Counterintuitive Plans

I’m currently standing in a plain open grass field while Marieka and Annaliese hid in the trees behind me.

So… Why am I the bait?

Just a while ago, a day after we crossed the Grand valley, we were planning to head to a nearby village to rest for the day. And all of a sudden…

Their stomachs gurgled. They got hungry… And what do you know…? Wolves happen to be present in this area. So what did they do? They plan to set a bait.

I scratched my head in disbelief.

We tried choosing who will be in front. Marieka is too weak to be a bait, and Annaliese…? She’s unsure, because Brynheint doesn’t have magic wolves…

So it was decided… I was picked to be in the front… I had no choice either way, ah and probably because my robes are GREAT at filtering eighty seven percent of my mana. So I doubt I’ll be scaring the wolves into submission unless I remove my seal.

Shaking my head, moving on. My mana detection responded back, a ripple of mana came back to meーthere's six wolves hiding behind the trees in front of me.

I could kill all of them in an instant… But I’ll let the apprentice of my fellow Pointed hat colleague shine.

I stood still for ten minutes, and they finally showed themselves… Six large wolves appeared from the bushes, ones capable of using magic.

There’s also a few behind me, just a meter away. But I’ll deal with them later, Annaliese is still waiting in the tree behind me… She’s waiting for them to initiate an attack, which makes it easier to deal with getting them off-guard.

The wolves took small steps forward, their front body leaning down, their stances ready to kill at any moment. Then in an instant, the wolves jumped. 

I slowed down time.

Just to be sure… Even though this magic is taboo… I’m only using it within this area.

I looked up and saw Annaliese stopped in mid-air, holding her sword.

There she is. Scoffing, before raising my hand.

I snapped my fingers and time began to move forward. Then six of the wolves were cut open in a split-second, Annaliese broke her fall and landed softly on the ground. “Varieka. I saw a few behind us, I can takeー”

“ーThere’s no need, they already left. Their mana is gone, they’re out of my detection range.”

“Huh….? Really? Then… I’m sorry for having you as bait, Varieka… I wasn’t sure if I could kill them without magic, but thankfully they were easy to deal with.” Annaliese sheathed back her sword. “Now that I know. I don’t have to rely on using baits anymore…”

I exhaled at her response.

She’s underestimating herself. Well regardless, look at all these meat. We have food now!

Then the bush behind me began to ruffle before Marieka had jumped out of it. Seeing the corpses of the wolves, her expression shot up. Her mouth drooled just from staring at it.

I smiled. I can understand that, since magical wolf meat is tasty. Unlike humans, they store mana between their flesh and their mana is more condensed than a regular human being, which in turn naturally tenderizes it and removes the gamey-ness of the meat.

Clearing my throat I covered my face.

I tried one of these, and it was really tasty… 

⇔ ⇔ ⇔ ⇔

Marieka held out her hand and began chanting.

“Vuelies Araglia!” The branches turned into a campfire.

And finally, after hours of preparation later. We sat down on the grass, cooked the meat that Annaliese had butchered and began eating.

I took a bite, and as expected. It’s still as delicious as it is.

Marieka’s face shot up. “Mmm~~, It’s really good… Even without any sauce or salt, this is really good!!”

“I’m really surprised by the flavor. This is different from what we have in Brynheint… There’s no weird after-taste, It’s really good!” Annaliese nodded along.

Chewing as I stared at the meat, I exhaled. “....I much prefer it being served on a plate. But this is still pretty good, considering we’re in the forest.”

Marieka, who was still chewing turned to look at Annaliese.

“Ahniellse, child uuiou dkll us hur stodryー”

“ーMarieka… Finish chewing before speaking, it’s bad manners. You’re a mage student of an aristocratic academy, remember?” I asked.

She gulped and wiped her mouth with her handkerchief. “Varieka. It’s hard acting as an aristocrat all the time… It’s fine being me from time to time. And it’s only you two that I show it anyways~~, and you used to be one remember?”

“I still keep my manners from muscle memory… But that's true I guess, you weren’t previously a noble…”

Marieka laid down her food and cleared her throat. “So! As I was saying, could you tell us more about your story, Annaliese? How did you become an apprentice to a Pointed hat?”

Annaliese lowered the food in her hand.

“See, It’s not that complicated really, I was a royal knight and was chosen by pure luck because I showed potential. There’s nothing much to talk about, all I could say is that I went through a rough beating to land a single strike to my master.”

“Really!! So that’s why you’re so strong! Tell us more!”

“That’s about it, he taught me magic control. Swordsmanship, and so on… Actually, there was this one time, where I asked him if there was anyone possibly stronger than him.”

Marieka continued nodding. “Mhm! Mhm! And then…? What did he say!”

“He said there’s two people in this world that he can’t possibly beat, which are Mistress Nixie Norma and Mistress Eilise Frediereke. I asked him if he really had any chance of winning, and he said if the situation favors him, then he might win. ” 

“Achoo~~”

I sneezed, glancing at Annaliese with a blunt expression.

Listen here, how delusional is this man….? Should I give him a beating? I almost threw up my food… Even with all the luck in the world. He’s literally the weakest out of the five kingdom’s pointed hats.

“Really!! Mister Ewald is probably underestimating himself….? I’m sure he can beat Mistress Eilise in a fair battle.”

I look at Marieka, my brows furrowed. Restraining myself. “Ah… Marieka…? Would you mind explaining to me… How would he exactly do that…?”

Marieka tilted her head. “I haven’t seen Mistress Eilise perform in battle, so I don’t know how strong she really is… But judging how strong Annaliese is, Mister. Ewald is much stronger! So I think he might stand a chance!”

Is she intentionally trying to make me angry…??

Annaliese cleared her throat. “ーSorry… But out of the question… What happened to Mistress Eilise? I always hear people from Ryven saying she’s been missing for a year… Do you guys know what happened to her?”

I placed a finger to my cheek. Hmm…? I don’t know myself…?! She could be dead!! Maybe held captive??!!! It’s scary to think about!!!

“Varieka and I don’t really know ourselves… There's no trace of her anywhere, nor did they find any remains. So I suspect Mistress Eilise might be somewhere? I don’t really know If she’ll come back again.” Marieka gave me the side eye responding to her question.

I averted her gaze, my face dripped with sweat.

“.....Really? Then… That’s really unfortunate, I was hoping to see her one day… The citizens here always say that she was perfect, bearing the image of a true Pointed hat.” Annaliese slouched.

I narrowed my eyes. Says who…? There’s more negatives than there are positives from me.

“ーI’d like to meet her if she ever returns. Hopefully. Because I want to see another kingdom’s pointed hat!”

“But, Annaliese… You need at least a connection to specifically meet her… It’s hard to personally talk to her without connections…” Marieka responded.

Annaliese’s jaw opened. “E… Ehhh…? She’s that famous?!! Then she’s really amazing…!! I’ll try to find some connections, someday, probably…”

“I can help you! But I’ll be graduating by the end of the year… So unless she comes back before next year.”

“You have a connection to her?? Marieka??”

She jolted, averting her gaze. “A… Ah… No, it's just that I’m a student of Vernhuld. Nothing much…”

I exhaled, concerned. I hope Marieka doesn’t talk too much.

Staring at the sky, I assured her internally.

But don’t worry Annaliese. I met her before, she’s very kind and caring… On the outside that is…. However, I'm positive that Annaliese WILL meet Mistress Eilise someday!! 

I cleared my throat and muttered to myself. “Yeah no I’m gonna keep hiding…”