She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

AFTER DINNER, Mira spent the night in a guest room in the

palace. The next morning, the palace kitchen prepared her a massive breakfast: one main course and five sides.

After meeting up with her new party members Scorpion and Snake, Mira walked with Kagura to the tower that marked the exit of the Isuzu Alliance headquarters. Mira looked up, the thought of climbing it nearly eliciting an audible sigh. Then she followed the three onto the spiral staircase.

Before long, they arrived at the gate between the lake and the headquarters, where Aaron already awaited them. He wore light armor—though this set was reinforced with metal—and seemed as dignified as ever. He stared up at the lake-sky gleaming and rippling above.

“Good morning, Aaron,” Uzume greeted him.

“Hey, morning.” When he turned and saw the four, he grinned. It was alliance tradition to meet up here before missions. “Real luxurious send-off today, huh?” he chuckled.

A rare chance to be in the presence of the leader of Isuzu, two of her elites, and the pupil of a Wise Man… He had been so excited for this trip that he’d woken up early.

Scorpion smirked confidently as Snake glanced in Aaron’s direction and looked down before muttering, “He’s big.” She suddenly seemed more worried about everyone fitting in the wagon.

“Okay, time for the final checklist, everyone.” Uzume’s expression turned serious, and she began going over the parameters of the mission. “Your destination is the Citadel of Scales. You’ll be traveling by sky in Mira’s wagon. Your top objective is to capture a Chimera Clausen executive. Am I clear so far?”

“Yeah, all good,” Aaron answered, and everyone nodded in agreement.

Uzume then looked to Mira. “You’ll have Garuda carry your wagon, I assume?”

“That I will!” Mira puffed out her chest, waiting for the praise to roll in. Summons weren’t just for fighting—they had the incredible utility of being able to carry wagons. 

Uzume remembered Garuda and knew Mira—or rather, Danblf—well, so she just shrugged.

“You’ll have to stop by Sarut’s Guild Union to pick up the permit, so go by carriage there. Your huge bird stands out too much. It might tip off Chimera agents,” Uzume added. 

“Mrgh, okay…” Mira slumped sadly like a curled-up kitten, tragically deprived of another chance to display summoning.

Uzume continued undeterred. “And no flying straight into town, either. Travel by land as soon as Sarut comes into view. We can never be too cautious.”

Mira grumbled but acquiesced.

“We don’t know when their elites might appear, so you’ll probably need to hide in the dungeon for a while. Scorpion and Snake will take the night watch; Aaron and Mira need to stay fresh and ready.”

“All right, understood,” Aaron answered and shot a glance at Mira.

Based on Uzume’s words, she must have had incredible faith in Mira. Aaron had high expectations.

“With this group, you won’t want for fighting power. Scorpion and Snake have the restraints, so all you have to do is immobilize them,” said Uzume, seemingly directed at Mira.

“Hrmm. You mean I can just focus on fighting, then.” Mira smiled a little, understanding the implication. This was a perfect chance to show off some of her nastier summoning magic.

“Leave it to me,” Scorpion said to Mira, having already heard the particulars of the mission beforehand. Snake said nothing, but nodded firmly.

***

“Well, shall we? I’ve got my daily errands to do, but I can escort you to the forest,” Uzume said, and touched the gate to the outside world. The transparent boundary between water and city disappeared, and a waterfall appeared up above. It was truly an impressive sight to see the waters part from below.

“What are these errands of yours?” Mira asked as they climbed the transparent staircase, now about halfway up the parted lake. What chores could such a sloth as Kagura have?

“That’s for me to know and you to guess…” Uzume turned and grinned mischievously. It seemed Scorpion, Snake, and Aaron already knew.

Well, I guess I’ll find out sooner or later. 

Mira pretended not to care…much.

They reached the top of the staircase and arrived at the Forest of Seasons, where clear blue skies awaited the group of five. It was a refreshing morning, and the grass glittered with dew.

But of course—this was a forest where spirits resided, after all. Mira filled her lungs with the clear, crisp air and surveyed the woods, which were still blanketed in white fog, like a scene from a dream. It clung to the trees like the breath of the forest itself. At other times such fog might be eerie, but here, it was solemn and refreshing.

This is such a lovely place.

As Mira basked in the misty air, Acadori emerged from the forest. She ran over to Uzume and reported, “Preparations are complete.”

“Well done. Let’s get started!” Uzume turned to Mira and added confidently, “Allow me to blow your conception of fiend-hunting wide open.”

“Fiend-hunting?”

It seemed Uzume’s daily errand was fiend-hunting. Mira had her doubts. Fiends were powerful creatures, but they mostly resided in backwoods regions far from human settlements. You couldn’t find them very easily. To make it one’s daily chore would require running around the continent at supersonic speeds.

Where was she going to search for them, then? 

With a smirk, Uzume pointed to an area in the Forest of Seasons and said with a challenge in her voice, “Do you know what that is?”

Dense fog hung over that part of the forest. Darker than the morning mists all around, it seemed somehow…threatening. Based on Uzume’s demeanor, Mira could tell that the answer was something special. What was it, then?

Unusual fog… Suddenly, Mira remembered where she’d seen something like this before.

“Is it one of those…space-time distortions, perhaps?”

If the fog reminded her of anything, it would be what had happened in the Forest of the Devout. Mira answered with that in mind, but she wasn’t certain. The fog at the Forest of the Devout was caused by the loss of the spirit who had purified mana stagnation there. But what of this forest? The Isuzu Alliance’s headquarters was lousy with spirits, so surely it wasn’t a matter of being unable to purify mana.

But time-space distortions shouldn’t occur in an environment with such a blessing. While Mira continued to rack her brain, Uzume looked at her in irritation and stuck out her bottom lip.

“Wait, I was right?” Mira grinned triumphantly. Uzume was far too easy to read.

“Yeah, you got it. How’d you know?” Uzume glared at her, thoroughly annoyed. Surely nobody should realize that fog was a space-time distortion their first time seeing it!

Mira had, of course, had no idea when she’d first witnessed it either. But fortunately, she’d had the Korpokkur sisters, masters of the forest, with her.

“I’ve already encountered one!” Mira puffed out her chest defiantly and gave a quick summary of what she’d seen at the Forest of the Devout. The story amounted to little more than her bragging about the korpokkur sisters—beings able to control the plants of the forest, walk through space-time distortions with ease, and ultimately erase them.

***

“Wooow, that’s super interesting. Not.” Uzume was still clearly annoyed. But her displeasure lasted only a moment more. Then she smirked fearlessly again. “Well, I bet you’ve never seen this.”

Uzume waved a hand toward the foggy forest. When she did, the fog grew denser still, and an earth-shaking roar shook the Forest of Seasons.

“What?!” Mira saw a beast towering above the trees. It was a Dorgis Fang, a lion-like fiend with teeth sharper than mithril swords.

The Dorgis Fang was a powerful foe very rarely seen in the depths of the Ark continent’s mountains. It was so strong that even top players struggled against it…and the thing had appeared from a space-time distortion, of all places.

Mira prepared for a difficult battle, but Uzume held her back.

“Like I said, this is just a daily chore for me. Watch,” Uzume said, utterly confident. She took a single step forward. A ring of light appeared below her right foot and quickly spread to engulf the entire Forest of Seasons.

The light called forth magic etched into the trees, and an instant later, the whole region was aglow with illuminated symbols used in Celestial Arts.

“Now this is a surprise. You’ve made this entire forest into your encampment?” Mira muttered, eyeing the glowing seals.

Mediums fought by setting up encampments—put simply, they created environments that worked to their benefit. Setting up an encampment that surrounded even one person took quite some time. But perhaps unsurprisingly for the grand master of Isuzu and one of the Nine Wise Men, Uzume had created an encampment that enveloped the entire forest.

While Mira was busy being impressed, the battle before her was suddenly turned on its head—rather one-sidedly, at that.

The Dorgis Fang spotted Uzume and attempted to lunge for her. At once, countless bands of light extended from the forest itself to restrain the fiend. The monster was nothing compared to Kagura, and had no way to defy her.

Uzume lifted a hand, and the shikigami from yesterday emerged from all over the forest. When she dropped it, they overwhelmed the Dorgis Fang completely, leaving only a corpse in their wake.

Uzume turned to Mira with her proudest look. “How do you like that?”

“I’ll start cleaning up,” Acadori called from afar.

“I hate to say it, but it was pretty spectacular.”

For all the time it took to set up, a medium with a perfect encampment was almost unfairly strong. Even Mira would have no chance of winning against her. Though she was a little annoyed to have that rubbed in her face, she had to praise her dear friend.

But after seeing the whole thing, Mira still had a few questions.

“You called this fiend-hunting, so the appearance of that Dorgis Fang can’t have been a coincidence. Right?”

One could never predict what a space-time distortion might do. The one Mira had seen in the Forest of the Devout had spit out all kinds of monsters at random. But given the situation, she could only assume that Uzume had done this on purpose. What were the inner workings behind all of this? 

When Mira asked, Uzume answered with a somehow-even-smugger grin.

Space-time distortions were phenomena caused by stagnation of mana. Stagnation of mana was caused when spirits could not correct its flow. In other words—spirits had the power to change the flow of mana. If they disrupted the flow intentionally, they could create distortions at will.

Uzume had worked with the spirits to determine the limits of these distortions. The result was as Mira had seen: they could now connect their surroundings to locations as far as the Arc continent at will. But due to the stress it put on the surrounding environment, such activity was limited to once per day.

One application of this research Kagura had eagerly exploited was collecting valuable materials from faraway fiends. Both continents were home to many Isuzu bases. Almost every day, detailed reports of newly discovered fiends would come from these bases, including their habitat and coordinates. Knowing those, she could hunt fiends from all over the world and use the raw materials to bolster Isuzu’s fighting strength.

Fiends had a way of causing trouble for countries, just like regular monsters, so Uzume proudly counted this as a meritorious service contributing to the common good.

“It’s like a cheat code…” Mira muttered, then chuckled darkly. They weren’t just drawing in fiends from far away; they were forcing them into a perfectly prepared trap. It was almost unfair.

“We can make a few suits of high-quality leather armor from this fiend’s hide,” Uzume said. “Its claws will work as swords, too. Perfect, perfect.”

She smiled as the Dorgis Fang was hauled off. It was truly a perfect, unblemished corpse. She’d held back just enough.

“We could even deal with raid bosses using this technique,” Mira murmured as she looked on.

“Oh, I bet we could,” Uzume answered confidently. Then she added with a chuckle, “It’s a little harder to keep a raid boss tied down, though, so we’d have to keep in mind the danger to the forest.”

She added to the Isuzu Alliance’s power day by day. Mira smiled as she watched Kagura work. She really was a reliable ally.

***

“Well, good luck out there!” Uzume had meetings right after her errand, so this was as far as she could go. As Acadori rushed her off, Uzume sent the four-person party off with just a few words. They were the strongest force she could possibly send on this mission, so there was not a hint of worry on her face.

“See you soon,” Mira responded pleasantly before beginning their walk along the lakeside.

The forest had a gentle woodsy scent, and the fairies peeking out here and there blessed the four as they walked by. Mira felt the calm of being at home as a faint warmth inside her.

There were two kinds of spirit blessings: those that worked continuously, and those with limited-time effects. The former type was given when one had a close relationship with a spirit and was a requirement to learn various special abilities. The latter was almost always given by spirits on a whim. The blessings washing over the party as they made their way through the forest were certainly the latter.

“What a gracious send-off,” she mused.

“We’re all friends here. Plus we’re kinda saving them,” Scorpion responded, waving back at the spirits.

As Mira received the myriad blessings, their kindness and warmth only strengthened her desire to take down Chimera Clausen. The group thanked the spirits and continued onward, arriving at the wagon…

…Which was surrounded by children.

“What?”

“Well, would ya look at that? They’re using it as a playground,” Aaron chuckled.

They were young spirits of the forest. Some hung from the braces, while others climbed up and jumped down from the top of the wagon. The gaggle of kids smiled as they played.

The wagon looked even whiter against the forest’s green and the water’s blue. It seemed such a thing was a rare sight in this place.

It took time to peel the playful spirits away from the wagon, and even after they did, the kids tried to draw Mira and her party into their games. Mira felt bad leaving them as she handed them over to a caretaker spirit.

Mira refocused herself and opened the door to the wagon with a grand flourish. Scorpion scrambled over to peek around her and sighed in admiration. Snake and Aaron followed.

“I’ve never seen a Japanese-style wagon, but this is nice,” Aaron mused. “Looks comfy.”

“This is unexpected,” Snake muttered.

Aaron seemed to like the serene atmosphere of the interior. He was impressed by the wagon’s furnishings, which seemed to have compressed the hallmarks of Japanese style in such a compact space. Snake seemed a little taken aback by the unexpected interior, but Scorpion’s eyes were locked on the expansive window up ahead. She was already eager to glimpse the view from the air.

“Shoes come off here, please,” Mira called out. Scorpion and Aaron’s eyes shone like excited children. They obeyed orders, took off their shoes, and entered the wagon.

Mira’s special-made wagon was already pretty cramped with just her, Aaron, and Scorpion inside. Snake entered sheepishly and stood in the corner.

“Hm? What’s wrong with you?” Aaron asked Snake, who was currently pressing herself against the wall.

In place of the silent Snake, Scorpion explained: the wagon wasn’t very big, and they had planned to send just three, but Snake had begged to come along and now she was trying to take up the tiniest amount of space possible. Aaron said “I see,” and asked no further questions, while Mira seemed embarrassed by the whole situation.

“Snake, could you pick up that end for me?” she asked, stooping down and putting a hand on the edge of the kotatsu.

“Understood.” Snake answered and grabbed the kotatsu. On Mira’s signal, she lifted it up, and they moved it to the corner. The space looked quite a bit bigger now that it had been moved.

“That ought to make more room, eh?” Mira said. She gestured for Snake to sit.

Then, she poked her head out of the driver’s door and prepared for liftoff. Suddenly aware of his own size, Aaron looked down at the girls and said nothing. He sat as close to the wall as he could. Once she’d finished, Mira moved her legless chair next to her kotatsu and sat there. There was a sudden sensation of heaviness on the four in the room.

“Whoa, we’re going up!” Pressed up against the window, Scorpion squealed in delight as the colorful forest shrank below them.

“It’s kinda scary, huh?” Aaron took a look outside. Snake, who kneeled seiza-style next to him, peeked over and looked directly down. Her eyes shone at the vast expanse below.

***

They flew four hours from the Forest of Seasons before their destination came into view.

“We are near the town of Sarut,” Snake reported to Mira, who relaxed in her legless chair.

“Mm. I suppose we should land, then,” Mira responded. She ordered Garuda to land near a road.

The wagon slowly began to descend and eventually touched down in a field a short distance from the thoroughfare leading into the city.

Now, who should I get to pull the cart?

They were to travel by land in order to avoid unwanted attention from Chimera. They couldn’t use anything too flashy. Mira flipped through her mental catalog.

Hippogriff…no. Pegasus might work if it folds its wings. It’s basically a horse. But it hates walking and it might not be strong enough. Umgarna would be best…but that snake could devour a horse. I’d be stupid to think that wouldn’t stand out.

Mira stood in place, mumbling and grumbling to herself.

Seeing that they were stalled, Aaron asked, “What’s the matter, Little Miss Mira?”

“Well, I’m having a difficult time thinking of something that could pull the wagon without standing out…”

Before his eyes was Mira, supposedly the pupil of famed summoner Wise Man Danblf. Recalling the gleaming wings of Garuda, he realized that it would be difficult if all of her summons were like that.

“Ahh… Yeah.” Aaron said, gleaning some understanding. 

As Mira got back to thinking, the restless Snake seemed eager to be useful. “If you need someone to pull the wagon, leave it to me.”

“Ah, that’s right. A necromancer, aren’t you, Miss Snake?” Aaron murmured with a knowing look.

Snake nodded, her gaze sincere. Mira presumed necromancers must have their own methods. “Go for it.”

The quiet woman thanked her and opened the driver’s door. She was normally emotionless, but now there was a faint smile on her face—she was clearly eager to help. Stepping away from the wagon, Snake cast a spell to create a four-legged golem.

Mira peeked out of the driver’s door, interested to see how she would solve this conundrum. She spied a thick-legged golem with a lizard-like body and three tails that each ended in a hook. She furrowed her brow at the horrific little creature and turned back. Surely a golem like this would stand out?

Yet Aaron and Scorpion appeared relaxed. Mira knew there were more things she didn’t know about this world than things she did. If everyone thought so, it must be fine.

Snake’s magic was a newly developed Necromantic Art made for physical labor. It had spread all across the world and was now used by everyone from adventurers to merchants—even nobility.

Mediums and summoners could use similar laborer magic, but necromancy was especially stable. Draft golems were a no-brainer for travel these days. Their ubiquity made it easy to accomplish the goal of being inconspicuous.

The wagon began to move. The golem had wrapped its hooked tails around the braces and pulled the large vehicle with apparent ease.

“I’ll leave it to you then.” Mira was amazed that the golem was so nimble with such a stout body.

Snake responded shortly, “It will be done.”

The comforting vibration of the rattling wheels crept up Mira’s body from the wagon floor. Riding the wagon uphill had a different, soothing feeling. The rhythmic sounds calmed Mira, whose only thought until now had been speed. Perhaps this isn’t so bad after all, she thought to herself as she cast her gaze out the window.

The wagon proceeded apace, and they arrived at the town of Sarut around noon.

Snake had confirmed the Guild Union’s location ahead of time. She skillfully drove the wagon onward through town. Storefronts lined the main street, and other people and carriages came and went. Mira gazed out the window and saw other draft golems passing by. She could see Snake’s point now—they really didn’t stand out at all.

Most buildings in Sarut were wooden structures, while the big buildings and important landmarks were made of stone. The designs were awfully reminiscent of a Wild West movie in some respects. But somehow this didn’t throw off the harmony of it all. The town benefited from the unique aesthetics of both wood and stone.

While Mira admired the architecture of the town, the wagon came to a stop before two stone buildings standing side by side. The imposing exterior bore the well-known symbol of the Guild Union.

“I’ll be right back, ladies,” Aaron said. He alighted from the wagon and strode inside to secure a Citadel of Scales entry permit.

***

The administrative work was taken care of in five minutes. Once Aaron was back in the wagon, Snake resumed the ride. Their next destination was a large inn. It had a grand stable and garage for parking wagons.

Snake had chosen it yesterday while looking for a trustworthy place to leave the wagon and noted that it allowed visitors to use the garage. If they rode Mira’s wagon all the way to the dungeon, they’d have to leave it somewhere near the dungeon entrance. And if Chimera Clausen discovered it, the enemy might realize somebody was there and keep their guard up. They needed total surprise.

Snake exchanged some words with an inn clerk, then drove the wagon into the garage. There, they worked out how much the fee for storage would be while they were gone.

The remaining three adventurers left the wagon.

The wooden garage had all kinds and sizes of wagons parked within. Employees in coveralls carefully maintained them here and there. Mira watched them awhile, satisfied. She knew that her ride was in good hands.

***

“Thank you for waiting.” Wagon arrangements complete, Snake returned to the group.

Mira accepted the parking pass from her. “Apologies for making you do all the work.”

“It’s no problem.” Snake’s voice was deadpan, but she looked gratified to be thanked.

Sarut was full of adventurers. The parties they passed were made up of members who were obviously strong even at a glance. Mira idly sized up their team balances as she followed Snake, who was making her way confidently through the main street.

Along the way, they turned down a side street. Many carriages had formed a line up ahead. On closer inspection, quite a few adventurer parties had gathered as well, and they seemed to be discussing something with the drivers of the carriages.

“Oho. A station bus?” Mira murmured.

Snake turned and shook her head. “Not quite. This is a carriage taxi stand. They’re more expensive than station buses, but you can pay for an individual taxi. Adventurers use them for transportation pretty regularly. This should suit our current needs.”

Station buses traveled along a set route, and riders would get on or off as they went. They were essentially a form of public transit. In contrast, carriage taxis were a new yet already common form of transportation for individuals or parties who needed a ride to a specific destination. For this top-secret mission, they would need to limit contact with strangers as much as possible. And with a common taxi as their transport, they wouldn’t stand out. It was perfect for their needs. They didn’t know where Chimera’s cohorts might be, but at least this way, they might not have to worry about them just yet.

“Oh ho ho! That does sound more comfortable,” Mira agreed, and Snake plunged into the line of people waiting for carriages in high spirits.

She returned a few minutes later after a short discussion with a carriage taxi driver. Her steps were light as she showed them to their ride: she’d chosen a good one.

The many carriages were so varied that one hesitated to put them all under the same umbrella. There were plain ones, light ones, heavy ones, and more. The beasts leading them were just as diverse—some were drawn by bulls with awe-inspiring horns, others by great big boars, and more. Some had draft golems hitched up, as well.

Each had their own strengths in terms of range and speed. The Citadel of Scales was in the middle of a rocky mountain range, so it would require some real pulling strength. With this in mind, Snake had chosen a taxi with two drivers and two draft golems even bigger than the one she had used to get them here.

***

The taxi proceeded from city streets to mountain roads with Mira’s party on board, combining power and speed. Snake occasionally cast glances at Mira to gauge her reaction, but the summoner said little throughout the ride. Did she not like the carriage? Was she annoyed at Snake for forcing them to bring her along? The shadow of worry hung over her mind.

***

So many golems, and I even saw shikigami… Why wasn’t there a single summons, though? Will summoning decay just like these fallen leaves?

Mira put her chin on her hand in the window seat and watched as the foliage became more and more sparse as they climbed the mountain. 

Aaron seemed to notice the gloomy mood and asked the two if they were okay. Mira vented that she was worried, as a summoner, over the dearth of summoning magic out here. The clouds of her melancholy parted somewhat when Aaron countered that the summoning of Garuda had been a great help to them already, and that flying had felt much classier than bumping along in a taxi.

Snake’s own depression lifted as well upon hearing this.

Before long, the party of Isuzu operatives masquerading as an adventurer team arrived peacefully at the Citadel of Scales.