Published: July 31, 2025
Two chapters updated today.
This is the second chapter.
“‘Earth Fence.’”
“Ugh!?”
“Damn it!?”
A stone fence, tall enough to reach the height of two adults, suddenly rose with force from the ground, separating the men who had showed their horses’ legs from the group of six, and in the process snagged one of the men and hoisted him up.
The man who was lifted struggled and fell, while the suddenly appearing fence caused the humans on guard to back away slightly from its perimeter. Taking advantage of the cleared space at the center of the enclosure, I deliberately stepped inside. Taking children hostage would only complicate things.
“What the hell just happened...?”
“It’s magic!”
“What kind of magic is this? Is this your doing!?”
“I acted on impulse because they drew their weapons. By the way, this spell is called ‘Earth Fence’. It’s an earth magic that creates a fence by using individual ‘Earth Needles’ as pillars. The top parts are sharpened like spears... If that person had taken just one more step, it would have been nasty, so I’m glad it ended here.”
While explaining the magic as a warning, a few men including the one who was hoisted up visibly tensed, probably imagining the situation.
Still, this is a waste of time. The meeting time is almost up. We should finish this soon... Although we say similar things, the meaning differs completely depending on how it’s taken. Words are tricky!
...Jokes aside, these guys seem pretty used to this kind of behavior. The ones who first drew their weapons pointed them at me, but then two men close to the group of six went toward them. They were probably planning to subdue them and take hostages.
Before Satch spoke, there was no sign of coordination. So either they had arranged things beforehand or they were so experienced they didn’t need to.
This kind of bandit-like behavior isn’t something adventurers who mostly face magical beasts would naturally pick up. This time, the men clearly seem to be the culprits, but they probably have other crimes under their belts.
“Don’t give me lame excuses, you idiots.”
“Brother...”
“The magic a kid can use isn’t anything special. If you don’t give him an opening, that’s the end of it. Are you guys so weak that you’d run from some kid? Someone like that... doesn’t belong in my crew.”
“Hey... hey!”
Huh?
Just as Satch reprimanded his comrades, a human boy, the shortest among the six, spoke quietly from behind. He was gripping the fence and leaning forward, almost like he was trapped in a cell, but I remembered him well—he was the same boy who had clearly called me a burden when questioned in the mine.
“Run! These guys are serious. No matter how good your magic is, you can't beat this many!”
Apparently, he acknowledged my magical skill but still believed I was weaker than these guys.
“Then be ready to run too.”
I answered with the wind magic ‘Whisper,’ saying I’d remove the fence when the opportunity arose.
But you can’t hold secret talks right in front of your enemies.
Maybe they heard the whisper near their ears, or maybe the six understood from the words—either way, Satch gave further instructions.
“Hey, those watching over there, lend a hand. That kid looks good at running and hiding.”
“Heh heh heh, thanks, Brother.”
“Too bad for you. If you hadn’t come here, none of this would have happened.”
“It’s no use saying that now, but we were gonna forgive you if you just paid up, you know?”
“Are you accusing them of stealing?”
“Nope, we think they did. They’re slum kids who reach for other people’s stuff when they’re short on cash.”
“If you’re gonna pay instead, I might let you off. You look like you can afford it more than those brats.”
“You’re wearing armor and all. You can pay in installments, right? If you can’t, I can go get it straight from your parents.”
Satch ordered even the bystanders who hadn’t drawn weapons to join in, and as they hesitated but raised their weapons, the men became bolder.