2 An Adventurer... Soon-to-be

Feel the mana flowing from my body to my hand... then to my palm.

A warm sensation ran through my veins as I focused the mana to my palm that is emitting purple energy.

Letting out the mana emitting from my palm to form a sphere.

Getting larger the more mana I transfer into it... not to mention it also getting heavier...

This should be enough.

As I was ready to release it, smirking, I said in a cool deep voice.

"Arcanite Blast."

In front of me was a wide river.

I aimed it at the middle of the river then I fired off the purple sphere, then the moment it touched the surface of the water it made a big explosion.

Even I who was standing by the river almost got blown away by it.

"Heh. Not bad if I say so myself. Well, that's just expected of one who will soon become an adventurer."

I said as I posed while covering my face with my hand then nodded, then the water unexpectedly came drizzling down from above also displaying a rainbow.

In the middle of the river where my magic exploded left a space and the water around it occupied it with a big splash at the end.

Cool! That was definitely cool of me!

"Wah. How cool."

I heard a girl's voice and instantly knew whose voice that was.

I turned to look behind me where that voice came from and saw a girl with a blonde, shiny, and straight tailbone length hair.

She has aquamarine-colored eyes.

She wore a beanie and an alpaca turtleneck reaching to her thighs while holding a basket.

"It would've been cooler if you haven't gotten wet like that though, Hiro."

Akemi! Did she see that? No. She definitely saw it. I can already sense her making fun of me in that mind of hers.

"Akemi... Didn't notice you standing there. Were you here the entire time?"

I waved my hand then she shook her head and replied.

"No. I just got here."

"...Really? That's alright then..."

I still doubt her words.

Well, it's natural to think this way after you got caught doing something embarrassing.

This girl, who might seem kind and composed to the eyes of others, but is actually cheeky, rude and judgmental when on the mood, like me, is Akemi. My friend who has a few interests similar to mine.

"Ah. The ground is wet. Now we can't spread the blanket in here. If only Hiro didn't use magic just to act cool do a pose."

"Well, sorry for that… Wait, what did you say at the last part?"

"Nothing."

"...You were here from the beginning, weren't you!"

"Was I? I saw you get drenched with water though."

"Be more direct with me."

But now that she mentioned it, it is getting kinda chilly all of a sudden.

I didn't notice how my clothes have gotten wet. Possibly it's because I got too caught up in the moment earlier.

Akemi searches for a dry spot on the ground.

"...So? What are you doing here?"

"I want to hang out and relax by the river. That's if Hiro doesn't mind."

I sighed and answered dejectedly,

"Not at all."

"I'm only joking. What's with that reply? It's as if you're disappointed because I'm here to bother you. You have a problem with that? You want me to tell everybody what you just did?"

"No, no, no, Akemi-san. I would never. What I meant was 'I don't mind at all' so don't mind me and relax. Ahahaha."

I replied instantly in a pleasing voice and she showed a smug look.

"Hm. Can I also use this to blackmail Hiro?"

"!!"

This girl…

"I'm kidding, don't look so angry. I'll try to forget what I saw just now."

"That would be really helpful for me."

"I've brought our lunch so come and help me."

"Oh. It's time for lunch already? Okay, then."

I followed her while embracing myself and watching her look for a place that didn't get wet by what I did earlier.

"Okay. This spot seems fine."

She puts down her basket and takes out a blanket and lays it on the ground. I helped her fix it and spread the sides of the blanket.

"Thank you, Hiro. Ah. Aren't you cold like that?"

"Hmm? Oh. Now that you mentioned it, I do feel cold."

Suddenly, the wind blew making me shiver.

Cold!

I should've taken my jacket with me.

Seeing my reaction, the corner of her lips rose as she places the basket in the middle of the blanket and said,

"You want me to dry you up? I can use wind magic you know."

"You can? Oh. Right, I remember. Thanks, but no thanks–!!"

"Wind Breath."

?!

Before I finished speaking, she cast wind magic and a strong gust of wind blew from her open palm while grinning.

Cold!!!

"H-Hey! Stop!"

I covered my face and braced myself. Making me step back a few times, the wind almost carried me off the ground before it stopped.

"It's f-f-freezing!! This is why I didn't want you to do it!"

I shouted and tightly hugged myself.

"Hahaha! Sorry, sorry. I did my best to hold back."

"That was you holding back?! Someone with an ice affinity like you shouldn't go drying wet people. You'll freeze them to death!"

Others' magic would be a bit better than Akemi's. Her affinity for ice makes her magic icy cold. But thanks to what she did my clothes are up dried, though I still feel like I am freezing.

I walked to where she is while shivering and I took of my sandals then sat down on the blanket and hugged my knees tightly while starting to feel warmer because of the sun.

I feel much better now that the sun has warmed me up a bit.

"Are you feeling better now?"

She sat down on the other side of the blanket and started taking out things from the basket between us.

I replied in a sarcastic manner,

"Yeah. Thanks to you."

"You're very welcome. Feel free to ask me to do it for you again."

Obviously, I wouldn't dare to.

"By the way. Isn't it hot wearing that in this time of day?"

Bothered by her thick clothes, I decided to ask her about it. Wearing long sleeved clothes and tight leggings.

"Hm? Oh, this? My skin is a bit sensitive, so I wear long sleeves and tights. Also, my body temperature is a bit lower than average because of my affinity so it actually makes me feel warm. Though it would be warmer if I used more layers of clothing."

…Please don't. People would be concerned if someone walked around the village wearing multiple layers of clothes under the sun…

Maybe noticing what I'm thinking by the look in my face she added,

"I wear light clothing sometimes too, you know. I have resistance to cold temperatures so wearing them don't bother me much. Here."

"Nn..."

I took the sandwich she was handing over to me.

"I used mayonnaise and added boiled egg and lettuce in the fillings."

"Eh… That's plain. Is this your first-time making sandwich?"

"How rude. Well, it is my first time but I'm confident it will taste good since I was the one who made it. Compared to what you can make, this is a whole lot better."

She said emphasizing 'I' and 'you' with an arrogant manner as if making fun of me.

A wanted to retort right away but that would mean her taking away the food and finishing it by herself.

"Hmph."

"Good boy."

I took a bite from the sandwich and the rich flavor of the egg and mayo filled my mouth.

...It's simple but it's flavorful, and it's very good.

"So? How is it, Hiro?"

"What do you mean? Rate it yourself. You made it didn't you?"

"Eh. But I want you to say it. Come on now. Don't be shy."

She repeatedly pokes at my shoulder with both her index fingers, then to my sides.

"S-Stop it… Hey, stop- Guah! Alright. It's good- Two stars. It's very good–!! Cut it out, woman!"

"Fufufu. Don't even try to compare yourself to me. It'd only lower your self-confidence."

Snickering, Akemi stops poking me after I pushed her back and started to boast.

This girl… Just start eating, would you!

After saying 'Fufufu', she finally got into the mood to take out her own sandwich and started eating.

Looking at her like this is a lot better as if she's another character.

Really. If only she would just stay silent like this…

As mentioned earlier, we both have a few similar interests.

One would be eating.

The both of us love food, and since our parents are usually busy during lunch, we have no choice but to cook for ourselves. Having the same problem, we either eat at my house or hers, we even go to the restaurant if we have money.

Since I can't make a proper meal, or so Akemi says, she doesn't let me use the kitchen and suggested that I should be the one to buy the ingredient. Of course, I was hesitant at first, but thinking positively, I won't have to do anything, so I agreed in the end.

It has been like this for almost every day, we got completely used to it.

After taking a bite, Akemi started a conversation.

"So, you also want to become an adventurer, Hiro?"

"You… You heard that? Just how long were you watching me?"

She just shrugged it off with a giggle.

Sigh.

Unconsciously, I took another sandwich from the basket and answered honestly.

"Well… Yeah, I guess I want to. (Munch)"

"I see. I guess all boys have the same aspirations, right?"

"Who knows (munch, munch). I know a lot of our schoolmates who thinks the (munch, gulp) same as me. How are girls being any different than us?"

"All I know is that most of the girls want to become magic casters either priests or mages."

"Seriously? How boring. Well. Girls are girls after all(munch)."

Akemi looked at me as if saying 'Hey, what do you mean by that' but I ignored her and kept eating.

Looking at the surface of the river, while eating nonstop, I thought to myself that I need to keep practicing so that I'd be able to adventure when I reach the minimum age requirement in about two years.

Money from quests, fighting different monsters, drinks with party members… No. Exclude that one. Travelling kingdoms would be better. Right.

"What are you thinking about? Your eyes are shining."

"N-Nothing."

Just when I said that I heard someone screaming my name.

We turned to look at the direction where it came from and saw two guys going down the slope then started running towards us.

It's them. It's going to get a lot noisier here.

"Akemi. Let's hurry up and finish these sandwiches."

"But there's no more left. Hiro just ate them all, didn't you?"

She replied and showed me the inside of the box.

…

"…Oh. Right. I did. Sorry."