Chapter 3
A very serious problem had arisen.
If I had to rank it by danger, it was an issue serious enough to determine whether the world would be destroyed.
The problem was that I hadn't been sleeping properly for several days.
No matter how much I tossed and turned in bed, I couldn't settle down at all.
“Uuueee...”
I buried my face in the pillow and groaned before finally kicking the blankets away.
But no amount of kicking the blankets or tearing at my hair could undo what had already happened.
“I'm crazy. I'm absolutely crazy.”
It was too much.
Far too much.
Even if I'd only used intermediate-level magic, it would've had power somewhere around the advanced level.
But after seeing Lia get hurt, I got a little worked up and ended up unleashing an advanced spell at full power.
I really went on a spectacular rampage.
And far too many people had seen it.
The grocery store lady, the woodcutter, even the rookie guard who had only recently been assigned to the village—they'd all seen it, so that was that.
Even the lord and knights who had come to the village had seen my magic.
If they were going to come, they should've arrived earlier and kept me from having to use magic, or just not come at all.
Troublesome things were now a certainty.
The lord had already said he was coming to see me in person to thank me.
I could already imagine how this would go.
“Wow~ An advanced mage at your age? How amazing.”
“So, while you're at it, could you casually blow away that hill back there for us?”
...They'd try to use me as some kind of human wand, or perhaps a human siege weapon.
I really should've stuck to my first, second, and third principles: never taking a single step out of bed.
Once I started going out, I'd ended up in a situation where I had no choice but to keep going out.
It was while I was sighing and drowning in gloom that it happened.
An irritating giggle came from beside me.
“Don't take it so hard~ The villagers are safe thanks to you, aren't they?”
Lia was leaning on her crutches, looking at me with the corners of her mouth raised.
“And I don't know what would have happened to me either... if it weren't for you, Big Sis Luna.”
My eyes fell on Lia's leg, tightly wrapped in bandages.
It was the leg she'd badly injured when she was crushed beneath the collapsing pillar during the wyvern attack.
We'd done all the emergency treatment possible in the countryside, from applying crushed herbal juice to setting the leg in a splint, but there was no telling when it would heal.
Perhaps sensing my discomfort, Lia forced another smile and spoke.
“I'm really fine, you know? Don't worry too much, Big Sis.”
I silently reached out and stroked Lia's red hair.
Right. Lia was safe. That was enough.
If I hadn't been able to save her, I probably would've had restless dreams for the rest of my life.
“By the way, what are you going to do about the academy with your leg injured like that?”
A shadow fell over Lia's face.
For a brief moment, she bit her lip and looked at the floor before forcing a bright smile and answering.
“By the time I take the entrance exam next year, won't it have healed somewhat? I'm confident about the exam, but the money...”
Lia's expression darkened as her voice trailed off.
“Does academy tuition cost that much?”
“Yeah. That's why I was aiming for a scholarship...”
It would be difficult with her leg injured.
Even if it healed, the rehabilitation period and lack of practice would hold her back.
Swallowing her complaint, filled with regret, Lia forced a smile.
“Still, I like staying in the village and living with you and everyone else.”
“...How about not going to the academy and staying in the village?”
At my offhand remark, which I'd tossed out as casually as possible, Lia's eyes went round.
“Huh?”
“When you think about it, that's true. You can live perfectly well in the village, so is there really any reason to leave?”
I let my voice trail off as I studied Lia's expression.
Lia seemed to ponder it for a moment, but soon shook her head.
“Still, I want to give it a try at least once. It's the place I've dreamed of since I was little.”
The determination in Lia's eyes brought a proud smile to my face before I knew it.
Right. How could I possibly talk this stubborn girl out of it?
Come to think of it, entering the academy didn't necessarily mean she'd get caught up in every incident and accident.
The original story's incidents might have all ended while I was holed up in the forest.
Maybe I was worrying too much.
Just then, the sound of a carriage rattling came from outside the window.
“Huh? It's the lord.”
What was bound to happen had finally happened.
“He must have come to thank us for saving the village.”
“It'd be nice if that was all he wanted...”
*
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Carlos Avril, head of House Avril, which governs these lands.”
“I'm Lunaris Evermoon.”
I received the lord's courteous greeting while sitting on the edge of the bed.
I was supposedly recuperating after exhausting myself by using magic to save the village.
The fact that I was sitting up instead of lying down was already me showing sincerity in my own way.
An old knight frowned and looked as though he was about to say something, but the lord raised a hand to stop him first.
“She is someone who will one day rise higher than I have. Her current status is irrelevant.”
The lord's excessive politeness made my stomach feel even more unsettled.
Did he really think I didn't know this was all just a setup to drive me into becoming an overworked office worker?
“So, what brings you here?”
When I looked him straight in the eye and asked, the lord cleared his throat briefly.
Then a fragrant smell spread in from the kitchen.
It seemed Lia had gone and brewed tea and baked cookies after all.
I told her she didn't have to, though. And if she was going to bake something, egg tarts would've been better than cookies.
“I'll bring it.”
One sharp-eyed knight spoke up, apparently intending to help after seeing Lia's injury.
But before he could even move, my finger moved first. Click—magic. Why leave it to him?
A teapot filled with tea, teacups, and a plate of cookies floated through the air and neatly settled on the table between the lord and me.
I moved my finger again, naturally picked up a cookie, and popped it into my mouth with a happy munch—only to hear an exclamation burst out.
‘...Ah.’
I was so distracted by Lia's cookies that I unconsciously ended up using telekinesis.
Right in front of everyone, too.
As expected, the lord and the knights were standing there with their mouths hanging open.
“She looks so young, yet she's already reached the realm of an archmage...”
“Big Sis Luna is only sixteen.”
Lia had entered the room at some point and politely added that with a bright smile.
Then she winked at me with a proud look on her face.
I did good, right?
I glared daggers at Lia as she mouthed the words.
What you just did was an own goal and a team kill, Lia-lia... Just stay quiet for once.
“I wouldn't go so far as to call myself an archmage... I still can't use highest-tier magic.”
“But you are standing at the threshold of archmage, aren't you? As far as I know, one must at least be an advanced mage to use telekinesis freely. Am I wrong?”
I answered only with an ambiguous smile.
The lord pulled his chair closer to me.
His expression, as if he'd discovered a treasure, made me incredibly uncomfortable.
“I dare say that even if one searched the entire empire, mages like Miss Lunaris would be exceedingly rare.”
“That can't be...”
“Why not display that talent on a grand stage like the Imperial Capital, rather than in this small village on the frontier?”
I swallowed involuntarily.
There it was.
The very proposal I'd tried so hard to ignore and avoid.
“I'm really not that extraordinary.”
“Please, don't say that. Miss Lunaris, you will surely make a name for yourself as the greatest mage in imperial history, surpassing even the youngest archmage.”
“I'm just a child with a great deal left to learn.”
As I drank my tea because my throat had gone dry, the knights standing behind the lord began whispering.
“To humble herself even with skills like that...”
“As expected, the genuine article is different.”
“Isn't even the way she drinks tea elegant?”
“There must be some philosophy behind her short replies.”
“She's surely thinking of magic beyond anything we could imagine.”
Please... stop... stop misunderstanding me...
While I was losing my mind under the knights' merciless flattery, the lord began trying even more actively to recruit me.
“In the Imperial Capital, you will have access to far more opportunities to learn. The Magic Tower, the academy... If Miss Lunaris wishes it, joining the Imperial Mage Corps would pose no problem either.”
I'm sorry, but that's precisely why I'm holed up in the forest.
The Magic Tower, the Imperial Mage Corps...
I had no intention of walking willingly into a workplace where overwork awaited me.
“Surely the imperial family would support you as well. Not only financially, but with prestige and...”
“Baron Avril.”
I set down my teacup and cut off the lord's words.
“Do you know why I learned magic?”
The lord seemed at a loss for words at the unexpected question.
“I... well...”
“It was to protect myself and those around me. This forest and this village are precious to me.”
The lord's expression plainly revealed his predicament.
I continued, driving the final nail into the coffin.
“To me, magic is nothing more than a tool for protecting this place, which embraced me when I had nothing to rely on.”
“U-uhm...!”
The lord cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
My sincere answer had clearly thrown him for a loop.
The lord found it difficult to give up.
He kept trying to persuade me until the tea in his teacup had cooled by about half.
Watching him was like watching someone refuse to admit defeat in a hopeless game and throw a tantrum instead.
You lost! You lost, okay? Surrender already!
The lord was more persistent than I'd expected.
I was a merciless, cruel witch. I let out one long sigh and crushed him completely.
In the end, the lord rose from his seat with regret practically dripping from his expression.
“I understand. However... I will come visit from time to time to pay my respects.”
“There's no need to come all this way.”
“And this is a token of my gratitude for saving the village.”
“Oh, you shouldn't have.”
“Rather than compensation, please think of it as a small gift from me and accept it.”
If you put it that way... ahem.
I suppose I can't refuse.
The lord left with the knights, leaving a heavy pouch full of gold coins on the table.
Watching the lord's carriage recede outside the window, I clenched my fist.
Good. I've gotten past one hurdle for now.
I can just send everyone else who comes looking for me away the same way I did today.
I threw a few victorious uppercuts at the empty air before opening the pouch the lord had left behind.
Inside were gold coins, one, two...
...What the heck? This guy's surprisingly generous.
With this much, I won't have to worry about living expenses for a while.
As a bonus, I could research a treatment to help Lia's leg heal faster.
“Hmm, with this much, even if it's a hassle, going out to suffer once every three years might be worth it...”
Suddenly, I felt a steady gaze from beside me.
Lia was standing there on her crutches, staring at me with a fascinated expression.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
“No, it's just~ I've seen so many different sides of you lately that I'm fascinated, I guess?”
“...? What are you talking about?”
“No~ The ice magic, and the way you spoke so boldly to the lord... It just made me think, Wow, Big Sis Luna really is an amazing person~”
“I've always been this kind of person, you know?”
Even I found it funny saying that, but it was actually abnormal for someone to treat an advanced mage—someone who would be regarded as precious talent anywhere in the empire—so casually.
Well, that was part of why I liked this village.
When I shrugged, Lia suddenly burst out laughing.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It's just that when I think of you being ‘this kind of person,’ all I can picture is you lying on the bed with your belly button showing~”
“...Lia, come over here for a second.”
“Why, why...? My leg hurts...”
“Are you coming on your own, or do I drag you over?”
Lia approached me on her crutches with an uneasy expression.
“A little closer.”
I infused a little mana into my finger.
Then I gave her a flick on the forehead.
“Ow! Using mana is cheating!!”