Hang on a second. If Halpha told Mina that I was going to be here, then she’s not just out on a casual stroll at all.
“So you’re not just out on a walk,” I said.
“I am so.”
“No, but . . .”
“I’m out on a walk,” Mina said stubbornly.
“Yeah, but Halpha . . .”
“How many times do I have to say it?”
“Fine.”
She was very intent on maintaining the “out on a walk” excuse. But why was she trying so hard to hide the fact that she was here to see me?
I sighed.
“Look, please don’t bother me,” I said. “I have to look for the merchant who is going to take me to the Llinger Kingdom.”
I waited for Mina to fire back, but I heard only silence.
“Hm?” I murmured.
What’s going on? Outside of her initial kick, Mina isn’t being herself.
It was weird, but then I noticed that Mina was silently pointing to the left, behind me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“The merchant you’re looking for is over there,” she said.
I looked more closely in the direction that Mina was pointing and noticed a slightly bigger carriage than all the others. People around were getting ready for departure. Mina was exactly right—that was the merchant I was looking for.
“Why did you help me?” I asked.
“I just happened to know it was there. That’s all. And then there was you looking all confused . . . and look—after you talked all big to me after our battle, I had to make sure you ended up doing what you said you would. Otherwise, you’d just make me look like an idiot with that promise!”
“Uh, wait. What? Why are you so angry all of a sudden?”
“I’m angry at your stupidity!”
This girl really had her hands full with all the bursts of weird kindness and sudden rage. But this wasn’t scary to me anymore—not now that Usato had hardened me to it. One thing was surprising, though.
“So you think of it as a promise,” I said.
On the day Usato had left Luqvist, Mina and I had talked. I told her that I was going to Llinger Kingdom, and that I’d wait for her there.
I was surprised that she remembered.
But the moment Mina realized the meaning of what I’d said, she blushed. Or at least, I felt like she did. The reason I wasn’t completely sure was because she stood in front of me, expressionless, as she formed burst magic in her palm.
So maybe the redness in her face is just a result of the heat. But even then, it might just be my imagination. Her eyes are growing a touch misty.
“Wait, so you were lying?” she asked.
“N-no . . .”
Mina’s usually aggressive expression fell silent as she walked toward me slowly, her burst magic still in hand. I felt suddenly in a very precarious situation.
“You said all of that, and you don’t think of it as a promise?” she asked.
“Erm . . .”
My instincts screamed at me not to disagree with her. That, and I was also aware that it was my fault for what I’d said.
“N-no, it’s not that,” I stammered. “That was true. I was serious. I swear it on my sister’s name.”
I wondered if that last part was going too far. In any case, I backed away slowly, and when I looked up at Mina, she had extinguished her magic and crossed her arms. She looked unimpressed.
“Let me tell you one thing, Nack,” she said. “I hate lies.”
“Huh?”
“I hate being ignored too. And being forgotten. But what I hate most of all is when people go back on what they say.”
What is she trying to say?
I was suddenly confused by what felt like something very profound. Mina glared at me.
“After everything you said to me, you better make sure you live up to your words and get stronger.”
“Mina,” I uttered.
“Those healers for the rescue team? I bet you can’t half-ass your way into a position like that. And you must really want it, seeing as you screamed it at the top of your voice in the middle of our fight.”
Mina remembered. She remembered what I shouted during our fight. The astonishment in my heart felt suddenly overwhelmed by how impressed I was. Even after everything she had put me through, Mina had, in her own way, accepted the goal that I was reaching for. It made me so happy.
“You threw away your noble title, and now you’re leaving Luqvist. If you want it that bad, then I demand that you make it happen. Don’t you dare back down on your word. Become a healer for the rescue team. Make that a reality.”
Was Mina cheering me on in her own unique and overly aggressive way?
It creeped me out a little to see her attitude change so much, but nonetheless, I was happy about this change inside of her.
Perhaps at this rate, she’ll calm her bullying, tormenting thoughts and . . .
“If you don’t become a full-fledged healer, then I can’t go all out on you when we fight,” Mina stated.
I said nothing. I couldn’t speak a word, in fact—Mina’s smile and her words were anything but filled with kindness.
Usato, I can’t do it! This girl is legitimately crazy! She doesn’t even think like an ordinary human does!
“I am going to get even stronger than I am now,” said Mina. “I am going to master mana boosting, and I am going to learn to fully control my fireballs. But if I do that and all you are is quick on your feet, then what is even the point?!”
I take back everything I said about being impressed.
I still couldn’t speak a word. Mina looked like she was really enjoying herself. In cases like this, it was best just to not show any fear and to accept things head on.
“You just watch then,” I said. “I’m going to join the rescue team and become strong enough to stand side by side with Usato. I’m going to stand head and shoulders above my competition.”
“Big talk for someone so small. I don’t believe it.”
Ouch. Hit a guy where it hurts, why don’t you?
“But you’re the same height as me!” I shot back.
“I’m a girl; it doesn’t matter!”
“You don’t seem like much of a girl to . . .”
Before I could finish my comeback, Mina’s glare silenced me. I really had no idea where the line was for her and how not to cross it. In any case, we’d been talking a while already. I had to make sure I got to the merchant carriage before it left.
“Anyway, thanks for pointing out the merchant carriage for me,” I said. “I have to go.”
I turned around and made to leave
“Wait right there.”
“Hurk!” I grunted as Mina grabbed me by the collar.
I spun back around.
“What’s the big idea?!” I asked.
“Here,” said Mina.
“Huh?”
Mina had a letter in her hands.
I took it from her, but it puzzled me.
“It’s from your sister,” stated Mina.
“What? How?”
“It arrived at my place last night, but it’s addressed to you.”
I turned the envelope over in my hand and saw my name written on the back of it in handwriting much neater and nicer than my own. Was it possible that my parents passed my message on to my sister? Was such a thing even possible?
It hadn’t been very long since I sent my letter, but it was enough time for someone to send a reply. I opened the envelope, careful not to rip it, and with shaky hands I took a letter from it. It was written by my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in many years.
I am doing well.
I wish you all the best.
It was just two short and concise lines, but her neat script was a touch rushed, as if she had written the letter in a hurry. I could see just how desperate she was to write me a reply. In just two lines, I felt everything she wanted to say.
My sister was in good health, and she was still cheering me on—me, her useless brother who had relinquished his position in the family. I burned her words into my mind, then looked up at Mina, who for some reason had a sulky look on her face.
“Thank you, Mina,” I said.
“Don’t thank me. I just didn’t want your sister’s request to go ignored.”
“All the same, thank you.”
Mina responded with a loud “Hmph” and looked away. I put the letter neatly in with the letter that Usato had given me. I didn’t think I would ever hear my sister’s voice again, so I never imagined she would ever send me a letter.
Now I truly had zero regrets.
“Okay, now I’m going for real,” I said.
“Yeah, you do whatever you want,” muttered Mina.
I threw my rucksack on my back and looked at Mina. She still had her arms crossed. She still looked unimpressed. I didn’t have anything left to say. I don’t know if she did, either, but then I didn’t think that either of us needed any kind of dramatic parting words.
She was my childhood friend, my bully, and now my new rival. We’d promised to one day fight again, and though it was weird to think about too deeply, I figured it was all good. I guess the problem was how our relationship would change over time. Still, I was hopeful that things would work out fine. I didn’t have any proof of this—just a sense that it would.
We’d know for sure some time in the future, after both of us had grown. Where would I be then? Would I be an exceptional rescue team healer, standing alongside Usato?
Whatever future it was that awaited me, I couldn’t wait to meet it.
Without another word, I turned away from Mina and headed for the merchant carriage.
“This is where it all begins,” I said.
A life of my own, where nobody tied me down.
I knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. It was going to be tougher than anything I’d been through until now, and that reality would be so harsh that sometimes I’d want to cry. But I’d chosen this path for myself, so I would stand up no matter how many times I fell. I would keep on going.
It was with these feelings burning in my chest that I took my first steps toward becoming a member of the rescue team.