Director Jeru is like a mother to me. She took me in when my village was attacked by monsters and I was left with nowhere to go.
It’s no exaggeration to say she’s the person I trust the most.
That’s why I want to show her a lot of nice places on this quest.
I’m more worked up than usual, as I lead the others.
After walking through the forest for a bit, we encounter our first monsters. Two cyclopes, the monsters we’re here to hunt.
The moment they see us, they howl and attack, but I calmly hold up my staff, and cast the high rank magic Ice Spear.
A giant spear of ice pierces one, spreading ice from the wound to its whole body and freezing it.
The other one meets the same fate. They go down in so few seconds that I can count them on one hand.
“That’s our sensei. Skillfully done!”
“Master’s so cool!”
The others clap, genuinely impressed by my efforts.
“You’ve grown, Loyd. I didn’t think you were able to cast chantless magic. I’m very surprised.”
“It looks like I’ve met your expectations.”
“Thinking back, you spent seven years training Water Ball… The others fudged the numbers, but you continued training honestly.”
She says with a tone like she’s remembering what happened back then.
Hearing my efforts recognized like this brings a smile to my face.
“Master Loyd looks really happy!”
“Of course he does, Lela. Miss Jeru is like a mother to him. How could he not!?”
They say, and director Jeru hides her mouth with her hand as she giggles.
“Loyd, keep practicing your Water Ball.”
“Yes! I will!”
“Good answer. A hundred thousand starting tomorrow.”
“Geh!? A hundred thousand!?”
“You should be able to do it with your magic energy.”
“No no, that’s not the issue. That would take me the whole day!”
“Training is never complete.”
She says like it’s some great wisdom, but it’s not.
The problem is of course, with those crazy numbers.
Leaving that aside, I’ve taken down the quota of cyclopes, so we just have to head back.
But it’s too soon to leave, so I propose we go clean up monsters in the wind temple.
“Yes! I agree!”
“I want to fight monsters too!”
The hot-blooded young people are on board.
“Are you okay with it too, Sephilia?”
“I don’t mind. I want to show off to Miss Jeru.”
She says with a gentle smile. Looks like she’s also raring to go, so we head to the wind temple that’s nearby.
The wind temple. Two tall towers next to each other, with spiral staircases within them that lead to the top.
We go in, and start going up right away.
As we go up, we encounter spider monsters.
I’m about to take them out with magic like before, but the other three jump forward before I can.
“Cyclone!
“Double Slash!”
“Daikon Slash.”
What was that last move? There’s definitely a word that doesn’t fit.
Sephilia isn’t using her holy sword, she’s holding a daikon for some reason, that’s she’s swinging around like a sword to bisect monsters.
“Hum, Sephilia? Your holy sword?”
“I forgot it in the mansion, so I bought a daikon at the market to use as a sword.”
Yes, that’s how she was at the start. Things have gotten serious lately, so I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve seen her air-head side.
Meanwhile, one monster sneaks up behind director Jeru, but Sephilia immediately gets behind her and shreds the monster with the speed of the wind.
“But don’t worry, I won’t let a finger of a person you care for be harmed.”
She says in a cool manner.
This would look really cool if she wasn’t wielding a daikon.
They keep taking the monsters out without issue, and we reach the top.
It’s a very fun day, because I get to show director Jeru plenty of nice spots.
I spend the rest of the week taking it easy with her. Going to a hot spring, fishing with Noir, and I get to introduce her to the people I met so far.
She looks very happy, and praises me every time I take her somewhere new.
Come to think of it, it’s because director Jeru did a good job as a parent that I got to come to Minerva.
It’s not like she taught me a lot of magic. Pretty much all she taught me properly was Water Ball.
But it was because she taught me all of the other important things that I got to learn new magic on my own. That’s why I don’t really see her as a magic master.
Instead, she made sure I learned etiquette. Thank you for the food. Thank you very much, I’m sorry.
These things were drilled into my brain by her.
They weren’t things for me to become the strongest mage, who uses magic no one else can, but things that you expect from an adult.
During the final day, after director Jeru’s sightseeing in Minerva is over, she says goodbye to us in front of the wagon that will take her home.
“Mars, Lela, this was a very fun week. Please continue to be friends with Loyd.”
“Leave it to us!”
“We’re friends forever!”
Mars and Lela are crying as they hold her hands, not wanting her to leave.
Everyone here is sad to see her leave Minerva.
“Loyd, if you face any problems from now on, don’t mull on them alone, talk to them.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I say, and she nods with a satisfied expression.
Then she approaches me, and gives me a big hug.
She’s smaller than me, so it looks like a kid is hugging me, but let’s not mind that.
I put my arms around her, and gently hug her.
When she first hugged me, we were about the same height, but before I knew it, I was taller.
But the affection between us hasn’t changed. She’s without a doubt a mother to me.
And then, she leaves by herself as we say goodbye.
After director Jeru is gone, I talk to Mars and Lela about some memories, and I see Mars holding a book I don’t recognize.
“Mars, what’s that book?”
“Ah, this? It’s a swordsmanship book I got from Miss Jeru.”
“Eh, that’s nice. It’s really rare for her to give something.”
She has a very laissez-faire attitude to swordsmanship and magic, so she usually doesn’t go into specifics when teaching. It’s very rare for her to do something like offer a book directly.
“What does it say?”
“I haven’t read it yet, so I don’t really know. But judging by the cover, it looks like a regular book that teaches sword techniques. I’ll read it today.”
“Tell me what you thought about it tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
Mars says with a smile.
And the next day, Mars’ sword skills are improved to the point where he can beat Sephilia instantly.
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