Volume 3: Chapter 005: Makia – Noah’s Little Boat
Author: かっぱ同盟／友麻碧
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n3862be/
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
A few days after Thor was appointed as Princess Lulubeth’s personal knight, I made my way down towards the castle town to meet with a friend from back home.
I would like to take Thor with me, but he’s busy so it can’t be helped. Still, I guess this could be a good thing for him in the end.
That was when Lepis brought a boy before me.
“Lady Makia, with Sir Thor busy fulfilling Sir Raymond’s request, Sir Thor had instructed me to supply you with an escort…”
“Hm?”
[1] When I said, boy, I really mean it. Lepis brought a boy of about 11 or 12, dressed all in black like her.
“Greetings, I am Noah Twilight.”
His voice still had a boyish ring to it, but his manner was cool and professional.
[2] “What’s this about?” I said as I studied the boy.
I knew there were other Twilight members in the country, with most of them shuttling to and from this country and Fresir. Most of them, aside from Lepis, were so terribly busy that we hardly even exchanged greetings.
Still, I had never seen this child before.
With his black eyes and hair, he looked a bit like a very young Tooru, just a bit more delicate and cute. I had a sudden urge to squeeze his cheeks. [2] Well, Tooru was already very good-looking, considering the type of women he likes, it’s no wonder that his descendants were all so pretty and cute.
“Lady Makia is not allowed to use magic in public and I doubt my ability to escort you on my own, therefore, I brought Noah along to help. He may be a child, but despite his appearance, he built his first Magic Fortress at 10 years old. He is one of the most promising members of the Twilight clan.”
“Hm, that’s pretty amazing,” I said, meaning every word.
The revelation of his Name to me exposed his potential to me. The boy’s potential matches his name well. He had an MP level of 6000, the same as Lepis but he had the advantage of having a ‘best match’ name too, which would max out his abilities.
Noah stared at me. He did not appear timid or friendly. He was just… observing me.
“Good to meet you, Noah. The person who named you has quite the skill.”
“Good to meet you as well…”
We shook hands.
I was startled by the coldness of his hand. It had to be a prosthetic hand or arm. The child must have lost an arm to his skill. It was a little painful to think that such a small child had already lost parts of their body to magic.
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~
Despite it being winter, Miradreed was still as lively as ever.
The reason I came all the way down to the town was to meet a friend. A friend from my time in Delia Fields.
That’s right, she is Lady Smirda Beigrates, daughter of one of the 12 Great Noble families. I received a summon to see her this morning.
She was still as thoughtless as ever, but since it had been a long time since I had met anyone from Delia Fields… not to mention, she was the only friend from back then who sent word to see me.
“Makia!!! Over here!!!”
Smirda called from the entrance of the high-end restaurant where we were supposed to meet. She had her curly brunette hair in twin tails as usual and was dressed as flashily as ever.
“It’s been a while, Smirda.”
“Fufun, your birthday is coming up, so I choose a good restaurant for you. Be thankful.”
“… …”
Well, while she is certainly thoughtless and selfish, she is not all that bad.
We have known each other for a long time, so she knows what makes me happy. She even remembered my birthday.
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com ~
Smirda came with the Duke of Beigrates to stay at their villa in Miradreed. The Duke was here for the Grand Noble Council which was happening next month.
Beside her was a handsome knight with shoulder-length light beige hair.
“This is my new knight, Elliont. Where’s your Thor, Makia?”
“Thor is serving Princess Lulubeth right now.”
“Oh my goodness! Makia, did you gift Sir Thor to the Princess? Oh my~ Ohh my~~”
“What’s with that face?”
The face that Smirda was making was… well, she was certainly grinning. I’m pretty sure that she’s really happy for some strange reason. However, I was too engrossed with the high-class meat dishes that this restaurant was famous for to really care. So, she was acting a bit strange, but that’s Smirday for you.
“He’ll be with her until the Great Noble Council next month. Although I’m not sure why…”
“Is that so…?”
Smirda was sipping at her glass of fancy grape soda, [3] her eyes jerking to the side in a very obvious way. Does she know something?
Still, she recovered quickly. Her face returned to its usual haughtiness as she said, “Dear me, as a Magic Advisor, surely there is no need for you to have a knight with you, is there?”
“I suppose… Then again, it is always good to have some people by my side.”
“By your side?”
“Indeed. You may not have noticed since they tend to stay out of sight, but there are always a couple of mages around.”
“Mages……” Smirda frowned. Then, she lowered her voice and said, “Hey, Makia. I want a favour from you. Do you know any magic shops around that sell magic charms that actually work?”
“A charm? Like a magic amulet?”
“That’s right?”
“Do you need one?”
“N-no, I’m just looking. My father, that is, the Beigrates used to be a clan of mages, but we’re only regular nobles now, so I don’t know much about magic. I think, the coming Great Nobles Council will be different from the previous ones. I’m worried for my father. That’s why I… wonder if there’s some kind of charm or amulet…”
“Hmm…”
It was quite refreshing to see Smirda squirmed like that. She must be really worried about her father.
“Well, I do know one good store. But it’s not the sort of place you’d like. It’s rather shady and dusty.”
“No matter. A fashionable magic store in the shopping district doesn’t have much to offer anyway.”
“So, you know that much, huh?”
“It’s just an intuition.”
Hmm, as a family of former mages, they do have slightly higher MP levels than ordinary people. Perhaps that’s why she is a little more sensitive to the magic vibes?
After our meal, we made our way towards Midgard.
We travelled down the main street in Smirda’s carriage. On the way, the carriage stopped. Not long after that, we heard loud cheering.
“What is happening outside?” Smirda asked.
“Lady Smirda, the carriage can’t go any further. It looks like Princess Lulubeth and her entourage are touring Miradreed. The princess will be touring all the provinces,” the beige-haired knight, Elliot said.
I stuck my head out the window. “Woah, that’s quite the crowd.” I couldn’t see the entire entourage, but Thor must be with them. The people were waving little Ruskia flags, celebrating the return of the princess.
“Hmm, we could get to the shop through a side street, but the carriage can’t go through that route,” I said.
“That is fine. I shall walk.”
“Eh?!”
I was shocked. To think that Smirda would actually say that she will walk! In the past, she used to get mad at her maids and female knight Melvis whenever she had to walk even a little bit.
“Goodness, you’re all grown up, Smirda…” I said, feeling oddly proud.
“W-what’s with that weird face, Makia?!”
Please read at kitchennovel dot com ~
It turned out, that taking the side street was a mistake.
I should have been more cautious, I thought to myself as I sensed ‘that’ feeling.
Nearly everyone had gone to look at the princess and her entourage, so there was not a single person on the side street, which made it oddly quiet.
However, I could still feel the presence watching us, observing our every move.
“This is bad…”
It was extra bad with Smirda right next to me.
Who was the target? Me?
Could there be a demon watching us?
“What is it, Makia?”
“Don’t leave my side,” I told her. Then, I looked up and called out ‘Lepis!’ She immediately appeared in front of me, her black robes fluttering gently.
“W-who’s that?!” Smirda was obviously shocked.
In contrast, Lepis was perfectly calm.
“We have been surrounded.”
“By people? Or others?”
[1] “Others.”
So, demons. Were they attracted by my magic or Smirda? [2]
“Leave this to me. Please take the young lady to Midgard. It will be safe once you reach there.”
[2[ “And you? Will you be safe?” I asked.
“Yes, this is nothing.”
“Fine, don’t overdo it.”
“Yes.”
We exchanged nods and tensed our bodies, ready for action. Then, I grabbed Smirda’s hand and shouted ‘Run!’.
“Wh-wh-wh-what is it, Makia!!??”
“I’ll explain later, let’s run first!!”
“What’s happening, Lady Makia?!”
Smirda’s beige-hair knight had a strange expression on his face as he run beside us, a hand on the hilt of his sword. I was not skilled enough to run and chat, so I just told him to follow me.
Fortunately, he did not argue as we continue to run.
Unfortunately, a little while later, just as we turned a corner towards Midgard’s street, we came across a bunch of mysterious men.
“!!?”
The men wore pure white masks and cloaks, hiding their faces and figures from outsiders.
They looked totally suspicious and were armed with swords and guns that were clearly imported from other continents. These weapons were pointed at us, making them the enemy.
“Kyaa-!! Ruffians! Thugs!”
Smirda was screeching and screaming. Knight Elliot drew his sword and slashed at the men with a loud ‘Uwooohhh!!’. His sword was stopped by the enemy’s sword. The next thing I knew, he was slammed to the wall and was knocked out.
“Weak!! Your knight is too weak!!”
“Kyaa-!! Elliot!!”
Was Elliot too weak or were those guys too strong? I stuck my thumb between my teeth, ready to use my magic just in case. At that moment, a cloaked figure landed in front of us.
A very small cloaked figure.
“Ah, Noah?”
That’s right, I still have Noah. I had completely forgotten about him.
Noah glanced at me once before holding out his hand, a 3D magic cube floated above his palm. It looked similar to Thor’s.
The masked men fired their guns, but whatever Noah was doing intercepted the bullets. That’s the great thing about spatial magic.
“Lady Makia, my boat will take you to Midgard. Please do not get out of the boat under any circumstances.”
“Boat?”
Before I could process what Noah said, my view suddenly changed and the next thing I knew, Smirda and I were on a small boat. The road in front of us had turned into a stream.
“Kyaa-!! A boat, I’m on a boat!”
Smirda had slumped to her knees and was clutching the side of the boat. She had been shrieking and screaming non-stop for a while now. Well, it’s no wonder, she had been suffering from all kinds of crazy situations until now.
“Magic Fortress… ’Noah’s Little Boat’…”
Noah clenched his hand once before snapping his fingers.
Then, the boat we’re on started moving, right towards the men.
“Noah’s Little Boat is a completely protected space and nothing can stop it.”
He was grinning proudly as he glared at the masked men that were running towards us. They swung their swords and fired guns at us, but nothing breached Noah’s Little Boat.
[2] “Woah, this is great, Noah!”
He did not look back at me, just nodded while staring at the men. I was a little worried about the grin on his face, but the boat moved along, unimpeded.
We only got off the boat once we reached Midgard. After checking our surroundings, we hopped off the boat and ran into the store, closing the door behind us.
”Goodness, what’s this?” an old woman asked.
“Madam Egressa, there are suspicious men outside the shop, and demons too…”
“Oh dear, come to the back of the store now~ hihihi~”
I took Smirda by the hand, she stood still the moment I stopped, only moving when I moved her. I guided her to the back of the shop and made her sit down on the couch where Percelis had slept on for her long past life memories exploration nap.
“It’s fine now, Smirda.”
“I-indeed, but, what was all that about? And… E-Elliot! We’ve left Elliot behind!”
“It’s fine, I’m sure those two will do something about him. They are very powerful mages. So, don’t leave this place.”
“Is that so…”
She looked relieved and exhaled heavily. Looks like that knight’s pretty important to her, even though he’s pretty lousy at his job.
“It might be best to not leave this store for a while,” I said as I looked through the window to look at the murky sky.
It felt like the sky was expressing some kind of bleak omen…
I wonder how Lepis and Noah’s doing.
[Gumihou: Did my best not to make Makia sound OOC]
[1] Add details, because, ma’am, it’s really lacking
[2] Makia-like dialogue. Please don’t stammer unnecessarily
[3] Show don’t tell
Come join kitchennovel’s subscription!
Or, you can still support us through Patreon or tip us via Kofi~!
Although… it’s, um, you only get half the benefits… but, the decision is in your hands!
Do also comment at Novelupdates and raise our ratings!
