Chapter 88 – Wind Magic
Chapter 88 – Wind Magic
Today, we headed back to the forest to make camp.
Tomorrow, it’s down the cliff…
Dinner as usual, then sipping tea and relaxing…
Hm? Huh?
“By the way, how exactly are we getting down the cliff?”
“Ah.”
Ted froze up.
Rare sight. Ted with zero plan.
I really shouldn’t just leave it all to him. Gotta think it through myself.
“Can wind magic make us fly?”
“Never heard of it… but knowing Sid, maybe?”
Ted let his shoulders slump with a weary look.
Aah. Yeah. Probably means we fly, right.
I totally get that feeling.
“Haha. For now, let’s check out the cliff tomorrow and figure it out then.”
“Ahaha. Yeah. Shall we just hit the hay?”
Dry laughs to dodge reality, shoving it all onto tomorrow’s us.
The next morning, to get a sense of the height, I peered nervously down from the top of the cliff.
With Ted’s support, of course.
No matter how hard I strained my eyes, all I could see was an endless sea of trees.
The wind was howling too fiercely to focus anyway.
“…O-oh, it’s way higher than I imagined. Very high. Ohohoho.”
“And it’s slanted, so if you fall, you’d smack right into the cliff face.”
Suddenly, a fierce updraft from below lifted my body clean off the ground.
“Eek!”
No good. Totally impossible.
I frantically tapped Ted at top speed.
With a wry smile, Ted dragged my frozen self to a safe spot.
Whew, that was terrifying.
A real cliff. Pure vertigo. Perfect spot to confess every sin under the sun.
I collapsed right there on the spot.
“You okay?”
“Haha. Of course.”
I forced the biggest grin I could muster.
“We jumping?”
“What do we do? Look for another way?”
When I asked with a hesitant look, Ted pondered with a furrowed brow.
“Another way…”
My imagination’s too limited—no alternatives came to mind.
“Like, maybe use earth magic to carve stairs into the cliff?”
“Could work if we push it… but this wind’s a real hassle.”
Ted clapped his hands with a “You’re right” and crossed his arms.
“Guess we fly after all?”
“But it’s scary, right?”
“Haha.”
Busted.
He’s been awfully sharp lately.
Dodged it with a polite chuckle for now.
It’s not like I hate the idea.
But passing out midway would be dangerous, so I can’t just wing it.
“Hey, Marie! I’ll piggyback you—you just close your eyes the whole time?”
Closing my eyes might actually make it less scary.
“You sure it’ll be okay without my eyes to guide us?”
“I’ll call out directions. It’ll be fine. Let’s give it a shot.”
Ted pressed his back to mine and wrapped us up tight with rope.
Doesn’t really feel like a piggyback, but nitpicking’s a loser’s game.
“This way, my hands are free too. Nice and safe, right?”
“Hahi…”
So tightly wound…
Right away, I manipulated wind magic to practice.
That trick Heart always used to float fruit…
“Ooooh?”
“You’re floating! You’re floating! Marie, you’re incredible!”
Practice makes perfect till I nail the knack!
Should’ve practiced before wrapping up, but hindsight’s 20/20.
We bobbed around plenty, then practiced me closing my eyes and following his directions.
“Marie. We’re down. Good job.”
“Eh?”
When I opened my eyes, there we were—in the forest at the base of the cliff.
“No way. Amazing.”
While I stood there dazed, Ted unwound the rope.
I craned my neck up until it ached.
We’d come down from way up there.
I hadn’t felt a thing. Is my sense of balance broken?
We’d arrived at the cliff with the sunrise, but the sun was already straight overhead.
Dazzling sun. Spring, and yet the rays are so intense.
“Take a quick breather, then scout for us?”
“Yes.”
For lunch, we shared my homemade “Sister’s Special Bento.”
“Delicious.”
“Right? I practiced a ton!”
Thanks, sis. Looks like I scraped a passing grade.
Next time, Master gets a taste.
Once we finished eating, Ted fired off water magic into the sky.
A massive rainbow spanned the heavens.
“Stirred up the magical beasts. Scout time?”
“Got it. Yes.”
…
“No large magical beasts pinging. A-rank ones, right?”
“Marie. That’s them. Killer Bees.”
Ted pointed to the distant sky, where a black cloud was heading straight for us.
“Marie! Barrier, now!”
“Yes!”
A swarm of fist-sized bees.
“Stings paralyze—watch out. Four or five hits, and you’re done.”
“Yes!”
Even without stings, getting swarmed would kill us! But they just slammed into the barrier, sparking wildly.
…
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thanks for the chapter