CH 100

「I–I almost died…」

「I–I’m so sorry, Aery…」

Alfiris was considerably horrified when she noticed that Aerial had suddenly become unresponsive since then, and she finally revived her by shaking her, slapping her, and giving her cardiac massage. Almost, Alfiris nearly destroyed the peace on the prairie.

「I–I’m alright, Alfie… I just got a little glimpse of Father and Mother in Heaven…」

「That’s not alright! …Huh?」

Aerial’s words make Alfiris nod her head.

「I thought Phalanx was your father…」

「No way. Do I look a magical beast to you.」

「Eh, then—」

「Phalanx is my foster father. Of course I have human parents, I’m human.」

「Where are your original parents?」

「Dead, at the hands of Phalanx.」

「!」

Alfiris was crestfallen. Then Aerial would be living with the avenger of her parents.

「I–I’m sorry… Am I asking too much of you?」

「No, you share everything with your friends, don’t you? It’s nothing to hide from you, Alfie.」

「Can you tell me about it?」

「If you don’t mind me telling you a boring story…」

Alfiris nodded and Aerial began to speak matter-of-factly.

＊＊＊

Apparently, Aerial’s parents were the strongest warriors in a certain tribe. The tribe has been hostile to the Flame Beast for generations, and every year there is a ceremony where the strongest warrior of the tribe challenges the Flame Beast. However, only a few returned from a ceremony that lasted nearly 100 years. They were those who were saved by the mercy of Phalanx.

But the tribe showed no mercy to those who returned. They were executed and made a ritual sacrifice as they had defiled the sacred rites. But an ordinary human could never defeat the Flame Beast alone. In other words, the strongest person in the tribe was automatically doomed to death.

Then a man and a woman fall in love in their tribe. Both man and women were excellent warriors and they had one child. Soon, however, the man was given the title of the tribe’s best warrior, and he went off to fight the Flame Beast and never returned.

As time passed and the daughter turned five years old, the mother was called upon to go to battle with the Flame Beast. The young daughter looked on proudly, but her mother knew that the basis of this ritual was distorted. If she turned to it, she would surely die, and her young daughter would be left alone. But it was easy to predict that if she returned safely, she would be sacrificed along with her daughter.

She also knew that the tribe wouldn’t be around much longer. The strongest warriors in the tribe were dying every year. The smart ones neglected their training, thinking only of prolonging their lives by making themselves look weak. The other tribes were also aware of the situation, and they were in a position to target their own tribe with an eagle eye. The only ones who were unaware of this were the elders, who were only concerned about tradition and appearance.

So she devised a plan. She knew that the mission would eventually come down to her, so she inculcated in her daughter a hatred for the Flame Beast and told her that if she didn’t return, she should go to avenge her before she was appointed by the tribe. Aerial, who was honest and strong tempered, remembered the story well. And her mother died in battle, leaving her daughter in the care of the Flame Beast during a battle with the Flame Beast.

Only three years later. The eight-year-old Aerial stood in front of the Flame Beast. Aerial relentlessly stalks the life of Phalanx, but there is no way that an eight-year-old girl can kill the most powerful creature on the Prairie, which the tribe hasn’t been able to control for a hundred years. Aerial continued to fall down and be rescued by Phalanx for almost a year. Then, she passed through the village of her former tribe. But what Aerial saw there was the wreckage of a village that had long since perished. As indicated by the burnt ruins and the bodies lying around, half a year had already passed. Aerial had lost even the place to return to.

Even so, Aerial didn’t stop aiming for Phalanx. Partly because Phalanx didn’t speak, but mainly because there was no longer anything left to do but finish off Phalanx. However, Aerial is saved by Phalanx when she is surrounded by Magical Beasts. Aerial took advantage of the opportunity to strike a blow at Phalanx, but Phalanx didn’t even retaliate.

Then, not surprisingly, Aerial had nothing better to do in life. She no longer wanted to turn her blade against Phalanx, and yet self-determination was the last thing the prairie people wanted to do. Finally, Aerial, having lost the will to live, begged Phalanx to kill her, but it was explained that she couldn’t do so according to the will of her parents. It was there that she first learned of her parents’ true intentions.

Since then, Aerial has been living with Phalanx. She calls him Father because apparently her real father wanted her to. She asked him if he would be willing to take her parent’s place if she ever came to take on Phalanx, since she could no longer return. Phalanx had no idea what it was like to be a father, but neither did Aerial, and so, strangely and somewhat awkwardly, they developed a trusting relationship.

And when she tell her that much, Alfiris is in tears.

「What’s wrong, Alfie?」

「Because… it’s sad… Aery has been through a lot.」

「You’re crying for me…」

Aerial felt something hot in her chest, and this time she unknowingly hugged Alfiris herself.

「I’ll be fine… Phalanx is a good father and now I have a friend in you, Alfie… I’m happy.」

「Really? I’m glad then, but… if you ever have a hard time, you can talk to me, okay?」

「Yeah, I’m sure I will.」

They smiled and laughed at each other. At this time, the words spun out of each other’s mouths naturally, but from the heart. However, it will be a long time before Aerial will truly understand the meaning of this term.

「But, I’m not your wife, Alife… No, but Alfiris would… No, what am I saying …」

「Eh, what did you say, Aery?」

「I–It’s, It’s nothing!」

It will be a long time before Aerial’s agonizing self-questioning is resolved.

＊＊＊

From then on, Lisa mainly trained with Phalanx, while the others mainly worked with Aerial (and sometimes with Phalanx) in grappling techniques. Aerial movements, trained daily by Phalanx, were tremendous and already greatly exceeded human capabilities. The analogy is a wild beast, and a good hunter who would be at the top of the food chain. Even Nia’s speed made it easy to catch her, Miranda’s monstrous strength was easily overcome, and Alfiris and Fenna’s skill was no match for her. Even with all this skill.

「I’m most comfortable fighting when I’m on something… but I don’t feel comfortable getting off.」

Aerial said, “I was in over my head!” In addition to that, she can also ride anything in a vehicle. She said she can ride a dragon, but she has no problem with a cuckodoo or a gigantosaurus. Phalanx himself said that this was a truly great talent from Aerial, and he was probably right.

But aside from its technology and characteristics, the power of wind magic seems to be unique to the prairie. Aerial stated that once out on the prairie, she wouldn’t be able to use wind magic as she did with the horsemen. She has never left the prairie, though, so this is a fairly confident guess.

Aerial is still unsatisfied with himself, but seeing her like this makes Alfiris and the others a little jealous, but also makes them feel that they must devote themselves even more to their work.

Aerial, on the other hand, is good at teaching basic skills as discussed by Phalanx and often discusses means of combat with Nia.

「Nia’s attack is fast and half-hearted, but monotonous.」

「I–Is that so?」

「Yes, it’s fast, but everything is easy to read and easy to reverse. I can do this without any problem, either in defense or counterattack. That’s why you can’t hit me with a single blow, even though your speed alone is far greater than mine. Has anyone ever pointed this out to you? You must have been in the military.」

「Ah, uhh… There was a guy who pointed it out to me, but I was too angry to listen to him. And it wasn’t specific… what was I supposed to do?」

「First of all, you are trying to hit every attack. An attack is just one hit that can bring down the enemy. The question is how to get that one shot in, the kind of feint…」

Nia nodded her head and listened to the story. After some talking, Nia would start practicing various kata against the wall. Sometimes she practiced kata with Miranda.

Also, when Alfiris trains with Aerial, it’s primarily for instruction in the use of weapons. Aerial’s weapons are primarily throwing, bow, and spear, so they practice their use and responses.

What Alfiris found when she trained with Aerial was that there was actually not much difference in terms of physical ability between them. Alfiris was stronger in terms of arm strength due to her physique, while Aerial had the advantage in terms of lightness.

What was the difference between the two——