AS the knights began to clean up the area in the aftermath, their leader, Dekt, rushed over to me. Had something gone wrong?
“Many apologies for my error in judgment,” he said, sounding panicked. “How are your injuries?! What about your arm?!”
He was just worried about me. Of course, no one in their right mind would think I had come away unscathed after being bitten by such a huge wolf. I’m sorry for making you come all the way over here.
“I’m sorry for worrying you,” I said. “It’s nothing, I’m just a little sticky. Look.”
I created a large Water Ball in the air and plunged my right arm into it to wash away all the drool and blood. Once it was clean, he’d be able to see that my arm was fine—but then I realized my bare skin wasn’t visible with the robe on. I took it off and tossed it into the Water Ball. Swirling the water around made it into a simple washing machine. I noticed my tunic had torn where I’d been bitten, and my shoulders slumped. That had to mean there was a hole in the robe too.
I rolled up my sleeves to reveal bare, unmarked skin. Dekt just stared, rubbing his eyes a few times.
“See? I’m fine.”
“I-I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” he said. “Er, well, then… We’ll cremate the wolves so they don’t turn into undead. If you feel any sort of pain at all, um…I suggest you rest, Haruka.”
I could tell he was upset from the way he spoke, and I genuinely felt bad since I was totally fine. Then Albert came running over to me, a grin on his face.
“You almost gave me a heart attack there, Haruka. But I knew you’d be all right.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Corinne pressed.
“No…injuries,” Montana commented.
My friends kept touching my arm all over, checking to see if I was hurt. It actually tickled, and I was trying to hold back my laughter when I heard someone speak from behind me.
“Um, thank you very much.”
The good manners probably meant it was Leo. I shoved my friends’ hands away and turned around to find one of the twins with his head bowed. Is he always this conscientious?
“Oh, no, not at all,” I said. “If anything, I might have gone overboard… I’m just glad you two weren’t hurt.”
“If you hadn’t protected us, we might be dead now,” he said solemnly. “You should thank her too, Theo, instead of staying quiet.”
Leo pinched his brother’s cheek and gave it a tug. The other twin was sulking. I would have thought for sure that Theo would have taken the lead between them, considering his aggressive personality. But it turned out I was wrong.
“Argh, damn it,” Theo grumbled. “I get it! Enough already!” He wrenched himself from his brother’s grip and slowly relented, glaring at me. If he really hated the idea so much, I didn’t mind if he didn’t thank me.
“Thanks for saving me,” he said. “But just so you know, you use magic like…a freak!”
With those rough words of gratitude, he turned around and ran off to his tent.
Did he have to insult me? “A freak,” he had said. So, this old guy is a freak, huh? I honestly felt like crying. If the boy says I’m a freak, then maybe I am a freak.
“Hey, didja know Haruka’s strong ’cause of physical enhancement magic?” Albert, hands locked behind his head, said to Leo. “You should be able to use it too, right, since you’re a mage?” He might have been trying to smooth over the awkward moment, but Leo only laughed contemptuously.
“Are you stupid?” he retorted. “Mages and physical enhancement magic don’t go together at all. Don’t you even know that much? It’s called magic because it uses mana to work, but the actual mechanism is completely different.”
Albert seemed taken aback by the unexpected vehemence of the younger boy’s rebuttal. Aha, I knew it. This is his true personality. The boy’s admirable aura from earlier was nowhere to be found.
“Ugh, that’s why I hate warriors like you,” he complained. “You’re all just a bunch of brainless meatheads. You’re helpless when attacked from a distance, but you think you’re stronger than the rest of us just because you can swing a sword around. Do you really not understand how amazing Haruka actually is for being able to use both regular magic and physical enhancement? And you call yourself her friend. Not to mention the fact that I’ve never seen anyone who can use physical enhancement at such a high level. Even Dekt over there would have been seriously injured if that monster had bit him.”
“Grrr… Shut up!” Albert shouted suddenly, unable to endure any more of Leo’s biting remarks. “Just shut up, you idiot pipsqueak!” He might have instinctively realized he would eventually end up the loser in this argument, though not until after it had already happened.
His loud voice shocked Leo into silence. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Albert turned around and ran off toward our tent. My friend, who’d been out-argued by a thirteen-year-old. As I watched his back disappear, I felt a sense of sadness.