Chapter 122

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 122

Chapter Title: If You Wish, Even My Body...

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If you wish, even my body...

Amid the barrage, I could see Karindol's face twisted in utter distortion.

Under the relentless assault of my 5th-circle spells, Karindol had been pushed to her absolute limit.

She was calculating another defensive spell, but it was too slow.

Long before Karindol could finish her calculations, mine were complete.

A spear hurtled toward her.

Shock and despair flashed across Karindol's face.

Victory.

But just as I wondered what would happen if that hit her straight on,

A sharp clang echoed through the space.

At the same moment, the barrier enclosing us vanished.

"...Rime?"

"I apologize, Lady Karindol."

It was Rime.

Rime, who had been standing by and watching all this time, had finally intervened.

With her usual expressionless face, she blocked the [Apprentice Dragon Knight's Spear Throw].

Behind her, protected by Rime, Karindol wore a humiliated expression.

Could I win if Rime joined in too?

Judging by the barrier's quality, Rime's skills were no joke either.

Even with thought acceleration, I wasn't confident I could take on both alone.

But before I could dwell on it, they spoke first.

"Ian Isaac. I apologize. Please withdraw."

Contrary to my expectation of an attack, Rime dispelled her magic and bowed at the waist.

It didn't seem like a lie.

I released thought acceleration and responded.

"Pardon?"

"If the fight continues here, I'll have no choice but to join in. Then, you won't stand a chance of victory, Ian. I request that you withdraw."

"...What the hell is that bullshit?"

I was dumbfounded by Rime's response.

Karindol had been the one to attack first.

This was a seriously fucked-up situation.

"No. You guys attacked me first."

"That's why I'm apologizing for that part. Please withdraw."

"Rime. What the hell are you doing?"

Karindol grabbed Rime and shoved her aside.

Regardless, Rime didn't straighten up from her bow.

I pondered the bizarre sight.

As Rime said, in a 2-on-1, my chances of winning were next to none.

But considering only the fight with Karindol, I'd won.

Karindol seemed to realize it too. She knew she couldn't beat me alone.

Her current tantrum looked like she was venting frustration at Rime.

Rime's bowed posture felt oddly familiar.

Maybe she'd dealt with her hot-tempered mistress like this often.

It also seemed like she was stepping in to clean up because continuing would put Karindol in real danger.

In that case, pushing further didn't seem wise.

Rime appeared intent on ending her immature lady's tantrum here.

I was pissed about the sneak attack,

but I couldn't just turn around and murder Karindol over it.

I didn't want to become a murderer or start a war with the Rimgoft Archmage Ducal House.

Still, I was pissed, so I had to do what needed doing.

"Fine. I'll let it slide for Senior Rime's sake."

"Thank you, Ian."

"Rime. What the hell are you doing?"

"But, Senior Karindol."

The dark-skinned girl, who had been snapping at Rime, turned to me with a furious glare when I called her.

But she didn't attack like before.

She'd realized her skills couldn't beat me.

"All that talk about being the strongest direct descendant or whatever, and it's nothing special. Pfft."

"...?!"

"With that level of skill, you need a lot more training before threatening to kill people, right? Looks like the purge rankings are based on actual ability? Second-year number one~"

"N-Number one...?"

"Strutting around with that kind of power is a problem, isn't it? Aren't you tarnishing your family's reputation? Hahahahaha!"

"Y-You...!"

"Puhahahaha! Owned! Hahahaha! With that skill, the strongest direct descen—pfft. Strongest direct what? Puhuhu!"

Unleashing every taunt technique I'd learned from Elrim, Karindol's fists trembled in rage.

Seeing her seethe was pretty satisfying.

In the midst of brain-melting her repeatedly,

Shhhk—

Rime, who had been bowed the whole time, suddenly shot me a glare that could kill.

Shit, I'd crossed the line.

Looked like it might turn into a 2-on-1, so I decided to bail.

It was late at night anyway, and I spotted the guard uncle in the distance.

"Well then, I'll graciously let you off the hook!"

I bolted, even using acceleration magic, back to the dorm.

For a split second, Rime's glare seemed scarier than Karindol's.

"I apologize, Lady Karindol."

After Ian left.

Rime prostrated herself flat before Karindol and begged forgiveness.

Normally, for Rime to step in and apologize to Ian on her own would be overstepping.

She had been trained never to defy Karindol's actions.

Karindol had given Rime orders long ago.

When she was thoroughly crushing someone who pissed her off,

use barrier magic to isolate the space from prying eyes, and just watch without interfering.

But there were rules that superseded Karindol's orders.

One was the command from the head of the Rimgoft family,

and the second was to ensure Karindol's body remained safe no matter the situation.

In other words, if she'd let it continue, Karindol would have died from Ian's attack.

Nor could she have joined Karindol in attacking Ian.

That too was due to family policy.

The Archmage Duke tolerated Karindol's rampages to a degree,

but not to the point of allowing needless murder.

If she killed every mage who annoyed her on a whim, half the academy's students would be gone.

So up until now, Rime had only monitored Karindol's fights moderately.

Letting her vent her anger.

But if it looked like she'd actually kill someone, she'd intervene.

On the family's orders.

Caught between family commands and serving Karindol, Rime was always in a tough spot.

And Karindol gave no thought to Rime's hardships.

"Ha..."

Karindol let out a sigh laced with fury.

Then she began kicking at Rime, who was prostrated flat.

Thud— Thud— Thud— Smack—

"......"

Rime kept her lips tightly shut, not uttering a single cry.

She just curled up on the ground with her familiar blank expression.

Karindol's beating went on for a while.

She was in an even worse mood than usual.

Because she knew.

Unlike the other cadets she'd crushed whenever they got on her nerves,

she could no longer touch that arrogant first-year.

Karindol hadn't been able to beat Ian with her own power.

For some reason, his calculation speed was abnormally fast.

Even though it was just 5th-circle magic, she couldn't keep up and was driven to the brink of defeat.

Of course, considering the family's power, Ian was nothing to her.

But outright killing an innocent cadet wasn't permitted.

They handled cleanup for things Karindol did alone as a direct descendant, but nothing beyond that.

Rational mages wouldn't allow needless slaughter.

Yet the Rimgoft family handled Karindol a bit differently.

It was like dealing with slightly agitated livestock.

They cleaned up the shit and fed it, but that was it.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

Rime didn't cry out until the end.

Her inorganic expression remained the same.

"Whew, fuck yeah."

Back at the dorm, I swung my elbow toward the direction where Karindol was.

The fight was a win.

SubsidyRiceEater's 6th-circle magic had been insanely effective.

Karindol must have known 6th-circle spells too,

but I overwhelmed her so fast she couldn't even deploy one.

Were Gonik's spells on another level?

Not just in combat, they showed tremendous power in all sorts of situations.

"And that was just 6th circle..."

What would higher circles be like?

From what I'd seen of professors' or grad students' research, it wasn't this impressive.

Gonik's magic was clearly a dimension higher.

Even at the same circle, this much difference.

I set aside the admiration and headed to the shower first.

Fighting Karindol had made the night drag on later.

Plan was to wash up, cultivate a bit more, and sleep.

But before that, end the day with some gallery scrolling.

I opened the gallery while under the shower spray.

MagicIsNotHard had a point. Reporting to the academy seemed like the right move.

My fight with her ended in my victory.

Frustrating as it was, pushing further against Karindol risked direct confrontation with the Archmage Ducal House.

Harisha's words came to mind, and going that far wasn't smart.

But to prevent more victims, telling the academy was best.

With Chiyong there, they'd at least take notice.

And I should mention it to Harisha too.

Shhh—

The sound of the shower filled the bathroom.

A moment later, I turned off the water and stepped out.

The rest of the night was spent cultivating.

The next morning.

I left the dorm at a reasonable hour.

To tell Chiyong about last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠night and meet Harisha while at it.

Heading to the principal's office first,

"Good day."

"Gah!"

Rime was waiting for me right outside the dorm.

Just Rime, no Karindol.

"What's up? Here for revenge?"

"No. I've come to apologize again."

"Didn't you already yesterday?"

"That's true, but Lady Karindol was there, so I couldn't apologize properly. Please accept my sincere apology once more."

Then Rime bowed at the waist again.

Her insistence on apologizing twice felt extremely odd.

"It's fine, stand up. It wasn't your fault anyway, Senior Rime..."

"I'll apologize on behalf of Lady Karindol. Please forgive her."

"Why is Senior Rime apologizing for Senior Karindol?"

"Lady Karindol often acts this way. If you'd truly been in danger yesterday, I would have stopped her."

"So you wouldn't stop her violence, but you'd prevent deaths?"

"Yes. The family doesn't suppress Lady Karindol's violent tendencies, but they've ordered me to prevent excessive incidents."

"What the hell kind of bullshit..."

Family policy, huh.

The Rimgoft Archmage Ducal House was one weird family.

Maybe they spoiled their only daughter.

Whatever. Forgiving Karindol was another matter.

Even if yesterday was over,

letting someone rampage like that wasn't normal.

"This is weird. What, if I don't forgive you here, the Archduke will come kill me?"

"...His Grace the Archmage is an exceedingly merciful leader."

A merciful leader raises their daughter like that?

I held back from saying it.

"Anyway, what does that matter? Didn't yesterday end it?"

"It would be best if you fully forgave yesterday's incident, Ian."

"Why seek forgiveness from Senior Rime for Senior Karindol? Separately, I think reporting this to the academy is right."

"...So you intend to report it?"

"Yes."

Rime remained expressionless.

But I sensed faint unease.

"Even if you report to the academy, the family will step in, and Lady Karindol will suffer no real harm."

"Still gotta say what needs saying, right?"

"...If you seek compensation, it will be provided sufficiently."

Rime's words were truly bizarre.

Like she wanted to seal my mouth, make the incident vanish.

"Not really. And I don't want to let it slide like this."

"But..."

"You want me not to report it?"

"..."

Was that why she was clinging so hard?

But as she said, even if reported, the ducal house would cover for it.

Made me wonder why go this far.

Then Rime's next action was even stranger.

"Then, use me however you like until your anger fades. If you wish, even my body..."

"...Pardon? No, pardon?"