CH 150

Characters in this chapter:

Sapphiras Perfectio, former 2nd son of the Earl of Aldridge

Percival Belisario, 3rd son of Margrave of Vanderwall on the Eastern Frontier

Caleb Blanchette, 2nd son of the Duke of DeGeneres

In today’s practical training, we are dealing with a pseudo-magical beast wolf.

The other students finally defeated one magical beast wolf with four or five people. Everyone has their own magical aptitude, and being a noble doesn’t necessarily mean that you have strong magical powers. When it comes to magicians who are good enough to enter the Order of Magicians, the number is considerably smaller. It seems to be the same in this country.

But a pseudo-magical beast wolf like that will burn up in an instant and that’s it. It’s not enough to show off my magic, is it?

As I was half-losing interest since it is a training exercise and can’t be helped, Liam appeared on the training ground. He must be very confident. With a proud look on his face, he is standing alone in the rearguard.

While the vanguard stalls the Magical beast wolf, Liam chants and releases flame magic. It was a safe way of fighting as per the standard, but he certainly defeated the demon wolf faster than the rest of the groups, and received applause from the students in the class. There was even praise saying ‘as expected of Liam-sama’. He’s used to being in the spotlight at this age, but he’s got pretty ordinary skills.

As I was evaluating Liam’s magic, I suddenly heard a stir around me.

When I turned my head to the center of the commotion and wondered what on earth was going on, Caleb Blanchette1I added an ‘e’ to the end of Blanchette cos I thought it looked better previous chapters has also been updated. somehow appeared on the training ground.

Ha? Why is that guy here? I have a feeling that if he finds me, I’m going to get into trouble. I backed up, hiding behind the other students so as to be as inconspicuous as possible.

“Caleb-sama!”

Liam, who has just defeated the magical beast wolf, rushes towards him with joy in his voice. Even though he is the second son, he is the son of a duke. While keeping an appropriate distance so that everyone would not be rude, Liam was the only one who didn’t hesitate to lean closer to Caleb.

Heh, were they on good terms? Then why doesn’t he stop worrying about me at lunch time and go to Liam? Then the world would be at peace.

“Caleb-sama, what are you doing here today?”

The way he looks up at Caleb and talks to him in a slightly sweet way, it’s hard to believe he’s the same guy who was sneering at me earlier. I can’t believe he’s the same person who was mocking me earlier. What a wonderful transformation. Isn’t he better off becoming an actor?

“……I heard that a very outstanding magician is taking a practical magic class. I rushed over to observe.”

Liam’s smile lit up at the mention of an ‘outstanding magician. It’s amazing how he’s so sure of himself. Where does that confidence come from? Caleb looked around without paying any attention to Liam. That means that the outstanding magician is not Liam.

But are there other students in this class who are good at magic besides Liam? I was following Caleb’s gaze, wondering who the hell it could be, and I made eye contact with him perfectly.

“Ugh, shit.”

I hurriedly averted my gaze, but it was already too late. Caleb comes straight to me with steady steps.

“Ya.”

“H-hi…….”

“I heard that you are very good at magic, Sapphiras. I hope you’ll show me your skills. I’ve asked the principal for permission to visit.

Ha? Don’t go to the trouble of ditching class to come. I have no magic to show you.

“Ca-Caleb-sama! Wait a minute! I’m the best magician in this class, no, in this school! There’s no way that guy is better than me!”　

Look, look, there’s a (self-proclaimed) outstanding magician over there, so go over there. He’s in love with you, you know?. He’s desperately trying to get your attention.

“Is that so? But the principal told me he came here to study because of his magical skills.”

“I don’t believe a stupid fool2間抜け (manuke): stupid, foolish, idiotic, blockhead, half-wit. 愚図 (guzu): dullard, slow, indecisive person. Just some words you can add to your list of swear words I didn’t wanna use ‘ret*rd as it is derogatory and the last time I used it, my post got flagged lol.’ with no family name can use such magic……ugh!”

I threw the glove I was wearing at Liam’s face. Needless to say, you think I’m an stupid fool? I can’t completely deny that I’m stupid, but I’m definitely not a fool.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“I challenge you to a magical duel.”

“Na!?”

My declaration of a duel made the surroundings noisy. No way, it never occurred to them that I, who is usually quiet, would say such a thing.

“I can’t stay quiet after being insulted to this extent. I will fight you for my honour and his dignity as a noble3he’s referring to his seatmate’s dignity.”

I turned my gaze to my seatmate4ok I’ve been translating this as the guy sitting next to me but seatmate is more straightforward so I’ll just use this from now on., who was hiding behind me. He probably didn’t expect that he would be involved, and his complexion was completely white as he was exposed to everyone’s gaze.

By the way, my honour is a front. I don’t care what he says, I don’t think anything more than a few crumbs of bread. I’ll just dust it off and be done with it. However, I thought that a pseudo-magical beast wasn’t enough to show off my abilities. So I thought it was a good opportunity to go a bit wild. Honour and dignity. A good reason for a duel.

“Ha? What are you talking about? What’s wrong with calling a fool a fool? To begin with, does he have dignity as a noble……ugh!”

Yes, yes, okay, okay. If I’m a fool, you’re trash. I was a little irritated by his attitude of believing that he was the chosen one, so I slammed the other glove into Liam’s face with all my might. Throwing one will be the same as throwing two

“Pick up the glove quickly. Or are you going to turn tail and run?”

“Na! Of course I’ll accept it! But if you lose, you’ll be my slave for life!”

Instead of picking up the gloves, Liam stomped on it irritably. As expected, he took advantage of the cheap provocation. That’s how it should be. It was worth keeping quiet till now.

“Of course I don’t mind.”

“Yo-you two, don’t duel!”

The instructor rushed to stop us, but Caleb stopped him softly.

“Sensei. The two of them seem to have some kind of grudge. If things go on like this, it will surely not end. I will witness this duel in the name of the Duke of Blanchette. I will not cause you any trouble, so let me take care of this.”

Heh, you’re not going to stop me. No matter how you think about it, the current flow is a fight between students. Normally, the duel should be stopped when Liam declares that he wants to be a slave. The outcome of the duel is absolute. In case I lose, it could lead to a worsening of relations with Solmontana. Of course, even if the world is turned upside down, I wouldn’t lose.

Far from stopping it, he went as far as bringing up the name of the duke and made it a situation that couldn’t be settled as a dispute between students. I have no intention of stopping the duel no matter what you say, but at the very least, it’s certainly a cultural background beyond my comprehension.　

And then, in no time at all, the scene was set and the magic training ground was now the stage for a duel. The students are watching us. Some are amused, others look at me with pity. Most of them probably think I’m going to lose to Liam.

I’m going to betray those expectations, so from now on, watch closely.

……Oh, come to think of it, I had promised Percival lunch. It would be bad if I kept Percival waiting, so let’s cut it off at an appropriate point without being too pompous.

“Now then,  let me show you something interesting.”

“U-um……!”

When I tried to step out to the centre of the training ground, I was called out from behind. When I turned around, my seatmate was standing behind me. His complexion is horribly pale, but for some reason he seems angry, and when he tries to say something, he opens his mouth and closes it repeatedly.

“What is it?”

‘I, I didn’t say that I want you to protect my dignity as a noble! Yo-you declared it on your own! I have nothing to do with this duel!”

He said it as if he was letting out all his pent up emotions at once.

“…….What. You can actually voice what you want to say.”

“Eh?”

“You can tell them what you think as well.”

“I-I can’t say that……I am from a baron family will fly when you blow it. Liam-sama who is from a marquess family, can easily crush my family if he wants to……”

“For now, but things will change when this duel is over. Then tell them what you want to say, like you did just now.”

But Liam’s magic is really powerful! You can’t beat Liam-sama’s magic! Even in the off chance you win, I’m sure the power of his family will overturn it……”

“That’s why, don’t worry about it. The point is, all you have to do is to overpower them with an overwhelming difference of power that is impossible to overturn.”

“That’s not possible……”

“Just sit there and watch.”

Leaving him who still seemed to have something to say, I went to Liam, who had a nasty smile on his face. He has a face that doesn’t think he’s going to lose at all. I can’t wait to see how long that relaxed expression will last.

“Are you ready?”

The witness, Caleb, confirms with us.

“Of course!”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“The outcome of this duel is absolute. Will you both swear to Fortina, the goddess of destiny, that you will not bend to your will?”

“I swear!”

“I swear.”

“Then, the duel will end when the other party admits defeat. No life shall be taken. Then, let us begin!”

melon: Yessss, finally some action! I’m also laughing so hard at Sapphiras throwing both gloves in Liam’s face.