Chapter 8
IT WAS THE MORNING AFTER her first night in the treetop village. Waking up in the flower-roofed house, Mira went about her morning routine before hopping into her wagon. She wasn’t trying to go anywhere; she just wanted to use her communication device.
She thrust the top half of her body into the closet (as she was wont to do) and dialed in the number to call Solomon.
“Solomon speaking.”
“Oh, it’s me. I wanted to let you know about what we talked about yesterday…” Getting straight to the point, she informed Solomon that they’d gotten Kagura to send over her spirit airship.
“I see. I heard there were a lot of orphans, so I was a bit worried about how you’d get them all here. That’s a relief. Got it, we’ll get preparations underway on our end as well. Give me a call once you figure out the time and day when you’ll be arriving.”
“Hrmm, sure thing.”
With that, the brief conversation between the two concluded.
Returning the communication device and hopping out of the wagon, Mira wondered what she ought to do with her day.
She was waiting for the spirit airship to arrive so she could transport the orphans to the Kingdom of Alcait. With Artesia and Lastrada back, Mira’s current assignment would be finished.
All that was left to do was wait. She really didn’t have much to do.
Well, I could just take it easy here, in this beautiful spot surrounded by nature.
Until now, she’d been busy working to find the rest of the Wise Men. There was nothing wrong with just killing time for the moment. And so, having decided to take it easy, Mira headed toward the church.
She found the cafeteria was already filled with children. Artesia considered eating together customary, so they all had breakfast together.
There were still about ten minutes left until breakfast was served, and yet, the atmosphere was already lively. The room became even noisier with Mira’s arrival.
“Ah, it’s Mira!” one of the children announced, to which all the children came rushing over. They then began begging her with requests like, “Tell us some adventuring stories!” and “Who’ve you fought recently?”
Most likely because she was an A-rank adventurer, the children’s eyes were brimming with wonder and admiration.
“U-um. I saw you on Links News. Can I have your signature?” one of the children said, holding out a pen and a piece of paper. He seemed to know that Mira was the famed Spirit Queen.
The reason that the children living in a secluded village in the middle of the forest knew about stuff like this was due to the Links News. It was a magazine that had the latest news from all across the continent and was often read by students in the senior class. This would explain why, unlike the very affectionate junior class, she felt like the seniors treated her with a bit more reverence.
“Boy, you sure are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” Mira answered with a cheerful smile as she acquiesced to their requests.
Recently, she’d gone to the Ancient Underground City and fought the Machina Guardian. She swiftly signed autographs as she told them about all of this, all the while feeling like a Hollywood star.
And so, before she knew it, the high-spirited breakfast came to an end. Mira found herself at a lectern, standing before a classroom of twenty or so bright-eyed junior students.
This was precisely what Artesia and the other teachers had agreed on.
Having decided to relocate to the Kingdom of Alcait, the adults working at the orphanage were busy preparing. The senior class had been recruited to help with this as well, so there was no longer anyone available to look after the junior class. The teachers had first discussed taking turns, but seeing as Mira was currently unoccupied and implying that she could help out, they’d all agreed that it was a splendid idea. While Mira was wondering how exactly she might best take care of them, someone suggested that she teach them about the basics of being a mage, and about spirits.
“Now, while we may refer to them collectively as spells, there are nine different types of spells that people use…”
Therefore, Mira was now in the middle of teaching the class about subjects that she both specialized in and was very knowledgeable about.
“Spirits are like truly wonderful friends whom you can summon at a moment’s notice…”
Summoning Wasranvel and Anrutine to give the children an opportunity to touch a spirit, Mira was a tad jealous to see how popular the two were, thanks to their unique abilities. Nevertheless, she looked at the children playing happily with a smile.
“They’re all wonderful, aren’t they? Ah, I want to join in as well.”
“Just seeing children in such high spirits makes you feel happy, doesn’t it?”
The voices belonged to Martel and the Spirit King, whose respective maternal and paternal sides were now manifesting themselves.
Having heard what they’d said, Wasranvel and Anrutine turned around and brought the children back near Mira. Then they began trying out different kinds of spirit magic alongside Mira. Both entertained and educated the children by demonstrating various mysterious phenomena relating to sound and water.
There was something special about seeing their smiling faces from up close. Martel and the Spirit King were overjoyed to watch them through Mira’s eyes. The sight of the children smiling and the sound of their laughter would warm anyone’s heart.
One of the teachers popped their head in to check on how things were going and was thoroughly convinced that they’d made the right decision to leave the children with Mira. They soon went back to work.
However, that was when the vibe in the classroom began to take an odd turn.
“And so, with summoning, you can summon your trusted friends who wield special offensive, defensive, or support capabilities. Summoning really is the best, isn’t it?!”
Having let the children thoroughly enjoy themselves, Mira now launched into her usual sales pitch.
What was supposed to be a lesson on the basics of being a mage turned into a special lesson on summoning. When it came to teaching them about spirits, she only taught them about sacred beasts and spirit beasts with which one could make a contract.
“Listen up. The simplest and most surefire way to win a battle is to outnumber your opponent…”
She was now giving a practical and realistic lecture on evocation. And because she summoned evocations that’d be popular with kids—First Pupil and Woofson, Pegasus and Wise Popot, Guardian Ash and the Korpokkur, not to mention the Valkyrie sisters.
The students reacted overwhelmingly positively to the stunningly beautiful warrior sisters and sacred beasts. First Pupil and the flying Wise Popot looked like something one might see in the pages of a fairy tale. Another teacher came by to check on things, impressed but not surprised to see what the Spirit Queen was capable of, and went on their way with a satisfied look on their face.
But not all was as it seemed.
“Surrounding yourself like this is the optimal way to attack when you’ve got the numerical advantage…”
Using the Guardian Ash to represent her enemies and the Valkyrie sisters as her allies, she lectured about how a summoner goes about doing battle. It looked like it was just a bunch of friends standing in a circle, but it was a deadly formation for slaying foes, and she was demonstrating just how effective it was to launch attacks from an opponent’s blind spots.
The advantage of evocation was that one could easily swell their ranks, making battle formations very important. Using her experience in actual battles, Mira explained the many benefits of summoning.
“If that’s all you do, your opponent may see through your plans…”
She then went on to explain just how much of an advantage it was to have superior numbers and how to make the best use of a numerical advantage. Figuring it was the best chance to implant a good impression of summoning in their heads before they picked up any preconceived notions, Mira’s preaching was more enthusiastic than usual.
Next, she taught them how it was important to have someone who’d charge in from the front once you’d flanked an enemy. Rather than using an evocation that was skilled at defense, one should simply use the strongest evocation they had available to distract the enemy and create an opening more easily. Despite them being a bit too young for it, she then went on to explain tactics and warfare.
The children were all listening intently. While the jury was out on whether or not they could understand any of this, they happily announced how they’d “won” after pouncing on her Guardian Ash from behind.
After several days of looking after (giving private summoning lessons to) the children, Mira got a message from Kagura. The next day, around noon, the spirit airship would be landing at the agreed-upon location.
Having received word of this, Mira, Artesia, and Lastrada gathered in one of the rooms in the church and had their final planning session regarding transporting the children to the lake.
It wasn’t particularly difficult. All they really had to decide was how they’d position the adults around the children. And owing to having become quite popular with them over the past several days, Mira would be in charge of the younger class.
Preparations for transporting the children were now all complete.
“This’ll be our last day here, huh? We’ve come quite a way from just being an impromptu base, huh?” Lastrada muttered quietly, with a bittersweet smile, as he stood in a room that’d been emptied of everything but tables and chairs.
Despite being remote, it was a place far removed from civilization where they’d dwelled for a long time. It was easy to understand why he was feeling sentimental.
Artesia simply said, “Yeah,” and smiled gently.
Everyone was feverishly busy the next morning.
It would be their first time traveling as a group and their first time moving. The children were extremely excited.
For the teachers who were reminiscing while staring at the ungainly church, it must’ve hit a bit differently. Rather than feeling anxious about leaving the place where they’d long lived and grown accustomed to, they were more excited about starting a new life.
After dividing the high-spirited children into several groups and using the lift to bring them down to the surface of the forest, it was finally time for Mira’s junior class.
“Be careful where you step… No, not over there, over here. Jeez…”
Grabbing the naughtiest boy in her arms, Mira stepped onto the lift.
Some children were minding their manners while others were pacing around. Others still were sticking close to her and wouldn’t leave her side. Mira didn’t have an easy time dealing with how rambunctious the kids were outdoors, but she somehow managed to get them all together. Her comrades were particularly useful in this situation.
Despite reaching the ground, the junior class still hadn’t calmed down. And so, Mira told the children that if they all behaved themselves, then she’d let all of them ride.
She was referring to Pegasus, Hippogriff, Garm, and her Guardian Ash. The effect was immediate.
The boys made a mad dash for Hippogriff and Garm, which was no surprise, as they looked epic and cool. Aside from Pegasus, the Guardian-Ash-pulled wagon seemed to be most popular among the girls. Pegasus’s popularity was self-evident, but the wagon seemed to have become a makeshift playhouse.
“All right, it’s time to take off toward a new tomorrow!” Lastrada ordered.
Everyone began moving out. They were headed for the lake just north of their current location. Mira and Lastrada took the lead, as the junior and senior classes followed. The teachers flanked them on either side, keeping an eye on their surroundings. Artesia followed in the rear, on watch to make sure that none of the children strayed off.
The group smoothly made their way through the thick, dense forest. Normally, it would be a slow and annoying trek, but with the inexplicable powers of the Korpokkur sisters, the way began opening before them.
Children and teachers alike cried out in amazement as they watched the truly wondrous way in which the trees moved aside to clear a path. It’d been just about an hour since they set off when they received reports from Uneko and Etenoa of the Korpokkur sisters.
“Nothing unusual to report.”
“Like, check this out, Sis. It’s delicious.”
Uneko was cute and small and looked very much like one of the tiny Korpokkur people. Etenoa, for some reason, had grown up to be a valley girl. Despite being twins, the two looked radically different, and yet, they were two peas in a pod. Even their breathing was synced.
The two had already cleared a path to the lake. Now they were observing the surrounding area, each in their own way—Uneko was scanning for auras while Etenoa was keeping watch after climbing up into a tree.
While doing this, Etenoa had found some fruit and collected it for the children.
During break time, Artesia cut up the fruit and handed it out. It was all met with rave reviews, which very much pleased Etenoa.
After marching for about another hour, they finally arrived at their destination: the lake. Seeing the scene sprawling before them, the children lost themselves in excitement. Not that this was a surprise. It was a huge lake with a gigantic spirit airship sitting in the middle of it. Some of the children must have never even seen a ship. Even a few of the teachers started at it in wide-eyed amazement, as it was much larger than they’d imagined.
Mira smugly congratulated herself on coming up with the idea of borrowing the marvelous spirit airship owned by the Isuzu Alliance.
“Welcome aboard the ark of hopes and dreams! Today, I personally invite you to the sky above!” Kagura said as she descended from the airship to stand before them. She must’ve been getting assistance from spirits, as an impressive display of water and light danced behind her.
Mira grinned slightly as she wondered what in the world Kagura was talking about. The children, however, ate it all up. Some of them were likely still apprehensive about going on a journey through the sky. But seeing as they were children, they were enthralled by the spectacle the spirits were putting on. Thanks to the special summoning classes they’d had, the junior students were particularly taken by the spirits. Utterly enthralled, they watched the display, wondering which spirit was responsible for doing what.
“Well, I’ll be. That was quite the impressive performance.”
“I told them they’d be performing for children, so they went all out,” Kagura said while laughing.
The light and water show had been suggested by the spirits themselves. “All right, now enjoy your journey through the clouds!” she said before returning to the deck as it swayed softly in the air. This was part of the spirit’s performance as well.
The children began clamoring to go. The moment they did, a gangway was lowered. Down came the crew, who were all garbed in colorful uniforms.
“All right, now watch your step and come on board one at a time,” said the crew from the Isuzu Alliance, smiling as they ushered the children onboard.
The spirit airship was primarily used for transporting VIPs and shipping goods. It was not used to carry passengers, and this was the first time it’d ever been used to transport a group of children.
“Next! Step right up!”
Perhaps for this reason, Mira realized that the crew were all acting as if they were attendants at a theme park. She smiled to herself, thinking that Kagura had surely put them up to this.
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