"Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Tch...!"
Rest skidded into position beneath the woman plummeting from the clock tower, but her momentum was staggering. Even with [Physical Enhancement], he wouldn't be able to kill her inertia entirely. If he tried to catch her now, a few broken bones would be the least of their worries; the impact would likely prove fatal for both of them.
(Then... Quartet!)
A fourfold simultaneous activation. By invoking multiple spells at once, he could bleed off her momentum before she hit the ground.
(First, [Wind Control]... and then [Floating]!)
He conjured a gust of wind from below to buffer her fall, simultaneously casting a spell to negate her weight. He kept the output controlled; if the magical force was too sudden or too strong, the shock of the deceleration alone might break her body.
(Just enough to slow her down... Now, [Waterball] and [Amplification]!)
He cast [Waterball], a lower-tier water spell, then used [Amplification] to swell its volume. A massive sphere of water expanded around Rest, growing large enough to envelop a person.
"Wha—!?"
(Good... This should do it!)
Having been slowed by the first two spells, the woman plunged into the mass of water. The liquid acted as a perfect cushion, neutralizing the remaining kinetic energy. Rest, waiting at the center of the sphere, caught her as her momentum finally vanished.
"Blub, blub, blub...!?"
(It worked. She doesn't seem to be hurt.)
He had succeeded in catching her while barely feeling a tremor of impact. He immediately deactivated the [Waterball], letting the water splash harmlessly onto the pavement.
"Pwah!"
"Whew, whew... Wh-What on earth just happened!?"
Gasping for air, the woman spoke with a bewildered voice while still cradled in Rest's arms. Looking at her closely, he realized she appeared to be a young woman around his own age. She had short red hair and was dressed in a shirt and trousers; her soaking wet clothes clung to her, clearly defining her athletic figure. The white shirt was becoming transparent enough to reveal her undergarments, but Rest acted instantly, invoking [Dry].
"Hyah!"
"There... are you alright, young lady?"
"Wait... huh? Who... who are you?"
"Forgive my rudeness for touching you. It was an emergency, so please pardon the liberty."
He set her down on the ground and gave a shallow, polite bow. Regardless of the circumstances, he had soaked a noble-looking woman and held her close. As a gentleman, he felt a proper apology was mandatory.
"Ah... that’s right, I fell from the clock tower..."
"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."
He was curious why a red-haired girl was falling from the sky, but frankly, he didn't want to get involved. He had an entrance exam to attend, so he decided to make a quick exit without even offering his name.
"Ah, wait...!"
The woman called out, but Rest ignored her. He activated [Physical Enhancement] and took off at a dead sprint.
"Wait up! You're the one who saved me, right!?"
"Wh-!?"
"Thanks! You really saved my skin!"
The woman pulled up right alongside him, offering her thanks as they ran. Rest was using [Physical Enhancement] to move at high speed, yet she was matching his pace effortlessly.
(Even if I'm not at full power, to match my speed so easily... No, it's more than that!)
The truly terrifying part was that she wasn't using magic. He couldn't feel even a flicker of mana coming from her. She was matching Rest's magically enhanced pace using nothing but her raw physical ability.
(She caught up through pure leg strength... Is she some kind of monster?)
"My name is Yuri Catreia. Could you tell me yours?"
"...I'm Rest. I don't have a surname. Just Rest."
"I see, Rest-kun. Nice to meet you!"
The girl, Yuri, gave him a bright, cheerful smile as they ran side-by-side. Even though they were holding back because they were in the middle of the city, they were moving as fast as a motorized scooter. Rest felt a faint sense of dread as he watched Yuri jogging along with casual ease, not even slightly out of breath.
"Man, to tell you the truth, I just arrived in the Royal Capital today and got completely lost. I climbed the clock tower to get a better look at the area... but I guess my foot slipped. You're my lifesaver! I'll be sure to repay the favor."
"I... I see..."
He didn't want a reward; he just wanted her to stop following him. As Rest ran with a twitching expression, a realization suddenly struck him. He recognized the name she had used.
"Catreia... by any chance, are you related to the Marquis Catreia House?"
Marquis Catreia. The Knight Commander of the Royal Guard. While Marquis Rosemary was the head of the Court Mages and the pinnacle of magic in the kingdom, Marquis Catreia was the head of all knights. Together, the two men were known throughout the court as "The King's Two Wings."
"Ah, no... my father is, well, I mean..."
"...Why are you acting so suspicious?"
"N-N-No way! I'm not acting suspicious at all! It's not like I ran away from home or anything!"
"............"
She had definitely run away from home. Her eyes were darting around frantically as she fumbled for an excuse.
(If she wanted to hide her identity, she shouldn't have blurted out her family name. I want to point that out, but I feel like I'd be losing something if I did.)
"I see... so you're a lost runaway."
"Yeah... wait, no! I'm lost, but I'm not a runaway!"
"Yes, yes, of course... Anyway, I have an appointment, so I'll be taking my leave now."
Regardless of her reasons, he didn't want the headache of being associated with a runaway noblewoman who happened to be the daughter of the Knight Commander. He had the most important exam of his life to deal with; he couldn't afford any more distractions.
"Ah... sorry about that. By the way, where are you headed?"
"...The Royal Academy. I'm taking the entrance exam."
"The Royal Academy?"
Yuri blinked in surprise. While they were talking, they arrived at the academy's main gates. The institution, founded by the Royal Family, was surrounded by high brick walls and guarded by knights in full armor. Beyond the gates, a majestic white building rose toward the sky, and crowds of young examinees were already filing inside.
"Oh! You've saved me for a third time!" Yuri shouted. "Actually, I was planning to take the entrance exam for this academy, too! You've helped me find my way. Thank you so much!"
"........................I see."
After a long, heavy silence, Rest nodded with a profoundly complicated expression.
(The daughter of the Knight Commander—a lady of the Marquis Catreia House—is trying to enter the academy through the Commoner Category...?)
No matter how he looked at it, this reeked of trouble. As Yuri beamed at him with the friendly, guileless smile of a large dog, Rest felt a distinct, icy chill run down his spine.