The Water Magician: Arc 1 Volume 3 E-Book

Tadashi Kubou

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: The Water Magician
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 547

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Ryo is living his best second life in Phi and doing as he pleases. Ever the adventurer, he accepts an escort job for a merchant heading to the Principality of Inverey. Unfortunately, he forgot to withdraw money before leaving the Kingdom of Knightley, so he finds himself at a complete loss in its capital and penniless in a foreign land. In order to return to Lune where all his friends are, he takes on another escort mission, this time back to the Kingdom of Knightley...or so he thought! The job actually has him acting as the body double for a prince being targeted by assassins, but then the real prince ends up kidnapped anyway?!

A major power’s ulterior motives and the real reason the prince is being targeted lurk in the shadows. However, to each and every problem that falls in his lap, Ryo’s solution is always simple: “I’ll bury anyone who gets in my way in the permafrost!” The adventures of the strongest freewheeling water magician continue in this frenetic third volume!

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Prologue

The Hero’s Visit

The Crimson Sword in Wingston

To the Principality of Inverey

Llandewi

The Grand Duchy of Volturino

The Flame Emperor

Border Crossing

An Escort Mission

The Sect of Assassins’ Headquarters

Epilogue

The Fire Magician III: Marchioness Kulkova

The Fire Magician III: Ambush

Afterword

Color Illustrations

Character Bios

Map of Phi

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Color Images

Table of Contents

Prologue

“Ugggh, I really don’t want to give up on this dining set... And I adore this sofa too. This stand is an interesting piece as well... What to do, what to do... You know what? The sofa it is. I’d like this sofa, please,” Ryo said.

“Yes, of course.” The young man with the mellow demeanor smiled and bowed his head politely. “Thank you for your patronage.”

In a store selling high-quality goods, the staff’s customer service must also be high quality.

Behind Ryo, Abel looked over the price tags. His cheek twitched in dismay every time he read one, but no one noticed...

The lord mayor’s residence and large mansions lined an entire block in the northernmost part of the city of Lune. In the same area, you could find many luxury stores, making it a place frequented by the so-called upper class. Someone like Ryo, of course, would never have set foot here—hah, just kidding. Ryo was actually quite familiar with the neighborhood because of his sparring sessions with Sera in the lord’s estate.

Technically speaking, Ryo actually only passed through the district... Regardless, these trips were exactly the reason he knew about the fine furniture shop.

“Abel, are you absolutely sure about buying me furniture as a housewarming gift? You really don’t have to, you know.”

“Y-Yeah, of course. It’s the least I can do. You always have my back, Ryo, so one or two pieces of furniture is nothing in comparison...” Abel said. He couldn’t help his stiff expression. After all, he was the one who’d told Ryo to pick his favorite shop. He hadn’t expected his friend to know of an upscale store like this and then to choose such a high-end sofa as his gift...

The final price was an entire zero longer than he’d imagined spending...

“Well, thanks to you, I was able to buy something very nice. I personally would never spend five hundred thousand florins on a sofa of all things.”

You heard right. A five-hundred-thousand-florin sofa... Converting it to Japanese yen, that was millions... The sofa was unmistakably extremely high-end.

“R-Right... Good for you then, huh?”

Though Abel had paid an astronomical cost he could have never predicted, he found himself feeling surprisingly magnanimous and unbothered in light of Ryo’s happiness. The most important thing about a gift was that the recipient liked it.

The pair left the luxury furniture shop and meandered south. They didn’t have a particular destination in mind, but they also had no further business in this northern part of the city. On account of all the high-class stores here, the location was by no means gentle on a person’s wallet...

“Hm, how about this? Since you were generous enough to buy me such a splendid gift, I’ll treat you to a cake set at Café de Chocolat,” Ryo suggested.

“The shop’s gonna deliver your sofa, right?”

“That’s right. Sometime tomorrow afternoon, he said. That means I need to make sure the house is sparkling clean in the morning.”

“No way. It can’t be that bad,” Abel said dismissively. “I mean, it’s barely been a month since you moved in...”

“That’s easy for you to say, Abel, because you live in an inn.” Ryo tutted, wagging his finger at Abel. “You can leave your room a mess and the inn staff will tidy up for you, but it doesn’t work like that when you live alone.”

“Well...I guess it’s never a bad thing to clean up.”

“Exactly. E-xact-ly!”

“Oh, yeah, there’s something I wanna tell you, Ryo.”

“What is it? Gasp! No, don’t you dare tell me I have to pay for the sofa myself because you don’t actually have enough money...”

“As if, man! I may not look like it, but you know I am a B-rank adventurer. I have a decent amount saved up, you jerk!”

“Hmmm. Okay, fine. Then what is it you want to tell me? I can’t imagine you discussing anything besides money with such a serious expression, Abel...”

“Times like these really make me wonder what kinda image you have of me in your mind.”

“That’s easy to answer! A miserly swordsman, of course!”

“Hey, whaddya know? Just thought of a great idea. Why don’t I return that sofa?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’re a wonderful person, Abel. A virtuous swordsman!”

Abel deadpanned.

Their conversation was going nowhere fast...

Abel sighed heavily. “Ugh, whatever. Anyway, back to what I wanna say. It’s about that. You remember the incident with the spies from abroad we were involved in?”

“Spies from abroad...? Ohhh... We got caught up with spies twice, didn’t we? The first were the four we took down in the dark, the ones who didn’t attend the party celebrating your return. The second was the group who also didn’t attend your welcome-back party, whose house we raided with the city’s garrison.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong, but...your phrasing is liable to create a lot of misunderstandings...”

“The truth is more persuasive than anything else, you know. Abel, the powerful man from the city of Lune... No, wait, Abel, the powerful man hidden in the shadows... From the murk, he buries those who defy him into the same darkness. A terrifying man to be sure.”

“No, I don’t, and no, I’m not!”

Yup, their conversation really was truly going nowhere fast...

Abel once again expelled a heavy sigh. “It’s about the first four. They wound up escaping from prison.”

“You don’t say! They were fairly skilled in their own right though, hm?”

“If I remember right, they rushed us all together, smacked straight into your ice wall while taking a direct hit from your ice spears... Sunk without even getting a move in on us. So I’m not really sure I’d call them skilled.”

Ryo folded his arms across his chest. “Compared to the people who fled from the building we raided,” he said a little pompously, “don’t you think those four seemed at least competent in close-quarter combat?”

“Really? You can make a judgment like that with such little information?”

“Well, the way I remember it, they were perfectly in sync when they charged us. That made me think they were accustomed to fighting in tricky situations like that. You know, smack-dab in the middle of a city or in the dark or sneak attacks and whatnot... In any case, they felt like people who had that kind of training.”

“Huh... It’s possible, actually. Apparently, a special investigator who interrogated them before their jailbreak pointed out that they may have received formal assassination training in the military or elsewhere.”

“Formal assassination training...” Ryo shook his head. “What does that even mean...?”

“Exactly what it sounds like and there are definitely people who go through it,” Abel replied, shaking his own head a little. “They aren’t well-known, but they exist in the Empire.”

“The Empire? And not the Federation?”

“Yup, the Empire. Though the four we caught had Federation guild cards, they were probably forgeries.”

“Wow. They go that far in their covert operations...?”

“They sure do. Chances are good they’re part of the 20th Imperial Regiment. The 20th is the imperial army’s trump card, specializing in combat in urban regions, mountains, forests, and similar environments. If the Empire’s official trump card is the Imperial Magic Division that has the Inferno Magician, then its unofficial trump card is the 20th Regiment. It’s also known as the Shadow Regiment.”

Ryo’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, if that isn’t some serious Main Character Syndrome-naming convention.” He couldn’t believe anyone would call a military unit something like that... But after thinking about it for a few moments, he realized there really was no need to be so shocked. After all, these were the same people who included the word “Debuhi” in the name of their country. “Just when I thought the Debuhi Empire couldn’t disappoint me any further...”

Abel simply shook his head in reply...

◆

It was probably just a coincidence that they passed the garrison station on their way south from Café de Chocolat. At the very least, it wasn’t a scheme by Ryo, who ended up regretting his offer to treat Abel to a cake set. It was probably also a coincidence that the garrison members exited the station entrance at that exact time—and oh, look, their commanding officer, Captain Nimur, was among them! This was the same man who was part of the sting operation on the old workshop. Another coincidence, no doubt.

Three coincidences in a row—how...coincidental.

“Abel, great timing!”

“Oh, Nimur. What’s all this? Don’t tell me you’re going out on another manhunt or raid...”

“You always were sharp, huh? I actually sent a messenger to The Golden Wave earlier,” Captain Nimur said with a smile. He looked at the water magician beside Abel. “Hello! Ryo, was it? Apologies for what went down last time. It was just our collective bad luck to run into a crazy guy like that...” His face contorted as he apologized. It was a sad memory, as Nimur had lost one of his men in the battle against the blue-eyed man.

Of course, Ryo had gotten tangled up in another incident immediately after, so he wasn’t at all bothered. Especially since he’d received a very generous reward from the garrison.

“Don’t worry about it...” he replied.

“So what do you two say? Care to join us for another search-and-seize operation? It goes without saying we’ll pay you handsomely.”

And that was how Ryo and Abel found themselves participating in another arrest...

◆

Their group of twenty, including Ryo and Abel, currently surrounded the remains of an eatery near the east gate.

“All ten are inside.”

Captain Nimur nodded, acknowledging the recon unit member’s report.

“We’ll attack from the front. Jitta, take four people with you and go around back. Abel, Ryo, you two go with them. Catch anyone who tries to escape. I don’t care if you hurt them, but do your best not to kill them.”

Abel nodded in understanding.

Meanwhile, Ryo muttered, “I feel like this has happened before... Such déjà vu...”

A minute after they had gone to the back of the building, an explosion came from the front. The raid had commenced. Angry shouts and the sounds of swords clashing erupted within. If Ryo’s déjà vu was accurate, the next thing to happen was...

Three individuals flew out of the back entrance. None of them were part of the garrison. Which meant...

“Wah!”

They slipped and fell on ice suddenly below them. Then the city’s soldiers bound the unconscious trio.

The next moment, a second-floor window shattered and a man jumped out of it.

“Icicle Lance.”

Ryo shot his ice spears at the man’s legs to unbalance him. He hit the ground headfirst and passed out in front of Ryo.

Ryo hesitated. He had been given rope to tie the villains up, however...

Krak. A different window shattered and another person leaped out of it before running toward the east gate.

“I’m giving chase!” Jitta, a garrison soldier, yelled before darting off in pursuit.

“Hey, wait! Shit, I’m going after them too,” Abel said.

“Abel!” Ryo shouted.

It was rare for Ryo to raise his voice like that, so Abel, of course, heard him. Then he remembered what had happened the last time he pursued someone in a similar situation—or, more specifically, who.

“Ryo, you come too!”

Ryo nodded, leaving the unconscious man lying in front of him. One of the remaining garrison members would surely bind him.

More importantly... Ryo and Abel ran. Unlike last time, they reached a bend in the road quickly. When they turned the corner, they saw Jitta holding the escaped man against the ground.

Good. A very good sight—if only that had been the end of it.

Ahead of them stood a figure. A purple-headed, blue-eyed woman.

“What do we have here?”

Ryo and Abel thought they heard the woman murmur something along those lines. It was as though she had recognized them the moment they rounded the corner. Although it should have been their first encounter with the woman—neither could remember meeting her before now—they both thought she was familiar... To put it more accurately, they both had a feeling about whose accomplice she was.

Though Abel’s hand wasn’t yet on the hilt of his sword, he stared cautiously at the woman. Ryo had already activated Passive Sonar to investigate their surroundings.

“I don’t sense anyone else,” Ryo whispered. “In short, the man from back then isn’t near...”

Abel nodded.

Purple hair and glittering, blue eyes... The last time they encountered such similar features, they belonged to a man whom they confronted. And fought. A man who had been an incredibly powerful enemy.

“Abel, I caught him,” Jitta called. “Please help me carry him back!”

Both Abel and Ryo unthinkingly looked at Jitta, focusing their attention on the soldier...

As soon as Ryo realized what he’d done, he jerked his gaze back to the front.

Too late. The blue-eyed woman was already gone.

Ryo sighed quietly. When Abel heard him, he too looked ahead and realized the woman had vanished.

“But she...” Abel said, “she was just here, right?”

“Yes, she was.”

“My eyes weren’t playing tricks on me, right?”

“No, they weren’t,” Ryo answered confidently.

While there may have been a possibility they had seen an illusion, Passive Sonar had confirmed the woman’s presence so it stood to reason she hadn’t been an illusion.

“You know what I find more unbelievable about all this...? The fact that such a terrifying person was right there, so close to my neighborhood. It really begs the question—what in the world are you doing slacking off?” Ryo asked, suddenly turning to Abel.

“What? How the heck do you always find a way to blame me?”

“Because, as a B-rank adventurer, it’s your responsibility to eliminate such frightening individuals. Otherwise, the rest of us will face problems galore. Isn’t that why you get paid the big bucks?”

“Except you aren’t the one paying me, Ryo!”

Even though everyone should want peace, the world sometimes makes that difficult. At that moment, Ryo keenly felt the challenge of achieving world peace.

◆

“Good grief...” the purple-haired, blue-eyed woman muttered within the carriage. “I went to Lune again because I was told to, but the outlier really came as no surprise. That simply means this place is now out of bounds for us. Still... Those two were the same swordsman and magician from before, weren’t they? They most likely live in the city, but to think I’d see them again during such a short visit... However, they should think I was only an illusion since I utilized a magic formula for cognitive inhibition... Yes, yes, the formula should have worked! Julius said he had no choice but to kill the man back then because he’d been seen. I really don’t understand him. Though I am glad he wasn’t with me this time. We definitely would have ended up in a battle if he had been... I heard he went to the eastern part of the Kingdom. I wonder if he’ll be fine on his own... He has a bad habit of trying to settle things with brute force... This is exactly why men are such troublesome creatures.”

She exhaled deeply. “Since we’re done with Lune, perhaps I should go after him... Decisions, decisions.”

The Hero’s Visit

A thin layer of snow falling from the gray morning sky blanketed Markdorf, the capital of the Debuhi Empire, in white. The city was the center of a massive economic bloc said to be the greatest in the Central Provinces, yet few people walked its streets at present. This emptiness was emblematic of the economic downturn of the Empire as a whole.

The main avenue running north-south through the center of Markdorf ended at the imperial castle, the center of the entire Empire. Emperor Rupert VI, master of the castle, listened to Premier Hans Kirchhoff’s report. The man also happened to be a member of the peerage. A count, to be exact.

“You say the Hero has arrived?” Rupert VI asked, visibly displeased.

Understanding the source of his aggravation, Premier Hans bowed his head in commiseration. “Yes, and as previously agreed, he’s requested an audience with you, Your Majesty.”

“Didn’t we receive a report that he had crossed the border? When was that? A week ago, I think? That means he headed straight here to the capital without stopping anywhere else.”

“Indeed. Clearly, he has some sort of objective... However, it is unclear to us at the moment since all he’s done is request an audience with you.”

Rupert’s obvious displeasure deepened. For him, the Hero was a being who brought only trouble and nothing else.

“What is this agreement you’re referring to? It’s the first I’m hearing of it, and with the Hero no less...”

“I myself had no knowledge of it, so I asked the head librarian Tulan at the imperial library to look into the matter. About three hundred years ago, when the Empire was still a monarchy, King Karl XII bestowed upon the Hero then a seal of approval. Tulan found a written record of this.”

“Three hundred years... That’s practically ancient history. What are the contents of the seal?”

“No matter the era, we are bound to help the Hero.”

Rupert VI sighed heavily. “Bloody hell, what a pain in my arse. Fine, I’ll grant him an audience at least. After that, our cooperation depends entirely on what the Hero seeks.”

◆

As the audience with the emperor was an informal one, there weren’t many courtiers in attendance. With the Hero Roman at the forefront, he and the six remaining members of his party knelt, each on one knee, before the stairs leading to the dais on which the ruler’s throne sat. They waited for Emperor Ruper VI to speak to them.

“Master Roman the Hero and friends, raise your heads.”

At Premier Hans Kirchhoff’s urging, the Hero’s party obeyed deferentially.

“Hero Roman as well as his comrades, I welcome you,” Rupert VI intoned.

“We are unworthy of your welcome, but nevertheless honored by it,” replied Graham, the party’s clergyman and oldest member. Though Roman, the Hero, was the party leader, he was only nineteen and inexperienced. As the eldest, Graham often acted as their representative during formal meetings.

“There’s no need for formalities in light of the informal nature of this audience. While I am of course honored by your visit to our nation, perhaps you’d care to tell me the reason for it?”

Rupert VI’s attitude displayed no trace of his disgust. In fact, his tone was the epitome of politeness.

“I came to the Empire to request personal instruction from the renowned Inferno Magician, Oscar Luska,” Roman answered with a determined gaze. Depending on the country or the person in power, this could be considered an incredibly disrespectful act, which explained why his party members glanced at him anxiously.

Rupert hummed, caught off guard by the unexpected request. Why would the Hero want to fight Oscar?

“So,” Rupert said, “you wish to train with Oscar?”

“Lord Oscar Luska is extremely well-known from his adventuring days too, so we first visited the adventurers’ guild. However, we were told he no longer went there because he had long since been put on the military register. That was when we decided to impose on Your Majesty’s magnanimity and seek an audience with you here in the imperial castle,” Graham the clergyman explained.

Rupert VI stared at Hans. “Hans, where’s Oscar now?”

“Lord Oscar is stationed at the Imperial Magic Division’s training ground.”

After receiving the answer he expected, Rupert fell into a thoughtful silence.

He’s always at the training ground, so that’s nothing new. Having said that...I’m well aware he leaves the training of the division to Fiona and the others while he holes himself up in Magical Training Center Number 4. Looks like the Whitnash incident had a profound effect on him... He did his job well protecting Fiona, but the man himself isn’t convinced of that, eh? No matter. This just means he’ll grow even stronger. Bravo, bravo... If I take that into account, would the Hero and his friends prove useful as a test for Oscar’s newfound strength?

“Very well, Hero Roman, I shall grant your wish. You have my leave to visit the training grounds. However, that area is a fair distance from the imperial capital, so I bid you to rest here in the castle tonight and depart tomorrow. I’ll have my people arrange transportation for yours.”

“I am eternally grateful for your kindness, Your Imperial Majesty.”

Roman the Hero bowed his head deeply.

◆

“The Hero’s coming?”

Commander of the Imperial Magic Division, Fiona Rubine Bornemisza, repeated back to her adjutant, Marie.

“Yes, we received a missive from the castle. Here it is.”

She handed over the official letter to Fiona, who read it thrice for good measure.

“What in the world is Father thinking? Not only did he allow a foreigner to enter the training grounds, but also permitted them to train with Master... Jurgen, is he up to the usual?”

“Indeed. As always, the vice commander has secluded himself, alone, in Magical Training Center Number 4,” Jurgen, Oscar’s adjutant, replied.

His behavior wasn’t new. It had started when they returned from Whitnash and had persisted every day since. Over a month had already passed. Though Oscar ate breakfast with Fiona in the mornings while making his reports to her, he would shut himself away in the fourth training ground right after.

Of course, it wasn’t a problem since Fiona, as the commander, had given him her permission. Fiona led the division’s training and military exercises with the help of the adjutants, Marie and Jurgen, as well as each squadron’s captain. There were no issues even without Oscar. That was the sort of system in place.

“Well, nothing we can do about Master. He just gets like that sometimes.”

Their relationship went way back, so Fiona knew this was simply how Oscar reacted after losing or making a huge mistake. Anytime he keenly felt the lack of his own magical power, he tended to shut himself away from everyone else.

I remember Master telling me once how remembering the humiliation of defeat makes him tremble with anger. How he recalls the scene over and over again, sears it into his mind, and imagines the flames consuming him. Because that’s what makes him stronger. And the reality is that he does become stronger after he goes through this process. So strong even I notice... In particular, how abnormally powerful his spells become and the speed at which he can generate them. He told me to try the method too, but I saw no change whatsoever... Honestly, I thought it was completely impossible to understand... Except, is it really something only Master is capable of? I don’t think so... I just can’t help feeling like there’s some inner secret to magic involved, something I’m missing... If he ever surfaces from his self-imposed exile, I’ll have to ask him about it in great detail.

Lately, Oscar hadn’t been troubled by anything magic-related, so even Fiona hadn’t witnessed one of his brooding spells in quite some time. She wasn’t the only one concerned about him. Not only were the division members, who’d been called up six months ago, confused by his behavior, but so were Marie, who’d been her adjutant for a year and a half now, and Jurgen, who’d been Oscar’s adjutant for over two years. For them, it was the first time seeing him like this.

“So this is usual...?” Jurgen murmured quietly, almost to himself. He couldn’t do anything about his commanding officer, so he chose not to dwell too deeply on this new information.

“The Hero and his group will arrive early in the afternoon tomorrow. I have no idea if Master will agree to take him on, but it should be fine if we have the division members engage in mock battles with them. I’d like you to handle that and arrange a place for them to stay as well.”

“Understood, Commander.”

With a bow from Adjutant Marie, the meeting to welcome the Hero ended.

◆

The Hero Roman and his party members, seven of them altogether, sat comfortably inside the coach traveling from the imperial capital to the training area.

“I’ve never seen a carriage this enormous before.”

“You’d need at least ten horses or several thoroughly trained ones to pull it. Otherwise, it must be very difficult.”

Each of them complimented the carriage. However, one of them—a man—looked annoyed.

“Roman, are you serious about this? You know how low the level of magic is in the Central Provinces, right? It doesn’t hold a candle to me or Alicia. It’s a waste of time, if you ask me,” Gordon, a fire magician, complained.

Gordon spoke arrogantly at only twenty-three years old, but that confidence was only proof of his exemplary track record as an adventurer in the Western Provinces. For over half a century now, it had been the norm for magicians of the Western as well as Eastern Provinces to hold the magicians of the Central in low regard.

“I know, but I still wish for him to teach me.”

The memory of how easily the creature named Leonore dealt with him weighed heavily on Roman’s mind.

“What was her name again? Leonore? We don’t even know if she was telling the truth. Someone ten thousand times stronger than you... Like hell that person even exists. We basically know everyone who’s powerful in the Western Provinces. Besides the ones who you’re evenly matched with, there isn’t anyone who can actually overpower you. That’s just a fact. So, while I guess I can understand why you’d want to go to the Central Provinces...I just don’t think this person, if they even exist, is a magician.”

“Be that as it may, Gordon, when it comes to the most famous or powerful adventurers in the Central Provinces today, the first name on everyone’s lips is The Inferno Magician. He might not be who I’m searching for, but, at the very least, I believe I’ll gain some idea about how to become stronger. This is selfish of me. I know this, but please, stay with me just a little while longer.”

Then Roman bowed his head deeply.

No one could resist when confronted head-on. All six of his party members knew this from painful experience.

“Ugggh...” Gordon sighed, a sound seemingly ripped from the depths of his soul.

“Fine, okay? Just...do whatever you want.” He roughly ruffled Roman’s hair and gave into the Hero’s desire.

“I will. Thank you very much.” Roman beamed at him. He had yet to realize that it was this smile holding the party together.

◆

In the morning, the Hero and his party departed from the imperial capital. They stopped for lunch on their trek and then arrived at Magical Training Center Number 4 a little past two in the afternoon. The group of imperial guard knights that had escorted their carriage from the capital wordlessly turned around to make the journey back as soon as the vehicle entered the training center’s grounds. What the Hero and his party didn’t know was that only those with special permission could enter the magical training centers. There were even rumors that anyone who tried to enter without permission would be bombarded by magical attacks without question.

Of course, that was just a rumor. However, it just might be entirely possible considering the magical training centers radiated such a threatening aura to outsiders...

When Roman the Hero opened the carriage door and stepped outside, he found three men and women standing there.

“Master Roman, welcome to our magical training center. My name is Fiona Rubine Bornemisza and I’m the commander of the Imperial Magic Division. I humbly extend my welcome to the rest of your group as well.”

Fiona placed a hand on her chest and saluted them in the imperial fashion.

“W-We are grateful for your hospitality,” Roman managed to say.

Morris, the party’s scout, noticed the Hero stared at Fiona in a complete daze. He elbowed Graham, their clergyman and negotiator, in the side.

“Graham, Roman.”

Graham understood right away. “My name is Graham,” he said, moving to stand next to Roman, “and I’m the designated negotiator for our team. Your Imperial Highness, please accept our deepest gratitude for receiving us personally.”

“Oh, my... She’s an imperial princess?” said Alicia, the group’s air magician, from behind Graham.

Even as Graham sighed mentally, his calm expression never wavered.

“I appreciate your greetings. However, this isn’t a palace but a military training center,” Fiona said. “Moving forward, there’s no need to be formal with your speech or tone. Behind me are adjutants Marie and Jurgen. They’ll be looking after you all. Having said that, as this is a training ground, I expect you’ll encounter your fair share of inconveniences, for which I apologize in advance.”

“We understand, of course. After all, we’re the ones who requested instruction from the Inferno Magician himself. So, please, don’t worry about inconveniencing us. Since we’re on the topic,” Graham said, “may I ask where Lord Oscar is?”

“Right, about that. Vice Commander Oscar is currently in the process of fine-tuning a different regimen. He’s scheduled to make a report to me tomorrow morning and I’ll inform him about your visit then. Would you be willing to wait to spar against him until he’s ready, Master Hero?”

Roman grew flustered when he realized she was talking to him. “Y-Yes, of course. Please don’t mind me.”

“Then I’ll take you at your word, Master Roman. You have my thanks for your kindness.”

Thus did Fiona succeed in having him accept Oscar’s delay.

Graham, the only one who realized what just transpired, sighed inwardly. Ah, Roman... You are still so young and naive.

“You all must be tired from traveling for half a day in the carriage. There are rooms ready for you in the annex, so feel free to rest at your leisure. Marie will guide you.”

“Your Highness,” Roman interjected, “please wait.”

“What is it, Master Roman?”

“If possible, might I be allowed to observe a military exercise?”

Fiona narrowed her eyes slightly. “Hm. I was told His Majesty gave you permission to conduct mock battles with Oscar... Did the emperor also give you permission to watch the Division’s maneuvers?”

“Ah... No...” Roman unconsciously hung his head. She was right, Emperor Rupert VI had only approved his sparring with Oscar.

“With all due respect, Your Highness,” Graham said, taking the conversational reins from Roman, “His Majesty gave us permission to enter the training grounds. In other words, we interpreted that to mean we could observe training regimens, which is part of the reason for our visit.”

Naturally, the party members hadn’t actually discussed the minutiae of how they’d spend their time, but being barred from observing training drills presented a practical problem. Moreover, they had no idea when Oscar, their primary motivation for being there, would actually appear, and trying to kill time wasn’t going to be easy at the training center.

“Mmm... How about this,” Fiona said. “We’ll stage a magic battle between your representative and ours, and if you win or we judge your efforts good enough, we’ll let you observe our training. What do you say, Master Hero? Will you prove to the members of my division that you and yours have earned the right to watch us?”

Even though Graham had explicitly told her he was the negotiator of their group, the unmistakable truth was that this was Roman the Hero’s party. Because he lacked experience, he was currently completely head over heels for Fiona...

This princess knows exactly how to use Roman’s youth against him. What a dangerous young lady.

For the umpteenth time that day, Graham sighed inwardly. But before Roman could answer her or Graham could interject, someone else replied for them.

“Challenge accepted. I nominate myself.”

It was Gordon, the fire magician of the Hero’s party.

Like hell I’ll let the magicians of the inferior Central Provinces make us look like idiots. Once she sees how much more powerful I am, this silly little princess will be speechless.

Gordon brimmed with confidence. When he got like this, no one could stop him.

“So you’ll be the Hero’s representative. Heard.” Fiona smiled cheerfully and gestured at them to follow. “Then let’s head inside to the training center.”

The Hero’s party had no choice but to follow, completely at her mercy.

Graham, somehow, was the only one of their party who realized she had them dancing in the palm of her hand. Even some of the Imperial Division’s members looked amused.

That was when Graham lost his patience.

Not only did she sink her claws into Roman, but she managed to rile Gordon up as well! Why in the realm do we even have to engage in this farce of a battle? Prove our worth to her people? That doesn’t even make any sense! Damn it to hell... Whatever I say now, it’s too late... I have a terrible feeling our party will end up revealing too many of its secrets.

So Graham steeled himself, accepting the fact that all of this was necessary for Roman to grow stronger.

◆

“As for our fighter... Hm...” Fiona spied a young man, twenty years old, who belonged to the 2nd Company. “Klimt, you’ll be representing us. A mock magic battle.”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“Master Gordon, you’re a fire magician, and so is our Klimt. I believe you can both learn from each other. Oh, one more thing. Master Graham, you are your group’s healer, yes? We too have an outstanding healer, so...short of an instant kill, both of you should survive well enough.”

Everyone except Gordon, Klimt, and the judge watched from the spectator stands.

The two combatants put twenty meters between them, then faced each other.

“I, Jurgen Barthel, will be the judge of this encounter. Lethal attacks aren’t permitted. If a fighter surrenders, loses consciousness, or is deemed incapable of continuing the fight, the match will end. Master Gordon, are you ready?”

“Yeah,” Gordon answered.

“Klimt, are you ready?”

“Yes, Sir, I am,” Klimt answered with a nod.

“Then let the match begin!”

Gordon made the first move.

“Fire Ball.”

He didn’t take the match seriously because he didn’t take magicians from the Central Provinces seriously, so he wanted to end it quickly and decisively with the first strike.

Except...

“Fire Ball.”

Klimt negated Gordon’s Fire Ball with one of his own.

“Huh. You can do it without chanting the incantation. Then how about this? Fire Ball. Fire Ball. Fire Ball.”

Gordon unleashed three Fire Balls back-to-back-to-back.

Unfortunately for him...

“Fire Ball. Fire Ball. Fire Ball.”

Klimt intercepted the trio with his own set of three.

“Dam you...! Fire Javelin. Fire Javelin.”

Gordon launched two strikes of Fire Javelin with its high piercing power.

In response...

“Fire Javelin. Fire Javelin.”

Klimt did the same.

Finally, Gordon snapped.

“To hell with this! I don’t care what happens anymore! Blade Lange—”

“Fire Ball.”

Klimt aimed a Fire Ball at Gordon before he could say the final trigger word of his spell.

“Magical Barrier,” Gordon said, countering his opponent’s Fire Ball with defensive magic now that his powerful technique had been interrupted.

Although spells could be activated without their corresponding incantations as long as the trigger words were spoken, trigger words for explosive moves required a fair amount of time to activate. Something like Fire Ball could be generated and launched within a second, but you needed at least three seconds to execute more powerful techniques.

Still, compared to spells with super long incantations, three seconds was nothing in the span of time. Yet, it had been more than enough of a delay for Klimt to shoot his Fire Ball and stop Gordon’s special move.

Gordon found himself in a situation he hadn’t anticipated: his finishing blow had been interrupted and each of his rapidly generated minor spells countered by Klimt’s.

How the hell is he able to match my magic? He should barely be able to keep up since I started... Don’t tell me he’s faster than me at generating magic...? Piss right off with that! Everyone knows that magicians of the Central Provinces use ridiculously long incantations for magic that’s ultimately weak as hell! So I’m supposed to just believe he can activate his magic without incantations and he’s faster than me at generating it? Not a chance!

Sadly for Gordon, the reality was that all his spells were either countered or outright blocked.

At the same time Gordon was internally panicking, so was Klimt. Actually, Klimt’s mental state went beyond mere panic. Why? Because of his inexperience.

He had entered the Division half a year ago, and only after becoming part of it did he learn how to use his magic properly. His magical control had become second nature to him, like breathing, thanks to the Division’s training, which was so intense it almost made people vomit blood. However, he most certainly didn’t have a lot of experience in combat against others. Of course, one-versus-one bouts were the primary method the Division used in its training exercises, but ultimately, they were just that—practice drills.

Gordon attacked with such force Klimt feared he had no choice but to kill him. There was no one in the Division who fought like him...except for the vice commander. Although the Division had only been in existence for six months, it had actual battlefield experience and countless successful monster hunts under its belt. Klimt too had taken part in a few of the latter.

As for battles... He’d injured himself seriously in a training exercise before the campaign and lost a lot of blood in the process. Though the wound itself had been mended quickly with an Extra Heal, it took much longer to recover the blood he lost, making him unable to join the expedition.

In short, compared to the other Division members, he didn’t have much experience with actual, real life danger. Klimt had been well aware of this fact and wanted to do something to make up for it, but the Division unfortunately didn’t get many opportunities to head into a real battlefield. In fact, ever since the campaign he’d missed out on, the unit he belonged to, the 2nd Company, hadn’t been dispatched to a major battle once.

His lack of experience basically meant Klimt didn’t know how to break through the deadlock between him and Gordon. He couldn’t increase the number of his moves any further and they were evenly matched in terms of magic generation speed.

If he let Gordon succeed in using his special move, he’d probably lose. Maybe even die... In that case, Klimt had to make sure Gordon never had the chance to execute it.

He made up his mind and took a step forward. While firing his magic, he took one step, then another, toward his opponent.

Wh-What the hell is this guy thinking? Why is he coming closer? Does he think he can win because he’s faster than me at producing magic? Don’t screw with me, you bastard!

That was Gordon’s inner voice speaking. Unfortunately, he completely misunderstood the reason behind Klimt’s approach. The young man was only moving closer to avoid giving him the chance to activate his most powerful technique...

“Fire Ball. Fire Ball. Fire Ball. Fire Ball. Fire Ball...”

Klimt focused entirely on using the Fire Ball spell. Every time he launched one at Gordon, he closed the distance between them with another step. Fewer than ten meters separated them now.

Then suddenly, at that moment, the ground between them exploded and a cloud of dust rose.

“Huh?” Klimt gasped. Even as the sound escaped him, he was already dropping facedown onto the ground.

A split second later, a flame spear flew through the spot he’d been standing. He rushed to stand, but he was too late. A demonic-looking Gordon stood in front of him holding a flame spear, about to swing it down on Klimt.

“Stop right there!” Jurgen called out sharply.

“Victory to Master Gordon.”

He had saved Klimt’s life.

Even as he rasped heavily in exertion, Gordon managed to make his way to the Hero’s party sitting in the spectator stands.

In contrast, Commander Fiona stepped down from her seat and into the arena.

“Well done, Klimt,” she said softly as he lay there unmoving after his defeat.

He rushed to stand up and apologize for losing. “Your Highness, forgive me for failing to meet your expectations.”

Even though Fiona had done him the honor of choosing him as the Division representative, his sad defeat frustrated him to no end.

“There’s nothing to forgive. Look at Master Gordon.”

“Beg your pardon?”

Doing as she bid, Klimt looked to Gordon, who had returned to the spectator stands. Nothing in particular stood out to him, so he didn’t understand Fiona’s intent.

“Master Gordon is exhausted. But, Klimt, you can still keep fighting, can’t you?”

“Yes. I can go for another round!”

“Survival is the most important thing on the battlefield. And in order to survive, you need to have the power to fight until your very last breath. For magicians out in the field, that power is the most vital tool in their arsenal. That is a magician’s ability to keep fighting. Today, you proved you can last much longer than the Hero’s magician. Excellent work,” Fiona said.

“Th-Thank you very much!”

“Now all you need is experience, which I expect you to accumulate deliberately moving forward.”

With that, Fiona returned to her seat in the stands. Following her lead, he too headed to his unit in the spectator seating.

Praise and encouragement. That was how she led. As for the reason she’d chosen Klimt... Fiona didn’t actually care whether they won or lost. Neither result would ultimately change what they had to do moving forward. In this case, she felt it was best to give her subordinates in the Division as much combat experience as possible. Klimt didn’t have enough experience in real battles, so it had been a good opportunity for him to gain some.

That was why she’d chosen him. And Klimt now had real combat experience. She smiled in satisfaction.

After the mock battle between Gordon and Klimt, the other members of the Hero’s party engaged in their own one-versus-one training sessions. The air magician, Alicia. The earth magician, Berlocke. And finally, the Hero himself, Roman.

Roman’s opponent was Emil Fischer, captain of the First Company. The man came from a family of knights and had loved swords since childhood... But, as expected, he was no match for Roman...

◆

The next morning, the Hero’s party ate breakfast in the annex.

Meanwhile, Fiona and the two adjutants ate in the canteen inside the training center then held a debriefing session in her office. Yes, only the three of them. Normally, Vice Commander Oscar, who sequestered himself in Magical Training Center Number 4, would have also attended breakfast and the session right alongside them. However, he was absent this morning.

“Your Highness, what should we do about the vice commander?” Adjutant Jurgen said, concerned.

“Hm. Nothing,” Fiona replied. “Leave him alone.”

“A-Are you certain?”

“I have a premonition he’ll probably show himself at some point today,” Fiona answered with a smile, knowing that Oscar finally had a handle on his emotions. “If Master is finally going to present himself, we should consider setting up a team bout tomorrow morning. We can delay it if it seems like he won’t be arriving until later in the week, but best do it early.”

“Because once the vice commander appears, Master Roman will only have eyes for him?”

“Exactly,” Fiona confirmed with a grin. “Then we won’t be able to have him face off against us and that would be a waste for our Division, don’t you think?”

With the vice commander’s return imminent, Her Highness is smiling again.

Marie was secretly delighted.

◆

“We are to have a group bout today, yes?” Graham, the clergyman-cum-negotiator of the Hero’s party, asked on the day’s schedule with Fiona.

To avoid being lured into making promises he shouldn’t, Roman stood a few paces back with the rest of the party.

Master Graham has his own mountain of trials and tribulations to tend to, eh? Fiona thought, chuckling.

“Indeed. How does seven against seven sound to you?” she asked, intentionally adding to Graham’s distress. “I realize we may not have the necessary strength to muster against you and yours, but we’ll never again have the chance to engage the Hero’s party in combat. I very much hope you’ll agree.”

“I sincerely doubt you will have any trouble considering yesterday’s mock battles. We now understand keenly the caliber of your division’s talent.”

The day before, Gordon, Alicia, and Berlocke had emerged triumphant from their magical bouts, though the division’s respective fire, air, and earth magicians had put up a good fight. Gordon, the fire magician in the Hero’s party, underwent a complete change in his mindset when he witnessed how equally matched they had been with their respective opponents.

Except, of course, for the Hero’s match.

“We accept the challenge,” Graham replied. “Seven versus seven.”

Graham bowed to Fiona and summoned the rest of his party members forward.

“Excellent. Now, the problem is how to proceed with our lineup. I think I’ll have Jurgen participate today, considering his dissatisfaction with only observing yesterday. This means someone else will judge today, but I hope this poses no problem to you, Master Graham?”

So she makes her move!

The thought flashed through his mind upon hearing Fiona’s suggestion. She was obviously serious about winning.

Adjutants are either those lacking combat prowess who excel in management or those who overwhelmingly overpower their subordinates in a division. If he’s the latter...that makes him a serious threat to us... But we have Roman on our side, so we could still be victorious...

“Of course, no problem at all,” Graham agreed.

“Jurgen. Marie. Nin, captain of the 2nd Company. Shtock, captain of the 3rd Company. Elsa, captain of 4th Company. And the assistant healer, Marma. Emil, captain of the 1st Company and Roman’s opponent from yesterday, will be today’s referee. Yes, this will do just fine.”

“Your Highness,” Marie interjected nervously, “I apologize for questioning you, but that only makes six representatives for the Division side...”

“Why, I’m the seventh, of course.”

“Oh, dear.” Marie’s head drooped. “I feared as much...” As Fiona’s adjutant, she sorely wished for the princess to remain safely on the sidelines. Clearly, it wasn’t meant to be...

“In exchange for having Marma fight, the principal healer Finn and the rest of the aid platoon will be on standby. We have all our bases covered, Marie, so don’t fret.” Fiona smiled cheerfully at the other woman.

“The rules are essentially the same as yesterday’s,” Emil said. “No fatal attacks. If all seven members of one team surrender, faint, or are deemed unable to continue to fight, the match ends.”

The Hero’s party and Fiona’s team faced each other across a distance of forty meters.

“Bombard them with everything you have the minute the match starts,” Fiona whispered to her party. “Make them take us seriously.”

Then Emil’s voice rang out across the arena: “Let the bout commence!”

“Light Javelin.”

“Fire Javelin.”

“Sonic Blade.”

“Fire Ray.”

“Static Wind.”

“Stone Spear Killer.”

“The Fall of Heaven and Earth.”

These seven—the cream of the crop even among the elite Imperial Magic Division—suddenly unleashed hell upon their opponents. Their combined power blew a hole through the full-strength Magical Barrier deployed around the training center. A tremendous boom tore through the vicinity, followed by a flash of light and a cloud of dust...

“Um...” Emil warned, acting as the referee. “I’d like to remind you that fatal attacks are prohibited...”

The rest of the Division’s members murmured among each other in shock.

“The commander just fired off The Fall of Heaven and Earth spell...”

“Captains Marie and Jurgen aren’t holding back either...”

“The others have to be dead. There’s no way they survived all that.”

The state of the arena made it impossible to determine what had happened to the Hero’s party. After some time, the cloud of dust finally settled and the spectators could see that—

“They’re not hurt?” uttered someone from the stands.

All the Division’s members sitting in the audience shared one overwhelming sentiment: shock.

Marie’s Static Wind, Jurgen’s Stone Spear Killer, and Fiona’s The Fall of Heaven and Earth were among the Empire’s most potent spells when used against a group of people. To see their opponents completely unscathed was unbelievable, to say the least.

This reaction applied only to the Division members watching from the stands. In the arena, Fiona and her teammates looked unfazed, as if they’d expected as much.

“Though we ripped through the Barrier, it seems we couldn’t penetrate the Hero’s holy sword, eh?” Jurgen muttered.

Holy sword gripped in his hands, Roman stood at the head of his Hero’s party.

“Hm... The Magical Barrier was unable to withstand their assault,” Graham, the clergyman, said.

“My earth barrier didn’t work either,” Berlocke, the earth magician, added.

“And a simple brush from their air magician’s attack was enough to make my wind wall vanish,” Alicia, the air magician, grumbled.

“That means if it weren’t for Roman swinging his holy sword, we’d have all been wiped out?!” Gordon exclaimed.

“Well, it would have been awfully helpful if you had put up a Magical Barrier too, Gordon,” Morris, the scout, retorted.

“Everyone, please!” Roman the Hero called out. “We won’t hold back. Face them with everything you have.”

All the members of his party nodded in agreement.

“Here I go! Party Haste. Enchanted Wind.”

When Ashkhan, who hadn’t said a single word up until this moment, chanted the trigger words to activate the spells, wind enveloped everyone in their party and Roman’s holy sword and Morris’s dagger glowed green.

“Haste” increased the body’s movement speed. Swinging a weapon, dodging attacks, defending yourself, or even shuffling your feet—regardless of how you moved, air magic made it quicker. This type of magic didn’t exist in the Central Provinces.

“Your Highness, she’s an enchanter. She raised their movement speed,” Elsa, the captain of the 4th Company, said.

Everyone flinched, including Fiona, who always remained calm and collected in battle. Though she believed Elsa, she was careful to hide her surprise.

“A magical role that doesn’t exist in the Central Provinces, hm? On your guard! They’re making their move!”

At the same time Fiona’s warning rang out, the Hero’s party unleashed their own magical assault on her and her subordinates, returning the favor for their barrage moments earlier. Simultaneously, Roman the Hero, Morris the scout, and Ashkhan, the air magician who’d cast the enchantment, rushed forward to engage them in close quarters. Marie intercepted Morris while Jurgen faced off against Ashkhan, leaving Fiona to deal with Roman.

“So the imperial princess is Roman’s opponent, huh?” Gordon murmured without thinking. Just as he was about to voice his doubt about Fiona’s ability to win, he found himself unable to continue as Roman and Fiona fiercely clashed swords in the center of the arena.

Roman was a swordsman and the Hero. On top of that, Ashkhan’s haste spell enhanced his speed tremendously. Nevertheless, Fiona matched each of his swings without retreating a single step.

Anyone who could cross swords with the Hero was an incredibly rare phenomenon. Astarte, Roman’s holy sword, would shatter any normal weapon in a single blow.

But Fiona’s sword was no ordinary blade. Raven, one of two treasured magic blades in the imperial family’s possession, was a legendary weapon said to hold the power to manipulate both air and fire elements. It was a jet-black sword said to have been made by the gods. Raven had been wielded by emperors for generations. However, Rupert VI, the current emperor, passed it down to Fiona.

In terms of appearance, it resembled a smallsword, something more suited for women instead of men. Based on what Rupert had told those around him some time ago, the treasured sword Raven had taken a liking to Fiona. Being the emperor, there was no need for him to provide further explanation. Since there was nobody able to argue otherwise, Raven had been entrusted to Fiona ever since.

Raven. The treasured sword Fiona’s father gifted her when she was ten. It had lived by her side these last eight years, making it her partner in a way. Now, facing an opponent of a level she’d rarely encountered in her life, Fiona unleashed all of Raven’s potential.

The weapon used its affinity with the element of air to boost its own speed as well as Fiona’s, creating a pseudo-Haste effect. Furthermore, it enhanced Fiona’s own affinity for fire magic through its connection to the same element, enabling Fiona to cast attack magic in between slashes of her sword. This feat was easy to imagine but impossible to execute in the middle of battle.

And she did it all as easily as breathing... No, it felt even easier than that as Fiona effortlessly fired spells like Fire Javelin and Piercing Fire at Roman.

From Roman’s perspective, the fight was becoming overwhelming. Simply put, the number of Fiona’s moves were increasing. More specifically, the number of attacks he had to dodge without getting hit was increasing.

Normally, activating a spell during a sword fight inevitably created a small opening. Therefore, if his opponent was a swordsman of similar skill, he could not risk casting a spell. If his opponent was a much weaker swordsman than him, he would not even bother spellcasting... Essentially, spellcasting during a sword fight wasn’t common for him.

And yet...Her Highness is doing precisely that.

Even as he fought her off strenuously, Roman stared in wide-eyed astonishment. She shot off her magic smoothly while wielding her sword. Each clash of their blades forced him to acknowledge a truth: her fighting style wasn’t the result of a flash of inspiration or spur-of-the-moment ideas, but honed through long years of training. She had clearly been trained to attack with both sword and magic at once.

Fiona started learning swordsmanship at the age of four. None of her ten older sisters had done so, but she’d begged her father, Emperor Rupert VI, and he’d agreed to her training. Why exactly had she been so insistent? Well, her fascination with swordplay started when she laid eyes upon the sword hanging at her father’s waist.

“Taken a fancy to Raven, have you, Fiona?” Rupert had said. “Become a master with the sword and I’ll lend it to you.”

Rupert had been half joking when he said the words back then, but he knew meeting a lifelong partner can sometimes be a matter of fate. Perhaps a part of him had felt his daughter had encountered hers that day. Six years later, on Fiona’s tenth birthday, the treasured sword Raven became her companion. That day, incidentally, also happened to be a week before she met the person who would become the most important to her.

So Fiona started learning the way of the sword at four years old and continued training diligently with Raven at ten. The only one who knew about her strength in the Division was her master, Oscar. Today, however, she demonstrated that power in front of all of her subordinates.

“Amazing...”

Shocked whispers and exclamations dominated the spectator stands. It went without saying that everyone in the Imperial Magic Division was a magician. However, just because they were skilled in magic didn’t mean they were incapable of fighting in melee combat.

For normal magicians, exhausting their reserves of magical energy meant the end of the line. The same fate awaited them if their enemy got too close. This weakness was inexcusable for the Division’s members. As a matter of course, they were to be expected to be strong in both magical warfare and melee combat. It was the bare minimum for those who stood on the battlefield.

Though her subordinates had known of their commander’s skill with the sword, they had never imagined Fiona would be this talented with it.

◆

While Roman and Fiona conducted their sword fight in the middle of the arena, Marie and Morris engaged in close-quarter combat, albeit in a peculiar fashion.

Morris was the scout in the Hero’s party. A dagger in each hand, she carried himself nimbly in battle, which explained why her strategy involved circling her opponents and attacking from the sides or rear instead of from the front. However...she couldn’t employ this tactic against Marie, Fiona’s adjutant.

To put it more accurately, Morris tried to use this technique, but Marie countered it easily. While Marie was faster than the average swordsman, she was slow compared to Morris, the scout of the Hero’s party.

So, why couldn’t Morris maneuver around Marie? Well, a constant, powerful downdraft whirled around Marie. As an air magician, her one-on-one fighting style was unusual. She created continuous downbursts around her, almost unconsciously, that hindered her opponent’s movements while allowing her to fight.

In typhoon winds blowing at fifty meters per second, anyone would find it difficult to walk normally. Well, such powerful winds swirled constantly around Marie, blowing from above to the ground. It didn’t matter how light-footed someone was—the force of the winds made moving difficult, period. In other words, Marie represented the worst possible opponent for someone like Morris, a scout who relied on her agility.

This is definitely not good, huh? I have the best luck to get tangled up with an opponent like her, sheesh. No. Don’t tell me the princess told her to target me specifically because she knew how I fight...? What a nasty personality lurking beneath such a pretty face.

Morris remained mobile, never stopping in one spot to make sure Marie didn’t have an easy target to focus on. As she moved, she thought of a counterstrategy.

Fwoosh. Klang. She fired a throwing knife at Marie, but just as he expected, the infuriating wind flung it astray.

How...in the world...am I supposed to defeat her... I can’t get close to her and my throwing knives won’t reach her either... I suppose I’ll have to hang on for now and wait for reinforcements?

Morris was a scout, so no one in their party expected much of her in the combat department. Her and Graham’s main responsibility in such a fight was to simply stay alive. Naturally, as part of the Hero’s party, she possessed combat skills far superior to the average scout, but she knew she wasn’t as strong as her peers.

I’m quite literally in a bind...

Morris sighed quietly.

Melee combat was taking place in three locations: in the center of the arena between Roman and Fiona, to the left of the Hero’s party between Morris and Marie, and to the right where Ashkhan the enchanter and Jurgen faced off.

The occupation of enchanter didn’t exist in the Central Provinces, so you might be wondering what exactly an enchanter is or does. Well, enchanters used magic to temporarily grant their comrades and weapons elemental attributes or special powers. In short, an enchanter was a magician who specialized in this process.

Why weren’t there any in the Central Provinces? The answer is simple: there were no incantations for enchantments.

While Ryo, Sera, and the members of the Imperial Magic Division casted magic without incantations, they were the exception and not the norm for the Central Provinces. In fact, outside of the Division, those magicians belonging to all eight of the imperial magical army’s regiments utilized incantations to activate their spells. Fiona and Oscar were solely responsible for the Division’s lack of reliance on incantations.

Incantations made it easy for even beginners to use magic. A spell’s power remained almost consistent regardless of who chanted its incantation. However, it took time to activate the magic because incantations required time to change—time that could be fatal in battle.

In the end, the crux of magical combat was overcoming your opponent with power or speed, which was exactly why the two of them trained their subordinates to unleash magic powerfully and quickly without the use of incantations.

So, because incantations for enchantments did not exist, the profession itself did not exist in the Central Provinces.