Chapter 19: Training
Chapter 19: Training
"Thank you for saving our village!"
"Travel safely, adventurers!"
"If you visit again, we'll feed you until you burst!"
The villagers were waving from early in the morning. Lina and the others waved back from the carriage.
Kerry nodded to himself. See, this is why you should live a good life.
He had made quite a few good memories in this village. He’d earned a lot of money, and above all, last night with Ellie had been truly incredible.
"Hey, Mister Adventurer!"
A booming voice called out from the village. It was one of the young men.
"Last night was amazing! Come back again soon!"
"Yeah! I was so jealous yesterday!"
Last night? Of course, last night had been amazing for me. But it had nothing to do with those young men.
Just as I was trying to figure it out, I remembered how loudly Ellie had moaned last night.
The mischievous looks on the young men's faces finally made sense.
So, the news has already spread?
Then again, Ellie's moans had been so loud, it was no wonder rumors were already spreading.
"What do they mean, last night was amazing? Husband."
Natasha asked with an innocent look on her face.
"...Last night, the young men suddenly came to my room, and we all hung out together. I guess they had a good time."
Lina nodded as if she understood.
"You are a hero who brought holy water to the village, Kerry. Even a small interaction with you must have meant a great deal to them."
Why are you nodding so seriously? Our regressor is surprisingly naive.
Lina continued, her expression still serious.
"It's quite a long way to the next village. You should be prepared to camp out."
I didn't care. For the sake of our regressor, I would follow her anywhere. It was sure to be a blessed land flowing with milk and honey.
In all my time in this world, things had never been this good. All hail the regressor! All hail!
After explaining the rough schedule, Lina fell silent again.
Inside the carriage, the grandmother was dozing off, and the only sound was Natasha snuggling up against me.
Lina seemed to enjoy looking out the window. She did it all the time. You could say that whenever she wasn't talking, she was just staring out the window.
What on earth was she thinking about? Right now, there was only one thought in Lina's mind.
'Victoria... I will protect you this time.'
The green trees outside flew past, but Lina's eyes were only reflecting the memories of her past life.
*
Several days had already passed since we left the village. Just as Lina had said, it was a long journey.
I thought traveling by carriage would be as comfortable as flying, but that wasn't the case.
Even in the modern world, you'd get tired from riding in a car for this long. So how much more exhausting would it be for a carriage to rattle along a rough dirt road?
But even amidst the fatigue, I never forgot to train whenever I had a spare moment. The mana breathing technique the White Witch had taught me, which involved accumulating mana within the body, was perfect for practicing anytime.
Of course, I didn't do it around Lina and Natasha. Even though they were warriors, they might notice something was off.
I mostly practiced accumulating mana when I was alone.
A man's dream! The dream of being in another world—am I finally going to be able to use magic?
With all the free time on this journey, my training was gradually showing results.
The mana that had felt as small as a grain of millet had now grown to the size of a peanut. This was getting exciting.
I figured I should visit the White Witch soon to discuss my progress.
"Kerry. It's time to depart."
Lina approached while I was secretly training. She was beautiful today, too. She looked even prettier, perhaps because she had just washed her face in a nearby stream.
Once we were in the carriage and on our way, Lina spoke up as if she had something to say.
"This is regarding the matter you were worried about before..."
"Yes. Go on, Lina."
"Do you remember what I told you about the White Witch?"
"Of course, I do."
"I told you that the goal of the skull and the pig was to resurrect the White Witch. That's what I believed when I was tracking them. I'm certain I thwarted her resurrection when we first met them, but... I thought they hadn't given up on it."
"And?"
"But when we encountered them this time, they were saying something strange. They were shouting for us to hand over the orb."
"Husband! I heard it too. They were furious, demanding the orb."
"Yes. Nassen wouldn't back down until he was defeated."
"So that's what happened while I was away."
"Therefore, I don't think you need to worry about our paths diverging, as you feared. They will definitely come for us."
So that's what happened in my absence.
"They believe we have the orb, and they must know we found the directive."
It was the assassination order for Victoria. Though it seemed only Lina knew who Victoria was.
I could understand Lina's confidence to some extent.
The only worry was that they might be out there performing human sacrifices while we couldn't see them, but there was no way to stop them when we didn't even know where they were.
Natasha twisted a lock of her hair and said, "But we don't have the orb. And they don't have it either. So where did it go?"
This topic of conversation was making my conscience ache a little.
"Who knows. But you don't need to worry too much. If someone who doesn't know its purpose finds it, it will just look like an ordinary orb."
Sorry for knowing its purpose so well, Lina. I suddenly wondered why Lina was so wary of the White Witch.
From my own experience meeting her, the White Witch didn't seem like such a bad person.
Sure, she had a weird personality and tried to rape me, but I could find it in my heart, as vast as the ocean, to forgive her for that.
"Lina, you seem to be very cautious of the White Witch. Is her resurrection really that dangerous?"
Lina gave a small nod.
"She is a legendary archmage... and I've heard she has a very cruel temperament. You can tell just by looking at all the people who were sacrificed in her legends."
To be honest, the legends were such old stories that they didn't really resonate with me.
Kerry almost burst out laughing as he recalled the White Witch crying on her bed in a sulk.
Sensing that I wasn't taking it seriously enough, Lina began to speak again.
"This is information I acquired while investigating the White Witch..."
"Yes, please tell me."
"The reason the White Witch was so feared was not only due to her incredible magical skill... but also because of her followers."
"Followers?"
The White Witch had mentioned her followers, too. She'd said I could become one if I received the soul's imprint.
"Her followers were said to not even spare their own lives for the White Witch's sake. And what was most terrifying... was that every single one of those followers was a mage who could use magic."
Mages were highly skilled professionals. They weren't common at all, so how could all her followers be mages?
"I heard that by using the orb you had, her followers, who were ordinary people, were able to wield magic. Of course, they couldn't be called complete mages... but an army of white, each member capable of using magic, was said to be an incredible threat."
Lina is talking about what she saw in her past life. I had a feeling that was it.
Did her followers also get private tutoring from the White Witch like me?
Wait, something was strange. According to the private lessons I got from the White Witch, an ordinary person couldn't use magic even with a orb.
You had to be able to handle a minimal amount of mana to use it. Was Lina mistaken about something?
Or... was the White Witch messing with me? I needed to confirm this immediately.
*
That night, after prying off Natasha who wanted to sleep with me, Kerry was finally able to visit the White Witch.
"It's been a while. It seems you've been quite busy?"
"..."
The White Witch spoke with her usual calm expression.
Right. I needed to hear her out first. I wasn't some barbarian from another world who charged in without thinking.
Not until the gender-equality advocate inside me awakened, that is.
"Witch. I have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I happened to... hear about your followers."
"Didn't you tell me you knew little of my followers or history when I asked before?"
"Well, I happened to hear about it. That's not the important part. From what I heard... becoming a follower of the White Witch allows even an ordinary person, not a mage, to use magic."
"..."
"It's magic that even an ordinary person can use... so I'd like you to explain to me, in painstaking detail, why I'm going through all this trouble right now. As detailed as possible, please. Because the monster inside me called 'Mr. Gender Equality' is about to awaken."
The White Witch finally seemed to sense my anger. Her pupils trembled as she began to panic.
"How did you hear a story from over a h-hundred years ago? Besides, it's all a misunderstanding!"
"So please tell me what the misunderstanding is. I want to believe you, Witch. Make me believe you."
"What I taught my followers was not magic! It was merely a way to imitate magic. You asked me to teach you magic, did you not? That is the only difference. C-calm down and unclench your fist... You mustn't let that monster inside you, that 'Mr. Gender Equality,' awaken!"
"Hoo..."
Was the White Witch an idiot? Or a genius?
Then again, even a genius might turn into an idiot after being locked in a white room for a hundred years.
"White Witch. Didn't I tell you... I have no intention of becoming a great mage. I'm just a humble citizen who wants to use magic. And maybe make a living with it on the side."
"To have such talent... and yet you say you have no desire for truth and accomplishment... What a waste of talent."
"It may be a waste, but it's my talent. How I use it is up to me. So. Now, please teach me the way to use magic even without being a mage. Just like you taught your followers..."
"...Think it over. Is it truly not a waste of your talent?"
When Kerry clenched his fist, the White Witch quickly retracted her words. She always had to make me show a little force.
"So what's the secret? How can even a complete novice who knows nothing of magic use it?"
The White Witch let out a deep sigh and began to explain.
"It is as you say. The talent for learning magic is very rare. Even with talent, it takes a very long time to learn, making mages highly skilled professionals. But my followers, every last one of them, could use magic."
Right. That's what was strange. Even for me, with my supposed great talent, it was this hard to learn. An entire group of followers made up of mages? It felt unnatural.
"The reason is complex, but there are two main parts. First, with my soul's imprint, I made it possible for even those without talent to sense mana. Second, it was because of the orbs. But there were still those with such meager talent that they couldn't do it even with this much help. They were my followers too, but..."
"...Get to the point."
"I mean that I pre-charged the Magic Storage Orbs with mana, allowing them to use magic."
There was only one reason Kerry couldn't use magic right now, even with a Magic Storage Orb.
He didn't have enough mana in his body to cast a spell. But she was saying that mana could be stored in the orb itself.
"What? Then you should have just taught me how to store mana in the orb from the start, shouldn't you? Are you still upset with me? Is it because I punched you in the solar plexus?"
The White Witch flinched and answered.
"N-no, it's not like that! You specifically asked me to teach you magic, did you not? Therefore, I did my best to teach you that path. Besides, your skills will not improve if you only insist on taking the easy way. That is the risk of this method."
"..."
Knowing the White Witch's philosophy on magic, I decided to believe that she had no ill intent.
"So if I just charge the orb with mana, I can use magic?"
"That is correct. And as you can surely guess... once you use up the charged mana, you cannot use magic."
"How many times can I use it with one charge?"
"It depends on the grade of the orb. With the lowest-grade orb you possess... once is all you get. After one use, you must charge it again."
"..."
It didn't matter. Magic was an unattainable dream in this world. The fact that I could use it even once was what was meaningful.
I'll keep training, too... so someday I'll be able to use magic without a orb.
"I'm satisfied with that for now. So, please charge the orb for me!"
"...I am not in a state where I can handle mana."
"You're never any help when it really matters."
"...That's a bit harsh."
The White Witch began to personally teach Kerry how to charge the orb.