Chapter 059
Chapter Title: A Lesson in Wind
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[Gasp!]
In the dead of night.
Kiruan jolted awake.
“You awake?”
[Ah, you wicked human!]
Kiruan recoiled, scrambling backward on his rear.
Watching him, Leo rested his chin on his hand.
“Alright, I'll acknowledge that you're the heir to the Fairy King.”
[W-what did you say?]
“The pact was forcibly executed.”
Leo frowned, glancing down at the back of his right hand.
A silver summoning circle was glowing there.
Seeing this, Kiruan was horrified.
[N-no way! Are you the pact-holder my father spoke of!]
*'The pact-holder Silroad mentioned? So the seal was meant to break the moment he met the pact-holder.'*
In Leo's case, he'd obtained the pact through a completely different route, irrespective of Silroad's will, but it was a fact that the contract had been forcibly executed by the pact.
“I suppose so.”
[I can't believe it! There's no way my father would make a pact with a lowly human!]
Kiruan, who had been pointing an accusatory finger, hastily spoke up when he saw Leo lift the Summoning textbook.
[O-on second thought, making a contract with a human doesn't seem so bad!]
“How did Silroad end up with a son like you?”
[Hmph! What right do you, a human, have to speak so familiarly of my father?]
“I probably know Silroad better than you do.”
During the Age of Calamity, Leo and Silroad had fought through countless battlefields together.
Although Silroad was Luna's contractor, his bond with Leo was just as strong.
“Silroad has a very gentle nature. Unlike you, he doesn't have any speciesist tendencies.”
Leo rested his chin on his hand.
“Besides, you were sealed by Silroad for committing a great sin, weren't you?”
Kiruan flinched.
“Royal Fairies have six wings. The only one who can strip those wings is the Fairy King. It's obvious you were exiled from Fairy Land for some grave transgression.”
[H-how could a human like you know such things in detail!]
“I told you. I know Silroad better than you do.”
Kiruan stared blankly at Leo's meaningful smile.
[A-are you really the Fairy King's pact-holder? You've met my father in person?]
“Yes.”
To be precise, he'd met him in his past life, but it wasn't a lie.
[I-I can't believe it.]
“So. How did you get exiled?”
[Since you're the pact-holder, I suppose there's no need to hide it.]
Kiruan gazed out the window with a melancholic expression.
[That night was a starlit one, much like tonight.]
Kiruan explained that as the Fairy King's first son, he was beloved by all the fairies in Fairy Land.
Having lived his life getting everything he wanted from a young age, Kiruan had become a troublemaker.
[That day, those who were jealous of me framed me, and I ended up earning my father's ire.]
“So, you caused all sorts of trouble and made Silroad angry? You were kicked out for being a pain in your father's neck, and now you're striking a pose like you've been wronged?”
[Eek?]
Seeing Leo brandish the Summoning textbook, Kiruan yelped and fled.
Knowing his friend's personality well, Leo could only imagine how much trouble Kiruan must have caused for the gentle Silroad to take such drastic measures against his own son.
“Tsk. Anyway, now that the seal is broken, you can return to Fairy Land whenever you want, right? Go and get Silroad for me.”
[I cannot.]
“Why?”
[I cannot return to Fairy Land. I can only go back once I find all six of my wings.]
“...”
[It seems you won't be able to meet my father again after all. Then again, that's just how it is for humans.]
With a smirk, Kiruan looked down on Leo and crossed his arms.
[Well, I don't like the fact that you're human, but since you're a human acknowledged by my father, I shall endure it! I will grant you the honor of helping me reclaim my wings! For now, I know the first wing is in the Fairy Forest, the former home of our kind. You are to guide me there at once.]
A dark shadow fell over the smug-looking Kiruan.
*'Silroad, it seems your son coming to me was fate.'*
Thwack-! Thwack-! Thwack-! Thwack-!
[Gah! S-save... me...! Gak!]
*'I'll discipline him properly and send him back to you.'*
Thinking of his friend who must have suffered because of his son, Leo smiled warmly.
***
“It's cold!”
The next morning.
Class 5, gathered in a clearing at the entrance of the Fairy Forest, cried out.
They had changed into their winter uniforms and dressed as warmly as possible, but the cold of the Fairy Forest was beyond imagination.
Even the students from the northern regions were shivering.
This was because, while also in the north, the elven territories were much farther north and thus colder than the areas where humans lived.
As all the students trembled, Halind spoke.
“I will now tell you what you lack.”
Sera handed out pre-prepared papers to the students.
The students' faces hardened as they received them.
“My swordsmanship and magic aren't in harmony? Me?”
Iliana looked dumbfounded.
“Lack of skill in utilizing my summon?”
Tiede also looked unconvinced.
“Chelsea. What does yours say is the problem?”
“Lack of understanding of wind magic. What about you, Karl?”
“Huh? Mine says lack of mana, which I get, but is that really your problem?”
Karl was shocked by Chelsea's words.
Most of the students expressed doubt about the assignments given to them.
Chelsea raised her hand.
“Professor! I don't understand! My wind magic is the best not just in our class, but in our entire year. Why is my weakness a lack of understanding of wind magic?”
“Is that what you think?”
“Yes! I'm confident my understanding of wind magic is as high as my brother's!”
As a member of a renowned hero family whose primary element was wind, this was unacceptable.
It wasn't just Chelsea.
The areas Halind had pointed out as lacking were all things the students of Class 5 considered their individual 'strengths'.
The fields in which they were confident they excelled over other students.
Since he had concluded they were lacking in those very fields, it was only natural for them to react with defiance.
In response to everyone's reaction, Halind spoke.
“So you can't accept the fact that you aren't properly utilizing your strengths?”
“That's right!”
Chelsea replied, her expression slightly sullen.
“So that's how you feel.”
Halind's lips curled into a smirk.
“Chelsea Llewellyn. Step forward.”
Called out unexpectedly, Chelsea stepped forward with a puzzled look.
“Leo Flove. Step forward.”
Leo was called next.
“From now on, the two of you will duel using only wind magic.”
“...!”
“If you're so proud of being the best in your year, prove your skills here and now.”
“Professor. Even if it's Leo, if we're dueling with only wind magic, it's obvious I'll win.”
The other students thought the same.
“If Chelsea Llewellyn wins, it means my judgment was wrong. If that happens, you can have free time for the rest of the school trip.”
At Halind's words, the eyes of all Class 5 students widened.
*'That means…'*
*'We won't have to come out here in the cold every morning and suffer like this, right?'*
*'As long as Chelsea beats the class president!'*
“However, if Leo Flove wins, you will follow my instructions without complaint.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Go, Chelsea!”
“Crush the class president!”
“Chelsea! We're counting on you!”
Finding the entire class suddenly turned against him, Leo let out a dry laugh.
“Not a single person cheering for me?”
“Sorry, Leo! Just this once, we can't root for you!”
At Karl's words, Leo shook his head and walked to the center of the clearing.
“Come to think of it, this is the first time I'm fighting you with magic, isn't it?”
“Yeah, it is.”
He helped Chelsea with her training every week, but that was always physical combat practice.
They had never dueled using magic like this.
*'I don't think I'll lose to Leo in a duel using only wind magic, but...'*
Chelsea glanced back and forth between Leo and Halind.
*'Professor Halind wouldn't have said something like that for no reason.'*
Chelsea bounced on the balls of her feet, loosening up.
“No matter how amazing Leo is, this is too much.”
“Yeah.”
“I think Professor Halind is pushing it.”
While everyone else looked relaxed, Karl was tense.
*'Objectively speaking, Chelsea has a huge advantage. But Leo has always surpassed expectations. He might have a trump card.'*
“Begin.”
The moment Halind's command fell, Chelsea began her incantation.
“Wind Breaker!”
“Wind Breaker.”
At the same time as Chelsea's chant, Leo also cast his spell.
Chelsea, who had expected him to dodge, looked surprised.
CRASH!
The blades of wind collided and canceled each other out.
WHOOSH-!
Of course, fragments of Chelsea's Wind Breaker that hadn't been fully canceled out rained down on Leo.
“Wind Shield!”
BAM-!
The intense storm of blades blew away the wind shield Leo created and left scratches on his body.
“...!”
“N-no way!”
Tiede looked bewildered at Iliana, who was shouting in disbelief.
“What? Why? Isn't Chelsea at an advantage?”
“You idiot! Chelsea's high-speed casting is the best among the first-years! But Leo countered with the exact same spell! What do you think that means!”
*'It means Leo's casting speed... is faster than mine.'*
Leo had always shown a weakness in activation formulas, the latest trend in magic.
*'It wouldn't be strange for Leo to have overcome that weakness quickly. But for his wind magic casting speed to be faster than mine... does that even make sense?'*
Chelsea's high-speed casting ability was, without a doubt, number one among the first-years.
Even Chloe and Abad couldn't match Chelsea in this area.
Chelsea's high-speed spell was overwhelmingly more powerful than Leo's.
Even so, the fact that her casting was slower was a blow to Chelsea's pride.
*'Casting speed alone doesn't decide a battle!'*
It's only slightly faster!
There's no significant difference.
*'Besides, I can cast a much wider variety of spells at high speed than Leo can!'*
“Wind Chain!”
CLANK-!
If Wind Breaker was a spell that swept away enemies in a straight line, Wind Chain was a spell that used chains of wind to subdue them.
As Chelsea's magic targeted him, Leo completed his spell.
“Wind.”
*'Just as I thought, Leo's spell variety is lacking!'*
A triumphant smile on her face, Chelsea shouted.
“You can't beat me with just wind magic!”
At her words, Leo smiled.
“Chelsea, do you remember what I said the first day we met?”
“What?”
“That's not how you use wind magic.”