I was now staring at what used to be a land flourishing with greenery and plantations. The beautiful scenery of the trees and greenery that would make one appreciate nature was now nothing more than a dried-up field with trees scattered all over the place.
(H-how am I going to explain this)
I thought, feeling melancholy, I sighed a bit sombrely when thinking about the trouble we might have caused.
"Nn, why do you look so gloomy?"
She said, pouting her lips cutely while staring at me, 'At least praise me for my brilliant performance' is what her gaze implicitly says. However, I chose to ignore her gaze. I have more pressing matters to worry about. Tracy's breathing was still abnormal my healing didn't seem to be as effective as I wanted it to be.
"What should I do now?"
I uttered hopelessly. I was able to stop the bleeding to a certain extent, but it seems some kind of venom must have gone into his bloodstream from the black wolf bite. 'Aroma bell' wasn't able to heal poison and other internal effects. I don't know of any spells that would help in this kind of situation, and even if I did, my healing abilities are too poor to fully get rid of his conditions.
A shadow fell over my face with that realisation. Alya stared at Tracy's face and went 'Hmm' while crossing her arms.
(Why is she so calm?)
I thought, glaring at her. She then went into a crouch posture and gently placed her right hand on Tracy's chest. At that moment, her hand glowed faintly with a green light; the light also travelled to Tracy's body and glowed faintly. My eyes widen seeing that.
(She didn't use any incantation; how did she do that?)
"You don't have to let your clear surprise show on your face. If it's this much, then it's easy, you know."
She said calmly, though there was a smug look present on her face.
"So, is it possible to cast spells without using chant?"
I ask eagerly. It would be effective to be able to use magic without the need for incantations. If you were asking why the reason would be simple. It took a lot of time to say the incantation for certain spells, which is why most magic users were at a disadvantage when fighting in close range.
Many spells take up too much time to be used at a proximity it's also difficult to move around while casting spells. So being able to use magic freely without the need for incantation would be really useful moving forward. Seeing the look on my face, Alya simply smiled wryly before speaking.
"Unfortunately, that is impossible after all the art I'm using is not magic, it's spirit arts."
She said bluntly, and my shoulders dropped when hearing that.
"Oh well, I guess I'll have to learn spirit arts at some point then."
I said with a wry smile.
"Well, we can start your spirit arts training at a later time."
Tracy's face finally regained its colour, and his breathing became stable. Seeing that I could finally sigh in relief. That was a close call. Imagining the trouble that would have happened because of this made me feel a bit gloomy.
"Umm... Haruto, out of curiosity, why didn't you use the emergency system placed on the watch you were given? If I remember correctly, that was in place there in case emergencies like this were to happen."
Alya said while gazing at me with an inquiring look.
(Eh... I completely forgot about that)
I broke into a cold sweat while averting my gaze awkwardly. There is no way I'm going to admit the truth.
"Oh, ah, well, you see... if I were to do that, then I'm sure the training would have been called off."
Alya narrowed her sharp gaze at me. However, when hearing my response, she sighed quietly as though disappointed.
"There's no need to lie to me. Whatever Haruto decides, I will obediently follow along, you know."
She said while smiling. For a moment, I thought my heart just jumped while looking at her smile, but I immediately regained my composure.
"Thank you."
I said with a faint smile, tugging on my lips. The two of us continued our conversation for roughly 20 minutes.
"Ugh, ah."
"Oh, so you're awake. Did you sleep well?"
I asked Tracy, who had just awakened.
"H-Haruto."
He said with a faint voice while slowly getting up into a sitting posture. Incidentally, Alya had returned to her spirit form and had become one with the wind, so he wouldn't be able to see her once he had regained consciousness.
"Father was right, I am useless."
He muttered under his breath; his words were faint, but I could hear them perfectly.
(Useless? What does that mean? Is he having father trouble?)
"If you don't mind me asking, what do you mean?"
I asked, tilting my head curiously.
"Well... since I was young, I was always told by my father that I don't have what It takes to be the head of our noble family, even if I was born as first son, I'm still too inadequate for the position. I'm sure he must want to make my younger brother the next head."
He muttered bitterly while clenching his fist.
"Even during the battle against the wolf, I got scared and became useless. I completely left you to deal with all the beasts while I was unconscious."
"I thought maybe… just maybe… I could get better once I attend this school, but in the end, nothing has changed; I'm still the same as I was before."
He said as tears started to fall from his eyes. Seeing him like that, I felt a bit troubled about what to say in this situation. He wasn't able to live up to his parents, huh, it seems we have similar pasts, though our circumstances are a bit different.
In my case, I had a loving family, my parents adored me even though I didn't have the talent as they did, they didn't disdain me, nor did they ever treat me poorly. But in his case, it's the opposite.
"….. Sigh, you know what I think were a lot alike, you know."
I said with a wry smile on my face. However, Tracy stared at me with a dumbfounded look while tilting his head.
"I also feel like I'm not living up to my family's expectations."
I said while getting up from the ground. I then gazed into the distance over the trees, viewing the sun, which was shining brilliantly in the open sky.
(Yes, I now know what I must do)
-Hmm... What are you planning?
Alya asked confusedly.
(Alya, I made my decision to leave this Kingdom right away)
I said as a faint smile was then formed on my lips.
-Eh, isn't that a bit sudden? Are you sure you'd want to leave now? I mean, there is still a lot you should learn here, right?
Alya said, a bit flustered by my sudden decision. But I slowly shook my head before speaking.
(I want to know everything about this world, I think I've already learnt everything I need to know from this Kingdom besides... it's not like we won't ever return to this land again, right?)
I said, grinning faintly.
-Sigh, well, if that's your choice, then I guess I'll have to comply. Can you give me some time to get this ready?
(Hmm... what does that mean?)
-It's a secret, look forward to it.
She said as her presence suddenly disappeared from my side. What is she going to get ready? Well, thinking about it is useless at this point.
"…...Tracy!"
"Y-Yes."
"Don't let the words of your father get you down, okay, there is no being in this world that is perfect, everyone has their strong point and weak point. What you should do now is get better at your weak point."
I said before walking away.
"I won't allow myself to get involved in the affairs of others."
I muttered quietly.
Though it's disappointing we've already used up the remaining time we had left treating his injuries, it's time to head back.