Herb Gathering Quest #6
Herb Gathering Quest #6
After returning to the inn.
I planned to practice my magic until my appointment with Rebecca approached. I intended to pore over the magic book and study the hand seal gestures.
But the moment I picked up the magic book lying open on my bed, I couldn't shake the strange feeling that something was off.
"Huh?"
The source of that odd feeling was the book's contents.
On the open page, I discovered an illustration I had never seen before. What I saw was a figure of a practitioner forming a hand seal. The seal the practitioner was making was entirely different from the Magic Missile seal I had learned so far.
'A new illustration appeared?'
Staring at the book, which had changed yet again, I felt utterly dumbfounded.
I hurriedly flipped back to the earlier pages, but the illustration and explanation for Magic Missile were still there. The previously blank sections had been filled with new content. When I counted with my fingers, it totaled five pages. In short, a new spell had been recorded in the magic book.
When I first saw it, the blank magic book had added Magic Missile, and now a second spell had appeared. By this point, I couldn't help but harbor doubts about the remaining blank pages.
'Maybe they're not actually empty paper after all?'
Could it be that the blank pages actually contained spell descriptions? Currently invisible to the eye, but new spells unlocking once certain conditions were met? That would make the book's absurdly thick spine somewhat understandable.
After mulling over the hypothesis for a moment, I decided to first examine the new spell that had appeared in the magic book. I'd learn what kind of spell it was just by reading.
After all, the final illustration showed the practitioner having completed the spell.
What the practitioner created was none other than water.
A round, large droplet of water hovered above the practitioner's palm. Even without being contained in a cup, the droplet floated in midair while maintaining its shape.
Reading the tiny script written below the illustration, I realized the name of the spell the practitioner had used.
"Water."
Literally a spell that creates water.
I still had no idea where I could put this spell to use. But I was also starting to get a little bored of training the same spell day in and day out. I immediately began learning the Water spell while studying the magic book.
There were roughly four hours left before I was to meet Rebecca.
I thought it impossible to successfully cast the spell within four hours. At best, I'd likely only manage to roughly memorize the shape of the hand seal in my head.
It had taken me three days to first succeed with Magic Missile, so I figured this time would demand a similar investment of time.
I emptied my mind and simply repeated the hand seal over and over.
I kept my fingers moving without wasting a single second. Even I thought it was truly remarkable.
After accepting a guild request, slogging through hell all day, and returning home, I somehow still had the energy to learn magic. That was because learning magic was fun.
Just looking at a magic book gave me vitality.
It was one of the very few enjoyable things I'd experienced since reincarnating into this world.
Engrossed in training, time flew by like a bullet.
I could barely recall how the four hours passed. Perhaps because I had maintained my concentration so well, I ended up achieving an unexpectedly huge success on my very first attempt.
"Oh, oooh...."
A water droplet.
Unbelievably, a droplet of water had formed on my palm. It was extremely small compared to the illustration in the magic book, but the tiny, quivering bead of water was undeniably a water droplet.
I was thrilled to have succeeded so much faster than expected.
Perhaps thanks to having grasped how to sense mana, I had created a water droplet in a mere four hours.
My prediction of needing days had been neatly disproven.
In an instant, I felt triumphant.
I wanted to spend time enlarging the droplet.
But expanding the droplet would have to wait until after my drinking session with Rebecca. Learning magic could be done anytime, but free drinks were only tonight.
I hurriedly tidied my clothes and set out for the tavern.
*
"Moon's Blessing Tavern."
That was the tavern where Rebecca and I had promised to meet.
Rebecca had arrived at the tavern I'd mentioned without any trouble.
I spotted the red-haired swordswoman sitting at a table inside. She was such a standout beauty that I recognized her at a glance the moment I walked in.
The instant I drew near, Rebecca lifted her head sharply to acknowledge me.
"You're here. I was so hungry waiting for you, I thought I was going to die."
"Why didn't you order something? You're the one treating, after all."
"I don't know what's good at this place. I'll leave the food selection to you. But don't order anything too expensive. Pick anything over ten Copper and I'll slug you."
A slug, huh? You still have a rough way of talking.
Taking Rebecca's advice to heart, I ordered the most cost-effective food and drinks this tavern offered.
Stir-fried noodles, grilled chicken wings, and boiled beans.
When the food later appeared on the table, Rebecca looked completely satisfied.
As Rebecca poked at the noodles with her fork, a question suddenly occurred to me.
"You've got bandages wrapped around your wrist?"
"Ah, this."
Rebecca had a bandage wrapped around one wrist. She hadn't been wearing any when we parted earlier in the day.
"My wrist got swollen, so I dropped by a clinic for a bit before coming to the tavern. They ripped me off for ten Copper over this, I tell you. How does just applying ointment and wrapping a bandage cost ten Copper?"
"Why did your wrist swell up? What happened...."
Ah.
I stopped mid-sentence after asking thoughtlessly.
Rebecca had clearly been through something that could injure a wrist. When we fought the Kelpie at the lake, she had deflected the Magic Missile I shot with all her might. It would hardly be surprising if the wrist gripping her sword had taken strain.
"It was because of my magic."
"Why is it your magic's fault? It's the Kelpie who attacked us. Though I never imagined getting it treated would cost ten Copper."
"The clinics in this area are pretty unscrupulous to begin with. It'd be best not to get hurt if you can help it."
"Guess so.... But something's been bugging me since we met. Aren't you about the same age as me? Are you going to keep using that awkward formal speech?"
"Formal speech?"
Rebecca had ambushed me with a critique of my way of speaking. I habitually use polite speech with people I haven't known long, but it seemed Rebecca found it uncomfortable. Well, if she asked, it wasn't like I couldn't do it. I immediately dropped into a more casual tone.
"In that case, I'll speak casually—, Rebecca."
"That's so much better."
I ate while chatting with Rebecca.
After that, Rebecca was the one steering the conversation. We didn't have any particular shared interests, but Rebecca kept chattering away nonstop. For me, having always been on the listening end in my past life, her talkative nature felt comfortable. It was certainly better than spending time in awkward silence.
"Luke, you're a mage, right? So can you start a fire with your fingers? All the mages back where I'm from could do it."
"No, I can't."
"Then how about flying through the sky? The mages in my kingdom used to fly around on carpet. When I was a kid, I rode one once and was scared to death.... Anyway, can you fly?"
"Can't fly. It hasn't been long since I started learning magic, so I don't have many spells mastered. I probably can't do any of the tricks the mages you remember showed off. I only really have two spells I can use. One, as you know, is that bead-shooting magic, and the other is—."
"The other one is?"
Should I tell her about this one? I just learned it today, so I still haven't got it down perfectly. But in front of a pretty girl, you can't help wanting to show off a little.
After pondering a moment, I let Rebecca in on the other one.
"A spell that makes water droplets."
"Water droplets...?"
"It's nothing to get excited about. I only just learned it, so I can only make a droplet the size of a fingernail. Honestly, firing a Magic Missile is more impressive. If you want a magic show, want me to show you one? I'm pretty good at those."
"No, I've already seen the missile, so I'm good. Could you perhaps show me the water droplet spell? I'd rather see that."
"Well, if you want to see it, I've got no choice."
I got a free drink out of this, so a bit of magic is the least I can offer. Plus, making a water droplet isn't a spell that causes damage around it.
I cast the spell I had been diligently practicing before coming to the tavern right then and there.
"Water."
A small droplet formed immediately above the table. As if time had stopped, the droplet floated in midair. I thought it was a pathetically tiny droplet, but Rebecca didn't seem to see it that way. She stared at the droplet with a thoroughly astonished expression.
"I-It's real water. Water appeared out of thin air."
"Is it really that amazing?"
Truthfully, even I found creating the droplet amazing, but Rebecca's reaction was a little excessive. She had picked up her fork and was literally poking the droplet with it.
"In the kingdom where I lived, water was incredibly precious. Mages who could create water received excellent treatment. No matter how pathetic their skill, they were treated on par with royalty. It was common for the royal family to marry them into their bloodline. If you could just make water, your life would be reversed in an instant."
What? Mages who make water get treated like nobility? Rebecca's words made my ears perk up.
"Where exactly is this place? The Jackal Kingdom? Just tell me where it is. I'll quit adventuring and head out right now."
"The Zakarta Kingdom! It's a country in the southern desert. But even if I told you the way, you couldn't get in. There's a terrible sandstorm that rages at the path into the kingdom. A fearsome storm that'll flay the flesh from your bones just by grazing you."
"Then how did you get out of the kingdom?"
"Once every few decades, there's a time when the storm subsides. I seized that chance and scrammed in a hurry. It'll be about fifty more years before the storm subsides again. We'll both probably be super old by then."
"Really...?"
What Rebecca was saying honestly sounded a little sketchy. A mystical kingdom existing somewhere in the desert. I knew there was a vast desert on the southern continent, but I'd never heard of a kingdom being there. Even Ethan, a veteran adventurer compared to me, seemed to know nothing about the Zakarta Kingdom.
But Rebecca didn't seem like she was lying. Her clothes and sword were certainly unfamiliar in this area. If there's no way to enter the kingdom, then I suppose that's just how it is.
I relaxed the tense, half-risen posture I'd been holding and sat back down.
"You got my hopes up for nothing."
"What a shame! If you'd been born in the Zakarta Kingdom, you'd have been the number-one groom."
Rebecca cackled with a teasing expression.
I almost reached over to give her a knuckle rap, but held back. Because I had a feeling I'd lose if I picked a fight with this girl.
The conversation continued from there.
One thing I realized from watching her was that Rebecca couldn't hold her liquor. She liked drinking well enough, but she got drunk way too easily.
I could see her cheeks reddening with every tilt of her cup.
"How about you stop drinking? You're drunk."
"I'm perfectly fine! I can handle more!"
The world is full of hardcore drunks, the ones who ignore their own limits and just bluff. Rebecca guzzled drink after drink without letting her cup dry. The anxiety crept in that if I let her go on like this, she might cause a major catastrophe. Like puking her guts out in the middle of the tavern.
"Hey, how many fingers do you see?"
"Huh? One! Hehe."
"Well, you're right, but you're really wasted."
"I got it right, so why do you say I'm drunk?"
"Because this is an insult."
It was true that I held up a single finger. But the finger I held up was my middle finger. The widely universal 'fuck you,' even in this world. The fact that she didn't get mad looking at the finger was clear proof she was hammered.
I decided it was time to stop Rebecca right here.
"Let's get going. The tab's on you, right?"
"But I can still drink moreee. Heeugh."
After a few more attempts at persuasion, I succeeded in stopping Rebecca. Rebecca approached the tavern owner with stumbling steps and paid the tab. We stepped outside the tavern, and I was just about to ask Rebecca where she lived.
Thud—!
Suddenly, Rebecca collapsed onto the street. Her red hair scattering, she lay sprawled out flat on the ground.
"Hey, get up! Everyone's watching."
Shaking her shoulder got no response. Judging from the soft breathing, she had clearly fallen asleep. Staring at Rebecca, who had abruptly conked out, I could only let out a deep sigh.
'...What am I supposed to do? I don't even know where she lives.'
If I abandoned Rebecca and left, an incident was all but guaranteed. The Midgard Continent's public safety was abysmal compared to 21st-century Korea. For a standout beauty like Rebecca, you had to be especially careful how you carried yourself.
"Ugh."
In the end, I hoisted Rebecca onto my back and started moving. For now, I figured I'd bring her to the inn where I was staying.