Published: September 4, 2025
This is Satou. When thinking of people who can fly, I recall Icarus, but it seems that flying has been a dream for humanity since ancient times. In this world, instead of wings made of wax, people probably fly using magic.
â—‡
After the usual farewells—Old Dohal telling me to stay since he's giving his granddaughter in marriage, and then getting glares from Zajiul upon hearing that—I left Boruehart City behind.
It’s about four days to the nearest city.
Since it’s a mountain path, it might be better to allocate five days.
There are several horse-drawn carriages headed the same way, but since their speeds differ, they don’t form caravans. Normally, merchants form large caravans even if their speeds vary slightly, to avoid thieves, monsters, and wild beasts.
Because I can't do things like tinkering, experiments, or combat training at every campsite with other merchants around, I try to adjust my schedule to avoid overlapping with them.
Still, we sometimes pass by or get caught up with others during breaks, so we carry dummy barrels and boxes as decoys.
Currently, Lulu is driving the coach. While staying in Boruehart City, Arisa added cushions to the coachman's seat, making it comfortable. Apparently, inside the cushions are coil springs made by blacksmiths.
â—‡
On the second day after leaving Boruehart City, we finally lost sight of other caravans nearby, so I decided to use the many scrolls I had purchased.
Before using the scrolls, I activated five magical skills: earth, fire, wind, ice, and light.
First, I created a "Wall" of clay-like earth using the Earth Wall spell. The wall was about 1.5 meters tall, 1 meter wide, and 5 centimeters thick. It looked like it would crumble with just a light hit.
Lulu and the others watching applauded. Tama looked like she wanted to climb it, but I warned her not to since it seemed fragile.
Next, I hardened the earthen wall with "Hard Clay." It didn’t have the glossy finish of pottery but had sufficient strength.
Neither the earthen wall nor the hardened wall reverted over time. If I had a potter’s wheel, I could probably make my own potion bottles. Speaking of which, I don’t have a pottery skill, so I should try that sometime.
Applying the "Rock Smasher" spell on both the earthen and hardened walls reduced them to about half sand, causing them to crumble.
When I cast "Freeze Water" on a bucket of water, about 3 centimeters from the surface froze. Since it was winter, the ice didn’t melt easily. Next time I find a pond, I could make a skating rink and have fun. I should make skates while traveling.
I tried "Air Curtain" as a windbreak, but its effect faded after about three minutes.
Life magic skills were all rather underwhelming, so I skipped most. "Deodorant" might be useful after training when sweating.
Later, when I tried it, it was hugely unpopular. Arisa screamed, "The smell of a boy’s sweat is a proof of youth! To erase that! To erase that!" which was expected, but even Lulu looked disappointed. When I went to sleep, even Pochi and Tama sniffed me curiously, saying, "Our master doesn’t smell anymore," rubbing their noses on me. So I decided not to use it unless I was terribly sweaty.
Next, I tried "Condense," which gathered moonlight to brighten the area a bit, but that was it. The magical artifact "Light Droplet," which I’ve rarely used recently, was much brighter. I have a surplus of those.
I used the surplus "Forge" away from everyone. To prepare for potential fires, Mia stood by with her long staff ready. I changed into cheap shirt and pants because I didn’t want to risk burning my clothes. Arisa joked behind me, “Shirts are better than robes. The slim body line is irresistible!” Ridiculous.
I placed a copper dagger, taken from thieves before, on a rock and cast magic. Since this spell is intermediate level, it consumed a bit more magic power. Flames appeared about a meter in front of the scroll, so I hurried over to the dagger. Although copper melts more easily than iron, the dagger only got hot without melting. Nearby grass caught fire, and Mia put it out.