Mentor and Mentee, with an Ace on Top (3)
“Gift……?”
I never imagined Airi would be the one to say that word.
“Yeah, I know the usual you.”
Airi was still straddling me, showing no signs of getting off.
“You're clueless and scaredy-cat. Your normal moves are total newbie level.”
“Eek……but I've gotten pretty good lately─”
“You've improved, sure, but you're still the same. But you know, sometimes you change. I still remember when you took down Elvin.”
Her wine-red hair slid down, brushing my cheek.
“People with Gifts all act pretty similar. Especially those who acquire them later in life rather than being born with them……the gap between when they can use it and when they can't is huge.”
It felt like she was seeing right through everything I'd shown so far. I hadn't realized anyone besides Team Leader Edwin knew so much about Gifts. And from among my fellow trainees, no less.
“Your heart's racing.”
“That's…….”
This damn heart of mine was pounding like it was yelling, 'You're right!'
“If it's really power from a Gift……it'd explain what I saw and some of the rumors floating around about you. Maybe even that story about you beating a 1st ring opponent is true.”
“E-even if it is thanks to a Gift, I don't really have anything to──”
“So you do know what a Gift is?”
Airi's eyes were somehow intimidating. Like she was peering straight into my soul.
“Most people, when you bring up Gifts, either say they've never heard of them or dismiss it as nonsense. Know why?”
I shook my head.
“Because if you haven't experienced it, you can't understand. That feeling of a power suddenly, out of nowhere, with zero logic behind it, dropping like a real gift.”
I could totally relate. The Heavenly Killing Star ability had come at the most random timing imaginable. Without that experience, I never would've believed in something as ridiculous as Gifts.
'I'd have scoffed, like "As if that exists. Get real."'
So it made sense that people who knew about or believed in Gifts probably had one themselves.
“Airi……the fact that you're saying this means you──”
“What does it feel like?”
“Huh?”
A shadow fell over Airi's face for a moment.
“What it feels like to get a Gift. I want to know.”
Unlike before, she avoided my gaze. The girl who'd never shown even a speck of emotion until now……had a lonely look in her eyes.
“Airi?”
I slowly raised my hand to touch her cheek. The one who'd glared at me so fiercely was now desperately trying to look away.
“Why that face…….”
“Sorry.”
Airi got up and whipped her head away. Like she didn't want anyone seeing her face. She lay back on the bed, pulled the blanket over herself, and stared at the opposite wall.
For the first time, Airi had let her true feelings slip. It was just a fleeting moment, but the girl known to others as rude and standoffish……had shown curiosity about me, only to have her own hidden side exposed.
Enposhium, the prestigious knight family. I was clueless, but everyone knew. The lineage of the Sword Saint. Newspapers occasionally covered the Sword Saint's exploits. Airi's father must be him.
And……Gifts.
What do you know?
Airi knew things I didn't, but it seemed like she'd never experienced one herself. That's why she'd cornered me into answering, drawing out the truth.
Creeeak.
The door opened slowly.
“Phew~ Time to finally get some rest……”
Senior Ines walked in, sensed the weird vibe, glanced between blanket-covered Airi and me, and crossed her arms.
“You two fight or something?”
“Huh? N-no! Nothing like──”
I frantically waved my hands in denial. We hadn't fought, but things had gotten even more awkward somehow.
“Hmmm~?”
“Even if you look at me like that, it's really not……”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Ines hung her jacket on the rack, stretched, and plopped down on her own bed.
“Asked around the villagers, met the village chief too, but we'll need more investigating. Yeah……we gotta move at dawn anyway, so sleep now and I'll fill you in tomorrow on the way.”
“Where are we going?”
“The Mana Stone Mine, obviously.”
“Th-the one with monsters……”
“Right. Gotta see it with our own eyes first, yeah?”
Ines winked with a grin. The thought of facing more terrifying things made me rub my face.
Life is nothing but suffering……
Once again, I had to walk into a scary place with my own two feet.
We left the inn at dawn and headed for the mountain where the Mana Stone Mine was.
There was quite a distance between the village and the mine. Apparently, monsters were drawn there often, so they kept it far but laid down long rail tracks instead. Follow those, and we'd reach the mine.
“What kind of monsters are nesting there that the chief and villagers are so dead-set against going to the mine?”
Ines stretched her arms, looking groggy.
“What'd they say?”
Airi asked, and Ines shrugged.
“Just 'monsters.' They asked what our business was in the village too, said they were in a bind with no mana stones to sell.”
“For a place in that spot……the vibe was good, and they seemed well-fed and living fine.”
“Right?”
Yesterday's dinner talk, minus the subject, had been about the village atmosphere. Who'd be partying at a tavern if things were that bad?
I trailed behind them, and when my eyes met Airi's by chance, she startled and looked away.
Ugh……
It felt like we'd suddenly grown even more distant. I'd thought maybe we could get closer now that we were comrades, but it tanked right from the start.
“Ugh.”
Ines, leading the way, shook her head.
“We're heading to check out monsters now, okay? I can't perform at my best in this awkward air, so sort it out quick.”
She picked up her pace and stride, putting distance between us to give us a chance to talk.
“……”
“……”
But neither of us were the type to lead conversations, so the awkwardness only thickened.
“Yu……Yufir.”
“Y-yeah!”
But Airi spoke first. Though she was still staring off at some distant mountain, not at me.
“Sorry……about yesterday.”
She scratched her cheek apologetically. I hadn't expected her to come forward so straightforwardly—my lips twitched into a grin.
“Heh, what're you sorry for?”
Teasing mode activated, I asked, and Airi's shoulders flinched.
“I……let my curiosity get the better of me……threw sensitive questions at you and pushed for answers.”
She was shockingly objective about her own actions. Who knew she could self-reflect like this.
“Sorry~ but I'm not mad! Right here, here!”
At that, Airi's brow twitched. She turned to look at me.
“You're……enjoying this.”
“Uh.”
Busted instantly. Truth was, I wasn't mad at Airi at all, and I didn't even want an apology.
“Haa.”
“Pfft, pffhaha! First time seeing you sigh, Airi.”
I clutched my stomach laughing. Who knew she'd show her emotions so openly. It was the first time in months. We'd barely spoken properly even in the dorms, but that distance felt a little shorter now.
“I'm fine, really. About the Gift too……eh, I just don't talk about it, but it's not some 'never let anyone know' level secret.”
“Still.”
Airi shook her head.
“Still sorry. I know you shouldn't just tell anyone about Gifts that easily. You shouldn't reveal it so casually from now on either.”
“You know a lot about Gifts, huh, Airi?”
“Yeah, one of my family members had one.”
Airi matched my pace, walking side by side, gazing ahead naturally as she spoke.
“But you don't have one, right, Airi?”
She hesitated at the question, then nodded.
“Yeah, unfortunately.”
“Aw, no need to──”
“It would've been better if I'd inherited it.”
“Uh……?”
Once more, a shadow crossed Airi's face. Our conversation stalled there.
I wanted to say something to lighten the mood, but before I could, a red murderous aura rushed toward us.
“Kids, stop here.”
At Ines's words, we halted and ducked behind a tree. Ahead lay the Mana Stone Mine, blanketed by more monsters than you could count on two hands.
“Whoa……yeah, no way regular mercenaries could handle this.”
Ines pointed admiringly at a toad-like monster standing out prominently in the horde.
“See that?”
“T-toad-looking thing. But……urgh, what's that on its back……”
A massive toad monster. But with tentacles sprouting from its back. Six of them, wriggling and dancing.
“It's an Ogama.”
“Yep, Ogama.”
Ines and Airi seemed to know what it was.
“Know its traits?”
Embarrassed, I smiled sheepishly and shook my head. Airi answered for me.
“Poison, probably. The needle at the tip of its long tongue and those tentacles carry it.”
“Right, not lethal to humans……but nerve paralysis is the big one.”
“E-eek……”
I yanked at my hair with both hands. What had I just heard? Poison? Nerve paralysis?
“Paralysis with monsters all around……yeah, that's seriously dangerous.”
“Exactly. Didn't know Oganas and Vargs weren't hostile, but this might be tricky.”
“W-we're fighting……?”
Ines and Airi turned to me like I'd asked something obvious.
Am I the weird one here? Don't these people value their lives?
“Just my take, but we need to get inside the mine for clues. Chief said monsters keep respawning endlessly—reported to the knights, but it just burned money with no real results.”
“Yeah……I agree. Even for a mana stone mine, this many monsters isn't normal.”
Those two synced up perfectly.
“Alright then~”
Ines stretched her arms.
“Time to see what my juniors can do?”
Two rings coiled around her arms. A flock of ink-black crows burst from her feet and soared into the sky. So Senior Ines was a mage. Two rings—2nd circle?
Airi drew her sword from her waist too.
Tzzzzzt!
Dense aura visible to the eye enveloped her body. Two rings began forming around her sword.
“Huh?”
Ines, okay, but Airi at 2nd ring too? I couldn't have imagined it. The mana pouring off her made me question if she was really a trainee like us.
“Let's go!”
Senior and Airi charged ahead.
“W-wait, coming too……!”
Yeah, this time it'd have to be bus-riding combat.