BSS 80

Chapter 80

With Bright’s help, I easily scaled the cliff using Fly magic.

When I reached the top, I saw Rye receiving the full brunt of an angry Blondie’s hooves.

He looked completely resigned. Blondie really hated Rye—probably because he was a snake.

[Yeah. Step on him, step on him.]

“Rye.”

[Ah! Master! You’re back!]

Rye crawled up under my feet, crying, and quickly climbed up my leg to my shoulder.

[Please do something about this guy! He completely ignores me!]

[How can a horse understand you?]

[He suddenly started trampling me for no reason! He’s definitely crazy! He must have rabies!]

[Horses don’t get rabies.]

For a while, my mind was a mess—trying to calm the excited Blondie while also listening to Rye’s tearful complaints.

I was worried that Blondie’s hooves might be hurt.

Rye was so solid that a wrong step could break an ankle, and normally, a horse in such a situation would have to be euthanized.

I checked his legs, and fortunately, they seemed uninjured.

[Master! Are you seriously worried about that crazy horse instead of me?]

[It’s not “seriously,” it’s true. And Blondie is gentle.]

[Waaah! That’s so mean! I’m going back to my parents’ house!]

Rye had picked up some strange ideas during our walk—it was going to be a problem.

[Go if you want.]

[No! You have to stop him!]

Where exactly are your parents, Rye? If I had to guess, maybe the Spirit World?

“By the way, Genie, what was that magic circle earlier?”

Caught off guard, Bright asked.

“…Huh?”

“The one drawn by the lake.”

Curious, the other two mages also looked at me.

When mages look at you like that, it usually means they’re persistent.

“That’s right! I’ve never seen that design before. What kind of magic circle is it?”

“It’s a structure we don’t use. It was unique and complex.”

“It’s an intermediate… spirit circle. I was just practicing drawing it. I thought I might try to contract with another intermediate spirit.”

“Oh. So that’s a spirit circle.”

“You practice as well? Amazing!”

I awkwardly turned my body, pretending to pet Blondie’s mane, while giving Rye quick instructions.

[Rye, go back down and destroy that magic circle.]

[What? I worked so hard finding the ley lines and digging it deep so it could be used multiple times!]

[You don’t need it anymore since we made the contract. Destroy it.]

[Ah.]

[What? Didn’t you know?]

[Well… now that you say it, I get it. It really smells like a blue snake! I can usually never tell from Master because you always smell like water.]

[I told you not to talk about smells.]

Sometimes, when communicating with Rye in my head, I would zone out for a moment.

“Genie! Look over there!”

At that moment, Bright grabbed my shoulder and shook me urgently.

I looked where he was pointing and saw a blue signal flare shot from the mountain.

It was a distress signal.

“Hurry! We have to help!”

The junior mage shouted, and Bright and his uncle hesitated. Going there could be a monster-infested area, and mages aren’t the best choice for immediate combat.

Mages couldn’t just jump into battle without pre-casting; it took at least a few minutes to prepare even a single spell.

That’s why there were so many swordsmen among the mercenary guards.

“Senior, do you have anything stored?”

“I didn’t expect something like this…”

“What do you have?”

“Two Fireballs and… Light?”

Mages would pre-store spells so that they could be used immediately in combat.

“What about your uncle?”

“Nothing…”

“Then I’ll go.”

I quickly mounted Blondie. I wasn’t exactly motivated by heroism.

“No! We have to help!”

Unluckily, the junior mage grabbed my cloak, panicking.

Why me? We’re strangers! Strangers!

Plus, I had just contracted with Endairon, so I had no mana.

“Hmm, I’ll go to the city and send people. That should work, right?”

“They could all die while you’re doing that!”

“I can’t die trying to save them.”

“…Are none of you going to go?”

There was no need to give me those despair-filled eyes as if they were about to lose faith in humanity…

“That could be the carriage bringing our stamps!”

“Then we have to go!”

“Let’s go! Everyone! Hurry, Genie!”

“Eh?”

Another flare shot into the sky.

The urgency was undeniable—a literal cry for help.

The mages hurriedly boarded their carriage and raced toward the signal, leaving me conflicted on whether to go to the city or follow them on Blondie.

“Why me!”

But I eventually steered Blondie toward the mountain, suppressing my reluctance.

If familiar mages died in a group, my whole day would be ruined!

Ugh, I really hate this!

[Rye! What about you?]

“Rye, destroy the magic circle first! Let’s go, Blondie.”

I soon overtook Bright’s group and hurried ahead, planning to at least assess the situation and buy some time.

Blondie was an excellent mount, able to handle steep mountain paths lightly and steadily.

As we rounded a sharp curve, I heard the clash of swords and chaotic shouts from a distance.

“Over there.”

I slowed down and cautiously approached the outskirts.

Judging my remaining mana, I figured I could handle two or three Orcs or Trolls.

But the closer I got, the more obvious it became that I didn’t need to intervene.

The situation was nearly resolved.

Reinforcements had already arrived.

“…Amazing.”

I couldn’t help but admire.

A swordsman in a dark red cloak was swiftly cutting down the remaining monsters.

Every time the sword moved, an Orc’s head flew through the air.

I couldn’t even follow the blade’s movement with my eyes.

By the time Bright’s carriage arrived, the battle was almost over.

I had glimpsed at least eight Orcs being taken down.

“Wow.”

“Someone got here first.”

“That’s impressive! That person.”

Everyone shared my sentiment. We had become mere spectators.

“Creak!”

The last Orc fell with a pig-like squeal.

The mysterious swordsman didn’t stop there—he methodically checked and finished off the downed Orcs, then flicked his blood-stained sword through the air.

Yeah, it did look kind of cool…

“Huh?”

No. No way.

I desperately hoped that the warm liquid that had splashed near my left eye wasn’t pig blood from that sword.

But that hope shattered the moment I rubbed it with my hand.

The thick greenish sticky liquid was definitely monster blood.

And once it got on you, that Orc grease would stay for three days!

“Ugh, Genie!”

Bright panicked, jumped off the carriage, and handed me a handkerchief.

I was trembling, but the swordsman seemed too busy accepting thanks from those he’d saved to notice.

“Thank you so much!”

“If you hadn’t saved us, we’d all be dead!”