Shall We Travel Together?
I studied Holy Magic while waiting for my sister to return. Whatever commission she had taken, there had been no word for days, and she never once showed her face.
"I wonder when she'll be back…."
I had wanted to ask her if she would go on an adventure with me — travel the world together. Unfortunately, before I could even see her again, I found myself headed back to the baron's estate.
Once more, during a break between lessons, the baron's daughter latched onto me.
"Today's lesson was difficult, wasn't it?"
"It was, but wasn't it fun all the same?"
There had been a time when I fretted over her mana — what would become of her? — but the baron's house must have possessed some secret method for cultivating it, because the young lady had begun to accumulate mana of her own. The amount was still small, and she could not yet wield it freely, but she was advancing little by little.
"More importantly, you greeted my brother, didn't you?"
Her brother? Surely she meant the young master?! Why was he coming up in conversation? Every time I came to the baron's estate he approached me, and it was driving me up the wall….
I wasn't sure what she was driving at, but I had run into him. It had been on my way in — the moment he spotted me, he had suddenly waved and called out a greeting.
I had answered without panicking, simply bowing my head in return.
"Yes, well…."
Honestly, I felt a flicker of fear every time I saw him. He was a noble, after all. Not just any noble — the heir to the baron's house, the man who would one day inherit the title. A noble who could dispose of a commoner without a second thought. No matter how friendly I had become with his younger sister, he was not someone I could treat carelessly. And on top of that, I genuinely could not understand why he was so friendly toward me. Why he took any interest at all was beyond me.
Wasn't there supposed to be a vast wall between nobles and commoners?
I was simply terrified of making a mistake.
"Oh? You don't care for my brother?"
"Pardon?"
The baron's daughter looked as though she were expecting something. I couldn't tell what, and my head ached trying to figure out how to answer.
"Isn't my brother handsome?"
"Uh… well……."
When I let the silence stretch too long, disappointment settled over her face.
"Well… he is handsome, I suppose?"
That seemed to be the answer she wanted, so I gave it. Haa… catering to a child's whims was exhausting. If she hadn't been a noble……. Well, even from a man's perspective, he did have a handsome face. By ordinary standards, at least….
"Right?!"
"Yes… well……."
"Men like my brother are rare, you know."
Were they? Well… among the men I had seen, the young master was the most handsome.
But why on earth was the conversation heading this way? The baron's daughter kept listing her brother's virtues. Was this brother complex? Hmm… honestly, it wasn't a pleasant sight.
I had an older sister of my own, and I never acted like this.
I gave the baron's daughter suitably agreeable responses. I had no idea why she was carrying on like this, but I could not afford to offend a noble. And when the lesson ended and I was leaving the mansion, I ran straight into the young master.
"Ah, it seems the lesson has finished."
"Yes, well…."
The Master glanced my way, then left without a word. Why?! If he had just hurried me along, I could have slipped past comfortably!
"Might I ask when you will be coming next?"
"Who can say? Your sister would know better than I would, wouldn't she?"
I wanted nothing more than to escape that spot. But I could not say so out loud. What if I came across as rude and soured his mood? A commoner who had offended a noble might well find herself the target of some petty revenge.
Of course, from what I had seen of the baron's household, I did not truly believe they would do such a thing — but as a commoner, I was simply afraid. The Master's serene detachment was almost miraculous to me.
"Next time, might you spare some time for me?"
He was inviting me with perfect gentlemanly courtesy, and yet goosebumps prickled along my arms. Having a man say something like that to me left a peculiar feeling in my chest.
"Th-that… please ask your sister."
I fled the spot half in retreat and bolted out of the mansion. Then I ran for the carriage where The Master was waiting. The moment I reached it, I yanked the door open and scrambled aboard.
"Master, why did you leave me behind?"
"Ahem. When a young man and a young woman are speaking, an old man can hardly insert himself without tact, can he?"
"Pardon?"
A young man and a young woman speaking? Looking only at our genders, that was technically correct…. But the way he said it carried an entirely different meaning.
"Never mind. Let us be off."
The Master cut himself short in a hurry. There was more I wanted to ask, but my mind was too worn out to press the matter.
I just wanted to finish learning Holy Magic and set out on a journey….
My sister returned to the city. It had been two weeks since I last saw her face, and she looked better than I had feared.
"Where have you been?"
"A subjugation."
Well, I had figured she had taken some kind of commission as an adventurer.
"I asked where you went."
When I let my anger show openly, my sister looked faintly flustered. She had vanished without a word — did she have any idea how worried I had been? No matter how strong she was, the world was vast. There was no telling what formidable enemies or deadly traps might be waiting out there.
Right… someone could fall into a trap and have their gender changed, just like me.
"W-well, to another village…."
Flustered, my sister launched into an explanation with uncharacteristic hand-waving and foot-shuffling, trying to make me understand.
"What… a monster nest subjugation?"
She told me she had teamed up with several other adventurers on a commission from the Adventurers' Guild to clear out a monster colony. The journey to the nest had been considerable, and they had spent a long time combing through forests and mountains on a thorough sweep, wiping the monsters out root and stem.
"Yeah."
At least there were no visible wounds. Seeing that put my mind somewhat at ease.
"Next time, at least tell me before you go. I was worried."
Honestly…. It hadn't been anything shady after all. The moment I relaxed, my sister's eyes lit up as she looked at me.
"Worried?"
"Yes, I was worried!"
I knew she was strong, but she was still a woman, wasn't she? She was still my sister, wasn't she? Of course I would worry. She broke into a bright smile, clearly delighted. The sight of my usually taciturn sister smiling was genuinely charming.
But this wasn't the time for that, was it?
Only after I had caught my breath did I remember the original reason I had been looking for her. This wasn't what mattered right now!
"Sister, what are you going to do once my magic lessons are finished?"
She tilted her head, not seeming to understand the question.
"Once studying is done, are you going back to the village?"
When I asked her directly, she wore a slightly dazed expression.
"You wouldn't not go back?"
I see… so returning to the village was the only option she had ever considered…! In that case, today was the day to add one more choice to the list.
"Have you thought about working as an adventurer?"
"An adventurer…?"
"Yeah. Not going straight back to the village — traveling the world instead."
"Together…?"
"Yeah! What do you think?"
The light in her eyes grew stronger. That… I could take as a positive reaction, right?
"There's no real need to go back to the village right away, is there?"
The Instructor was there, so the village would be fine… and even if she was the next village chief, that was still about ten years off. Before then, shouldn't she get to enjoy her life a little?
"Together…."
Just a little more pressure and I felt I could persuade her.
"I'm not saying we never go back. Just… five years? Yes! About five years of traveling, earning money, and gathering all kinds of experience."
If we were going to live only in the village, being a frog in a well wouldn't matter. And given how simple and good-natured the villagers were, they would follow her just fine even as chief. But that way, the village could never grow.
To become chief, develop the village, and push it forward, I believed a frog in a well simply wouldn't do.
At the very least, someone who stood above others needed a breadth of experience.
"Our village can't go on living like that forever, can it?"
"That's…."
"Out there, there are useful things like magic tools, and all sorts of things we've never even heard of."
Our village had only just started using magic tools. And the world surely held far more useful things than I even knew about.
"All sorts…."
Just a little more, maybe?
"We travel and find things that could help the village!"
My real purpose was different… but I said what I needed to say to persuade her. And it wasn't even a lie. If I improved my alchemy skills while traveling, that would help the village. So it wasn't wrong.
"Would it be all right…?"
"We'll send letters, at least."
Our foster father and mother would grumble a little, but they would surely tell us to go and come back safely. I felt bad toward our parents… but in a way, this was all for the village. I believed they would understand.
"Then… let's go together."
"Really? I'll send the letters right away?"
Before she could change her mind, I resolved to finish the matter by sending letters to the village. One to our parents, and another to The Instructor.
The letter to our parents, boiled down, said that I intended to travel the world with my sister in order to learn about it. The letter to The Instructor explained that we had decided to travel and see the world together, and asked him to look after the village.
Once the letters were sent, there would be no turning back.
In my previous life, there had been a saying: strike while the iron is hot. The moment I finished writing, I went looking for a merchant caravan to post the letters. And then I ran into a problem.
"Um, Sister…."
There was a problem so minor it was almost trivial…. I had no money! I had long since spent every last coin of my living expenses and had been freeloading off The Master. He had even paid for my meals…. He had said it was only natural for a disciple, so refusing had been difficult, and since I had no money, I had gratefully accepted.
And because I had been living off The Master's kindness, I had completely forgotten that I was broke. Only when a situation requiring money actually arose did it hit me. Awkward…. I should have earned some pocket money ages ago.
"Could you spare some money…?"
I asked my sister, who had been earning as an adventurer. She looked at me with warm eyes.
"Sure."
I had been the one to propose the journey, the one to suggest we send word by letter — and now I had to beg for the money to do it. It was mortifying. Something like this, I should have paid for myself, like a man….
But then again, I was a woman right now……. So it was fine…. Probably….
Ah… this felt terrible.
Lately, a certain woman had caught my interest. I was twenty-one, and my father's pressure to marry had just begun to settle in.
She was the disciple of the magic tutor who taught my younger sister — a lovely young woman with rare pink hair.
The first time I saw her with my sister, I had not known who she was and had even suspected her of approaching with some ulterior motive. Once I learned the truth, I simply accepted it. And as I watched her — almost as if keeping her under observation — I came to understand her: she was exceedingly kind, she looked after my sister with genuine care, and she was a completely different sort of woman from any noble young lady I had ever known.
She was not dazzling, but looking at her brought a gentle warmth. She was intelligent, and her consideration ran deep.
There was the minor issue of her being a commoner, but if she could use magic, she was just within the range of what could be brought into the nobility without too much strain. Besides, we were a baron's house — we did not scrutinize bloodlines in fine detail. My father would likely not object too strongly either.
Had we been high nobility, accepting her would have been far more difficult…. The higher the rank, the more they fretted over bloodlines and purity, and took in a commoner was called a disgrace. But that had nothing to do with a frontier baron's house….
Wanting even a little conversation with her, I had begun hovering nearby — and she had started avoiding me.
Why…?
"I thought my looks were decent enough…."
Back at the Academy, more than a few noble young ladies had trailed after me for my appearance. At the time it had only been a nuisance. Still, I had learned it was a serviceable weapon for charming women. The problem was what to do when the target in question refused to give those looks the time of day….
"How can I get closer to her…."
So this was what it felt like to be drawn to someone…. I used to laugh at the friends who chased after girls at the Academy, and now I was doing the exact same thing….
I should have been friendlier with those fellows back then.