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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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“Your Excellency, I do not think we can go on.”
“Stand down.”
“The knights are exhausted, and Your Excellency’s mana has reached its limit. Even if we reduce the number of monsters any further, we cannot advance.”
“I said, get out of the line of fire.”
“Your Excellency!”
Hiss. The flames died down.
The head of the Yuchsilla family, Siilin Yuchsilla, was a 4-star mage. While her power was a sufficient help, it was not enough to turn the tide of the battle.
It had already been a week since they began their march after gathering their forces. They still hadn’t escaped the mountainous region along the road.
The Posoti mine was still a long way off.
“How many days will it take to recover?”
Her voice was tight, her jaw clenched.
“Forgive my impertinence, but at this rate, it will take a minimum of three months just to retake Posoti. And that is separate from whether we can get the mines running again—”
“Damn it.”
For the first time since having a daughter, and again since becoming the family head. She had tried to cut back, but when do things in the world ever go as planned.
It was a curse she had held back for over a decade. Once it broke through, it poured out without restraint.
“Hey, you bastards. Do you call yourselves knights after acting like this? Are you afraid of monsters? Is the pride you always speak of as small as the thing hanging between your legs?”
Her sweat-drenched crimson hair shook violently. The butler could not continue.
Siilin Yuchsilla became the family head at the age of twenty. She was too young to bear the absurd burden of a marquisate.
Nevertheless, she survived even in the jaws of snakes and toads. She tore their tongues and split their mouths to get here.
“What is this?”
She had ambition, and she had pride.
“What, is this, I say.”
Thump.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.
Her vision was blurry from overusing her mana. She knew well that she shouldn’t show weakness, but she didn’t even have the strength to stand.
The ground was littered with monster carcasses.
The stench of decay was overpowering.
The reason for their sluggish advance was that if she lay on her back, her head would touch the pile of carcasses from yesterday.
She couldn’t hire mercenaries with loose lips. If it weren’t for the loyal knights of the family, Yuchsilla’s shame would be revealed to the entire world.
In truth, she was afraid.
Perhaps even now, this pathetic true self was being exposed.
Perhaps it was already too late.
“…Your Excellency.”
“What, you bastard!”
“Did you, call for reinforcements?”
“What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?”
The butler’s wrinkled finger pointed far beyond the carcasses. Amidst the thick fog of the mountainous region, a shadow was approaching.
This was the heart of the Yuchsilla territory. She had not been informed of such a number of personnel.
“Enemies, is it.”
Ha, a dry laugh escaped her.
If it had leaked, that too would not be strange. It was already known to the public that Posoti had been restored, so this was a secret expedition.
Officially, she was not here. So even if she were attacked here, there would be no one to suspect.
Yuchsilla’s enemies were not few.
For an imperial politician to survive for a long time also meant making that many enemies.
“We must reorganize our ranks—”
“That’s enough. Stay down.”
Siilin raised a hand to stop the knights who were trying to get up hastily.
“What’s the point of fighting? It’s a dog’s death.”
The knights were exhausted from the week-long march. There was no chance of victory against a fully prepared enemy.
Even in such a situation, they thought of getting up to fight; they were foolishly loyal.
“You’ve all worked hard.”
So.
It ends so absurdly.
What, if I want to complain about how unfair it is, I’ll just have to do it in hell. I’m a sinful woman.
Siilin tossed her staff aside and walked forward. The wind blew.
“…”
But something was strange.
She had kept her eyes closed for a long time.
She had expected a rain of arrows, or her head to be chopped off, or something of the sort.
To take her prisoner after coming all this way?
“What are you doing?”
Huh.
It was a voice from a distant memory.
A heavy, hard, and condescending voice, yet one that strangely drew people in.
“A disgraceful expression, Siilin.”
She opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was the identity of the pitch-black things that had pierced through the fog.
They were flags.
A golden shield on a black background. That crest, which had no reason to be here, was.
“Aindarok…?”
“In the old days, I valued your pride. Now you’ve lost even that.”
Coltman, who had walked past Siilyn, bent down. Picking up the staff that had been thrown on the ground, Coltman dusted it off.
And when he turned back, he finally took out a single letter.
A letter stamped with the Yuchsilla seal.
The last letter she had sent recently was to her daughter who had entered Somerbadge.
“Why is that…”
“I understand the circumstances perfectly. I brought a company of the special forces. It was kept top secret, so no one knows.”
The Empire’s strongest firepower unit, the Special Forces.
Each and every one of them was a 5-star mage said to be able to wipe out a small village in half a day.
They were the heroes of today, who defended the Empire against the infamous monsters of the north.
And there were a hundred of them.
“If you want—”
“Help me.”
I don’t know. Let’s just say it first.
“I’ll do anything!”
“…You seem to be in quite a hurry. Very well.”
Putting the letter away, Coltman this time took out something round from his coat.
A video recording sphere. Even if the image isn’t visible, the voice remains.
“‘Anything’. I heard that clearly.”
“Put the video recording sphere down. I take back what I just said.”
Surprisingly, Coltman obediently handed the video recording sphere to Siilin.
When she took it, she realized it wasn’t even activated. Siilyn threw the video recording sphere at Coltman’s back.
It was the same in the old days. He was a guy who would pull countless silly pranks with that stoic face.
“Hey, you son of a bitch…”
I hate him to death.
Whether Siilin muttered in a tearful voice or not.
Coltman stretched his hand towards the sky. That was the signal.
In an instant, the wind gathered.
The earth let out a deep cry.
Piercing through the thick fog, dozens, hundreds of red and blue streaks of light soared high.
“We’ll negotiate in two days.”
From the arrival of the Aindarok family’s special forces, it took exactly three days for Yuchsilla to retake the three mines.
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“…Done.”
Stretching my stiff shoulders, I finally shot up from my seat. How long had I been sitting? My butt was about to go flat.
And then I shouted in relief.
“I’m screwed.”
I failed.
Failedfailedfailedfailedfailedfailed…
No, actually, it wasn’t a complete failure.
“「Will · Le Rife · Ver」”
Whoooosh!
The wind that had been tickling my palm soon disperses with a whoosh.
2-star magic, 「Wind Screen」.
The advantage was that since it wasn’t an offensive magic, I could practice it as much as I wanted in my room.
“What on earth is the problem.”
I could somehow reproduce up to the double chain form, but I just couldn’t do the solution, the deployment.
I’m confident in theory.
I already have eight notebooks stacked on my bookshelf. They are transcripts of the professors’ lectures, written down verbatim. Memorizing is just a matter of putting in the time.
The problem is the practical exam.
[1st Year Midterm Exam Content]
Practical
: Demonstrate 1 magic you are confident in.
Scoring by evaluation item (40 points total)
Magic Rank (4 points)
Understanding of Magic (12 points)
Completion of Magic (15 points)
Development of Magic (9 points)
A total of four criteria.
First, the rank. They are lenient with freshmen.
For 1st years, as long as it’s 2-star or higher, they give 3 points. In other words, it’s basically a base score.
There are no students, at least among those residing in the Tower of Truth, who can’t get that. If I can’t properly complete 「Wind Screen」, I’ll be the first. How glorious!
According to my plan, even if that happened, it wouldn’t have been a big problem.
However.
‘I will visit you myself as soon as the midterm exams are over.’
Coltman Aindarok.
A big shot who was supposed to appear in the eighth main episode, ‘Crisis of the Northern Bulwark,’ is coming to Somerbadge.
It was not intended at all during production, but Lockstryn remains in Somerbadge without any particular incident until right before the ending in two years.
Meaning, if I were the real Lockstryn, there would have been no problem. Because Lockstryn can use 3-star magic.
‘Anyway, as long as it’s 2-star, it should be fine.’
What if I’m not recognized?
It leads to a terrible development where I get dragged by the scruff of my neck by Coltman and return to the northern Aindarok territory.
The main stage of [Academy Somerbadge] is, of course, Somerbadge.
Most of the events that happen outside are the result of Somerbadge’s academic schedule.
The moment I leave these school grounds, a significant portion of my knowledge will likely become useless, and clearing the already difficult episodes will become infinitely more distant.
The time remaining is ten days.
“Isn’t there something like an epiphany.”
In cheap martial arts novels, they would often gain sudden enlightenment while just taking a walk.
I dragged my heavy feet and left the room. I wasn’t going far, just planning to take a lap around the 10th-floor garden.
“There’s no wind either… 「Will」”
I forced the wind to blow.
Cooling my heated head, looking down at the school grounds over the railing, reviewing the concepts I memorized during the day, and examining the beautifully blooming flowers in the garden…
Oh, what’s the name of this one.
It’s an orange flower.
“Sigh.”
It’s hopeless.
Instead of an epiphany, my head is just filled with more stray thoughts.
“Lockstryn!”
“Oh, hey. Hira.”
With my nose buried in the flowerbed, I just waved my hand lightly. We met so often that there was no need for grand greetings anymore.
This smells nice, though.
“Here, pant, you were! Haa.”
“Is something urgent?”
“It’s all, all thanks to you, Lockstryn. I don’t even know how to express it.”
Only then did I turn my head.
Her cheeks were flushed red, and her breathing was rough. With a hand on her chest, Hira looked incredibly happy.
But there shouldn’t be anything to be that happy about…
Thump, thump, thump.
“Hey, wait a minute—”
Whoosh!
Since I was squatting in front of the flowerbed, I couldn’t do anything about her embracing me. I just barely managed to keep my balance from falling over.
“Thank you. Thank you, really…”
“What’s going on?”
“Hic, sob.”
“Hey, don’t cry.”
Even though it was late afternoon, the sun was still up, so it wasn’t like there were no other students around. The gazes of the female students, in particular, were piercingly sharp.
Can you handle this? I’m not responsible.
I couldn’t just push her away while she was sobbing, so I just patted her back a few times until she calmed down.
She smelled similar.
“This.”
After a long time of consoling, Hira sniffled and took out a letter. This time, too, it was a letter stamped with the Yuchsilla seal.
No way.
I unfolded the letter, which was already damp from being tear-stained once.
[To my beloved daughter.
You saved Yuchsilla. All three mines have been returned to their rightful place, so by the time this letter arrives, they will probably be operating normally.]
It can’t be.
It was a hastily scribbled letter.
I know very well how Coltman treats letters from the capital. He considers even touching them to be disrespectful, so he doesn’t associate with them.
Furthermore, it was a reply from his pathetic son.
It would have been seen as a lame excuse, something that should have been burned, envelope and all.
Even if by some chance he read it, it would be meaningless. There is no reason for Aindarok to help a central politician.
But.
[Aindarok’s special forces came.]
My near-certain prediction was wrong.
Coltman Aindarok really did send reinforcements to the Yuchsilla territory.
Secretly, at the right time, with sufficient forces.
[He said it was at my son’s request, but I don’t know if that’s all there is to it. He’s such an unreadable fellow. But thanks to that, the contract compensation was nullified, and we were able to meet all the deliveries. It was also a good thing that we took this opportunity to root out the ones who were eating away at the family.]
“What, should I do.”
“…That’s great.”
“I didn’t do anything. I just shamelessly received everything. How can I ever repay this debt to you, Lockstryn.”
Don’t ask me.
I don’t know either.
Finally seeming to have calmed down, Hira slowly pulled away. Only by about a hand’s breadth, though.
Even after shedding so many tears, the overwhelming emotion was still present in her eyes as she looked up, seemingly embarrassed.
“I’m glad.”
I didn’t have a particular answer, so I wiped the tears from her cheeks with a handkerchief.
It didn’t mean much. Hira’s eyes quickly welled up with tears again, and I braced myself firmly so as not to fall over.
“Hwaaah!”
Anyway, that’s how I made a friend.
Unintentionally, a little early.
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