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TIEM Vol. 1 Chapter 4

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Chapter 4


Chapter 4 – Game Of Tag

Now, it’s been a few days since I was reincarnated into this world.

Until today, I haven’t been involved in any huge events, and I’ve been able to spend my days in a meaningful way.

In the morning, I had breakfast with Lilith, and at noon, I studied magic in the library.

After eating a pre-made lunch, I took a short break.

When I woke up, I shut myself in the library and studied some more while waiting for Lilith’s return. This is my daily life at present.

After all, I’ve been sleeping for the past two hundred years.

So I have a lot of work to do.

However, there is only one compelling event in the early afternoon that cannot be avoided.

“Heh heh! I’m here again today, you chicken!”

The person who burst through the door with a ‘bang’ was a neighborhood brat with burnt amber blond hair.

Ever since that day, this rich kid of nobility (younger brother) has been coming here almost every day to interfere with my studies.

Well, I can’t help but understand Ted’s feelings here.

He probably wants to have someone his age to play with.

I close my book with a ‘thwomp’.

However.

Naturally, I have no obligation to go along with Ted’s games.

“H-Hey! Wait! Er, commoner!”

I’m sorry. Rich kid of nobility.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to be bothered with a child, I’m afraid.

I used body strengthening magic to strengthen my legs and jump out of the window, landing on the roof of the house next door.

“Ehhhhh!? W-What’s with you! That move!?”

I’m still far from my top form, but I’ve gotten used to dealing with a child’s body.

The body strengthening magic was less than 1/100 of what it had been during my prime, but it looks like that was enough to surprise Ted.

“Damn it! I’ll do it, too!”

Ted imitated my movements and jumped out the window.

Hmm.

Tentatively, it seems that he can use body strengthening magic, too.

However, the speed at which the magic power flows was too fast. He’s not doing the basics at all.

Body strengthening is magic that clads your body in magic power like armor.

And magic power is like water that is released from the body.

This is a mischievous waste of magic power.

“AAAAAAHHHHHHH!”

That’s what I mean. Now, do you see?

Ted tried to imitate my movements with his immature magic, but he didn’t gain enough distance to jump over and ended up falling into a nearby bush.

“…Hey. Are you okay?”

I don’t think that it is the case, but he’s not dead, is he?

Give me a break.

One can’t avoid trouble if something happens to a noble, no matter how much the other party is at fault.

“Come on! Wait! You chicken!”

Oh? I think I may have underestimated Ted a bit.

This rich kid of nobility is surprisingly tough.

With a blade of grass on his forehead, Ted emerged from the bushes and charged straight at me like a wild boar.

Now. What should I do?

I can avoid him, or I also can make him fall, but it’s troublesome.

Without saying a word, I lightly jumped over Ted in the manner of a horse vaulting or a leapfrog.

“AAHHH!”

Ted lost his balance and fell flat on his face.

It seems like he has taken a nasty tumble, but I showed restraint, so there’s probably not much damage done.

“W-What the hell! You’re just a chicken! I’m pissed off! I’m so pissed off!!”

You should learn a little more vocabulary, don’t you think?

In a fit of rage, Ted rolls around on the ground, throwing tantrums.

“Don’t worry about it. If you train diligently for another twenty years or so, you’ll be able to become good, won’t you?”

I’m dealing with a child here. So let’s console him a little.

If I think about it, the average skill level of the magicians in this era is not known to me.

“You! You!! You’re supposed to be my underling!!”

Ted is getting more and more vexing. 

No, no! I don’t remember being your underling.

Oh. I know.

I might have come up with a good idea.

“Hmm. Ted. I can be your underling”

“Oh! Ooh! Did you finally feel like it!? I’ll compliment you!”

“Yeah. However, on one condition”

I closed the book I had opened earlier and looked at the muffler around my neck.

Ever since Lilith taught me how to use this muffler, I have come to like it as a cold-weather protective gear.

By nature, this area is at a high altitude and is surrounded by snow for about half the year, so I was thankful for the convenient cold-weather protective gear.

“Let’s see. If you can take this muffler away from me by sunset, I’ll become your underling”

At any rate, this rich kid of nobility would come to interfere with my studies.

In that case, I think it would be better to use him as a workout partner to both spend worthwhile time together.

I was just looking for an opportunity to find out how talented the magicians of this era are.

“Alrighty! I just have to take that muffler, right!? Easy peasy!”

Ted looks like he’s up for it.

But where the hell does his confidence come from?

“Well then, get set ── go”

“Here I come!!”

When I used body strengthening magic to jump onto the roof of a private house, Ted followed me up through a nearby wooden crate.

Thus, the game of tag on the roof with Ted began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently, Ted has realized his inept use in body strengthening magic.

After that, he didn’t use much magic and hops around like a rabbit to chase me.

Hmm.

This surprised me a little.

I guess everybody, no matter who has at least one merit.

In Ted’s case, he doesn’t look like he has any talent for magic, and his face doesn’t have the most flattering of features.

On top of that, he is dumb.

Even if you take away the fact that he is a child, he doesn’t seem to have a shred of intelligence at all.

But….

Somehow, he seems to have a ‘reasonable’ level of ‘stamina’.

Even though he is a child, I have to give him some credit for not giving up and continue chasing after me this far.

“Why…why…. Why are you so calm!?”

Well, that’s because I was trained differently than an ordinary child.

Even two hundred years ago, no magician could keep up with my speed when I went all out.

At best, Roy, the Hero of the Wind, might be able to put up a good fight.

“There’s still time before sunset, but do you want to give up?”

“Da-mn it!! Damn you!!”

Ted reached straight for my muffler.

Slow. It’s already too late.

There is no way a direct attack without a feint could reach me.

With one hand, I toyed with him and took a step back.

“AAAHHHH! No more! I can’t take it…anymore…!”

With a strange cry, Ted fell flat on his face with a thud.

Hmm. So this is where Ted’s limits are.

To be honest, I thought it would take at most five minutes, but I think he stuck it out for about 20 minutes.

This was an unexpected result.

Even if he is spoiled, he’s still a noble after all.

I guess he had been doing some basic fitness training regularly.

“R-Remember this…! Someday…! Someday I’ll definitely…!”

In any case, Ted seemed to have already given up.

It can’t be helped

It’s about time that I stopped exercising and headed back to the library.

Just as I turned on my heels and was about to head back to the house.

Hmmm?

What’s that?

Looking out over the scenery from the roof, I could make out the familiar figures of my neighbor in their large mansion.

“Bass, was it? That child”

The rich kid of nobility (older brother), Bass, seems to be talking to Lilith about something.

What are they talking about? I’m curious.

<<Body Strengthening Magic, Enhanced Hearing>> 

After my ears perked up slightly, I could hear the conversation very clearly.

Change of scope, extremely small.

I used to use <<Body Strengthening Magic, Enhanced Hearing>> to listen in on the enemy’s operations, and while I was thinking about it, I focused on their conversation.

“…Like I’ve said many times. I can’t go out with you, Bass-sama”

Hmm. It seems to be a bloodbath.

But. I see.

Well, Lilith has become quite beautiful, hasn’t she?

He may look composed, but Bass is a boy at that age, too.

If a beautiful woman like Lilith is working close by, it would also be understandable that he would feel curious about her.

“What are you not satisfied with me!?” 

If I had to say it, deep down, I think it’s probably that attitude of his, feeling just a little sorry for him.

It must be hard to be rejected by a woman, even if he’s just a child.

Even more difficult for a proud noble like Bass.

“No. It’s not that I’m dissatisfied. I already have someone else in my heart”

“…You mean that guy called Abel?”

“Yes. That’s right. Anyway, I’m sorry, but I’m not thinking of going out with Bass-sama. Please give up”

Come to think of it, I read that in a book on miscellaneous topics recently.

That there’s no better moment for a woman to become cruel than when she’s being courted by a man she doesn’t like. I feel like that’s exactly what’s happening right now.

“I-I can’t believe you’re in love with your blood brother! You are immoral! You should be ashamed of yourself!”

He shouted. Bass, who had been rejected, was running away in defeat with tears in his eyes.

It’s unfortunate.

It’s not like I’m Lilith’s younger brother, but it’s probably easier to be consistent with that setting.

Lilith also looked a little troubled. Then she went back to her work.

Now.

Let’s pretend that I didn’t see this incident and forget about it to the best of my ability.

It seems like it’s time for me to get moving, too. I don’t need to look back to know that.

“Great・Ted・Kick!”

I casually dodged the dropkick from Ted, who was shouting the name of his technique.

“Damn it! J-Just how did you manage to avoid my attack!?”

I can grasp the actions of this rich kid of nobility perfectly, even with my eyes closed.

If you want to get behind me, you’ll probably have to start by learning how to remove your presence.

“Ugh. N-No more…! I’ve reached my limit…”

In the end, that kick was Ted’s last attack.

Having exhausted all of his magic power, Ted faints with his eyes rolled back into his head.

Was it a failure?

I might have gone a little too hard on him, being that it’s only his first day.

But surprisingly, Ted seemed to like this game.

As a result, the game of tag between Ted and me would continue as part of our daily routine from the next day onwards.

As for me, it’s part of my training to move my body, not just reading books in a library.

It can also be said that I have a convenient pastime (workout partner) now.


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