Chapter 123: Get Lost

“Y-you… is that thing real?”

“No way! A brat like you couldn’t possibly have something like that!”

“If you think it’s fake, look at Klein’s face.”

Hearing my words, they turned to Klein—who was frozen in place—and their expressions paled as they realized it was real.

“You brat, what did you do?!”

“The barrier disappeared, so why can’t we get out?!”

“Scott! That kid is acting out—stop him! Otherwise, we’ll treat you as scum who defies the Count’s house—”

“I’m talking to the idiot Klein right now. Be quiet.”

“You little—!”

Oh, he jumped at me with his sword drawn.
But the ring barrier stopped him instantly, and he stared in shock.

I wrapped them in a gentle [Whirlwind!], spinning them slowly.

“W-w-what—!”
“Uwoooo!?”
“What is this!?”

I didn’t put much magic into it, so the spell would vanish in about three minutes… if they can endure that long.

Leaving the pack of idiots to spin, I turned to Klein.
He was kneeling, and when our eyes met, he bowed his head.

“I–I deeply apologize! I didn’t realize you were connected to such people! Please forgive me!”

“I can forgive you. But will you do as I say?”

“You’ll forgive me?”

“I said you’re an idiot. Decide after you hear my conditions.”

“Y-yes!”

“One: Don’t step foot in the Adventurers Guild again. Two: Don’t walk around with adventurers tagging behind you. Three: If you lay a hand on anyone connected to me, I’ll kill you. My identification is equal in rank to Count Arclight’s, but I serve Chancellor Brighton directly. You understand which rank is higher, right?”

“I—I understand! I’ll never go near the Guild again!”

“If you show up in front of me again, or pretend to be an adventurer…”

He’d gone completely pale. He should behave himself for a while.

I also gave his attendants the same warning and dispelled the whirlwind.
Without even looking at the adventurers they’d brought, they fled in panic.

When I turned around, the guys who had been caught in the whirlwind were collapsed on the ground, dizzy and disoriented.

“What did you do to Klein?”

“His face was completely blue!”

“Leon, you’re unbelievable as always.”

“You remember that job where I flew in the sky? Back then, Duke Berlant was in Blange.”

“Oh, that was when the war with Holtland broke out.”

“I was assigned aerial reconnaissance. From the sky, I could see the entire enemy formation—so they didn’t stand a chance. Because of that, the Duke gave me this identification. I showed it to Klein to scare him. He may be a Count’s second son, but he doesn’t hold any actual rank.
Meanwhile, I’m—at least on paper—a subordinate of a Duke’s household.”

“If trouble breaks out, the Count will be the one forced to bow…”

“And that kid will definitely get tossed out of his house.”

“I sent him home after telling him never to come near the Guild or my companions again.”

“I honestly thought you’d toss him into the sky.”

“So, what are we doing with these guys?”

“With Klein’s backing gone, the people he used to boss around won’t stay quiet.”

“Probably not. We should tell everyone in the dining hall tonight.”

“Once they know, there’ll be a flood of mock battle challenges. He’ll be popular.”

“Leon, is this okay?”

“You know he’s part of the Count’s family, right?”

“You heard me say it. Klein won’t come near the Guild anymore—more like he won’t dare to. And if he gets kicked out of his house, even he’ll realize he’s useless.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah. The Count scolds him constantly, and even the heir, Lord Romand, gets after him all the time.
Anyway—let’s go test Gale’s barrier.”

“E-eh? What are you going to do?”

“Leon is going to test your barrier. If you pass, you’ll get lessons in lightning magic.”

“R-really!? So what do I do?”

“Y-you bastards… I’ll k-kill… all…”

Oh, one of them still hadn’t dropped his sword.
He couldn’t even stand, and his speech was slurred.

“Klein ran off, and he’s never coming to the Guild again. Without his backing, lots of people will be aiming for you now. Be careful.”

“Are we really hated that much?”

“Oh yeah. You were wagging your tails for that idiot noble and acting all high and mighty.”

“You’ve seen it before—acting invincible…”

“If we tell everyone in the dining hall, mock battle requests will pour in.”

“Good luck surviving!”

“Leon, you’re awful.”

“He’s always been like that.”

“Yep, he never goes easy on people who cross him.”

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Leaving the idiots behind, we moved to an area with fewer herbs and animals, and had Gale form a sturdy barrier dome.

Scott gathered everyone away from it and said, “Watch carefully. Leon’s nonsense is something to learn from.”

I used a vertical-spinning ring barrier and dropped a stone the size of a child’s head, throwing it downwards.

BOOM.
Nice sound.
A hole opened clean through the barrier—it shattered.

“No waaay…”

“That’s just unfair…”

“That really is an unreasonable attack.”

“He’s not even an earth mage, yet he fires off stone bullets…”

“Gale, judging from the sound, the dome is pretty hard, but try making it as tough as that big boulder over there.”

“Don’t forget—Leon’s attacks are way stronger than ours. If your barrier can withstand them, it’ll also endure an Armor Buffalo’s charge. That’d make it top-class.”

“That huge boulder…?”

“It doesn’t have to be that big. Just big enough for us to sleep inside.”

“Large objects are weaker to impact anyway, so start smaller.”

“Leon’s trying to make him create something huge again…”

“Well, it’s best to listen to his advice.”

Gale stared at the boulder, muttering to himself.
Then—

“Become as hard as the big rock! Hah!”

Wait—
He made a dome exactly the same size as the gigantic boulder.
Everyone burst out laughing.

I tested it with a bullet spell— and it shattered instantly.

After that, he returned to his usual-sized domes.
The durability was average too, so we stopped after five attempts.

Gale looked disappointed, so I told him to touch the rock and memorize the feel of its hardness, then try recreating that in the dome.
He’s diligent—it won’t take him long.

Since the training took half a day, we hunted extra birds and returned to the Guild, where the submaster called for us.

“Hey… don’t you think those guys reported something stupid?”

We looked over—sure enough, the same group from this morning stood behind the submaster, grinning.
Idiots.

“Leon, they’re claiming you attacked them with magic out on the plains.”

“Oh, that. Those fools were napping inside a barrier dome they bullied Gale into making—with the Count’s dumb son.”

“That’s not what I heard…”

“When I asked the idiot noble why he was using my companion like a servant, he suddenly slashed at me. So I spun him around with a whirlwind—just enough not to kill him.”

“That really does sound like the Count’s idiot son. Did you tell him that to his face?”

“I did. I also told him never to show up at the Guild again.”

“You’re awfully bold.”

“But he agreed and left without arguing.”

“You’re telling me he obeyed you?”

“Well, I did get a little charm to help.”

I showed a glimpse of the Duke Berlant identification.
The submaster’s eyebrow twitched.

“So that’s it. Those guys must’ve realized their backing was gone and filed a complaint to spite you.”

“If they actually swung at you, that changes things.”

Killing intent poured from the submaster as he turned toward them.

“Submaster, they don’t matter.”

“If they raised a sword against you—”

“Submaster, it was a joke!”

“Yeah! Just a friendly test between companions!”

“I only swung lightly—!”

Ah, the universal tactic: when things go bad, claim it was a joke.
But they seem to have forgotten where they are.

“Submaster, like I said—their noble backing is gone.”

“They should’ve quietly disappeared from town instead of making trouble.”

“And in the Guild building of all places…”

Mintz laughed and pointed toward the dining hall.
The submaster grinned and walked off.

At the same time, adventurers who’d overheard started crowding around.

“‘Gentle Breeze,’ is that story true?”

“So the Count’s backing is gone?”

“Yes!” 

Scott shouted proudly.

“Klein will never come back, and those guys are finished too!”

Cheers erupted.

“We kept quiet because he was a noble’s son, but he sure acted high and mighty.”

“Yeah, with barely any skill.”

“Come on, punk! Let’s go to the training grounds!”

“H-hey! Stop challenging me! Someone say something!”

“Ooh! Let me in on the mock battles too!”

“Wait, I— I’m sorry!”

If those idiots had left town quietly, this wouldn’t have happened.
But they exposed themselves.
So they can enjoy the consequences.

“Well then, let’s relax and have some ale while we watch the show.”

“Yeah, and you still owe us the story about that ID.”

Ah—right. I hadn’t shown it to them yet.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

We sat down with our ale and held out my hand.

Mintz and Scott leaned in as I pulled the Duke Berlant identification from the magic bag.

“You realize this is something only a knight commander would get? Adventurers don’t receive this.”

“Remember when I told you I got a job because I could fly? Originally, Count Arclight was supposed to lead the forces, but after the dragon incident, noble troops stationed nearby gathered at Blange. By the time I arrived, Duke Berlant had taken command. He assigned me reconnaissance from the sky and later battle reporting.”

“So you were basically in a role that affected the entire war.”

“From the sky, I could see everything. And we won.”

“And you got this as a reward.”

“Having someone who can fly freely—and can be hired—would get special treatment.
Better to keep me than let another country snatch me away. That’s the Duke for you.”