Chapter 19: Returning Early

Ren turned toward the voice.

The woman in robes whom he had met at the Adventurers’ Guild stood near the river. Her voice was still distorted by a magic tool, making her identity impossible to determine but her presence immediately recognizable.

Her robe was stained with mud and river water.

“Why are you here?” Ren asked.

“I could ask you the same thing. Why is a boy who should be in Clausel playing in a river?”

“I’m working. I am not playing.”

The explanation was true, though his drenched appearance made it difficult to sound dignified.

The woman seemed amused. She raised one finger and traced a circle in the air.

“I would hate for you to catch a cold.”

Warm air wrapped around Ren. In an instant, his clothes were dry. The mud and stains vanished as well, leaving the fabric clean and crisp.

“What did you just do?”

“A wonderful spell that cleans clothing. Impressive, isn’t it?”

Ren doubted that its actual function was limited to clothes. Still, the result fascinated him.

Legend of the Seven Heroes had no reason to show spells for washing, drying, cooking, or other daily tasks. The absence of such magic from the game did not mean it did not exist in this world.

(There must be many practical spells I know nothing about.)

His expression brightened at the unexpected discovery. The woman apparently interpreted that as admiration and folded her arms proudly.

Ren returned to the more important question.

“What brought you here?”

Whether the encounter was coincidence or design, her concealed appearance made her suspicious. He had no way to know whether her answer would be true, but he asked anyway.

“I’m carrying out a job,” she said. “Despite this suspicious outfit, it is a serious and rather official one.”

“At least you know the outfit looks suspicious.”

“A disguise is sometimes necessary.”

A serious task that required hidden features and an altered voice only raised more questions. The hood prevented Ren from seeing more than the lower part of her face, and the robe itself might contain magic that obscured her identity.

She offered no further explanation.

A low growl broke the silence.

Several Little Boars watched them from behind another fallen tree. The storm had probably damaged the monsters’ normal feeding grounds, and hunger had driven them closer to the river.

“The disaster must have reduced the food in their territory,” the woman said.

“That seems likely.”

She stepped forward.

“Ren-kun, stay behind me—”

Ren moved faster and placed himself between her and the monsters. He drew the Iron Magic Sword and assumed a fighting stance.

The woman blinked repeatedly.

“Why are you standing in front of me?”

“To fight.”

“That isn’t what I mean. You’re acting as though you’re protecting me.”

“I am protecting you. Isn’t that natural?”

She fell silent in surprise.

Ren had not consciously decided to imitate anyone, but traveling and fighting beside Licia had changed his instincts. Even though this woman was suspicious, he found it difficult to stand behind someone he had only just met and allow her to protect him.

He also disliked exposing his back to an unknown magician, so remaining in front served both courtesy and caution.

The Little Boars charged.

Ren dispatched them in moments.

Behind him, the woman murmured something he could not hear.

“So you really are the hero everyone is talking about.”

“Did you say something?” Ren asked.

“Yes. I said you’re adorable.”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”

“Would you come to the Imperial Capital if I promised to explain?”

“No.”

He rejected the invitation without hesitation.

“What a pity.”

She sounded sincerely disappointed. As she passed him, she used the same magic to remove the monsters’ blood from his clothes.

“I should leave. I was tired of all this work, but meeting you made the day enjoyable.”

The sudden farewell caught Ren off guard.

“Wait. We have not finished talking.”

He still wanted to ask why she knew about his mysterious power and what she had meant at the guild.

He reached toward her shoulder.

“I have to go to the Baldor Mountains now,” she said brightly. “We’ll meet again.”

A warm wind burst around her.

Ren covered his eyes for only a moment. When he looked again, the woman had vanished.

So had the fallen trees blocking the river.

Ren stood alone beside the restored current and considered everything he had observed.

She could use many kinds of magic. Her friendliness felt oddly familiar, and beneath the altered voice she used the boyish first-person pronoun boku. She was traveling toward the Baldor Mountains on a concealed assignment.

One person came to mind.

“Could that have been Chronois Highland?”

The dean of the Imperial Military Academy was a woman of mixed human and elven blood and one of the greatest magicians in the world. Her abilities could explain the effortless cleaning magic, the wind, and the disappearance of several trees.

But the conclusion seemed almost absurd. A person of Chronois’s position was extraordinarily busy. Why would she be wandering through a remote village in disguise?

Ren had evidence enough for suspicion, not certainty.

He gathered the stranded fish and returned downstream.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

That evening, Licia visited Ren’s guest room.

“Why did we decide to return early?”

She had not been given the full reason. Weiss had allowed Ren to explain if she asked, so he answered honestly.

He described the unidentified woman at the Adventurers’ Guild, their second encounter upstream, her disguise and altered voice, and her stated destination in the Baldor Mountains.

“Less than six months have passed since Yelquq’s attack,” Ren concluded. “Returning early seemed safer than continuing the tour while we know so little.”

“What did she look like?” Licia asked.

“I couldn’t see her face. She wore a robe, kept the hood low, and altered her voice with magic.”

“That is certainly suspicious.”

Even so, Licia did not appear frightened.

“Ren is here,” she said. “So are Weiss and the other knights. I trust all of you.”

The confidence in her voice left Ren unsure how to respond.

“Since tomorrow’s schedule has been canceled,” Licia continued, “would you mind staying awake a little longer?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I brought a game.”

She returned with a board and pieces resembling a mixture of chess and shogi.

Ren lost badly at first. He had never played this exact game and struggled to understand its strategy.

After several rounds, however, he recognized the patterns. His results changed rapidly, and soon he began winning again and again.

Licia hated losing.

“One more game.”

They reset the pieces.

When Licia lost, she demanded another match. When Ren lost, he did exactly the same. Their competitiveness fed on itself until neither noticed how late the night had become.

The canceled journey had brought them home early, but it also produced their longest evening together yet.

　

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