TL: Yuki

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As we come closer to the city of Raum, its dignity was shown before our eyes.

I have visited before, and one of the city"s most notable structures is the spire of the Magic Academy which was far larger if compared to a large castle.

Is it just me, or is the tower much higher than before?

「Nicole-chan, Nicole-chan! Look, it"s a really tall tower!」

「Ye, yeah, I see it. Please don"t move too much. You"re making the carriage sway more han it should……Ugh」

「Ah, I"m sorry? Nicole-chan, are you feeling seek 『Again』? 」

「Implying again is just overstating it」

I"ve only been sleeping and eating since the time I received my injury, but it"s not really that relaxing as could it could be imagined since I"m receiving the vibrations directly from the floor as the carriage moves.

For someone like me who is physically weak, and have no resistance to motion sickness because of my weak vestibular system, it was mostly suffering that I received instead.

「Umm, are you still not feeling well, Nicole-sama? 」

「Hmm, I feel a bit better now. Thank you Finia」

Now that there is more s.p.a.ce in the carriage since most of the baggage was already cleared out, a small hammock created using blankets where I am currently resting.

This cut off most of the vibrations and made the trip more comfortable, the demerit is that it swings around for a while when big vibrations were deliver in the carriage.

There were also times when I decided to get off the carriage and join the adventurers walking for a change of pace.

It stings my right hand a bit because of the motion but it was way much better than suffering nausea when I"m riding the carriage.

「Nicole-sama, if you are like that…… you won"t be able rest properly」

「If I keep sleeping all the time, I will lose my hard earned muscles. Won"t Finia be more anxious of me instead if I become too weak and would affect your training? 」

「But that is……」

During this trip, Finya was also trained in sword fighting by the adventurer Leon.

It would have been much better if she learned from Lyell, but it was too late since we already left the village.

But still, she was studying the way of the sword so enthusiastically and was slowly but surely improving as the training goes.

I even thought that she might actually possess a gift for it.

Well, since I who is her master is walking outside, she just couldn"t let herself stay inside the carriage and would join me instead. And even if she is tired from training, she would still continue taking care of me.

Also, because my balance is currently bad because I could only use one hand, there were times when I feel like I would stumble or fall.

「Sorry about this?」

「Don"t worry it"s part of my work. Besides, it was originally my――」

「I won"t accept that. You don"t really have to blame everything on to yourself, you know Finia? 」

「What is really fine?」

She became a person who would always want to carry all the blame to herself because of her past experience.

The correction of this character of her is something that I would like to fix during this trip.

When I changed my view to look over the town, I realized that there was a woman standing by the gates.

Usually, it was gate keepers that would receive visitors, but from the distance I could see the gatekeepers and it seems like it was her who instructed them to stay back.

「That is? 」

「What happened? 」

「Over there…… Maybe, that person is――」

By the way, in the moment that I noticed her, it seems like they have also noticed us.

And then, before we noticed it, a bob-cut woman with bug golden cat ears on her head dashed towards us at with tremendous speed.

Taking advantage of the physical ability of a beastman, she was dashing full of energy heading towards us and was leaving clouds of dust behind her.

Seeing that, Leon and the others were on alert, but she easily slipped behind then them before they could even prepare.

Due to the surprise of a human suddenly appearing before it, the horse of the carriage was surprised.

Noticing it, she immediately activated magic.

「Vermillion one, Ultramarine two, Jade one. Tranquility」

Normally, you would need to prepare a lot of things before activating magic and there were only few who could quckly activate it like Maria.

This means that before she arrived, she has already read through the reaction of the adventurers along with the surprise of the horse.

The Cat eared girl…… No, the beautiful girl opened her arms wide and hugged me.

「Welcome! You are Nicole, right? Just like what I"ve heard, you really look like a doll and is really cute」

In battle, she is not hesitating to make cold decisions, on peacetime she is usually indifferent to people.

A former friend of mine…… That is Cortina, A warlord that with only her own plunging into a large army would create thousands of victims.

But it"s the first time for me to meet her in this body. I have to make sure that she doesn"t notice that I know her as much as possible.

I have heard from Maria about her before, but the difference from that and what I know is very different.

「 You are Cortinsan? 」

「That"s right. You sure know your stuff?　Did hear about us from Maria? I don"t think Lyell would be someone who even mention about us」

「Yup」

「Eh, Cortinsama!? One of the 6 Heroes? 」

Hearing my words, Mich.e.l.le raised an astonished cry.

Well, it would only be natural that she or Maxwell would pick me up, after all it was the daughter of Lyell and Maria that came to visit.

The adventurers and Mich.e.l.le-chan"s parents were also shocked from the sudden event of meeting one of the legendary Heroes.

Even so, it"s really hard to pretend in front of Cortina and her sharpness, and I need to be careful not to blurt out things that I haven"t heard from my parents.

But well, the softness of this hug squeezing my cheeks also isn"t that bad.

There was also a time that I actually confessed to her. And yes, I was utterly rejected.

At that time, Lyell and Maria was about to get married and I was desperate…… that is now a part of my Dark History. And that secret is what I would definitely defend no matter what.

「Hmm, that right hand, were you injured? Were you caught up in a battle with monsters along the way?」

「Ah, hai. Vultures」

She then aimed her looks at the adventurers after hearing my words.

It was certainly because of their carelessness that the people they escorted have to engage in battle, but because it was also a close call for them, all I could do is pity them instead of blaming them.

For now I"ll take over the mistakes of those adventurers who were literally shivering from fear from being glared at by a Hero.

「Actually, it was because they were dealing with chimera blobs that were waiting to ambush us. So it"s not Leon"s fault」

「Is that so? Well if you say so then I won"t pursue it……」

Cortina then glances at Finia as if to confirm what happened after only receiving a small nod from her.

My words alone couldn"t show that much legitimacy of what happened, that"s why she turned to Finia who is acting as my guardian to very what happened.

Then after affirming everything about the situation, it was decided to put a stop on the things mentioned.

「Well, I guess it couldn"t be helped. Orange Two, Ultramarine One, Gold One, Cover it healing wind. Recovery」

Cortina may have high physical ability, but she is not well versed in direct combat.

Even in terms of Magic Ability, she doesn"t reach the spot of Maxwell or even reach Maria"s level.

If I were to describe her skills, it would be broad and shallow. Even if she has high dexterity in using her skills, it would still be incomparable to the people focused skills. But well, her true ability is not in because of her broad skills.

After a while, the pain in my right hand slowly diminished as I watch Cortina"s healing magic activating.

「That should be okay now? If it"s only on that level then it wouldn"t be something that I can"t deal with」

「Thank you」

「Oh, you can properly say your thanks. Good girl, good girl」

「That is a matter of course……」

「Well, you see, there are many children here who is feeling too proud of themselves, you see? And because of that, the first job of teachers it break their swelling pride and putting them in place 」

Now that I think about it, she was also a teacher in the academy.

Because there are a lot of n.o.ble children who were deemed to be geniuses by their houses to receive education, they are probably having a hard time.

Even adding to that is Cortina"s vague set of skills that is not really that prominent if one only witnesses a side of it.