Chapter 117: The Friend and the Wizard

Chapter 117: The Friend and the Wizard

Elina and Igni were climbing a mountain together. Elina invited Igni and told him that she would take him to a point where they could look over the local area. Igni would never be able to say no to an invitation from a girl so he agreed within seconds to climb the mountain together.

They climbed for half an hour and as they reached the top, they were able to take a long look at everything around them.

Elina: "Look at this, Igni. This is my family's territory."

Igni: "It is amazing."

Below them, they could see the Owlight Mansion. Though there were a few other buildings around the mansion, it looked closer to a town than a city. Though the Owlight owns a lot of territory, there population isn't that high. Nearby, there were many large farms expanding across the land.

That is because this is the farthest rural edge of the Kingdom.

They say that there are many precious minerals inside the mines, but they do not quarrel with other Noble families often. That is because the Owlight Family is also in charge of the rural area to be the first line of defense to protect the country.

Igni: "This farm...what does they grow?"

Elina: "Hm? Oh, they grow fruits there. We sell a little bit to other territories."

Igni: "The fruits of the Owlight family, huh. I hate to be rude, ,but....they are not well known."

Elina: "It can't be helped. We are famous for our Mithril more than anything else."

And Elina smiled as she spoke.

Elina: "Would you like some water, Igni?"

Igni: "Yes, I would like some." Since Igni can't use [Water] Type Spells, Elina made water for him, and he drank it all down.

Igni: "It's good."

Elina: "Yes, it really is. A hike up a mountain is a good thing."

Igni: "Do you like hikes?"

Elina: "When I was little, I used to climb up this mountain with my brothers."

She looked far into the distance as she said the words.

Elina: "Back then......I was still on good terms with my family."

Igni: "Back then.....?" Though Igni wasn't sure if this was something he should bring up, he asked the question anyways. Since Elina began the conversation, she may have been looking for someone who would listen.

Elina: "Yes. The rift between my family and myself began.......when I got 2nd place during the mid-term."

Igni: "That's pretty recent."

Elina: "Yes, but it shows how <normal> it was to be top of the class here."

Igni: ".........normal, huh."

Igni murmured as he recalled how much hope his father had placed on him. But he immediately scoffed at the notion because of how much emphasis was placed on this word, "normal." What is normal purely depends on the individual's perspective.

Igni: "Then Elina, let's show them they're wrong."

That's why Igni spoke as he stared at the same place Elina was.

Elina: "Show them......?"

Igni: "Yeah, if you can show them an overwhelming result, everyone will have to accept your position."

Elina: "BーBut I dropped to 2nd place........and I don't even have a Wizard's title either...."

Igni: "I don't either."

Igni looked straight into Elina's eyes.

Igni: "Elina, I of all people know that you have worked harder than anyone else. I know how you're the most amazing person. So Elina, this time, you can rely on me."

Elina: "On you.....?" Popularity Etiquette No. 13 ーー "When in trouble, always find a person you can depend on." If this is the first part of the rule, thenーー

Igni: "Yes. Remember? During the exams, you helped me a lot, right? So now, I want to help you, Elina."

ーー"and also be someone dependable for the same reason."

Igni: "Elina, I think you already know, but I am <strong>."

Elina: "YーYes. I do know."

Igni: "So if I can teach you everything I know, then Elina, you can become much stronger."

Elina: "BーBut that's......!"

It's not as though Elina understands how Igni truly fights. The only time she got to see his strength was during the [Spell Gladiator Tournament]. She only saw that he defeated the strongest Wizard from the [Golden Generation], Fray with just {Fireball}.

But she's also heard rumors.

Rumors of how he fought against the Extremes in the Principality. Rumors of how after Elina passed out from being overly exposed to Magic Power on that night on the beach, Igni faced off and defeated the [Extreme] of [Darkness].

Elina: "BーBut is that really okay......? A person like me.....being taught by you......"

Igni: "What are you saying? It's <because it's you>, Elina."

Elina: "Because.....it's me......"

Elina repeats the words quietly to herself.

Igni hasn't looked away from Elina.

Igni: "That's right. That's why you can always rely on me. You saved me back then, so I want to help you."

Elina: ".........okay."

Elina's face brightened and blushed as she nodded.

Igni: (So cute.....)

Elina: "Okay, Igni. Let's start our descent. It'll be lunch time soon."

Igni: "Yeah, let's do that."

And the distance between the two shrunk slightly as they returned to the mansion.

That day, Seta informed Elina about the incident at the mines, and we were going to leave early tomorrow morning. And knowing that there is no way that he'll be able to get up on time, Igni kindly asked Elina to wake him up and dived into a deep sleep.

The next morning, before the sun was barely up, Igni was woken up, and they left on the horse carriage.

Igni: (yawn)......today is a horse carriage, huh."

Igni was still feeling sleepy, and he asked the question to Elina while still yawning. Elina nodded to him in response.

Elina: "The Dragon Carriages need a flat road or else it will be too dangerous. Right now, we're heading to the farthest edges of the Owlight Territory. There are sections where the road is not maintained well. It would be dangerous if we went over those parts with a Dragon Carriage."

Igni: "I see. That makes sense."

Elina: "And for now, it will be nightfall before we arrive today."

Igni: "Night, huh....."

For Igni, it would be faster to fly, but said nothing. He understood the importance of easing the concerns of the local residents and the miners by making a show of public appearance.

Igni: "But I never thought that they would ask us to wear our school uniforms......"

Igni pulled at his Rolmod Wizard Academy school uniform as he spoke. Since it was his formal wear, he brought it just in case, but he never would have thought that it would come in handy for a Quest.

Elina: "Yes, the people will be relieved to see both the Owlight Family take action and also see that they sent Rolmod Wizard Academy students."

Igni: ".......yeah, that's understandable."

The Rolmod Wizard Academy's school uniform is centered around the color white, so it's quite bright. The uniform's material is made from materials with anti-blade and anti-magic, but the purpose of the color is <so they stand out more>.

Typically, Spells have a wide destructive radius and can inadvertently blow up your friends, but the citizens will be at more ease to see a famous Wizard Academy be dispatched for these Quests. With those goals in mind, the Rolmod Wizard Academy made the uniforms this way.

Now then, they were slowly being rocked and shaken by the horse carriage for several hours.

By the time the sun began to set, they could see a town far in the distance.

Igni: "........my back hurts....."

Ella: "Thank you for your patience during your travel, Lady Elina and Sir Igni. Today, we will be staying at that inn over there."

Ella has been staying with them without rest this entire trip, and she maintained the same expression the entire duration. Seeing that, Igni decided to ignore his back pains and looked upon the town.

Igni: "It looks like it's quite the small town."

Ella: "Yes, it is. But this is the closest town to the mines, so tomorrow, we can reach the mines from here."

As the horse carriage neared the town, an elderly man with white hair hurriedly came running out.

"Oh my, oh my. We welcome you, people of the Owlight Family. Thank you for making such a long journey to our town."

Ella: "Mayor, please guide us to our lodging tonight."

"Of course, of course. Here, please guide our guests."

"Yes." And a girl with white hair stepped forward. She wore simple clothes as a citizen of that town, but the clothes were obviously made for a girl, and it pleased Igni. Even if they were wearing similar clothes, you can still make subtle differences between male and female clothes, and evaluated it as a professional tailor would.

"Please come this way."

And our guide bowed to Miss Ella and walked in front of us to lead the way. We were guided to the center of town.

The house we were led to was actually built in a more luxurious fashion than any other house there.

It's very likely that this house was made specifically for when people from the Owlight Family come and spend the night.

Elina got off the carriage first, and when Igni followed, the girl who was guiding them suddenly let out a cry of surprise.

"Igni! It's been a while! And Miss Elina too!"

Igni: ".........?"

Igni tilted his head in confusion.

Igni: (Do I know any girls in this kind of town......?)

But as he thought, it was Elina who recognized their guide first.

Elina: "Oh! It's Yoori! It has been a while!!"

Igni: "Huh? Yoori?!"

Igni couldn't hide his shock.

Yoori: "Oh, I see. I'm wearing this so it was hard for Igni to tell."

Elina: "What do you mean? You look lovely in that. Yoori, it would be a shame if you didn't wear more clothes that girls should be wearing....."

And Igni immediately tugged at Elina's sleeves to interrupt what she was saying.

Igni assumed that Elina had a slight misunderstanding and decided to tell her.

Elina: "Hm? What's wrong, Igni?"

Igni: "Oh, Elina."

Elina: "What is it?"

Igni: "Yoori's a guy."

Elina fell to her knees at the news.