Alex Kielce and I faced each other from a distance. We were in a magic proving ground owned by the Magic Guild, a Colosseum prepared for our magic duel. The entire floor of the arena was covered in packed earth. A short distance away stood two referees, ready to intervene the moment things got dangerous. This wasn’t a fight to the death; it was a magic exchange with safety measures in place.
Both Alex and I were wearing ‘floral headbands.’ They looked like simple headbands with flowers attached, but they were apparently replicas of an ‘Ancient Artifact.’ If an attack was about to hit the wearer, they would automatically deploy a powerful shield. However, they could only do this three times. With each use, one of the decorative flowers would fall away. Once all three were gone, you lost. You also lost if your opponent managed to snatch the headband from your head.
Apparently, the floral headband represented the princess the guardian knight was sworn to protect. The goal was to defeat your opponent while protecting your princess. It seemed knights had been conducting mock battles like this for ages. I didn’t remember anything like it from my time, but… well, maybe that was just because I was a country bumpkin.
There were also rules about which spells were permitted. Attempting to use magic so powerful that even the shields couldn’t block it would result in an immediate disqualification by the referees. Contact with anyone outside the arena during the match was also forbidden. I’d been hoping to strategize with Iris and Odette as I fought, but I guess that was not an option.
“Heh. You seem tense,” Alex Kielce said with a smirk.
Of course I am. This guy was a C-rank mage, a rank far above my own. The Magic Guild started trainees at the bottom, then ranked them up from E-rank to D-rank, and so on. Demeter, the proctor from our selection trial, was a C-rank, a being who seemed to exist in the clouds from a trainee’s perspective.
So, what’s the plan?
“Before we begin, allow me to give you a warning,” Alex said, his eyes fixed on me. “I have been tasked by Her Highness Princess Salvia to demonstrate the overwhelming difference in our abilities.”
“I see.”
“Therefore, I must achieve a perfect victory. I suggest you prepare yourself for a few injuries.”
So that’s how it is. I had entered this magic duel to find out just how much of an enemy Princess Salvia was to Iris. I had hoped she would be satisfied with a C-rank mage scoring an easy, predictable victory, but it seemed I was wrong. What does she have against my Alice? Why?
“Besides,” Alex’s jaw tightened, “you caused my younger brother quite a bit of trouble.”
Click. I heard his teeth grind together. “If it weren’t for you, my brother would never have committed such a foolish act, and the House of Kielce would not have been shamed!”
“You’re talking about the ‘Guardian Knight Selection Trial,’ I assume.”
“I am.”
“If it’s about that, Jilvan Kielce admitted his wrongdoing and apologized to us.” All he had done was try to block our path with some undead. He’d already been punished for it. Neither Odette nor I held any grudge against him.
“You don’t understand. The fact that my brother lost to you, the fact that a marquis house was forced to admit fault to a mere barony—that is the shame that the House of Kielce now bears.” With that, Alex pointed the tip of his staff at me. “Her Highness Princess Salvia has granted me the opportunity to wipe that shame away.”
“And defeating me will do that?”
“Right now, we are not a C-rank mage and a trainee. We are guardian knights of equal standing. If I defeat you in a battle between equals, it will prove that I am superior.”
“And you became a guardian knight just for that?”
“The House of Kielce cannot allow itself to be looked down upon by the illegitimate son of a barony.”
“I don’t intend to look down on anyone, though.”
“That is irrelevant.”
“It is?”
“Your very existence as Princess Iris’s guardian knight, your living a normal life here in the capital, serves as a constant reminder of my family’s shame. That is why I must crush you. I must demonstrate the overwhelming gap in our power and remind everyone of the difference in our status.”
“Is that how it works?”
Okay. I now understood that high-ranking nobles were incredibly tedious. And Iris had lived in this environment for 13 years? It must have been awful. Maybe I really should get her out of noble society as soon as possible. But only after she had no regrets left. As the guardian deity of Fira Village, it was my duty to ensure that she could live her life without any lingering attachments.
“Well then, senpai,” I said.
“Hm?”
“I’ll be coming at you with everything I’ve got.”
“Hah. By all means.” C-rank mage Alex Kielce’s lips twisted into a grin. “I’ll grant you the first strike. Show me what you’re made of!”
The moment he spoke, a whistle blew. It was the signal to begin.
I activated the ‘Ancient Magic’ I had already drawn on both my hands.
“Here goes. Activate: Ifrit Blow!”
“Hmph. I know that spell!” Alex scoffed. “A low-level ‘Ancient Magic’? A C-rank mage’s barrier can easily—wh-wh-wh-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
A massive fireball shot from my left hand, raining down on Alex. A direct hit should have been enough to use up all three of his headband’s shields, but—
“A-A-Anti… Anti-Magic Shell—!!”
Just before the headband’s shield could activate, Alex deployed his own magic barrier. The fireball slammed into it—and wow, it was shaking. His barrier was wavering violently. But it didn’t break. As expected of a C-rank mage. Alex was pushed back to the edge of the arena by the impact, but he managed to block the attack completely. Impressive. I had altered the way I poured my mana into the spell, so my Ifrit Blow should have been significantly more powerful than normal. I’d picked up a few tricks for infusing mana into ‘Ancient Magic’ while teaching Odette, but I guess it wasn’t quite enough.
“…Hah… hah… hah…”
“Alex Kielce-senpai.”
“What?!”
“Mind if I send another one your way?”
“…Don’t mock me,” Alex spat. So he wasn’t going to let me get a second shot in. “Know your place, you mongrel from a barony! Do not underestimate a C-rank mage!”
Alex swung his staff. His fingers and the tip of the staff began to trace two different sigils at once. I see. So that’s another way to use a staff. By drawing sigils simultaneously with both hand and staff, you could cast ‘Ancient Magic’ much faster. I supposed that’s the kind of thing they taught you once you joined the Magic Guild.
“Still, I have no desire to serve under someone who looks down on others…”
“Activate! Burning Meteor!!”
Alex unleashed his ‘Ancient Magic.’ Two flaming orbs, each the size of a carriage, appeared on either side of him.
“If you wish to surrender, throw down your floral headband. That will end this match,” Alex declared, glaring at me. “This ‘Ancient Magic’ is powerful enough to trigger your headband’s shield even with a near miss. If you try to block it with your own barrier, you will lose!”
“I see.”
I gripped the staff in my right hand. With my free left hand, I drew the second staff that was tucked into my belt.
“In that case, before you do that, allow me to test out my own staff.”
The weight—just right. The balance—no problem. When I swung it, I heard a faint slosh from within. It seemed the Grail Trading Company had followed my instructions perfectly.
“And for the record, I have no intention of giving up. I can’t very well tarnish the name of Her Highness Princess Iris.”
“Then this is where it ends for you! Referees, prepare your healing magic!” Alex swung both his arms. The massive fireballs rocketed toward me from both sides. “Strip away Yuuki Grossalia’s shields! Burning Meteor!”
“Defend me, my staff!”
I hurled the staff in my hands toward the incoming fireballs. “Activate: Anti-Magic Shell!”
Vwoom.
A translucent barrier materialized around the two staff I had thrown.
“—Impossible! A remotely operated magic barrier?!” Alex screamed. His fireballs collided with my staff.
“…Hey. What was that? The staff’s barriers are holding back the fireballs.”
“…Isn’t Burning Meteor a mid-tier ‘Ancient Magic’?”
“…What the hell?! How can a trainee do something like that?!”
Someone shouted from the stands. I remotely controlled the staff, maintaining the magic barriers. They trembled but held firm against Alex’s Burning Meteor. The barriers absorbed the full force of his attack, completely neutralizing it.
“Return, my staff.”
Fwoosh.
The staff that had been hovering in front of me spun through the air and returned to my hands. Good. The experiment was a success.
“Wh-What are those staff?! Are they replicas of an ‘Ancient Artifact’?!”
“They’re just staff. They were checked by the referees before the match.”
The referees in the arena nodded in confirmation. I hadn’t broken any rules. These were simple metal staff, hollowed out and filled with my ‘Mistel Blood.’
They had two special features. First, the grips were designed so I could draw sigils on them with my own blood. There were surfaces on both the front and back, allowing me to inscribe two sigils per staff. For this fight, I had drawn the sigil for Anti-Magic Shell, a spell I’d learned by watching Odette.
Second, the hollow interior was designed to hold my ‘Mistel Blood.’ The Mistel Blood was like an extension of my own body. By filling the staff with my blood, they had essentially become a part of me. Just as I could fly, my staff—as a part of me—had gained a limited ability of flight as well.
“…Hey. What just happened?” a voice came from the stands.
“…Did those staff just fly and cast a barrier?”
“…Incredible. Have you ever seen magic like that?”
“…I don’t know. But it’s clearly powerful magic.”
The murmuring grew louder. It was about time for them to make their entrance.
“That is the mid-tier ‘Ancient Magic,’ Animate Object!!”
“Is that what it is, Odette?!”
Odette and Iris’s shouts echoed across the arena. Perfect timing.
“Yes, Your Highness. Animate Object is an ‘Ancient Magic’ that allows the user to channel mana into an object, using it as an extension of their own limbs. That is why he can activate a barrier remotely!”
“So such an ‘Ancient Magic’ exists!”
“Indeed! There is nothing strange about it at all!”
“Come to think of it, I recall reading a passage about mages from the east using such ‘Ancient Magic.’ There was a similar record among the books in the Magic Guild’s archives! Yes, I’m certain of it!”
Iris picked up where Odette’s explanation left off. Thanks for the backup, you two.
“You know, I think I remember a spell like that.”
“I’ve seen a C-rank mage move his staff around like it was a part of his body.”
“Does that mean he’s on equal footing with Alex?”
The crowd began to settle down. It seemed they had managed to fool them. The ‘Ancient Magic’ I used was heavily modified with my own personal style, making it look strange. That’s why I had Odette check my techniques beforehand and researched ways to fight that would look more like a normal mage. The plan was for Iris and Odette to provide cover like this if anything seemed off. Everything was going according to plan.
“I can handle two staff. One more should be fine.” I drew the third staff from my belt. With a light toss, it joined the other two, circling around me.
“Damn you! What are those staff?!” Alex roared, unleashing a barrage of fire spells. From the right, from the left, a feint from the front.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
My staff zipped through the air, deflecting the volley of fireballs. Good. I was getting the hang of controlling them.
“What are you?! Why can’t my magic reach you?! I was finally given a chance to defeat you!”
“I am a guardian knight, sworn to protect my princess.” I redrew the sigils on my hands, switching from Ifrit Blow to Boosted Enhancement. “I will do whatever it takes to improve her living conditions. Activate! Boosted Enhancement: Double!!”
I kicked off the ground and sprinted toward Alex, my eyes fixed on his floral headband. Right now, I was Iris’s knight. For the sake of her honor, I would take that headband and win this cleanly.
“—Activate ‘Ancient Magic’—Fire Spirit Summon—Flock to me, my servants!!”
Alex cast another spell. A magic circle appeared on the ground, and from it emerged lizards wreathed in flame. It was the same summoning spell Brother Zelos had used, but the numbers were different.
GIGIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!
The cries of 20 fire lizards filled the arena as they charged me in unison.
“Return! My staff!!”
Whoosh! The three staff flew toward me, forming a triangle and deploying a triple-layered Anti-Magic Shell.
GIIIGAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
The fire spirits shrieked as they slammed into the barrier. One, two, then five more were sent flying back. They were no match for my Boosted Enhancement: Double speed. Alex himself was slowly backing away, his face pale and trembling as he prepared his next spell. He still has more? This C-rank mage has a deep bag of tricks.
Just then, a sharp whistle blew. Peeeeeeeeeeeeet!
“Stop! Alex Kielce! A spell of that level far exceeds the defensive capabilities of the floral headband! You are not permitted to use it here!” the referee shouted. “This magic duel is a competition of skill and wit, to fight while protecting your princess! To resort to crushing a lower-ranked opponent with brute force—do you still call yourself a C-rank mage?!”
“Stay out of this, referee! I… for the honor of my house, I must defeat him!”
A massive magic circle, just like the one the tutor Kachel had used to summon the griffin, materialized at Alex’s feet. Was he summoning a familiar?
“Go! My familiar, Flare Garuda!!”
KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
The creature Alex summoned was a bird of flame, far larger than a man. As it appeared, Alex fell to one knee, completely out of mana.
“…It was an accident. Two mages, overly excited by the magic duel, simply took things too far,” Alex panted. “Her Highness Princess Salvia will take care of the rest.”
“Why would you go this far…?” I truly didn’t understand. The match would be over in about three minutes. If Alex had just focused on defense, he could have forced a draw. “If you don’t want to lose, a draw would have been fine. Why push it this far?”
“What would a countryside noble know of the pride of the upper class?! To be acknowledged by Princess Salvia, to finally become a guardian knight… and then to end in a draw with a lesser opponent… I could never allow such a thing!”
In the next moment, the staff I had deployed in front of me were swallowed by the Flare Garuda. The intense heat from the bird began to warp the metal.
“…Rest assured. I won’t kill you,” Alex’s voice came from behind the bird. “I will lose my C-rank mage license. You will sustain considerable injuries. It seems fair, does it not?”
“I refuse. I’m done making her worry.” The staff, their Anti-Magic Shells dispelled, clattered to the ground. They were warped and melted through with holes, completely useless now. The heat from the bird caused my floral headband to flash, its shield automatically deploying. When this shield faded, I had two more before I lost.
“But my own preparations are already complete.” With the staff destroyed, the evidence was gone. Just as Alex couldn’t afford to lose, neither could I. I had no intention of losing this magic duel, nor could I afford to get injured. “I made her cry once, a long, long time ago. I’m not making the same mistake twice.”
The staff had one more hidden function: to act as a syringe, injecting my ‘Mistel Blood’ into a target. That task was already complete. When the staff were pierced, the Flare Garuda had absorbed my ‘Mistel Blood’ into its body.
And with that, it was checkmate.
“—Activate: Hacking!”
Internal magic… analysis begin.
Familiar’s central circuit… infiltration complete.
Seize command authority… success.
Familiar Flare Garuda command override… complete.
My ‘Mistel Blood’ was, quite literally, a mass of pure mana. By using Hacking before the blood could completely evaporate, I could seize control of a familiar. Just like this.
Twitch.
The Flare Garuda froze.
“What’s wrong?! My familiar?! Destroy Yuuki Grossalia! Why aren’t you moving?!”
KIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
The Flare Garuda began to move again.
“Ooh! That’s right! You will destroy Yuuki Grossalia—wh-wh-whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”
Alex’s face went slack with disbelief. The Flare Garuda he had summoned had ignored its master’s command and shot straight up into the air. After a vertical ascent, the bird flipped over and—
—it crashed into the ground just in front of the spectator seats where the fourth princess, Salvia Liestia, was sitting, and exploded.
Flames erupted, slamming into the transparent barrier that separated the arena from the stands.
“Ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhh?! Your Highness! Your Highness—how?!” Alex screamed in horror. In that instant, I plucked the floral headband from his head.
“……Huh?”
“I’ll be taking this. I believe that’s my win.”
A moment later, the referee’s whistle blew. The match was over.
“—Why, whyyyyyyyy?!”
Wait, was that a voice coming from the headband? Looking closer, I saw a small magical tool hidden on the underside of the band. What was this?
“Alex Kielce, what are you doing?! Don’t you understand that I told you to crush Iris’s guardian knight?! Why did you send your familiar at me?!”
Matching the voice, Princess Salvia was causing a commotion in the western stands. I see. So this device was connected to her. No wonder Alex kept going on about ‘noble pride.’ He had no choice but to act hostile toward me in front of her.
“Destroy him! Attack my sister’s guardian knight! The outcome of the match doesn’t matter! That impertinent—that disgusting sister of mine with her immortal blood—that upstart girl’s companion who joined the Magic Guild before me—the child of a concubine—there’s no way she could be more capable than a legitimate heir!!”
“—Princess Salvia,” I muttered under my breath. “Giving instructions to your guardian knight during a match is against the rules.”
“—Wha?!”
“And so is laying a hand on my princess. My job is to protect her. So—stay away from my family. If you have a complaint, take it up with me. That’s all.”
I simultaneously activated Hacking, flooding the magical tool’s communication circuit with an overflow of mana.
Pop.
The device blew apart. At the same time, I saw Princess Salvia tumble from her chair in the western stands. A princess giving her knight orders during a match was a violation of the rules. They wouldn’t be able to make a public issue of this, so this was a fitting end.
“…What… did you do?”
I realized Alex was staring at me, his face ashen. “My… Flare Garuda… why did it go after Princess Salvia…?”
“That’s what happens when you use an ‘Ancient Magic’ that drains all your mana. Your concentration lapsed, and you lost control, didn’t you?”
“…I… suppose… you’re right. This is my… limit…” Alex sighed, exhausted. “What a disgrace… I’m even more pathetic than my brother. To go this far… and still lose… I can no longer remain… in the Magic Guild…”
With that, Alex Kielce lost consciousness. He had truly pushed his mana to its absolute limit.
I looked up and saw Princess Salvia leaving her seat. She was taking out her anger on her maids as she retreated into the back. She glanced my way one last time—our eyes met—and she flinched, collapsing to the ground. Her maids helped her up, and she departed without another look at me, Iris, or Alex.
“…A trainee beat a C-rank mage?!”
“…No, that was Alex Kielce’s own fault, wasn’t it?! He broke the rules and exhausted his mana.”
“…But it was Yuuki Grossalia who pushed him that far.”
“…Where did Princess Iris find someone so talented…?”
The crowd began to buzz again. The two referees carried the unconscious Alex away. The match was over. It was time for me to go, too. I turned and walked out of the arena through the entrance gate.
“…Lord Yuuki!”
At the end of the corridor stood Iris. Her face was flushed, and she was panting for breath. She must have run here at full speed. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, and because she was holding up the hem of her dress, her legs were exposed all the way to her knees.
“That’s no way for a princess to behave, Your Highness.”
“Lord… Yuuki.”
“As your guardian knight, I have fulfilled my duty.”
“…I told you not to be reckless.”
“Is that the first thing you have to say, my liege?” I replied.
A sharp clap echoed in the hall. Behind Iris stood Odette, also in her dress. She whispered, “The area has been cleared.” She was always so prepared.
“Is that the first thing you have to say, Iris?” I corrected myself.
With tears welling in her eyes, Iris said, “You have to consider how I feel watching you! My Lord!”
“And you should have told me you were being bullied!”
“If I told you, you would have done something reckless!”
“I only operate within my limits.”
“You operate outside the limits of my mental endurance!”
“What am I supposed to say to that?”
“Hmph.”
Still teary-eyed, Iris glared at me for a moment before clearing her throat with a small cough. “I congratulate you on your victory, Lord Yuuki Grossalia.”
“Don’t suddenly switch into princess mode.”
“To praise your achievement, I shall invite you to my villa.”
“To your villa? You mean, to your room?”
“Yes.” Iris placed a hand on her chest and gave a slight bow. “After demonstrating such power, you will be the center of attention for some time. Therefore, by inviting you to my villa, I believe I should demonstrate to those around us how much I trust you. No one would dare to lay a hand on someone who has received a direct invitation from the royal family.”
“And the real reason?”
“…I thought it would be nice if we could talk, just the two of us, for a little while.”
“Understood.”
“Yes! My Lord!” Iris beamed. “Also, according to the people at the Magic Guild, it seems you’ll be granted the right to explore the great dungeon, ‘Elysium, the Capital of Ancient Magical Civilization.’”
“The right to explore?”
“It seems so. Because you were recognized as having strength equal to that of a C-rank mage.”
“How far can I explore?”
“Up to the third level of Elysium.”
“That is the level where the members of the ‘Sanctuary Church Elysium Temple,’ who were driven from the surface long ago, are said to have barricaded themselves,” Odette added, picking up the thread of the conversation. She stood beside Iris, her golden hair swaying as she spoke. “Those who conquer that level are recognized as C-rank mages. And because the members of the Sanctuary Church were holed up there, there are rumors that lost ‘Ancient Artifacts’ are hidden within.”
“We might be able to find out something about Father Lyle and Mother Remilia, too,” Iris said, her expression shifting to that of Alice.
The third level of Elysium. If there were ‘Ancient Artifacts’ there, I wanted to go.
“You’ll probably have to complete the paperwork at the Magic Guild first. It’s a pain, but it can’t be helped,” Iris said.
“That’s fine. We’re living as people of this era now, after all.” I gently patted Iris’s head. She closed her eyes, looking almost ticklish. Seeing her reaction, it hit me all over again that she really was Alice’s reincarnation.
Well then. The magic duel was over. I should probably lay low for a while. I was sure Martha and Remy would be eager to hear all about it. And with that, I left the arena with Iris and Odette.
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