GalaxyTL
I suddenly woke up. Ah, I’m still in the cell. Maybe I was unconscious for a short time. I did faint from running out of magic power. Maybe my magic power recovered quickly thanks to this magic circle?
Ah, then… is Ronny channeling magic power now? I hurriedly sat up and looked towards the magic circle, where Ronny was painfully channeling magic power. He might be nearing his limit.
“Ronny!”
I unconsciously called out. Even if I tell him not to push himself, he’ll be forced to, so all I can do is call his name. I see Licht is also clenching his teeth in frustration. After Ronny, it’s Licht’s turn again. I wonder if Licht was able to recover. …No, I think he’s only about half recovered. It won’t return that easily.
“M-Me…g… I’m… o-okay…”
Ronny, whose name I called, dutifully looked at me and smiled, saying that. There’s no way you’re okay.
Shou-chan, I wonder if you met someone? I hope you didn’t run out of magic power and collapse. I’m worried… but Shou-chan is our only hope.
No, I believe. Help will surely come soon. But just in case something happens, I need to be ready to activate magic at any time. Ronny and I use nature magic, so it’s not a problem, but Licht is the issue.
Fortunately, there are moments when our magic control tools are removed. When we channel magic power into the teleportation magic circle. There’s a brief opening right before we start channeling and right after we finish. We have to wait for that moment. We have to endure and wait for a good opportunity. Just a little more…!
“Tch, this one was the shortest. I guess he has the least amount of magic power among them. Can’t be helped… bring the black-haired one again.”
No way, that’s way too soon! Licht hasn’t fully recovered yet! As I watched Licht being dragged onto the teleportation magic circle, Ronny was thrown into the cell on the opposite side. What should I do… I feel like it’s still too early to make a move.
“You’re really useless, take this!”
“Guh…!”
“Stop! Ronny!”
Even though Ronny was already in the cell, Gordon kicked him in the stomach as he left. I can’t forgive him for doing whatever he wants just because things aren’t going his way! Why is he doing such a cruel thing? I know I can’t reach, but I instinctively reached out towards Ronny through the bars. At that moment, my storage bracelet that I’d been hiding glinted.
“Hm? Wait, what’s that?”
“Ow, let go…!”
It seems Gordon noticed the slight reflection of light. Faster than I could pull my arm back, he grabbed my outstretched arm and stared at it intently.
“That’s quite a nice thing, huh? What, are you some rich girl or something? Looks like it’d sell for a good price.”
This is no good! This bracelet that Gil-san gave me is important. It’s proof of Gil-san and my parent-child bond. And it has an anti-theft function, so no one but me can use it.
“Stop it, Gordon. It’s pointless.”
Surprisingly, it was Ravi-san who spoke up then.
“That kid’s accessories are just protective charms, and they have magic on them so they absolutely can’t be removed. Give it up.”
Huh…? Is Ravi-san lying?
It’s true that no one else can remove it, but she should know well that it’s not just a charm, right?
“A charm, huh. But even if it’s just a decoration, this is worth a lot. And there’s magic on it so it can’t be removed, right? Just being a magic tool makes it more valuable than something ordinary. …Hey, take it off.”
When Gordon glared at me and said that while still holding my arm, I couldn’t say anything out of fear, but I shook my head side to side to show my refusal.
“You’re going to end your life here anyway! You don’t need something like this, do you!?”
I’m definitely not going to let that happen, but even if, by some chance, it did, this is the one thing I absolutely won’t hand over! I kept shaking my head.
“Then… I’ll cut off your arm with it.”
Saying that, Gordon drew the saber hanging from his waist. He’s still grabbing my arm. Huh, you’re kidding, right…?
“Wh-What are you saying!? If you cut it off, she’ll bleed a lot and might die at worst!”
“Hah, if you cauterize the cut with fire, the bleeding will stop.”
“B-But…! She might lose strength and become useless…”
Huh? Ravi-san, are you protecting me after all…? Trembling, I glanced at Ravi-san out of the corner of my eye, and our eyes met for a moment.
“Then the two brats can take turns until she recovers.”
Saying that, Gordon raised his saber without hesitation. No… stop, I’m scared…!
“S-Stop it, Gordon… You’re joking, right…?”
“STOOOP!!”
Ravi-san muttered in shock, and Licht shouted. It’s too late…! The moment Gordon was about to swing down his saber, I tightly closed my eyes.
“Lothirond!”
I heard Ronny shout something. I didn’t feel the impact I was expecting, so I cautiously opened my eyes and saw an unexpected sight.
“R-Rocks…?”
That’s right, before I knew it, Gordon, the guards, and even Ravi-san had their feet and arms swallowed by rocks and couldn’t move. Ah, could it be he called the spirit’s true name? Then this is Ronny’s nature magic…?
“H-How can this guy use magic!? Is the magic tool malfunctioning!?”
I see, these people don’t know about nature magic. Nature magic can be activated by the spirit even if the master doesn’t have magic power at the time. They don’t know about stored magic power or the deferred payment system, so they’re surprised.
But using this much magic, I don’t think Ronny’s spirit can use much more magic. It would be different if he had other contracted spirits, but Ronny, who was just channeling magic power, is probably at his limit now. We ended up having to execute the plan unexpectedly early, but… it can’t be helped. Let it be!
“Shizuku-chan!”
“As you command, Master!”
I had Shizuku-chan activate the simple magic I told her about beforehand. It seems everyone had already heard the situation from Shou-chan, so they understood quickly. They’re such good kids!
In response to my voice, Shizuku-chan flew out and used Water Cutter to cut the chains binding everyone. The power of water is amazing! I really wanted her to heal our wounds too, but… we don’t have enough magic power or time right now. It takes a while to cut the chains too. Especially my and Ronny’s collars. I asked her to be particularly careful around the neck. Uu, I trust Shizuku-chan, but it’s nerve-wracking!
So, we’ll put off treatment until we have time to settle down and drink magic power recovery medicine. It’s important to prioritize.
“Whoa, is this… Meg’s magic…?”
Licht muttered in surprise, looking at the cleanly cut chains. Explanations later, later!
“Fuu-chan, please!”
“Leave it to me! Master!”
The wind spirit Fuu-chan flew out next when called. She gently enveloped me, Ronny, and Licht in wind and carried us near the entrance of the room. This is the limit in a space with no magic particles.
As expected, even with stored magic power and deferred payment, the accuracy and strength decrease in a bad environment. See, the rocks Ronny released are slowly being chipped away and finally broke. If he could use his full power, they should be much stronger!
“Sorry… Even though I used their true name, it didn’t hold them for long…”
“That’s not true at all! It helped a lot. Thank you, Ronny.”
It can’t be helped since he released magic over such a wide area. If he used magic power little by little like Shou-chan, he could maintain it for a long time, but earth magic uses up all the magic power by releasing a strong magic all at once. That’s just how the magic works.
“You’ve done it now… you little shits.”
Gordon, freed from the rock restraints, approaches with a saber in hand. In front of him is Ronny, who has collapsed from exhaustion, Licht, who has recovered to some extent, and me, who is still unreliable.
It’s okay. We still have a few cards to play. I absolutely won’t give up until help arrives!