“Guh! Pierce, o ice! Frozen Point: [Ice Needle]!” “[Ice Needle]...” Same result, the icy needles canceled each other out in the middle of the arena. It was easy to cancel a spell out by using the same spell. Although it wouldn’t be that difficult to do the same with opposing elements either. She was pretty simple to read.
“Come forth, o Light! Shining Duet: [Light Arrow]!” “[Light Arrow].” The light arrows canceled each other out just like the icy needles did.
After that the same happened with some fire spears and stone bullets.
“Wait just a minute! How many elements can you handle!? Six if we count the null magic?! Are you the same as Miss Leen?!”
“Eeh, not really...”
“Eris, he can use all the elements. That makes him better than me.”
“Excuse me!?” Her eyes went wide as saucers. It seemed like Eris could use fire, water, wind, earth, and light. Having aptitude for two elements was enough of a feat. Linze and Yumina could use three. The matriarch of the fairies, Leen, could use six. The fact that this girl could use five was more than amazing in its own right.
“Why you...! Don’t get carried away!” She extended her hands and started gathering magical power. Oh? “Come forth, Fire! Crimson Duet: [Fire Arrow]! Come forth, Water! Feel My Blade, Both Cold and Clear: [Aqua Cutter]!” She conjured two spells at once and sent them flying towards me. Oh, so she can cast two types of magic at the same time? “Ugh... [Fire Arrow]. [Aqua Cutter].” I cast two spells at the same time just like her, and they canceled each other out.
Her face was overcome by surprise, but it didn’t take long for that to be washed away by a raging red flush. Followed by a nonstop barrage of magic and angry prattling.
“Take this! And this! You puny little...!”
“Whoa! There! Hah!” I made sure to confirm the order of the random magic she hurled my way, and countered it with magic of the same type. Somehow, the more flustered she got only made me feel calmer. So much in fact I started thinking about how nice it would be if she threw a feint or something...
“Guh... Hahh... Hahh...” Eris looked unsteady, she was leaning on her staff for support. Her legs were buckling, I wondered if she was alright. Leen, the referee, raised her hand.
“That’s it. Eris ran out of magical power.”
“I can keep going!”
“It’d be nice if you stopped being so stubborn.” Paula walked to the spot Eris was standing and poked her legs. It didn’t take a second for her to fall down to her knees. She was on her last legs for sure.
“Ugh...”
“See? Running out of magic is a matter of life and death for magicians. I told you to always keep at least ten percent of your magic even in emergency cases, didn’t I?”
“I-I’m sorry...” Leen used [Transfer] to give the weakened Eris some power back.
She got up immediately and stared daggers at me.
“This is not over! You’re sorely mistaken if you think magic prowess alone is enough to make you a fitting partner for Miss Leen!” What now...? She’s really pretty, but everything else about her is a disappointment. It feels like I’m dealing with a little kid or something.
“Tsk, you were thinking something rude just now, weren’t you?”
“Hm? Nope.” She was sharper than she looked, at least.
◇ ◇ ◇
“This place is called the Lost Forest. It’s said that you’ll be lost forever if you can’t read the forest’s heart. ‘Tis but a trifling task for us fairies, but can a simple human go into this forest and come out?” She crossed her arms and looked at me arrogantly.
We were in a forest south of Mismede, close to the Sea of Trees.
The forest was a territory that belonged to the Fairy Tribe.
Eris was so smug and self-assured because it was easy for outsiders to get lost. Unless one made a bond with the forest or got the help of a fairy, they’d be unable to escape.
It was actually forbidden to enter due to a matter of public safety.
“Getting cold feet? I don’t mind if you wanna stop here. In exchange, I don’t want to see you near Miss Leen ever again.”
“Eris, enough of this.” Leen sighed at Eris’ cheap provocation. Once again, the stuffed bear, Paula, shrugged in resignation.
“I’ll go in if that’s what you want. How do you want this done?”
“There’s a giant apple tree in the middle of the forest. Take a fruit and come back here. If you can even get there in the first place, that is. Well, if you haven’t managed to come out in two days, I’ll go to your rescue.” Rescue, huh... That part about coming to my rescue sounds a bit suspicious... ah well.
“Just so you know, you can’t use magic inside this forest. No transportation or searching magic either, you hear me?”
“Ugh.” And here I was about to use the map to find the apple and come back using a portal, she shot me right down. Tsk.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay? You don’t have to go along with everything Eris says. You know.” Leen spoke with a slight frown on her face. She seemed worried about me.
“It’s fine, honestly. I’ll manage somehow even without magic.”
“Hmph! I hope you’re having a fun time trying to show off, because it won’t last long!” Eris spoke again, smug and confident in herself. I wasn’t really trying to sound cool or anything, though.
Well, I guess talking won’t do me much good, so I better wrap this up as soon as I can.
“Alright then, I’m going.” I took my first step into the lost forest and waved them off.
... One Hour Later...
“Why?! How did you manage it so fast?! Who’s that girl?!” Eris screamed at me as I munched an apple.
There was a green-haired girl with a puzzled expression by my side. Her long hair flowed like a waterfall of emeralds. It matched her green dress perfectly. The confusion was clear in her jade eyes as she looked at the girl ranting in front of her.
“I was wondering if my voice would make it to anyone since the place’s so close to the sea of trees, she really saved me.”
“Oh no, I didn’t do anything... Heh... Umm, is she okay?”
“Don’t ignore me! That’s why I asked who she was!” I ignored her on purpose, and wouldn’t you guess, she got mad again. Maybe I’m teasing her a little too much. Sorry, Eris.
“She’s a forest spirit. One of the avatars of the great tree that rules over the sea of trees. Everything went smoothly when I asked her to guide me.”
“Huh?”
“Mister Touya is a patron of the sea of trees. This bit of help is nothing of importance. Besides...” Whoa there, don’t go revealing my divinity... I got her attention and put my index finger over my mouth to keep the spirit from talking any further.
Leen didn’t miss the gesture, she put her hands over her hips and lets out an exasperated sigh. Even Paula, who was standing by her feet, copied her.
“Darling, I don’t think using a spirit as guide is appropriate.”
“It felt more like mediation rather than guidance, really. Something along the lines of not letting the lost forest get in my way.” Besides, the forest’s heart Eris was talking about in the first place means the spirits that lived in it. The great tree spirit was the same as the small spirits that lead the people who enter the forest astray.
Basically, they had freedom to do as they pleased. The fact they lead people astray is probably due to their role as protectors of the apple tree. It seems like a place for all the little spirits to have fun and relax, after all.
The fairies were friends to the forest spirits, so they weren’t taken astray by them.
“Why does a forest spirit have to guide you?! It’s inexcusable, isn’t it!? Come on now, admit it!”
“Eris, you’re aware of the aggressive stance you’re taking against the leader of a whole nation, aren’t you? This person is the Grand Duke of Brunhild. You’re Mismede’s court magician. One step in the wrong direction can mean the end of dip
lomatic relationships, you know that, don’t you? You’d do well to think before talking when you have part of the weight of the whole country on your shoulders.”
“Uuuh...” Eris flinched a bit when the person she respected so much talked to her like that. Well, I (and probably Mismede’s king) didn’t mind so much, but that may not apply for the rest of the nations. It’d be bad if she offended another nation in public.
“W-Well be thankful you got lucky enough to meet a spirit! If you hadn’t, you’d have gotten lost and you would have begged and cried for my help!!!”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Is it over now?”
“Of course not! Don’t think you’re even remotely a match for Miss Leen! Even if she approves, you don’t have approval from the clan’s elders!”
“The elders of the fairy tribe?” I looked back at Leen, and she had an unusually troubled expression on her face. I wondered what was up. “The elders... I’m sure it’ll be fine. I wrote a letter to them explaining the circumstances.” Something seemed off. She was frowning. Her usual cute face seemed troubled. “What’s the deal with the elders, are they higher in status than you?”
“In a sense. The elders are successive in our clan. It is their job to guide the current leaders and shape their direction of the fairy tribe.”
“You never really spoke about them.” Leen’s voice fell to a low murmur. From what I understood, the tribe elders would guide the new generation before passing on their titles to their successors.
“Miss Leen! They simply didn’t reply because they didn’t feel the need to! You’ve done much for our people.” That seemed right. As far as I knew, Leen had increased the standing of the fairies in Mismede by a whole bunch.
“You still must meet with them for approval!”
“No, that isn’t necessary.” I looked to Leen.
“Well, I think I should probably meet with them. Even if they don’t have a lot of spare time, it’s important.”
“Hmph. Then you wish to meet with them? The elders have recently been playing this game called shogi, though. They haven’t had much time on their hands.” Eris’ words surprised me. I didn’t realize shogi had even spread that far. But then again, Olba was my main distributor, and he was from Mismede... So it wasn’t all that odd.
“If you wish to meet with the elders of the fairy village, I can take you.” The forest spirit spoke up. That certainly was convenient.
“Thanks, spirit.”
“...If you insist.” Leen didn’t seem all that amused. She must have really had a disdain for her tribe’s elders. I wondered if they were really as much trouble as she was suggesting, though.
Either way, I wanted to do this by the book. If I was to marry Leen, I wanted to let everyone related to her know it.
The forest spirit touched a large tree nearby, and the trunk opened up to form a passageway.
“This will take you to the elders of the fairy village. By all means, please make use of it.”
“Gotcha!” Eris leaped through the passage. Paula skipped onwards too, tugging at Leen’s arm. I followed behind them, and it closed behind us.
“Hm...?” Eventually the tunnel ended and we came out into the open. We were still in the forest, of course.
There were lots of houses in the trees. They looked like log cabins. Bridges joined all the trees together, too. And naturally there were people on those bridges and in those houses, too.
Flowers and grass swayed in the breeze. It was a beautiful place indeed.
A man walking nearby took notice, and he looked over towards us. He had insect-like wings on his back, much like Leen’s. He looked like a twenty-year-old man.
“Huh? Leen’s here?”
“Ah... Sureigis... It’s been a while.” Leen smiled softly. He looked pretty young, so I didn’t think he was one of the elders. Then again, he could’ve been... Fairies stopped aging after a fixed point. So he could’ve been really, really old.
“I’ll say! It’s been like four-hundred years! Ever since you skipped town after blowing away Ermela’s house...”
“I don’t remember trivial things like that.” Leen leered slightly at Sureigis. Wh... She blew away someone’s house?!
“My my... The villainous fairy Leen has finally shown up to face down the elders... Have you finally come to accept your... role... as matri...arch...?” The man’s voice gradually slowed and became quieter. Leen was staring him down, flicking fireballs between her fingers as if they were simple toys. Paula was shivering in some pattern of faux-fear.
I remembered Leen being good with fire magic, which was rare for a fairy. “Goodness, Sureigis... You want to be cooked that badly?”
“N-No! A-Ah, look at the time! I-I better go inform everyone of your arrival, hahaah!” Sureigis ran off like the wind was carrying him. He sure could run...
Leen let out a little sigh. As she did, the fireballs vanished.
She got a little bit embarrassed when she noticed me staring at her.
“Ah... W-Well... There was an incident some t-time ago, I... I was just a child! Aaagh! I-I’m not so hot-headed now, I promise! That was the past, the past!” Leen’s cheeks turned red as she got herself all flustered. I wondered if that was why she was reluctant to meet the elders. Perhaps they only knew Leen as some rampant troublemaker.
She turned her face away and attempted to compose herself. She usually wore such a cool and calm expression, so seeing her like this was a rare treat.
“D-Don’t laugh...”
“Sorry, sorry. You shouldn’t get worked up, though. Everyone did stupid things as a kid. Even I did.”
“Hmph. From my perspective you’re still a kid.”
“Oh hush it. I mean it, I’m much more mature than I used to be. When I was thirteen and fourteen, I was especially troublesome...” It was funny to think about... That was only a year or two before God had sent me to this new world... But it felt like a lifetime ago.
I used to mess around with motorcycle gangs, and I helped ruin the social life of a sketchy substitute teacher who was trying to make a girlfriend out of one of his students...
Thinking back, I did some reckless crap. Even if I had good intentions, there were better ways to go about it... I wasn’t entirely sure how much I’d matured, really... But I knew I was a different man in this world.
“My feelings for you won’t change, Leen. In fact, I’m glad for the past you had and the past I had. Without either, we’d have never met.”
“Hehe... I... I like that... Thank you, darling.” Leen gently hugged me. That was rare. When the other fiancees were around, Leen typically stayed in the background. Seemed like she took her chances whenever she could get them.
“What the heck are you two doing?! Quit hugging in public! Gross! Losers!” Eris ruined the moment by physically prying Leen and I apart. Paula gently hugged my leg. Th-Thanks...
“Wow, it’s really Leen...”
“Long time no see, are you well?”
“Nena, Ati... I’m glad to see you.” A girl who looked to be about twenty, and a girl who looked to be about eight both ran over towards us.
Nena looked like a typical little girl you’d find in a village. Her hair was white and done up in braids that flowed down her front. I wondered if this child was an elder.
Ati, on the other hand... Well, she was as flat as a board. If her hair wasn’t long she’d have easily been mistaken for a man. She seemed aloof, kind of like a stern older sister.
“We heard the news! Congratulations!”
“Is the rumor true? We heard you’d caught yourself a little boytoy.”
“Gh-! How do you know already?! We only just told the Beastking!” Leen looked completely taken aback, and Ati spoke up in response.
“Heh... Elders have their own information sources, you know. Everyone already knows.”
“What?!” Leen seemed a little annoyed. But, before we knew it, we’d been whisked off to a grand banquet alongside the elders of the village.
“Let’s hear it for Leen and the Grand Duke of Brunhild! Cheers!”
“Cheers!” Fireflies illuminated the night like magical lanterns as I greeted each elder one-by-one. Leen followed, and I ended up hearing many stories about her past. This often ended in Leen getting embarrassed or irritated, though. It was funny.
Amazingly, everyone was happy, and we celebrated all night long. Nobody objected to the marriage. Well. Nobody except Eris, who was still grumbling in the corner.
“Hrmph...” Apparently everything had been smoothed out for a while. The elders had long-forgotten the fuss that made Leen leave the village.
“Eris...”
“Miss Leen...” Leen went over to talk with Eris. She was trouble, but she still cared about Leen a lot. They were family, in a sense.
“Come on now... Isn’t this good enough? You know I’m no fool... Don’t you trust in me? Hey, Eris... You know... Your approval would mean more to me than any of the elders.”
“I... I... Don’t want you to leave us, Leen... Everyone leaves... And we finally formed a nation for people like us... It’s only been around for twenty years, and... And you’re leaving!” Leen sighed, then gave Eris a little hug.
“Hey now... This is my home, Eris. And I trust you dearly with the responsibilities. I’m giving this to you because of what you mean to me, alright? You’re the matriarch, and you’ll be wonderful. Someday you’ll pass it on, as well... We pass on our feelings that way. I’ll watch over you, and I’ll guide you too. Just like the elders do.”
“Miss Leen...”
“Please take care, Eris... You mustn’t get headstrong. You’re in an important position now, and you must lead our people with care and grace. Promise me you’ll stand up against injustice. In or out of Mismede. If you don’t... I’ll... Pinch your nose!”
“Gah!” Leen grinned as she gently squeezed Eris’ nose. Paula, who was at Leen’s feet, gradually shuffled off to do her own thing.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 8 Page 16
