Chapter 118: Were Elves Not an Inferior Species...?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: Were Elves Not an Inferior Species...?
With midterms over, a cozy family trip had been arranged. Our destination was the estate of Countess Cassia Cortin—essentially, a simple trip to my mom’s friend’s house.
It was a five-day, four-night getaway, spanning a long weekend and with my attendance guaranteed through a travel proposal. Hindel looked like she desperately wanted to come along, but fortunately, she was called away because of an urgent matter in the colonies. So, it was just going to be Mom, the youngest, and me.
"Mommy... Mommy wants to go too..."
"Go to work! You're a civil servant! Go to work!"
"No! Mommy wants to go on a trip with Yong-hwan. I want to go skiing and hunting!"
"You're a civil servant! Go to work! Your country is calling! Go do your job!"
Because the Island Sex Slave Incident she handled last year had taken a new turn, a TF team had been hastily formed. Since Mom had been drafted as the team leader, she was no longer in a position to go on the trip.
Instead, Cassia Cortin came to our house.
"Auntie Cassia! Auntie Cassia! You said we were going camping! Wake up! Wake up!"
"...Auntie used too much mana yesterday. Can't I sleep for just one more hour?"
"WAKE UP!!!!"
Even for an Archmage, traveling that distance was an exhausting ordeal, and Cassia was making weak excuses. However, such frail justifications didn't work on our youngest.
"...Fine, I'm getting up, so just wait a moment. There's still plenty of time before departure, isn't there?"
"We're going now!!!"
The youngest shouted fiercely at Cassia, who was rubbing her eyes and sipping coffee. Cassia let out a short sigh as she absentmindedly ruffled Grasha’s hair.
"I'll just wash up quickly... actually, I can just wash up there. Are you ready?"
Cassia asked, looking at me with half-lidded eyes. Dammit... this woman was acting all seductive. If I had more power and authority, I would have done things that minors aren't allowed to see, but alas, I could only feel regret.
"Mom told me to tell you she'll kill you if the kids get hurt while hunting."
"It's not the North; getting hurt in the forests of the Central Region would be a feat in itself... Your mother worries needlessly."
Cassia stretched lightly and pulled on the jeans she had tossed aside.
She casually buttoned her shirt, but her black bra underneath kept peeking through. I don't know how she knew I liked that kind of thing, but my affection level for her rose by about 3 points.
Cassia reached into the air and made a gesture as if grabbing something. When she pulled, a staff materialized out of thin air. It was about two meters long, and the yellow gem in the center looked incredibly, incredibly expensive.
When Cassia lightly tapped the floor with the staff, a blue magic circle appeared on the ground and began to spin.
Then, everything around us turned white.
It seemed to operate on a different principle than the teleportation magic Hindel used. The white-washed world shook slowly before the colors began to bleed back in. The thick scent of phytoncides, enough to stain one's lungs, filled the air.
"Are we already there?"
"It wasn't that far, so this much is easy to traverse."
Judging by the lack of any signs of civilization, it felt like we had traveled a massive distance, but compared to the Far North Front where Cassia usually stayed, it might not have been that far at all.
"Now we're going to hunt here! And build a house! Right?"
The youngest clung to Cassia, chattering away. I cleared my throat. I hadn't wanted to, but thanks to that white-haired, muscular, tanned delinquent teaching me a ton of survival skills, I felt like I could show my sister how cool her big brother was today.
"As a survival expert, I'll teach you one by one—"
"I've already prepared the house. We just need to hunt."
Cassia lightly snapped her fingers.
With a faint vibration, a magic circle spontaneously manifested a short distance away, and a cabin popped into existence.
"Boy, did you say something?"
"No..."
I lost my chance to show off to the youngest, but a warm, cozy house that blocked the wind was much better than camping from scratch.
Magic truly was the best. My intelligence was legendary for studying science—that pseudo-magic that only inferior species believe in.
I didn't need a grand prize from a Science Olympiad; I felt like I should start preparing for magic-related Olympiads instead. There was no need to put "Won 2nd place in a gloomy, useless colony technology otaku competition" on my resume.
"I'll show you how to make a fire!"
"Whoa~!"
Maybe it was because the youngest was a bit simple, but she started clapping and marveling at her brother's greatness at just a simple trick.
I didn't know what the Brigadier General was thinking, but she crouched down next to the youngest and watched me try to light the fire.
Since I had started being able to use mana for physical reinforcement, starting a fire wasn't that difficult. They say we're inferior, but I guess Elven blood isn't just for show; the frictional heat on my hands didn't even feel that hot.
Whoosh!
"Whoa! Fire! It's fire!"
"Ahem! Hey! It'll go out if you're not careful! Don't blow on it!"
It was good that the youngest recognized her brother's greatness, but a breath of air was fatal to a weak flame. After pulling her away and barely saving the fire, the Brigadier General pulled a few logs out of subspace, tossed them next to it, and snapped her fingers.
ROAR!
Heat surged up with a firepower that couldn't even be compared to the fire I had made.
"...I hate you."
"You showed your talent, so I'm just doing the next task. Don't hate me."
Cassia reached out to pat my head. I skillfully dodged and leaned forward to bite her, but the Brigadier General's soft fingertip pressed firmly against my nose.
"Ouch!"
"You're going to be more of a troublemaker than Gracia."
The Brigadier General chuckled, stood up, and pulled a suitcase out of thin air.
"First, let's change into combat gear... no, let's change into comfortable clothes. First one to the cabin wins!"
Just as I was about to scoff at who would play such a childish game, the youngest bolted.
"Hey! That's cheating!"
"Oppa is a loser~!"
That damn brat started mocking me. I couldn't lose to her, so I gave it my all.
"Oppa is a loser..."
"Urgh...!"
I only lost by three steps because the youngest had cheated and started a bit early. I clearly even used mana, so I couldn't understand why I got totally smoked.
"Gracia, you run well. Have you ever learned how to move properly?"
"Nope!"
It was nauseating to see the youngest grinning and soaking in the feeling of victory, clearly enjoying the way Cassia was stroking her hair.
"When you're hunting, the most important thing to consider is the wind direction."
"Why?"
"They're more sensitive to smell than sound. And since we're going to be sniping, we have to be more careful about scent than noise."
"Aha~!"
I didn't want to know these things, but I poured out all the knowledge I had learned from Goldie (the former Ranger) and that tall, white-haired, tanned, muscular delinquent woman.
I was telling her that the difference between us wasn't just two years, but a vast gap in experience. I was so happy flaunting my intellectual vanity that I told her even more.
"You're smart. Have you learned anything else about hunting since last winter?"
"Yeah! Hindel's subordinates taught me!"
"Those people teach a young boy the strangest things..."
Cassia clicked her tongue. I had trusted her because she was kind to me, but she was definitely a female supremacist too. I docked 10 points from her affection level.
"This looks like a good spot. The distance is... about 750 meters."
Cassia muttered and suddenly came to a halt. Then, she pulled a long sniper rifle out of thin air and set it on the ground.
I scanned the surroundings, but I couldn't see anything.
"Is there something there?"
"There's a bear. A full-grown adult by this area's standards."
I looked where Cassia was pointing, but I saw nothing. No, seeing over 700 meters with the naked eye was what was weird. I tried to reinforce my eyes with mana, but I felt like my optic nerves were going to explode, so I just rubbed my eyes a few times as if something was in them and held back the tears.
"A bear!"
"Yes, you see it. Now, I'll teach you how to shoot."
Cassia began teaching the youngest various things, exactly as she had taught me. I put my eye to the scope of the sniper rifle—I couldn't tell if it was for hunting or assassination—and moved it around.
A bear was lumbering about. It looked cute squeezing between the trees, but looking closer, it was about the same height as the trees.
"???"
Thinking I must have seen it wrong, I looked again. The bear was as big as a tree.
"???"
"I want to try shooting now!"
The youngest pushed me aside and grabbed the sniper rifle.
"Gracia, what did I tell you?"
"Exhale halfway and pull without thinking about it!"
"Right, you know it well."
Bang!
The youngest pulled the trigger carelessly, as if she hadn't even aimed. Just like I'd seen before, there was no recoil, and she remained lying in the same position.
"Hey, you're not supposed to just fire like that!"
Bang! Bang!
The youngest started rapid-firing. I had to stop her.
"Got it!"
"Huh!?"
The youngest stood up and flashed a V-sign at Cassia and me. I hurriedly looked through the scope at the fallen bear.
"...Three times in a row, in the same spot... the eye. She hit it."
Cassia evaluated the situation with a hollow, bewildered expression.
"I did good, right?"
The youngest just smiled brightly, as if she had no idea what kind of feat she had just performed.