CH 32

Chapter 32: Irritating

As the first light signaling the end of the night illuminated the world, the sound of cutting through the wind that had quietly shaken the air ceased.

“…Morning?”

Sunlight informed Luke that morning had arrived.

He had unknowingly swung his sword all night, and it was now dawn.

During his sword training, he could avoid thinking about troublesome things and focus only on the sword.

Recently, he had become someone who thought about many things and worried about unexpected events, so holding a sword had became a precious routine to him.

(…Even without a blade, this sword occasionally shows incredible sharpness. It could really cut through anything.)

Luke thought as he looked at the sword in his hands.

However, it was still a replica for training, so it had no actual blade despite its intricate craftsmanship.

(Alfred said that a polished sword can still possess sharpness even without a blade. But this one is even more…)

Luke’s thoughts came to a halt as an unexpected third party spoke up.

“C-cold… isn’t it, Luke?”

“…?”

It wasn’t just Luke who had been swinging his sword. Abel was also there, swinging his sword in the distance.

“Why are you here… Abel?”

Luke’s deep concentration was so frighteningly intense that it made all extraneous information disappear into the distance, causing him to not notice Abel’s presence until now.

“Uh, did you not notice? I was training beside you all night, Luke…”

“…”

“I guess you didn’t notice…”

Luke’s lack of awareness of Abel’s presence made him feel a little down.

However, Abel thought he understood Luke well enough to believe that he didn’t mean it maliciously.

(Luke is really awesome to put in so much effort…)

Abel could only do his best, and if even his efforts were not enough, he would definitely fail.

He wanted to defeat Luke someday, but at the same time, he admired him for his pure and overwhelming strength.

“What’s with that look? It’s uncomfortable, go away.”

“Am I really having a strange look?!”

Luke felt a strange discomfort around Abel, who still approached him despite his rude behavior, and decided to return to his room.

“Wait, Luke!”

“…”

However, Abel immediately followed Luke.

“Um, Luke. Have you heard of the ‘Sword Saint Festival’ that’s held every year in the Empire?”

“…”

“I only heard about it from my master and don’t know the details, but apparently it’s where sword masters from various countries gather! Isn’t that exciting?”

“…”

“S-so…how about it? Would you like to go see it together? Uh, I think the timing is…hey, are you listening?”

“…”

“U-um…Luke-kun, are you listening? Let’s go see it together—”

“… Annoying.”

Luke increased his walking speed to get away from Abel, who continued to talk to him even when he ignored him.

Of course, he knew about the Sword Saint Festival. In fact, he was considering participating, but he had no intention of talking about it with Abel.

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

—At the third magic training ground.

Now, I’m facing Luke.

I wanted to show him my newly completed magic before anyone else because of how important it is to me.

I’m not thinking that I’ve finally reached him or anything. I just want to know how strong I’ve gotten with this magic.

“What’s wrong? Just hurry up, Lloyd.”

“Are you ready over there…?”

“Heh, are you worried about me? —Just stop irritating me so much.”

“…”

Luke directed a clear anger towards me. Just that was enough to send a shiver through my body like my heart was being squeezed and my hair was standing on end.

I can’t lie to myself. I’ve come to accept it from the bottom of my heart that… I can’t beat this guy.

—Haha!

He’s so cool. Strong people are so cool!

This academy is really simple and nice.

The strong are revered. Even I, an idiot, can understand this simplicity. It’s comfortable here.

“Let’s go?”

“Yeah, come.”

I lost to that ice girl.

She’s a terrible person. Knowing that I had confidence in my magic’s firepower, she twisted me down with some simple ice magic.

Just firing my flames endlessly wasn’t enough to beat her.

I had admitted that I was inferior to the ice girl.

But not for so long.

I hadn’t given up on getting revenge with my firepower, but I thought maybe I should explore other ways as well.

Moreover, just by blasting away my magic I won’t be able to reach Luke, who is way above my league.

So I made this magic.

To a point, not to the surface.

Instead of spreading my magic, I concentrated my magic into one point and released it.

── “Flash of Flames”

A very thin flame flew straight towards Luke at an incredible speed, trying to burn him to ashes.

This magic wasn’t meant for widespread destruction but was created to break through a single point or a thick wall.

Luke’s dark magic absorbs everything. However, there should be a limit to the amount of magical power that can be absorbed at once.

──”Barrier of Darkness”

Luke deployed a defensive magic. My flames clashed with Luke’s darkness and pierced through it, grazing his cheek.

“…Wonderful.”

“H-Haha… Yessss!!!”

I couldn’t help but raise my fist.

I did it!! Damn, I’m so happy… My flames pierced through Luke’s defense!!

After breaking through the barrier, the magic had considerably weakened. I still couldn’t concentrate my magical power perfectly. There were countless issues to be addressed!!

Still, this was a big step!

“Hmm, I see. You focused your magic on a single point. Good magic. But density is what matters.”

“As expected! To understand all that from just one hit—”

” —Let’s link it with ‘magic sense’, remove some conventional magic barriers, narrow down the range, and create a high-density barrier. Kuku, this can also be applied to ‘Blessing of Darkness’.”

“… Huh?”

At first I had no idea what Luke was talking about.

“Now, let’s do it again.”

“…W-What do you mean—”

“Cast the same magic again.”

“… Okay.”

Though I was confused, I obeyed. I have to follow those stronger than myself.

Though it was just a little, my magic certainly reached Luke… or so I thought.

── “Flash of Flames”

──”Barrier of Darkness”

He casted the same magic as before. Yet, the result was entirely different.

My “Flash of Flames” disappeared, swallowed by the darkness.

“… Ta-ha.”

What’s that?

For some reason, it made me laugh.

On the first day, I thought Luke was a monster when I saw his magic. .

..Apparently, my perception was still naive.

Is my effort something that Luke can even just surpass in such an instant ……?

“Haha… Hahahaha!! You’re amazing, after all!!”

Ah… how cool.

That unmatched power that won’t allow any rivals!!

Damn, that’s so cool, dammit!!

But, I truly think… I shouldn’t aim for this guy.

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

“…Thank you. I’ll ask you again.”

“Yeah, it was a wonderful magic.”

After leaving the magic training grounds, I parted ways with Lloyd.

Kuku, it was still rough around the edges, but it was really good magic.

He really does have something good. I don’t think it’s inferior to Alice or Mia’s.

However, it was boring.

Magic in general is certainly deep, but most of its things can be done too easily.

Above all, there is no maneuvering like a sword in magic battles. That blood-pumping maneuvering.

Well, this is because my attribute is “dark” and I can nullify most magic.

But I still think the sword is better… hmm?

“…!?”

While walking and thinking about such things, I felt someone’s gaze. When I turned around, our eyes met, and she hurriedly left as if to escape from my sight.

A girl with purple hair. I feel like I’ve seen her before. Maybe there was such a girl in the same year as me.

… Nevertheless, it’s unpleasant. What’s with those eyes of pity?

“Good work! Luke!”

I was called out from a different direction.

When I looked, it was my recent source of trouble, Porupon.

“…”

“Hey, wait!”

I felt a similar annoyance to Abel from this guy. He followed me even though I was ignoring him. Disgusting.

That day we talked in my room.

This prince said something crazy like making him a pawn. Of course, I refused… Or so I thought.

However, this guy who is bad at giving up has been coming to me constantly since that day…

… No, I’m somewhat at fault too.

I asked him what he would do if he became king out of a slight interest.

“Thanks for listening to me! First, I plan to start by purging many incompetent nobles, while considering a moderate line that maintains the functions of the country. I don’t know how many years it will take, but I can’t realize any of the policies I’m considering in the true sense unless this country becomes united. —At first, I think ruling by ‘fear’ will be sufficient.”

Porupon replied gleefully.

He uttered “purging” as if it were an ordinary daily conversation.

Incompetent nobles would be stripped of their titles and there would be no mercy for those who opposed. In short, that was what it meant.

The pure and utter coldness that could not be imagined from this appearance was a little amusing, and I couldn’t help but be impressed.

… But this was not good. This was the cause that had increased his persistence.

“… haah.”

“What’s wrong, Luke? You look tired.”

“…”

Actually, it’s not that simple.

First, overwhelming military power that no one can resist is necessary. For that, the pro-royal faction needs to have even greater power, and it’s unclear how long it will take, as this guy says.

Even so, his heart, like a cold blade that could kill anyone without hesitation for the sake of the country, is a little interesting… That’s what I thought.

Perhaps he sensed something from my attitude. He started to follow me around.

“… haah.”

“Are you really okay, Luke? You seem quite tired. Maybe you need a pawn like me? Then you wouldn’t get so tired…”

…No, it’s your fault I’m tired, you idiot.

“Oh, by the way! She’ll be returning soon from the Magic Division training, she’s currently ranked first. You know who I’m talking about, right?”

“…”

“Well, she’s Eleonora, the legitimate daughter of the Godwin family.”

“… huh?”

—Eleonora… you say?

＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋＋

“Come again tomorrow, Canis-san! Ferris-chan!”

“Aiyo~! It was delicious again today! See you later!”

“Thanks for the treat.”

A tall man called Canis.

A petite girl called Ferris.

What they have in common is that they both wear turbans.

“Tahaha, I ate a lot today~!”

“…”

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Ferris. You look down.”

“…”

“Hmm, you seem to be thinking about something difficult again.”

“… Nothing has progressed since that day. Nothing at all.”

“We’re making good progress.”

“Where?”

“We’ve learned that our ‘target’ is not just a magician, but also a great swordsman, right? This information is of great value, even though it is not yet known for sure.”

“…”

“Geez, don’t make that scary face…”

At that moment, Canis saw a man wearing a black hood disappearing into an alley.

From his gait and especially his atmosphere, he immediately knew that he was a fellow professional.

However, it had nothing to do with them. They should have ignored it, but…

“Tonight, we’ll secure the ‘darkness.'”

“Understood.”

Their excellent hearing caught the conversation. Therefore, the matter became something that could not be ignored.

It was easy to imagine what they mean by ‘darkness.’ Still they had to make sure first if it was what they thought it was.

“Ferris.”

“Yeah. I heard. We should check.”

“Yes, but you must follow my instructions. You understand?”

“… I know.”

With these words, Canis and Ferris disappeared melting into the darkness.