32 – Claiming Ownership (5)
“Wait, grunt, please let go of this…!”
“Ugh… But the smell…”
The more I try to push it, the more it pushes me,
As the sweat gradually cools, the mother’s eyes become cold and hard.
It wasn’t good.
It was even more ominous because those eyes were not directed at me.
I was pouring it out on the woman who hugged me, filled with obvious hatred.
It seemed like he was trying to hold back his emotions, but
“…Suddenly.”
The sound of teeth grinding together with a crumpled facial expression.
The wrinkles forming on that pretty face were giving me a final warning.
And I saw.
The hair is slowly turning red from the tips,
The hidden horn is slowly raising its head and trying to appear.
There was no way my mother didn’t know that if she saw that, everything would be over.
Of course, it was okay because I was the only one watching my mom,
“Oh my… I need to get away. What kind of power does this – “
It was fortunate that the soldier seemed to be more interested in the woman who was clinging to me.
It was obvious that once her tail started to appear, there wouldn’t even be an excuse.
“Ugh!”
In the end, I violently grabbed the woman’s shoulders with my hands and pushed her away.
With quite rough emotions.
“Aya! Ah…”
“Gwae, are you okay?”
The lukewarmness that remained subtly in my body was actually making me feel worse.
Not only was it not the hug I wanted from her in the first place, but the fact that so many things could have changed so terribly because of this incident made me hate her.
I was able to see my mother once again after confirming that she was not hurt as she fell, while breathing heavily.
Fortunately, the answer was straightened eyebrows and slightly raised corners of the mouth as if satisfied.
“It hurts…!”
I should say that the woman who woke up scratching her head looked about my age.
When her face was covered in purple lines and she glared at me with her black eyes, it was quite terrifying.
For now it’s just –
“H-Where am I? What was I doing…?”
He just appeared to be gibbering without even coming to his senses.
And slowly, as her eyes became more focused, a clear fear was etched into her face.
“Yeah, that’s right. It was definitely after being attacked by monsters, and then – “
“Calm down, you’re safe now.”
However, fortunately, the soldier skillfully approached him and helped him stabilize.
The purple-clad woman stood up while clutching her head, and a soldier quickly rushed over to help her up.
“Are you okay?”
While the three saved were busy trying to figure out the situation,
Mom quietly came to my side.
The eyes looking down were not kind,
“Yes. There are no injuries. It’s just…
I was just very surprised.”
I held onto her outstretched hand tightly.
Then, she gave her strength and gave her mother a gentle hug.
“I have no intention of breaking my third promise, so please let go of your anger.
I don’t want to get caught, but so does Mom…!”
Then she lifted her tiptoes and whispered in her ear.
I was quite concerned about my mother’s slightly twitching body,
She smiled thoughtfully and I was the first to become distracted by her hand gently stroking me.
“Of course.”
And then he shook me off in an instant, to the point where I felt he was rather cruel,
I immediately approached those who came to their senses.
“Are you all able to move?”
“Ah, yes. The woman may need support, but
I think the merchant and I are fine.”
With the woman still clutching her head and frowning,
“Are you… A wizard?”
A man in purple greets me with one hand on his head.
After being surprised by his pretty good voice, I bowed my head slightly to reply to his greeting.
“First of all, I have to thank you for saving me, but
By any chance… Haven’t you seen my other companions?”
His face looks quite serious.
The sight of him looking so sad was taking away the strength to open his mouth.
“Well, that’s…”
“The three people here are the only people who were manipulated by me and the wizard.
We do not know at what time or location you were kidnapped.
How about going back to the village to check and find out if there is anyone you couldn’t find?”
But my mother was quite calm,
And the situation was neatly summarized.
It was something I couldn’t do because I was still lacking.
“…Of course it should be like that.
I can’t even remember what happened there.
I will do so. “It seems like a good idea to go back to town.”
So the soldier supported the woman,
The man in purple found the sword he had been holding and put it back in his belt –
“Then, please guide me.
My memory is still hazy, and I don’t even know where this place is.”
He turned his head straight towards us.
…With this, perhaps today’s work is over.
***
“Stop!”
When we came down the mountain, it was quite dark.
The guards were locking the door, but as we approached, they turned on their lights and aimed their bows.
“Reveal your identity… Uh, isn’t that wizard?”
Luckily, perhaps because he recognized my face, the door opened quickly.
Of course, things did not end there.
A few people with spears blocked us, and judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like they had a lot to explain.
Just as I was about to open my mouth, swallowing my saliva.
“Tom?”
“…Igor?”
As the soldier we brought recognized one of the guards, the surrounding area immediately began to buzz.
“I thought you were dead. Are you alive?”
“The demons dragged me away alive.
Damn, I’m so happy to see you again, this…”
While the two of his men were bumping into each other and embracing each other deeply, his colleagues who were called by the guards exchanged greetings with him one by one –
At the same time, the identities of the other two also slowly began to be revealed.
“Victor Mirkosin. A merchant at the top of Rock Rock.
My things were probably stolen and are in that cave…”
“Your identity has already been confirmed. The three people here are all on the list of missing persons.
From Noble mtl dot com
I’m glad you came back safely.”
He who wore purple clothes seemed to be a well-known person.
Both the guard and the person who ran out of the building and diligently recorded something were happy that he was safe –
“Ashley, is that really… You?”
“Um, Mom?”
Among the passers-by with messy hair, a family slowly approached and hugged the woman who had hugged me.
The quiet village suddenly became noisy,
Everyone who recognizes the missing person shakes their hand, hugs them, laughs – and cries.
The dark night was filled with bright emotions.
“Tom?”
“Captain Saunders!”
Then, I soon heard the familiar voice of someone next to me who was always teasing me with mischievous comments.
After exchanging rough greetings with the sound of banging on their armor, the two soon turned their heads towards me.
“The wizard here saved us from the demons.
I was being manipulated, but even that was released.”
“Release it, give it to me?”
“Yes. As you can see.”
Showing the black traces of the magic remaining on his chest,
He saluted me by putting his fist where his heart would be.
“Thank you again.
Meet with my colleagues – perhaps I can send a letter home as well.”
At his greeting, I also bowed my head with a pounding heart.
His face blushed as he received compliments from the surrounding guards.
…Receiving praise from many people was not something I was used to.
“You were a lot bigger than I thought, young wizard…”
After crossing his arms for a moment, he uncrossed them and took a deep breath.
He placed both hands on his waist for a moment, then faced me directly –
“To be honest, I was quite suspicious.
He seems to be quite knowledgeable in magic – but even after investigating, nothing came up.
A suspicious boy who seemed to have fallen from the sky suddenly received a job.
But… I came here to rescue three of the people who disappeared during the repeated carriage attacks.
It looks like the demons have also been dealt with. Yes?”
“Yes.”
“The evidence is – Ha, damn it. It’s funny to ask a guy who saved three people to do more.”
Like a guard named Tom did to me,
He also raised his fist to my chest.
Then all the surrounding soldiers straightened their posture and –
I tapped his chest strongly twice.
“Ruzek’s guards are grateful to you.”
To adults who are bigger than me,
With a rough beard,
With a large scar on his face,
You can see the thick muscles sticking out of the rolled up sleeves,
To such worthy soldiers,
I was being saluted.
It was heartbreaking, but I had no choice but to look back.
All of this could not be solely for my glory.
If it wasn’t for my mom who protected me, taught me, and helped me,
I’m sure I’ll run away from the scene, get hurt,
…Or die.
He may have experienced such things, and at the same time, he would have become a suspicious person, as the guard captain said.
But ‘Madame Tutuère’ quietly raised the corner of her mouth –
“Salute to the great wizard.”
I gently placed my hand on his chest.
As if I did all this on my own.
Before I could say anything, cheers erupted –
“Long live the boy wizard!”
“Long live the savior of Ruzek!”
The quiet village was shaken.
It was certainly a good thing to be thanked by so many people,
The person who quietly congratulated me in the dark should have been the main character of this event.
That kept making my heart heavy.
I was smiling, but I was suffering because I couldn’t smile sincerely. There was someone who made it through the crowd and appeared.
“Hey, over there!”
She was a woman who came to me and gave me trouble.
The name… Was definitely Ashley.
People who seemed to be her family called her that, so it must have been true.
“Thank you so much for saving me!
Thanks to you, I was able to meet my family again, and –
It bothered me that I couldn’t greet you properly.”
Her face was illuminated by her fire, and she had quite red skin.
But the torch was orange, and she, who had just woken up, had a rather bright skin color.
“That’s why I’m saying this, but is it okay if I ask your name?”
“The name is Russell.”
As soon as I answered that simple question, the people around me suddenly got excited and started shouting.
Both men and women.
Something about her noticed something strange about her and turned her head towards her.
There she was, hesitantly trying to look me in the eye.
“Well, I’m Ashley. That’s why I’m saying this -“
And before the words are over,
“Stop.”
The person who very simply stood between me and her was Madame Tutuère, my mother.
Just by lowering her shield, revealing her tall stature, everyone’s attention is focused –
At the same time, her loud atmosphere was immediately suppressed.
“The wizard is quite tired.
I don’t have time to meet any more people, so I’ll just leave.
Could you please make way for me?”
There is quite a bit of power in that last word,
Even though I wasn’t facing her mother, she could easily anticipate that face.
The sight of Ashley forcing her stiff body to move to clear the way for her… Looked quite pathetic.
“Then shall we go?”
In the quiet crowd, her mother gently offered her hand to me.
I am,
I grabbed it and walked.
Toward the inn.
