If regular magic was about bringing phenomena from the heart-realm and overlaying them onto reality. Shape was about creating an 'experience' and clothing my body in it. It was similar yet different from Remove:, which resists experience.
"The usual way to use it is to create a painful experience, clothe your body in it, and then reject it with Remove:. In that case, how would you use it in a combat situation?"
"I think I know what you're talking about."
As I took a shallow breath while listening to Dersia's advice, I heard the sound of footsteps on the dirty alley floor.
"I'm sure they came in here."
"Then why can't I see them?"
"Hey, how should I know... Found them!"
Three adult men. They had blunt weapons hanging from their waists. From their swaggering air, I could tell they were the type who played dangerous games.
The moment they saw us, they grinned and took a step closer. One of them, a muscular bald man who looked too much like a bandit, approached menacingly.
"Hey-" "If you're talking about money, we don't have any."
"... What?"
"My Master genuinely only brought books, so she's flat broke. I believe you gentlemen make a living through robbery and murder, but do you happen to dabble in money lending as well?"
"What are you on about?"
"I meant I'd like to borrow some money."
The bandits, looking at my calm eyes, chattered in confusion.
"Why's this brat so cheeky?"
"... Well, whatever. Kid. You have your guardian behind you, right?"
"Yes."
"She's an elf, right? Then you won't have to worry about money. Elf slaves fetch whatever price you name."
"I don't think you should be taking my guardian."
"Ah, don't worry. The welfare at orphanages these days is pretty good. Hahaha..."
Watching the bandits laugh amongst themselves, I was so dumbfounded that I asked Dersia.
"Why is the security in this city like this? It hasn't even been an hour since we arrived."
"Every city has its underworld, but its power here is a little too strong. If we were to rashly suppress it, a civil war might break out."
"So that's why you came here."
As I nodded, the smiles vanished from the faces of the blinking bandits.
"... Wait, what's with these bastards?"
"They're too calm..."
They were quick to notice. Having spent their lives shaking down ordinary people, it seemed their instinct for sensing someone out of the ordinary was exceptionally sharp. Still, it seemed they had no intention of letting go of a combination that looked so easy—an elf slave and a child.
They closed the encirclement, remaining wary. Well, it was the right call. It would have been meaningless even if they had tried to run.
I took a step forward, invoking Shape:.
"You brought this on yourself, you bastard!"
The bandit, not holding back in the slightest, drew his club and swung. He was aiming precisely for my head. I scowled and clenched my fist.
"Isn't this a bit much for a 10-year-old, no matter what."
"Gack...!"
The club stopped about 20cm above my head, frozen in place. The bandit was the same. Frozen in the dynamic pose of swinging his club, his face turned purple, swelling as he couldn't breathe.
If not for the occasional pained shudder that wracked his body, he might have been mistaken for an actor in a mime performance. Using this much water pressure, I wasn't unscathed either. Even with my robe mitigating it, my body had become stiff and frozen.
But there was a sensation that should have preceded it. There was no pain. That was because I had overwritten it with a state of being fine using Shape.
To put it simply, I had overwritten the sensation of pain with the experience of a normal state.
"Ki, what, kill him!"
"Shit!"
The other bandits' judgment was swift. The moment their companion was taken down by something unknown, they immediately drew their respective weapons and charged. -Thwack!!
"Gah-" I pushed them away with the currents, making them crash headfirst into the wall.
Ordinarily, this was something I couldn't do. The strain of the water pressure would have driven me out of my mind, so I wouldn't have been able to pay attention to anything else. Only after confirming with Tide Sense that they were unconscious did I release the water pressure and mutter.
"This isn't bad. No, this is great."
Just the fact that I didn't feel pain vastly increased the number of things I could do. For example, while directing the water pressure, I could use the currents for other tasks, or survey the situation with Tide Sense. Normally, it was something that required immense concentration, not something one could do while being crushed.
Dersia answered with a slightly peculiar expression.
"It does look a bit dangerous."
"What... huh?"
I was muttering while looking at my hands, then blinked when I saw my body had turned a dark bluish-black.
"... What is this?"
"Release it."
As she said, the moment I deactivated Shape:, a pain like my body would shatter washed over me.
"Gack..."
I scowled and leaned against the wall to soothe the pain. It felt like every bone in my body was being compressed. As I did so, Dersia explained.
"You're only not feeling the pain. Your body is still enduring the strain as it is, so it seems to be having the opposite effect. It would be best to refrain from using it in such a way."
"You told me to try it..."
"I didn't know it would be this severe. You could die mid-use, so unless it's truly an emergency, it's better to use Shape: only as a training method."
Shrugging, Dersia flicked her finger and woke one of the unconscious bandits.
"Wake up."
"Gyaaaaaaaah!!" ...
Though her method of 'waking up' was twisting his muscles. Watching the bandit's calf muscle deform wildly in midair, I felt a chill run down my spine. It was probably a variation of Shape: Rupture, and maybe because I'd experienced it, I couldn't help but sympathize.
That was definitely in the realm of torture. The bandit clutched his calf and writhed in pain, then looked at Dersia, who had pulled back the hood of her robe, and wore a puzzled expression.
"Wh-wh-who are you?"
"Your situational awareness is slow. If you answer what I ask, I will let you live."
"... Elf, mage... De, Dersia! Dersia Aspandil! The 9-Star mage!"
The bandit's face, as he mulled something over, was colored with shock. It seemed Dersia's name was known even by a member of such a rotten city. Though I didn't know it.
"Why on earth are you here-!"
"I'm not quite sure why you're mistaken about who's asking the questions..."
As Dersia sighed, the bandit's calf began to twist again.
"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!"
"I will ask three things. Are you a member of LIPS?"
"No! No no no no!!"
"Do you know someone who is a member?"
"Yes! My, my boss, he's a member!!"
"Lead the way."
The last one wasn't a question, but it seemed he didn't have the guts to object. We handed his unconscious companions over to the guards and forcibly dragged the trembling bandit, who was about to go in with them, to the expensive-looking mansion where his so-called boss was. Only then did I ask.
"What is LIPS?"
"An organization Red Lotus would have certainly contacted. They're not just in this city; they're nasty fellows hiding in the underworld of almost every city. If he wanted to gather forces, they would have been his first move."
"I see. Then what will you do?"
"We need to get information."
Dersia blinked— And her face changed. To be precise, her ears shrank, color returned to her skin, and her dark circles generally faded, but with just that, she transformed from a mean-looking elf into a haughty, peerless beauty. It was absurd.
"This should be enough to keep my identity from being discovered."
"Wear your hood too."
"I have already changed my face."
"... The changed face will draw more attention."
"...?"
Looking puzzled, Dersia put on her hood and walked toward the main gate. Naturally, the guards on duty approached.
"Halt, this is-" The words didn't continue.
Because he fainted midway and hit his head on the ground. Dersia, as if nothing had happened, threw open the door, went up to the fifth floor, and smashed the door down.
"... Uh, wha, what?"
Inside was a fat, middle-aged man diligently polishing a golden calf on his desk. He looked at the 10-year-old boy and the tall woman in a robe with a dumbfounded expression, then his face flushed with anger.
"Who are these bastards? Guards, guards!!"
"They are all resting."
"... Tsk, I don't know who you are, but you picked the wrong place to break into. Black Dogs, it's time to work!"
The man pulled a cord next to him. At that, assassins in black masks jumped out from the surrounding curtains.
Unconscious.
"...? Black Dogs?"
The assassins rolling on the floor were all, without exception, foaming at the mouth. The man's face, watching this, gradually filled with terror.
"Wh, who are you."
"I will ask first. Do you know Red Lotus?"
At those words, his face now turned ashen, and he pressed his lips together tightly before shaking his head.
"I don't know him, really, not at all!"
"Hmm, this is getting tedious."
Just as Dersia raised her finger, I stepped forward.
"Good choice. If you had said you knew just now, I would've killed you."
"... What?"
Taking advantage of his momentary confusion, I pushed him with a current and slammed him into the wall. -Thump!
"Keuk...!"
"But you'll have to choose your next answer carefully too. Why did you betray us?"
"W-wait... this thing..."
I released the current. The man, looking at me, nodded his head as if he had realized something.
"That age, that magic... you must be Red Lotus. But what on earth are you talking about! I never, not in the slightest, betrayed you!"
"..."
I exchanged a very brief glance with Dersia. Seeing the look that meant 'go ahead,' I took a step forward and threatened him.
"You didn't betray us? That's strange. Then why was our plan discovered?"
"Ah, you mean Azelin?"
"... Yes, there. The knights have spread out. It's something that couldn't have happened unless you bastards snitched."
"No, what in the world are you talking about?"
The man shook his head as if it were absurd.
"You were the ones who boasted that it wouldn't matter even if there were a thousand knights!"
"We, we did everything you asked. We brought as much seawater and ice as you wanted!"
"Master."
"Yes. We don't need anything more. Close your eyes or leave."
"Are you going to kill him?"
"Seeing an underworld mansion so openly in the light means he's already paid off everyone he can."
"A lower-level member might be caught, but this man would be released as soon as he was captured. Does that displease you?"
"No. I thought something similar."
"You should go outside."
"I don't really mind-" "You are still at an age where anything can be put into your heart-realm. I imagine you wouldn't want to see corpses floating in your Deep Sea."
"Ah, yes."
I left the man with the bewildered expression and Dersia behind and went outside. Dersia followed in less than 10 seconds. She had a rather pleased expression.
"That was good improvisation. He was a man who knew he would die if he spoke."
"He wouldn't have opened his mouth unless you made him want to die. Thanks to you, we saved a lot of time."
"... Though the situation isn't exactly good."
"Why is that?"
I answered while looking uncomfortably at the room where the man's body would be.
"Well, the place my disciple, Elysia, chose for her vacation was Azelin. I don't really know where that is, though."
"It is praised by the world as a beautiful castle. They say a lovely river flows there, and beautiful flowers that can only live there bloom."
"Have you been there?"
"Yes. I didn't see the river or flowers so I wouldn't know, and the library only had 500 books, all of which I had already read."
"From my perspective, it was a place I never wanted to visit again."
It was a very Dersia-like assessment. Feeling a sense of urgency, I asked.
"We're not too late, are we?"
"It's only been two days. I don't think they could have occupied the city in that time, so if we go a little quickly, there shouldn't be a major problem. Please rest assured."
"... Yes."
I pressed down my anxiety with Dersia's words. Dersia, who was watching me, chuckled.
"It's strange."
"Pardon?"
"It's truly strange that you, Jern, are worrying about someone else. Who is worrying about whom right now?"
"No matter what situation that child is in, no, even if she were dead, she would be in a better situation than you."
"A thought that occurs to me sometimes is that you, Master, seem to be severely lacking in empathy."
"That is an undeniable fact. However, I thought you had a disposition very similar to mine."
"... You are mistaken. I am a normal person who can feel anxious and sad when an acquaintance is in danger."
"Do you not think of that as your weakness?"
"As long as I know that the end for those who thought that way was Red Lotus, not at all."
"Hmm."
Dersia looked at me as if I were amusing, then opened a door. Beyond it was a hill blanketed with an extravagant spread of beautiful red and white flowers. Covered by the evening glow, it was a mesmerizing scene like a moving painting.
As I was captivated, she spoke.
"Then, while we're at it, let's save your disciple as we retrieve the books."
In Dersia's tone, there was only boredom, not conviction. As if it were something that would happen as a matter of course. Following her reliable back, I crossed through the door into a small cabin.
Ahead were hills of blooming flowers, and beyond them, small plumes of smoke rising.
"It seems to be dinner time."
"Do you have a plan?"
"I will borrow the power of the Black Magic Tower, issue a danger alert for the city, evacuate all the nobles, and then greet Red Lotus."
"If we are prepared, we can deal with anything they might do."
"That's reassuring. By the way~" As I climbed the hill, the flowers rustling under my feet, and looked around, I could see why this place was popular as a resort for nobles.
The sight of various flowers of all colors blooming was, at least among the landscapes I had seen in this world, the most beautiful.
"... What's this..."
However, there were a few strange things. Like footprints that seemed to have been made by a creature that was neither human nor beast. If you looked closely, you could see blood-stained armor, completely out of place, hidden among the flowers. -Finally, I saw that the smoke was a little, no, a lot thicker.
"... Master."
"I've confirmed it as well. It would be for the best... if this were part of a festival."
Dersia, who had quickly climbed the hill ahead of me, looked down below and then spoke as if it were nothing.
"Jern."
"Ah, yes. Is it a festival?"
"No." I also arrived and looked down at the city.
The city that came into view at a glance was a scene of pandemonium, with collapsed buildings, people screaming and fleeing, and writhing, grotesque monsters. Dersia answered, her face still impassive.
"It seems Red Lotus was much faster than we thought."