The power of that magic and the additional chant were utterly overwhelming.
The horrifying scene of a horde of monsters being engulfed in snow and ice in an instant is seared into my memory, only to shatter into nothingness moments later.
It was the work of a petite woman with pale purple hair—magic cast by her alone.
Though I’d seen my master use the same wide-area attack magic before, her spell was far more powerful, with a much larger range. To annihilate them all… incredible.
As I sat in a café, deep in thought while sipping coffee, a familiar voice from a nearby table reached my ears.
“This is the promised item.”
“Thank you so much! My goodness, so much of it!”
The man was Ranvalt Haegstett, a military commander stationed in this defense city. If I recall, he’s married but has a habit of indulging women…
“I brought it here without Baraha knowing.”
“…Are you sure? Such valuable materials…”
Wait a second—without me knowing? Could it be from the resources I manage?!
“It’ll be fine as long as I explain later.”
“But this is Soma sap!”
“Absolutely not!!”
I couldn’t help but raise my voice. The bang of my hand slamming the table echoed through the café.
Both of them, seemingly unaware of my presence nearby, turned to me with wide eyes.
Commander Ranvalt … and her, the woman from the spell!
“M-my deepest apologies. I overstepped and made a selfish request. I will return it immediately. I’m so very sorry…”
The woman stood and bowed deeply, her demeanor surprisingly humble.
“No, Iriya , please don’t be so formal. This is my responsibility. Baraha, it’s my fault. Please, hear me out.”
How could such a remarkable woman, who had confidently unleashed that incredible magic, act so submissively here?
“Well, I must admit, hearing it was Soma sap, I lost my composure. I didn’t realize I was speaking to someone who had helped us. My apologies.”
And so, the three of us ended up bowing repeatedly in apology to one another. What a scene…
Eventually, I moved to their table and introduced myself properly.
“I’m Baraha, the lead mage of Zador Toshe, this defense city. I apologize for startling you despite your help the other day.”
“I’m Iriya . I’m terribly sorry for my presumptuous request. It’s truly embarrassing.”
Oh no, I’ve made her feel downcast… She wasn’t fazed by those monsters, yet she seems so deflated here. Why is she so unbalanced? Normally, after such an achievement, one would demand a significant reward…
“Well, I, uh… I thought Ranvalt was using the sap to flirt with a woman. But you’re this city’s—no, the nation’s benefactor. Please, take it.”
“Flirt? I have a wife, you know.”
“Which is why I got even angrier! But I’m glad it was a misunderstanding…”
Iriya watched our exchange with a blank, slightly perplexed expression.
After a moment, Ranvalt spoke with unusual seriousness.
“Baraha, since it’s you, I’ll be honest. During that battle two days ago, I told you I fought a dragonkin named Zumw, right?”
“Yes, and I thought you were lucky to survive despite being so unprepared.”
“…The truth is, I lost an arm. She gave me an elixir, and it saved me. The demon she’s contracted with is the one who defeated the enemy. Honestly, I owe her much more.”
The shock left me speechless. I grabbed Ranvalt ’s arm. It was there—warm, with a pulse.
“Elixirs… They’re incredible. It was hot and painful, but my arm healed in mere seconds.”
More shock.
“There’s no way it only took seconds! Healing such an injury is miraculous!”
“I’m telling you, it felt like seconds…”
As we argued, Iriya calmly interjected with a precise analysis.
“It was approximately nine seconds. The results were exceptional—the light’s contraction was swift, and the arm regained full function immediately.”
She was measuring it… in the middle of battle?
It seemed she preferred to avoid attention (though I doubt that’s possible). She insisted the dragonkin’s defeat should be credited to Ranvalt .
Still, wide-area magic, a fire dragon’s defeat, elixir use, crafting expensive potions, and slaying the enemy leader… Such achievements can’t be repaid with a mere gift of materials! I fully understood Ranvalt ’s sentiment.
After much persuasion, she finally accepted the materials.
“With this, I can create an elixir and Soma!”
She crafts them herself?! Oh, right—she mentioned being an artisan of magical tools. How versatile can one person be?
“By the way, Baraha, as an exceptional mage, why did your group struggle so much against a Firedrake?”
“Struggle? That’s normal! We weren’t prepared for dragons, as we were focused on defending against foreign invasions. We didn’t even know magic to block its breath attack. Our standard magical defenses drained our mana and still weren’t enough…”
“Then, shall I teach you a spell to counter breath attacks?”
“Would you really?”
“Of course! Then I can feel better about accepting the Soma sap.”
Wait, you’re still hung up on that?! Give me a break!
We left the café and headed to the military’s magic testing facility. I wanted to try the spell out immediately.
On the way, a red-haired man, likely the demon she’d contracted, joined us. When asked where he’d been, he simply said, “Hunting. But there was nothing good.”
I decided not to ask what he considered “good prey.”
We left the café and headed toward the military’s magic testing facility.
I wanted to actually try it out and test it.
As we left the café, a man with red hair—likely the demon—joined us. When I asked where he had been, he replied that he had been hunting but hadn’t found any good prey.
I decided not to ask what he considered “good prey.”
The testing facility was hemispherical, with a wide corridor about two stories high running around the upper level. This area was for observation, and the corridor was surrounded by special glass walls, with multiple protective magic barriers. Just outside the barrier on the first floor was a small room where the caster would chant their spells. If I had to compare it to something, it would be like the top part of a turtle’s head. Of course, the interior of the barrier was designed to be visible.
As other mages watched with interest, I entered the chanting room with Iriya . After memorizing the chant she taught me, I immediately began to recite it.
“From the heat of the approaching sandstorm, from the cold of the glaciers that carry us away, from all calamities, protect us. O air, grant us a soft membrane, an invisible wall. Sufru Defense!”
A faintly glowing, transparent wall expanded in an arc, apparently deflecting fire and blizzard-like breath attacks. If expanded fully, it could protect the city! I did it!
“Now, onto the additional chant.”
“…Huh?”
Iriya quickly began chanting, but the casting was incredibly fast. As if the air responded, the wall materialized.
“Wall, become the thing that envelops, round and round… A soft cage, capture the vengeful enemy.”
The light wall in front of us formed into a spherical shape, surrounding what we had assumed would be the enemy, not us. It seemed the breath would be contained within it.
“The chant takes longer, and since we’re enclosing the breath itself, it uses more magic, making it harder to control. I recommend using it only when the surroundings are dangerous. You can also cooperate with others.”
What incredible knowledge! I wonder where she learned all this. But as the chief mage of the defense city, I can’t lose to her! I want to show what I can do!
“Thank you. Now, let me show you my magic!”
I decided to show her a spell she probably wouldn’t know. This was a highly researched ice magic called Chenkaslar .
“From the primal darkness, cold blade born. The blue within the darkness, frozen things that extend into the icy void. Shine and fall, like a meteor! Stalactite de Glace!”
With a sharp chill, two pointed ice pillars pierced down from above. I could hear other mages admiring my spell.
“I see, now I understand the problem.”
…Huh? Isn’t this supposed to be a moment of awe?
“You didn’t decide how many pillars you would create before the chant, did you? The vagueness of your image weakens the spell’s power.”
“Ah, yes… You’re right.”
I got carried away and cast it without thinking. My apologies.
“Please prepare eleven targets. One should be in the center, and the remaining ten should be arranged in a circle.”
I instructed the mages to set up the targets with magical measurement functions as she requested. Iriya quickly began the chant.
“From the primal darkness, cold blade born, the blue within the darkness, frozen things that extend into the icy void. Shine and fall, like a meteor! Stalactite de Glace.”
From the empty air, ten ice pillars emerged and struck the targets. Five were destroyed, and the remaining five showed about 80% damage.
No way… The destroyed ones and the remaining ones alternate.
What amazing magical control…
And then she began chanting the same spell once more.
The hand posture for this spell is to extend the index and middle fingers of both hands and cross the first joints, but she made a fist with her left hand and placed her fingertips against it.
“Stalactite de Glace!”
Only one ice pillar appeared, roaring with a crash as it pierced the central target, destroying the surrounding targets in the process. The room’s temperature plummeted, and the shockwave made the entire experimental facility tremble.
“I’ve never seen such power…!”
“Visualization, in other words, the effect of the special hand posture when dropping only one ice pillar.”
This woman, calmly explaining everything, is undoubtedly a better mage than I am. No, I already realized that the day before. I feel like I can’t compare to her in magical control or knowledge. Since I became the chief mage of this city, I’ve never felt such a sense of defeat.
“The difference in hand posture wasn’t studied…”
“Your magical conversion to the spell was excellent. Since it’s a powerful spell, clearer visualization and more precise magic control could improve its effectiveness even further.”
“Yes…”
I remember when my mentor used to drill me hard. I’m glad there are no subordinates around; this is not something I want them to see.
The other mages were all excited by the power of the magic.
We decided to leave the testing facility before it caused a stir in the observation area on the second floor.
Ranvalt and Belial, the demon, also joined us. Ranvalt , unusually excited, gave Iriya his feedback on her magic, while Belial only gave a faint smile. He could see right through my failed attempt to look cool.
The two of them said they were going back to Lenant.
Ranvalt and I both wanted to talk more about magic, but it couldn’t be helped. I told them I’d go to Lenant soon.
As we reached the gate, my Phoenix flew over. It’s a fire-type bird with low offensive power, but it’s considered a symbol of immortality and is extremely resistant to fire. However, after helping me withstand the fire dragon’s breath multiple times, its own flame seemed to have weakened.
“A rare bird, eh? Are you its contractor?”
“Yeah, but its flame has weakened…”
The usual chirping sound was weaker than usual. It seems it wasn’t well-suited to the fire dragon’s flames.
“Indeed, it’s significantly weakened.”
Belial extended his arm, attempting to stop the Phoenix. I hurriedly stopped him.
“Wait! It will burn if someone other than its contractor touches it!”
Ignoring my concern, the Phoenix loosened its wings and quietly perched on Belial’s arm. Even as its body was enveloped in flames, he was completely unaffected. What is going on?
“You desire my flame? You’re a luxury bird.”
Before I could react, flames erupted from Belial’s arm, engulfing the Phoenix. Golden fire sparks flew, and the Phoenix transformed into a brilliant, refined red. Its original beautiful, noble red had returned.
“…The Phoenix…”
“He was controlling flames just the day before,” Ranvalt said, unable to take his eyes off the fiery Phoenix. When it took off again, it appeared even larger and more powerful than before, reborn with strength.
“How beautiful… Well, then.”
As we walked toward the gate, Iriya murmured in admiration.
“Oh, thank you!!”
When her voice reached him, Iriya turned, bowed her head, and then, both of them used flight magic and disappeared into the sky.
