Chapter 12: Field

 

 

 

Chapter 12: Field

 

THE few castle guards guarding the back gate saw the Hero Party off with quiet fanfare as they entered the Field. Boundless grasslands spread before their eyes. At the edge of the verdant grassland were several massive forests. Above it all sat a blue sky that shifted from a dark-blue to a light-blue the closer the clouds moved above their heads.

Wind freely blew through the open plains with no impediment, gently caressing Aki’s skin. Elias had warned her of the Field’s dangers—yet she found the picnic-like atmosphere a tad anticlimactic. Elias rested his hand on his Holy Sword in a battle ready stance as he scanned their surroundings. Perhaps there were monsters nearby she hadn’t noticed.

Suddenly worried, she ran over to Elias and tugged on his cloak.

“What’s wrong, Aki?” He calmly looked over his shoulder and instantly guessed what she wanted to say from her anxious expression. He smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, there aren’t any monsters around right now. The moment you step in to the Field you can’t let down your guard until you reach the next barrier. There’s no telling where a monster will attack from.”

Johann nodded. “Elias is correct. However, we are still near the castle walls and within bounds of the blessing granted by the Goddess’ barrier, making it more difficult for monsters to approach us. We should take care of our final preparations while we still can. Leo, can you handle your part?”

“Sure thing. Can you stand back for a sec’, Aki?”

Aki stepped back to where Leo pointed, putting a small, purposeful space between her, Elias, Leo, and Johann. Confirming everyone was in the right position, Leo pulled his grimoire out of the pouch attached to his thigh, flipped it open in the palm of his left hand and placed his right hand on top of it. He exhaled a short breath and closed his eyes, then began chanting a spell with the imposing voice Aki grew accustomed to hearing whenever he conjured magic.

“Can you hear my voice calling out to you? Answer me, my contracted friend. Cross the skies to come for me.”

Leo held out his long finger and smoothly drew the base of a perfect magic circle with precise movements. An amused grinned lit his face as he filled in the minute letters without pause.

The finished magic circle flashed once. Leo waved his arm, erasing it. POP! Together with that noise, white smoke billowed in the opening between Aki and the others. Her eyes twinkled with excitement over what was going to happen next in Leo’s magic show-like display.

The wind swept away the billowing smoke and returned the scenery to normal, leaving behind a dazed black figure in its place. Aki strained her eyes to see what was there. A pure-white lamb sat on top of the Field’s grass with its legs spread underneath it and anxiously looked around the area with big, round black eyes. Its fur was fluffy like cotton candy and white like a cloud. Its black eyes glistened.

“C-Cu…” Aki trembled over the extreme cuteness before her. “Too cute!” She instinctively ran over to the lamb with glee and bent down. The lamb peered up at her face, titled its little head, and let out a cute bleat. The adorableness overload was too much for Aki’s heart.

I want to cuddle it! As she fought with her raging desire to snuggle the cute lamb, Leo briskly walked over to them and crouched beside her.

“What d’ya think? Isn’t she cute? She’s my familiar, so look after her, okay?”

“Your familiar?”

“Yup. Familiars are the summon beasts Mages use. They say summon beasts are one type of monster, but when a Mage enters into a Contract with one they’ll start lending us their strength. She’s my partner, so feel free to befriend her.” He easily picked up the familiar lamb sitting on the grass and plopped it in Aki’s arms.

The lamb appeared small and light, but actually getting it in her arms felt like she was carrying a stuffed animal with barely any weight to it. Yet it was warm and smelled like the sun. Summon beasts were used to people—the lamb obediently stayed snuggled in Aki’s embrace and peered up at her as if to ask what she wanted it to do.

As Aki struggled with herself not to squeeze the cuteness out of it, Johann added to Leo’s explanation, “Aki, summon beasts are called to a Mage by using summoning magic, which is a spell under Lunar Magic. As a Priest, I cannot summon one.”

“I see. So that’s why Leo could summon me,” Aki responded, and then it dawned on her, “…Does that mean I’m another one of Leo’s summon beasts?”

Leo smirked. “Yeah, I guess that’s one way to think of it. Okay! From now on, call me Master!”

“Yes, Master!”

The instant response came not from Aki, but Elias, surprising Leo so much he fell forward, and the momentum sent him face-planting into the ground.

“Oi, Elias! You’re getting a kick outta this, aren’t you?! I definitely don’t want the Hero of all people to call me Master!”

“Really? I don’t mind though.”

“I do! And quit your grinning!” Leo went to grab Elias’ collar, but he dodged before he even got close.

Johann, on the other hand, nonchalantly ignored their banter to look over their map, confirming their next destination.

Their adventures together are probably always like this, Aki laughed to herself. Oh yeah, I wonder what this lamb’s name is.

Curious, Aki turned toward Leo who was still arguing with. “Say, Leo, what should I call this lamb?”

“You want a name?” Leo asked, taken aback by the unexpected question. “Unfortunately, I haven’t given her a name. There are some Mages who give their familiars names, but I don’t use too many of them anyway, so there’s never been a need to distinguish them by name. If it’s difficult for you, I don’t mind if you name her?”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. As long as you give her a cute name that’s easy to remember, simple, nuanced, and suitable.”

He wants a lot to go into this name!

“Hmm…” Aki looked down at the lamb resting in her arms. The lamb stared up at her with its round eyes as if to ask her what she wanted. It really was adorable.

She’s such an adorable little lamb; I want to give her a cute name like Leo requested. She pulled the pure-white lamb to her face and inhaled the sweet fragrance of milk common to a newborn baby. She ran the keywords of sheep, white, and milk in different combinations through her mind until a great name hit her and she clapped her hands. Elias, Leo, and Johann watched her full of curiosity over what kind of name she was going to come up with.

“Leo, in my world we refer to animals that look like your familiar as sheep and they give us milk.”

“Oh? So?”

“So I was thinking how about a name combining those words such as Milsheep? What do you think?”

Aki felt Milsheep was relatively short, easy to remember, and well-nuanced. She waited in anticipation for his response.

A minute later he nodded as if he were convinced it was good. “Milsheep, huh? Yeah, sounds good to me. It’s got a cute ring to it, and most of all, it’s a simple name I’d expect from you.”

“What the heck do you mean by that?!”

Leo had a habit of always saying more than he had to. Aki angrily puffed her cheeks at him.

“Just kidding,” he laughed, waving his hand. “I believe Milsheep is lucky to have you as the godparent who named her. I am too. Thanks, Aki.”

“What? N-No problem…” Aki buried her face in Milsheep to hide her flushed cheeks—she didn’t expect him to be grateful.

The unadorned smile Leo showed occasionally was quite adorable and caused her heart to palpitate. His boyish cheerfulness was one of his attractive qualities.

Elias flung back his cloak with one hand as he focused his attention on the Field in front of them. “All right, we should take off now that we’ve decided on a name for her. Can you take care of the next part, Leo?”

“Sure thing. Milsheep, do your thing,” Leo said to Milsheep. Milsheep’s eyes sparkled as if she knew exactly what her master’s order was and leapt from Aki’s arms.

Just as Milsheep seemed to land on the ground and brace her legs, her tiny body quivered. Her body rapidly grew larger until she cast a gigantic shadow on Aki and the others. In a matter of seconds, Milsheep grew large enough they had to strain their neck to look up at her and her still stuffed animal-like adorable appearance.

Aki gaped. “W-Wow! Milsheep can turn into a giant sheep!”

“Yup. Milsheep has the ability to gigantisize and let us ride on her back. She’s not just a cute pet. With this girl we can run past the dangerous Field in no time,” Leo boasted and drew a tiny magic circle. Wind surged beneath his feet and lifted him into the air. He leapt with the wind, quickly alighting on the back of Milsheep’s head.

He shouted down to them from where he looked like nothing more than a speck in the sky, “Oi, hurry on up here, you guys. The monsters will get you if you take your sweet time down there.”

“H-Hang on just a moment! How do you suggest I get up there?!”

I mean, if you can get up there with magic, why didn’t you bring me with you?! Aki thought, wishing he would have helped her up. Johann gazed up at Milsheep beside her, equally at a loss on how to mount the monster.

“…I regret to inform you that I cannot get on by myself either…”

Solar Magic users didn’t have the ability to fly or boost their jump. Elias, with his ability to jump two stories in one stride, would have no issue getting on Milsheep’s back, leaving only Aki and Johann incapable of hitching a ride. Leo put his hand to his temple.

“Right. You don’t have any skills to increase your jump ability, do you? Geez, Priest is such a weak job class,” he jested with a sardonic smile.

“Please do not lump me in with you stamina junkie Mages,” Johann indignantly retorted.

Leo cast a float spell on Johann, causing his white robe to billow in the wind as it carried him to the top of Milsheep’s torso. Aki watched them thinking it would be her turn next, when Elias stepped next to her with a smile.

“Aki, I’ll carry you. Pardon me.” Elias wrapped his arms around the back of Aki’s waist and neck, easily lifting her off the ground before he finished speaking.

“Whoa! Hang on, Elias?!”

The sudden height and closeness of his face was too much to bear for Aki; all the heat went to her face. His definition of carry seemed to involve him holding her princess style while he jumped off the ground. This was the second time he carried her, and she was still hopelessly embarrassed.

I hope I’m not too heavy… She worried as most women do, but to someone with superhuman strength who carried the heavy Holy Sword all the time, she was as light as feather.

Aki stole a glimpse of his sidelong profile as he looked up at Leo and Johann. After learning his strengths and weaknesses, she realized she was beginning to find herself growing gradually more attracted to him. Hence her heart hammered wildly when he picked her up and touched her without hesitation. She felt as if she had become special to him.

But he appeared perfectly composed while holding her in his arms as if it didn’t mean anything to him. She started doubting whether he thought anything of her as a woman. Was she the only one affected romantically?

As I originally thought, I don’t even register in his eyes as a woman… The Hero belongs to everyone and no one.

“What’s the matter, Aki?”

“Eh?” Before she knew it, Elias was peering down at her, worry etching his handsome face. “I-I’m sorry. It’s nothing—”

“It’s not nothing, is it? Aki, you can tell me anything that’s bothering you. Didn’t we promise to support each other through thick and thin?”

“W-We did…” Aki mumbled.

It’s not like she could ask him what he thought of her. A piece of her was frightened to hear his answer. Some part of her knew realistically that she wouldn’t get the answer she desired.

Elias silently watched her, intent not to move an inch until she told him what was wrong.

She let out a short sigh. “Um, I was just wondering whether…you had anyone you liked…”

“Someone I like?” Elias asked, taken off guard.

I knew it! I was too straightforward with that question! What should I do if he gets the wrong idea? But it’s not like I can take it back now.

With no way to undo what she said, Aki patiently waited for his response.

Elias paused thoughtfully and looked up at the sky as he carefully chose his words, “Good question. Until now, I’ve never really had any interest in the opposite sex. The Hero isn’t allowed to view any one person as special.”

“…I thought so. The Hero protects everyone after all.”

“The Hero does. But things might be a little different for me now.”

Aki looked into Elias’ eyes. He smiled fondly down at her and laughed a little bashfully. “Now there is someone who I would personally like to protect. Someone I want to smile by my side forever. I’ve found someone who I don’t want to protect as the Hero, but with my own strength as Elias.”

He gazed at Aki with warmth in his eyes. After hearing his words, her heart pounded loudly.

What do you mean by that, Elias? It’s almost as if you’re saying I’m…

Without waiting for her reply, Elias tightened his hold on her and lightly kicked off the ground. They soared into the air as if they had wings, their field of view rising higher in to the sky until they rapidly descended on top of Milsheep.

Elias placed Aki on top of Milsheep’s back; her fluffy woolen coat tickling the exposed part of Aki’s legs. Giant Milsheep’s fur was just as soft and woolly as when Aki held her.

Aki mustered her courage to call out to Elias as he tried to quickly leave her side, “Um, Elias—”

Elias put his index finger to Aki’s lips and softly shook his head. “Sorry for saying something I can’t follow through on. There is someone I feel that way about as an individual, but…” He smiled sadly. “But, as the Hero, I can’t allow myself to want to protect just any one person. It’s not allowed.”

With those final words, he left Aki to take up position at the back of Milsheep. Leo manned the front, leaving Elias to protect their backs. She wistfully stared at his back and weakly sighed.

It wasn’t her intention to make him apologize. But having him thrust the cold, hard reality of never becoming special to him no matter how much she came to care for him wrenched at her heart. She glumly dropped her gaze.

As I feared, I might be developing feelings for a person I’m not supposed to fall for. This is a love that has no hope of ever seeing fruition.

Once he confirmed everyone was on board, Leo swung his arm toward the horizon, signaling Milsheep to advance in to the Field. Milsheep took off running at the speed of the wind, blurring passing scenery.

“Wow! This is awesome! Milsheep is so fast!” Aki purposely exclaimed with bravado to push away the ache in her heart.

I need to get a grip on these feelings and switch my mindset. More than love and romance, Elias needs to focus on defeating the Dark Lord and saving the world, while I need to focus on saving Nako. But once you feel like you have a crush on someone… Aki could only sigh at the speed her pointless feelings for him were growing.

Johann suddenly grabbed her arm as if to reproach her for completely letting down her guard. “Aki, please stay alert. They are on a direct course for us.”

“What?”

What’s on a direct course for us?

Instead of answering her, Johann narrowed his eyes at the sky above Milsheep. Leo flipped open his grimoire at the front of Milsheep, and Elias placed one hand on the Holy Sword as he bent one knee, preparing to leap at any enemies from the rear.

The alarming tension between them got Aki to imitate Johann and strain her eyes toward the skies in front of them. She caught glimpse of a single black speck coming right at them.

The speck has wings? The closer the speck got, the easier it became to tell it was gigantic in size, and at best resembled some kind of mutated bird. It charged through the skies straight for them. Aki swallowed hard.

The first battle in her new world had only just begun.