BSS 20

Chapter 20

Haah, being a genius really is a torment.

“Sync, a spell that adjusts the buoyancy of water to sink a designated target. Water Screen, a spell that creates a barrier of water around the caster to reduce damage from fire attacks.

Water Walking, a spell that allows walking on water—even while wearing heavy armor.”

Clatter.

“Water Breathing, a spell that allows breathing underwater.

Purification, a spell that purifies polluted water so it can be drunk.

Aqua Ball, a spell that throws a ball of water with weak pressure as an attack…”

Clatter.

Clatter.

“Insane.”

I couldn’t help but curse.

Inside the constantly rattling carriage, I was reading the elemental magic book given by Teacher Eiel—specifically the spells usable by the lower water elemental, Undine—and sinking into deep frustration.

There were barely six spells written in the book. And among them, only one was offensive!

Undines were never meant for combat in the first place.

“What… what the hell am I supposed to do with this!”

Were the teachers trying to kill me? Throwing water balls? Are you kidding me! I hurled the book across the empty seat in the carriage and flailed like a mad person.

Why am I even going to a martial arts tournament!

This was truly a trial sent from heaven. I never cared about the Wincan Festival, and yet here I am participating by special recommendation from the king! There’s no way I could back out now!

Sob sob.

There were twelve participants in total: three from the martial arts class, four from swordsmanship, four from magic, and one from elemental magic—and by bad luck, I was one of them.

I was unfortunate.

I would have been far more confident if I were entering Mia’s quiz competition instead.

Why was I chosen for a fight instead of a peaceful competition?

I wish this were just a dream.

I hate using my brain, but I hate using my body even more! Can’t they see that?

“Don’t you get it!”

Aaaah!

I was thrashing in irritation when the carriage stopped, and someone knocked on the door.

Were they coming to tell me to quiet down because I was making so much noise?

Knock knock.

“Miss, it’s lunchtime.”

Thankfully, that wasn’t it. Honestly, I had no appetite, but after all the fuss I made alone, I was hungry.

Dragging my lethargic body up, I sluggishly opened the door and stepped out.

The journey to the Empire was very long. The carriage ride alone took twenty days, with periodic stops to serve meals.

The meals were simple bread and soup, but since our delegation represented the king, the food tasted surprisingly good.

While lining up for my share, I overheard murmurs directed at me.

“Have you heard about Crowell? She supposedly buttered up the king to force her way into the delegation. Originally, Leo from the martial arts class was supposed to go, but he got cut out because of her.”

“Ugh, unbelievable. What good is an elemental for combat? Poor Leo.”

“No way, no way. She probably flatters the king because she has no skill. That’s all she can do, huh? Annoying.”

Indeed, I was disliked by some peers. And it wasn’t mild dislike—it was fairly intense hatred.

For a long-standing tradition where four students were normally selected from the martial arts class, only three had been picked, and they blamed me for it. To be fair, they were correct.

How annoying I must have been to the martial arts students.

And judging by the snide remarks, it seemed Leo had more friends than I did.

In reality, I had almost no friends.

Another misfortune on this trip was the absence of my best friend, Mia.

She was initially selected for the delegation, but she had gotten overly excited and conducted a strange experiment while preparing, which led to poisoning.

Mia needed detox treatment for a while, and when I visited her, her face was purple.

“She has no skill and yet…”

“If we lose, it’ll all be Crowell’s fault.”

Despite this persecution, the reason I stayed calm was simple: I had no confidence in actually performing well in the tournament. Even from my perspective, the martial arts competitor Leo would be more effective.

Who could win a fight with only spells to float on water or purify water?

At first, I was furious at whoever pushed me into this muddy situation.

But then, Eiel-sensei’s long, proud farewell speech while sending me off in the carriage left my anger without a target.

“The king has specially recommended you. Isn’t that a great honor for your family?”

“…The king?”

“There’s only one genius elemental caster in our country. Perhaps he wants to show off to the Empire. His expectations of you are very high.”

If I had any sin, it was being a genius, and if anything was uncontrollable, it was my own brilliance. Ah, being too talented really is exhausting.

[Master, can I absorb that?]

[What is it? Something you can eat here?]

[Over there! That sword the knight has. It looks old, but the smell… it’s mithril. A tiny bit, though.]

Rai, hidden in my clothing, poked his tail through my sleeve and pointed.

Following his gaze, I saw a somewhat lean red-haired knight keeping watch, cautiously scanning the surroundings.

The forest was dangerous, so we shouldn’t linger, but during mealtime, guards were posted and the carriage stopped.

[That…]

I narrowed my eyes and closely examined the sword hanging from the knight’s waist.

It was either elegantly old-fashioned or, if you looked at it negatively, just a clumsy antique. Judging by the sheath’s patterns, it was certainly old, probably an heirloom.

[That’s not allowed.]

[Mithril…]

[A pity, but still not allowed. The owner is alive.]

Hearing that, it sounded like I could only take it if the owner died.

[Should we kill him?]

[We’re not thieves! I’ve never even killed anyone!]

Though murders were frequent in this world, I had no experience with it.

[But Master! Who leaves mithril unguarded? We should eat it while we can…]

[I said no.]

[Hiiing.]

Rai, being an elemental, often lacked basic common sense, but for all his quirks, he obeyed me well.

And he always called me Master, which made him impossible to hate. Occasionally he got cheeky, but that was part of his charm.

[By the way, see those kids?]

[The little ones?]

[Yeah, the blonde and brown-haired ones glaring at me.]

[I see them.]

[Strip them of everything you can.]

[Excuse me? Didn’t you just say we can’t eat what belongs to people?]

[I give the permission.]

They had insulted me. Therefore, they were my enemies, and I had no choice but to retaliate in some way.

Sad, but what could I do? They were the ones who turned their backs on me first.

[Are you sure I can take everything?]

[Yes. Take everything but the carriage.]

Even though metals are rare in this world, the few coins they had would vanish.

Still, it was enough to punish them… I considered the damage caused by Rai eating metal as a natural disaster.

Because it wasn’t human.

“Hehe.”

[Did you just laugh evilly?]

“Shut up.”

The delegation’s travel schedule was somewhat grueling for children.

First, a twenty-day carriage ride to the Land of Sages, Heilan. Then, using a multi-person warp facility to enter Elan, followed by long, complex immigration procedures.

Even traveling to Elan by carriage alone would take at least three months, but it was still the fastest and safest route.

The lack of manpower for magic in Dmitri, which didn’t have a warp facility, was another issue, compounded by the fact that the delegation couldn’t travel overnight with so many children.

Carriages carrying children needed frequent stops, making fast or overnight travel impossible.

Travel was heavily restricted. The children often complained of fatigue and couldn’t bear staying in the carriage.

Even outside mealtime, the carriage often had to stop. Some suffered from motion sickness, others cried because they couldn’t stay inside any longer.

I acted mature and simply slept.

Doing nothing and lying down had long been my specialty.

I might even be more of a genius at that than at elemental magic.

“Hmm?”

It was dusk.

Waking up, I noticed the noise outside. Strange sounds made it impossible to sleep.

It sounded like fighting… or at least it was chaotic.

“Rai? What’s going on?”

[I’ll go check.]

I first sought Rai, my personal intercom, dog, and conversation partner.

Though an elemental, he was particularly useless in this respect.

Rai answered by slinking through the carriage door like flowing water.

It was fascinating at first, but now I watched with a yawn, accustomed to it.

Upon waking, I realized just how chaotic it was outside.

[Master.]

Rai quickly returned and reported the situation.

[It’s a monster attack.]

Shifting back into his snake form, Rai explained.

Hearing “monster,” I shot upright from where I lay.