Chapter 171 : Chapter 171
Chapter 171. To Win a Fight Against a Mage (1)
“…It was a terrible vacation.”
Armandy muttered while sitting in the dormitory lounge.
Tears almost blurred his vision just thinking about the days he spent being overworked in Radel's territory throughout the entire vacation.
There were as many as four Magic Academy students there!
Yet, just because he was the best at magic, he was the only one mobilized for all sorts of menial tasks.
Mage, a ball got stuck up that tree and it is a big problem.
Mage, our cat fell into the well.
Mage, I am bored, can you not show me magic just once…
As expected of Radel’s territory residents who thought of magic as a convenient tool, the content of their requests was truly spectacular.
This was not work for a real magician.
‘But now I am free.’
After doing nothing but work while being held captive by Radel throughout the vacation, he even had thoughts of wanting to return to school as soon as possible.
At least at school, he would not be used like a tool.
Armandy felt a sense of relief at having returned to a place filled with magicians.
And on the other hand, anger surged against Radel for making him this way.
‘If he was going somewhere, shouldn't he have told us?’
It was true that the Ability Management Bureau had lent Armandy and Pirenzo to Radel, but their surveillance mission had not been canceled. So, while helping Radel, they had been periodically observing his behavior and location...
They did not expect the surveillance target to disappear overnight like this.
Armandy and Pirenzo, who had been frantically handling the territory’s work, only realized he had vanished the day after Radel left.
That was because the day passed by in a flash as they woke up at dawn to go to the potato fields, oversaw the training of the territory residents, and resolved various complaints in the afternoon.
On top of that, because the tourism business Radel planned was going well, the workload was increasing every day.
To think he dumped the work on them and disappeared without a word.
It was beyond detestable.
Thanks to that, Armandy had to write an additional report for the Ability Management Bureau for the crime of losing the surveillance target.
And only belatedly did he learn that Radel had returned to the Academy instead of the territory.
Because of that, Armandy also ended up returning to the Academy before the vacation was even over. Armandy left the dormitory to make contact with Pirenzo, who had arrived around the same time.
“Shall we compile some information now?”
Upon arriving at the dormitory, he found that Radel was already stirring up the Academy.
He heard he was visiting the workshops of all majors?
The surveillance target was causing unexpected trouble after they had taken their eyes off him for just a few days.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Armandy went to the professor’s office of Pirenzo, who was in charge of liberal arts subjects, and knocked on the door.
Then, he spoke in a polite tone befitting a student.
“Professor, I came because I have an inquiry regarding next semester's lectures.”
“Yes, come in.”
Pirenzo, who had been pretending to check documents while sitting in his chair, frowned when he saw Armandy.
“What, it is you.”
“Did you think it was a student then? If you are a former assassin, you should have noticed sooner.”
Pirenzo sneered at Armandy's words.
“Your footsteps are no different from a civilian's, so how would I notice? You should do some training in your spare time.”
“Appearing like a civilian is the quality of an elite agent, you idiot.”
“Idiot? Says the magician who does not have a single muscle!”
“It must be nice that your head is filled with muscles too!”
The two glared at each other without a word.
They had inevitably formed a temporary alliance in Raviedel, but he was indeed an annoying jerk.
The two engaged in a cold war for a while, thinking the exact same thing, before realizing the reality of the situation.
Fighting each other here would do no good.
If they did not grasp Radel's information as soon as possible, only the number of reports they had to write would increase.
Armandy spoke first.
“You know we cannot accomplish anything like this, right?”
“The same goes for you. I have some tremendous information. It will not be fun for you if you act like this.”
“What should I do…? I also have a piece of tremendous information.”
Pirenzo’s pride was hurt by Armandy’s sarcastic remark.
However, he was convinced that no matter how great the information that annoying magician possessed, it would not be better than his own.
Pirenzo opened his mouth with a triumphant expression.
“Will it really be more tremendous than mine? Last night…”
* * *
The previous night.
It was the moment Pirenzo was about to go to bed wearing his pajamas.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
It was a very faint sound, but as a former assassin, he did not miss even a single small noise.
It was clearly the sound of someone knocking on his door.
Pirenzo approached the door cautiously.
“Who is it?”
“…Professor, I came to ask you something.”
Came to ask something… At this hour?
He checked the clock and saw it was the dormitory curfew time.
A student who sneaks out of the dormitory just to ask a professor something.
Their passion for learning was extraordinary.
However, Pirenzo, who had once been ambushed by Radel while sleeping, did not let his guard down easily.
He moved his right hand to his waist, where he had hidden weapons, and opened the door with his left hand.
CREAAK.
And he was startled to see the person revealed in the darkness.
“Wait, why is the Prince here at this hour…?”
Pirenzo was flustered by the sight of Radel standing in front of the door.
“Let us go inside and talk.”
Radel smiled at Pirenzo.
He knew he would not be asleep.
Having lived in the same territory throughout the vacation, he knew Pirenzo's lifestyle patterns all too well.
“I came because I had something to ask. I was not seen by anyone else, so do not worry.”
Radel had deliberately moved through secret passages to avoid being seen. It went without saying that he had avoided the flying golems as well.
“Is that so? You did well. Anyway, what brings you to me?”
Pirenzo asked as he guided Radel inside.
He also knew Radel's personality now. He was not the type of person to come all the way here for nothing.
Radel spoke straightforwardly.
“I would like you to teach me how to fight against a magician.”
The day to visit the Combat Magic Workshop was tomorrow.
Considering Senior Shartea's advice and Professor Lilian's personality, it seemed unlikely he would leave the Combat Magic Workshop without incident.
He suspected he would end up sparring at least once, regardless of who the opponent was.
“Do you mean a method to fight against a magician?”
Pirenzo had a clear grasp of Radel's skills.
His stamina was superior compared to other first-year Academy students, and his swordsmanship, honed through consistent training, did not lag behind swordsmen of his age.
Judging by his hunting in Raviedel, he was also proficient in combat against monsters.
As if reading Pirenzo's thoughts, Radel added.
“I know how to deal with monsters, but I am somewhat inexperienced in combat against magicians.”
“If that is the case, wouldn't it be better to ask magicians rather than me?”
Then, a look of puzzlement appeared in Radel's eyes.
“Professor Pirenzo should know best. Were you not rivals with Armandy for a long time?”
* * *
“Ha, what did you say?”
Armandy reacted as if he were dumbfounded by Pirenzo's words.
“You and I are rivals?!”
“The Prince said so.”
“This is driving me crazy.”
He wanted to go and clear up the misunderstanding right away, but Radel would be visiting the Combat Magic Workshop at this time.
To group me, a real magician, with the successor of a failed assassin's guild!
Radel was undoubtedly mistaken about something.
Armandy, thoroughly agitated, inadvertently let slip some information.
“…So that is why he came to find me yesterday.”
It was Pirenzo's turn to be surprised.
“The Prince visited you yesterday as well?”
“Yes, that is my information.”
Armandy recalled Radel coming to his room last night.
Radel had asked Armandy only one thing.
‘I want to know the 4th Princess's Ability. Armandy, you would know, right?’
It was a question that could not have been asked unless he was anticipating a battle with the 4th Princess, who was a magician.
* * *
What is this?
The 4th Princess could not understand.
If things had gone according to her plan, the 8th Prince should have already been lying on the ground over there. He should have been half-dead.
However, the 8th Prince was dodging her attacks with a very calm expression. Furthermore, he occasionally displayed useless behaviors, inducing Estina to let her guard down.
It was all because of that strange spirit he had summoned.
“You rascal! You should have snapped out of it and rolled forward!”
“I could avoid it sufficiently by rolling to the right.”
She could not say it out loud, but anyone could see it was that… spirit from the library.
Estina also knew by hearsay that the 8th Prince had contracted with that spirit, but she had not anticipated what kind of results it would bring in battle.
Wasn't it a spirit with no offensive capabilities anyway?
However, she had forgotten that a mental attack was also an attack.
“EEEEK! Fine! I just have to tell you the weakness, do I not?!”
The library spirit clearly remembered the humiliation it had suffered at the Summoning Magic Workshop a few days ago.
It had decided not to help even if Radel summoned it for a while, but the opponent was a royal family member like Radel.
If it did not help, he might actually kick the bucket.
After all, the guy had terrible Magic Power to begin with.
The library spirit clicked its tongue and flipped through its pages.
Then, its eyes snapped open.
“I got it! She hates magical beasts!”
“Thank you.”
“I am only telling you because I am afraid you will die here for no reason, you rascal!”
Radel smiled at the library spirit, who helped him in the end despite grumbling, and dashed forward.
Magic poured down on the path where Radel was running.
THUD, THUD!
It was a rock summoned by Estina.
Radel stepped on the rock, jumped up, and arrived right in front of Estina.
“Your ability to run away is top-notch, isn't it? But how long can you keep dodging?”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
However, Estina was left speechless by Radel's calm retort.
“By the way, do you happen to hate magical beasts?”
It was then that Estina's expression changed.
“Water, rise.”
She chanted the spell in a cold voice.
A massive stream of water soared from the floor to the ceiling.
Estina chanted the next spell without pausing.
“Ice, strike down!”
Then, the water droplets that had soared to the ceiling froze and slammed down toward the floor all at once.
“Wind!”
Radel swung his staff to counter it.
The wind raged at Radel's spell. It was not a strong wind, but it created enough of a gap for Radel to move and avoid the ice.
‘The accuracy has definitely dropped.’
While dodging the ice, Radel noticed that the 4th Princess was shaken.
Pirenzo's words were indeed correct.
The method to fight against a magician that Pirenzo had taught him.
It was simpler than Radel had thought.
‘Isn't magic about manifesting the imagination in one's head into reality? Then you just have to prevent them from focusing on the spell.’
Magic was a battle of imagery.
Pirenzo had said that if one disrupts a magician so they cannot visualize their imagery, one seizes the victory.
It meant that attacking the mind would work.
Hearing that, Radel was able to realize something.
I just have to do what I usually do.
Wasn't the 4th Princess shaken by his words even now?
The victory was gradually tipping in his favor.