“That’s it! That’s it!”
“Rember this feeling, Eir!”
Will, unable to contain his excitent, leapt up from the ground and grabbed Eir’s hand.
“Y-Young Master? You’re… fine?”
Eir’s bangs covered the upper half of her face, her eyes still dull and void of light. Her voice was hoarse, as if it ca from the depths of her throat.
Will, feeling a bit guilty, avoided her gaze and didn’t notice her strange deanor.
“Ah… uh, yeah, yeah, of course I’m fine! Uh, where are we again? Why’d the carriage flip over? Oh no, my head hurts so much… Eir, you’ll have to rub it better for …”
As the two exchanged words, the little witch—who had nearly been obliterated by her own Extre Fla teor—finally snapped out of her shock.
Her response?
Imdiate panic!
She even dispelled her voice-concealing magic and began bowing frantically toward them.
“I’m sorry! S-S-Sorry! It’s all my fault! They paid too much—wait, no, not enough! You won’t see again, I swear! It’s my fault, I’m wrong, I shouldn’t have done this, please don’t co after !”
“Wait, hold on, don’t be so hasty.”
Why was the assassin panicking more than they were?!
Will had intended to use this opportunity to negotiate with the witch and extract information about the person who hired her.
“Uh, we… we can negotiate a little.”
“N-Negotiate? About what?!”
“Well, we could, uh, pay you more…”
The mont Will ntioned money, the witch’s eyes lit up, and she raised her head. But—
She saw Eir’s expression.
Half-hidden by her bangs, Eir’s face was a mix of fury, hatred, and disdain. Her lips curled into a manic grin, and her clenched fist still carried the icy remnants of her earlier punch.
“No, no, no, no, no need! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! You won’t see again, I promise! Sorry for the trouble, really!”
Her voice trembled as she babbled out an apology, then she pulled her hat down and crouched to draw a simple magic circle.
“Wait—hold on! Don’t leave so quickly! At least tell how much you want!”
Sothing was wrong. Why was this spiraling out of control?
Had his intimidation gone too far?!
“Young Master, she… she can’t leave…”
Before Will could take another step, his foot slipped on sothing slick in front of Eir.
Because of the heavy armor he was wearing—especially the oversized helt on his head—poor Will, with his frail body, lost his balance completely.
Thud—
He fell flat on the ground.
And as luck—or misfortune—would have it, his hand landed on a small pile of dry grass, still smoldering with tiny embers. Instinctively, he used his palm to shield himself.
But his hand wasn’t protected!
So…
The grass scratched him.
The embers burned him.
His ticulously prepared armor? Completely intact.
Eir, witnessing this, jolted as if struck by lightning. The light returned to her eyes.
Her young master had been fine just monts ago.
But now he was lying in front of her, injured?
He… he should be okay, right?
A whirlwind of complex emotions surged through Eir’s heart.
“Young Master?! Huff… huff…”
Eir ran forward but stopped after two steps, panting heavily. She was still drained from earlier.
“Tch… so this is fate, huh?”
Will gritted his teeth and pushed himself up, enduring the pain.
He watched as Leah disappeared into her teleportation circle.
Comparing this scene to the absurd antics of Sanqi, his old dog, it was almost poetic. Not quite as ridiculous, but close enough.
There was no doubt about it…
This was “fate” as dictated by the original story.
He was destined to get hurt. No amount of armor, warhorses, or armored vehicles could change that.
Will stood up, breathing heavily, and inspected his battered right hand. It was burned and bleeding, but his arm was otherwise unhard. It was, at worst, a surface injury.
Still, this ant he wouldn’t be able to participate in the practical entrance exam for school. His right hand was his dominant hand for magic, and with the blood flow disrupted, his magic circuits wouldn’t function properly.
“Eir… I should be fine…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Eir pressed his head against her chest with her soft, trembling hands—the sa hands that had just deflected an Extre Fla teor.
Of course, softer than her hands were the two glandular “pillows” that Will now found himself pressed against.
Will couldn’t help but notice how much Eir had “grown” (physically).
“Young Master… you’re… you’re okay. I’m so glad I can hear your voice. Eir… Eir did it… I did it… It’s okay… I’ll bandage you up right away, and you’ll be fine…”
Eir’s composure shattered in an instant. Her voice quivered as she spoke, tears streaming down her face.
Will, with his head pressed against her chest, could hear her rapid heartbeat gradually slowing.
She unconsciously stroked his head, tears falling freely, but her face lit up with a genuine, joyful smile.
She resembled an oversized golden retriever, wagging its tail and licking its owner’s hand after realizing they weren’t actually dead.
Seeing her tearful, worried expression, Will sighed, rubbing his forehead before gently ruffling her wind-tousled hair to comfort her.
Eir seed to have returned to her usual self.
Though she was hugging him tightly, as if letting go would an losing him forever.
Though she was stroking his head like he was a doll.
Though her fingers were interlocked with his, filling the gaps between his own.
But…
She was still…
Super cute…
Super clingy…
Super loyal…
Super maid…
Eir.
“Man, you’re still so far off.”
—Later, Will would deeply regret making this judgnt, failing to notice the earliest signs of sothing far more dangerous.
—
“Alright, Young Master, I’ve bandaged you up for now. Once the horse has rested a bit, we’ll continue on our way. The sooner we reach the city, the safer we’ll be.”
As a maid, Eir’s bandaging skills were top-notch. Fortunately, the carriage was stocked with ergency dical supplies, and Will knew basic healing and blood-stopping spells.
Will glanced at his now oversized, bandaged right hand and sighed.
But…
He circled the spot where he had slipped earlier—where Eir had deflected the Extre Fla teor.
He rembered stepping on sothing slippery before falling. But in a place where a massive fireball had passed through, how could there be anything “slippery”? Shouldn’t everything have been burned away, leaving only scorched earth?
Could it have been caused by the collision of ice and fire?
But Ice Armor wouldn’t shed material from the user…
So what could have tripped him?
Judging by the texture underfoot, it had been sothing round.
Wait…
Just now…
Will froze.
At the spot where he had fallen, there was indeed a small puddle of water. In the center of the puddle was sothing shiny.
Amidst the charred grass, the glowing object stood out starkly.
Cradling his injured right hand, Will crouched down and brushed aside the grass.
It was…
A coin.
A coin that replaced the king’s face with the smirking, wide-brimd-hat-wearing witch’s face. It bore no signs of burn damage.
The witch’s coin.
—
Three kiloters away, in a small forest.
A faint purple teleportation circle flickered, and out stepped the golden twin-tailed witch wearing a wide-brimd hat.
“Hahaha! As expected, Witch Leah is invincible! Even against unbeatable foes, I can easily escape with teleportation magic!”
“Wait, the cost… the Pink Chalk of the Witch’s Guild for one teleportation spell… ahaha, it’s… it’s not that expensive. Just… just a day’s worth of als.”
“Ugh… I’ll have to get the client to reimburse for all these expenses.”
Leah opened her spatial pouch and began reviewing her inventory.
“A few firebombs, so burning catalyst, hmm…”
She buried her head deeper into the pouch.
“And the witch’s bank coin for first-tier Extre Fla teor… there’s only one left. I’ll need to retrieve it… retrieve… wait… retrieve?!”
Leah froze in the forest.
Then let out a blood-curdling scream.
“MY COIN!!!!!! MY COIN!!!!!!”
Reviews
All reviews (0)