Chapter 7: Let’s go, to the academy Part 3

“Melrit, listen carefully.”

The girl grabs the adult woman’s face and speaks.

“I like you.”

“O||…?”

A pitiful sound.

Her always tired, gray eyes trembled lightly.

“I like your courage. I like how you gently explain things when you ask about something you don’t know. You’re so kind, harsh on yourself but soft on others, and when the time comes to stand up, you even throw your life away. I like all of that.”

The girl’s lips curve.

“Really, I like you.”

“…!!”

Like her eyes, her heart trembled late.

“So, Melrit? Stop saying stupid things like telling me to stay still. Because…”

A soft smile.

But true softness doesn’t come from weakness; it comes from confidence.

“…I will protect you.”

Ellie’s hand pressed down on Melrit’s shoulder, as if saying, “You stay right there.”

And Melrit…

Sat down.

She couldn’t resist.

She didn’t even think of resisting.

“Okay.”

Ellie smiled.

“Just stay there. Don’t move.”

The sound of the pursuers chasing after them reached them.

It was only a matter of time before they found this place.

“I don’t want to hurt you, even by mistake.”

“Over here! Marquis, she’s over here!”

“Ugh!”

Mages began to swarm.

They scattered, surrounding the area.

A siege was being set up.

And in the middle of that, Marquis Ripete approached.

“Melrit Shinseergrin.”

In his eyes, the orphan girl didn’t matter.

She was the kind of person that didn’t even need to be announced as dead.

She was nothing more than someone who could be killed without anyone needing to know.

“You have not only interfered with my legitimate authority in my territory, but you also attacked me and caused harm.”

Mana gathered on his staff.

“Naturally, I believe you acted with the intention of dying. I will report this to the current head of the Shinseergrin family as well.”

The girl’s voice echoed.

“How arrogant.”

An orphan girl with no notable features.

Black hair, black eyes, and no trace of a mage’s essence.

“Before you speak of killing, perhaps you should consider if you even have the ability to do so?”

Without turning around.

“Melrit. I will show you my secret, but you must promise to keep it.”

As she walked forward.

Melrit, The one who was sent here to find a talented mage’s potential.

Unexpectedly, she recalled something her professor had said when she was still a student at the academy.

It was a casual talk during class, meant to wake up tired students.

The topic was about what makes a strong mage.

***

[There are many kinds of strength, but let’s think of a situation where two mages fight. The goal is to kill or incapacitate the opponent.]

Except for a few exceptions, mage families are founded by ancestors who gained military merit.

Many students found the idea of killing unsettling, but they couldn’t openly show their disgust.

The professor, with a wicked grin, continued speaking after seeing their reactions.

[When two mages fight, how can one win? Kirif, what do you think?]

[Um… Maybe hit your own magic while dodging theirs?]

[Sounds like something you’d say after waking up from a nap, but that’s the correct answer. To land my magic, you need to stay awake in class and practice consistently.]

However.

[Dodging the opponent’s magic is much harder. Being quick helps, but there are limits to that.]

The professor continued.

[The ideal answer is to analyze the opponent’s spells or mana flow to nullify or neutralize them.]

However.

[There is one way to nullify an opponent’s magic at all times, without any conditions. Does anyone know the answer? Shinseergrin, what do you think?]

[That would be…]

Her answer back then.

[If you have more mana, an overwhelmingly greater amount of mana than your opponent, it should be possible.]

The reality in front of her overlapped.

[Correct, Shinseergrin.]

A torrent like a waterfall.

An overwhelming pressure like a typhoon.

An unbelievable, massive presence that seemed to be pouring out of the frail girl.

[A huge amount of mana is a law in itself. It makes it impossible for any other mage nearby to draw even a drop of mana, and only the person with it can monopolize magic.]

Her hair turned pure white.

Her eyes turned blue.

[In front of someone from a much higher rank than oneself, one can’t even lift their head.]

And the star descending onto the earth found refuge in the girl’s iris.

[However, it’s almost impossible to overwhelm an opponent with sheer mana in battle. If that were possible, the difference in rank would be so great that no one would even dare to challenge you. Do you think any of you would challenge our dean to a fight?]

Thus, for it to be possible, the stronger one must be hiding their power, and the weaker one must strike and fight under those conditions.

***

Right now.

Just like what is unfolding in Melrit’s eyes.

“Wa…”

The Marquis of Ripete’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Em… Emperor Star…?”

When he spoke the words pointing to the star that appeared in the royal family’s eyes, the mages who had followed the marquis were freed from their rigidity.

“F-Forgive us!”

“Please, spare our lives, just spare our lives!!”

All of them knelt to the ground at once.

Foreheads and hands touching the dirt.

How insolent.

‘How dare they try to kill someone like that.’

‘Could it be… they truly thought so?’

But that was only a small number of them.

The rest of the mages shouted instead.

“You fools! Do you think begging will make any difference?!”

“Just kill them! If you kill them and bury them here, who cares if they’re from the royal family or not?!”

At that shout, those who had been bowing their heads raised them again.

Thinking about it, their words made sense.

It was too late to seek forgiveness now.

Moreover, this royal family already knew about the drug production that both they and their lord, the Marquis of Ripete, were involved in.

If they killed them, everything would go back to the way it was yesterday, as if nothing had ever happened.

But still.

Even so, in the end, the retainers sought an answer from the marquis.

The one they had made a vassal contract with was none other than the marquis.

The emperor’s dignity was only relevant because the marquis was the emperor’s vassal.

And the marquis’ opinion was:

“Just as they said. If we kill them, that’s the end of it.”

As he gathered mana into his own staff.

“I won’t hold any sins against those of you who lowered your heads just now. But hurry, gather the mana!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Thank you! Thank you for sparing us!”

Seeing them, Melrit was taken aback.

‘Why?’

‘Why, in this situation, were they trying to fight against Ellie?’

‘Could they not feel it? The space was trembling, and this terrifying mana that seemed like it could reach the sky—could they not sense it?’

At that moment, she suddenly remembered.

The Marquis of Ripete had never produced an academy student.

Then, the current marquis, too…

‘Could it be?’

‘Was it so large that they couldn’t even feel it?’

‘Like how water fleas can’t distinguish between a well and a lake, could they not sense Ellie’s massive mana?’

They couldn’t.

The difference in power was so immense that they didn’t even have the courage to look up, and they didn’t even know that there was something they could look up to.

“Ha…?”

Melrit’s laughter was mixed with three emotions:

[Disbelief. The fact that she had promised to protect someone like this.]

[Contempt. The pathetic magic skills of those who were so evil.]

[And finally, admiration. A feeling of longing, also known as yearning.]

For the beautiful girl, for the great mage.

It was then.

That Melrit Shinseergrin, as an individual and as a mage, found the lord she would serve.

“Now, it’s goodbye, orphan… hm?”

“F-For the marquis… the mana…”

“The mana isn’t gathering!”

Of course.

Mana, after all, is the process of transforming the ether that fills the world into personal power.

To have gathered such massive mana meant that all the ether in the space had been monopolized.

If you compare it to water, the water level had dropped, so it couldn’t be lifted anymore, and if you compare it to air, it was like being in a vacuum, suffocating.

—Of course, this state couldn’t last forever.

The ether would flow and fill the gap.

But.

[Even if it’s for a short time, the other side couldn’t use any mana, while this side had gathered it completely?]

The professor had said that, in that case, the battle was already as good as over.

“Except for me and Melrit, everyone within a 10-meter radius, stop your hearts immediately.”

It was a spell she had never heard of before.

A language she had never heard before.

‘What kind of magic is this?’

The answer to Melrit’s question came quickly.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh…!”

The marquis and his subordinates all collapsed at once, clutching their chests.

“Ku, khack…!”

“Cancel… the deactivation…!!”

They tried to gather mana to stop the spell, but nothing was being drawn in.

20 seconds.

The average time a person can maintain consciousness after cardiac arrest.

One by one, the consciousness of those in front of Melrit faded.

Once that happened, it was already over.

Even if they stopped the spell, the heart that had already stopped would no longer send normal electrical signals.

It meant that even if the spell stopped, the heart wouldn’t start beating normally, nor would consciousness ever return.

“…It’s over.”

Ellie slowly exhaled.

This was the second time in her life she had used such magic, and it still felt unfamiliar.

“You’re not injured, right? I was careful—Melrit?”

Ellie turned around and tilted her head.

“What’s wrong?”

Melrit was bowing her head.

Her fingers stained with dirt.