Chapter 202 – One Step.

“Ugh.”

As soon as Usher woke up, he felt an intense headache stabbing his head. Because of this, he couldn’t even open his eyes, and as he was resting on his forehead, something hit his face and wrapped it around him.

“Ugh, this.”

I lifted his hand and touched it, and it seemed that it had not been wrung out after soaking it in water, and it was not enough to be cold. It was full of water. However, it seemed to relieve the headache rather.

“Wake up soon. If you stay in it, will it burn?”
“Just a little more… Wait, what?”

He tried to get him to sleep a little longer, but he understood his words and hurriedly got up. At the same time, a wet towel fell forward and soaked his clothes, but what caught my eye more than that was the place where he was sleeping. Around him was a wall of earth, white like the sand of Parz, and simple wooden supports to keep it from collapsing. As I figured out what the hell this was all about, the voice came from above again.

“I finally woke up, but if I didn’t wake up, I should have lit a fire.”

He looked up and saw Krikaliev squatting down against Usher against the blue sky.

“You thought you would burn me like this?!”

Only then did Usher realize that this was a pit dug squarely and large enough for a man taller than himself to enter. He giggles as he gets sick of the thought that he could have been cremated alive.

“What did I say when I drank the water from the Holy Grail?”
“…No matter how much I could die, do I have to go this far?”

It was true that I was prepared after hearing that I could die, but isn’t it a little bit like preparing a place in advance? I got goosebumps and felt uncomfortable with the white earthen walls. It seemed as if it were hardened like a stone, but it seemed like it would collapse at any moment if touched with wet water.

“It’s fine if this isn’t your seat. Once you wake up, come quickly.”

At his urgency, he wanted to ask how he got out of the pit that was taller than he was, but he didn’t have to. Because there was a ladder on Krikaliev’s side. As he climbed up, he found Jeremiah’s dugout house a short distance away. Apparently, there was no pit around here, and he dug such a pit while he was asleep.

“So did you meet her?”
“She… Ugh!”

As he rested his forehead on the headache that stabbed him again, Krikaliev held out the towel Usher had held up as if he knew it.

“It will continue to do so for a while, so hold it against your forehead.”
“Oh, is it like this?”
“It’s a structure that has no choice but to do it, so I can’t help it.”

As Usher soothed his sore head with a damp towel, he came up with the most important thing.

“Can I use magic now?”

The reason why he had to drink the water of the Holy Grail even at the risk of his life. But what came back from Krikaliev was a disappointing answer.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”
“What is it? That’s it.”
“It’s because the magic that a paladin can use isn’t as convenient as a wizard’s.”

Whether Usher collapsed or not, Krikaliev’s words continued.

“If wizards have been formally granted authority, the magic of paladins is only an expedient. It is difficult to use and there is little power to use.”
“But it’s meaningless if it’s not now. It’s meaningless if we can’t save Belka.”

He wants to save Belka right now. I have to use magic right now.

“So we have to train to be able to use it.”
“You mean training?”

Upon hearing those words, Usher suddenly raised his head.

“Yes, training.”
“Then when will we get Belka!?”

Even risking his life, he drank the water from the Holy Grail to save Belka. What was the point if I couldn’t save her now? If I could get magic, it seemed possible right away. I thought that if there was magic, things would be easier. However, it was disappointing to hear that even such magic could only be properly handled through training. No matter how hard he tried and struggled, he couldn’t protect the girl. So he wanted magic. Usher knew. He knows that no matter how hard he tries, there are limits.

However, he was distressed by the fact that it took effort to use even the magic he thought was omnipotent. He wondered how long it would take him to be strong enough to go rescue Belka.

“Three days later. Then he decided to go rescue the little girl.”

Upon hearing his words, Usher couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Why! Why not now! What’s different from training for only three days?!”

While trying to help while I was trying to save you. Why couldn’t he save the girl now?

“How cool. Then I’ll hit you. Don’t.”

Krikaliev hit him on the forehead as he screamed. He only hit lightly, but Usher was staggered by the tingling sensation.

“No matter how urgent you are, are you going to shout out to me to go head-on and kill me in a place with strict boundaries?”
“It is, but.”

Couldn’t you do everything if you had magic? Although he knew that the power of a paladin was lacking compared to that of a wizard, Usher was still disappointed. He barely thought he had the power to save and protect Belka.

“Now then, let’s find out what kind of magic you got from her.”

But he knew it was too early to give up.

“Can I ask you one question?”
“What are you drawing?”
“Why, after all, three days later?”

He was too disappointed to think about it, but he wondered why it was three days later.

“Because the royal castle decided to receive envoys that day. The borders will be stricter, but it will be easier to infiltrate, so we’re aiming for that time.”

After Usher heard that, he calmed his head, which seemed to be bubbling with nervousness, and he realized what a fool he had been.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t even know that.”

He became angry with anyone who offered to help him because he wanted to go rescue him. Krikaliev looked at Usher, who was intimidated and lowered his head, as if asking what had really happened.

“If you’re going to reflect, hold this and reflect.”
“Isn’t this grape juice?”

Even the cup it contained was the Holy Grail that Usher drank from. He looked at Krikaliev, wondering if he meant to drink again, and his words went on.

“Think of moving the grape juice inside.”
“Like this?”

I don’t know why he asked me to move, but he shook the chalice with his hand to move the grape juice, thinking that he would move anyway. Krikaliev shook his head.

“Just think, don’t move your body.”

Usher frowned at his words and looked at the grape juice in the chalice. Moving water with only imagination was once the thing that came to mind the most while dreaming of becoming a wizard. In rural areas like Lantua, where there was no running water, you always had to go to a well to get water. It’s like being still and only moving water into the house. Because of this, he remembered that Mediah made fun of him, who was fascinated by Lantua’s water supply facilities. Back then, when she shouted out in embarrassment, Mediah pretended to be surprised and chased after her as she took Belka and ran away.

Now, thinking that even that was a nostalgic memory, he glared at the grape juice in the chalice, but as expected, the grape juice in the unshakable chalice only reflected the spotless clear sky.

“Umm, I guess it’s not a requirement.”

Confirming that, Krikaliev accepted the Holy Grail from Usher again and sipped some grape juice. I really didn’t want to say anything about it.

“Can you really use it like that?”

Obviously, the Holy Grail had tremendous value just because it was just a magic tool, but it must have been a treasure that was specially treated in the Holy Land. It’s strange that such a thing is in the hands of such a person, but seeing him handling such a thing like that, I didn’t know what to say.

“Why do you draw it? It’s an ordinary cup except for making a paladin anyway.”

That’s why I wanted to say that the power is the reason why the Holy Grail is considered important, but I didn’t think it would change if I said anything to him who already knew its function better than he did.

“Anyway, I’m in trouble.”
“What?”
“I tried it by finding the most prominent magic, but there was no response.”
“Then did you fail?”

Somehow, I thought it would be possible even if I hadn’t received magic now. I didn’t think it was strange to regret giving magic to such a foolish and pathetic person.

“It can’t be. You liked her anyway. The proof that you came back alive like this.”

However, coming back was a resolute word that made Usher, who thought of it rather negatively, bewildered.

“But who the hell is she?”
“Huh? Haven’t you seen it too? She must be a girl your age.”

As Usher listened to his words and pondered, he suddenly found a white girl in a passing memory. She had memories of meeting a girl in a hazy dream she had after drinking the water from the Holy Grail. But the more she thinks of her, the more she thinks of her, the more she doesn’t come to mind like her fog gets thicker, so I can’t get a sense of what happened.

“I think she met something. I can’t remember.”
“Huh? Draw it? That’s a bit unexpected.”

I wanted to ask what was surprising, but he had already turned around.

“I can’t help it if I can’t remember. I have no choice but to go back to basics first.”
“Basic?”

Krikaliev put a wooden sword in front of Usher. Usher dug into the sand and instinctively grabbed the handle of the wooden sword standing tall.

“The magic that a wizard can use is diverse and its power is extraordinary.”

Krikaliev stood and looked at him, holding a longsword like Usher’s.

“No matter how much magic a paladin can use, its power is far weaker than that of a real wizard.”

If a wizard can wield a variety of magic to his heart’s content, a paladin has no choice but to make the most of the single magic given to him with less power than a wizard. As Usher listened to him, something suddenly came to mind. Actually, this wasn’t the first time he’d met a wizard. Apparently, there was a wizard who coveted Belka in the place where he first met Donar and Sif. What was his end like?

“…Do you have any magic that can remove magic?”

The one who had her magic sealed by Belka and was subdued and abandoned by Donnar and his party. Usher was someone he didn’t particularly want to think of, but he had hopes just in case. He wondered if he could even seal his opponent’s magic. He was expecting to.

“Did you hear the story from the little girl?”
“No. Just, by chance.”

Above all, it was a well-known fact that witches could cancel magic from wizards. But what comes back from Krikaliev is negative.

“I’m sorry if I was expecting that, but that would be impossible.”
“Why?”
“Even though it looks like magic in the first place, the mechanism itself is different.”

If that were so easily possible, the wizard wouldn’t have overwhelming power and power, and the three witches wouldn’t have any particular reason.

“So it’s not hard to seal the wizard’s magic with the power of a paladin.”
“…Is that so.”

Again, it was a vain expectation. The so-called wizards never made a good impression on Usher, so I thought it would be nice if I could stop them with my own power.

“But let me tell you one good news.”
“What is it?”
“A paladin can’t cancel the wizard’s magic, but he won’t be directly interfered with.”

Usher listened to him and realized. That it is

“Yeah, that means she at least has a chance of winning against a mage.”

Then he pointed at Usher with the point of his wooden sword.

“At least among the guys I know, there’s not a single guy who only believes in magic that can be used carelessly. That’s why Paladins came to be called knights.”

Now was the time to raise the sword.