Chapter 62: Reunion

Surprise~! Yeah, I felt guilty for not updating for a while, so here’s a bonus chapter. Yay~! *confetti confetti* Enjoy~

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Briar first addressed the crying child clinging to her shirt.

“Don’t cry little Helen! Look, I’ll give this to you, so please don’t cry.” Briar gave Helen the flavored ice that she had partially eaten. Helen’s tears didn’t stop, but her volume lowered to a few hiccups here and there as she loosened one hand to accept the flavored ice.

While she was distracted, Briar decided to clarify her suspicions.

“Excuse me, Arthur Pendragon? THE Arthur Pendragon?” Briar asked. “The owner of the famous sword Excalibur, and the High king over all of Greater Britain?”

The old man jerked back his head in surprise “What? No, my name is just Pendrag-Wait, who told you about that?! I could have sworn I had shut up all those lousy fogeys about my dark past…” He muttered to himself. “Can’t a guy have a thousand year vacation in peace?”

“I have an idea.” Madam Rothema said. “You remember Marlin was always writing in that book of his, and we stole it and hid it? Perhaps this one found it during their travels.” She pointed to Briar.

“Impossible! It was lost in the spacial rift you opened up after being insulted by that lousy Prince Cray, Remember?”

“But Marlin was the only one to call that sword X-caliber, even though you already officially named it Fairn.” Rothema reminded. “That Marlin was always a strange sort, muttering about giant metal golems and flying metal birds. It’s a good thing we lost him in the Enchanting Forest.”
“Ahaha, and how his a’s always inevitably looked like e’s because he thought it was too troublesome to finish them?”
“Oh, I had forgotten that! It seems the only good thing he actually did was make those magic swords that everyone is crazy about.” Rothema remarked offhandedly.

“I don’t know why. You need to have a monster magic capacity in order to even use them correctly.” Arthur said. “For a real weapon, it’s better to have something that can be used multiple times, as opposed to something that can only be used once before you collapse from mana exhaustion. I was lucky that I naturally had a large mana capacity.”

“That’s right. Oh, and remember that magic cup that would never run out of whatever you put in it?”
“Yes, of course, I had to have one made for each kind of drink I liked. I’ve lost all of them since, though. Can’t remember where I’ve placed them. I remember my favorite one, though. It had great ale.”
“You know, everyone called it your ‘grail’ after that one night where you got so drunk that you slurred your words together. After you lost it, half the kingdom was mobilized to search for it.” Rothema pointed out.

“And it has remained lost all this time…” Arthur looked regretful as he remembered how good the ale had tasted.

As she was listening to their remeniscences, Briar’s face slightly paled.

If people back on earth knew that the legend of King Arthur was written by a reincarnator with chunnibyou, then over half of them would vomit blood.

As it was, the battles were mostly true stories, but Merlin tended to emphasize his personally-created tools, or his part to play in everything.

Briar finally put a hand to her forehead. “I think I’m going to find a place to sit down.” She said weakly. While Briar was physically quite strong, her mind and heart had just suffered a series of blows one after the other. As such, she needed to withdraw and recollect herself.

By this time, Helen had nearly finished crying, but they were attracting quite a lot of stares, so Briar headed into a nearby park to take advantage of the shade from the trees. Although they were this high up, the climate, instead of being cold, was rather warm.

After setting up a barrier to warn her if anyone came near, and to cut off the sounds from the nearby vendors, Briar sighed and plopped down on a park bench. Helen also sat down next to her, still clinging onto a piece of her shirt, as if she would suddenly disappear. They sat in silence for a while.

Then Briar took in a deep breath and slowly let the air escape from her lips. She turned her head and examined Helen.

These past few months, Helen’s demeanor had changed from that of an ignorant, lovable child to that of a well-behaved noble child. Briar grinned a bit as she saw Helen’s bearing resembled Madam Rothema’s a little.

Out of curiosity, her golden eyes took on a greenish tinge as Briar used her mana vision to check on Helen’s development. Hmm…Her mana capacity is roughly one tenth of what it was when I was that age. She observed.

But, for a small girl like Helen to begin with even a tenth the size of Briar’s capacity was really quite monstrous.

Helen had only just begun training, and her natural mana capacity was already so large. If she had been left back at that old ramshackle inn, who knows when or what sort of unfortunate mana accident would have happened.

Finding a person like this was as lucky as randomly picking a lottery ticket up off the street and finding out it was worth millions of dollars.

But for a person whose existence exceeds the bounds of common sense, Briar didn’t know how lucky she had truly been to pick up such a naturally talented person.

But, after seeing how worried Helen had been, Briar felt guilty.

After being silent for a while, Briar finally spoke. “I’m sorry.”

Helen blinked, confused. “What are you sorry for?”

“For deceiving you. Laura already knows, but I am not the person who you think I am.”

“Let’s see, aren’t you Thera of Rose Manor? Madam Rothema says you’re wearing that disguise to throw off the people who might cause harm afterwards.”

“What-so sensei told you, huh?” Briar said, figuring things out.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. Except…” Helen hesitated.

“What? What is it?” Briar asked.

“After this is over…can I see Briar’s true face?” Helen asked.

Briar smiled, relieved it wasn’t anything serious. “It’s a promise, then.” She agreed.

Her warning barrier alarmed her moments before she blocked a well-aimed foot striking at her head.

“Good to see you too, Laura.” She said calmly, “Is Master Thales around?”  Judging by the speed and the blow, Laura was close to making another breakthrough.

“Aw shucks! And I was hoping to get the drop on you!” Laura clicked her tongue in frustration, plopping on the bench beside her. “Yeah, he’s around. He told me to run along before his peers arrive and have their stupid apprentices challenge me to a ridiculous show of strength.”

“Ara? It sounds like you’re not averse to it, you know.” Briar replied.

“I’m not averse to it, but I’m not stupid.” Laura replied. “If the Ten years Student Contest isn’t enough of a stage, then why should I reveal my trump cards so early in the game? There’s a proper time and place for these things after all.”

“Hmm? That sounds like something Master Thales would say rather than you…” Briar replied.
Laura’s ears turned slightly red. Briar pretended not to notice.

Laura snapped her fingers. “Ah! That reminds me!” Then she punched Briar on top of her head, hard. Briar saw it coming, but she took it head on.

“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!! DOING SUCH A DANGEROUS THING!! DO YOUKNOW HOW WORRIED WE WERE!?? DON’T EVER THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY LIKE THAT, EVER!!!!” Laura scolded her harshly. “If you do that again, I’ll be the one to kill you!”

Briar, rubbing her head, was silent for a few moments and then said. “So, what you’re saying is …you’ll kill me if I die?”

Laura’s relented a little. “Well, maybe I won’t just kill you. I’ll have Madam Rothema resurrect you and THEN I’ll kill you.”

Briar grinned. “Why trouble yourself and ruin all of Teacher’s hard work?”

Laura snorted. “Shut up! I’m trying to be upset here!” Briar and Laura both laughed.

“It’s good to see you’re okay.” Laura finally admitted.

“Likewise. It’s good to know my efforts weren’t wasted.” Briar replied.

“Okay, spill. Who’s the old fogey next to Madam Rothema?” Laura asked.

“I’d not suggest mentioning that in his hearing.” Briar replied. “He’s not really someone you can offend.”

“Oh, I get it. He’s some high official? Another Magi? An old comrade?” Laura began playing twenty questions.

Briar only replied with “Guess.” as she pulled a flask of lemonade out of her magic bag.

“I’ve got it! He’s her old sweetheart!”

Briar spat a mouthful of lemonade out forcefully enough that not a drop landed on her clothes. The idea of them being sweethearts was rather unbelievable to her.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to ask him yourself.” Briar replied. “I am not privy to such information.”
And I hope I never am. She honestly wished from the bottom of her heart.

Chapter 61: Discussions-Part 2 -Arthur

Here’s the second chapter! I had to struggle between chapter title consistency and my artistic inspiration, so I had both. Enjoy~

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“Ha ha, very funny.” Bradley said with a deadpan expression, then he turned his head to look at Grandpa Thur.

“Let me guess: you want me to sponsor this person?”

“Why not? You can see that his combat skills aren’t bad.” Grandpa Thur asked.

“That’s not the point! If I sponsor such a blatantly skinny and green twig like this, I’ll be the laughingstock of the city!” Bradley retorted.

“Let them laugh. You’ll be the one to have the last laugh when you rake in the profits.” Grandpa Thur said.

“I can’t say the idea isn’t appealing, but…” Bradley remained undecisive.

“Excuse me, what do you mean by ‘sponsor’?” Briar asked, curious.

“In order to prevent cheating, and to keep the amount of Students down to a reasonable amount, there are seven hundred adult sponsors in this city. If you are sponsored by one, then that means you can instantly obtain the right to participate in the Ten-Year Student Contest without having to go through the preliminaries.

This is really great for those who don’t want their special skills seen and countered before they can even get up on stage. Although it is called the Ten-year Student Contest, it’s more like two different competitions rolled into one. One part is the martial competition, and the other is the magic competition. That is why the stage where this happens is in a rather unique shape.”

Bradley traced a figure eight in the air.

“Of course, if you’re a Magi’s disciple, then no matter who you are, you’ll be allowed into the magic competition. But if you wish to enter the martial competition, then you need a sponsor. Each sponsor can recommend up to two people. If they try to sneak in more than that, their status as sponsor is revoked for good.”

Briar was absorbing the knowledge like a sponge. “Can you enter both contests at once?”

Before Grandpa Thur could answer, Barley burst out “Why would you ever want to enter both contests!? Is one not challenging enough for you!? Sure, there’s no rule against it, but still. If you’re good at one, then surely you’ll not be that good at the other. Why set yourself up for failure?”

 

“Just asking. The idea of someone running back and forth between arenas seems amusing. Especially since the resting areas would be right next to each other.” Briar replied smoothly.

 

So there are no rules against doing both, hmm? I’d have to be careful about the timing, but it seems possible. Briar thought to herself. Perhaps she could get Laura to help her when she and Master Thales arrive. Madame Rothema was also coming…hmm?

Briar’s palms began to sweat as she realized that she had missed several months of homework. She would have to attack the mountain of books in her bag as soon as possible.

“Briar, did you hear me? Hellooo?” Bradley waved a hand in front of Briar’s face.

Briar blinked. “I’m sorry, come again?”

“Barley has agreed to sponsor you.” Grandpa Thur said, a bemused  expression on his face.

“Oh! Thank you, Mr. Pendrag!” Briar bowed stiffly, slightly embarrassed about her lack of attention.

Bradley tapped his head. “Nice moves, but a little spacey…I’m already regretting my decision.” He sighed. “But, oh well! A man can’t go back on his word once it’s been pledged.You’ll need to figure out some sort of disguise for the martial contest. Sometimes students can hold a grudge and try to hurt the winners by striking out at their close family.”

Briar blinked and considered what she should do…If disguises were allowed in the ring, then she could just go as is. Then she could remove the disguise when she crossed over to the magician’s contest…Okay! It’s decided!

“I’ll be fine the way I am.” Briar said with confidence.

“Are you sure? There can be some crazy students out there.” Bradley asked.

“The way I am is fine.” Briar confirmed. After the Ten-Year student contest, the boy known as ‘Briar’ would disappear. Therefore, even if Briar’s face were to be memorized, it would mean nothing.

“Well, if you’re willing to be stabbed in the back afterwards, who am I~ Ah, yes, for those who are sponsored, you will need to make an appearance on the stage in about two weeks, so make sure you’re not late. Those who arrive after noon will be disqualified.” Barley warned.

“Now, if we’re quite finished, I have some damage control to initiate. Children, Grandpa, Briar: You are welcome in this residence at any time starting next week. I’ll make sure the guards know your faces.”

 

Barley politely shooed them out of his manor. Briar watched as the large door swung shut behind them.

Grandpa smirked and leaned close to Briar’s ear and muttered.

 

“Planning on entering the magician’s contest too, I see?”

 

Briar stiffened. That’s right! He already knows that I’m good with Magic! I messed up!

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. But if you’re going to disguise yourself for the magician’s contest, then make sure that you tell me something so that I can know which one you are.”

 

Briar looked sideways at him. “Why?”

“I want to try winning in the betting pools for both contests.” Grandpa Thur chuckled. “It seems more interesting that way!”

“There are pools? Where!?” Rien asked, looking eagerly about her.

“Not that kind of pool!” Karu corrected her.

“Then, what kind of pool is it?” Rien asked.

“You know it’s…um…” Not really knowing what a betting pool was, Karu turned to Grandpa for help.

 

“Ah, you know what? All of a sudden I’m really hungry!” Grandpa said, skirting around the subject. “How about we go and see if those street vendors are still selling the tasty food we saw earlier, all right?”

 

“Yay! I want the Chiwa meat, the fruits parfait, the spun sugar candy, lemon ice, cinnamon bu-”

“What the heck! You’re going to eat Grandpa out of money! You’ll throw up everything that you eat-either that or you’ll turn straight into a big fat flying pig!” Karu exclaimed.

“Am not! Bleeeh!” Rien replied, sticking her tongue out at Karu.

Grandpa Thur and Briar burst out laughing, and the group made their way down the streets to the marketplace.

 

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As they were enjoying their ice topped with fruit syrup, Briar noticed a stone circle set up in the town square. Stargate SG-1. Flashed through her head for a brief moment, as it looked really similar, but the runes made it apparent that it was nothing more than an ancient transportation archway whose other end had already been given a fixed variable.

In other words, as opposed to the one that she had made with Grandpa Thur, which could change as easily as rewriting a few runes, this one had already been anchored at both ends, and was riddled with non-interference runes.

“Almost as thorough as lawyers.” Briar muttered.

 

“I see you’ve taken an interest in the Grand Council’s circle.” Grandpa Thur said. “Incorrigible bunch of Fenrils, all of them!” (AN: Please recall that Fenrils are completely blue peacocks)

 

“I can imagine that. They’re probably huge on ceremony too.” Briar replied.

All of a sudden from behind them, a voice cried out. “Briaaaar!”

Briar turned around just in time to catch Helen as she charged headfirst into Briar’s arms.

 

“Whoah! Helen!? Where did you come from? Is Laura here, too?” She asked, but when Helen lifted her head up, tears began to fill her eyes, and she began to cry.

 

“Thank goodness!…Teacher said that you…that you fell down a very deep crack in the ground…sniff…She said you’d be all right…but how can anyone be all right after falling down a cliff? …Sniff…uwaah!!”

 

Helen’s hands grabbed tightly onto Briar’s shirt as the young girl started to bawl for good. Briar looked around, trying to find somewhere to calm her down, when her eyes locked with Madam Rothema.

 

“Teacher!”

 

She nodded a greeting. “Briar.” Then, Madam Rothema turned her attention towards Grandpa Thur, who was still enjoying a flavored ice at Briar’s side.

“Hello Arthur.” She said smiling.

 

Suddenly, things began to click together in Briar’s head. Bradley Pendrag…Arthur…Arthur Pendrag- NO WAY. Arthur Pendragon!?!

Chapter 60: Discussions-Part 1

I was hoping for a double release, but I couldn’t quite finish the second chapter, so I decided to post this one first. The second should follow within one to two days-barring any unforeseen obstrictions.

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“What? Can’t I bring someone I find interesting?” Grandpa Thur asked with a slight huff.

Bradley grit his teeth. “Not if he’s hell bent on wrecking every able-bodied guard I own, no!”

Grandpa Thur smirked. “And that doesn’t tell you anything? A mere brat able to waste so many people so effortlessly should give you a clue.”

Bradley paused, a thought flashing through his mind. “Perhaps….maybe…your saying this boy may have a chance?”

Clap clap clap. “Well done, my little Brad, now it looks like your brain has begun to work again. I was afraid this time, that the damage from your temerity had caused your brain to turn dull.” Grandpa Thur applauded. Karu and Rien were busy watching Briar as she singlehandedly defeated every squad of guards that had the misfortune of encountering her.

“Humph! Why didn’t you just say so!? You didn’t have to make him go berserk just to prove your point! I think it’s about time you call him off.” Bradley said, slightly miffed.

“Well…I don’t think he’ll listen to me right now. I kind of tricked him a little bit earlier, so he’s probably really mad at me right now.” Grandpa Thur scratched his cheek.

“What! Then what about my guards!?”

“Don’t worry, they won’t suffer……much.” Grandpa Thur replied nonchalantly. He had already noticed that Briar was inevitably pulling his punches so as to not injure them seriously.

For someone with so much power to be able to accurately judge how much they should limit their strength at such a young age was like finding a gem halfway polished already. There were already too many young people who over-extended themselves due to rushing into things 100% only to find they lacked the stamina to act later on, resulting in their inevitable defeat or death.

Of course, since Briar was a red class, if she went all out, expending her energy, she could make one large attack of a semi-nuclear scale. But, if she were to try and test her stamina, she could go for two weeks without sleep or rest.

Briar brushed off a few specks of dust after defeating the latest guard troop. What she was doing now could only be considered playing. But her patience was nearing its end. She had already noticed the image crystals earlier, but she had been too occupied with the guards to do anything.

Now she sighed and looked up at the nearest one with a clearly unimpressed face. “Oy! Is this how you treat your benefactors, old geezer!? I’ve already finished your little test, so get out here and explain yourself!”

In the hidden room, three chills went up and down Bradley’s spine. The first chill was when Briar had looked straight at the crystal. This wasn’t easy at all, because the crystals were hidden behind pieces of magic mirror to make them impossible to spot.

However, he couldn’t have known that Briar was used to circumventing security cameras in her past life. This gave her explicit knowledge of vantage points where cameras would most likely be. Also, there were too many mirrors in this mansion. Unless the owner was a complete narcissist, there wouldn’t be so many mirrors in strange places.

The second chill happened when she said ‘old geezer’. Although he might not appear to be much, Grandpa Thur was actually really powerful to the point where no one had dared to offend him in the past, not even kings and emperors.

Saying such a thing to Grandpa Thur was the equivalent to signing a death warrant. Bradley glanced over at the old man, dreading to see his expression.

The third chill happened when Grandpa Thur laughed out loud. “That child is more and more interesting every day! Karu, Rien, why don’t you go let Briar in?”

““Okay!”” They replied, going to a new door that conveniently appeared in the wall.

For Grandpa Thur to completely forgive the two words that would usually drive him into a battle-frenzied maniac, what sort of person could this Briar child be?!!

Too late! In almost no time at all, Karu and Rien had opened the door.

“Briar-ni! Briar-ni! Over here!” Rien called.

“Briar-ni, that was awesome! Especially the part where you avoided the swords of the two guards with the helmets and made them hit each other on their heads! And the part where you tied the ceremonial cloaks together while avoiding blows until the group couldn’t move-I can’t even say how amazing that was!” Karu babbled, obviously freaking out with boyish delight over what amounted to child’s play for Briar.

Briar smiled and ruffled Karu’s hair. “ Just you wait until the Ten Year Student’s Contest begins. You’ll see a lot more awesome techniques than the ones that I just used. Ah, but remember to stick to your Grandpa, okay? I wouldn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Yes, Briar-ni!” Karu’s face shone as he imagined himself one day being able to do the things that Briar had done today.

Rien tugged on Briar’s hand. “Briar-ni, come and look-it! There’s a big shiny crystal in here! And it shows us pictures!” Briar allowed her to drag Briar into the room, where Grandpa Thur and Uncle Bradley were.

Sly…Grandpa Thur was sly, using the children to lead Briar there. Now, even if she wanted to, she couldn’t be violent. Briar stared at Grandpa Thur, eyes narrowed slightly.

“Well, geezer? I suppose you have a perfectly good reason for wasting my time and creating this huge misunderstanding?” She asked, her voice, although sounding as sharp and cold as ice, somehow seemed laced with fire as well, as though a volcano lay underneath a thick glacier.

“Calm down, lad. It was just a little test to show a bit of what you can do.” Grandpa Thur waved his hand dismissively. “Anyway, you passed with flying colors, no harm done.”

“Except the carpet and wall tapestries that were shredded due to the spear attacks, broken priceless antique furniture due to people being thrown about, and various, numerous broken mirrors, spears, and shredded guards uniforms that all need to be replaced now. I have lost hundreds of gold coins in a matter of a mere fifteen minutes!” Bradley muttered tearfully as he thought of the loss he had sustained.

“It’s nothing you can’t gain back in the betting pools.” Grandpa Thur replied. “Stop being a dried up Scrooge* and act like a man, you big baby.”

Bradley sputtered and huffed at this sneak word attack from Grandpa Thur, but he couldn’t reply, knowing full well that the other party was stronger. He could only grit his teeth and hope that a flying kangaroo landed in the old man’s soup.

Briar raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Enough stalling. I really am not in the mood right now.”

“Ahem, very well then. This man here is Bradley Pendrag, my Great-nephew. He’s also the mayor of Plateau Peak City, and the owner of all the fruit trees in the area.”

Briar examined Bradley. Slightly pudgy, with a nervous twinge in his eye, clothes in the gaudy style of the high nobles, and a ridiculous salt and pepper walrus moustache to finish up: he was quite the clown in her eyes.

“I don’t particularly see what’s so great about him, but if you insist…”She shrugged, playing off the words ‘great-nephew’ that Grandpa Thur had uttered earlier.

Bradley clutched a hand to his heart. “I beg you, stop and desist, before I am punned to death~!”

Rien giggled, knowing that none of the people here were truly angry at each other. Briar chose to bury her grudge until such time as she had ample opportunity to reciprocate her recent treatment.

“I see…we are in the presence of a venerable joker. My apologies, I did not realize that a closet-profession of yours happened to be a clown.” Briar said wittily, bowing.

“Good, see that you don’t forget it-er-wha-I-I mean, WAIT! That’s completely unfair, young lad! Do your words have to be so sharp and pointed?” Bradley blustered.

“My name is Briar.” Briar pointed out, tapping a finger to her temple. “Being sharp and pointed is my specialty.”
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FOOTNOTES:

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*For future reference, the word ‘scrooge’ here means something slightly different.

Suffice to say that it still describes an old withered man counting money; but, his story, instead of being the popular Christmas Carol that Thera grew up on in her previous world, bears more of a resemblance to the Azukiarai demon found in Japanese folklore.

It was told to little children who were too stingy and didn’t want to share their sweets or toys that they would be met by a withered old man counting out his clinking gold coins, and murmuring to himself.

“The price of bread is too high, too high!
The price of a grain of rice is higher still!
I am loath to part with my gold,
but gold cannot a stomach fill.
Let’s put these down and have a look
To see what tasties we can find:
More delicious by far than others
is the selfish ones of children-kind~”

And those children would never be seen or heard from again.

On a side note, there was a case in a certain kingdom where the actions of a certain covert kidnapping ring were attributed to the Scrooge, but they were discovered after being raided and cleaned out by a certain individual…but I am getting ahead of myself.

Chapter 59: Meeting an Old Friend

“I’m afraid that we may have to part ways here.” Briar said suddenly. The sentence cut Rien’s words short as if they were a knife.

“WHY?” Rien panicked. “Does Briar not like us anymore?” She ran over to grab at Briar’s shirt. As if by simply holding onto the cloth, she could prevent Briar’s leaving.

Briar looked Rien and Karu in the eyes. “I’m bound for the Ten-year Students Contest. My master will be there, as well as my teacher. It’ll be a very dangerous place, surrounded by dangerous men, which is why it’s not the place for little children.”

“Noddindrums and Frasselfuds! No one would dare lay a hand on my grandchildren! If they did, they’d be dead.” Grandpa Thur snorted. “Besides, it’s been a long time since I’ve been out and about, and such festivities sound just about perfect to me!”

A vein in Briar’s head throbbed. Stupid Geezer! You’re probably just going there to gamble!

She sighed, “You’ll do what you want, no matter what I say, won’t you?”

“Of course.” Grandpa Thur huffed. “Besides, I may run into some old friends here. There was that one person that really liked to gamble…I wonder if they’re still alive after all this time.”

“Fine, do what you want, then.” Briar replied, “Now, who here thinks that we’ll make it up to the top before nightfall?”

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Helen stood in the kitchen, spreading butter on a biscuit, because she wanted something to snack on. The honey pot, as well as several tiny jam jars, started slowly sliding towards Helen down the length of the kitchen counter. She absentmindedly placed a hand out to stop them, as she ate her biscuit with the other hand, while reading her book.

“Helen!” Madam Rothema called from somewhere in the house. “Where are you?”

“I’m in the kitchen!” She called back.

“Good! Can you secure the jam jars away in the pantry? We’re almost there, and I’ve lost so many jam jars that way!”

Helen looked at her biscuit, and then at the jam jars. Then she continued eating her biscuit as she frowned and made a waving motion at the jam jars with her hand. They floated up and arranged themselves in the pantry, where the cabinets then shut and barred themselves. After doing so, Helen leaned back in her chair and sighed as she began to feel tired.

This wasn’t actually a spell. It was more of a method to practice mana manipulation. Madam Rothema had her practicing this as a way to gain greater control over her mana, as opposed to Thera’s unorthodox barrier practices.

Helen opened the nearby window and leaned out into the wind. The passing breeze cooled and refreshed her as she looked forward to the Great Piercing mountain range. Each mountain was incomparably high and pointed rather like a sword. There was only one mountain amongthat range which differed from the others. That was Plateau Peak.

A long time ago, in a fight between a Magi and a Black Class Martial Practitioner, this mountain was not only severed near its roots, but vaporized so that nothing was left but flat plateau at the top, which was dwarfed by the surrounding mountains.

Now, seeing it for herself, Helen held her breath. Although it looked small now, she knew that once they got closer, it would be many, many times greater than Madam Rothema’s flying mansion. Even though it looked no larger than a pile of dirt surrounded by tall, towering spikes, its true size was monstrous, even for mountains.

Almost like the entrance of a castle! Helen’s smile began to glow with excitement.

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“Ooh! What’s that smeeelll?! It smells so yummy!” Rien said, trying not to drool at all the tantalizing scents of roasted meats and baked goods.

Having arrived at the top, Briar and her companions had found themselves just outside a city built on the edge of the great plateau. Aside from the trees inside the city, there was no bush or shrub to be seen for miles.

One could almost see clear to the other edge of the mountain if not for a group of stones standing up, piercing the setting sun on the horizon to connect the heavens and the earth. That was the arena for the Ten Year Students Contest.

Briar had wanted to visit it, but the setting sun made it clear that it was getting late, and they should enter the city to find an inn. So they had booked two rooms at the Dancing Cat Inn. Grandpa, Rien and Karu slept in one room; Briar slept in another.

Now, it was the next day, and they were out and about, exploring the marketplace after a hearty breakfast.

“You just ate breakfast, though!” Karu objected to Rien’s seeming never-ending desire to eat. “I’m older than you, and have a bigger stomach, and I’m so stuffed, I can’t even think of eating another bite!”

Rien stuck her tongue out. “I said it smells yummy! I didn’t say I wanted to eat it right now. But maybe we can have some later, for a snack, right Grandpa!?” Rien turned her sparkley-eyed attack on Grandpa Thur.

“Maybe. But you’ll have to be good and stay by my side if you want me to get you any.” He warned. “Otherwise, you’ll get lost” He looked at the stone and wooden buildings with their brightly-colored awnings and scarves and rugs covering the windows.

“Ah, how nostalgic!” He sighed, breathing in the dusty air. “This way, follow me.” He instructed. The two children immediately stuck to their Grandpa. Briar followed along behind, curious where they were going.

He led the way down several streets, and through several alleyways until he came to the wall that surrounded the largest mansion in the city.

Um…I’m pretty sure this is the city mayor’s mansion…Briar thought to herself as she looked up at the fifteen-meter high stone wall.

“And we’re here, why?” Briar finally asked.

“Nothing much. Just to see an old friend of mine.” Grandpa Thur replied.

“Grandpa, do you need to go inside?” Rien asked. “But, the gate is over there. Why are we here?”

The corner of Grandpa Thur’s mouth rose in a sort of smirking half smile. “No need. Who needs the gate when I can do this~” He pushed his hand against the wall, and a rectangular section moved back noiselessly.

“Whoah! Nice!” Rien and Karu clapped their hands in admiration.

Meh. It’s just earth manipulation. Honestly, I’d be more surprised if he couldn’t do something like that to the wall. Briar shrugged and followed the three people into the manor.

They came out into a garden filled with various fruit trees, edible flowers, and flowering fruit bushes. Briar’s interest was sparked at the stark contrast between this garden and the barren plains outside the city walls. Why couldn’t anything grow out there, but in here the plants were thriving, seemingly?

Briar also remembered seeing the high prices for fruits in the marketplace. Putting two and two together, she muttered a low ‘ah.’

The situation was the way it was in order to create a monopoly on the fruit trade, probably to hike prices up. She was curious if the condition of the ground outside the city were that way naturally, or if it were a result of someone unnaturally tempering with the environment.

“Come, follow, this way. He most likely will be expecting me anyways, since my appearance has been noted by the city guards at the entrance.” Grandpa Thur urged as he walked towards the stone wall of the house.

Are we going to walkthrough every single stone obstruction to get there!? Briar inwardly groaned. But her face betrayed none of her thoughts as she once more stepped through the newly-created stone doorway and came face to face with a group of spears pointing at her.

Now, any other person would have jumped back, and grabbed their weapons, Briar stood calmly, raising her hands up above her head.

“Is the master of the house in?” She asked lazily, knowing full well that she had fallen for Grandpa Thur’s petty trick. She planned through half-opened eyes how she was going to get back at him as the men neither advanced, nor relaxed their poses, keeping the spears aimed at her throat.

“Why should we tell you? A man whose face is not known in this house is not allowed to know who comes or goes.” One of them answered harshly. By his appearance, he was the captain of the group, having much fancier-looking gear than the rest of the guards. Briar blinked in confusion for a moment.

Ah, that’s right. I still look like a man. She remembered. To tell the truth, Briar had gotten so comfortable that she had entirely forgotten that she was still wearing a magic disguise.

I need to remember to get rid of that soon. She made a mental note, since her mission could be considered to be accomplished.

“What if I said that I’m an acquaintance of an old friend of his?” Briar asked.

“It would have to be confirmed by the friend.” The speaker said.

“Ah! In that case, you can ask him-” Briar turned her head to look behind her and paused. There was no one in the passageway behind her.

THAT GIANT BAG OF HORSE EXCREMENT!! Briar inwardly cursed him. He had left her to fend for herself, leading Rien and Karu away from the violence that would soon break out in that room.

She turned her head back to the men. “Sorry about that. It seems I was mistaken. I don’t suppose you’ll just let me walk away and leave this place, though?”

“You are not mistaken, young warrior. If you wish to pass through us, you will need to defeat us all.” The speaker said, readying his spear.

“And I was so hoping to be able to resolve things peacefully today…” Briar sighed, as she closed her eyes.

“Arrest him!” The captain shouted, and the spearmen sprang into action, aiming to de-capacitate Briar by injuring her arms and legs.

Briar waited until the last possible moment before the spears would strike, and then her figure seemed to disappear as the spears struck nothing but empty air.

——————————-

In a certain hidden room in that mansion, a man was staring tensely at a glowing crystal with a flat surface cut at the top. On that surface, the image of the ensuing fight was being transmitted with perfect clarity.

“Impressive, right?” The man jumped and spun around to behold Grandpa Thur, standing in a magic-made doorway.

“Oh, it’s you.” The man sighed with relief. “You really need to stop doing that! Disappearing whenever you want, and then reappearing without even so much as a warning! It’s enough to scare a man’s ghost right out of his body.”

“Even if I did, you’d probably jump to the wrong conclusion and I’d come in to you ramming one of your ornamental swords down my throat. You were always a bit jumpy like that, even when you were a child, Bradley.”

Humph! Don’t bring up my childhood at a time like this.” Bradley grumbled. “I take it you have a reason for bringing this monster into my mansion?” He waved towards the crystal displaying the ensuing battle.

“More or less, I suppose. But first, I’d like to introduce my grandchildren to you.” He moved aside to show the two children behind him. “Rien, Karu, come and meet your Uncle Bradley.”

The two children came forward and stared at their Uncle Bradley, suddenly quiet. Bradley stared back at them. Then, the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile.

“So there was a reason for you to bring up my childhood, I see. Come here, you two. Come closer, and let me have a look at you.” He waved them forward with his hands.

They came a few steps closer.

“Rien and Karu, huh?” Bradley pursed his lips. “Which is which, though?” He stretched his arm out, to signal them to stop. “Wait, don’t tell me!” He put on an expression of extreme concentration.

Then he pointed at Karu.“You’re Rien, right!?” Immediately after that, he pointed at Rien. “And you must be Karu! Nice to meet you!” He extended his hands out for a handshake.

Karu had a strange expression on his face, unsure whether this man was joking, or serious. But Rien had no problems. She giggled and said in correction. “No, that’s not right at all! He’s Karu, and I’M Rien!”

Bradley jerked his head as if taken aback. “Oh my! For me to make such a basic mistake, I heartily apologize. Quite frankly, I’m rather embarrassed about this~” He said playfully. With that small display, Rien and Karu started to warm up to him.

“Uncle Bradley! What is this shiny rock?” Rien asked. “And why can we see Briar-ni on it?”

“Cough! This is a special kind of crystal That is found in the forests of illusion.

I actually have many small fragments of this crystal placed throughout the mansion. But they’re all connected here to this main crystal through some sort of natural magic wavelength. They can capture any movements and display them on the main crystal, here.

Impressive, right?”

Karu suddenly burst out with applause. “Wow! Briar-ni won against all of them! If I knew Briar-ni was this amazing, I would have asked for pointers from him weeks ago!”

Bradley coughed awkwardly. “Why DID you bring this Briar person, here, Grandfather?”