CHAPTER 11: TO LAURA’S VILLAGE

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Laura said she wanted to briefly return to her village, so I gave her a suggestion.

“I can give you a ride to my house.”

After that, we returned to my house by flying with Magic Arrow.

“Thank you very much! This was a huge help!”

“Where’s your village located?”

Laura drew a simple map and taught me where it was.

It was quite a ways off by foot, but I could get there with my Magic Arrow by evening if we left in the morning.

I’d need to lower our speed since I’d be using it to carry people, but it was much faster than walking.
Shortcuts were also possible since we could ignore terrain. 

She’ll be returning to her home village. 

I bet she’d be glad if she could get there faster.

“I can cover that distance in a day.
Want me to bring you there?”

“Huh? A-Are you sure? That’d be asking too much!”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

…I’d have nothing better to do at home, anyway.

Laura kept mumbling, “I can’t… but…” to herself, but in the end, she gave me a nod.

“Um, is it really not a bother to you?”

“It’s not a bother at all.”

After I replied, Laura spoke bashfully.

“Um… Then, could you please take me there?”

We decided to stay the night at my house and set off the next day.

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According to what Laura told me during supper—

“An ancestor of my village was an outstanding magician, so… I’m not sure if it’s because of that, but sometimes magicians with immense talent are born.”

“So that’d be you, huh.”

“No, not at all! I’m… not nearly good enough to be considered outstanding…“

After saying that, she continued on with a shy-looking expression.

“However, everyone in the village is expecting great things from me! I want to make them proud.
They’re all nice people, after all.”

“I see.
You gotta give it your best shot then, huh?”

“Yes!”

Laura nodded, smiling ear-to-ear.

After sleeping in separate rooms, we aimed for Laura’s village in the morning.

The weather was clear—perfect for traveling. 

“Magic Arrow.”

We flew through the sky.

We had to rush on exam day, but we were playing the long haul this time.
Taking fatigue into account, I lowered our speed and glided through the sky.

“Aah… This feels wonderful!”

Laura let out a cheerful voice.

“Huh?”

“The wind feels super great! I can’t believe the ground is so far down! So this is what it means to fly!”

Laura looked tense on exam day, but it seemed like she really enjoyed traveling by flight.

“Are you having fun?”

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“Yes! To tell you the truth, I wanted to try flying again… I was glad when you asked me!”

“That’s a relief.”

While landing every once in a while to take a break, we headed towards Laura’s village.

The sky slowly got darker, going from noon to evening.

…This is bad… Maybe I slowed down too much… Once it completely turns night, I’ll lose visibility, and I’ll be unable to locate the village.

“Laura! Are we still far from the village?”

“No, we’re nearly there!”

“Do you think we can walk from here?”

“Yes! It’ll be alright!”

With that, our flight ended. 

We landed on the ground.

“Can you walk there by yourself? I’ll be going on my way now.”

Laura grabbed my arm once I said that.

“You can’t!”

“Huh?”

“Can’t you see it’s already night! Please stay the night in our village! It’s really right just around the corner.”

I’m not good with other people, so dealing with strangers isn’t really my forte, but…

After seeing me at a loss for an answer, Laura pressed harder.

“You’ve always done so much for me, so… At least allow me to do this much for you! Unless… you find it unpleasant?”

“I got it.
I won’t hold back.
I’ll be in your care.”

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“Yes!”

With that said and done, I followed after Laura.

It got darker with each step.
Laura pulled out the wand attached to her waist and chanted a spell.

“Lighting.”

A light shone from the tip of her wand.

Under the unreliable light of the moon, we trusted in the light of her spell and made haste.
There wasn’t any hesitation in her steps, so it seemed like we weren’t lost. 

“We’ll be fine even if it gets dark.”

Laura gave a sweet grin.

“I was born and raised here, after all.
I could make my way home even with my eyes closed.”

She really is reliable.
I’d instantly get stranded if I got separated from Laura here.

Just then—

I could see something that looked like the light of a torch from far away.

Not just one—but multiple.

At the same time, I could hear the noise of something being pulled back.

It was a bow.

I went through some basic martial art training when I lived with my parents, so I could tell just by hearing it.

Someone was aiming at something.

And they were most likely aiming at us—

I felt a chill go down my spine.
We were wandering through the pitch-black night while carrying a light.
We were probably sitting ducks to our opponents.

The torchlights moved.

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I could hear multiple footsteps surround us in a semi-circle formation. 

…I wonder who they were.
Maybe bandits.

Having noticed the irregularities, Laura stopped in her tracks and gave me a worried look.

The torchlights dimly gave off the shadows of people.
However, we couldn’t get a good look at their faces because of the distance.

The other party in question most likely couldn’t tell who we were, either. 

What was the plan here?

There was no need for us to take action—since the other party did it for us.

“You there! Are you human!? Answer me!”

Laura was taken aback by that voice.
Afterward, she responded in a loud voice.

“Uncle Gardo!? It’s me! Laura!”

“L-Laura!?”

I could see the figures surrounding us become visibly confused.
They immediately approached us with indiscreet steps, throwing caution to the wind. 

“Laura, you’re back already!?”

A middle-aged man called Gardo stood in front of Laura.

“Yep.
This person right here brought me.”

Gardo looked at me with suspicion in his eyes.
I didn’t really get what was happening, so I simply responded with a slight bow.

Gardo put his hand on Laura’s shoulder.

“Sorry about that! I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“It’s alright, but… What’s going on? Everyone’s out walking at this hour…”

Gardo explained his reasoning with an earnest look on his face.

“This all happened after you left the village—goblins living nearby attacked our village.”