The Rampaging Buffalo

When we arrived at the scene, I immediately saw the buffalo rampaging in the middle of the village center. What I didn't expect was just how enormous it was. Its body was muscular, its horns long and sharp, and every stomp of its hooves made the ground beneath us tremble.

I could see several muscular men struggling to restrain it. They had already grabbed the ropes wrapped around the buffalo's body, but their strength was nowhere near enough.

“Argh! Hold him!”

“I-It’s impossible! It’s too strong!”

The buffalo thrashed violently and swung its head with tremendous force.

WHAM!!

The buffalo rampaged again, dragging the ropes still wrapped around its body and smashing through anything in its path. Carts were overturned, crates were scattered everywhere, and several market stalls were smashed apart. The villagers ran for their lives, screaming in panic.

“Quick! Get out of the way!”

“Don’t get close! The buffalo is out of control!”

“Even those men, whose bodies are much bigger than mine, can't hold it back.”

I immediately ran toward the buffalo. If even those men couldn't restrain it, then I had to find another way to stop it.

“Miss! Are you sure you can stop that buffalo!?” the woman who had come with me shouted anxiously.

“Don’t worry! I can do this!”

As I ran, I raised my hand and tried to use plant magic to bind the buffalo's legs. The ground beneath it suddenly cracked. Thick roots emerged from beneath the surface, and wrapped themselves around its hind legs, causing the buffalo to stumble before falling forward.

“Wow! I didn't expect my magic to work right away. Unlike before.”

Although I had successfully cast the spell on it, the strength of my magic was still very weak and wasn't enough to stop the buffalo completely. So I tried using earth magic again to stop its movements. The ground around the buffalo's legs began to tremble. Chunks of stone emerged from the surface, growing larger and hardening around its legs before clamping them firmly against the ground.

For the moment, the buffalo's rampage had been brought under control. Some of the men who had been thrown aside earlier began getting back on their feet and returned to help.

I slowly approached the buffalo and tried to calm it down. However, as I drew closer, I suddenly sensed something strange. For a moment, a shadow appeared inside my mind. It wasn't one of my own memories. It was something that had come from the buffalo. I could feel a deep sense of fear, as if something was forcing it to rampage. Amidst that hazy vision, I saw the vague figure of a person. From that person, I could sense a strange flow of magic, as though some kind of spell had been used to make the buffalo go berserk.

“W-What!?”

I was startled and instinctively took a small step backward.

But at that exact moment, the buffalo raised its head and began rampaging even more violently than before. Its massive body slammed against the ground repeatedly, causing the roots binding its legs to snap and the stones surrounding them to crack.

“Why did it suddenly become stronger…!?”

“Hey, miss! Don't just stand there! Quickly, cast your spell again and make this buffalo stop!” one of the men shouted.

“A-Ah, r-right—”

I immediately tried to cast the spell again. But before I could, the stones binding the buffalo's legs cracked apart and finally shattered. The buffalo broke free and began running wildly.

Without realizing it, one of my feet had ended up inside a loop of rope lying on the ground. As the buffalo started running again, the rope was pulled along with it and wrapped around my leg, causing my body to be dragged behind it.

“Whoa— Stop! Stop! Buffalo!”

I struggled to get my leg loose, but the buffalo was already running too fast. My body continued to be dragged across the ground, kicking up clouds of dust as I was pulled along the village road.

Suddenly, the buffalo turned onto another road, causing my body to swing sideways along with it. I was about to crash into a nearby fence. Acting quickly, I immediately cast wind magic to push my body in the opposite direction and avoid the fence. The gust of wind that burst from my hand successfully altered my momentum, allowing me to pass over the fence without hitting it.

“Woah! That was close!”

Without thinking twice, I immediately cut the rope wrapped around my leg with wind magic.

A blade of wind shot forward and severed the rope in an instant, finally freeing me from the buffalo's pull. I rolled across the ground several times before finally stopping. Meanwhile, the buffalo kept running as if nothing had happened. Its massive body grew farther and farther away, leaving a trail of billowing dust along the village road.

“Damn! The buffalo is getting away… What should I do…?”

I quickly got back on my feet and watched it from a distance. Without giving it much thought, I tried using the wind magic that enhanced my physical abilities. In an instant, my body felt much lighter. My legs felt stronger, and my movements became much faster.

“He~he~ If that's the case…” A confident smile slowly appeared on my face.

I took a running start before leaping with all my strength. I jumped high into the air, easily reaching the roof of a nearby villager's house.

“It worked! Now, where is that buffalo running…?”

From the rooftop, I could see the trail of dust left behind by the buffalo stretching along the village road. The clouds of dust clearly showed me the direction it was heading. Without wasting any time, I immediately ran after it, jumping from one rooftop to another. With my speed that was far greater than before, I gradually closed the gap between the buffalo and me.

I spotted a length of rope lying on top of one of the roofs I passed. Without thinking twice, I quickly grabbed it while continuing to run.

“This will work!”

I tightened my grip around the rope before leaping from the final rooftop toward the buffalo still running beneath me. With a single jump, I successfully landed on its back and immediately wrapped the rope around its neck to try and control it.

Meanwhile, not far away, Lumi was on her way back to the village when she suddenly noticed something strangely chaotic happening in the distance.

“Eh…? Is that… E-Eirya!?” Lumi blinked several times, unable to believe what she was seeing. “How is there a rampaging buffalo this early in the morning!?”

“I have to help her!”

“E—Eirya! Wait for me!”

***

“What an incredibly stubborn buffalo!”

I kept pulling on the rope with all my strength, but the buffalo still refused to stop.

Its head jerked up and down from the force of my pulling, while its legs continued moving without paying me any attention. It ran aimlessly, crashing into anything that happened to be in its path.

“Isn't there really any other way…?”

“Eirya!!”

“That voice… Lumi!”

I saw her waving her hand toward me, trying to get my attention.

“Eirya, jump off the buffalo now!”

I saw Lumi standing with several of the men from earlier, who had already taken hold of ropes from both sides and were preparing to pull them together

“No… Don't they have some kind of net or something? Just making the buffalo trip won't be enough! I need to make something that can actually stop it! But what…?”

I immediately looked around, desperately searching for something that could stop the buffalo. Then, an idea suddenly crossed my mind.

“In that case… I have to try it!”

I wasn't sure whether this would actually work or not. But without thinking too much about it, I stretched my hand forward and tried to use my magic to transform the ground into a deep and sufficiently wide mud pit, right after Lumi and all the men waiting ahead.

“What is she thinking...?” Lumi muttered.

However, my body continued shaking violently with every movement of the sprinting buffalo, making it difficult for me to concentrate. It seemed I still wasn't capable of using my magic from this far away, so I had to get closer first. On top of that, this spell required a much greater amount of mana than my previous spells, causing its formation to take even longer.

Meanwhile, I was getting closer and closer to them.

“Damn it, do I still have enough time!?”

The solid ground gradually began to turn wet and soft. Little by little, its surface transformed into a mud pit deep enough to trap the buffalo's body. And it finished forming just moments before it’s too late.

“I did it!”

“Eirya, jump now!” Lumi shouted at me.

Without thinking twice, I immediately jumped. I managed to land just before reaching Lumi and the others, who were already prepared. However, the moment I landed, I lost my balance and immediately fell over. I rolled across the ground several times before finally ending up on my back, staring up at the sky.

Meanwhile, Lumi and the groups of men on both sides of the road immediately pulled their ropes in opposite directions until they were stretched tightly across the buffalo's path. The buffalo's legs caught against the ropes, causing it to trip and its massive body to be thrown forward straight into the mud pit I had created.

“Phew~ We did it… Thank goodness.”

“Eirya! Eirya! Are you okay!?” Lumi hurried over to me while I was still lying on the ground.

“Hehe— Hi… Lumi…” I gave her a slight smile while looking up at her.

My face and clothes were already covered in dirt from everything I'd gone through while trying to stop the buffalo.

“Seriously, Eirya…? I only left you alone for a little while, and you've already ended up like this.” Lumi shook her head as she extended her hand toward me. I grabbed her hand and let her help me back onto my feet.

“The important thing is that we caught the buffalo, right?”

“Well, yes… but look at yourself first!” Lumi let out a long sigh as she pointed at my dirt covered clothes. She then gently brushed the dirt off my clothes.

“Next time, at least think about yourself before recklessly doing something like that. You're lucky you didn't get hurt at all.”

“You don't have to worry about me that much, Lumi. I'm fine.”

“Whatever… Come on, my home isn’t far, let's go and get you cleaned up. I'll give you another change of clothes, too.”

Lumi started walking ahead, leaving me standing there. I stared at my still dirty palms, remembering everything that had just happened.

“My magic… I was able to use it, even if only a little… Ever since this morning, I'd felt my magic gradually returning. Spells that I previously couldn't cast now came much more easily…”

“Could it be… My power is starting to return?”

“But… that person…” For a moment, the figure I had seen earlier flashed through my mind again.

“Who was that person, really…? And why did they do something like that?”

Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind, startling me.

“WAAAHHH!!” I startled and immediately spun around. It turned out to be one of the men who had helped trap the buffalo earlier.

“Young lady, thank you for your help back there. Without your help, we'd probably still be struggling to catch that buffalo.”

“A-Ah, no, it's really not a big deal. I was just doing what I had to do.”

“By the way, your name is Eirya, right? I heard Lumi calling you that earlier. This is also the first time I've seen you around the Village.”

“Y-Yeah, that's right. Hehe…”

“Eirya! Come on, hurry up!” Lumi waved at me from ahead. “Don't just stand there! You need to get cleaned up!”

“A-Ah, right… Okay!” I quickly jogged after Lumi.

“Do you think Val is awake yet?” I asked.

“Huh!? How can you even ask that? Of course he isn’t!”

“Haha— yeah… you’re right…”

“Since he hasn't woken up yet, I'll keep you company. I was planning to take you to Auntie Lara's apothecary anyway. Me also Val usually spend time there.

“Thank you, Lumi. But I was thinking of going back to Val's house after getting cleaned up. I just…”

“Hmmm? What is it, Eirya?”

“Ahh—umm… Nothing at all… Hehe.” I smile awkwardly, shook both hands quickly.

“Ahhhh, you miss him, don't you? Muehehehe.” Lumi grinned mischievously.

“Hey! I don't!” I puffed out my cheeks, embarrassed.

***

Some time later, at Val's house.

“Yaaawn~ It's nice sleeping in like this.”

After stretching his body, Val walked toward the dining table, looking for something to fill his stomach. He spotted a sandwich that Lumi had prepared for him earlier and left on the table.

“Cold sandwich again… It's always like this, every single day.”

Val let out a small sigh, but still picked up the sandwich. Just as he was about to take a bite, his gaze suddenly shifted toward the stove.

He froze for a moment.

Val looked at the sandwich in his hand, then back at the stove, his expression slowly changing as though he had just made a groundbreaking discovery.

“Why didn't I think of this all this time…?”

…

…

A little while later.

Eirya slowly opened Val's front door. “Val…?”

“Looks like he’s still asleep—wait… what’s that smell?” Sniff* Sniff*

“It's coming from the kitchen!” Eirya immediately ran toward the kitchen.

When she got there, she found Val standing in front of the stove with a sandwich sitting in a frying pan. Thin smoke rose from its surface, and the entire sandwich had already turned completely black.

Val stared at the sandwich with a completely blank expression.

“Burnt…”