Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Translator: XZY
Chapter 53: Value (7)
***
‘Diella should be in the middle of her duel by now.’
The magnificent mansion prepared separately for Aiseline. Among the stone statues stamped with the crest of a pretty lily, countless flowers were swaying in the wind.
Rustle—
Aiseline, who was reading a book while sitting in the garden, suddenly worried about her younger sister and nodded her head.
She had said the magic duel with Denise would be held at Diella’s mansion, but in any case, the news of its outcome would travel on the winds of rumor and spread throughout the Rosea Salon.
‘I hope nothing serious happens... I just hope there are no unnecessary scandals...’
Ranking things was a habit of the public.
Even if it was meaningless, they would evaluate and compare, saying who was better and who was lacking.
Before judging right and wrong, it was simply something that was bound to happen, and something one had to endure if they wanted to receive the attention of all. Aiseline knew this more than well enough.
Aiseline had begun to receive attention little by little not long after she entered the Ebelstein social circle. By now, she had become a figure who was in a position like the face of the Rosea Salon.
When one receives the attention of countless noble young ladies and becomes the subject of whispers, being evaluated and compared becomes as natural as breathing. The people who became the subjects of that comparison were, of course, bound to be figures with high names and excellent reputations.
If one were to pick out figures who could be placed on a comparative line with someone like Aiseline, in the end, it was only Elente and Denise, the young ladies of the same three great noble families.
Elente was a person whose inside and outside were transparent, but Denise was the complete opposite.
‘She always maintains the appearance of an antique young lady, but I feel her true nature is more indolent than one might think...’
Aiseline’s insight was accurate.
There were times when she could read the underlying nature of Denise when they occasionally met at the dueling grounds or during academic society discussions.
She would sometimes have an indifferent look in her eyes, and it seemed clear that she was fundamentally uninterested in all things.
The interest she showed as a matter of courtesy was also just an act born of necessity.
Most noble young ladies did not even have a clue about the depths of such a Denise, but the sharp Aiseline had already noticed a little of her essence through countless meetings and was being considerate of her.
Whatever came her way, she just wanted to handle it quickly and move on, and if her shoulders became heavier than necessary, she wanted to shake it all off, a common person who just wanted to live comfortably for a long, long time with such exquisite social skills.
She had never thought about what would happen if Denise were to give her all.
“...”
Aiseline and Elente won against Denise every time they had a magic duel.
Denise had little attachment to victory or defeat in the first place, so when the exchange of magic began to go beyond a certain level, she would just appropriately lose and conclude the match.
Not to mention Aiseline or Elente, with whom she was relatively close, but no young lady in the Rosea Salon would have seen that Denise give her all.
In other words, it meant that there was no one, at least in this Rosea Salon, who knew her true bottom line.
That fact strangely made Aiseline uneasy.
<><><>
The 1-Star Combat-type magic: ‘Shockwave,’ ‘Ice Spear,’ ‘Mana Arrow,’ ‘Flash Freeze,’ ‘Thorny Bush.’
Denise could not help but be astounded as she watched the sight of five spells being chanted simultaneously.
Diella, who was angry to the tips of her hair, had no intention of holding back and was thinking of completely shattering Denise’s protection magic with all her might.
If that happened and one of them were to get seriously injured, there was a possibility that it would develop into a problem between the families.
That was something she would just have to bear herself when the time came. Thinking roughly like that, Diella slammed down the numerous spells as if in a storm.
Despite that threatening momentum, which was like a tiger charging, Denise let out a snort and raised her left hand to construct a magic circle.
‘The mages of the Duplein family are all so full of individuality.’
Denise had already grasped a certain amount of information about the figures of the three great noble families.
Compared to Aiseline’s magic, which walked along a well-ordered path, Diella’s magic was free-spirited.
Even if they were all 1-Star spells that looked familiar, the way they were manifested, changing freely according to Diella’s will, was tricky to deal with.
However, granting regularity to such disorderly things was Denise’s specialty.
When Denise’s eyes widened once, she could clearly see that there was a certain rule to the spells that were being fired in all directions.
No matter how free-spirited the method of using mana was, personal habits or disposition were bound to show through.
Kwaaaang— !
She evaded the ice spear that slammed down again and the ice pillars that shot up from the floor without difficulty.
Evading Diella’s magic itself was not that difficult. However, if asked whether she could easily defeat Diella because of that, it was not the case.
Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaang— !
Overwhelming firepower. The gap that came from that could not be easily narrowed.
Denise had an exceptional talent for handling magic delicately, but she was surprisingly not talented at crushing the opponent with unilateral firepower.
She just sensed the opponent’s mana to evade, use it against them, and ferret out their openings.
The way a swordsman who had honed their technique to the limit fought would be like Denise.
‘I can feel her intention to not give me an opening to attack at all. It doesn’t seem like she’s conscious of my aim... Did she just figure it out instinctively?’
If Denise analyzed her opponent by finding rational moves, Diella was a wild style, like a raging natural disaster.
If it were an academic discussion, reason and rationality would be the key factors for victory, but a magic duel was a field where momentum and senses were much more important.
In the end, the duel on this magic dueling platform was a domain where Diella was bound to have the advantage.
‘Hoo..;’
A competent strategist never steps into the palm of the opponent’s hand. If she had intended to win, she would not have created this situation in the first place.
However, the initial plan was only to lose, so the situation had become like this.
If the situation had become like this, then it was enough to ferret out a way to win at this point in time.
In the storm of raging mana, Denise’s vision went black for a moment and then turned on again.
She seized the flow of her thoughts, regarded every small and detailed thing as information, and meticulously observed the movements of that small beast.
Time slowed down. For an instant, she could not even hear a sound.
Her heart beat, and her brain accelerated. She took in everything down to a single thread on the hem of her fluttering frilled dress and constructed a logic to defeat her opponent.
The few seconds that Diella’s magic came flying.
The figure of Diella, seen through the gaps of those numerous ice spears and mana arrows.
She was short, and her build was also small. Abundant blonde hair, jade-like skin, blue eyes like Denise’s, a habit of dragging her right foot, a habit of composing her breath once when manifesting mana, and a routine of clenching her left fist tightly when creating an ice spear.
— ‘Lady Denise.’
— ‘The ability to sense mana can reach a higher realm through repeated practice. However, the eyes that can instantly see through an opponent’s habits and essence before mana is not the realm of learning. It is closer to the realm of embodiment.’
Her flashing eyes shifted their gaze, following the direction the mana would advance.
Perhaps the size of her frilled dress was a bit large, as a slight discomfort was evident in the movement of her left arm. She would occasionally shake her head, perhaps because the black rose-shaped brooch on her head was obstructing her view. When a storm-like wind blew up due to the aftermath of the mana, she had a habit of clenching the hem of her skirt tightly with one hand.
Like that, from the tip of the girl named Diella’s fingers to the tip of her toes, everything entered Denise’s eyes and was converted into information.
— ‘That observational eye of yours, Lady Denise, is an ability that cannot be learned from anyone, an ability given to you like a gift. Isn't this an age where numerous mercenaries risk their lives to enter labyrinths to hone even a slightly sharper sense?’
— ‘The value that your ability holds, Lady Denise... please do not underestimate it yourself so much.’
Those words from Derek, which she had heard so much during her lessons that her ears were calloused, gradually began to make Denise’s eyes serious.
It was the sincere advice of a teacher who, when the numerous vassals of the Beltus family were only thinking of the name value of this great family, had finally seen Denise’s essence and tried to cultivate that ability.
She had always worn an expression like she was chewing on sand, but while pretending not to, she had been engraving it in her heart.
Hwaak— !
Like that, Diella’s magic slammed down and a cloud of dust bloomed, but... Denise’s protection magic did not manifest.
Kugugung! Kugung! Kung—!
Rather, Denise’s mana began to pour out from within the dust cloud that obscured her vision.
In an instant, the aftermath of the mana covered the area, and because of that, the dust cloud scattered and disappeared in an instant.
Denise, with her silver-gray hair fluttering, manifested the 2-Star Detection-type magic, ‘Surveillance.’
It was the sense of that Detection-type magic, which she had sharpened to the limit while exchanging blows with her master, Derek.
Denise’s magic circle, which had spread out wide over the entire dueling grounds in an instant, had completely seized control of the area.
Fwaaaaaaaah— !
A spectacle as if stars were being scattered unfolded.
Not to mention the servants, but even Diella could not help but widen her eyes in surprise.
Denise was one of the three most respected young ladies in the Rosea Salon. They had thought that, of course, her magical mastery would be at a certain level.
However, no matter what, no one had expected that she would have reached the 2-Star realm.
Hadn't even the renowned Lady Aiseline learned 2-Star magic with difficulty and received everyone’s congratulations?
However, Denise had just not revealed it until now. She had already reached a magical realm almost on par with Aiseline.
“W-what is this...”
Diella was surprised at the sight of Denise revealed through the dust cloud.
Denise’s physical condition was not intact.
The hem of her skirt was torn, she was covered in a lot of dust, and the ribbon that had been holding her back hair was undone and rolling on the floor.
Her face was also covered in a lot of grime, but what was more surprising was that a streak of blood was flowing down from her temple.
She could not believe her eyes at that sight.
Basically, a high-level protection magic had to be accompanied in the magic duels between noble young ladies.
This was because there should never be any scratches or injuries on their bodies.
However, looking at Denise’s state, it did not seem like a protection magic was manifesting at all.
Diella’s eyes flashed, and she sensed the aura of mana dwelling near Denise’s body.
She could clearly feel the aura of a large protection magic. It would be a magic circle engraved on the accessory she wore on her body, so it would not be easily dispelled.
If so, there was only one possibility.
‘She dispelled the protection magic herself...!’
In the raging dust cloud, she had taken off the accessory with the protection magic inscribed on it and dispelled it herself.
The reason was obvious. In the end, what determined the victory or defeat of this magic duel was whether the protection magic was activated.
Since the rule was that you won if you activated the opponent’s protection magic, she had temporarily turned off the protection magic itself so that it would not activate when no one could see. And then, when her vision was revealed again, it was enough to hide behind the protection magic nonchalantly as if nothing had happened.
It was an act that went beyond exploiting a loophole in the rules, an act that seemed to look down on the rules themselves.
Until now, no one had avoided defeat in a magic duel in such a way. That was a given. The young ladies of the noble district were each and every one a precious jade body, so if they were to get even slightly injured, it would be a big deal.
In the first place, how important was honor in the magic duels between nobles. Relying on such a trick was meaningless.
Therefore, the idea of taking off an accessory to dispel the protection magic circle was impossible in itself. It was just that Denise was a person who was not bound by such fixed ideas.
There was no honor or anything to be gained by winning a duel in such a way. Nevertheless, Denise used a trick as if it were nothing. Even while taking the risk of her own body being greatly injured.
The reason was obvious.
It was not just honor that was on the line in this duel. The whereabouts of her teacher, Derek, would be decided by this duel.
“—A bug has been caught in the spider’s web.”
Denise, who was creating a large magic circle and shedding a streak of blood, smiled viciously.
So what if it was a bit cowardly, a bit dirty? In the end, what was important was how the victory or defeat was decided.
If she really thought it was cowardly, Diella herself could hide in a blind spot and dispel her protection magic circle.
In fact, if Diella set her mind to it, she might also undo her protection magic circle. If the duel were to overheat to that point, it would now, in fact, go beyond a proper magic duel and develop into a bloody brawl.
No matter what, if it went that far, the servants would rush in with all their might and stop them. That wasn't a bad thing either, but Denise didn't particularly want to take any more risks than this.
That was why she had manifested the 2-Star magic, ‘Surveillance.’
It hadn't worked a bit on her master, Derek, but it was completely different for Diella, a mage of a similar level.
Once one was caught in that magic circle of Denise’s, until Denise’s mana ran out and the magic circle was dispelled, this domain was completely her world.
The spider’s web spread by a spider with a deadly poison can never be escaped once one is caught in it.
As if to prove that fact, Diella’s movements became noticeably sluggish.
“Wh-what is this...”
A sensation as if her whole body was being pierced by some kind of energy.
It was a chilling sensation as if the movement of a single fingertip, the trembling of a single toe, were all playing within Denise’s consciousness.
Diella was startled and created an ice spear, but a mana arrow had ‘already’ flown in and lodged itself in the spot where the ice spear was created.
The mana arrow had flown in before the ice spear was even created. The meaning of that was great.
It meant that Denise had already seen through the results of all of Diella’s actions a few seconds ago.
“Heok...”
Whatever action she took, a countermeasure for it was already established.
Those two eyes of Denise, who had raised her concentration to the limit, were closer to a hunter who could capture that naive wild animal without difficulty.
“Hoo-uk... hoo...”
The master of the spider’s web, who had been bent over chanting magic, raised her body. Her completely undone silver-gray hair flowed down along her shoulder line.
That gaze resembled that of the chilling creature that walked step by step towards the poor sacrifice stuck to the spider’s web.
Diella quickly grasped the situation. At least within this magic circle, she could never cause a variable that played outside the scope of Denise’s predictions.
She had to run out of the magic circle and once again offset all of Denise’s advantages through the irregular use of magic unique to the Wild School.
It was the moment she quickly turned her gaze to check the range of the magic circle.
“...This is impossible.”
—Sadly, Denise’s magic circle was covering the entire annex building.
It had been quite a while since Denise had learned the 2-Star magic ‘Surveillance,’ but the limit of its range had only been a few meters around her at best.
However, at the end of constantly training in the exchange of Detection-type magic with Derek, Denise’s limit had become much larger than imagined.
‘The mages who received Derek’s teachings all surpass their own limits.’
She had known that that rumor was already circulating among the salons.
And the fact that Denise was also that mage’s disciple, Diella had overlooked it too much.
“W-what is this...”
No matter how much of a genius Diella was born with, she was still an unrefined gemstone.
However, her opponent was already one of the three most prestigious figures in the Rosea Salon, and a person who had received the teachings of the most outstanding master Diella knew.
Denise had evaluated herself as never being able to become a person like Aiseline, but in terms of magic level alone, she had already become a person comparable to that Aiseline.
By the time Diella understood that gap, the match was already decided.
Pang— !
“Kyaaaaak!”
A single mana arrow that exquisitely pierced the gap in Diella’s consciousness directly manifested her protection magic.
Diella could not even react.
Fwaaaaaaaaaaaak— !
The protection magic that spread out in an instant embraced Diella, and only then did Diella’s pupils widen.
It was Diella’s defeat.
“....I-impossible...”
“How on earth did she achieve such... an accomplishment...”
The servants who had been watching the duel were also sweating coldly. They had thought that Lady Denise’s level would be high, but they had not known it would be to this extent.
In that void-like silence, Denise, who was quietly brushing the dust off her body, spoke.
“It was a good match, in any case.”
Denise, who had returned to being an antique young lady, smiled.
Like that, the silence continued for a while.
As she gradually began to grasp the situation, Diella bit her lower lip hard.
Little by little, tears welled up in her brilliant eyes.
The world of competition was such a law.
<><><>
Derek, who had been quietly staring at the title of the book written in coquettishly protruding letters, finally closed it with a ‘tak’ and returned it to the drawer.
As he was lost in thought with his chin propped on his hand, a maid approached and relayed a message.
“It’s about Lady Denise.”
It was Bella, who was quickly tidying up the room, taking advantage of the time Denise had gone to Diella’s mansion.
He had heard that since she was a maid who had been with Denise since childhood, she was a person who knew her better than anyone else.
When Derek looked at her, she flinched and trembled, then mustered up her courage with difficulty and spoke.
“Can she become a good mage?”
What was contained in those words was worry.
Bella, who had always been with Denise, had been genuinely worried about the various deficiencies she had more than anyone else.
Derek was quietly propping his chin, then answered in a much lighter voice.
“She probably will.”
The most important thing in mastering magic was bloodline.
That was the reason why so many magic teachers tried so hard to enter the prestigious families as tutors.
It was because if they produced a good disciple, their own name value would rise in tandem.
However, when it came to the three great nobles of the Rosea Salon, everyone was equipped with the advantage that came from an overwhelming bloodline.
If one wanted to reach an even higher realm beyond that, that alone would not be enough.
Therefore, Derek was quietly looking at Bella, then spoke.
“In the first place, within the Rosea Salon, the only person who can grow on par with Lady Denise is probably Lady Aiseline.”
It was the evaluation of Derek, who had been in all three families.
Bella seemed to be worried about the various deficiencies Denise held, but Derek’s opinion was the complete opposite.
Deficiency was the most important fuel that set a person’s will on fire.
Rather, her circumstances were better than Aiseline, who had walked the royal road by herself in a gentle environment where everything was provided.
She had lived in a long, long winter, but once she began to burn, she would be hotter than the lava spewing from an active volcano.
“...”
In the future, Derek would teach numerous students, but who would become the ‘top disciple’ seemed clear at this point.
Derek had a premonition.
Denise had a high probability of becoming a person who would make Derek’s name value soar to the sky in the future.