The Face I Could Never Forget
With Bright's help, I easily scaled the cliff using Fly magic.
When I reached the top, I found Rai getting thoroughly trampled by an enraged Blondie.
The little guy looked completely resigned. Blondie had always hated him anyway. Because he was a snake.
[Yeah. Stomp him. Stomp away.]
“Rai.”
[Ah! Master! You're back!]
Rai burst into noisy tears and crawled under my feet, then swiftly climbed up my leg all the way to my shoulder.
[Do something about this guy! He completely ignores everything I say!]
[How is a horse supposed to understand you?]
[I didn't do anything and he just started stomping on me! He's definitely crazy! It has to be rabies!]
[Horses don't get rabies, you know.]
Calming down the agitated Blondie while also listening to Rai's sobbing complaints left me mentally overwhelmed for a moment.
I was worried that Blondie might have hurt his leg.
Rai was so solid that stepping on him wrong could easily sprain an ankle, and for a horse, that usually meant euthanasia.
I felt his leg and, fortunately, there didn't seem to be any injury.
[Master! Don't tell me you're actually worried about that crazy horse more than me?]
[It's not 'don't tell me'—it's the truth. And Blondie's actually very gentle.]
[Waaah! You're so mean! I'm going back to my parents' house!]
It was a big problem that Rai had picked up all sorts of weird things during our walks.
[Go if you want.]
[No! You have to stop me!]
Where would you even have a parents' house? If I had to guess, maybe the Spirit Realm?
“Now that I think about it, Jeanie, what was that magic circle from earlier?”
I had let my guard down when Bright suddenly asked.
“……Huh?”
“The one drawn by the lakeside.”
The other two mages were also looking at me, apparently just as curious.
When mages looked at you with those eyes, they tended to be relentless.
“That's right! I've never seen a pattern like that before. What kind of magic circle was it?”
“It had a structure we've never used. It was unique and quite complex.”
“It was an Intermediate Spirit Array. I was just practicing drawing it. I was thinking… maybe I should try contracting with another intermediate spirit.”
“Oh-ho. So that was a spirit array.”
“You're even practicing those? That's amazing!”
I awkwardly turned my body and pretended to stroke Blondie's mane while quickly giving Rai an order.
[Rai, go back down and destroy the spirit array.]
[What? I worked so hard on that array! I had to find the ley line and dig it deep enough to use multiple times!]
[We already made the contract, so we don't need it anymore. Get rid of it.]
[Eh.]
[What? You didn't realize?]
[Now that you mention it, I get it. It definitely smells like a blue snake! I could never tell because Master always reeks of water.]
[I told you not to call it a smell.]
Whenever I was having mental conversations with Rai, I inevitably ended up spacing out.
“Jeanie! Look over there!”
It was then. Bright grabbed my shoulder and shook me urgently.
When I looked where he was pointing, I saw a blue flare soaring from the mountain.
It was a signal requesting rescue.
“We should hurry and go help them!”
When the junior mage shouted, Bright and his uncle looked slightly hesitant. That area was a monster nest, so it wasn't a great idea for mages to head there alone.
Mages couldn't jump straight into combat without pre-casting. Even using a single spell required at least several minutes of preparation.
That was why there were so many swordsmen among escort mercenaries.
“Senior, do you have any stored spells?”
“I didn't expect something like this to happen……”
“What do you have?”
“Two Fireballs and… a Light?”
That's why mages prepared their spells in a half-cast state before battles. It was a way to store the incantation midway so they could activate it instantly.
“What about your uncle over there?”
“I have none……”
“Well then, I'll be on my way.”
I quickly mounted Blondie.
I wasn't exactly overflowing with a sense of justice either.
“No! We have to go help them!”
Unfortunately, it was the junior mage who grabbed the hem of my cloak in distress.
Why are you doing this to me! We're basically strangers! Strangers!
Besides, I'd just contracted with Endairon, so I had no mana left.
“Um, I'll head to the city and send people over. That should work, right?”
“They could all die while you're doing that!”
“I can't risk dying while trying to save them.”
“……Are none of you really going?”
Did he really have to look at us with such despair-filled eyes, as if all faith in humanity had been shattered…?
“That might be the carriage bringing our stamp!”
“We have to go!”
“Let's go! Everyone! Hurry, Jeanie!”
“Eh?”
Another flare shot into the sky.
It was such an urgent situation that the signal was practically screaming for help.
The mages all piled into the carriage and sped off toward the flare. Left sitting on Blondie, I agonized over whether to head to the city or follow them.
“Why me!”
But in the end, I swallowed my reluctance and turned the horse toward the mountain.
If mages I knew died in a group, the whole day would be ruined!
Ugh, I hate this so much!
[Master! What about me?]
“Rai, you destroy the spirit array first and then come! Let's go, Blondie.”
I soon overtook Bright's carriage. My plan was to assess the situation first and at least buy them some time, so I urged the horse forward.
Blondie was an excellent steed. Even on the steep mountain path, he ran lightly, stably, and quickly.
After passing the sharply winding mountain road, I soon heard the clash of swords and the noisy voices of people in the distance.
“That way.”
I slowed down and carefully guided the horse along the outer edge.
While gauging my remaining mana, I figured I could handle two or three orcs or trolls.
But the closer I got, the clearer it became that I didn't need to intervene.
The situation was already wrapping up.
Reinforcements had arrived before us.
“……Incredible.”
The admiration slipped out involuntarily.
A swordsman with a dark red cloak pulled all the way over his head was swiftly carving up the surviving monsters at terrifying speed.
Every time his blade moved, an orc's head flew through the air without fail.
To my eyes, I couldn't even tell which direction the sword was swinging.
By the time Bright's carriage arrived at the scene, almost everything was already over.
The swordsman had slaughtered more than eight orcs in the blink of an eye—at least from what I'd glimpsed.
“Whoa.”
“Someone got here first.”
“Amazing. That person is incredible.”
Everyone had similar reactions to mine.
Before we knew it, we'd been reduced to mere spectators.
“Krrrk!”
The last orc collapsed with a sound like a pig having its throat slit.
The mysterious rescuer didn't stop there. He silently used his sword to finish off the already-fallen orcs by slicing their necks, then flicked the blood off his blade with a sharp whoosh.
Okay, it was a little cool, I guess…….
“Ugh?”
No. It couldn't be.
I prayed desperately. I hoped with all my heart that the warm liquid that had just splattered onto my left cheek wasn't pig blood from that sword!
But that hope was brutally shattered the moment I raised my hand and wiped at the mysterious fluid.
The sticky, dark green liquid was unmistakably monster blood.
And not just any—it was orc blood, the kind whose greasy stench lingered for three whole days once it got on you!
“Huk, Jeanie!”
Bright jumped down from the carriage in shock and ran over, holding out a handkerchief with both hands.
I was trembling, but the swordsman in question didn't seem to notice. He looked quite annoyed as he received words of gratitude from the group he'd saved from the ambush.
“Thank you so much!”
“We would have all died if you hadn't saved us!”
“Sir Swordsman, you are our savior! Please allow us to repay you!”
I dismounted and strode toward the swordsman with long steps.
I rubbed my face vigorously with Bright's handkerchief, but it only made the grease worse.
You bastard! You splattered this crap on me? Let me see your face!
“Repayment isn't necessary. If you have any water, could you spare some?”
Oh my god.
Fucking hell, this can't be happening!
I stared at my own eyes in disbelief for a long time. This was far more shocking than when I'd found Bright at the lake.
The guy had pulled his mask, which had been covering him up to his nose, down below his chin. His face… that face…….
“Robenin Pedri!”
How could I ever forget that face!
That rare red hair and those golden eyes that sparkled with the blood of the Elan imperial family!
The Pedri family was so powerful that they had imperial princesses married into their line once every generation.
I accidentally let out a loud “Kyaa!”
In an instant, everyone's eyes turned toward me.
“You… You! Why are you here!”
When I recognized him, he only narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression remaining as blank as ever.
“Who are you?”
And the short words that came from his mouth made my heart boil with rage.