How to Live as a Hero in a Magical World (54)
Lightning poured down without pause.
Flash! Flash!
Thunder struck their ears so violently that it felt as if it could split their skulls apart.
Rumble! KABOOM!
Today, as always, Lightning Ridge lived up to its name.
Kaian raced between the falling bolts with movements faster than light.
Papapapapak...!
If Sarvel had seen him, he would have fallen into despair and stabbed out his own eyes.
If Pett had seen him, he probably would have pissed himself on the spot...
Hmm, no. He would've been curled up in a ball, so he wouldn't have seen anything.
Anyway.
Kaian was definitely running at an astonishing speed.
And yet Eldarin was still far ahead of him.
Swishhhhh...!
Seriously! Doesn't she ever get tired?!
Their walking course was by no means short.
The walk had begun at the Golden Plains.
From there, they had passed Twofold Lake and headed toward Ignis Mons.
Then they followed the outer trail and had only just entered Lightning Ridge.
Throughout that enormous course, the distance between them hadn't narrowed even slightly.
Forget overtaking her. It's hard enough just keeping her in sight.
It had been like this for seven years.
No.
For the first three years, Kaian hadn't even been able to keep Eldarin in sight while she "walked."
Back then, he'd sometimes stopped and tried desperately to trace her mana.
That only made the distance between them even greater.
More often than not, he failed to find her route at all and ended up returning home alone.
After several months of grinding his teeth in frustration...
Kaian eventually gave up on every other spell and focused entirely on [Enhance].
There had been only one thought in his mind.
I refuse to lose sight of that damned teacher's back.
Of course, there had been plenty of times when lightning nearly roasted him alive because of that.
FLASH! KABOOM!
Now, however, Kaian could keep Eldarin in sight while using [Multi Casting] quite skillfully.
Still...
He wasn't satisfied in the slightest.
Damn it! How have I never caught up to her even once?!
Just as he tried to close the distance again, Eldarin's voice echoed inside his mind.
[It seems you've become rather accustomed to [Multi Casting].]
[Thanks to someone.]
[But at that speed, you wouldn't even be able to overtake Pulgor. Increase it. Do not place limits on [Enhance].]
Damn it!
Kaian gritted his teeth and poured more mana into [Enhance].
Papapapapak...!
Swishhhhh...!
Seriously.
Lately, every single thing Eldarin said got on his nerves.
It had been the same in the Mirror Room earlier.
When Kaian first entered the room, he'd genuinely planned to sit down and have a calm conversation with her.
Eldarin, there's a problem.
But that plan fell apart the moment she answered.
"Don't tell me you've returned home only to announce that you're going out again."
Kaian had lost his temper and shouted that it wasn't simply "going out."
He was leaving home.
Then Eldarin had thrown the book she'd been holding at him.
What? ⟪Primal Instinct⟫?
The title alone had made his blood boil, and he'd raised his voice again.
Haah. I really didn't mean for that to happen.
He couldn't understand why every conversation between them became twisted lately.
Still...
As he ran without pause, his head gradually began to clear.
Whenever useless thoughts appeared, they quickly scattered.
Even the emotions that had been burning hot inside him began settling down.
Apparently, the same was true for Eldarin.
[...If you call it a problem, then it must not be something ordinary. What happened?]
Kaian once again stared at Eldarin's back as she ran slightly ahead of him.
Flash! RUMBLE!
He had lost his family and spent seven years in Eldergrove.
Eldergrove had become his second home.
The lives within it weren't related to him by blood, but they were no different from family.
And among them...
Eldarin was his benefactor.
His guardian.
His teacher.
The help and kindness he'd received from her were so great that a human lifespan couldn't possibly measure them.
Papapapapak...!
That's exactly why I can't keep burdening her.
I need to become independent soon.
To do that...
He needed to become someone Eldarin could trust.
I have to prove I can take care of myself.
That had been one of the reasons Kaian became an escort.
The tuition money had merely been another benefit.
But now...
Swishhh.
Watching Eldarin run slightly ahead of him while subtly showing him which places were safe to step on...
His thoughts began to change.
Prove myself...? Is that really what Eldarin wants from me?
Does she want me to overtake her one day?
No... maybe Eldarin actually...
Kaian decided to honestly explain the problem again.
[Uncle Delio has gone missing.]
[Madam at the northern entrance agreed to help me participate in the search.]
[...Delio.]
Eldarin fell silent for a moment.
[I see. So this concerns Delio.]
Eldarin knew Delio too.
The man who still searched Vernas Forest for Kaian.
The man who prayed without ever losing hope or desperation.
Eldarin suddenly changed direction toward the Golden Plains.
[That man deserves to receive help.]
Kaian and Eldarin eventually climbed onto the roof of the tree house and caught their breath.
"Haaa..."
A cool breeze soothed the heat from their bodies.
Eldarin spoke first.
"Return before the final week of September. You must continue taking Flame Veil until the end of this year."
"...!"
Kaian's eyes widened.
He had expected Eldarin to say she was coming with him.
At the very least, he'd expected her to throw a fit and insist on meeting this so-called Madam personally.
That was why he'd warned Madam and Gretel beforehand.
But Eldarin was simply letting him go alone.
"I'll prepare some things you'll need."
She continued calmly.
"And I should write your recommendation letter today as well."
"A recommendation letter today?"
Kaian blinked.
"Can you even do that? You'd have to get a new identification card first."
The last time Eldarin had appeared before the outside world had been more than seven hundred years ago.
Since then, an old friend of hers living in Silvaris had simply sent whatever supplies she needed.
Eldarin herself had never once left Eldergrove.
But to write an academy recommendation letter...
Her identity needed to be formally verified.
Naturally, an identification card from seven hundred years ago couldn't prove anything.
She would need to leave Eldergrove and have a new one issued.
That would also mean registering herself with the authorities again.
Kaian had assumed that was why she'd delayed writing the recommendation.
But...
"I had one issued when you decided to live here."
"...!"
Kaian's heart dropped.
Eldarin's back looked strangely fragile as she gazed beyond the Golden Plains.
That sight engraved itself deeply into Kaian's heart.
Just what had he been misunderstanding all this time?
Guilt slowly tightened around his throat.
His chest felt heavy.
Eldarin trusted me long before I realized it.
