Crisis During Vacation (3)

"Aaaargh, too slow!"




Cassie suddenly signaled the driver to stop.


As soon as the carriage stopped, Cassie jumped down and started to run.


"Eh, Ophelia-sama, what are you—?"


Meredea was very surprised by her superior's abrupt decision and rash behavior, but she decided to jump down and follow her.


"Ophelia-sama, I think going by the carriage is still faster—," Meredea was actually surprised that her superior would shutdown her thinking system in time of panic. It's not like the superior she knows and admires.


Just as Meredea was about to catch up to Cassie, suddenly Cassie shouted.




"O Magical Beast that has— tch, too long! I summon thee, [Hippogriff]!"


"W-w-w-what?!"




Upon hearing Cassie's chant, Meredea was astonished. Astonished by the fact that Cassie would suddenly chant a summoning spell out of the blue.


So, this is why she ran out of the carriage?!


But she was more astonished by Cassie's line of words.


--tch, too long!


...Just... wow.




Of course, almost every magician is more used to utter the long version of the chant rather than the shortened version of it. Using a shortened chant—and Nonspraec chant... is way too mana consuming and too tiring! Even more so for a high level spell such as summoning spell! That is why almost all magicians who can use summoning spells are used to chanting the complete version of the chant. Even Cassie is used to utter the full chant, although she prefers to use the Nonspraec incantation rather than Spraec incantation.


But cutting through the incantation midway plus flying your complain before changing it to a shortened version is something uncalled for! And that sort of behavior comes straight from the Head of Royal Magicians, one of the most powerful or influential magician in Riviera!


Meredea understands that Cassie is in a panic, yet it was still something unexpected. Even until this moment, she is still baffled by what she just witnessed.




A light green magical circle appeared in front of Cassie, shining brightly with a very strong gust of wind. Meredea covered her eyes and squinted in reflex. Soon enough, the figure of a summoned beast appeared in front of them.


The summoned beast's size is not very huge, but it is not a small beast, either. True to its name that Cassie just yelled before, its front body is that of an eagle's, while its back is that of a horse's. One pair of strong wings is there on its back, currently flapping with all its might, causing the strong wind to envelop its vicinity.



"Gwaaah!" The hippogriff growled.



Without any words, Cass quickly hopped onto the hippogriff's back and commanded it to start flying, all the way back to the inn. The two of them swiftly soared high in the sky, and...




Standing just right behind the spot where the hippogriff appeared was a lone woman. She barely recovered from the strong gust that suddenly blew up due to the summoning magic, blocking her movement and sight. In the end, she couldn't make it in time to hop on the hippogriff's back before it flew away.




"Ophelia-sama, wait for meeeeee---!!"




Meredea's pitiful voice echoed through the entire road, as Cassie has totally forgotten about Meredea and already took off with her summoned hippogriff.




***




"You sure have a lot of nerve, eh?!"


The female leader is currently lifting Altaire up in the air, holding him up so that their eyes can meet one another.


Before they got into this kind of position, Altaire managed to send the daggers flying to the three of them—not the real ones, but the illusions. There was only one real dagger amidst the total of eight flying daggers. As they flew towards the intruders, the number continued to multiply, in order to confuse them.


The woman who proclaimed herself as a big sister that wanted to play with them—managed to dodge the illusions and protected herself by using her electrical shield, dissolving the illusionary daggers directed towards her—and since Altaire aimed the real dagger at her, the dagger met the electrical shield and fall down.




Taking advantage of the short time when Altaire got surprised, the ruthless woman advanced forward and sent an electric shock towards the seven-year-old boy, causing him to yelp in surprise as he collapsed to the floor.


The merciless leader didn't hold anything back and grabbed Altaire by his collar in a very rough manner. She was so upset at Altaire that she couldn't help but to intimidate him.


Realizing the current situation he's in, Altaire couldn't think straight. The woman's glaring eyes were intimidating enough that the usually fearless Altaire would feel fear this time.


Maybe, if they didn't try to make any kind of resistance, the intruders would just take them as ransom, to make some kind of one-sided deal with his parents. But, there is also the probability that they would just get killed anyway. He wasn't sure of the intruders' intention.




But at least... Altaire felt kind of relieved that he managed to send his sister off. He just wishes that at least, she won't get caught.


The little sister who seemed way more mature than him, always relenting before he picked a fight with her. The little sister who would never touch anything that he wanted to have for himself, be it toys, foods, and other things—so that they won't get into fights over things. The little sister who seemed to take the role of the older sibling instead. The little sister who got upset when he played pranks at her, but never really bawled herself and tattled to their parents.


At least, with how he braced himself to let her run, finally he felt like he could play the role of the older sibling. After all, isn't that the role of an older brother? A little sister must be protected by her older brother, not the other way round. With that in mind, Altaire felt relieved that Lyra has escaped.




However, unbeknownst to them, there were people stationed at each end of the corridor, just before the barrier's wall that separated their rooms and nearby hallway from the outside world. If Altaire knew, perhaps he wouldn't have asked Lyra to run by herself.


Currently, he is unaware of his little sister's split-second decision, which should benefit them more in this condition.


Currently, he can only focus on the lunatic woman in front of him—although he can only see her mad eyes.




"At first I just planned on taking you away... only that... but now you've got on my nerves, so..."


Not good, not good. He can still feel the electric shock running through his body, how can he dodge this one?



"Onee-chan will mess you up real good, then, until your soul is tainted in black!"



The maniacal laugh she let out after uttering such words towards a mere child echoed through the room.


Surely, something is amiss inside this ruthless woman's mind.


Altaire closed his eyes in fear of what is going to happen to himself.

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