Chapter 8
We went down the mountainroad using a horse-drawn carriage.
It’s just a horse-drawn carriage but it can manage a pretty fast pace.
It rattles and sways, and I can’t really say that it’s comfortable.
The reason why we’re doing such a thing……..is to secretly get out of the country.
It can’t be helped, and no one objected.
This was originally my proposal, but it could be said that the real reason is something else entirely.
Who would’ve thought THAT would happen…..
“……..Erorororororo”
“If you’re going to recall something, can you do me the favor and stop making that sound”
“……No.”
I never thought that I would be down this road.
I had underestimated this horse drawn carriage, with it’s wooden wheels and it’s box compartment.
And I never thought that I would reach my limit this way, this fast.
Really, expectations.
I won’t learn unless I’m told.
The reason why things have come to this happened a few hourse ago.
“What are we gonna do from here on out? Will we be caught living here? Among people?”
“Hoho, then for the mean time, isn’t it fine to get caught?”
Quarreling, we held a strategy meeting, but we’re really just planning what our policy will be for the future.
It was this time where Mr. Frog brought up his suggestion.
“No way. I cannot prove my ident.i.ty so I’ll be a suspicious person for sure right? I’ll probably be treated like a fugitive or something”
“Nonono, it’s better if we can get protection from my country.”
That would cross the bottomline of my policy.
This old man’s opinions really doesn’t sit well with me.
If you ask me, being exposed to other people isn’t a good idea in the first place.
That’s where the trouble usually starts.
Kawazu-san is nevertheless an influential person in this country, as for me who suddenly settled in such a person’s house, what would happen if we were visted by people that he knows?
At least, I can’t think of anything but greet them with a smile.
It would be the same if we were to visit them.
As someone who could be considered a suspicious person, I feel like I’ll go straight to a dungeon.
In any case, Kawazu-san looks like a frog with his grin and froggy smile.
“Calmly think of this this way~ No matter how much I’ve changed to look like a frog, I’m still really me right? That and you’re an amazing magician yourself. Unrivaled at that.”
“Ah, saying that setting, now that you mention it…..”
“Through knowledge and instinct”
Speaking of which, it seems that magicians get preferential treatment here.
Looking at Kawazu-san’s confident face, he doesn’t seem to be lying.
That should be the case. With this cheat-like ability, I’ll probably get fawned upon.
“Well then, once I meet up with the king, it will work out”
Even his face seems to say that.
Indeed, even though he looks like a frog, he could have some ways to prove his ident.i.ty, given some time.
However, even if it succeeds, that in itself will lead to another situation.
“Nnn? Then wouldn’t I be a magician of your country in that case?”
“We~ll that would happen huh. The residents of this country are dedicated to it’s development. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Then again that’s an expected response from Kawazu-san, but it’s not a satisfactory explanation to me.
That’s right.
After all I’m at that route right now, changing jobs from university student to a kingdom mage.
“…..I see. We~ll I wonder if that’s really the most practical thing to do”
It seems like nothing but a very attractive proposition, but I digress.
“But it’s rejected.”
“Now why?”
I acted mysteriously in front of Kawazu-san, clasping my hands and closing my eyes.
Kawazu-san has a point, but the facts just can’t be denied.
With a sharp glare, I said,
“My intuition on fantasy is telling me, that’s it’s……it’s a ‘death flag"”
“……..what could that possibly be?”
He wore a really helpless face.
But even I have a say in this matter.
“Well……. there’s a lot of stories that resemble this in my world, it’s something that’s often found in fantasies……..It’s consistent within them, that a hero that doesn’t know anything would get attached to someone with authority, maybe even a G.o.d, who would see him, and order him to purge evil. Then through trials and tribulations, he would develop as a human being, grooming him to finally be able to fight some last boss…..”
“Ho, hou. We~ll, that’s what you normally call a hero right”
“Yes, a hero. But therein lies the problem”
I suddenly pointed my finger while talking, and Kawazu-san took a step back in surprise.
“Is-is that so?”
“It is so. I can obviously do anything right? Wouldn’t I be a super convenient guy to have around?”
In the first place, I only used the bare minimum amount of effort and I was able to revive the dead.
It’s clearly a cheat.
Kawazu-san seems to agree with me so he immediately nods his head.
“We~ll, you’re right. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing right? A hero like that would normally be praised, wouldn’t he?”
I disappointedly sighed at the mystified Kawazu-san.
His outlook is incredibly naive.
“Hey hey, don’t say such foolish things. I will be hurled at any troublesome event that could come up, won’t I? When it comes down to business, going to save a princess, acquire some sort of treasure, attending important receptions, and the like. They’ll make it so that I can’t even say “No, can’t do”. Then the me, concerned person himself will eventually get used to it, to the point that I’ll say : ‘I’ll do my best for the sake of this nation!’ or ‘For the sake of her happiness!’
“……it’s quite a warped perspective.”
“That may be so. But it is enough. Humans are creatures that are easily swayed by the wind. And charging ahead because of the temporary tension, in the midst of the b.l.o.o.d.y slaughters, acquiring indelible trauma caused by the experiences in war, I would have lifeless eyes to match. Let me put this frankly! You cannot do that to a sensitive guy like me! I have an incredibly weak mentality! Additionally, if I don’t have an adviser like you, I’d normally starve within a week in this new world!”
I presented my thesis with conviction while Kawazu-san is not really sinking into it.
Looking at me like he’s staring at a bug, he’s a little bit stumped.
“How should I put this…… quite pathetic.”
“That’s fine! I’m not fearless enough to claim that I can do what I clearly can’t! To begin with, I don’t have any interest in being a hero! Any yet, however, I have a weapon that no one else could imitate. It’s a weapon called magic, it’s something I received.”
“Thats right~…… that’s why, isn’t it fine to seek protection from my country? I think you’ll get preferential treatment anyway, you know?”
“No no, I’ll still be the ‘can do anything’ guy to get that treatment right?”
I dare say, I have thought of something amazing.
Yes, “Someone who could do anything”. Me.
I’m still not that familiar with magic, but from now on, I should discover what I could do with it.
I even have a walking dictonary with me.
And without any conflicts, living peacefully, this unaccountably humble power wouldn’t get in my way as much.
“……mnnnnn, you’re quite the idiot, huh.”
“You’ve no right to say that!”
“But we~ll, putting it that way, it does have some positive points.”
Kawazu-san is probably thinking about my magic and his into perspective.
In any case he’s considering it, and it’s surprising that he may rethink his suggestion.
“……you’re right. As you said, going back there will mean facing a LOT of bothersome things to do. I can’t even do magic research as a state figure, can I? ……hmmmm”
To be honest, I didn’t think that this morally dubious reasoning would be persuasive.
Kawazu-san is also turning out to be questionable, as a human being, and that a.s.sures me a tiny bit.
It would disturb me if he’s the type to drag me to his country no matter what.
If I smell something fishy, I was thinking of running away somehow, turns out that plan may be unnecessary.
“Let’s do it. Anyway, it’s a recycled life. There’s nothing meaningful in doing the same thing all over again .”
“Great, it’s decided! Then where do we go? Somewhere foreign? Somewhere local?”
“Why not check out local first? Let’s hide within the country first and figure out our next move? Once we’ve decided, let’s hurry up and go! No need to wait! Get our things!”
We were united under the banner of escaping responsibility, and started the preparations.
A few minutes later, we packed lightly for the journey and held our last meeting.
I was given a leather bag cotaining things that I may find useful. I also got a cloak from Kawazu-san.
He was also wrapped in a cloak that looked suspiciously high-end.
“Listen, okay? From now on I will explain our plan of escape, yes?”
“Sir, yes sir”
“Hm, then first, let’s make it look like I died from an accident caused by my last magic. One week from today, we’ll use the rumour to our advantage. We~ll, I don’t think anyone would come to investigate since it might be dangerous. I haven’t explained this degree of magic too anyone, so we could exploit that fact.”
“And how exactly will we use that to our advantage?”
“What, I really don’t need to spell it out, it means that they won’t question anything strange right? Then it’s just better to blow this house up, and erase all traces that we’ve been here”
You want to blow it up.
It’s a splendid plan.
“But well, that’s the rough outline of it”
Sure, I was amazed at the plan, but Kawazu-san is enjoying this too much.
“We’ll, it’s really a simple thing. Anyway, the people who’ll see this after a week will think that my magic failed, basing on the remains of the house. That would be the end of the story, and no one would pursue the matter further. Additionally, even if they do find something, the clues would be pitifully small.”
Kawazu-san brilliantly concluded, and I found myself continuously nodding to it.
I understand it for the time being.
Certainly, if we reduce anything and everything to ash, it would be hard to follow us.
After deciding that, there’s only one course of action.
“So, how are we going to blow it up? Gunpowder?”
“What are you saying. Don’t you have a stupidly abundant Mana?”
“Stupid amount of Mana, you….. then what kind of Magic do you suppose I should download?”
“It’s been bothering me me for a while now, but what is this da un rod thing you’re talking about?”
I just noticed that I’ve been using words that Kawazu-san has probably never heard of before.
I’ve taken these things, like the screen, for granted.
“It’s about [Magic Creation]”
Kawazu-san still can’t understand it, even when I added some more information, but that’s that. It can’t be helped that the internet won’t make sense unless it’s there.
“It’s fine if you don’t think too deeply into it”
“You really named it weirdly. Ah well, you don’t have to go that far, that magic is already over-the-top.”
I was puzzled by what Kawazu-san concluded of it.
Did it work like that?
Anyway, to beautifully blow up the house, we should probably use some amazing magic but I’m not really sure.
“…….then what?”
Seeing that I really didn’t know, his expression turned strange.
“Some elemental magic. It shouldn’t be a problem when we use that.”
It seems that the magic that we’re gonna use is one of the really basic ones.
Let’s put a pin on that for now. From the explanations, it seems like an attack magic.
Then again, I don’t have hands-on experience.
Let’s see, if I remember correctly, the five fundamental magics are: earth, water, fire, wind, and void.
Let’s put a pin on that too. It has a game template anyway. Somehow.
“Elemental magic, it’s basic and therefore simple. But since it’s has many applications, it doesn’t have a fixed cost of Mana in order to be used. Consequently, it’s also a magic that doesn’t have an upper limit in power”
“And, what does that mean?”
“You can stack it’s power output”
“How scary”
“We~ll, basic control itself isn’t hard. The magic exhibits it’s value in individual differences. In a sense, it could be a frightening magic.”
Oh my, so it’s commonly used among magicians; but I think it there are a lot of implications that comes with it.
Anyway I’m not enough of an expert to put it articulately.
A pro like Kawazu-san has probably contemplated it more.
“Then If I use elemental magic, I’ll be able to see my affinities”
“We~ll…….. loosely speaking”
Only a bit, I was able to grasp the gist of the bad explanation, I’ll remember it.
As much as possible, we shouldn’t use this type of magic in front of people.
Before his spit dries, Kawazu-san frankly said,
“Then, shall I count on you?”
“Nono, is it okay for me to do it? Isn’t it better for you to do these fundamental magics? I haven’t done enough practice with this type of magic anyway”
“You’re thinking of it the wrong way. We should use this as an opportunity to train you.”
“……you have a point”
What he said there was right.
If I don’t practice it in times like this, I won’t know what to do when I’m in an actual pinch.
I’m finally in the right mood for it, and Kawazu-san gave me some finishing notes.
“If it’s your magic, just use a liiiiiiittle bit, okay. Just about enough for this hut to get disintegrated”
“Got it. I’ll give it a try”
Kawazu-san headed to the barn to prepare the horse-drawn carriage, I myself got out of the house.
Raindrops fell on the cloak that Kawazu-san gave me.
Since it’s raining, I’ll get this over with and head to the barn myself.
From then, I used my hand to measure and aim at the target.
“Just a bit…..”
I muttered.
But actually, even if you say small, I really don’t have any points of reference.
I’ll just go with instinct.
He said the general amount, but such things like numerical values isn’t always displayed, it’s not definite so for now I’ll go with my instinct.
Other magics that I’ve casted just used their required Mana, but this time it will be up to me to choose, it will be completely up to a guess.
“In any case, it won’t start unless I try”
Everything should be about right.
In the first place, this is just a rough plan.
If it’s blowing things up, fire magic should be tested.
Concentrating is different from before, shining simple runes appeared.
This seems to be the right amount of magic so I willed it to adapt the shape of fire.
“mumumummu……..”
I sharpened my senses while trying to feel the magic.
‘A little’ was incredibly rough after all.
I imagined the representation of that ‘a little’
I glared at the hut and focused my eyes, I aimed my finger and felt the atmosphere compress around it.
The request was to blow it up, let’s completely destroy it.
What anime from the TV was it from again?
At the moment of release, Kawazu-san who was in charge of the luggage probably felt something and ran to call out on me.
“Wai-! You! Moron! If you put that much-!!”
“Eh?”
I was only able to let out a dumb sound, but at the end, the released magic could no longer be retracted.
My first attack magic brought out it’s full potential.
“Uo ou……. if only Kawazu-san told me earlier, we could have had a more laid back journey”
“I should be the one complaining! Thanks to you, we’re fleeing the country!”
While I was suffering from motion sickness, I stared at the wide open landscape sprawled in front of me.
It’s a rural scene, and at the back, I can see a large mountain.
But on one corner of said mountain, it had a large gaping hole, as if it was drilled through.
I repeat, I’m talking about the mountain.
“My-, who would’ve thought that it could create that hole in the mountain?”
“……..normally, you can’t drill that kind of holes on mountains.”
Right…..
I’m reflecting on my mistakes.
There are strange things that I’m witnessing with my own eyes.
Anyway, I don’t know what this 8 million thing is anyway- …I can’t say anymore.
It really didn’t register to me what a great number that is, but now it’s painfully obvious when I witness it with my own eyes.
The magic that I used at that time, for me, was really only a little bit.
I only thought of it as blowing the fire out on a candle.
And about this, if I use my full power by mistake…….
“……..seriously, it’s no joke. Boom.”
What could I be destroying then? This country….. no, this star?
Thinking that far, I let out a dry laugh at the absurdities.
they’re finally out of the hut