Chapter 280 – Nostalgia

The Magic Bullet flew around me for a while, but seemed to show interest in Caduceus, Ouroboros, and Nemea and Capella inside the Chimera Coat. It flew close to its fellow magical creatures and blinked its eyes.

Caduceus, who had taken the form of a cat, followed the Magic Bullet with his eyes. Ouroboros purred, while Nemea and Capella poked their heads out and appeared to exchange greetings with the Magic Bullet.

I’m not sure if it’s because they’re all magical creatures with a sense of camaraderie, or because they’re all my companions… but well, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

As for what Marlene received… it was a bird with metallic-feathered wings. More than just a bird, this was a raptor. A falcon.

When Marlene held the falcon in her hands and channeled magical power to awaken it, it spread its wings and flew around the Treasure Room. Though it seemed a bit cramped, it circled around once before returning to Marlene and landing on the floor. This one also seemed fine. After greeting Marlene, it appeared to join the circle of magical creatures to exchange greetings.

“We should give these children names too,” Grace said.

“…Hmm. How about Balor for the Magic Bullet?”

I thought of it because of the magic bullet connection and association with a single eye. Naming it directly after Taslam also seemed like a good idea.

When I gave it the name, the Magic Bullet—Balor—blinked its eyelids and fluttered around.

“Do you like it?”

“I wonder…?”

I didn’t have an answer to Sheila’s question…

“As for the bird… I’ll need to name it when I make the familiar contract later.”

When I said this, Marlene smiled and nodded slightly.

Everyone had received their respective treasures, and those who could test them out were doing so. Testing Balor… wouldn’t be possible here.

…So when I asked King Eberhart about it, he said I could try it out in the courtyard.

In exchange, since battle mage weapons are rare and he wanted to see it, King Eberhart, Princess Stephania, Princess Adriana, Valentina, and Elliot also came to the courtyard.

“Have you decided on your reward?” Elliot asked.

“Yes. We’re about to test it out, and if there are no problems, that should settle it. What about you, Elliot—”

Elliot was wearing Mithril Silver armor covering his shoulders and chest area.

“I received magical armor. …For someone like me returning to my homeland, this is such excessive consideration…”

“Good. Consider it a parting gift. Superior weapons and armor should be handled by those worthy of them. Leaving them on display is like letting grain rot.”

King Eberhart laughed. Apparently, Marquis Zilbolt also received a magical staff as a reward. Well… we didn’t specifically ask for weapons or armor.

Now then. With everyone gathered, let’s begin.

“There’s a possibility that fragments might scatter when the target is shot down, so please allow me to take precautions.”

“Very well.”

For now, deploying a Defense Field should suffice.

“Then—I’ll begin.”

Placing Balor on my palm, I circulated my ki. I fed magical power to Balor, or rather, had it accumulate power… charging it with energy.

When it was wrapped in a pale spark, I released the Magic Bullet.

“Go—”

With my voice, Balor curled up as if folding its wings and closed its eyes—or so I thought, but the next moment it flew off at an absurd speed from the initial velocity.

A Light Arrow shot straight up into the night sky. Higher and higher without end. While it’s wrapped in my magical power, a pseudo-connection is created. It’s like having a second familiar, though limited.

However, when it becomes a bullet, even with the magical connection, its eyes are closed so its vision is blocked. By controlling it from my side, I can manipulate its trajectory. Therefore—my line-of-sight distance would essentially become the effective range, I suppose.

Of course, if Caduceus is present, the range should extend further. Depending on the situation, it might even be possible to shoot targets from a distance without the magician themselves appearing at all.

Controlling its movements. The Light Bullet drew a large arc, leaving complex trails of light in the night darkness as I wished.

“Wow…”

“This is…”

Next should be its power, right? I brought it back to a close distance and launched an ice block with Water Magic. Balor easily shattered it to pieces.

It shattered the fragments further. Two, three times.

“Return.”

While controlling its movements, I pulled it back to my hand. When it reached my palm, Balor—which had been spinning like a drill—spread its wings and stopped moving. Despite having executed a Charge, it didn’t have a single scratch. It has the sturdiness befitting a weapon.

“It’s amazing. It would probably pierce through shields and armor easily.”

“Hmm… Impressive power.”

When Princess Adriana and King Eberhart spoke admiringly, Old Sigmund also nodded.

“To bring out this level of performance on your first attempt… It seems it can also serve as a Magic Slave.”

“I see. So it can become a mobile artillery platform too.”

Magic Slave. It’s a shooting technique where you keep a spell hovering in advance, allowing you to cast magic from there as needed.

Normally, it’s a technique that battle mages shouldn’t be able to use… but Balor can cast magic from its side. In that case, Balor’s field of vision could probably be used for aiming.

Since it can only handle as much as the charged magical power allows, I probably can’t be greedy wanting both charging and artillery functions, but having more options is welcome regardless.

“What do you think?”

“It’s good. I’ve decided on this one.”

While it fills the gap in long-range and shooting combat, it also seems like it will demonstrate power in close combat, which is its original forte.

“Hmm. That’s excellent. Will it be useful?”

“I think if I control the charge in close combat while simultaneously engaging in hand-to-hand combat, I might be able to fully utilize both my own abilities and the magic bullet’s. The rest is just practice.”

At my words, King Eberhart and the others widened their eyes in surprise. However, King Eberhart cleared his throat once and straightened his posture.

“Nnn. Well… it might be possible for you. I hope this magic bullet will protect you and your companions.”

“Thank you.”

“The night has grown quite late… Princess Stephania, will you be returning to your lodgings?”

“Yes. We’ve been using the inn and Marquis Zilbolt’s villa as bases for various preparations, so we need to clean up afterward,” said Princess Stephania.

…We can’t leave until we properly restore things like the hidden passage we dug under the inn.

“I see. We will also proceed with preparations to head to Termwills.”

“Yes. Oh, that’s right. I’d like to take a short stroll around the Sages’ Academy grounds—would that be alright?”

When I asked, King Eberhart’s face broke into a smile.

“You need not hesitate with me. This is your mother’s hometown, after all.”

And so, we restored the hidden door we’d made in the inn room to its original state, filled in the underground passage directly beneath the inn… and the next day arrived. We completed what needed to be done before returning and finished our departure preparations. King Eberhart and Old Sigmund still seemed busy, but we had relatively more free time.

So we decided to head to the academy together—to Silvatoria, or rather, the Sages’ Academy that could be called my mother’s family home—to take a somewhat leisurely look around.

Even though we can come and go with Teleportation Magic, we can’t be that casual about it. We might not have free time the next time we come.

“It’s a nice place. Here,” I murmured while strolling along the walking path within the Sages’ Academy grounds.

“Right?” Valentina smiled.

If the matter with Zadias were resolved, it would be a peaceful, green space where you could feel calm. There’s a pond in the small forest within the grounds, and they’ve even built a gazebo. It’s quiet with good sunlight… a relaxing place.

“Shall we have tea here?”

Rosemary took a tea set out from her Magic Bag. The bag itself is only large enough to attach to a belt at her waist.

“That’s convenient.”

“I think so too. It’s a good item.”

Since the bag itself is modest in size, it doesn’t get in the way of various things.

And so, we all drank tea and relaxed. Ashley made hot water for us.

“Speaking of which… Lady Lisa said she likes it because the lakeshore in the county resembles the place where she grew up a little.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at the view from the gazebo. Her gaze—seemed to be looking somewhere far away.

“That’s… right. Indeed, this area might resemble my mother’s home.”

“Patricia said she wanted to build a wooden house in a forest like this and live there.”

Valentina laughed softly.

“Ah. So that’s why Lady Lisa…”

Ashley closed her eyes.

Yeah. That house was also my mother’s childhood dream.

“—It’s in Gartner County, that house. They used Wood Magic to create a giant tree and hollowed out the inside to make a home.”

“I’d like to see that once.”

“Since you’re also heading to Termwills, Valentina, I think you’ll have opportunities to extend your trip to the county.”

“That’s right. Definitely.”

“It’s a good place. It somewhat resembles my birthplace too.”

“I like that house too,” said Irmhild and Seraphina.

Irmhild’s hometown… the Labyrinth Village. Peaceful with a nearby forest… it might indeed be similar. Claudia smiled somewhat awkwardly and tilted her teacup.

…Tomorrow, or the day after. King Eberhart’s departure preparations and the airship renovation work should be completed. Then we’ll probably depart for Termwills.

So for now, in this place. Let’s rest our wings and relax as much as possible.

Thank you for always reading my work!

“Boundary Labyrinth and the Otherworld Magician” is going to be published as books!

It’s been about eight months since serialization began. The fact that I’ve been able to maintain my creative motivation this whole time is entirely thanks to everyone who has supported me through comments, bookmarks, ratings, reviews, etc. I’d like to express my gratitude once again!

Regarding publication, I’ll report details about the publisher and release date later in the afterword or activity reports.

Additionally, there are no plans to delete or create a digest version of this work.

I’ll continue working hard to update the web version serialization, so please continue your support! m(_ _)m