**Chapter 39: The Beautiful Girl Falls from the Sky**
“HYAAAAA!”
“Wha…!”
Rest had just slid into the landing zone of the woman falling from the clock tower, but her momentum was overwhelming. Even if he used Body Enhancement to catch her, the impact would be too great, and they would both suffer injuries far worse than mere fractures.
(Then… a Quartet!)
He activated the magic of quadruple casting. By simultaneously unleashing multiple spells, he aimed to reduce the force of her fall.
(First, Wind Control… then Floating!)
He directed a gust of wind upward to cushion the woman’s descent. At the same time, he cast the spell to make objects float. He didn’t apply too much force; if he overdid it, the shock could injure her body instead.
(Just enough to soften the impact… and now, Water Sphere, Amplification!)
He invoked the lower-tier water spell, Water Sphere, and combined it with the Amplification spell to enhance its power. A large sphere of water expanded around him, large enough to envelop a human body.
“Wha…!?”
(Good… this should work!)
The woman’s body, now slowed by the two spells, plunged into the water. The liquid acted as a cushion, absorbing the impact. Rest, waiting beneath the surface, caught her as she nearly lost all momentum.
“Blub blub blub…!?”
(I did it! She doesn’t seem to be injured.)
He successfully caught her without feeling much of an impact. Immediately, he dispelled the Water Sphere, letting the water flow away.
“Phew!”
“Hah, hah… what on earth just happened…!?”
The woman emerged from the water, bewildered, cradled in Rest’s arms. Upon closer inspection, she appeared to be around his age. With her short red hair, dressed in pants and a shirt, her soaked clothes accentuated her curvaceous figure. The white shirt became somewhat transparent, threatening to reveal her undergarments, but Rest quickly cast Dry.
“Yikes!”
“Is this alright…? Are you okay, miss?”
“Wait… huh? You are…?”
“I apologize for the intrusion, but I had to touch your body. Please forgive me in this emergency.”
He gently lowered her to the ground and bowed slightly. No matter the reason, he had drenched her and pressed their bodies together. As a gentleman, he felt it necessary to apologize.
“Oh… right, I fell from the clock tower…”
“In that case, I’ll take my leave now.”
While he was curious about why this red-haired woman had fallen from the clock tower, he honestly didn’t want to get involved. With the entrance exam coming up, he decided it was best to leave without introducing himself.
“Wait! You helped me, didn’t you!?”
“Wha…!”
“Thank you! You saved me!”
The woman matched her pace with Rest, expressing her gratitude. Although Rest was using Body Enhancement, she was running alongside him at the same speed.
(Though I’m not at full power, how is she keeping up…? No, more importantly…!)
What was truly alarming was that she wasn’t using any magic. He sensed no magical aura from her. This meant she was matching his speed purely with her natural physical abilities.
(She caught up to me with sheer leg strength… is she some kind of monster!?)
“My name is Yuri Cattleya. Can you tell me your name?”
“…Rest. I don’t have a surname. Just Rest.”
“I see, Rest-kun. Nice to meet you!”
The short-haired redhead, Yuri, smiled brightly as they ran side by side. Despite being in a city, they were moving at a speed comparable to a moped. Rest felt a slight chill as Yuri jogged alongside him effortlessly, without breaking a sweat.
“Actually, I just arrived in the royal capital a little while ago. I got lost. I climbed the clock tower to get a better view, but… I must have slipped. You’re my lifesaver. I’ll definitely repay this debt!”
“R-really…?”
While he appreciated her gratitude, he wished she wouldn’t follow him. As he grimaced at Yuri’s persistence, he suddenly recalled the name she had mentioned—Cattleya. It rang a bell.
“Cattleya… are you perhaps related to the Marquis Cattleya?”
The Marquis Cattleya was the captain of the Royal Guard Knights, serving under the king. While Marquis Rosemary was the head of the Court Magicians and the top sorcerer in the kingdom, Marquis Cattleya was the leader of the knights. He was one half of the figure known as the “King’s Twin Wings” in the royal court.
“Ah, well… my father, um…”
“Why are you so flustered?”
“I-I’m not flustered! I’m not running away from home or anything!”
“…”
It seemed she was indeed running away from home. As she stammered, her eyes darted around.
(If you want to hide your identity, don’t mention your family name! But if I point that out, would I lose? What a dilemma…)
“I see… a runaway girl who’s lost…”
“Yeah… wait, I’m lost, but I’m not a runaway!”
“Alright, alright… by the way, I have somewhere to be, so I hope you don’t mind if I take my leave here?”
Whatever her reasons, he wanted to avoid the hassle of being with the daughter of the captain of the knights and a noble. He had an important exam coming up and didn’t want to get caught up in any more unnecessary trouble.
“Oh… I’m sorry about that. By the way, where are you headed?”
“…To the Royal Academy. I have an entrance exam coming up.”
“The Royal Academy?”
Yuri blinked in surprise. As they continued their conversation, they arrived at the gates of the Royal Academy. The institution, established by the royal family, was surrounded by brick walls, with armored knights standing guard at the entrance. Beyond the gates stood a magnificent white building, where young candidates, presumably also there for the exam, were entering.
“Oh, I’ve been saved again!”
Yuri exclaimed beside him.
“Actually, I was planning to take the entrance exam for this academy too! Thanks to you, I’ve been saved once more. Thank you so much!”
“……………………I see.”
After a long silence, Rest nodded with a complex expression that was hard to describe.
(A daughter of the captain of the knights and a noble from the Cattleya family is taking the exam as a commoner…? This definitely smells like trouble.)
Rest felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at Yuri, who wore a friendly smile like a gentle giant dog.