Chapter 1:
Carrying a Handkerchief Is Common Sense
“I STILL CAN’T SEE the exit. Yuri, how’s your energy level? Are you okay?”
Filia and I were trudging through the forest. We’d left my cottage first thing in the morning but by the time she asked that, the sun was shining down from directly above us. Despite walking a considerable distance over the last few hours, Filia didn’t appear to be out of breath at all. Even though she looked rather frail, she had way more stamina than you’d think. More than that, she was the one worrying about my physical condition.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Actually, I’m surprised you’re still so peppy, Filia,” I said, though I held back the true degree of my admiration. For all Filia’s marching, she had only the slightest sheen of sweat.
Filia just chuckled, puffing out her modest chest. A smug grin crept across her face. “Well, you know, elves are people of the forest, after all. A journey outside of the forest would be one thing, but inside? This is but a trifle!”
“But that ‘people of the forest’ thing still doesn’t cover getting lost in the forest, to be clear.”
“Shh! You promised you wouldn’t bring that up again!”
In the midst of our bickering, we heard a sound from straight ahead. It was like someone pushing their way through tall grass, clover-patches, and bushes. It was nothing like the gentle sway of grass in the wind. No, this was the shift and crunch of someone—or something—approaching. And when you heard that in the woods, it generally meant one thing.
“A monster.”
As if on cue, the creature leaped out from the shadows between the trees.
“Well then, guess it’s my turn to show off my power, isn’t it?” said Filia, sliding into a ready stance.
The monster shambled on four legs, and in terms of height, it came up to around Filia’s waist. One majestic horn sprouted from its forehead, and I did recognize it from my prior monster-wrasslin’ experience: even for a specimen of this forest, it was notably strong. Its meat wasn’t all that good for eating, so it didn’t really offer much bang for your buck (the bang being dinner and the buck being hot-blooded action), so I didn’t think about it too often. I couldn’t even remember its name.
“A gargas, huh? I can’t afford to go easy on one of those,” said Filia.
Oh, that’s right. It was called a “gargas”!
“Please die,” said Filia politely.
Filia aimed her palm at the monster, shot me a casual smile, and sent a blade of water hurtling at the beast. The water blade whistled through the air, lightning-fast, and a brief hard crack cleaved the monster in two effortlessly clean slices from mouth to tail. Completely annihilated. Hadn’t even had a second to cry out.
Filia looked it over for a moment, just in case, before turning around to face me. “There you go. I used water magic just now, but, of course, that is merely one of my many skills. I am versed in other forms of magic as well, such as fire magic, lightning magic, wind magic, and, oh goodness, we simply cannot forget recovery magic. Quite useful, that! As long as I have magical energy, I can even regrow a lost arm. Although, such an injury is impossible to heal if too long a time has passed. That’s why one must always keep a little energy in reserve. Just in case, you know.”
“That’s incredible,” I blurted.
I’d had my doubts about whether Filia would even survive getting lost in my forest for very long, given all the powerful monsters strutting about. But if she was this powerful, I never needed to worry at all. Being able to regrow a lost arm probably meant she was a magician of considerable ability.
As I gaped at Filia, she just waved her hand back and forth, as if to say it was nothing.
“Tut-tut,” she actually said aloud, “you can’t be that surprised! I’m an elf, after all. Such arcane talent is innate. As a matter of fact, I still have a long way to go. To put it crassly, this is not even my final form.”
“Well, even if you’re an elf and all, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’d be able to use all that magic right away just after being born, right? You’ve really put the work in! You’re pretty amazing if you ask me, Filia, and not just because you’re an elf.”
I have a powerful admiration for magic. I mean, being able to conjure fire or water from nothing? Anyone should admire that. Even some bumpkin like me who lives in the forest has wondered how difficult it would be to study magic and how much you’d have to struggle with it. How many years did it take to attain Filia’s level of magical power, not to mention five different kinds of it?! Just how long had she worked? I couldn’t imagine.
“R-really? Um. Thank you,” Filia took a deep breath. “Thank you so much.”
Filia twirled her silver hair with her finger, as if she were bashful, or maybe unused to praise? That was a kinda surprising reaction. If she was able to use magic on this level, I personally thought she deserved a little pride.
“I-It’s not like I’m feeling embarrassed or anything though!” she snapped, puffing out her modest chest and pointing directly at me—though she immediately crossed her arms in front of said chest. “And now it’s ‘modest chest,’ is it? What a terrible pervert you are, Yuri! Disgust! Betrayal!”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” I asked after she went through a few other one-word expressions of horror.
“Oh, you know. Telepathy. Impressive, hm? I can read the minds of the unwary. Which means you, in this particular case. How about that? Amazing, isn’t it? What a talent our beloved Filia has!” Filia cried, setting her hand on her hips and once again puffing out her slim chest.