She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 13

Chapter 13

MIRA LOOKED UP and saw a place bustling with people under the blue, aquarium-like sky. The business district was full of all manner of goods for both daily life and adventure. Many of these merchants were working alongside Isuzu, too.

Shops lined the street, each with signs advertising the store’s wares. Mira saw stalls here and there, too.

She wandered about the district, window shopping.

It’s awfully busy here.

It reminded Mira of a big fair. There were all sorts of people—miao, Galidian, dwarven, and elven. Occasionally, she even spotted rare beings such as fairies, dragonkind, and even asuras. Their clothing was just as diverse. Some wore practical armor and carried well-used weapons like adventurers, while others sported more unique native dress. The artisans wore aprons with emblems that allowed passerby to distinguish their livelihood at a glance. Heck, some people even wore casual shirts and pants or tracksuits.

Spirits wove through the hectic, never-ending flow of people as if dancing.

Mira exchanged the ticket she’d received from Kagura for a large quantity of food, though she did wonder if so much was necessary. Then she peeked into weapon shops, pharmacies, and the like. Once she had a good grasp of how they differed in this world, she strolled about and gawked.

A tempting scent from a food stall wafted through the waves of people and past Mira’s nose. She stopped and looked around for its source. When she spotted the enticing stall in question, she peered inside.

Hm? That spirit…

Mira had spotted the young spirit she’d seen in the Forest of the Devout. It was the very one that had reached for the butterflies at the lake where Mira had first met a member of the Isuzu Alliance. Now she was frolicking, chasing the dappled light that shone down onto the ground from the rippling lake sky above.

Mira was relieved by the sight. It seemed Isuzu had taken her safely into their custody. Then an impact against her back knocked her down onto her face.

“What was that?!” Mira lifted her head and glared all around.

“Aah, sorry! I’m really sorry.” Hands wrapped around Mira’s hips and lifted her back up. When she turned around, she saw a woman with braided, light-purple hair, young features, and a robe in pale colors. “I’m super sorry!”

The woman apologized over and over, vigorously brushing the dirt off of Mira’s clothes.

“Now, now. It’s okay.”

Mira took a good look at the woman’s face. Something seemed…familiar. The woman finished brushing the dirt off of Mira and looked back up. They maintained eye contact for a moment, then suddenly, the woman wrapped Mira in a tight embrace.

“What in the world?!” Mira was surprised by the abrupt hug—not that she didn’t enjoy it. She could feel the woman’s plump softness through her robes in the moment before she reflexively slipped out of her grasp. 

“Oh, sorry! I couldn’t help myself…” The woman slumped sadly, and her hands remained hanging in the air from hugging Mira. Mira recalled the warm feeling and likewise slumped a little.

A man timidly approached the pathetic scene. “Leene… I finally found you. What are you doing here?”

Leene replied, “I ran into her…” and then reached for Mira again. Her hands were gentle, and when they touched the summoner, they were enveloped in white light. “I’m really sorry. Did I hurt you at all?”

The light in Leene’s hands was the shine of holy magic. When they touched Mira, the light scrape she’d received—hardly worth noticing—disappeared. After she finished healing Mira, the man nudged Leene’s head.

“I bet you were staring at spirits again instead of looking where you were going, right? Good grief.”

“I was.” Leene made no excuses. She then apologized and bowed to Mira. But when she looked up, her arms naturally seized the girl and pulled her into a hug again.

This time, instead of resisting, Mira looked more closely at the woman and noticed the sadness in Leene’s eyes. She turned to the man that was presumably her friend and asked, “What am I meant to do about this?”

“No, Leene. Bad,” the man whispered. Leene reluctantly released Mira and sighed deeply.

The man looked a little over thirty, with a well-muscled physique. His hair was short and the shiny gold of flax, and he wore light armor with swords on both hips. Narrow glasses perched on his nose before his slit-like eyes, giving him a calm, thoughtful impression. Overall, very handsome.

“I’m Ashley, and Leene here is my wife. Sorry about all this.” Ashley bowed, his face clouded with guilt.

“Well, I don’t mind…much. I am sure she has her reasons.”

She had startled Mira, sure, but she hadn’t actually hurt her. Mira felt a little guilty over how many times Leene had apologized.

“Thank you,” Ashley said, standing straight again. He went on with a hint of sadness, “We have a son who’s turning ten this year. But due to our circumstances, we haven’t seen him for years. Leene is suffering from it. She’ll always stare at young spirits and impulsively hug kids who look his age. Who knows how many times she’s run into people by now? I scold her every time, but…”

Ashley held Leene gently. He looked like he was protecting her from something…or perhaps protecting everything else from her.

“That is awful…” Now knowing the reason for Leene’s actions, Mira was sympathetic and curious. Why could she not see the child she loved so much? “If it’s no inconvenience, might I ask what happened?” 

“Yeah. That’s fine,” Ashley agreed without hesitation. He gently let Leene go and put a hand on her head. “You see, Leene is half-spirit and half-elf.”

“Oh… Is that so?” Mira looked at Leene, who seemed not to mind the topic of conversation. When Leene noticed her gaze, she opened her arms wide with a big, inviting smile.

Mira looked back to Ashley. Leene quietly put her arms down and slumped over sadly.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard about this, but when someone of a different race has a child with a spirit, the child is born with special abilities. Leene was born with the ability to call spirits. Chimera came after her in order to use her power for their own ends, but Isuzu saved us and took us under their protection. That’s why we’re here now.”

From there, Ashley surveyed the lake-bound city that was the Isuzu Alliance’s headquarters and grinned weakly at his own inability to protect the people he loved.

“Chimera still hasn’t given up on Leene. They tracked us. Now we never know where their eyes might be, so if we leave carelessly, they might see us meeting our son. And if they find out that he’s Leene’s son, those cowards would probably kidnap him for leverage. We’ve decided it would be best not to contact him until this war is over…”

Ashley looked like he was in pain from his inability to see his son. His hand on Leene’s head was gentle… He understood why she did what she did.

Leene would be of incredible value to Chimera Clausen. They stubbornly stalked her, attacking the married couple dozens of times back when she was escorted to headquarters. Unable to retrieve her son along the way because of the danger, they were forced to keep their relationship a secret.

Understanding the situation now, Mira embraced the dispirited Leene once more. From a distance, the three might’ve looked like a happy family.

***

“Oh, if it isn’t Ashley and Leene. And hello again to you, young lady,” Aaron called out to them. It seemed he had gone on his own shopping trip.

Ashley and Leene recognized him and answered with a smile, “Hi there, Aaron.”

“Looks like the wife’s caused another scene.” It seemed she was famous for such behavior. Aaron glanced at Mira, who had received such a vigorous head-patting that her hair was now tangled. Then he turned to Ashley with a serious look on his face. 

“But you won’t have to suffer much longer,” Aaron declared firmly. “We’re about to begin an important mission that’ll change everything. You’ll see your kid soon, I swear it.”

Ashley and Leene looked at each other, surprised. “Do you mean it?!”

“Yeah, I do. We’ve got an ace up our sleeve this time, too. Have you two heard who this young lady is?”

“Come to think of it, we never got your name.” Ashley and Leene looked expectantly at Mira.

Mira proudly puffed out her chest and put a finger to her chin. In a theatrically dignified voice, she declared, “I am Mira.”

“You heard that we captured one of Chimera’s soldiers, right?” Aaron said. “That was this young lady’s work. Miss Uzume says she’s capable, too. There’s hope yet, right?” His face lit up with a cheerful grin. This was a rare sight indeed; the hawk-like Aaron rarely smiled. Ashley and Leene couldn’t help but smile with him.

“Reassuring, indeed!” Ashley’s eyes opened wide in admiration and delight.

Uzume had extremely high standards. He knew she would only acknowledge the strength of a small handful of A-Rank adventurers or the greatest of those who rivaled them.

Ashley gazed at the adorably dressed Mira before looking up at the rippling lake-sky. He laughed—then sighed—at just how vast the world was.

“Leave it to us, friends,” Mira said. “I promise as well that I’ll see this to its end. Your suffering will go on no longer.” She could not comprehend the pain of parents unable to see their child, but she knew how it hurt to be a child who couldn’t see their parents. Her promise was sincere.

“We can see him soon, then?” Leene, eyes fixed on Mira, drank in her display of confidence. She closed her eyes and put her hands over her heart, as if protecting something important. Ashley lay a hand on her shoulder and bowed silently to Aaron.

“I’d best go. You just wait for the good news.” Aaron watched the couple take each other’s hand, then said his goodbyes—he needed to continue his preparations. His eyes were as sharp as a blade, yet full of kindness…like a guardian’s sword.

“Well, there you have it. You two just hang on a bit longer,” Mira said. She took her leave as well.

They couldn’t join outside missions even if they wanted to. The two could only offer a prayer as they watched Mira leave.

***

Mira began her stroll back along the main street, where the streetlights had just begun to shine. She recalled Ashley and Leene’s faces.

Ashley and Leene, hm? Have I met them somewhere? Mira repeated their names in her mind over and over…

Where had she heard of them before?

***

Having finished her grocery shopping, Mira returned to the palace as Kagura commanded. A maidservant guided her to the private room of Isuzu’s leader. Kagura was waiting within, now without the fancy clothes.

“You dress the same as ever, I see,” Mira said.

“Nothing makes me feel more relaxed, y’know?” Kagura, sporting a red tracksuit, took her eyes off of the documents in her hands and glanced at Mira. “So? All set?”

“More or less.”

“’Kay.” Kagura stood up, took a cushion from the pile in the corner, and tossed it down next to the low table. She regarded Mira with the look of a curious child. “Tell me about you, Gramps.”

“I happen to have some questions for you as well.” Mira was thinking the same thing: she wanted to know how Kagura had adjusted to this world. Mira plopped down onto the cushion and faced Kagura.

The two shared their experiences. Mira told Kagura about her past month in this world, and Kagura told stories of her last ten years.

***

“It sounds like the world is about to undergo major change. I’m doing my best to help out.” Mira told Kagura about her frantic search for the other Nine Wise Men. She shared her encounter with Wallenstein in detail, especially regarding what he was doing and the truth of demons.

“So that’s what Wally’s up to? I knew he was working behind the scenes, but I would have never thought it was about demons. That’s a shock.”

By sealing the very powers that made the demons what they were, they could regain their mission and lose their antagonism toward humanity. Mira had seen the proof of that herself in Faust. Kagura showed both sincere surprise and distress.

“Actually, I killed a demon that infiltrated this forest a while back…” Kagura explained that its motive was unclear…but it had hurt spirits, so she dealt with it without mercy. It seemed demons came even to the Forest of Seasons. 

“Well, there was nothing else you could’ve done there. I’d never have known without being told myself. But demons will reincarnate as demons again. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Mira reassured her.

Demons still lost to malice could bring nothing but disaster. Humans couldn’t afford to let them run free and cause greater damage.

“Reincarnate, huh? So all of those demons that died in that one big battle could all come back at once?”

In the Defense of the Three Great Kingdoms, humanity had triumphed over demons. So many demons had been felled in that battle that humans believed for a time that demons had gone extinct.

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. A rush of reincarnated demons… Sounds nightmarish.”

They would come at slightly different times, but close enough to pose a real threat. Although they had always been known to work in the shadows, and they vastly preferred it, demons had acted openly during the Defense of the Three Great Kingdoms. If the whole continent were teeming with them again out of nowhere…that would be a problem, indeed. Ideally, Wallenstein would bring every demon he could to the side of humanity before then.

“Well, we have to do what we can to protect our continent,” Kagura said. “Even if it’s gotten a little harder now.”

“Right, I thought the same. Wallenstein gave me these. Perhaps I ought to give you a pair, too.”

Demons were essentially good people brainwashed into doing evil. Knowing that made fighting them much harder on the heart. Mira gave Kagura one of the black strings and a white stone and taught her how to use them. With luck, they would serve as an alternative to battle if she happened to run into a demon.

The black string would bind even duke-rank demons, and the white stone could call Wallenstein’s friends. Kagura seemed surprised at how convenient these tools were, and she gladly accepted them.

“If I find one, I’ll make sure to use these.”

***

After that, the two talked pleasantly for a while. Mira succeeded in getting Kagura to promise she would return to the Kingdom of Alcait once the Chimera Clausen issue was resolved. In return, Mira promised to take care of the problem once and for all.

From there, the conversation gradually shifted to chatting. Kagura was especially interested in Luna, the pure rabbit Mira had taken to her tower. Just as she was getting the details, however, one of her maidservants came to inform her that her bath was ready.

“I’ll be right back,” Kagura said. “You’d better tell me everything about little Luna later, okay?” With that, she went to bathe. When she closed the door, deep silence fell across the wooden-floored room.

Mira looked around, wondering what to do. A low circular table was placed in the center of the room, and a few documents were laid atop it. A shaded lamp hung from the ceiling, lending its glow to the space. In the corner of the room was a planter filled with mist weed, which emitted mist in the light.

How peaceful.

It was a stark contrast to her recollections of the disaster that was Kagura’s room in real life. She gazed at the mist weed as it continued to billow white clouds. The memory of a certain night crossed her mind.

While I’m here, I might as well try that before I take a bath. 

Mira stood up and excitedly left Kagura’s room.

After getting turned around a few times, Mira arrived at the courtyard where she and Scorpion had their mock battle. The light of the stone lanterns in the hallways crept through the hedges, dyeing the darkness of night in the courtyard just slightly with their yellow gleam.

But just then, a brilliant ball of light popped into existence, whisking away the dark. Illuminated by her Ethereal Arts, Mira stood atop the ocher ground, took a deep breath, and readied her stance. She once again began her training.

***

Mira had already been training for some time when Scorpion noticed the unnatural light in the courtyard. She watched as Mira leapt about in ways unthinkable for a mage, leaving silver trails of light in her wake.

Is that…Mira? Are those motions some sort of martial art? It looks just like the Tomoe style…

Scorpion thought at first that she might be practicing some set martial arts forms, but Mira wove summoning into her Immortal Arts, attacking in novel and unexpected ways.

Interest piqued, Scorpion effortlessly leapt over the hedges surrounding the courtyard and landed on the other side without a sound. 

“I didn’t know you could move like that. Is that some kind of fighting style?”

“It is, yes.… Though I forget the name of it.” Mira was impressed by Scorpion’s ability to sneak up on her—she was quiet as a cat.

“Oh…” Scorpion replied, shoulders sagging in disappointment. “Did you learn that from your master, too?”

“Hrmm, you could say that.”

In truth, she had learned it from the Wise Man of Immortality, Meilin. Scorpion didn’t seem especially bothered by her slippery answer. Far from it—if anything, she watched Mira with interest.

“Could you use a training partner? I can be your martial arts buddy,” Scorpion offered, performed a midair somersault as a warmup, and landed in a fighting stance a few paces away. Her powerful leg muscles were evident in how high she jumped with so little preparation. Mira knew she was strong; after all, she had defeated ten Dark Knights. When it came to technique, she might’ve been stronger than Mira.

“Hrmm…” Mira faced Scorpion and steadied her breathing. She smirked and replied, “Very well. Perhaps I’ll avail myself of your aid.”

Scorpion’s face lit up. Without further ado, she tossed all the weapons she’d hidden on her person onto the ground.

“Sneaky!”

Their training began. Mira did not use her magic, and Scorpion did not use her weapons or skills. The two simply fought hand to hand in a straightforward clash of abilities.

***

Mira and Scorpion’s training continued until a maidservant arrived to inform them that the bath was open. The two had been totally caught up in their training; now, they both collapsed the moment they heard the woman’s voice. Mira sat and looked up at the sky, hair disheveled, and wiped the sweat from her face with her sleeve. Scorpion ignored the sweat running down her body and squatted down, breathing heavily as she watched the beads patter to the ground.

Mira allowed the maidservant to show her the way to the bath. Scorpion joined them as if it were the obvious thing to do.

The interior of the palace bath was all stone, making it almost look like a cave. The tub itself, full of hot water, was enormous enough for ten people to comfortably soak.

Condensation dripped from the rough ceiling and made ripples in the water, but the sound melted into the waterfall-like whoosh made by the flowing bath water. The relaxing swish of water filled the room, wrapping around one’s body like fine silk.

Though her vision was obscured by steam, Mira still got a good look at Scorpion’s curves and hummed in satisfaction.

Oh ho ho. Now that’s a nice figure! 

As the two soaked in the hot water, they had an even hotter debate about the quirks and features of each other’s fighting styles that they’d noticed during training.

Though they bathed together, revealing their naked forms without reserve, their conversation lacked any sex appeal whatsoever. Just as their discussion reached a fever pitch, the grumbling of their stomachs brought it to a close. They parted ways, and Scorpion left for her room.

Mira shrugged on a yukata offered by the maidservant and followed the woman back to Kagura’s room. When the maid opened the door, an enticing scent poured out. Atop the low table lay a lavish spread of food.

“Hurry up!” Kagura beckoned from the other side of the table, clad in her red track suit once again. It seemed she had been waiting, and she was hungry.

“Now this is luxurious,” Mira mused, faced with such a feast. She slipped onto the open cushion with the agility of a cat and gazed at Kagura.

Despite Mira’s many changes, Kagura still welcomed her long-lost friend with open arms. Over a shared meal, the two toasted and celebrated their reunion.