Chapter 89

Aisha didn't have much luggage, and she quickly finished preparing.

"Um... Mr. Ryouji. But isn't it wrong to do something like this...?"

Aisha seemed hesitant. It was understandable; she had returned to this place on her own, yet now she was sneaking out like this. She couldn't help but think that she would be causing trouble for the country. However, Aisha hadn't heard the Emperor's words from yesterday, which was why she thought this way—

—and I like you. There's no reason not to take you.

Aisha and me...

"Um... Mr. Ryouji?"

"Ah, n-no, um, Aisha is still officially part of the Lev Magic Empire, so let's not think about the country or anything until the Empire makes a decision, okay?"

No good. No good at all. It's fine if Aisha knows how she feels about me, and there's a good chance the Emperor is mistaken. I shouldn't think about unnecessary things right now! Yes.

"But... we still haven't obtained the secret medicine..."

Right. Aisha had returned here for Lark, and it was worrying that she hadn't achieved her goal yet...

"It's fine. This is Lark's problem, not Aisha's. Lark would probably say the same thing."

"..."

"Besides, this is something I want to do."

"Eh...?"

"I'm taking you out of this country because I want to. Aisha, it's okay to be more honest with yourself."

"...Mr. Ryouji, you want to take me out...?"

"Yes. No one else but you."

"!"

Aisha's face turned red, and a flame-like heat enveloped her. It was hot, so I used [Wind Magic] to disperse it immediately.

"D-don't say things like that...!"

"Aisha, let's go."

"Ah, u-um... Okay."

I took Aisha's bag, and she followed me out. The corridor was empty, which was convenient.

"Aisha, we're going to jump out the window."

"Y-yes."

This side of the house faced the back, and I knew it was sparsely populated during the day yesterday. I opened the window and took Aisha's hand.

"Don't make a sound."

"Y-yes."

I confirmed that Aisha was covering her mouth with her other hand and then jumped—since it was only from the second floor to the ground, my [Wind Magic] was enough to reduce the impact. We landed softly, and Aisha exhaled with a "phew" as I released her hand.

(Do we really have to leave like this...?)

Even though I was the one taking her, I felt a little sad about leaving in the middle of the night like this, as if we were running away. But when I saw Aisha, my feelings changed.

"Mr. Ryouji, let's go."

She said it with a smile as bright as the sun.

"…Okay!"

I took Aisha's hand and started running. When we reached a gap in the large trees, we jumped again—our bodies floated in the air, and the forest below was right there. I used [Wind Magic] to slow down while aiming for a gap in the branches, but even so, leaves hit our bodies. When we landed on the ground, it required a fairly strong spell, but it wasn't a big deal for me with my increased magic power. We were deep in the forest, where the giant trees supporting the High Elf mansion stood, and the forest was otherwise silent.

"…Is this far from the town where the elves live?"

"Yes. It's about an hour's walk."

There was a wide, well-trodden path, but there was no one around. Hand in hand, Aisha and I walked through the silent forest. We knew that heading north would lead us out of the forest, and once we reached the grassland, it wouldn't be difficult to find the road or the town. Ideally, we wanted to avoid getting too close to the town.

"…Aisha, stop."

After running for about 30 minutes, I stopped.

"We're surrounded."

They must have deliberately led us here—perhaps on the Emperor's orders. They were told not to harm us, so they deliberately moved us here? They appeared for the first time here, hiding in the branches and shadows, wearing Secret Service uniforms. The Elf who approached us slowly was someone I knew.

"Ms. Polina, you don't need to see us off."

"I understand that I don't need to see you off, but that's not the case for Princess Anastasia."

Polina stopped about 10 meters away.

"If you release Princess Anastasia immediately, you won't die."

Hearing that, I couldn't help but laugh.

"You mean you'll beat me up so I don't die? No thanks."

"Of course. It's bad enough that a human like you has connections with the royal family, and now you're trying to take her out of the country...!"

Not just Polina, but the 20 or so Secret Service agents surrounding us were emitting anger.

Oh no... I lack the ability to detect tailing or realize when I'm being watched. Maybe I rely too much on my innate abilities. I've been training without [All-Seeing Eye] quite a bit, but perhaps I've focused too much on combat skills. If I want to learn detection skills... Zelly? No, that's not it (immediate answer).

"…Why are you smirking?"

"Nothing. If you have no business, please move aside."

"Th-this!"

Polina launched a [Earth Magic] Stone Bullet at me. I dodged it by just turning my head.

"What!?"

I used [Wind Magic] to deflect a blow from a man who came from above, sending him flying in a spin. As long as I can see them, it's not a big deal.

"Aisha, stay back."

"I can fight too!"

"I know. But I want to protect you today."

"!?"

Another small flame flew, but—

"Ryouji always... protects me... but don't overdo it!"

"Of course."

As Aisha moved away, the Secret Service agents stirred.

"Are you stupid? If you move away from Princess Anastasia, we can use our full strength."

"Ms. Polina, I'm the same. And please don't secretly try to harm Aisha—she'll definitely use magic if you do."

"..."

The Secret Service agents, who knew the magic power of the High Elf royal family, hesitated.

"Well... then let me give you a warning. The Emperor gave me permission to take Aisha. Attacking me means you're rebelling against the country. Consider that before you attack."

"We! We act for all the elves! We won't be swayed by the sweet words of a human!"

"Is that so? Then, go ahead—"

While I was speaking, the Secret Service agents attacked from five directions. Their weapons were various—knives, short swords, and axes—but they were made of stone, not metal.

"—Don't interrupt me."

I deployed five [Fire Magic] spells in my right hand and five [Wind Magic] spells in my left, releasing small firestorms at each of them.

I also received a review from Mr. Mutsu! Thank you...!