you no thought of going to Harryford yourself, Master Phillips? Bentler waits for the day he can see you again.”
Phillips gave a faint smile and shook his head.
“I can never set foot there again. I’ll spend the rest of my life here reflecting. Come visit now and then instead. Though I may not still be here when you do.”
Ellen knew well that the man’s stubbornness would never bend.
“Understood. It can’t be helped.”
“Wait.”
Just as Ellen turned to leave, Phillips called him back.
Thump.
Phillips drew out a single book and held it out. The volume looked worn in places, yet overall it had been carefully preserved.
“What is this?”
“Something I kept back because it was still too advanced for you. It deals with internal mana circulation.”
Ellen’s eyes widened. He had believed everything he knew of mana circulation came from his previous life. That was not the case.
“Your comprehension is outstanding. You should be able to learn it from the book alone.”
Throughout training Ellen had displayed astonishing understanding. Whenever Phillips explained the principle of a technique, he grasped and applied it at once.
If only his body could keep up with that mind.
Ellen’s physique could not match his intellect. No matter how thoroughly he understood a technique, his body failed to reproduce it. That was why most of the training had focused on real combat.
His physical ability isn’t bad, but if it had been just a little better, a genius of the century might have been born. What a pity.
Phillips smacked his lips. With that head of his, Ellen would surely master the physical reinforcement method from the book alone.
“I will make certain to master this technique before long.”
“Good. And just in case—don’t look for me after you return. Spreading word about me would cause trouble.”
“I will remember. Then.”
Ellen bowed once more, turned, and left. Phillips felt a twinge of regret that the entertaining days had ended, and went back to his room.
In three months Ellen’s body had improved markedly. Even beneath the Robe of Silence, solid muscle showed clearly.
The slightly boyish cast of his face had begun to give way to the look of a young man.
About two days left?
Ellen consulted the map and estimated the remaining distance to Harryford.
He was currently passing through a small village in the Buner region. Buner itself was a fairly large city, yet almost no travelers were to be seen around the village outskirts.
I can understand why, though.
Ellen rode at a gallop while reading a book. For most people the act would have been dangerously reckless, but he possessed both magic that minimized the jolt of the horse and the superb sense of balance he had recently acquired.
The book was the one Phillips had given him at their parting. It contained a new method of physical reinforcement.
Simply circulating it inside the body isn’t enough. The key is detonation?
The method he had known before strengthened the body by circulating mana through it. This one, however, created small explosions of mana within to draw out still greater power.
I understand the principle…
The theory itself was clear. Putting it into practice proved far harder.
The mana flowing through his body already raced past before he could make it explode.
I’ll have to keep practicing.
Clip-clop. Clip-clop.
All the while Ellen’s horse kept running. Before long the road entered a reed field. Even mounted, the reeds rose so tall he could barely see ahead.
Ah. This is peak growing season for the reeds.
Whicker.
He reined the horse in sharply.
The reed bed isn’t that wide. I’ll just walk through.
Riding through such a place was far too risky. He dismounted, took the reins, and led the animal in among the stalks.
“Let’s get back already.”
“Heh-heh. Ain’t this girl pretty? Before we go, I get first—”
“Boss’ll kill you if you do.”
“All you ever talk about is the boss. Ain’t you ashamed to call yourself a man?”
At the far edge of the reed field, voices reached him.
Something’s off.
Judging by the conversation alone, the situation was anything but normal.
“You didn’t see what happened to the guy who laid hands on the girls we were taking to headquarters?”
“Tch. Fine, fine. Move it, you bitches.”
“Mmph.”
A group of men was leading bound women somewhere.
Human traffickers?
Ellen’s expression twisted hard. Slave trading was strictly forbidden not only in Prode but across the entire continent. The sole exception was the free city of Valiche, where it was allowed under limited conditions.
And these bastards are brazenly running a slave trade inside Prode?
He could have cut them down at once and freed the captives.
Better to wipe the whole nest out in one stroke.
From their talk it was clear they belonged to an organized ring. Following them and wiping the operation out in a single blow would free far more people.
Decision made, Ellen tailed them.
The traffickers walked on for a long while, never noticing they were being followed. They themselves felt fine, but the bound captives struggled badly.
“We’ll be late if we don’t hurry.”
“Hey, walk faster!”
They cursed at those who lagged behind.
Those sons of bitches.
Ellen itched to thrash them on the spot.
“We’re almost there—haul them faster.”
At one man’s order the others yanked the ropes.
“Ugh!”
Gagged, the captives could not even scream properly as they were dragged along.
Looks like they’re headed for Buner.
Their direction pointed straight toward Buner Castle.
A carriage?
Near the walls they loaded the people into a carriage. The vehicle was large enough to hold six at once.
The loaded carriage then raced toward the city gate.
There’s an inspection. How do they plan to get through?
In major cities soldiers were posted at every gate to check those entering and leaving. Loading people into a carriage so carelessly should never have fooled the guards.
Yet moments later Ellen’s brow furrowed at the sight of the soldiers on duty.
They stopped the approaching carriage, exchanged a few words with the driver, and waved it straight through.
Not a single place runs as it should.
The soldiers themselves were either in on it or bought. Sensing something far from ordinary, Ellen felt the need for a deeper investigation.
“May I ask your identity, sir?”
As Ellen neared the gate a soldier approached and asked courteously. Ellen’s attire marked him at a glance as a mage.
“Baron Remi Veritati.”
Even a mage of ordinary rank could pass a city gate with ease.
Ellen, however, was not a mage officially recognized by the Magic Tower.
Without that recognition, no matter his true skill, he held only the status of a Magic Assistant—little better than a commoner.
I don’t have time to wait in that line.
In a large city the daily traffic always produced a long queue for inspection. Waiting would mean losing the traffickers.
“Loyalty! Forgive me—I failed to recognize you, my lord.”
Hearing the title, the soldier’s face went pale.
“No need. Easy enough to miss. Carry on.”
“Yes, sir! Safe travels!”
Ellen strode past the saluting soldier and through the gate.
Good—I haven’t lost them.
Declaring a title just to rush inside had been worth it. Far down the main road the carriage was still racing.
Buying off city soldiers… The organization must be sizable. I’ll dig you out by the roots.
Neeigh!
Ellen spurred his horse hard after the carriage.
Thump.
Two unidentifiable shadows slipped into pursuit behind him.