CH 253

That day, the castle’s training grounds were filled with an unusual hustle and bustle. The cause was, as expected, the gathering of many high-ranking nobles–including the king, who normally wouldn’t show up except for the ceremony. They were all there to see “that.”

“Hey, what’s all this commotion? What’s everyone doing outside the training ground?”

“You idiot, haven’t you heard!? There’s going to be a public match for the right to accompany the Yuusha-sama!”

“Heh!? How did that come about!?”

“Just shut up and watch… If you want to bet, go to Beyers, secretly.”

“O-okay…”

“Well then, we will now commence the public match!”

Ignoring the buzzing knights and soldiers, a lone soldier in the center of the training ground raised his voice. To his  left and right, at the ends of the square, were the kingdom’s personnel, and the Hero’s team respectfully.Exchanging words with those challenging the trial.

“Flanite, you understand what to do?”

“Yes, Barlock-sama. I will do my utmost to meet your expectations.”

On the kingdom’s side of the field, a young woman, addressed by a high-ranking noble wearing a blue robe, nodded with a serious expression.

“Super! Do your best, Tia!”

“Well, just do it normally and it’ll be fine. But don’t let your guard down, okay? The opponent isn’t exactly weak, you know?”

“I understand. Leave it to me!”

On the Hero’s side, a redhead hero with spiky hair, and a young man with a forgettable face addressed an elven girl, who responded with a smile.

“Both parties, forward!”

At the voice of the soldier referee, the two of them stepped forward to the center of the training ground. As both were casters, they stood approximately 10 meters apart from each other.

“This should be obvious, but killing the opponent is strictly forbidden. The match is concluded when I determine either a combatant to be incapacitated, or when a combatant surrenders. Please refrain from using any magic that might cause damage outside the arena.Then… Begin!”

“Fire Arrow!”

As the referee’s words came to an end, Flanite took the initiative to hurl an arrow of flame. Lunaritia, of course, intercepted it… or not.

“Hah! I knew it! Spirit magic is worthless if you can’t use it without chanting!”

“…Oh, is that so?”

In this world, mages only need to utter ‘words of power’…meaning, the name of the spell to activate their magic. On the other hand, Lunaritia’s spirit magic requires chanting, no matter what. An instantaneous response would be impossible.

(I can do it! Even if my opponent is an elf!)

Elves are said to typically leave their communities to travel only after they’ve lived for more than a hundred years. To 23-year-old Flanite, the elf in front of her, who appears younger than her, must have lived at least five times longer.

(If the one before me were a grand magician with  a hundred years of training, I wouldn’t stand a chance. But a hundred-year-old elf…!)

Elves, due to their longevity, do not train as diligently as humans. Like wild beasts, they have a strong belief that necessary strength will come naturally just by being alive.

Of course, some elves who work as adventurers do self-training, but Flanite heard that the elf in front of her has just registered. Therefore, she hasn’t undergone much training, and while Flanite may still be far from being top-tier, she believed she had a fair chance of winning…

“…Why!?”

All the flaming arrows shot by Flanite were easily dodged. Lunaritia moved like the wind, and none of them hit.

“Fufufu, Just because I’m a rear guard, doesn’t mean I can’t move, you know? Did you not see this on my waist?”

“That thing! It’s just a ceremonial sword to enhance your spells, isn’t it!? It’s too thin to use in real combat!”

“Ah, it certainly looks that way. But what’s inside is different. Haaah!”

Lunaritia, who had deftly drawn her sword, exhaled briefly and swung her silver spirit sword. Then, a silver flash ran through the flaming arrow that was in its path and in the next moment, the magic dissipated.

“No way!? You can cut through magic!?”

“This is more Ed’s thing, but I can do this much.”

To the surprised Flanite, Lunaritia replied with a smirk. However, unlike Ed, She couldn’t just cut any magic in half. It was only possible because Flanite’s magic was designed to focus on the number of attacks while reducing its power.

“Well then, shall I start now? Gather and bind the wind, the crescent blade glowing in green, the light of dullness shines and flashes the wings of 36 spirits!”

“Damn it…. Why!?”

While dodging flaming arrows shot, Lunaritia’s chant continued, undisrupted. For a flash, Flanite desperately thought if she used stronger magic that wouldn’t be able to be dodged… but this wasn’t a fight to the death. It was a public match to decide who was going to be the Hero’s companion Hero. Using a large-range destructive spell like “Firestorm” and saying “I didn’t mean to kill her!” wouldn’t go well.

But, the situation is the same for her opponent. She can’t use a strong spell that, if hit, could be fatal and can’t be defended against. This isn’t wishful thinking or naivety, but a proper judgment based on reading the situation… or so Flanite assumed.

(She has to stop when she releases her spell. Then I can launch my spell, in counter…)

“In the name of Lunaritia…”

“Now! [Condense!]”

Matching the timing of Lunaritia’s magic, Flanite recites a new spell. Then, the flaming arrows she had been firing as a diversion converge in front of her, turning into a scorching fireball.

“Go! [Blast Ball!]”

Finally, by shooting a flaming arrow into the fireball, the ball of raging flames shoots towards Lunaritia. It boasted over three times the power of a normal Fireball, and Flanite was confident that it would counteract Lunaritia’s spirit magic and make her incapacitated just perfectly—

“Manifest, [Wind Edge]! Reside, The silver spirit’s sword! HAAAA!”

BOOOOOOM!

A sword imbued with a green light was thrust straight, and the pierced Blast Ball exploded instantly. The force of the Blast Ball’s explosion, which had exploded far in front of its target, couldn’t stop Lunaritia’s movement, and the tip of her sword, which had run straight through the curtain of scorching heat, was pointed at Flanite’s throat.

“I guess this makes me the winner.”

“But… in terms of magic… I was…”

“That’s true. If we were just standing there, shooting your magic and my spirit magic, I’m sure I would have lost.”

Lunaritia calmly matched Flanite’s sour glare. Flanite was surprised by the truth, but Lunaritia hadn’t finished her explanation.

“But actual combat isn’t so simple. Just being able to use strong magic makes you an easy target. If you want to adventure with the Hero, you have to train both as a knight and a mage.”

“…………”

Flanite gritted her teeth in frustration. Even though she can’t emotionally agree, her head understands that what she was saying was correct… very correct. And most of all…

(That, single blow…)

The single gust of wind that destroyed the spell which she was proud of. That phenomenon occurred precisely because the center of her spell was accurately shot through. The level of that technique was far beyond her reach, and even though she didn’t feel like she lost as a mage at all, she realized that she was greatly inferior as an adventurer.

“…I lost.”

“It was a good match.”

“Match over! The winner is Lunaritia!”

Lunaritia smiled and replied to Flanite who acknowledged her loss, and the referee’s voice echoed across the training ground. Thus, the battle between mages concluded, with Lunaritia emerging victorious.