Arafoo Kenja No Isekai Seikatsu Nikki Chapter 31

Zweit von Solisthea . A former student of a certain middle-aged magician uncle, and the eldest son of the House of the Duke of Solisthea, as well as its heir . He is well aware of that fact, and because of that, he’s diligent and serious in his studies .   

Currently, he’s partic.i.p.ating in his faction’s tactics a.s.sembly, that is to say, the Weissler faction .   However, he was feeling that the discussion happening in front of his eyes was far removed from reality .  

“Therefore, if we place the knights at this point, and spread out our magicians’ magic attacks, the enemy will be caught in a pincer a.s.sault . ”

“But, would that actually work? Since the enemy is also human, they would immediately see through such a simple tactic, in my opinion . ”

“And that’s exactly why it would be effective . You might ask ‘why are we using the knights for, then?’ Am I correct? Well, obviously as disposable p.a.w.ns!”

“Those guys would probably act taking into account their own exhaustion, don’t you think? It’s also a question of whether we can arrange our battle formations before that or not . ”

They’ve gathered to discuss a particular hypothetic case, and to design some kind of ‘simulation’ regarding the best way to attack and take by storm the enemy encampment, however, in this place there are only supposed to be personages with ample knowledge of military tactics, yet they were quibbling at each other over the smallest things . Moreover, although they are making plausible conjectures, none of them have experienced a real battle .  

“Zweit, what do you think about this?”

“Dio, we’re discussing tactics, right? In that case, shouldn’t we call the knights as well, given that they probably understand the battlefield better than any of us?”

As he said those words, the air of the room seemed to freeze . It’s not a secret that the current relations.h.i.+p between the Chivalric Order and magicians is like that of cats and dogs, so it’s unlikely that either side would accept such an invitation . To say nothing of the rest of the Weissler faction’s members, who believe in only trusting their own strength . His words could be taken as a grave insult to their pride .   

“Why do we have to invite the knights? They can’t do anything without our support in the first place . ”

“One can’t wage a war alone . There has to be a thorough back and forth during the tactics’ discussion between the many commanders we have . One person’s opinion should only be that, lest the battle progresses in a disadvantageous way . ”

“Yeah, I know, but it’s unlikely the knights will listen to us, you know?”

“Then, is there even a point in having these kinds of discussions here in the first place? No matter how much we try to devise strategies and the like, the knights will be the ones to execute them in an actual battle, and most importantly, we’re a.s.suming that the enemy’s movements are practically nonexistent . ”

“Really? I think they’re devising the strategy quite skillfully though . ”

Even his friend, Dio, wasn’t aware of this tactics discussion’s tremendous flaw . After returning from Far-flung forest, which is said to be the most dangerous place in the country, it seemed to Zweit that this debate was meaningless .

“Well then, let me ask this –Why are enemies and allies always evenly matched in military strength? Even equipment and supplies, and the number of soldiers? In the previous situation, we had an overwhelming advantage over the enemy . ”

“That’s… because war basically consists of ama.s.sing a military force equal to your enemy’s, right?”

“Dude… listen here, there’s no way such a convenient situation ever happens in the first place! Also, the number of soldiers available depends on things like the political situation and the time of the year, as well as the scale of the country, you know? Based on that, the strategy to be used might change in a drastic way . It’s highly unlikely to ever have a military force evenly matched to the enemy’s, and that they’ll also move according to how we want them to . ”

“Then, what’s your point? I get what you’re saying, but I’m not sure where you’re going with this . ”

“They’re not antic.i.p.ating the worst-case scenario . They a.s.sume from the start that we’re going to win and that the enemy will move according to their predictions . Does it really make sense to have this sort of discussion then?”

This was the current state of the Weissler faction . After all, they’re a gathering of graduate students that have never experienced something as h.e.l.lish as war, and thus they can’t imagine the worst-case scenario .

“So, how would you allocate the troops to face the enemy nation’s army, huh? Please enlighten us . ”

“Hmmm… Then, imagine if a widespread famine suddenly struck the neighboring country, the general prices of food will rise exponentially and people will eventually die because of it . Their army’s numbers will increase as a whole, and then they will invade our country to plunder its riches . Adding the populace into their military strength, that country’s total amount of soldiers would increase by… let’s say 10 times .  

And naturally, as it was a surprise attack, we wouldn’t be able to grasp the enemy army’s movements . ”

The surrounding students, who overheard Zweit and Dio’s conversation immediately kicked up a fuss after hearing the hypothetic enemy’s invasion plan . Until now, they’ve never considered an invasion force with ten times the numbers . Moreover, Zweit’s surprise tactics idea was equally as shocking .  

To sum it up, an invasion at the scale of a whole army will begin, and things like foodstuffs will immediately be plundered .

On top of such a terrible situation, no one could promptly create a plan to counter the hypothetic enemy .

“Preposterous! That’s just baseless speculation!!”

“Why is it ‘preposterous’? From the enemy nation’s point of view, it’s better to plunder the neighboring country than to let its people starve, and above all, they’ll be able to expand their territory .

Alliances are, after all, nothing more than words on a paper, that sort of thing can’t be trusted when push comes to shove . When that happens, the invaded countries will definitely be destroyed, wouldn’t you agree?”

“T-That’s…”

“So? How would you guys resolve this situation? While you make your petty complaints about my ideas the invasion continues, the people are killed and your property is seized . You’re required to make quick decisions and take immediate action . ”

They were unable to devise a suitable plan to beat Zweit’s enemy invasion scenario . They could only imagine a battle they were a.s.sured to win, and couldn’t come up with an emergency strategy on the spot . Namely, a strategy the a.s.sumes the worst-case scenario and practical application in a real battle .  

“By the way, I’d leave behind half of my soldiers to defend Fort Laos . I’d use other troops like knights and mercenaries to help evacuate the people from the battlefield while collecting and burning all the food we can find to starve the enemy at the same time . Thereupon, saving a large percentage of people . ”

“But that would make us lose the majority of our territory!!”

“The country wouldn’t be saved!”

“It would be incredibly difficult for the enemy to take Fort Laos . And because they would be starving at the same time, the war front will naturally have to be expanded for them to secure a supply line, which we will then be attacking every time a convoy is sent . Their country will fall to ruin before we even finish evacuating the people . ”

It wasn’t a strategy to win but to destroy the enemy nation . Their constant plundering would slow down the speed of their invasion, giving the defending side enough time to evacuate its citizens .  

In addition, because of the need to secure provisions for their soldiers, the invading side wouldn’t be able to disperse their forces, thus eliminating the need of having to face their whole army at once .   

And, to effectively implement said strategy, it would be required to have a solid grasp on the country’s information, and keep a military force that’s able to be deployed at any given time .  

Incidentally, in this hypothetic strategy, the magicians are sent to the frontlines to burn down the food supplies with their magic .

“What nonsense is this!? Why should we be on the frontlines!?”

“Burn down our food supplies to starve the enemy? Magicians on the frontlines? What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?”

“The knights are for carrying the oil and other supplies, right? Hahaha!”

“Do you think it’s possible to do that in case of an emergency? We’d be able to burn at most 10% of the supplies, don’t you think?”

“But even so, for knights to use magic is…”

“Oi, that’s like saying we don’t need magicians anymore, you know? If were knights to learn to use magic, there wouldn’t be a reason for us to exist . In the first place, magicians aren’t suitable to be sent to the frontlines . ”

Everyone was at a loss of words . Zweit’s hypothetical war scenario was the worst conceivable thing for them, requiring them to be quick-witted and to swiftly take action to beat it .  

If were the King’s command, the magicians wouldn’t be able to avoid being deployed on the frontlines, and also wouldn’t be able to use the simplistic tactics they’ve been using up until now .  

“War is the most detrimental policy to have, but do you really think you’ll be able to stay in the backlines launching small magics attacks forever? How naive you guys are! In some situations, you can expect to starve, and for the sake of things like preserving your stamina and securing food, all sorts of different abilities are needed .

But you guys already knew all this, right? Having these sorts of discussions, again, do they actually matter? Even though there are more ways of waging a war other than simply pus.h.i.+ng our troops forward towards the enemy . What do you think about this area here? we can completely cut off and isolate the enemy’s forces, for example . ”

It was an acceptable opinion . A graduate student, who’s never experienced a real war, can’t imagine such a disastrous situation .  

War is like a living creature, and victory or defeat is only clear once one side has killed the other .  

(*T . N: I didn’t really get what the author meant; 戦争は生き物であり、勝敗がハッキリ分かれる殺し合いなのだ。)

The people tasked with the country’s protection couldn’t help being anxious at their future prospects .

“ Zweit! Those are quite the self-important words you’re spewing for someone who hasn’t experienced a real war . ”

“That’s true, I haven’t been in a war, but I have experienced real combat . When monsters destroyed our food supplies, we had to survive for four days… inside Far-flung forest . ”

“““!?”””

“At that time I realized… that you not only need the knowledge but also the skill and experience to survive in harsh conditions…”

It was a special kind of dreadfulness that people who haven’t experienced real combat wouldn’t understand . With that in mind, Zweit has been earnestly preparing to deal with such situations in the future .

“I understand that you’re trying to gain control of the Chivalric Order, but that’s impossible right now, isn’t it? And also, it’s true that since we’re only shooting magic from the back, we might hit our allies on the battlefield, but since they’re merely disposable p.a.w.ns, I don’t see why we should bestow them with more authority . ”

“You really said they were your disposable p.a.w.ns, right? You son of a b.i.t.c.h!?”

“They’re a disorderly mob that would have no other use than being an artillery battery . Because of that, they’ll probably only be a hindrance, will a knight that has learned magic truly be useful in a battle?  Besides… I wonder how many of our people will they really protect at the end of the day, don’t you think so?”

“Right! W-We can use powerful magic! Are you saying that we can’t even protect our own bodies!?”

“And when you can’t use magic to attack after exhausting your mana, or when it’s about to run out? You have to also think about a situation where you have to make do without magic potions, and where you won’t be able to obtain supplies . In the end, magicians who aren’t skilled in close-quarters combat will definitely end up dead . And actually, I would’ve died if a magician acquaintance of mine wasn’t there to rescue at that time . ”

“Then, as expected, magic is truly incredible!”

“That person was cleaving monsters in half only with his sword, you know? Despite being a magician too . He protected me by slas.h.i.+ng them left and right, and before we went to the forest, he even said ‘magicians without any proficiency in hand-to-hand combat are destined to die on the battlefield, you know?’”

“““・・・・・・・・・・・”””

No matter how much they discuss this impractical, imaginary case, chances are that reality would be completely different . Tactics are important, but it’s the humans themselves who are in charge of executing them, and there’s no way of successfully organizing a defensive formation when the different army units have no intention of cooperating with each other, to begin with .

It’s often the case to be isolated on the battlefield, with no possibility of maintaining constant and reliable communication with each other, and in addition, the inept implementation of poorly thought-out tactics is more than likely to amplify the damages to one’s own side .   

Zweit took the contents of all the precedent pseudo-tactics they had discussed so far, pointing out in detail every aspect that was flawed, and refuting all the plans the other graduate students made . His words thrashed their confidence from the roots by way of sound and logical arguments and counterarguments .  

In the end, the meeting lasted for three more hours .  

“I think it’s better to differentiate the magicians who fight on the battlefield from those who dedicate themselves to magical research . As things are today, only half-baked magicians are being formed, and there’s no way they’d be useful in a real war .

I’m not particularly criticizing the existence of the factions, you know? However, we also need to objectively reexamine our current situation . ”

“… Kuh… Even though you said you only real combat once… yet you’re acting all high and mighty . ”

(*T . N: I didn’t know how to translate it properly into English, but this ‘once’ implies one occurrence or experience in general, not that he only fought one time against one monster in particular . )

“Yeah, it might look that way from the point of view of you guys, but during this summer vacation, was there a time where your lives were truly in danger? Having to kill monster after monster… I experienced h.e.l.l during those four days .

We had to hunt to survive, but we encountered endless waves of monsters . Even after defeating one, there was another one following right behind it . The lookouts were changed every hour but still, everyone ended up beat up when a swarm of monsters appeared, rinse and repeat for four days .

It was supposed a week-long training camp, but I realized how lucky I was to survive after I returned back home . I experienced h.e.l.l and I started to wake up at the slightest noise at night . Only recently I’ve been able to sleep well . ”

“““・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・”””

It was a horrible event for him . He underwent a real battle only once, but in all honesty, it was a terribly hard and h.e.l.lish experience to go through . It’s not something students would experience first hand .  

It was more dangerous than monster hunting, which was the usual training method for the Chivalric Order, and even a single moment of carelessness could prove to be fatal .

“The previous training I went through really helped me out, you know? Thanks to it, I could keep my composure and carefully a.n.a.lyze the situation after I ran out of mana . I have pretty much experienced every situation . ”

He recalls the h.e.l.lish training that his mentor put him through . Without the combat training against the Golems with regenerative abilities, he wouldn’t be alive today . He made use of that experience inside Far-flung forest, and despite struggling, he could feel becoming stronger from it . And he also remembers the exhilarating sensation he was feeling before, on the last day, waiting for the enemies to come .

“Hmph! It’s true that a magician that has actual battle experience is valuable, but with the wide-range annihilation magic that our faction is currently researching, there’s no need to fear the likes of those commoners . ”

“That… Yes, that might be so, but have you managed to successfully develop it? For that kind of magic to be used by a single magician, they would have to process an enormous magic formula to activate it . And besides, a person with enough mana to do so probably doesn’t exist, to begin with . You should stop before turning your magicians into cripples . ”

“The h.e.l.l you know, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d! That magic formula is our faction’s masterpiece, I won’t stand for this mockery!”

“No, if you think calmly, it’s impossible to activate such a spell with the mana capacity of a human . And even if you could, how and where would you place such a ridiculously huge magic circle?”

“That is… It’s engraved into the brain, of course…”

“That’s impossible . There’s a limit on the number of spells a person can memorize, and said capacity will decrease faster depending on the density of the spell’s magic formula . You would have to increase your levels if you want to improve the capacity, and a magician that hasn’t experienced actual combat would also have a low mana capacity . At the very least they’d need a level over 1000 to use that kind of magic . Who would be able to use it?”

Their research of wide-range annihilation magic was flawed from its very foundations . The amount of mana a person needs to activate such a magic formula would be colossal, which again, it’s close to impossible, and even if for argument’s sake there was someone capable, as a prerequisite they would first need to have a magician with a level of over 1000 .

Even if they say that their research is not a futile endeavor, it will still end as a failure given that the theory itself is flawed . To begin with, the magic construction process of Zeros is fundamentally different .  

In his former world, he connected the gaming console with his homebuilt personal computer, using it as a dedicated server to compensate for the former’s lack of processing capacity . The magic could be used thanks to the processing power of the original master system, the supercomputer ‘Babel’, and because of that, the time and effort required to activate magic in this world would be several times higher than in j.a.pan .  

When he was reincarnated into this world, he was recreated using his in-game avatar as a base, and only the magic formulas already etched into his brain could be used, but to recreate them now, it would take a significant amount of work .

Up until now, the amount of information contained in the formula of an annihilation magic spell wasn’t something the human brain could withstand . Zeros’ annihilation magic incorporates a high-speed-processing-formula system into the spell’s own magic formula . That way, the user only has to point towards the enemy and pour in the necessary amount of mana to activate the formula . And as a matter of fact, in this world, it was impossible to create magic formulas made out of 0s and 1s . Only this middle-aged magician would be able to make something like that .

He made a formula processing system, which used the existing magic characters, and ran it on his computer . Subsequently, the high-speed processing CPU is tasked with transforming said characters into 0s and 1s and creating a system with an enormous processing power by repeating this process over and over . However, whether the person in question was willing to make it again was another story altogether .  

In short, there wasn’t a single human capable of using wide-range annihilation magic at this point in time other than Zeros .

Because Zweit had been observed this super high-cla.s.s, half-hearted magician from up close, he immediately realized how inexperienced the people in front of him were .

“Instead of clinging to something you don’t know if it will ever be useful, I think it’d be more useful to train and temper yourselves . ”

“You… This is an insult to my faction!”

“That’s not the case, I’m just saying that I’m the only magician currently capable to stand for this country . Saying treason this, betrayal that… What sort of authority do you have to declare that, Samtroll*?”

(*T . N:サムトロール[samutorouru]; Yeah, that’s this dude’s name . I have no clue if it’s supposed to be a pun or not . It kinda sounds like the city’s name tho サントール[santouru])

“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…!”

“You’re wrong about one thing . This is not ‘your’ faction, it’s ours . Get some self-awareness, this here is not your personal property, you know?” 

Samtroll’s stern face was reddened, and he was desperately trying to endure his rage . He was the second son of the House of the Marquess of Weissler and had the ambition of becoming the faction’s leader in the future . However, because of his hot-headed and belligerent personality, one couldn’t say he was a person with many virtues .  

He wanted to obtain control of the faction from the shadows, but he crashed against the wall known as the eldest son of the Duke of Solisthea .  

Originally, he was supposed to use his influence to strengthen the faction’s power, but he ended up wallowing in his self-conceitedness . He used various behind-the-scenes maneuvers to win Zweit over, but it all ended up as wasted time after this summer vacation since he emerged as a powerful rival .

He’s feeling impatient because, at this rate, the faction might be completely controlled by him .

“What good is a weak magician . Leave researching to the Saint-Germain faction . We should improve our own strength and organize our country’s domestic situation . That way, if there’s a war, we won’t be crushed . ”

“Are you saying we’re going to be defeated!? Aren’t you underestimating us a bit too much?”

“It’s a fact . Can you really say that, while we were fighting among ourselves for political power, other countries hadn’t been increasing their national power?”

Zweit calmly receives Samtroll’s glare . At this point, it was clear the difference in character .  

“I can’t leave the protection of this country to a man blinded by power . Samtroll, look at the reality of what you’re saying . The research on wide-range annihilation magic hasn’t even been completed and yet you’re drowning in these idealistic delusions . ”

“Son of a b.i.t.c.h, you’re trying to corrupt this Weissler faction! Besides! Aren’t you sucking up to the Solisthea faction!? Yeah, that’s exactly how it is!”

“Well, my ideals are almost the same, but it seems like my younger sister is going to gather all the attention and take the leading role in there, you know? I’m only trying to fulfill my duties as part of one of the four great n.o.ble families* . ”

(*T . N: 四大貴族; literally ‘four big/large n.o.bles’)

“Ugh…”

The House of Solisthea and the House of Weissler have different social standings, the former being direct descendants of a long line of aristocratic magicians, who separated from the royal family and were entrusted with the role of being the s.h.i.+eld of the country . Because of that, Zweit’s words would have the biggest influence between the two .  

Samtroll can’t speak against such a n.o.ble house . And more than anything, Zweit was in the right, and Samtroll’s words seemed to stem from his stubborn personality .  

“Well then, it seems it’s about time . I’ll return to the dormitory . ”

“Wait for me, Zweit . ”

Although they were part of a faction, it could be said that what they do is more closer to club activities . There was a rule that stated that when the time came to end the a.s.sembly, even if the debate was heated, they had to stop and return back to the dormitories . It truly gave off a student-like vibe .  

The graduate students began returning to the dormitories at the same time Zweit left . Only Samtroll and the Weissler House’s members were left behind .

“What happened? Why is he back to normal? …Buhlmite*, your magic is losing its effect . ”

(*T . N: ブレマイト[buremaito] yeah, I dunno if you guys have other name suggestions . The author’s naming sense is awful)

“With all due respect, it seems like he received a strong mental shock . My bloodline magic works by seizing the mind little by little, but someone with big mental fort.i.tude might be able to tear it apart . ”

“Are you saying that he woke up after returning to the Duke’s territory? Something was able to disturb his mind, huh…”

Bloodline magic is an inborn type of magic that is transmitted from parent to child in a family, however, their effects are not particularly powerful . Buhlmite’s bloodline magic brainwashes the target by continuously releasing mana while talking to them, gradually taking command of their mind .  

The main drawback of this magic is that it has no effect on strong magicians, and it’s highly likely that it would come undone on its own if the target receives a sizable mental shock .  

Also, if you don’t cast it over and over again, the mana inside the target’s body might also break the brainwas.h.i.+ng magic’s effects . There are other minor disadvantages, such as not knowing if the magic is currently working due to the sheer amount of time it takes to affect the mind .  

The invited Zweit to their faction to take advantage of the Ducal House’s power, spending many years brainwas.h.i.+ng him, but all their efforts seemed to have borne no fruits .  

The reason why the brainwas.h.i.+ng magic came undone lies within the combination of Zweit’s first love, attributed to the estrus period’s effects, also known as, ‘Cupid’s mischief’, and a certain Great Sage, who crushed his family’s heirloom magic with his bare hands, bringing about a great mental shock upon him . Furthermore, both his father and grandfather rebuked him, putting the final nail on the brainwas.h.i.+ng magic’s coffin .

Samtroll and his collaborators, however, could never have imagined that their whole plan came cras.h.i.+ng down because of a teenager’s first love .

In fact, the reason why Zweit became a useless, hot-headed son was due to their schemes . In addition, they’ve done the same thing to the rest of the students that belonged to the faction, but their minds were greatly shaken by Zweit .  

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean their brainwas.h.i.+ng came undone as well .

“Is it possible to brainwash him again?”

“It’s not . I tried doing it several times during the a.s.sembly, but it felt as if I was being played with . He’s terribly strong . ”

“s.h.i.+t! That f.u.c.king guy! He should’ve obediently accepted being brainwas.h.i.+ng…”

“It’s better to lay low for a while . It’s possible that he found out about us . ”

“In that case, the brainwas.h.i.+ng will be broken and we will lose our control over the people in power . ”

“The death penalty is the only thing awaiting us if we’re found out . We should not act rashly now . ”

Samtroll clicks his tongue in annoyance and leaves the meeting room . Their skillful scheming and manipulation up until now have changed into a situation where they can’t be careless for a single moment, due to the fear of being caught by the Ducal house and sentenced to death .

There seemed to be petty little villains everywhere you looked .

   ◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇　　◇

“That Bulhmite guy did something back there…”

“He did? But I didn’t sense anything…”

“Every time he talked, he somehow released mana towards me . It was probably some sort of psychic magic… What kind of thing would they have wanted to use at that time? Don’t tell me… brainwas.h.i.+ng magic?”

“No way! Using magic on other people here in the school is a crime . Why would they…”

“I have a solid guess . ”

In the meeting, only Samtroll’s ideas were never met with criticism . Zweit recalls that only the strategies he proposed were always accepted . Looking back at it, it was obviously strange .  

Normally, no matter how good a plan seems, there would always be someone against it, however, no one rebuked him . They were accepting all of his ideas as if it were the obvious thing to do .

“They might have brainwashed all the faction members, including me . ”

“Then, I was too!? I really can’t believe it…”

“The effectiveness is not particularly great . It’s a delayed effect type of magic that has to be repeatedly and constantly cast many times over to show effect . ” 

“How did you know that? I didn’t even notice I was cast magic on . ”

“Looking back at myself now, there were many times my behavior was strange . And every one of those times, those guys were near me . ”

“They wanted the power of the Duke’s house . And they used us for that purpose… That really p.i.s.ses me off!”

While suppressing their frustration, they headed towards the dormitories . Students who have achieved excellent grades are allowed to take time off their studies . And, Zweit is one of these special students that are allowed to freely leave the school to spend time on their individual researches .  

He was going to return to work on the a.s.signment given by his mentor .

“Zweit, there’s a place I want to stop by for a little while, is it alright?”

“It’s fine I guess, but where are you going?”

“Actually, there’s a girl I like . I really want to call out to her, but her maid-san is scary, you see . ”

“Ah…… How nice… Spring has come for you…”

Zweit’s love sorrows were still weighing on his heart .

The breath of spring has called for Dio and led him to the training grounds of the junior high section of the Academy . At this place, the figure of the younger students[kouhaitachi] shooting their spells at the magic resistant armors, could be seen .

“Oi, isn’t this the junior high section? Is she younger than you?”

“Aaahh… I saw her at the library by chance, and I was struck by lightning: ‘Ahh… What a beautiful girl’ is what I thought…”

“I-I see… and, who might this girl be?”

“Huh? She’s usually looking at the students practicing around this part though…”

“What? Is she a dropout or something?”

Zweit was a little reluctant at first until he saw his sister, Celestina, accompanied by her maid, Misuka, at that place .  

“Ugh! Why is that Misuka there! Oi!… ‘she’s usually accompanied by a scary maid,’ right? No way . ”

A bad feeling started to seep into his mind .  

“That girl, I tell you . She has this lovely blonde hair and…”

“I knew it! It’s my sister, isn’t it?”

“Zweit, we’re best friends, right?”

“Ah… Well, yeah I guess . ”

Dio squeezes Zweit hand with his own two hands .  

Looking from the outside, it was an extremely suspicious sight that made a section of the girls squeal with an enraptured expression .

“Please introduce me to her!!”

“Are you serious? You wanna get killed?”

“Eh? Well, that’s unexpected . I didn’t know you thought about your sister in that way…”

“No… It’s my grandfather…”

“The ‘Magician of the Purgatory’!?”

Zweit’s grandfather, Creston, had an unusual level of affection towards her, perhaps because he raised her alone . It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it’s a sort of affection that’s reaching the level of a perverted inclination .

There’s no doubt that he would turn Dio into an unrecognizable b.l.o.o.d.y lump of meat .

“But, how unusual . She’s joined the training this time . ”

“Ah… Well, a lot of things happened, so…”

He suspected that, until now, Celestina was content with just watching by the sidelines because of her inability to use magic .  

And now it was her turn to shoot magic at the targets .

“No way, we might not see her true ability… perhaps I could help her get stronger somehow . ”

“・・・・・・・・・・”

Inside the older brother’s mind, he was thinking ‘No, she might be a lot more excellent than you . Not even I would be able to help her now…’ But he swallowed those words .  

And then, Celestina cast a spell in front of the two . A small, yet bright ball of light is created on top of her palm .

Laughter is leaked from the surrounding students who did not understand the situation .

“That girl has no talent . This is my chance then…”

But, at that moment…

―――Dogoooonnnnnn!!

The magic-resistant armor was blown away, kicking up a cloud of dust . It was quite an unexpected sight .

Everyone is frozen still with their mouths hanging wide open… Except for one person .  

(She finally did it, huh? That little… Celestina, that was way too flashy! Reduce the power a little, will you!?)

Everyone at that place witnessed the moment the incompetent turned into the genius girl .

“That… That was 〖Fireball〗, right? But what’s with that power…?”

“Dio… That’s not 〖Fireball〗, it’s just the simple 〖Fire〗 spell . ”

“Hah!?”

He was utterly astonished at the ridiculous answer .  

“How in the world is that the 〖Fire〗 spell!? The power is orders of magnitude more superior!”

“No, to be precise, 〖Fireball〗 is basically the same spell, you know? In the first place, the only difference between the two is that the magic formula gathers the flames in the shape of a ball . ”

The power of the 〖Fire〗 spell will increase if the user manually gathers the flames into a spherical shape, though it would depend exclusively on their ability, without the need of relying on the magic formula of the 〖Fireball〗 magic .  

The levels of the skills magic control and magic manipulation will be significantly improved by not using the aforementioned formula .

〖Fireball〗 is an easy and powerful spell, but it can be said that its magic formula is detrimental to the development of a magician’s ability .

Well, in a sense, the 〖Fireball〗 spell truly fits its name*

(*T . N: maybe it’s some sort of pun? The spell is written in katakana but then it’s mentioned in kanji as 火球[kakyuu], literally, fireball . )

And Celestina reproduced said spell with the simple 〖Fire〗 magic . Though it came with a few bonuses that increased its power .  

“Is that really possible…? Isn’t she a genius? There’s no way someone like me could teach her something then…”

(Ahh… It certainly seems that your plan already failed . Celestina… How inconsiderate . )

Zweit looks pitifully at the dazed Dio, whose shoulders were trembling as if he had received a tremendous mental shock .

“…She’s an angel . ”

“Eh?”

“She seems indifferent, yet she has a neat and dignified appearance . She’s just like a magic angel . No, a G.o.ddess!”

“What the h.e.l.l!? Are you really that in love with her!?”

“Naturally! I’ll become a man worthy of her!”

Dio was burning in pa.s.sion .

Zweit superimposes his grandfather’s figure onto his best friend’s . Inside his mind, there were already several scenes of him being murdered by his grandfather, mainly him being burned to death by a certain family’s heirloom magic .

Somehow, he seemed to hear his grandfather’s voice saying ‘Yes, burn . Burn well!’ far off in the distance .

The pa.s.sionate Dio didn’t realize his life was about to be extinguished like a candle in the wind . The hands of the ‘Magician of the Purgatory’ will soon reach him .

Incidentally, Dio’s brainwas.h.i.+ng magic came undone at that time .  

The power of self-delusion was tremendous .

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