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Translator: uly
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Magic Confrontation (1)
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"Hah, haah...! Hah!"
Waking from her sleep, Liv kicked off her chair and bolted to her feet.
She heard Professor Glatos calling from behind, but she had no time to spare.
Her mind was a complete mess. Dizziness and nausea swirled together in a chaotic storm.
Tak-tak-tak-tak!
Liv realized she had made a huge mistake about Louis.
Judging from the facts revealed in his past, Louis was no mere canteen owner, and he certainly wasn't colluding with black mages or demons.
Terra Ernisten. And Eris Frashuhra.
The kingdom's top mage and the Holy Kingdom's highest saintess had been with him.
And after the Demon King was subjugated, the saintess's unknown fate had been the massive spark that ignited war between the Penheim Kingdom and the Monarch Holy Kingdom.
"Ah, you there! No running in the hallways! That's a violation of academy rules!!"
Liv ignored the shout from a professor she passed midway. She wasn't in her right mind.
She was racing toward the canteen. She had to apologize to Louis for her actions.
She had been unforgivably rude due to her rash judgment.
Her breathing grew ragged, slowing her steps. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and neck.
This damn academy's grounds were way too vast.
Tak, tak, tak.
By the time Liv finally reached the canteen, it was crowded like any other lunch hour.
As she pushed through the throng, her consciousness sharpened.
And conversely, the threads of memory from her dream were slipping through her fingers one by one.
Tak—.
Suddenly, Professor Glatos's warning flashed in her mind.
Liv halted and spread her sweat-slicked hands.
'It's gone...'
The memo. She hadn't brought it.
The canteen and the lab were both too far to go back now.
And—
"Hm? Baroness Greenwood?"
Finally reaching the counter, ignoring the line entirely, the only fragment left in Liv's mind was the fact that Louis had fought for humanity.
"What brings you here?"
A puzzled gaze fixed on her heaving chest.
Why had she come here again?
Liv was confused. She stood blankly before Louis for a long while.
She couldn't remember what to say, yet guilt filled her completely.
"Louis... sir."
As the students' murmurs died down from her interrupting his checkout, she finally spoke.
Why had she called him "uncle"? His somewhat boyish face overlapped in her vision.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Do you... happen to know Paris Greenwood?"
The question Liv threw at Louis wasn't prying into his identity or an apology for her actions.
It was simply about her father.
Her only blood relative, who had died fighting demons during the Great War.
It was the wrong question. There was no way he would know.
Countless people had been buried under the flames of the continent-spanning war.
"I do."
But Louis answered with a faintly bitter expression.
"He was awarded the Hereditary Knight title..."
A heritable sub-baronetcy granted only to exceptional commoner combatants.
"...and hailed as an outstanding knight."
He had remembered Liv's family name from the start, even though she never thought much of anyone in particular.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Pharenchia Academy had a few venerable traditions.
One might wonder what "venerable" means for a place not even a decade old, with the outer walls' paint still fresh, but whether from an inferiority complex toward the Holy Kingdom or whatever, the academy loved emphasizing its traditions.
Anyway, one of them was the magic duel held at the start of each semester between freshmen and their upperclassmen one year ahead.
The winning side received a hefty prize and a commendation.
As a major event watched by magic tower reps and famous knight orders—not just money—it drew attention from all over Pharenchia.
The reps from each year were probably practicing magic like mad right now.
Unlike one-on-one duels, there were no limits on spell count, and even black magic up to 3rd circle was fair game, promising fierce battles.
Sure, canteen sales might tick up a bit, but it had nothing to do with me.
On the contrary, since Liv had apologized a few days ago, I could watch with a lighter heart.
—I'm really sorry about last time.
She was top of the 2nd years, so she'd almost certainly participate.
The huge misunderstanding that I was a demon lackey seemed resolved somehow, so I was willing to cheer her on.
Though lately, she'd blush oddly every time I handed her bread, I didn't mind.
"Wh-what do I do!? Teacher, what am I gonna do!!"
Meanwhile, someone else was panicking.
Adella had freaked out upon hearing she was selected as a 1st-year rep.
I couldn't understand why, out of all the strong candidates, she was picked.
Had the professors all popped some bad pills?
"Just forfeit. You can barely use magic anyway."
"I can't do that!"
"Why not?"
"Being picked as the magic duel rep is a huge honor! Refusing would make me a laughingstock to the other students!"
You're already plenty of a laughingstock.
And if she dragged her teammates down in the event, she'd get hate too.
"Who are the other two?"
"Hm~. Not decided yet, but I hear a guy named Kal is the frontrunner among friends."
"Erzebet?"
"The princess said she's sitting it out. To give others a chance."
Makes sense. She wasn't heading to a magic tower or knights after graduation anyway.
The opponents would hesitate to touch royalty, so for a fair event, no need for her to join.
"Anyway, help me out!"
"I said no last time."
"B-but you could at least give advice! Class is starting soon, hurry!"
Adella jumped up, swinging her staff wildly.
Her movements were so exaggerated that defying gravity in certain areas was inevitable.
Especially the jiggling mass below her shoulders, her blue hair bouncing and stealing glances—
"Here, watch! Lightning—!"
"Whoa, you crazy... Don't cast inside the shop!!"
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Lightning Bolt
[Mana unstable. Runaway imminent]
I'd heard the rumors about Adella but never seen her magic with my own eyes.
Lightning magic drew from one of the three primal elements, the sky, so its true form was round and stable in output.
The outermost ring, the 'Free Mobile', housed a single light source 'Luminari' at the center, denoting the spell's circle.
Then, magic formulas for electricity's traits—'speed', 'light', and 'heat'—linked from the three corners to one point.
12 strokes and 3 triangles. Geometric formulas swirled wildly.
Once the magic circle completed, mana from Adella's staff tip projected onto the traced array in the air.
"Ah, ahh!"
The deployment speed and completion were passable, but the manifestation was off.
Her internal mana destabilized instantly, breaking her focus.
Failed sections of the circle melted away, not just canceling but rampaging.
Zzzzt, zzzzt—!
Lightning arced everywhere, crawling walls and floors, threatening to incinerate everything in the shop.
I dashed out, seized her wrist.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Magic End activated All mana forcibly radiated. Circle destroyed.
Magic End forcibly vented all her mana into the air, and ripping the circle barehanded canceled it with minor burns.
"How was it?"
As I sighed in relief, Adella peeked from under her wide-brimmed mage's hat—the symbol of wizards—and asked.
Her smug 'I did great, right?' look pushed me over the edge.
"Wanna die?"
"Ow! It hurts! Hurts so muuuch!!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The academy's faculty gathered in the Akasha Hall discussed the magic duel set for a few weeks later.
A team battle with 3 mages per side.
Traditionally, 1st-year reps were top entrance exam scorers or promising noble heirs.
But this year had issues. One student in particular—
"We should probably drop Adella Sylvestra de Roshiar from the list, right?"
"Agreed. Her practical scores have been rock bottom so far."
"If she competes and flops, it'll tarnish the academy's reputation."
Most professors who'd seen her even once opposed. Yet there were reasons she couldn't be dropped easily.
"We can't put some lesser house's kid out there over the Snow Duke's, Roshiar's daughter."
"Especially with the princess declining to participate. A team of low nobles would undermine the kingdom's prestige."
"She's not pursuing a magic tower career post-grad anyway. As a unique magic lineage, no need to fuss over public opinion or results."
The magic duel showcased the kingdom's stature to the Holy Kingdom, southern Bachran, eastern Sakel, and neighbors.
Skipping the Snow Duke's kin would stir bad buzz for sure.
It was just students competing, so win/loss mattered little. 2nd years had won most past duels anyway.
"Who's up for 2nd year?"
"Liv Lavre de Greenwood, Christina Marina, and Hafen Zahar."
"Hm... Year topper, magic tower disciple, and Cloud Viscount Family's eldest son."
Magic-track grads researched at towers post-grad, but towers sometimes sent their own disciples to the academy.
Even excluding unclear Christina, Liv and Hafen made 2nd year's strength overwhelming.
Roilen felt the unfairness. Her charges winning seemed hopeless.
"If Adella competes, maybe 2nd years could handicap a bit? The chairman would've done that."
One-sided matches bored spectators. But most professors didn't agree with Roilen.
"She's not refusing, and the chairman wouldn't micromanage this. Let's pick the strongest 1st years first. And inspect the arena's barriers ASAP..."
The meeting ended with Adella confirmed. Roilen sensed unease but could change nothing.