How a Wizard Survives (14)
How a Wizard Survives (14)
Ever since Reinhardt gave me the adamantite sword, Katrina had decided to use magic during our spars.
Originally, she couldn't use it because she was conscious of the other Inquisitors, especially the senior ones in Reshutal, but that worry evaporated after Reinhardt took command.
Even senior Inquisitors with decades of experience were little more than common foot soldiers in front of him.
"Jaeger. Are you truly alright with this?"
"I'll be fine. Lord Reinhardt seemed like an extremely pragmatic Inquisitor..."
"No, I was asking if you'll be alright..."
Ah. She'd been worried about me, her sparring partner.
Instead of answering, I gave a short laugh and pulled on my helmet. My plate armor wasn't finished yet, but I'd managed to get a helmet from the branch.
"Here I come!"
"Yes!"
The moment we took our stances, magic flew at me. It was the same technique she'd used to crush those Destruction Mages before. I didn't fully understand the principle, but apparently, Rejection Magic could be applied that way too.
I held up my adamantite sword and deflected it lightly. The spell bounced into the ground and instantly carved out a large pit.
'That would have been the end if it hit. Not that I'd let it.'
Seeing my reaction, Katrina released a small sigh of relief and fired the same technique repeatedly. Like Destruction Magic, it was invisible to the eye... but the adamantite sword deflected it every time.
Clang!
I closed the distance and forced her into close combat, and the pace quickened. Magic darted in between sword strikes, but I dodged, deflected, and countered without much trouble. Even so, Katrina used her advantage as a mage to seize the upper hand in an instant.
'If only she could fight like this in real combat...'
In training, our exchanges flowed like water, but in the field, she kept freezing up. The classic type who struggles under real pressure. Remembering my conversation with Reinhardt, I finally understood why. Katrina fought not with a fighting spirit, but out of a sense of duty.
Then again, she did lack some common sense.
Still, so what? I just needed to do better on my end.
I pictured Reinhardt's face again and poured strength into my body.
"Urgh!"
We locked blades in a blade bind. Using my advantage in size and weight, I pressed her down from above, and a pained groan slipped from inside her helmet. Realizing I'd gone too far, I eased up a little, only for Rejection Magic to blast me from point-blank range.
"Guh!"
Thanks to the armor, my body wasn't crushed, but I was sent flying. Even though she'd won the spar, Katrina was breathing hard and fuming, as if unsatisfied.
"Jaeger, you let up at the end, didn't you?"
"It's a spar. I can't truly come at you like I'm trying to kill you."
Lying would be pointless. When I answered shamelessly, Katrina was at a loss for words. She lowered her sword and began reviewing the spar.
"How did you block or dodge almost all of my magic?"
"Because I could see where it would come from."
"My helmet should've hidden my gaze. I even deliberately looked elsewhere..."
"I still saw it. It showed in your footwork and how you adjusted your grip on the sword."
Katrina had absolutely no talent for deceiving others. I passed on exactly what my teacher had pointed out to me. She let out a small sigh and helped me up.
The sword I'd received from Reinhardt was truly a fine piece. To think it could deflect magic without using magic itself. They said it performed even better against Demonic Beasts or Demons.
Since Katrina's mana reserves weren't particularly large, our magic training didn't last long. Right after sparring came riding practice. My riding had become respectable by now. The horse, carefully trained by skilled handlers, was beyond reproach. If I had to find a flaw, it was that he liked Katrina more than me, his rider.
"You're a male, so it can't be helped, right? Honestly, I like Lady Katrina's white horse more than you too, buddy."
"Hee-hee-hing!"
I put the slightly sulking horse back in the stable and headed toward the archives. Now it was time to study heretics. Originally, knowledge about heresy, especially about magic, was restricted even within the branch, with only some permitted to view it... but that all changed after Reinhardt's appointment. It was fair and proper handling, but honestly, I wished he hadn't changed this. After all, I'd long since finished studying that subject.
Still, studying together with Katrina had its own kind of fun. While reading about various magics, I reached for a book on Puppet Magic, Ash's specialty.
Katrina, who had already read every book in the archives, stopped me as I skimmed it.
"You don't need to pay much attention to Puppet Magic. There's nothing to it."
"Is that so? But they say you can create human-like puppets with it. Isn't that incredibly dangerous?"
At my question, Katrina smiled thinly. Even a librarian passing by chuckled and briefly joined in.
"Inquisitor, Puppet Magic cannot deceive people."
"Why's that?"
"Because the puppets mages create are terribly unsightly. They are crude things that can barely handle simple labor."
"Anyone with functioning eyes would recognize them, even if they aren't an Inquisitor."
Katrina flipped the pages herself and showed me the attached illustration. The puppet drawn in the book was completely different from what I'd seen in the smithy. To put it nicely, it gave off the maker's childlike innocence; to be honest, it was at the level of a toy.
'I see. So Ash's Puppet Magic is beyond the imagination of Heretic Inquisitors...'
There was no chance anyone who worked alongside a Transformation Mage like Ulysses was ordinary. The fact that she was not listed on the Wall of Shame only meant she operated in extraordinary secrecy.
I happily returned the book to the shelf and began studying other magics.
When quitting time arrived, Katrina carefully avoided my eyes and said shortly, "Don't be late tomorrow."
"Of course."
That's right. The outing with Katrina was tomorrow. I practically danced my way out of the branch when I ran into Reinhardt, who was patrolling the grounds.
"...What are you doing?"
"S-sorry..."
"It's a rare day out. Escort her properly."
Reinhardt threw that out nonchalantly, as if he already knew everything, and left. My head hanging low, I went home, only to be teased by my teachers as well.
"Will our Jaeger be able to sleep properly tonight..."
"At this rate, he might even infiltrate the Wizardvein family."
"Gyaaack..."
Unfortunately, my teachers were right. I stayed nearly wide awake all night and headed to the branch early in the morning. Even though I'd come out a full hour before the meeting time, I still failed to beat Katrina there. She was in pristine white uniform, walking slowly down Change Street.
Her voice, uncharacteristically trembling, tickled my ears at an unusually low volume.
"Have you ever seen an opera?"
"This will be my first time seeing any kind of performance."
"I see. It's a classical opera, so it shouldn't be too difficult. There are more lighthearted, secular ones too, but if I attended one of those, I'd immediately become the subject of gossip..."
"N-nobles really have it tough."
When I blurted that out, startled by her unexpected complaint, Katrina shook her head slightly.
"You are already a demi-noble. Accumulate a bit more merit and you'll become a full noble soon enough. My uncle is strict but fair."
"It seems that way. At first he replaced all the key positions in the branch with northerners, but now some have regained their original posts..."
"Well, it's only natural he would prioritize people he trusts."
Perhaps the weekend outing was already paying off, because Katrina was unusually talkative. It was a little regrettable that most of it was work-related, but just listening to her voice was pleasant.
We arrived at the theater a little before showtime. As befitting someone of the Wizardvein family, we had an extremely expensive box seat. She'd said the tickets were a gift, but no matter how I looked at it, that was a lie. Given her personality, there was no way she would have accepted such an expensive present.
Once inside the isolated box seat, I finally relaxed a little. After all, my appreciation of music was barely above that of a deaf person. Maybe even worse. Nobles seemed to care about others' opinions to an obsessive degree, so this was definitely safer.
"Wow. It's quite luxurious."
As I scanned the theater from the high box seat, I noticed some concerning people in the box across from us. They looked like high-ranking nobles at first glance, but something about their body language was off. It's often said that mages can recognize other mages. They acted bold yet subtly cautious, exactly the way a mage would behave.
I placed my hand on my sword hilt and said cautiously, "Lady Katrina. Those suspicious people over there..."
"Ah, you don't need to worry about them."
Katrina looked where I pointed and narrowed her eyes slightly. The young girl over there, much younger than Katrina, also noticed us and wrinkled her nose oddly.
"The Einhold Ducal House. You must have at least heard the name. I never expected them to be in the capital."
"Ah, the 'King's Mages.'"
The Einhold Family was one of only two houses legally permitted to use magic in the kingdom. Commonly called the King's Mages, they could hardly be expected to get along with the Wizardvein Family, which headed the Inquisition.
Seeing Katrina's displeased reaction, I hastily added, "Still, it feels like the God's Mages are far superior. Haha..."
"Take your seat. It's about to start."
Soon the curtain rose and the performance began. The moment I saw the leading lady, I clicked my tongue internally.
'Oh, great.'
Not that it was anything new, but I truly had no appreciation for music or theater. So the only thing I could look forward to was looking at the actors' faces... but the leading lady, advertised as Reshutal's greatest beauty, fell far short of my standards. Between seeing Katrina during the day and Ash at night, my standards had become too high. At this rate, would I even be able to get married properly?
The performers sang earnestly on stage, but I could barely understand a word. I lowered my voice and asked Katrina, "Lady Katrina. Is that a foreign language?"
"Ah... no..."
"Hmm."
In the end, I sat there quietly until I dozed off. Between training day and night and it being the weekend, my fatigue had built up. I woke up just as the performance was ending, quickly assessed the situation, and glanced at the seat next to me. Fortunately, Katrina didn't look too angry. She made a small reassuring gesture, as if to say it was fine.
"It certainly wasn't an entertaining performance."
"I'm sorry. I'm uncultured, so..."
"No, it's the performers' fault for failing to move you. I've reserved a decent restaurant, so let's get going."
For a moment, I was speechless at Katrina's words. The performers hadn't moved me, but her consideration moved me deeply. I felt like I'd spent every last bit of luck I'd been saving, from long before I met my teacher, on meeting good people.
As we exited the box seat, a sneer came from across the hall.
"You must be so tired from chasing heretics. Fancy sleeping through all that noisy wailing."
Our box seat must have been clearly visible because its front wall was low to give a good view of the stage. My face flushed, but I quickly checked who it was. I'd memorize that face and later frame them as a heretic and get them hanged.
But unfortunately, the one mocking me was the brat from the Einhold Family I'd seen earlier. Still, who else but an Einhold would dare mock a Heretic Inquisitor? Katrina answered in her usual cold manner.
"That's because Reshutal is crawling with heretics. I wonder where they all keep coming from."
In other words, she was straight-up insulting their family's territory management as a complete mess.
"Hmph, people like you... mmph!"
"My lady, please..."
The Einhold brat flared up like the child she was, but her attendants quickly stopped her. Reshutal might be a great power, but ultimately it was just one kingdom. Meanwhile, the Inquisition and the Wizardvein Family operated across the entire continent. Once someone is merely suspected of heresy, they can be seized and executed at will, even if they're a citizen of a kingdom... there's no need to elaborate on their authority.
"Let's just go."
Katrina snatched my hand and strode past the Einhold group with long, brisk steps. My heart pounding, I followed her out of the theater.