How a Wizard Survives (69)
The somewhat chaotic teatime ended, and I soon returned to the Inquisition branch to begin my spar with Reinhardt.
We had several reasons for using a private training ground for our bouts... but the main one was, naturally, to protect Reinhardt's dignity.
It would be humiliating for the commander of the Reshutal Inquisition Branch to be seen getting pushed back by a mere Holy Knight like me.
Of course, we also had every intention of concealing our techniques.
"Faster!"
"Urgh..."
Clang!
Two swords clashed violently against a single blade.
Ever since I'd seriously adopted dual swords, Reinhardt hadn't been able to avoid a hard fight.
He was an outstanding swordsman even without using magic, but... facing my two blades was harder than fighting two first-rate swordsmen at the same time.
The two swords traced a slow circle, received the opponent's attack, and then counterattacked.
Reinhardt tried various methods to break my defense, but it was no use.
Finally, he released his Rejection Magic and came at me in earnest.
"Hup!"
"Ah."
Even I couldn't block all of that with iron training swords...
But neither was I completely overwhelmed.
Katrina, who had been watching our bout, stifled a groan behind us.
At the center of the training ground, offense and defense unfolded with the force of a storm.
Screech!
I retreated amid the shriek of steel, steadied my labored breathing, and ended the spar.
The weapons were heavily damaged, and anything further was dangerous.
Equally drained, both physically and mentally, Reinhardt asked, as if the thought had just struck him.
"Your dual swords have become completely second nature to you. Have you tried a shield?"
"Yes. But it didn't suit me."
"Why? Couldn't you have reshaped your adamantite sword into a shield? It would be much larger and heavier, and the mana attenuation effect would naturally be stronger too."
Truthfully, the adamantite craftsmen had offered similar advice... but I had turned it down.
"Dual swords are still better. An adamantite shield is too heavy for offensive use, and it limits your mobility..."
"True."
As befitted an excellent Heretic Inquisitor, he understood my reasoning at once.
Certainly, against a similar or weaker opponent, an adamantite shield might be far superior.
However, I had forged this sword with a much stronger opponent in mind.
You can't afford to go on the defensive against an enemy like that.
"In ordinary sword fighting, the one who attacks first is at a disadvantage... but not when dealing with heretic bastards, I've found."
Mages have a much wider attack variety.
Highly skilled mages even wield something akin to a finishing technique.
When facing such monsters, it's better to press them relentlessly.
That's how I survived when I confronted the Destruction Demon Thrall Killen.
Reinhardt accepted my reasoning without much difficulty... but he noticed something else that was bothering me.
The agitation must have seeped into my swordsmanship after all.
"You look troubled. What's on your mind?"
"Ah, it's nothing... I just feel like my progress has been stagnating lately."
"Your progress... is stagnating?"
Reinhardt murmured, looking utterly dumbfounded.
Thinking I should've chosen my words better to avoid sounding like I was boasting, I nodded.
"Yes, compared to that last Demon Thrall..."
"You've been swinging a sword for less than two years, and you're spouting nonsense. Do you know how many years of experience that Thrall had accumulated?"
"Well, I can't exactly live three centuries."
"... When you say your progress has stagnated, does that include your magic?"
"To be honest, that side is even worse."
Essentially, I had two techniques that could land a critical blow against a demon-class opponent.
Ultimate Mimicry and the Black Orb.
But Ultimate Mimicry was flawed from the start and won't work on anyone above a certain level.
That left the Black Orb, but its growth had slowed as well.
I'd want for nothing if I could use Adamantite Alchemy like Ulysses... but unfortunately, that's still a long way off.
Even though I'd become quite familiar with adamantite while forging the Glass Sword.
The feeling was that it was still far beyond my current level.
Of course. Unlike me, my teacher had staked his life on fighting solely through Transformation Magic.
He had Immobility Magic as well, but that was more of a byproduct that had come along for the ride while he was mastering Transformation Magic.
It's closer to saying that extremes meet.
"Jaeger. Don't be too impatient. Whether you like it or not, fighting heretics will make you stronger."
"Yes, Sir Reinhardt."
Thankfully, just as I received that encouragement and exited the training ground, a fairly large pigeon came fluttering over in a hurry.
I tried to shoo it away because cleaning up after them was such a hassle, but Reinhardt's adjutant stopped me, looking aghast.
"Hold on. What are you doing?"
"Pardon?"
"This little one is a carrier pigeon. A mail courier."
"Ah..."
Now that he mentioned it, I vaguely recalled Hector getting a pigeon message once.
To think there are such well-behaved pigeons in this world.
As I was murmuring in admiration, Reinhardt detached the letter tied to its leg.
Still, no matter how large, it was just a pigeon—the letter was no bigger than a grain of millet.
"A few more will fly in later. Have the clerks look after them."
"They send the same message multiple times?"
"That's right. They can fall victim to a big hawk, an eagle, or something similar. They require separate training, so they're precious creatures."
While Marcus was chatting away excitedly, Reinhardt's face rapidly darkened.
"The Time Mage Molan... so he was alive."
"Th-the Time Mage?"
"Let's head to my office immediately. This is an emergency meeting."
A mage of a school I was hearing about for the first time in my life.
Just looking at it, the demon in question must choose its contractors quite meticulously.
Judging by Reinhardt's sharp reaction, wasn't he at least recorded on the Wall of Shame?
As I was wondering about that, Katrina quickly filled me in.
"Molan is a mage who's roughly 250 years old, give or take. Mages do live longer than ordinary people, but even so, almost none live that long."
"So you thought he was already dead? Then his placement on the 'Wall' must be..."
"Naturally, right at the very top."
The Time Mage... It certainly sounded formidable at first glance.
When I tried to inquire further, Reinhardt, walking ahead, glanced back with clear annoyance.
"No matter how deep inside the Inquisition branch we are, don't discuss this so openly. Why do you think we're holding an emergency meeting in the first place?"
"Understood... but still, we just have to go and crush him, right?"
"We need to at least strategize how we're going to crush him."
Once we reached his office, Reinhardt disclosed the letter's contents.
"It's from the Inquisition branch of a neighboring kingdom. Right next to ours."
"Don't tell me it's about Prince Marcel..."
"No, that's to the south; this time it's north. The capital of a kingdom called Kshanti. It's a port city, so we'll be there quickly if we take a ship."
Oh? So this time I might get to visit a foreign country?
I was utterly excited by the unexpected news.
I'd taken plenty of official trips so far, but they were just places like the Einhold Duchy, the Winter Fortress, and the Front Lines.
Calling those three 'foreign countries' is a bit of a stretch.
But Kshanti is actually the capital of another nation.
It'll have a culture completely distinct from anything I've experienced so far.
Katrina was already looking worried as she watched me slip into tourist mode.
"Jaeger."
"I know. I'll be serious. But it is true that a support request came in, right?"
"Yes. It's the first time in a full fifty years that Molan's whereabouts have been confirmed. The situation is extremely urgent. We must dispatch support from our side immediately."
Heretics typically fall into two broad categories.
The first are the timid ones who prioritize their own survival above all else.
Most heretics fall into this category.
Even Ulysses is considered this type for now.
That's because the second category is far more radical.
The second type are the troublemakers who live as if they've already thrown their lives away.
Major incidents like terror attacks or assassination attempts are mostly committed by these sorts of heretics.
Of course, the line between them isn't all that strict—someone in the first category can always shift over into the second.
Heretics of the second type generally don't live long... but once they climb high enough to land on the Wall of Shame, they become a massive headache.
Hearing Reinhardt's words, I was certain Molan was the second type.
"So Molan is the extreme type?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about, Jaeger? Do you think someone like that could live to 250? Let alone vanish for fifty years."
"Wait. Then why is the situation urgent... Ah."
I realized it mid-sentence.
Mages do live far longer than ordinary people... but no matter what, 250 is too old.
Even for a Time Mage, you'd have to figure he's reached the very end of his lifespan by now.
'I see. Molan is a case about to tip from the first category over to the second.'
A mage facing death...
No, in this case, I should say a mage who faces an eternity of slavery ahead.
In any case, Molan was in a position where he could cause a massive incident with relative ease.
If he goes out with a bang in the human world before he dies, the demons might look upon him slightly more favorably.
"The quiet type that schemes in secret, like Ulysses, is troublesome too... but this sort is a predicament in its own way. Katrina, take your unit and depart tonight."
"Understood."
"I'll head over and smash him flat in no time."
"You'll get hurt if you underestimate him."
"By the way, what kind of magic does the Time Mage use?"
A grand technique like time reversal was naturally beyond him.
If anyone attempted such a thing, they'd have to crush the Magic Resistance of every being in the entire world.
That's impossible even for a Demon King-Class Demon.
Reinhardt gave an unexpected answer.
"His magic is less concerning than his history. The man has a rather... illustrious career."
"Hmm?"
I left the office and used my break to visit the archives.
Bringing Angelica and Alina would have turned the mission into a diplomatic incident, so both were excluded.
The moment I said 'Molan,' Wikia promptly fetched the relevant records.
"Now it's Molan. Another troublesome opponent has appeared."
"Still, he's from 250 years ago... Huh? What's this?"
Molan's record was extraordinary from the very first line.
So this bastard was a descendant of an emperor from the eastern continent across the sea?
Seeing my shocked reaction, Wikia just chuckled.
"If you're an emperor of an empire, you'd sire an enormous number of children, right? By that standard, is it such a rare origin?"
"Keep reading."
"... Wait, he actually inherited the imperial throne? Is he insane?"
What on earth could a man who had risen to become emperor of an empire possibly lack that he'd lay his hands on magic?
When I freaked out in astonishment, Alina came up from behind and started kneading my shoulders.
Normally, this kind of knowledge is classified as a top-level secret... but Molan was ostensibly an emperor, so that anecdote would already be widely known.
It's just that I'm a commoner by birth, so I'd never heard of it.
"Wow, Molan was alive?"
"No need to worry, Your Highness. He'll soon be dead."
"As expected, Sir Jaeger is so dependable."
I'd cracked a joke for nothing and got no return on my investment.
I ducked my flushed face and kept reading through the record.
Molan, who had been emperor of a great empire, had unified the eastern continent...
Yet after achieving unification, he supposedly went mad and indulged in tyranny.
The most notorious of that tyranny was the hunt for the Herb of Immortality.
After exhausting every conventional means of escaping death, Molan eventually turned to magic.
His actions shattered the empire.
After a long war, the eastern continent is said to have become a dead land where life can no longer dwell.
"I'd heard he had a colorful history... but I didn't expect it was to this degree."
"Because of the Molan incident, it became taboo for the administrators of a nation to directly meddle in magic. Any royal with succession rights learns this story."
I nodded, grateful for Alina's kind explanation.
It's true that if a monarch openly wielded magic, it would be the end.
From that point on, everyone beneath them would become mages without exception.
"But could you stop massaging my shoulders? It's so uncomfortable I'm just getting stiffer."
"There's no need to feel tense..."
Alina clicked her tongue in disappointment and stepped back.
I shot her a glare from behind Wikia's back, then hurried to prepare for the official trip.