The Banished Sage Who Escaped his Childhood Friend

Haru doesn’t know about it, but both of us had once been friends in our childhood.

But unlike Leticia who had spent her entire life with him, I had met him for a little while …

I spent a year together with him, when I was still a little fledgeling.

If you spend a year of childhood together with someone, you can call them a childhood friend, isn’t it?

Though what was unusual, was the fact that Leticia had completely forgotten about me, even though she had been with Haru at all times despite time and place.

But it’s not just her. I think even Haru has forgotten about me.

Or rather,

Between that time and now, everything about him has changed whether it be in appearance, voice or anything else.

“Alice is Haru’s childhood friend? But why do you keep that a secret …?”

“But first promise to me … you won’t tell about this to Haru. Or else, I won’t tell you anything about Haru’s childhood.”

Consider her feelings, that was quite the bargaining chip I weilded. But…

“Well, that is …”

Probably it would be difficult for her to keep it a secret from him?

I kind of admire her for having such a pure heart. She was a saint indeed.

“Ah, it’s okay. And I’m sorry but I can’t talk about Haru’s childhood. Haru was so cute when he was little … He He. Ah, but I can’t tell you about something like that … Oops, Anju won’t promise to keep it a secret, so I can’t tell you anything. “

“No, I promise! I’ll keep it a secret, so by all means tell me.”

Anju seems to be excited, and she seemed to have given up on her honestly. I knew it… He He. he bargaining chip I had could certainly do wonders.

“Promise?”

“Yes!”

“Then, first … well. I’ll talk about when little Hull had once wet his bed and refused to get out of the futon in order to hide it.”

“Wow, that’s wonderful!”

Such a thing …

I and Anju held Haru’s dug up Haru’s dark secrets of the past until late at night.

If Haru were to find out about this, he might get really angry.

Hehe.

――――――――――

Next morning.

Alice and I were having breakfast in the Autumn family along with Anju as the host.

“Is the breakfast to your liking?”

Anju asked.

“Yes, thank you …”

Alice replied before I could even say anything.

“But you already repayed us yesterday, right? There was no need for such an extravagant breakfast…”

“I had thought about it overnight, and I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough …”

“Without you guys, we would all have died there. The lady says she wants the opportunity to properly reward you.”

Nine also seemed to be supportive of Anju’s claim. But the question was what came after this?

“Haru-san and Alice-san, do want me to do something ? … or do you have anything you want? I can’t say that I can make any wish come true, but I want to help as much as possible in the name of the Autumn family.”

“Something I want … hmm?”

Even if you say, it’s kind of hard for me to figure out what I want right away.

“What about Alice?”

Anju turned her head to her but I was so lost in thought I didn’t realize what happened there.

“Something, especially for me …,” I muttered almost unconsciously as I was lost in a daze uncaring of the surroundings.

Probably the question itself to be answered provided much more value to me then it being fulfilled. I didn’t even knew what it was that I wanted.

“That right … it really doesn’t matter. Even if it’s unreasonable, just say it …”

“Um …”

Neither Anju as an individual nor the Autumn family can afford to give exhorbitent money even to a lifesaver.

Good intentions on their part and also the responsibility to save the face of the house.

It’s a problem that involves both, so I did’t want to simply turn it down. Neither did I want to ask anything absurd.

But, I can’t think up of a request important to me …

“… Oh, that’s right.”

“Is there anything?”

Anju ears perked up.

“If that’s the case, can you teach me some magic?”

“Magic …?”

“All I know are three basic magic spells.”

”"”three?”””

Anju, Nine … And for some reason, even Alice was shocked as their eyes threatened to pop out.

The way to learn magic is basically to have someone teach you.

There are other ways, but it’s a hassle, so I’ll omit the explanation for now. At least for me those were the only alternatives.

One usually asks their friends at the party to teach them, or pay someone to teach.

I got a reward yesterday, so the latter method is fine but…

But, if Anju and Nine teach me, various problems will be solved at once.

“That … Haru-san is a level 82 sage, isn’t he? How can it be that you can cast only three spells?”

“Welp … well, there are various reasons for that.”

I might have explained my unusual situation here, but I’m not talking them about Leticia.

If one doesn’t do it carefully, one can incite a lot of hate for himself if he goes around speaking bad about the hero.

“I would be grateful if Anju and Nine could teach me, so what about it?”

“Yes, I am okay with that … is Nine okay?”

“Of course, I will teach you the magic that you want to learn.”

The transaction was finally sealed and closed. It made me somewhat happy even if it wasn’t a proper one, it was my first.

However, Alice alone had a face that did not seem to be happy with how things turned around. Her face had turned grim as her lips persed.

“What’s wrong, Alice? Maybe Alice wants to ask for another request?”

“Oh yeah. That’s not the case …”

Alice looked serious and murmured to herself in a small voice.

“… What happens if you learn intermediate magic even though it is already this powerful beginner tier magic?”

――――――――――

After having breakfast, we went out of town to practice our magic and to fulfill my request.

The Adventurer’s Guild in Arland did have a training ground but…

For some reason, Alice decided to move out of the city, vehemently opposed to training their.

[“Training in the city is ridiculous!”] That’s what she cried.

But I don’t understand. Why did Alice disagree to it?

“Then, I will teach attack magic to the best of my abilities even though I am afraid that I am hardly qualified. And the young lady will teach recovery magic respectively.”

“Please take care of me.”

I may be able to learn new magic.

With that in mind, I was very excited to the point that I couldn’t hide my joy.

After all, the last time I learned magic was five years ago.

Moreover, there were only three beginner tier magic that I could learn before…

I really wanted to learn more magic …

[“What? You are doing something unnecessary again?”

She stepped on the book I was holding onto.

“What’s the chore boy thinking he is going to acoomplush, memorizing magic? A small fry like you wouldn’t able to learn anything. How about you learn to split wood instead and make yourself a bit more useful?”]

…… I was told that she never allowed me to even pick up a book. All of them were destroyed.

When I think back to it, she would have wanted me to remain weak to oppress me more.

But it’s different from now on.

Mastering all kinds of magic will only make me stronger!

And become a top-notch adventurer!

“Um … Haru? Don’t get too motivated, okay? If you get too motivated, it could turn out to be ridiculous.”

“What do you mean?”

Alice sighed.

“Well … leave it. For the time being, just take my words as an advice.”

What was Alice worried about?

Sometime she was beyond strange.

“Then, let’s start with attack magic. I will be the instructor, though I am bit afraid.”

I learned the composition of the intermediate fire magic “Flare Blast” from Nine.

Learning magic was like assembling a puzzle.

Convert the piece of magical power into the optimum shape and combine it with other things.

If you fail to mold the piece, stop there.

Even if you spend too much time, the generated pieces will collapse and end there.

Accurately knead the magical power and assemble it.

It’s a rather delicate task.

“… and it feels like that.”

“So that’s it”

“First of all, let’s practice. When it comes to intermediate magic, it will take about a month to learn. However, Haru-san is a level 82 wise man. Perhaps it can be learned two weeks or so…”

“Flare Blast”

”””!!!?”””

The magical power converged on the palm is released.

A huge swell of flames runs through the earth, climbs the hills … and explodes.

One small mountain has disappeared.

“Oh! Is this the power of intermediate fire magic! As expected, it’s intermediate. It’s a completely different league from beginner tier.”

”” “…” “

“In this case, I too could be a force in battle… Alice? And Anju and Nine … What’s wrong, everyone.”

Eveyone had that stupified face as I had got lost in my own celebration and mutterings.

“That’s why I had an unpleasant feeling … he uses beginner’s tier magic. What kind of disaster will he cause if it gets to an intermediate level …”

Alice held onto his head as she seemed to be hung up over something.

“You learned intermediate magic instantly …? No, no … you can’t. No matter how smart you are, it should have taken at least a week … doesn’t this easily break the world record?”

Nine was stunned and …

“Wow, that’s amazing …! Haru-san …”

Anju had his eyes shimering for some reason.

This may be …

“I … did it not work out? If the current power isn’t enough, I can probably practice some more?”

”” That’s not true !! “”

Alice and Nine screamed together.