Shiru: I'm going to be releasing full chapters again instead of two parts starting next week. I guess you can thank my new work schedule.
After successfully preparing breakfast, I went to wake up Kyou and told Satsuki that breakfast was ready. Usato joined breakfast a bit later since he was exercising. Come to think of it, it's been a while since breakfast was this lively…
"Hey, you! If you do anything weird to Nee-chan, I won't forgive you!"
After finishing with breakfast, Kyou went to get ready for school. However, he didn't forget to give a warning to Usato who was currently drinking some water.
I bitterly smiled at the sight of my overprotective little brother. But upon seeing Usato's troubled expression, I decided to help him out.
"Kyou, isn't it almost time to go? If you don't hurry and take Satsuki to school, you'll both be late."
"Eh!? It's already this late…!? Satsuki! Let's hurry! We gotta go!! …Wait, you're writing in that notebook again!"
"….Just a little more… a little more—"
Satsuki was sluggishly trying to put on her robe as she continued to write in her notebook. She was still writing about Usato? Kyou was panicking due to my reminder… He grabbed Satsuki by her collar and ran out of the house.
Before long, the two of them disappeared into town. Usato looked at the direction where Kyou and Satsuki ran off to before turning to me and asking a question,
"Kiriha, is Kyou and Satsuki studying magic in the same place? They don't look like the same age though."
"Ah….."
That was something you would naturally question.
Kyou is the same age as me, 17 years old. Satsuki is 12 so our ages aren't close at all. Usato was probably confused since the both of them had left already while I was still here.
"Kyou is just walking Satsuki to school. Satsuki is still quite young after all… Kyou and I are in the same class but I usually have a lot of chores to do at home before heading out."
Kyou walking Satsuki to school was also just a precaution… It'd be troublesome if Satsuki were to be bullied by others.
Our classes were much later than Satsuki's so it was convenient for us.
"That means you'll be heading to school sooner or later, right?"
"Yeah, that's right… What are you and Amako going to do? Do you want to both wait here until then?"
"No, we'll be heading towards the stable near the entrance gate. We came here together with other people so we need to meet up again. …Amako, you're fine with that, right?"
"Yeah."
Other people that they came with… Yesterday, Usato went to inform a group of people that he would be staying here. I wonder if he was referring to the same group. I guess I didn't have to worry about them staying inside the house with nothing to do.
Still, Amako and Usato couldn't just loiter around the streets forever waiting for me to return… I should try to come back earlier than usual.
As I was washing the dishes and thinking of what to make for today's dinner.. Usato spoke to me as he was putting on his white uniform,
"Oh right. Thanks for lending me a change of clothes. Just before breakfast, I washed them and hung them up to dry… I hope that's okay."
"You don't have to worry so much about it. I just lent you some of Kyou's clothes, it's not much to thank me for."
As I said so, I glanced outside to see clothes that were neatly hung up.
He was unexpectedly tidy… It was such a big difference from yesterday where he showed such a scary face. His face yesterday was just too dreadful… While calling him an ogre might've been too much, I don't really know what else could have made a face like that. I didn't think it was possible before but now I knew that it was certainly possible to overpower someone just by looking at them…
"…Your face looks pale, are you alright?"
"aah… I-I'm okay… Yeah… I'm okay."
Without realizing it, my thoughts started to surface on my face. Amako ended up being worried about me as a result.
Didn't I already hear a lot from Amako about Usato already just yesterday?
…He's not a bad person and Lyngle Kingdom where Amako lived for 2 years is a place better than I could ever imagine.
…Those were Amako's words.
I poured some cold water over my shivering hand, trying to regain my composure. After finally calming down, Usato who was in the living room had come to the kitchen.
"We should get going soon."
"We're heading out now, Kiriha."
Usato and Amako spoke in turn. There was no sense of discomfort from seeing these two together. Seeing a human and a beast girl together like this… It was probably something I imagined countless times before. However, witnessing such a scene in reality made me feel… I wasn't too sure how to describe it but I felt like my heart was being filled with a weird sensation.
"…Hahaha, have a safe trip."
Despite my efforts, my voice sounded very hollow. I could see the two of them looking slightly worried. It was hard to tell with Usato but I saw him tilting his head to the side in wonder for just a moment. As for Amako, it definitely looked like she was suspecting me of something. Even without her foresight, she was a sharp and clever girl.
"—I should get ready and head out soon too…"
I was able to meet the friend I wanted to see.
Even so, my heart was strangely still not liberated.
"A message from Senpai?"
"Guah?"
From Kiriha's place, we headed straight to the stable where Bluerin and the other knights were. I was giving breakfast to Bluerin who was still half asleep… It was then that a knight came to relay a message to me.
Apparently Inukami-senpai and the others came here yesterday. Since I wasn't here they asked one of the knights to pass a message to me.
"Yes, the heroes wanted Usato-dono to go to where they are staying."
"In other words… The inn they're staying at."
I was planning to go but now I'm scared since Senpai was asking me to go.
That person, she really was like a child… I hope she doesn't get upset over anything weird again.
"I guess I should hurry… Knowing Senpai, she'll come looking for me herself if I delayed any longer. She knew I would come here in the morning, after all."
We didn't see each other yesterday after I left the inn… Even though it was supposed to be where I would be staying, I left without explaining much. I supposed I needed to tell them about my situation in detail.
"Amako, could I count on you to look after Bluerin today?"
"Mm, no problem. I don't mind looking after this little guy…"
She seemed to be in good spirits as she crouched down and lightly rubbed one of the fruits against Bluerin's nose.
Now Amako wouldn't be too bored and have something to do. I could also trust the knights standing guard here to protect Amako in case something were to happen.
I said farewell to the Amako and the knights for the time being and started to lightly jog.
I was heading towards the inn in front of the school. At my current pace, I should be able to reach there in just a few minutes. I was able to get a sense of the general direction yesterday and I was getting used to maneuvering through the crowd of people.
But. Upon realizing that this wasn't Lyngle Kingdom, I brought my jog to a halt. It wasn't really normal for someone to run through a crowd of people like this… Wait, how would I bring Bluerin around— What am I thinking? That wasn't normal at all… The people here would definitely be shocked. I should try and avoid the crowds.
"Maybe I'll have to ask for Gladis-san's help…"
I've heard that there were familiars. Maybe I could get Bluerin approved as my familiar. I'm too sure if Bluerin could be contracted as a familiar though. We're an unusual case but it's worth testing. It'd be nice if Bluerin and I could both go on runs together… Hmm?
"….This is…"
I was absentmindedly jogging and found myself in the same alley as yesterday. This was where I saw those groups of students… Normally, I would just continue jogging without paying any attention but something on the other side worried me a little.
There seemed to be a lot of onlookers on the other side… Just what were they looking at?
Deciding to take a detour, my curiosity drove me forward to the other side of the alley way.
"Again, it's those guys… They're really doing something cruel."
"It'd be better to just leave it alone…"
"It wouldn't be funny if we got involved…"
…I heard whispers throughout the crowd and they didn't sound positive.
I quickened my pace a little to reach what they were looking at… Upon reaching there, I was astonished.
In the center of this group of people, the boy covered in soot that I saw yesterday was in tatters and on the ground.
I immediately approached the boy and applied healing magic on him while lifting him up. As I did so, one of the onlookers nearby came up to me and spoke in reassurance,
"I don't know where you came from but that person is fine, you don't need to use recovery magic."
"No matter how I look at it, he's injured. Just how is he fine—"
"That's a user of healing magic. Look, even though he's tattered there are no wounds on him at all, right?"
"Eh!?"
After the onlooker who seemed to be a student as well pointed that out, I took another look at the soot covered boy.
It looked like he was hurt all over. ….No, he might look injured but there were no wounds on him at all.
Was this child really a user of healing magic…? This was the boy who was glaring at me yesterday, right? I didn't understand, what led to this situation?
"You said this boy is a user of healing magic just now. What happened here?"
"Did you only come here recently? ….Well, there's no helping it if you don't know. A troublesome group of people have their eyes on this guy… Each and every time, they find him and use him as a magic dummy target. He has to use his healing magic every time of course."
A troublesome group of people? What the. Healing magic outside of training wasn't something to be used like some kind of sand bag. That's not the kind of magic it is.
I really didn't think I would get to meet the healing magic user I was interested in Luquis so soon. And to think he was being tormented to this extent… No, it was probably worse.
"This looks like a complicated matter… For now, I should wake him up."
I lightly shook him on the shoulders to wake him up.
I also wanted to see if he was really okay and could regain consciousness. Even though he wasn't injured and I wasn't really involved in this, it would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I left him here without seeing him wake up.
"………..Uu……."
"Oh……."
After 10 seconds or so, I heard a faint groan and I could see him slowly opening his eyes.
He unexpectedly regained consciousness faster than I thought… Maybe I was worrying too much?
"Looks like you're awake, how do you feel—"
"..! Let go of me!!"
"Whoa!"
The moment he came to his senses and saw me, he brushed my hand off from his shoulder. I was slightly surprised at the sudden rejection. The youth in front of me, however, was unconcerned about me and looked at the sky frantically.
"The time… Kuh."
"Ah, hey wait—"
It was like the boy didn't hear me as he ran off into the main street.
He seemed to be in a hurry, it definitely didn't seem normal… Did he have something important to do? But I didn't think I would be brushed off like that… He might have just that much distrust towards others. At least it seemed so.
Looking at his current circumstances, I could certainly see why Amako said even holding a conversation with him would be difficult two years ago.
"….Well, then. What to do?"
I finally got to meet a healing magic user outside of Lyngle Kingdom but I feel a little irritated. I wasn't a human who could pretend that they didn't see anything but I also wasn't someone who would let my emotions get the better of me.
I couldn't do anything at the moment. Actually, I didn't have any power right now. In a place like this, as a person who possesses healing magic, I definitely wasn't in a position to say anything.
"For now, I should meet up with Senpai and everyone else."
I should consult with Senpai and Kazuki first.
I didn't really know what to do so it'd be better to ask those two for some advice.
In that case, I should quickly head towards them—
"Hey, Usato-kun!"
"Usato!"
Two voices called my name from behind. Turning around, I could distinctly see a handsome guy and a beautiful girl from the crowd of people on the main street.
It was Kazuki and Senpai.
"….Looks like I don't need to head over to the inn anymore."
Seeing Kazuki vigorously waving his hand towards me, I couldn't help but smile from the bottom of my heart. I started walking towards the two of them.
Just as I had expected, Inukami-senpai was complaining about the fact that I had left the inn without saying much.
Of course, Kazuki and I were bitterly smiling throughout the whole process.
"Seriously, Usato-kun! If you were going to stay at Amako's friend's house, then you should have told me! I would have wanted to come along too!"
"Please don't ask for the impossible while heavily breathing like that. It was quite troublesome on my end too…"
If Senpai came along and Kyou saw what kind of person she is… I shudder at the very thought of it. I know Senpai isn't a bad person but I don't want to take her along until I've built a certain level of trust with Kiriha.
"Besides, you already have a place to stay at Senpai. Aren't you guys staying at the inn?"
"Senpai said she was going to meet Usato so I tagged along. But since we encountered you here, it'll save us a bit of time."
"Hm? Is there something going on?"
Could it be that the school already made a decision… There was no way.
They said it would take quite a bit of time before they decide…
For some reason, Senpai had a proud look on her face and seemed excited as she drew closer to me. Was it because she guessed my thoughts or something?
"Yesterday, Principal Gladis invited us to observe the school and attend some of the classes, right? That's why, you should come too, Usato-kun."
"Observing you say…"
Oh yeah, that was mentioned when we handed over the letter.
I see, Senpai was really going to take advantage of Principal Gladis' sincerity and accept the offer. This kind of treatment was almost too good, it made me a little uneasy. Was I really this timid?
"I'm also curious, I'll go."
"I knew you would reply like that, Usato-kun. Then, let's hurry and go now."
Inukami-senpai grabbed a hold of my hand and Kazuki's. She then started to quickly walk towards the direction of the school. Just how much were you looking forward to this? As expected of the Senpai that loves fantasy more than anything else.
"As long as Senpai is having fun, then I guess it's fine."
"But you're having fun yourself too. Right, Usato?"
"….I guess it's impossible to hide these things from you, Kazuki…"
Kazuki nodded and smiled.
I looked at Senpai who was walking in front… Yeah, it looks like she's having a lot of fun. I guess it was natural… We were in a different world and we would be able to see a real magic school with different magic users. It was the romance of all hardcore fantasy fans.. most would roll over many times in excitement just at the thought of it.
The problem I wanted to discuss, I'll leave it for another time. We were summoned into this world… As fellow friends from the same world, it wasn't too late for us to have some fun.