「Stop it, stop it. Don’t mimic the way I fight. If you’re going to have a model, make it a magician like Yuri Ro……Henrietta. That style is probably closer to Mana’s way of fighting. In the worst case, don’t be like me.」
「B, but! I!」
「Ah~, that’s not it, don’t get it wrong. You probably got attracted to it from seeing that fight with Henrietta, but at that time, the magic I used was 『Magic Clad Sword』 only. After that, everything was done through force.」
「Eh?」
Mana and Eri’s facial expressions hardened. Jeez, they stopped with a *Pita!* (Petrified) feeling.
「? What are you talking about?」
「Things will get complicated so keep it down.」
Thinking about it now, I’m thankful that Bernadette wasn’t there. If she saw how I fought, she’d definitely think I was the Hero……Is it wrong of me to think that I still might be able to deal with her if she did?
「Is, is that true? B, but, that fighting style, unless you use high-ranking magic……」
「It’s truly true. After all, I don’t have any Maryoku.」
When I get on Silber, who had luggage on his back, Silber cried with a Kukeh and started walking.
「Eh, ……EHHHhh~~!!?」
With Mana’s shout behind him, Silber trudgingly started walking.
「See~ ya~.」
When I wave my hand while riding Silber, away from the dumbfounded Mana, Alicia waved back.
Let us meet again, farewell my teacher! ……Just kidding.
「Yashiro-san, please let me ride as well.」
「Shut up, ba~ka.」
「H, how could you say that to a maiden!」
「It’s fine if you’re behind me, you know? However, you have to put your hands around on my stomach and be glued to me.」
「You’re scum! There’s scum here!」
「Numbskull, people call me a gentleman, you know?」
While making a fuss like this, Bernadette and I left Lizwadia behind us.
◇
「………」
「Surprised?」
The silver-haired young girl, Alicia, asked the dumbfounded brown-haired young girl, Mana.
Mana only nodded to Alicia’s question.
Dumbfounded……And in addition to that, she also felt discouragement.
It’s not that she was discouraged by Yuu. Probably, having realized that she couldn’t be like Yuu, she was discouraged from her own ability.
「……I think「Don’t be an imitation of someone else, become your own self」is what Yuu probably wanted to say.」
To the discouraged and starting to get depressed Mana, Alicia spoke those words that she seemed to be familiar with.
「Don’t, be an imitation of someone else……」
「It’s fine to make it as a model. However, if you continue to be an imitation of someone else, your own merit will be lost. That’s, what he wanted to say.」
While gazing at the man, woman, and Kulkel that had gone into the distance, Alicia said that in the utmost tender tone of voice.
「……Were those, someone’s words?」
She didn’t know why she thought that. However, Mana couldn’t help but ask that.
After a small pause, it was the time when Alicia opened her mouth to talk.
「Your Highness Alicia~!」
A middle-aged teacher wearing a Lizwadia robe came running up to her while gushing out sweat from all over his face.
「S, so you were……*Ze~, ze~* (heavy breathing). Here.」
「Professor Conwell? Has something happened?」
When Alicia asked that, that man, who had a beer belly sticking out a bit, wiped his sweat and shouted with a loud voice.
「It’s terrible! It’s absolutely terrible! A young girl appeared from the destroyed Dragon Zombie’s, no, Ancient Dragon’s core!」
◇
Amagi Kaito was confused.
Having gone to welcome the 『Witch of Time』 and guided her to the ruins of the Ancient Dragon just like that, it was the time when he was helping in the cleaning up of nearby rubble since he had the opportunity to.
The corpse of the Ancient Dragon that had turned to bone still remained within the town. The amber core had scattered about in the surrounding area. It was a time when he discovered a strangely round and large piece remaining among them and, thinking it was mysterious, approached it.
Soul Desire (You, who crave my soul).
A voice resounded within his head, and in the next instant, the Ancient Dragon’s core started to dissolve.
He was surprised that the core that was as solid as crystal had suddenly turned to a liquid state, but Kaito had received a shock that surpassed that.
「A……girl?」
From inside the core that had started to dissolve, a young girl with ashen hair had appeared.
「!」
He didn’t know if it was because she was unconscious or if she had died but, when the surrounding core that she was imprisoned in had completely dissolved, the young girl that didn’t put any effort in standing collapse.
When he promptly extended a hand and supported her, it was faint but there was the sound of breathing.
When he was relieved that she was alive, her eyes slowly opened.
「Who……are you?」
Beautiful emerald eyes, that just seem to suck you in, stared at Kaito.