Chapter 21 : Butterfly

On a warm spring day, skipping the academy and heading outside felt just like going on an outdoor picnic.

That wasn’t entirely wrong.

It would take at least a few days to reach the Black Forest.

You could even consider it a trip for the three of us.

In my original world, I’d still be called a student at this age, but here, we are proper adults.

Therefore, according to imperial law, there’s no problem with students undertaking such a long-term mission on their own.

In fact, complaining about it would seem much stranger.

There’s a convenient excuse that evaluating our ability to handle various situations, not just mission execution capability, is part of the

assessment criteria.

“So, where do we need to go from here?”

There’s always someone like this around.

Someone who agrees to go on a trip but doesn’t know the destination until the day of.

Anyone who gets angry back, saying it’s none of your business, deserves a smack on the head.

Unfortunately, the people next to me were all such freeloaders.

“First, we need to head south.”

I unfolded the map and began to explain.

The academy was located on the southeast coast.

Geographically, it belongs to the Kingdom of ‘Und’, but its influence is so significant that it’s practically recognized as a separate nation with

extraterritorial rights.

And the Black Forest is located further south than that.

To the north lies the Magic Realm, and to the south, the Black Forest.

Two forbidden zones blocked the continent’s top and bottom.

What lies beyond them has not yet been discovered.

Some regions say there’s a paradise like Valhalla or the Land of Plenty, while others claim it’s the end of the world.

‘Not really important facts for me.’

This place also has the form of a planet where the sun rises and sets.

Just as people believed the Earth was flat before the Americas were discovered, I can only guess that there’s land and sea beyond.

Teferi peeked her head out and looked at the map.

[So, are we walking?]

“No, it would take too long to walk. We need to find transportation, like a carriage.”

It feels exactly like going on a backpacking trip where I have to plan everything myself.

Even starting from scratch is the same.

If this were a university group project, I would have removed their names from it.

“Let’s head to the city first.”

Unlike the modern era, which values healing and well-being, the concept of travel is not very prevalent in this fantasy world with a medieval

setting.

At best, nobles might travel to other territories or countries a few times.

The vast majority of people never travel even three times in their lifetime, and quite a few live their entire lives only in the village where they

were born and raised.

That was also true for Teferi.

Having lived her whole life in a rural corner, she was looking around, taking in the bustle of the big city.

“It’s noisy.”

Amiter muttered with a frown.

Even though it was the middle of a weekday afternoon, the marketplace was extremely loud.

It was incomparable to the shopping street near the academy.

“Just think of it as enjoying yourself.”

I don’t particularly like noisy places either, but thinking of it as an overseas trip, it wasn’t too bad.

This lively and noisy market alley was a sight in itself.

However, perhaps finding the commotion displeasing, Amiter volunteered to look for transportation and disappeared.

Thanks to her, Teferi and I were left alone.

“…Do you like it?”

Teferi nodded readily, her expression looking much brighter. So easy.

Probably because that dark, gloomy, and tomboyish girl disappeared.

Honestly, my face is much better than Amiter’s, right?

This is an objective assessment without any personal bias.

‘Well, just the two of us feels quite fresh.’

Being alone with Teferi, who, like a novel protagonist, has beautiful looks and a lot of charm, was easy on the eyes, regardless of everything

else.

I hadn’t really felt it usually, but maybe it’s more apparent because she’s in casual clothes?

A small smile appeared on my face over something trivial.

“Let’s go quickly.”

While Amiter looked for a carriage, we decided to prepare travel supplies.

No matter how much luggage we packed, camping gear and such had to be bought at the market.

Without much thought, I held out my hand to her.

[Uh, okay.]

Teferi grasped my outstretched hand tightly.

Her body heat was warmer than I expected.

I didn’t exactly mean for her to hold my hand.

“Are you going to keep holding it?”

When I looked into Teferi’s eyes and spoke, she looked flustered and tried to pull her hand away.

Her frantic movements were quite amusing.

[Ah, s-sorry!]

“…Well, whatever. It’s not like it wears out. Let’s go.”

Yep, I squeezed her hand firmly so she couldn’t escape as she struggled to free herself from my grasp.

Even though I’m in a woman’s body, the thought of having such a romance with another woman makes me want to puke.

Besides, creating even small debts like this continuously ensures they will all come back to me someday.

This trivial act is also a significant investment for the future.

Teferi seemed to have lost all her earlier energy and was walking while looking only at the ground.

It seemed her stamina had dropped because she was bouncing around like a child earlier.

Still, she seemed to be in a good mood, as the corners of her mouth kept turning up.

She didn’t speak, perhaps tired, and I didn’t bother initiating conversation either.

We walked through the market of the large city together, just holding hands.

[Look over there! A magician!]

Teferi pointed to a man sitting on the market floor.

The man, wearing a turban on his head, had placed a tin can in front of him and was surrounded by people.

As the man cast a spell with exaggerated gestures, a few strands of red mana shot out from his palm.

Waving his arm wildly in that state, the strands bent as if playing cat’s cradle.

-Wow!

-Amazing! What incredible skill!

-Mister, please do it one more time!

The magician lifted his chin and gestured towards the tin can, and small silver coins jingled as they went inside.

Teferi was also staring blankly at it, looking fascinated.

Somehow, that sight seemed pathetic, so I grabbed her wrist and dragged her away.

[Ah…!]

“You find that amazing?”

That level barely qualifies as a third-rate magician.

Mindlessly emitting mana without even knowing its flow.

Honestly, his skill is inferior not just to mine, but even to Teferi’s, yet because he added flashy colors for showmanship, she was completely

captivated by it.

Teferi still looked disappointed.

Well, I understand.

Coming from the countryside, she has rarely seen magic, and it hasn’t been long since she became able to use magic herself.

‘But the level you need to reach is far beyond just that.’

Even just to dump all my experience onto you, you need to reach a point where you think that level is not just immature, but downright

shabby.

Being amazed by a magician earning pennies from kids in a market like that is below expectations.

“Watch carefully.”

I brought my hands together as if in prayer, then spread my palms apart as if splitting them in half.

From each palm, mana threads of different colors twisted out.

Red and blue mana threads.

The two strands twisted together in the air, forming a shape.

“Wow.”

The sound came not from Teferi, but from one of the kids who had been around the street magician earlier.

The child happened to spot me and let out a gasp, and the other children turned around one by one.

“Butterflies…”

The two strands combined to become several butterflies.

The mana butterflies fluttered around as if alive, then flew into the air, returning to mana and disappearing.

Starting with one at a time, the number of butterflies gradually increased, embroidering the sky in purple.

The dreamlike spectacle captured the attention of everyone nearby.

“Ahem, it should be at least this good.”

Actually, I didn’t intend to attract this much attention, but somehow quite a few eyes ended up on me.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I stopped the magic.

It looks like I’m showing off. Though, admittedly, I was.

“Here, a present.”

The last butterfly created in my hand sat on Teferi’s palm instead of flying into the sky, then slowly faded away.

Teferi looked disappointed and stroked the fingertips where the butterfly had vanished.

“Satisfied now? Let’s go quickly.”

The market magician’s glare towards us was fierce.

Is he thinking I stole his customers?

I wanted to respond with a ‘So what?’ look, but decided not to stir up trouble unnecessarily.

“Let’s go.”

[Huh? Oh!]

Instead, I grabbed Teferi’s wrist and quickly disappeared into the crowd.

Like the swarm of butterflies that had vanished into the sky.

“There’s a small problem.”

I met Amiter again several hours later at a restaurant.

Seeing her return empty-handed, it seemed something had gone wrong.

Well, I didn’t expect much anyway.

“What is it?”

“By the way, isn’t it too much for you to be eating lunch first?”

At those words, Teferi seemed to choke and coughed several times.

How can she be so naive? Where will that get her?

She’s the epitome of a simple country girl.

“You were the one wandering around first. Just order.”

“Is beer okay too, perhaps?”

“If you’re drinking, drink on the way back.”

“…Hmph.”

Although her eyes were full of dissatisfaction, she soon gave up and ordered food.

It’s funny for me to say, having blown 30 billion Rene, but I was the one managing the money among us.

Soon the food arrived, and she mumbled while chewing.

“It seems there are no carriages going to the Black Forest. Not a single one.”