[V4C5] Rival Declaration
Translated by Jodas 4: Flying Through the Sky“Thanks for being my counterweight yesterday!”
Tia said her thanks with a smile, to which the man with the X scar popped a vein on his forehead and reached his hand around to the back of his waist.
“Dammer.”
Rikard quietly interjected. The man with the scar — Dammer — rolled his eyes and glared at Rikard.
His glare was filled with tremendous hostility. Regardless, Rikard spoke silently with a stony face.
“I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been picking on the Apprentices lately. It’s embarrassing all of us, so would you please stop it?”
“That’s rich of you, Rikard. Do you not know what happens if you piss me off?”
“Like I said, it’s embarrassing……”
Rikard sighed and Dammer stomped up towards him.
Strangely, Dammer seemed to be keeping his distance from Tia.
Still squatting, Tia stared up at Dammer, to which Dammer’s face contorted in discomfort and he took one step away from Tia.
Then, disregarding Tia’s presence, he closed the distance towards Rikard.
“You’re always so quiet, but now suddenly you’re talking like nobody’s business. Strange, huh? You got a thing for kids like this?”
“…………”
Dammer didn’t hide his intimidating presence, while Rikard said nothing. Ignoring their interaction, Tia waddled around to get a better look at Dammer’s face.
He really did have a good-looking face. Just the way Harpies liked it.
Dammer turned his face away from Tia, so Tia ran around the other side to look at his face again.
Maybe I should lick it to see what it tastes like. Tia licked her lips.
“Hey, Rikard. If you got hurt, I wonder what would happen with the magic battle next month?”
“………….”
“Don’t you think it would make sense if I went in your place?”
“…………..Hah.”
Rikard sighed and looked up to the sky.
“…….Or so he says. What’re you going to do about it, Frederik?”
“Who knows? That’s up to the Director.”
A cold voice answered Rikard’s question.
With his light brown hair and long, spindly limbs, Frederik Lange quietly descended from above. Today he was without his spear.
Dammer clicked his tongue and glared at Frederik.
“Frederik! Were you following me?”
“……Why would I? I was looking for that kid.”
Frederik gave Dammer a disinterested look before redirecting his gaze towards Tia.
Tia stopped inspecting her prospective souvenir and greeted Frederik.
“Hello, Frederik!”
“Hello. I want to apologize for scaring you earlier. Here, take this.”
Frederik placed a small wrapper in Tia’s hands. A fluffy, buttery smell emanated from inside.
Tia recognized this wrapper. This was one of the popular baked snacks that occasionally went on sale at the Third Spire: Water Bubble.
“A snack?”
“As an apology. You should share it with the other kids from earlier too.”
By apology, he probably was referring to how he beat Oliver to a pulp in front of Tia and the others.
In that case, ‘the kids from earlier’ would mean the others who were there to witness that.
(There was Wren, and Sevil, and Rose who went to call Hegelich…..)
If that was the case…. Tia asked a question.
“Can I give some to Oliver too?”
“Eugh….”
Frederik’s face contorted. When he retracted his smile, his eyes were surprisingly sharp and he looked a lot like Oliver.
Regardless, this was the attitude he took when Oliver’s name alone was brought up.
(Rikard said that Frederik tried to chase Oliver off because he was just worried about his little brother, but…..)
There were some things that just didn’t make sense if he was chasing him off because he was concerned for Oliver’s safety.
Not to mention the fact that Oliver clearly adored his older brother from the bottom of his heart.
“Oi, Frederik.”
Sick of being ignored, Dammer angrily lashed out at Frederik.
“Don’t tell me you’re trying to leak info before the magic battle too, huh!?”
“What are you even talking about?”
Frederik laughed sharply.
“Do you really think I’d lose to Apprentices just because they know my tricks?”
His voice was cold, yet filled with absolute confidence.
His reddish eyes displayed his disdain towards Dammer.
Those eyes said: Would you lose if they knew your tricks?
Frederik focused his coldness and narrowed his eyes until they were shaped like little smiles.
“Rather, the information battle should at least put us at a disadvantage. I would feel bad if we didn’t give them that level of handicap.”
As he said that, Frederik bent over his long body to match Tia’s eye level.
“Miss Apprentice…… Um, Tia, was it? It’s okay. If there’s anything you want to know, I’ll tell you everything.”
“I can gather information?”
“Go right ahead.”
Tia thought for a second.
Information gathering. What she wanted to know — it was this. Tia opened her mouth.
“Then, Frederik, could you do the flight magic again? Like when you let me ride on your back.”
Frederik made a surprised face, but then he nodded with a soft smile
“Clever girl. If you want to know your enemy’s tricks, it’s best to get them to actually use their magic in front of you.”
Dammer shouted “Oi, Frederik!”
However, Frederik ignored his pleas, turned his back to Tia and squatted down.
“Hop on.”
“Thanks!”
With Tia on his back, Frederik chanted.
It was the same incantation for flight magic she’d heard before. The wind enveloped their bodies and they began to float off of the ground.
It was completely different from the bullet-like jolt of the Magical Flying Device that Old Man Kappel, the Director of the Management Office, made.
Frederik lifted up and began to fly along the outer walls of the Wedge Tower.
“I’ll let you down somewhere else. I’d rather not get involved with Dammer at the moment.”
Frederik was a nice and courteous person.
She couldn’t understand why a person like this would get so angry at Oliver.
(I can definitely hear about the magic battle from other people as well.)
That was why the question she wanted to ask Frederik the most was this:
“Frederik, why are you so angry at Oliver?”
“Does it not make you want to kill him when he comes waltzing up to a place where people risk their lives fighting against Monsters, shows off his big jumps and says he ‘wants to be helpful’?”
“Frederik, you were angry at Oliver even before he showed you his flight magic.”
Tia couldn’t see Frederik’s expressions from behind. Yet, she noticed his shoulders shifting slightly.
Frederik stayed quiet for a moment before quietly answering.
“…….Sorry. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Piroro……I see. That’s okay, then.”
“You’re fine with that?”
“I don’t think the answer I get if I made you say something would be the real answer.”
Tia responded honestly, and Frederik’s shoulders shook as he laughed.
“You really are a clever girl.”
Maybe it was her imagination, but he almost sounded disappointed when he said that.
Tia closed her eyes and felt the wind. It felt good. Frederik’s flight magic really was something else.
It was amazing that he could fly so smoothly with someone on his back.
“Well, I’ve learned a lot, so now it’s my turn to tell you something. I’m practicing with a Magical Flying Device now.”
“Oh yeah, the thing the Management Office was making? I heard Barrett over there is awesome at long-distance flying. Supposedly, he has the national record in his home country.”
Wow, Tia’s eyes widened.
She’d heard that, unlike Frederik who excelled at precise maneuvering and high mobility, Barrett specialized in long-range flight, but she didn’t know he was that good.
“Piyo! So Mr. Barrett is amazing!”
“I know, right? Even though flight magic isn’t made for long distances.”
Frederik spun around in midair as he spoke.
While holding on to Frederik’s back, Tia looked over his body.
Thin limbs, and a thin torso.
This person had shed his weight in order to use flight magic better. Tia did the same, so she understood what that meant.
If you wanted to fly freely, then you shouldn’t have any more muscle mass than was absolutely necessary.
This person had a body built for flying.
“Frederik?”
“What’s up?”
Thinking of the words she was about to say made her heart race.
It was strange. Having her heart beat like this. It made her even more nervous. Yet she would say it anyways.
“I can’t fly very well right now…… but I’ll fly better than you before you know it, Frederik. I definitely will.”
“Haha, are you declaring yourself my rival?”
“…….Rival?”
Tia repeated that word as if to test how it felt on her tongue.
Rival. She knew what it meant. But she’d never thought of anyone as her rival before.
Rival, rival, competitor — The dots connected and something in her mind clicked. It felt as if the path before her had opened.
“Yes, that’s it! Rival! Frederik, you’re my first rival!”
Frederik didn’t bother to hide his laughter. And he wasn’t laughing like he was making fun of her.
It sounded like he was laughing because he was truly enjoying himself.
“Haha, hahahaha…… It might be the first time someone has said that to me as well.”
“Ah, what do I do? Being rivals sounds super cool! It makes me want to go: ‘I won’t lose!!’ or something!”
Frederik climbed higher into the sky. He was moving at a totally different pace now.
He was fast. But, he could definitely fly much, much faster than this.
While maintaining his advanced flight magic that demanded precise mana control, Frederik declared with a laugh:
“Then try your best to beat me! I’m not gonna go easy on you, you know.”
“Yep. I’ll make sure to win!”
Tia understood that it was important to say this stuff out loud.
A verbal promise was much stronger than a promise you only whispered in your heart.
That promise elevated her competitive spirit even further.
(Amazing, my chest is beating like crazy! It’s not the scary kind of heart beating either. It’s the excited kind!)