Magic Scavenger Part 1 Chapter 8

 Chapter 8: Impulse

Five days later, the Karejasu Mercenary Company moved out mixed among Danres's knights and threw themselves back into the fires of war. Though there was only ten of them, but since every single one was a magic swordsman, their strength was the real deal.

Mixed among the knights nominally under Danres's command (though he was a commander in name only), they fought to reclaim the front line that the enemy mage had pushed them back from a few days earlier.

And of course, the battlefield-scavenger kids had come out to the battlefield too.

"The mage's coming out faster than last time! Kanata! Keep your head down!"

"Yeah!"

The new battle site was a village of stone buildings lined up near a river in Danres's territory.

The terrain was flat but the border was close by. Even though the upstream side hadn't been seized yet, the river itself was a serious obstacle to advancing.

Naturally, the bridge that used to span it had been brought down long ago and now arrows from archers and spells from mages kept flying in from the far bank.

"Guess a river really matters, huh."

"'Course it does! You can attack from the other bank without them ever hitting back!"

"But isn't that the same for us too?"

"The side that's already dug in and ready has the advantage, obviously!"

"Ah, I see."

Getting an education from Roa as they moved together, Kanata ducked from cover to cover.

This was already a line well behind the front but a spell's range wasn't something to take lightly.

It was a village the enemy had been camped in until just a little while ago so it wouldn't be strange if some of them hadn't pulled back yet.

"Kanata! Your quota?!"

"Hmm... not yet... I did find somethin' that looks decent but I dunno if it's worth much."

Not much of what Kanata had picked up today looked like it'd be worth any money.

A beat-up sword, a wooden shield with an arrow still stuck in it, a white handkerchief, a faded necklace, and the knight's helmet he currently had on his own head, about the only other thing he'd found.

"Iffy... the sword and shield probably aren't gonna be worth anything."

"But look, the Rubbish! Look at this!"

"Who cares about that trash?! It ain't worth a single copper!"

There was more Rubbish than last time, seven pieces rattling out of Kanata's pocket all at once.

For Kanata, it was the one thing on the battlefield that was actually his own to enjoy but that much Rubbish also meant the enemy mage's onslaught had been ferocious.

Roa pulled Kanata along by the hand and swallowed hard.

"It's fine... it's gonna be fine, Kanata."

"Eh? Y-yeah."

"It's fine, it's fine... I'll make sure, I'll make sure...!"

Roa, muttering it to herself over and over, like she was trying to make it true by saying it enough times.

Her grip on Kanata's hand grew tighter, her feet moved faster, and her eyes darted restlessly, searching for anything that might be worth money toward Kanata's quota.

A smell of burning mixed with rust made it hard to breathe and the smoke pouring off the burning houses seemed to mock even Roa's desperate effort.

"R-Roa... your quota's already done, isn't it? Then hurry up and go back... I'll look for my own stuff!"

"No way! I can't leave you on your own! If we go back, we go back together!"

"But—"

In that instant—their vision shook and a deafening roar tore through their ears.

It was fire-attribute magic. Unluckily, the spell had landed close to Kanata and Roa.

Both of them were thrown off their feet and Kanata tumbled across the ground, the taste of dirt on his tongue.

The hand that had been linked with Roa's had come apart somewhere along the way and Kanata scrambled up and wiped his mud-covered face with his sleeve.

A high, ringing whine echoed in his ears, discomfort written across his face but he forced himself to look around.

Fortunately, the spell hadn't struck them directly.

"Ah... ngh...! Ptoo! Ptoo, ptoo! Roa! Roa!"

"K-Kanata! Kanata! Are you okay?! Kanata! Answer me!!"

Both of them were unharmed. But their ears were ringing from the blast and the fierce shouting carrying from somewhere far off was swallowing up their voices.

The smoke was choking their sight too and neither of them could tell where the other one was.

Even as the two of them searched for each other, the battle kept grinding on around them.

"Roa!"

"Kanata... Kanataaa...! Where are you...!"

Of the two of them searching for each other, it was Kanata who spotted her first.

Kanata found her with her back against a broken house's wall, her voice on the edge of tears as she called his name.

At the same time—

"...!?"

A spell came flying into view.

Unlike the earlier spell that had only landed nearby, this one was clearly on a direct course for Roa.

No, more precisely, maybe it was aimed at the rubble of the house Roa was leaning against?

Either way, there was no doubt Roa would be caught in it.

(What do I do?! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!)

For one instant, Kanata's feet froze in place.

There was no way for Kanata to know it yet but both the spell that had landed nearby earlier and the one now bearing down on Roa were "Amplification Magic," spells cast using someone else's mana on top of your own.

It worked by kneading someone else's mana into the spell, keeping the effect the same while scaling everything up well past normal. Naturally, the destructive power grew right along with that scale.

The sheer size of the spell terrified Kanata and that instinct was what froze his feet in place.

— If he did nothing, just like this, he'd be safe.

It felt like that temptation had whispered itself right into Kanata's ear.

Nothing was more precious than his own life after all.

A powerless child could only stand there and watch after all.

"Ah..."

That's right — just like when his mother died.

"No!!"

No power? He HAD power!

Kanata shook off the noisy, tangled instinct to cling to his own life and shouted.

"「Select」!!"

He used the word as a key, forcing along a control over mana he still had no confidence handling on his own.

The spell's name surfaced in his mind and Kanata felt the mana welling up inside him.

Copying what he'd seen the magic swordsman mercenaries of the Karejasu Mercenary Company do, he spread the mana through his whole body.

"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"

Half sobbing already, Kanata took off running, reckless and headlong.

Kicking away every scrap of clever reasoning, along with the safety he could have had by turning around and escaping, he charged straight for Roa, straight towards the spell now bearing down on both of them.

This wasn't some cool hero's brilliant rescue scene. It was just impulse.

Even Kanata himself had no idea where this impulse was coming from—!

"Roaaaa!! Hold ooon!!"

"K-Kanata!? Kana—huh?"

Roa, who'd been looking down, lifted her face at the sound of his voice.

At the same moment, she noticed the massive flame bearing down on her too.

Like a raging current that swallows lives whole. Or maybe like a mouth that devours them.

To Roa, who is unable to use mana, it was an inescapable death that froze her whole body stiff.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"

A hunger he'd never shown for anything except the Rubbish was what tore the scream out of Kanata.

Triggered by the power he'd gained just recently without even understanding it... Kanata's selfishness exploded, which is finally age-appropriate for once. The sight of Roa frozen in place drove even more strength into his running legs.

"Guh... haaaaaaah!!"

"K-Kanata...!"

The scorching flame tore through the spot where Roa had just been standing. The rubble was swallowed up, obliterated by pure force before it even had the chance to burn.

Not so much an explosion as compared to the previous one, this time it was a whirling vortex of fire. Feeling the heat of a death that had come far too close licking at his back, Kanata fled the spot with Roa still swept up in his arms from the momentum of the tackle.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way he'd have made it in time and it should have been impossible for him to carry Roa.

It was a hair's-breadth escape and only because he'd used mana at all... and as if refusing to let go of that certainty, Kanata clenched his fist tighter.

"Ka-Kanata... thank you, but... this was mana, wasn't it... why can you use it...?"

"Ah."

Maybe it was the relief of having escaped death that let her ask something so perfectly reasonable but Roa threw the question straight at Kanata.

Kanata was still only ten, his body nowhere near fully grown. Carrying Roa, who was older than him, should have been difficult under normal circumstances. Dodging a spell while doing it should have been even harder.

Roa had watched the mercenaries enough to know exactly what mana could do. Of course she'd put it together.

Kanata's relief at having saved her lasted only a moment before he pictured Griare scolding him all over again and his face went pale.

"Guess I'm just not cut out for keepin' secrets, huh..."