Chapter 9 – Magic Contest (1)

“Gasp… huff… Wheeze!“

Liv bolted upright, launching herself from the chair and racing out of the room.

Professor Glatos called after her, but she had no time to spare.

Her mind was in utter chaos, a whirlwind of dizziness and nausea threatening to overwhelm her.

Tap tap tap tap!

Liv realized with sickening clarity that she had gravely misjudged Louis.

The glimpses of his past revealed a truth far removed from her suspicions: Louis was neither a mere shopkeeper nor a dark magician in league with demons.

Terra Ernisten. And Eris Prashura.

The kingdom’s greatest magician and the Holy Kingdom’s highest-ranking saint had stood by his side.

Moreover, the saint’s fate after the Demon King’s defeat had been a major catalyst for war between the Kingdom of Pennheim and the Holy Monarch Kingdom.

“Hey, you! No running in the hallways! That’s against the rules!!”

Liv was so out of it that she ignored the shouts of a professor she passed.

She was running towards the shop. She needed to apologize to Louis for her actions.

Her hasty judgment had led her to commit an unforgivably rude act against him.

As her breath grew more labored, her pace slowed. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead and neck.

This blasted academy was far too expansive.

Tap, tap, tap.

When Liv finally reached the shop, it was crowded as usual for lunchtime.

As she pushed through the throng, her consciousness gradually sharpened.

Conversely, the threads of memory from her dream were slipping away one by one.

Thud—

Suddenly, Professor Glatos’s warning flashed through her mind.

Liv stopped in her tracks and looked at her sweaty palms.

It’s gone…

The notepad. She hadn’t brought it.

The shop and the research lab. Both were too far to go back to now.

And then—

“Hm? Baroness Greenwood?”

When she finally reached the counter, ignoring all the queues, the only thing left in Liv’s mind was the fragmented fact that Louis had fought for humanity.

“What brings you here?”

His puzzled gaze fell on her heaving chest.

Why did I come here again?

Liv was confused. She stood there blankly in front of Louis for a long while.

She couldn’t remember what she wanted to say, but she was filled with a sense of guilt.

“Louis… sir.”

As the students’ murmuring died down after Liv’s sudden interruption, she finally spoke.

Why had she called him “sir”? Somehow, a youthful face seemed to overlap with his features.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Do you… know anything about Paris Greenwood?”

The question Liv posed to Louis was neither an inquiry about his true identity nor an apology for her actions.

It was simply a question about her father.

Her only blood relative, who had died fighting against demons during the Great War.

It was the wrong question. There was no way he would know such a person.

Countless individuals had been buried beneath the flames of war that engulfed the entire continent.

“Yes, I know of him.”

However, Louis answered with a slightly bitter expression.

“The one who received the title of Hereditary Knight…”

A quasi-baronial title that could be inherited, given only to commoners who showed exceptional valor in battle.

“I heard he was an excellent knight.”

From the beginning, he had remembered Liv’s surname, which no one else had thought special.

***

Farencia Academy had several long-standing traditions.

You might wonder how there could be any “long-standing” traditions in a place less than ten years old, where the paint on the outer walls had barely dried. But perhaps out of an inferiority complex towards the Holy Kingdom, the academy always emphasized the word “tradition.”

Anyway, one of these was the magic contest held at the beginning of each semester, pitting freshmen against their second-year seniors.

The victorious team received a substantial cash prize along with a commendation.

It was no exaggeration to say that all of Farencia focused on this major event, which was attended not only by representatives from the magic towers but also by knight orders from famous noble houses.

By now, the selected representatives from each year were probably practicing magic like their lives depended on it.

Unlike one-on-one duels, there were no restrictions on the number of spells used, and even Dark Magic up to the third rank could be freely employed, promising a fierce battle.

Of course, the shop’s sales might increase a bit, but it wasn’t really my concern.

If anything, I felt I could watch the contest with a lighter heart now that Liv had apologized to me a few days ago.

“I’m truly sorry about what happened before.”

As likely the top student among the second years, she was almost certainly going to participate.

Now that the huge misunderstanding about me being a demon’s pawn had been cleared up for some reason, I was even inclined to cheer for her.

Unlike before, she’d blush oddly every time she handed me bread, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.

“Oh, oh, oh, what should I do?! Teacher, what am I going to do!!”

On the other hand, there was someone who was panicking.

Adela had fallen into a state of panic upon hearing that she had been selected as the first-year representative for the competition.

I too couldn’t understand why she had been chosen from among so many impressive candidates.

Had the professors collectively lost their minds?

“Just forfeit. You can’t even use magic properly anyway.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Why not?”

“Being selected as a representative for the magic contest is a huge honor! If I refuse, I’ll be a laughingstock to the other students!”

You’re already enough of a laughingstock.

If she participated and held back her teammates, wouldn’t she face even worse ridicule?

“Who are the other two?”

“Hmm~. It’s not decided yet, but my friends say a boy named Carl is likely.”

“What about Erzebet?”

“The princess said she’s not participating. She said other students should have a chance.”

I suppose that makes sense. It’s not like she’ll be joining a magic tower or knight order after graduation.

And the opposing team would probably be uncomfortable going against royalty, so for the sake of a fair competition, there’s no reason for her to participate.

“Anyway, please help me!”

“I told you before, I can’t.”

“But, but you could at least give me some advice! Quick, before my next class!”

Adela stood up, wildly waving her staff around.

Her movements were so exaggerated that certain body parts seemed to defy gravity.

Especially distracting was the bounce of her blue hair as it fell past her shoulders—

“Here, watch this! Lightning—!”

“What the—are you crazy?! Don’t use that inside the store!!”

<White Magic: Lightning Bolt>

I’d only heard rumors about Adela’s magical abilities, but I’d never seen them with my own eyes.

Lightning-based magic, rooted in the Sky—one of the Three Originals—typically had a rounded, stable form with consistent output.

Within the outermost band forming the ‘Prium Mobile,’ a single light source called the ‘Luminari’ representing the spell’s rank settled in the center.

Then, magical formulas representing the characteristics of electricity—’speed,’ ‘light,’ and ‘heat’—began to connect from the three corners to a single point.

12 strokes and 3 triangles. Geometric equations swirled chaotically.

Finally, as the magic circle was completed, the mana flowing from the tip of Adela’s staff projected onto the circle drawn in the air.

“Ah, aah!”

While the speed and completeness of the spell formation were passable, something was off about its manifestation.

Her internal mana suddenly became unstable, breaking Adela’s concentration.

As parts of the magic circle began to melt and fail, instead of simply canceling out, the spell started to go haywire.

Crackle, crackle—!

Lightning bolts shot out in all directions, crawling along the walls and floor, threatening to consume everything in the store.

I immediately jumped forward and grabbed her wrist.

<Dispel Magic> forcibly radiated all the mana in Adela’s body into the air, and as I manually tore apart the magic circle with my bare hands, I suffered some minor burns, but the spell was canceled.

“How was that?”

As I breathed a sigh of relief, Adela lifted the wide-brimmed hat that symbolized magicians and asked with a smug expression that seemed to say, ‘I did well, right?’

I couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Do you want to die?”

“Ow! Ow! It hurts! It huuurts!!”

***

The professors gathered in Akasha Hall were discussing the upcoming magic contest to be held in a few weeks.

It was a team battle with three magicians per team.

Traditionally, the first-year representatives were students who had performed well on the entrance exam or children from promising noble families.

But this year, there was a bit of a problem. All because of one student—

“Don’t you think we should exclude Adela Silvesta from the list?”

“I agree. Her performance in practical classes has been abysmal.”

“If she participates in the contest and fails to show proper skills, it will damage the academy’s reputation.”

Most professors who had seen Adela even once voiced their opposition. On the other hand, there were compelling reasons why she couldn’t be easily excluded.

“We can’t ignore the daughter of the Ice and Snow Duke, Count Rochear, and send children from other families instead.”

“Especially since the princess has expressed her intention not to participate, forming a team with only lower nobles would tarnish the kingdom’s prestige.”

“She’s not likely to pursue a career in a magic tower after graduation anyway. As a family with unique magic, I don’t think she needs to worry about public evaluation or competition results.”

The magic contest was an important annual event that showcased the kingdom’s caliber not only to the Holy Kingdom but also to neighboring countries like Bahran in the south and Sakel in the east.

If they proceeded without the Ice and Snow Duke’s flesh and blood, it was certain to raise negative voices.

Since it was just a competition between students, the outcome wasn’t that important. So far, the second years had won most of the magic contests.

“Who’s going for the second years?”

“Liv Labre, Christina Marina, and Hafen Zahar.”

“Hmm… The top student of the year, a disciple from a magic tower, and the eldest son of Viscount Cloud.”

While students who chose the magic department usually conducted personal research in magic towers after graduation, there were also cases where disciples selected by the towers transferred to the academy.

Even excluding Christina, whose abilities were unclear, the second-year team’s strength was beyond imagination with just Liv and Hafen.

Roilen felt this was somewhat unfair. It seemed almost impossible for her students to win.

“If Adela is going to participate, shouldn’t we adjust the difficulty a bit for the second-year team? I think that’s what the headmaster would do if he were here.”

An overwhelmingly one-sided match would bore the spectators. However, most of the professors didn’t seem to agree with Roilen’s idea.

“I don’t think the headmaster would care about such trivial matters if the student herself isn’t refusing. Let’s first try to find skilled students among the first years. And we need to check the protective magic on the arena as soon as possible…”

In the end, the meeting concluded with Adela’s participation confirmed. Although Roilen sensed something wasn’t quite right, there was nothing she could do to change it.