Chapter 96
A moderately humid breeze blew past.
It wasn’t quite the season for heat yet, but since the O’Neill Kingdom was located farther south than the Crescent Empire, the warmth arrived sooner.
Tap—
With the breeze flowing, a knight with flowing golden hair leaped forward.
At the same time, a large wall appeared in front of the blonde knight.
A glacial wall that exuded a cooling presence just by sight.
Whoosh—
As the blonde knight was blocked by the ice wall and landed beside it, another gust of wind blew.
The breeze heightened the tension between the two.
‘Emily is fast too…’
Cynthia swallowed nervously as she observed the sudden sparring match.
Elaine and Emily’s duel.
The reason the two were sparring out of the blue was entirely because of Elaine.
Elaine, upon arriving at the O’Neill Knight Order, was visibly more excited than usual.
It was understandable.
For Elaine, who dreamed of becoming a knight and was destined to be one, this knight order tour was a golden opportunity.
And it wasn’t the Imperial Knight Order but the knight order of another nation.
For Elaine, it was an unforgettable experience and opportunity.
She marveled at everything the knight order did.
What excited Elaine the most was one of the O’Neill Kingdom knights’ training regimens.
Training to counter magic.
The O’Neill Kingdom knights deliberately sparred with magicians from a distance.
They said it was crucial to be able to fight even when keeping distance from a magician.
Seeing this, Elaine’s eyes sparkled as she turned to Emily.
Thus began Emily and Elaine’s spontaneous duel.
Of course, the match didn’t start just because the two agreed.
Professor Amilion and Elizar, their guide during the O’Neill Kingdom tour, had also approved.
Ryu even mentioned he was curious who would win between two of the Six Great Houses.
‘Both of them aren’t renowned for nothing.’
Cynthia alternated her gaze between Emily and Elaine, swallowing nervously.
A duel between two members of the Six Great Houses was a spectacle one could hardly witness outside the academy.
“Emily’s doing better than expected.”
“Indeed. She’s effectively keeping Elaine from closing in.”
So far, the match demonstrated how disadvantageous it was for knights fighting a magician at a distance.
Elaine tried her best to close in on Emily, but her efforts were consistently thwarted.
If it turned into close combat, Elaine would clearly have the upper hand.
“Emily has gotten a lot stronger recently.”
At Ryu’s comment, Emily took the initiative this time.
Emily, who was usually reserved and hesitant to act first, initiated an attack on Elaine.
Mana rapidly gathered around Emily, soon spreading as a cold mist.
“Wow, amazing.”
Cynthia couldn’t help but admire Emily’s magic.
She knew Emily was intelligent but hadn’t realized she could cast magic so swiftly and precisely.
The chilling air that even Cynthia could feel from afar spread toward Elaine, forcing her to leap upward in urgency.
Suspended in the air, Elaine aimed her sword at the ground and swung downward.
Whoosh—
Elaine’s white sword, imbued with mana, cut through the air, generating a strong gust that swept away the surrounding frost as she landed.
It was a clever move in a difficult situation, but it was only temporary.
The frost, briefly scattered by the wind, began creeping back toward Elaine.
Just as Elaine prepared to leap again—
“Shall we stop here?”
“Huh?”
Ryu interjected.
The moment Ryu’s voice reached them, Emily swiftly withdrew her frost.
Elaine, who had been tensed and ready to jump, relaxed her posture.
Her face, however, remained tense.
“Long-range magicians are just so overpowered. Hmm.”
“…Thank you for your efforts.”
Elaine barely registered Ryu’s comment, bowing her head toward Emily.
Emily, awkwardly returning Elaine’s bow, walked forward.
‘They’re both incredible.’
Cynthia marveled anew at why the two belonged to the Sinclair and Prisis families.
Emily, who perfectly blocked Elaine’s swift movements.
Elaine, who displayed exceptional judgment even in a disadvantageous position.
The duel showcased exactly why the Six Great Houses held their reputation.
‘If it had been me…’
Cynthia imagined herself in their place.
How would she handle Elaine if she were in Emily’s position?
Conversely, how would she approach Emily if she were in Elaine’s place?
“Alright, let’s move on to the tour. The professor will join us too.”
“Huh? A tour?”
“Yeah. This afternoon, our guide knight said they’d take us on a tour. Didn’t you all hear?”
“…We haven’t been fully briefed yet. This afternoon, we’re scheduled to visit an area where the knights frequently go for training.”
Professor Amilion, a beat behind Ryu, explained the day’s itinerary.
***
“Mr. Ryu.”
“Yes.”
“About the earlier situation.”
Elaine stuck close to Ryu, deeply pondering something.
The sparring match with Emily earlier.
Elaine honestly thought it was natural for her to break through Emily’s defenses and close the distance.
However, the outcome was far from expected.
Not only did she fail to break through Emily’s defenses, but even responding to Emily’s ranged attacks was difficult.
Especially when the attacks, like before, weren’t in a solid form but came as a gaseous state.
“Earlier, you mean?”
“When Emily unleashed her frost.”
“Ah, that. It was certainly an innovative attack. I didn’t know such magic existed.”
“That, that! It’s something I thought of while researching! Hehehe.”
Emily, who had been listening to their conversation from behind, suddenly chimed in.
Elaine flinched at Emily’s intrusion but continued speaking.
“In such a scenario with a formless attack, how would you handle it, Ryu?”
“Uh…”
Ryu hesitated, trailing off instead of answering immediately.
It wasn’t just Elaine who was curious about this question; Emily, too, seemed intrigued.
Emily kept glancing at Ryu, waiting to hear his response.
“But would it have been dangerous if it had hit?”
“Yes! It’s a method I developed while researching meat freshness preservation! If you’d been exposed to the frost for just three seconds, your outer layer would’ve started freezing immediately.”
“I see.”
Emily’s explanation made Elaine’s expression grimace further.
This was a much trickier type of magic than an ice wall or projectiles.
If it were magic that froze a specific target, reading the mana and evading would’ve been easier.
“Well, if it were me…”
Elaine thought there wasn’t any other option than leaping upward in that situation.
It was fortunate Emily’s frost advanced slowly enough to give her time to think about jumping.
Had the frost moved faster, even Elaine wouldn’t have been able to evade.
“I’d probably blow it away. With wind. Like earlier, when you swung your sword, the frost got carried away by the gust.”
“Hmm. That makes sense.”
Elaine nodded, agreeing with Ryu’s remark.
If she’d intended to blow away the frost from the start, it might’ve been possible.
“And then, I’d charge at Emily during that moment.”
“I see.”
“Well, though, it’s rare to encounter such situations. Emily’s magic was unique this time.”
Emily quickly chimed in after Ryu’s comment.
“That’s true! And honestly, except for frost, gaseous attacks like this are usually extremely inefficient. Think about it. Gaseous fire might cover a wide area, but its heat would inevitably decrease. Plus, there’s…”
“Oh, we’re here.”
Ryu interrupted just as Emily’s explanation was about to get lengthy.
Elaine silently sent her gratitude toward Ryu.
“Elaine, if something like that happens in a real fight, just run to me. I’ll handle it for you.”
“…Uh…”
That wasn’t the kind of response she was expecting.
While Elaine was still grappling with how to react to Ryu’s unexpected comment, Ryu swiftly disappeared.
“Run to me…?”
For some reason, Elaine felt a strange sensation.
Ryu, or rather, Mr. Ryu, probably said it without much thought.
Thump—
But it made her heart race.
Did those words, promising to solve everything if she ran to him, always sound this heart-pounding?
“Why is this?”
While Elaine was pondering why her chest was beating so fast, another voice came from nearby.
“This is where our knight order frequently comes for training.”
Ryu was already far ahead, striding forward alone.
Elizar, the knight, spoke in a slightly more subdued tone than usual.
Elaine instinctively glanced around.
As Elizar said, it seemed to be true that the knight order often trained here.
The open clearing bore marks of numerous battles.
Close by, there were even bloodstains that hadn’t yet been washed away.
“They train hard enough to shed blood, even during practice.”
“Mr. Ryu! Wait for us!”
Elaine glanced around before quickly chasing after Ryu, who had gone ahead.
In truth, there were many things she still wanted to ask Ryu, beyond Emily’s earlier attack.
How Ryu would’ve responded in that situation, how to effectively close the distance against a magician, and so on.
“Would Mr. Ryu have used Spatial Movement in that scenario?”
As Elaine trailed after Ryu, lost in thoughts about him, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“What was that?”
A chill ran down her spine, and she felt as though someone was watching her.
But there was no one in the direction of the gaze.
The place had no structures or areas to hide.
It was an open plain with no cover whatsoever.
“Maybe I imagined it?”
Elaine tilted her head, resuming her steps.
By now, Ryu was already far ahead.
“I said, wait for us!”
Elaine started running.
Completely unaware that someone was staring at her with a sinister smile.
—
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