Flame User 1-4

 1-4 Lets keep it light.

“I am Primavera, the seventh princess of the White Pearl Kingdom. Please call me Prim.”

“Princess, that's quite frank.”

“Enough already, introduce yourself Aishera!”

“Hmm… You seem to be quite the user, thank you. I am Aishera. I'm a holy knight of Lady Primavera.”

“…Hi, I’m Valflare. Just Flare is fine.”

Kingdom of the White Pearl.

Seventh Princess Primavera.

Holy Knight.

There are a lot of words I don't understand… What's the White Pearl Kingdom?

Kingdom. As I recall, it's a country ruled by a king, right? Princess. In other words, the king's child… The seventh princess. In other words, the seventh child.

What's a child like that doing in a forest like this?

"Hey you, what have you been doing in this Forest of Death?”

"Huh? The Forest of Death?”

“Don't be silly. This is a forest where a powerful magnetic field is constantly being generated, and it is said that once you enter, you will never be able to leave again. What is a lightly dressed young man like you doing in a place like this?”

“No, if you say that, what are two girls doing here too?”

“Shut up! As you can see, we've been duped!”

"…haha"

You can't tell by looking that they've been tricked.

There are ten men rolling around, and one of them has been burned. The rest are suffering under my spell.

Then, Prim said coyly.

“I hired an escort, but he was hired by my sister, and he took me to this forest and almost killed me.”

“Oh, really? You're going to be killed!? You!?”

"Don't be rude to the Princess!!"

“Shut up, Aishera! I'm not going to fight with you every time!”

“I’m sorry…”

“Well, I don't know, but I'm glad you're okay.”

This is going to be a pain in the ass...what should I do?

"Please wait!!"

"What?"

“Well, Mr. Valflare.”

[TN: she’s being respectful to him as she is using –sama to address him.]

“Just call me Flare.”

“So, Mr. Flare. Would you like to be my escort?”

“Wh-What, Princess!?”

Escort.

In other words, protecting this princess.

I don't mind, my body is slowing down and I want to hear what she has to say.

“I'm against it! You don't understand how beautiful you are, Princess, to bring along a young man whose identity you don't know! He might find an opening and pounce on your beautiful body!”

“You're thinking too much, Aishera, and your thoughts are gross.”

“Ugh...phew. Besides, if you want an escort, I'm here. I'm sure you'll agree that it's better for the princess and I to be alone than to have a large group of people working together.”

“That's what I don't like. Aishera, you look at me with scary eyes sometimes, and I've seen you drooling.”

“Ugh... phew.”

Something is wrong with this female knight... I can tell even if I've never seen her before.

“I'm good. I've been looking for someone, and I'd love to hear about current times.”

“Well! It's settled then. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Flare.”

“Yeah, nice to meet you.”

“Ugh... the princess and I had our own little getaway... damn you, Flare.”

It was painful to see Aishera's eyes on me... I knew she was the most dangerous one, right?

◇◇◇◇◇◇

They said the forest had a strong magnetic field, but it didn't matter to me.

I took out the charm and put in the magic power.

“[Which Way Out? Delderzo]… Okay, that way.”

The charm burns, and the serpentine flames take the form of arrows, showing us the way.

A spell to guide the way. I didn't have any use for it when I learned it in the village, but now it's useful.

“It's a strange magic...”

“Princess, I'm sorry we are on foot... if the horses were still alive, we could have ridden them together through the forest.”

"Aishera, shut up"

"Uh... huh"

“Well, let me know what you think when you get out of the forest. I just came back from the dead, so I don't really know what's going on now."

“…???” (Prim and Aishera)

Prim and Aishera tilted their heads.

Oh, I see. I guess I'd better tell her about my situation. It's nothing to hide, and it'll make it easier to ask questions. Besides, as the teacher said. “One that will lie will steal.”

[TN: 嘘つきは泥棒の始まり it’s a Japanese proverb]

“I entered the Gates of Hell as a sacrifice to stabilize the flames. For some reason, I didn't die, so I just came out after eating all the flames of hell. When I got back to the village, it had been abandoned...”

“……what?”

“Oi, you... what are you talking about?”

“What? That's why I came out after eating the flames of hell with my soul.”

“……”

I'm gonna try and see if I'm right.

I opened my right hand and lightly focused on it... and a red flame shot out of my skin. My glove and clothes did not burn, and I seemed to be able to control it to some extent by my will.

But I'm still not sure. It needs to be verified.

“Wha--”

“Wait, wait. Don't tell me you're related to the [Magician of Hell Gate]?”

“Ha? What do you mean Magician of Hell Gate…? I’m a magician though.”

“!!”

Aishera and Prim and I look at each other.

What's with the reaction? I said something strange, didn't I? It's been quite a while, and I might have been perceived as a crazy person who doesn't know what's going on.

“Mr. Flare... are you from the village at the end of the Dead Forest?”

“Yeah. That's my hometown.”

“I didn't think there were any survivors...”

“What?”

“Mr. Flare. Please calm down... that village was home to the Keeper of the Seven Flames, who was called the Magician of Hell Gate.”

“…seven?”

It's funny, though, there were eight flames.

Aishera stops and steps in front of Prim.

“The magicians of Hell Gate were called the most powerful group of hellfire manipulators. It is said that they overwhelmed heavy knights with their empty hands and that just five sorcerers destroyed a battalion of a thousand men. As the strongest fighting tribe in the world, they were feared by the whole world.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. A thousand years ago...”

“………what?”

A thousand years ago.

What? A thousand years ago?

“The sorcerers of Hell gate were destroyed in a war a thousand years ago. By the power of the [Holy Angel], a counterpart to the Sorcerer's Flame.”

"Is that right ...?”

"Yeah, it's a story that even children know."

It seems like I'm listening to some... amazing story.

“A thousand years ago, during the Great War, the sorcerers of Hell Gate overwhelmed the Holy Angels. However, in the middle of the battle, for some reason the sorcerer's flames weakened and the holy angels began to defeat the sorcerer. It is said that the hellfire succumbed to the angel's power... said the angel at the time.”

“gulp…”

“It's not that the flames of hell have given up on the sorcerer, it's that they've been eaten and lost their power...”

“……Eh”

The flames have been eaten.

What? Oh, no. Hold on, hold on. Is that... is that my fault?

The sorcerers of Hell Gate lost their power because I ate their flames.

I absorbed red gems, blue, yellow, green, purple, black, white... and golden gems.

When all the flames were extinguished, I came back with a body.

The Great War of a thousand years ago. Was that what happened a thousand years ago?

“……Seriously?”

I mean, it's my fault?

What, the sorcerer was destroyed because of... me?

“……”

“Mr. Flare?”

“Oh, no... It’s kind of a shock. Hahaha.”

Oh my god... hahaha.

I'm a survivor of a sorcerer...I wonder why. I'm not too sad.

“Not that I believe your story, but those flames, and this guide, its magic, isn't it?”

“…well”

“Then this conversation is over. Take me outside. Next, let's talk about how the princess and I met.”

“We’re not talking about that, I'm talking about my request for protection.”

“Ugh...hmm. That's right. Now, Flare, show us the way.”

“Okay.”

Well, it can't be helped.

It's no use being sad now. For now, let's walk to live.

Prev    Index    Next

PayPal

Become a Patron!