Gazing up at the clear and boundlessly high sky, I was seized with a sensation that I might just tumble into the expanse beyond the heavens.
However, it wasn’t a feeling of fear but rather one of anticipation, as if I expected to drown in that beautiful blue. The sparse clouds, indicative of early autumn, prompted me to wonder what they might feel like if I could embrace them.
Ah, speaking of clouds, last week Margit sent me a letter. She managed to intercept a caravan headed to the Imperial Capital and entrusted them with a message for me. Judging from the contents, it seems the letter was written just before my arrival and has only just reached me.
The letter was mostly about updates on her situation. As expected, there’s some early news—Heinz has gotten Mina pregnant. With her slender build, her condition became noticeable in just two months, and before long, the rumor of her pregnancy had spread throughout the manor. Heinz holds the second-fastest record for the shortest time between marriage and pregnancy within the estate.
Well, that works out to about a month after marriage, not quite enough to surpass our neighbor’s grandfather who fathered a child with the help of a fairy coin back in the day.
It seems I’ve become an uncle. Truly, a cause for celebration. As I’ve experienced in my past life, family celebrations are always delightful occurrences.
I do wish to send a congratulatory message, but I lack the time. Fortunately, with the profits from this trip, I can now expect to write a reply. I think I should at least manage to send my wishes.
However, why am I contemplating all this while resting my head on a friend’s knee?
“Are you feeling unwell?”
Of course not, I thought to myself, as I gazed at Mika’s beautiful face looking down at me as if I were some strange creature.
It’s true I suggested resting; I was feeling fatigued from a lack of magical energy and the strain of rapid processing in my mind. But how one even comes to the idea of offering a knee as a pillow is beyond me. If questioned about this, I wouldn’t have an answer. Nevertheless, it felt more comfortable than using my own arms as a pillow, so I ended up resting my head there without much resistance.
And now, it’s comfortable to the point of being problematic. Thanks to regular training, my legs have been getting firmer, unlike Mika’s, which provide a perfectly pleasant amount of softness. It’s strange, because Mika should also have developed strong leg muscles from riding trips with me.
“Anyway, your hair has grown again… it seems to grow quickly.”
Ah, that’s right, this is my first experience with a knee pillow in this life—Margit didn’t have knees to offer, after all. As he spoke, Mika took a strand of my elongated hair and inspected it closely.
The faint pulling sensation on my scalp made me realize—ah, this is… I’m being played with.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Nothing much, just got a little bored. Your hair feels nice to the touch, so I couldn’t help myself.”
It appears my hair has been intricately braided. Indeed, it’s about time since my hair tips were growing past my neck, and the bangs were starting to bother me, but such meticulous styling is leaving me speechless.
Hey, stop picking flowers, stop braiding it, and don’t decorate me like this! What on earth are you doing, my friend? Decorating me like some princess isn’t flattering. This kind of thing suits Eliza perfectly well, but for me, the best I could hope for would be to be likened to a wild grass field.
“Anyway, you’re done. All you need to do is sit up for the finishing touch. Can you lift your head a little?”
Since I was borrowing his knee, I couldn’t argue much. So, following his request, I used my abdominal muscles to lift my head slightly and felt one part of my newly braided bangs being moved to the back. Ah, it’s called a ‘cathusha braid,’ if I’m not mistaken—a style popular in the city, and I’ve seen many women adorn their heads this way.
No way, doing this to me—what kind of punishment is this?
“If you’re so interested in playing with my hair, Mikaa, why don’t you grow yours out?”
“Hmm? Oh, it’s fine with me. It suits short, but when it grows, it becomes too curly.”
Casually saying that, he added more daisies to my hairstyle. Did I do something to deserve this?
At any rate, my headache has eased up, so it’s about time to free my head from this. I would prefer not to get caught in this state by the approaching patrol officers.
“Ah, they’re here.”
Damn, they saw…
—
It’s rare for a god to directly pass judgment on someone for blasphemy; usually, they’ll just send down an apostle, so minor mockery or jokes are considered par for the course. However, if someone nearby overhears this and starts a real fight with a clergy member, it’s not treated as divine punishment.
—
“So, you attempted to capture them while on errand duty… right?”
“Yep, something like that.”
Henrik von Lüning, a veteran patrol officer of the Threefold Empire with sixteen years of service since his knighthood, dedicated his life to guarding the trade routes of the empire, a non-landed but well-respected knight. Even so, this was the first time in his life he’d encountered something like this.
Leading seven riders along a less-traveled road, a raven with a message tied to its leg flew towards him. It wasn’t uncommon for familiars used by sorcerers to seek aid and deliver messages to nearby patrols.
But instead of the usual distress call, the message read: “We’ve captured brigands; can you take them off our hands?”
While this was surprising, it wasn’t unheard of. Occasionally, adventurers with mage companions, or benevolent mages themselves, would apprehend too many outlaws for their own hands and request assistance.
Yet, being summoned by two handsome teenagers who looked like they weren’t even of legal age was certainly unexpected.
One dressed in male traveler’s garb, looking like a beautiful man, the other fair-skinned and adorned with daisies in his hair like a maiden of the fields—it left him entirely at a loss how to react.
Had this been a simple thief report, he might have nodded in approval and ruffled their heads in encouragement. But when told that they had captured and incapacitated numerous bandits, he was left wondering how a grown man and renowned warrior should appropriately respond. Even he, famous in the area for his experience, was left without an immediate answer.
“Ah… Lord Lüning, as it stands, twenty-four of them… they’re… well, covered in something. They all seem alive.”
“Here, eight of them have been… buried up to their necks.”
By the end, even the brigands seemed pitiful, unmistakably beyond the capabilities of ordinary humans. Clearly, a sorcerer or mage, or some fairy magic, was at work here.
“We are associated with the Magic Academy, and we have modest knowledge of magic.”
“Yes, I am a student auditor at the academy. He is an apprentice under a professor with some skill in magic.”
Modest? Some skill? What were these two thinking? Two of them captured over thirty armed adults?
Examining the crime scene suggested a direct, no-holds-barred fight. Judging from the lack of thumbs on the captured men, it was clear that was how they’d been rendered harmless.
Nothing seemed normal. However, the tokens they presented were genuine, glowing blue when verified, as a fake would have glowed red.
“Report! We’ve found what appears to be a campsite nearby! A carriage with the empire’s seal has been discovered, which seems to have been looted!”
“Signs of hasty burials have also been found. What shall we do?”
To rally his equally perplexed subordinates, Lüning rubbed his temples and focused his thoughts. Viewing these two not as children but something much more formidable made it easier for him to act as an adult.
“Understood. Please wait a moment. I’ll draft a letter of commendation after the inspection.”
At any rate, there was work to be done. To ensure the duo received their reward, he’d need to check for criminal records of the brigands, count them properly, and draft a comprehensive commendation letter, as underage minors wouldn’t receive their reward if he didn’t follow protocol. Thoughts of lecturing them on their rashness as children crossed his mind but were quickly dismissed.
There are outliers in the world—first-time soldiers capturing knights’ heads, fifteen-year-olds slaying dragons. Why couldn’t two twelve- to thirteen-year-olds subdue bandits?
Convincing his senses and rationale, the knight moved onward to inspect the faces of the fools sealed in mortar.
—
With expressions heavy with unspoken emotions, the patrols led the bound brigands away.
Ah, well, if two kids could disable so many bandits, one of them looking ridiculous with flowers in his hair, I suppose it’d be natural for spectators to question their sanity.
“Looking forward to getting our payout, huh?”
Upon receiving the commendation letter, Mika observed me desperately trying and failing to remove the flowers from my hair without giving a second thought. The braiding itself was well done; in fact, it resolved the irritation of my overgrown hair. I might even consider doing this again in the future.
“Life will be a bit easier now. But are you sure this is alright? Splitting the reward?”
“Of course, it’s fine. I didn’t do nothing, after all.”
Mika, cheerfully waving the commendation letter, suddenly grew somber and asked a pointed question.
It was my suggestion to split the reward. Although I had faced the bandits head-on, Mika identified the enemy first and skillfully prevented a surprise attack thanks to his quick reflexes—I had suspected it from the beginning but wasn’t certain. He also utilized earth magic effectively during the fight, turning the ground into mortar to hinder the enemy’s movements. Such support was invaluable to me, accustomed to operating alone before. Binding and capturing the bandits later was another significant contribution. I alone couldn’t have done that; I didn’t have enough ropes, and keeping them stunned for long would have drained my magic. Cutting their tendons was never an option.
In conclusion, his assistance proved crucial.
“Or is the knee pillow not enough payment?”
“…Really, you’re something else.”
Seeing him truly deep in thought, I teased him casually, which brought his usual smile back. Ah, he does look better when smiling.
“Come on, let’s move. We’d like to arrive before sunset. We’ve been saving resources camping for three days now; I really miss taking a bath.”
“Got it, let’s hurry then.”
We mounted our horses and carried our modest spoils back on track.
The swords we took, by the way, were only one of them. I couldn’t possibly carry all seven; they’re too heavy, and attaching even that one to my saddle was stretching the carrying capacity. I simply took the best-looking sword from the mercenary leader, though there were others I would have liked if they were lighter or there was a better way to carry them.
Incidentally, this errand we were on was a direct request from Lady Agrippina herself. The reward was a hefty one dragume and—having become an adventurer—I’m starting to think my sense of money is going to be thrown off. With the expenses generously covered by ten libra and the bonus of being able to keep any leftover funds, one couldn’t help but be a little stingy, right?
We’ve been camping our way to Vstroo, a small town in the far northern reaches of the empire, positioned northwest of the Imperial Capital. Centered around the magistrate’s estate, it manages the surrounding manors and serves as a hub for supplies—a routine provincial city.
However, this is where a celebrated “replicator,” a master in the art of magically copying books, resides, according to Lady Agrippina. Originally based in the capital, this particular artisan reportedly grew tired of the bustling crowds and extravagant requests, returning to this hometown in his later years.
Magically-copied books are said to be extraordinarily complex, and mostly, impoverished students—occasionally starving researchers or even professors—do it by hand, painstakingly writing every word on parchment. Binding and decoration are outsourced to skilled craftspeople, further increasing the rarity.
Still, replicators like the one I was visiting, Marius von Faige, create perfect copies indistinguishable from the originals. So esteemed is he that even Lady Agrippina, notorious for her forgetfulness of names, remembers his full title.
He’s said to be particularly stubborn, but I find the entire mission quite interesting and worthy of the reward. It fits our style well.
Thus, I invited Mika, who had some free time due to the professor’s absence overseeing the autumn tax collection—reminding me that magi of the Threefold Empire essentially function as bureaucrats—and embarked on the journey.
Our destination is near now. Having dealt with a small detour, it’s almost over.
Alright, let’s gear up for Eliza’s tuition. What do you think will make a good souvenir?
—
【Tips】 Replica books. Written copies of parchments commissioned to street guilds for binding. Many magic tomes require handwritten copies imbued with magic, preserving their value regardless of being replicas. Occasionally, rare books are treated as highly as aristocratic titles.
—
My apologies for the delay. I overslept in the morning and completely forgot about the scheduled post, rushing this one out hurriedly.
This is my first “real quest”-like quest. Missions like these are common, often evolving into long-term campaigns in the same vein…
The next part is scheduled for tomorrow, around 19:00 on February 25, 2019.
