Book 19 Chapter 7
Episode 153
“Wait, where are you going!”
They encountered a line of refugees about half a day after their departure, when the sandstorm had somewhat cleared.
The sun had set and the moon was rising, but for the refugees, without the sandstorm, the night was even brighter than the day.
The refugees seemed to be heading north, loading various household goods and livestock onto bundles or carts haphazardly.
“We have to go to <Elsvardh>.”
At that, the refugees stirred up a commotion.
“No! That area is dangerous! The entire region has become a hunting ground for the demon race.”
“Yes, our neighboring village was also devastated in a single day.”
“It seems you're evacuating to <Elsvardh> with your younger sister, but don't do that; let's go north with us. Thanks to the hero party, the bloodline army has collapsed, and the path to the north has opened.”
Demon race, huh…
That's good, isn't it…?
“Wow~ Tureina, you seem really lucky, don't you?”
“?”
“I was planning to give you practical magic training on the way, but it's like the sandbags came to us on their own, you know? Back in my day, there were no sandbags, so I had to go find them myself!”
Rin recalled the past, awkwardly stroking under his nose.
In fact, anyone with even a little social skill wouldn't make remarks like 'you're lucky' to a child whose village was recently massacred.
But Rin's social skills were zero! In the eyes of strangers, he was practically a madman!
“Magic training, you say… What are you talking about! This isn't child's play!”
As the refugee woman shouted, Rin coolly covered his face with his left hand and spoke in a sweet, low-pitched voice.
“Hmph… Child's play? You should call it the [Strongest]'s play.”
Then Tureina imitated that action and expression so naturally and identically.
“Hmph… Child's play? You should call it the [Strongest]'s play.”
As a child, Rin wanted to become a wizard just like Atlante, so he would completely imitate the movements used for magic.
But Tureina!
She pathologically obsessed over Rin even more than that, going so far as to imitate all of the [Strongest Archmage's lines & expressions]!
“?”
“?”
Tureina even copied Rin's dumbfounded stare at her. What a crazy biological mirror!
“Don't copy me.”
“Don't copy me.”
“Don't follow me.”
Her aphasia wasn't fully cured yet, but she was strangely able to mimic Rin's words. Truly strange!
“N-no……”
“Then don't copy me.”
“Okay……”
As Rin and Tureina began to move southwest, the refugees were terrified.
“These kids really, they don't even think about… listening to adults!”
“Get out of the way, I'll have to take them by force if necessary. If we let them go like this, it'll be a dog's death.”
“Wait, everyone, stop.”
The one who stopped them was the former village chief.
“Such a young appearance, with a conical hat and a staff… Doesn't it align too well with the rumors coming from the north?”
At that, the refugees realized something and let out a sigh of 'Ah'.
“Elder, surely not…”
“That's right, now that you mention it, under the moonlight, it's not clear, but they seemed to have fair skin like Imperial people…”
“Because their speech was a bit clumsy, I thought they might be a child with a congenital short tongue, but perhaps they were just clumsy with the Southern Republic language…?”
The chief nodded.
“Kids these days aren't fools either. If they hear there are demons, they stop crying instantly. But to go like that… Yes, that person must be Rin, the wizard of the hero party.”
The youngest Archmage, Rin.
The rumors about that boy, inflated based on his unrealistic achievements, were already illuminating the entire demon realm front with the light of hope!