“And so, I’m planning on going on a little trip.”
It was dinnertime.
Kunon, who had returned home, was eating and talking to his maid, Rinko, about his upcoming schedule.
“Will you be back the same day?” she asked.
“Yeah. The distance won’t be a problem, apparently.”
When Kunon asked Satori for details about the experiment, she said the site was close enough to Dirashik for a day trip…if they flew.
They were going to a toxic swampland about one day’s journey from the city. That estimate was for travel by horse or carriage, however.
Satori said because Kunon could fly, he could make it a day trip. She would be staying overnight, though.
“Going on a multiday trip without warning would inconvenience you, right?” said Kunon.
“No, it wouldn’t. It’s my job to prioritize your needs above all else, Master Kunon.”
“Really?”
“I would struggle if I was told to choose between you and money, but for anything else, I would definitely choose you. That is how much I love you,” Rinko said, hugging a tray to her chest.
Wow, she really does love me, Kunon thought, touched. I’m probably worth around ten thousand necca to her.
“Now give me your honest answer,” he said.
“I would prioritize my duty to you, but I have relationships to maintain with our neighbors, so a long trip with no warning would pose problems.”
Rinko socialized with the neighbors to support their lives in Dirashik. Through conversation, she gathered information on the surrounding area and its state of affairs. She also absorbed tips for running a household and ate up gossip about marital disputes and other familial troubles. And she built trust with neighbors so she could ask them to look after the house if any sudden business came up.
Not everyone saw building relationships with neighbors as important, but Rinko did, and she thought she was doing a pretty good job at it. Thanks to her efforts, she and Kunon had almost no trouble with those around them, and the neighbors and their dogs made an effort to look after her charge. Kunon had made a good impression on them as well.
“That’s what I thought,” he replied. “That’s why I’m planning on going alone this time. At any rate, I’ll be back the same day.”
“Understood.”
He and Satori were to leave in two days.
The experiment would last between one and two weeks. Kunon could make day trips during that time, and he wouldn’t go to school until the experiment was finished. His curfew would also be slightly extended.
Kunon discussed those details with his maid.
The latest experiment with the water-dancing bug was to be carried out at a toxic swampland. This was what researchers called “fieldwork.”
The two days Kunon had allotted to prepare for the trip passed quickly, and soon it was the day of departure.
He arrived at school so early in the morning that the sky was still dark; the other students wouldn’t show up for a few more hours.
Satori and the rest of their group were standing before the school gate.
The team consisted of four people: Satori, Kunon, and another boy and girl from the Advanced class. They were both upperclassmen who greatly respected Satori. Kunon knew their faces, but he had never spoken to them.
They shared self-introductions for good measure. The boy’s name was Zaricks and the girl’s was Saiha. They were both water users from the Ability Faction.
“All right. Let’s get going,” Satori said once Kunon joined them. “Assistants, carry the equipment for me.”
After Satori spoke, a fish swallowed her. It was made entirely of water and had appeared out of nowhere. The fish lifted off the ground, Satori’s entire body in its mouth.
“Whoa!”
Kunon watched with fascination as the fish floated gently into the air and propelled itself forward with its tail fin. It flew—or rather swam—off with surprising speed, growing ever smaller in the distant sky.
Satori’s flight worked essentially the same as Kunon’s, though she used a different spell. The principle behind it was simple: It utilized water magic with floatation and flight properties to propel the caster into the air.
However, the teacher’s speed was on another level. Kunon doubted he could catch up with that fish even at his top speed. That was the main difference. She was probably using an intermediate spell he hadn’t learned yet.
“Well, that was fast,” Zaricks said.
“No kidding,” agreed Saiha.
“Yeah, look at her go,” added Kunon.
The three students—left behind with the equipment—watched the teacher fly away.
“Have you learned it yet?” Zaricks asked Saiha.
She shrugged and said, “Mine’s still unstable. I’m not confident yet.”
“Well, that’s Professor Satori for you. I’m not surprised she’s already mastered it.”
“You can say that again. I can manage something similar, but not with that speed or stability. The teachers at this school are something else.”
“Yeah. I wonder when she found the time to practice.”
“…?” Kunon felt like he was missing something. “What are you talking about? What did she learn?”
He tried and failed to figure out what they were discussing and eventually decided to just ask.
“Hmm? Oh… Don’t tell Professor Satori we told you this, okay? She cares about her reputation,” Zaricks said. “You know the method of flying with water magic you unveiled?”
Kunon thought “unveil” was a bit too grand a word for it. He’d simply used the spell in lots of places around the school where people could see.
“No one had ever thought of flying with water magic before that. The most common method for long-distance travel was simply hiring a wind sorcerer. So neither the professor nor the rest of us knew how to fly until recently.”
I see, Kunon thought. The topic of their conversation had finally dawned on him. “You weren’t referring to her speed when you said, ‘That was fast,’ were you?”
Kunon had thought they were talking about the speed of their teacher’s flight. His upperclassmen, however, were referring to how quickly she had learned to fly with water.
That explained why he wasn’t keeping up with their conversation.
To be honest, it made sense to him that few people had thought of using water to fly. Kunon had done it because he was uncertain on his feet. He wanted a way to hover above the ground, and that had led to him developing his brand of flight using water. That was probably something people who walked with no difficulty wouldn’t think to do.
“Until now, Professor Satori has always traveled long distances by essentially summoning an ocean and riding it in a boat,” Zaricks said.
“Are you serious?! That sounds way more amazing!” Kunon exclaimed.
Summoning an ocean. Kunon had never thought of such a bold and magnificent method of flight. That said, it was true that it couldn’t really be called flight, since it simply relied on the buoyancy of water to carry a boat. Regardless, it was quite impressive.
Thanks to Jenié’s teachings, Kunon was skilled at performing little tricks with magic. However, those lessons might also have limited his way of thinking and his ability to come up with ideas.
Both styles had their advantages and disadvantages, so there was no use comparing them. But no matter which was his forte, being adept at both was sure to widen his repertoire. Satori was almost certainly good at both. That was why Kunon had so much respect for her.
“We should go, too,” Zaricks said.
“Can you two get the equipment?” asked Saiha. “I still can’t fly without giving it my full attention…”
“I’ll carry them,” offered Kunon.
He promptly created a water fish and had it swallow the cart loaded with their tools for the experiment. He was imitating Satori.
This time, instead of riding on his A-ori, he decided to get inside it. He wanted to try flying the same way the teacher had. He wasn’t able to match her speed because she’d used a different spell, but he still managed to fly comfortably.
And so, the experiment with the water-dancing bug was set to begin.