Absolutely Do Not Touch Eldmia Egga – Chapter 67

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Well, it wasn’t my business whether he fondled women’s buttocks or breasts as he pleased.

More than that, the student duels unfolding before my eyes were of greater interest.

The duels, which took place regardless of gender, were more intense than I had imagined.

No joke, they were at a level where even ordinary blue-rank adventurers wouldn’t stand a chance.

Seeing that some students could occasionally use aura, I wondered if they might be at red rank.

“How is it, Kingdom Knight? Are you satisfied with the Empire’s standards?” Etenera asked, constantly using the nickname he seemed to have made up himself.

I decided to ignore his attempts and just answered, knowing that responding to each one would only encourage him.

“Honestly, I’m surprised. I don’t know if it’s the difference in education methods, but they’re incredibly adept at responding to real combat situations. Imperial students would easily defeat even blue ranks.”

The dueling arena didn’t just create wounds or weapons, but even terrain.

It could generate all kinds of landscapes like swamps, snowy mountains, deserts, and so on.

I could see that the people inside were affected accordingly, albeit to a somewhat reduced degree.

Seeing that they could implement such advanced magical engineering even for students, the Empire truly lived up to its name.

“Oh, that’s quite a specific comparison. Does our Kingdom Knight have connections with adventurers?”

“I’m not actually a knight to begin with. I do adventurer work as part of my job. I think I might reach blue rank after the last request I completed before coming here.”

Looking at the incident alone, they might even give me red rank, but I didn’t dare hope for that much.

“Ooh. For someone who’s only 15, your experience is no joke. But does that mean you’re at a similar level to us?”

Etenera, true to his nature as a young man, seemed to enjoy comparing strengths.

I had no intention of getting caught up in that, so I just smiled.

“Who knows.”

We’d find out soon enough during the duels anyway, so what was the point in saying anything beforehand?

Etenera seemed to have thought the same, as he just laughed heartily without asking me any more questions.

Most of the duels were between mages and warriors.

Thanks to this, I was able to observe in detail how mages fought, something I had rarely seen since coming to this world.

The students, who were so skilled it was embarrassing to compare them to the occasional mages seen among adventurers, very adeptly used shortened incantations and spell storage to face the warriors.

Moreover, the range of spells they could use was so vast that it was rare to see students fighting in these ways.

Even experienced adventurer mages often stumbled over their incantations unless a warrior protected them at the frontline.

It seemed those guys really were novices after all.

Overall, the mages had a higher win rate, but among aura users, warriors dominated.

That was because there were only four aura users.

“What do you think? They’re considered the best in our grade, all noble lords. They’re all handsome men and beautiful women, so they’re very popular.”

While their faces were certainly good-looking and their attitudes before and after the duels suggested good character, I wasn’t sure if they were particularly beautiful or handsome, so I just nodded.

Their skills were just so-so, except for one.

Perhaps because they had awakened to aura early, their swordsmanship overall seemed a bit sloppy, which was a point of deduction.

“I’ve heard that nobles in the Empire awaken to aura a bit early. Maybe because of that, their swordsmanship seems slightly lacking.”

“Whoa, whoa. You’re suddenly coming in hard, Kingdom Knight!”

“Isn’t observing and commenting something anyone can do?”

As I cut off Etenera’s attempt to take the bait while joking around, he backed off, looking disappointed and licking his lips.

The more I looked at him, the funnier he seemed.

He must be here because he had both this kind of wit and skill, right?

“Well… now that you’ve got a sense of things, would the Marquis like to try it out?”

Gidley suggested casually after about half the students had finished their duels.

At that, Lagnis, who had been maintaining a somewhat friendly atmosphere among the female students, stepped forward and answered.

“Sounds good. It seems like it will be a very educational experience, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Lagnis had no real combat experience.

Even though I thought she might have gained some composure from the dramatic experience of being kidnapped mid-air, I couldn’t help but feel anxious inside.

After all, it would be a bit much to be one-sidedly beaten, even if it was just an illusion.

Of course, if Radnelbandes’ educational philosophy was based on practical experience as Gidley said, she must have been called talented after going through a lot of training over the past year or so…

“It’s making me nervous not having seen it firsthand.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“Just talking to myself. I’m also looking forward to seeing what the Marquis will show us, since I don’t know either.”

While pretending to be nonchalant, I watched Lagnis step onto the dueling arena with the feeling of a parent watching their child’s school performance.

Her appearance, with her hair now grown so long it was hard to find traces of her look in Ogwen, was tied up lightly, and she looked as agile as a warrior.

Her high-waisted leather pants that came up to her stomach, topped with a deep wine-colored shirt decorated with abundant white frills on the chest, matched her hair color so well that the male students’ gazes naturally drifted towards her shapely legs.

“Then, the Marquis’ opponent will be…”

“I’d like to do it.”

The owner of the confident and powerful voice was the noblewoman who had been offering her buttocks to the hero in a manner that didn’t match that voice.

If their eye levels had been similar, it might not have been so noticeable, but… since my eye level was different, it was blatantly obvious.

Well… I suppose it doesn’t matter if she’s confident about it, but still… it’s something.

Maybe it would be better to just call her a slag.

“Having heard much about Marquis Levien’s talent through the professor, I’d very much like to have a duel.”

“Hmm. Very well. Come up, Esselua.”

The slag with impressive long blonde hair reaching her thighs stepped onto the dueling arena with confident steps, and immediately bowed in a very familiar motion, adhering to etiquette.

No matter how much they say you shouldn’t judge a person by their appearance, it was a formality that really didn’t suit the woman who had just been having her buttocks fondled outdoors.

Following that, her weapon, manifested as an illusion, was clearly a magic wand.

It seemed they deliberately didn’t pair her with a warrior, considering her complete lack of practical experience.

Honestly, I was anxiously hoping she wouldn’t claim to be a warrior with that body that showed no hint of muscle, not to mention her enormous buttocks and breasts.

If she had been a warrior, something inside me would have surely shattered.

“I look forward to our match, Marquis.”

“Likewise, Esselua.”

After the noble greetings ended, the duel began at Gidley’s signal…

-Bang!

“Kyaa!”

…did it? Huh? Why is she flying?

As I watched the slag lightly flying through the air and falling outside the dueling arena with a dumbfounded expression, Gidley moved his gaping mouth to announce the end of the match.

“E-Esselua. Out of bounds.”

And as soon as he did, the students became noisy.

“Silent casting?!”

“Amazing! How clean! What was that magic just now?!”

“So it was true that she’s Radnelbandes’ prize student!”

“I heard she just came of age, how could she achieve such a feat!”

Unlike me who was stunned, all the students seemed to perfectly understand this sudden situation, cheering in an instant.

Why are only you guys excited?

Let me get excited too!

Why am I the only one not excited?

Why am I the only one who doesn’t know?

“Kingdom Knight! What is this? The Marquis is on a completely different level!”

“Ah, no. This is my first time seeing this too.”

Did something like air just explode with a sound, and the slag flew because of that impact?

And that without any incantation?

Is that even magic?

“A-Amazing! To perform such high-level calculations without a spell! I’ve never seen it before! I’m impressed!”

Even the slag who had been sent flying, far from being angry or frustrated, was climbing back onto the dueling arena with sparkling eyes, grabbing Lagnis’ hands and shaking them repeatedly.

If nothing else, her coolness was very appealing.

While having her hands vigorously shaken by the slag, Lagnis stood proudly, maintaining a gentle smile befitting a noble’s dignity.

Is this really the Lagnis I knew?

My heart swelled with pride.

“Thank you.”

She came down while accepting the praise matter-of-factly, without any words of modesty.

Of course, it was considered impolite to show weakness in duels between nobles, but still…

“Eldmia.”

It was a sudden call, but already in work mode, I naturally sprang forward and, following her gesture, bowed my head to bring my ear close.

“Fight the hero. And win.”

“Huh? What?”

Lagnis? The opponent is the hero, you know?

No matter how annoying his behavior might be and how well I’ve been doing, isn’t that a bit too much to ask?

Of course, I had mentioned earlier while talking to that guy that I was looking forward to it, and I was actually full of thoughts about fighting him anytime, but when you say it in such a commanding tone, it’s a bit pressuring, you know?

“Esselua said it, didn’t she? That she’d never seen it before. It means that regardless of the hero’s magical talent, his practical ability is below mine.”

As I naturally handed over the sword from my waist, acting as if she had called me to receive it, Lagnis patted my shoulder as if to encourage me, but her voice that flowed out was cold.

“Shouldn’t we teach that little brat that first impressions determine a lot of things?”

“But still, he’s the hero…”

“The atmosphere is like this because he’s not strong enough for the students to be in awe of him.”

“It could also be a backlash from being overwhelmingly stronger than them without any particular effort.”

“If that were the case, it would have shown.”

She seemed more angry than I had thought, but separately from that, she presented a logic that felt somewhat reasonable.

“More than that, isn’t he the same age as you or a year older…”

Seeing her face with only her eyes smiling while her pupils were frozen, I couldn’t bring myself to continue speaking, so I just closed my mouth and nodded.

What’s this? Give me back the Lagnis I knew.

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