Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: A Secret Stroll
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"I'm going for a quick walk. It's a secret from Mom!"
Blank stares focused on Kasena. Soon, the captain of the guard shouted.
"Miss, how are you standing...? No, a walk? What on earth...?"
"A walk is a walk!"
As Kasena threw herself over the railing, gravity and updrafts soon enveloped her body. Not only the guardian knights but even Rain's eyes went wide.
"N-No, wait a second!"
What kind of reckless nonsense is this...? How long has she known me to trust me this much? What if she falls and dies?
There wasn't even time to yell that before he had to leap after her.
The sensation of hair whipping wildly, overwhelming gravity and floating. Amid that, Kasena was laughing merrily, like a child.
"The barrier's shape is a fan, runes to engrave are Plate and Float!"
To explain, it was wind-attribute magic inscribed with the properties of 'platform' and 'levitation.' Soon, the headwind calmed, and the fall speed eased.
"Look at that, isn't it beautiful...?"
An exclamation burst from Kasena's chest, turning into white breath in the air.
"It's been so long...! Seeing the city like this...!"
That was the first time Kasena showed me a pure smile.
Beautiful, he thought.
Even in the pallor of the invalid gnawing at the girl's beauty... no, perhaps precisely because of it, the contrast made her even more stunning.
It felt like the first time since Rista that he'd thought a woman was beautiful.
"You know, I really loved looking at this... but that wasn't the only reason I kept climbing high places."
"Why?"
"Then Mom would look at me. Mom and Dad were always busy and didn't pay much attention to me...."
Heh, so that's the story.
Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Around then, the emergency bell rang from the mansion, followed by shouts from soldiers above.
"Anyway, you know this city well, right? I'm terrible with directions."
Thanks to that, he'd gotten lost on entrance exam day and skipped the additional test.
Kasena's face lit up with a confident, haughty expression befitting a noble lady.
"Hmph! Who do you think I am? I'm the girl who's an expert at sneaking past Mom and the guards."
Kasena let out a soft chuckle and pointed left with her finger.
"Let's go that way! There's a rice cake shop just a bit ahead, and their honey cakes are amazing."
"Y-Yeah."
He controlled the magic to change their descent direction. As they slowly descended from the sky, he could see passersby panicking and whispering.
"Huh, what's that?"
Amid the stares, Kasena excitedly smacked Rain's arm.
"The second we land, we're running!"
"Huh?"
"I said we're running like crazy the second we land! Do it, got it?!"
Controlling the nervous system with magic was a first for him too, so he couldn't just do whatever, but she was spouting the most carefree demands.
Still, he couldn't spit in the face of that innocent smile.... As her hired tutor, he'd give it his best shot.
Kasena landed awkwardly and immediately started running barefoot with glee, her wild lilac hair flying vigorously.
"H-Hey, that hair color, no way...?"
"Isn't that the Page family...?"
As expected from the distinctive hair, whispers rippled through the crowd. Ignoring it all, Kasena dashed around the corner excitedly.
"Hurry, hurry! Right there, see?!"
If only she knew how hard it was to control her body with magic while also moving his own....
"I'm running, I'm running!"
But with her smiling so brightly, he couldn't bring himself to say he couldn't spit on a smiling face.
"Here, here!"
Kasena ran energetically to the front of a rice cake shop.
"Give me all of these, this one and that one!"
The white-haired shopkeeper, who had mochi spread out on the stall, blinked in surprise. Then, a trembling, nostalgic voice emerged.
"K-K-Kasena, Miss Kasena?"
"Yeah, it's me! Long time no see?"
"No way... But we heard you'd passed away."
The shopkeeper teared up, watching Kasena stuff her mouth full of rice cake.
"Coming to this humble shop and eating the cakes so deliciously was my greatest joy, and now I don't know how to express these feelings."
"No need. You'll see me often from now on!"
As Kasena pointed at Rain, who arrived a step late, and ordered a white honey cake, the shopkeeper cautiously handed over the skewer and asked.
"And who might this be...?"
"This guy? My tutor. Temporary candidate!"
Well played.
Forced to eat the honey cake under Kasena's insistence, he still felt the pressure of it potentially choking him any second.
Because in the distant sky, figures descending with similar magic were visible. The Page Marquess family's shield, the Magic Guard.
"Decide now if we're running or getting caught."
At those words, Kasena stuffed the rice cake skewers into both cheeks like a squirrel.
Running it is, then.
What a hassle.... He hurriedly pulled out his money pouch, but the shopkeeper waved it off.
"Oh no, no! How could I take money from you, Miss? Just go!"
"If I don't pay, it'll cause trouble later. Here."
He tossed a silver coin and started running through the city with Kasena.
Bumping into pedestrians, weaving through crowds.... Even so, Kasena perfectly guided them through alleys here and there, with an excited voice.
Was it that joyful to run through the streets she loved without anyone pointing fingers?
"There, right! Fountain square soon! Then left! Idiot! Not that left, the other left! Directionless fool? Can't even keep your bearings?"
"Which left is 'that' left?!"
However, this runaway escapade was futile against seasoned hunters.
One on the rooftop....
And another right behind. Still, with Kasena at risk, they wouldn't use dangerous attack magic.
'The encirclement's closing in fast. Impressive.'
Time to get caught, then—no injuries for either.
"Hey, you're slowing down!"
"Mana, mana shortage."
Not really.
He gradually slowed, then deliberately tripped into an empty alley, pretending it was a mistake—his foot caught on something, sending him flying.
Then, clink—a metallic sound half a beat later.
One of the supersonic foot techniques from those at the pinnacle of quicksword.
"Got you."
He rolled into a landing just before crashing awkwardly and stood, facing absolute pressure.
It was an old knight.
Iron armor glinting in the twilight wasn't mere decoration but scars of fierce battles boasting the owner's power, and behind him, three rings of mana shimmered gorgeously.
Swordsmen's mana.
Chains (Mana Chain).
Three layers, no less.... The Triple Chain realm was for genius among geniuses. For reference, Rista had four.
The old knight had appeared out of nowhere, politely cradling Kasena.
In that instant, he'd tripped Rain while securing Kasena.
Swan, the Ludwig family's guardian knight, was impressive young, but the Page Marquess family's lead guardian was on another level.
"Let go, Ansein! Let me go! Rain!"
"I cannot, Miss."
"Run, at least you run!"
"If you try to flee, I'll have to use force as well, Rain Ludwig."
The old knight's wrinkled eyes gleamed coldly at him.
No escape, huh....
Magic Guards appeared on rooftops on both sides. But he hadn't planned to run anyway.
"You bastard...."
Soon, a middle-aged man arrived panting, leading countless guards. Kasena's father, Yuren.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right here... Rain Ludwig."
"The lady wanted to sightsee the city, so I obliged."
"You were kidnapping her! What kind of person takes out a girl who can barely walk!"
Too shocked to think straight? Yuren raised his fist, snarling, then glared at the old knight.
"Ansein!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Summary judgment! Cut off this one's wrist here and now!"
Wrist? Things were getting brutal. But here, he just had to wait.
"Your Highness, however, this is a scion of the Great Magic Houses."
"I am the Grand Prince of the Arfun Archduke line!"
Ansein hesitated at his status, but reluctantly gripped his sword hilt at the order.
It looked urgent, but he had a reliable ace up his sleeve.
Namely.
"If you touch my tutor, I won't forgive you!"
Kasena's loyalty.
At her shout, Ansein halted mid-approach.
Yuren blinked.
"Kasena, what did you just say...?"
"Dad's an idiot! I hate you! You never listen to me!"
"That guy lured you out to abduct you. Defending scum like him...?"
Sorry, but.
I'm not an idiot—why would I...?
"No! It's not! Rain was the first! The first to know what I want, the first to let me go outside!"
"For a walk, I could've—"
"With dozens of guards? People point and laugh! I've told you so many times, but you never listened!"
"I was always thinking of your safety—"
"—Yeah, sure! You thought of my safety! But my feelings... you never considered them at all...."
Tears streamed endlessly down Kasena's screaming face. That sealed the deal.
The old knight Ansein and guards, who had eyed him warily, and even Yuren, who had been fuming moments ago, were at a loss, sweating profusely.
"D-Don't cry, Kasena. I was wrong. But wasn't this guy taking you out the same as with escorts? The people must've stared."
"He didn't just take me out. He made me run! He said he'd make me walk again!"
Yuren blinked in disbelief, then looked at Ansein, who nodded politely.
"Yes, the lady was indeed running.... I was shocked as well."
"So what? Telekinesis? How many magicians promised to make you walk with that? And you refused them all."
"No, it's different! I felt myself running. It wasn't telekinesis! Dad, I want to learn magic from Rain. So I can walk on my own power!"
In that moment, how to describe the hot surge in Yuren's chest.
The girl who had shut herself in her room, waiting only for his death—now talking about the future?
Yuren stared blankly at Kasena and Rain alternately, then strode to Rain and grabbed both shoulders firmly.
"Is that true? Will you really make my daughter walk?"
"W-Well, have to try, but it shouldn't be that hard, I think."
"Forgive my rash words in my agitation. And if—if you succeed... I'll grant you an immense reward. If it's beyond my power, I'll beg my brother, the Arfun Archduke!"
He already had the reward promised. A reward from the Archduke? Just burdensome.
Anyway, the gamble paid off....
Whew, heart-pounding, but wrapped up well. Now Aunt Elin clears her name, and he gets forbidden book access.
'Huh....'
Rain glanced at Kasena, who nodded vigorously at Yuren's changed attitude, smiling as if she hadn't cried.
'Looks like the favorability's sorted.'
From that day, tutoring Kasena Page, heir to the Page Marquess family, was added to his already busy schedule.