Accompaniment

“…From now on, I should carry even a light shield.”

It was just as the dust from Rea’s meteor spell was beginning to settle.

At the youthful voice coming from right above, I unconsciously slowly raised my head that had been lowered.

What I encountered was white hair, disheveled from being powerlessly blown by the strong wind.

And a slightly worried voice.

“Are you okay?”

Blue eyes that began to scan various parts of my body followed.

To this, I belatedly nodded to indicate that there were no injuries or serious wounds.

Of course, my heart was beating fast due to the shock, but it didn’t seem right to mention every little thing.

First, I thanked the child who had protected me.

Understandably, I heard the child’s mild reproach for using such a tremendous spell without thinking of the consequences, but…

“Still, the staff didn’t break. It seems to be working well too.”

Thanks to the child turning the conversation topic to the staff instead of continuing the reproach.

I was able to get by with just promising not to make such a mistake again.

It was right after that when the child’s small hand was slowly extended.

What followed was kindness, suggesting that instead of straining my weakened legs, I should first grab their hand and try to stand up.

So, after somehow getting to my feet with the child’s help, I nodded in agreement to the child’s words that it would be good to consider the aftereffects of magic when using it, but.

“Um, Rea. Could you bend your waist for a moment? There’s some dirt on your shoulder.”

At that moment when the child’s soft hand briefly brushed my left shoulder.

No, precisely at that moment when the youthful face became so close that I could even hear their breathing.

Throb

A strong ripple arose from somewhere deep in my heart.

My heartbeat, which had gradually subsided, began to quicken again, and I felt heat around my forehead.

Still, I was trying to dismiss it as a momentary illusion, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, but.

“Well, I should get going now. Practice your magic diligently!”

When the child, after offering words of encouragement, turned away from me and began to move away.

For whatever reason, I wanted to hold onto the departing child.

No, I was extremely reluctant to be separated from the child.

I wanted the child to continue watching me use magic as they had done for the past few days, and to let me hear sincere exclamations of admiration.

…Was that why?

Step

Before I knew it, my two feet that had started moving on their own finally brought me right behind the child.

After that, I reached down and firmly grasped the child’s waist.

“…Rea? What are you—”

Before the child could finish speaking, I picked up that small body and placed it on my thigh.

Even Rea herself still didn’t understand why she was acting this way, but in terms of faithfully acting according to her desires as she always had, she was no different from her usual self.

Either way, she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed the time spent with the child.

It also seemed better to hear someone else’s impressions or feedback rather than practicing magic alone.

So, I slipped my hands between the slightly stiffened figure and created a posture of tightly hugging from behind.

Almost simultaneously, I uttered a question that could sound strange depending on how it was heard: why are you leaving me?

“…Where are you going?”

The child’s soft ears trembled at the voice that flowed out and was whispered from my slightly opened mouth.

However, at the moment when I once again made eye contact with the child who slowly turned their head toward the back, an unknown ripple clearly brushed against my heart.

Instead of letting the child go with an understanding when they said they needed to go see Iris, I rather burrowed between the child’s soft fingers characteristic of a young child.

And, opening my mouth once more.

“Can’t you stay with me a little longer? I still have many magic spells I haven’t shown you…”

I forcibly inserted a childish plea into those soft and fluffy ears.

On top of that, I unnecessarily gripped the small hand that was gradually becoming warmer even tighter.

Not long after that, nod.

“If that’s what Rea wants, I guess I… have no choice. Show me, the magic you haven’t shown yet.”

The noticeably more cautious youthful voice said it would somewhat listen to my childish plea.

After that, it wasn’t much different from the past few days.

I selected relatively powerful and showy magic from those I knew, used them, and asked for the child’s impressions.

I gained confidence and a sense of achievement while feeling slightly embarrassed at the child’s responses, which were all about how amazing or cool the magic was.

I fully tasted a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that I hadn’t felt when I went to the forest alone.

However, even after showing almost all the magic worth showing, I still didn’t want to be apart from the child, so.

“I want to go too.”

“…To Iris?”

“Yes!”

“Hmm, I don’t really mind…”

I volunteered to accompany the child and didn’t leave the child’s side even until we headed to Iris, the last remaining person.

When Iris saw me and the child appearing hand in hand, she asked when we had become so close, but it didn’t really matter.

As long as we continued to spend time in the same space, I would eventually become close with Iris too.

Even if they were people I met by chance and formed bonds with by chance, we would talk freely about each other as if we had never been awkward, improve our skills according to the child’s advice, and at some point, take for granted the time we spent together.

It didn’t matter as long as I could fulfill the desire I had unconsciously harbored during my time as the ‘unique loner’ of Itar Academy.

And so, in the continuously flowing time, I watched up close as Iris, true to her reputation as a model student among model students of the Academy, quickly grasped the direction the child presented.

My heart would ache whenever the child’s praise or encouragement was directed at Iris, but…

“Ah, Rea was amazing too. The magic you showed me yesterday, it was originally a spell that would succeed maybe once out of ten attempts.”

Thanks to a few heartfelt compliments from the child, such aches melted away like snow, so it didn’t bother me that much.

It was also an ache whose reason or identity I didn’t really know in the first place.

Therefore, I thought there would be no problem if I continued to spend similar yet enjoyable days like this.

I didn’t worry even when the day to finally leave the Academy arrived.

Because none other than Lua.

The amazing child who had already cleared the Tower once before said this much preparation should be sufficient.

“…It seems Miss Lua also had the qualities of a teacher. Unlike someone who became president through connections and special abilities.”

“Kaira, be quiet~.”

Seeing that even the Academy president and his secretary were slightly surprised by the rapid improvement in skills in such a short period, it could be asserted that we were as prepared as we needed to be.

The time had finally come for the Tower deployment day.

Of course, it wasn’t about going straight to the Tower; we had to stop by the Holy Kingdom to finish the final preparations, so.

We boarded a special airship that was said to be rideable only by “distinguished guests.”

“This airship can’t be ridden by just anyone? It’s because of me that you guys get to ride it.”

“If you just didn’t brag about it, you’d be about 10 percent more likable as a person.”

“Tsk. Just 10 percent?”

“For Rayner, even 10 percent is a lot!”

The child’s behavior, unusually sensitive only toward the president, caught my eye, but.

I already knew that President Rayner was a unique person in both good and bad ways.

So I assumed the child had gone through a lot while serving as the secretary of such a unique person and let it pass.

According to rumors heard from various parts of the Academy, it seemed the child had indeed gone through a lot.

Anyway, after the president, who gave a brief farewell saying to come back safely whether it’s the Holy Kingdom or the Tower, returned to the Academy.

Finally, eventually, at last, ultimately.

Whir

The airship carrying only four passengers began floating through the vast sky.

Though I say floating, it was actually maintaining an incredible speed, which made me feel slightly nauseous.

However…

“I-It’s shaking too much…? Is this really safe?!”

Somehow, the child, who surely must have experienced an airship before, was pale and clutching the safety belt tightly.

We all burst into soft laughter at what could be seen as a quintessentially childlike behavior.

On top of that, the cute sight of the child blushing bright red and making excuses that it was the three of us excluding the child who were too insensitive.

The fact that the recording button on a portable device had been pressed at some point became a secret shared by everyone except the child.