Recovery

At some point Kai woke up and said he’d replace me, so I slept for a little more, but found myself unable to stay still once actual morning came and the sun bore down on us.

The lake remained as desolate and bloody as the day before. The body of the dragon-serpent almost looked like some small island in the lake.

Also—Saga finally regained consciousness.

“…Hah. So I’m alive,” were her very first words as she regarded us groggily. And then grimaced.

“Does it still hurt? I bet you’re hungry and thirsty, too,” said Kai. “I’ve got a solution for both. Here you go.”

Saga blinked as she was handed a fruit. It was the same one hanging from the trees around the lake. It somewhat resembled a pear in shape, but was much sweeter.

Hesitatingly, Saga took a bite. “Hah, not bad.” She looked back to us, and then down at her bandaged body. “So you treated me.”

“Yes. And just so you know, it was Kai who stripped you, not me.”

“Hey!”

Saga did not seem to have any response to this. She tried moving her body, but grimaced again.

“Oh, right. Lemme try heal to you up a bit,” I said, leaning toward her. She flinched for a moment, but then held still. Her cold eyes were looking into mine.

I hadn’t really noticed it during the night, but she looked so different like this. In class she was always prim and proper, a cold gaze hidden behind glasses, her braid as tight as her lips.

In this world, however, although she mostly remained cold, she was also much wilder. Right now her hair was loose, she wore no glasses, and she wore little more than bandages. Also, it might be because of the sun, but her hair color looked lighter than I remember it.

Was this the real Saga I was seeing for the first time?

Recalling what she mumbled last night, probably not yet. There were still more layers to uncover.

I recalled I was supposed to heal her and hurriedly cast the spell. I could feel my power pouring into her and her face regained some of its color, but it started draining me so I stopped. It was probably good enough for now.

“What’s with that look?” she asked. She then looked around her, frowning. “Where’s the…”

I realized she was referring to her sword. “Oh, sorry,” I said. “I kinda used it to kill Squeaky, and it fell inside with it…”

I expected Saga to get angry at me, at least widen her eyes or something, but she said nothing. Maybe she was just shocked.

“I mean, I guess we can try to fish it out… but you’re in no shape to fight for now anyway, and it sounds like a bother…”

“We should find you a new weapon,” said Kai. “We did take a couple of knives, will they do the trick?”

Saga looked between us, and then shook her head. “Hah, there’s no need for that.”

She raised her hand. For a moment I wondered if she was just going to punch or slap me or something, but she kept her palm open over empty air.

Except that it was no longer empty.

Accompanied by a small flash of light, a certain object appeared in her outstretched hand and she immediately grabbed it. A sword with an ivory grip and a silver blade that gleamed under the tree-filtered sunlight.

I widened my eyes. Kai made a confused-sounding gasp.

“Wait, you can summon it?” I asked. “Since when?”

“Hah. I’m just that awesome,” she said, her voice completely serious. I had the distinct feeling she wasn’t going to say any more than that, no matter how much I asked. The fact she answered in with such a line practically confirmed it.

Saga stuck the blade into the ground and then tried using it as a crutch to rise up on her legs. However, she ended up groaning in pain and giving up in the middle.

“Hey, don’t push yourself,” advised Kai, looking worried.

Saga ignored him and made another attempt. Her expression was almost neutral, barely showing any sign of pain.

“We can’t stop here,” she said.

Kai and I exchanged glances. “I guess that’s true,” I said, “though this seems like a safe place. Actually, if Squeaky is One’s servant or whatever, wouldn’t he come here at some point? That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

She shook her head. “Hah, did you forget what that stupid snake said?”

“What Squeaky said?” repeated Kai.

It really was a stupid name no matter how many times I heard it, even in spite of the terror the creature itself inspired. But thinking back to its words…

“Right… it mentioned something about One waiting for us,” I recalled. That also made me realize something quite frightening. “Do you think that… One is testing us or something?”

“What?” asked Kai.

“Fighting multiple squads, one after another, and then his most loyal monster,” said Saga, seemingly following my line of thought. “Yes, I see. That might be the case.”

“Seriously?” Kai sputtered. “That guy is acting like some cliché villain?”

I smiled. “Isn’t everything about this current setup, prophecy and all, cliched in the first place? There are many stories like that.”

Kai gave me a stare. “Right, stories for losers.”

“…That’s going a bit far, don’t you think? Where’s the harm in that, anyway? People read things that are interesting. And besides—”

“Alright!” Kai raised his hands. “No need to go on a nerd rage, I get it. Sheesh.”

I grumbled something under my breath but didn’t pursue it any further.

“Hah, let’s just get going,” said Saga, stabbing her sword into the ground again. If the situation wasn’t what it was, I might have laughed at the way she was using it as a makeshift walking cane.

“What are you even thinking? Look at you. Even if we find One now, you won’t be able to fight him,” said Kai.

“Heal me whenever you can,” Saga said, turning a fierce gaze to me. Despite her clear weakness and how pale she was—paler than usual, anyway—her eyes were still powerfully cold. “We can’t just waste time resting.”

She pressed forward. Me and Kai exchanged worried glances.

“I managed to retrieve one arrow,” he told me. “But that’s it… that’s all I have. And with Saga like this… it’s suicidal.”

“I dare you to try and hold her down, then. I’m not healing you if you get a sword in your gut, though.”

The other boy sighed. “Yeah, I guess we can’t stop her. Better follow her, then. Let’s see… maybe I can learn how to use one of our knives.” He picked up the bag and passed next to me, tapping my shoulder. “I think we’ll be counting on you quite a lot now, nerd mage.”

“Shut up,” I said, but I actually smiled.

I was finally in the spotlight. I killed Squeaky, saved Saga, and my magic was growing stronger and stronger by the day—soon, I’d surely be able to erase any enemy with a wave of my hand, even the Three Warriors.