Chapter 71 Convergence
He sprinted across the plain till his legs turned rubbery and his breath came in desperate gasps.
Only then did Yuruyana dare to look back.
No pursuers anywhere in sight.
He pressed himself low beside a boulder, trying to vanish into shadow.
If he crouched, he might not get up again... So he stayed standing, slumped against the rock.
"Now... It's just past 9 in summer. Moon's up there. Mountains are over there. So the town must be this way..."
He remembered the very, very basic trick Elmer taught him right after he found him ── 'how to find your way home in Suuroi if you get lost.'
Never actually needed it once while he lived in Suuroi.
Now, here he was, using it for real.
He couldn't help a wry, breathless laugh──still, his teacher deserved some thanks.
As he got ready to run again──
"Please wait. You mustn't go out there."
"Ah──!"
A firm hand grabbed his arm from behind.
It was a man in the dark uniform of the royal court's Arcanists.
Clouds swallowed the moon, thickening the darkness.
He couldn't make out his face at all.
"A properly trained Arcanist can sense magic, even if they can't see you."
"Let go! Let go of me!"
"You really are just as unruly as they said. I haven't even had a few hours' sleep──I drove all night after work for this. Please. Have mercy, Your Highness."
Yuruyana's strength wasn't nearly enough to break his grip.
While he struggled, 2 Arcane Cars slid silently up, and men who'd escaped the tear gas and smoke grenades started piling out.
"I did order everyone to leave your things and clothes untouched for your comfort, but I didn't imagine you'd put up such a fight. Clearly I underestimated an Arcanopharmacist."
"..."
"Now, let me hold onto your bag. I'll return it when this is over, I promise."
His tone was soft, but his air pressed in hard, like cold iron in velvet.
"No! I'm not a prince! I'm not going to Lilicheska, either!"
"Ah, so you do understand the situation. Impressive. Very clever indeed... But you leave me no choice. You'll need a proper rest."
Gnarled fingers reached for his face.
The moment he saw that hand, memories of the kidnapping crashed down on him.
"You──you're one of the castle's──"
And suddenly, something else came back to him.
"──!"
He grabbed the arm with his free hand and jammed the watch's winder hard.
Out of nowhere, a clear wall snapped up with a sharp BZZT!
It shut out the man's hand, his underlings' arms──everything.
"Huh──"
"Whoah, that's the quality Tsukumo brand for you!"
Tsukumo had once shown off that watch in the castle.
'If it gets dicey, press here,' he'd said.
That memory hit him, along with all the other things they'd done in the castle.
Yuruyana slipped through the thugs tossed back by the barrier and tried to bolt again.
"Stop!"
They must've figured magic was in play now, not just weird chemicals──their faces twisted, scared and uneasy as they chased.
"The prince can't use magic! That's arcane machinery!"
The boss bellowed, voice sharp.
At that, the men steadied themselves.
Glanced at each other.
Each one drew a wand from their coat.
"Wait, Arcanists!? All of them!?"
The reason they hadn't used magic yet was simple──they were wiped too, running all night without sleep.
Plus, nobody expected a single unarmed kid to be this much trouble.
"Forget staying gentle! Hurt them if you have to──just don't let them escape!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Arcanist grunts regrouped──ready to blast.
But then, a strange unfamiliar noise drifted in from far-off, stalling them all over again.
"What is that, some kind of arcane car?"
"No... is it backup already? From the capital?"
They all started, spinning to face the noise.
It was wide open ground──yet nothing, no one, anywhere.
Still, that engine sound was getting closer.
"What the──!?"
"Where? Where's it coming from...?"
The men all lifted their wands, eyes darting around.
Then suddenly──one guy's wand exploded at the base and shot off.
"What the──!?"
"Who's there!? Who's there!?"
While they froze, more wands flashed with light──then popped from their grip one after another.
The ones still armed shoved their wands away as fast as they could.
"Dammit!"
One man, sweating hard, ran straight for Yuruyana."
He grabbed for a hostage.
But──
"Move unless you wanna get run over!"
A massive exhaust blast rattled out.
Suddenly, from thin air──black steel, looking almost like a horse, barreled into view.
* * *
"Tsukumo!"
"Yuruyana, run!"
I reached out my hand as Yuruyana came running over, reacting to my words.
I grabbed him tight and pulled──his whole body floated up off the ground.
"Whoa──hey! Wait up!"
"[Float]"
I used magic to soften his landing, catching him in my arms.
The bike slid, scraping hard lines into the earth as we came to a stop.
Dust puffed up on the dry ground but vanished at once, blown away by sharp wind.
"Yuruyana, are you hurt?"
"My shoulder almost popped, but I'm good. ...What even is this thing?"
His eyes went wide at the sight of the huge Arcane Bicycle.
Even now, he wasn't tense at all.
"Mr. Elmer gave it to me."
"He gave you whaaat?"
I set the baffled Yuruyana down for a second, then lifted him up again, sitting him behind me on the back seat.
He was just as light as ever.
"Details later. Hold onto my waist for now. Feet go there. Careful──they'll get chewed up by the tire if you're not."
"O-okay!"
Yuruyana quickly looped his arms around my waist.
His feet landed right where I pointed, so I got ready to take off again.
But just then, an Arcanist in school uniform blocked the way, with his lackeys lining up beside him.
They looked ready to get run over and didn't even care.
"[Vine]!"
"[Wither]"
Vines shot out from the ground trying to snag us──bike and all.
I dried them up instantly, crushed the brittle branches, swung wide, and slipped past.
As we sped by, one of the henchmen grit his teeth in frustration.
"Kid's pulling this off──no staff, even...!"
My staff got confiscated for being too strong.
Taken by none other than the professor of the Arcanist Department──Lord Osric's little brother.
It amplifies magic like crazy.
If they'd let us use it, I wouldn't have written the Arcanist Department off so fast.
"After them!"
SLAM!
The sound of a door slamming, engines roaring to life, somebody stomping the gas so hard the vehicle groaned──my cue to gun it and speed up.
"[Flame Bullet]!"
Fire ignited on the short grass under our feet.
The other Arcanists launched more fire right behind us; it hit where we'd just been, and Yuruyana clung tighter to my arm.
"Hey, that guy──he was at the castle."
"Yeah. ──That's Mr. Magnus."
I shot a glance back.
The fire cast everything in gold and red.
The older Arcanist in the passenger seat stuck out his head──his face sharp and clear in the flames.
He seemed so gentle showing Yuruyana around, but now he's glaring at us, desperate.
"Why's he coming after me? I thought he was a good guy."
When I saw his name on the list of people who'd passed the west gate, I honestly didn't want to believe it either.
But Luka called up the court Arcanists──turns out, Mr. Magnus had put in for some vacation time.
"He's from Lilicheska. Lord Osric told me."
"What!?"
Even though it was way past office hours, Lord Osric picked up like it was nothing and explained.
Must've been working overtime again.
"When Queen Dowager Riv came here, he came along as an Arcane Art Knight."
Ever since I first saw him, he stuck out──way older than everyone else in the Arcanist group.
And when I heard about his position, it finally made sense.
"I bet Mr. Magnus and the others want to bring Lilicheska back as a country again."
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!