I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me. - Chapter 9
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- I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me.
- Chapter 9 - Changes in the forest.
For my own good, I have to stay away from Her Highness.
That was the resolution I made after forgetting her name once.
To that end, I wasted no time returning to my office after my morning duties. I avoided the courtyard during my breaks. In my desperation, I even activated Short-Range Advanced Magic─Invisibility whenever I had to walk inside the royal palace.
I moved while considering as many possibilities as I could. Since my mana levels are considerably higher than average, I didn’t have to worry about running out. The only real danger to my mana was the pledge activating itself again.
Ultimately, it paid off: although I saw Her Highness several times from afar, nothing came of it.
Furthermore, she no longer stared at me randomly. Rather, she looked kind of lonely… Seeing her in that state made me feel apologetic. But I couldn’t afford to risk depleting my mana and losing my ability to fight in an emergency.
As long as I was bound by the pledge, avoiding the royal family was in my best interest.
“…It hurts.”
But ignoring her like this… My chest ached uncomfortably. I had never tried to avoid anyone before.
Milena-san giggled when she saw me brooding over my problems.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Sorry. That’s quite a gloomy face you’re wearing. It’s a new sight to see.”
Milena-san put a hand to her mouth and picked up a pile of documents on the desk in the lounge.
“What I mean is, all of the people in this department are outstanding magicians, right? Maybe it’s because they’re talented, but there are a lot of impulsive kids here. Compared to them, you’re surprisingly in touch with your emotions, Raize.”
“Isn’t this normal? Avoiding people isn’t exactly enjoyable.”
I didn’t think I was especially good-natured or anything, but I generally tried not to offend or hurt others.
A subtle expression flickered over Milena-san’s face.
“What?”
“No, you’re kind and humble. But in my opinion, there’s something else going on here.”
“What is it?”
“It’s best if you find out for yourself… although I’m not sure if you will.”
“Huh?”
Milena-san ignored my questioning look and handed me the documents. The thick pile of papers was tied together with string to prevent it from falling apart.
“What’s this?”
“It’s from yesterday’s executive meeting. As you may know, the number of demons in the outskirts of the royal capital has increased considerably.”
“I had a feeling.”
Every time I was on the roof of the annex, targeting the demons outside the capital borders, I suspected that my job was taking longer than before. Maybe I can get a raise if I petition. I made a mental note to ask later. I couldn’t have my workload increasing this much without any sort of compensation.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“It’s simple. I want you to go with Arina to investigate the outskirts in person. If you figure out what’s going on, you can move at your own discretion.”
“Hold on, isn’t this a job for the Kingdom Knights?”
“We want someone more powerful to go.”
I frowned. I had a lot of questions, but I couldn’t complain. I didn’t have the right nor the achievements to doubt the decisions of my seniors. Nevertheless, there were many things I would rather do than spend my evening in the forest.
“But is it really fine to send me? I’m a fish out of water in short-range battles.”
“That’s not true, I know you can still fight at close range to some extent. But if you’re worried, just let Arina guard you. You can focus on the demons you detect in advance.”
“…All right, then. I’ll head out tonight.”
“Why tonight?”
She probably expected me to go while it was still light out. And in fact I would, if I were alone. But I’m working with Arina-san here.
“She always naps during the day, so she’s more active when it’s dark. It’s pretty clear that she’s stronger, too, based on the mock battles.”
“Oh, that girl’s a night owl… but are you okay with that? Aren’t demons also more active at night?”
“It’s fine. I get stronger too. I’ll finish them all.”
“…Sounds good.”
Milena-san smiled wryly.
I still didn’t know how to interpret the look on her face.
***
“There certainly are a lot of them.”
“That’s why we’re looking into it. I didn’t expect this many of them.”
The sun was setting, and Arina-san and I were investigating the forest bordering the royal capital. The surrounding trees fostered a dense, eerie atmosphere. When the wind blew, the thick foliage rustled noisily.
In a brief moment of respite, I looked around and poked at a demon corpse lying at my feet with a branch.
“Quantity aside, I don’t notice anything strange yet. They’re the same as the ones I shoot from the palace.”
“Still, this number is surprising. It’s been less than an hour since we entered the forest, and we’ve killed at least a hundred.”
“At least we’ll be recovering plenty of magical stones.”
Usually, you would see maybe ten in an hour, even at night. But we had encountered ten times that. No matter how you looked at it, this was abnormal.
—Almost as abnormal as the speed at which Arina-san took care of them. With just a snap of her fingers, a mountain of demons would be pulled underground, never to return.
“That’s an amazing spell.”
“Of course. It’s strong, and it’s also possession magic, so only I can use it.”
With pride, Arina-san tapped her toes against the ground. A nearby tree immediately began to decay, and the sound of its collapse echoed through the woods.
Possession magic is magic that only a particular individual can use. It monopolizes the invocation formula. Compared to universal or general-purpose magic, possession magic is far more powerful. There are very few magicians on this continent capable of using it, and they’re heavily sought after.
“Earth Attribute Mid-Range Superior Magic—Earth Interference. There has to be a limit, right? You’re literally manipulating the earth itself and everything connected to it.”
“This is the power of possession magic. Wouldn’t it be bad if anyone else could use this spell?”
“If you’re ever after me, I’ll be sure to surrender quickly.”
I can’t possibly win. To begin with, I wasn’t a close-range fighter.
They say that beautiful roses have thorns. Well, Arina-san was certainly beautiful, and she’d be a real thorn in the side in a fight—Oh.
“What’s wrong?”
“There are five demons about four hundred meters away. You’ve been doing most of the work so far, so let me take care of them.”
I drew my rapier and pointed it straight ahead. At this distance, I didn’t even need visual enhancement. Needles of lightning, each about the size of an index finger, manifested in the air around me.
“Thunder Needle of Death.”
They shot in the direction I was pointing faster than eyes could follow. The needles struck their target, the magic stones at the heart of each demon. Bullseye.
“They’re dead. I don’t see any others around, so let’s move on. I’d like to return before midnight.”
I led the way ahead of Arina-san.
“…You’re dreadful too, you know? If it came down to a fight, I think I’d be beaten before I could even get close.”
I heard her mutter something behind me, but I couldn’t hear it over the rustling of the trees.
With my rapier sheathed, we forged deeper into the dark forest.