CH 402

Party Member

Since it’s a an enemy on whom Esta’s magic won’t work, we have no choice but to depend on Ralf to somehow handle this Drake.

Since they were both defence focused fighters, I have a feeling it’ll be a very drawn out battle but…….

Just like I told Ralf himself, I am confident that Ralf will end up as the stronger one in the end.

From here on, I need Ralf to focus entirely on Drake and build strategies against him so he can definitely win.

“More like those two are the only skills that are known right? Man, even the skills themselves show the difference in our jobs!”

“Ralf, you have a bunch of great skills too though. [Divine Protection] and [Guardian’s Roar] are both good……….especially [Divine Strike]. If you master using that skill, there really is no one you won’t be able to defeat Ralf.”

“Yes, IF I master that skill that is! That’s the biggest issue I have! Anyway, I more or less got everything about Drake! He’s the one that I’ll have to take on!”

“Then, let’s move on to the next person. This one is Klaus’ party’s rear guard, a [Necromancer]. The name is Earl Lowton Elphas. Unlike Drake, Elphas is a magic user that comes from an extremely famous noble house situated in the capital itself. Both his parents are famous magicians as well, and even his grandparents were one. Apparently the entire family is famous for producing great magicians in every generation.”

Normally, the most famous magicians do tend to come from already great and famous households.

Elphas was no exception to that as he was from a noble house that lived in the most posh district in the capital.

My own family was technically a famous household in Dezir as well but, in the end, ours was just a countryside noble house and nothing more.

Compared to the Elphas family, we wouldn’t even be considered fit to compare with them.

“I wonder if he’s similar to Mielle-san as well? Didn’t she hail from a famous line of magicians as well?”

“Well according to Mielle herself, her own Etex family was nobler, more famous and stronger than the Elphas. But seeing the current situation, I have a feeling she was a tad bit biased and Elphas is clearly a head above her right now.”

It’s because she’s been turned into a pawn of the princess that often acts alone, I can’t help but see her as someone a bit weak.

But, her ability was no joke as the [Sage] was almost as high rank of a job as a [Sword God].

If I hadn’t made up that letter, there’s a good chance our enemy would have been Mielle and not Elphas.

“Which means, Mielle could have also been our enemy if it was up to Klaus eh?! Damn, I’m glad that didn’t happen! Maybe because we also adventured together but, I really don’t want to have to fight and kill Mielle!”

“I feel like the premise of your fears is a bit odd but……..well, I agree. Anyway, let’s not digress. We were talking about Elphas.”

If Mielle was our enemy, she wouldn’t be adventuring with us in the first place so he’d never even feel that way for her.

But I don’t want to waste time explaining all that to him so I quickly returned the talk to our main topic.

“As you’d expect from a household full of magicians, Elphas had been learning magic since he was a small child, and by the time he was 5, he could already control mana perfectly. By the time he was 12, even before he has received heaven’s blessing, he could use all kinds of basic level magic. A true prodigy, as they say. Living life on the rails laid out by his successful parents, his prodigious talent bloomed even further when at 16 he awoke to the job of a [Necromancer]. Even Charlotte called him a hard working genius.”

“He couldn’t be more different from me huh. Someone who was always dealt a good hand in life—–am I wrong to call him that?”

Esta was correct in calling him that.

Born a winner, he even got handed and even stronger job on top of that, and then got invited to the [Sword God]’s team as well. Someone who has never known defeat of any kind.

“I’d say so. I doubt he even knows what the word defeat even means. A perfect human. He’s sure to continue climbing the ladder of life beside the hero………if we didn’t exist.”

Yes, if we didn’t exist.

He is of course very strong, you don’t keep winning if you’re not but, it also means he’s never faced true loss either.

Esta and Elphas were basically as opposite as two people could be. And it’s not wrong to say that Esta had mostly lost in her life until very recently.

And yet, she continued to desperately struggle, fight for life, and gained strength step by step against all the odds. That’s why I know, just how strong Esta actually is.

“If we didn’t exist…….you say?”

“Indeed. Esta, you won’t lose against a guy like that. You learned how to work hard in and of itself first, you skipped sleep to slowly get to the point where you are right now. I trust you to show him that same level of grit and willpower when fighting him.”

“——-fufu, you’re right! I’ve seen what true talent can achieve so I got a bit scared but…….Chris-san, your words have me looking forward to our battle now. Let me show you the pride of a ‘former’ loser.”

Esta’s eyes glittered with confidence as she reassuringly proclaimed that.

Once again, I realize that what a complete coincidence it was that I happened to run into two of the best comrades I could have found…………perhaps, I was the luckiest one of them all.