"Stop it! Rena!"

Sion"s voice telling her to stop didn"t make it in time.
The fired ma.s.s of magical power is flying straight here.
… No. It"s aimed at Freed.
As I understood that, pus.h.i.+ng Freed aside I immediately got in front of him and held out my hand towards the ma.s.s.

"Lidi!"

I heard Freed"s voice, but I ignored it. The moment I touched the ma.s.s, I loudly shouted.

"Disappear!"

The moment I did, the ma.s.s of magical power instantly vanished. Then all traces of it disappeared too.

"Fuu…"

I"m glad. Nothing happened.
Even if I can repel it, such things are too dangerous.
No matter how few people are here in the outskirts, we"re still inside the town, so there"s no way to know how much damage may occur. It"s best that I erase it.

"… Princess, you really show no hesitation when the Crown Prince is involved… I guess there was no time or opportunity for me to act"

Ugh, I became lost for words hearing Cain"s amazed voice from behind.
B, but, there was no damage in the end, so isn"t it fine. All is well that ends well, besides with this flow of events Sion is likely to remain an ally.

… I can"t see them, but the eyes looking at me are painful still. Feeling awkward, I somehow forced a smile.
… Yes, I am sorry.
Above reasons were a complete postscript. I simply hated Freed being attacked. There was nothing else.

"Haa…"

I heard Freed let out a breath of relief.
I tried looking back, but he strongly pulled me towards himself and tightly hugged me from behind.

"I"m glad you"re safe. Jeez… I beg you, don"t do something so dangerous by yourself"
"Ugh… I am sorry"

He put strength into his arms.

"I"m happy you did your best for my sake, however only being saved by Lidi feels a little uncool. Let me show off once in a while too"

Hearing the line said with a bitter laugh, I shook my head.

"Not at all? Freed is a prince who always saves me. You"re cool enough"

I said what I honestly thought, but at my line the two people became speechless for a moment.

"… Lidi"
"Princess… It"s scary how unaware you are…"
"Nn?"

Huh? Have I said anything strange.
To gloss over the strange atmosphere that appeared, I forcibly changed the subject.

"… E, err, ah! But, Cain, you aren"t surprised"
"Nn?"

The matter of neutralization magic. I shouldn"t have informed Cain.
And yet he"s composed.
When I asked a question about what I found strange, he returned an answer like it was natural.

"I"ve heard from granny. She said it"s time to lift the information ban already"
"Ah, I see"

Certainly, there"s no meaning in keeping it silent from Cain if Freed knows.
When I looked up front satisfied with that, the girl who fired magic was looking here with eyes wide open and her body stiffened.
Unconsciously, she was pulling the hem of Sion"s clothes.

"… Lord Sion… What, what was that now…? Same, as Lord Sion?"

While stroking the hair of the girl who spoke in a dumbfounded voice, with a "No" Sion calmly shook his head.
Then, in a warning tone he chided the girl.

"Rena. I understand well you cannot trust higher-ups, however if you"re saying you want to stay with me, please abide by my words and actions… You acted horribly just now. If you had properly listened to our talk, you"d understand this isn"t an unfair contract, right? You messed it up… It won"t be forgiven twice, okay?"
"ah! … I am sorry, Lord Sion… I won"t do it again"

As the girl"s body trembled with a start and she apologized in a voice that seemed like it"d vanish, Sion faintly smiled and turned here.
He bowed his head deeply.

"Excuse my companion"s discourtesy. I believe you have an idea, but this child is a former slave… She went through an awfully painful experience in Tarim. I won"t ask you to excuse her with that, but could you forgive her just this time?"
"… Don"t you have questions regarding Lidi?"

Deliberately not returning an answer, Freed asked him so.
Aah, I thought at that question.
Come to think of it. There"s no problem with Cain since his doubt was cleared up, but despite being shown neutralization magic, Senpai"s response was extremely ordinary.
But, no matter how I look at it, it"s strange. After all, neutralization magic seems to be extremely rare. That Rena girl"s response is correct.
It"s simple, Sion explained the reason to Freed seeing his natural doubt.

"As a matter of fact, I happened to see that magic once. Hasn"t your fiancée noticed me too? At the time you were attacked when you came for an inspection. Of course, I was unrelated to it, but I was close too"
"… Lidi? Really?"

Freed looked at me to confirm Sion"s words.
I nodded at that. I remember seeing Senpai after using neutralization magic.
I suspected my eyes of deceiving me though.

"… It was at a distance, however I think it certainly was Sion"
"I see…"

Hearing our conversation, Sion continued talking.

"Are you convinced? I wasn"t surprised because I"d already known about it. However, I truly apologize for my companion. I couldn"t complain even if she were sentenced to capital punishment for firing magic at royalty… However, as an apology for her impoliteness, I will tell you one of my secrets. I understand it"s an impudent request, but could we settle it like that this time?"
"Secret?"
"Yeah. It"s fine if you judge after seeing it. If it turns out insufficient, please tell me… Rena"
"ah! Yes. Lord Sion"

Called out in a quiet voice, the girl sprang up.
Senpai ordered such a girl.

"Fire the earlier magic at me… Lidi, I"m sorry to trouble you, but could you once again erase the magic? I think the magic will go your way"
"Err? I need to erase it? That"s not a problem…"

When I accepted without understanding what he"s getting at, this time Sion turned to Freed.

"Your Highness Friedrich too. I believe it won"t be a problem, but the attack will go your way, so just in case please take care… You don"t mind, right?"
"… I understand"

I have no idea what Senpai"s about to do.
Still, while I was tilting my head inside Freed"s arms as he increased his guard, the girl troubledly alternated her gaze between my and Senpai"s faces.

"But… Lord Sion… That is…"
"You are aware of my power, right. Don"t worry and do it"
"Yes… Then, I"m going"

Perhaps feeling like she couldn"t oppose the repeated order, hanging her head the girl took a little distance from Senpai.
Then once again she fired the ma.s.s of magical power, this time towards Senpai.
As it vigorously came towards him, Senpai held out his hand completely unperturbed.
Without turning his face to us, he said.

"Please take a good look. It"s different from your neutralization magic, but I believe it to be quite rare too"
"ah!"

I couldn"t believe what I saw.
The moment the flying ma.s.s of magical power touched Senpai, it changed its bearing as if repelled.
With increased momentum it flew at me.
In a fl.u.s.ter I invoked neutralization magic and erased it.

"U… wa. It surprised me"

Once again, so he meant this, huh.
Not having expected this at all, I put a hand over my heart.
My heart is still pounding from the surprise of seeing this phenomenon for the first time.

"… Lidi, are you alright?"
"Y, yup. I"m fine… but that just now"

Freed worriedly peered into my face from behind. I was still in his embrace, he must"ve wanted to protect me when push comes to shove.
However, really, what was that just now.
There"s no problem with magical power flying at me. I was warned to erase it, so I was prepared, and it"s easy to invoke neutralize magic itself.
The problem is not that, but the phenomenon Sion caused.
It didn"t look like he activated a magic formation, and I"ve never heard of one like that.
Looking to the side, with his mouth open Cain solidified, overwhelmed by surprise.
Freed stared at Senpai and groaned, impressed.

"… After neutralization magic is reflection magic, huh… What a splendid gathering of legendary magic"
"Reflection magic?"

When I tilted my head at the name I"d heard for the first time, Freed gave an easy-to-understand explanation.

"It"s magic that completely reflects the opponent"s magical power. Magical power is repulsed in any desired direction. Moreover, the rebounded magic seems to have double the power. Along with Lidi"s neutralization magic it"s one of very rare magic"

Cain, who came to, clapped his hands as if to say he recalled it.

"Aah, reflection magic. Come to think, there was such a name. I"ve also heard of it"
"… Is that so"

Uwaa, I thought deep down while shortly replying to the both of them.
Could this be that.
Senpai has a similar cheat to me.
If my reincarnation bonus is neutralization magic, then Senpai"s transport bonus is reflection magic. I wonder if that"s how it is.
I wonder if our existence itself is special to have something so strange.
While I was wryly smiling, Senpai urged.

"I meant to show a considerable ace up my sleeve. How about it? Can this magic be compensation for her rudeness? Of course, because I am indebted to you, there is no problem if you freely use it. Please think of it as the lodging fee"

After looking like he thought for a while, Freed nodded once.

"… We didn"t get hurt, and I don"t want to lose an excellent person. Very well. As you say, let"s strike a bargain. However, this is the only time. There won"t be next"
"Of course. Thank you. I am grateful for your forgiveness from the bottom of my heart"

As Senpai breathed with relief, the girl frantically apologized.

"I am sorry, I am sorry, Lord Sion. Because of me, Lord Sion again had to do something unnecessary… I am truly sorry"
"It"s fine, Rena. However, as I said before, there really won"t be the second time. They are different from Tarim people. Please cast away any strange prejudice. And please, don"t be rude towards royalty"
"Yes…"

Senpai looked with gentle eyes at the girl who hung her head and even tail. Looking at him defending her like this, they must"ve been very close in Tarim. He treats her like a little sister, I feel his gentleness just by looking. Senpai looked at me and said.

"My and her magic are completely different. I double and reflect all magical power, she neutralizes magical power and erases it. But, there"s no difference in that both are very rare. Rena, her situation is the same as mine. Could you not tell it to anyone?"
"Yes. If Lord Sion says so, I won"t tell it to anyone"

Having her promise to keep it a secret, Sion faced us.

"Now then, the conversation has considerably deviated, but may I believe we"ve come to an agreement?"

Asked so, Freed parted from me and took a step forward. He held out his right hand.

"… Yeah, very well. Welcome to Wilhelm. I welcome both of you… I hope we"ll have a long relations.h.i.+p from now on"

Sion too nodded with satisfaction.
He walked up to Fred and grasped the held-out hand.

"Likewise, I hope we will. Let me do it properly, I am Sion. This child is Rena. Since Tarim I"ve been using this name Éventail for about a year, but my real name is Sion Nanaohgi. Use it from now on, and please treat me well"

I blinked my names at the name he said.

"Nanaoogi s.h.i.+on"
His real name. I felt nostalgic hearing it after the long time.
Having finished pleasantries with Freed, he turned his eyes to me behind Freed.

"… You too. Please treat me well from now on… Lidi"
"Yeah… Best regards"

Narrowing his eyes, Senpai smiled. From the smile he showed, I got a strong impression that he was very happy.