Chapter 28 ….
Woman of Fire (1)
Lorina did not show herself until the day of departure.
During that time, he never once got to see her.
It all felt like a dream—that they had traveled together. It felt like a lie.
Many thoughts crossed his mind.
Maybe it was because she had no one to rely on but him.
It had all been his own misunderstanding.
Perhaps she had never had feelings for him in the first place.
Thinking that way made him a little sad.
To the girl, he had been nothing.
His heart felt empty.
He was still planning to head north.
Even if the girl had no feelings for him.
It felt like there would be something waiting for him there.
He didn’t want to stop here yet.
He wanted to become stronger.
At the very least, he wanted to become someone worthy of the staff the alchemist had given him.
He had already given the innkeeper advance notice.
The man had suggested his own daughter as a possibility, but Rael refused.
There was no way he didn’t understand the man’s intentions.
The goal was obviously to tie him down and keep him in the castle somehow. It even seemed like he needed someone to inherit the inn.
Fortunately, things didn’t get awkward. He wrapped it up by treating the man to a generous meal the day before.
The merchant caravan was large.
It was on the same scale as the one he had seen when coming from the viscount’s territory. There looked to be around twenty wagons, and quite a number of mercenaries.
At least thirty, by his count.
The person in charge was a relatively young man. He was busily moving a quill pen across paperwork.
Rael knew from his previous trip that this was the final inspection of goods before departure.
It was the busiest moment. Perhaps because of that, when Rael spoke, the man answered irritably.
“What?”
“I came to join the caravan.”
“The caravan? Identification.”
Rael pulled out his mercenary tag and handed it over.
The man who appeared to be in charge frowned.
“A mercenary tag?”
His gaze clearly asked, You’re a mercenary? There was a hint of disdain in it. Even with the robe, there was no helping it.
Rael was small and didn’t look intimidating. And he was young. As Dorian had said, if his face was to become a weapon, it would need the power of time behind it.
“Yes.”
“If you’re here for an escort job, forget it.”
“Why?”
“We’re full. More importantly, I have no intention of hiring some scrawny brat like you.”
“That’s a relief. I was planning to ride as a passenger.”
“A passenger?”
“Yes. This is heading north, right?”
The man nodded.
“Two silver.”
Rael slipped his hand into his robe.
Without hesitation, he handed over the two silver coins he took from his pouch.
If it had been the first time, he might have complained about the price. But he had already heard in the viscount’s territory that two silver was the standard rate—because of the mercenaries.
Still, if it had been more than two silver, he might have argued. Fortunately, it wasn’t.
The man snatched the coins. His attitude was poor.
Rael said nothing.
There was no point getting angry here.
Adults were broad-minded. If he was going to act like an adult, he should just let it slide with a smile.
Even after buying a cloak, people still looked down on him.
The man in charge was exactly that type. Since they likely wouldn’t cross paths much anyway, Rael endured it.
He would be riding in the wagon for quite some time—he didn’t want to be on bad terms with the supervisor.
Just as he was walking to board the wagon—
Someone came running.
It was Lorina.
She had two soldiers behind her now. It seemed she had been assigned an escort.
The moment he saw her, the first thought that came to mind was: Why?
The girl who hadn’t shown her face even once had suddenly come running. It made no sense.
But more than that, he felt glad to see her.
“Rael!”
“Lorina!”
“Why didn’t you come see me? It’s the day you’re leaving.”
“Well…”
He had gone every single day.
Except today.
He had skipped it because he thought he might feel even more depressed if he still couldn’t see her.
If anything, the one at fault was Lorina.
But it didn’t feel right to say that to the girl who had come all this way.
She was as friendly as ever.
He couldn’t tell which was her true self.
“Well, whatever. Take this!”
Lorina was holding something wrapped in cloth. She held it out to him.
“What is this?”
“A potion.”
“A potion?”
“My father told me. You’re heading north, right?”
“Yes.”
“So I made it! This was really hard—I even had some failures.”
“Failures?”
“Yeah. Potions are hard to make.”
The girl puffed herself up proudly.
It was obvious she wanted him to be grateful. She looked like a child showing off a prized possession, and Rael couldn’t help but smile.
“Then why didn’t you show yourself all this time?”
“I was busy making this.”
“You could’ve at least come see me.”
“Were you upset?”
“A little.”
“What about now?”
“I’m happy.”
He smiled.
So there had been a reason she hadn’t shown herself.
Lorina must have heard from her father that Rael was heading north.
She probably heard everything.
That he had feelings for her. And that he was heading somewhere dangerous.
So she did what she could.
Like a true apothecary, she had made potions for him.
“Don’t use them too recklessly. Low-quality potions have side effects.”
“Side effects?”
“They shorten your lifespan… just a tiny bit.”
“Then why use them?”
“It’s better than dying.”
He nodded.
Potions could heal even mortal wounds.
If you died, that was the end. Even with minor side effects, it was worth using.
He looked inside.
There wasn’t just one potion.
There were five.
Including the failed ones, she must have made more than he could count on one hand.
Feeling her sincerity, his chest tightened.
The resentment he had been holding onto had already melted away.
Lorina spoke.
“…You’ll come back, right?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll wait.”
“Okay.”
The caravan was about to depart.
He climbed onto the wagon.
Lorina waved her hand.
He waved back.
The girl grew farther and farther away.
The wagon wheels began to turn.
Only after the castle gate receded into the distance did he look away.
His feelings were strange.
He was alone again. It felt refreshing, yet lonely.
It was similar to what he had felt when he parted with Dorian.
…But also a little different.
This time, there was anticipation for what lay ahead.
He felt that he had grown a little stronger than the weak boy who used to worry about everything.
Back then, he had worried about simply surviving day to day.
But now, he felt like he could do anything.
It was tremendous progress.
Inside the wagon, passengers sat lined up on both sides.
Their upper bodies were all tilted toward one side.
Where a woman sat.
In her hand, she was conjuring a small flame.
“Ooh…!”
“Is that real fire?!”
Those who saw it exclaimed in amazement.
Starting a fire was difficult.
That was why people usually kept embers stored carefully to prevent them from going out.
But the young woman produced flame from nothing.
It was an incredible feat.
Rael was surprised too.
He was surprised that there was another mage besides himself.
There had been the alchemist, but he was an exception. Aside from him, this was the first mage Rael had met.
The flame itself was surprising.
But he didn’t think it was particularly impressive.
Compared to water magic, it was merely at the level of creating a basic Water spell.
Judging by the mana contained in the flame, the quantity was small.
The greater the amount of mana one could control at once, the greater the mage.
The girl was not an especially remarkable mage.
She looked far inferior to himself.
The woman even had to properly chant to produce that flame.
If it were Rael, he could create a larger mass of water with just a few words of incantation.
“…Doesn’t look that hard.”
The middle-aged man sitting next to him overheard the mutter.
“What? Isn’t it amazing to you?”
“Not really. Judging by how she handles fire, she looks like an apprentice mage who’s only trained the basics.”
He shrugged.
He had spoken without much thought.
But the wagon fell silent.
The woman was staring at him.
So was everyone else.
Only then did he realize they had all heard him.
Awkward.
He hadn’t meant much by it, but the woman’s pride seemed wounded as she glared at him.
“What did you say? Don’t talk like you know everything.”
“If I’m mistaken, I apologize.”
He bowed immediately.
He could be wrong.
He had trained in water manipulation.
In contrast, the woman before him used fire.
Since their disciplines differed, he couldn’t be completely certain.
More than anything, he didn’t want to argue with her. That hadn’t been his intention.
The woman addressed the passengers.
“Just so you know, I’m at least an intermediate mage. An intermediate mage is stronger than most knights. On the battlefield, the number of enemies we take down is overwhelming.”
“Ooh… impressive.”
“Stronger than a knight?!”
The people focused on the fire mage.
Some even applauded.
Everyone was too busy watching the flames dancing on her palm.
More than anything, it was warm up close.
Perhaps because of that, they were eager to praise the mage just to keep watching it longer.
Rael tuned them out.
He briefly considered showing a water sphere, but that would just be picking a fight.
The woman only occasionally glanced his way. She didn’t actually start trouble.
Just then—
The outside grew noisy.
Monsters.
It hadn’t even been half a day since leaving the castle, and they were already under attack.
Faces turned pale.
Some people crouched down on the floor.
Rael leaned his head out the back of the wagon.
The mercenaries were fighting.
Orcs.
They were scattered, so he couldn’t tell the exact number.
The caravan line was quite long.
There were five mercenaries near his wagon.
Five of them were fighting three orcs—but they were being pushed back.
“Is—Isn’t there anyone?! This line’s about to break!”
A mercenary shouted urgently.
The orcs were strong.
One orc was easily matching a mercenary one-on-one.
There was no one to help.
Two more orcs were nearby.
Four mercenaries were each pairing off against them in twos.
The shout carried far.
The passengers inside the wagon trembled.
If the mercenaries collapsed, the orcs might slaughter the people.
The line could break at any moment.
If the orcs reached the wagons, it was over.
Faces went ashen.
All eyes turned to the woman.
She was a mage. She could help in battle.
“Why is everyone looking at me?”
“Aren’t you a mage? Use that fire to kill the monsters!”
“I don’t fight without payment.”
“Forget payment—we’re in danger!”
“Yeah! You said you’re stronger than a knight!”
Voices rose one after another.
The price of her earlier boasting had come due.
The woman stood.
Then she stepped outside the wagon.
It seemed she truly intended to fight.
Rael watched closely.
He had seen others fight.
But this was his first time watching a mage in combat.
He wanted to see how capable she really was.
The woman walked forward.
She approached the area where the orcs and mercenaries were fighting.
About twenty paces away.
Her spell range seemed very short.
Otherwise, there would be no reason to close the distance like that.
His anticipation grew.
She had claimed to be stronger than a knight.
She had called herself an intermediate mage.
Impressive.
Rael himself was still at the level of a low-tier mage.
If what she said was true, it meant she was stronger than him.
He needed to observe carefully.
The woman began chanting.
She chanted for quite a while.
It seemed like thirty seconds.
Rael wouldn’t even need half that time.
His expectations rose even further.
Flames burst from her hand.
Much larger than before.
But at best—
…it was only the size of a campfire.
