Chapter 6
Chapter 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Girl Runs Toward the Starting Point
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The girl ran toward the starting point.
The procession of carriages and wagons filed out of the city. Unlike the other escorts, Raymond and I had been assigned our own dedicated carriage. It was even more lavish and spacious than the one carrying the person in charge of this merchant expedition.
It was a clear sign of how cautiously ordinary folk treated mages.
"No one's talking to us."
I muttered softly, peering out the carriage window. Raymond, absorbed in his book, replied without looking up.
"Tales of folks simply striking up a conversation with a mage and ending up cursed are all too common among the commoners."
"...Are mages really like that?"
"Not all of them. They're just being cautious, since it could happen."
I'd hoped this first journey—heralding the start of my fantasy life—might bring some exciting new encounters. But it looked like the trip would pass in lonely silence.
Rumble-rumble—As we left the well-groomed dirt road, the carriage began to jostle. Steadying my small, swaying body, I waved at a woman visible outside the window.
She had been trudging along, staring blankly ahead, but startled the moment our eyes met and hurriedly veered away.
Was there really no one I could befriend?
"Lumia. Have you been studying?"
"I-I was just about to..."
At Raymond's nudge, I hastily flipped open my book.
The carriage came to a halt late that evening. Thick clouds made it quite dark. Even so, the merchant group sprang into action, expertly preparing camp.
From my modern vantage, everything was wondrous and new. I longed to pitch in, but everyone recoiled in panic whenever I drew near.
In the end, the camp was fully set up without Raymond or me lifting a finger.
Crackle—
Gazing at the dying bonfire, I inspected my rationed meal. The salty soup, rich with flavor, brimmed with hefty chunks of vegetables and meat.
I snuck a glance at the others' bowls—no one had received as many solids as I had. Not even Raymond.
Had they given me extra because I was little?
"If it's not enough, speak up."
"I think it'll be plenty."
I sipped the soup as I replied to Raymond. It truly seemed sufficient. My tiny frame simply couldn't handle much at once anyway.
My parents in this world had been thrilled at my small appetite. I didn't miss them—they'd sold me off, after all.
I was just a bit curious. Were they eating well? Living well?
Savoring the soup, I let faint images of their faces drift through my mind.
Magic practice didn't stop just because the location changed. Once Raymond retreated inside to read, I closed my eyes alone and focused on the mana permeating the surroundings.
Mana varied by place. In the forest with Raymond, it had felt like a gentle breeze; here, it carried a heavier weight.
The deeper I delved, the more revelations came flooding in.
It was about the third day since leaving the city. Sudden screams and shouts erupted from outside the carriage.
"We're under attack!"
"Where! Where are they!"
"My... my arm...!"
I was still blinking in shock at the abrupt chaos when a heavy thud! sounded right outside our carriage. Something had flown in and collided.
"Don't come out."
In the tense atmosphere, Raymond—his face as serene as ever—opened the carriage door and stepped forth. Through the narrow gap, the culprit revealed itself: a long arrow shaft.
'An attack...'
Raymond had offhandedly mentioned during the journey that larger caravans drew more raiders. By that token, he'd said this one should be fairly safe.
This was the moment I realized the "large" caravan I'd thought it was... wasn't.
"A mage! That's right—we've got a mage!"
"Woo! Rally around the mage!"
The moment Raymond appeared, faces that had been grimly drawing weapons lit up. Just remembering that a mage—source of terror in their eyes—stood as a steadfast ally shifted the mood entirely.
"Listen up! We've got a mage on our side!"
"If you don't wanna die, beat it!"
As the men around Raymond bellowed in all directions, a ripple stirred in the mana from the nearby forest—not far off. The naturally flowing mana began converging in one spot.
A telltale sign of magic in motion, meaning a mage lurked there.
"S...!"
I'd just poked my head out the window to warn Raymond when a massive fireball erupted from the woods, hurtling toward him at blinding speed.
Roarrr—!
The incoming fireball burst outward with a whoosh, blanketing everything. But unlike ordinary flames, the spreading blaze didn't catch on the caravan's cargo. A few people writhed on the ground, tormented by the searing heat.
"A-Aaagh!"
"My skin... it's burning...!"
That was the moment. A ferocious gale whipped up from the fire's heart, scattering the crimson inferno.
Raymond emerged from within, looking distinctly irritated.
"Looks like the attackers have a mage of their own. I'll be needing hazard pay."
He addressed the caravan leader, whose life he'd just spared with his magic. The man bobbed his head frantically, face pale with terror.
A clash of mages. How would it unfold? Head out the window, I alternated stares between Raymond and the forest depths.
Raymond took a step forward and raised both hands. The raging winds surged toward the forest—attack magic honed razor-sharp like a blade.
Reaping Wind
Slashes all in its path
Its embedded law: cleave everything nearby. Raymond's wind began shredding the forest wholesale.
Thud!Thud!Thud!—
From towering trees to lowly shrubs—anything obstructing the gale sheared clean away.
Suddenly, roaring flames surged up, halting Raymond's wind. A man in a hooded robe stepped forth amid the blaze.
His right hand clutched a thick grimoire; burn scars marred his entire right face, leaving a vivid impression. Flames wreathed his body as he scanned the surroundings and spoke.
"You there, fellow mage... Care to join our side?"
"A laughable offer."
"I'll split the take fifty-fifty. Beats your escort fee, doesn't it?"
The fire mage's words drained the color from the trembling caravan leader's face. Raymond replied by unleashing a razor gust.
"The Golden Wind School compromises with no foe."
Roarrr—!
Flame met wind in collision. Their clashing laws unleashed a wild mana backlash. The outcome: nothing. Both spells fizzled into the air.
"You had the option to stand down... yet you choose the hard road...!"
Roarrr—!
Whooshhh—!
Wind and fire rampaged wildly. The sheer ferocity froze everyone else in place—they could only huddle on the ground, praying for it to end.
The bandits allied with the enemy mage were no different.
'I want to see this up close...'
Raymond was out there—surely a little wouldn't hurt.
Thinking that, I cracked open the door and stepped out—just as both Raymond's and the fire mage's gazes snapped to me.
"Huh..."
"Oh no..."
Raymond reached for me with urgent alarm. But something streaked faster: crimson flames swallowing my entire view. Searing heat crashed in.
Am I going to die?
No—not fear of death. The instant I registered the attack, my body moved on instinct. Mana surged from within, infused with wind's essence. Its law: flow. Seamless harmony without clash. An embracing gentleness that welcomed all.
A spell I'd conceived naturally right after thinking of my parents—not this world's, but the other one's.
Parents are a child's towering wall and softest haven. I poured that truth into the wind.
My body spun along the gentle vortex. The fingers of my outstretched right hand trailed the oncoming flames, bleeding off their speed in its wake.
Roarrr—
"Wh-what...?"
I coiled the flames into the wind alongside. A parent threatened turns fierce. Without halting the spin, I thrust my right hand forward.
The swirling gale of fire hurtled forth, engulfing the fire mage entirely.