Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Festival - 9
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The dinner venue was Raymond's inn.
Unlike the upper floors lined with rooms for adventurers to stay, the first floor of the building served entirely as a hall.
Among various options including restaurants, they chose the inn because of its overwhelming size.
A space large enough for all the villagers to fit inside together was rare.
After clearing out all the small items, they gathered tables in the empty center to create seating.
Food was placed on the tables one by one.
These were prepared by hand by the residents who operated the restaurant.
There was no need to doubt the taste.
I wanted to savor the food, but the person on my right wouldn't let me eat in peace.
"No. So, how exactly did you do that just now?"
"I told you. I disrupted it before the magic could complete."
"What kind of nonsense is that? You really think something like that's possible?"
Sua had experience dodging or blocking magic, but she'd never had her spellcasting itself interfered with.
The very idea of interfering with a spell in progress by forcing mana into it was brand new information to her.
No one had even thought such a thing was possible, and even if they knew, no one could use it in actual combat.
"Hah, unbelievable. How does a non-mage even know something like that...?"
"Exactly, why'd you provoke him when it was doomed to fail?"
"I didn't know he'd be this powerless."
Most swordsmen had a highly unfavorable matchup against mages in open spaces.
Since I'd learned how to deal with mages, I could overcome the weaknesses that held me back as an adventurer.
"Disrupting magic before it completes... How did you even come up with that?"
"Yeah, how'd you think of something like that?"
"What, are you praising yourself? Ridiculous."
Learning was different from enlightenment.
It was knowledge handed down from another, not something I'd gained on my own.
It was from a regression far in the past.
"See, no matter how skilled a mage is, the time it takes to cast a spell can never be zero, right?"
"Sure. Even if you shorten it as much as possible, there's still a brief moment— the manifestation process is inevitable."
"So, I thought about ways to cancel an opponent's magic mid-combat... and it seems like you don't even need to be a mage to do it?"
My days as a mage grew more skilled with each passing day, more refined.
She no longer found satisfaction in just honing her own magic; she started pondering ways to disrupt her opponent's.
And the method she came up with wasn't something only she, as a mage, could do.
"Mages counter other mages by using opposing attributes and forms. But when mana is just starting to gather, you don't need such complex counters. You just need to ruin the phenomenon of it converging into a single point."
"Using my mana to prevent their mana from clumping together. Something like that?"
"Yeah. If you can do that, even a non-mage—like a sword user like you—could disrupt magic before it finishes forming."
The difference between a mage and a non-mage.
Whether you could manipulate mana or not.
Magic wasn't just about moving points of mana.
You had to convert its attributes and shape its form.
But the idea she proposed this time didn't require such manipulation.
It was possible just by moving raw mana as it was.
"You're basically handing your mage weakness to me. You sure it's okay to tell me all this?"
"Hah, are we strangers? We've survived death's door together how many times? Besides, we need to test if this even works."
It was a groundbreaking idea, but even I doubted it when I first heard it.
The simple notion of preventing mana from gathering couldn't possibly corner a mage as a swordsman.
But the mage herself explained to me exactly which spell, at what time, in what position.
Following her breathing, I injected mana at the precise moment.
Success one out of ten times.
Her theory proved possible, but I thought it was utterly impractical for real combat.
Enemy mages wouldn't kindly explain their attacks like she did, one by one.
I had to predict the exact time and space when the magic would start.
"Still, if you practice consistently, you'll make it work someday, right?"
"Even a hundred days of this wouldn't cut it. Plus, you need someone casting spells every time just to practice."
"So what? I'll help you."
Until that regression cycle ended, I never properly utilized what I'd learned.
But I had many more cycles after that, and I could practice until it grew tedious.
"So you're saying I have to predict where you'll cast the magic? That's... possible?"
"Well, after practicing consistently, it became possible."
Sua wore a hollow expression.
Having her magic dismantled by a swordsman must have been a huge shock.
"And you... you need to fix your gaze when casting."
"My gaze?"
"Your eyes keep following the spot where the magic will manifest."
"Ugh... I have to fix that too?"
The one who'd taught me was now being taught by me.
It felt strangely complex.
"Alright, everyone! Enough chit-chat and focus here!"
Raymond took control of the rowdy atmosphere.
He had climbed onto a chair.
Thanks to that, everyone at the gathering could see him.
"It's obvious, but on a special day like this, it'd be a shame to skip it. Gotta do what we gotta do."
Raymond picked up a glass filled with liquor.
"Ha... the moment I've been waiting for has finally arrived. At last!"
Raymond might have been looking forward to this time during the festival more than anyone.
For a liquor lover like him, drinking with all his neighbors must have been a dream until now.
Thanks to the festival, it had become reality—a true blessing.
"We're grateful to all of you who joined the festival despite your busy schedules, and also to the village chief who made this possible—"
"Boo! Boring! Make it short!"
"Too wordy!"
"A few words in, and the complaints pour already."
He seemed to be giving a toast to start the banquet dinner, drawing out his words.
But these weren't people who would let things proceed smoothly.
The villagers' relationships were so longstanding that even teasing bordering on insults was everyday fare.
"Anyway, we'll keep doing what we always do. Thanks to the chief, and above all, to commemorate the day Earthbound Spirit arrived in our village!"
After even mentioning a commemorative day for the festival, Raymond brought the glass in his hand to his lips.
Then he flicked his wrist sharply, pouring the liquor into his mouth.
When he set the glass down again, it was empty.
"Kuh... Enjoy yourselves so you won't regret it tomorrow!"
"Let's party!"
With the atmosphere even more lively, everyone began enjoying the liquor and food.
There was a glass of liquor in front of me too, and one in front of Ellie on my left.
"......"
"Ellie? What're you doing just sitting there?"
"Ah, r-right! Gotta drink!"
Ellie was the one who'd insisted during festival prep that they needed liquor.
Though I'd never actually seen her drink.
Ellie picked up her glass and looked at me.
I lifted my glass as well and lightly clinked it against hers.
"Hoo..."
Ellie took a deep breath in, then let it out.
She squeezed her eyes shut and brought the glass to her lips.
"Eek, bitter..."
She immediately grimaced.
I took a sip too.
Good stuff.
Perfect to enjoy moderately with food, enough to get a light buzz from the mood.
Getting drunk wasn't as easy as it used to be.
"Can't handle it?"
"I can drink it, but no idea if it's supposed to taste good."
"You said you wanted to drink on festival night, so I figured you were good at it."
"I don't like liquor much, so I rarely drink, and I'm not great at it either."
I wondered why someone like that would ask for booze.
The reason was that girl again.
"Rien told me last time..."
"Rien?"
"She said liquor is essential for any progress between a man and a woman..."
She must have filled Ellie's head with nonsense before leaving.
I wondered what those two talked about so much.
"Not wrong, though. Booze is scary powerful between men and women, right?"
Sua chimed in.
"But just putting liquor on the table doesn't make progress happen. You gotta drink it. Heh."
"W-what'd you say?"
"Kids who can't handle their booze, go over there and eat some food. Shall we wet our throats among ourselves?"
Sua clinked her glass against mine, which I'd been holding still.
Her eyes stayed on me as she sipped.
'I didn't tell you to use gaze control for stuff like this.'
Sua's words rubbed Ellie the wrong way.
"I can drink too, you know?"
"Wait, Ellie! Chugging like that...!"
Too late to stop her— her grip on the glass was too steep.
It seemed even faster than Raymond, the notorious drinker.
"Whoa."
"Don't just stand there gawking! This is your fault for saying that!"
"More importantly, doesn't she look wasted already?"
"Ugh..."
Even at a glance, Ellie's eyes were half-lidded more than before.
She stared at my face giggling for a few seconds, then—
Thud!
—slammed her head straight onto the table.