~Chapter 80~
In fact, Felix Guffero still didn’t like magic. It would be more accurate to say he hated it.
His relationship with Relshiz had improved compared to before, but his deep-rooted anger toward mages still remained. Perhaps it was a fear that had been carved into him like a scar.
The chilly aura of mana they emitted gave him chills, and whenever he saw someone holding a staff, his right eyelid would twitch.
But strangely enough, he couldn’t stop watching the magic being performed.
He stared at the traces of broken magic arrays like falling meteors, chuckling to himself.
“…Did I really turn into a crow?”
“What are you mumbling about?”
“Ah!”
Felix jumped in surprise, spinning around. Nashia, the investigator, was standing right behind him.
“Make some noise when you move around!”
“With all this noise, who’s going to hear me?”
The arena was packed with noise from the audience, and Felix scratched the back of his head, at a loss for words.
“Stop sightseeing and start getting ready. The match is about to start.”
“I know.”
Felix cracked his neck and began to stretch.
After the demonstration duel, there would be competitions in various fields such as sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat, shooting, and horseback riding between the participating countries.
Felix had signed up for the hand-to-hand combat match. Nashia, who had been chosen as the Investigation Bureau’s representative by unanimous vote, was more than a little worried.
“Please don’t overdo it. Take it easy.”
“Nashia Finch, don’t you know me by now? I never lose in a fight, no matter what kind it is.”
“The chief is fine. I’m worried about the person who’ll be fighting you…”
Nashia gave a half-smile and looked Felix over. How could someone be born with a body so perfectly suited for destruction and violence?
If he had ever developed a bad mind and turned to crime, he would have been the most infamous criminal in history.
Nashia silently thanked the heavens.
It was a miracle that his uncontrollable fighting nature was useful to Edelheim.
“By the way, what about the thing I asked you about?”
“Oh, the film? You can pick it up tomorrow.”
Nashia voiced a question that had been bothering her since she received the item from Felix.
“But what did you film? You’re not really good with cameras, are you?”
“Ah.”
Felix smiled, his expression looking a bit cruel.
“Bait. There’s someone I need to catch.”
“Ah…”
Another poor soul was going to get bitten by this mad dog.
Nashia decided not to think too much about it.
“Chief, since Shiz is watching from the audience, you should control the intensity. Got it?”
“If I hold back, it won’t be fun.”
“Please, if it gets bloody and bones start breaking, the kids will cry!”
Felix imagined Shiz crying with tears streaming down her face.
‘The little one crying?’
Although he hadn’t seen it, just thinking about it made him feel very uncomfortable.
As he frowned, the passersby nearby subtly pressed themselves against the walls.
“Fine, fine. I’ll hold back.”
After a brief moment of thought, Felix nodded. Nashia’s face brightened dramatically.
“Great. I’ll cheer for you with the kids in the audience!”
“Alright. If you’re going to bet, bet on me.”
“I already bet on you.”
“Smart.”
Felix chuckled briefly, waved his hand, and disappeared toward the waiting room. Nashia let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Phew, I reduced it from eight weeks to six weeks.”
The words she muttered would have terrified the fighter who was about to face Felix.
***
“Medic.”
Aska, who had taken me down from the arena, immediately searched for the waiting medical staff. At his gesture, several people rushed over from the distance.
“Check her condition.”
“No, why are you going that far? I’m fine. I just pushed myself a little.”
“Ignore her nonsense. Don’t listen to her.”
Nonsense, huh! I glared at Aska in frustration.
“I’m fine, I told you.”
“You need to learn to take care of yourself. Get into the habit of looking after your body.”
Aska seemed to be in a particularly bad mood, perhaps due to the defeat.
Meanwhile, the medical staff finished checking me over and reported to Aska.
“She overexerted herself, causing blood vessels to burst. You need to stop the bleeding, and if it doesn’t stop…”
I heard their conversation, but my head started to spin, and I leaned against the wall to stay upright.
‘It would’ve been nice if I could use healing magic.’
Unfortunately, I couldn’t use healing magic. Research on directly using magic on humans had been mostly halted due to ethical issues.
But the physical pain was bearable. The joy from winning overshadowed everything else.
‘I won, I really won.’
I smiled to myself, but a hint of sadness crept in. In the end, I had used tricks, and I couldn’t surpass Aska with pure magic alone.
‘Look at me now.’
My chest ached, and my heart was racing. It was the aftermath of pushing my mana to the limit.
If Aska and I faced off again, the same method wouldn’t work. He wasn’t stupid enough to fall for it twice.
I realized that, and I felt a strange emptiness.
“Rel.”
At that moment, Aska approached and handed me a bottle.
“Drink this in case of emergency.”
Looking at it, it seemed like a mana concentrate. It probably tasted awful. Hesitant, I shook my head.
“I’m fine. Just let me rest.”
“…You’re not going to drink what I give you?”
“Huh?”
I was surprised by his sharp voice and looked up, but Aska’s face was calm as usual.
It almost seemed like I had imagined hearing it.
“Just keep it in case. If you don’t need it, throw it away.”
Aska forced the bottle into my hand. The liquid inside was a glowing blue, and it sloshed around.
“…Are you mad?”
“Yeah.”
His answer made me feel a surge of anger.
He had always beaten me, from our childhood in the orphanage to our academy days, and now, after losing once, he was this frustrated.
What about me? How much longer do I have to suffer being compared to you, losing to you over and over again?
Just as I was about to question him, he covered his eyes with his palm.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not mad because I lost to you. I’m…”
He stopped mid-sentence.
“I just don’t like the way you neglect yourself.”
Aska exhaled the words like a sigh. I stopped and looked at him.
“I messed up by not sticking to the plan. I’m sorry for pushing you. But when I thought about fighting you after so long…”
He trailed off.
“I didn’t want to just do the same old thing.”
“…”
Until now, I thought Aska considered me a joke. That’s why he kept teasing and bullying me.
But after hearing what he said now, it felt less like that…
‘This guy… he just genuinely thought it was fun?’
I had an oddly ticklish feeling.
It wasn’t just me trying to beat him. Aska was also being serious when facing me.
That thought made me feel a little better.
“Ahem, so, how was my magic? Was it impressive?”
At my question, Aska smiled faintly, his eyes cold.
“Oh, it was impressive. In many ways.”
“Ah, uh…”
“Don’t do that again, Rel.”
At his intimidating tone, I couldn’t help but nod.
He finally let go of his serious expression after getting me to promise not to do it again.
***
“Today, you were really awesome, Sister! The fire shot across the arena, and then it went BOOM! Sparkles everywhere, and there was lightning flashing, ice flying everywhere, and wind blowing!”
When we returned to the mansion, Shiz jumped around like a bunny, making all kinds of noises. Normally, I would’ve calmed her down, but today, I was too tired to stop her.
“You can do it too. If you study magic hard enough.”
“Me?”
“Don’t act so surprised. It’s you. You’re going to be just like me.”
Shiz blinked her round eyes.
