Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 13

Chapter 13

"Wow..."

"Doesn't it suit him well?"

I didn't even hear Mom's cheerful voice. No, what is that?

I stared at Caelius, who stood expressionless. After a week of treatment, good food, and rest, he'd filled out a little compared to when I first saw him.

Caelius had grown accustomed to us now, and even when I reached out without warning, he didn't flinch like before.

I slowly approached Caelius and reached my hand toward his hair.

His jet-black hair had been dyed a soft pink, and his dark red eyes—which Mom had recognized at a glance—were now covered in green, making him look like a completely different person.

I silently plucked a strand of his hair, but the color didn't change—it stayed pink.

How is this possible?

Caelius frowned slightly and glared at me, but he didn't blast fire at me without warning. That was huge progress.

"What magic is this?! I pulled out a strand of hair, but the color didn't change!"

"It won't change back immediately, but it will eventually. So we have to be careful."

Caelius had transformed into someone who could pass for a distant nephew of the Algenprina Duke with about 80% believability.

"Wow, that's really amazing."

I thought light hair wouldn't suit him, but it did—quite a lot, actually.

I guess it's because he has a good base. I'm really looking forward to seeing him grown up.

"I sent a necklace to Irein asking him to layer the magic, and he said he had something to give you as well."

"Huh? Something came from Brother?"

"It's quite large, so I left it in the garden for now. What on earth is it?"

"The pitching machine!!"

"What?"

Before Mom could finish, I grabbed Caelius's hand and ran out to the garden.

In the garden stood a large object covered in cloth. I hurriedly unwrapped it, revealing a square wooden box with what looked like a mailbox embedded in it.

After thoroughly inspecting the angular object, I found three holes on the back—seemingly slots for attaching or inserting something.

This couldn't just be for show. How does it work?

"This."

While I was absorbed in thought, Caelius held out a bulging pouch. It must have been something I'd missed when unwrapping the cloth. Opening it, I found red stones inside.

"These are mana stones?"

"Mana stones?"

"Stones that can store mana. Judging by how rough they are, they probably won't last long..."

The rougher the mana stone, the lower its performance; the smoother and more refined, the better.

The size fits perfectly. Should I try inserting one?

"A note."

Caelius, who had been picking things up, handed me a note. I unfolded it.

[Young lady. This is Senté.

I've sent several rechargeable low-grade mana stones. Please be careful when using them—the propulsion generates flames, so they shoot out wrapped in fire.

I don't know where on earth you plan to use such a crazy magical tool, but if it becomes useless, please destroy it.

This is a magical tool that must never see the light of day.]

Reading Senté's detailed note, I broke into a cold sweat.

What on earth did you make, Brother...?

And rechargeable low-grade mana stones at that—even low-grade mana stones that can be recharged are incredibly rare. Since you made it for me, I guess I'll use it well...?

I firmly grasped the wrist of my precious auxiliary battery—the one who would infuse mana into the stones—and called out to Aisa, who was somewhere nearby.

"Aisa!!!"

Unable to ignore my voice echoing loudly through the garden, Aisa immediately appeared.

The moment the tall, dark Aisa suddenly emerged, Caelius flinched violently.

"This is Aisa! He's our knight commander! He moves so quietly that you can't sense him, but he's not a bad person!"

I rushed out the words, worried that Caelius might lose control.

"Help me out, Aisa! Could you move this to the lakeside?"

A passing knight offered to do it, but Aisa dismissed him with a simple gesture. He easily lifted the pitching machine with both hands and walked silently.

I grabbed Caelius's hand and quickly followed Aisa. When walking with me, Aisa always slowed his pace to match mine, but even that speed seemed too much for Caelius.

"Kali, are you tired?"

"What?"

"I said, are you tired?"

"No, did you just call me..."

"Kali? It's a nickname!"

I'd been calling him Caelius in my head, and I came up with this nickname to avoid accidentally saying his real name out loud.

"Don't call me that."

"Why!! What if I accidentally call you Caelius outside? And what if by some incredible coincidence someone hears it?!"

"Then just don't call me by any name at all."

"What? That's so cold! How am I supposed to live without calling you by name?"

Kali didn't seem to like the nickname—he had a sulky expression.

"More importantly, you look tired. Should we walk a bit slower?"

No matter how well he'd eaten and slept over the past week, one week wasn't enough to build up his stamina. And he was still far from being able to keep up with me.

"Forget it."

His face, head bowed and breathing heavily, was already flushed red.

"Hmph, fine. Tell me if you get tired. I can carry you—you're not that heavy."

"Nonsense!"

His dismissive glare wasn't scary at all—it was just cute.

He was shorter than me, and now his hair and eye color were similar too—it felt like I'd gained a little brother. A scrawny little brother at that!

If he were all grown up, it might be different, but against this chestnut-sized Kali, I was confident I could win at anything.

Should I start stockpiling some embarrassing memories now? Arm wrestling, finger wrestling, running—I could beat him at all of them.

"Young lady."

As I dragged the struggling Kali up the hill, Aisa, who had already reached the lake, set down the pitching machine by the shore and called me.

"Yeah. Just leave it there. Thanks."

Without asking what it was or what I planned to do, Aisa quietly disappeared. He was probably watching from nearby.

"...So what is this?"

Caelius fiddled with the angular edges of the pitching machine, curious about the unfamiliar object.

"Small stones will come out of here! Probably!"

"Probably?"

"Should we try it?"

I estimated by eye and inserted a mana stone into the gap on the main body. Then I aimed the protruding opening toward the lake and placed my hand on the palm-shaped imprint.

Come to think of it, a normal pitching machine, once activated, would automatically launch a set number of times. Did this one require manual mana infusion each time?

I decided to give it a try and infused just a tiny amount of mana. The magic circle engraved on the machine activated.

The trembling pitching machine's protruding opening launched a go stone-sized pebble, wrapped in flames, at high speed.

Haha, that's fire, right...?

Fortunately, the moment the pebble hit the lake, the fire went out. Watching the pebble ripple and vanish, my eyes sparkled.

It's faster than I thought, but this is real practice! Learn by getting hit!

"Kali, look. Try infusing mana into it. Gently! Very gently!"

"...No."

"Oh, why! You have to stand here, put your palm on it, and infuse mana so I can train!"

"...How much is 'gently'?"

We're starting from there?!

Staring at Kali's blank face, I felt frustrated and clutched my forehead.

Well, he's the one who couldn't control his power and was spraying sparks everywhere—of course he wouldn't understand what it means to infuse "a little" mana.

"Just try it. It's not like it'll break, right?"

And then I regretted it.

The moment I placed Kali's resisting hand on the pitching machine, it let out a roar as if it would shatter.

"Aack! No! This is the only one I have! Turn it down! Turn it down!"

"That's why I said I wouldn't do it!"

"Not take your hand off! Just turn it down a little! Calm down."

"How on earth am I supposed to...!"

I stood behind Kali, placed both hands on his shoulders, and tried my best to explain as calmly as possible.

"Kali! Now, take a deep breath! That's right. Relax your shoulders. No, shoulders relaxed! Whoa! Good job!"

Of course, I was only trying. The creaking pitching machine made my heart pound—I couldn't calm down at all.

"Whoa! The vibration is dying down! You're reducing the mana output, right? The machine isn't about to die on us, is it?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Look at how this kid talks! Whoa! Just a little more! Imagine you're releasing all the tension from your body! Imagine you're spraying a very thin stream of water!"

As we bickered for a while, the machine finally stopped vibrating. And shortly after, a stone wrapped in magic shot out at high speed.

"Whoa!!!"

I raised both hands and jumped up and down on the spot.

Partly because Caelius had learned to release mana "weakly," which was impressive, but mostly because I now had a partner who could operate the pitching machine, which made me happy.

I immediately turned the machine toward the opposite direction, put some distance between us, and took my stance.

Is this about right? It was a bit fast earlier—surely it won't lodge itself in my body. Haha.

"Whew."

"You... what are you trying to do?"

I took a breath to calm myself, then pulled out my ugly club with my right hand. I struck a confident batter's pose and shouted at Caelius.

"Come on! Bring it! For your information, I was the home run king of my neighborhood back in the day!"

"What? Are you crazy?!"

"It's fine, it's fine! I need to practice this!"

"Practice what? Practice getting stoned?"

Back   Next