Episode 9: The Stormy Mountain (4)
“Sid! Wake up, Sid! Are you alright?”
A familiar voice rang out within his hazy consciousness.
A ray of light rose in his vision, which had been as distant as though shrouded in fog.
Only then did his body begin to register feeling—every joint as heavy as a thousand pounds, his head throbbing.
By the time he finally came to his senses, Chepeshu and Antonio, who had gone to the village, had returned.
Chepeshu and Antonio examined the boy with worried eyes.
“Abbie……!”
When his parched lips parted, the old monk’s expression brightened.
Soon, with Antonio’s help, Sid raised himself up, and the others who had been watching over him with concern entered before him.
Inside the main hall, its door open.
Through the wide-open door, he saw the charred clearing outside.
White clouds touched the crimson sun and burned red, and between the cleared clouds, the sun that had finished its work was setting.
The storm had ended.
“We were worried sick, you brat! To think you fought off bandits… why did you do such a thing!”
Behind Chepeshu, who was shouting loudly, Diallo stood with his arms crossed.
Thick cloth was wrapped around his chest and stomach, and whether he had come to his senses before Sid woke or not, he was glaring at the scene with fierce eyes.
“Here, here, drink this. Diallo said you were struck by lightning. Are you alright?”
Antonio dipped him a cup of water and held it out.
The place where he had been struck was definitely the clearing outside the main hall.
But if Sid was now inside the hall, perhaps Diallo had carried him in.
As moisture touched his dry, stinging throat, a fit of coughing burst from within.
“Cough! Cough!”
“Drink slowly. You’ve suffered much.”
“Are you alright? We were really worried!”
“You really have no fear……. No, you were brave, kid!”
As Sid exhaled, the monks watching rejoiced as if it were their own affair.
He could hardly believe these were the same brothers who used to glare at him sullenly whenever he brought up magic.
Even Chepeshu, his back still turned to the surly Diallo, spoke in a delighted voice.
“You used magic to defeat the bandits, they say? Oh, you reckless boy. Whatever am I to do with you…….”
The old man, twitching his white beard, felt both distress and pride at once.
Diallo, meeting Sid’s eyes again, twitched his thick eyebrows.
“Ahem!”
The bandages wrapped around his body were stained with red blood; in truth, he was the one more injured than Sid.
It was Sid who had dragged the fallen Diallo into the study during the downpour.
Sid tried to rise, his body swaying.
But as the boy stood and staggered, Diallo’s thick arm shot out and held him upright.
“Ahem. This kid defeated a bandit that even I couldn’t beat. Magic, or whatever it is—it’s not something to be sneered at.”
“Huh?”
Sid turned his gaze toward that gruff voice.
Diallo did not meet the youngest’s eyes.
He merely glared at the other monks for no reason.
Especially Murphy, who had wet himself before Rowark, could not meet anyone’s gaze.
When Diallo glared again, the monks awkwardly opened their mouths.
They had probably never imagined themselves saying such things.
“Thank you, Sid. All this time, I thought your magic studies were nonsense……. I didn’t know it was that incredible. I’m truly sorry.”
“T-that’s right! You protected the monastery! Even Brother Diallo said you saved him!”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant!”
Diallo’s voice rose at the mention of himself.
Soon, Chepeshu and Antonio burst into laughter.
The burly man’s face that Sid looked up at was burning red.
‘Whew…….’
A choked joy bloomed in the boy’s chest.
He had never known that being acknowledged by others aside from Chepeshu—and especially by Diallo, who had regarded him as a thorn in his side—could bring such happiness.
The surging joy in the boy’s chest rode a hot wave up to his throat.
Just as a flood of heat reached his eyes, Chepeshu’s warm embrace pulled him in.
How many times had the boy surprised him in just half a month?
The old monk felt an indescribable joy at the young boy’s growth.
“Wasn’t that too reckless… you should have just hidden…….”
The musty smell of monastic robes and the old man’s familiar scent.
The image of Diallo telling him to hide flashed by, and Rowark in the blazing flash of lightning came to mind.
Only then did it truly sink in that he had defeated a powerful enemy named Rowark.
The boy burst into tears.
Feeling his own chest grow damp, Abbot Chepeshu hid the boy’s tears.
It had already been half a month since he obtained the passbook and began training in magic.
The boy had defeated Rowark Powell, a former knight.
“Did I do well?”
“Of course, you brat! No, ‘well’ is an understatement? He was a scoundrel who put Diallo in such a state… but still, take better care of yourself from now on!”
Amidst the overwhelming joy, Sid felt the passbook in his embrace.
It was a victory that would have been impossible without her.
As if sensing that he was conscious of her even as he asked Chepeshu, the passbook answered calmly.
[You did excellently.]
* * *
“Then I’ll be off! Thank you for everything!”
“You stay healthy too!”
“Hey, since it’s come to this, you could have become a fine monk! I’m disappointed, kid!”
“Puhaha! You’ve got a point!”
A boisterous farewell sent the boy off.
It was a reaction he could never have imagined when he first brought up enrolling.
Around the time petals fell and green buds sprouted.
The promised academy admission drew near.
Sid, having packed his bindle, scratched his head and smiled brightly.
His prickly buzz cut stood out more than ever.
“Then I’ll head down! Stay healthy!”
“Goodbye!”
“Be well!”
Receiving the brothers’ send-off, Sid headed toward the high stone stairs.
Even Diallo, with his fierce face, watched the youngest from the monastery threshold.
When Sid glanced back, the raised hand seemed to show how much the distance between them had narrowed.
Chepeshu and Antonio also watched his departure with pleased expressions.
As he stepped on the stairs he had until now only watched from afar, the boy’s heart pounded.
“Hoo!”
Looking at the mountain blooming with vibrant life, Sid moved his feet.
Though he could chat with the passbook whenever he was bored, the world he was seeing for the first time in his life captivated the boy’s gaze.
Amidst the scent of lush green grass, Sid opened his mouth contentedly.
“That man named Rowark. He was quite a strong opponent, right?”
His first battle using magic.
No, his first battle ever, so the boy had been excited for three full days.
That day, dangling the Magic Sword to draw in the lightning had been Sid’s idea.
He had seen lightning strike tall trees several times, and since the monastery had an intentionally installed lightning rod, he had simply imitated the idea.
Of course, the passbook’s help had been indispensable in making this reckless idea possible.
But the reply he received was rather indifferent.
[There are many knights and powerful individuals in the world. Rowark belongs to the lower ranks.]
“You must be something else.”
He paid no heed to the remark that deflated his heroic tale.
He simply descended the long stretch of stone stairs, looking at the overgrown thickets and flowers he was seeing for the first time.
Since the monastery was on high ground, dense woods that could not be seen there spread out before him.
Feeling his dream draw closer with each passing moment, the boy’s heart thumped.
“Right, what was that ‘synchronization’ you mentioned before? Can I use it right away?”
He suddenly recalled the voice he had heard previously.
Hadn’t the passbook spoken of unfamiliar things, like the Circle showing affinity with electric magic, or performing a ‘synchronization’?
To this, the passbook answered as if it had been waiting.
[Based on the
“Really?”
[It is true.]
A smile spread across his face at the unexpected reward.
It had been quite a reckless method, but it was amazing to receive compensation like this.
In fact, among some mages, there were those who deliberately chased lightning to raise their affinity with electric magic, so it was not even unusual.
“Heave-ho.”
His footsteps continued as he spotted traces of wild beasts and traveling merchants.
Of course, even after descending this mountain, he still had to walk three more days to reach the academy.
But the boy thought he would feel as though his dream had already come true just by making it down this mountain.
As he passed the narrow stone path and reached the ridge, something unfamiliar came into view.
“Haah, what am I going to do about this. This is trouble.”
“Hee-haw!”
“Snort… snuffle!”
The two ponies stamped their hooves, blocked by a rock sitting in the middle of the road.
The coachman, having climbed down from the carriage, tried to move the stone, but clicked his tongue at the boulder that would not budge.
It seemed a large boulder had rolled down during the storm three days prior.
“Nngh! Haah, push….”
The coachman tried to drag the rock alone, but it did not move an inch.
Soon, Sid approached from afar and peered; the coachman laughed hollowly and gave way.
The boy in a shabby ash-gray monastic robe, his skin burned black from the sun, and his head shaved in a buzz cut—he looked like a monk on a pilgrimage no matter who saw him.
“The road seems blocked?”
“Hmm? Ah, well, that’s right. I was delayed by the storm and was about to turn back. Who knew something like this would happen. Sigh… even if I call for help, it’d take a full day.”
The coachman answered with a hollow laugh.
The sight of him wiping sweat with his calloused hands was almost pitiful.
Standing before the rock, Sid wreathed himself in the Magic Sword he had trained with.
When he swung his arm against the boulder, a tremendous explosion rang out.
BOOM!
“Goodness gracious!”
The coachman, who had been glancing over, jumped in fright.
Seeing the rock scatter into a pile of rubble, the coachman’s mouth fell open.
Of course, the rock had not completely vanished from the spot, but thanks to it shrinking to a size Sid could lift, he kicked the stones to the side of the road.
Sid helped him and smiled bashfully.
“My, are you a monk who’s mastered the Iron Fist? Hehe, my luck is good! I was worried sick about what to do with that rock! Thank you very much!”
“Not at all, I’m happy I could help. And I’m a magic academy aspirant!”
“A magic academy aspirant? Hehe! I’ll believe that!”
No matter how one looked at him, the boy saying this was clearly a monk.
But the coachman simply smiled broadly at Sid, as if such details did not matter.
Perhaps people outside the monastery were well-disposed toward monks.
“A magic academy aspirant?”
Then, the firmly closed carriage door opened.
The coachman urged the horse on while kicking away the scattered stones, and through the open door appeared the owner of the voice.
The figure leaning out, backlit by the sun, seemed to glow with a halo like an angel.
“Wow, did you break that rock? You look about the same age as me!”
“Huh… huh?”
A soft, beautiful voice with a playful tone.
Even though he had already heard a woman’s voice through the passbook, to Sid, a member of the opposite sex was a being he was seeing for the first time in his life.
Moreover, if she was around his age, there was nothing more to be said.
The girl leaning out of the carriage shouted with a bright smile.
“Mister! Let him ride with us! He’s our benefactor, so we should at least do that!”
“Hehe, of course! Which direction are you heading, monk? If it’s the same way, please get in.”
An attitude bright even toward a stranger.
The boy looked as though his soul had left him.
As soon as he pointed toward the city where the horses were headed, the girl sitting in the doorway pulled him inside.
A white arm, contrasting with his sun-baked black skin.
Whenever the girl opened her mouth, his heart thumped, and in the moment she grabbed his arm, a fresh floral scent spread.
“Sit here! Don’t mind if your clothes are dirty! Hehe!”
At the girl’s bright smile, Sid lost his words.
A white dress as pure as jade, matching her snow-white skin.
The brightly shining blond hair above it brought to mind a princess from a fairytale.
And the green eyes that met his shone as though he were seeing an emerald he had only ever heard of in stories.
The first woman Sid had met since coming down from the mountain.
The girl the boy had met made his heart pound with an inexplicable force.
—To be continued in Episode 10—