Vol 9 Chapter 12: Current Position

At such an unreasonable demand, my face twitches.

N-no matter what, I don’t have the confidence to face someone who might be the ‘strongest on the continent,’ a vanguard fighter.

I’m not a ‘swordsman’ but a ‘mage.’

I press my forehead… and ruffle my hair.

Ahhhhhh!!!!!

The girls shriek, but that’s not my concern right now.

Before me, the hero spinning her spear around is grinning and smirking.

I glance at Risa-san.

She smiles wryly and waves lightly. “Once Leti gets like this, she can’t be stopped. Handle it as you see fit.” …That’s cruel.

I close both eyes and respond.

“…Understood. Though I’m weak and untalented, I’ll face you.”

“Good! Well said! That’s the spirit!!”

“However.”

“Hm?”

“I make it a policy to avoid battles with no chance of winning whenever possible. If I don’t call her now, I’ll regret it later. Right? Lidia.”

“Fufu—you’re finally understanding a bit.”

Leaving behind crimson light, the Sword Princess in a dress appears before me. Perhaps in an excellent mood, her bangs stand up and sway.

The cheers from the surrounding spectator stands grow even louder.

I sheathe and hand over the beloved sword—we meet eyes, share a smile, and nod.

Well, let’s try this a little.

Lady Leticia wears a fierce grin. Her spear stops.

“Interesting! I’ve heard that the Sword Princess and the Brains of the Sword Princess are two halves of one whole. This should make for an interesting battle—”

“Here I gooo!!!!!!”

“!”

Suddenly, two greatswords swing down from above the hero.

Simultaneously, Lidia and I also sprint.

Lady Leticia thrusts her spear upward and blocks Lily-san’s maximum attack sneak strike.

A tremendous gale and flames swirl up, and the military-grade barrier strains.

Admiration.

“Ohh! Splendid surprise attack!! I see… the man’s orders!!”

“Take thisss!!!”

While locked in struggle, Lily-san simultaneously activates two 火焔鳥 (Fire Phoenix).

At point-blank range, mercilessly, without any hesitation, she unleashes them!

In response, Lady Leticia doesn’t lose her smile—

“Muuuuun!!!!!!”

“Tch!”

—she deflects Lily-san, and as the Fire Phoenixes attack in the immediate aftermath—the vicious birds vanish. My magical interference.

For a moment, the elven beauty is caught off guard.

“Hm!?”

“Leti-oba-sama, over here!”

“!!”

Lidia, having closed the distance, flashes her sword horizontally from its sheath in one stroke.

That speed—already in the divine realm.

She’s gotten even faster than before.

If it were an ordinary swordsman, they would be bisected at this point. Well, I do think it’s questionable to unleash a bisecting strike though.

—However, a Hero is unmistakably superhuman among superhumans.

She receives Lidia’s strike with her spear as if it were nothing, and moreover, having deflected its power, there’s not even a metallic sound.

Deepening her smile, she leaps. She lands while spinning.

Undiluted praise.

“Magnificent! A strike worthy of the Sword Princess title!! Instantly grasping the man’s tactical intent and coordinating—excellent, excellent. The younger generation is doing quite well, whoah!!?”

“Leti-oba-sama” “You’re mistaken”

“Allen is” “Allen-san is” “”much worse, you know ★?””

As planned, the Dark Ice Binding Thread I had set up at Lady Leti’s landing point activates.

Furthermore, Lily-san’s two Fire Phoenixes, which I had transported using my experimental dark attribute spatial magic 黒猫遊歩 (Black Cat Stroll), reappear and strike simultaneously.

With Lady Leti at the center, fierce flames erupt.

For a normal person, it would be over. Actually, they’d probably be dead… but, well, it won’t work.

—The Vow with Lidia produced the side effect of easily connecting our mana.

Though I expected this, I need to be even more careful about how I use it going forward.

Lidia and Lily-san come before me.

My longtime companion glares at the young lady.

“…Lily, you don’t need to come out. Stand down!”

“Aww, I don’t want to~. If I earn some points here, Allen-san will help me next time too ♪”

“…I won’t help you. Next time, work hard on your own.”

“You say that, but~ you’ll help me if I’m in trouble. Absolutely.”

“…”

Lily-san turns toward me with a beautiful smile, one filled with complete trust.

I scratch my cheek and avert my gaze.

This is why I can never win against this older sister.

The crimson-haired princess narrows her eyes. “La~ter, pu~nishment.”

…Is today my day of suffering?

I call out.

“I never thought that attack would do anything. Can we… end this now?”

“—…Fuffuffu… fu, Hahahaha!!!!”

The fierce flames tear away and vanish instantly.

The great hero, praised as the ‘bravest of brave warriors’—is naturally unharmed. How discouraging. Fire Phoenix isn’t supposed to be such an easily broken spell though.

Her eyes sparkling, her body swaying, Lady Leticia looks at me.

Within her joy—strong nostalgia.

“Magnificent! Truly magnificent!! Man. I’d heard in private before that ‘more than half of the Sword Princess’s lofty reputation is your achievement.’ But! Now I clearly understand! I, Jade Wind—no! Comet Leticia Lubfera declare! Man—new Meteor!! You stand at the pinnacle of the countless mages who have appeared in the two hundred-plus years since the Demon King War. Take pride in that name!!!!”

“…I’m grateful for such excessive praise. However.”

I call out to my student who’s leaning out from the spectator stands, gripping the railing so tightly her fists have turned white, looking frustrated.

“Tina.”

“! Y-yes!”

“Could you lend me your staff?”

“!? Yes!!”

Immediately, Tina throws her beloved staff.

I catch it while rotating once and form magic circles around me.

—They begin to emit light.

I smile back at the great hero who praised me so straightforwardly.

“I know children who will go far beyond me—and among them are two ‘geniuses.'”

“Ohh! Name them!!”

“One is Princess Lidia Linstar. She’s a bit too talented, which troubles me. Later, I’d like to ask you to lecture her…”

“…’A bit’?”

“I’m praising you. And the other one is—”

I shrug.

The magic circle at my feet completes. Shining white-blue, it envelops us.

—A slight weight on both shoulders.

“Allen ♪” “We’ll help ♪”

“Thank you. Atra and Ria are good girls.”

“♪”

The floating little girls place their hands on my shoulders and begin to sing. Probably most spectators can’t see them.

I cross the staff and Stella’s sword and thrust them forward.

Immediately, Lidia and Lily-san also align their swords.

My longtime companion gives her cousin a sidelong glance.

“…Lily?”

“I’m currently in a position that’s essentially Allen-san’s ‘fi~an~cée’ ☆, you know ♪ We’ve shown ourselves this much already, haven’t we? My father is also a Linstar, right?”

“!!!! …Y-you, from the start, you, intended that, didn’t you!? I-I’ll cut you, and burn you!? N-no matter how you think about it, th-that sort of thing should be—…m-m-me first and… ugh~!!!!!”

Lidia sulks. “Got it? If you do that, I’ll absolutely defect!!” I won’t.

I continue assembling the magic formula while exasperated.

Lady Leticia maintains her full smile, preparing eight wind attribute ultimate magic 暴風竜 (Gale Dragon) at her spear tip, waiting for me.

“The other name is Tina Howard. As far as I know, the word ‘genius’ exists for Lidia and this girl. Remember this name. —Here I come!”

“I’ve firmly remembered it! —Come!”