Ch. 80
With Bright’s help, I easily flew back up the cliff using Fly magic.
At the top, I saw Rai getting trampled by an enraged Blondie.
He looked completely resigned to his fate. Blondie really hated Rai—well, she was a horse, and he was a snake.
[Yeah, go on, stomp me. Stomp all you want.]
“Rai.”
[Ah! Master! You’re back!]
Rai slithered over to my feet, crying loudly, then quickly climbed up my leg and onto my shoulder.
[Do something about that beast! It completely ignored me!]
[Why would a horse listen to you?]
[I didn’t even do anything, and it just started stomping! It’s insane! Must be rabid!]
[Horses don’t get rabies.]
Trying to calm down the agitated Blondie while listening to Rai bawl about injustice left me completely exhausted for a moment.
What worried me most was whether Blondie had hurt her leg.
Rai was so solid that a misstep could easily twist an ankle, and when that happened to a horse, euthanasia was often the only option.
After checking her leg, I was relieved to find no injuries.
[Master! Are you seriously more worried about that crazy horse than me?!]
[Not “seriously”—I am. Also, Blondie’s gentle.]
[Waaah! You’re so cruel! I’m going back to my homeland!]
Rai had clearly picked up some weird habits during his strolls.
[Go then.]
[No! You’re supposed to stop me!]
Where would he even go? Technically, I guess his homeland is the Spirit Realm?
“By the way, Geenie, what was that magic circle earlier?”
Caught off guard, Bright asked his question.
“…Huh?”
“The one by the lake.”
The other two mages looked at me too, just as curious.
When mages look at you like that, they don’t let go easily.
“Yeah! I’ve never seen a circle like that—what spell is it for?”
“We don’t use that structure. It was intricate and unique.”
“It’s a… mid-grade summoning circle. I was just practicing. Thought I might try contracting with another mid-grade spirit…”
“Ooh. That was a summoning circle?”
“You even practice those? That’s impressive!”
I awkwardly turned away and pretended to stroke Blondie’s mane, giving Rai a quick mental command.
[Rai, go back down and destroy the summoning circle.]
[What?! Do you know how hard I worked finding the water veins and carving it deep so it could be reused?!]
[We’re done with it. I made the contract. Get rid of it.]
[Huh.]
[Wait… You didn’t know?]
[Now that you mention it, it makes sense. There’s definitely a blue snake scent! It’s hard to tell with you because you always reek of water.]
[I told you to stop saying “reek.”]
Whenever I had mental conversations with Rai, I’d inevitably blank out a bit.
“Geenie! Look!”
Just then, Bright suddenly grabbed my shoulder and shook me.
I looked to where he was pointing and saw a blue signal flare fired into the sky from the mountain.
It was a call for help.
“Let’s go! We have to help them!”
The younger mage shouted, but Bright and his uncle hesitated. That area was crawling with monsters, and it wasn’t a great idea for mages to head in alone.
Mages couldn’t instantly jump into battle unless they had pre-cast spells ready.
Even casting a single spell usually took several minutes.
That’s why so many escort mercenaries were swordsmen.
“Senior, did you store anything ahead of time?”
“I wasn’t expecting this, so…”
“I asked if you have anything.”
“Two Fireballs… and Light?”
Mages usually prepared by storing spells in advance—basically halfway cast, so they could be triggered instantly.
“What about your uncle?”
“I’ve got nothing…”
“Great. I’ll be going then.”
I promptly mounted Blondie.
I wasn’t exactly overflowing with heroism.
“You can’t! We have to help!”
Unluckily for me, the younger mage grabbed my cloak in panic.
Why was she clinging to me? We’re strangers! Strangers!
Besides, I had no mana left after contracting with Endairon.
“Uh, I’ll head back to the city and send help. How’s that?”
“They could all be dead by then!”
“I can’t die trying to save someone else.”
“…You’re really not going?”
Did she have to look at me with those despair-filled eyes like I’d crushed her faith in humanity?
“That might be the wagon carrying our magic stamp!”
“We’re going!”
“Let’s go, everyone! Come on, Geenie!”
“Wha—?!”
Another flare burst into the sky.
The situation must’ve been urgent—those flares were practically screams for help.
The mages piled into the wagon and took off toward the flare site, and I sat on Blondie, torn between following them or just heading to the city.
“Why me?!”
But in the end, I reluctantly turned toward the mountain.
If a bunch of mages I know ended up dead, it’d ruin my whole day!
Ugh, I hate this!
[Master! What about me?]
“Rai, go destroy the summoning circle! Let’s go, Blondie!”
—
I quickly overtook Bright’s wagon on horseback, galloping ahead to scout the situation and buy time if needed.
Blondie was a good horse—light, stable, and fast even on steep mountain trails.
As I rounded a sharp curve, I began to hear the clash of blades and shouting up ahead.
“There it is.”
I slowed down and carefully urged Blondie along the outskirts.
Estimating my remaining mana, I figured I could take down two, maybe three orcs or trolls.
But the closer I got, the clearer it became—I wasn’t needed.
The situation was already under control.
Reinforcements had arrived ahead of us.
“…Impressive.”
I couldn’t help but be amazed.
A swordsman, cloaked in deep crimson from head to toe, was swiftly carving through the remaining monsters.
With every strike of their blade, orc heads flew cleanly into the air.
I couldn’t even see which way the sword was moving.
By the time Bright’s group arrived by carriage, nearly everything was already over.
The swordsman had cut down more than eight orcs in the blink of an eye—that was just the number I caught a glimpse of.
“Wow.”
“Someone beat us to it.”
“Amazing! That person…”
Everyone seemed to share my impression.
We had all turned into spectators before we knew it.
“Grrrk!”
With a wet, pig-like squeal, the last orc collapsed to the ground.
The mysterious ally didn’t stop there—without a word, they went around checking the fallen orcs, cleanly beheading each one to ensure they were dead, then swish! flicked the bloody sword into the air.
Okay… That was a little cool, I’ll admit…
“Eh?”
No. No, no, no.
I prayed desperately that the warm, slimy splash on the side of my face wasn’t what I feared.
But that hope was violently crushed the moment I touched the mystery liquid trickling down my left cheek.
Dark green, sticky—it was definitely monster blood.
And not just any blood, but orc blood, the kind so greasy it takes three full days to wash out!
“Gasp, Geenie!”
Bright jumped off the carriage in horror and rushed over to me, thrusting a handkerchief in my direction.
I was trembling in fury, while the swordsman who caused all this looked completely indifferent—accepting thanks from the survivors like it was the most bothersome chore.
“Thank you so much!”
“If you hadn’t shown up, we would’ve all died!”
“You saved our lives! Please, let us repay you!”
I got off my horse and strode toward the swordsman in big steps.
I scrubbed my face with Bright’s handkerchief, but the oily smear only spread.
You bastard! You’re giving me this filth? Let me see your damn face!
“No need for thanks. If you have water, share some with me.”
Oh no.
No, no, no—this couldn’t be real.
I stared in disbelief, far more shocked than when I had found Bright by the lake.
As he pulled down the mask that had been covering his face up to his nose…
That face…
“Rovenin Fedri!”
How could I possibly forget that face?
That rare red hair, those golden eyes gleaming with the blood of the Elan royal family!
The Fedri family was so prestigious that nearly every other generation, a princess married into their line.
Without meaning to, I let out a shriek.
Instantly, every gaze in the area snapped toward me.
“You… you! What are you doing here?!”
When I recognized him, he merely narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression as blank as ever.
“Who?”
And that single word from his mouth made my heart boil over with rage.
* * * * * * * *
(T/N: Unfortunately, we were also given a time-skip. 🙁 )
(T/N: I’m alive! 😂 Just dropping in with a quick update. Still not back to a regular upload schedule, but I’ll be uploading at least 5 chapters per series every week, in order based on the most recent series I picked up. No fixed days yet, but I’ll keep the bulk uploads coming as best as I can!)