How a Wizard Survives (17)
How a Wizard Survives (17)
The Earth Mage Yaul rushed to close the distance, surprise still stark on his face.
As he glanced at the towering wall, his expression betrayed a nervousness he couldn't hide.
An expression that suggested he was worried Reinhardt might join the fight at any moment.
It was a welcome mistake for me.
'Lucky. The truth is, you're not the only one racing against time!'
Katrina might still find a way...
The instant Reinhardt saw my magic, I'd be dead. No question.
The Lion of the North must have finished off the Plague Mage Morel by now.
Yaul's Earth Barrier was keeping us separated for the moment, but that wouldn't last.
"You bastard! Why would a mage stay at a Heretic Inquisitor's side...?"
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have used magic in the first place!"
Pababat!
I shot back the blunt reply and launched myself into the air.
I fired off a rapid sequence of Gravity Magic, creating the sensation of footholds in midair.
My body accelerated with momentum on a completely different level than usual.
"Hup!"
Yaul, still clad in his Earth Armor, swung his right arm in a wide arc.
His right hand swelled in an instant and became a Stone Fist.
The one mercy in this bad situation was that he was far from fresh.
He'd used them once to separate Reinhardt from us, and once more to finish me and Katrina off quickly.
He'd been forced to use two techniques that demanded everything he had, and both his stamina and mana were severely drained.
'Normally he's still a tough opponent, but I can beat him now!'
I used Gravity Magic again to evade the Stone Fist.
The mage aimed a Stone Spear at me as I floated high above him.
But I hurled my adamantite sword and shattered it to pieces.
Pakang!
"Aagh! J-just this much... kuhk?!"
What I triggered next was Transformation Magic.
I'd deliberately hidden my other schools of magic for this exact moment.
His armor transformed into iron chains in an instant, cinching tight around his thick neck.
The carotid artery is a vital point; consciousness can be cut off with barely over ten seconds of pressure.
Yaul was a veteran who'd been through countless battles, so he didn't let it get that far.
But it was also true that his reaction was slow for a man of his caliber.
Which made sense, since most mages struggled just to wield a single school of magic.
"T-transformation? You greedy bastard!"
While he struggled to cope with my magic...
I began freefalling again.
Whatever attack came, he'd brace for it like the solid earth.
I could see that resolve written on his face from a distance.
Of course, I had no intention of allowing it.
The last thing I selected was Rejection Magic.
The moment he was stripped of magic, even for a few seconds, the realization hit him and he screamed.
"This is... Rejection too? Impossible. You, don't tell me...!"
Puh-eok!
A horrible sound as the mage was crushed.
I couldn't bring myself to look at his completely caved-in face.
With my head bowed slightly, I retrieved my sword from where it had lodged beside him, then slowly walked back to Katrina.
Fortunately, there was still a little time left before Reinhardt joined us.
Katrina was sitting where she'd collapsed, staring blankly at me.
I was trying to say something in my awkward state when she interrogated me first.
Her sense of betrayal toward me wasn't trivial, so I could hardly expect kind words.
"Jaeger, you... what in the world?"
"..."
"You passed the Contractor Test right before my eyes... Could it be, you're an Awakened One?"
"Yes."
Even in intense confusion, Katrina accepted reality step by step.
I replied slowly, deeply sorry.
Even if it had been a situation I could never reveal honestly, the thought of having deceived Katrina made my chest feel heavy for no reason.
Still, I had to say these words.
"I've never made a contract with a demon."
Katrina's dazed eyes slowly moved to my sword.
In truth, even at this moment, my teacher was urging me in my mind.
It isn't too late.
If I killed Katrina now, I could seal her lips.
As for the body, I could just toss it deep inside that tunnel over there.
Reinhardt would be furious beyond reason... but he was a fair man.
If I said the Earth Mage killed Katrina, no matter what, he wouldn't kill me.
But I absolutely could not carry out that wicked thought.
Why had I even used magic in the first place?
To be blunt, if all I'd wanted was to save my own skin, I might have managed without magic at all.
Katrina, who'd been trembling violently, finally steadied her emotions and was about to say something.
The Earth Barrier, which had been stubbornly holding out until now, came crashing down.
A furious Reinhardt burst through the hole punched in the wall.
"Katrina! Jaeger... what, you're fine?"
"U-uncle."
Katrina, facing Reinhardt, clenched her teeth tightly inside her helmet.
She knew it too.
One word from her here and I was helplessly dead.
Whether I was an Awakened One or anything else, Reinhardt would never tolerate heresy.
Fortunately, Katrina wasn't prepared to go as far as having me executed. Not yet.
She rose very slowly, as if retracing the short time she'd spent with me.
Reinhardt, noticing her state, strode over.
"You handled the Earth Mage well. You two really... Katrina, is something wrong?"
"N-no. I just... thought this time I was really going to die..."
Katrina, acutely self-conscious of me, hurriedly changed her words.
Reinhardt hesitated for a moment, then offered a surprisingly earnest apology.
"It's my fault. I should have assigned adjutants to your side from the start."
"That's not true."
"Anyway, how did you manage to kill Yaul? I'd already considered you two lucky just to be alive."
Reinhardt fired off a sharp question, true to his reputation as a veteran Heretic Inquisitor.
A capable subordinate is a good thing, but too capable invites suspicion.
Just as I was about to offer some excuse, Katrina struck first.
I hurriedly matched her words.
"We were lucky. Jaeger cut his throat, so..."
"I don't think he ever imagined my sword was this kind of weapon. Though of course, without Lady Katrina's support, I'd have been helplessly killed."
In truth, I'd come within an inch of killing him without magic.
If I'd anticipated the ground collapsing beneath my feet, it would have ended a little quicker and cleaner.
As I belatedly regretted that, Reinhardt reluctantly accepted the explanation.
Ever meticulous, he even examined Yaul's corpse.
"A slash wound to the neck, then finished with a blunt strike. Well done."
"And the Plague Mage Morel..."
Before Katrina had even finished speaking, Reinhardt's adjutant appeared holding the man's head.
The severed head's face was twisted hideously in pain and despair.
Reinhardt, uncharacteristically, even cracked a joke as he withdrew from the scene.
"Next time, try capturing one alive."
"Haha... I'll t-try my best."
"Then let's go."
His business concluded, Reinhardt headed back toward the ducal castle without hesitation.
Luckily, the horses had fled to a safe distance in time.
Apparently, the Inquisition horses are trained first and foremost to run away.
Katrina maintained an uncomfortable silence and stuck right next to me.
My heart pounded violently, as if about to burst at any moment.
It wasn't the anxiety of being discovered at any time.
Even if it was something like pity... I was simply so happy that Katrina had protected my secret that I couldn't stand it.
We returned to Einhold Ducal Castle carrying the mages' heads, and a banquet began immediately.
Reinhardt looked as though he wanted to return to Reshutal right away, but apparently that wasn't an option.
Both Einhold and Wizardvein were among the highest-ranking noble houses, and an insult could cause trouble later.
If they went back now, the Einholds would become the family that threw out guests without proper hospitality...
And the Wizardveins would become the family that took poor treatment without protest.
In the end, eating and drinking moderately before leaving was best for both sides.
Hector, the giant from the Einhold Family and father of the cocky little brat Angelica, was startled when he saw the mages' heads.
"What, there was one more?"
"Yeah. You people handled your side properly, I hope?"
"Of course. That Dresden bastard, I took him alive."
In a single day, they'd dealt with four mages registered on the Wall of Shame...
Regrettably, Katrina had no time at all to enjoy it.
She kept watching me as if afraid I might stab someone to death at any moment.
It was lucky she was always a quiet, blunt person; otherwise, the strange atmosphere would have been noticed long before.
We ate and drank, maintaining an appropriate distance from the Einhold people. How long had it been?
A faint voice came from Katrina, whose face was slightly flushed.
"You didn't plan from the start to hide in the Inquisition, did you?"
It felt more like a drunken ramble than a serious question.
I quickly denied it.
"There's no way. If you hadn't saved me during that provisional trial, I'd have been helplessly executed."
"R-right..."
Maybe because it was her own past action, Katrina accepted it without another word.
She looked at me, mumbled a little, then swallowed a sigh and poured herself another drink.
In truth, I still couldn't relax completely either, so I was fidgeting beside her when Reinhardt, slightly drunk, came over.
At that, Katrina's eyes fluttered as though she'd sobered up instantly.
"You two are glued together."
"U-uncle..."
"A joke. Both of you truly did well this time. Especially Katrina—I think I was too hasty with your personnel decision."
"What?"
When Katrina showed a bewildered expression, Reinhardt chuckled and declared.
"Once we return to Reshutal, I'll restore your post as Holy Knight Captain. I doubt anyone will dare object now."
"Ah..."
Katrina herself looked like she'd never dared imagine it...
But in a way, it was the most natural thing.
Yes, she lacked martial skill, but Katrina was a mage who could use Rejection Magic.
Objectively speaking, her combat ability was in the upper ranks even in the Reshutal Inquisition Branch.
She'd been included in this expedition without any trouble, after all.
And this same Katrina had taken down the Earth Mage Yaul with only her squire beside her.
Now that she had a respectable battle achievement, failing to restore her post would be the real injustice.
"N-no. I..."
"What are you standing there like a fool for, Jaeger! Your cup's empty. We've got to drink every drop of those infuriating Einhold bastards' liquor!"
"Of course, sir."
Katrina couldn't say another word and kept her mouth firmly shut.
She was glaring at me, though she seemed willing to let it pass for now.
As I was struggling to keep up with Reinhardt's pace, Hector Einhold hauled a huge quantity of expensive, strong liquor out of the storeroom.
"You two really caught Yaul? Don't give me that crap!"
"Believe it or not. Or would I have handed over my sword otherwise?"
"Oh, right? Now that you mention it..."
As expected, Reinhardt and Hector already knew each other, and a shared drink was enough to make them get along surprisingly well.
I drank until I threw up that day, then lost consciousness.
When I came to my senses again, I was on horseback on the way back to Reshutal.
Katrina, as if still suspicious of me, didn't leave my side for a single moment.
To the other Inquisitors, it must have looked a little strange.
"Whoa, Lady Katrina, you really..."
"Shh. Quiet."
Eventually even the adjutants started giggling among themselves, and Reinhardt, suffering a hangover on his horse, grumbled briefly.
"When she was little, she used to stick to my side just like that."
"..."
Katrina only shot a glare at me, who had done nothing wrong.
The short journey ended, and at last, we returned to Reshutal.
After carrying her luggage to her quarters, I stretched out broadly and prepared to leave for the day.
Katrina stopped me, then asked belatedly.
"Jaeger. Do you, by any chance, have connections with other mages...?"
"I have no connection whatsoever. I've never learned anything like magic."
"Really? I suppose so. You are an Awakened One, after all."
Despite Katrina discovering my identity...
I couldn't cause trouble for my teacher or Ash either.
Besides, Ulysses had never taught me magic separately.
Fortunately, Katrina seemed to have a rough understanding of Awakened One traits.
Katrina, who appeared to have barely sorted out her thoughts by then, stared at me with earnest eyes.
"I'll keep watching you from now on. If you do anything even a little strange..."
"Of course. Thank you for trusting me."
"...Your skills were just too good to waste. Go back for today."
Katrina was persuading herself with clumsy lies and excuses.
I quickly returned to the smithy and confessed to my teachers.
Truthfully, the real hardship started now.
"T-teacher... I'm sorry. I got caught."
"What? Then why are you still alive?"
She wasn't scolding me... Ash was genuinely horrified.
Before she could do anything rash, I hurriedly spilled everything exactly as it happened.
Thanks to that, Ash's expression turned practically insane.
"That's why I said we should run. Jaeger, I'm really disappointed..."
"No, you did well, Jaeger. Your choice was the best one."
"What?"
Ulysses suddenly came to my defense.
When Ash looked aghast, he spoke as if trying to convince her.
"If you'd killed Katrina there, Jaeger would be dead too. The Lion of the North isn't the kind of man to let a relative's death go unpunished."
"Hmm?"
"What if Reinhardt had run a Mana Trace Examination on the spot? Obviously Jaeger's identity would have been exposed, and in the worst case, our existence could have been revealed as well."
Ash, who'd been half out of her mind, recovered her composure at Ulysses's persuasion.
She was merely cowardly, never stupid.
"Then what about killing the woman now?"
"Obviously impossible. If that holy knight were to die a mysterious death now, who do you think the prime suspect would be? The closest person, Jaeger, of course."
"Tch... Then what exactly do you plan to do?"
Ash admitted every one of Ulysses's points yet flared up with irritation.
She had every right to be angry.
Was this not all because of me?
Ulysses chuckled and asked me.
"You don't want to kill her either, do you?"
"No... Lady Katrina is a good person."
"Then there's only one way."
So there really was a way.
As expected of Ulysses, the Wizard of Change.
The worst mage ranked number one by the Inquisition!
As I mentally showered him with praise over and over, he announced the long-awaited solution.
But it wasn't the kind I'd been expecting.
"Seduce her."
"What?"
"That holy knight. Make her your woman, one way or another. I mean, make it so she's willing to do anything for you. That's the only way you both survive."
"Ugh..."
For the first time in my life, I felt the urge to talk back to my teacher.
Ash, half-resigned, burst out laughing as if she found the whole thing darkly amusing.