Chapter 30 : Fake smile

[Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?]

Ever since I crossed the river, Teperi had been clinging tightly to my arm, sticking right beside me.

Somehow, the words ‘taking advantage of this moment’ came to mind, but I knew that couldn’t be the case, so I simply let her be.

She must be genuinely worried about me.

After all, don’t the emotions she emits speak of feelings welling up from deep within her heart?

“Ah, I’m really okay.”

I was just a little startled, that’s all; I was completely unharmed, without any external injuries.

Though it was bothersome, I couldn’t bring myself to push away Teperi, who was worried about me.

As she walked glued closely to my side, my steps naturally faltered.

The fallen leaves rustled erratically.

Amiterre, walking silently at the very front, clicked her tongue.

[That was really cool earlier!]

“was it?”

No one dislikes compliments, even if they’re just lip service.

Especially if they come from the heart.

I wasn’t the type to boast about my training results, and even then, most people called me a monster rather than saying I was amazing.

Therefore, it was inevitable that Teperi’s praise made me feel smug.

My shoulders rose as I puffed out my chest.

“Well, this much is nothing special!”

A small sigh was heard from ahead.

I’ll just ignore it too.

Don’t they say geniuses are always envied?

A genius, huh.

Speaking of which, there was a real genius right beside me.

“Don’t you have any magic you’re good at?”

Ah, this wasn’t sarcasm; I was asking genuinely.

It had been a little less than a month since the semester started, but Teperi hadn’t really used any noteworthy magic in front of me.

Since I hadn’t interfered with her until now, her magic should have improved compared to the original story, not regressed.

[Ah, well… I’m not very good at it, hehe.]

That’s strange, was I mistaken about something?

Even though it hadn’t even been a year since Teperi gained her mystery and learned magic, her talent should be real.

“Then should I teach you something?”

Thanks to her, my mood had improved a bit, so teaching her one spell wouldn’t hurt.

I straightened my palm and focused my mind.

Mana, the size of a millet seed, gathered above my palm, gradually growing larger.

“Watch carefully.”

The mana clumped together in my hand, forming a small sphere.

The translucent mana sphere moved slowly at first, then gradually began to rotate faster.

“This is the basis of Light.”

The mana particles comprising the sphere rubbed against each other, generating heat and light.

The mana, which had been colorless just moments ago, turned white and began to glow.

Instantly, the surroundings brightened, dispelling the darkness.

“A single match would have sufficed.”

“Shut up.”

Ignoring Amiterre’s snide remark from ahead, the sphere I created shone brightly, illuminating the surroundings.

Teperi’s mouth fell open as she watched in wonder.

“How is it? It’s a bit difficult, but with practice, it should be easy…”

Teperi closed her eyes briefly to concentrate, and an identical sphere to the one I had shown her materialized above her hand.

Seriously, how could she copy it immediately after seeing it just once?

The two spheres, glowing on our respective hands, brightly lit up the dark forest.

“…Uh, that’s exactly it. You’re good.”

I flicked my hand, dissipating the sphere I had made.

The motion of dusting off my hand felt unnecessarily irritable.

‘How long did it take me to try that once? A week? Ten days?’

It felt like it took longer than that, certainly not shorter.

The light source glowing on Teperi’s palm still emitted a bright light.

It had been less than a minute since she heard the principle of the magic from me.

Strange, it’s not like my mouth is particularly itchy.

My upper teeth automatically bit down hard on my lower lip.

“It would be fine during the day, but now that it’s getting dark, it’s better to turn off the light. Monsters might be drawn to it.”

It was a reasonable point.

There could be moth-like monsters attracted to light.

At Amiterre’s valid words, Teperi quickly made the light source disappear.

As the bright space suddenly darkened, the arrival of night became apparent at a glance.

Though I hadn’t felt it much just moments before, the surroundings had already become pitch black.

“We should look for a place to camp. There probably aren’t any inns nearby.”

[Is that a joke?]

“Well, I’ll go scout around a bit.”

Finishing her words, Amiterre soon vanished into the darkness.

She’s been like this since last time; she has a surprisingly strong sense of responsibility.

Should I say she’s like the eldest sister?

She still feels a bit distant from us.

With her gone, only Teperi and I remained.

Just one person disappearing made it incredibly quiet.

[Treya, let’s not just stand around either…]

[Treya?]

“…Ah, yeah. What did you say?”

[No, I mean, let’s not just wait idly until she comes back. Let’s get something done. Ami…terre is surprisingly simple-minded, you know.]

“Ah, right.”

Traveling isn’t something that ends conveniently just by having money, like shopping at a market.

Everyone has their roles, preparing the campsite, preparing meals…

…Well, things like that.

“We need to prepare.”

[…Treya, are you okay?]

“Hm? I’m perfectly fine.”

I think I understand why I’d never seen Teperi use magic.

She intentionally avoided using magic in front of me.

If you ask why? I don’t really know the reason.

Sticky emotions had been blooming in my chest for a while now, eating away at me.

I felt like I knew what the emotion was, but whenever it surfaced, my chest tightened, and I couldn’t quite grasp it.

So I decided to smile.

I’ve heard my smile looks awkward, so there isn’t much difference between a forced smile and a genuine one.

A fake smile formed on my lips as I put on a reasonably gentle expression.

“My head just hurts a little. Let’s hurry up and do something. You know how dogs bark like crazy when they don’t get fed.”

[Uh-huh…]

Fortunately, my expression didn’t seem strange to her.

Teperi slowly nodded and said she would go gather some branches, disappearing from my sight.

“…What is this?”

Amiterre asked with a frown upon returning to where we were waiting.

In front of her lay a campfire and the meal I had prepared.

“It’s food. Can’t you tell by looking?”

“I’m asking because I can’t tell by looking. Does the food you usually eat look like this?”

“You’re being awfully picky. Just eat what you’re given.”

To think the day would come when I’d witness the spectacle of a dog being picky about its food.

Amiterre sighed deeply looking at the food I made and picked up her spoon.

“Black rice eaten in the Black Forest.”

[Are you joking?]

“I am now.”

Amiterre glared at me while chewing the burnt rice.

No, I mean, I definitely messed up, but honestly, it’s unfair!

How many times have I cooked rice in my entire life?

Back in my family estate, if I had said I’d cook for myself, the maids would have immediately stopped me.

In my original world? It’s been ages since I forgot how to use an electric rice cooker.

Teperi also had a hand in burning the rice, but since it wasn’t just regular rice but travel rations, both of us were clumsy with meal preparation.

“Next time, I’ll just handle the meal prep myself.”

“No, if I do it next time, I can definitely do it well…”

“I am truly a sinful person.”

A sinful wolf, more like.

Watching her grumble continuously, I wanted to retort something, but even to me, who wasn’t picky, this rice was a bit much.

As if to prove my words weren’t wrong, I forced myself to chew the burnt rice.

-Crunch!

[What was that sound?]

“I don’t know? Didn’t it come from over there?”

What else could it be? It’s the sound of me chewing on a rock.

How did a rock get in the rice? It must be some kind of alchemy that turns rice grains into pebbles.

Having fallen victim to some unknown alchemy, I could only feel wronged. Ptooey.

After roughly finishing the meal, we moved to the spot Amiterre had found.

The campsite wasn’t anything special.

It was a shabby shelter with a slightly clean floor and a roof that could barely block the morning dew.

Of course, I wasn’t complaining.

Finding a cave-like place in such a short time in this untouched area was something to be grateful for.

If we were just friends hanging out, I might have said, ‘This is the memory and romance of travel!’, but perhaps exhausted from walking all day, those words didn’t come out.

If only we had a tent, I would have brought one.

Unfortunately, the only type of tent in this world was a simple canopy, which was too cumbersome to set up in the Black Forest.

We decided to stand guard in shifts to prepare for any unforeseen incidents.

My turn for the night watch was second.

Teperi, who took the first watch, was anxiously tending to the campfire, making sure it didn’t go out.

“Isn’t there magic that makes a cabin appear instantly?”

Amiterre was lying prone, her legs crossed.

Seen like this, she looked more like a sly cat than a wolf.

Her shadow flickered in the firelight.

“Where would you find something like that?”

“Hmm. I’ve heard stories of someone claiming to have built a giant palace instantly with magic.”

“Tell them to stop talking nonsense.”

Any other time, I would have dismissed it as just a joke.

Amiterre probably wasn’t serious either.

But why today? Those words didn’t sound like a joke.

‘…Then it must be my own shortcomings.’

Although her hearing was vastly superior to others, she couldn’t hear even my thoughts.

I gave Teperi a pointless greeting and closed my eyes.

“Can we talk for a moment?”

Amiterre spoke in the darkness.

To Teperi.