User blog:Thrycius/Zheiro and The Moonlight Sculptor: Chapter 14

'''Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfic between Brave Frontier and The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. I don't own either of those; they belong to their respective owners, namely Gumi/Alim and Nam-Hi-Sung (남희성) respectively.'''

'''Disclaimer (extended): This crossover fanfic now also contains some elements from the Type-Moon universe, owned entirely by Kinoku Nasu. I don't own anything from there, either.'''

Is this your first time seeing this story? Go directly to chapter 1 here!

When Zheiro finally woke up, it was already evening. Well, although it was only evening it was already quite dark, no thanks to both the dark purple clouds and the soft glow of the moon already up in the sky.

Despite being awake, however, his body felt rather lethargic, so he decided to lie there for a little while longer as he stared at clouds drift by.

“Oh, Zheiro, you’re awake.”

The voice of his companion caused Zheiro to slowly turn his head in Thrycius’ direction, who was sitting next to their campfire writing away on some parchment.

“Falling asleep like that right after the contest is over, how shameful. I expect better conduct from my rival, you know!”

Zheiro shot up onto his feet at the unexpected voice, suddenly no longer feeling tired. “Wait a second,” he exclaimed in surprise. “Why is Sarui still here?”

“How rude!” Sarui shouted imperiously, crossing her arms. “You should consider yourself lucky to continue being graced by my presence!”

“That’s right,” Thrycius laughed. “That’s no way to talk to a lady.”

Zheiro groaned. No matter how you put it, the situation he was in was not an amusing one, not to mention the usual annoyance of Thrycius’ laughter.

“Okay, I get it, I was being rude” Zheiro grumbled. “So? I thought Sarui would have left after the competition was over, so why is she still here?”

Considering what little he knew of Sarui’s personality, he felt that there was no reason for Sarui to still stick around. After all, she only came here for an art contest, and it was likely she had other things to do afterwards given her impatient temperament.

“That certainly was my original intention,” Sarui answered. “But since we resulted in a tie, I have decided to acknowledge you as my rival. And thus, I have also decided to travel with the two of you.”

Zheiro blinked. “Wait, wait, wait. Just when did I become your rival?” he asked. “We might have tied in that contest, but I was barely be able to keep up with you. In the first place, it took me an entire week’s worth of effort to match what you could complete in a single day!”

“That may be true,” Sarui replied with a slight smile. “But this was a contest that judged only the final result. Besides, you can’t deny that both painting and sculpting are different styles of art that take different amounts of time to complete. To be able to tie with me in such a contest, you’re quite good. However, I refuse to allow this to stand for much longer, so I shall be challenging you again in the near future.”

“Okay…” Zheiro trailed off, not entirely sure with how to deal with Sarui’s declaration. “But that doesn’t explain why you will be travelling with us. Ignoring the fact that you arbitrarily decided I would be your rival, there’s no reason for you to travel with us, is there? Wouldn’t it be normal for a rival to come back again later to challenge me after heading off to get other things done first?”

“Are you implying that you hate being within my presence?” Sarui asked softly, releasing a dangerous aura that made Zheiro shrink back a little instinctively. “Right now, defeating you in an art contest is my top priority. Telling me to leave and then waste time coming back to find you, that’s not just annoying, but entirely rude. Did you not realize how long it took me to find you for yesterday’s contest? That was definitely a waste of time which I have no need to repeat, especially when I’m more than willing to challenge you any time.”

“I-I see…” Zheiro stuttered, not really able to say anything in response.

“As my rival, it looks like I’ll have to educate you properly on proper etiquette. It wouldn’t do for my rival to be this embarrassing.” Sarui nodded tyrannically, as if it was already decided.

“Ha ha ha!” Thrycius interrupted the conversation with a laugh. “Sarui, Zheiro already has business with me, so I’ll have to ask you to hold off on teaching him proper etiquette as well as challenging him until later.”

“I already know full well that you have your business with him.” Sarui said, nodding. “Zheiro is travelling with you to further his sculpting skills, correct? I’ll just have to further my own skills while traveling alongside the two of you, so there is no need for either of you to mind me—until the next contest, of course.”

“Yes, that is perfectly fine by me,” Thrycius said with a grin, completely ignoring Zheiro’s plight. “Feel free to stick around as long as you need. As agreed, don’t get in my way and I won’t get in yours, right?”

“Right,” Sarui said, nodding with a smile on her face.

“Hold on.” Zheiro interrupted. “Did you two come to some sort of agreement while I was sleeping? Just how long was I out?”

“How long, you ask? It’s been a little more than a full day since the contest ended, Zheiro,” Thrycius answered with a grin. “Aren’t you taking things easy a bit too much lately? There’s still a lot that you need to get done.”

“Wah! That’s right!” Zheiro exclaimed, grabbing his sword. “I still haven’t passed your test!”

And just like that, Zheiro ran right out of their base camp to take down some skeletons.

“Are you sure he’ll be alright?” Sarui asked, watching Zheiro run off.

“Probably. Although, he’s going to come running back any moment now.” Thrycius replied with a laugh.

“Hmm? Is that so?” Sarui asked. “What makes you say that?”

“Zheiro tends to lose himself and rush things when he gets too excited,” Thrycius replied. “Although he remembers the the test he has to complete, he had forgotten the reason he was in base camp in the first place. See? Look, he’s already on his way back.”

Taking a look as Thrycius asked her to do, she quickly confirmed for herself that yes, Zheiro was already running back.

“If he’s going to shame himself any further, I might have to take over his training to teach him proper etiquette first.” Sarui declared. “Even if he is to be a great sculptor, I can not have my rival act so disgracefully!”

“Duly noted.” Thrycius replied with a grin.

“Ah, I can’t believe I forgot,” Zheiro groaned as he sat within the camp..

Distracted as he was with the contest as well as his desire to get some distance between himself and the eccentric lady known as Sarui, he had ran off without properly thinking about his own previous decision about what he was going to do: practice Projection magic.

Before Sarui had suddenly shown up challenging him to an art contest, he was in the middle of testing out an idea that he had for taking down some skeletons, but he had never gotten around to finishing it.

Unfortunately, trying to concentrate on his magic proved to be very difficult now that Sarui was here.

“What exactly are you doing?” Sarui asked while his eyes were closed.

It was a good thing he hadn’t started yet, or he would have lost control of his magic again. The last time Sarui interrupted him his magic had blown up in his face, and that was not something he had wanted to experience again.

“I’m trying to concentrate here,” Zheiro spoke up, annoyed. “If you want to know, you can ask Thrycius.”

“I’m asking you, not Thrycius.” Sarui replied, no budging from where she stood.

Zheiro sighed. Unlike Thrycius who was good with words, it was difficult for him to deal with this woman’s strong personality, so he just gave in.

“Thrycius tasked me to take down some skeletons without destroying them, but to do that I need to use magic,” Zheiro answered. “So I need to practice magic for a bit before heading out again.”

“Magic?” Sarui asked, quickly losing interest. “I don’t see why a sculptor, or any artist, for that matter, would need to learn magic. Weren’t you travelling with Thrycius to further your sculpting skills?”

“Well, yes,” Zheiro replied. “But I want to learn and master Moonlight Sculpting, which is a technique that requires the use of magic, so I need to practice it.”

“Oh? Isn’t that the technique used by that sculptor in the story Thrycius told me earlier?” Sarui asked. “I see, so you want to carve the moonlight too. As expected of my rival. But, to need magic to do this technique, I’m surprised.”

“What, you never considered combining the use of magic with art?” Zheiro asked.

“On the contrary, I had no use for magic. I was planning on defeating even artists who had to rely on magic with my skills alone, after all.” Sarui answered. “Although, to be able to carve the moonlight, I’m actually intrigued now. Art like that… I definitely want to see it.”

“Really? I guess I’ll have to live up to your expectations, then.” Zheiro replied with a grin.

“Of course! As my rival, I would expect no less! When you finally master the ability to carve the moonlight, you are to show me.” Sarui commanded with a wicked grin of her own. “That way, I can prove to you that my skill as an artist can defeat even you.”

“Ah, so that’s why you wanted to see it…” Zheiro groaned, quickly losing his smile as he held his head in his hands. Like he thought, it was impossible for him to deal with her. “Anyway, now that you know, please leave me in peace since I won’t be able to master it otherwise.”

“Really, if you plan on being the best artist in the world, you shouldn’t let something like this throw you off.” Sarui answered imperiously. “You should be glad that I have a few things to talk about with that storyteller, though, so hurry up and master whatever it is you need to do.”

And just like that, Sarui stalked off to the other side of the camp where Thrycius sat, writing away.

Zheiro sighed in relief. Hopefully, Thrycius would be able to keep Sarui busy for quite a while.

A week passed as Zheiro tried his best to practice Projection.

Sarui was certainly annoying, but thanks to Thrycius she spent most of her time listening to the storyteller’s legends rather than bothering him, so he was able to concentrate properly.

Thanks to that, he was finally able to properly shape and control his prana to some extent. Being able to feel and sense prana was a novel experience for him, but he had absolutely no idea how to describe it if anyone were to ask him.

If it was Thrycius, Zheiro thought, he would definitely be able to describe it with his skilled wordplay. But he was no storyteller, nor was he good with words, so he decided that he wasn’t even going to try.

Being able to handle and manipulate the flow of prana was already good enough for him.

His first Projection took the shape of his sculpting knife.

His most favorite tool which he had used since he was a child, he knew it inside and out and was quite attached to it, so it was easy for him to create its image.

Everything after that was remarkably easy.

As Thrycius had noted, as an artist his ability to imagine things in detail proved itself useful— the only real issue had been learning how to use and manipulate prana.

And so, he set out to try and take down some skeletons again.

“Ixia, are you there?”

A full week had passed ever since Ixia had delivered the robes to the court magician, running into the King in the process. Since then, she had continued to spend her time in her room, sewing, daydreaming, and occasionally staring at the only sculpture in the room, just like always.

Waiting a full week was already nothing compared to how long she had already been waiting for her childhood friend.

“Come in, court magician.” Ixia called out, setting down her needles. “I’m here.”

The door opened as the court magician elegantly stepped in. “Sorry for taking so long, but the results are finally in.”

“And the result?” Ixia asked calmly as she observed the court magician.

“The robe you sent in had even better capabilities than the last one, so I was actually surprised,” he replied. “Therefore, you passed. I’ll start teaching you magic whenever you have time.”

“Why not begin now?” Ixia asked, chuckling. “I have time. It’s not like I need to make more.”

“Make more?” The court magician asked, tilting his head in confusion. “I don’t get it. I don’t think it’s possible to literally make time.”

“Sorry, it was just a joke.” Ixia replied. “It is of no importance, so don’t worry about it.”

Inwardly, Ixia reminded herself that even if she had spent a lot of time talking about her childhood friend, not everyone listened—or at least, had the opportunity to listen. And even those that did may not get some of these minor references she made every once in a while.

“Actually,” the court magician said slowly. “Time magic is certainly possible, but the making of time itself has been unheard of. Are you interested in such magic?”

Ixia tilted her head. “I’ve never actually considered it before,” she admitted. “Is it really possible to manipulate time with magic?”

“It is,” the court magician affirmed. “But it’s a magic out of my league. If you really want to learn it, you will either have to discover it yourself or seek the help of a time mage like Claris.”

“Claris?” Ixia asked. “Who’s that?”

“Time Lord Claris. She’s a geomancer who was once active in the ruined Vriksha Duchy, although that was quite some time ago. There aren’t very many records of time mages, but Claris is probably one of the more famous ones who existed during the war with the gods.”

“Hold on,” Ixia interrupted. “The war with the gods was a long time ago. There’s no way anyone from back then would still be alive now.”

“That may be true, but time mages are generally an exception. After all, they can control the passage of time to some extent. Who knows, she may still be alive—or you can find a summoner who summoned her. Either way could work.”

Ixia thought about it for a moment.

“It’s okay, it’s too much of a hassle. Besides, I don’t really want to leave the castle yet, so I’ll just have you teach me magic normally for now.”

“I see.” The court magician acknowledged her decision with a single nod. “Then, shall we begin?”

“Yes.” Ixia nodded.

“Alright. The first thing I’ll be teaching you is how to control the flow of Prana, so to help you with that I’ll be teaching you what is called Projection…”

And before she knew it, Ixia found herself immersed into the world of magic.

''A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to update, last month I suddenly had a rather severe outbreak of hives. Hurray for allergies to who knows what.''

''Sarcasm aside, I had to take corticosteroids for a little over a week to recover; however, one potential side effect was having large mood swings and I didn't want my writing to be affected by that.Unfortunately, one week of break turned into two weeks, which turned into three... anyone who procrastinates should know the drill. GG, me.''

''Moving on. Not very much happens in this chapter unfortunately, just a conclusion of what happened after the art contest and Zheiro getting back to his practice, and Ixia learning magic. Actually, this entire chapter feels like a filler chapter that's also necessary thanks to the plot, orz. Maybe I should have just glossed over most of it instead.''

''As always, special thanks to Restire for proofreading (and putting up with)this [filler] chapter. And please leave a comment even if you didn't like it; constructive criticism is always helpful. Thanks!''

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