Chapter 3

After leaving the tavern, I stayed at an inn.

My plan for the future is to head west to leave the Elistera Empire by taking a stagecoach.

After leaving the empire, I will pass through small states such as commercial cities and labyrinth cities to enter the Farmlia Kingdom.

The Farmlia Kingdom is a great nation on par with the Elistera Empire.

It’s more than suitable to use as a base from now on.

For these reasons, I decided to aim for the Farmlia Kingdom.

...By the way, in my previous life, the Farmlia Kingdom existed, but the Elistera Empire did not.

Well, if 200 years have passed, it’s not at all strange for such changes to occur... In fact, it’s more natural that way.

After leaving the inn, I headed to the stop to board the stagecoach.

In this area near the Fellows family mansion, there are many people who know my face.

So I started moving early in the morning when there were few people around.

Still, there were a few passersby.

On the way to the stop, an unexpected person appeared from a side alley.

It was as if he had anticipated that I would take this route.

He was tall with golden hair and purple eyes, and he smiled faintly as he spoke.

"Hey, Alma. Or should I call you incompetent?"

"Brother Keith..."

Brother Keith is the second son of the Fellows family.

He has the Gift of "Purple Lightning Mage" and is one year older than me.

"I heard you caused a disturbance at the tavern yesterday. Father was furious."

"That’s a misunderstanding. I didn’t cause a disturbance at the tavern..."

"Sure, sure, I get it. Honestly, I don’t care about last night’s incident. I just want to crush you. That’s all."

"Why...?"

"Hehehe, Alma, I’ve always hated you."

"..."

I never thought Brother Keith would say something like that.

We weren’t close, but we had been pushing each other to improve our skills.

"I was tired of being compared to you every day. No matter how hard I tried, you always achieved better results. I hated you so much. So when I heard you didn’t receive any Gift, I felt quite relieved."

"Is that so..."

I was surprised, sad, and convinced.

"So, Alma, you can’t continue to disgrace our family. I’ll take care of you here."

"But there are passersby...!"

"A few passersby don’t matter. My priority is to take care of you."

It seemed there was no reasoning with him.

It looked like I had no choice but to fight.

"...I understand. It seems no matter what I say, it’s useless."

"Yeah, I appreciate your understanding. You’re still the same, Alma. But now, you’re just an incompetent who didn’t even receive a Gift!"

A crackling sound of lightning appeared around Brother Keith.

That was the signal for the start of the battle.

"Lightning Ball"

A sphere about 30 cm in diameter, composed of electricity, flew towards me.

It’s a basic lightning magic, but its power can vary depending on the user.

I shouldn’t underestimate it.

The magic that works well against lightning is earth magic.

I’ll use earth magic against Brother Keith.

"Rock Shield"

The ground deformed, forming a wall in front of me.

"What!? You can use earth magic!?"

Brother Keith seemed surprised, which was understandable.

Before my Gift of "Reincarnator" activated, I couldn’t use earth magic.

It seems Brother Keith had a good grasp of my abilities.

He probably thought he could win if I didn’t have a Gift.

In fact, if I really didn’t have a Gift, I wouldn’t have been able to stand a chance against Brother Keith.

"I’ve been practicing in secret."

"...Hmph, well, that’s fine. Even if you can use earth magic, which is advantageous against lightning, it won’t change my victory."

Brother Keith seemed very confident in his magic.

Indeed, the Gift of "Purple Lightning Mage" is powerful enough to warrant such confidence.

"What, what!?"

"The battle has begun!"

The passersby were clearly shocked.

If Brother Keith’s magic hit them, they would be seriously injured.

...There’s no choice.

I’ll have to take Brother Keith down seriously.

"Brother Keith, this time I’ll make the first move."

I said this from behind the earth wall.

So, Brother Keith probably thinks I’m still on the other side of the wall.

"Try if you can. But I have no intention of waiting for you! – Ellegan!"

A lightning spear about 2 meters long formed above Brother Keith’s head.

It was clear that it contained powerful magic.

It’s one of the more advanced lightning magics.

"Hahaha! This will easily pierce through that earth wall!"

The lightning spear, as Brother Keith said, broke through the earth wall and continued its momentum.

"Ah! The earth wall is broken!"

"Please, spare me!"

The passersby were cowering.

I can’t cause any more trouble for these people.

I’ll finish this safely.

"...What!? Alma is gone! Where did he go!?"

Feeling the lack of resistance, Brother Keith finally realized I wasn’t on the other side of the wall.

Right now, I’m on the roof of a building next to Brother Keith.

The method was simple.

I used the space magic "Teleport" without incantation.

However, using magic without incantation consumes more magic power than with incantation.

It’s best to use incantation unless you don’t want the opponent to notice.

Now, I need to draw his attention.

"– Here I am, Brother Keith."

Brother Keith looked up with a start.

"You, when did you get there!?"

"I told you, I’m making the first move."

"Haha, but I can’t let you get cocky just because you moved there! And to reveal your position like that, Alma, you’re quite the fool. You could have caught me off guard with a single strike!"

"I revealed my position because the battle is already over."

"...What do you mean?"

The moment after casting a spell, there’s a large opening.

I called out to Brother Keith to prolong that opening.

"Rock Prison"

Earth walls formed instantly around Brother Keith, trapping him.

There’s no way out, up, down, left, or right.

"Press Rock"

Then I increased the density of the earth, making it even stronger.

Brother Keith chanted several lightning spells, but seeing that they had no effect, he realized it was futile.

"What is this! Hey, Alma! Get me out of here!"

When I approached the earth prison, Brother Keith started complaining.

"Even if you ask me to let you out, I won’t be the fool to do so."

"When did you cast so much magic! Damn it! I’ll crush you someday!"

He was extremely angry.

It’s best not to say anything more.

But I should say this much.

"Brother Keith, I’m going to the eastern port and leaving this continent. So don’t come after me anymore."

Of course, this is a lie, as I expect Brother Keith to come after me.

"Alma! You bastard!!!"

Even through the earth walls, I could hear Brother Keith’s angry voice.

I took a deep breath and continued towards the stagecoach stop.

"Thank you... You saved us."

"You are our savior..."

The passersby ran up to me.

"No, I caused this commotion, so I’m the one who should apologize for the trouble."

"Not at all! Please look up! There may be various circumstances, but the fact is that you saved us! Thank you so much..."

"I thought I might die here... Thank you for saving me..."

They didn’t look at me with disdain, as if I were incompetent.

It seems they don’t know much about the Fellows family.

However... It’s been a long time since someone thanked me.

"You’re welcome. ...And thank you."

The two of them looked puzzled at my gratitude.

But that’s fine.

Because thanks to them, I felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

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