Chapter 25

Thud, thud, thud.

Oathem, carrying a tree, proceeded down the village path.

This Oathem is a bit large and bulky, attracting attention, but it is highly valued for its high magic capacity. It is my favorite Oathem, known for its strength. It is a large Oathem that I recovered and spent time carving after abandoning it in the shallow forest two years ago when it was used to carry my father.

I was slowly following behind the Oathem with Jizel.

The villagers looked at the Oathem with curious faces, glanced at me, and then passed by as if nothing had happened, as if to say, "Oh, it's just Abel."

To make the Oathem carry heavy objects, it consumes a significant amount of magic. From the perspective of ordinary people, it seems more efficient to carry things themselves rather than have the Oathem do it. I was one of the few who regularly walked through the village with an Oathem every day.

What the Oathem was carrying was a tree called Hootel. It is popular for making Oathems because it is found abundantly in the shallow forest and has high magic capacity.

It was still young, thin, and not very long. It was a two-meter tree that I had cut down to one meter from the top. This size would be about four years old from when it sprouted.

Hootel begins to thicken significantly from the fifth year onward. What I wanted this time was precisely the Hootel just before it started to thicken.

The roots... or rather, the soil, were still attached. As it moved along the path, it left a trail of soil.

I had a specific purpose in mind and was planning to plant this Hootel in my garden.

Suddenly, a woman stepped out from the side of the road, blocking the Oathem's path.

Her thick, well-maintained white hair swayed with her movements. She looked at me with her slightly slanted eyes and crossed her arms in a deliberately exasperated manner. It was Philo.

"Really, I thought it was just the loud thudding sound, but it's you again. What are you planning to do this time..."

Not good, the Oathem is equipped with a function to detect its surroundings and avoid obstacles. It is equipped, but it can't react in time to such a sudden appearance. It wasn't designed for quick, agile movements.

"Stop! Stop!"

I shouted and gave the Oathem an order. The Oathem slowed down but didn't stop immediately.

"Huh?"

Philo let out a surprised cry and stopped.

"No, no, I didn't mean you! Get out of the way! Hey! That's dangerous..."

A dull thud sounded as Philo and the Oathem collided.

"Oof!?"

Philo, who received a considerable impact, fell face-first to the ground. The Oathem, after pushing Philo away, stopped as if nothing had happened.

"Last time... it stopped..."

Philo, with a hoarse voice, glared at the Oathem with a hateful look. Come to think of it, Philo had a history of suddenly appearing and causing the Oathem to make an emergency stop last time. Are you a cat that likes to run in front of cars?

"Hey, are you okay?"

"…My arm, it's broken. It must be broken."

It didn't seem like that much force was applied to her arm.

"No, no, I think it's probably just a sprain."

As I squatted to look at her arm, Philo turned her face away.

"…Are you crying?"

"Wh-What are you talking about!?"

Her voice was tearful. It was probably a sprain, but it must have been quite painful.

I took Philo's right hand and took out a small staff, directing it at her wrist. The hand that hit the ground should have been this one. A small magic circle appeared.

"Pain, go away"

The light from the tip of the staff gently entered Philo's wrist, temporarily easing the pain. We could check later whether it was broken or not.

Philo slightly raised her face, her eyes brimming with tears. She had been crying. After a brief pause, Philo suddenly pulled her hand away as if coming to her senses.

"Y-You don't touch my hand like that! R-Really... because of this... Well, I guess I should thank you..."

Philo, with a red face, got up. She tried to wipe the tears from her other hand... but suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"T-This... this one was the one that was twisted..."

Philo fell face-first to the ground again. Tears streamed down her face.

"But you seemed fine just a moment ago!"

"I was focused on the hand that was being held... I was numb. N-Not because I was nervous about you holding my hand or anything!"

"Got it! Got it, so show me the other hand! Ah! Why are you pulling it away!"

For some reason, Philo quickly hid her left hand under her stomach.

"I'm not saying I want you to hold my hand or that I want you to worry about me! It really hurts! It really does! I have to make that clear!"

"Got it, I really understand! I just want to hold your hand! Just let me see, okay?"

Philo's voice and shoulders were trembling. It didn't seem like she was acting. She must have twisted her wrist when she collided with the Oathem, not when she fell to the ground.

I managed to grab the hand Philo was trying to hide and cast the same pain-relieving magic as before.

After calming down, I checked, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. It was just a sprain. She was overreacting.

I had a cold last week and was crying to my mother and sister, saying, "This time I'm really going to die. Please forgive my filial impiety," so I shouldn't be criticizing others.

"…I won't thank you. It's because you wanted to hold my hand! You said it yourself!"

"O-Okay... Fine, that's fine. It was my Oathem that hit you."

"N-No, I also regret jumping in, thinking it would stop... But still, isn't that Oathem a bit slow?"

Philo probably didn't mean it that way, but her words triggered my pride as an Oathem carver.

"The heavier the Oathem, the more magic it takes to move. If it takes more magic to move, it naturally takes more magic to stop. You have to negate the magic used to move the heavy Oathem. It's not just a matter of stopping the supply; you need to release or consume the residual magic that was used to move it. Additionally, you need to apply a force in the opposite direction to counteract the inertia proportional to the weight. The magic array command I've built into this Oathem is designed to stop quickly, but it inevitably takes longer to come to a complete stop compared to a lighter Oathem."

"Ah... Ah, I see."

But I think it's fine for ordinary people not to worry about it, as only I or the village chief can easily move such a heavy Oathem in this village.

"The structure can be improved, but the cost and return don't justify it, so I've put it off. From now on, I'll increase the reaction speed to moving objects and incorporate a different approach to stopping, making the brakes more effective. You can jump in front of it with peace of mind. I'll make sure it stops, on my pride."

"N-No, no, don't worry, I probably won't do it again."

"No, no, it's fine. I'll make it so that even if you jump in front of the Oathem, it will be fine. I'll catch you gracefully. Next time, I won't let you call it 'slow' again."

"Is that it!? I thought you were talking more than usual because you were concerned about that! If it bothered you, I'll apologize, so let me back off!"

Philo covered her left wrist with her right hand, as if protecting it, and took a half-step back.