Toward Mineva
It did not take long to secure a carriage and set out for Mineva.
After asking us to wait a moment and serving us refreshments, the guildmaster vanished—only to reappear exactly thirty minutes later at the front of the guild building, bringing with him a first-class carriage bound for Mineva and a coachman to drive it.
Not quite on the level of the one I rode with Camilla… but still an excellent carriage.
The ride could not compare to the royal carriage I had shared with Camilla, of course, yet setting that exclusive standard aside, this was easily among the finest money could buy. And true to his reputation as a coachman of thirty years’ experience, the man’s skill at the reins was exceptional.
Rattle—rattle—
And so we rode toward Mineva. Settled comfortably inside the carriage, the three of us passed the time in conversation, learning more about one another.
“But if Seolho ever met another Ego Ironstone creature, would she risk being absorbed? Or could she absorb it instead?”
“Huh? Ahahaha! That’s hilarious, Lady Sigrun!”
Seolho burst into peals of laughter at the question. Sigrun knew little of Ego Ironstone life-forms, so her curiosity was only natural—what would happen if Seolho encountered another of her kind? Would she be absorbed, or do the absorbing?
I answered with a faint smile.
“You needn’t worry about that, Miss Sigrun. Ego Ironstone creatures can only absorb Ego Ironstone that hasn’t been infused with mana. Once they’ve received mana from their master, they can’t merge with one another.”
“Oho. That’s certainly fascinating. So there’s no danger of Seolho being swallowed up by another of her kind.”
“Hehe—even if they could absorb each other, I’d be the one doing the absorbing, not the other way around! I’m Master’s Ego Ironstone, after all.”
Ego Ironstones only fused while still uninfused with mana. You could still feed an ordinary Ego Ironstone to one that had already become a living creature, but once mana had been bestowed, two such beings would never merge. Sigrun looked intrigued by the explanation; Seolho puffed out her chest with pride.
I studied her as I rubbed my chin. Unlike earlier, when her tails had been visible, she now looked every bit an ordinary young girl.
“By the way, the mana drain really is almost nothing when she’s just transformed like this. At this rate, as long as I’m not burning through mana in a hurry, she could stay transformed indefinitely.”
Earlier I had asked her to hide her tails so we wouldn’t draw stares, and she had obliged at once. I was still feeding her a steady stream of mana, yet the consumption while she remained in human form was negligible—my natural recovery outpaced it. Unless I needed to pour out vast amounts of power, there was no reason to reverse the transformation.
That was when it happened.
CLUNK———!!!
“Wha—?!”
“Kyaa!”
“What is it? Something’s wrong outside.”
The carriage slammed to a sudden, violent halt. The jolt of inertia dwarfed every earlier rattle; Seolho and I cried out while Sigrun snatched up the sword and shield she had rested against the seat and rose in a single motion. By the time Seolho and I had steadied ourselves, a knock sounded from the driver’s box.
Knock-knock———
“My deepest apologies, honored guests. The carriage is currently surrounded… Might I trouble you to lend your strength?”
“Ah, of course. Leave the outside to us. Don’t worry.”
True to the guildmaster’s choice, the coachman reported the dire situation without letting panic into his voice. He was a superb driver, yet only an ordinary man with no combat skill whatsoever. We had already agreed that if force became necessary, we would handle it—so I reached for the carriage door handle.
Creak———
I stepped out and found exactly what the coachman had described: a band of brigands blocking the road ahead.
“Well now, look what we have today! I figured this was just some rich lord’s coach—never expected beauties like you to pop out!”
“Kihihi! How about you give us a little fun, eh? We might even let you live!”
“Hey, punk. You already had your fill earlier and you still want more?”
Utterly devoid of dignity or even basic manners—classic bandit fare. I clicked my tongue lightly. At the same moment another group appeared behind us, sealing our retreat. Sigrun and I let out simultaneous sighs.
“Haa… We haven’t even been on the road six hours and already trouble on the first day.”
“We’re near Free Cities territory, after all. Security won’t improve until we reach the next proper town. Still, as you say, running into trouble this soon is hardly welcome.”
Not even a full day out and already a bandit ambush. From Sigrun’s words it sounded as though such incidents would keep cropping up; I sighed again, deeper this time.
Seolho sensed the shift and glanced up at me, already gathering her power.
“Master, should I kill them all?”
She asked it with a sunny smile, yet beneath that brightness burned unmistakable killing intent aimed at the men who had insulted me.
Loyal to a fault, as expected.
An Ego Ironstone creature indeed—willing to show a ruthless side without hesitation if it was for my sake. I stroked her hair as I answered.
“Yes… If we leave them alive, more victims will only follow. And there’s no nearby city where we could hand them over.”
Honestly, I still felt a deep aversion to taking human lives. I could count on one hand the times I had killed anyone with my own hands. The memories of my modern life remained vivid; the act of ending a person still sat wrong with me.
Yet I also understood how dangerous it was on this continent to spare an enemy simply for my own peace of mind. When mercy was possible, fine. When it was not, I had to kill cleanly. In a situation where failing to kill meant my own death—or the death of innocents—hesitating because some part of me still clung to modern sensibilities would only make me the one who caused harm.
“These bandits… It’s better we kill them here.”
The ones surrounding us now fell squarely into that category. No city stood nearby to receive prisoners. If we merely subdued them and rode on, the next travelers along this road would suffer. So we would kill them. Having settled my resolve, I looked to Sigrun.
“Miss Sigrun, would you mind taking the front? Seolho and I will handle the rear.”
“Leave it to me. I’ll finish them cleanly.”
She nodded and poured mana into her shield.
Clack—clunk—
The shield-shaped armor separated and flowed over her body. In the blink of an eye the simple cloth garments vanished, replaced by a full suit of pure white plate. The next instant she layered Sword Light over her blade and charged the bandits ahead.
BOOM———!!!
“Let’s see how strong you really are!!”
“Wh-what the hell is this bitch?!”
“You crazy whore—fighting dirty!!”
“Sword Light! She’s a Sword Expert!!”
The sudden charge shattered their formation. Watching Sigrun hold her own against the many, I turned with Seolho toward the bandits lingering behind us.
“Ugh…!”
“Don’t all freeze up, damn it!! It’s just a little girl and some kid!!!”
“You idiot! You think that staff’s for decoration?! She’s a mage!! And a filthy rich one at that!!!”
The sight of Sigrun’s fight had clearly shaken them; they flinched under our gazes. One tried to rally the others, only to be shut down by a companion who apparently possessed a scrap of knowledge. That man had fixed on my staff—and he was right. A staff was expensive equipment few mages, even wealthy ones, could easily obtain. In ordinary eyes, a mage who carried one—no matter how young she looked—must be a formidable talent backed by serious money.
I hadn’t bought mine with gold, and I wasn’t merely “formidable,” but there was no need to explain any of that to men we were about to kill.
“Seolho, I’ll strike first. Let’s try coordinating, shall we?”
“Yes, Master!”
She would fight at my side from now on. Testing our teamwork here would serve us well in every battle to come. I raised my staff.
What magic to use? The thought flickered only briefly before the answer came.
Fire, of course.
My mastery of the fire element had reached the realm of complete understanding; the flame that burned in my heart was incomparably stronger than before. Seolho could also command fire through her powers—nothing could suit us better.
I drove the staff down into the earth.
“Sweep them away.”
Whoooosh———
Flames erupted from the point of impact and rolled forward like a wave. Even with careful restraint so the bandits wouldn’t die instantly, the power nearly matched my full-strength output from earlier days.
“Aaaaagh!!!”
“R-run!!! Get the fuck out of here!!!”
“This is some bullshit…!!”
They fled without a backward glance, but no human legs could outrun a wave. The fire swallowed them faster than they could run, reducing them to ash in heartbeats.
Because the wave had only surged straight ahead, the bandits on either side managed to bolt clear while their comrades burned. I glanced at Seolho.
“Seolho?”
“Yes! Leave it to me, Master!”
She answered and drew up her power—far beyond anything she had shown in the guildmaster’s office. Her force touched the flames that still lingered from my spell.
“Hah!”
Hummmm———
Perhaps because she was using my mana, the scattered fire merged seamlessly with her power and rose into the sky. From those lifted flames she fashioned spears that would pierce the earth—no, more like a rain of fire.
My magic, amplified by Seolho’s unique power: a joint attack.
“Fox Rain!”
CRASH-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH—————!!!!!
At her cry, a rain of fire fell beneath the sun and scoured the ground clean.