episode_0023

bang!!!

“Huh? I guess something broke out again. Ruth, do you want to go?”

“… … It’s okay.”

“Really? Well, I was surprised at first, but now it’s part of my daily life.”

Even though there was a loud noise, a faint vibration, and smoke rising from somewhere, Mina, who was sitting on the terrace of the coffee house, just put down her coffee cup with a bitter smile.

How long has it been since the entrance ceremony? About two weeks now?

Even when the entrance ceremony was just over, it seemed like I would never get used to it.

After just two weeks, only she remained, accepting that this was part of everyday life.

“But you’re still curious, right? Where did it explode this time? Judging from the location, it seems to be in the magic field?”

“A lab or… … …a classroom, I guess.”

“Why is there no training ground… … ?”

Are all the academies in the city like this? Mina, a country girl, looked at the rising smoke while adding to her misunderstanding about the city.

Certainly, judging from the buildings near the smoke, they seemed to be labs. I heard that some labs explode so often that they don’t even repair them.

“Is that normal for magic kids? At least for us, um. It ends with cracks or collapses! No explosions… …nothing.”

“They’re all there.”

“Wow, I guess what the student council president said was right. He said that there is nothing better than administration, whether it be magic or martial arts, right? He also said that the senior he respects the most is in the administration field.”

“… … … .”

“You’re a senior who’s already graduated, but the student council president praises you so much? I wanted to meet you. What about you, Ruth? The student council president is in the same 6th grade as you!”

“Mina… … … .”

“Oh, sorry. You were still doing volunteer work… … .”

Why am I so clueless? Mina sighed.

Her friend, Ruth, broke the restrictions during the entrance ceremony and used her sword to cut down the illusion of a manticore. As a result, she was called into the student council, scolded, and even received disciplinary action.

‘After 200 hours of volunteer work, I was banned from leaving the academy until it was all over… ‘

I heard that she was the freshman who received the fastest disciplinary action since the student council president, but they said that the punishment was reduced considering the suddenness of the event. In the end, even now, two weeks later, Ruth is doing various volunteer work after class, even cutting down on sleep.

Why are you bringing up ranks when you have a friend who has to go do volunteer work right after this tea party?

Ruth looked at Mina for a moment as she fidgeted, then handed her a dessert.

“… … Don’t be too tired. You’ll reach 200 hours by next month.”

“Uh, yeah. Once you’ve completed all those service hours, let’s go play outside the academy! I’ve already looked at a lot of places! For example, if you go to East Street──”

“… … … Are you talking about that potato restaurant?”

“Huh? Ruth, how did you know?”

I heard that it was a secret restaurant that even the Academy students didn’t know about, but how did Ruth, who couldn’t leave the Academy, know about it?

Ruth paused for a moment at the innocent and sudden question.

“Ah! You heard it from another senior too?”

“… … … Yeah, that’s right.”

“As expected, Ruth! There were definitely a lot of classmates and seniors who talked to you!”

There was a sixth-grade inspector who was my classmate. It was impossible not to be interested.

There were some bad rumors going around because she ignored the handshake with the noblewoman, Risha, during the entrance ceremony, but Mina knew that it was a groundless misunderstanding.

‘It’s just a matter of covering one’s face.’

As evidence, Ruth puts a lot of effort into becoming friendly with others. She knows a lot about classmates and professors she meets for the first time, and even Mina herself.

Although she was shy, she must have been observing others diligently in order to strike up a conversation. Mina, an innocent country girl who was loved by the townspeople, had no doubt that it was like that.

If you put it nicely, it’s pure, but if you put it badly, it’s naive.

At Mina’s reaction, Ruth looked into her eyes for a moment and then put down her coffee cup.

As if I knew you would react that way from the beginning.

“… … … Mina, and what that senior said.”

“Huh? Ruth, you also want to meet that senior that the student council president respects!?”

“No.”

“Huh, huh? Ruth?”

“It would be better if we never met… … … ”

As she spoke, Ruth’s eyes looked somewhat gloomy and sunken.

Mina shivered for a moment with an inexplicable chill, but soon laughed out loud.

“Okay, I get it! Anyway, since it’s a 6th grader’s words, I have to listen!”

“… … Don’t worry. You can become much stronger than me.”

“Me? Hey, Ruth. You don’t have to show off just because I’m your friend. I’m still a 3rd grader. I’m also near the bottom of the class in martial arts… … .”

“… … … You’ll find out later. You have a really… … good sense.”

“Thank you. Hehe, I really wish I could embody my spirit like you. Did you see the chairman do it at the entrance ceremony? It was disrespectful to even think of him as a fellow fighter. ”

“Chairman… … … .”

“Because he’s the most famous person in the kingdom. You learned about it in history class yesterday, when assassins raided the royal palace about 100 years ago and almost killed all the royal family members!”

“… … … I took care of all those assassins by myself.”

Click.

Ruth continued speaking quietly, adding a few sugars to her coffee.

In addition to stopping assassins, the chairman was also revered as a hero of the kingdom because of his various activities. After that, the fact that the former king offered the chairman the title of duke and a large fief to stop him from leaving the kingdom and going somewhere else was famous enough to be included in history books.

In addition to that, there is a saying that the number of strong people who have reached the 8th rank is the national power. While there are more than 10 8th rank people in the empire, which is a hegemonic power, and the kingdom that follows behind has 4 people, there are also small countries that do not even have one 8th rank person.

It is unknown why the chairman, who received a love call from the empire at the time, chose the kingdom. He declined the title but received a fief, and it is clear that he had a goal, as he established the Grandis Academy on top of it. However, if you look closely, it was something that was possible even in the empire.

Anyway, the chairman used his extraordinary wealth from some unknown source to quickly develop Grandis Academy into a prestigious school over the course of several decades. Although many things have happened in the meantime, Grandis Academy will continue to exist for another 100 or 200 years.

───he said.

There was a time when a man named Ruth Spero was so trustworthy that he had no doubts.

There were days like that.

“… … … … .”

“Ruth? What’s wrong?”

“… … For a moment, I was reminded of the old days.”

Ruth gave a simple answer to Mina’s concerns and turned her head toward the street.

Whenever I was swallowed up by ‘old’ memories, it was best to just sit there blankly rather than thinking about it. What had I done before coming to the Academy? Thinking back to the salt mines, this was the best I could do.

When I was just looking at the students walking by on the terrace.

A loud noise was heard.

“Is that real? Another duel? Is that princess crazy?”

“It’s definitely a crazy and fun thing to watch. Do you think he would have challenged Chloe to a duel without thinking? He must have some kind of secret plan.”

“Hey, I saw that duel a week ago with my own eyes. The difference in skill was overwhelming, regardless of the amount of effort. You just played around with it, didn’t you? The princess would have died if she just sat still because of that damned disease, right?”

“So you’re not going to see it?”

“Can’t you see I’m running now?”

“Ruth, did you hear that? It’s a duel!”

“… … … .”

Duels. Not as common as building explosions or collapses, but they happen when you forget about them.

Right away, Ruth also received a duel request from her classmates and several seniors. She had no chance of winning against a 6th-rank swordsman, but she thought, ‘What if I seal one arm and don’t even use my sword?’

Since he rejected them all, there were people who ridiculed him, saying that he was just scared and that he was nothing special, but after he knocked out ten opponents at the same time with one swing of his sword during his first sparring class, such rumors stopped spreading.

That’s why it wasn’t the duel itself that Ruth was focusing on.

To be precise, the parties engaging in a duel.

“… … … Amatrius Delphia Beatrice, Chloe Pisti.”

“Wow, you know all their full names? My tongue keeps getting twisted.”

“Those two, a duel?”

“That’s right. You didn’t know because you were doing volunteer work every day after class, right? A week ago, the princess and the disciple of the Lord of the Tower dueled!”

“… … What?”

“Since it was a magic-related matter, it wasn’t a big topic of conversation on our side. The martial arts field was busy with other things.”

“Another rumor?”

“Haha… …Ruth, because of what you did in your first sparring class… … … .”

“… … … … .”

Ruth, who is usually not prone to mood swings, was unusually flustered, but she calmed down after taking a sip of the sweet coffee.

Ruth, who seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, soon asked Mina.

“… … How did that duel go?”

“I heard that your disciple won overwhelmingly! But I just heard that it’s only been a week and the princess has already requested a duel. Did you train hard in the meantime?”

“… … … That’s right. Beatrice, who was suffering from a chronic illness, challenged Chloe to a duel. ”

“Ruth?”

“‘This time’… … … you chose Beatrice.”

A deep sigh. And eyes that seemed to show regret.

Mina’s best friend Ruth sometimes seemed so different. Should I say that she seemed to have lived through everything in the world?

‘I feel a bit awkward saying this, but.’

Ruth… … resembles Mina’s grandmother. Not in appearance, of course, but in her actions and atmosphere.

Always calm, acting like he knows everything, and not seeming like he’s the same age as her.

Rather than maturity, should I say it’s age and experience?

If I say something like that out loud, I’ll get another glare from Ruth. Mina, who had just learned something from work, nodded inwardly and firmly closed her mouth, then said something else instead.

“There’s still time left until you go to volunteer work. Do you want to go see it too?”

“… … … It’s okay. It’s obvious who will win or lose anyway.”

“Huh? Of course, Ruth thinks her disciple will win?”

“Well… … … .”

Ruth was spinning the teaspoon in her coffee cup for a moment.

He muttered something quietly.

“… … Adam.”

“Huh? Where did you hear that name? Definitely… … .”

“… … … Forget it, Mina.”

“Huh?”

“It wouldn’t be good for you to remember… … .”

But you must never forget me.

I will never forget it even after I die.

“Because that’s the name.”

*

Arena 21 was already full of spectators.

Since it was a dueling arena located on the magic side, most of the audience were magic students wearing yellow bracelets, but there were also some martial arts students wearing blue bracelets.

Unfortunately, there were almost no administrative departments because they had to write group projects and reports instead of watching the duels. Since it was called the hope of the common people, it had the largest number of students among the three departments, so the competition for grades was fierce.

In any case, the opinions of students who enjoyed relative freedom compared to the administrative field were all similar.

“But it’ll still be hard to win, right?”

“I’m sure he had something on his mind when he requested a duel, but what could the princess do? She couldn’t have cured that chronic disease in a week.”

Unlike a week ago, it was Beatrice who requested the duel. It may not be without thought, but it would still be difficult to win.

The students who had been making such a fuss soon became quiet.

“… … … … .”

“Oh, princess? You’re not saying you can’t take care of your condition, are you?”

Beatrice and Chloe. The two duelists have appeared.

However, compared to Chloe, who was the epitome of leisure, Beatrice’s condition was clearly worse.

His steps were heavy, his breathing seemed difficult, and he staggered as if he might collapse at any moment.

Nevertheless, Beatrice stood in the arena as if she was used to such a situation. Chloe sneered at the sight.

“I’ll praise you, princess.”

“… … … What?”

“I guess I mustered up my courage. No, you’re saying that since you made a fool of yourself once, it’s okay to do it a second time? You’re not going to keep challenging me to a duel until I win, are you? ”

“… … There’s no need for that.”

Beatrice barely managed to answer with a voice that seemed to be cracking.

He took something out of his bosom and held it.

“Why? I plan to keep accepting it.”

“Anyway… … … I’ll win.”

“… … That’s boring.”

What was caught was an artifact in the shape of a clock.

But Chloe didn’t stop her. Artifacts can be used in duels if the other party agrees. And of course, Chloe very generously allowed Beatrice to use the artifact.

“You’ve been practicing that for a week? How to use artifacts? You didn’t think you could beat me with those toys, did you?”

“… … … … .”

“That wasn’t even for combat in the first place. It’s just an artifact with alarm magic and other convenient magic added to the watch, so what’s the use of something like that… … … .”

Immediately after that.

Chloe frowned.

I’ve had a feeling something is off since a while ago, but I thought it couldn’t be true.

… … There is no magic power.

Now Beatrice was completely drained of her magical power. She was close to the state of magical exhaustion that she had only heard of.

Magic exhaustion is similar to starvation or thirst in normal people. A normal magician would prevent magic exhaustion at the level of physical instinct in order to maintain life.

But why?

“You.”

But what’s even more surprising is that.

It was said that magical power was flowing through Beatrice’s body, which was on the verge of losing magical power.

From the watch artifact she was holding in her hand.

Magical power flows and condenses on Beatrice’s fingertips.

[Fireball]

A scene that I have seen somewhere unfolds.

Several fireballs floating in the air.

and.

Damn!

The fireball froze.

Phew!!

The wind blows and creates a pillar of fire.

Kwarung!

Strengthens the fireball by surrounding it with lightning.

“You, you… … !!”

“… … It’s not that hard. Cool, is this what you were bragging about?”

A talent recognized by the Grand Wizard.

Like Chloe, Beatrice was also a rare multi-attribute possessor.

A week ago, Beatrice recreated the magic that Chloe had shown during the duel.

Unlike that time, he had perfect control over his magic.

“How!? No way, no way, with the magic of that artifact? Why go through such an unnecessary process… … … No.”

Chloe, who was gritting her teeth until they bled as she looked back at the scene she had created.

He turned his eyes, boiling with jealousy and hatred, toward Beatrice.

“That’s the way. The way to escape from that chronic disease.”

“… … … … .”

“I don’t know what you did, but it doesn’t matter.”

Hurrah!

[Fireball]

Chloe launched fireballs just like Beatrice, if not more.

He declared in a voice that sounded like he was going to chew me up.

“The teacher acknowledged it… … !! If you break that talent that you don’t even know the subject of!!”

“… … … Adam.”

“Because it will become clear that I, and only I, am the only wizard who can receive His approval!!!”

“Wait. I’ll see you soon.”

Immediately after that.

Magic collides.