Chapter 96

What Ariel proposed to Rakia was to teach her teleportation magic.

Teleportation is a magic that allows instant travel to another location.

At first glance, it seems similar to Blink, but teleportation has no distance limit. If you’ve been to a place once, you can instantly travel anywhere on the continent.

Of course, it also has a fatal drawback.

That is the enormous mana consumption.

To cast teleportation, you need an amount of mana that far exceeds the limits of what a human can reach.

Because of that enormous mana consumption, even the great mages who left their names in history rarely used teleportation.

To solve that, the Teleport Scroll was devised.

It is a one-time-use tool that casts teleportation, made by engraving a teleportation magic circle on paper and compressing a huge amount of mana into it.

The usage is simple.

Just tear the scroll, and the stored mana is released, activating the teleportation.

This allows the user to cast teleportation without consuming their own mana.

Moreover, since the coordinates are written on the scroll, you can even travel to places you’ve never been before.

The problem is the complicated production process.

Making a Teleport Scroll requires several high-level mages, an extremely expensive scroll and mana ink, and a lot of time to compress the mana.

In that sense, Teleport Scrolls aren’t very efficient either.

The current number of Teleport Scrolls in the Empire is very small, and most of them are treasured like heirlooms by the royal family or high-ranking nobles.

They never use Teleport Scrolls carelessly, and even when they do, it’s limited to very important moments like wars.

Normally, humans prefer to travel by carriage, and unless there’s a desperate reason to use it, they don’t bother with Teleport Scrolls.

And it’s the same for dragons.

Even though dragons possess enough mana to cast teleportation, they rarely use it.

The reason is, again, the mana consumption.

The mana required for teleportation is burdensome even for dragons, so they prefer to build teleportation portals like Elysion or simply fly across the continent.

However, from Ariel’s perspective…

There was no problem at all.

Ariel’s mana is infinite, and she could cast teleportation continuously without any burden.

Having recently experienced Teleport Scrolls and portals, Ariel was already deeply fascinated by their convenience.

*

A magic lecture suddenly unfolded at the lakeside of Evergreen Forest.

Rakia began teaching Ariel teleportation magic.

Though it was called a lecture, it wasn’t much.

All Ariel asked Rakia for was a simple explanation of the principles of teleportation magic, nothing more.

Based on past experience, Ariel could master a magic skill as soon as she understood its principles.

She had learned telekinesis, which she now frequently uses, in the same way.

“The core of teleportation lies in manipulating spatial coordinates.”

Rakia, sitting by the lakeside, began explaining the principles of teleportation.

“You focus mana while visualizing the coordinates of your destination in your mind. Then, a kind of passage is created between the current space and the destination…”

While Rakia was enthusiastically explaining, Ariel simply nodded and listened.

Although Rakia’s explanation felt a bit complicated, Ariel was gradually understanding the principles of teleportation.

Complex formulas were being organized in her mind, as if she had been researching teleportation for years.

Controlling the flow of mana, recognizing spatial coordinates, and opening a passage to the destination.

Ariel was mastering teleportation perfectly just by listening to Rakia’s explanation.

“Then, I’ll demonstrate it for you, Lady Ariel.”

After finishing her explanation, Rakia energetically stood up.

Soon, a blue light shimmered beneath Rakia, and her figure disappeared with a *poof*.

Rakia reappeared above the lake.

She was floating as if suspended in mid-air, a result of combining teleportation and fly magic.

“Whoa.”

Roo exclaimed in admiration, fiddling with the magic tool on her finger.

“I can do that too!”

Soon, Roo disappeared and reappeared above Rakia’s head.

“How’s that?”

“That’s Blink, you dummy. What I did was teleportation, which can go much farther.”

“For short distances, they’re similar, right?”

“No, they’re not!”

While the two bickered, Ariel quietly closed her eyes and drew in mana.

Blue mana rippled around Ariel’s body like waves.

And then.

*Poof!*

In the next moment, Ariel’s figure disappeared.

She had cast teleportation.

Ariel had moved to the sky.

Using telekinesis to keep herself from falling, she looked down.

A lush forest filled with green stretched out below.

Tall trees densely packed, and at the edge, a modest village was nestled.

A familiar sight.

It was the scenery Ariel had seen when she first started her adventure, flying through the sky with Roo’s Flying Powder.

What lay ahead was Harrington Village.

Though it hadn’t been that long, seeing it again brought a fresh wave of emotions.

Ariel smiled faintly.

A peaceful daily life was unfolding in Harrington Village.

Children were playing in the village plaza, women were drawing water at the well.

Merchants were unloading their goods and chatting in front of the inn, while nearby, farmers were busy with their work in the fields.

After quietly observing the scene, Ariel returned to Evergreen Forest.

*Poof!*

“Say that again! How dare you, a tiny fairy, talk back to me?”

Rakia was holding Roo with both hands and shaking her back and forth.

Roo’s eyes were rolling as if she was about to faint, but Rakia didn’t care and kept shaking her.

Finally, when Roo’s head drooped, a panicked expression appeared on Rakia’s face.

“Uh… Roo, what’s wrong? Did you faint? Come to your senses.”

Rakia tapped Roo’s cheek with a worried voice.

“Sorry, was I too rough? I got carried away…”

Then Roo slowly raised her head and opened her eyes. It seemed she had just pretended to faint.

Roo stuck out her tongue at Rakia and laughed, while Rakia frowned and threw Roo away.

“Stop messing around, you fairy brat!”

Roo flew straight and then used Blink to appear on Ariel’s shoulder.

She sat cross-legged, looking relaxed.

Seeing Roo like that, Rakia clenched her fist, but she was more focused on the fact that Ariel had just cast teleportation.

“Ah, Lady Ariel! Was that teleportation just now? You mastered it perfectly in such a short time! Where did you go?”

In response to Rakia’s question, Ariel told her where she had been.

Just briefly, the village where she first started her adventure.

Rakia blinked.

“Wait, did you go outside Evergreen Forest…?”

“Yes.”

“Then, that means you freely moved through the magic barrier my mother set up?!”

“Correct.”

Ariel nodded nonchalantly, but Rakia’s expression was filled with shock.

“T-that means Lady Ariel’s mana capacity is a step above my mother’s…”

Evergreen Forest is Elysion’s personal space, accessible only through portals.

And outside that space, there’s a magic barrier set up by Elysion.

The magic barrier not only blocks external intrusions but also distorts spatial coordinates to hinder teleportation.

Yet, Ariel had casually passed through that barrier using teleportation.

This is impossible without an enormous mana capacity and precise magical control that surpasses Elysion’s magic barrier.

From Rakia’s perspective, she couldn’t help but think that Ariel’s abilities had surpassed her mother, Elysion.

That fact left Rakia both confused and filled with awe for Ariel.

“You’re amazing, Lady Ariel…”

Rakia, who had been floating above the lake, slowly descended in front of Ariel.

Then Ariel approached Rakia and spoke.

“Thank you, Rakia. For teaching me teleportation magic.”

“Ah, no, if it’s something Lady Ariel wants, I can do anything. This is nothing.”

“Then, tell me what you want now.”

“What I want…?”

“Yes.”

Originally, Ariel’s request for Rakia to teach her teleportation was more of a proposal than a favor.

Rakia had simply taught her without expecting anything in return, but Ariel wanted to give her a proper reward.

Teleportation would be very useful in the future.

“Ah, um, I’m fine, but if you insist…”

Rakia hesitated as she spoke.

“Then, how about I become Lady Ariel’s guardian knight…?”

At that, Roo snickered beside her.

“Rakia, do you think Lady needs a guardian knight like you?”

“……”

Rakia closed her mouth.

Even she thought it was a ridiculous idea.

Ariel had surpassed her mother, so what could she possibly protect?

If anything, it would make more sense for Ariel to be Rakia’s guardian knight.

‘But Lady Ariel has already made a covenant with the Saintess…’

Rakia felt a sense of urgency.

Even though Ariel had asked her to say what she wanted, her mind went blank, and nothing came to her.

“Ah, or, how about I become Lady Ariel’s personal steed? No, a bed! Lady Ariel can use me as a pillow. If I undo Polymorph, my body is big and soft enough… Or…”

In her haste, Rakia blurted out whatever came to mind, and as she spoke, her face turned increasingly red.

She realized how absurd her words were. She felt like an idiot.

“……”

Rakia quietly looked at the ground, and Ariel took a step closer to her.

“I have a good idea, Rakia.”

“A g-good idea…? What kind…?”

Rakia glanced up. Her eyes, filled with a mix of hope and anxiety, looked at Ariel.

Ariel reached out and gently patted Rakia’s head as she spoke.

“When you have your own lair later, I’ll be your guardian.”