Chapter 78: The waking Makoto
I silently open my eyes and wake up. What was reflected in my eyes was a ceiling I was relatively familiar with.
This is… my room?
It’s been a while since I have collapsed. That anemic-like feeling, I think I haven’t felt it since I was a kid. I was really weak in the past after all.
My way of sleeping as if a pole was sleeping on the bed. How splendid of me. I won’t hear opinions like “that is gross”.
I grab my high-tech blanket that is refreshing at summer and warm at winter, and pull my body up. It is so pleasant, no one would believe this article is used by orcs that live in this barren lands.
It might be nice to use it as merchandise.
However…. how sluggish. I can’t seem to put strength in my body. Is this prove I have been sleeping for several days?
“N, fu~”
?
Eh, there is someone here?
I finally look in a direction other than up. I rub my fingers on my eyes, trying to recover from the somewhat blurred vision I had because I just woke up.
What in the world is this?
I am probably incredibly grateful that I am still half-asleep. Because without opening my mouth, I was able to analyze the situation as if placing a filter in my mind.
In my room, there were 3 people besides me.
First, Tomoe and Mio were sleeping at my left and right. Sleeping together? It doesn’t seem like they are clinging to me. They are quite close though.
Tomoe is in yukata-like clothes. I don’t know what she is punching, but at least she isn’t directing it at me so it is fine. It’s just, the yukata is incredibly disheveled. And also, I don’t want to say too much about underwear but, why is it a *sarashi*?
Sarashi
Sarashi
It’s not like I saw them, I was made to see it, is the excuse I made to no one in particular.
Mio is sleeping like a baby, rolling up her body. She is wearing an incredibly daring pajama that I question the reason she is wearing it. What an appearance, it is poison to the eyes. Well, she is properly wearing underwear so it is barely safe.
As someone who has a big and little sister, this isn’t something I haven’t experienced before. If you ask me if I don’t mind it at all, I would answer that it is embarrassing though.
Fumu, for me to wake up when everyone is sleeping, I have quite the bad timing huh.
At the room’s entrance, Tomoe’s new clone was there. She is leaning on the door and doing a PE sit while sleeping. Is she intending to be a gatekeeper of sorts? One has to pull to open the door, so there is no point though.
She has an eldwa-style katana resting on the door just like the one Tomoe has. That is probably her weapon. Her looks are that of an elementary student, so anything she does would look charming.
She looks like a chibi Tomoe, so I gave her a random name like Komoe. As of now, I regret that decision a bit. Well, I think it sounds better than Tomoe-mini though.
When I look at the window, I see a thin light from between the curtains. It’s probably early in the morning. Also, thinking about the time, I feel like it is a bit too cool. Damn Asora. Did you change seasons again?
However… seriously, how many days has it been since then? I think it is probably 1 or 2 days. I bled a bit, but it wasn’t to the point I would die. Anyways, I was somehow able to return to Asora on my own after all.
On my own huh.
Dragon killer Sofia. She was strong. How to say it, I felt like she had a human-like strength. In terms of strength and speed, I have met numerous people who were several times stronger, but it was more like the way she used that strength. In that situation it would be her equipment and magic maybe.
Things like being able to change her position with Lancer’s blades, or just the ability to change her own position freely. Or maybe it was something that didn’t take in mind anything, a teleportation-kind of skill. The thing is, she was able to act while ignoring the distance to a certain extent. For a person specialized in long-distance attacks like me, this is a topic that brings pain to my head.
It may be a bit rude to say this but, it was scarier than the time with Tomoe or Mio. If they told me she was over level 2,000, I would believe it. For that to be level 920, it would be dangerous to accept that number in face value. “Well that applies to you too”, is what I feel someone would retort.
Attacks that take advantages of openings. I didn’t think this style of fighting would create such a disadvantage for barrier magic. Maybe it is because the parts that you are not conscious about are easier to break through.
Or is it just because Sofia’s weapon is abnormal? She is a person that has passed through a lot of experiences so it might be possible.
If I didn’t have [Sakai], if my magic power was lower, if I didn’t have the equipment of the eldwas; if only one of those were missing, in the worst case, I might have died.
Now that I think about it, the time I have learned magic is not even 1 year. I am an amateur among amateurs. If I compare my current self to the me that only had 1 year of experience in archery, I can clearly understand this. The time when I couldn’t even hold a bow properly. It was in a stage where I couldn’t mind about hitting the target.
Even if it was for the sake of hiding my magic power, I am truly glad I prioritized defense when I came to this world.
No matter if my magic power is as deep as the sea, there is no point if I only have a scoop and bucket to barely use some of it. Even if I still can’t use the whole sea, I have to learn how to use a part of it or it will just be a waste.
To have a limit in my crazy amount of power and only being able to use a minuscule part of it. I am not a maso, so I don’t want to have close fights all the time.
As expected, heading to Academy Town was the right choice. It’s just that this happened before I went there. If they say it’s because of my bad luck, I would believe it.
Problem huh. This time it is troublesome that I don’t even know where I was and how I fought. The reason I was thrown in that place, is probably because of that voice. What about “finding” you bastard Goddess. Because of her convenience, she threw me in the middle of a battle between hyumans and demons. After throwing me into a wasteland now you throw me into a battlefield. I will label you an evil God seriously.
Going through the trouble of doing that and not providing any instructions or support, she really likes to take me for a fool. If there is a next summon, I will definitely oppose it. Well even if I say so, I will leave most of it to my retainers. In terms of space movement, from Tomoe, Mio and Shiki; which one is more fit? It’s probably Tomoe. But if it’s about resisting magic, Mio is also a valid option.
Let’s ask when they wake up. I have to make sure Tomoe and Mio don’t look for retribution as well. No, it isn’t because fighting is not good. I also have things to think about so I am just leaving the fun for later.
Ah right, Shiki. Where is Shiki? If I remember correctly, I was supposed to teleport to some town called Felika. Well, if he went to the Academy just like that, I will be able to arrive there too. Really, to be able to open mist gates in the locations of my retainers, it is quite convenient.
Before Felika… Uhm, the town I was before being forced to the battlefield, Ube-something. Instead of heading there and do the teleport again, it is more comfortable to just directly arrive to Academy Town.
Even when he looks like that, Shiki is actually the worrying type, so maybe he came back here. Let’s try contacting him once and see.
(Shiki, good morning) (Makoto)
I am glad. It seems the link has been restored. I can clearly tell that we are connected.
Confirming that the thought transmission has connected, I try to call him out. Thought transmission is so user-friendly.
(Makoto-sama? Is it Makoto-sama?!) (Shiki)
(Yeah, it is. I am sorry for suddenly disappearing) (Makoto)
From Shiki’s point of view, he didn’t know what happened to me at all so for now I just tell him I disappeared.
(No need to apologize! What about your body? Is there anything wrong with it?) (Shiki)
(Yeah, just a bit sluggish. Just in case I will have you check later. Where are you right now?) (Makoto)
Eh? I feel like I am forgetting something.
(That’s great, truly great. I was right beside you and was unable to do anything. If Makoto-sama didn’t return after this, I would have-!) (Shiki)
(Shiki, I am asking you where you are right now though) (Makoto)
(Ah, I am really sorry! Right now I am in Academy Town, at the examination line. I thought it would be bad to take out the documents before knowing if Makoto-sama was okay, but after hearing that the day before yesterday you returned to Asora injured, I consulted with Tomoe and here I am) (Shiki)
Tomoe huh. Her decisions are like that of a father or more accurately saying, rational. She probably noticed that my injuries would heal properly alone and thought about when I needed to return, so she made Shiki stay there. A more through treatment can be done when I reunite with Shiki there.
I feel like Mio repeatedly told Shiki to come back and heal me, heal me right this instant no questions asked.
Fumu…
I returned the day before yesterday with injuries. Shiki told me. In that case, I have been sleeping for two days huh. Eh, I was in a pretty serious state?
Ah, injury!
Fingers!
Remembering my pretty severe injury, I take both of my hands out to confirm.
That purple thing which made one feel sick just looking at it, where is it now? Now there is only a healthy-looking left arm and hand.
My fingers are all there. They move normally. Actually, I have been using them naturally to move the blanket. Hah~, I may have just woken up, but I really am not in tune. I am airheaded right now.
But…
I-I am glad~~~!!!
And, Shiki said something about lining up? Examination line?
(Hey, Shiki. What is that examination line you are talking about?) (Makoto)
(Ah, to enter Rotsgard a test is necessary. It’s the line you have to wait in order to take it. There should be other methods aside from this inefficient way though. At this rate, Makoto-sama’s exam will probably take place in 6 days) (Shiki)
Certainly, if you have a turn ticket, there would be no need to line up. I feel like just by lining up, people steadily leave because they grow tired. I don’t think that is their objective, right?
I see~. An exam huh. I thought that because of Rembrandt-san’s recommendation, I would be able to enter easily just by doing an interview. Well, the self-proclaimed difficult test of merchants was just a duty education. I shouldn’t worry too much. In the worst case, as long as I am able to obtain knowledge in that town, there isn’t that much of a need for me to get involved with students. For the sake of Rembrandt-san, let’s properly take that test.
6 days huh. I don’t know how big this town is with my own eyes, but there seems to be enough time to check the place around.
(I see. Hey Shiki, you are really diligent you know) (Makoto)
(Wa?) (Shiki)
(Well, you said you use hypnosis and suggestion. So I was thinking, why are you diligently lining up?) (Makoto)
(?!!)
(I am sure it is just because you are trying to give a good impression for my sake though. You are pretty honest) (Makoto)
(……)
(Now then, Shiki. I will be going there now so…) (Makoto)
(Y-Yes) (Shiki)
Shiki’s behavior is a bit strange. Could it be he didn’t get to sleep? It’s this early in the morning and he was still able to answer this fast, so maybe he did an all-nighter. I am sorry for the trouble.
To be able to line up all night is truly incredible. Now that I mention it, in my previous world there were classmates that never missed a festival that was held in a certain place in Tokyo. Even though it was called the “haunt of wicked men” or “hell”, they still talked about it with smiles for some reason.
Tto.
Let’s quickly change clothes. I have made them worry after all. Shiki and everyone.
After changing, I will wake everyone up and tell them that I am alright. And then I will have Shiki do a thorough check and have a tour on Academy Town.
At night we will have a meeting in Asora for detailed reports. Let’s make a mist gate in Academy Town where people can’t see. It seems just by setting a gate once I am able to move from Asora to that place.
However, if it is totally closed it will vanish, so I have to leave remnants. Thinking about the possibility of infiltration, I have ordered Tomoe to completely close them. In places that work as relay points and in a base we will normally transit; in those cases we guard the exits with all we have. Mio is also able to open and close the mist gates that are not completely closed. Shiki still isn’t able to do it. It seems he is having a pretty hard time with it.
The former Lich that possesses a reasonable amount of knowledge and ability is like this. Well, I might just be worrying too much though. A genius level instinct type like Mio might appear and could end up able to pass through them, so in most of the cases I want them to be closed completely to have peace of mind.
Ah wait. In the Academy team it is only me and Shiki so there is probably no need to leave a gate in the meantime. I just need to open and close when necessary.
After arranging my thoughts… I feel gazes.
Moreover, from both sides.
“Waka!”
“Waka-sama!”
I was only able to catch those words. After that I wasn’t able to understand anything else. The words of Mio that felt like they weren’t even words and the words of Tomoe that were actually words but were so fast I couldn’t understand. What is sure is that me changing clothes has become a pretty distant future now.
Being hugged by beauties from both sides should be a pretty rewarding situation and yet, the feelings of worrying them and wanting to say sorry were stronger. It’s been a few months since I met them, but we have passed quite the thick times together.
(Shiki, I am sorry. I might take quite a bit of time going there) (Makoto)
(… Understood. Please don’t push yourself) (Shiki)
I receive words of worry from Shiki.
“Tomoe, Mio. Good morning. It seems I have worried you both, I am sorry” (Makoto)
At this rate, the report meeting feels like it will be in a much later time. I decide to change the schedule a bit.