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Chapter 3 Part 2

～～～～～～～～～～～～

“You’re working as a servant?”

“Yes, that’s right. Oh, the job is called Housemaid in this world. Does the maid uniform suit me?”

When Lilith came back, she smiled and twirled around once in front of me, as if to show how proud she was of her clothes.

A dark green apron dress, closer to black.

No, it would be better to call it a maid uniform, if that’s what this age calls it.

“Yes. Well, it looks good on you”

“Fufufu. I’m glad to hear that. Then I’ll start preparing dinner right away”

“Please do so. Oh, and…”

“Yes?”

“…I finally understand why you use colored contact lenses to hide the color of your eyes”

“Is that so?”

At first, I thought it was just to hide the fact that she is a demon, but in reality, it had a completely different goal.

I checked the books in the library and found out clearly.

In this world, the <<Amber Eyes>> is an object of ridicule, and it’s no laughing matter. 

The reactions of the rich kids of the nobility just now were nothing special.

In this day and age, people with <<Amber Eyes>> often find it difficult to live their lives, albeit in a different way than it was in the past.

“In the last 200 years, the demon race has lost most of their power”

Lilith spun out the words as she cooked.

I silently turned over the pages of a book I took from the library.

“The Hero party led by Abel-sama subjugated the Demon King. After that, in various places, humans waged war against the remnants of the demon race, and…in the end, the humans won”

“Is that so”

“Yes, and the demons were destroyed. With the demons destroyed, the world was at peace and the standards of magicians declined. In the end…”

“The fact that no one fears the amber eyes anymore, and that if you train them, you’ll have the strongest power is all just history now, huh?”

“As expected of Abel-sama. You’re right”

The sound of a kitchen knife hitting a cutting board and the gentle crackling of firewood burning in the fireplace could be heard.

Strangely, it was a quiet conversation.

“…Lilith. You…do you hate humans? No…I should ask, do you hate us?” 

The destruction of the demon race definitely began due to our battle.

That day…that time…the Demon King and us battled…. In other words, her father….

“Let me see. There were days where I hated them and there were days where I cried”

The sound of chopping stopped.

I didn’t check as I was reading, but I could clearly feel Lilith’s gaze from the kitchen.

“But Abel-sama, you did your best to protect me, didn’t you? After that, we traveled together to find a place where I could live safely. Do you still remember that?”

“Yeah”

“It was a short time. Just about half a month. But during that time, Abel-sama taught me how to use magic and the laws of human cities…and many more things”

“Don’t dawdle. You used to be so open and honest with me”

“Fufu. A good woman wears her secrets like earrings. The proprietress at the bar that hired me once taught me this”

Lilith has become strangely seductive for the last 200 years. 

Seriously, she used to be such an honest and adorable little girl.

“That’s why…”

Lilith approached me.

Then she got down on one knee and looked at me in the face.

“I truly adore Abel-sama from the bottom of my heart”

At any rate, our faces are too close to each other.

I was starting to feel somewhat embarrassed, so I decided to cover the lower half of my face with the book in my hand.

“Is that so”

When I think about it, Lilith had waited for me for 200 years to reincarnate, and she even provided me a comfortable environment to live out my life.

Even though she felt indebted to me for saving her life, she couldn’t have done all of that with just half-hearted feelings.

“…Thank you”

So I decided to murmur that.

As I thought, it’s embarrassing to express my feelings.

Unable to endure the embarrassment any further, I decided to immerse myself in the world of books without making eye contact with Lilith.

～～～～～～～～～～～～

An hour later.

Somehow, I ended up taking a bath with Lilith.

First of all, let me explain here, this was not something I did of my own volition. 

Lilith forced me to come.

It is no exaggeration to say that I was practically abducted.

“…I’m sorry. My love for Abel-sama exploded during our earlier exchange”

“……”

I see. I understand now. 

She is suffering from a strange disease that forcibly kidnaps others into the bathroom when their love explodes.

Unfortunately, I don’t think my recovery magic will be able to cure Lilith’s disease.

“Good grief…. A man and woman alone naked in a bathtub. Do you even know what this situation is?”

“Fufufu. Abel-sama said something interesting”

Lilith giggles without seeming particularly embarrassed.

“With all due respect, Abel-sama. It’s not at all convincing to hear that from a man with a child’s body who may or may not be…experienced” 

“…!”

She had hit me where it hurts.

It’s true that I have a child’s body now, with no attraction to the opposite sex.

In contrast to me, Lilith’s body has developed in various areas over the last 200 years.

I didn’t know that….

A woman’s breasts will float in the water when it reaches a certain size.

What a day.

In my previous life, when I was in my late thirties, she was a little kid, no older than five, but now the tables have turned, huh?

“…I’m happy. Because I’ve been able to make Abel-sama, of all people, think of me as a woman”

said Lilith as she hugged me in the bathtub, squeezing my body.

Good grief.

This woman underestimates too much of a man’s sex drive.

In fact, children around this age can have a higher sex drive than adults.

But still, I’m at a loss.

I can’t stand being beaten, no matter what it is.

It can’t be helped.

After I get out of the bath, I’m going to put my pride as a man on the line and fight back a little.

～～～～～～～～～～～～

If you listen carefully, you could hear the chirping insects of the night.

That night, I held Lilith in my arms.

To tell the truth, I was not interested in anything other than ‘getting strong’ in my previous life, so I had never held a woman before.

Maybe this is what it means to be happy?

The night I held Lilith in my arms, I felt far calmer than usual and was able to have a peaceful sleep.

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Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 – The Rich Kids Of The Nobility

“What’s…this…”

It was the morning after staying up all night.

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the ‘current state of the world’ that I arrived at and spoke out while basking in the sunlight.

There are two major changes in this world.

The first being the fact that a ‘technological innovation’ occurred in this world.

This is a welcome development.

Thanks to the development of the processing technique of the ‘magic stone’, which can be converted into various forms of energy depending on how it is used, it led to an explosive advancement in the level of civilization of this world.

For example, the ‘Light Bulb’, which Lilith explained to me yesterday.

By extracting the energy from the magic stones, several innovations occurred in various industries and changed people’s lives dramatically.

But if you ask me, there were many things that made me snicker at, such as the need to automate despite the fact that they could be done with magic….

Right.

This is exactly what I’m talking about. The second fact that surprised me was ──

“What’s this? The quality of magicians has dropped to such unbelievable levels…”

The book that I’m reading now is a perfect example.

Despite the lengthy and ostentatious rhetoric, the techniques described in this book would have been familiar to children under the age of 10 over 200 years ago.

But this book is still one of the better ones.

There were even books that proudly introduced the wrong magic syntaxes in their explanation.

Have they ever tried to construct the magic by channeling those magic syntaxes?

There were too many mistakes.

It is flawed and going to explode for sure. I’m knowledgeable in this, so there’s no doubt about it.

I stretched and then sprang up from the chair.

Thinking of ventilating the room a bit, I opened the door. Oh? There was bread in front of it.

‘Abel-sama, I’ll leave you some breakfast and lunch. I’m going out to work. I’ll be back by evening, so please relax at home.    ── Lilith’

Perhaps this note was left for me while I was engrossed in reading. 

Work…. Work, huh?

That’s right.

Lilith does something to make a living, too.

I’m curious.

What does she do in this village full of humans?

“Damn…. I’m starting to get sleepy…”

I hadn’t stopped yawning for a short while ago.

As I thought, it was hard to stay up all night with this immature body.

No….

I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll stop reading when I’ve reached a good cut-off point.

Having taken advantage of Lilith’s kindness, it was right after I bit into the bread and went back to reading.

*Bam!*

The sound of the front door opening.

Hmm? It looks like someone has broken into the house.

The presence is clearly different from Lilith’s presence.

The energetic bouncing footsteps are getting closer and closer to the library, and then bam! The door swung open. 

“Excuse me!” |TL Note: In the raw, it’s a phrase used by visiting samurai to request entry|

Are you a dojo challenger or something?

Suddenly, a blond boy, looking about ten years old like me, stepped into the library.

“Hehe! You must be Lilith’s brother!”

No. You’re mistaken. 

What, he knows Lilith? Are they acquaintances?

At best, he looks like an ordinary human boy. What’s different from the norm is that outfit of his.

The burnt amber blond hair is neatly trimmed.

The clothes he is wearing are quite flashy.

The red coat has a noisy pattern, and the shirt collar he is wearing has flower embroidery designs, too. 

I see.

He must be a rich kid. Or a nobleman, perhaps?

That reminds me of the neighbor.

He must be the child from the huge mansion next door.

Good grief. Why in the world did this child come into our house?

“Rejoice commoner! From now on, you’re going to be this Ted-sama’s underling!”

Oh? Is this child trying to take me in as a disciple?

Let’s ignore him. Ignore.

He is the kind of brat that exists in all ages.

“Hey-hey! Lilith’s younger brother! Err, Abebe?”

“It’s Abel”

“Heyy! A-be-l! Be my underling! Do you know what an underling is? You will become my sworn younger brother!”

“I’m sorry. Unfortunately, I’m not interested in a master-disciple relationship”

“What? Come on, become my underling!”

Damn. What a day.

The screaming rich kid shows no sign of leaving the room at all. 

It can’t be helped.

Scaring children is not a hobby of mine, but I don’t think I can concentrate on reading at this rate.

Maybe I should scare him a little.

Determined, I close the book with a thumping sound.

“Let me give you a piece of advice. Don’t get involved with me. You probably know these eyes of mine”

Truth be told, this kind of acting is not my forte, but there’s no other choice.

I look down on the intruder with my golden eyes ── the <<Amber Eyes>>.

The very same amber eyes as what the demon race has is an ominous symbol in this world.

With this, this guy probably will never try to bother me again.

“Eh? You…that eye color…!?”

The boy, Ted, took a step back. He looked confused.

Good-good. It seems to be working.

Let’s give it one more push, just to scare him away.

“Kukuku. That’s right. To be frank with you, I have the eyes of the demon race ──”

But.

What Ted did next was something I hadn’t expected him to do.

Somehow, Ted looked straight at my face and burst out laughing.

“Pf-Pfft! Seriously!? That’s the <<Amber Eyes>>, right!?”

I don’t understand.

Ted is rolling around on the floor, roaring with laughter.

“It’s my first time seeing one! Seriously! It’s the <<Amber Eyes>>!”

What? What’s going on?

My mouth was left agape at the scene that’s currently unfolding.

“Hey! Ted! You should not enter Lilith-san’s house without permission!”

A blond boy, who looked much like Ted here, came into the room in a hurry.

He looks to be a couple of years older than Ted.

The two must be blood brothers, judging by their looks.

“Bass nii-chan! Look at this guy! It’s my first time seeing the <<Chicken Eyes>>!”

What the hell? What’s with this boy’s bad attitude?

Well, Ted’s words are just the ramblings of a child who is not yet old enough to understand.

When he is around Bass’s age, he’ll be aware of the amber eyes, even if he doesn’t want to.

“…I see. I’ve heard from Lilith-san that her tremendously talented younger brother is moving in…. But I guess I expected too much”

“……”

Hmm? Maybe the brother is the same, too? 

What were these brothers talking about for a while now?

It goes without saying that the amber eyes were supposed to be the symbol of the ‘strongest’ and the ‘worst’ in the world.

No, could it be….

“Are amber eyes something to be ridiculed?”

“Pfft! Bass nii-chan! This Abebe, a commoner, doesn’t seem to know anything!”

I couldn’t even bring myself to correct the mistake in my name any longer.

That’s how shocked I was.

“Listen, Abebe! Those chicken eyes have zero aptitudes for any attribute! Fire, water, wind, production magic, and healing magic are all useless in the <<Zero Eyes>>!”

“Ted, that’s enough. You’re going too far”

This was surprising.

It is true that the amber eyes are eyes that need training.

Specifically, it is a late bloomer type that requires training to be able to handle any magic attribute.

After completing ten years of said training, the amber eyes will be able to manipulate all the attributes.

Eventually (and of course, it varies from person to person), you will be able to manifest the greatest magic of all the attributes almost perfectly.

Although they have been unreasonably persecuted at times, it is safe to say that they are superior to other eyes in terms of performance.

“Err, Abesi-san, was it?”

What’s with that name….

“It’s Abel”

“Abel-san. I’m sorry that my brother was rude to you”

Bass bowed slightly to me.

Aah, it doesn’t matter. I thought to myself, ‘It’s okay. I don’t mind’, and replied quietly. 

“You should apologize too, Ted”

“Eeeh. No, I don’t want to. It’s really the <<Chicken Eyes>> after all”

“You can’t act like this, Ted. In this day and age, even if you can’t use magic, you can still lead a relatively happy life. Abel-san, as long as it’s within your means, we’ll be in your care from now on, and I hope that you can get along with Ted, too”

Hmm? What did you say, Bass?

You’re making fun of amber-eyed people at heart too, aren’t you?

Personally, I don’t dislike bottomless idiots like Ted, but I’m not good with people like Bass who have half-baked knowledge and pride.

“Come on, Ted. Let’s go home and learn some magic. We’ll do what we’ve been chosen to do”

“Yeah, yeah. Then, see you later, chicken eyes Abibi!”

The door slammed shut.

Seriously…. What was that about….

Those brothers came and went like a storm, coming into people’s houses out of the blue and hurling slander after slander at them.

But anyway, so that’s how it is.

I took out a history book. The ’History of War’ that I just read.

In this world, at least for the past 100 years, there have been no wars with the demon race.

In other words, it has been peaceful.

If there are no demons, then inevitably nobody will fear their <<Amber Eyes>>.

Furthermore…originally, anyone with the five great eyes of burning, blue, green, gray, and black can easily use the magic of their respective attribute with a little practice. 

On the other hand, it is difficult for the <<Amber Eyes>>, a late bloomer type, to learn magic without a certain amount of training.

That is why in this day and age where the quality of magic arts has fallen, people with <<Amber Eyes>> have become ‘targets of ridicule’ who are called ‘zero aptitude and unneeded’. 

Aah. I see.

I think I finally understand why Lilith is using colored contact lenses to hide the color of her eyes.

Personally, I don’t like ornaments that disguise oneself such as the colored contact lenses, but if this is the case, then it’s no wonder that she wears them.

After persecution, I guess derision is next, huh?

Good grief.

Living a normal life is such a difficult thing to do….

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Chapter 5 Part 3

“……I’m bored”

With a thud, I lay down on the bed at the inn.

I could hear voices coming from outside the window.

Maybe it was because this inn is located in the middle of town, so I could hear the noise of the bustling street very well.

“I’ve brought you some tea. Yuuki-sama”

“Martha. Can I open the curtains?”

“If that’s your wish, Yuuki-sama. I will take full responsibility if someone finds out, so don’t worry”

“I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up anymore”

I have to be patient here.

Because I’m sure Martha would love to open the curtains as much as I do.

A princess visit is a once-in-a-lifetime event after all. I’m sure Martha would really love to see the princess, too.

Today is the day before Xellos nii-sama takes the exam to join the ‘Magic Guild’.

I’m supposed to wait here at the town inn while Her Royal Highness comes to visit the Baron’s territory for the exam.

My maid, Martha, and two servants from the mansion came with me to the inn.

I have told the other two, “Think of it as a vacation”, so they’re probably relaxing in their rooms by now.

In the end, it was decided that Xellos nii-sama’s exam was to be held as planned.

Nobody said anything about Clara-san and Barnes-san.

I don’t know about the royal family nor the ‘Magic Guild’…but perhaps after the exam, they will announce tutor Kachel’s mistake and punish him.

As far as I’m concerned, as long as Xellos nii-sama’s exam goes well, that’s all that matters to me.

“…I’ll behave. After all, it’s not like I want to see Her Royal Highness”

I sipped the tea Martha had brewed for me.

It had the usual temperature and taste. As expected of Martha.

“Would you like to join me for tea, Martha?”

“Yes, I would love to join you. I’ll go get a cup then”

“I’ll wait. Also, I won’t open the curtains even when I’m alone”

“I believe in you. Yuuki-sama”

Martha left the room and came back with a cup in her hand.

When I offer her a chair, she obediently sits down.

This is not the mansion. She doesn’t have to follow the rules of nobility, too.

“Since you’re bored, would you like to read a book? Yuuki-sama”

“The books that Kachel-sensei prepared for me?”

“‘The Magnificent Magic Guild’, ‘The Importance of the Class System’ ── there are five similar books in total”

“I don’t want to read them”

When I sighed, Martha smiled wryly.

This makes me think that being locked up in the inn isn’t so bad either.

Besides…being outside makes me want to experiment with magic.

The girl I met in the mountains was using the fire element ‘Ancient Magic’. I memorized the movements of her finger. If I draw the same crest, I should be able to use the same magic, too. What would happen if I drew it on Dick’s body…?

“…I have to study this more in-depth”

This is what makes a mage addicted to magic.

When you learn magic, you can do more. And that results in you wanting to learn more.

Sooner or later, the goal increasingly becomes about what you can do and not about what you do. In the end, it becomes about a life of research.

I’ve seen such people in my previous life. It wasn’t a very good one.

“Come to think of it, Martha, do you ever think about the future?”

“Yuuki-sama is wise, so I think you should become a politician in this country”

“No, no, this is not about me”

“You told me about the ‘Lydala Flower’ that is good for coughs, didn’t you? Thanks to you, my mother’s condition has improved, you know!? Where did you learn about that!?”

“From some merchant. I met him when I snuck out of the mansion and went into town”

“Yuuki-sama is really amazing…”

Martha’s mother is chronically ill.

Every time I go visit her, I would use my ‘Purification’ skill on her, but the treatment takes time.

That’s why I brought her some flowers to help with her coughs. If it’s placed at her bedside, it can ease the irritation in her throat a little.

I told Martha that I had heard it from a merchant from the East.

It was true, of course. Although I did meet that merchant in my previous life.

“I wish Yuuki-sama could take the ‘Magic Guild’ exam, too”

“It’s troublesome, so no thanks”

“Did you know? I’ve heard that the exam is now to be held in ‘Kitral’s Forest’”

“The mountain and the swamp were no good?”

“There were three proposed sites. It is said that the mountain behind the mansion is absolutely no good and the swamp was a no-go because of its mysterious nature”

“I guessed as much”

I suppose the girl, Clara, and the old warrior, Barnes, had judged so.

After all, they were attacked by ‘Dark Bears’ in the mountains where tutor Kachel had reported that it was super safe and secure, so his words no longer have any credibility.

When it comes to the swamp, it is no good as well, because it’s hard to move around there.

The only other place where magic can be used without being seen is ‘Kitral’s Forest’.

The princess should be in the territory by now.

I wonder if Clara-san and the old man, Barnes, will also be accompanying her.

The girl ── Clara-san, she looks exactly like Lyle’s daughter, Alice….

“Martha, let’s say…”

“What is it, Yuuki-sama?”

“I have a few questions…but before that, I need a little more honey in my tea”

“Please remember to brush your teeth before you go to bed, okay?”

“I know”

“More than 20 minutes?”

“I’m not a child. By the way, Martha is the only child, right?”

“Yes”

“This is just an example, but let’s say if there’s a girl who is a little older than you, and she looks exactly like your mother, Melissa, would you suspect your blood relations?” 

“Yuuki-sama, do you think there’s something wrong with my family background?”

“This is just an example. It’s about someone that I know”

“Someone that you know, huh?”

“For example, if there is a girl who looks a lot like the daughter of someone I thought of as my son, should I suspect her blood relations?”

“I heard that there are three people who resemble one another in the world”

“Yeah”

“So I wouldn’t judge by the face alone, but by something else”

“Something else?”

“My mother is very good at baking apple pies. Her pies are very delicious”

“I know. Melissa’s pies are my favorite, too”

“But I heard that Mother learned it from my grandmother. And my grandmother learned it from my great-grandmother. That’s why everyone in my family loves apple pie”

“In other words, you’re saying that I can judge by her favorite food?”

“Hmm. But that’s a trait that doesn’t get passed down unless you lived in the same family”

“No, that’s enough”

It’s unlikely that I’ll meet Clara-san again in the first place.

I probably won’t even have the chance to ask her what her favorite food is.

It is also unknown whether Alice’s favorite food, ‘Spicy Venison Thin Crust Pie’, is still around in this era. 

“It was very helpful. Thank you, Martha”

“I’m glad to be of help”

“I appreciate it. If I had to leave the mansion, I wish Martha would follow me”

“If it’s a passionate invitation, I’ll consider it”

“That will be after my coming of age…when I turn 15 years old”

“Well then, once that time comes, I’ll get back to you about that”

Martha and I sipped our tea together.

“Come to think of it, there was a package delivered to my house when I was away”

“A package?”

“It was ‘Dark Bear’ claws. They were charred, but they made good money”

“I didn’t know there was such a nice person”

“I wonder who it could be. Mother was smiling with a handkerchief she had sewn for Yuuki-sama though”

“Beats me”

Martha and I sipped our tea together again.

This is not bad either.

It would be nice if Martha and I could spend time together like this.

…If I go to the ‘Magic Guild’, I wonder…if there is ‘Ancient Magic’ that can do that, too?

“…A delusion. That is just a delusion”

“What kind of delusion? Yuuki-sama”

“I can’t tell Martha that”

“It might come true if it’s a passionate invitation though?”

“…I think you’re misunderstanding something here”

“Well, let’s make sure of that when I wash your hair next time”

Please stop smiling so boldly while grabbing the bust of your maid uniform, Martha. 

“Yuuki-sama! Is Yuuki-sama here!?”

Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps and the door to the room opened.

The person who came in was a maid sent from the mansion.

“I’m here. After all, Martha will get angry at me if I got out”

“You make it sound like you’d run off if I’m not here”

“I think I’d at least try to avoid being noticed”

“I’m doing great. A good role model for the maids”

“Well done-well done. Oh, pass me the honey”

“You’re adding too much. Yuuki-sama”

As she said that, Martha brought the honey pot to me ──

“Now’s not the time for that! Yuuki-sama and Martha, too”

“Help me put the honey pot back”

“…Baron-sama has asked for Yuuki-sama to return to the mansion”

……Huh?

“It seems that we have received a notice from Her Royal Highness’s envoy to have all the family members of the Grossalia family to greet her. Please return to the mansion at once. Yuuki-sama!”

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Chapter 5 Part 2

“…Haa”

I sat down on the ground and sighed.

I couldn’t hear the monster anymore. It looks like there won’t be another ‘Dark Bear’ coming.

“Thank you very much…”

The girl bowed her head to the boy.

“I can’t thank you enough for saving us from a dangerous situation”

“Likewise, I was able to see some good stuff”

The boy shook his head.

Looking back, he was about my age.

If he is a noble, he would still be at the age of being taught by a private tutor in preparation for school.

(I can’t believe there was such an amazing person in the countryside far from the Royal Capital. Even though we are about the same age, he wasn’t afraid of the monsters at all. If he made one wrong move, then he could have gotten himself killed by the ‘Dark Bear’…and yet, he saved me…such courage)

The girl involuntarily clutched her chest.

I couldn’t stop my heart from beating fast.

(…Maybe this person…is the one taking the exam?)

“You saved us, boy! You’re amazing!!”

Unaware of the girl’s agitation, the old warrior called out.

“Are these bats your familiar? It’s amazing. Even in the ‘Magic Guild’, there are very few people who can control their familiar to this degree. This is really an impressive feat!!”

“No, they were strong, to begin with”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah. I was just feeding them. And then we became friends”

“…Those are some strong bats there” 

“They have to be strong to live in these mountains where monsters appear, right? More importantly”

The boy looked directly at the girl.

His gaze was so intense that it almost overwhelmed her.

“If you are a local, you wouldn’t have entered the ‘Dark Bear’ territory. If you are outsiders, you can have a local to act as your guide. You guys are outsiders, correct? Why is it just the two of you at this hour?”

“N-No…we…”

“Don’t blame Ojou-sama. We were told that it was safe here”

“From whom?”

“From a private tutor in the service of the Baron Grossalia family, a man named Kachel Mieghem”

“……Aah, I see”

The boy looked like he had just swallowed something bitter.

“That bastard. He should think a little before doing something…the exam almost got screwed up…”

“Are you, perhaps a member of the Baron Grossalia family?”

“No, I’m just a hunter”

“Just a hunter who uses magic?”

“A hunter who knows a lot about magic”

“……Oh, really?”

“……Yes, really”

“Even so, you have some amazing abilities. If it’s you, you can even join the ‘Magic Guild’, you know?”

“Are you from the ‘Magic Guild’?”

“…Eh?”

“I can roughly guess it from the conversation”

“Y-Yes. I ought to have told you that sooner”

The girl stood up and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

Then she looked at the old warrior standing behind her.

He received her gaze and nodded as if to confirm something ──

“I’m helping with the exam. My name is…Clara”

“I’m Barnes, Ojou-sama’s bodyguard”

“In a few days, there will be an exam for joining the ‘Magic Guild’ around here. And for that reason, we came to perform some preliminary inspections. After all, there must be no danger and injustice”

“Keep it a secret from your people. They will cause a big fuss if you told them in advance”

“So that’s what it was about”

“Thanks to you we were saved. If you don’t mind, may I have your name?”

“…Can’t I be a nameless hunter, too?”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. You are our benefactor…oh, that’s right”

The girl touched the back of her ear and took off the barrette from her silver hair.

“I’ll give you this as a token of my gratitude”

“…No, there’s no need for that”

“Oh? If you’re a hunter, then don’t you need to monetize what you get from hunting?”

The girl covered her mouth and laughed.

The boy has a troubled look on his face.

I wonder why. Looking at his face, I get a warm feeling in my chest.

“The ‘Dark Bear’ materials were burnt to a crisp. Please take this instead. Okay?”

“…Thank you very much”

“Hehe”

The girl took the boy’s hand and placed a silver barrette on it.

What should I do if he refuses…? Such a thought crossed my mind for a moment.

However, the boy just accepted the barrette frankly.

“You really saved us back there. Please help me offer my thanks to your bats, too”

The girl bowed deeply to the boy again. The old man does the same, too.

“If you hadn’t rushed to us, we wouldn’t be alive now. You were really…amazing. Like a strong gust of wind, I suppose that’s what one would call it, right…?”

“……You”

“Eh?”

“……You look just like…my idiot son’s daughter”

“……You have a grandchild? That can’t be possible”

“……Forget that. I’ll escort you to the foot of the mountain”

The boy then led the girl and the old warrior to a safe place.

Their carriage was hidden in a grove at the foot of the mountain.

In the end, Barnes wanted to thank the boy as well, but the boy turned down the offer and left.

“He’s a wonderful person, wasn’t he?”

The girl murmured with a sigh.

“That level of fighting ability at such a young age. The courage to target the monster’s vitals with a single blow. I wish someone like him was near me”

“As a bodyguard? Ojou-sama”

“Yes. If possible, I wanted to tell him my real name, but…”

“He did save our lives after all. Though you will get your chance soon enough”

“If it’s him, he wouldn’t even need to take the ‘Magic Guild’ exam. I’d like to have him to be my retainer right away”

“A knight standing right beside Ojou-sama. It’s a position that everyone aspires to, isn’t it?”

“Do you think that he’s the examinee this time?”

“There’s no doubt about it, right?”

The old warrior, Barnes, nodded contentedly with his axe in his hand.

“That boy is Xellos Grossalia. The one who intends to join the ‘Magic Guild’, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Did you find something amiss?”

“The tutor, Kachel, described him as ‘Blonde hair and blue eyes. A courteous young nobleman’ in the report”

“His words are unreliable! You must have realized it too, don’t you, Ojou-sama?” 

“…Kachel’s father was a brilliant man”

“At any rate, I think that boy is Xellos Grossalia. If he was a different person, then Kachel has overlooked such talent. If that’s the case, then he ought to be kicked out of the guild right away! Especially after what he did to Ojou-sama!!”

The girl was not listening to Barnes.

The image of the boy from earlier still remained on her mind.

A mysterious hunter. A fighting capability that defeats monsters in an instant. And bats that are too strong.

He knew about the ‘Magic Guild’ exam. If he isn’t Xellos Grossalia…then who is he?

“Furthermore……he said he knows someone who looks like me”

The girl shook her head.

I have a feeling that I must look into the Baron household a little more. 

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Chapter 4 Part 3

“The third layer is a prairie?”

“Looks like it”

When we descended to the third layer, Lara looked around restlessly with her eyes wide open.

It is understandable.

The first layer has ruins, and the second layer was like a forest.

It is understandable to be suddenly perplexed by such a big space.

“The area up to this point will be used for the exhibition game, isn’t it?”

Marise asked.

She’s right, the exhibition game will be held from the first layer to the third layer.

As for me, I’m fine with diving deeper, too…but it seems to be for the safety of the students that they are narrowing it down to the first few layers.

“Oh, here comes the monsters”

“Wahhh, there’s a lot of bird-like monsters coming!”

When I strained my eyes, I could see a great multitude of monsters coming towards us from afar.

Are those Evil Birds?

Lara and Marise assumed a fighting stance.

“Alright, let’s make this the final test. Defeat the group of Evil Birds that are about to arrive with the chantless magic I taught you earlier”

“EH!? Isn’t that too sudden to try it on monsters?”

“That’s crazy!”

They panicked.

“What’s the matter? Since you’ll be forming a party with me, you’ll need to be able to do this much at least, else it would be troubling. That’s right…whoever defeats the most monsters can pass unconditionally, too”

“── !”

Hearing those words, Marise’s eye color changed.

“Don’t forget what you just said”

“Yeah. Besides, I’m saying this because I know you two can handle it. If by any chance that it gets dangerous, I’ll lend you a hand”

The Evil Birds are getting closer and closer, finally coming close enough to be clearly within striking range.

Lara and Marise shot Fire Spears at the flying Evil Birds.

They had difficulty hitting the Evil Birds with their magic at first, and seemed to have a hard time.

At this point, both of them are evenly matched in power. It won’t be surprising since either of them could win.

However.

“Haaa, haaa…”

Marise is breathing heavily.

She must be exhausted and reaching the end of her strength.

I wonder if that’s because ──

“Marise-chan!”

Lara shouted suddenly.

An Evil Bird attacked from behind Marise.

“Eh…?”

Marise couldn’t react in time to the attack from behind and is about to get hit at this rate.

However, Lara rolled over to grab Marise and sidestep the attack from the Evil Bird.

“Are you okay!? Marise-chan!”

There was some dirt on Lara’s cheeks, but she was more worried about Marise.

“W-Why did you save me? Didn’t you hear? This is the final test, and whoever defeats the most monsters will pass…”

“A-haha, you’re right…my body just moved on its own. But I’m going to be friends with…no, I can’t abandon my friend Marise-chan”

“Friend…?”

Lara and Marise stood up and stared at the Evil Birds.

A closer look reveals scratches on Lara’s right knee.

“I want Kurt to teach me magic. But I also want to get to know you better, Marise-chan”

“What merit is there by being friends with me…?”

“I don’t need any merits to become friends with you! Besides ── we’ll talk later! Now we have to work together to defeat the monsters”

“Y-You’re right”

The two changed their minds and mustered up the last of their strength to take down the few remaining Evil Birds.

Then…a short time later.

The sight of Evil Birds that had been there for so long, had finally disappeared.

“W-We did it…”

“Yeah, thanks to you, Marise-chan. I couldn’t have done it alone myself…”

They both sounded like they were exhausted.

“Oh, right! Kurt…which one of us passed?”

“We were so desperate that we didn’t even count how many we defeated”

The two suddenly approach me.

Hmm…although they are practically evenly matched, Marise was slightly ahead in defeating the Evil Birds. 

However.

“You girls don’t have to worry about who defeated the most Evil Birds. Because both of you passed”

“Eh…? Then does that mean…!?”

“Yeah, I’ll teach both of you the essence of magic. But be prepared, okay? I’m not used to teaching, so it can get a little tough”

Hearing that, Lara jumped up and down in excitement, and Marise clenched her fists in joy.

…I was going to teach them magic even before I gave them this test in the first place.

Judging from the entrance exam, both of them have a talent for magic. I can’t wait to see how far they will grow as I teach them.

But on the other hand, even if we are to form a party together, if we can’t trust each other, then we won’t be able to show our full potential. It’s not a very pleasant thing to watch if they are on bad terms with each other.

But surprisingly…

I did wonder what would happen at one point but looks like there was nothing to worry about after all. 

Lara’s willingness to sacrifice herself to help her friends was enough to reassure me.

“Lara…”

Marise gently holds out her hand to a happy Lara.

“Eh…?”

“Um, it’s a handshake! D-Don’t get me wrong. I just need to be strong on my own after all…but, if we are going to form a party, it’s better to get along with each other…and…it seems like there are various benefits to that!” 

“Geez, you’re not being honest with yourself! But…again, I’m looking forward to working with you, Marise-chan! And Kurt, too!”

Hmm, a handshake, huh?

Lara is trying to get along with me. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I can’t refuse her here.

She took Marise’s and my hand alternately.

“Since this is a good chance…why don’t you shake hands with Marise, too?”

“Eh? T…T-T-That’s right. Kurt is our friend too, right? I-I look forward to working with you”

I shook hands with Marise, too.

Lara continued to smile the whole time, but Marise shyly had her head down and averted her gaze.

“Now…this kind of thing is nice, but don’t let your guard down yet, you two”

“Eh?”

“A Behemoth is coming this way. Let’s engage it here”

Hearing my words, Marise let go of her hand and said in a panic.

“T-That’s absurd! When you think of a Behemoth, isn’t it a <<Disaster-Class>> monster!”

Behemoth is a <<Disaster-Class>> monster…?

Wasn’t it the kind of monster that children who just started learning magic used to hunt when they were practicing in my previous life?

Without a doubt, it’s stronger than a Lizardman or an Evil Bird.

But to me, they were more akin to small animals than monsters.

They aren’t even a threat.

“Hmm, what’s the matter? Perhaps both of you are excited that a Behemoth is coming?”

““I’m scared!””

cried the two.

In the meantime, the Behemoth came up before us.

“H-Huge!”

Lara looked up at the Behemoth.

Behemoth is a giant four-legged monster.

“GUOOOOO!”

Behemoth raised its front legs to intimidate us.

“Both of you stand back, I’ll settle this in 3 seconds”

“Even if it’s Kurt, 3 seconds is just impossible!”

What are you talking about?

For me, it’ll be as easy as yawning for 3 seconds. 

Behemoth came at us with a roar.

I unsheath my sword and jumped after covering myself with Body Strengthening Magic.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve to come at me”

I got over the Behemoth’s head in no time at all.

The Behemoth doesn’t seem to be able to keep up with my movements.

I enchanted the sword itself with |Sharpness| magic.

I immediately went to the front of the Behemoth, and then severed its head and torso.

“If it’s a Behemoth, then that is all there is to it, I suppose”

The Behemoth’s body slowly fell to the ground.

“W-What happened!”

“I don’t know. It was too fast for me to see”

Lara and Marise came running up to me.

“It’s called Enchantment Magic. Instantly strengthening the sword…hmm?”

I looked at the sword I had brought with me.

*Crack*

“Whoa! The sword cracked!?”

Lara’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw it.

The sword then shattered into pieces. It made a sound like glass shattering.

“Hmm…as I thought, the sword provided by the academy couldn’t keep up with my Enchantment Magic”

I stroked my chin as I looked at the sword with only the handle left intact.

The sword couldn’t withstand my magic power and disintegrated from the inside.

If it was a cheap sword, I wouldn’t be surprised that it happened.

Or rather, I’m amazed that it had endured this long.

“I’ll have to buy a new sword that’s a little sturdier when we leave the Labyrinth”

I muttered.

“Now…it’s about time we return to the Royal Capital. That’s all for today. It would be great if I could get to the 100th layer, but…”

“Please don’t say something so outrageous such as going to the 100th layer!”

“Strangely enough, if it’s Kurt, I can’t help but think that he might just be able to do it”

But I need money to buy a new sword.

I want to use the magic stone to process weapons and stuff like that….

In that case.

“Should I bring back the Behemoth with us?”

I shifted my gaze to the fallen Behemoth.

“How are you going to bring it back though?”

“Lara, it has to be dismantled first to bring it back. Even so, it’s not possible for the three of us to dismantle it completely…”

“What a waste”

“It can’t be helped”

What are they talking about?

“Let’s bring back all of it”

““Eh?””

“Yosh”

When I held my hand up to the Behemoth, a pale light appeared.

By the time, the light disappeared.

“T-The Behemoth is gone?”

“Where did it go!”

Lara placed a hand over her mouth, and Marise leaned forward in surprise.

“I used Storage Magic. This way, we can bring all of it back with us without the need to do troublesome jobs such as dismantling, right?”

That being said, I personally don’t really like Storage Magic. While using Storage Magic to carry things around, I would have to constantly consume my magic power all the time.

Although this isn’t enough to cause me to run out of magic power, it does make me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Storage Magic! Wasn’t that a lost magic!?”

“I’ve only seen it in books…”

It seems like Storage Magic isn’t common in this world either.

Just which one is the common one and which one isn’t common….

Well, let’s look into that slowly.

“With this, I don’t have any regrets left. Let’s get out of the Labyrinth”

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Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 – I Thought I Had Transferred To Another Academy, But Suddenly I Had To Fight Against The Four Gods: Azure Dragon

So basically, by invoking the personal right of the headmaster’s authority, in this case, Merlin being the headmaster, it was an immediate decision for both me and Anastasia to enroll in Merlin’s academy.

Incidentally, both Anastasia and I are disguised on paper as direct disciples of Merlin’s adopted child.

Furthermore, I’m going to live in Merlin’s house.

“Ha, ha, hahaha! What a large mansion this is!”

There is no doubt that the mansion is as Anastasia said.

Or rather, the house Merlin currently lives in was originally my house though.

I gave Merlin the house, leaving her in charge of the grimoires and treasures. This in turn lets her use the property and house as she sees fit.

Hmm…this explanation doesn’t feel quite right.

I also loved Merlin in some way after all, so it would be appropriate to say that I wanted to leave something for her. I would feel embarrassed to just hand it over like that, so I made it out to be like a business deal.

With that said, it seems like it is going to take some time to go through the formalities before transferring to another academy, so in the meantime, I’m going to spend my time at Merlin’s, or rather, my private residence ──

“Ephthal-sama…what would you like to wear next?”

“Ah…yeah…”

This is my tenth change of clothing.

I’ve had a number of clothes merchants come to me and I’ve been made to play dress-up doll for a while now to help me choose my personal clothes and formal attire.

Well, it’s like…where you get one luxurious and well-tailored clothes after another, just as royalty would wear.

“Um, Merlin?”

“What is it, Ephthal-sama?”

“It doesn’t matter what I wear, or rather…as long as I don’t look weird in the eyes of other people, then that should be just fine, right?”

“No! I won’t allow that!”, said Merlin as the look on her face immediately changed.

“Eh?”

“I’ll lose face if I make Ephthal-sama look shabby! We must choose carefully here…! Ah! These clothes are cute!”

Ehh? Cute?

And so I was made to wear unisex clothes which could be worn by both boys and girls alike.

“As I thought, it’s cute!”

“You know…”

“These clothes are cute, too!”

Ah, there’s something about Merlin’s eyes that are sparkling.

I mean, those are some lively eyes there. Come to think of it, she’s always liked dress-up dolls and other cute things, didn’t she…?

I remember being worried about her because of her unusual obsession with doll clothes when she was a child.

Like, right now…the clothes that Merlin has with her. That’s something I’m definitely not supposed to wear, right?

“Hey, Merlin? Those clothes are totally for girls…”

“Ephthal-sama is such a beautiful boy ── so you should care more about what you wear”

“I’m not interested in cross-dressing…so I won’t wear it, you hear me? I won’t wear it, okay? Wait, ah…st-stop…ahh…ahhh!”

And so, I had spent a nightmarish hour as Merlin’s dress-up doll.

☆★☆★☆★

── The next morning.

“You better return to where you came from before you get hurt”

As we descended the long, long spiral staircase, we finally arrived at the underground treasure vault, but we were immediately given that warning.

Right now, in front of us stands a high-ranking familiar called the Lamp Genie.

It looks like the one you might see in the Arabian Nights stories or Aladdin.

There are quite a few mythologies and legendary creatures from Earth in this world that are very real.

I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s because there are places in this world that are connected to Earth…sightings and stories might have just naturally become part of Earth’s mythology and folklore?

Well, I’m not interested, but that’s beside the point.

Merlin has been away on official business since last night, and the plan is for her to be back by noon today.

After eating breakfast, I invited Anastasia to come to the treasure vault, saying “Now that I have learned how to use a sword, there’s a sword that I’d like to have”, so here we are ──

Perhaps this is Merlin’s familiar, an outstanding treasure vault guardian.

It probably can do everything from fighting off thieves to the maintenance of the treasures.

“So, are you two fucking thieving brats? Ah, that’s not a nice way of putting it, so you want the Raikiri?”

Fucking brats….

I was dumbfounded by its vulgar speech.

“It’s the legendary sword brought back from the Demon King’s Castle by the legendary Four Emperors, Ephthal-sama, you know? Its rarity value is SSS-rank, and you will rarely find one of the same value in the treasure vault of any nation”

“Well, that’s true”

“You both are students in Merlin-sama’s voluntary magic class for the local children, aren’t you?”

“……?”

Besides being the headmaster of a magic academy, Merlin also personally does volunteer work like that, huh?

There are a fair amount of children who don’t have the opportunity to learn magic after all, so she does some personal charity work for those children….

Yesterday, she made me dress up as a dress-up doll, and here I thought I had raised her wrong, but it seems that she’s grown up to be a proper good and honest child, so I’m very glad.

The Lamp Genie then looked at Anastasia and tilted its head slightly.

“This is strange? Merlin-sama’s magic class is…supposed to be nothing but beautiful boys from 10 ~ 16 years old. I can understand the black-haired brat, but why a pink-headed little bitch…”

I take back my previous statement.

Aaghh, Merlin….

What the hell are you doing collecting shotas….

“The black-haired brat is strange, too. You haven’t been made to change your clothes…in fact, you still have ordinary clothes”

It used to be dress-up dolls, and now it’s dressing up beautiful boys, huh…?

I don’t want to meddle in other people’s hobbies, but I’m a bit taken back.

“Anyway, I’d like you to open up the treasure vault?”

“Like I said, that won’t do. As a brat in Merlin-sama’s magic class, I’ll overlook the fact that you are stealing from her. I’ll pretend that it was just youthful enthusiasm that you wanted to examine the treasure and that it was a joke…so you can go away now” 

“No, like I said…”

“In the first place, this treasure vault belongs to Merlin-sama, but at the same time, it also doesn’t belong to her. It’s just that Merlin-sama was entrusted with curating the treasure vault by the legendary Four Emperors, Ephthal-sama”

“That’s why I have the right ──”

“Shut up, you little shit. Not even Merlin-sama can take out the many artifacts in this treasure vault at a moment’s notice, you know?”

Aaghh, this is getting nowhere.

It didn’t listen to me in the first place, and it’ll never understand me when I talk to it….

“By the way, you little shit. Where’s Merlin-sama now?”

“Guess she will be back from official business by noon?”

Hearing that, the Lamp Genie smirked.

“I see, Merlin isn’t here now…no matter how sharp her ears are, she can’t hear us from outside the mansion, can she? Alright…hey, little shit? I’ve had enough. Shall I make things clear?”

“Clear?”

“The old hag seems to have a soft spot for her favorite beautiful boys ── but it’s not before long that she’s going to slowly drive you to death, you know, you little shit!”

“…Eh?”

“That old hag has been such a slave-driver…ever since she used me as a familiar. And you know what? The story is that her Master, Ephthal, was incompetent with no aptitude for magic, and that’s why Merlin is shady in the first place. I bet her Master used some dirty tricks to get the position of the Four Emperors. Not by using his own ability, but by applying pressure from the political world of power struggles”

“……”

“That old hag, Merlin, still seems to be obsessed with the old geezer, Ephthal, and looks like a young Merlin back then was…much more loved at night by the old geezer, Ephthal. He must have been a good-for-nothing lolicon”

“……”

“Well, that old hag must have been corrupted by all the night-time abuse she received as a child. So basically, what I’m saying is get the hell out of here now”

“…Where is the Raikiri?”

The Lamp Genie pointed to the back of the treasure vault with a repulsive smile.

“Over there, you know?” 

Hearing that, I walked towards the radiant azure-silver sword lodged into the pedestal.

This sword is the one I brought back from the Demon King’s Castle a long time ago…. No, to be exact, it was the sword used by Demon King’s Army No. 2, the Commander-in-Chief. 

I remember being anxious when he cut my ‘Level 10: Emperor of the Thunder God, [Ephthal]’, in half.

“No matter what you say, I’ll take it with me, okay?”

“Fuhahaha! I’ve been quiet about this until now, but…all the treasures here are protected with magic. They are enchanted with enshrinement magic that no ordinary thieves and mages can even touch, you know?”

I slowly reached out to the sword on the pedestal.

“Useless, useless, useless! You’d have to be on old hag Merlin’s level to do anything about it!”

“…Level 8: Complete Spell Release, Perfect Dispel”

I then effortlessly pulled the sword from its pedestal.

“That’s…impossible…!”, said the Lamp Genie with his eyes wide in shock.

And just like that, the genie dropped to the floor, repeatedly having its mouth opening and closing, like washed-up fish gasping for air.

── Right then and there, the door of the treasure vault opened with a creak.

Just as I thought, it was Merlin, who now has a number of bulging veins on her temples, and it looks like she had decided to stand with her arms crossed.

“M, Me, Mer…Merlin-sama…?”

“You…I can hear you from the spiral staircase outside, you know? Hey, say it again…who’s the old hag?”

“A, A, A…Aieee…”

“Merlin? I think you’d better discipline your familiar properly, don’t you?”

Merlin got down on one knee and bowed to me.

“My apologies, Ephthal-sama. It appears that I have made you feel upset…”

“Ephthal…?”

The Lamp Genie alternately stared at my face and the Raikiri that I had drawn out more seriously now.

“Ephthal…? It can’t be…”

“Ah!”, exclaimed the Lamp Genie as it opens its mouth wide ──

“I’m, I’m, I’m sorryyyyy!!”

It immediately got into a Dogeza, but there was an insane amount of veins bulging on Merlin’s temple, so ──

“Namu Amida Butsu”. I recited the Nianfo with one hand.

That night ──

“Ephthal-sama? There’s something I want you to hear…”

Merlin has come to visit me in my bedroom.

By the way, my room is the one I used in my previous life. The large collection of books laid out on the bookshelves on all sides of the room were left as they were.

There’s a lot of knowledge that I have forgotten, so I’m really thankful for it.

I can see that each book has been meticulously and regularly preserved with Preservation Magic. The technique used here is also quite advanced.

Perhaps it was Merlin who took the time to perform maintenance on the tremendous number of books, one by one ── with her own hands.

Yes, I have a good apprentice. She really took good care of them because they were my legacy.

She honestly listened to the words I told her at the time, “In exchange for giving you the mansion, I entrusted you with its management”, ….

Unbeknownst to me, I was moved to tears from reminiscing the past.

“Ephthal-sama? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing”

So I invited Merlin and a maid in and sat on the reception sofa.

The maid set down the tea utensils and left the room with a bow.

“So what is it, Merlin?”

“It’s about Anastasia…”

“Hmm? What’s wrong with Anastasia?”

“I took a bath with her in the large public bath today”

Aah, I see.

Then…well, I suppose that would make her want to come to my room and have a talk with me.

“Before we dive into that, I want to know why you are taking a bath with Anastasia?”

“Aah, about that. It’s an inspection”

“── Inspection?”

“It’s an inspection to determine if her body is fit for night service to Ephthal-sama”

“Err…I’m a little unsure of what you’re talking about”

“A top-notch man must have a top-notch woman in his arms. Of course, it is necessary that I, Ephthal-sama’s No. 1 apprentice, to be checked. Naturally, I wouldn’t mind, but Ephthal-sama doesn’t seem to be interested at the moment…”

“Hey, Merlin? Do you mind coming over here?”

When I beckoned to her, Merlin obediently came up to me.

Then she kneeled down on the floor on one knee and bowed.

“How may I help you?”

“I’m about to get really angry, you know?”

With a yelp, Merlin got teary-eyed as I knocked her on the head with my fist.

“No, but. As long as that girl is in Ephthal-sama’s arms every night, I need to check her for things like STDs, her three sizes, and so on”

I knocked her on the head with my fist again, Merlin got teary-eyed again as she let out a yelp. 

“Because Anastasia and I don’t have that kind of relationship”

“Eh!? Then why did you pick her up?”

“Well, it just sorts of happened…”

“Aah, is this a usual habit of Ephthal-sama’s? I heard that I was picked up at the Demon King’s Castle, too”

“That’s right”

“By the way, about Anastasia ── after seeing that special slave crest, do you really intend to take her under your care?”

“That’s what I’m going to do though?”

Hearing that, Merlin gave me a bone-chilling gaze.

“── That’s equivalent to holding a bomb in hand…. The countdown for the time bomb has already begun. You understand that, don’t you?”

I shrugged and told Merlin.

“Stop whining. It’s my decision”

Merlin looked relieved after hearing those words.

“My deepest apologies. It wasn’t Ephthal-kun’s decision…but Ephthal-sama’s, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Once you pick something up, it can’t be helped. You got to take care of it, right?”

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Chapter 5 Part 1

Chapter 5 – The Former Demon King, Rescue A Girl

“Please run away, Ojou-sama! You can’t deal with the ‘Dark Bear’ yet!!”

“How could I leave the old man and run away!?”

The girl readied her sword.

She’s covering the wounded old warrior behind her back and stares at the enemy in front of her.

It was just before dawn when her carriage reached the foot of the mountain.

She entered the mountain with the old man for exploration before the place became busy with people.

They were supposed to have moved according to the map.

However, the road suddenly got cut off. Due to that reason, the two lost their way and entered the monster’s habitat.

“That bastard. What did he mean by ‘A safe mountain free from monsters’? Even the map is rubbish!”

“We have to get through this first!!”

“I’ll be your shield. Ojou-sama, your magic”

The old warrior used an axe with a long handle as a cane to stand up.

His left arm was badly wounded after the ‘Dark Bear’ had caught him off guard.

The bleeding was stopped with magic, but it will take some time to heal completely. 

‘GWAAARRGGGHHH!’

The bear which is twice the size of an adult is standing on its hind-legs.

The monster’s eyes are locked on the old warrior and the girl. There’s no way they could escape.

“── The source, a crucible of heat. Like the lava flowing from the Earth, the breath of scorching heat is shown here”

While recalling the incantation she learned, the girl begins to draw a crest in the air.

“I’ll buy Ojou-sama some time to chant. I won’t let you pass me! Dark Bear!!”

The old warrior swung his axe.

There was a thunk sound, and the blade cut into the arm of the ‘Dark Bear’.

‘GYAAARRRGGGHHH!!’

“Now! Get away from there, old man!”

“Affirmative!!”

“‘Fire God’s Relentless Barrage, Ifrit Blow!!’”

Several flames formed around the girl.

All at once, the flames rush towards the ‘Dark Bear’.

‘G-GUUUOOOOOO’

“It’s working, Ojou-sama. Hang in there and finish it off!!”

“Yes!”

The strength of ‘Ancient Magic’ lies in its ability to fire off continuously.

As long as the spell passes through the ‘Circuit’ of magic power, the same magic can be unleashed in rapid succession.

‘GUUUOOOOOO!! GUUUOOOOOO!!’

Flames formed one after another and again rushed towards the ‘Dark Bear’. Burning the ‘Dark Bear’ in front of them.

“That was a close call. Seriously, when it comes to his information…”

“Be quiet, old man!”

The girl listens carefully.

‘──── GUUUOOOOO. GUUUOOOOO’

A roar can be heard. And it’s close, too. 

The girl re-read the parchment in her hand.

‘This mountain is rated A. No monsters. Even if there are any, it will be some low-level monsters. Safety rating AA. Ideal for the examination site. It’s a place with a nice view, too. Please come anytime’ ── that’s what was written on it. 

That’s why the girl and the old warrior came here to check it out together.

However, the ‘Dark Bear’ that attacked them is a monster with a danger level of ‘C’.

Only intermediate level and above adventurers can fight it.

How can a place where such a monster exists be rated as a ‘Safety Rating AA’?

“Old man! This way. Let’s get out of here now. While we’re running, your medical treatment ──”

“Ojou-sama!!”

The trees on both sides shook.

What appeared were two ‘Dark Bears’ that were even larger than the previous one.

With rage glowing in their eyes, the two ‘Dark Bears’ raised their arms at the girl.

“Damn!!”

*Clang!!*

The claws that were swung down were received with a sword. But the sword couldn’t completely extinguish the bears’ blow.

The girl was thrown to the ground and rolled to a stop after hitting a tree.

One of the ‘Dark Bears’ heads for the girl and the other one is heading towards the old warrior.

“…Gah!”

The girl coughed involuntarily as she tried to chant to cast magic.

She hit her chest when she fell. Right now, she can barely breathe, let alone speak properly. Due to that reason, she can’t use magic.

“Ojou-sama!!”

“…No”

‘GWWWAAAARRRGGGHHH!!’

“I still have so much to do ──!”

As if to drown out the girl’s scream, the ‘Dark Bear’ swung its huge claws down.

Those claws cut through the air.

“There are a lot of monsters on this mountain. It’s impossible to use it as an examination site”

“── Eh?”

The next thing she knew, she found herself flying through the air in the arms of a boy she didn’t know.

His hair and eyes are black. He is about the same age as the girl. But his arms are strong and enveloped the girl.

This boy was the one who saved her.

“…The ‘Body Strengthening, Boosted’ magic of Ancient Magic? But…this is amazing…”

He rushed over to the scene just before the attack of the ‘Dark Bear’ hit and jumped away after grabbing the girl in his arms.

Unbelievable ──, the girl thought.

Neither the girl and the old man, nor even the ‘Dark Bear’ noticed his approach.

Even with the ‘Body Strengthening, Boosted’ magic of ‘Ancient Magic’, such speed shouldn’t be possible.

“T-Thank you very much. And who might you be!?”

“At this time of year, it’s the breeding season for the ‘Dark Bear’. Even I try to stay away from their territory. It’s best to run away as soon as you see one”

“…Eh? Ah. Okay…”

“Well, when you’ve pissed off the ‘Dark Bear’ this much, it’s already too late”

The boy lowered the girl to the ground and held up his dagger.

“It should be fine here. You guys back up the old man over there”

‘Gii-Giii!’

When the boy called out, four bats emerged from the forest and headed towards the ‘Dark Bear’.

Don’t tell me…they are going to fight, too? The girl wondered.

‘Dark Bear’ is an intermediate class monster. In terms of its danger level, it’s a Stage Five’s C class.

It is a level where the girl and the old man can barely fight against it. No matter how many bats are heading towards it ──

*Bam!*

‘GUUUOOOAAAHHH!!’

The ‘Dark Bear’ staggered as it received blows from the bats’ body to its chin.

And also to its temples and ears.

The bats continue to attack the ‘Dark Bear’ at breakneck speed.

‘Guooooaaaahhhh!!’

The ‘Dark Bear’ fell to the ground.

“No way…mere bats have the ‘Dark Bear’…” 

‘…Gah!? Gaaaaahhh!?’

The ‘Dark Bear’ groaned as blood flowing from its head.

The bats’ wings and their claws are like sharp blades. They easily cut through the body of the ‘Dark Bear’ which was protected by its thick fur.

The reason they didn’t attack its torso was that the old man was attacking it with his axe.

“This is amusing! I’m fighting with bats!!”

“Amazing. The bats…are coordinating with the old man…”

The girl was amazed by the scene happening in front of her.

The bats retreated just in time for the old man to swing his axe and then charged forward the moment he finished swinging.

The wounded ‘Dark Bear’ wasn’t even able to stand up.

“Can you still use magic?”

The boy suddenly muttered.

“Please use the fire magic again. I wasn’t able to see it clearly earlier”

“Y-Yes. I do have some magic power left”

“Shoot it when I give you the signal”

The boy starts running with a dagger in his hand.

“── He’s gone!?”

The girl exclaimed involuntarily.

She couldn’t catch his movement. Even for a ‘Body Strengthening, Boosted’ magic, it was too fast.

Such speed was not possible with Level 1 ‘Ancient Magic’.

“‘──── The source, a crucible of heat…’”

The girl begins to chant the incantation for the magic just as the boy had instructed her.

‘Gwah? Gwaaahhh!!’

The ‘Dark Bear’ looked around, to the left and right, but it couldn’t grasp the boy’s position.

The boy went to its blind spot at high speed and thrust his dagger into the back of the ‘Dark Bear’.

‘GWAAARRRGGGHHH!?’

“…This is the end for you”

The boy pushed the dagger into the monster’s body.

However, it was shallow.

The dagger can cut the flesh of the ‘Dark Bear’, but it can’t reach the heart.

(It stopped moving. Now’s the moment!)

When the girl was about to activate her magic.

“Here it comes. ‘Rapid Freezing’!”

‘GWAAARRRGGGHHH’

Blood gushed out of the chest of the ‘Dark Bear’ as a sharp, icy blade pierced it.

The girl understood it in an instant. That is normal ice magic.

‘Dark Bear’ has tough body fur. Both fire and ice can be resisted to some extent.

That’s why the boy wounded the ‘Dark Bear’ and cast ice magic from there.

“Wha-? Then you don’t even need my magic…?”

“No, ‘Dark Bear’ has strong vitality”

The boy kicked the ‘Dark Bear’ in the back and leaped away.

“Just in case, please deal the finishing blow! So that I can clearly see how Ancient Magic can defeat them!!”

“A-Alright! Activate! ‘Fire God’s Relentless Barrage, Ifrit Blow’!!”

When the girl activated the ‘Ancient Magic’, flames flew out, and the dying ‘Dark Bear’ was subsequently devoured by the flames.

“The old man over there! Dick and the others too, please get away from it, there will be flames heading towards it soon” 

“A-Aye” ‘Gii-Giii!’

“You over there. Use your fire magic on the remaining ‘Dark Bear’!!”

“Ah, alright”

Just as she was told, the girl continuously activated her magic.

Flames were sent flying to the ‘Dark Bear’ that was fighting against the old man.

The ‘Dark Bear’ which was bleeding from its head and torso, couldn’t evade the magic.

Its whole body was bathed in fire and collapsed.

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Chapter 4 Part 2

As we start descending to the second layer, a lush green forest could be seen.

“Eh, why?”

“Kurt already told us, remember? The Labyrinth is like an alternate dimension”

“That’s how it is”

It is not unusual for the surrounding landscape to change completely as the layers change.

“This is just the second layer after all. The one I have conquered ── no, from what I’ve heard, there are some Labyrinths where the entire fields are just magma”

“That’s…we can’t even walk on that in the first place!”

“It’s true. So you’re saying that no human can conquer it?”

I conquered it easily in my previous life.

It wasn’t particularly difficult.

To withstand the high temperatures, you only need to modify the magic for body protection.

Rather than that, in the Labyrinth where you could be thrown into the gap of the dimension if you let your guard down for a bit was much more troublesome.

The enemies I encountered were weak, so it was easy to get carried away and let my guard down.

It was difficult to return to the original space by interfering with the time axis every time I was thrown from one space to another in the dimension.

“All right, let’s continue on to the second layer”

“The deeper the layer, the harder it is to conquer the Labyrinth, right?”

“That’s right”

I nodded at Lara’s question.

“Will it be fine? Even on the first layer, I already had to give it my all…”

“Don’t worry. The way I see it, even if it’s just the two of us, we should be able to conquer the second layer”

From my point of view, the first layer and the second layer are too low level, and the two layers aren’t that much different from one another.

We made our way through the forest, taking in the scenery around us.

“Gather yourselves together in these hands, O flame. Be a spear, pierce the enemy and burn them!”

A crab-shaped monster, Crab, appeared and Marise unleashed her magic.

By the way…I basically left it to Lara and Marise to exterminate the monsters.

At first, they were stiff, but gradually they got used to fighting against monsters.

As I thought, they are talented.

However….

“What’s the matter, you two? You look tired”

“Haaa, haaa…I-I’m still okay. But I’ve never used so much magic before”

“I can still go on!”

Even so, both of them are panting heavily.

In addition to all of that walking, they are also consuming their magic power.

It can’t be helped.

“Let’s take a break here”

“I-Inside the Labyrinth?”

said Marise, with her eyes wide in shock.

“Is that weird?”

“Weird or not, I can’t stay calm when I think that monsters could attack us at any time…”

“It’s not unusual to take a break inside a Labyrinth. Sometimes it takes days to conquer a Labyrinth. Besides ── you don’t have to worry about the monsters”

I went to a slightly open area and cast a Barrier Magic, Holy Circle.

“I’ve now set up a barrier here to ward off evil things. The monsters shouldn’t even be able to find us”

“You just used difficult magic as easily as that, don’t you?”

“I’ve heard that Barrier Magic is quite difficult though?”

Lara and Marise were surprised, but after all this time, I no longer care as I already know that this world has low magic skills.

We sat down on the ground.

“Phew, I’m alive again”

Lara and Marise also sat in a circle.

A brief respite.

“Hmm…what’s that?”

Just then, suddenly, a glowing, palm-sized object appeared in front of the barrier and Marise noticed it.

“Isn’t that a spirit?”

“Spirit? Why is it here?”

“Perhaps it was drawn to my magic power”

Even so, this is unusual.

The spherical light came straight into the barrier and landed on the palm of Marise.

Holy Circle is a barrier that wards off evil things.

A spirit with no hostility can pass through like this.

“It’s cute. I had only seen spirits when I was little…”

Marise was gently stroking the spirit with her other hand.

“Spirits are born where there is plenty of magic power and magic elements. However, since there aren’t many magic elements in this Labyrinth, I guess only small spirits are born”

“As I recall, in places with more magic power, there are humanoid spirits as well?”

I nodded in response to Marise’s question.

It seems that the existence of spirits hasn’t changed since my previous life.

Just like Marise said, there are also adult-sized spirits.

To distinguish them from the small spirits, we call them the Great Spirits.

However, it is also hard to find them when they reach that stage.

Some people are afraid of the Great Spirits who look like them.

“Marise-chan, it’s not magic power”

“Eh?”

Suddenly, Lara interrupted.

“It’s not magic power, but Mana. To us, it’s magic power, but the spirits call it Mana”

“I-Is that so? Lara, you know it well”

Marise looked surprised, but Lara looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Hmm…she knows it very well.

As I recall, the issue of such a designation was that it is not well known.

“Even so…with our magic power, we are having a hard time defeating even one monster”

With the spirit on her palm, Marise let out a gloomy tone in her voice.

“That’s true. But Kurt defeated so many Lizardmen in an instant”

“Why is there such a difference between us and Kurt’s magic?”

They seemed to have doubts.

“If it’s a Lizardman of that caliber, both of you will be able to hunt it in no time, too. There’s no need to rush”

“The level I’m at now, it’s frustrating but I can’t be thinking that now. How do I unleash magic like you, Kurt?” 

Marise got closer to me on her knees.

Good grief, I haven’t said I’d teach them magic yet.

But a little bit would be fine, probably. Besides, I’m also concerned about qualities like how quickly they can cope with what I’ve taught.

I replied as I pictured the scene where both of them were casting their magic in my mind.

“Hmmm, that’s right…why don’t you try to stop using the embarrassing chanting?”

“Stop chanting…? Are you telling us to unleash magic without chanting?”

“Yeah. When you get used to it, it’s easier”

“As I said during the entrance exam…only Kurt can do that!”

Marise reacted with a strong tone.

I looked at Lara, too, and she nodded her head in agreement, “Yes, yes”.

Why is that?

“It’s not that difficult to do it without chanting. Besides, if it’s chanting magic, the magic power will be fixed and inevitably not as powerful as it could be”

Chanting magic is a method that was prevalent before the magic revolution, where chanting would automatically construct the magic formula.

However, since the magic formula is automatically constructed, it is not effective for practical use.

Moreover, because you have to chant the incantations one-by-one, the deployment speed will be slowed down, too…it’s also difficult to make improvements to the magic formula in the first place, so the limits are quickly reached.

No matter how talented Lara and Marise are, if they keep this up, they’ll probably reach their limits soon.

“What have you two heard about chantless magic?”

“I heard that if you don’t chant, the magic formula will be constructed imperfectly and become useless”

“I also heard that you can only pour a tenth of the usual amount of magic power without chanting”

“What the hell?”

Seriously….

Why is it that the magic revolution didn’t happen at all?

Such a classic way of using magic.

If it was 1000 years ago, this would probably be a laughing stock.

“But how do we use chantless magic?”

“That’s right. You should be aware that your common sense is not the same as our common sense”

“Is that so? If it’s the current Lara and Marise, you’ll be able to use the chantless magic in no time. That’s right ── first, Lara”

“Eh?”

I got Lara to her feet and took her hands from behind.

“Ku, K-K-Kurt! What are you trying to do all of a sudden?”

“You’re shameless!”

“…What on earth are you two mistaking me for? Listen, I’m going to assist you now, so gather magic power in your hands”

“Um, like this?”

I felt the magic power gathering in Lara’s hands.

“That’s right. How do you feel now?”

“I feel…I feel like my hands are getting warm. And my heart is pounding. Ah ──”

A sound emanated from Lara’s mouth.

“What’s the matter?”

“Um, nothing…this is somewhat a strange feeling. I feel like I could suffocate when my chest tightens”

“No problem. That’s probably because your heart rate is going up”

“Maybe, but I think it’s because Kurt is holding my hands…”

I could see Lara’s ears gradually turn red.

Because Lara is leaning on me as if she were entrusting her body to me, I can feel the touch of the girl’s soft body.

Hmm…that’s right, this magic power is….

I see. I didn’t realize it when I first came to the Royal Capital and analyzed Lara’s magic power, but thanks to the small spirit, I remembered it.

But it’s unlikely that Lara will speak to me about it. Let’s not question her.

I continued, manipulating Lara’s magic power.

“Keep going and try forming the magic formula of Fire Spear in your mind”

“Hmm. Is this okay?”

“That’s enough. Keep your eyes open, all right?”

“Whoa!”

Lara was surprised.

That’s because a Fire Spear was shot out of her hand and landed on the ground.

“J-Just now! Even though I didn’t chant, a Fire Spear flew out!”

“That’s right. This is chantless magic. How was it?”

“The magic power gathered with a bang and also flew out of my hand with a bang!”

It’s a fairly abstract expression, but if she does it a few more times, she’ll get the sense of chantless magic.

That way, the rest will be quick.

“Kurt! Me too!”

“Mmm”

With the small spirit on her shoulder, I hold Marise’s hands from behind.

The smell of soap tickled the bridge of my nose.

It was the same for Lara, too, but girls really do smell good.

“Ugh…it’s my first time holding hands with a man…”

said Marise, blushing from the neck up to her face, but why’s that, I wonder?

── About an hour later.

I taught them chantless magic.

“Yaaa!”

“Haaa!”

The two shouted at the same time.

Of course, they didn’t utter the useless chanting.

A small Fire Spear was fired from Lara’s and Marise’s hands.

“We did it! We’ve succeeded for the first time without Kurt’s help!”

“But…as expected, this is all we could do, isn’t the chanting magic stronger in this case?”

Certainly, the Fire Spear that was released from both of them from before was more powerful and accurate, but to me, it looked weak.

However.

“That’s because you’re not used to it yet. If you practice a few times, you’ll soon get stronger with chantless magic”

“How soon will that be?”

When Lara asked, I crossed my arms and thought for a moment.

“About three days”

“Three days!? That fast!?”

“Yeah. It’s a longer estimation though?”

After hearing my words, their eyes sparkled.

Hmm.

At any rate, even if it’s just the two of them, I’m glad that they noticed the inefficiency of chanting.

“Well then, it’s about time, let’s get going. The second layer doesn’t seem particularly unusual, so let’s move on to the third layer”

If I carve up a weak monster and bring it back, I could probably make some money from it, too, but there’s no point in just making a small sum of money.

“Yeah!”

“Goodbye, Spirit-san. I’ll come here again”

When the barrier was lifted, the spirit that had been attached to Marise flew away.

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Chapter 2 Part 4

☆★☆★☆★

I was at a loss for words, my mind wandered for a while, but it was not long before my consciousness returned to me.

I mean, just what am I supposed to do in this situation?

Merlin is shedding tears. Anastasia has a twinkle in her eyes and an ecstatic look that just screams “As expected of…Master…!”.

And, to make things worse, the whole place is full of onlookers ──

── They stood there frozen with their mouths agape like their jaws were about to come off.

Hundreds of people are gathered here, but the whole place is in complete silence.

No-no, I was the one…who cast a Level 10 Magic without giving it a second thought, and just like that, I exited the stage. Though this situation right now…seriously, what should I do? 

Well, it can’t be helped, so I asked Merlin.

“Um, Merlin?”

“Yes, what is it, Ephthal-sama?”

“Um, it’s a bit of a long story. But it’s just that I’ve got a lot of research to do at the Magic Academy”

“Hmm. Well, I suppose it’s something complicated, isn’t it?”

“And now…there’s no way I’ll ever be able to have a normal academy life…”

“Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it?”

Yeah, well…as I thought, Merlin thinks so, too.

“That’s why I feel so troubled”

“If Ephthal-sama is troubled, that means I’m troubled, too. Because a Master’s distress is also an apprentice’s distress”

Thus, both of us began to brainstorm for ideas ──

“For now, I have a plan” 

“A plan?” 

“Ephthal-sama, you’ve been taking the exam without revealing your background, right?”

“Well, I didn’t want to bother my family. So other than my name, most of the information I revealed is fake”

Hearing that, Merlin broke into a smile.

“── In that case, let’s get out of here now!”

To Merlin, who was still smiling, I exclaimed ──

“EEEHHH!? What do you mean by that!?”

── With a perplexed look on my face.

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Chapter 2 Part 3

☆★☆★☆★

“Let’s start with a quick test, Merlin-san ── Level 6: Flame Array’s Zenith, Flare Burst!”

Merlin smiled bitterly.

Well, that would happen if a child right after entering a Magic Academy could handle Level 6 Magic as a quick test.

Even I’d be surprised by this.

“I see ── so that’s your so-called quick test, huh!? Fuhaha! You’re good! Level 7: Absolute Durability, Perfect Wall!”

‘Absolute Durability, [Perfect Wall]’ defended from the blaze of ‘Flame Array’s Zenith, [Flare Burst]’.

After blocking my magic, Merlin grinned.

“Level 6 Magic, this level of proficiency at your age…huh? I can’t help but shudder and be amazed, too! Fufu, that person…Ephthal-sama has been doing all sorts of mean things to surprise me since his death, hasn’t he…!?” 

“Mean? What kind of mean things did the ancestor do to you?”

Right then and there, Merlin’s face turned red and shook her head from side to side.

“…A lot of things. That person really gave me a ‘mean’ education…. I’ve been embarrassed more than once or twice later because of that education”

I mean…I’ve spouted a lot of ridiculous and stupid things other than the ‘kissing could make a child’ spiel.

Well, as for Merlin…I may have teased her a little too much.

I had a lot of fun spouting those lies because she firmly believed them and when she had a ponytail hairstyle, I would often playfully pull her hair. 

Yeah, to put it mildly, I love you, Merlin.

Dear me, I’m really starting to miss a lot of things.

Merlin shook her head again from side to side to calm her body down from trembling.

“But I can’t lose to you, at least not at your current age. No, I absolutely can’t lose to you! I also have some pride in myself, Ephthal-kun! You may be the thirteenth generation of the family, but I am the first favorite apprentice of Ephthal-sama! I’m proud to say that I’m the original who has received Ephthal-sama’s magic in person!”

Merlin was tiny and cute at the time.

Now she’s a sexy, dynamite sister…. Since I’m kind of like a foster father of hers, so I’m really emotional about a lot of things.

And as I was thinking that, Merlin’s expression changed to a Rakshasa.

“You’re dealing with me now…why are you grinning at me!?”

…It’s exactly as she said.

I can’t deny that I was a bit too carefree, remembering the past.

On another note, I’ve never seen Merlin with this expression before. I need to brace myself a bit, or she might pull the rug out from under me.

“Then allow me to return the favor. I’ve judged that it’s unnecessary to go easy on you. Don’t let me down by getting hurt! Level 6: Flame Array’s Zenith, Flare Burst!”

I see. She has returned my ‘Flame Array’s Zenith, [Flare Burst]’ with another ‘Flame Array’s Zenith, [Flare Burst]’ of her own.

It seems that she has always had an unquenchable desire to compete, or rather, hate to lose, just as in the past.

“In that case, I’ll also return with an Absolute Durability, Perfect Wall!”

Once again, ‘Absolute Durability, [Perfect Wall]’, defended from the blaze of ‘Flame Array’s Zenith, [Flare Burst]’.

Normally, it would take time to transmute mana into high-ranking magic again. Therefore, with that in mind, battles are built on the assumption that there will be a pause until the next magic.

But I know. No, we both know.

── That we could barrage each other with magic without a moment’s pause.

For we are kin who have inherited the same craft.

That’s right, if one mastered the craft of the Ephthal School, which I developed, you can perform high-level magic without chanting and consecutive magic attacks.

Originally, I was even worse at handling super high-level magic compared to the other three Emperors.

No, to be precise, when I was using Level 10 Magic, the cast time was too long compared to the three of them due to my magic aptitude.

To make up for the disadvantage, I established a strategy of consecutive attacks using Level 7 ~ 8 Magic, and of course, Merlin inherited the trump card that I established. 

“With this, it seems like you won’t be injured even if I go up a level, right!? Level 7: Absolute Freeze, Cocytus!”

“…I knew you could do it in no time…but you’re constructing your magic formula just way too fast, you know!?”

“You’ll get hurt if you talk too much!”

“Huh!? Me getting hurt? Just who do you think you’re talking to…you greenhorn!? Level 7: Absolute Durability, Perfect Wall”

“The magic formula is insufficient. Even though they are the same level, that won’t stop my Absolute Freeze, Cocytus!”

“Guu…such proficiency in the magic formula…eeii! Level 7: Absolute Durability, Perfect Wall ── Parallel Activation!”

My ‘Absolute Freeze, [Cocytus]’ completely fended off by the two large magic walls.

And there, due to the adverse effects of magic intoxication from having two high-ranking magic activated at the same time with Parallel Activation, Merlin seems to have suffered a mild concussion.

Yeah, it’s exactly as I thought…she’s losing consciousness. I can tell by her complexion that she is pale.

Merlin staggers and her eyes which are watching my movements become hazy for a moment.

“When using Parallel Activation, you could lose your consciousness to the magic formula construction! Didn’t the ancestor teach you ── never take your eyes off your opponent? Level 6: Degraded Thunder God, Lesser Ephthal!”

“Evasion…is impossible! Eeii! Level 8: Spatial Transfer, Teleport!”

Merlin appears behind me, and I also activate Level 8: Spatial Transfer, Teleport.

I did that because I was sure that I would be attacked from behind with a series of consecutive attacks.

“Level 6: Flame Array’s Zenith, Flare Burst!”

As expected, the space where I was located just a few moments ago had been burnt by Level 6 Fire Magic.

Speaking of me, I appeared five meters beside her, and Merlin immediately turned towards me.

“What’s the matter, Merlin-san? Why are you smiling…?”

“I’m smiling…?”

Merlin placed her hand over her mouth and made a surprised expression.

“You’re right, I’m smiling…”

Merlin shrugged as if she had given up on something, and then gave a little nod.

“Ephthal-kun, I apologize for my rudeness”

“Rudeness?”

“I looked down on you since you’re just a child. But without a doubt, you’re quicker to construct magic formulas and also have more proficiency in magic than me. I was only able to counter you with Parallel Activation during the Level 7 Magic clash”

“……”

Merlin again nodded at my silence.

“Would you care to join me for a little old tale?”

“…An old tale, huh?”

“My Master was trying to be the strongest”

“Yes, I know”

After all, I’m still aiming for it.

“And I, too, was chasing what my Master aimed for, these two words, ‘The Strongest’. Every single day for the last 400 years, every single day of my life, foolishly. No, to be precise…that’s what I thought earlier till just now” 

“Thought, as in the past…?”

“Earlier…I smiled in the middle of a battle in which I was at a disadvantage. Why do you think I smiled?”

“…I don’t know”

“I felt a sense of vexation that the skills of my Master that I had been honing for 400 years…were being beaten by you who was handling the same skills”

“Well, I suppose it’s natural that you would have such a feeling”

“And I…had a feeling of nostalgia and delight in seeing you handle your skills, exactly like my Master”

With an indescribable expression on her face, Merlin shrugged again as if she was in over her head.

“Then as my emotions and feelings conflicted, I smiled. As I look at you, who is exactly like my Master…rather than regret…I remembered the old days…and I smiled. It reminded me of those evenings when I played the game of magic with my Master, long, long ago…I was happy…and now it just feels nostalgic…”

Merlin looks like she’s about to start crying any moment now.

“I wasn’t trying to be the strongest. I just cherished and treasured the toy called magic that my Master had left behind for me, the toy I used to play with him…the toy he gave me as a gift. I understood that as I saw you”

“……”

“It felt really strange to me, too. Why do I have these strange feelings about you? Even though you’re no doubt the descendant of my Master…but you’re not my Master…you’re not Ephthal-sama”

Um…yeah, thank you.

Merlin loved me that much.

How should I put it…yeah, I’m really glad to see her again. Aren’t I getting a bit teary here?

“With that said, I still have my pride after all. Now, Ephthal-kun? Can you take it? The next secret technique I will unleash is my trump card. If you can overcome this…I’ll admit defeat”

Merlin was cladded in the Ephthal School’s forte, Lightning Qi. 

“Level 8…Thunder God’s Strike, Thor’s Hammer, huh? Do you think that would work on me with the exchanges we’ve had so far?”

“Yeah, it probably won’t, right? That’s why I said ── it’s a secret technique”

Now, what should I do?

After all, Merlin is my favorite apprentice. 400 years have passed since then, and she developed a so-called secret technique….

With the utmost caution, I build up my magic power so that I can construct the magic formula as fast as possible.

“I see. So you haven’t given up on the game?” 

“It looks like you’re ready to return the favor on your side. Then let’s do this, Ephthal-kun”

“Yeah, no problem”

Merlin shot out lightning from her raised right palm.

“Level 8: Thunder God’s Strike, Thor’s Hammer!”

After confirming that I was about to cast a Level 7 Defense Magic, Merlin raised her left palm.

“Parallel Activation! Level 8: Thunder God’s Strike, Thor’s Hammer!”

Parallel Activation, huh? I’ll also have to construct my magic formula as soon as possible, otherwise ──

And that’s where I felt a cold sweat run down my spine for the first time today.

“Three…Parallel Activations in a row?”

Merlin raises her right leg high ── high above her head as if a hammer was ready to be swung down.

“Parallel Activation! Level 8: Thunder God’s Strike, Thor’s Hammer!”

This isn’t good.

I’ll also have to use Parallel Activation on my Defense Magic, otherwise…and that’s where I, no…I….

“Hahaha!”

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing in spite of myself.

Next is ── her left leg.

Again, Merlin raised her left leg high above her head as if a hammer was ready to be swung down.

“Four Parallel Activations?” 

“Parallel Activation! Level 8: Thunder God’s Strike, Thor’s Hammer!”

As expected…that seems to be the end of it.

The recklessness of using four Parallel Activations ── Merlin, who should have been suffering from severe nausea due to the effects of overworking her brain, fell to her knees on the spot with a pale complexion on her face.

I mean, even back in my era, there was no such thing as four Parallel Activations of Level 8 Magic.

“I see. That’s one amazing feat. As expected of my favorite apprentice, Merlin. It would be too much for a little Ephthal boy to handle. In that case, I’ll give it my all!”

This secret technique of hers is exclusively Merlin’s own original magic.

In that case, I’ll return the favor by revealing my original magic as the Emperor of the Thunder God.

Otherwise, it would be too rude to this child’s 400 years of effort.

“Well, it’s not bad to see my apprentice grow up, isn’t it? Not bad at all!”

I raise my hand above my head. And ── 

“── Level 10: Emperor of the Thunder God, Ephthal!”

Thunder reverberated with a thunderous roar.

“Haha…hahaha…I see…so this is…an illegitimate child…with the power of the original bloodline…”

Merlin could only laugh weakly at the sight before her.

It’s like all she can do is laugh in dismay. Well, as it should be.

After all, the four Lightning Qi that Merlin cast were instantly swallowed by the extreme Lightning Qi from my Level 10 Magic.

And so, in the next moment, I canceled my magic formula construction before the Level 10 Magic could cause any damage to the surroundings.

This isn’t just an ordinary Level 10 Magic after all. It is a Level 10 Magic where the precision of manipulating magic power was handled at its peak.

In other words, after absorbing the Level 8 Lightning Qis, I canceled the magic formula construction at that very moment, and safely dispersed the electricity into the air.

Whether or not Merlin can manipulate magic in the same realm as me, the answer to that is ‘yes’.

── However, as long as the magic is of Level 5 or so difficulty….

And that’s when I noticed Merlin’s expression had changed.

It’s the same gentle smile that she once directed at me when she was a child…a little spoiled Merlin as she was back in those innocent days…. 

“Well, you noticed, haven’t you?”

In the first place, it was Merlin who mentioned reincarnation.

Moreover, the current Level 10 Magic can only be used by those who have constructed the magic formula from the very first conception of the theory such as at the level of a classroom lecture, that is.

My own original magic, Level 10: Emperor of the Thunder God, Ephthal. If it wasn’t someone who knew everything about it…my performance earlier would not be possible. 

In other words, there is no one else in this era who can handle ‘Emperor of the Thunder God, [Ephthal]’ magic other than me.

“I didn’t actually intend to reveal myself here, but…”

I smile and walk towards Merlin.

“I’m sorry for being so mean and lied to you, Merlin. Those words that you asked me…if I knew about reincarnation…?”

“It can’t be…Ephthal-kun…you’re…”

“Yeah, it’s me. Looking at the ‘Emperor of the Thunder God, [Ephthal]’ magic just now, you should know that it can only be handled by none other than the original. Me, right?”

“A-A…Are you really…the reincarnation of…Ephthal-sama?”

“You know best, Merlin, that there is no other explanation for it, don’t you? Also…looks like you haven’t been slacking off. That was splendid all right. You surprised me”

“I’m just a superficial imitation of Ephthal-sama…who even after 400 years, has yet to reach your back”

“That’s not true, you’re the real deal. Even I don’t know if I could cast four Parallel Activations of Level 8 Magic at the same time. You’ve done well, Merlin. I’m very proud of you, my apprentice”

I turned to Merlin who was on her knees ── grabbed her head in an eagle grip, and stroked her head intimately as I used to do in the past. 

“With those words…I…my…my four hundred years have been rewarded”

“Don’t cry. What are you, a child?”

Before I knew it, tears started to well up in Merlin’s eyes and she almost collapsed to the ground from her kneeling position on the spot ──

“I’m sorry. But it seems that in front of Ephthal-sama…I’ll always be a child”

── And so I supported Merlin who had broken down crying and gently hugged her.

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