"Ughhh... aaargh..."
"Ughhh... ahhhh..."
Selvia and I were groaning as we walked along the path. It had been about a week since our journey on foot began, and it was pure torture for two feeble mages trying to push their bodies to the limit.
Our calves were sore with muscle cramps, and our feet were aching. It was exhausting.
We had indeed set out with a carriage from the Red Tower, but if you ask what happened to it, all I can say is that an unintentional accident occurred. If I were to explain it in detail, it would take all night.
But soone's misfortune can be summarized in a much shorter and more empty way.
If I were to skip over the incident's details and my feelings, I could summarize it as: a frenzied human sacrifice festival involving cultists entangled with fragnts of Mima. That about sums it up.
We went through all sorts of hardships to escape from there. We lost the horse, the carriage, the money pouch, the food... and even one of my wisdom teeth, so there's not much else to say.
The only consolation was that we managed to recover a couple more fragnts as a reward for our adventure.
Anyway, that's why two delicate and frail mages were sweating and trudging along on foot. I miss Yuria. If she were here, she could carry and run for three days and nights.
Selvia asked in a thoroughly exhausted voice.
"How much further do we have to walk? Are we really going to reach the city by today?"
"I don't know. All we can do is hope we make it before our legs give out... Oh, oh! Isn’t that a building roof over there?!"
A ray of hope shone upon us.
That artificially colored roof—it had to be. Signs of civilization. As we got closer, it beca clear. A city!
"That’s not a mirage, right? We’re really going to be able to wash up, right...?!"
"We made it. We’re finally back to civilization! Let’s go, Selvia!"
We excitedly ran towards the city, eager to be freed from all this discomfort at last.
And so, we arrived in the southern imperial city of Elphyris...
But reality is cruel.
“No money, no soup. Ah, but if you sell that robe you’re wearing, I could offer you one night’s lodging and a bucket of bathwater.”
“...”
“...”
We had no money.
In desperation, I sold my robe to get so funds. With that, we managed to afford one al, one room, and one bucket of bathwater.
Yes, just one asly bucket. For two people.
But... maybe if we stick close together, it could be a two-person bath.
After much deliberation, I proposed to Selvia.
“...Shall we bathe together?”
“Are you crazy...?! Ugh... no, no, definitely not!”
Selvia hesitated for a mont at the suggestion, which just goes to show how filthy we both were.
In the end, I chivalrously let Selvia have the bathwater, but I still wanted to wash too...
The city of Elphyris, located near the Great Elven Forest, is known for its beautiful natural scenery and high-quality timber production. Seeing it in person, I could confirm its reputation was well-deserved.
I guess you could call it a sea of trees.
The horizon from a high vantage point was filled with dense trees, almost overwhelming to the eye. The leaves shone with a refreshing green that felt cool just by looking at them.
A forest without bugs, undergrowth, or the risk of losing your sense of direction was beautiful. Though it would be terrifying to actually enter, it was pleasant to admire from the outside.
Luckily, the path to the Tower lies in the opposite direction. I won’t have to get lost in that dense forest.
Anyway.
The city of Elphyris was just a stopover. After a brief rest and resupply, we’d have to walk a long way to reach the Tower. That... was not ideal. It would be grueling, not to ntion ti-consuming.
We had learned the hard way that traveling on foot was less of a journey and more of a pilgrimage of suffering.
We needed horses and a carriage. And warm als and soft beds. To live like human beings, we needed money. But I was currently penniless. I had to earn so.
With that in mind, I suggested to Selvia.
“How about we make so money first, buy what we need, and then continue our journey?”
“Good idea. I’m not up for walking anymore... I never realized how precious a carriage was.”
“ neither. So, what kind of work can two veteran mages find in a city? Research agreents? I’m not sure.”
“...I’m not sure either. The Tower stipend covered everything for ...”
All I knew was how to suck money out of the Tower’s stipend.
Selvia and I, who were among the elite even in a dieval fantasy setting, had no idea how ordinary mages made money outside of the Tower.
Wasn’t money supposed to just co naturally from the royal family... or show up when you pester Yuna?
After putting our heads together and combining all the testimonies we had heard, we concluded that we should probably make money as adventurers or rcenaries.
There’s always a demand for violence, no matter where you go.
And we had the radiant, skilled young mage Selvia with us. Whether it’s an orc or an ogre, they’d be roasted well-done if hit by her fire angel spell.
Confident, we entered the adventurers’ guild.
“Newly registered adventurers cannot accept high-level requests.”
“Excuse ?”
“The adventurers' guild acts as a certifier. If we hire soone whose identity and reliability haven’t been verified and trouble occurs, it’s the guild that suffers, so...”
But would they still say that after seeing our impressive credentials? I pointed to Selvia standing next to and boldly declared.
“How dare you! Do you know who this is? This is none other than the apprentice of Red Tower’s master, the Academy student, a strong mage who has reached the stage of enlightennt, beautiful, cute, and lovely—”
“...Enough!”
Whack.
Selvia cut off my boastful speech by smacking on the head with a book. But I’d already said what needed to be said. The point should have gotten across.
We’re elite mages; do we really need to go through such procedures?
“No exceptions.”
Still, rules were rules, and the guild insisted that even the strongest must be verified.
This told us that the city was safe and well-governed.
If there were an urgent situation where a horde of undead was advancing, they wouldn’t care about trust levels or anything like that—they’d use whoever they could find.
Let’s think positively. For once, instead of causing chaos the mont I set foot in a city, I was finally experiencing a mont of peace and tranquility.
“To heck with it, let’s just do so easy beginner-level jobs. It’s not like we’re in a hurry.”
“Well, that’s fine with .”
“Because you get to spend more ti alone with ?”
“...”
Selvia blushed faintly and turned her head away in silence. I found her reaction adorable, so I chuckled to myself, but the guild receptionist clicked her tongue in annoyance as if she couldn’t stand the sight.
I selected the highest-paying low-level request from the bulletin board: clearing out a goblin village, a task we’ve beco quite familiar with.
“The first ti we t, it was goblins, wasn’t it?”
“Yes... if we’re talking about just you.”
Selvia was so inexperienced back then... and I didn’t know much either. But now it’s different. The crazy mage who only knew how to blind people with illusion magic is dead.
I’ve been reborn as a mage ard with fire magic!
At that mont, the receptionist cut in sharply.
“That request is for four people.”
“We can handle it just the two of us.”
“Rules are rules. Since there are other new adventurers in the sa situation as you, I’ll introduce you to them and form a team.”
“Receptionist, are you upset because we were being lovey-dovey in front of you?”
“No, I’m not.”
She totally was.
And so, we were forced into a party.
While we waited, Selvia and I took on small, easy tasks to earn a bit of pocket money. Catching a runaway cat, for example. After about three hours, the rest of the party mbers finally gathered.
When I saw who they were, I could feel the receptionist’s resentnt towards couples. They were far from normal.
“...Heh. Two mages... Mages are the most vulnerable at night...”
One was a rogue leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed, sneering ominously.
“Hmph, I am a Silver-Masked rcenary! I’m not like you novices! Though I had to co to this far-off city, which delayed the update of my credit rating, in the capital, anyone who hears the na ‘Joe Gil’ knows who I am!”
The other was a bearded warrior boasting loudly about his credentials from the start.
They weren’t just odd in appearance.
“You need a thick rope when hunting goblin villages. Because goblins fear this type of rope!”
“That’s news to .”
“Are you mocking a Silver-Masked rcenary?! I’m right! If you’re going to rely on a veteran rcenary, then just do as I say!”
He insisted on buying completely unnecessary equipnt based on wrong advice.
“Rogue? Rogue? Where did that bastard go without paying?”
When we tried to buy camping gear together, he bolted right before it was ti to pay.
“Rogue, I won’t even complain that you didn’t pay, but shouldn’t we share the load? Even Selvia and I, as mages, are carrying a backpack each.”
“...Hmph, that’s none of my concern...”
And then he just walked off.
I was deeply moved by these fascinating characters. I wanted them to feel this emotion too.
An eye for an eye.
With that in mind, I decided to adopt the persona of a "too-much-talking mage" and make them pay for their antics.
But Selvia snapped first.
“Guys, can we talk for a second? Are you seriously going to keep acting like this?”
“Are you talking back to a Silver-Masked rcenary?! I’ve been giving you all kinds of invaluable tips—”
“...Hmph, this is getting annoying... You handle it...”
“‘Fla Angel.’”
With a whoosh, a small sun appeared.
“...Hmph, I apologize...”
“We’ll be more careful from now on.”
Manners were quickly instilled.
Even idiots know they’ll burn to death if they fight the sun.
Once they realized that the slightly fierce-looking girl was actually a walking fireball, the warrior and rogue’s attitudes drastically improved.
“This herb is known to be great for stamina—”
“No, this herb promotes diuresis. And the one next to it is just a weed.”
“I was— Ahem, yes, you’re right.”
“...Hmph, you’re smart...”
How peaceful.
Now that they had returned from being beasts to human beings, I could finally take in their appearances. Until then, my brain had automatically applied a mosaic filter to them.
The rogue was tall and thin, with a black hood pulled low over his face. It was almost as if he was advertising that he was a rogue, with all the daggers hanging inside his cloak.
The warrior was bald but had a thick beard. He wore a barbarian-style sleeveless top that showed off his muscles. He probably wasn’t dressed that way out of choice but out of necessity, as he likely couldn’t afford better clothes.
Because his axe was quite the luxury item.
“Let’s go. Rogue, keep your distance for spotting. Warrior, your job is to protect the mages. If you charge in first with that axe, you’ll end up burning alongside the enemy, so be smart about it.”
“...Hmph...”
“...Understood.”
With Selvia firmly in charge, we continued on.
About 70% of the way there, the sun began to set, so we decided to camp for the night instead of pushing on in the dark. We set up the campfire and assembled the camping gear.
Dinner was venison we caught on the way using a fire lance.
As I watched the venison roast over the fire, Selvia sat down next to and quietly asked.
“...Why are you shaking your leg like that?”
“Huh?”
Shaking my leg? ?
I looked down to check, and sure enough, my leg was shaking. Even when I tried to calm it by pressing down on my knee, it wouldn’t stop twitching like a freshly caught fish.
“Did soone curse you? Or did that weird rogue secretly poison you...”
“No, no, Selvia. This... this is withdrawal.”
Selvia looked at with concern.
“Withdrawal? Are you on drugs, or sothing...?”
Well, it’s sothing like that. In the wrong dose, it can be poison.
I knew the cause of this trembling. This was session withdrawal. After living too much in the real world, my soul was craving TRPG.
Hacking goddesses, rigging tournants, hunting cultists—I’d been so busy that I hadn’t had ti to enjoy my hobby...!
Once I beca aware of it, like the position of your tongue in your mouth, the craving only grew stronger.
A session. I wanted to have a session. Was there any way to play TRPG? Damn it, if only I had mastered illusion magic instead of fire magic... No, no.
TRPG is originally played with paper, pen, and dice, not holograms or illusion magic.
And right in front of ... there were three potential players. All of them newbies. Suddenly, those rogue and warrior guys started to look endearing.
“...Why are your eyes sparkling so much, big brother?”
“Selvia, are you interested in tabletop role-playing? It’s really fun. Hey, warrior, sneaky rogue, co over here. If you don’t have anything better to do, let’s play together.”
“...Hmph, I’m not really interested...”
“Playing gas? With that attitude, you’ll never beco a Silver-Masked rcenary! An adventurer should be checking their gear by the campfire—”
“No!”
The warrior flailed on the ground in frustration.
“Why did this cursed dice roll a 1 now?!”
“Instead of just yelling, co up with a strategy! If you had targeted the goblin archer first, it wouldn’t have mattered if you rolled a fumble!”
“...I’ll hide again this turn...”
“If you’re hiding, then go for a sneak attack! If you just keep hiding every turn, when will you actually fight? Are you planning to wait until the goblins die of old age? If you keep this up, I’ll stick a fire angel spell in your head—”
This is fun...!
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