Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

After a while, there was a flurry of activity among the soldiers. It seemed that the soldiers were pulling up from the Karza Castle. I was told that this was because the enemy might attack if they retreated at once. Well, considering the safety of the soldiers, it was a reasonable strategy.

The soldiers were pulled out in small groups of ten. All of them were in bad shape. I thought they should have rescued the wounded first, but apparently they had already rescued those who were injured when the advance team arrived.

The soldiers who had been pulled out were being served food, and the smell of good food was wafting in the air here as well. We had just eaten beef stew, so we didn't feel particularly hungry, but the soldiers must have been hungry. They were moving toward the soup kitchen ahead of us.

"Somebody start a fire!

Out of nowhere, a man's voice is heard. One of the soldiers is wandering around, appealing to the others to build a fire. There was a wood pile beside him, and a pot-like object was placed right next to him. My guess is that he is either trying to prepare a meal in that pot or simply trying to boil water. I stood up and went over to the man.

"Are we going to build a fire here?"

"Yeah. ...... yeah."

He looks at me and his eyes go black and white. He is probably startled by the sudden appearance of this strange-looking man. I squint at him and light a small fireball on my index finger.

"There you go!"

With a flick of his index finger, he throws a small fireball into the firewood. Soon, a small pillar of fire rose from it.

"Oh, I didn't know fire could start so fast. ....... Thank you!"

He folded himself deeply and bowed. I told him I didn't deserve it and turned to leave.

"Hey, you!

I hear a woman's loud voice, and my body shakes involuntarily. A small woman wearing a robe was standing in front of me. She stared at me with a stern expression on her face.

What are you doing?

What is this woman? I had only started the fire in good faith, but what was wrong with that? What's wrong with that?

She is moving her face up and down slowly. She's staring at me. I wonder what's going on.

"You don't look familiar. What unit are you with?　Why are you hiding your face?"

"Uh, well, you know, ......"

"Can we not do this, Julia?"

I heard a man's voice. I looked in his direction, and there was Sarma.

"What the hell, get out of my way!"

I said, "No! This is a man from Agartha. Don't be rude.

"Agartha?

The woman is startled. Is this really such a surprise?

Are you from Agartha?　Are you really from Agartha?"

......... you're getting close. What's the matter with you, with your eyes sparkling so much?

"This is Lord Kenshin, sent by the king of Agartha. He will not participate in the battle directly, but he is here to give us various advices. Please do not make any misbehavior.

Sarma looks stunned. The woman called Julia looks at me and Tharma alternately and opens her mouth.

"Why is Agartha here?"

"His Majesty has requested reinforcements from Heedata and Agartha. In response, the king of Agartha has sent Lord Kenshin to our aid. This operation was also made possible by the wisdom of Lord Kenshin.

"Is this man's plan to withdraw from Karza Castle?　Are you stupid?"

...... This woman, Julia, has no sense of discretion and speaks out of turn. Well, she doesn't seem to be a bad person, but I don't like her. It's a little disconcerting to have an idiot in front of you. But she doesn't care about me and continues to say more.

"Do you have any idea what we were going through to protect that castle?　Do you have any idea how hard I worked to protect you!　I can't believe ...... that you would willingly give it to the enemy."

"That's why I've explained it to you so many times. We'll bring them into the castle, cut off their water supply, and leave them to dry in the sun. That is the most cost-effective strategy.

"......"

The woman bites her lip and turns her head. If you look closely, you can see that her robe is also quite dirty. The dark blue color of the robe makes the stains less noticeable, but there are some frayed areas, indicating that she herself had been in the front of the group for quite some time.

"Leave the rest to us. Now get back and rest."

Sarma said, urging her to step back and smiling wryly at me.

"I'm terribly sorry. She ...... Julia was one of the sorceresses who had packed the Khazan castle, and it is thanks to their work that this castle has held up so well."

"I see. Then you must be depleted of magic power. Please take a good night's rest.

I bail. At that moment, Julia seemed to remember something, and her body shook, and she came up to me with her legs wide apart and brought her face close to mine.

"Your magic, what is it?"

"What ...... would you say?"

"You had flames coming out of your fingertips, didn't you?　And then you just let it go straight into the firewood and set it on fire, didn't you?　That was condensed magic, wasn't it?　Only my teacher could have such a high level of skill. And yet, it didn't look like he was chanting for very long. How on earth did you do that?"

...... Is it that hard, this?　This is the first magic I learned from Master Falco.

"Listen, Linos. Concentrate the magic at your fingertips. Imagine a flame rising up. Imagine all the heat in your body at your fingertips. ...... there, you've got a flame. That's it. Now imagine that you are throwing it away from your fingertips, and move your fingers. ...... Why are you shooting at me?

I missed ....... Yes, the master then put out my fireball with a pillar of fire from his hand. And the flame reached me so hard that I was almost burned by it. I reflexively put up my warding, so I only got a light burn on my whole body.

However, my clothes were burnt and torn to shreds, and later my master was severely beaten by Mr. Warasa. Master was fainting in agony. ....... It's a fond memory.

...... Oh, no. I escaped from reality. I have to focus on what's in front of me. Julia is still staring at me.

"No, it's just a fireball, it's not that hard, is it?"

"Fireball?　That one?　Fireballs are supposed to be woken up on the palm, right?"

"Is that so?　I was taught to make them on my fingertips: ......"

"When did you learn?"

"I was about six or seven years old, I think."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

The woman nodded her head while crossing her arms. She seems to have gotten the idea.

"This is the first training to become a fire mage. That makes sense. It's about imagining flames coming out of your fingertips. Usually from there you are trained to make a flame appear on your palm. ....... You didn't do that training?　No ......?　So that's all you've learned so far?　He~e~e~"

The woman lifted her chin with a snap, crossing her arms.

"Then you have a good sense as a fire mage. You can throw a fireball, albeit a small one. It's a feat if you can do it that well on your own. I'll teach you magic when I have time. As a fire mage, I'll give you the basics."

...... I have a feeling we're in for some more trouble.