Pink Hair Fluttered Like Cotton Candy as It Rushed Toward Me

Chapter 49

"What on earth... what am I looking at right now?"

Ibelin stared blankly ahead, having forgotten even whether she was breathing.

What filled her vision was a dark-brown wall.

But could that thing that was alive and moving really be called a wall?

Kuuugugugugu—!

The ground screamed.

A massive tide of mud surged in every direction, as if it were about to swallow the entire village.

Houses looked like they might collapse, and people looked as though they'd be swept away.

If this were a disaster, she should be screaming or running away.

But Ibelin couldn't move even a single finger.

The terror born of that overwhelming mass and force had petrified her feet to the ground.

'I need to stop that... can I even stop it?'

Impossible.

After all, natural disasters are things humans cannot defy with their own power.

But.

Kururururu!

An unbelievable sight unfolded.

The enormous tidal wave charging toward the direction where she stood suddenly changed course as if some invisible hand had grabbed it by the throat.

A turn approaching a right angle.

"...Huh?"

Her mouth fell open.

It was grotesque.

In a world governed by physical laws where inertia existed, for that enormous mass to alter its trajectory so smoothly was absurd.

It was an artificial phenomenon, as if someone were performing magic.

Swoooosh!

After the tide had passed.

What emerged once the dust settled was even more shocking.

"Huh?"

"T-this is..."

Groans burst out from all around.

The muddy ground, once covered in filth and trash, had disappeared.

In its place lay a perfectly leveled stretch of ground, cut and compacted as neatly as if measured with a ruler, with precisely carved drainage ditches on both sides.

In just a few seconds.

The village map had changed.

"Kwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Breaking the silence, a hearty laugh rang out.

It was Professor Wilhelm.

Ibelin moved her trembling legs and approached him.

"Professor... what is this?"

"Ah, Princess. You've come."

Wilhelm wiped away his tears and turned his head.

Ibelin flinched at the delight overflowing from his face.

"Did you see it? That beautiful trajectory!"

"What do you mean trajectory? That's a disaster! Who did this...?"

"A disaster?"

Wilhelm pointed his baton at the newly arranged ground.

"It seems Cassian del Parne was a genius far, far beyond what we expected."

"What... did you say?"

Ibelin wondered if she had misheard him.

"Cassian... del Parne?"

"Yes. That guy's work."

"..."

Ibelin's whole body trembled.

Her gaze went to the far distance, toward where the tide had stopped.

'That just now... so you're saying that was something a human made?'

By a mere freshman who was only twenty?

How much mana would you have to pour into it to make that possible?

No, the size of the mana pool isn't the issue.

He calculated every possible outcome from stimulating that complex terrain and controlled it?

'That's impossible.'

She couldn't understand it.

The magical common sense she had built over her entire life was being shattered by a single wave of that man's hand.

At that moment.

A strange emotion raised its head deep within Ibelin's chest.

An emotion different in nature from jealousy or envy.

'...I'm scared.'

It was fear.

The instinctive terror one feels before overwhelming power.

Ibelin bit down hard enough to draw blood on her lip.

It was unpleasant.

She could not bear the fact that, as royalty, she had been afraid of someone.

'No. That can't be.'

Ibelin instinctively denied that feeling.

This wasn't fear.

She had merely been physiologically startled by an unexpected situation.

Just as she was self-hypnotizing herself like that.

Swooo... thud.

Like a lie, the dust settled and the ground returned to complete silence.

The people stared blankly at the miraculously restored ground, now quiet as mice.

Then.

From one corner, a man raised his voice.

"All right! Everyone, snap out of it!"

The mud-covered man stood before the crowd, his eyes burning with brilliant light.

"It looks like the road work is done, so save the admiration for later! Let's get moving!"

"..."

"We've still got our part to do! If we leave it like this, the dirt will collapse again! We need to treat it with hardener before it sets!"

At his encouragement, the boy students who had been frozen began to come to their senses one by one.

"Ah, right. The well..."

"Come on, pick up your shovels!"

A strange heat filled the air.

This should have been a situation where they would run away in fear, yet the students began moving with fighting spirit instead.

As if they were a crowd from legend, following the back of a hero.

'...What is this?'

Ibelin was confused.

Even after seeing that absurd sight right in front of her, how could he say something like that?

And why were people responding to it?

Have they all lost their minds?

Or am I the only one who's weird?

"Princess, it's dangerous!"

A maid hurriedly stepped in front of Ibelin.

"The ground may still be unstable! You should step back..."

"Move."

Ibelin gave the order coldly.

"But, Your Highness!"

"I said move."

Ignoring the maid, Ibelin walked forward.

The ground beneath her feet was solid.

It was hard to believe this had been a muck-filled pit just moments ago; where she was standing now was the foundation of a road, perfectly packed down by an expert.

'I need to check.'

She didn't care if the hem of her dress brushed the dirt.

Her gaze was fixed on one thing only, the point from which that insane tide appeared to have begun.

Toward where 'that man' was.

* * *

The village had been small to begin with.

Especially if you walked along the well-paved road, you could reach the far end in just a few minutes.

Just a few minutes.

During that short time, tens of thousands of formulas and theories collided and screamed in her mind.

Yet there was only one conclusion.

'A human could never do this.'

Unlike water or fire, the earth element could not be created; it was an element that had to communicate with already existing matter.

And he communicated with this vast stretch of land?

He even controlled it to move exactly as commanded and produced results with perfect angles?

If that were possible, then he'd be a dragon or a spirit—there was no way he could be human.

There, on the other side, she spotted a man seated on the ground where the dust still hadn't fully settled, massaging his arms.

As she approached and cast her shadow over him, Cassian del Parne looked up.

There was no trace of dignity in those exhausted eyes looking up at her, and yet they still brimmed with vitality.

"What brings Your Highness here? Ugh!"

Cassian tried to stand and show proper respect, but his body seemed unwilling to listen and he staggered.

Thud.

He sat back down and frowned.

"Sorry. I'm in no shape to stand right now. My lower half has gone on strike."

"......It's fine."

Ibelin looked down at him coldly and said.

She had to brace her lower abdomen to keep her voice from trembling.

"More importantly, that magic just now. You were the one who did it, weren't you."

"Yes. Well. That's right."

Such a dry, matter-of-fact affirmation.

Ibelin could only gape at how nonchalant his answer was, as if he'd simply replied "Yes" to the question "Have you eaten?"

She wanted to ask.

What spell he had used, exactly.

How he arranged the mana, and how he processed the calculations for the terrain in real time.

"Just what in the..."

But she stopped herself as she was about to speak.

After all, it was obvious what he would say, even without asking.

He'd definitely say something like:

'I just did it? It opened up, so I opened it up?'

He'd probably mutter nonsense like that.

Just like last time.

It was a stupid question.

And every time she witnessed him flying through the sky, she felt pathetically foolish for, from the perspective of a commoner crawling on the ground, asking him how he did it.

Grit.

Clenching her teeth, Ibelin desperately held onto her reason.

She must not repeat the disgrace she had shown in Professor Iris's lab last time.

The dignity of royalty.

If she lost even that, she'd truly be nothing at all.

Ibelin desperately suppressed the primal fear she felt toward him and spat out the best words she could as someone in a higher position.

"......Good work."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

Cassian, who had performed something close to a miracle, sat there awkwardly as though it were nothing and gave a polite little bow.

Ibelin felt that same strangeness once again.

It was as if the person in front of her lived in a different dimension, in a world governed by different physical laws.

She had nothing else to say.

No, she couldn't say anything.

Ibelin turned away as if fleeing.

*

A little later.

By the time Ibelin got back to the village entrance, where Professor Wilhelm and the students were gathered.

Taptaptap!

Far off, a small figure came running, kicking up a pale cloud of dust.

Pink hair.

A tiny build.

It was a girl she had seen somewhere before.

Her face was deathly pale as she sprinted with all her might.

"Haa, haa! Yo, Your Highness!"

The running girl recognized her and came to an abrupt stop.

With an anxious expression, the girl bowed her head deeply.

She kept stamping her feet as if even that brief greeting was a waste of time.

Ibelin didn't want to waste even a single shred of emotion or energy right now.

"All right."

A brief permission.

Then Lily suddenly lifted her head again—

Dododododo!

She once again sped past Ibelin as if she had wheels attached to her feet.

The direction she ran in was obvious.

Toward where Cassian del Parne was collapsed.

Ibelin stood there, hesitating, and looked back.

She had run away because she was scared.

And yet that girl was running toward that monster as if she knew nothing of fear.

"...Ha."

A dry laugh escaped her.

Once again, self-loathing surged up inside her.

* * *

Watching Ibelin's retreating back, I barely swallowed the "What the hell?" that had risen all the way to my throat.

"......Hoo."

I thought I was really screwed.

The moment the skill wore off, I was worried my ankle would get wrecked.

Thankfully, I couldn't feel that pain.

My whole body was screaming so hard that the ankle pain got shoved to the back of the line by everything else.

"Ughhh."

'Am I really going to die like this?'

I can't think straight with pain like someone shoved my entire body into a blender and ground it up.

It feels like every muscle in my body has been torn apart.

Not only that, my heart hurt like crazy too.

I don't know biology, so I have no idea whether the pain was in my stomach, lungs, or heart.

Anyway, the chest pain was on a ridiculous level.

This is the first time I've ever been like this while using my ability.

'I'm screwed. At this rate, how am I supposed to use the remaining two clicks?'

How am I supposed to boil water?

Am I going to die from boiling water?

No way, no way.

'Let's just let Lucius throw money around.'

Man, this is really making me realize how carelessly I've been living my life.

I've got this amazing ability and I'm still out here digging up potatoes, so I only hit my limit at age twenty.

I had no idea there even was a limit.

I'd been careful because I thought I'd be struck down by God if I abused a limitless ability, but there was no need for that.

So there was a ceiling after all.

'But seriously, I'm in trouble. How am I supposed to get up?'

Even trying to twitch a finger made my joints crack and throw a fit.

Still, what could I do?

I couldn't just lie there sprawled out.

I still hadn't sprayed the hardener, and there was still cleanup work left.

I was the one who made this mess, so I have to finish it if I want to save face.

"Urrrgh!!"

I clenched my teeth and let out a beastlike groan.

I forced strength into my trembling legs and hauled my body upright.

The world spun and spun.

"Ugh..."

My stomach feels like total shit.

It had been ages since my gut felt like it was riding a roller coaster.

I feel like puking, but after going to the trouble of fixing the ground, I can't go and puke all over it right now.

It's not even coated yet; I can't throw up on the masterpiece I worked my blood, sweat, and tears into.

"Gghhh."

Ah, damn it.

If I'd known this would happen, I should've had Lucius get me some antacids or antispasmodics in advance.

I was desperately swallowing back the acid and trying to calm my stomach when.

Tadatadatak!

I heard the sound of feet kicking against the ground from the other side.

'...Fuck.'

I finally packed the ground down, and now someone's going to keep trampling over it and wrecking it?

I lifted my head, annoyance boiling over.

"......?"

Pink hair was fluttering like cotton candy as it rushed toward me.

It was Lily.

What happened to her composure, and why the hell was she here?

Her face was deathly pale, and she skidded to a halt right in front of me with a tearful expression.

"Haah, haah! Lord Cassian!"

"......"

"Are you, are you all right? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

She asked anxiously, grabbing my arm.

"Huh? Ugh!"

The moment I opened my mouth to answer, stomach acid came surging back up.

Damn it all.

Don't make me talk. I'm going to puke.

When I clamped my mouth shut and gagged dryly, Lily's eyes filled with terror.

"Oh no! You look terrible!"

Good grief, she's making a racket.

Especially when my stomach is already churning like this.

She fumbled in her arms and pulled out a small glass bottle, holding it out to me.

"Hurry, hurry and drink this!"

"......?"

What is this?