Alice Tale in Phantasmagoria

One day in at the hot spring travel lodge, on the night of the peeping commotion.

「Event number one, pillow throwing contest～!!」
「Contest～」

With me and Rin-chan carrying piled up pillows, we announced this.

「Sleep.」
「Hai……」

With one word from Till, the pillow throwing compet.i.tion easily finished.
Everyone used their futon and, went into tranquil sleep.

Lighting up, it was a refreshing new day.
Although I woke up early, Shion-san’s futon was already folded away.
I a.s.sume she’s left to do her daily morning training.
Speaking of myself, I’m trying to get up from my futon and go but both my legs are held so it’s impossible.
No, though it isn’t impossible, forcibly getting up is also bad.
Maa, since the culprits are the pair of youngest and oldest.
With a const.i.tution that makes it difficult to do something like falling asleep again after waking, it’s troublesome.
Somehow, I thought for a moment, Till often comes and clings to me, is it perhaps because I’m an elf, if only half?
Setting aside the elf village, outside of there something like an elf, it seems there generally aren’t any.
But for an elf, from what everyone says it seems there’s an atmosphere like a half elf isn’t accepted, though, from the start I haven’t gotten that sort of sense from Till have I.
……Or rather, do I emit a smell that makes elves indulge me?
As if, while thinking incoherent things, the day’s dozing period pa.s.sed.

After eating breakfast, it again became free action or the like until afternoon.
Shion-san and I, met up with ojisan and obasan and chatted for a while.
After that, I alone withdrew.
Ilya and Eclair went together to buy goods.
Those two, get along quite well?
Kurozuk.u.me and Rin-chan are on, an eat to the limit hot spring town tour.
Till vanished.

――And so the present.

「It seems like there aren’t particularly any strange movements are there.」
「Nn, at this point.」

As such, I met up with Aim and tailed Ilya and Eclair.
……Is it my imagination, since yesterday it’s like I’ve done only criminal like acts.
Un, just my imagination.

「By the way, Aim, what’s that you’re eating?」
「Confections, there are a lot of rare confections here.」

While speaking I look at the confections she’s carrying.
Dora……yaki?
I see, though there are hot spring manjuu, there are a number of eastern confections gathered here aren’t there.
Come to think of it Shion-san wields a katana, eastern confections and the like, my a.s.sumption that this was a world without eastern traditional items seems to be completely wrong.
Might it have been good if I also prepared at least milk and bean rolls?

「Ah.」
「Ehh? Something happen!?」

Aim, thinned that eye which could see through everything.

「That man, he’s having an affair.」

Ahead of us, looking where I’d been told a man with an appearance that was somewhat unsettled entered a residence.

「…………Clairvoyance is, convenient isn’t it.」
「Wrong, just intuition. But, it’s generally correct.」

Even if you became a detective you’d be able to make a living wouldn’t you, Aim.
Saying that, to begin with we’re tailing those two from such a distance that I don’

t know where or how they’re walking.
This is precisely clairvoyance’s benefit, certainly even those two haven’t noticed.
Certainly since we’re tailing them this carefully, I think the unknown being targeting Eclair will not catch this location either.

「However, because his true form is unclear, in the end I also don’t know who’s suspicious and the like you see…… Since I don’t know any special characteristic besides just being small.」

That night the opponent wearing a hood……
No, to begin with thinking a lone culprit isn’t just a possibility, a.s.suming only that could also mislead us.

「Ah.」
「…………This time, have you found a lover’s quarrel?」
「Though that sounds interesting, wrong. It’s the same hair color as master’s. Rare.」
「――――Small, a girl about ten years of age?」
「Nn, that’s it. Can master also see her at this distance?」
「No.」

Could it be?
No, thinking back to the small form in the hood, that is certainly a possible story……
But it’s strange, Ilya judged that that child had no magic power.
Taking that into account the small form we met that night, Eclair testified that it had fearsome magic power.
The concepts don’t come together but――I can’t think that they’re unrelated.

「Aim.」
「Roger. That, smells does it.」

I see.
Since Aim’s intuition is by her own statement, often correct so.

「――Correction. Masterー」
「Eh?」
「That is, bad…… We’ve been seen.」

Her expression doesn’t often change but Aim’s cheeks were, sweating.

「At this distance!?」
「In my past when doing work, when a bad opponent took action my chest thumped. Just like, when I targeted master.」
「Me……?」

No, speaking of when I was first targeted that’s…… Till is it!

「That shouldn’t……」

With such frequency, can there be opponents on the same level as Till.
What to do, temporarily hide?

「!? Master! Coming!」

She really wants to go at it does she!

「I’m not reliable in the city! Aim, we’re jumping!」
「Roger.」

Holding Aim, I jumped with full force.
From building roof to roof I found footholds, I quickly moved outside town.
Fleetingly checking behind me――Certainly, the silver haired girl is pursuing from behind.

「She’s, flying……」

She’s not creating and exploding footholds like Till.
That is…… Fire magic is it.
Like it was surrounding me a spherical…… membrane of black flame.
In short, is it essentially a balloon?
Within the sphere the air expands from heat and escapes, for that portion the air thins does it?

「This certainly does seem like an incredible opponent…… About black flame, is there anything you remember Aim?」
「……Demonic Flame. Though I thought it was a fairy tale.」
「The strongest master…… Eclair’s shisho?」

That can’t be can it.
In what situation would Eclair’s shisho do something like target Eclair.
It just keeps getting more incomprehensible.
Landing in a gra.s.sland outside of town, I turn around.

「I can take initiative, master.」

Aim readied her bow……

「Please wait. It’s not determined that we have to fight. Let’s stop selling a fight from our side.」

Aim nodded and lowered her bow.
Without causing a wait, the opponent soon descended before us.
Alongside silver hair reaching her shoulder a small girl.
Red eyes…… It’s not!
Silver eyes!?
Different person?

「h.e.l.lo.」

That girl, although it could be called the wrong place for it she greeted us naturally like it was nothing.

「And so, why were you pursuing me?」

With the point that she noticed Aim use clairvoyance for tailing, she’s a considerable opponent.
If possible I don’t want to ineptly to aggravate matters.

「Sorry, it’s not the case that we were pursuing you. There’s a slight situation, so we did check people who stood out.」
「That so. If you have no intention of opposing me, please be mature――Fairy of Silver Lightning.」
「!?」

This child, what is this……?

「……Whether we oppose you or do otherwise is, dependent on your circ.u.mstances. Since at this point I have to be wary of the comrades of those who target my friend.」
「――Friend.」

The girl closed her eyes, she seemed to softly repeat that word.
From there, that, like she was convinced she nodded once.

「This is Leymia.」

Leymia.
Is that, the Demonic Flame’s name?

「I am Alice.」
「I am aware, celebrity.」

At what point did that……

「That demon is, your friend?」
「That is so. She’s an extremely precious, close friend.」

The small silver girl once more, closed her eyes.
And then――

「――Then, from here on, this one and you all are enemies.」

……That, it would become this then.
Every time I fight…… When I fought Aim as well, there’s nothing but futility.

「――It’s okay. It’s fine to only suppress her. I’m, no longer a hitman. Isn’t that so? Master.」
「……That’s exactly it isn’t it, Aim! Our objective is suppression!」
「Roger.」

Aim’s single shot released along with her reply, became the signal for combat to commence.
That arrow, the girl――Leymia deployed fire magic…… it veered upward!
I see, by hot air flow!
But in that instant?
Just what temperature was that!?

「……Heavy, troublesome sniper.」

Leymia toward Aim, narrowed her eyes and focused.
I’m sorry but, I also!

「Lightning!」

However, my magic was also averted and cut off while she blocked with a wall of fire.
Her fighting form is proficient!
Straightforwardly receiving, or evading aren’t all there is to combat is it.

「Fairy of Silver Lightning. You’re a fortunate person. But, there are many people who are not. Your magic is――――tepid.」

Leymia raised her hand.

「――Multicast, fire, set.」

Instantly, ten black fireb.a.l.l.s were born!
Multi!?

「If it is possible, you might be able to evade this. However――」

As black flame drifted, she gave us a warning.
I understood the thing she was saying……

「Master, don’t mind it. I have no intention of slowing you down.」
「Of course, I believe in you.」

But, my power can’t do anything but protect myself.
Like Till, to have chosen ice magic, would that have been best?

――No, just at magic power, I don’t lose to anyone.

Therefore without taking the attacks one by one, I can avert them just like the opponent did.
To cut down every attack, after that is a problem of reflex and prediction.

「――Governor of many threads of lightning, manifest heaven’s wise eye before me! Lightning Field!」

As one combat territory, the field of lightning took shape.
s.p.a.ce swathed in silver threads of lightning was deployed spherically.
It wasn’t a category of attack magic.
While the barrier was deployed my magic power kept being continually expended.
It’s the same category of magic as Till’s Icicle Garden.

「Light Enchant.」

Both hands are clad in lightning.
Preparations complete.

――Until they were complete, Leymia was always waiting.

But, I’ll put aside the circ.u.mstances of such an opponent.
This side will just go at full power.

「……Surprising. I’ll make a correction, activation of magic on that scale, with that control. The rumors weren’t wrong then.」
「Are we, really enemies?」
「Un, that hasn’t changed. Until death――Fire, Shot!」

Not only from the front, the drifting fireb.a.l.l.s attacked three dimensionally.
Boldly from the front, like stabs into the gaps from dead angles, at every angle, at every speed they came to attack as if they were alive.

――With that, within this barrier I have no dead angles.

The trajectory of every attack, played in my head like they were foreseen.
With my agility enhanced with the power of lightning, I moved my body reflexively.
The fireb.a.l.l.s charging in from the front, are blasted away by Lightning Punch.
As if flowing I turn around, once again.
Further adjusting the timing the additional attack hidden behind that one is repulsed without confusion.
Fireb.a.l.l.s approaching simultaneously from three directions, as if to stop time I circulate magic power through my body and place a boost.
Exhorting myself, I dash.

「AAAaAa!!」

Sensing Leymia chanting further attack magic in the interval, I impede her with lightning.
Continuing, the remaining fireb.a.l.l.s are all blocked――

「Aim, shoulder!」
「Roger, it won’t be averted.」

While I defended, with her bow drawn to its limit Aim, at just the right moment she released one shot.

「――Tsu, u!」

Without being averted by the flow of hot air the arrow, pierced Leymia’s shoulder.

「Hurts…… Lightning Fairy? Not such an trivial being. Shouldn’t it be Lightning G.o.d?」

Leymia murmured and, like when she pursued us she lightly floated her body into the air.

「Leymia!」
「That demon, will eventually oppose you. Until it becomes as such, it’s simple then.」
「Wait! No matter what? Do we, still have to fight?」
「……That is, because this one and you met.」

Murmuring somehow sadly, Leymia turned her body.
――As she did so, she focused on my outreached left hand, her eyes opened wide.

「――Eh? What is this…… Why, put out tears?」

Leymia didn’t understand their meaning, making that sort of face she took a flowing tear from my eye.

「……Mysterious, later then. Fairy of Silver Lightning.」
「Leymia……」

This time, like that Leymia flew away.
Confirming that, I released the barrier.
With a ma.s.sive amount of my magic power taken away, I felt vertigo.
I somehow held out.

「……Master, shoot down?」
「No…… let’s stop.」
「Nn, I thought you’d say that.」

As if Aim understood, she lowered her bow.

「I’m sorry for, acting as a naive master.」

Answering with a bitter smile, Aim shook her head back and forth.

「Nn, don’t mind it. That is master. I think it’s totally good. And also……」

Somehow in Aim’s expressionless face, I saw what seemed like red enter.
She made that sort of expression.

「Master, too strong…… I might be infatuated.」
「……Eh?」

Aim looked at me with kind of heated gaze.
Eh, does Aim-san, prefer strong people!?
Something like that, someone like me is still!
And so thinking about stupid things, Ilya and Eclair came running.

「It really, was you people! Are you okay!?」
「You’re too late, or rather the correct answer would’ve been to not come bother master.」
「Wha, what was thaaat!?」
「Reality.」

Why, does it come to this……

「Ojousama, what matters is that you’re okay.」
「Un, what to say…… We really, were targeted then.」

While looking at the two who’d become noisy since they met, Ilya leaked this.

「Elf and demon. Ojousama and Eclair-sama, don’t they have a totally mysterious connection.」
「That might be so……」

Maa, though I’m a half.

「About me and Eclair…… Will we oppose eachother?」
「Eh?」

Ilya made a mysterious seeming face.
That’s it isn’t it……
That was only, something like a throw away line wasn’t it……?

「Alice! How do you feel! That Eclair came for you, that was good wasn’t it!?」
「No, not particularly?」

Slowly, tears gathered up on Eclair’s eyes.

「Fufu, I’m sorry, it’s a joke Eclair. That you’re at my side, I’m happy, it’s rea.s.suring.」
「Alice……」

Though I felt it was a little overblown, I embraced Eclair.
That’s it.
Regardless of how I think about it, I shouldn’t oppose this child.

「A, again…… Since like this with skinship, you’re trying to obfuscate.」

Saying that sort of thing with Eclair’s sweet treble voice, even so it seemed like she wasn’t dissatisfied.