Ch.134Growth (4)

*

“I can do it.”

“…”

At Pia’s response, which came out as naturally as breathing, I unconsciously stopped moving and stared down at her blankly.

Pia looked up at me with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn’t understand why my hand had stopped patting her head.

As I gazed into those round eyes, I soon swallowed hard and asked once more.

“You can do it?”

“Yes.”

Pia nodded.

I felt a slight chill at her expression, which seemed completely unaware of what the problem might be.

“How?”

“How what?”

“How… can you do it?”

Pia crawled up from between my legs, then made a chopping motion like cutting down a tree with an axe as she spoke.

“Like this?”

“…?”

“Like this, if Ash wants a tree gone, I just work hard to get rid of it, right?”

“…And what about teleportation?”

“I just pick Ash up and carry him really hard!”

“…Ha.”

Looking at Pia as she slightly bent her arms and raised them up as if showing off her muscles, I let out an empty laugh.

It seemed that Pia’s claim that she could do anything was merely confidence born from a child’s innocent thinking.

I sighed.

I felt pathetic for having hoped that Pia might have some extraordinary power hidden within her, but at the same time, I also felt an inexplicable relief that I hadn’t suddenly been given an overwhelming power I couldn’t handle.

How ironic.

To feel relieved about not gaining extraordinary power in a situation where I needed to struggle to become even slightly stronger.

“Yes, yes, Pia, you’re amazing.”

I played along with Pia’s words and reached out to pat her head.

Pia seemed pleased, rubbing her head against my hand before suddenly throwing herself into my arms.

I patted her back.

It felt like holding a small child or a large puppy.

I spoke to Pia, who was snugly nestled in my arms.

“But Pia, I can do that too.”

“Ash can?”

“I can chop down trees if I try hard enough, and if I really push myself, I can even walk all the way home.”

“Really?”

For a moment, I felt strange.

Pia’s question wasn’t filled with childlike innocence or expectation, but rather with disbelief and confusion.

“Ash can do that too?”

“…Yes. Probably? It would be very difficult though.”

“No, you can’t. Ash can’t teleport with his magic.”

“Hmm… you know about that too?”

“I know everything about Ash. I’ve been watching over you since you were tiny.”

“…You have?”

“Yes, Ash was super cute as a baby!”

Well, despite her youthful appearance, Pia was a spirit after all.

I suddenly became curious about what exactly a guardian spirit was.

Was Pia born when I was born?

Perhaps she existed before that and came to stay by my side after I was born.

Still, it felt a bit strange to hear such things from someone who looked like a six-year-old child.

“Ash couldn’t learn teleportation. It was too difficult.”

“…That’s… right.”

Indeed, teleportation was known to be one of the most difficult spells even among advanced magic.

Even among renowned magicians, not many could use teleportation, and I knew that even Sister Maria could only use it in very limited situations.

Of course, if teleportation magic could be used without any restrictions, the journey to the Demon King’s castle wouldn’t have been so difficult and complicated in the first place.

But I countered Pia’s words.

“But Pia, you said you’d just be carrying me. Isn’t that different from teleportation?”

“Nooo, it is teleportation.”

“…?”

Pia, who had been nestled in my arms, suddenly wrapped her legs around my waist as well, clinging tightly to my body.

“Whoa, Pia?”

“Can Ash do this?”

“Huh?”

As soon as Pia finished speaking, I felt a cold breeze brush against my cheek.

Breeze…?

I looked up.

“…Wait, really?”

“You can’t do it, can you? Hehe.”

Somehow, the place where I had been sitting was no longer the small cabin by the lake, but a room filled with elegantly decorated furniture.

I was shocked by the fact that I hadn’t felt anything.

Magic books clearly stated that when using teleportation, one would feel as if their body was being sucked into something, or experience their surroundings spinning rapidly, but I hadn’t felt anything like that—only my location had changed quickly.

It was as if the scenery had changed in the blink of an eye.

“…Where is this?”

I slowly got up from my seat and turned my confused head in different directions, looking around the room.

Familiar ceiling, familiar floor, familiar furniture.

The arrangement had changed slightly, and dust had accumulated, but I definitely knew this place.

“…Ah, aah!”

The second room on the inside of the second-floor corridor of the Goldfield estate’s staff mansion.

It was my room.

*

“…Impossible.”

“Hehe, isn’t Pia amazing?”

“…”

I looked down at Pia, unable to say anything.

Pia puffed out her chest proudly, wearing a triumphant expression.

I was momentarily dazed, looking at the two ears twitching on top of her head and the tail that kept fluttering restlessly behind her back.

“…Ash? What’s wrong?”

“…”

“Did… did Pia do something wrong? Did I make a mistake?”

“…No, no.”

Think, think.

Damn it, I can be surprised later, I can reminisce later all I want!

Right now, I need to think.

The reason I couldn’t leave the forest wasn’t physical—it was because of the curse in these eyes.

If I hadn’t been cursed, I could have returned to this place anytime.

Which means I mustn’t be seen by others.

“Pia, can we go back?”

“Huh?”

“Can we go back? To the cabin!”

I snapped at Pia with an urgent voice.

Pia was startled, drooping her ears as she replied.

“Y-yes! We can go back…”

“Phew…”

I sighed.

Good heavens, home. My room.

Only after hearing Pia’s confirmation did I feel some of the tension release.

Only then could I look around the room with ease.

Unlike when I had lived here, the room was half like a storage space.

My desk and bed had been pushed to the back of the room, and various materials and furniture from other rooms seemed to have been moved in.

The magic book I had left open on my desk was already gone, and part of the desk was stained pitch black, as if an ink bottle I had left open had tipped over.

Still, it was enough to evoke nostalgia.

The ceiling I thought I’d never see again,

The wallpaper pattern I thought I’d never see again.

And that familiar door, which seemed like Laila might open and enter at any moment…

“…Hah.”

“Sniff, uuu…”

“Pia?”

While I was lost in nostalgia, I heard Pia sniffling and turned my head.

Pia was clutching the hem of her skirt, her ears and tail drooping as she whimpered.

She seemed to have been startled by my snapping at her earlier.

With a feeling of regret, I hugged her.

Pia fell into my embrace and spoke in a tearful voice.

“S-sorry, Ash. I thought you would be happy…”

“I was just surprised. I’m sorry, Pia. I like it. I’m really happy to be here.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Pia sniffled and laughed with a “hehe.”

I ruffled her hair vigorously.

Pia giggled with teary eyes.

“Pia is right. Pia is really amazing.”

“Hehe.”

“…Wait, then Pia… couldn’t you take me and Silvia to the Demon King’s castle in one go?”

Pia shook her head.

The motion caused the tears that had been welling in her eyes to scatter in all directions.

Pia answered in a stuttering voice, still not fully recovered from crying.

“I-I can only move Ash. And I can only go to places where Ash’s memories are deeply embedded.”

“…I see.”

I nodded at Pia’s explanation.

Despite teleportation magic having many complex restrictions, I had never heard of conditions like what Pia described.

In other words, Pia’s ability to move me here was a completely different kind of power from the magic I knew.

This must be what spirit arts are like.

Thinking about it that way, what Pia said made sense.

As my guardian spirit, it was very understandable that she could only move to places related to me.

After all, other people couldn’t even see Pia in the first place.

In any case, I learned one certain fact.

This little fox spirit girl’s abilities were more impressive than I had thought.

I let go of Pia slightly and muttered.

“Well then… before we go back…”

“Before?”

“What can I do…”

Reaching this place had value beyond just satisfying my nostalgia and longing.

Although there would be limits to how much I could move around since I needed to avoid being seen, even just in this mansion there were many useful items that would be impossible to obtain in the forest.

Among them, there might be things that could be useful on the journey to defeat the Demon King.

In other words, this situation was an incredible opportunity for me—for us.

While looking around the room to see if there was anything worth taking, my gaze eventually settled on one piece of furniture.

I called Pia softly.

“…Pia.”

“Yes?”

“Can you… carry the bed?”

“…”

Pia shook her head with a disgusted expression.

“No.”

“…No?”

“I’m a guardian spirit, not a porter.”

“Sorry…”

That’s when it happened.

Footsteps could be heard outside the door.

“…!”

I was startled and locked the door, holding my breath.

The footsteps were slowly getting closer.

Judging by the overlapping sounds, there seemed to be more than one person approaching.

Who could it be?

Who was staying in our house?

Damn it,

I cursed myself for not thinking ahead.

According to Sister Alice, the world outside the forest had fallen into chaos, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable for unknown wanderers to be using this house as a temporary shelter.

Moreover, my room was filled with all sorts of furniture like a storage room, and they couldn’t have moved by themselves without someone moving them.

“What do you mean you heard something?”

“I’m telling you, I definitely heard someone talking!”

“You crazy bastard, now you’re hearing things too?”

“You want to bet on it, you jerk?”

“No way, idiot. It’s probably just a mouse or a raccoon.”

The footsteps were getting closer, and the voices of their owners were getting louder.

I called to Pia in a whisper, breaking out in a cold sweat.

“Pia, let’s go back.”

“We can’t.”

“…What?”

“I need to wait a while before teleporting again.”

“…How long?”

“Um… a few hours?”

“…”

Click.

Someone grabbed the doorknob and started turning it.