Vol 1 Chapter 31: Crossroads

Marina

Aah, what a terrible mess this has become… To think that out of the blue, we’re going to get more information on the necromancer like this... I naively thought that they would just have given up on her seeing how she had fled to the Holy Continent, but of course they wouldn’t. She had murdered the granddaughter of a Council member, as well as a number of other daughters of less prominent but still decently influential mage families…

Felicia Myne… just what kind of a person are you?

------

Just a few moments after Sherry and who I assumed to be Myrilla left (I only knew her from Hugo's letter after all), Alincia finally calmed down.

She then told me that she wasn't crying because that girl had tripped her and made her fall to the floor (though I was pretty sure that was a part of it), but because she suddenly realized just how much she still missed her big sister.

I figured that all this time she had used me as her replacement, and only now, with this news, that the feelings she had buried resurfaced again.

That girl…. Why did she tell her this? If it’s decreed classified information from the Council, just telling it out in the open like that is a very reckless thing to do, isn’t it?

I only met her today, though I already knew her name. Elunmidis Brine. She already graduated from the Academy when I entered. A powerful Water Mage, following the path of her mother.

With a personality like that, I didn’t believe I could grow to like her. She seemed to be the type to take everything in an easygoing, not-serious manner. Even someone’s sorrow.

Just like flowing water, uncaring in the slightest on where it comes from and where it’s going.

A common saying was that a mage’s spell aptitude was reflected on his or her personality. Even though there was not a single research that could prove such a theorem.

But if I am to apply it to myself, then I suppose I would be the stable, reliable type. My best element is Earth after all.

I’m fine with that. I like to think of myself as the reliable big sister type after all.

“H-hey, Marina?.” Alincia then spoke, looking terribly unsure whether she should say what she was about to say.

“Yes, Alincia?” I replied with a smile, comforting her, telling her to just let it out.

“C-can you make me stronger? Train me how to fight using my magic better. You’re really strong after all. I hear you’re never defeated in your magic duel class. A perfect record, ever since you entered.”

That was true. I indeed held that record.

Not that I wanted it. I didn’t even try to keep it. I didn’t push myself to train day and night to do it. The only training that I did was to try out new theories that I had in my mind on my magic and how to develop and evolve them further. I did it out of pure curiosity, not to search for power like Alincia seemed to want.

“So please! Take me as your disciple! I-I’ll call you Master if you want!”

“Please don’t.” I sighed. “That would just be embarrassing.”

“T-then, you—”

“Yes, I can teach you. My specialty is not Fire spells though.”

Just like her big sister and her grandfather, she had the most affinity with Fire spells.

“Yay! Thank you, Master!” She immediately jumped to give me a hug.

“I told you not to call me that!”

-----

Tomorrow morning, before breakfast, I left the Academy to go to the inn Myrilla had told me. I figured we would have our morning meal together, even if the food there was probably less delicious than the one the Academy’s cafetaria served.

The inn was located in a decent enough part of the city. Not in the rich, well-off part to be sure, but not in the slums either. I was glad to see that fact, since that meant Myrilla, who would become Sherry’s guardian for their journey, knew well enough that it wasn’t worth it to be a miser who only slept in the cheapest, worst inn in every city and village they visited. Such places risked a higher amount of thieves and even kidnappers who would take you away and make you a slave to be sold. Though honestly, if Myrilla was really the S-rank adventurer she was, it could almost never happen to her. I said almost, since there was always a chance of the slaver being on her level or even more, though however slim. Not to mention that if they were smart, they would use poison to weaken her severely to the point that she couldn’t even fight properly anymore. Just because the enemy is far weaker than you doesn’t always mean that you’re completely invincible. The incident with the necromancer taught me that.

I was worried about Sherry however. She could be the only one that’s kidnapped, though looking as she was, there’s little chance that they would think of her as a threat. And that would be their undoing.

I soon arrived at said inn, and entering, I was immediately called over by Sherry who was sitting in the tavern just beside the small reception hall.

“Good morning, Sherry. Myrilla.” I said with a smile as I took my seat. “So, mind telling me in detail about you two going to the Demon Continent to take Sherry to her Homeland?"

I didn't hold back. I really wanted to know what was going on.

"It's simple," Myrilla readily answered. "Sherry just wants to—"

"I-I'll answer," Sherry interrupted.

She then told me everything. How she wanted to know who her real parents and relatives were, and how she wanted to become stronger for Hugo's sake. She even told me how she was feeling insecure that I and Hugo were outclassing her.

"Sherry…" I said to her as gently as I could, taking her hands. "If you think that me and Hugo would like you less just because you're weaker than us, then you're gravely mistaken."

"I know that. But still…" She lowered her gaze.

"Still, you want to be stronger. I think that's an admirable goal, Sherry." My smile became slightly wider. "My little brother is lucky that he has a girl like you to be his future wife."

"F-future wife?" Oh, how cute! She immediately turned crimson from that!

"I gave you my approval to marry him, as long as you continue to love him like this, that is." I winked. "So do your best there, alright? And go back really strong."

"So strong that you can just force him to bed if he ever gets too lazy to do that with you." I leaned forward and whispered these last words to her ears.

I couldn't resist. I just had to tell her that. I could easily see her dominate him in bed, with how much stronger physically than him.

Not to mention that if Hugo ever stopped paying attention to a lovely girl, soon to be a woman, like this, he deserved to be punished a little. I believed that it's a husband's duty to always love his wife, both in and out of bed. And I fully intended to find a husband that agreed with me on that matter without any compromise.

Ah, here I went again, on my wild delusions. This happened more and more often as I grew older. I was at that age after all, where a girl became a woman. Even I, who normally only cared about books and magic, was starting to feel that desire.

My classmates were like that as well. Just the last day, I caught one of them going at it with a boy from a different class.

No, not that. But they were embracing and kissing sloppily in one of the many empty alleyways in the academy, and I just happened to go past them.

It was an embarrassing sight. And yet, I couldn’t take my eyes off them.

When they finished, there was a disgusting trail of saliva between their mouths. But they were both smiling brightly at the end, as if they had just experienced the utmost happiness that they had ever experienced.

I didn’t know what to think, or feel about it.

Only that I certainly felt a little pang of jealousy in my heart, saying that I indeed would like to have a kiss like that someday with someone.

I quickly put it on the back of my mind however. I was always good at forgetting things that didn’t really matter after all.

A lover? I’m still far too young and unwise for that.

After Sherry told her tale, Myrilla chimed in, telling what they were planning to do afterwards. They would go to the Guild and see what quests they could get. They needed to fund their travel first after all, just like a real adventurer. Sherry would need to get registered as well.

I asked to go with them. I wanted to see the quests there as well.

-------

As usual, the place was crowded with adventurers looking for quests to take. They needed to come early after all or else the good quests would all be gone in a flash.

“Urgh, there’s too many people around!” Sherry protested, though only to herself.

“You can just push them aside, you know. You can do it, can’t you? With your strength?” I suggested in a joking manner.

Only for her to actually do what I told.

“W-what? What the—”

“Hey, watch it— huh?”

“Kyaah! Who touched my butt, you pervert?”

Yep. As I thought., most of the adventurers here are low-level ones. They don’t have the power to resist even a gentle push from her.

They all now gave a confused look at her however. Did this little girl just push us aside like we were nothing? They must be thinking something like that.

Myrilla immediately followed, taking the path that Sherry had made. I followed as well, of course.

“Let’s see here… A quest to find a missing cat? Nah. Herb gathering quest? Nope. We want something S-ranked, right?” She looked back at Myrilla.

Myrilla ignored her entirely however. Instead, she pushed her a bit to the side, wanting to get a closer look at the parchments posted on the bulletin board.

“Whoa, look at her!”

“She got those weird antennas on her head!”

“And her ears are odd as well!”

Immediately the attention of the crowd moved to her. She seemed not to be bothered with it in the slightest however.

“Here.” She suddenly pulled off one of the parchments on the top. “This is the quest.”

Once again, she ignored Sherry, who asked what the quest was like a gleeful child. She walked over to the receptionist and placed the parchment on the table.

“Here. I’ll take this quest.”

The receptionist, who had been staring at her as well, immediately averted her gaze, turning it towards the parchment.

“This is… a quest to kill a red manticore?” She looked up at her in disbelief. “It’s an A-rank monster, you know. And what rank are you exactly?”

Myrilla didn’t answer. Instead, she just put down her card on the table as well.

“S-S rank? Wow, haven't seen them in a while around here. Our land's too peaceful for them, I suppose." She shrugged with a sigh.

"Alright, you can take it. An S-rank could take care of an S-rank monster on her own. Probably."

She then stamped the parchment and put it inside her desk.

"You know the Tottima Volcano up northeast? The red manticore should be there, way up.”

“I can read just fine, thank you very much,” Myrilla dryly responded.

“Hey, you’re a foreigner, after all. Maybe you don’t know your way around the Magocracy.” She shrugged again.

She’s always this easygoing—this young woman.

It was then Sherry’s turn to speak with her. She asked for her to be registered, and to my surprise, she filled in on the form given that she was an Izurd, not a human.

So she’s already proud of her heritage. And here I thought she would still be ashamed of it.

You helped her with it, didn’t you, Hugo? I thought with a smile.

After she was finished, the receptionist took the form and read it.

“An Izurd? What is that?” She asked with her eyebrows raised. “Aren’t you a human?”

“Nope! I’m a demon! Just like her!” She gestured towards Myrilla. “You probably don’t know my kind though. They’re pretty rare after all.”

The receptionist just gave her a blank look for several seconds before sighing yet again. “Alright. It’s your problem if you get found out falsifying your info, you know.”

After waiting for a couple of minutes as the receptionist went to the backroom, she reappeared with a shiny new card on her hand. She gave it to Sherry, who accepted it as if she just received the biggest candy in the world.

“Take care of it, alright? It’s your proof of identity as an adventurer.”

Sherry hurriedly put it in inside her dress pocket after admiring it for a good while.

Myrilla then turned towards me and said, “I suppose we’re not staying here after all, unfortunately.”

“The Tottima volcano, huh? I’ve never been there myself. It’s the territory of the Salamander family, if I remembered correctly. It’s pretty far from here.” I told her. “Won’t be able to go with you two even if I wanted to. Would take days to get there after all.”

Suddenly, I was assaulted by a hug from Sherry.

“I’m going to miss you, Big Sis Marina.”

“Big Sis? You never called me that before,” I replied, genuinely taken aback.

“Hehe, I thought I’m going to try doing it, even if just once,” she replied with a smile. Even when her eyes were starting to water. “Feels weird after all.”

“Oh you…” I smiled, patting her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of Hugo while you’re gone. I’ll make sure he stays the cute and gentlemanly boy that you like so much, alright?”

“Alright.” She giggled.  “Don’t get too close to him while I’m gone though!”

I let out a tiny laugh. “What? Getting jealous?”

“No, but I know—” She stood on her toes, whispering the rest of her words to my right ear. “—that you gave him your panties.”

...Never before I was pierced with a statement like that.

My dirty little secret… Sherry had known it all along…

Immediately my face went beet red, my normally calm demeanour vanishing entirely.

Seeing my reaction, it was Sherry’s turn to laugh. She whispered again, “I gave him mine as well. I’m not going to lose to you, you know!”

I didn’t notice at the time, but Myrilla was looking at both of us in confusion. Thankfully, she didn’t decide to use her mind reading power, or else my naughty act would have been revealed to her as well.

And with those words, the two left Mira.

I watched them as they departed out of the eastern gate, waving my arm as they vanished up the hill.

They wouldn’t return here for a very long time, I imagined. They could turn in their quest on the nearest guild branch there and then they would make a beeline to the Holy Continent from Tulpio. That amount of payment was probably enough to get two tickets on the ship.

With a smile on my face, I rested my arm.

Good luck Sherry. Come back strong, just as you want.

I’ll keep polishing my magic as well, so I won’t lose to you or Hugo.

Then, we can all have a fun journey around the world as adventurers.

--------

I spent the rest of my third year at the Academy without any further notable events. I started training Alincia in the ways of a “fighting mage”, and I had to say, she was still far from her big sister. Unlike her who could already reach the rank of Master, she was still struggling doing Advanced-level spells. She could cast Advanced-level Fire magic just fine, but the other elements? Not so much.

Instead of trying to make her able to master all the elements like I did with Hugo, I decided the best way was just to focus on the Fire element from now. It’s her affinity after all. I wanted her to cast said spells faster, and without incantation, if possible. I told her to focus, to feel the flame on the tip of her wand, and to not fear it in the slightest. Fear made you lose control. If a swordsman feared his blade, how could he swing it around well? The same principle applied to us mages.

We never heard from Elun again. She probably had returned to the Holy Continent to continue her spying on the necromancer girl.

As for a certain hobbit boy, I now avoided him entirely, giving him a look of disgust in the process. Everytime I did, he used his acting skills to pretend that he was a hurt puppy, giving me this look that honestly pained me. I had to keep reminding myself that he was a pervert who would employ prostitutes to pretend to be his big sister. Thank goodness that he didn’t have any actual big sister, or else she would’ve probably been molested by him or something.

Before I knew it, it was the end of the third year, and it was time for me to return home for the summer once again.

I wonder how Hugo’s doing…

In his letters, he had stopped mentioning Sherry entirely. Now he talked about Erika instead, who was growing more and more as time passed. I could sense how proud he was of her, which was certainly a pleasant thing to hear. She needed love from him as well after all.

“Well, time to find out,” I whispered to myself as I boarded the carriage that would take me home.