“Mm… It’ll be fine, right?”
“Kkyuit? Kkyuit!”
At my question, Rutina tilted her head and chirped, then licked my cheek with her tongue.
Well, it wasn’t as if I’d said it expecting her to understand.
No matter how intelligent dragons were, there was no way a hatchling less than a year old could understand speech.
To be honest, I had sent along such excessive protection that there was no need to look for reasons to worry.
Even so, I couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.
Even if her body would be fine, what if she was overwhelmed by the fear of real combat and ended up with some kind of trauma? Thoughts like that.
Normally, no matter what happened, I handled it all in one go, so there had never been a problem, but if it was only Cassian there, then I was a little… uneasy.
Objectively speaking, he was strong, yes, but he was still lacking when it came to entrusting someone to him.
“Haa…”
Even so, I couldn’t very well follow them myself, because after saying I wouldn’t go when Cassian went, it wouldn’t do to say I had no choice and tag along just because Illiana was going.
Of course, I could have simply gone, but when I was already taking a little extra care of Illiana because she was weaker, if I went that far, it was obvious what Cassian would think.
At least in matters like this, I had to be fair.
How did things end up like this?
I thought back to the night before last, when Cassian hadn’t returned.
―――Teacher… Um, well. Can I go too?
It had been late at night, when I had turned off the light magic I’d kept floating and was lying down, talking with her.
When I heard the words that came from Illiana’s mouth, I could only doubt my ears for the briefest moment.
I wondered what had gotten into her for her to suddenly say something like that, but the gist of what she said was simple.
She didn’t know much about the person called Greta, but her son was pitiful.
Thinking about it, it was certainly something Illiana could easily empathize with.
After all, Illiana herself had a past in which she had lost her parents and had been forcibly confined by someone else.
Besides, from the way she spoke, I could tell she had agonized over whether to say it or not before finally speaking up.
I had even asked her if she would be all right being with others without me.
Only then did Illiana hesitate, but she nodded.
In the end, I had no choice but to swallow down my anxiety and let her go.
I couldn’t tell Cassian he could do as he liked, then say only Illiana couldn’t.
I was almost jealous of Rutina, who was so utterly carefree.
◇
Contrary to someone’s worries, Illiana was following the group smoothly.
Partly because she had built up quite a bit of stamina through their travels so far, and partly because now, even if unfamiliar people were beside her, she might feel wary, but she was no longer afraid.
Of course, the person called Bella, who tried to pat and touch her whenever she got the chance, was a little uncomfortable.
Even so, since Illiana knew there was no malice in those hands, it wasn’t to the point that she felt strong aversion.
Still, keeping up at the same pace the whole time was quite exhausting, but perhaps out of consideration for Illiana, the group slowed their pace a little, so she was able to follow without much trouble.
But if asked whether nothing had happened, when a huge wolf appeared from behind them midway through, she was so startled that she lost her balance, fell, and landed on her rear.
However, she did not panic. She moved her mana as she had learned and cast defensive magic, and thanks to Cassian taking care of it in the meantime, no serious problem occurred.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
Illiana didn’t want to admit it, but it was true that he was reliable at times like this.
During their travels, whenever something like a magical beast appeared, it was usually Cassian, rather than her teacher, who dealt with it.
Illiana brushed the dirt off and stood up, only to notice that her hand had scraped against a rough stone and was wounded.
It stung, and tears almost sprang to her eyes, but compared to what she had gone through in that terrible place in the past, it was nothing.
At that moment, Bella approached and snatched Illiana’s wrist.
Illiana instinctively grew wary and tried to pull her hand away, but Bella did not let go.
“Wait just a moment.”
Just as Illiana was bewildered, wondering what on earth she was doing, Bella briefly closed and opened her eyes, and the wound on Illiana’s hand began to heal little by little.
It looked just like what her teacher did for her.
“Wow…”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”
“Yes…”
Illiana was staring in admiration at her hand, which had healed in an instant, when she saw Bella’s hand reaching toward her head and leaned back to avoid it.
She was grateful, but that was a separate matter.
◇
A night passed, and they entered deep into the forest.
Since it was on the border between summer and autumn, the night air was quite chilly, but strangely enough, Illiana wasn’t cold at all.
That was because the faint warmth rising from within her body was far warmer than the heat of the campfire.
It was definitely thanks to the magic placed on her.
Illiana felt somehow reassured, as though her teacher were still watching over her.
As they continued onward through the forest, Cassian abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Then he turned his gaze toward a deep part of the forest on one side and focused, frowning as if something was strange.
“Cassian, what’s wrong?”
Draut tapped Cassian on the shoulder, but whether he didn’t notice or not, Cassian kept his mouth firmly shut and continued staring into the forest.
Just as Draut, unable to bear it, was about to call Cassian again—
“Over there… I think it’s over there.”
“What?”
At those words, everyone in the group looked in the direction Cassian was pointing, but there was truly nothing there except forest.
Trees stretched on and on, and not far in, the view was blocked by trees and undergrowth, making it hard to see anything.
“What are you talking about? There’s nothing over there.”
“Did you see wrong?”
However, Illiana was just barely able to see what Cassian was talking about.
When looking with ordinary eyes, nothing seemed out of place, but when she filled her eyes with mana and observed the mana, she could see the mana subtly wavering.
“Can you see it too?”
“Uh, just a little…”
It wasn’t because Illiana’s own magical level was high. It was purely because, since her resistance to mana was zero, her sensitivity was overwhelming.
“That’s probably a haze or a mirage. In places like this, it’s usually…”
Bella was saying something from behind them, but both Cassian and Illiana knew that wasn’t it.
Cassian strengthened his body first and leapt swiftly between the trees, heading in that direction.
At that, Illiana hurriedly ran after Cassian.
“Wait!”
“Hey, hey! Where are you going!”
She could hear the three left behind growing flustered, wondering what on earth was happening, but Illiana paid them no mind and ran forward, pushing through the undergrowth.
After running for a short while, they arrived right in front of it. It wasn’t far away, and in this dark forest, it was close enough to be visible to the eye.
Cassian was already stirring his hand through the place where the mana wavered, feeling around.
“Wow, that’s fascinating. If you look with your eyes, it’s hard to tell…”
It was just as Cassian said. If one looked carefully, there was a slightly suspicious spot, but at a glance, it simply looked like forest.
“U-Um, kids?”
Bella’s voice came from behind, as if she had caught up at some point, but Cassian ignored her and continued speaking.
“But this isn’t just an illusion. It seems like a barrier.”
“A barrier…?”
“You know, the thing that was placed on the house when you were first rescued. The one Master used didn’t have this kind of wavering, though.”
At those words, Illiana recalled that time, and remembered that she had indeed felt some unknown energy around the house.
It had been when she had just learned the basics of mana sight, so she hadn’t known what it was, but it seemed that had been a barrier.
“It probably makes anyone who doesn’t know about it naturally walk back out to the road…”
“…Can you undo it?”
“Yeah.”
As Cassian took out the staff he was carrying and pointed it at the barrier, Heiken grabbed Cassian’s shoulder from behind and shouted.
“Hey, what have you been doing since earlier?!”
“Just a moment.”
But Cassian paid him no mind and drew up his mana.
At the same time, the view before their eyes changed completely, as though a painting had been torn away, transforming into an entirely different sight.
A wide clearing spread out in the middle of the forest.
A house built from logs, somewhat large for a single person to live in; a small pond; and even a little field made off to one side.
The house was clearly maintained, and above all, some unknown crops were growing in the field, making it obvious that someone lived there.
“Th-This is the witch’s dwelling…?”
It looked somewhat ill-suited to the name of a witch, but if someone lived hidden this thoroughly in a place like this, then it had to be where the witch Greta had spoken of lived.
“Wh-What on earth is this…”
“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
Cassian’s triumphant expression was somewhat irritating, but even to Illiana, it was impressive.
Draut, who was standing beside her, had gone completely pale and was trembling.
While Bella, Heiken, and Draut were still stunned out of their minds, Cassian, who had broken the barrier, walked forward first.
After confirming that there didn’t seem to be any traps, Illiana stuck close behind Cassian and followed him.
Then—
“Duck!!”
“Eek…!!”
―――Kwaaang!!
Cassian swiftly snatched Illiana’s body and threw himself aside, rolling once across the ground.
Immediately afterward, a loud sound that seemed to shake her head assailed Illiana’s ears.
It had happened so suddenly that there had been no time to react.
When she finally came to her senses and turned her head, a large, sharp stone spear was embedded in the place where Illiana had been standing just moments before.
Of course, Illiana did think that since she was covered in the protection her teacher had placed on her, she probably would have been fine even if it had hit her.
But if not, the thought that she had nearly died just now flashed through her mind, leaving her a little dizzy.
Just as Illiana took Cassian’s hand and barely managed to stand, a voice came from above.
“Wh-wh-who, wha, wh-wh-what are you…?!”
Brown hair so long it reached below her knees, a figure that could hardly be called tall, and a youthful face.
Unlike what they had heard, she was not wearing a long robe, but a short-sleeved top and skirt that were easy to move in. Even so, there was no doubt to anyone who saw her that she was the witch.
Though she was trembling, what she held in her hand was unmistakably a magic staff. Pieces of stone floated around her, revolving with her at the center.
Above all, she was floating in midair and flying about.
She was most certainly the witch.