The Daybreak Volume 2 Chapter 8

I sat at my desk in my quiet room and glared at the stationary laid out before me. It was work that I'd had to undertake only recently, and, to be honest, I was pretty bad at it.

I dragged the pen across the blank white page and wrote two lines, but by the time I had reached the end it had smudged and was difficult to read.

Personally, I thought that the contents of the letter were at least somewhat decent, but who could say for sure?

I looked behind me to find that Alfred, who was in charge of taking care of me, was standing in wait with a gentle look on his face like always.

He had completely hidden his rough demeanor from earlier back inside himself, so I, too, had no choice but to pretend that nothing had ever happened. I didn't want to reawaken the beast by accidently asking something that I shouldn't.

And so, instead of trying to avoid the matter entirely, I simple decided to rely on him again while wearing a normal look on my face.

"Could you please read this for me, Alfred?"

I gave him my letter so he could revise it for me. I was a j.a.panese person who wasn't great with foreign languages to begin with. I had no problem keeping up with conversation, but I didn't have the confidence that I wouldn't make a mistake and accidentally come off as rude in writing.

"Then I'll borrow it for a bit."

His eyes ran across the page for a brief while before he stopped at the address, which I had re-written multiple times over in particular.

"Is this a letter to Major General Laval to decline his invitation?"

"Yes."

"I thought that you already declined his invitation earlier?"

"I did. But I suppose he's really taken a lot of interest in me, as he sent me yet another invitation to partic.i.p.ate in a military drill."

"……He's in Harbel, in the east, yes? That place is rather special. It might interest you to go there at least once, you know? Barias Road stretches all the way to Harbel, so I believe you'll find that getting there is easier than the distance may suggest."

"You know quite a lot about it. Have you been there before, Alfred?"

"Not personally, no, but I'm acquainted with Major General Laval and I had the chance to ask him about his home base at Harbel when we last met."

"Is that so?"

I suppose that a warrior as skilled as Alfred would be well-known even throughout the military.

Alfred looked a little troubled as I mused about how surprised I was about this unexpected connection that I had to the Major General.

"You don't intend to accept his invitation, do you?"

"No. Not for now, at least. Did you want me to?"

"……If possible, yes. I owe him a favor."

I crossed my arms and fell into thought as I looked down at the floor. The east of this kingdom. It was a land I had never seen before.

I was actually interested in it because I had never been there before, but there was another reason that kept be from ever stepping foot in the east.

My teacher seemed to have special feelings regarding the east.

Back when my teacher had still been alive a long time ago. There had been a time when travelers from the east had visited us because they were in need of a magician.

My teacher never treated travelers any differently than the villagers, but he had chased the travelers away in an unpleasant manner that one time.

I a.s.sumed that my teacher had visited the east once at some point, based off of some of the tools and materials he had in his possession.

I figured that he had some bad memories of the place because he had acted so emotionally and had decided that, if that was the case, then I didn't want to head there either.

A knock echoed throughout the room as I weighed the options of going or not going in my mind.

"Come in."

When I gave my permission, Ricardo stepped into the room quietly with his brows furrowed and with a rigid look on his face.

He was wearing his blindingly white knight's uniform as he bowed in a manner so polite that it was ill-befitting of a servant, but the storms taking hold of his heart still managed to peek through his visage.

"What is it? —you have such a scary look on your face."

"I obtained some information that I had to tell you about……"

Had something bad happened? I urged him to continue.

"A "Hero" has apparently appeared in Harbel, to the east."

There's a hero in Harbel now? Certainly, there was good reason for a hero to have appeared there too.

Still, heroes didn't just appear that easily. Or, perhaps heroes are more frivolous than I'd thought they were?

"……I wonder if they're popular these days. Heroes, that is."

"No."

Ricardo's mouth twisted in a way that seemed to suggest that he was loathe to even speak of it as he explained the situation.

"He is shamelessly claiming to be the "Hero of Hedalion"."

Well that's…wow.

I didn't have the self-awareness about the fact that I was being impersonated to be angry and was taken aback instead.

I had been prepared for the fact that I was essentially selling out my name. But I would have never pretended to be someone else when the lie was one that could be readily exposed.

I posed Ricardo a question, thinking it would be fine to let things slide if it wasn't too bad.

"How bad is it?"

"It's not something that can be overlooked. There are already people he's managed to deceive. He's been talking big about how he was promised a place among the ranks of the court magicians in the future, and he's been receiving invitations to events in your name."

In that case, my reputation could drop before I knew it. It was a pain in the a.s.s, but I would have to deal with him.

It wasn't that I was making light of the situation, but there was a man who was far more indignant about the situation than I, the person who was actually being impersonated, while I was merely shocked by the information.

Ricardo criticized the impersonator quietly in a frozen voice like ice that was devoid of any warmth.

"His actions are both brazen and so incredibly, endlessly stupid. How imprudent it was for him to steal another's glory and drink from a poison of his own making. He's a sinner who ought to be condemned for his crimes."

If this supposed Hero of Harbel was here with us right now, he would have frozen solid the moment Ricardo's cerulean eyes landed on him.

Then, in a voice so sharp it seemed to pierce through the heart better than ten-thousand insults could, Ricardo expressed his heartfelt disappointment and said,

"……He's incorrigible."

His words were more than enough to make me imagine him swinging down his sword without even a moment's hesitation.

I cleared my throat, unsettled by the coldness that had taken hold of the room, and retrieved my letter from Alfred's hands.

I crumpled it up, feeling empty now that the strenuous efforts I had suffered to write it had now been rendered useless, and tossed it in the trash bin.

"I just received an invitation too, so I'll head for Harbel. Alfred, could I ask you be my guide?"

"But of course."

"I'll have to write another letter. Ricardo, please take care of things here while I'm gone."

Ricardo, who worked in the capital, could not leave it as readily as he pleased.

He could probably make it happen if he absolutely had to, but there was no reason to force him to come with me since Alfred was acquainted with the person who had invited me over.

Though, I couldn't deny that the prospect of having Ricardo with me had its appeals.

Ricardo nodded, though he was unable to hide the fact that he was frustrated about not being able to take care of this himself.

"……Understood."

I smiled wryly at how Ricardo had been unable to hide his feelings and said,

"It'll be all right."

It'll be all right. I won't let your Hero be tainted. Ricardo understood my thoughts and fell into a silent bow.

What a happy and rea.s.suring thing it was to have someone who's heart moved for you more than your own heart did.

I treasured Ricardo for it and wanted to answer to his every expectation.

Yes. That's good enough. I mustn't be clouded in my feelings for him.

I had already decided……that I would love him as family.

I took a deep breath. My heart returned to the calm and gentle state that it was normally in. I felt that things would be okay. I could still move forward as I have been.

However, while my state of mind had stabilized on one hand, a touch of uneasiness that I couldn't clearly express with words brushed upon me whenever I saw the extreme att.i.tude he would let show from time to time.

*

I saw a stone wall as soon as we got off the carriage.

The fortress, which seemed to be buried within the forest green, was not one single large construction, as most fortresses were, but was a set of three medium-sized fortresses that functioned together as one.

This made it difficult to see with the naked eye from afar, and you could only tell where the buildings were located if you were close by.

"We've arrived. This is Fort Harbel,"

said Alfred, who had climbed down from the carriage while carrying two people's worth of luggage, as he looked up at the stone wall.

We eventually ran into some soldiers standing guard at the entrance when we continued along it.

There was a man in his prime who looked as rough as a boulder with a large scar running down the right side of his face standing in between the guards in an imposing pose. I saw that the decorations on his military uniform indicated that he was a major general and immediately bowed to him.

"It's nice to meet you. Am I correct in a.s.suming you're Major General Laval?"

"Indeed, I am! Thank you so much for traveling all the way here from so far away, Sir Glark."

Major General Laval laughed heartily with his teeth barred as he exchanged greetings with me.

Then, he narrowed his eyes and called out to Alfred, who was standing quietly behind me like a tree, when he saw him.

"It's been a while, Alfred! Have you been well?"

"Yes. I'm glad to see that you've been doing well too, Sir Laval."

"I see, I see."

Major General Laval pat Alfred on the shoulder in a friendly manner before gesturing us to head inside, perhaps because he felt the guards watching us.

"Let's head on inside."

The Major General led us into the fortress.

I hurried in after him so I wouldn't be left behind and saw the solid stone structure of the building and the soldiers inside.

There was a soldier sprawled out across a sofa without his jackets or shoes, perhaps because he was on break.

There was also another soldier standing in front of the armory who seemed to be chatting happily away with his friend and fellow soldier. Yet another soldier simply walked in and out of the armory without any inspection.

I ended up staring at them without really meaning to, and Major General Laval facepalmed when he noticed what I was looking at.

"What the h.e.l.l are you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds doing?!"

The blood drained from the soldier's faces as they saw the demonic look on the Major General's face after he'd yelled at them and they quickly straightened themselves up and froze up like stiff dolls.

That was all Major General Laval did for now and he simply continued along his way, perhaps either because he was satisfied by their response or because he had decided to punish them later.

We had only been walking for a little bit, but I could not help but feel that there was a lack of tension in the air.

Perhaps I shouldn't compare this place to the frontlines that I had been at, but was it really all right for a fortress to be this lax?

The Major General led us into a room in a corner of the building and we sat down in a couple of chairs that had been placed around a simple desk.

"Really, thanks for coming all the way out here. You coming here will liven up the men and help keep our camp at peace! After all, we're pretty low on morale here! Actually, we're just low on morale, period!"

Major General Laval's frustrations were more than apparent in the first words he said after he opened his mouth to speak. He continued,

"It's embarra.s.sing to say this in person, but the soldiers aren't aware enough of the fact that this fortress' location is pretty important. After all……'that thing' lives here."

"The Monster of Harbel, was it?"

Alfred supplemented the Major General's words. The Monster of Harbel was something that was always mentioned alongside Harbel without fail, and everyone who lived in the kingdom knew about it.

"Indeed. That's why everyone forgets to be wary of Heliot even though we're so close to the enemy border."

People learned what fear was when they saw its gigantic body, and they sensed their own fate when they looked into its red eyes.

The infamous monster hailed as such lived close to this land.

It could control the wind, and it had already destroyed more villages than could be counted on one hand.

The damage it brought about was spread evenly across both Rolights and Heliot. It was also why this land was relatively safe.

Everyone knew that the monster attacked relentlessly, so much so that it was despair-inducing, once it caught sight of a human.

"But there's been rumors that a few people from Heliot have smuggled into the kingdom from here. We can't ever let down our guard."

"I see."

I recalled the attackers that had intruded Ricardo's manor previously as I responded.

Certainly, I could see why this land was considered a strategic location.

"Incidentally, if I may digress a little, I heard the rumor that there was a "Hero" here at Harbel. Do you know anything about this?"

"Hmmm……. Yes, I do recall hearing something about a so-called "Hero"."

Major General Laval stroked his chin as he searched through his memory and continued,

"He hasn't made his way to the military yet, but he seems to have been currying favor with other people of influence in the area. Well, he'll probably be exposed for his lies now that you're here, Sir Glark."

"I wonder if it'll really be that simple."

"Someone recognized by Lord Aegarbel came visiting from the capital. I'm sure that this one fact alone will help make things simpler than you think they'll be, Sir Glark. Countryside rumors run their course in but a day. Wouldn't the fake have run away by tomorrow morning?"

"I hope you're right."

A duke's name was useful in times like this. I was glad that I had brought my fountainpen with the Aegarbel crest on it here with me. I smiled wryly as I remembered how reluctant Graham had looked when he had given it me.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing —I was simply laughing at something I remembered. Please excuse me."

Major General Laval narrowed his eyes and looked delighted.

"Speaking of remembering things, Alfred. I'd never have thought that you'd be working like this. It's been four years since we last met, right? I didn't think you'd ever settle down in any one place when I met you while we were exterminating the bandits on Mount Daria."

Alfred looked troubled as he scratched his head.

"Well, I simply felt like it."

"Hmmm…"

It looked like the Major General was having fun. I listened in on their conversation, interested to hear about Alfred's past.

"You exterminated bandits?"

"That we did. The leader of the bandits decided to make a base at Mount Daria, and things got worse from there. There were about eighty of them at one point, I think? Once we looked into things, we found that a lot of them were ex-military, so it was pretty hard to take them down. We had the mercenary unit act as a decoy to draw away their attention. ……But then…"

Alfred looked down as if he was uncomfortable about something as he listened to Major General Laval's story. The Major General continued with an impish look on his face when he noticed.

"By the time things were over, we found that the mercenary unit, which was only supposed to be a decoy, had actually subjugated most of the bandits. Jeez, they completely stole the achievement from us!"

It wasn't commendable to act against the plan in a military operation. The military wasn't naïve enough to simply let things go just because the subjugation had been successful in the end.

Alfred opened his mouth in resignation when he saw the worry on my face.

"……Please, let me elaborate. We were caught in a pincer ambush between the bandits we lured and their leader. They caught us off guard. Things ended up the way they did because we fought back in desperation."

Apparently, the bandits had had the better plan. It must've been an extremely dangerous situation. It was something that had happened a while ago, but my stomach still dropped from hearing about it nonetheless.

I'd always considered Alfred to be strong, but I was impressed all over again after hearing what he'd actually been through in the past.

I was sure that there had been minimal casualties among the soldiers and the mercenaries who had been subjugating the bandits, considering that they were talking about it so lightly like this. Alfred had managed to take down seven to eight people in just a short amount of time during the surprise attack earlier, so just how many bandits had he defeated back then?

"The fact that your unit wasn't annihilated is the scary thing about you! I'm sure the bandits' leader's busy regretting the fact that he ever targeted you in h.e.l.l."

Major General Laval laughed merrily about the scene of carnage he had witnessed like it was a funny story. He continued,

"You were covered in blood and your eyes were as sharp as blades. But then, the only thing you said after the fighting was over was, "Will I get paid more for this?" I gave you as much as you wanted! I don't have the courage to turn down a demon of a man like you when you ask for the money you earned."

"Didn't you strictly warn me not to ever side with any enemy nations? The look on your face was much more demonic than mine, Sir Laval. And, just as you advised, I've mostly only been taking requests in Rolights."

"Wahaha!"

It sounded like quite the dangerous warning, but the two people in question were talking together like nothing was wrong. I suppose they must really get along well.

Apparently, Major General Laval and recognized Alfred for his strength and had made it so that it was easier for him to work in Rolights while pulling a few strings to make sure that he would never go Heliot.

A low rumbled resounded just as Alfred began looking troubled.

"Quiet,"

the Major General, who was the quickest to grasp the situation, instructed, so I fell silent and observed him because I didn't know what was going on.

The noise paused a few times but didn't show any signs of letting up for good.

The things that were on top of the Major General's desk began trembling audibly because of the noise and oscillations that were coming from outside.

Major General Laval stood up and calmly peeked out the window.

I'd only just realized that I couldn't hear anything other than this eerie noise.

I didn't hear the birds chirping or any people moving about —it was like everything that lived stopped acting alive out of fear.

Major General Laval looked relieved once he had finished confirming something and told us to stand by.

The noise died down after a little while and I heard people talking outside the room again.

"That was the Monster's cry just now. We hear it from time to time. We have a lookout posted at all times who'll raise a flag if it gets too close to the fortress. It didn't sound that close this time, but it'd probably be best to hide under a few trees or something if you hear it again."

"Did you look out the window to check if the flag was raised?"

"Indeed! Make sure the Monster never sees you, Sir Glark. It's an essential habit that you'll need to pick up for the duration of your stay here."

"I'll keep that in mind."

I turned toward the window myself, but I didn't find anything that even resembled the monster's shadow.

There was a conspicuously vibrant blue flag that was standing on top of one of the fortress' towers.

"Is that the flag?"

"Blue means it's safe. Yellow means the monster's close. And red means danger. Please keep the sound of your breathing to a minimum when the flag's yellow."

"And what if it's red?"

"At that point, I suppose there's nothing that can be done but to steel yourself."

Unlike the simple tone of his voice, he had a serious look on his face that betrayed no trace of frivolousness.

Things had more or less returned to normal outside, but the remains of the pressure that the Monster's eerie cry had brought about lingered inside of me.

*

It was fine and all that the Major General had asked me to teach the soldiers something while I was here, but I was more troubled as for what I should teach than I had been back when I was still at the capital.

I was not a military instructor and was basically a complete layman when it came to battle tactics, and neither was I particularly skilled at the sword or in the handling of other such weapons or tools.

There was too much of a difference in our respective skills for me to teach them magic, and it was tacitly understood that no one would teach their spells to anyone who wasn't their disciple anyway.

And so, I decided that talking about my personal experiences on the frontlines and telling them about basic hygiene management, which was still underdeveloped in this world, was my safest bet.

As for the results of my choice……from what I could tell as I looked down form the pedestal, it looked like it hadn't been a complete failure.

That being said, I wouldn't be able to answer specific questions because I wasn't an expert on the subject, so I brought things to a close before we could start a Q&A session.

"……Then, I'll leave things off here. Thank you for listening."

I quickly turned away from the cla.s.sroom full of soldiers, bowed, and exited into the hallway.

"Please wait a minute!"

I cowardly pretended not to hear the voice trying to stop me. I did stop moving for a moment, but immediately walked away.

I saw that Alfred was following after me with our luggage from a short distance away.

I knew that I was being rude to the soldiers. Still, I really wanted them to forgive me on this one.

I speed-walked, no, I actually started running a little down the hallway so the footsteps coming after me wouldn't catch up, but there were only more soldiers waiting for me at the end of the corridor.

They quickly stood in front of me, rendering any resistance form my part useless, cut off my few remaining escape routes, and surrounded me in a blink of an eye.

"Sir Glark! Please tell us more about stanching!

"Please tell us more about the futuristic weapons you mentioned, Sir Glark!"

"Could you tell us more about contradictions you mentioned about the fundamentals of magic? Will it be possible for us to use magic in the future too?"

"There's something personal I'd like to ask you about the Battle of the Hedalion Woodlands……"

I let their various questions in one ear and out the other as I strongly regretted my choice of subject matter.

I was awkward to begin with, so there was no way I would be able to dodge their questions with any semblance of dexterity.

I had managed to speak about something that piqued their interests, but my clumsy, hole-ridden explanation had resulted in this barrage.

They were all large in build and were not cute at all, but their eyes were glistening like those of schoolboys.

Dangit! Like h.e.l.l I'll let myself be moved by those puppy eyes!

I had never intended to speak about hygiene management, which was a new concept to this world, to begin with —much less in a lecture setting that I wasn't good at dealing with. I had tried to cut things off at just the right time so I could trick them into thinking I didn't have any more to say on the subject, and I had failed miserably.

I decided to change the subject and show them a certain thing that I had brought along with me so I wouldn't end up making the same mistake twice.

"Right now…"

I started, as I raised a finger for all of them to see. The commotion around me died down for a moment because of my sudden action and words.

"I'm thinking of trying out an experiment on a little something that I've been working on. Could anyone please show me to somewhere that's wide and open?"

The only way to make starved wild beasts look away from the food sitting in front of them was to throw them yet another piece of bait.

They fell for it hook, line, and sinker, just as I'd hoped.

"Please let us watch your experiment!"

"The practice field is open today!"

they said, before they started to run off with such enthuse that they nearly left me behind.

"……I'm so glad I brought it with me."

"I'm sure they're excited to watch. Not many people come by here to visit, after all,"

Alfred said as he smiled wryly. I knew that it couldn't be helped, but I still couldn't get used to it.

I found myself in an open field that was a little way from the fortress when I followed after the soldiers, relieved that I had escaped an interrogation. There weren't any trees or anything else that would get in the way.

I looked at Alfred and signaled to him to put down our luggage. I unwrapped a special something that had been wrapped up in cloth to unveil something that looked like a large boomerang.

"This……I've never seen one shaped like that before, but is it a glider?"

"Yes."

One of the soldiers who was watching quickly and correctly guessed what it was.

I had remodeled the glider that the magician who had attacked me before had used. There weren't many chances to get your hands on something as rare as a glider. It was a once in a lifetime chance, so I let my curiosity run wild and played with the material to my heart's content.

"Conventional gliders need to be carried on your back. This means that you need to start off at a certain height to take off and you need to use a lot of magic to create winds strong enough to stabilize the aircraft once it's in flight,"

I said as I stepped onto my improved glider and fixed my legs into position. I continued,

"But, with this shape, it's possible to take off from the ground and it's easier to change your speed by using the wind."

There were demerits to it as well, of course, but I purposefully neglected to tell them about it.

Not only did not aircraft not stabilize in the air unless it was going a certain speed, but it was also extremely difficult to maintain your balance on it.

How many times had I gotten myself hurt just to get on this thing properly? I suppose you could also say that I had continued my efforts regardless because this was the fruit of my hobbies.

"Please step back. ……I'm taking off."

I wound a piece of cloth in my mouth and checked to see that people had stepped away before I began circulating magic through both my body and the glider.

I had circulated magic through my body simply because I didn't have the raw muscular strength needed to ride the glider.

The glider and I shot forward, flattening the gra.s.s in our path, at a speed that made it difficult to breathe the moment I heard the wind roaring.

I would probably fall off the glider, which had kicked off from the ground as if the wind itself were its legs, if I didn't steer the aircraft using the handle I had installed with all of my might.

I arrived at the end of the practice field in a blink of an eye as I clung tightly to the aircraft like it was a rampaging horse.

I evaded the trees that were closing in on me by shifting my body weight, changed directions, and headed back in the direction I had come.

I slowed down and forced myself into a rolling stop far away from where my spectators were. I always ended up hitting myself when I landed, and it hurt quite a bit. I should probably add wheels to it later.

The soldiers ran up to me excitedly as I was thinking about this.

It was the probably the strange admiration for fast objects that all boys seemed to share that was at work here.

"This is the glider I've been working on. It takes some time to get used to, so I don't think it'll be easy to have soldiers use it on the battlefield, but, as you've seen, it lets you move quickly from one place to another."

I stepped away from the glider, and the soldiers crowded around it and began voicing their opinions about it like a bunch of children who had been given a new toy.

"This would be useful in relaying messages, wouldn't it? Besides, gliders were originally used for scouting purposes."

"Where did that burst of wind come from……? May I touch it?"

"Go on ahead."

I had brought it with me to use as a topic for conversation because I was bad at making friendly talk.

I was more than happy that they were so interested in it, and it more than fulfilled my original objectives for bringing it here.

I smiled as I watched them talk about practical applications for the glider and whether it could be ma.s.s produced.

I was standing a little way from the soldiers when I saw someone walking up to me in the corner of my eye. I had been smiling this entire time, but unlike me, they were glaring at me with hatred in their eyes without a shred of goodwill to be seen.

I was surprised when I observed this stranger and quickly discerned who they were in an instant.

This man, who wasn't hiding his malice toward me, looked like a boy of small stature and was dressed like a magician.

Alfred quietly moved in front of me and became as a wall in between the stranger and me.

Major General Laval was watching us with his armed crossed from a short distance away.

I didn't know if Alfred and brought him over of if the Major General had come of his own accord……but I was probably being tested.

The magician had reddish brown hair and eyes —meaning that he looked quite similar to me.

It was more than possible that people would mistake him for me if they didn't already know me well.

"I came out all the way here because I heard that a famous magician was dropping by……but you look a lot like me, don't you? Are you copying my looks because you wanted to be like me? Shall I sign my name on your robe for you or something?"

The magician sneered at me and spat out purposefully provocative words.

I ended up smiling villainously back at him before I could stop myself.

"Haha, sorry, but I have absolutely no idea who you are. I don't need your signature. It'd be annoying to have to wash my robes of that later."

I noticed how quiet things had gotten and looked around to find that everyone around me had fallen silent and was paying upmost attention to our exchange.

The magician raised his voice to draw more attention to himself, as though to proclaim that he was the real star of the show.

"I beg your pardon. Then, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Halka Glark. Some people know me as a Hero. You are free to call me that as well."

"What a coincidence. My name is also Halka Glark. You're a Hero, you say? In that case, shall I call you the "Hero of Harbel" or something? I'm sure anyone who defeats the monster here has the right to be called as such. Though, I don't think I've heard of anyone managing to achieve such a feat while I was at the capital……?"

"You're wrong. I'm the "Hero of Hedalion"!"

the magician exclaimed with his hand on his chest as his face grew flush with excitement.

He looked rather comical in my eyes. How dare he be so brazen about it when the actual person was standing right in front of him?

Well, he had purposefully come out here himself, so I'm sure he had made his preparations well in advance.

"……Then why are you here? I hear that you're being received rather well around these parts. There's no reason for you be here —not when there are so many people who are bending backwards just to see you in the capital. Like all the people who fought with you at Hedalion."

He grew angrier and retorted back when I suggested that he was unable to show himself before those who knew what the real hero looked like.

"They're sucking up to me because they know I'm going to become a court magician one day! I was just about to head on over the capital soon enough."

I glanced at the magician's hands and neck in such an obvious manner that there was no way he'd miss what I was doing.

"The veins on your wrist are p.r.o.nounced and the bones seem rather large……it's almost like you shrunk down an adult's hands to a smaller size. And isn't your Adam's apple just a little too low? It's almost like you're just pretending to be a child. Oh, my apologies. I seem to have gotten off topic."

Then, once I was done pointing out how poorly done his disguise, which he probably wasn't even all that used to wearing, was, I snorted and said,

"Now then. ……You're going to be a court magician? You?"

A few things would be easier if my opponent lost himself in anger just because of a little scolding.

In a low voice bursting with bloodl.u.s.t, he said,

"……You'll regret this. I can easily make the skies burn red like it's nothing."

"Oh……? In that case, please do show me. How strong are you?"

"Now you've said it!"

The magician took long strides toward the center of the practice field and kicked away the spectators who had gathered around us.

"Out of my way! Move, if you don't want to die, that is!"

Just as I began wondering what on earth he was up to, he raised his hands toward the heavens and began refining his magic.

The people he kicked away realized that he was about to use magic and quickly ran into the forest in a panic.

"……Explode!"

A large burst of light, so bright that I had to cover my eyes, erupted the moment he shouted.

The spell that he had released in the skies had exploded in a ball of red.

The explosive sound that followed made my eardrums ring and made my flesh quiver, making my entire being imagine how tremendously powerful the explosion had been. The large flames that lingered in the sky were a mix of red and yellow, and one glance was enough to make it obvious that the spell had been extremely strong.

A few people's legs had given out from under them as they stared at the magician. His spell had been strong enough that it was easy to imagine how overwhelmingly powerful it was. He then began laughing loudly, perhaps because he had thought that he had won our little game, and declared,

"How's that?! My light of destruction! I am the true Hero!"

I heard someone gulp. That was how dead silent everyone was. It was possible that some people may have started doubting me.

But, when I heard the magician's declaration……I ignored what everyone else was doing and began laughing out loud.

"Hahahahahahaha! And here I was wondering what you were going to do! Is that all?"

"What do you mean……is that all!?"

The magician was bewildered, likely because I was acting in a way that he had never imagined I would. I learned just how petty I was as I person when I found that I was so exasperated and so relieved that I couldn't stop laughing.

"Indeed. It was quite the fancy spell. But I can't give you full marks for it. To think you decided to confront me with such child's play. Major General Laval, do you mind if I borrow your practice field for a bit?"

I saw the Major General nod in approval from short distance away.

Now that I had his permission, I began refining my own magic within a certain range of allowance. Alfred led everyone away from me. It could be said that he had set the range for my spell.

"Explode."

I mimicked the magician's words and detonated my spell a safe distance away.

A second roar and burst of light enveloped the fortress.

And, more importantly, the blast that resulted from the explosion created so much pressure that it pushed the air out of everyone's lungs and made it hard to breathe for a moment.

The results were obvious when you compared the two spells. The magician's lies were fully exposed now. The branches of any trees too close to the center of the explosion broke off pitifully, and the gra.s.ses were flattened in an arc pointing away from it.

"You only created an illusion using light and sound. That's why there was no blast of wind."

The reason he had cast his spell in the air was probably because he knew that his explosion wouldn't leave any marks on the ground.

The magician paled and stood where he was, unable to retort.

It was certainly true that his illusion had been well-crafted, and even some other magicians may have fallen for it.

If but only for this one difference, which was impossible to understand until you physically experienced a true explosion for yourself.

"But even if you did happen to stir up a wind. What of it? Are you trying to say that any magician who can use the same spells should also be given the honor of being called a hero? ……How ridiculous."

"Shut up!"

The magician raised his voice as if he was trying to drown out my words with his. He had finally been pressed into a corner and was glaring at me with a sneer on his face.

I saw in his eyes that he held the dangerous belief that he could make his lies real by getting rid of me.

Just as I realized that the magician was in a battle stance, he swiftly conjured fireb.a.l.l.s in his hands and threw them at me.

But then, Alfred, who had been standing right next to me all this time, drew his sword and mowed down the two fireb.a.l.l.s that had come flying at me. The fireb.a.l.l.s lost momentum the moment they were cut and were extinguished like a flame that had been blown out.

The magician didn't so much a flinch and conjured up a bunch of fireb.a.l.l.s at once this time around. There were probably thirty of them in total. It was like a sticky spell jam-packed with bloodl.u.s.t.

There were obviously a lot more fireb.a.l.l.s than a normal magician could have created. The soldiers gulped as they saw this, realizing that they might not get out of this one unscathed.

Feeling that the scales had tipped from the mood in the air, the magician proudly said,

"Haha! Get down on your knees and apologize for making a fool out of me. I'll stop if you ask me nicely!"

To be honest, I didn't have the confidence I could handle so many fireb.a.l.l.s at once. I displayed the full extent of my powers best when using strategies that outwitted my opponent. I didn't have much experience fighting my enemies head on.

But, I couldn't let my lack of confidence be noticed by the soldiers around me, either. I desperately began thinking about how I should respond when Alfred casually threw a wink at me.

My heart regained its composure when I saw the edges of his lips curling up into a smile.

It'll be okay. I have the strongest mercenary here by my side.

Alfred purposefully took his time readjusting the grip on his sword in a show of composure and took a step toward the magician.

"This is nothing. Even I, Lord Halka's guard, can handle something like this."

The magician flushed red with fury and mercilessly threw the floating b.a.l.l.s of fire at him.

The fireb.a.l.l.s rushed at him with the swiftness of a falcon, and any normal man would have died on the spot, unable to escape.

But Alfred parried all of the fireb.a.l.l.s with complete ease.

He extinguished two with one swing of his sword and four with the next. He never so much suffered a burn, and no fireb.a.l.l.s had made their way to me.

His superhuman prowess would not have been possible if not for his extremely high level of skill, so much so that his blade left behind trails of light in the air, and the speed of his swings, which were so fast that you could have thought that his sword was made from paper.

I saw that the soldiers, who had only been paying attention me to up until now, were stiffening up in surprise at the sight of how skilled Alfred truly was.

"What's next?"

The magician, whose confidence had finally crumbled into pieces, sank down on the ground at Alfred's words.

That spell just now had probably been his trump card. He had lost the will to fight because it had been broken apart so easily.

The soldiers who had been surrounding us grasped that things had come to an end and secured the magician.

The magician was tied up and dragged away with no means to oppose the many strong young men who apprehended him.

"……Thank you."

I thanked Alfred in a whisper so no one else could hear, and he returned me a gentle smile as he sheathed his sword.

"Rely on me. I'm strong enough to support you."

It had lasted for just one moment while everyone around us was busy arresting the magician. The look Alfred normally wore vanished from his face and he looked at me as a single man. The sight of him stole my gaze away.

But it was quickly hidden away again, and he donned the mask of my guard once more and fell back behind me.

……How troubling.

I had been made to see just how charming of a person he was with my own eyes. I felt like I was about to realize that I hadn't been able to keep my feelings from being swayed by him, so I lowered my eyes and told myself otherwise.

Then, it had happened just as the soldiers around us had begun to relax themselves, unbeknownst to the fact that I had been at the disadvantage during the entire encounter.

A disquieting roar that we had not predicted at all rumbled across the earth.

"d.a.m.n it, hide!"

Everyone ran toward the trees for their lives and hid, just as Major General Laval, who was the first to understand what was going on, ordered. I felt my back grow stiff as my instincts as a living being kicked in when I heard the already loud roaring grow ever closer.

Something was approaching us from the skies. It was the first time in my life encountering something so ma.s.sive.

The pallid faces of the soldiers around me made me realize that this didn't normally happen in this area. What I perceived wasn't some kind of natural calamity, but the presence of a living creature with feelings of its own.

……And there was only possible creature I could think of, considering where I was.

The Red-Eyed Kanaukaleid.

The despicable monster that had slaughtered so many people was drawing closer to us even now. But the amplitude of the ground's rumbling made me feel as though it was still quite some distance away.

We stayed there quietly, so quietly that it seemed like we were even trying to hide the sound of our beating hearts, and crouched down like we were one with the flora. The Monster was large, but it was coming toward us rather slowly.

And, finally, the sound of its wings beating against the wind pa.s.sed over us a little while later.

It sent down a blast of air with every beat. Fortunately, though, we did not hear anymore of its h.e.l.lish cries.

For an instant, I thought that I had seen a burning red eye in between the leaves of the trees I was hiding under.

I stood my ground as I felt like I would be blown away and glared at the heavens. Eventually, the wind died down and the noise went farther away just as quickly as it had approached.

Silence had returned to the practice field so quickly that it almost felt like everything had simply been a dream.

Thank goodness the Monster didn't get too close to us. It was said to react rather extremely toward anything that looked even vaguely human. Everyone who lived here was strictly taught how to act when the Monster was nearby, but one misstep today could have led to a ma.s.sive quant.i.ty of death.

I stood there in a daze for a short while because of this sudden event before Major General Laval, who had walked up to my side without me realizing it, and began talking to me.

"No ordinary power could draw the monster all the way out here. Was that the spell that destroyed the hole the enemy made in the fortress?!"

"It was fundamentally the same spell. Though I did do my best to limit how strong it was……. Perhaps I overdid it. I didn't think this would happen."

"Hahah, I see. Still, it was good motivation for my soldiers."

It was only after he had pointed it out that I realized the soldiers were looking at me with something else in addition to admiration in their eyes.

It looked like they had begun to fear me. I had definitely overdone it.

"Looks like they'll be putting some effort into training now."

"……Is that so?"

It looked like the soldiers were in for a bit of trouble for a while. While I did think it was only natural that they would have to make up for taking it easy up until now, I also didn't know how to feel about the fact that I had almost caused a serious disaster.

There were still some problems left that needed to be taken care of, but for now I had accomplished what I had come here to do.

I left that place in a hurry as I recalled the face of the person who was waiting for me at the capital.