“Come on, I’ve already even prepared bentos for us, so let’s get going!”
Now that breakfast is over, Mora is pressing me to depart, with her face full of motivation. That’s fine and all, but……
“What is with all that luggage?”
The girl in a one-piece is shouldering an enormous jute bag filled to bursting. I can only see her as someone either looting or fleeing from a fire scene.
“This is Dad’s property that the bandits had seized. All of the luggage would be impossible for me, but I thought to grab as much as I can……”
Indeed, this place was the mountain bandits’ base, so if I spent some time searching, I would most likely be able to find the treasures of the various people that they’ve attacked. During yesterday’s search, I think I saw something like that down in the storeroom. If this was D&B, I would have just gladly taken it all. Wait, so if I had taken everything yesterday, I would have inadvertently also taken Mora’s family’s property…… what a close shave.
“Ah, please wait a bit. I have preparations to make.”
After calming down the Mora who looks ready to bolt off at a moment’s notice, I chant a few spells.
“H-, Horse?!”
By means of the level 3 spell [Phantom Horse], a black horse appears in the courtyard of the fort, causing Mora to raise a hysteric voice. This horse that is covered by a faint green aura is, depending on the caster’s level, capable of displaying various abilities for traversing different terrain types. Of course, since I am max level, my horse is not only capable of running on water, but can also fly, rendering all walls meaningless to its rider.
“It would be quite tough walking on a mountain trail for a whole half day, and it’s also better to reach the village as soon as possible, so let"s use this horse. As for the luggage, I also have this……”
My gaze turns to the Jyagul statue that had been left abandoned the entire night. I then chant the spell that had come to mind during breakfast.
“Wha-, it’s floating! That too……!”
[Sprite Porter]. This is a spell that creates an invisible follower who carries luggage. Being a level 1 spell, the porter has no other ability than to shoulder luggage and follow behind its caster, but its strength is quite significant. First Mora’s luggage, then the Jyagul statue—both were lifted handily. Then again, this follower is invisible, so it just looks like the jute bag and statue are floating together in midair. Quite surreal. Mora seems to be of a similar opinion, muttering “uwah…… ” and stuff.
Originally, I was quite troubled as to what to do with the Jyagul statue. I currently do not have the time to return him to flesh to question him, but neither can I just leave him be, not when he’s got my Wizardry Staff. In the end, I decided to bring him along. Just in case, if I get called an evil magician from here on, I can also use him as an eyewitness.
“There are a few other spells that I want to use as precautions, but let’s set off first.”
“O-, okay……”
I mount the phantom horse, then pull Mora up behind me. What I grasped is not a ‘white and slender hand’ like the ones often described in novels, but a warm hand hardened by daily ch.o.r.es and work.
“Umm…… haiyah!”
“......?”
The last time I’d ridden a horse was several decades ago, when I was at a farm in Hokkaido just trying it out as an experience. However, I am able to properly handle the reins. It is most likely thanks to The Guardian faithfully realizing D&B’s basic rulebook, in which it was written that all characters possess basic horseriding technique. Then again, it’s a monster that I’ve called up, so it’ll move according to my orders without me needing any special techniques.
Mora timidly settles herself crossways behind the saddle.
I instruct the phantom horse to start walking (the statue and jute bag bobbing in mid air behind really look so strange). We pa.s.s through the side door in the gate and exit the fort.
The front yard is extremely narrow. One side is a cliff, while the other is a precipitous slope. Any army intending to attack this place would most likely have a really hard time. In the first place, I’m impressed how they even managed to construct a fort made of stone all the way up here……
“Let’s hurry to the village to show Dad that I"m fine, then let’s come back. I’m worried about the cargo.”
So said Mora with a serious face.
“Good point, since the mountain bandits might come back. Alright, let’s put up a countermeasure then.”
“Countermeasure?”
While looking up at the fort’s tall stone walls from atop my horse, I invoke my next spell.
“...... [Renovation].”
“?! What is it this time?!”
From the ground—more specifically, the ground beneath the fort—come tremors and rumblings.
“T-, the fort is……?! The ground is……?!”
This spell allows me to freely alter the surface of the earth. Along with a ‘GOGOGO’ sound, the land that the fort is built upon rises vertically. After lifting the fort by 20 meters or so, the effects of the spell abate. What we are now looking at is a 90 degree precipice.
“With this, I don’t think anyone will be going inside for a while.”
“............”
Vanity a.s.saults me as I look at Mora, who is staring at the fort on top of a precipice with mouth and eyes wide open. Goodness, what a worldly-minded person I am.
I shake my head lightly, then get to casting a few other urgently needed spells.
“I’m sorry for having made you wait. Alright, we’ll be departing now.”
“...... Ah, yes.”
I try to act cool and kick the horse’s flank, but instead of that signal, it is my mental command that prompts the horse to step off…… into the air.
“Ohhhhh, it"s actually flying!”
“GYAAAAHHHH?!”
♥♦♣♠
“...... eurgh……”
“Seriously, it’s going to be troublesome if you don’t think things through, alright? I don’t know anything about your magic—wizardry, you call it?—alright? What were you going to do if we had fallen off!”
“...... You are right…… I"m very sorry…... “
Several minutes later, the phantom horse that we are riding is quietly proceeding down the mountain trail.
It was well and all being excited about my first experience of riding a horse through the sky, but problems emerged almost at once. The first is that Mora started panicking. The second is that I got sick. Furthermore, we realized that we might miss her dad if he’s on his way to pay the ransom. The third might have been a non-issue if the way was flat, but it’s not, so that’s that.
Fortunately, the swaying is not so bad when we are on land.
Despite the unfavorable conditions of a dense and luxuriant forest, we are still making good headway in relative comfort. The scolding from Mora behind me isn’t showing signs of ending any time soon, though.
Anyways, according to Mora, going down this mountain trail for half a day will eventually bring us to a highway. Going west along the highway will bring us to Lelis, while going east will bring us to the village (its name is Yuule, apparently).
We swayed on the phantom horse’s back for about 2 hours.
“...... It seems that Gio-san really is different from the other magicians.”
“Is that so?”
While I was thinking that it is about time to find a place to stop and eat our bentos, Mora speaks up with a sigh.
“Has Mora-san seen the magicians around here, or seen magic being used?”
“There’s a Magician Guild in Lelis, after all. Also, due to my father’s job nature, I’ve met and travelled with magicians who are adventurers.”
So there really is a Magician Guild. And adventurers too.
“But it’s just that the magic used by magicians is all only for fighting, like shooting b.a.l.l.s of fire or arrows of ice, or blowing people away with wind.”
“Interesting……”
So offensive magic is well-developed, but magic for the sake of convenience, such as summoning, is not often used.
“Also, a lot of them really look down on commoners……”
“That sounds really tough.”
While conversing in this manner, something became visible beyond the mountain trail.
“Nn? Isn’t that a person?”
“...... Ah, you’re right.”
The twisty road makes it really hard to see, but several tens of meters along this road, there is what seems to be a single person sitting all alone. A new encounter! This time, let’s be careful to not get suspected or accused of anything strange from the start.
To appear less threatening, I slow the phantom horse’s pace as we draw closer, upon which I begin to make out that it is a man with a bow on his back who is wearing easy-to-move-in clothes that use green and brown as base colors.
“Greetings, good morning.”
After getting more than close enough for him to have noticed us, I call out to him.
“Ah, good morning. Out for a ride?”
The man raises one hand good-naturedly in reply. I think he’s roughly in his 30’s? He’s wearing a mantle with a leather hood, and what looks to be leather equipment. If I had to give him a label based on ingame professions, then it’d be either Ranger or Hunter.
“No, we were in a bit of a complicated situation. I’m currently trying to escort this lady here to Yuule Village……”
As I start to explain, Mora pokes her head out from hehind me and then shouts.
“Ah, it’s Sedam-san!”
“...... Mora?”
Mora flies down from the phantom horse’s saddle, then dashes over to the man that she had just called ‘Sedam.’
“Sedam-san! Did you come to save me?!”
“Well yea, it was a request from your father.”
Ohh, which means this man is an adventurer. After encounters with mountain bandits and an evil magician, now it’s a fantasy profession.
I also dismount from the phantom horse and walk towards him.
“Pleased to meet you. I am a wizard by the name of Gio Margils. Due to some stroke of luck, I was able to save Mora-san.”
“...... Wizard? Well, either way, it is clear that you did save Mora. Thank you.”
I was afraid that the adventurers who’d taken up the request to save Mora would say that I’d gotten in their way, but Sedam is smiling while sticking one hand out. I can take this posture as an invitation to a handshake, right?
While still thinking about it, I also stretch out one hand, which Sedam immediately grasps tightly.
“The mountain bandits have apparently gotten a new magician boss, and gotten full of themselves. I’m surprised you managed to save her.”
“It was only because of the overlap of various coincidences. Anyways, things went well. There’s not a single scratch on her.”
“I would very much like to hear the story in greater detail at a later time. But for now…..”
He releases the handshake, then brings his fingers to his mouth and makes a shrill, high-pitched sound.
Immediately, there is the sound of something heavy falling behind me.
“?!”
“Not an enemy…… it seems. Not that I care either way though, as long as Mora"s safe.”
I turn around to find out that there is now suddenly a woman wearing leather armor standing behind me. She is a beauty with red hair done up in braids, but her facial expression is dark. A ‘kasha~n’ noise causes me to look downwards, just in time to see her short sword being returned to its scabbard. Was she hiding the entire time up in the tree? She is definitely a Thief or an a.s.sa.s.sin.
“Fijika-san! This person may seem very suspicious, but he’s really not a bad person!”
Mora is hugging the woman that she called ‘Fijika’ while trying to back me up. What with her conversation with Sedam, it seems like she is quite close with these people.
At that, two more adventurers emerge from a thicket beside the mountain trail.
“But like this, we won’t get any reward.”
“Well, this is fine too~”
It is a lady holding a long staff and a young man equipped with a shield and a sword.
“Sorry about that. From our scouting, we already knew that you were coming. Just in case you were the rumored magician, we took some precautions.”
Sedam smiles wryly.
I see, that was smart thinking. Hmmm more like, I had let my guard down. I thought I had made preparations, but if I was ambushed in my current un-[Invincible] state, I might not have been able to fend it off. My sense of danger is still lacking.
“There are 2 more lying in wait up ahead. How about let’s meet up with them and exchange information over lunch?” (Sedam)
“Won’t the bandits come to grab her back?” (Party Member)
“It doesn’t feel like that kind of atmosphere, but…… are they chasing you?” (Sedam)
“No, they are not. At the very least, the bandits who were in the fort have all been scattered, and we’ve captured their boss, the magician.” (Gio)
“I think it should be fine! Let’s eat!” (Mora)
“See?” (Sedam)
And this is how I met Sedam and his party, with whom I will be a.s.sociating with for a very, very long time.