Book 17 Chapter 2
Chapter 101
The Broom Grand Prix, the 16-Cylinder Broom, and the Mysterious Shepherd (1)
September, 1104, Telsia Anno Domini.
Upper-middle reaches of the Belisor Great River, Mirif Swamp.
"W-what, what is thisssssss! What happened to my broom!"
An morning starting with Freede's astonishment! Now, it feels as if it wouldn't be morning unless that sound was heard.
"It's called the NIS-V16! My proudest masterpiece!"
What Nils presented to Freede was a broom.
It is said that all witches have a tradition of receiving a broom from their master when they become apprentice witches.
That very broom of Freede's had been incredibly coolly modified by Nils's hands!
"You witches use the power of the wind residing in the atmosphere to use this broom, right? As you can see, I've equipped it with an orbital circuit artifact, allowing it to produce stronger and more efficient output with even a minuscule amount of wind."
Can this… truly be called a broom?
Even the fact that a broom is equipped with an artifact called an orbital circuit is strange, but look at the front part, where horizontal handlebars and footrests are attached!
Freede struck Nils on the top of his head with a kiseru.
"No, damn it! I trusted you and left my broom with you because you said you'd enhance it, but what is this! Where am I supposed to go with something so embarrassing! Do you know how important a broom is to a witch? It's a witch's self-esteem itself!"
Lin, who had been peering intently at the broom, offered heartfelt praise.
"Wow, what is it? It's so cool! It's almost too good for Freede to ride! It truly is [The Strongest Broom]!"
"Gwahahaha! You really have an eye for it. Yes, this is truly my masterpiece, Nils Blantz's! It is the strongest broom. The number of cylinders in that orbital circuit is a staggering 16! It has been reborn as the so-called 16-cylinder broom!"
"16-cylinder?"
"For your information, 16 cylinders is a number only used for colossi. I actually took it from a Kruger-class colossus. I was worried if a broom could handle this output, but the material was so good that it turned out fine."
"Hey, if you're not going to ride it, give it to me."
A mace-like strike from the kiseru landed fairly on Lin's head as well!
"Ow! You clueless jerk, get a clue! This! This is a gift left by my master!"
Lista, whose long hair was tied back in a ponytail and who was sharpening Syrphin's blade with a special whetstone from the Holy Forge, stepped in to mediate.
"Now, Freede. Still, Nils made this for you before leaving, so don't just get angry… Who knows? It might be incredibly good."
Indeed… Nils Blantz probably didn't have any ill intentions.
Perhaps she had just become too conservative to accept the sensibilities of an Ain.
Freede gulped dryly, then straddled the broom, placed both feet on the footrests, and gripped the horizontal handlebars tightly.
"You can also shift gears by twisting the right handlebar. Go on, twist it as much as you like. But don't be surprised. That guy will start to cry."
"Cry? Who? Me?"
"Pipi doesn't cry, Pipi, Pipi doesn't cry."
The moment Freede, half-doubtful, twisted the right handlebar upwards with a whirring sound… VROOOOOOM!
"?????????????!!!!!!!!! "
The broom rampages wildly! As if it were a living creature!
Pipi, startled, leaped up! Freede, in a state of bewilderment, twisted the handlebars several more times, but what a mad roar!
Her blood as a broom rider boiled! A broom like this had never existed before and would never exist again!
"Kya-hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What is this! It's awesome? It's damn awesome!"
"It's too early to be impressed. Racist shamaness! If you press the left footrest deeply, the output will be transmitted to the entire broom! Conversely, the right footrest is the braking device, so keep that in mind!"
The moment Freede forcefully pushed the left footrest, immense inertia practically slammed into her body and surged forward!
"?"
"?"
"?"
It was so fast that all that was left in the spot where Freede had shot out like an arrow was her pointed hat, fluttering down onto the swamp.
"It seems I've done everything I can, so it's time to part ways."
Nils, looking up at Freede haphazardly flying through the sky, said. Lista asked.
"Are you leaving?"
"A summons came from my home country. It seems a detailed report on this matter is required. I sent a letter, but it appears that wasn't enough."
She might be punished on the charge of disgracing the Ain by dealing with Meister Greta Visor in public… but Nils didn't say such a thing.
"Link said he wanted to go with you, but he still needs constant adjustments, so of course, he must come with me."
Freede zipped over the party's heads at super high speed, and the wind pressure caused everyone's hair to fly wildly.
"Wow! Insane! Woooah! Amazing!"
"Pipi, Pipi, Pipi, let's go together."
Lin tidied her badly disheveled hair while making a pouty face.
"Don't go."
"Lin."
"If you're going, make one of those for me too before you leave."
It was a realistically impossible story.
Lin didn't even have a broom to begin with, and there was only one Kruger-class colossus that they faced in the Greta Visor subjugation battle.
In short, mass production of 16-cylinder brooms was impossible.
'So, Lin just doesn't want to part with Nils and Link right now…'
Lista and Nils felt their noses tingle.
Of course, Lin was simply jealous that Freede was the only one who received such an amazing toy.
Sval's beady eyes!
"Gyung…"
Nils, who couldn't possibly know such a truth, grinned as he climbed onto Link's shoulder.
"Don't worry. This isn't a permanent farewell at all. I promise. As soon as this matter is settled, I will rejoin you as quickly as possible. Though I can't definitively promise when or where."
And so, for now, it was farewell to Nils and Link.
Link seemed regretful to part with Lin, constantly looking back as he walked towards the horizon.
After sending the two off, they intended to depart as soon as Freede returned, but half a day, a full day, and then an entire day passed, and Freede still didn't come.
"Freede, could she have… fallen into trouble?"
The next morning, Lista, who had waited for Freede all night, said with a very serious expression.
"Hmph, that regionally discriminatory shamaness is the weakest member of our hero party. Her disappearance won't result in any loss of combat power whatsoever."
This is one of the lines from [The Strongest Mage's Bucket List]!
Then Kias chuckled silently, taking a long drink from his gourd flask.
A hero's punch landed on the heads of both men!
"There's a time to laugh and a time not to laugh! Aren't you worried what kind of trouble Freede might be in right now! Freede is our precious comrade!"
What kind of situation is Freede in right now…?
Lin and Kias each looked up at the sky, using the yellowish, dust-laden expanse as a canvas to imagine Freede's current situation.
"- Liquor, it's liquor! Bring me all the most expensive liquor and all the handsome men in this establishment!"
"- Milady, you are simply magnificent! Please, try this as well! It's our establishment's signature menu item! Wine sprinkled with gold dust! The price is currently on special discount, we offer it for 3 gold coins!"
"- Kya-hahaha! Delicious, isn't it? Bring more!"
Aside from wrecking the party's operating funds, there probably wouldn't be any particular problems for that crazy person…
However, Lin closed her mouth.
She had learned that being honest in front of this [Strongest Lunatic] would lead her to the underworld before she could even become [The Strongest Mage].
"Even as we stand here, she might be suffering all sorts of pain with Pipi! Let's go look for Freede as soon as it's daylight."
* * *
"Excuse me!"
They were able to get information about Freede in a village about half a day's journey from Mirif Swamp.
Republic villages often use peculiar architectural styles, and the structures here were generally mushroom-shaped.
A few children were flying kites in the village square, and upon seeing Lista, they cried out in surprise.
"It's the suspicious guys!"
"Hide!"
"Run away!"
The sight of the children fleeing in a rush, and Lista making a hurt expression, saying "Ah! No!", reminded Lin of her daily life in the distant North.
"- A gorilla has appeared! Run away!"
"- Run away!"
"- Why am I a gorilla! Lin, because of you, the Wind Quartet gets scared whenever they see me!"
Those clueless commoners, I wonder if they're doing well now…
"You rascals, calling them suspicious! That's rude to adults you're meeting for the first time."
It was a fleeting misconception.
That voice…
Rather than a human voice…
The thought that if the rays of dawn rising at daybreak could possess sound, it would be like that.
"Shepherd, there are suspicious people!"
"Shepherd, lots of suspicious guys have come!"
The owner of that voice was a youth who seemed to be Lin's age (though a little taller), and there was something about him that generally captivated people's attention.
Was it because of his hair?
It was generally brown, but only the parts where the sunlight fell shone reddish. It wasn't the fiery red like Freede's, but the radiance of dawn and twilight.
"These people aren't suspicious. They are the Hero and her companions."
"Herowo?"
"Herowa!"
"Now, say hello again."
The children, whose wariness had turned into curiosity, placed both hands on their bellies and politely greeted Lista's party.
"Helloo!"
Lista was a woman who knew how to be extremely delighted by such small, everyday scenes. So much so that she clapped her hands and made a fuss.
"Oh my, they're so cute! How can I express my gratitude? To receive such greetings."
"Ah, my apologies for the late introduction, Hero. My name is Xuan. I am a humble wandering shepherd."
Shepherd (牧者). Mages who learn sorcery are divided into witches and shepherds according to their gender.
Witches were distinguished by their attire into Red Witches, Blue Witches, and Yellow Witches, but the difference was that all shepherds dedicated themselves solely to the ecclesiastical world.
Furthermore, shepherds' ranks were not as subdivided as witches'; there were only Senior Shepherds and Junior Shepherds to distinguish their hierarchy.
"He's not humble! The Shepherd, he even healed my mom! Even the traveling witch couldn't cure her!"
The children vied with each other to explain the miraculous healings Xuan had performed, to the point where the village square briefly turned into a commotion.
In chaotic times where medical technology is desperately needed, rumors about healing powers are naturally highly exaggerated.
Xuan made an embarrassed expression.
"It was merely what I ought to do. Compared to what these Heroes do, it is indeed utterly insignificant."
Lista smiled brightly.
"I believe there are no high or low deeds in the work of creation, Shepherd."
At that smile, Xuan gave a wry smile.
"I am merely an incapable person who, due to lack of ability, could not protect my appointed post and virtually fled here. Ah, I apologize for wasting your time with trivial complaints when you are urgently searching for your comrade."
"Huh?! How did you know that?"
"Our Shepherd knows everything!"
Lin snorted.
"Hmph, he probably used something like clairvoyance."
She couldn't assert it for sure, knowing little about sorcery, but it was certainly likely.
"Or, since Freede is absent, it could be easily deduced through an inductive logical circuit."
"Oh dear, you're in a hurry for every minute and second to become [The Strongest Mage], and I've just… I'll get straight to the point without beating around the bush."
The antipathy in Lin's eyes melted away like snow. She scratched under her nose with her index finger, feigning nonchalance.
"No, I'm not that busy. You can speak slowly! I don't care if you talk all day long."
Kias, who was not captivated by that mysterious insight, sighed, scratching his temple pitifully.
[(ㅡㅅㅡ);;;]
Xuan clasped his hands together as if to pray, then, after a long moment, nodded.
"The Dragon Flame Shamaness is currently in <Euphoria>."
"<Euphoria>…?!"
"It's a city located on the border between the Valand Kingdom and the Yongin Republic. It's famous for the 'Broom Grand Prix' where witches compete against each other in broom races."
"Woah! That's crazy, crazy!!! How on earth did you know? Aren't you just too amazing?!!"
"Right! We wouldn't have known even after half a year!!!"
"Are you curious how I knew?"
"Yes!!!"
"It's impossible for me to tell you directly due to personal circumstances, so to give you an indirect answer, you might be able to deduce it if you read『The Book of Jehannir's Evangelism』, Chapter 6, verses 11 to 18."
Lin's eyes gleamed.
'This guy, he's incredibly skilled, isn't he?'
She didn't know what kind of background he had set for himself, but it seemed he was also diligently working to fulfill his own bucket list.
'He knew about my goal of being [The Strongest Mage]… Is this guy's goal [The Strongest Shepherd]?'
In that case, she had no choice but to accept it!
Because what was important in this field was mutual respect.
"I'll definitely read it when I have time later."
Although she wouldn't actually read it, she at least said she would.
"Anyway, why is Freede there?"
"Border regions are one of three things. Either the security is strict, or they've prospered greatly through commerce and industry, or they've fallen into extreme decline with all sorts of illegal cultures. Freede must have been captured by bad villains! Let's hurry!"
"Okay."
Lista and Lin dashed out of the village.
Kias, who had been silently sipping his liquor, was about to hang his gourd flask on his belt and follow them when it happened.
Xuan suddenly called out and stopped him.
"Kias-nim, your heart… it's not just festering, it's rotting away."
"…?!"
"If your sole purpose in joining this journey is merely to find a place to die, then one day, because of you, Kias-nim, one of your comrades will fall into great danger."