CH 156

Ch. 156: Reuniting with the Party

Today was the last day for the course at the Mages Tower.

After finishing all of my goodbyes with Mr. Derrick and the other course instructors, I casually strolled to the 1st floor of the Mages Tower to wait for Cyril.

Out of all the classmates in my course, Fred and Emily, who I especially got to know better, were with me.

Fred: “Mr. Henry, that reminds me. I had a message to pass on to you from Brother Owen. Before you leave Sunwest, he wanted to go out and have one more drink. He said Emily and Cyril can come too, and we can make it a farewell party.”

Henry: “Hmmー yeah, that’s fine. We’re pretty much done cleaning and packing anyways.”

I nod to Fred’s suggestion.

Currently, Owen is lodging at the same housing as the Red Dragon Knights and has been training Fred, who lived in an apartment near the entrance of the city, every morning.

………..though he was joking about how Fred was looking up to me as a goal, it apparently ruffled some of Owen’s feathers and roused him to show Fred how strong he was.

Fred: “How about it, Emily?” Emily: “That’s fine with meー your brother is really funny.”

Emily, who was reading a technical magazine about Magecraft, the Magecraft News placed in the hall, immediately nodded.

Henry: “Then I’ll let Owen make the plans. Cyril and I will leave here in four days so tomorrow would be best for us.”

Fred: “Yes, I’ll make sure to tell him.”

Owen is a pro when it comes to arranging these get-togethers so leaving it to him should be no problem. Since he’ll be with the Red Dragon Knights for a while, he’s been exploring around town looking for good places to eat.

Emily: “Ohーー that’s amazing～”

Henry: “? What’s up, Emily? Is there an interesting article in the Magecraft News?”

Emily: “Yes. Mr. Henry, take a look at this.”

Being drawn by Emily’s attention, I glanced at the Magecraft News from the side.

Henry: “...........huh?” …….and for a second, I doubted my eyes.

It’s rare to see a photograph in the newspaper, but this must have been quite the big ordeal. A nervous looking girl’s picture was clearly showcased on the page.

Normally, that wouldn’t have surprised me but…….the girl on the newspaper’s face was…….really, really familiar, and I don’t think it was a mere coincidence.

I quickly read the title of the article.

[15 year old Girl Genius Proves Theorem to Remove Effect of Corrupted Magic in Magecraft]

……..and the article begins with Miss Lana, who is from the northern town or Flowtierーー

Emily: “She’s younger than me, but she’s so amazing.”

Henry: “Here, let me see the article too. ……..huh…..if this is true, a lot is going to change around here.”

………..Magecraft is disrupted in areas where Corrupted Magic Density is high.

Although Magecraft Spells used by individuals have less effect, but the Magecraft Barriers that surround towns and the Teleportation Gate that we couldn’t use this round, become completely useless in environments where Corrupted Magic is present.

For equipment that is significantly affected will have a separate, individual energy source like a Magic-Storing Stone to compensate. One theory is that people exert Magic Power differently than Magic Stones and human-generated Magic Power has more resistance to Corrupted Magic. Hence the difference…….or so they say.

So…..if this article is true, if we can remove the disruptions caused by Corrupted Magic to Magecraft Artifacts, Lana just may have found a way to make it function in all environments.

………….whoa………really?

Cyril: “Henryーー! Sorry to make you waitー!”

Henry: “HーHey! Cyril! You’re here early.”

I jumped hearing her call my name right beside me. Looking to the side, Cyril was smiling and standing right next to me.

Cyril: “? What’s wrong? You usually notice when I’m approaching…….oh, what? Why is Lana on the front page of the newspaper?” And Cyril immediately notices the article Emily was holding and looks at it questioningly.

Emily: “Oh, Cyril. Do you know her?” Cyril: “Yes. My hometown is Flowtier, and she is the poster girl for the inn that Henry stays at. So because of that, I got to know her.”

Emily: “Oh, so Mr. Henry knows her too?”

Henry: “YーYeah…” Though the 3 of them are being pretty casual about this, for me………wait, isn’t this a huge deal? I got a certain gut feeling that it is.

For example, on the frontlines, the Corrupted Magic is too thick, and the Magecraft Barriers are useless. If, for instance, the Barrier started working to its fullest potential……then it might not be able to hold back Upper-Tier Demonic Creatures, but at the very least, more would be able to sleep soundly through the night.

Another advantage is the tools that I use. To be able to use some of them in Corrupted Magic dense areas, I have a Magic Igniter to activate them. That is a common limitation in Corrupted Magic environments. But if those limitations are removed, we could use traps much more easily, and even people who can’t fight could use tools to resist the Demonic Creatures.

And best of all, if we can use the Teleportation Gate……..the war is going to begin shifting to our advantage.

Usually, news about new technology like this would have issues with the cost to implement or would have many problems using it in real situations but……..in the near future, the article explained that she was going to be awarded the medal of Hestania, the god and symbol of wisdom.

…….and although I’m not too familiar with the award, I thought this was one of the highest medals of honor awarded to people who made huge discoveries or academics who contributed greatly to society.

No matter what, it would typically not be given to a girl who hasn’t even reached adulthood…….and judging from that fact, this reflected greatly on how huge of a deal Lana’s discovery was.

Cyril: “Oh, the award ceremony is in 10 days. Henry, why don’t we stay at the Capital and celebrate with Lana?” Henry: “YーYeah. Well, we’ll have to discuss that with Jend when we get back together.”

Cyril: “Okayーー”

I let out a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

……….for now, I should just keep my expectations low.

<<<<>>>>

We finished our farewell party hosted by Owen.

We gave back the key of the rental home back to the appropriate reception desk at the Mages Tower.

And we travel through the Teleport gate through Sunwest to the Capital of Centraleo.

We were in a coffee shop near the Teleportation Station entry gate. From our seat, we could look through the window and gaze at the Capital city, and we waited for Jend and the rest of our Party to arrive.

Cyril: “Wowー it’s been a while since we came to the Capital. When we went to Sunwest from Eastflair, we didn’t come through here.”

Henry: “Yeah, I guess last time was when we accompanied Lana to the university here.”

………and that same Lana made a huge discovery the other day. I knew she was smart, but I would never have thought that she would pull off something like this.

Cyril: “Is Jend and the rest not here yet?” Henry: “They said that there were some delays from Eastflair to the Capital Teleport, so I think it’ll just be a little bit longer.”

There could be trouble with the Magecraft Spell Inscription, one of the Mages not feeling well, customers coming in late at the last moment……..etc. So even with the travel time being practically instantaneous, that does not mean that they are always right on schedule.

Our arrival was actually supposed to be after Jend’s, but there was some mishap that occurred with the Spell Inscription on their end, and emergency maintenance caused delays on their end.

Henry: “Oh, speak of the devil.”

A crowd emerged from the Teleportation station.

I was guessing that it was probably the group from Eastflair.

The crowd was large, and it would have been difficult finding specific people normally but…..

Cyril: “Oh! I see them!”

Henry: “Yeah, well… being that tall and big, he’s really easy to find.”

Jend is at least a head taller than most, so he was our marker. Cyril and I saw our friends in the very back of the large crowd.

The coffee was almost cold, but I drank it down and grabbed our tab.

Henry: “C’mon, let’s goー”

Cyril: “Okayー”

We paid the bill and walked towards our Party members who were looking for us.

On the way there, they noticed us too and came our way.

Jend: “Henry, Cyril, it’s been a while!”

Henry: “Yeah……….holy, Jend. Aren’t you pretty beefed up now? What’s with all those muscles?” Jend: “Yeah, well. I was swinging my sword from morning to evening, so I finally got a compliment that my body was shaping up like a swordsman from the Dojo Master.”

……….the standards at Eastflair are really high. 3 months ago, Jend was plenty fit.

Cyril: “Teo, Miss Ferris, hello～ How are you two? I feel that you two also look much stronger now!” Teo: “Hi Cyril……you don’t have to force yourself to find compliments for us too, you know.”

Ferris: “Oh, it’s okay, Teo. She’s being genuine, so let’s just accept it.”

The women were also enjoying their reunion.

Henry: “Teo, Ferris, it’s been a while.” Ferris: “Yes, it’s good to see you well, Mr. Henry. ……..and we also saw the news about the Demon General in the Adventurer’s News. You repelled the Demon General with Miss Eustacia and Ageha. There was a photo too.”

Henry: “Oh yeah?” I was the vanguard fighting at the forefront, but as for the public news, I was just a Heroic Warrior that assisted the two Heroes of Legend.

Even in the photo of the three of us, I was placed on the far end. ……..and well, the fame and recognition of the Heroes of Legend would give more impact to the article, and if you’re going to decorate your front page with a photo, it would be better to do so with two beautiful girls than a burly man. So I don’t disagree with how the media handled it.

But the Church should have given me plenty of recognition and points, so no matter what the public says, I don’t care. In fact, I prefer remaining in the background.

Teo: “That’s right. You defeated a Demon General with Sister Ageha. Please let me hear the story some time.”

Jend: “I want to hear about your fight too.”

Cyril: “Hehehe, then leave that to Miss Cyril! I was able to watch the whole thing from the side and can give you a more detailed account!”

And Cyril raised her hand in confidence but……ummm…….

Henry: “........were you able to really see what Ageha and I were doing during the battle?” Even being overly generous, you would need a considerable amount of training and skill to keep up with our movements during that battle.

Cyril: “Ohー Umー ……well, I, I sorta saw it!”

Teo: “Miss Cyril, those aren’t the details we’re looking for.”

Cyril: “.........okayーー”

Being shut down by Teo, Cyril dragged her feet away.

Henry: “Well, I know there’s a lot of catching up to do, so let’s find an inn somewhere for today. ……oh, before that, take a look at this.”

I show them the Magecraft News I purchased from a vendor.

Jend: “.........why is Lana on the news?” Henry: “Yeahー I found out about it through the news too. Here, you can read the article yourself.”

So Jend and the other two didn’t know about this.

……….but well, the Magecraft News is a specialty magazine, so it’s not very well known or popular, so that was to be expected.

If everything written here is true, then the news is going to spread to the regular news network, and it’s going to be big.

And after the 3 finished reading the article, I suggested for us to stay until the award ceremony was complete, and everyone agreed.