A minute later, Theo was on the ground, looking at the sky. 'That was fast...' Theo thought.
"You fail to impress me." Gavin said.
"I figured." Theo said blandly.
"Well, that aside, show me your magic." Gavin said as he pointed to a rock. Theo sat up and looked at where Gavin is pointing.
"Alright, that's the one thing I'm confident in." Theo said.
"Do it, then." Gavin said. Theo stood up and stabbed the sword into the dirt.
"Okay." He said as he took a moment to decide on what spell to use. "Wait, are elite level spells okay, or just high-level?" Theo asked.
"Preferably the strongest attack spell you have." He said. Theo nodded.
"Okay." He said, the aimed at the target. "Tidal flow." He said, immediately causing a large, bright blue light to form as well as a large amount of water to shoot at the target. Within a second, the water hit the rock, destroying the top half of it.
"You are indeed much better with magic." He stated.
"Did you see that!? The girl shortened her chant, but not that much!" A guard spoke with amazement.
"You... Have impressed me with that." Gavin said reluctantly. "Even so, your swordsmanship is lacking, so you will have to come with me." Gavin said as he picked up the sword from the dirt. "I'll send a letter with a guard, so get into the carriage now." He stated.
'Not even a goodbye is allowed?' Theo thought to himself as he walked to the carriage. After a few minutes, they set off.
After a few hours, they stopped for a bathroom break. "If you have to use the bathroom, do it now." Gavin said.
"I'm fine." Theo said as he waited awkwardly for the carriage to start moving again. After a few moments, Gavin began to seem annoyed.
"They're taking too long." He said as he stood up calmly and opened the carriage door.
"Hey there, Mr. Rulebook." A man said.
'I don't recognize that voice!' Theo thought as he took a moment to glance out the door. Just as he did, something was thrown in the carriage, Gavin was pulled out, and the door was slammed. Soon, the carriage began to fill with some kind of gas, and Theo passed out.
Upon waking up, Theo was in a cell.
'And that about brings us here. Apparently, they tried putting a slave seal on me, but they couldn't find a good enough rune maker to go against my mana.' Theo thought as he went up the stairs of the dungeon he was held in until mere minutes ago.
'After that, they tried weakening my will with torture, but eventually, they just gave up and left me in there, I assume they were hoping time would wear me down, but they didn't know that I used to be a professional NEET!' Theo thought to himself.
"It's a bit awkward to say this now, but I just recalled my early childhood." Theo said heisitantly.
"So you remember me now?" She asked.
"Yeah." Theo said.
"You better not be lying." She said.
"I'm not." Theo said.
"Good!" Sydney said with a happy tone. After a few more moments of walking, they reached the top of the stairs and made a break for the exit.
"So, how'd you manage this?" Theo asked.
"I convinced a lot of people and managed to get a letter to a prince that then sent aide in return for assistance with a project only magic would help with. I then created the temporary rescue force to rescue you. This, of course, was all started once I had heard you weren't in the family house." Sydney explained.
"I see." Theo said as they approached some carriages.
"Now we head home." Sydney said with a smile.
"She neglects to mention that a large number of people were helped in this mission." The guard that is with them mentioned.
"Who needs those details?" Sydney said with a laugh. "Anyway, this is the carriage we'll be in." Sydney said as she opened the door on a carriage. "You go in first." She stated. Theo nodded, then entered. Sydney entered after him and a few minutes later, they started moving.
"How'd you find me?" Theo asked.
"Somebody was betrayed and hoped to gain something by telling us where you were. They didn't gain a thing." Sydney said.
"Well, that explains that I suppose." Theo said.
"Have they done anything to you?" Sydney asked.
"Not for over four and a half years." Theo said lightly as he leaned back in his seat. "This seat feels like clouds compared to that bed though." Theo said.
"That aside, you still have to go to the family house, unfortunately, but, we get you for a few days, and I forced mom and dad to hold off on celebrating my fifteenth birthday until we found you." Sydney said.
"You didn't have to wait, you know?" Theo asked.
"It's a family event. It wouldn't be the same without the whole family." Sydney said melancholically.
"That's true." Theo said. "By the way, I never thanked you for helping me, so thanks." Theo said. Sydney tilted her head in confusion. "You tried helping me with swordsmanship." He said.
"Ah, I forgot about that. I did. I just didn't want you to leave..." She said quietly.
"Well, seeing where it lead, that makes sense." Theo said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I suppose." She said.
"Well, putting small talk aside, it's good to see you again." Theo said.
"It's good to see you too." Sydney responded. "I'm sure mom and dad will be even happier, though." She said with a warm smile.