C124
Certainly, Tess had a stunning figure, matching well with the hulking Lian. Her arms and legs were long and slender, and her waist had deep curves, perhaps because of her height.
On the other hand, he was a mage by anyone's eyes. He was of average height and had a rather thin build for his age.
Of course, the beauty of the body is not all there is to attractiveness, but she couldn't help feeling inferior in front of Tess, whose head was one higher.
"No, we're just friends too. She just agreed to come along at my special request."
"Aha, I see."
Tess didn't believe it straight away. Just the fact that a girl from the first-class noble came as a partner to a commoner suggested that it was an extraordinary emotion.
Rian felt the same way. In fact, the biggest worry when planning this trip was that Shirone wouldn't be able to find a partner.
There is also a problem of status, but his personality is introverted, so he was worried that Shirone might get hurt.
However, when he opened the lid, he brought a beautiful girl who was so beautiful that even he, who had no interest in women, was surprised.
Rian had always thought that a woman should have a cuteness that triggers a protective instinct like Amy.
On the other hand, Tess was a possessor of skills that exceeded his, so there was no chance of feeling romantic emotions.
Even if it's just the ability of Schema, there are not many men who are attracted to women who are stronger than themselves.
'Well done, Shirone. I will actively push you.'
While Lian was planning a strategy, the carriage that had finished its preparations arrived. The four people with their luggage moved towards the carriage.
It was then.
"This guy! Lian~!”
A tremendous decibel voice spreading from the mansion. Lian guessed that everything had been uncovered, just by the willpower that was transmitted through the sound.
"Darn it! Guys, run!"
"What? What about the wagon?”
"If you go by carriage, it's too late! Look behind! You must climb over the wall!"
The three people looked back at the mansion. A yellowish-brown whirlwind that shot up to the sky was approaching.
Not even understanding the situation, Shirone and the others started running.
“Rian! What happened?"
"Shit! Looks like my report card has arrived! I actually came last! Dad is going to kill us!"
"Really? Are we really going to die? Let's just tell the truth and depart. What is this for a trip?"
"If you're confident, try it. I'll run. Just for reference, my dad is a 4th rank swordsman."
Blood drained from the faces of the three. Tess activated Schema and jumped forward, followed by Amy.
Shirone, who had lagged behind, felt his heart pounding. He was definitely running forward, but the wind was blowing from behind.
Running while pushing air meant that Bischoff's speed exceeded the human limit.
“Rian! I think we'll get caught!"
"I can't help it! I'll self-destruct! You guys go to the island first and play!"
It was more than enough for Lian. But you can't abandon a friend and go on a trip. Even in the midst of chaos, Shirone came up with a solution.
“Amy! Let's go teleport! Rian, don't move!"
Sirone grabbed Lian and cast a Photon Magic. The bodies of the two people seemed to flash and shine, and immediately became a flash and jumped forward.
Lian, who experienced teleportation for the first time, felt dizzy. The field of view became extremely narrow and it felt like all the scenery was rushing at him.
It was a mage's vision.
Amy also caught Tess and teleported, as if she understood Shirone's words.
Two rays of light raced through the garde at breakneck speed. It was a situation where it could be smashed by hitting the cover, but Shirone and Amy did not allow even the slightest mistake.
Shirone, thinking they had gotten quite far, looked back. But in the end, he had to grit his teeth, suppressing the feeling that he was going to burst into tears.
The whirlwind was drawing closer. They were destroying whatever they came across.
It was natural for the symbol of the Ogent, the great sword, to come to mind.
"Amy! This way!"
Shirone made a sudden stop in the middle of the dense forest and shouted. Then Amy also canceled a turn and narrowed the distance with Shirone.
The whirlwind tearing through the forest was closing in from 100 meters away.
Tess stomped her feet and shouted.
"What now? Just going to get caught?"
"Hold on to me! We're going to fly!"
Shirone expanded the radius of his Spirit Zone to its maximum. Even so, they couldn't leave the garden, but there was a way.
If they can't win in speed, they just need to disappear from the coordinates for an instant.
"Here we go!"
When his friends arrived, Shirone searched for a safe place through his synesthesia. He never thought he would have to use the magic he thought he wouldn't need to cast for a while so soon in actual combat.
When he cast Spatial Shift with the edge of the forest as the target, their bodies caught fire and were sucked up into the sky.
At the same time, a tremendous wind rushed in with their afterimages, sweeping away their previous positions and passing by.
Bischoff clenched his hand that failed to catch Lian in regret. It was a narrow escape.
"This….!”
Bischoff turned his body 180 degrees and braked with both legs. His body slid back about ten meters like sliding on ice.
A mound of dirt amounting to 20 times his weight came up over his heels. It was a sight to see how much physical strength his body possessed.
Bischoff looked awkwardly at the path he had run. The ground was plowed, and the trees were broken any which way.
It's all because of Rian. How dare he deceive his father.
"Imagination Schema?"
He took out the report card with trembling hands. The more he thought about it, the more he could only sigh.
But on the other hand, he felt sorry for his good-for-nothing son. How much training must he have done to possess physical strength equivalent to that of Schema user.
'I should think of it as an effort prize.'
Anyway, it seemed that Shirone had already learned Spatial Shift. Considering that it's a magic that even pros find difficult, it was a tremendous growth in just half a year.
Shirone and Rian. Rian and Shirone. Bischoff thought about the future of the two boys tied by one fate.
Their talents and tendencies were as different as heaven and earth, but perhaps the number of steps they took were the same in the name of their best efforts?
"It'll be a good memory, this too."
Bischoff threw the report card over his shoulder and turned his footsteps back to the mansion.
Galliant Island (1)
Shirone's group, who had jumped over the fence of the Ogent mansion, had used all their power to escape the noble disctric.
Thanks to the casting of Spatial Shift, they was out of Bischoff's expected coordinates, but it was not a safe situation.
This is because the movement of Schema adherent boasts an beast-like activity radius that cannot be escaped by a considerable amount of instant movement.
It was only after entering the downtown area that Shirone and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They still vividly recalled Bischoff's face.
Although he didn't think he would hurt his son, there was a deadly energy in the sight of them approaching, raising a whirlwind.
Shirone sighed and said,
"What are we going to do now? We've come this far and can't go back."
"It doesn't matter, does it? We've received enough travel money. Let's rent a carriage and go to the harbor."
There was nothing to fear for Lian as long as his father wasn't there. Sure, he'd eventually be in trouble, but it wasn't the time to be pondering such somber thoughts with an exciting journey ahead.
The place they arrived at was a stable on the outskirts of the city. It sold horses to travelers and also provided transportation services, hiring coachmen to take customers to their destinations.
If they were to catch the ship on time, there wasn't any room for leisure, so Lian rented a four-seater carriage ready for immediate departure.
Rian and Tess sat side by side, and Shirone and Amy took the seats facing them. Since these were seats typically used by commoners, the interior was cramped and they had to sit close together.
The carriage started its journey amidst an awkward atmosphere, but the cool wind coming in through the window soon eased their tension.
Tess cooled her sweat with a hand fan and looked at Sirone.
Although she had never learned magic, she knew how difficult it was to teleport through a dense forest. As expected, he was a mage of a considerable level.
However, if they were simply looking for someone who was good at magic, there were plenty to be found among the nobles. She was still doubtful because it didn't seem strong enough to warrant a knight's oath from Lian.
"Right. But what was that second spell? It felt weird for Teleportation."
"Oh, that was Spatial Shift. The space curves along the time axis, so you might have felt a little dizzy."
"What? That was spatial Spatial Shift?"
Tess was startled. None of her friends who went to magic school had mastered Spatial Shift.
It is because it’s not a spell that one could simply learn in theory. It was a matter of mental endurance, an area that could only be conquered with time and effort.
"That's impressive. Did you get a special chance or something? Oh, I'm not dismissing you, but I know Spatial Shift is a spell used only by professionals. Isn't it hard if you don't learn magic from a young age?"
Tess assumed that Shirone had entered the world of magic in his childhood through some kind of extraordinary talent. Otherwise, there was no way commoners could learn magic.
Shirone meekly nodded. It was half right and half wrong, but it wasn't a particularly important issue, so he didn't feel the need to correct her misunderstanding.
"That's right. I wouldn't have been able to go to magic school without Lian. The Ogent Family helped me enroll in the magic school."
“As expected. Oh, but I think that alone is impressive. Since I was young, I competed with nobles, so you must have had a lot of stress outside of studying."
"Haha! It was like that at first. But it's okay now. Amy helped me a lot too."
"Hmph, what did I do? You didn't even talk to me about it."
Amy snorted and turned her head away. Even though she didn't show it, she was frustrated with Shirone's humble answer.
It seemed like Tess didn't think that Shirone, who was nothing more than a commoner, had mastered advanced magic through his own efforts.
It was a natural reaction since they hadn't known each other long, but she didn't like that Tess was dismissing Shirone's arduous journey with the word 'talent.'
It was Lian who scratched Amy's itchy spot.
“Anyway, that was only half a year ago. SHirone has only been learning magic for half a year."
“Whaat, half a year?”
Tess looked back at Lian enough to break her neck. Even she was dumbfounded this time.
Spatial Shift cannot be mastered in half a year by any means. This was common sense among the noble society, regardless of the mentality of knights.
Tess glanced across the other side. Shirone was smiling, but Amy was still grumpily pouting, not even making eye contact.
Tess then realized her mistake.
Because swordsmen and mage often had opposing personalities because they pursued different directions.
While knights would speak and listen as they felt, mages inferred numerous meanings from the subtext of words. From Amy's perspective, it was likely that she saw Tess's attitude as belittling Shirone.
“Oh dear, I'm sorry. I didn't know any better and kept rambling nonsense. I didn't mean to offend you. I would have been angry too if my partner was treated like this."
Amy's face turned red. mAGES certainly knew how to handle language the best. However, because of that, they were as vulnerable as newborns to this kind of direct apology.
"I, I didn't say anything! And we're not partners! We're just friends."
Although she responded gruffly, Amy's expression was much more relaxed than before.
“Since we met for the first time, it is natural that we do not know each other. Tess may be blunt, but she means no harm. Please understand. Feel free to talk about anything you want in the future."
Rian spoke directly as per his personality. Instead, SHirone and Amy stiffen up, unable to to respond.
To them, who were accustomed to being cautious and calculating, the candid conversation style of knights was rather extremely burdensome.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
