[119] An Unexpected Guest (4)
Oblivious Rian fanned the flames of Olina's rising temper.
"Father, don't be like that—let's go chop some wood right now. Since Shirone's here, let's celebrate!"
"Puhaha! Shall we? Fine, the three of us men will set a proper blaze!"
"Honey! You've been drinking—what wood? Go inside and sleep it off first."
"Mom, it's fine. We'll be back before lunch."
Shirone readily agreed. Now that things had come to this, it might be good to blow off some steam properly.
Olina, however, couldn't shake her worry. Vincent could drink a lot, but climbing a mountain while drunk is dangerous even for the most seasoned climbers.
"Are you sure? What if you get hurt?"
"I'll be fine. I'll be back before lunch."
In the past she would have insisted, but things were different now. They'd stood against terrifying ulks and protected the children—there was no reason to expect trouble.
Olina found this version of her son unfamiliar. He certainly looked brighter than before, and his speech and mannerisms brimmed with confidence.
Is this the power of education? He'd always been a good son, but often hard to read; now he was almost a different person. Above all, it seemed he'd learned to care for himself a little more.
With Olina's blessing, the three men set off for the logging area, exchanging stories they'd left untold. Rian, especially eager to show his progress, quickened his pace.
Rian, who had stayed at Vincent's house for two days, had heard tales of Shirone's childhood. The most striking was the Thunder Strike. When Shirone had once dueled at his family home, he'd run into trouble from a certain sword technique, so Rian's interest was piqued.
At the logging site, Rian called out.
"All right! Let's split wood like real men. What do you say, Shirone? Want to bet? Loser grants a wish."
Rian, bigger than before, could easily hold his double-handed axe with one hand. If Rian were an old tree, Shirone looked like the squirrel beside it.
"Fine. Let's do it."
Shirone accepted without hesitation. He'd never lost a bet to Rian. If the challenger called you out, the winner couldn't back down, could he?
Rian nodded to Vincent and swung his axe with all his strength. The trunk shuddered with a solid thud.
It was devastating power—proof of how brutal his training over the past six months had been.
"Wow, incredible. Is that a Skima?"
"Huh? Ahaha! Of course not! Would I need a Skima just to chop wood?"
Rian's reply sounded oddly forced, but Shirone let it pass.
Rian raised the axe again and winked at Shirone.
"The real thing starts now."
He struck the already-split section once more. With a crack like thunder, the tree toppled in one blow.
"Thunder Strike…"
Shirone recognized it at once. If Rian could pull off a Thunder Strike, that meant he'd also acquired killing strikes.
"Uahaha! How's that, Shirone? Not the same as before!"
Despite his boast, Rian's heart leapt; there had been a real chance of failure. He'd learned killing strikes at the sword school, but his success rate against people wasn't high. Still, after Vincent explained the Thunder Strike and he'd practiced all day, he'd pushed his success rate against trees to nine out of ten.
"Impressive. Your Thunder Strike carries a different force from mine."
"Well, that's to be expected, isn't it? Anyway, it's a bet. I succeeded in two tries, so you have to fell it in one!"
Vincent let out a hearty laugh.
"Haha! Shirone, give it your all. If it's a tie, we keep going until someone wins. We might have to shave the whole mountain for this!"
Vincent expected Shirone to be no pushover. Rian's strength was tremendous, but Shirone had shown a natural aptitude for technique since childhood.
"Here, use my axe."
"No, I'm fine. I'll do it like this."
Shirone stepped up to the tree and held out his hand. Vincent and Rian exchanged puzzled looks—how could he fell a thick tree without an axe?
Shirone gauged his position, stepped into the Spirit Zone, and struck the trunk with a basic spell: Wind Cutter.
From inside the log came a crisp snapping sound.
That was all it took.
When the two watching men tilted their heads in confusion, Shirone pushed the tree slowly. A clean cut face appeared, and the log toppled.
"Yahoo! I won!"
Shirone leapt in delight, while Vincent and Rian stood with their mouths agape.
How could a tree be felled without any physical impact? It would be impossible without magic.
"Oh—so that's magic."
Rian examined the stump Shirone had cut. No sword trainee could have made such a smooth slice.
"What kind of magic is that?"
"It's called Wind Cutter. You stir the air into a blade—basically one of the fundamentals."
Vincent was at a loss for words at how his son had changed.
He'd expected Shirone to learn one or two tricks at magic school—maybe circus-level curiosities—but never imagined he could fell a log in a single strike. In the hands of someone skilled, it could be a deadly weapon.
"Heh. I can't believe it. Can you teach me? With that magic, we could make a lot more money chopping wood."
Vincent's simple earnestness put Shirone in an awkward spot.
"It's basic, but it's not something you pick up that easily."
If you mastered Wind Cutter, you could fell hundreds of trees in a day. Still, no mage made a living from chopping wood. Even if they cut a thousand logs, a mage's daily wage would outstrip that—the pay for mages was simply that high.
Shirone felt relieved. When he'd enrolled he'd been terrified of failure, but even if he didn't graduate, he now had a skill to support his family.
Others might think a mage who'd opened Immortal Function had gone mad, but to Shirone, family was that important.
"Anyway, I won, so here's my wish. Rian, you carry the wood back to the house."
"Tch! Fine, I'll do it. I was going to carry it anyway."
Rian split the fallen trunk into sections and strapped on a pack frame.
Though he'd lost the bet, a smile tugged at Rian's mouth as they descended. Shirone had proven Rian's instincts right.
"You did great, Shirone. Of course, what you showed today isn't all there is, is it?"
Back home, Olina had laid out a feast—food from land, sea, and sky covered the table.
"Wow, looks delicious. I'll eat well!"
As they ate, Shirone recounted his time at school.
He left out the life-threatening moments, but there'd still been more than enough to talk about.
"…So the answer was number three after all. Hahaha! Thanks to that, I'll be promoted to Class Four next semester."
"I see."
To Shirone's surprise, Vincent and Olina didn't immediately react. Shirone, wondering if there was more to say, spread his hands and added,
"It's a big deal. It's really something."
Only then did color return to their faces. Having never been to school, they couldn't grasp half of what he said, but a parent's pride at a child's achievement was like any other.
"Oh! Is that so? Congratulations, Shirone!"
"Well done, my son. Your mother was so worried."
Olina lifted the tablecloth to wipe her tears away.
Rian watched the loving household scene with a contented smile. He felt he understood where Shirone's calm temperament might have come from.
"By the way, Rian, why did you really come here?"
"Oh, right. I actually came to ask your permission for something."
"Ask for anything. If it's something we can do, of course we'll help."
Vincent said it easily, but he was inwardly worried. What could the son of a noble family possibly be asking permission from a woodsman's household?
"Can I go with Shirone for about a week? Just to hang out."
Shirone turned his head in surprise.
"Hang out? Why are you speaking for me? Where are you going?"
"Galliant Island. Don't worry—I've planned this out already."
"Galliant, you say?"
Shirone's eyes widened. The place that had been on his mind recently just came out of Rian's mouth.
"When I was stuck working in the library I couldn't get out, so I thought I'd get some fresh air. It's close to Creas, and it'll be fun. Galliant Island is one of the world's most popular resorts."
"And there's the Kergo ruins too."
This time Rian was surprised.
"You knew about that?"
"Not the ruins specifically, just the island. Oh—so that's how famous it is. I didn't expect it."
Shirone, who'd been poring over maps for days, had discovered that the Kergo ruins were on Galliant Island. It had seemed distant and vague as a ruin, but it wasn't far, so he'd decided to visit.
He looked to his mother for permission. He'd planned to help his father after returning from school, but going off on a trip right after coming back from half a year away might disappoint her.
As always, Olina yielded to Shirone's wishes.
"Go ahead. We wholeheartedly approve."
"But Mom, I was planning to help Father with his work after school got out…"
Vincent burst into a booming laugh.
"You little rascal! You've been to a battlefield and back—of course you can go on vacation. A son who clings to his parents too much isn't right either."
Shirone pouted a little, though the magic school had felt like a battlefield in its own way.
"Then—can I take ten days?"
"Ten days? I don't mind, but it's not the sort of place that needs that long to sightsee."
"Actually, there's something I want to investigate."
Rian made a face.
"Studying even there? You really are something."
Shirone had read every history book in the Ozent household, so studying at a resort would be nothing to him.
Heh heh heh—this time it won't be easy. Will he even be able to study there? Rian thought of a trump card, smiled to himself, and waited for tomorrow.
* * *
Shirone packed his travel bag and went to bed. Rian decided to stay the night, so they laid futons side by side and lay down together.
"By the way, tell me—why didn't you go home?"
"Huh? Oh, that…"
Rian trailed off. Just as Reina would size up a younger sibling, Rian knew his sister well—she'd probably mail his report card home and clamp down on him.
But he couldn't tell Shirone the truth. He'd done his best and wasn't ashamed of coming in last, but he just couldn't bring himself to say so.
"Just some minor family stuff. Haha."
Shirone didn't press further.
"Anyway, it worked out. I was going to take a vacation anyway."
"You said Kergo ruins. What are you planning to investigate?"
"I don't know yet. I'll enjoy the vacation first. I'll hang out with you on the island, and then I'll stay behind and investigate on my own."
Rian sensed something off. The Kergo ruins were a tourist spot. If Shirone were only going there to investigate, he wouldn't be the sort to be so eager to have Rian come along like this.