WE fly straight to Eugstein, the largest town in the region. My first trip into town has me all excited!
But it’s a bit of a letdown seeing how lifeless Eugstein is. This is supposed to be the biggest and best town in the region? Kinda lackluster.
I exchange jewels and precious gems into Gaea’s currency and head to the market to purchase what we need.
Speaking of markets, they’re normally the source of life and activity in human settlements and yet…this one is just as dead as the rest of the town… Dark clouds hang over the locals. There are so few people despite it being the biggest market for hundreds of miles.
In the spookily bleak and quiet market, I purchase seasonings such as sugar and salt, and various preserved foods. I pile each purchase on top of the others in an ever-growing mountain for my pack mule to carry.
Yet he carries the tower of wrapped goods with the artistic balance of an acrobat and an irritatingly unruffled expression. This can only mean one thing…
“Julius, you’re using magic!” I narrow my eyes at him.
“Yes, I am,” he openly admits. “I can carry much more than this for you. Buy as much as you want.”
“I was gonna buy more without your permission, thank you! Can you quit doing things to draw attention to us?! Like it or not, we are Analian fugitives. Do you want to deal with the chaos that will ensue if we’re discovered? Sorcerers are few and far between in Gaea as it is…”
Carrying a tower of goods that’s three times his height is liable to draw every eye in town. That said, it hasn’t drawn a single look yet.
“Lady Elle is right, Lord Julius. Please share some of the load with me,” Jasper suggests, holding out his arms.
“No, you needn’t trouble yourself.” Julius shakes his head. “This tower can’t be seen by others.”
“It can’t? Did you cast a spell on it…?”
I quickly open Analyze in my right eye and focus on the packages Julius has.
Sure enough, stability, antigravity, and light reflection spells are actively working together to hide and lighten the load.
I didn’t notice him casting… When did he do it? When did he have the time to write the magic circle? Or did he omit the circle altogether? What about the incantation? Did he activate the spells without it? He cast such intricate and complicated spells in an instant? And I never sensed him do it.
It makes the inescapable difference in our power all the more painfully apparent.
Honestly, I just wanted to make Julius carry so much stuff until he complained “It’s too heavy-wevy!” with a pathetic look on his face so I could make fun of him.
Gosh darn it! I’m so frustrated. I can’t shake the feeling that his face is saying, “My oh my, you aren’t even capable of this trivial act? Should’ve expected as much from the weakest Grand Magi.”
“I-I’m capable of doing that, too, if I try. I know! Why don’t we have all the packages float in the air around us while we’re at it?! It’ll be much more convenient that way! Watch this, Julius!” I proclaim and commence chanting a spell along the same lines as what I cast on the magic carpet.
“Elle, I wouldn’t. You still haven’t adapted to the magic particles in this town…”
I complete my spell while Julius is trying to convince me of something or other.
Uh, that’s not right. This doesn’t feel the same as usual. My magic won’t stop flowing forward. But it’s too late now.
The spell I meant to cast on just Julius’s packages spreads to the surrounding area. Apples, fish, vegetables, and other merchandise being sold in the market launch into the air like a jet blasting off.
Er, that’s new…
The quiet marketplace roars alive with confusion over the sudden supernatural occurrence.
Crap.
I frantically deactivate my spell. All the wares dancing in the air return to their former locations, but the market uproar isn’t quelled.
“Elle, you really need to listen to people more,” Julius groans, pressing his fingers to his forehead.
“I-I thought I could pull it off!”
I actually did pull it off, to be precise! It worked, but the area of effect was too wide or something like that!
“Either way, we should make haste from this place, Lady Elle. We bought most of what we need, so let’s just head home!”
At Canna’s urging, we run from the market.
By the time we arrive where I hid the magic carpet, I’m gasping for air because I’ve got zero stamina. Running hurts…! I don’t run often, so my lungs and legs feel like they are on fire...
I glance over at Julius. He’s standing upright with his usual too-cool-for-you look. He has a surprising amount of stamina.
Such worthless thoughts are running through my head as we pile on top of the magic carpet and fly off toward Elle Village.
Moving with the chilly breeze in my face for a while has helped cool off my head. How could I have caused such a scene during my first precious visit to a real town?
“Um, I’m sorry…about earlier,” I sincerely apologize to the others. I feel bad for rushing everyone home when they might’ve had other things to shop for. I really did think I could pull it off, though!
“It’s all right, Lady Elle. Going through an experience like that is a kind of fun in its own right.”
“It certainly is. You are terribly adorable when you’re panicking, Lady Elle.”
Hearing Canna and Jasper say that is a huge weight off my chest.
I nervously glance at Julius. In my opinion, exasperation is written all over his handsome face. I can just hear his internal thoughts cursing me as the “disgrace of the Grand Magi.”
“Wh-What’s with that look, huh?! I know you’re thinking I’m the disgrace of the Grand Magi! Hmph!” I stick my tongue out at him. “Just so you know, you’re way more of a disgrace than me!”
“I wasn’t thinking that, but…” Julius gives me a quizzical look.
“But what?”
“I was just thinking you’re genuinely cute and straightforward.”
……
HUH?!
“Wh-What’s gotten into you?! C-Can you please not tease me by saying those kinda things?! Stupid Julius! Disgrace of the Four Grand Magi!”
“I’m not teasing you.”
Just shut up! I put that feeling into the glare I direct at him. He shrugs and takes a sip of water from his flask.
Canna and Jasper are smiling at us like they want to say, “Oh my, you two get along like two peas in a pod!”
Getting all embarrassed, I turn my face away with a “Hmph.”
Stupid Julius, running your mouth about things you don’t really feel with a straight face! How could you call me cute of all things when you have zero interest in me?
Once Julius meets Saint Aela, he’s sure to fall head over heels in love with her. That’s his destiny. I wish he wouldn’t get my hopes up like this when he’s fated to fall for another woman someday. Julius is good-looking, so of course my heart races around him…just because he has handsome face! Only his looks are good!
Well, his personality isn’t too bad, either… No, no, no! Stop! Bad girl! Julius will someday treat me as the disgrace of the Grand Magi, and he already has a soul mate out there waiting for him! Enough pining after this guy!
“At any rate, I was surprised to see the state of Eugstein since my last visit. I didn’t expect to see the biggest trade town in the northeast to have fallen on such hard times,” Jasper mutters with a grim face while I’m in the middle of obsessing over Julius calling me cute.
That reminds me, Jasper used to be a Gaean merchant. He had mentioned coming to Eugstein many times for trade and even showed us around town.
“It wasn’t always like that?” I ask out of curiosity.
“It was prosperous several years ago,” Jasper explains in somber tones. “The war with Analia probably has a lot to do with it— Ah, my apologies! I swear I am not trying to bad-mouth Analia, Lady Elle…”
“It’s okay if you are. I’ve severed all connections with Analia now…,” I confess to calm him while I reflect on my past self.
I was a commander of the fourth rank within the Analian army that went to war with Gaea, and I knew absolutely nothing about our opponents. Correction: I never thought to learn about them. Granted, I did think they were fools for futilely resisting the joy of being ruled by the Demon Lord.