C119
Clueless Rian fanned the flames in Olina's burning heart.
"Father, instead of doing this, let's go logging right now. To commemorate Shirone's arrival!”
"Hahaha! Shall we? Good, let's set the world on fire with the three of us men!"
"Honey! What are you talking about logging after drinking? Go inside and sleep first."
“Mom, it's okay. I will go and back.”
Shirone readily accepted. Since things had come this far, it seemed alright to fully let off steam.
Olina, on the other hand, couldn't let go of her worries. Although Vincent was known to hold his liquor, climbing a mountain while drunk was a dangerous venture even for the toughest of mountain men.
"Are you sure? What if you get hurt?"
"I'll be fine because I'm there. We'll be back before lunch."
In the past, he would have followed Olina's words, but now the situation was different. He had faced off against the terrifying Ulk and protected the children, so it seemed unlikely that there would be cause for concern.
Olina was unfamiliar with this image of her son. He certainly seemed brighter than before, and his words and actions brimmed with confidence.
Is this the power of education? He had been a good son, but there were many times when she didn't know what he was thinking, but now he seemed like a completely different person. Above all, it seemed like he had learned to love himself a little more.
After Olina's permission was given, the three men left for the logging area, exchanging stories they hadn't been able to share for a while. In particular, Rian walked quickly because he wanted to show his achievements so far.
Rian, who had been staying at Vincent's house for two days, heard stories of Shirone's childhood. Among them, the most impressive part was the Thunder Chop. He had been particularly interested because he had had a hard time with Shirone when they were dueling back at his home.
Arriving at the logging area, Rian shouted.
"Alright! Shall we fell a tree like men? How about it, Shirone. Want to bet? The loser fulfills a wish."
Rian, who was bigger than before, had no trouble holding the two-handed ax with one hand. To exaggerate, if Rian was a giant tree, Shirone was like a squirrel standing next to it.
"Alright, let's do it."
Shirone meekly agreed. He had never lost a bet with Rian. The winner can't run away when the loser challenges, right?
Rian raised his axe and nodded to Vincent, who also raised his thumb under his arms.
"Then I'll go first."
Rian swung the axe with all his might. With a thud, the tree swayed.
It was truly a destructive power. One could see how much intense training he had undergone over the past six months.
“Wow, that's amazing. Is that Schema?”
"Huh? Ahaha! Of course not! Why would I need Schema to fell a tree?"
Rian's answer was somewhat awkward, but Shirone decided to move on.
Rian raised the axe again. Then, looking back at Shirone, he winked at him in one eye.
"The real thing starts now."
Rian's axe struck the area where the bark had been split again. With a thunderous sound, the tree fell in one stroke.
“Thunder Chop….”
Shirone noticed at once. The fact that Rian had successfully executed the Thunder Chop meant that he could also execute Sword Kill.
"Hahaha! How is it, Shirone? I am not the old me!”
Contrary to what he shouted out loud, Rian's heart was racing. To be honest, there was a small chance he might fail.
He learned Sword Kill at the swordsmanship academy, but his success rate fell significantly when facing a person.
However, thanks to Vincent's explanation of Thunder Chop and practicing all day long, he managed to bring it to a point where he was successful nine out of ten times when his target was a tree.
"Amazing. It's different from the Thunder Chop I do.”
"Is this a natural result? Anyway, a bet is a bet. I succeeded in two tries, so you have to knock it down in one!"
Vincent let out a hearty laugh.
"Haha! Shirone, try your best. If there's a tie, we continue until one person wins. I guess we might run out of trees in this mountain?"
Vincent thought Shirone shouldn't be taken lightly either. Rian's strength is great, but from an early age, Shirone had a natural talent in the technical field.
"Here, use my axe."
"No, it's okay. I'll do it this way."
Shirone approached the tree and held out his hand. Then, Vincent and Rian made puzzled expressions. Without an axe, how would he fell a thick tree?
After estimating the location, Shirone entered Spirit Zone. And he cut the tree with Wind Cutter, which can be called basic magic.
From inside the tree stump, a snapping sound was heard.
And that’s it.
When the two onlookers tilted their heads, Shirone slowly pushed the tree. The log fell, revealing a clean cut.
"Yay! I won!"
In contrast to Shirone, who jumped up and down with excitement, Vincent and Rian had their mouths wide open as if their jaws were missing.
How could a tree be cut without any impact? It was impossible unless magic was used.
'Ah, that's magic.'
Rian examined the cut section of the tree that Shirone had cut. Even a swordsman would not be able to cut so smoothly.
"What kind of magic is this?"
"It's called Wind Cutter. It sharpens the air by creating wind, it's basically the most basic magic."
Vincent was speechless at the sight of his changed son.
Of course, Vincent assumed that he would learn some magic after sending him to magic school, but he had only thought it to be at the level of a circus trick.
But to cut a log in one go. Depending on how it was handled, it was as deadly as a weapon.
"Haha. I can't believe it. Can you teach this to daddy too? If I cut trees with that magic, I'd make a lot more than I do now?"
Shirone laughed awkwardlyat Vincent's innocent words.
"It's basic magic, but it's not that easy to learn."
Naturally, if you mastered Wind Cutter, you could cut more than a hundred trees in a day for logging. But no mage in the world made money by cutting trees.
Even if they could cut a thousand, a mage's daily wages were much higher. It's not that the value of a thousand logs is low, it's that a mage's wage is high.
Shirone realized that and felt better. He had been afraid of failing when he first enrolled, but now he was relieved to have the skills to support his family, even if he couldn't graduate.
If others heard it, they would think that he was crazy, since he was a mage who opened Immortal Function, but to Shirone, family was just as precious.
"Anyway, since I won, I'll make a wish. Rian, you move the tree to the house."
"Cheh! Can't help it. I was going to carry it anyway."
Rian cut the fallen tree into pieces and prepared to return.
Although he lost the bet, a smile hung on Rian's lips as he descended the mountain. Shirone personally proved that his eyes were not mistaken.
'You’re amazing, Shirone. Of course, what you showed me today is not all of you, right?'
When they got back to the house, Olina had prepared all sorts of food. It seemed like all the food from the land, sea, and air was served.
“Wow, it looks so delicious. Thank you for the food!"
While eating, Shirone told them about what had happened at school.
Of course, he omitted the situations where his life was at stake, but there were so many other things besides that.
"......So the correct answer was No.3. Hahaha! Thanks to that, I will be promoted to Class Four next semester."
"Ah, I see."
Contrary to his expectations, Vincent and Olina had no particular reaction. Shirone, who was wondering if there was anything else to add, opened his hand as if he finally realized something.
"It's incredibly impressive."
Then, color returned to the couple's faces. They couldn't understand half of what Shirone said because they hadn't been to school, but they were no different from other parents in being proud of their son's achievements.
"Ah! Is that so? Congratulations, Shirone!”
“Good job, my son. You have no idea how much your mom worried."
Olina wiped away her tears with the tablecloth.
Rian smiled heartily as he looked at the scene of a loving family. He seemed to understand where Shirone's calm personality came from.
“Anyway, Rian, why did you come here?”
"Oh, that's right. Come to think of it, I came to ask permission from you two."
“You can say anything. If there is anything I can do, of course I should help.”
That's what he said, but Vincent was quite worried. What does the son of a noble family ask permission from a woodcutter?
“Can I go play with Shirone? About a week.”
Shirone turned his head as if it were absurd.
“What, to play? Why are you talking about something I don't even know? Where are you going?"
"Galliant Island. Don't worry. I've planned it in advance."
"What? Galliant?”
Shirone opened his eyes wide. He was startled when the recent place in his mind came out of Rian's mouth.
“When I was working in the library, I was completely locked up. Let's take this opportunity to get some fresh air. It's also close to Creas. It will be fun. Galliant Island is one of the most popular vacation spots in the world.”
“Besides, there are Kerugo Ruins.”
This time, Rian was surprised.
"Huh? Did you know?”
"No, I didn't know except for the fact that there are ruins. Hoo, it was such a famous place. This is surprising."
Shirone, who had been flipping through the map for a few days, found out that the Kerugo Ruins were on Galliant Island. He had a vague feeling that it was a ruin, but he remembered deciding to go there as it was not far away. (유적이라고 해서 막연한 느낌이었는데 막상 멀지 않은 곳에 있어서 가보기로 결심한 기억이 났다.)
Shirone looked at his mother. He was planning to visit once during the vacation, but it would have been disappointing if the son who came back after half a year said he was going to play right away.
But, as always, Olina followed Shirone's wishes.
"Go and come back. We are all in favor.”
"But Mom, I was going to help Dad with his work when I came back from school this time......"
Vincent burst out laughing.
"You rascal! Did you go to a battlefield? You can go play during the vacation after you come back from school. If a son only looks for his parents too much, it's not good."
Shirone pouted with a guilty expression. Of course, the magic school was also a school, but it was no exaggeration to say that the danger he experienced there was close to the battlefield.
“Then, can we set the period to ten days?”
"Huh? Ten days? It doesn't matter, but it's not a place that's worth looking around for that long, right?"
“Ah, actually, there is something I want to investigate separately.”
Rian put on a tired expression.
"Do you study there too? You are amazing, really.”
Since Shirone had read through all the history books in the Ogent Family, studying at a vacation spot would not have been a chore.
'Hehehe, but it won't be easy this time. I wonder if studying will catch his eye there.'
Thinking of a trump card, Rian secretly smiled and waited for tomorrow.
-----------------------
Shirone packed his suitcase and went to bed. Rian also decided to stay until today, so the two lay side by side with a blanket on the floor.
"Anyway, tell me. Why didn't you go home?"
"Huh? Oh, that's....”
Rian was speechless. Just as Reina understood her younger brother, Rian also knew his sister well. She must have sent the report card home and was likely to catch him.
But he couldn't tell Shirone the truth. He wasn't ashamed of being last because he did his best, but he just couldn't get his mouth to open.
“Just a trivial family matter. Hahaha."
Shirone didn't argue anymore.
"It's fine, anyway. I was planning to go once during the vacation after all."
“Did you say Kerugo Ruins? What are you going to investigate?”
"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to enjoy the vacation as a vacation, so it's okay. I'll play with you on the island first and then stay alone to do the research later."
Rian felt that something was unusual. The Kerugo Ruins were a tourist destination. There was no way that Shirone would tell him to go back first if he was simply doing research in a place like that.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
