Thereafter of An Exiled Magician

“Awesome-!!”

I get surprised by the loud voice and turn around.
There I see the girl called Reno, looking at me with glittering eyes.

“So nii-chan was a magician!”
“Eh? Well, yes that’s accurate.”

She seemed chummy for someone who was so hostile just moments ago.
Though I can’t say much about others, after getting happy from just a single compliment.

“If nii-chan’s here, we’re as strong as 100 people!”
“…I’ll do my best to work in place of 100 people.”

Somehow, I begin wondering if I can do more than just defend this place, to also meet this child’s expectations.
Till now, it was simply a methodical exchange.

For the time being, It seems like I’m going to stay here for a few months, so maybe I’ll try out a few things.

***

“Nii-chan, first I’ll show you our home! Come, come!!”
“Alright, I’m coming with you so stop pulling.”

I couldn’t escape from my absent-minded state, even after seeing the magician boy getting pulled by Reno.

He burried all those greywolves with just a single attack.

Greywolves also attacked this village a month and a half ago.
At that time, we managed to repel it with ten men, of which five died.

Moreover, the number of greywolves that came out of the forest this time was more than double that time.
At first, when I saw them come out of the forest, I prepared myself to die.

Looking at Reno and the others’ back while standing up, I felt a tug on my clothes.
I turn to see who it was, only to find Sui.

She doesn’t speak much, so she usually pulls on my clothes when she wants to do something.

“What’s wrong, Sui?”
“…That.”

Looking in the direction where Sui pointed, you could see something like a dent just beyond where the magician boy was standing.

When I approach it, I find a moat that is as deep as my height.
The moat continues in an arc, and while I can’t see it all from here, I’m pretty sure it’s built around the whole village.

“No way, is this also his magic?”
“… Probably yes.
It wasn’t there till a while ago.”

Sui was also staring at the moat next to me.

“I can’t believe it.
How much magic skill does one need to make this…”

I couldn’t use it myself, but I have learnt all there is to know about magic.
That’s why, I know there’s a spell to dig holes.

However, Even being able to dig a small hole is considered having tremendous magical power.

Which is why I think we may have become allies with a ridiculous person.

***

“This is our house!”
“Heee-“

I was dragged by Reno and got guided around the biggest house in this village.

Only this house had seemed to be built unusually sturdy, and apparently this was where everyone was living together.

The insides really felt lived in.

While I was looking around the house, a woman came out from the inside.

“Reno-chan, welcome back.
Was everything okay outside?”
“Ah! Milia nee-chan! Yeah, nii-chan beat them all up!”
“Nii-chan?”

The woman finally notices me and bowed towards me.

“Nice to meet you.
My name is Milia.”
“Oh, nice to meet you, Milia-san.
My name is Lain.”
“Oh no need for Milia-san, I’m just a pioneer here.
Please call me Milia, Lain-san.”
“Alright, Milia.
Call me Lain as well.”
“Yes, Lain.”

With beautiful conduct, Milia-san bows her head and introduces herself.
I bow in return, and introduce myself as well.

“Lain, huh.
That reminds me I didn’t introduce myself.
I’m Reno.
Nice to meet ya’, Lain nii-chan!”
“Yeah.
Nice to meet you, Reno.”

Reno also introduces herself when she hears the self-introduction I gave to Milia.
That reminds me, this was my first self-introduction in this village.

“Lain-san, I would like to extend my gratitude to you for assisting us.”
“Please.
This was my fault to begin with.
Of course I would.”

When I say that, Reno and Milia’s facial expressions become cloudy.

“? Is there a problem?”
“No, it’s something between us, so please don’t worry.”

The air is heavy.
It seems that something had happened, but I was denied from even hearing about it.

“…More importantly, did Aria and the others cause you any troubles?”
“Ah~”

In retrospect, it was pretty high pressure till now.
Milia seemed to understand the situation from my expression and makes a deep bitter smile.

“My apologies.”
“It isn’t worth apologizing for.”

Until now I had been treated as cattle or as a hunting dog, so I feel at ease with her since she treats me like a human.

“After facing unfortunate circumstances, we all were once left with no where to go.
Aria just has a bad habit of being overprotective of us.”
“I see.”
“So if possible, I would appreciate if you could overlook her shortcomings.
She is something like our mother here.”
“Somehow, that sounds more like a father than a mother.”
“Fufu.
That may be so.
But don’t say that to her, or she’ll definitely get angry.”

Milia giggles while saying so.
I too get carried away, and begin laughing.

“Hey.
You.”

At the same time, the much talked-about Aria calls out to me.
I cringe for a second, but realize that she somehow hadn’t heard us.

She didn’t look angry at all.

“Don’t you have to go pick up those magic stones? If you leave them in that place, they’ll be taken away by monsters.”
“Ah, I forgot.”

I should go and collect the magic stones of the monsters I just defeated.
Magic stones can also be used as bait for monsters, and if you leave them, the monsters will clear them away.
But they sell well and can be used in magic tools as well.
I had no choice but to collect them.

“Why didn’t you pick them up if you saw them?”
“I wanted to, but the entire village seems to be surrounded by a large moat which can’t be crossed.”
“Ah”

I’d forgotten that as well.
Since I was told to improve our defenses, I decided to make a simple moat.

The monsters that came out weren’t a big deal, and it should be fine to bury it.
No, the representative is in front of me.
I should probably listen to her before acting.

“Should I leave the moat as it is? Or should I leave it and build a bridge?”
“Eh? You can fill it?”
“That much should be easy, right?”

I dug it myself, so I also know I can fill it myself.
Besides, it’s not a deep moat.

“… It’s a good opportunity, let’s keep it.”
“Good then.
I’ll make a drawbridge over it later.”

I say this to Aria, and head outside.