Chapter 27:

They moved in tandem; Eres spread the half-handful of sulfur in an arc, summoning her fire-wall, and Leo yanked a small rock from his component pouch. It was undulated, a palish-yellow clump formed when lightning meets sand—fulgurite. 

The wolves, poised to attack, flinched at the fire, halting long enough for Leo to cast his spell. 

He held the rock between his forefinger and thumb, pinching it, and tapped the tip of his wand to it. The largest circle carved into the wood hummed, brightening into a purplish-blue hue, and sparks skittered over the fulgurite, that same color illuminating from within. 

Leo raised his hand, palm up, and flicked the rock toward the wolves. “Chain lightning.”

It passed through the curtain of flame, spinning from the flick, before exploding in a flash of light. It was as if lightning frozen in time resumed where it had left off; a bolt pierced into the body of the closest wolf, ripping through it, before charging to the next. All six wolves were caught by it, crackling strands tying them together in blue string. Singing hums danced through the air as the electricity arced.

They froze, unable to move—muscles clenched from the spell—even as their fur ignited from Eres’s fire-wall. 

Eres watched in brutal fascination as the creatures, once formidable, died in as much as a breath. 

“Holy shit,” She said, unable to look away, “When did you learn that?”

Leo’s grin was pained, his breaths heavy. “Was saving it for our next duel.”

“?!”

She looked at him, eyes wide. “Did you want to kill your maid? If you wanted a new one all you had to do was ask!”

She stepped away from him, gaze suspicious. This little bastard was gonna turn her into popcorn! He was really gonna use something that merciless on her?! Her fireballs singed eyebrows at most! His spell would leave her charred to a crisp! She honestly lamented even casting her spell; her contribution was worthless. This young master solo carried…

Eres raised a fist to knock some sense into him, but stopped. His face was pallid, his balance unsteady as he swayed. His eyes were glazed over as he looked at her.

Leo moved an unsteady step forward, his hand raising, before he lightly pat her head. His words came quiet, lacking strength. 

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

Eres blanked at him. What was this guy doing? Had he hallucinated himself as a shonen protag? One badass moment and he thinks he gets the girl? Just because he looked kind of cool!

She knocked his hand away, ready to chew him out, but panicked when she realized he began to fall backwards. 

His body swayed, foot slipping. Eres grabbed his arms, trying to balance him, but his body completely rag-dolled. She fell with him, yanked by his weight.

Eres flew forward, smashing into Leo as they hit the ground, before rolling into a nearby pile of leaves.

“Ack!”

Her body disappeared, buried, only to reemerge, spitting out a leaf. She looked at her young master, the pale, sweating boy who lay unconscious on the ground. 

Eres climbed out of the pile, sweeping her skirt clean, and staggered over. One spell and he was done? It was an extremely advanced spell—something far beyond most first-years. That he could cast it at all, even with the component, was a miracle. 

Maybe this moron was more of a genius than she gave him credit for. 

She leaned over, examining him. His face was somewhat pained, sweating, eyes clenched. So miserable! So pathetic! 

Should she learn some photography magic? It really was a shame to let a sight like this go unrecorded. This dumb boy’s face would have gone viral in their past life. 

A scent of ozone and burnt flesh wafted from the side, making her nose scrunch. Ugh. Did he have to pass out right here? What was she supposed to do? Drag his corpse off like a criminal in the night?

If anyone saw a maid dragging her boss’s body into a bush in the woods, wouldn’t she be totally misunderstood?! No, that wouldn’t happen. It had been a ghost-town since they’d gotten lost. 

They couldn’t stay here. She would have to move him. Whether monsters were attracted to the sound of battle or the smell of burnt flesh, it was dangerous to remain out here, exposed to the elements.

Eres lifted an arm, trying to carry him over her shoulder. Ugh! What had he eaten?! Was she really so weak?!

She tried in various ways to move him, gasping for air, before settling on grabbing both legs and dragging him. Sorry, young master. You’re just going to have to live with it!

Eres cast a longing glance to their campsite. It would be so easy to just drag him there…but if that bear showed up looking for dinner, they’d be on the menu. 

Come to think of it, this little bastard really could have solved the bear situation in two seconds flat, yet let her do the heavy lifting! Shameless! At least then she could have made Ed carry him around!

Now she was stuck out here with him by herself, grousing as she dragged her boss’s face through piles of leaves. She turned, putting one foot under each armpit, and marched forward. So! Heavy!

Hadn’t she exercised? Wasn’t she fit? Was this the estrogen debuff?

Unfair. Unconscionable. 

“Sure,” She groused, “Just cast one spell and fall over in the middle of the woods. Make me drag your ass around all by myself, I didn’t want to do anything else today!”

Eres’s words rang out into the forest, bitter and full of grievance, an unending diatribe against her unconscious boss. 

Talking to herself! The ultimate defense for someone with no social courage! Don’t like something? Wait until the other party turns around and whisper your grievances! If they ask what you said, make something up! Then wonder how they heard you whisper how much you hate them, but not the completely normal-volumed question you’d asked three times earlier. 

Her heart filled with bitterness as she recalled past work memories. Hate fueled her staggering movements, her legs burning from the fight and the current circumstance. She’d just woken up and already wanted to sleep.

It was so dark! She’d had to work her ass off in the dead of night, illuminated only by her spells. She nearly killed herself stumbling around, trying to save the whelp in her arms. 

It was tens of minutes of grueling work, taking breathers, and maybe three pounds of leaves plucked from Leo’s hair before she finally found a suitable location. 

Eres nearly had a panic attack when she saw a new cave. She’d tossed rocks at it for fifteen minutes before gingerly stepping foot inside, ready to bolt if anything roared. Thankfully, this one was truly unoccupied. Probably. 

Eres grabbed Leo under the armpits and lifted his body, dragging him assassin style into the cave. She’d have gone for the legs, but he might question why he had rock shrapnel in his face later if she did. 

She dropped his body down in the smoothest part of the cave. Ah. She’d neglected to grab their packs. Should she go back? There was no chance in hell they’d make it to the end of the test without their stuff. 

Would it be safe to leave him here? Probably. If anything tried to chew on him while she was out, the seniors would save him. If not…well, maybe the duchess would give her a last meal before her execution. Maybe pizza?

Eres imagined all sorts of culinary masterpieces as she backtracked to their old campsite. “Hmm. Pie? Ice cream? Maybe barbecue?”

Hopefully they’d let her have one last cup of coffee before they offed her. She’d even put creamer in it to honor the memory of her best buddy. 

Eres nodded, smiling. She truly was magnanimous. Her young master should be so lucky if he was the last thing she thought about. That was the only hope for a single dog like him. 

Not that she could talk. It was unlikely either of them would find a partner in this world, considering their circumstances. As if they could date someone else! Unless Leo was into older women. As a duke, that wasn’t out of the question. 

For her, though, it might truly be a future of black-and-white robes and prayers. 

Eres looked up, realizing she’d finally made it back. With a sigh, she grabbed both backpacks and hoisted them onto herself. Thank goodness I didn’t have to bring that cat backpack. 

Her posture bowed from the weight of both packs, that shrimp-like shape causing her eye to twitch. 

“Leo…you little bastard. I am so going to wring your wallet!!”

***

Eres leaned against the cave wall, kicking her feet up on her pack. Under her, a blanket softened the roughness of the floor, and a pillow behind her head saved her from the freezing touch of the stone. 

She glanced over at Leo, the boy she’d wrapped up like a burrito. Only his face stuck out, the rest rolled into a cloth tube. She snorted. 

Ah~ she really needed a picture of this…

Photography magic, first on the list. That or a shield spell. If Leo really used that lightning on her, she’d be a soot stain on the floor. 

She sat up, scooting toward him. This guy. His face had color again, thankfully. She scratched her head. Should she get some food ready? He’d likely be starving when he woke. 

Eres prepared rations, and considered starting a fire, but became paranoid about suffocating in the cave. She eyed the roof warily. If they made a fire, would the whole ceiling collapse?!

She’d read something like that happening in her past life. Some guy had started a fire in a cave, and when the water trapped in the rocks evaporated, the pressure made the whole thing explode and collapse.

No way that’s how she would go out. Cave in? I refuse! She’d rather be cold than dead. 

Still, though. It was damn cold. The chill bit through the blanket underneath her into her legs. She shifted, raising one leg to warm while the other suffered. She looked over. The burrito was safely wrapped up in her spare blanket as well. 

A little fire wouldn’t hurt, right? 

…

Maybe at the entrance. She stood, rubbed her cold flesh, and shimmied over to the entrance. She kicked a bunch of wood together and lit it. She sat on her pack, rubbing her hands to the fire’s embrace. 

The crackling echoed back from the cave, and the morning’s chill was held at bay. The sun was peaking over the horizon by this point, staining the sky a mix of orange and pinkish red. A few clouds hung overhead, the burgeoning points promising another shower later in the day. 

The mumble of something behind her drew her attention.

“Mmph...”

Eres smiled. “Hey, moron, finally up?”

The burrito folded, lifting up. The blankets fell down to his waist, his hair and face still dirty from being dragged in mud. She’d tried to wipe him off but…eh. They’d just get dirty again. Leo looked at her, eyes dead tired. His voice was raspy, dried and catching with a couple of his words.

“How long was I out?”

“Few hours.”

He looked around at the cave, confused and disoriented. “Where are we?”

Leo looked at her, before rubbing his eyes. “Were we kidnapped?”

She snorted. “No way, I dragged your sorry ass half a mile in the dark. Praise me.”

He scratched at his chest, before reaching in and pulling out a leaf. “Hmm.”

Eres reached over and tossed him his water-skin. Leo drank deeply from it, sighing in relief. 

Finally gathering himself, he unrolled from the blanket burrito and walked over to her while bracing himself against the wall. His face turned green, and he held back a retch.

“Mana exhaustion?” Eres asked.

He nodded. “Oh…this is rough.”

She shook her head. “Why cast something you can’t handle? I could have taken care of it.”

He shook his head, swallowing. “I can’t let you do everything.”

“Why not,” She laughed, “That’s what you pay me for, isn’t it?”

Leo slumped next to her, extending a hand toward the fire. “Manly pride.”

Eres snorted. They stared into the fire, enjoying each-other’s company.

Leo looked up, a light smile on his lips. “Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Can I do something embarrassing?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Confessing already?”

He laughed. “Nah. With a maid? Dream on.”

Eres smiled. “What’d you have in mind?”

Leo leaned in. “So you don’t mind?”

“At this point, is there anything you do that isn’t embarrassing?”

“Fair.”

He scooted in. Leo wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into a tight hug.

Eres blinked, her eyebrow raising. “What’s this?”

“Just showing my appreciation.”

He looked down at her. “Thank you.”

“Pfft, what? Young master, could it be you hit your head when I was dragging you?”

He smiled. “Maybe.”

Eres was about to pull away, but stopped. It would be a shame to let herself be cold again out of pride. The smile on her face danced between mirth and embarrassment. What was with this guy?

“I drag you a mile through mud and all I get is a hug?”

Leo pat the top of her head. “I’ll open my coffers later.”

She snorted. 

Well. 

At least he wasn’t completely useless.