Theo and Helvi decided to take a small carriage to the capital, so they went back to the stable they previously went to so they could rent a horse and the carriage itself.
They were traveling light without much luggage, and wearing their usual clothes, even though they would be away for more than a month.
Obviously this was because Helvi sent their luggage to the sky again. Although their things could not be seen from the ground, they safely hovered above the clouds.
Because their luggage would not be accompanying them, they could get a carriage where they would be sitting side-by-side, and only required one horse.
Both had been arranged, and the horse that would be taking them to the capital was the black horse they rode on previously.
“It’s been a while. I’ll be counting on you again.”
The horse had started listening a little more to its owner, but was still quite defiant. Of course, when Theo was dealing with it, the horse was quiet and obedient, with no trace of its normal attitude.
“I’m counting on you to pull our carriage today.”
The black horse responded with a low growl, and the employee laughed as he said it might as well be Theo’s exclusive horse.
In reality, they had no choice but to take the black horse, as all the others were scared by Helvi’s presence, but the employee was unaware of this.
Since they had money, they could get a relatively expensive carriage, and comfortably sit side by side.
It could easily fit another person, although they would be going by themselves.
Despite the available space, Theo and Helvi sat shoulder to shoulder, with Theo’s right hand and Helvi’s left hand intertwined.
“Well, then. Let us make this a fun trip.”
“Yes! I can’t wait!”
And so they passed through Nemophila’s gate, and started they journey towards the capital
They chatted as they advanced, and around an hour later, Helvi saw something on their path.
Theo noticed her looking directly ahead.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hn, nothing. It is only monsters on the road. If we keep moving forward they will be a nuisance.”
“Ah, I see. Should we go around them?”
“There is no need. If we keep going I… No…”
Helvi could shoot magic and easily erase the monsters blocking their path.
However…
“Theo, do you want to try using magic?”
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“Defeat the monsters up ahead with magic.”
“Eh!?” M-me!?”
“Yes. Those monsters are among the weakest, so they will be blown away by even a simple spell depending on where it hits them. Even if they remain there, I can simply dispose of them, so give it a try.”
“U-understood. Uwah, I’m so nervous…!”
Theo’s body became visibly stiffer, and he held Helvi’s hand a little tighter.
Helvi noticed this, and talked to him like a mother watching over her child.
“Do not worry about failing.”
“Y-yes…!”
A few minutes later, Theo finally saw the two humanoid monsters sitting right in the middle of the path.
“I-I see them! N-now the magic…!”
The moment Theo saw them in the distance, he stretched his left arm and got ready to fire his magic.
“Wait wait. They are still too far away for you to aim properly. Wait until we get closer.”
Only a sorcerer on the level of Celia would defeat a monster standing several hundreds of meters away with one shot.
Theo’s magic had only awakened recently, so he would need to wait until they were about ten meters away.
He lowered his arm, and nervously grabbed the black horse’s reins.
“A-are you alright? We’re going to get a little closer, but don’t be afraid…! It’s alright…!”
Theo was the one that was most scared and nervous, but he tried to reassure the black horse pulling the carriage.
In reality, the horse was not the least bit scared, as the monsters were so weak it could easily kick them around.
Still, Theo was worried about the horse.
(You are not going to succeed in calming the horse when you yourself are so scared… Fufu, so cute.)
Normally, the horse would sense Theo’s fear, and could also become unsettled.
Nothing of the sort happened because it was the black horse, but it could have been dangerous.
Helvi thought the fact that Theo was too scared and nervous to realize this was nothing more than cute.
When they got close enough for Theo to use his magic, Helvi stopped the horse.
The monsters appeared to have noticed them, and started moving.
“Eek! C-can I fire!?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
There was no need to grab the reins, and Theo rushed to stretch both his arms.
His arms were shaking, but Helvi propped them up.
“Go Theo.”
“Y-yes!”
Theo concentrated his magic energy in his hands just like he was taught, and fired a ball of flames about the size of a person’s towards the monsters.
It hit one of them and exploded, but since it hit its arm, all it did was blow it away.
“One more time Theo.”
“Yes! Gooo!”
Theo fired another fireball, which hit the one armed monster in the head, killing it with an explosion.
However, since Theo had just recently started using magic, he could not fire against the other one.
“Ahh… Ahh… I can’t…!”
“Yes, that is enough. Well done Theo.”
Said Helvi with a kind voice, as Theo looked up at her,
Helvi then activated her magic while patting his head.
Theo took his eyes off the monster for just a second, but the next time he looked he saw its head separated from the rest of its body.
“T-thank you… I can only fire two…”
After using magic only twice, Theo was out of breath due to exhaustion and nervousness.
“That is only natural, you are just starting after all. Do not concern yourself with this, you will continue to get stronger.”
“Thank you… But still, I defeated a monster with magic for the first time…!”
“Yes, that is good. Was it a good experience?”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Said Theo with a very happy expression as he looked up at Helvi.
For most people, this would be a very small step, but for Theo it was the first step on the road to becoming strong.
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There are no plans for that.