Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Peculiar Dracain
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"I'm late with the introductions. My name is Simo... Could you tell me yours?"
A faint smile appeared on the face of the Dracain who had introduced himself as Simo. Seeing this tall, handsome guy grinning away made me feel inexplicably irritated.
"Lumia."
"Durel."
"Lumia. Durel. Got it. We Dracains never forget a benefactor. Right now, I don't have anything to offer as thanks... but when I get back home, I'll definitely repay you."
"No need. Showing us that magic earlier is thanks enough."
"Really? Just showing you some magic?"
I nodded and placed my foot on the airboard. I hadn't helped him expecting repayment in the first place. He'd simply been lucky enough to catch my eye. Besides, I wasn't so shameless as to demand money from someone who'd collapsed in the desert without food or water.
'What I asked for at first was just to show some magic... He's not from the caravan, is he? I even tossed him a gold nugget...'
I shot Simo a suspicious look, but he just blinked vacantly.
'Nah...'
Mission accomplished. No more business here.
"Durel."
"Yes."
"Ah, w-wait just a...!"
The moment Durel tried to climb onto the airboard, Simo scrambled over and blocked his path. Water dripped from his soaked hair down his face. He looked just like a drowned rat, and a chuckle escaped me despite myself.
Mistaking my laugh for a sign of goodwill, perhaps, the guy who'd been sprawled on the ground rose cautiously and addressed me.
"Th-that peculiar thing... It moves with wind, right? The thing you're using to cross the desert with wind... Incredible magic! So, uh... could you maybe drop me off at the nearest village...?"
"Shameless rude fellow."
It was Durel who answered Simo's plea. One foot on the airboard, he placed a hand on his sword. Blue mana swirled threateningly around him, as if he'd draw the blade at the slightest further annoyance.
"Sorry for being shameless! But... but! If you leave me here, I might really die...! That's why I'm begging! I'll give you anything you want. Just take me somewhere with people! If you suspect me, I swear on it! I swear! Under the Eye of Lethe, I, Simo, swear I won't harm Lumia or Durel...!"
Durel's intensity faltered at Simo's desperate entreaty. He took a step back and glanced at me, his eyes asking what to do.
I shrugged. If I'd had no intention of helping, we wouldn't have come this far. And it wasn't a huge ask anyway.
"Want to ride behind? You'll have to stick close to Durel."
"Master...?"
"R-really!? Thank you! Thank you!"
Simo leaped to his feet and rushed over, approaching Durel cautiously. Durel glared as if he found the guy distasteful but soon sighed and pointed to his own shoulder.
"Just grab my shoulder."
"O-okay!"
And with that, Simo stepped onto the airboard too. It was cramped, leaving Durel and Simo pressed right up against each other, but there was nothing for it. The space was what it was.
"Heading out?"
As Gentle Wind picked up, the glider wings serving as the airboard's sails grew taut. The added weight of an adult male wasn't an issue. The next instant, the airboard began gliding across the waterlogged desert.
Smooth sailing. Fierce winds lightly shoved at the backs of all three of us.
Whoosh!
"Wh-whoa...! This is amazing! You've been crossing the desert like this all along? How long can it keep going like this? Five minutes? Ten? You've been holding the magic this whole time—isn't it tiring?"
Maybe thanks to the jerky restoring his strength, Simo was incredibly chatty. He kept letting out exclamations of awe and directing endless chatter at me and Durel. Even ignoring him had its limits. Just as I opened my mouth to say something, Durel beat me to it.
"Master's wind doesn't stop unless she sleeps."
"What...? For real?"
"Of course. If Master willed it, she could cross this entire desert in a single day."
"Amazing!"
"Now do you see? Master's greatness."
"Incredible...! So this is human magic! I'm glad I left home. If I'd stayed cooped up there, I'd never have known about magic this cool!"
"Not human magic. Master's magic."
"Ahahaha!"
His frivolous laughter scattered on the wind. A peculiar specimen, indeed. Durel's earlier words came back to me. Even from a human perspective, Simo was truly unusual. At least it was a relief—they'd seemed at odds before, but now they were conversing easily.
"Too noisy."
Still, noisy was noisy. My curt remark shut both Durel and Simo up.
The torrential downpour from the sky showed no signs of letting up. The desert, once glimmering red, was thoroughly soaked, now choked with dull, muddy streams everywhere. Several of those streams converged, swiftly forming rivers.
Splash!
Nature's handiwork wasn't so different from magic. Dark-red puddles were starting to outnumber patches of sand.
"Lumia! Ahead! Water flowing right ahead! Careful...!"
Simo raised a fuss, shouting at the top of his lungs. A raging river current lay directly in the airboard's path. But it was no problem. I gave the glider in my hand a slight tug, adjusting the wings' angle, and the gliding airboard suddenly soared into the air.
Whoosh!
"This is insane...! Flying through the sky...?"
"Impressive, isn't it? If Master were alone, she could fly even higher and faster."
Their voices trailed off as the briefly airborne airboard touched down lightly on the far side of the river. Its speed barely diminished, splitting the dark mud to either side as it shot forward.
Splash!
We reached our destination that evening. The sun had set and darkness blanketed everything, yet the heavenly deluge poured endlessly, as if a hole had opened in the sky.
"This is..."
"Map wrong?"
Standing atop a high hill, I asked Durel. He held a large map in one hand and a compass in the other.
"No. We came the right way. Left Razga Basin and went straight—no mistake."
Durel's hollow voice sank dully into the patter of rain. I peered silently down at the base of the hill. A village should have been there, but now it was just a dark-red muddy river.
The village was submerged. Building structures poking slightly above the surface attested that one had existed here.
My face crumpled naturally. I'd kept Gentle Wind blowing nonstop from morning till evening. My heart's Mana Circle supplied endless mana, but it couldn't erase mental fatigue. My chest was starting to ache, too.
"Durel. Let's set up camp."
"Yes... but there's no good spot..."
We'd make one. I turned and gestured for Durel and Simo to back off. Once I'd picked a suitable area, I spun up my Mana Circle and closed my eyes.
'Sunken Vein...'
I drew up my senses alongside the mana. The moment I needed Sunken Vein, a book floated from the vast library within me and unfurled.
Flip.
Mana extended from my feet into the ground. Right after, rocks large and small erupted one after another from the sodden desert floor.
Rumble!
The small rocks would serve as golem fodder. I took a slow breath, then tossed the golem core from my bosom. The core drifted lightly, absorbing ambient mana and the wet rocks around it. Soon, a roughly two-meter golem of stone took shape.
The larger rocks unfit for the golem would become floor, pillars, and roof. After issuing orders to the golem, I prepared the next spell.
'Tormenting Flames.'
I didn't know the name of the original school. The mage who'd taught me this spell was long dead. I simply called it that, based on the spell's inherent law and the inner world the mage had shown me in life.
All I needed this time was intense heat. No need for the original spell's law of torment, so I improvised a modification on the spot. The image broke down, and a new law took its place.
Roar!
The moment flames no different from those born in nature burst from my fingertips, they swallowed the rock tent the golem had piled up.
The moisture coating the rocks evaporated in an instant, sending up thick clouds of steam. With that, camp was ready. Confirming even the interior of the rock tent was bone-dry, I headed inside.
Durel followed right away. Sticking my head out, I called to Simo, who stood there dumbstruck.
"Not coming in?"
"...Uh, th-that... ha..."
"Suit yourself."
"No, Lu-Lumia...? How old are you exactly...? I don't know much about human magic, but this is totally different from anything I've heard!"
I frowned at Simo's question. I didn't know my exact age. I just vaguely figured around eleven. As I started to answer, someone beat me to the punch.
"Master is eleven. Same age as me."
Durel was the one who replied to Simo. He poked his head out, looking smug as he eyed the Dracain.
"Eleven years old..."
"You'll catch a cold standing there. Hurry in. I've got more of Master's greatness to explain."
Simo, still dazed, nodded as if entranced and shuffled in slowly.