Chapter 66
In place of Al, Ray took up a position as my guard. However, there were no enemies nearby; the only people around were members of the Romelia Unit. It hardly seemed like a situation that required an escort.
"Ray. I'm fine on my own, so you can return to your training if you'd like."
"No, I just finished."
Ray shook his head while wiping himself down with a towel. Al and Ray were both far too worried.
"I'm fine. You two worry too much."
"No. We've been under surveillance ever since we came to this island."
Ray shook his head. It was true that ever since we had come to Merka Island, I had occasionally felt someone's gaze on me. The ones watching us were always children. Apparently, there were people on this island who did not think well of us.
"I've received that report. Since it hasn't caused any actual harm, I thought we'd decided to leave it alone?"
"Yes. Their surveillance is clumsy, so we can safely ignore it. However..."
Ray trailed off. His expression showed that he was unsure whether he should say anything.
"If something has happened, report it to me. I will decide what to do."
"Y-yes. Actually, last night we sensed someone's presence around the mansion. Al and I went to investigate, but..."
"So you couldn't find anything?"
Ray lowered his chin in response to my question.
"We couldn't even find a trace. So we have no proof, but..."
Apparently, Ray had hesitated to report it because he had no physical evidence. However, his eyes held absolute certainty.
"There may be someone on the island skilled enough to evade our pursuit. Please be careful."
I scrutinized Ray as he issued the warning.
"Wh-what is it?"
Under my gaze, Ray's freckled cheeks flushed, and he twisted his body as though trying to hide his bare body.
When he got embarrassed like that, it made me uncomfortable to watch. Yet the body he was trying to hide was toned, its muscles casting deep shadows.
"I was just thinking how much you've grown."
I nodded thoughtfully.
When I had first met him, Ray's skin had been sickly pale, and he had hardly any muscle. He had seemed as feeble as a daikon grown in the shade, and he had looked far more suited to being a civil official than a soldier.
I had initially worried about whether he would be all right, but at some point he had suddenly begun to grow. Now he was beginning to display talent that rivaled Al's.
"Really? It makes me happy to hear you say that, Romelia-sama."
Ray's face reddened further as he fiddled with his blue hair. He looked up to me and always called me Romelia-sama. But I imagine that will not last forever.
If Ray continued to grow at this rate, being knighted would not be beyond his reach. Once his increasingly faint freckles disappeared, he would surely become a handsome, well-built man. Women would not leave him alone then. If beautiful women began vying for his attention, I would not stand a chance. And if he was lucky, a noble family might even offer to take him as a son-in-law.
Perhaps I should be the one to find a family with a suitable daughter and arrange a good match for him.
Perhaps I should look for marriage prospects for Al and Ray when we returned to the kingdom. As I wondered whether there might be a suitable noble lady somewhere, a wave of hot air struck my cheek.
The source of the heat—more intense than sunlight—was the red-haired Al. He had created a fist-sized ball of fire above his raised right hand.
Al could use fire magic. Apparently, he was about to begin magic training. He thrust his right hand forward, and the fireball flew off in a powerful arc before falling to the ground. It burst on impact, scattering flames and heat before vanishing.
"Magic really is amazing, no matter how many times I see it."
I nodded as I watched Al's magic. At the royal capital of Laon and the capital of my homeland, Glam, I had seen drills involving soldiers who used magic. Even compared to those soldiers, Al's magic was in no way inferior.
"Yes, it's fairly decent."
Beside me, Ray watched Al's magic with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.
Apparently, Ray prided himself on being better than Al when it came to magic.
Al was certainly impressive for someone who could use magic this well through self-study alone. Even so, he still fell short of Ray.
Ray possessed an innate talent for grasping and controlling the wind. In fact, on our way to Merka Island, he had manipulated the wind with only a few brief pointers from Captain Maurice. Using magic was said to require a rare talent, but Ray likely possessed an even more exceptional gift than most.
I let out a small sigh.
"Is something wrong, Romelia-sama? Is something troubling you?"
Noticing my sigh, Ray turned toward me.
"It's nothing."
I answered while looking ahead, but that was a lie. I could not tell Ray and Al that they were the source of my concern.
Al and Ray. Their growth was cause for celebration. But that very growth had brought one problem to the surface.
Mages were said to have three stages.
The first stage consisted of people who possessed the magical power needed to use magic but lacked the knowledge and techniques to control it. They could not use magic without magic tools, devices that assisted in casting spells. Most people with magical talent fell into this category, including Captain Maurice.
The second stage consisted of people who could use magic through innate talent alone, without magic tools. Al and Ray belonged to this category. However, their magic depended on their individual traits and talents, so its range of applications was limited.
For example, Al could create flames, but he could not create and control wind like Ray. Likewise, Ray could not create flames like Al.
Being able to use magic without training or education was certainly impressive. However, the first-rate mages I knew could freely create lightning and flames. Sometimes, they could even make themselves disappear.
That was the third stage—the level at which mages were called true mages.
Al and Ray had shown tremendous talent. But talent alone was not enough to reach the third stage and become true mages. They needed instruction from a mage with extensive knowledge and experience.
If possible, I wanted to find the two of them a good teacher. However, skilled mages were rare and not easy to find. There was one person I knew, but we were not on good terms, so I could not ask her for help.
This was an even greater and more difficult problem than finding a wife for Ray.
I looked away from Al as he practiced magic and turned my attention to Zeze and Jini, who were clashing wooden swords.
Black-haired Jini launched a series of attacks against Zeze. However, the strikes were not particularly sharp.
Zeze weathered Jini's attacks, then swung his wooden sword in a counterattack, his blond hair streaming behind him. His attack was somewhat sharper than Jini's earlier strikes. However, it failed to connect with Jini.
Against Zeze's attack, Jini merely leaned aside, crouched, and took half a step back. That alone was enough for Jini to evade every one of Zeze's attacks.
"Jini's evasions are excellent."
I nodded without thinking. Jini had completely read Zeze's attacks.
Zeze attacked boldly, but Jini avoided it again. Then, flowing directly from that evasive motion, Jini thrust his wooden sword.
Jini's wooden sword stopped precisely at Zeze's throat. It was a perfect point.
"Yes. If we're talking only about reading an opponent's attacks, Jini would rank near the top of the Romelia Unit."
Ray, who had also been watching the two of them spar, nodded.
Strength, though spoken of as a single thing, is made up of many different factors.
Al and Ray possessed outstanding power. But Otto was stronger in terms of raw strength, Kyle was faster, and the twins Gran and Ragun had superior technique. Jini's ability to read his opponent's attacks could also be considered a form of strength.
"Even so, war is another matter entirely."
When I murmured this, Ray nodded.
Al and Ray were front-line soldiers, but they were also commanders who led units. Once someone became a commander, it was not enough simply to swing a sword and defeat the enemy.
"In war, the ability to command and deploy soldiers and a thorough understanding of tactics are more important than individual bravery. The ability to keep the soldiers' spirits high is also a strength that should not be underestimated."
"That would be Zeze, then."
Ray nodded and shifted his gaze to the blond Zeze.
Zeze's personal martial prowess was not particularly high. However, his normally cheerful personality made him popular with the soldiers. The soldiers in the unit he led also tended to be cheerful, perhaps because his attitude rubbed off on them.
"A good atmosphere among the soldiers contributes to high morale."
I nodded while watching Zeze. Individual martial prowess could be compensated for if there were enough strong soldiers. But no amount of brute strength could raise morale. Zeze possessed an irreplaceable talent.
As I spoke with Ray, the sound of a bell reached us from the foot of the mountain. The bell tower at the church in the harbor was ringing. They said the sound of this bell signaled breakfast.
"Shall we head back?"
When I urged him to return, Ray lowered his chin in agreement.