[Interlude] The少年's Journey – On the Ship 5 –

The mayor and the blacksmith who lives in town told me.

The ship will take quite some time to repair.

Since we don’t have stored wood for fuel, we’ll need to go cut trees in the winter forest. The snow will be deep, making the ground treacherous, and the trees here are thick and tall, so they’ll be quite heavy.

When I heard that story, I realized my master wouldn't be able to return easily.

I felt a little disgusted with myself.

By the third day, the members who were heading to Entsi had fully recovered and were preparing the supplies needed for the journey.

A dog sled, surprisingly. This was my first time riding one. Normally, we used special horses.

They were big and fluffy, with a variety of white-and-black patterns.

It was really fun to ride. The speed and exhilaration were amazing. After a while, my beard ended up covered in snow, which was amusing.

At night, it gets extremely cold, so everyone stays inside the tent.

I'm good at using fire crystals.

I don't get tired even after using them for a long time. So, to keep warm, I keep using the fire crystal inside the tent. It gets so warm that the maids stay inside constantly—they hardly ever want to come out.

Well, since there's no real reason to kick them out, I don't mind them staying—but lately there are so many of them that it's getting cramped. And Anne, for no good reason, clings to me as if she actually needs to be held.

In another two or three days, we'll be at Entshi. The snow is making travel slow, but we should already have arrived by now. I need to make sure I can use fire magic at least by then.

I insisted once again that my master join me in practice that day.

Usually, they'd dodge me, but today Anne, the maid, brought a sword and half-threatened me into practicing, so I reluctantly accepted, knowing it was a bit unfair but still making good use of the situation.

I've made up my mind to stop caring about appearances.

By the way, when I headed to the practice field today, Taro asked me if I could use two magic stones at once. The result felt half-hearted, to say the least.

One was a fire magic stone, the other a light magic stone. Using either one at a time was effortless.

I was naturally skilled with the fire stone, warming it up quickly, but when trying to use the light stone while it was still hot, the light flickered and wouldn't stay on steadily. My master really is amazing—managing to use three magic stones at once.

It seemed I might need two kinds of knowledge after all. I really must study harder.

I went to practice the next day as well. Thanks to my master's guidance, I managed to successfully create a compressed fireball—something I couldn't do before.

It feels small compared to the fireball I launched from that ship, but I've finally gained real power of my own.

After firing, all my strength drained away, and I had to be carried on my master's back. According to my master, I can only fire about once a day now. I still have a lot of practice ahead of me. Still, how long has it been since I was carried on someone’s back like this?

As I rest on my master’s back, we talk about my hometown. Maybe that’s why I suddenly remembered being carried on my father’s back.

Those days are long gone, but I wonder—when did things start to change like this?

When I was carried back to the cluster of tents, Anne burst into a furious rage and confronted her master.

The master was using lightning magic again, but surprisingly, Anne dodged it and charged forward. Was that really avoidable? Alex stepped in to mediate, and after several exchanges of blades, the situation finally calmed down.

According to everyone, the weather is good, so we should arrive in Enshi tomorrow as planned. That means our training ends here, and life at the mansion begins.

Fortunately, I managed to successfully perform magic one last time—what a relief. Life at the mansion will be dreary, but I’ll finally get to see my sister again after such a long time.

I want to tell her all about this adventure. And also, that there might be a solution to her illness.