Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Princess of Arpen Duchy
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(3)
7.
Dilia Arpen, princess of the Arpen Duchy.
She was a half-elf, born of human and elf blood. She was also famous from birth for receiving Mana's Blessing.
On top of that, she possessed an innate talent for magic.
Perhaps because of all this, Dilia had grown up bathed in the expectations of countless people. They even called her grandiose things like "the future of the duchy."
The year she turned eight.
The duchy invited a renowned mage and entrusted him with Dilia's education. And the person she met then was that apricot-haired girl.
'Deplin Chernio.'
Court mage of the Ruben Empire.
She was one of the most famous mages on the continent at the time.
More than that, Deplin was also a half-elf, born just like Dilia. Because of this, Dilia felt a special kinship with her and served her master with utmost devotion.
'But...'
Not anymore.
Because she had learned the truth.
Deplin didn't see her disciple as a disciple. She viewed her merely as an experimental subject for her research.
In the past, Deplin had taken on dozens of disciples besides Dilia. But most of those who learned magic from her at that time ended up as wrecks.
Due to excessive magic training, their mana ran rampant, damaging their hearts.
And among them.
Was Dilia's half-sister.
The cute little sister who always greeted her with a bright smile. But just a week after becoming Deprin's disciple, that sister became a wreck.
Even more shocking.
Was Deprin's reaction upon hearing the news.
"Ah, mana rampage, I see."
A voice without the slightest tremor.
She looked utterly calm, as if she had anticipated this would happen.
"What a shame. Even though she was human, her lineage was the same as yours, so I thought she'd succeed. It seems a mage's aptitude definitely comes from elves, not humans."
Dilia hadn't expected tears or mourning. But she at least thought Deplin would visit her sister and offer some words of comfort.
But she didn't.
Instead, with a smiling face, she said this.
"Ordinary humans have their limits, so it's nothing for you to worry about. More importantly, how far had we gotten in last lesson's material?"
The moment Dilia saw her casually bring up the lesson with that composed face, she bolted from the spot. Nausea had overwhelmed her.
And from that day on.
Until the day Deplin left the duchy, Dilia never attended her lessons again.
'But who would have thought...'
She'd run into her again in a place like this.
And her status had changed too. She was now the dean of Arsen Academy's Magic Department. Meaning, like it or not, they'd have to see each other's faces from now on.
As her head began to throb.
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over her.
Dilia snapped out of her thoughts and slowly looked up. What entered her view was a giant youth with his reddish-brown hair tied back.
It was Ullan.
'Exhibitionist.'
Her first impression of him.
Walking around with his upper body bare made him look like someone afflicted with exposure mania.
'A man who insists his brute strength is magic.'
Next, her impression from the exam.
No matter how she looked at it, Ullan was a warrior.
A very high-level one at that. Dilia couldn't understand at all why someone like him was taking the magic aptitude test.
'And...'
One more thing. Something she'd just realized.
Gazing at his back as vast as the plains, Dilia's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
'A fascinating person.'
Ullan had seen through Deprin's true nature at a glance.
Just by looking into her eyes.
And he'd even extracted a mana oath from her. Even knowing she was the dean.
As she looked at him with curious eyes.
"Test start!"
The assistant supervisor's shout rang out.
With the announcement, a massive mana golem soon appeared.
'For now, focus on the test.'
Having made her decision.
Dilia immediately began searching for the mana core. Or tried to. But at that moment, Ullan moved first.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
He hurled his axe without warning.
The spinning axe flew straight and embedded itself in the mana golem's forehead. The golem split perfectly in half.
"...Huh?"
Her mind blanked for a moment.
A beat later, Dilia regained her senses and raised her voice at Ullan.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"It's fine. I'm used to hunting magic beasts."
The utterly out-of-left-field response.
Ullan continued matter-of-factly.
"I've cleaved countless magic beasts in half so far, and none had a core in the center of their torso."
"..."
No, that's a magic beast, and this is a golem.
Dilia furrowed her brow. Her head throbbed just hearing such a brutish answer.
Then the mana golem moved again.
Fortunately, the core hadn't been destroyed. Dilia let out a sigh of relief and turned to Ullan while the golem reconstructed its body.
'I'll find the mana core's location, so you go retrieve it.'
That's what she planned to say.
But before her lips could even move.
"Got it. Let's do that."
Ullan nodded first.
She hadn't said anything yet. Dilia frowned. But his next words made her eyes widen.
"You're planning to locate the mana core, right?"
"...!"
Her golden eyes shook slightly.
A startled expression. It was warranted. It felt like he'd read her mind.
"How did you...?"
"That's the face you were making."
Ullan replied nonchalantly.
In his past life, he had spent a long time with other heroes. As a result, he was familiar with his comrades' habits and facial tics.
So he'd just made a rough guess.
About what Dilia intended to do.
"Anyway, I'll buy time."
Ullan charged at the fully regenerated mana golem. He swung his axe and began battling it fiercely.
Thud! Crunch! Smack!
It looked like an intense fight at a glance, but the reality was different. It was Ullan's perfect domination. He literally controlled the battle while buying time.
A moment later, the mana core's location was revealed.
"Right side, thigh."
The instant Dilia's voice stopped.
Splat! Rrrrip!
Ullan's axe neatly sliced into the spot. Soon, the mana core was in his hand. Ullan smiled in satisfaction.
"One recovered for now."
This was just the beginning.
Ullan and Dilia displayed fantastic teamwork as they methodically retrieved mana cores.
At a speed far surpassing the average.
The examinees watched in stunned admiration.
"Whoa, that's insanely fast."
"Were mana golems always that weak?"
"They're the same age as us?"
Gazes mixed with surprise, shock, envy, and jealousy.
Bathed in all those looks, Ullan and Dilia had the final target in sight. As they faced the fourth mana golem.
Dilia's eyebrow twitched.
'What was that just now?'
She'd sensed an incongruous mana for an instant.
With a bad feeling, she scanned the surroundings. Then, by chance, her eyes met Deprin's on the platform.
"...!"
Eyes burning with pure desire.
The gaze of a researcher consumed by obsession.
Seeing it, Dilia intuited.
She had definitely tampered with something.
And at that moment.
Craaaack! Boom!
With a deafening roar, the ground split in two.
What appeared was the fifth mana golem.
It was different from all the ones before.
Its torso was bloated as if about to burst, its once-calm eyes blazed like fire, and massive mana spewed out like steam.
'A rampaging mana golem!'
Mana golems are puppets powered by mana.
If injected with more mana than they can normally handle, they overload and rampage with high probability.
And here, now.
There was only one person who would do such a thing.
'Deplin...!'
Dilia bit her lip hard.
She didn't know why or what the goal was. But right now, dealing with that golem took priority.
So she quickly began chanting a spell.
To erect a protective barrier.
But there wasn't enough time.
Screeech! Rumble!
A ferocious barrage of attacks.
Her composure shattered in that terrifying momentum. The spell failed to complete, and Dilia's face paled.
'No, too late!'
Sensing the impending pain.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Slam! Crunch!
A massive arm struck Dilia. The impact sounded like it could pulverize part of her torso just from hearing it.
But unexpectedly, there was no pain.
What? Dilia cautiously opened her eyes. Then she wore a shocked expression. Because she spotted someone she hadn't expected.
"You okay?"
It was Ullan. Dilia panicked.
Why was he here? Hadn't he been fighting far away? As confusion swirled.
"Looked dangerous, so I came to save you."
He'd read her face again.
As her golden eyes trembled wildly, Ullan's voice came again.
"Good if you're safe."
With those curt words.
Ullan's eyes changed. He grabbed the mana golem's arm with both hands and slammed it into the ground.
Booom!
The inverted mana golem.
Soon, a massive fist flew toward it.
Slam! Thud thud thud! Crack!
A brutal rain of punches. He'd wondered why no axe, but apparently he'd tossed it aside rushing to save Dilia.
'For me...'
She'd vaguely heard before. That to a warrior, a weapon was as important as their life.
Yet he'd discarded it to come here? Why? Dilia couldn't shake her bewilderment.
Then.
Boom!
The mana golem, pummeled by Ullan, exploded with a loud bang. Meaning it had lost its mana core.
Debris scattered everywhere.
The examinees gasped. Those staring blankly blinked rapidly.
The arena fell silent in an instant.
A moment later, various reactions followed.
"Did he just punch it?"
"Took down a mana golem barehanded...?"
"And it was rampaging."
"That barbarian really a mage?!"
Amid the flurry of reactions.
A large hand appeared in Dilia's view.
A hand covered in calluses. Ullan's hand. Still sitting on the ground, she looked up at him and moved her lips.
"Why... me?"
"Because you're an important person."
Unlike her halting question.
Ullan gave a straightforward answer. The moment she heard it, countless thoughts flashed through Dilia's mind.
Important person? What did that mean?
She'd only met Ullan today.
Did he know she was the duchy's princess? Or a mercenary secretly hired by the duchy as her guard?
All sorts of guesses arose.
Dilia shook her head vigorously.
Pondering alone wouldn't yield answers.
Better to ask directly.
"What do you... mean?"
Suppressing her tremor, she asked.
Then Ullan, who had answered refreshingly until now, faltered. A somewhat troubled expression. What reason could make him look like that?
As her golden gaze wavered.
"Might sound a bit weird, but..."
Ullan started.
He scratched his head, hesitating over what to say.
Then suddenly he lowered his stance to meet Dilia's eyes. He whispered softly, so only she could hear.
"We're comrades who'll be together in the future too."
"...W-what?"
"Even 10, no, 30 years from now, we'll be together, so I saved you. That's the whole reason."
An utterly unexpected answer.
She went blank again.
Future? 30 years? Together?
'That sounds like...'
Dilia's cheeks flushed ever so slightly.
Her eyes trembled with agitation. For some reason, her senses sharpened all over her body. Even her heartbeat, which she'd never noticed before, pounded loudly.
As she spun her own fantasies.
Ullan spoke in a calm tone.
"Don't overthink it. It's not something to worry about right now."
No, how could she not overthink hearing something like that out of nowhere?!
Dilia wanted to shout.
But she couldn't. An unwelcome intruder had wedged between them.
"Wow, that's really something."
A bright, bouncy voice.
The apricot-haired girl.
"Who'd have thought you'd take down a golem barehanded."
The instigator of this mess, grinning annoyingly.
It was Deplin Chernio.
Chapter 6. My Magic Has Always Been Like This