The rest of the bandits were either slaughtered by Jack’s mercenaries or they had run off after it was clear that they were going to lose.
On our side, aside from the two drivers who died, the other three managed to survive their wounds after Jack’s healing mages got to them. They were at least not in danger of dying but they still needed a few days to recover from their wounds fully.
As for the Mercenaries themselves, they only suffered from a few injuries thanks to their healers so there weren’t any casualties on their side.
I also understood that the man I had broken the leg and arm of knew he wasn’t able to escape with his injuries like that and the fate awaiting for his banditry was enslavement, thus he prioritised getting revenge on me instead.
How stupid.
Katsuki was inconsolable though, she kept thinking that I was in danger because she wasn’t strong enough to protect me and still needed my help to save her, which in turn endangered me.
She finally calmed down after Mother told her that all she needed to do was to grow strong enough to protect me after attending the school she will be sent to.
After Jack and his party properly dealt with the corpses by burning them after looting their bodies, the order was given for the caravan to move off again. Apparently looting the dead that you killed isn’t a taboo either.
Also, the reason why we’re moving off in such a hurry was just in case those ‘bandits’ had backup nearby and were going to get reinforcements.
“Were you hurt, Lady Aster?” Viera asked, sporting a bandage wrapped around her arm from where she had been cut.
While the mages could heal, it was more of speeding up the recovery process as only the higher tiered mages can cast instantaneous recovery magic.
“Not at all, it was all thanks to Katsuki here that I managed to get out of this unscathed.”
Katsuki looked up at me in surprise but I simply reached out and patted her head.
Sabrina grinned at her, “Oh yeah! I saw how she took down those two bandits! She was so cool! Also, I didn’t know you were a mage, Aster!”
“Ah, well… You never asked.”
“That’s so cool! Both you and Katsuki must be blessed by the Gods!”
Well, she’s right in my case since I literally met one and he gave me this stuff as ‘compensation’ for my world being blown up.
“What magic do you know, Lady Aster?” Melissa asked, her eyes burning with curiosity.
I briefly considered if I should tell her the truth but decided against it. Call me paranoid but I like to at least keep some cards in my sleeves.
Instead, I’ll just tell her the magic I used in that fight, “I know Electromancy and Umbramancy.”
“Oh? Umbramancy? That’s a rather surprising choice. Not many people will learn that, Lady Aster.”
What? Why not? It’s so useful though? Especially the summons? A tier three Umbramancer could pretty much summon an army given time you know? Katsuki is also an Umbramancer, you know?
My surprise must have showed on my face since Melissa proceeded to explain, “Yes, it’s quite useful for Assassins and Hunters so they might take the time to learn a little bit of that magic. But mages that specialise in it are exceedingly rare. The shadows they can summon are weak and can only be used to do menial work, plus it takes a long time to summon one as well. Thus, Umbramancers are usually designated as a support role.”
Oh… Oh yeah… Normal mages do need several years to even increase a magic’s proficiency and the shadows would only be as strong as they are when summoned using all of their mana.
And since mages would usually spend more time practising magic than training their bodies, their summons would be weak too.
I shrugged, “It’s proven its use to me a number of times so I don’t mind it.”
She nodded, “Unn… Even I have to admit that it is quite useful, though we don’t have an Umbramancer in this party.”
“So Melissa is an Iatromancer, right?” I asked, remembering that she was one of the mages going around healing people.
I also knew that from using my [Screen] on her but she didn’t need to know that.
<strong>[Name: Melissa</strong>
<strong>Title: Healer of Free Wind Mercenary Group</strong>
<strong>Race: Mahun</strong>
<strong>Stats:</strong>
<strong>15 Strength</strong>
<strong>13 Dexterity</strong>
<strong>18 Endurance</strong>
<strong>40 Magic</strong>
<strong>Skills:</strong>
<strong>Leadership (Tier 1), Alchemy (Tier 2)</strong>
<strong>Magic Skills:</strong>
<strong>Hydromancy (Tier 1), Iatromancy (Tier 2)]</strong>
The mage girl nodded, “I’m also an alchemist so I can make potions too, plus I picked up a little bit of Hydromancy on the way. Oh! Speaking of which, could it be that Lady Aster is going to the capital city to attend the Academy?”
“Umm… I do have plans but I heard the average age for admission is twelve years old right? I still have two years to go for that.”
Melissa waved her hand, “The Academy doesn’t care what age you are as long as you have talent for it. It’s said that even a five year old could attend the Academy as long as they have talent.”
“Oh… I… Well, I just don’t want to stand out too much I guess?” I explained a little lamely.
I didn’t want to say that the school had pleaded with Mother to only let me attend the school later for fear of me getting more attention than the prince.
Shaking my head, I directed my gaze towards Katsuki, “We’re just going there now so that Katsuki can attend the maid school or whatever it’s called. She’s still new, after all.”
Sabrina gasped, “Oh! That makes sense! After all it’s–“
Viera quickly clamped her hand over Sabrina’s mouth, “That’s right, it’s a really famous school that’s renowned to train the best maids and butlers anyone can ask for! I’m sure Miss Katsuki will become a great maid there!”
Melissa chuckled, “A… Ahaha! Ye… Yeah! There was even one time I thought about trying to be a maid too! But in the end I decided to pursue my magic studies at Aerialla Academy instead!”
Ok… What’s with that weird reaction, is there something bad about the school that I should know about? Don’t tell me it has something to do with slavery too?
“Ah! Lady Aster mentioned that you are going to attend the Academy in two years, right? Have you thought about what subjects you would take?” Melissa added.
I know they were just trying to distract me but well… Seeing them panicking already clued me in it must have something to do with Mother who was peeking at them over the top of her book. The threat wasn’t exactly subtle this time.
Deciding to throw them a lifeline, I indulged them, “Ummm… No. I don’t really know how the Academy works… In fact, I didn’t even know you had to pick a subject before today.”
Melissa let out a sigh of relief before smiling at me, “There’s a lot of subjects you can choose though I suppose Lady Aster would most likely choose to further your magical studies. The branch at the capital also offers various other specialisation subjects like the arts for the entertainers and even business related courses if you are an aspiring merchant. They also have political studies for those who wish to be under the employ of the Kingdom and martial courses for the prospective knights.”
My eyes widened, “All of that… At twelve years old?”
She giggled, “Of course, while the average age that people would join the Academy would start at twelve, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any older students. Plus, these are more of basic courses so children can start learning them too and take the more advance courses at the floating islands of Aerialla Academy itself if they wish to.”
Wow, this World’s education system seems pretty advanced. When Mother said that it was an Academy that teaches everything, I thought she was exaggerating back then.
“Then does that mean everyone attends the Academy?” I asked, feeling quite excited.
Viera actually grimaced, “Not… Exactly… Unless you are a scholarship student, the school fees for the Academy are quite expensive… That’s why there are other city funded schools around but their quality can’t be compared to Aerialla Academy.”
Ok… I take back what I said about the education system being advanced… No wonder being able to read and write is a selling point considering Linette had specifically pointed that out when introducing Katsuki to me.
The literacy rate here must not be very high.
I turned to Melissa, “So you’re a graduate from Aerialla Academy?”
She scratched her head in embarrassment, “Ah… Only up till the branch school… I was not good enough to be selected to attend the actual Aerialla Academy itself. But I still learned a lot in my time there though, so if there’s anything you want to know about the school, you can just ask me!”
I chuckled, “In that case, I will be depending on you as my senior then, Miss Melissa.”
We shared a laugh as Mother finally returned her gaze back to her book, probably content to know that they weren’t going to expose her secret any more.
Oh well, just a few more days and we’ll reach the capital city anyway.