Beyond the Mage

Having finally returned to the Adventurers’ Guild, I spotted Liz walking out in the distance. She looked quite exhausted, judging by the unsteady way she moved. Had she used too much mana again?

“Liz! Over here!” I shouted.

Hearing my voice, she turned toward me with an irritated and weary expression. It was a little unsettling, especially as she staggered toward me as if she might collapse at any moment. Looking closer, she almost resembled a vengeful spirit.

“You…” she murmured in a chilling voice. “Why did you leave me here alone!? Weren’t you supposed to come with me!?” she added, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me as if to force an answer out. She seemed to have more energy than I’d thought.

“I’m sorry! But I had something important to do!” I managed to reply.

“I’m listening…”

Her gaze was sharp; I could almost feel how she was peering straight into my soul, searching for even the slightest hint of a lie to throw back at me. I had wanted to wait for a better moment to give it to her, but I suppose there was no point in hiding it anymore.

Mental note: never push Liz to this level again.

“Here.” I said, pulling out a small box.

“Eh? What’s this?”

“A gift. Despite all the problems we’ve been through, you’ve always helped me—even when we were complete strangers—so I wanted to thank you.”

Liz’s expression changed. Her face now showed surprise, and above all, curiosity. Yes, a sweet look suited her much better than a frightening one.

She took the little box and opened it. When she saw what was inside, I could see her eyes light up. She didn’t need to tell me what she thought; with that look alone, I could tell I had made the right choice.

“It’s a necklace… It’s beautiful,” she said, unable to take her eyes off it.

“It took me a while to choose; these things aren’t exactly my strong point,” I admitted nervously.

“The gem is beautiful too.”

“Yeah. It reminded me of your spells, that’s why I picked that green color.”

It had been completely worth it. Seeing Liz’s smile—so big and radiant—made me feel as though every burden on me simply vanished. I felt light and full of life just by looking at her.

“Hey…”

“What is it?” I asked.

“…Would you help me put it on?”

“Sure… Wha—!?”

The sudden request caught me off guard.

Help her put it on!? Normally, I wouldn’t have minded, but for some time now, being so close to her always made me nervous and restless. Damn it, I should’ve imagined this might happen.

Liz handed me the box with the necklace and turned her back to me, lifting her hair so I could fasten it. Each step I took made my heart pound harder, until it reached a worrying level when I was finally close enough. I reached around her and adjusted the necklace, but when it came time to clasp it shut, I struggled; my hands were trembling too much.

The situation felt extremely tense for me, but then I noticed Liz’s nape turning slightly red, and even her hands—holding her hair up—were trembling just like mine. We were both nervous about this. Oddly enough, realizing that helped me relax a little, just enough for my hands to steady somewhat.

“Th-there…”

At last, I managed to fasten the necklace after about a minute. Liz let go of her hair and turned to face me, showing it off. Just as I suspected from the flush on her neck, her face was also blushing as she looked down.

“How does it look on me?” she asked timidly, glancing up at me with her bright blue eyes.

“… It looks beautiful on you.”

“R-really?” Liz stammered, even more nervous than before because of my reply. “…Thank you.”

We both remained silent for a while longer, weighed down by the tension in the air. Neither of us could find the right words after such a scene, but if I didn’t say something soon, we could be stuck here for hours until things calmed down.

A topic of conversation… Ah! That’s right, she had taken the guild exam.

“B-by the way… how did the guild test go?”

“Oh! That’s right!” she suddenly exclaimed. Looks like I wasn’t the only one who had forgotten for a moment. “I did it, Naoya! I was promoted to Rank B!”

“Rank B!? Congratulations!”

Rank B was nothing to take lightly. Based on the analysis my instructor had once given of my own performance, Rank B was mainly for those who stood out but still had room to grow. For Liz to be promoted so high meant she must have put up an impressive fight.

“Yes! Now we’ll be able to take on more difficult requests.”

“Do you think you’re ready for one? We could go ahead and accept one and leave tomorrow morning. The sooner we earn money, the better.”

“You’re right! Let’s do it!” she said energetically.

I was glad we had overcome the earlier tension, though seeing her this happy didn’t do anything to calm my racing heartbeat.

Anyway, we both went into the guild, accepted a request, and then went out to eat something to celebrate Liz’s promotion.

It was time to rest. Tomorrow we’d take a small detour to work before continuing on to the capital, so it was best to be in top condition.

***

After resting and spending the night at the inn, early in the morning we packed our things, found transport, and headed toward a forest about a day’s travel from the town of Uvras.

The request asked us to collect about twenty Stalkey fangs, so we would need to spend a good while searching until we found a group. Fortunately, Liz told me that Stalkeys weren’t strictly nocturnal, so there shouldn’t be too many problems.

Speaking of Liz, as usual, she was writing in her notebook. She had been at it for quite a while, and this time she was writing even faster than normal. She seemed very motivated.

I’d try asking her, see if I had any luck this time.

“What are you writing so much? Another journal?” I asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Since we hadn’t spoken much before that, she startled a little at my question. She seemed to be getting nervous again; I was already preparing myself to try and grab the notebook like last time, but then she finally spoke.

“I… No. It’s not a journal,” she replied timidly. “The truth is… I’m writing a novel…”

Her answer surprised me. With how desperately she had been trying to hide it, I had thought it might be something incredibly important or personal, but it turned out to be something fairly ordinary—though still quite curious.

“You see… I write stories during my travels to entertain myself. My dream is to become a writer loved by people,” she explained as she handed me her notebook.

I thought I’d finally get a look at what she had guarded so closely, but all I found were scribbles that made no sense to me. No, on closer inspection, they did follow certain patterns and order—the problem was that I couldn’t understand them. I might speak the same language as Liz, but the written form must be different. Or maybe it had something to do with my summoning. I wasn’t sure. In the end, I closed the book and let Liz continue talking.

“I used to love it when my parents told Lui and me bedtime stories. I was so fascinated by some of them that I ended up wanting to write my own, to make others feel the same way I did as a child.”

Her voice trembled as she spoke, surely from nostalgia and from remembering her parents—moments of happiness that she hadn’t known would be taken from her so suddenly. Yet even with that melancholy weight in her voice, I could also sense her genuine passion and love for writing. So many things, both painful and joyful, had inspired her to want others to enjoy her stories. It was a beautiful dream.

“It’s kind of embarrassing, don’t you think?”

“No,” I replied firmly. “I think it’s a wonderful dream, and as far as I’m concerned, you have all my support. I’m sure you’ll make it someday.”

Liz’s eyes lit up again, glistening slightly with moisture. Then, suddenly, she leaned closer to me, excited by my words.

“Do you really mean it!?”

“Yes. I hope you can achieve this dream and every other dream you may have… unlike me.”

The last part of my sentence puzzled Liz. I don’t know why I said it. Maybe a small venting of feelings, maybe to remind myself of my place, or maybe even a faint cry for help I wasn’t aware of.

“Why? Did something happen?” Liz asked, worried.

It was a subject I always had trouble talking about. Even back then, some friends from the gym where I trained or from university had wanted to ask me about it, but I always dodged the question and quickly changed the subject. But maybe, seeing how sincerely Liz had opened up to me, I ended up wanting to do the same.

Being with this girl had changed me, certainly.

“Where do I even begin?” I asked myself in dismay.

It was a long story, but I thought it was finally time to tell someone.