4. Carriage to the Royal Castle
When I transitioned to the destination, I was greeted by the sight of a woman’s body. It was a naked female body.
“Wh, Wha… Wha?”
Celia flapping her mouth. At first, she had a hard time grasping the situation with me, but eventually, she realized that she was being completely naked. Her face immediately turned bright red.
“Sorry, I didn’t think you were taking a bath. Just a quick question… why would you take a bath with a totem?”
“T-that because you told me to! You told me to always keep it close with me!”
Just get out of here! She gets angry at me. After being told such a thing while desperately trying to cover her body, I have no choice but to leave as I repeat my apologies…You know, in case you’re wondering, my current gender is female. Well, it isn’t pleasant to be seen in your birthday suit, no matter who the other person is.
While putting away the totem that was thrown at me in my pocket (still warm), I walked out of the bathroom. The bedroom was right across from the washbasin. It’s pretty small. But there seems to be no inconvenience in terms of everyday life. Is there anything else in the room? Just as I was about to take out the cheap paper bundles crammed into the bookshelf to take a look at them, Celia came out.
That’s fast. I turned around to find her gasping for breath with only a bath towel wrapped around her body and drenched hair. She must be in a hurry. It’s not like I’m rushing her when she’s bathing, but the person herself does the otherwise.
“You could have just taken your time and not been worried about me.”
“I can’t possibly do that… In many ways.”
She still looks a little embarrassed, but she seems to have regained her composure. The atmosphere is back to what it was the other day. As expected, she asked me not to see her changing clothes.
“No need to hide it. You have a nice slender figure and those chests. It’s a feast for the eyes.”
“……！”
“No, I’m kidding. I won’t say it again.”
Maybe I’m getting a little carried away. I’m not even young enough to be aroused by the mere sight of a woman’s body, no matter how much I was a man in a previous life, but I genuinely admire the size of her breasts, regardless of that. As much as my own body is completely fixed as a little girl, it is too excessive. Not that I would envy her, though.
Celia, who tucked her hair wet and put on her clothes, in the midst of doing so, asked me why I had suddenly appeared in the bathroom. Eh? I guess she hadn’t figured it out.
“That’s why the totem. I teleport to that as a landmark. That’s why I gave it to you for that purpose.”
“You mean that you can teleport wherever there are these landmarks? Like you were able to teleport me in the forest, even to others?”
“Yeah…Yeah? There’s magic like that, right?”
My teleportation is based on the use of Eidos, so I have to classify it differently from normal magic. But there should be teleportation magic in the normal magic as well. This is also something I have confirmed in the past, so there is no doubt about it.
Celia affirmed it as per her knowledge, but she makes somewhat difficult expressions on her face.
“But that’s…”
“That’s?”
“─No, It’s nothing, it’s just foolish to try to measure the Primordial Witch by the common sense I have.”
That doesn’t sound like nothing… Perhaps Celia is not good at teleportation? If that is the case, it is no wonder she is not convinced. Ardella had mastered it as a matter of course, but the difficulty level is probably considerably high. Spatial traversal is considerably advanced level of normal magic.
“Well, never mind. I want to go out, can you get ready now?”
I told her that we could pick another day if she had other plans, but she was very cautious in her response.
“Going out, you mean.”
“Of course, this is about Celia’s request. We are going to the royal castle. I wanted to ask you to show me the way.”
Once she heard this, Celia’s face immediately changed and she started to get ready, saying that she would finish her preparations immediately. As she did so, she finished getting ready to go out rather quickly for a woman and looked at me with her hair still damp and said, “Let’s go.” That’s some enthusiasm you have there.
On the way down the stairs just outside the room, there was a face looking at us from downstairs. An elderly woman. Does she have housemates?
“Who is she?”
“She’s the landlord here.”
“I see. Hello.”
So this was a boarding house, not Celia’s own house. A tenant comes down from upstairs with a guest she doesn’t remember bringing in, “H-Hello…?” The landlord seemed to be confused when I reflexively greeted her, but we were able to get away with it with Celia’s first-class smile. I think we got it, probably.
“So which way is the king’s place. Is it this way?”
“It’s over there.”
Celia pointed in the opposite direction of where I was looking. I’ve always had this kind of bad sense of direction, I guess. Probably from my previous life. While clearing my throat, I turn toward the royal castle.
“How are we going to get there? How far is it?”
“It shouldn’t take more than an hour on foot.”
“…It’s a delicate line.”
I don’t mind doing some walking, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m wasting my time. I looked up to the sky to see if I could get there as quickly as possible by flying, but no one was flying… Perhaps there is some kind of legal regulation. Along with the roads then.
“Do you want me to call a carriage? If so, we will be arriving at the royal castle within 30 minutes.”
“Sounds good, let’s do that.”
Celia who had called for the horse-drawn carriage in a well-accustomed manner, went first to check the interior of the carriage before letting me in first. I feel like I’m being protected by an SP. This girl is a little too considerate with me, that’s for sure.
Celia who got in after me told the driver through a small window where we were going, then the carriage started to move at a moderate pace. So that’s how it is in the city… It’s definitely faster than walking. And the ride is not bad either. Times sure have changed. When I picked up Ardella──.
“Uhm… Miss Primordial Witch.”
I got pulled back just as I was about to immerse in my thoughts. I’m still not used to being called that, but I somehow recognized it as referring to me, so I shifted my gaze from the moving city to Celia.
“What?”
“May I ask what are you planning to do in the royal castle?”
“What’s I am gonna do… That guy, Morow. We’re gonna find out what he’s up to.”
“So you are thinking that Morow has an evil plan.”
“Well, I think that’s the case nine times out of ten.”
Let the person himself speak up there and it will be clear. So it would be more accurate to say that we are going to see Morow rather than going to the royal castle.
“Are you going to question him directly?”
“Ah… Is there a problem? No, by no means am I criticizing you for this, I’m just asking you to tell me things from Celia’s point of view.”
I added that as a reminder not to discourage her, but Celia still seemed very reluctant to speak about it.
“The problem is that… Even if there was a sinister plot, I don’t think that Morow would be so open and honest about it. And depending on how we approach the matter, things could get worse.”
Well. Anyone would be wary if a dismissed colleague came back and started probing around. All the more so if she had me an outsider with her. Celia’s concern is a valid one.
“It’s probably better to keep in mind that there is going to be a battle. There’s only one Morow and there are two of us. And it’s unlikely that elderly retired mage will show up, so we’ll manage somehow.”
“No, um… There are other soldiers in the castle.”
“Oh, yeah. Hmm, depending on the situation, it could be a tough fight… Okay, I’ll be in charge of Morow and Celia will take care of the soldiers. That’s about right.”
“I’m counting on you,” I said with a smile, but Celia’s face only grew more grim. I tilted my head and wondered if something was wrong.
“I am ashamed to say it, but I do not have the skills to stand alongside Miss Primordial Witch. The spells I have mastered are only for self-defense, and I don’t really learn any offensive magic.”
“Isn’t that wonderful. First and foremost is self-defense. The power to harm the enemy can be acquired after that. I agree.”
Celia shook her head weakly at my words.
“I’ve never thought of it that way. It’s just that I didn’t have the talent…”
“You’re not talented? There is absolutely no such thing.”
“Huh?”
Magic is fueled by magic power, and the source of that magic power is magic essence. Magician absorbs magic essence and takes it into their body, then converts it into magic power, and utilizes it in accordance with the magic formula they have developed in parallel to make the supernatural a reality.
The absorption and conversion of magic essence in the process of magic and its initiation can be quite different for each person. I suppose it would be easier to understand if it’s like lung capacity, where oxygen is inhaled and exhaled as carbon dioxide. While this depends more on innate qualities than on lung capacity, just understand that some people can inhale a lot and some people can’t.
Back to Celia. She could take in plenty of magic essences in the forest that was full of magic essence due to my influence. She has the talent if she can do that without being aware of it. An innate talent that she was born with. At least in the field of magic manipulation, she has more ammunition in her hands than any other person.
Celia, who did not know about this, looked half in disbelief at my words. Does she believe that her talent is already at its limit. However, I don’t want to insist on it too much just because I’m the Primordial Witch…
“It’s Edea.”
“……？”
I repeated it again to her, when she looked at me with a surprised look on her face.
“Edea, that’s my name. I don’t want to be addressed as the Primordial Witch. You can call me that from now on.”
“Y-yes, Miss── Edea.”
“Good.”
There is no need for Miss, though. But asking her to do so will only make things more difficult for her. No matter how much I praise her for her brilliant magical talent, it does not resonate in her heart.
The carriage is on its way to the royal castle.
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