138 A Message From Dear Sister

I accompanied Anton and Anne back to town. Or rather, I tailed them from behind as Anne still refused to talk to me. She would just hurry her steps if I tried catching up to her.

Might as well let Anton take care of her. I'm going to leave them soon after all.

I dried my drenched clothes with my warm wind spell. I would do the same to those two, but I didn't want to intrude. Adventurers were supposed to be used to wearing dirty and wet clothes after all.

Back at the town gates, from the distance, we could see Amelie standing back and forth—no doubt waiting for us with the utmost worry. The moment she noticed the two, she threw herself onto the archer the moment, crying tears of happiness while hugging her as tightly as she could. Anne gave her a smile and a headpat in return. Looking at this scene, it really was as if Amelie was Anne's little sister.

Anton was smiling as well as he stood beside me, watching the scene unfold.

"Don't worry." He put his hand on my shoulder. ��We'll be fine on our own. In fact, you should worry about yourself more, with the kind of guys that are after you." He smiled bitterly.

"Yeah, you're right. I should be more careful indeed."

I still need to get stronger. If that high elf mage ends up siding with the Magocracy, there will be nothing I can do against her in my current state.

Perhaps I can never reach her strength, since she's apparently the teacher of the legendary archmage and all, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try.

For starters, that anti-magic spell she used… I wonder if I can copy that… If I could, then maybe I can use it to counter her spell, thus preventing her from sealing my magic like that.

I still remember it… that odd sensation at my hand… it's as if her mana is invading my own, scrambling it all over so it can't form the formation needed to produce a spell. Can I really just send my pure, raw mana on a distance like that? I don't think I could. The best I can do is extending it for around a meter, when I created my Boom Cannon spell. I shaped the mana around that radius. Other ranged spells make you send an already shaped mana through the air to trigger the spell. It doesn't have the capability to scramble the opponent's mana. It has to be chaotic in nature, triggering a disturbance that could—

"Hugo! Hugo! Hey, are you listening to me?"

That loud yell brought my mind back to reality. It belonged to Anne, who was now standing right in front of me with her hands placed on her waist. Amelie was also there with folded arms, giving me her cute frown.

"Hugo! How could you do that to Amelie? Stripping her in public like that? You really are a pervert, aren't you?"

Oh, that. Yeah, I should apologize for that

"Sorry about that." I flashed the most charming smile I could muster towards my victim. "It's the only way to make you not follow me. And as promised, I brought them two back safe and sound, right?"

Amelie held her frown in that pose for a few moments more, before replying, "Fine. I forgive you. But in exchange, I want you to stay with us a bit longer."

"Huh?"

"Anton, I demand us to go with him until he leaves the continent. We have agreed on the matter so it's two against one."

The young man shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous. And we're heading west, not east. We can find a lot more work there."

"With all the conflicts going on in that part of the continent? Sure. But the risks are high as well. It would be safer for us to head east instead."

Anne had joined the argument and it was clear from her expression that she wasn't intending to back off the matter.

Anton sighed. He gave a look towards me, urging me to rebuke them.

"The Magocracy—"

"They're not coming back anytime soon, right? You beat them after all."

"I've told you they managed to escape. They could be planning for another attack right this moment."

Of course, I knew that probably wasn't going to happen. Ilymhyrra had promised to keep an eye on that Elun woman, and she didn't strike me as the type of person who would lie. In fact, she's the opposite—blunt and brutally honest in her speech.

Anton sighed. "Fine. We can go with him. But only until Misfon, alright? From there, we'll follow the road west while he left to the northeast."

In the end, the great big brother relented. And judging by the looks on Anne and Amelie's expression, they were probably thinking of some scheme to make him change his mind once we got there.

"Great!" Amelie clasped her hands. "Then Hugo! That's your real name, right Charles? Anne just told me. You're going to teach both me and Anne how to be better fighters!"

"And we won't take a no for an answer," Anne followed with a smirk as she folded her arms. "If you really feel bad about getting us into your trouble, then why not repay the favor that way?"

"Huh? I don't know how to do archery though…"

"I know that. But you still can help me in teaching about your movements. You might not realize it, but you're moving far faster than what the usual mage is capable of doing. You're even faster than me, and I'm pretty proud of my speed. So teach me how to do it. That's all I ask from you."

"As for me," Amelie put her hands on her waist with a grin. "Teach me how to do all those fancy spells, alright?"

I could only respond with a deep sigh.

Guess I'll still be stuck with them for a while longer.

We decided to depart from the town the next morning, so once again, I had to spend my night sleeping in that treehouse inn. Really, at this point, I started to wonder if Miss Innkeeper was tired of seeing my face every day. Sorry, Miss Innkeeper. I'll leave the next day and then you'll never have to see me again.

We had dinner together at the nearby tavern, courtesy of Anton's invitation, and then, once that's done, I returned to my room and threw myself on the bed.

***

Huh, this fog...

This is the same as that time! When I got that message from Sherry!

Am I going to get another one from her?

"Hugo, can you hear me?"

That voice… that's not Sherry's voice!

"Hugo. It's me. Your big sister. Can you hear my voice?"

There was no doubt about it. It's Marina's voice!

I'm sending you this message with a Dream Orb and I can only do it once, so listen well.

…

YOU IDIOT! WHAT WERE YOUR THINKING? RUNNING AWAY LIKE THAT? ARE YOU MAD? DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS WHEN I WOKE UP AND YOU WEREN'T THERE?

I could only stand in silence as I hung my head low. She was right. I was an idiot. No, not was. I still am an idiot.

Heh, I expected this, really. Of course she would scold me like this. It's well within her right.

LISTEN HERE! IF I HAVE MORE TIME WITH THIS THING I WOULD'VE MADE YOU SIT THERE AND LISTEN TO ME UNTIL YOUR EARS FALL OFF! SO LISTEN WELL!

…

…

…

I waited, expecting another outburst from her.

But it never came.

"Please… come back…"

"Erika and I… we both miss you dearly…"

"Don't blame yourself for Father and Mother… if there's anyone to blame, it would be me. I should have been less stubborn and accept his offer. Then that tragedy would have never happened…"

My heart sank.

"No! It's all my fault! I wasn't strong enough!"

I yelled those words, knowing full well that she would never be able to hear me. I had to, or else I would die from my guilt.

"If I had to guess, you're heading to Sherry's place, aren't you? That's fine… you go there and fetch her. And then, you two come here, alright? I'm now living in our Grandfather's place, at The Kingdom of Ferus in the Grandford Region. Go to the region's capital there and ask for the Earl's manor."

"There's no need to rush. I understand if you want to have some adventures first out there. Don't worry. We might miss you but we're doing fine here. Grandfather has been very kind to us."

"But promise me this. You'll come here before you have any ideas on marrying her, alright?" I could hear her all-too-familiar giggle. "I want to be present in your wedding. That's a must. Or else I would never forgive you for real."

"And of course, I won't get married until you come home either. Not that I have anyone in mind anyways…"

"A-anyway, that would be all. Don't forget to eat your greens! Oh, and always get a good night's sleep. That's really important for a growing man like you."

"Love you always, your dear big sister."

The moment she finished her message, I woke up from my slumber.

It was already morning, judging by the sunlight pouring through my window.

I let out a yawn, stretching my arms upwards.

Huh? I feel like I'm forgetting something very important…

...Oh right, that dream! That was from Marina, wasn't it?!

I flew off my bed, grabbing the nearest paper and quill I could find. My hand moved with lightning speed, writing down the address she had described to me.

And then, I returned to bed. I laid down and thought deep about the message she had sent.

Sis, I'm sorry… I really shouldn't have left you then…

But I'm glad… that you're still fine and healthy… and Erika as well…

Grandfather's place, huh? I know he's a noble from Mother, but an Earl is pretty up there, isn't it?

Well, they should be in good hands. He can give them protection from the Magocracy.

I let out a sigh. My old guilt was now blossoming again, heavying my heart with its weight.

She's lonely. She admits it herself. And I can hear it clearly in her voice.

And yet, she still tells me to continue on with my adventure if I wanted to.

It's just like her. Really, I don't deserve a big sister like her.

I let out a weak chuckle. Aah, what am I doing, really? Would Sherry really accept me like this? After what I did?

I took a deep sigh before my lips formed a bitter smile.

No, I won't run away. I'm done doing that. I'll face her judgment head on.

And then, I'll be able to face Marina with my head held high.

And so, with a newfound spirit in my heart, I promptly went to my desk.

I had finally found the words I wanted to send to Sherry.

***

Our trip back to the capital took around five weeks, give or take. As promised, I taught them all that I could in that short period of time. For Anne, I focused on teaching her Graceful Step, so she would have even greater mobility like she had requested. For Amelie, I drilled to her the idea of chantless magic, as well as teaching her more Advanced-level spells, particularly hybrid ones. As for Anton, even he decided he could use some pointers from me. For him, I focused on Fortissimo, since he was the tank of the group and all. Fiora already said that the technique could be used by shield-wielding fighters after all.

The result? Far better than I expected.

Near the end of our trip, Anne was starting to get the gist of the technique. Her agility had increased considerably as a result. Anton's defense had become much tougher, as he now could properly use his aura in a defensive matter, instead of simply doing it out of instinct.

As for Amelie, well…

"Magma Burst!"

The earthen mound in front of her immediately burst into flames as lava spurted out from the depths of the earth.

"I-I did it! I did it, Hugo!"

"Great job! I knew you can do—w-whoa!"

She threw herself onto me, hugging me as tightly as she could.

Aah, this softness… I'll miss it for sure.

She then released me—a large grin plastered on her face.

"My first hybrid spell! I can't cast it without a chant like you do yet, but just you wait! I'll master it in no time!" She patted her chest.

She sure is optimistic. Well, better that way than being a negative nancy like my old self.

"Alright! It's your turn now, Hugo! I'll help you train that odd magic of yours!"

I nodded. Once again, she started the same Magma Burst chant as before. However, my goal now was to stop her from successfully completing the spell. But not by any raw force. Instead, I would use the same spell Ilmyhrra had used to stop me from casting my spells.

Indeed, I had decided to imitate what probably was one of her super secret special hidden high elf spells. None of the magic books I had read ever mentioned such a spell, and neither did Marina. I didn't expect to succeed at it, knowing that it's something probably leagues beyond my current magical ability, or even understanding, Hell, for all I knew, it might be a spell that could only be done by a high elf. I wouldn't count out that possibility.

Still, I had to try. I had to get stronger. Especially if I might end up facing off against her in the future. If she ended up siding with the Magocracy, and then I ended up having to fight her for real, then my current me would stand no chance whatsoever. As long as I couldn't do something about her magic sealing spell, I might as well just be an ordinary nobody in front of her. And with her inhuman ability in striking with her staff, my swordsmanship wouldn't suffice either. If I could at least prevent her from taking away my spells, I could bombard her from a distance with my spells.

Wait, she had that other magic dispelling spell too, didn't she? Yeah, I need to do something about that as well. Maybe a Boom Rifle would work? It's really fast after all. It might be fast enough to hit her before she could dispel it mid-air like she did with Boom Cannon.

Thinking about it, that was also something completely improbable. That thing flies at Mach speed, you know.

...Gah! She really is the mentor of the Great Archmage herself, isn't she?!

Perhaps I really had no chance against her, even if I devoted myself to magic and swordsmanship for the rest of my days.

Even so, I had to fight. I'm fine with me dying. But if I had to see Sherry or Marina die as well…

And besides, somehow, I had this certain sense of excitement, trying to decipher this "magic puzzle" she had inadvertently left behind. My only clue was the mana scrambling sensation I received when she casted it on me.

My goal was simple. I had to, at the very least, disturb the process of gathering mana all spellcasters had to do before casting their spell. Not to destroy the spell entirely, just to make it more difficult for them.

And since I certainly couldn't try it on myself, not having the capability of Dual Casting (that's another thing I needed to work on), I decided to use Amelie as my guinea pig.

And so far, she had been really cooperative in that role.

"O Beast of Flame that resided in the earth! Hear my call!"

Here we go. She had her wand pointed at the same mount of rocks from before. Her mana should be forming right at that very tip.

I pointed my wand to said spot and began concentrating as hard as I could. We were about ten meters away from each other. That elf casted the spell from a further distance, but hey, baby steps.

Send your raw mana over there, Hugo. Try to counteract the shape she's conjuring.

I knew perfectly well how her mana would be shaped. I was well familiar with the spell after all. The question was, how would I disturb such a pattern?

"Manifest your power upon this world and let the world be scorched by your flames!"

The shape moved and transformed as she continued her chant. I could do this entire process much faster, but she obviously still needed to do it in the normal, slow way.

My current method was to force my mana on top of hers. It was really just a wild guess, really. I imagined mana acting similar to how waves acted in physics. Or, to be more exact, how radio waves worked. So if I could just create the same shape and "wavelength", which would be the resonance of the shape (higher-level spells required you to resonate your mana, which somewhat meant something like "making it move back and forth in a harmonious frequency"), I could create a similar effect to how radio jammers worked.

"Turn those that defy me into ash! Magma Burst!"

The spell finished, and the result?

A total failure.

In my part anyways. She casted the spell successfully for the second time.

As I feared, the further the range, the strength of my raw mana became exponentially weaker. Ten meters were already impossible. Yet that elf could do it while she's ten times further away than that. Or maybe even more. I didn't exactly remember our distance back then.

That's why just firing raw mana as an offensive spell was not feasible. If not shaped into the usual elemental forms, it would lose its strength terribly quickly once it left the caster's wand.

"Yay, I did it again! The first time wasn't a fluke after all!" Amelie cheerfully clapped her hands together. Rightfully so, if I might add.

"Do you feel anything odd there? Like your mana being less stable than usual?"

"Hmm…" She tilted her head. "I guess I did feel something."

"Really? What did you feel?"

"Like something trying to scatter the spell away, you know. Hey, that was you, wasn't it? You said it was like an anti-magic spell? I'm not sure how that would work though…"

Well, at the very least, she does feel something.

I just had to find a way to either make the effect much stronger, or to somehow disturb the mana shape by using something much weaker. Either way, it won't be an easy task.

Should I even be spending my training time on this instead of working on other, easier spells?

With that question ringing in my mind, I ended my mentoring session with Amelie, before resuming our journey back towards the capital.