Chapter 574
The first night after our departure.
The convoy from the Academy of Magic camped out in a large open space in the middle of the forest.
They formed a wall by arranging the carriages in a circle and set the tents inside of it. Guards took turns resting and patrolling the outside of the carriage's lines.
And in one corner of the camp.
Fran had been called to Weena Rhyn's tent. We left Urushi on patrol because I was not sure if the two greatest warriors of the group would be at ease leaving their posts, but it seemed to have been unnecessary.
「We have spirits with us」
『Hee? Where are they?』
「Around there? And over there too」
『...I can't see them though. But is that all?』
「There are a few more of them. Maybe」
『Are they strong?』
「Dunno」
Even though Fran's ability to sense spirits were getting stronger, she still couldn't seem to discern what kind of spirit they were.
Perhaps, the spirit that dwelt in the great tree of the inn was a spirit of some high rank. The Elf innkeeper even addressed it with "sama" and she also said that it had existed for over a thousand years.
However, Fran could not distinguish between the lower-ranked spirits of the academy and the spirits of the inn. Were they a lower-ranked spirit or a higher-ranked spirit? What attributes and abilities did they have? She had no idea about that.
I couldn't sense spirits at all, so I could only imagine from Fran's poor description, but she said she felt like she could hear a slight sound that spirits made. And it seemed that she could only hear something that sounded like ringing in her ears if she concentrated very hard.
Based on the direction and interval of the sound, she judged that spirits were there.
『Are they Weena Rhyn's spirits?』
「I don't know, but they've been in the same place all the time」
They must be spirits sent out by a spirit magic user as a guard. There were quite a lot of them, and they seemed to be fine without us.
In the first place, they were doing the same event every year, so they should be fine without her.
She walked straight into Weena Rhyn's tent and found that the High Elf magician was not the only one there.
「...Zelos Reed」
「...」
Zelos Reed sat on a chair behind Weena Rhyn. Beside him was the boy, Romio, who was glaring at Fran.
We already knew from their presence before but decided to face them. Fran seemed to be suppressing her feelings by clenching her teeth. Well, her murderous intent was leaking out though.
「Even though I've sealed his power, I can't just leave him at the academy without me, right? So, I had no choice but to restrain and bring them here」
Just as Weena Rhyn said, metal bracelets were restraining both of Zelos Reed's arms. Moreover, it also seemed to have some kind of sealing magic power, further suppressing Zelos Reed's power.
But with Weena Rhyn close by, he wouldn't be able to do anything.
「...」
「...」
Fran and Romio glared at each other.
Well, Fran wasn't really glaring at him, but she just couldn't help but be concerned when he expressed his hostility so straightforwardly.
On the contrary, Zelos Reed barely showed any emotion when he saw Fran. He was shocked for a moment, but he quickly returned to his calm face.
I guess he decided to stay out of this as much as possible because anything he said would be offensive. But Fran didn't like that attitude. Well, she didn't like everything about Zelos Reed.
She glared at Zelos Read with irritation in her eyes. She might not have violent outbursts anymore, but there was no way she could control her feelings in front of someone she would kill right now if she could.
But then, it was Romio, who clung to Zelos Reed's leg and looked up at Fran, who broke the tense atmosphere.
「Don't bully Oji-chan!」 (TLN: Uncle)
「...I'm not bullying him」
「Liar! I know everything!」
「...」
Fran, however, didn't want to argue with Romio as she knew that Romio didn't mean anything bad by it.
Besides, the current Fran, who emitted murderous and angry intent, must be quite frightening for a child like him. She was slightly impressed by Romio's courage to confront her to protect Zelos Reed.
But it was not a time to praise him.
In the end, she didn't seem to know what to do next, and with a bitter smile, she removed her gaze from Romio and asked Weena Rhyn why she had called us.
「You need something?」
「Yes. I'd like to talk with you about your escort's job for tomorrow onwards」
I thought her purpose was to bring her together with Zelos Reed and Romio, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Weena Rhyn showed us a rough map of the country and explained the terrain ahead. Beyond the forest area, she said there was a plain that was inhabited by a large magic beast that would be hunted by the students.
And the reason why Weena Rhyn had called Fran was to talk about that.
「The target is the Slow Tortoise. It's a tough and strong magic beast, but it moves so slow that even the students can manage to hunt it down」
The Slow Tortoise was an herbivorous magic beast that spent most of its time holed up in its shell when facing strong enemies. It should've been a relatively easy magic beast to hunt as long as they were careful to avoid some of its attacks.
Its threat level was E, but she said that the students could defeat it with proper preparation. She also said that they had magic tools to stall and defend from its attack so it could be said that they were already well prepared.
「What is my role then?」
「You don't have to do anything to help the students to hunt down the Slow Tortoise. But a lot of magic beasts will come close to them when they smell the Slow Tortoise's blood. Especially those goblins, they show up every year」
Fran's role was to defeat those magic beasts that would try to steal the student's prey.
「Okay」
「And also, I'll make this guy work too」
「...Why?」
「Since we have so many available forces, shouldn't we use it all for the safety of the students?」
「...I understand」
Fran nodded quietly, neither disagreeing nor agreeing with her.
『Are you sure?』
(...I don't know)
As we returned, Fran didn't seem to understand her feelings either.
If Weena Rhyn said it was for the students, she won't be able to object. Besides, if he would work as forced labor or a meat shield, it would sound like a punishment for him. Denial and affirmation swirled in Fran's chest, and she couldn't seem to sort it out.