Credits
INCLUDE THIS SECTION UNALTERED IF YOU TRANSLATE THIS TO OTHER LANGUAGES
Sureiyasu Supesharu 2 – Ritoru Purinsesu by Hajime Kanzaka.
Illustrations by Rui Araizumi.
Originally published by Kadokawa on March 16, 1992.
This translation is based on the updated eBook version released on August 2, 2012.
English translation by H. Berry
Cleaned color illustrations by Arturo Songor (@artson593)
The
Child
Originally published in the November 1991 issue of Monthly Dragon
Magazine
“—and with that, I, Lina Inverse, conclude today’s lecture.” I gave a
crisp bow, and the hall erupted in applause.
I dropped by this town’s sorcerers’ guild hoping to run into someone
from home, but the chairman spotted me and begged for a guest lecture to the
apprentices. Easy money, free cooling magic in the dorms, a break from my
loud-mouthed traveling companion after all the free jobs I’ve had to do lately?
I said yes before he finished the sentence.
Five days of lecturing later, I learned that teaching isn’t as easy as
blowing up a bandit camp. The eager students were fine, but the slackers? A
nightmare.
Talk too much about ethics and they glazed over. Get abstract and the
veterans whine. Still, the roar of applause made it clear I pulled it off.
Warm applause, cool air, coin in my purse, life was good.
If only it had ended there.
“Hey, miss.”
The voice came while Naga and I were having lunch downtown. Had it
belonged to a creepy old man, he’d have been unconscious before my tea cooled.
Instead, a boy of maybe ten stood there. Blond hair, green eyes,
annoyingly perfect features, he’ll be heartbreak material in a few years. He
also wore the knee-high gray cloak marked with a cursed crest, a clear
apprentice sorcerer.
He looked familiar.
“Huh? You…”
“You know this kid?” Naga asked, mug in hand, face as blank as always.
“I think he was in my lecture.”
“That’s right! I’m Clay,” he grinned.
I didn’t know his name, but he left an impression on me because,
despite his rude attitude, he asked some sharp questions.
“Your lecture was amazing, Miss Inverse. I was impressed.”
“Aww, not really,” I tried to act humble while munching on stewed
lamb.
“When I grow up, I’ll be a sorcerer who can blow away mazoku and
dragons with a single hit!”
Easy to say, but the power of dragons and most mazoku is quite high.
However, there’s no need for me to lecture him on the true danger of
mazoku and crush his childhood dreams.
Clay scooted around the table and plopped down beside me. “But
knowledge isn’t enough, right? You need real experience.”
I sipped my tea, “True enough.”
“So I decided…” he squared his shoulders, “I’ll become your
apprentice!”
Pffffffft!
Tea, lamb, and vegetables exploded out of my mouth.
“Whaaaaa!”
“Whoa, you completely soaked him!”
Clay and Naga yelped as he dabbed his face with a handkerchief.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I’ll become your apprentice!”
“…becoming Lina’s apprentice is practically suicide.”
“And what exactly do you mean by that, Naga?”
“You know perfectly well.”
I hate it when she’s right.
I turned back to the kid, “Do you even know what you’re asking?
Apprentices get sent on ‘tests’ that border on impossible. Survive those and
your master kicks you out with a ‘there’s nothing left to teach you.’ That’s
how it works.”
“Really?”
“Yes!”
“But I still want to be a sorcerer, stronger than the legendary Lei
Magnus!”
That’s nice and all, but you don’t become my apprentice without my
consent… Besides, a kid tagging along would really cramp my bandit-bullying
schedule.
“Ooooohohohoho! Looks like he likes you, Lina Inverse. Well, you are
both children.”
Annoying.
Before I could retort, Clay looked Naga dead in the eye, “Please be
quiet, booby lady. I’m talking to my flat master.”
“…booby…”
“…flat…”
Bang!
Our combined strike was poetry in motion.
“It’s Lady Naga, got it?”
“And you call me Lina. Say it.”
“I-I’m sorry! I was too brash!”
Good. Children need discipline and education.
“Regardless, I’m not taking an apprentice.”
“No matter what you say, your body is honest.”
“…Where did you learn that line?”
“I’ve heard that if I want a girl to listen to me, I should say that.”
Definitely not that kind of education.
“I’m in your care, Master!”
“…”
“Yeah, I think you have to keep him now.”
Great.
By late afternoon we’d moved into a quieter part of town, and the boy
was still on our heels. For someone so small, he had ridiculous stamina. We
tried ditching him, reporting him to the guild, everything. He kept coming
back.
“Hey, Master!”
“…”
“At least answer me.”
“Ugh,” I finally looked back, “Clay, you want to be a sorcerer’s
apprentice, but have you even told your parents?”
“Well…no. But if I become your apprentice, you can convince them!”
He’s pretty spineless.
“It’s way too early for you to become a sorcerer’s apprentice if you
can't even convince your parents yourself! Pretty sure I said this in the
lecture, but regarding magic, talent alone isn’t enough, the ability to
construct theory is a huge factor. You must theorize what you believe to be correct
and convince others too. If you can’t, you’ll never be able to create magic,
and a truly great sorcerer doesn't just memorize spells.”
“Uh-huh…”
“Naga, don’t interrupt. If the guild’s training isn’t enough, fine,
but if you can’t keep up, you’ll be a burden. And the true purpose of a
sorcerer is exploration; magic’s just the tool—”
“Lina…”
“Didn’t I say don’t interrupt—wait, huh?!”
I spun around. Empty street.
“Maybe he finally gave up?”
Naga shook her head, “No. A moment ago some shady types threw a burlap
sack over him and carried him off.”
“Wait… that’s kidnapping!”
“I thought the same,” Naga struck a completely useless pose, “I’ve
heard it’s common here.”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?!”
“I tried. You weren’t listening.”
“…Anyway, we have to save him!”
“This is unlike you, doing something unprofitable.”
“It’s not about profit! Half the town saw him following us. If we
don’t help, we’ll look like the kidnappers!”
“...in any way, you’re not saving him out of the goodness of your
heart…”
“…I’m pretty sure they went this way.”
“I need more than pretty sure,” I cast a suspicious look at Naga.
Still, I followed her into the reeking alley where the kidnappers
disappeared. The back street stank of damp wood and old cabbage.
“Let’s ask that guy.”
An old man was rummaging through a mountain of trash. Naga and I
approached.
“Excuse me, we’d like to ask you something.”
“Did you see some men carrying some large, possibly moving, sack pass
by here just now?”
He straightened, eyes twinkling, “Now, ladies, when you want
information, you really ought to—”
“Naga Straaaaash!”
“Inverse Craaaaash!”
After giving the man a piece of our mind, we tried again.
“Excuse me, we’d like to ask you something.”
“Did you see some men carrying some large, possibly moving, sack pass
by here just now?”
“I-I’m sorry! I’ll answer any questions you have, please forgive me…!”
A few blocks later, we overheard low voices from a soot-stained
apartment building.
“Heh-heh, this is going perfectly.”
“Once we get the ransom, we’ll be living like kings.”
Found them. They hadn’t even bothered to hide their tracks.
We drifted upward with Ray Wing, hugging the shadows to peer through
grimy windows.
By the way, Naga can’t use levitation (probably because she has no
intention of learning it herself), so I was pulling here and made her cling to
the outside of the building, the ventilation shaft or something. She looks
really weird, but there’s nothing I can do to help her.
It goes without saying that if Naga and I go all out we could cause
huge trouble for the surrounding area, and besides, let’s call it a test for
Clay.
Haha.
Inside, a hulking thug loomed over Clay, who sat tied to a chair.
“Where’s your home, kid?”
“As if I’d tell a bunch of lowlifes!”
Nice spirit, right up until the thug snapped his fingers.
“Waaaah! I’m sorry!! Mars Street… number twelve!”
I sighed. Brave heart, sponge spine.
“Mars Street? Fancy neighborhood,” the big guy said.
“Wait, Mars Street twelve? Is Jagan your father?”
“…Yeah.”
The smaller thug smacked his partner. “Idiot! Jagan’s the sorcerers’
guild chairman!”
“Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!?” I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
“What was that?”
“Someone’s outside!”
I shot straight up into the dark, cursing silently. Naga, of course,
was still plastered to the window.
If they looked out, they’d see her instantly.
“…meow…meow…” Naga purred like a cat.
I buried my face in my hands.
…what’s the point of imitating a cat?
And just like that, they now have two hostages.
A minute later Naga was tied to a chair beside Clay, still cackling,
“Ooohohoho! You think you’ve captured Naga the Serpent—”
“What’s with this woman?”
“Judging by the outfit, maybe a lady of the night? But why the cat
act…?”
The two kidnappers were whispering to each other while looking at a
tied and loudly laughing Naga.
Perhaps they’re confused by her extremely suspicious appearance, they
don’t seem to think she’s there to save Clay.
I had to signal Naga against getting violent with them, so she calmly
sat tied in a chair.
Of course, I already came up with a plan: wait until they fall asleep,
sneak in, free the hostages, alert the guards. And when this was over, Clay
would learn exactly what “being Lina Inverse’s apprentice” means.
Night fell.
The kidnappers were discussing various things, such as how to collect
the ransom, but they soon began yawning, perhaps because they’re finally getting
sleepy.
Naga and Clay were sleeping peacefully in their chairs too, it seems
they already forgot they’re hostages.
…am I the only one taking this seriously? Like, I’m not abandoning
them, but still.
“…Alright, that’s the plan. I think it’s time to go to bed for today.
“...yeah, the hostages are asleep, we’ve talked for a long time…”
“But who is this woman? She just kept laughing and laughing.”
“...I think it’s better not to get involved with her.”
You have no idea how right you are.
“Anyway, we’ll think about how to get rid of her tomorrow. Let’s go to
bed for now.”
“Yeah.”
So far all is going according to plan.
However, it was here where something completely unexpected completely
ruined my meticulous and perfectly crafted plan.
One of them closed and locked the window.
Seems I’ll just have to brute force this.
“Dam Brass!”
The window flew open with a loud bang.
Still, to prevent the hostages from being used as shields, I decided
to break in and then do a powerful attack.
“What was that!?”
“Maybe it’s the woman…!”
I could hear noises coming from the back room.
“Wake up Naga!” I gently whispered to her ear before kicking her on
the side of the head.
“W-what was that for?!”
“What were you doing? Sit tight. I’ll release you, grab Clay.”
She nodded, for once serious.
The back door creaked. Two thugs, lamp in hand.
“What the—who are you?”
“Kidnappers!” I declared with righteous authority. The pair froze,
always nice when criminals are that predictable.
“Diem Wind!”
A simple spell that creates a gust of wind, but if used properly in a
closed space like this, it can be strong enough to blow a person down.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
“...a sorceress!”
“Naga, Clay, now!” I grabbed them both and jumped out the window,
levitating, of course.
I only needed to make sure those guys stayed down, but the moment I
thought that, Naga suddenly threw up a wind barrier around us.
“What are you doing all of a sudden—” I began, but before I could
finish, a flash of light burst across the night. A loud explosion followed,
heat and shock slamming into us.
“Wha…?” I spun around. The two kidnappers were floating in the air,
just like us.
“Don’t think you’re the only sorcerer here,” the big guy said with a
sarcastic grin.
They’d probably fired off a Fireball or something; Naga must have
sensed it and raised the barrier in time.
They might look like simple thugs, but using magic like that makes
them dangerous.
They weren’t a real threat to Naga and me, but Clay is another story.
He’s still just an apprentice and probably couldn’t use anything useful in
combat. He’d only get in the way, and it’s not as if I could stash him
somewhere, someone else might kidnap him again.
That left only one option.
I set Naga and Clay down on the roof of a nearby apartment. “Naga,
keep an eye on him. Clay, keep an eye on her.”
“...okay… do your best, Master….” He nodded, rubbing his eyes, still
half-asleep.
After warning Naga to refrain from using magic (mostly because I
didn’t want her hitting me), I shot back into the air.
“Are you seriously going to fight us on your own? Really?”
“I’m more than enough for you.” My answer made the little guy bristle.
“Insolent! We’ll kill you!”
The big one nodded and fired a Flare Arrow.
It looked like the small fry handled levitation while the big one
attacked.
No problem. I prioritize maneuverability in aerial combat; Ray Wing
makes me faster than their Levitation. No real need to dodge, anyway, the wind
barrier deflected the arrow.
My turn. Though with Ray Wing active, I couldn’t cast anything too
powerful.
“Dam Bras!”
“Aero Bomb!”
What!? My spell veered off just before it reached them, as if
deflected.
Aero Bomb compresses air and bursts where you aim. It isn’t strong,
about the force of a solid punch, but that guy used it to cancel my magic.
Beginner spells, sure, but their creativity made them troublesome.
I could go all out with heavy magic, but in a crowded area the
collateral damage would be huge.
Then…
I circled the pair, dodging their shots and slipping in a few small
attacks of my own. Soon enough, though, I found myself on the defensive.
“Damn!” I turned my back and fled.
“You’re not getting away!”
The big guy stopped the overeager little one, “Wait! Remember, our
opponent’s a professional sorceress! If we chase her, she’ll lure us into an
open space and hit us with something big!”
“But…”
“What!?”
“She really left…”
“Huh?”
The two stared blankly as I disappeared.
Or so they thought.
My strike from behind landed perfectly.
Nothing fancy, I’d simply turned a corner, circled the building, and
come back from behind. The big guy assumed it was a feint and never expected
the real thing.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!” The little guy’s grip slipped, and the big one,
suddenly without levitation, plunged straight down.
He wasn’t moving, but we weren’t that high. Probably just unconscious.
Probably.
Anyway, one left.
“Y-You… how dare you…” He tried to bluff, but fear leaked through.
With his slow floating speed, he inched backward, very, very slowly.
At that moment, something smacked him square on the head.
Surprisingly, it was Clay, who jumped off the roof of a four-story
building and kicked the little guy hard.
“Clay!” I landed fast and ran to him. Luckily, he wasn’t hurt at all.
“...Master! I did it!” He clung to me, sobbing. Still a kid, after
all.
I stroked his head gently, “It’s okay, evil’s been defeated. But Clay,
even if you did that to save me, a kick like that is dangerous. Don’t ever do
it again.”
“...but, she wasn’t doing anything…” He pointed at Naga, who was
laughing loudly into the moonlit night.
…What the hell is she doing…
“...Okay, listen, Clay. Traveling sorcerers have to handle jobs like
this all the time. You can’t survive without a certain level of skill. You need
to understand that.”
He nodded. I glanced at the kidnappers sprawled on the street,
“Besides, no matter how powerful your magic is, if you don’t have the right
heart, it’ll only turn into dangerous power.”
For some reason, he looked from Naga to me and nodded again, deeper
this time.
“If you understand that, then that’s enough,” I set my hands on his
shoulders, “I have nothing else to teach you.”
And so, the incident ended peacefully.
After seeing Naga and me in action, Clay abandoned the idea of
becoming my apprentice and went home quietly. According to a follow-up
investigation Naga did later (don’t ask me how), he’s become strangely
reluctant even to study magic, which is driving his father crazy.
Happily ever after, I guess?
Contents
Chapter 1: Dragon's Peak
Chapter 2: Little Princess
Chapter 3: Labyrinth
Chapter 4: The order to eliminate Lina
Chapter 5: The Child
Chapter 6: Slayers EX - Little Princess 2 (Read right now on Patreon or Ko-Fi !)
Afterword, Color ilustrations and Download Links (Coming Soon!)
If you liked what you've read here and would like to help to make more feel free to support on Patreon or Kofi!
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