Chapter 2: The Sky of Travel
"Master, lunch is ready!"
Lucian, a female adventurer who was hired as our escort, called us from inside the carriage.
Initially, she had arranged and prepared meals for us separately, with different menus and locations. But when I asked if it was not too much trouble to have separate meals and menus, she replied that it was because I was the son of a count. So I suggested it would be more efficient and easier to have the same meals, and that's how we ended up doing it.
It seemed unexpected for them that a noble would say something like that. But our household was more like a bunch of foolish brothers, and in that case, it would be normal to have separate meals in many ways.
"Lucian-san, could you please stop calling me 'Master'?"
"But, you are the son of a count."
"It's not that grand, actually. In that house, I am just a shadow."
Currently, I am dressed in a West Coat and Cravat, which is a somewhat formal attire. It might make me look somewhat noble, but my appearance is just a facade. In reality, I am far from being a noble.
Since this journey's escort is at the request of the count's family, I plan to behave accordingly. But when we arrive at the border city, I want to quickly equip myself with more wizard-like gear. Even the magic wand I have is a cheap one, and I had to compromise on various aspects.
Anyway, for now, it's lunchtime. We decided to have lunch here because the view from the gently rolling hills was beautiful.
Lucian guided us to have lunch under the blue sky with the escort adventurers. The weather was nice, and it was a peaceful moment.
Today's meal consisted of vegetable soup seasoned with salt, black bread, and dried meat.
What's great is that there's no one to nag about table manners, and the atmosphere and food are delicious. It's a wonderful feeling of liberation.
The escort adventurers are a group of adventurers called Forest Bird and are quite well-known in the Gartner County and its surrounding areas. There are two warriors named Robin and Fitz as the vanguard, Monica, who is skilled in handling knives and bows, and Lucian, who is capable of both healing and attacking magic, making a well-balanced composition. The ratio of men to women is almost half and half.
Lucian has a gentle and laid-back atmosphere, and the other members also seem to be good-natured. Although they do not give off the impression of being skilled in rough work, they are undoubtedly skilled in their own right.
"By the way, why is the young master heading towards Termwills?"
Robin, who had freckles on his chestnut-colored hair, asked. You too, huh.
"That's why I told you to stop calling me young master. It's not my style."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Hehehe."
I wish they would stop that warm smile that says "It's cute how the child is trying to act grown-up." It's an emotional issue for the person inside, not something to be smiled at.
"...You can just call me Theodore."
Some people call me Teo for short.
"You live over there, right?"
"Are you trying to strike it rich or something?" Monica and Fitz asked.
"No, it just seems interesting, Termwills. Besides, I hate my family's home."
"I see..."
With that answer, they nodded as if understanding. Then they each became strangely pensive.
They were adventurers, after all. People have different reasons for choosing to be adventurers, and there are various things that touch them or make them think. For now, I think it's very desirable that they didn't belittle me for being a nobleman's hobby.
I chose the Forest Birds as my companions on this journey. There were several groups of adventurers who wanted to take on the request, but I chose them from among them. I asked them about their motives for taking on the request, and I liked their answer.
They said it was great to get paid to go to Termwills. It was a reason that seemed fitting for adventurers.
After escorting us, they apparently plan to dive into the dungeon over there.
I am expecting that as a hired guard, there might be an assassin who is working under Katherine's orders. While Forest Bird's motive might seem like the most ridiculous one, it actually made me feel safe and I could empathize with it.
The emotions I have towards Termwills may be similar to those of adventurers heading towards the border city. We share a connection to that city, and we hold dreams and hopes for it.
To be honest, I don't really miss my life in Japan. Maybe it's because society was matured. It was difficult to live and even harder to die... the sense of confinement honestly feels suffocating when I think back on it.
I don't want to live my life anymore with my shoulders hunched like before. I can't stand having things taken away from me unfairly and abruptly like my former self's last moments. I will live without hesitation and rely on my own power.
The journey is going relatively smoothly. Having a guard around means that weak monsters don't come close.
I left the vigilance of the surroundings to Forest Bird and decided to use the journey as an opportunity to practice and experiment with magic to my heart's content.
That being said, if I can handle the skill of magic power circulation, which is the essence of a battle mage, I can be relatively casual with the rest.
I don't know how other magicians in this world are doing it, but at least in my case, I can handle magic with the same sensation as during BFO, and I remember the way of circulation literally as a sensation.
"Theodore-sama."
As I played with a small magic circle on my fingertip, Grace tilted her head and called out to me.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"I don't know much about magic, but I have heard that the magic circle is a very advanced technique."
Oh...is that so? I can do normal incantations, but there are many disadvantages to using it in battle. The biggest problem is that if you mess up the incantation, you fumble.
However, without incantations, the power of magic generally decreases, and the practicality of magic without incantations is only up to around the third-level magic at best.
If you want to do fourth to sixth-level magic, which is considered intermediate magic, without incantations, the activation becomes slower.
To overcome these various problems, a technique was devised to construct magic spells using magic circles drawn with magic power. This is called a magic circle, and it promises faster and more reliable completion of magic than incantations.
While there is a disadvantage of consuming a large amount of magical power for casting spells, the benefits are even greater. This can be acquired as a skill in BFO, but it is so convenient that almost no one in the magical profession fails to acquire it. The exception might be players who only use magic for production purposes or those who enjoy incantations as part of the romance.
"...I think anyone who can use it can use it? I haven't had too much trouble with it,"
"Is that so? I'm sure Theodore-sama's magical talent is a natural gift,"
Grace was delighted as she smiled back and responded to my answer as if it were her own.
Well, if you call it a natural gift, that's the only answer I can give.
As I smiled ambiguously, the carriage suddenly stopped moving.
"T-Theodore-san! Something terrible is happening!"
Lucian, who was sitting in the driver's seat, called out to me in a panicked voice. I looked out the window of the carriage, even without asking for an explanation, the situation was obvious. A lot of animals, such as deer, monkeys, and wolves, were running away from the other side of the road.
It was clear that something was very wrong, as even goblins and kobolds were running desperately among the animals. The horses were frightened and neighing, unable to move.
Upon confirming the situation, I immediately prepared to activate my intermediate light magic, Life Detection, which belongs to the fourth rank. A magic circle began to shine at my feet, constructing the spell.
This magic allows me to see the aura of living things with the naked eye. Different colors represent different classifications, such as plants, mammals, insects, reptiles, and fish. Generally, the stronger the radiance, the stronger the individual.
It's meaningless for undead, but let's see what's visible.
... Purple light. It's an insect-type monster. As the purple light leaps onto the silhouette of an animal, the red radiance disappears. There are so many overlapping that it's hard to distinguish individual contours, but it looks like an ant the size of a large dog.
It's a swarm of Killer Ants. They occasionally cause significant damage when they have a massive outbreak, and they're definitely coming towards us. I don't want any train-riding by wild animals, please.
"... That's a swarm of Killer Ants."
"Eh, Ants!? A swarm!?"
"Oh, let's run, too!"
Lucian is panicking, and everyone else seems to be restless. Even if we run, we're likely to be caught up in this situation.
In any case, I want to make sure that Grace can protect herself, no matter what.
"Grace. The ring, please."
"Yes, my lord Theodore."
I bite my lip to draw blood and kiss the ring Grace handed me.
"-Release the restraint."