LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 34
Chapter 34
Three Weeks of Vacation
He couldn’t even open his mouth.
It was such absurd nonsense that anyone who heard it would be left speechless.
It was the kind of lie that would make you laugh out loud and struggle to breathe.
But in front of that brazen determination, no one could utter a word.
“Marriage…? Are you…serious?”
Even Chief Anus, who hadn’t expected such an answer, stuttered momentarily.
“…Th-that…”
It wasn’t just the chief who stuttered. Even Aria, who had spoken so boldly, felt her face flush bright red, as if it were about to ignite.
“…No, there’s no point in asking any more questions. I’ve seen enough of those who only have big mouths at this age.”
Anus straightened his hunched back and stood up. Although he used his cane for support, his assertive posture was enough to impose authority.
“Follow me. A proper ‘conversation’ isn’t something to have in a place like this.”
As Anus stepped forward, Aria unknowingly followed her outside. Even Leo, completely baffled, subconsciously followed them out.
—
The place they headed to was deep within a lush forest. Once they were away from the village, there were no signs of human presence or any artificial structures.
Standing in a clearing within the forest, Anus looked at Aria and the others who had followed her and spoke.
“This place will do.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
Leo, who was more on guard than Aria, stood beside her. The way he was stroking his bracelet hinted at the tension he was feeling.
“This is a conversation between women, so men shouldn’t interfere.”
Snapping back at him, Anus pointed her cane directly at Aria.
“You, come stand over here.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Is the young lady deaf? Must the old woman repeat herself twice?”
At Anus’s stern retort, Aria instinctively stood in front of her. Once Aria was in position, Anus struck the ground with her cane and spoke.
“As you can see, I hate babbling on.”
It was a statement that naturally made one nod in agreement and tilt their head in curiosity.
For someone who claimed to hate ‘words’ to insist on having a ‘conversation’ was an inherently contradictory statement.
“That’s why I prefer the most direct means of ‘conversation.’”
At that moment, rocks began to rise in a circle from the ground, centered around Anus’s cane. In an instant, a circular formation was completed.
“Magic…?!”
Seeing magic similar to Leonardo’s, Aria immediately drew her sword.
“Old woman! What are you doing?!”
Leo also had his sword drawn, aiming it with an unusually agitated voice.
“I told you not to interfere.”
This time, a bolt of lightning struck down. An electric barrier was erected to prevent Leonardo from approaching. It seemed to have a soundproofing effect as well, because Leo’s loud shouts from beyond the barrier couldn’t be heard clearly.
“…More magic…!”
* * *
Aria wasn’t simply shocked because magic was being used. The true reason for her surprise was the sense of discomfort she felt, despite the magic producing the same effects as Leo’s, which made her even more cautious.
“Now we can finally have a proper ‘conversation.’”
“…Is this really a conversation?”
The circular stone formation and the wall of lightning—such eccentric behavior couldn’t be justified by the excuse of wanting a quiet chat.
“If you’re going to brandish a blade against me, then it’s not a conversation. You seem quite on edge for someone facing an old woman.”
“…You used magic first.”
Perhaps finding Aria’s attitude amusing, Anus let out a mocking laugh.
“Yes, that’s certainly a valid point.”
With a softened tone, Anus picked up another wooden stick and tossed it to Aria. Holding her sword in one hand, Aria caught the stick.
“…Why are you giving me this…?”
“If you fight with that stick instead of your sword, and manage to hit me even once, I’ll retract what I said and apologize. I won’t care if you decide to get married or have children.”
At those words, Aria’s face turned as red as a ripe autumn fruit. She was suddenly embarrassed, recalling the implications of what she had said.
“But if that fool Leo manages to enter this space and you haven’t hit me even once, forget about being lovers or anything else. It would be hopeless anyway.”
With that, Anus used her cane as a catalyst and started to release mana. Seeing this, Aria threw her sword aside and gripped the wooden stick with both hands.
‘Thanks to Leo, I know how to deal with magic. But…’
Anus’s magic was fundamentally different from Leo’s. It wasn’t just a difference in power or speed.
‘…Water magic?!’
The true nature of her magic was undeniably different. The fact that blades of moisture were flying at her without the use of a magic circle was proof of that.
Since countering with a mere wooden stick was impossible, Aria rolled to the sides, evading the liquid blades.
“You’re good at dodging.”
There was no time to worry about the taunts. She focused her energy on her core, quickly activating the mana within her body.
“Hoh, I see the ‘genius’ title wasn’t just for show. To be at three stars at your age…”
Three stars began to glow brightly, circulating mana through her body. Through two years of hard work and effort, Aria had already advanced her core to three stars.
“But your skills are unrefined compared to your talent.”
Suddenly, lightning began to strike. Flashes of electricity rained down on Aria like a torrential downpour.
‘…She’s definitely different from Leo.’
Now she could finally understand the discomfort she had been feeling with the continuous use of magic.
“How… How is she doing this without a magic circle…!”
Up until now, Anus had been using magic without any incantations, hand signs, or even a magic circle. And she had done so continuously.
“Your pretty eyes aren’t just for show, are they? But I have no obligation to answer that.”
CRACK!!
With a deafening roar, cracks began to form in the barrier of lightning.
“It seems I won’t have time to answer anyway.”
The sound of explosions echoed repeatedly. The cracks in the barrier widened with each successive explosion. In between these blasts, Anus continued to unleash her magic in rapid succession.
* * *
‘…I need to think calmly.’
In the midst of the chaotic battlefield, Aria calmly dodged the attacks while thinking.
Leo had always created a magic circle when casting spells. It was the same with her brother, Rios, so most magic likely required a magic circle.
Although auxiliary techniques like incantations or hand signs could be omitted, the essential structure of the magic circle couldn’t be skipped.
If that’s the case…
‘There’s only one thing I can think of right now.’
Ariasphil focused the mana from her core into her eyes. The sudden enhancement of her vision increased the strain on her eyes, but she didn’t mind.
With just a wooden stick, it was impossible to focus her aura to launch a powerful attack.
So instead of counterattacking, she concentrated on analyzing and strategizing.
[…You’re dodging pretty well, aren’t you~? Heehee~]
[Why don’t you let up a bit? It hurts my heart to see a pretty girl being tormented.]
Enhanced by mana, her vision began to reveal two figures that had previously been invisible.
Their forms and locations were too strange to be human, and their appearance was too mystical to be mere ghosts or spirits.
[She can see us! For real this time!]
[Really? This might be a good chance to change jobs.]
“Quiet down, will you?”
Despite Anus’s command, the mischievous spirits continued to giggle as they looked at Aria.
“…What are those…?”
“Well, if you’ve seen them, there’s no helping it.”
Anus fully unleashed her mana, causing the surrounding spirits to materialize. Not only the two spirits beside her, but also the smaller spirits around them became visible.
“…This is…”
“Spirits—more precisely, spirits that have settled in Doron.”
Aria, though not well-versed in magic, had heard of spirits before.
They were beings born from mana, with both life and intelligence. Spirits could exist anywhere there was mana and could appear at any time—they were the fairies of the magical world.
“I lacked talent as a magician. In terms of raw mana, I’m not even as strong as that kid who’s trying to break the barrier.”
Looking back, the amount of mana emanating from Anus wasn’t particularly overwhelming. The magic she used was powerful, but her mana output felt rather modest.
“But if I borrow the power of the spirits, handling a naive young lady like you isn’t difficult. Especially in the forest of my homeland.”
With that, everything began to make sense. The reason Anus didn’t need to draw a magic circle and why she could unleash powerful spells repeatedly was now clear.
‘So that’s why she chose this forest…’
Anus wasn’t at the top or even in the upper ranks as a spirit mage.
However, fighting in a place where she was born and had spent decades with the local spirits…
The spirits of that region, having deep bonds of affection with Anus, would inevitably support her with all their strength.
After all, that was the nature of spirits.
“From the way you’re listening to my explanation, it seems you’re ready to give up.”
KWAANG!
With a fierce explosion, the barrier of lightning completely shattered.
* * *
“Arias, young lady!!”
“Well, rather than flailing around, it might not be so bad to just let your beloved protect you.”
Despite the provocation, unexpectedly, Arias did not get angry.
Proving otherwise through this battle was all that was needed.
“Inis, Nimbus, let’s finish this.”
[Come on, just let it go a little. You’re so heartless.]
[It’s just because you’re not being honest. Remember last time, during the rain ritual…]
The two spirits, who had taken on human forms, giggled.
“Don’t say unnecessary things…”
Anus couldn’t finish his sentence. Sometimes, an old man’s intuition was advantageous and useful for detecting crises or fear.
The old woman’s experience was telling her.
“Nimbus… Inis…”
That girl over there is more dangerous than anything else.
-Hey, Nimbus and Inis, who are those ladies?
-I don’t know… Even if they look pretty…
Those two spirits had even been praised for their beauty by Leonardo.
By sheer luck, they had met Leo before her,
And had no doubt arrogantly received such compliments before her.
Just looking at those loathsome faces made her head boil, and the hand gripping her weapon tightened.
[What the… Suddenly, she’s brimming with killing intent?!]
[Anus!! Stop her quickly…!]
Crack!
With just the strength of one hand, Arias snapped a wooden stick in half. And at the same time—
Whoosh!
She threw one half of the stick straight at Anus.
“…!”
By the time she reacted, it was already about to collide with her face. She hastily defended, but in Arias’ cold fury, she wasn’t willing to allow even that small luxury.
The sound of arrows being fired continuously echoed.
Broken and splintered branches rained down like a torrential downpour instead of arrows.
“Shield!!”
[There’s no mana left to recharge the electric barrier!!]
“Damn…!”
Even if she got hit by those, she wouldn’t die. At most, it would just be painful.
The problem was…
‘One of those branches probably has the stick mixed in…!’
The condition to win the match was to hit the target with the stick. If that stick even grazed her amidst those showering branches…
“…Leo only taught you the bad things. But…!”
If she mobilized all the spirits around her to defend on all sides, she could block the hidden stick as well.
Rocks, gusts of wind, electric charges, and water sprays erupted around her, deflecting the branches. It was a weaker defense compared to a barrier, but it could at least block the branches.
[…Wait… That girl…!]
Focusing solely on the projectiles, she hadn’t confirmed where Arias had gone. The other spirits couldn’t locate her either due to their focus on defense.
[Where is she…?]
At that moment, they all looked up at the sky.
“Uwaaaaaa!!”
Arias had leapt into the air and was charging straight at Anus.
She hastily defended, but it was meaningless.
That blow was incomparably stronger than the simple probing attacks she had thrown earlier.
All defenses were pierced through, and the valiant fighter’s attack cleaved through the battlefield.
The attack had already struck.
Her loyal knight could only witness that magnificent sight at the very last moment.