53-Episode 48: Sage Prevents Terrorism




 A triumphal return ceremony was being held in the royal capital of the Vila Amst Kingdom.

 This is the anniversary of the triumphal return of the first king who founded the kingdom of Vila Amst after the demon race was destroyed 300 years ago.
 Apparently, old technology has become obsolete, but events like this one have been around forever.

 Various events were held during the 7 days of the festival, and today's parade was held.
 The Adventurer's School is closed on the days when the parade is held.
 I had come to watch the parade with Cecil, Sarasa and Rowan.

There are so many people here. Where in the world did they come from?

 Cecil looked around, bouncing around with a bounce.

 People, people, people........360 degrees, all people.
 A lot of people were crammed along the roadside.
 They were waiting for the parade to start.

 I let out a sigh, "Huh...".

 For me, a festival was a new experience for me, having been reincarnated seven times.
 There had been small festivals in the Stark territory, but this would be the first time I'd participated in a national festival.
 I came to wonder what it would be like, but the only thing I could see was the back of a person's head.

 Then the crowd cheered.
 A carriage with a podium appeared in the distance.
 A brave man in armor waved his hand in response to the crowd along the roadside.

''You must be Rasharan-sama, the second prince of the Villa Amst Kingdom.

 Rowan, from King's Landing, explains

 Flowing blonde hair.
 Cool eyes.
 A sweet mask.

 Racharan had enough good looks to attract women.

I'm not sure if I'm right. I'm not going to be able to get it right. Hey, Sarasa!

Uh, yeah...

 Hearing Cecil's words, Sarasa glanced over to me.
 As soon as her eyes meet mine, she looks away.
 Her cheeks go up.

 Hmm? What's Salasa's reaction now?

 Sometimes you act like you don't understand.
 I'll have to ask him again another time.

Yeah. I can't see a thing!

 Cecil pounced and jumped, but he couldn't see him at all in the crowd.
 He raised his hand further, and it was an afterthought because it was something to wave.

'See?'

 Rowan grabs Cecil's side.
 As it is, he lifts it above his own head.

'Oh! Nice! Rowan. It's crazy easy to see.

 Cecil is satisfied.
 But I couldn't help but laugh.
 Rowan and Cecil's height was about the difference between an adult and a child.
 It made Cecil look like a child being 'high and tall' by his father.

'Ah! I just made eye contact with the prince!

 Cecil was excited, not knowing that he was being thought of that way.
 He forgot that Rowan was lifting him up and flapping his feet around.

 I'm glad he's enjoying himself.

 Cowering his shoulders, Rowan asked me what I thought.

'Lacelle, would you like to do the same?'

What? Why would I....

You're too tall to see it.

 Hera, Rowan laughed.

 Nah--! Don't be ridiculous.

 I'm still getting taller and taller.
 I drink milk every day....
 Unlike Rowan, I'm a large, late bloomer, you know.

No need.

 I activated my magic.
 [Mage (Wizard)] [Levitation].
 I float up softly.

''Sarasa........''

What?

Give me your hand. I know you're interested in it.

 I witnessed Sarasa standing on tiptoe beside Cecil, trying to watch the parade.

'Uh-huh,'

 Sarasa takes her hand in hers.
 He continues to pull her up and hugs her side.
 Then he slowly floats up.

 A cheer goes up at once.
 All eyes are on us as we rise to the surface.

"Hey, aren't we conspicuous?

Yeah, I see it. But I can see them clearly.

Ugh. But it's a bit weird.

 We stare at the parade as we look down at the heads of the crowd.
 Below, Cecil says, "It's not fair! Me too! He was protesting.

 Our actions surprised the prince, who waved at us on the podium.
 He smiled a refreshing smile and waved at us.
 Sarasa flushed and waved back.

 Beside that, I had one thing on my mind.

'You have a kid our age.

 The side of the prince waving his hand.
 A boy and girl about the same age as me were waiting for me.
 They are not doing anything, but waiting at the prince's side.
 I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

"Maybe it's a student at a military school.

A military school...?

 Oh, yeah.
 Come to think of it, there was an educational institution like that.
 In addition to the Adventurer's School, there is a military school in the Villa Amst Kingdom that trains the officers' class of the kingdom.

 It's an institution that gathers talented children from all over and educates the future generals.

 I later learned from Rowan that the top-performing students of the military school are loaned out to guard the festival every year.
 I heard that the students who wait around the prince are particularly talented people.

''Hmmm.''

What is it, Racel?

'I think I'm forgetting something. I had other reasons for coming to King's Landing, but...

 I don't like it.
 Forgetfulness at my age....
 Should I try to take notes as much as possible?

 I nodded my head.
 Then I happen to see a man moving suspiciously.
 He's approaching the carriage with a podium where the prince is standing.
 I want to watch the parade more closely....
 I don't feel like I'm enjoying it that way.

 And what's disturbing is that he's still got his hands in his pockets.
 They seem to be hiding something.

 I activate the magic.

 [Reverse Detection]

 See how the magic reacts.
 There are many different humans here.
 Many magical reactions have returned.
 However, one of the biggest reactions comes back.

 Apparently, the one the man is holding is a magic bomb.
 Its usage is the same as a bomb.
 If you light the fuse, the magical gemstone at the end of the fuse reacts and explodes.
 The big difference is that it's more powerful than gunpowder bombs.

 Moreover, it has four reactions.

 It seems they intend to turn the festival into a tragedy.

 I gently lowered Sarasa to the ground.

'Neeeeeeeeeeeee. It's so nice. I want to fly!

 I ignore Cecil, who is fumbling around like a child.
 I warned her to run to a safe place, and I activated my magic.

 [Agility increase] [Leg strength increase]

 Furthermore, he grants the shoe [Object Acceleration].

 Finally--.

 [Super reaction]

 I kicked the ground as I activated my magic.
 As the crowd fills the roadside, I move like a light.
 Using [Levitation], it's easy to approach.
 However, that would be distracted by the rest of my friends.
 Moving through the crowd and hiding, I reach the first one.

'Nah...!'

 Suddenly, the man groans as the child appears in front of him.
 Without pausing, I put my elbow in the man's pigeon tail.
 The man leans in and falls toward me.
 I continue to carry him and take him out of the crowd.

 For now, one.

 I move further.
 In the blink of an eye, I find another one and neutralize it.
 The second one -.

 That's when the parade reaches its peak.
 The carriage stops.
 As it stopped in the middle of the street, the prince began to sprinkle his love even more.
 The city residents along the street began to gather to the carriage at once.
 Perhaps this was part of the staging.
 The guards around him didn't seem to be in a hurry.

''Not good........''

 This is the right time to activate the magic bomb.

 I kick the ground again.
 I ran to the third person.
 I finally reach it, plowing through the crowd.
 I had already lit the fire and was about to light the fuse now.

 I didn't stop, but I just thrust my fist into the man's kryptonite.

 As it was, I turned on my heel and headed for the fourth man.

'Kyaaaaaah!

 A scream rips through the silk.
 Someone must have seen the third man fall.
 The place is in an uproar.
 Hearing the current scream, the fourth person should move.
 I quickly activated my magic.

 [Levitation]

 I soared through the air.
 When I saw it, I cheered.
 But I don't have time to respond with a wave of my hand.

 I head straight for the fourth person.
 When I stand in front of it, I stop moving for a moment.

 It's a child.

 Probably a [villager].
 No, in retrospect, everyone I defeated was a [villager].

 I remember the name of the [Revolutionary Volunteer] that I heard about one day.

 I heard that he was planning to bomb the prince.

 But what came to my mind was my previous incarnation.
 It was terribly long ago.
 My friends from the orphanage.
 It was the memory of adults sending a child who was barely old enough to remember to die.

 Still using children as tools of war.

 Gillian!

 I bit my back teeth.

 The magic bomb held by the child had already been lit.
 The fire passed through the fuse and disappeared into the main body.
 The crowd screamed as they noticed.
 But it sounded very far away to me, who was concentrating.

 The explosion begins.
 Light ran around me.
 I could see the blast was about to spread right now, as I had activated the [Super Reaction].

 A moment later, I touch my hand.
 I quickly activated my magic.

 ...........

 A few beats of silence.

 Then, with a clatter, the bomb fell to the ground.

 Expecting the explosion, the crowd that had been lying prone slowly raises their heads.
 Nothing is happening.
 Some in the distance, still unaware of the importance of the matter, were making a lot of noise.

'Lacelle, are you okay?'

 Rowan, plus Sarasa and Cecil come running up to me.

'Whew. I see you've managed it.

You startled me. I thought it exploded.

Now you've gone back in time.

We haven't earned [time travel] yet.

I thought it was a joke, but there's magic in that.

So how did you neutralize the explosion?

 Rowan asks.

'[Denaturation]. I took the properties of the explosion itself and turned them into other attributes.'

What?

Bomb!

""I changed it to another attribute, aaaaah!"

 The exclamations of my friends rang out.
 My eyes and mouth opened wide in astonishment.

 I pointed to the bomb that had fallen from the kid's hand.
 The bomb had turned into a block of stone.

''Heh, [Denaturation] can do that too?''

Hmm? I think it's a rather popular method of defense for [Blacksmith (Blacksmith)]. Cecil, I'll teach you a lesson next time.

'I can't! I mean, I've never heard of a defense like that.

 It's a method that the old [Blacksmiths] used to do a lot.

 It's especially difficult to defend against explosions.
 At any rate, it was because they had to activate 【Denaturation】 while sorting through the simultaneous blasts, heat and light that were attacking them at the same time, each time.
 It must be activated a thousand times in 0.3 beats.

 Well, it's certainly a craftsmanship.

'A thousand activations in 0.3 beats.

How many times did you activate your magic in that moment?

 Next to Cecil's pouting mouth, Rowan scratched his head.

 I don't know........

 As expected, I didn't have enough time to count them.