She Professed Herself The Pupil Of The Wiseman (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“VANITY CASE, HUH. You’re like the exact opposite of what you were before! Jeez, how did you expect me to figure that out?”

Now that she had no need for her formal persona, Kagura relaxed and sat with her legs outstretched. The bamboo hat lay sadly discarded. When she’d removed it, her tied-up obsidian hair had tumbled down gracefully, blowing in the breeze.

“You’re one to talk, hiding behind that veil. If I’d seen you from the start, we’d have been able to skip the preamble.”

Kagura’s face showed no signs of having used a Vanity Case; it was exactly as Mira remembered. Her bangs were cut in a ruler-straight line above her eyes, which were round and black, and framed by eyebrows so thin they almost looked penciled on. Her eyelashes were long, and her lips were eternally knitted into a displeased frown. At a glance, one might take her for a rich young girl from one of Japan’s old-money families. But now that she had let down her guard, she looked like a younger sister who had left the family’s legacy and all its troubles to her older sibling.

“I am famous around here, you know,” Kagura said with a boastful smirk. “You never know who might start sniffing around us Wise Men, so I’m keeping it on the D.L. Only those two and three others in the organization know who I really am. Oh, and…I guess now you, Gramps.”

She looked the small summoner up and down and grumbled, “So you call yourself Mira, huh. Gramps is a Mira now. Feels wrong… What should I call you?”

“Whatever you like.”

“Mmgh, the cognitive dissonance is too much.” The desire to use Danblf’s old nickname was strong, but it was also weird. Mira looked so different now, calling her by the old moniker felt as awkward as using new chopsticks. 

She leaned in and narrowed her eyes at Mira. “So? If you find her, who are you going to use her to search for?”

“Who would her be?” Mira asked. 

Kagura glared at Mira as if they were enemies. Mira was just so happy to have finally found another Wise Man that Kagura’s words totally failed to penetrate—instead they just bounced off her brain.

“You said you were searching for Meowmaru’s mage, weren’t you?” Kagura urged.

“Oh, right. But that’s no matter now. When I heard the name Meowmaru, I thought you or one of your friends might be involved. You’re the one I was looking for in the first place. Ha! Thank you for saving me the effort.” Mira relaxed and stretched her legs out, too. This riddle was solved.

Meowmaru’s mage happened to be a female medium who Kagura had personally trained. Their master-pupil relationship hadn’t lasted long, but it would be no exaggeration to call her an actual pupil of a Wise Man. When the woman had made her contract with the black cat shikigami, Kagura had said decisively: “That one’s Meowmaru.”

Unable to defy her master, the pupil had decided to keep the name. And lucky for Mira that she did. Now that Mira had stumbled across her true target, it was all coming up roses.

“Oh? Fine, then. Then what do you need from me?”

“It’s a request from Solomon, actually. We’re coming up on the end of some treaty or another. War will break out again soon, he thinks. So he’s having me search for you all. Can’t have the very pillars of the kingdom’s defense absent in its time of need.”

“So that’s it, huh?”

The Nine Wise Men were heroes who had protected and led their country to victory countless times. Kagura knew as much.

“Though now that I’ve found you, I presume you can’t just drop everything and hurry home.” Mira looked around the room and casually turned toward the door the aides had exited from.

“Yeah. I can’t abandon them, you know.”

And with Chimera Clausen still out there, Kagura couldn’t just back off. No one at the Isuzu Alliance would let her drop the reins of such a powerful organization, anyway.

“I am amazed that you’ve built this whole organization from scratch,” Mira mused. “You never struck me as the type that wanted to be a leader. You’ve changed.”

Mira remembered Blue and White’s operation in the Forest of the Devout, the pamphlet Solomon had shown her, and the people and spirits filling the headquarters at the Forest of Seasons. She was honestly impressed.

Mira’s words reminded Kagura of why she’d created the alliance in the first place. At first she’d tried to return to Alcait, but now she couldn’t…wouldn’t. “You know… Sometimes, you can’t sit idly by and let things happen.” 

The words came out like a murmur, but they shook Mira like a scream.

***

Outwardly, the Isuzu Alliance performed charitable acts such as protecting forests all across the continent. But the truth of Isuzu was that it was a military force opposing Chimera Clausen’s spirit-hunting campaign. 

It all began more than ten years ago.

Like Mira and the other players, Kagura had suddenly found herself in the world of Ark Earth Online. Her life here started in the large, forested region north of Grimdart. No people were around—just endless wilderness isolated from civilization.

Kagura was awestruck by everything around her and how it all stimulated the five senses—something that should have been impossible for a fantasy world.

Unable to grasp the situation, she had traveled to a nearby city in hopes of asking someone about it. She had tried to use her Floating Island as she always had—but it would not respond. The option was entirely absent from her menu. It was then that she’d noticed another change on the menu screen: there was no option to log out of the game.

With nobody to discuss it with deep in the forest, and nobody responding to her direct messages, Kagura realized that she was well and truly stranded in this unfamiliar land. She was completely alone.

But her training would not go to waste. She was strong enough to be called one of the Nine Wise Men, and there was no monster in this forest that was a danger to her. It was extremely unlikely that any other player would pose a threat either.

Time marched on ceaselessly, and the sun began to set. Amid the forest’s sun-blotting trees, night came even earlier. Once dusk began, darkness blanketed the forest in the blink of an eye. Kagura’s ethereal light was but a candle in a yawning void; she could hardly see her feet in front of her, much less tell where she was going.

Kagura was at a loss. After a long time wandering and mulling over the situation, she arrived at the answer. Though this seemed like a dream, it was the real deal. She was truly lost in a desolate forest.

The medium took several deep breaths, trying to expel everything from her lungs. She held her head and collapsed on the ground, not from frustration or fretfulness, but from the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

Just then, a face poked out from the treetops. Where Kagura had before only heard the noises of wind, birds, and insects, there was suddenly the sound of language.

“What’s the matter?”

Kagura reflexively looked up. Using her Ethereal Arts to see in the total darkness, she spied a human face peeking at her vacantly from behind a tree.

She screamed.

But Kagura wasn’t the only one surprised. The owner of the voice screamed right back and fell into the long grass. They scrambled up, looked all around, scampered back behind the tree, and peeked their face out once again.

She’d only caught a glimpse, but the mysterious figure’s features marked them for what they were. Particles of light covered their long hair. Their clothing was made of thin cloth yet still gave them a noble air. And their face was kind—her visitor was undoubtedly a forest-dwelling spirit.

Kagura was perplexed. Spirits had never conversed with her of their own volition. Well, not counting when they had run around healing people and asking if they were okay during a fight in a limited quest.

Suspicious, Kagura looked warily at the spirit. The figure was still hiding behind a tree, but she soon smiled and waved at Kagura. Spirits were never hostile creatures, but this was completely new behavior for an NPC. 

Kagura decided to respond in kind. 

Once Kagura broke the ice, the spirit emerged from behind the tree and launched into a million questions. “Are you hurting anywhere? It’s dangerous here, y’know? Are you alone?”

Kagura answered each one and explained her current circumstances. She’d lost her transportation, so she was stranded here. After venting her frustrations, she heaved a big sigh.

“You’ve had it rough, huh?” the spirit said, seeing the player’s exhaustion. She introduced herself as Lecia, then added, “There are monsters here. Let’s go somewhere safe.”

Kagura introduced herself back, nodded, and obediently followed Lecia through the forest. Before long, they arrived at a big lake.

The forest opened up slightly, and starlight bobbed on the water’s surface. Silhouetted against the meager light was a massive form: a boar nearly as large as a house, its twin fangs stained a dark red from the blood of past prey. It was the ferocious Greatlance Boar. 

Suddenly faced with this new enemy, Kagura struck a fighting stance…but Lecia smiled happily and introduced it as her friend.

Upon closer inspection, the Greatlance Boar was lying down on the shore of the lake, relaxed yet imposing. When it cracked open its eyes and spotted Kagura, it spoke in a low, gruff voice. “Well, well. A visitor?”

This boar had undergone spirit evolution. Animals that spent long periods of time in the company of spirits could obtain special powers and learn to talk. In-game, players only ever saw them during events.

When Kagura introduced herself, the boar replied with a smile, “Call me Multicolor.” 

Lecia had taken to calling it that, and it had taken a liking to it.

Lecia sat and snuggled against Multicolor, then beckoned for Kagura to join them. She sat next to them.

 “You can sleep here! When it’s bright out, I’ll show you to a place where other humans are,” the spirit said cheerfully.

Kagura thanked her and lay against Multicolor’s stiff, yet warm and soft stomach. They fell asleep gazing at the starry night sky together.

***

Kagura woke up early. 

As promised, Lecia escorted her to a nearby city. She was a wind spirit, so she flew with Kagura in her arms. It still took a long while—they’d been deep in the forest, and they needed to take frequent breaks. But they managed to make it just before nightfall.

When they landed near the city, Kagura thanked her over and over. She also asked Lecia to thank Multicolor for her.

They hadn’t known each other long, but Kagura knew she owed a debt to these two she could never fully repay. After promising that she would try to reward Lecia someday, Kagura took her leave, and human and spirit parted.

Kagura found herself in Greengate, a city at the northernmost end of Grimdart. A member city of the Three Great Kingdoms, it was a large settlement where one could gather ample information.

A month after her arrival there, Kagura finally gained a grasp of the current circumstances. This world was just like Ark Earth Online…and more than ten years had passed since it became reality. Many other players had come to this world just like her. She also was beginning to understand how things had changed.

Kagura concluded that she needed to return to the Kingdom of Alcait. As Grimdart was positioned on the opposite side of the Earth Continent, it would be a long journey without her Floating Island.

Before leaving the city, Kagura turned her eyes to the forest. She wanted to thank Lecia and Multicolor for their help before she departed.

After buying plenty of souvenirs, she rode the Suzaku phoenix Tweetsuke back to the lake where she’d spent the night.

***

Kagura was speechless.

It was nothing like how it had been before. The surrounding trees were flattened, as if a typhoon had mowed them down. The lake that had once reflected the stars now gathered no light, churned to mud and covered by thousands of leaves.

She wondered for a moment if she’d come to the wrong place. Then she ran.

There on the lakeshore, there was a mound covered in grass and mud. Broken tusks poked out here and there. This wasn’t the wrong place—this was the very spot that had given her a night’s respite.

The shape of the mound became clear. Kagura didn’t want to believe it. Terror made her want to flee. She opened her eyes wide, lips quivering.

It was Multicolor.

The boar was covered in countless wounds, and sword tips were broken off in the remains of its thick hide. The sight of Multicolor lying motionless was too much for Kagura to comprehend—she simply stood there, petrified.

Just then, there came a muffled, faltering voice. It was raspy and barely intelligible, but she was certain she’d heard it. 

“Young…lady?” 

Kagura’s head jolted up. “Y-you’re alive? What in the world happened?” she questioned Multicolor, sprinkling the boar with all the restoratives that she had on hand.

The boar was breathing, however feebly. It ground out its words, gasping between them as it told her the tale. Armed humans had suddenly appeared in the forest. They had abducted Lecia while Multicolor had fought to save her. But even the great boar couldn’t win.

Bitterly, painfully, it spoke its last words: “Take care of Lecia for me.” Then, the light faded from Multicolor’s eyes.

***

Kagura cried all night. They hadn’t known one another for even a day—hardly even half a day!—but Lecia and Multicolor had saved the stranded Wise Man. To her, they were dear friends.

When morning came Kagura, eyes still red from crying, dug a great hole in the lakeside. She removed the blades from Multicolor’s body and cleaned away the mud before burying the boar. She hoped it might find some respite.

Kagura returned to the city and aggressively resumed her search for information. She gathered stories about those who hunted spirits and took action. Others joined her. They evolved from a party, to a guild, to the powerful Isuzu Alliance of today.

***

Mira looked into Kagura’s eyes, which shone with resolve. She didn’t know what had changed her friend, but the strength of her conviction was palpable. Mira suddenly felt like a total newcomer to this world.

“You seem to have your reasons,” Mira finally said.

“Yeah. Sorry to Solomon, but this is my fight until it’s over.”

The firmness of will in Kagura’s eyes—born of pain and sadness, sustained by a desire to protect—told Mira that she was truly sincere.

“Understood. In any case, we may have a mutual enemy,” Mira said in agreement.

Mira knew Chimera Clausen, an organization that hunted and harmed humanity’s best friend, could not be left as they were. The spirits she had met along the way here were now under the Isuzu Alliance’s protection—without Kagura’s efforts, they would have been abducted by Chimera Clausen. That reason alone made Isuzu a vital organization.

“Listen,” Kagura said. “It’s been a long road, but we’re almost there. It’s nearly time to settle the score, yeah?” Determination burned like fire in her eyes, her emotions like a cascading current. “We could say that’s thanks to you, Gramps.”

This was the result of Mira capturing the man from Chimera Clausen.

A few days after Mira had left Blue and the others, the transport crew reached their base. The Chimera Clausen agent was then taken to Isuzu headquarters. Kagura herself had forced him to tell her all he knew before sentencing him for his crimes.

It seemed the man was but a peon. He could only provide information on a few of their acting bases, their passwords, and the like. She couldn’t wring out any information on executive members of the organization or what they were doing with the kidnapped spirits, so that remained a mystery.

“I can’t say we’ve gotten all of them, but we’ve seized a few of their bases. They know we’re onto them too—some of those bases were totally empty…but not all of them. We capture one or two people at a base, we make them tell us where another base is. We’re grinding them down. And once they’re weak enough, we go in for the kill,” Kagura explained, elation seeping into her voice.

They had been reducing the enemy’s ability to fight bit by bit. This was a show of strength made possible by Isuzu’s existing upper hand. Chimera Clausen was being forced further into the shadows, desperate to retreat.

“Does that mean you’ve located their headquarters?” Mira asked her passionate friend.

Kagura slumped forward onto her low table lifelessly, like a toy that had run out of battery. “Well…Chimera’s pawns aren’t given jobs beyond moving between smaller bases. But if we keep rolling those up, sooner or later we’ll get a hit. Besides, even if we can’t find their HQ, we’re still saving spirits.”

“Hrmm, indeed.”

Pawns weren’t worth much. They needed to get a hit on the big players. Mira recalled the envelope that Solomon had given her. She’d forgotten about it amid the excitement of reuniting with Kagura. But this was a letter meant for Isuzu.

“Perhaps this will be of aid to you.” She stood up and approached Kagura.

Kagura turned her head to the side, still languishing in despair. “What is it?”

With her head slumped down on the table, Mira’s fluttering hemline was right before her eyes. The thought that this tiny girl was really Danblf made her burst into laughter.

“What’s gotten into you?” Mira grumbled. “Take this.” She plopped down next to Kagura and thrust the sealed envelope in her face. Kagura gloomily accepted it and read the sender’s name.

“Oh? A letter from Sol?”

“More precisely, it’s addressed to the head of Isuzu.”

“Ooh, huh?” Kagura replied shortly, unsealed the letter, and read the contents.

The letter explained what Mira and Solomon had discussed about the Spirit King before. It posited that Chimera Clausen was after the Spirit King, laid out how they had come to that conclusion, and listed the names of the three dungeons involved.

Kagura read quietly at first, but as she continued, her expression became more and more grave. At the same time, the fire in her eyes burned brighter. She stared at the letter so intensely that it seemed she might blast a hole in it at any moment. Once she’d finished, she slammed the letter on the table.

“The Spirit King… So that’s it.” Now certain of Chimera Clausen’s target, Kagura smirked fearlessly. She saw a ray of hope in the darkness.

“It seems I’ve helped out,” Mira said quietly.

“You don’t know the half of it…” Kagura answered, a triumphant smirk creeping across her face under predatory eyes. “It says you’re mine to command, Gramps. I’m expecting great things from you!”

“Wh-what…?” Now she would never get a break! Mira took Kagura’s place, collapsing over the low table. She waved a hand in silent assent: they had to prioritize routing Chimera above all else.

Mira thought idly that she should make a list of things to keep in the wagon so she could get at least some proper rest and relaxation during her travels.

“If we’re gonna move, we’d best move fast,” Kagura said. “I’m going to call the executives for an emergency meeting. I’ll introduce you as our…helper, Gramps. But seriously, Mira instead of Danblf? How’d you turn out like this?” She seemed suddenly curious.

“It’s a long story.”

“Sounds rough.”

“You have no idea.”

“Well, yeah. I literally have no idea.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Deciding to cut this pointless exchange short, Mira explained that she had hidden her identity because Solomon had asked her to. It would be more difficult to maneuver as Danblf, and this was perfect cover for searching for the other Wise Men.

“You’d go that far for Sol? You’re awfully devoted,” Kagura answered suspiciously. “Still, this is an important mission. You don’t look too intimidating in this form. Don’t you have a title or something I can give to my people so they take you seriously? ‘Special Envoy from Alcait’ and ‘Attendant to King Solomon’ kind of lack the necessary gravity, yeah?”

Kagura was well aware of Danblf’s powers, so she fully trusted the now-young summoner. Anybody would rejoice to have Danblf on their side. However, her subordinates would not have trusted Mira with their lives without that knowledge, and this job would entail crossing the continent. 

But Mira had a very convenient title.

“Hrmm? I’ve been introducing myself as Danblf’s pupil up to this point…” Mira answered.

Kagura looked her up and down incredulously for a moment until, with a sound like gunpowder exploding in her mouth, she burst into laughter again. 

“What the heck?! You’re calling yourself your own pupil?! I gotta admit, it’s not half bad. Let’s go with that.”

Now armed with the perfect pretense for Mira to be present at the meeting, Kagura gathered the Isuzu Alliance’s leaders to discuss their next move.