Chapter 59

“I ended up saying something unnecessary.

I was asked to actually demonstrate it at the magical experiment facility located behind the duke’s mansion. A private residence having its own magical experiment facility—what else could you expect from His Grace the Duke?

‘Summon the blizzards and swirling winds, let the black sandstorms seal the space! Rage wildly, tempests, and turn the four winds into calamities! Hear the symphony of the four winds, colliding and elevating one another, to bring forth a great disaster upon this land! Disaster Typhoon!’

The building was rather sturdy-looking and rectangular. Inside, it was spacious and empty, surrounded by a corridor that allowed observation from all sides. Four doors led out in each direction. Naturally, multiple layers of defensive magic walls separated the corridor from the experimental chamber.

The caster was provided with a small room on the southern side of the corridor to perform their magic.

This time, it was me, Belial, Ekvar , Duke August, his butler, the mage Hannes, and his contracted marquis-class demon Kimejes who were present.

Inside the experiment chamber, storms, blizzards, and dim, raging sandstorms battered the magic walls, appearing to crack them slightly. I pulled my open hands together to narrow the range of the spell’s effect. The winds concentrated more in the center than before.

Hannes, the mage, stared at the storm with a surprised expression.

‘This effect, this magical control… I doubt I can match her.’

His murmur didn’t feel particularly bitter or resentful, but rather… something else entirely.

‘Are you saying she surpasses you? To me, both of you seem equally distinguished mages.’

‘Hannes’s remark is accurate. Even from my perspective as his contractor, I don’t think he could win.’

The duke compared me and Hannes. Even Kimejes acknowledged it, though I wasn’t familiar with Hannes’s spells. Hannes swallowed hard and asked me,

‘This incantation… the only difference is at the beginning. Is that the source of its effect?’

‘You don’t need to speak so formally to me. As I mentioned earlier, I specialize in water attributes, so I incorporated water into it.’

‘Incorporated water… I’d never thought of that.’

In the Egdoarm facility, I experimented with various things with Sebirino , a fellow court mage. That’s when we discovered that the opening part of the chant could be modified relatively freely.

‘Fire can also be incorporated. Its lethality is much higher in that case.’

‘You’ve really done your research, Lady Iriya . Fire too, huh…’

Ekvar  watched me intensely, as if he wouldn’t miss a single detail of my spellcasting. Maybe he was planning to report it to the prince. It made me curious, but I’d resigned myself to the fact that it was part of his job.

‘Ignite, fire and wind! Let the black sandstorms seal the space! Rage wildly, tempests, and turn the four winds into calamities! Hear the symphony of the four winds, colliding and elevating one another, to bring forth a great disaster upon this land! Disaster Typhoon!’

This time, the storm raged with flames and sand. Since I just wanted to demonstrate, I quickly raised both hands and weakened the magic’s supply, dispersing it entirely.

The flames and obscuring sands dissolved and vanished like mist.

‘It’s gone… Just like that, without leaving a trace…’

Surprising them even here, huh? It didn’t feel particularly special since Sebirino  performed this operation routinely too. Though I suppose my dispersal might be slightly faster.

Next, Hannes performed the basic version.

‘Swift winds, become scythes! Let the black sandstorms seal the space! Rage wildly, tempests, and turn the four winds into calamities! Hear the symphony of the four winds, colliding and elevating one another, to bring forth a great disaster upon this land! Disaster Typhoon!’

Strong winds and sandstorms whipped through the chamber, creating vacuum blades that sliced like scythes. It was a textbook-perfect rendition of the spell.

‘It’s too faithful to the basics. Let’s move to the next stage.’

Hannes seemed serious. His magic reflected his personality.

‘The next stage?’

‘This spell controls four winds and combines them into one. That’s the core concept. However, the four are treated separately only at the start. They must become one. Your image of unifying them isn’t strong enough. Instead of stacking them individually, you must merge and interweave them. That’s my approach.’

Hannes seemed deeply contemplative before chanting the spell again. This time, its power was noticeably enhanced.

‘As expected of someone talented. You reproduced it immediately.’

‘No, thank you for the guidance! Please continue teaching me!’

‘It was merely a conceptual explanation—hardly worthy of being called guidance!’

I hadn’t intended to teach him… but he seemed so pleased as he clasped my hand. How could I refuse?

Duke August watched us with a curious expression.

‘Kimejes, your contractor seems like quite a serious fellow.’

‘I believe he shows great potential. However, Lady Belial’s contractor is an exceptional mage indeed.’

When Belial spoke to Kimejes, he responded with a slightly nervous air. Perhaps he was praising me out of fear of Belial?

‘Hah, of course! I personally trained her. Anything less would be unacceptable.’

‘That’s… truly unfortunate…’

‘What did you mean by that?’

‘Ah, just a turn of phrase!!’

Kimejes seemed like the type who often let things slip.

As for earth magic that causes earthquakes, it was decided not to demonstrate it here since it would destroy the floor. Instead, I explained its effects. Performing it amidst insufficient defenses would be catastrophic… and I wasn’t ready to bear that responsibility.

According to the duke, the Trantinel army mistakenly believed the elite forces defending Fen’s capital were a diversion for an ambush, prompting their hasty retreat.

Elite forces? It was just me using magic!

‘By the way, will you be attending tomorrow’s garden party?’

‘Hmm. It’s not a formal event, so I’d like for you to stay at my mansion.’

Hannes and the duke made an unexpected suggestion. Wouldn’t this mean mingling with numerous nobles? I wanted to politely decline.

‘I appreciate the invitation, but I have neither attire nor the standing to attend such an event.’

‘Standing? You’re not a noble?’

Didn’t Hannes hear Ekvar ’s explanation earlier? The duke offered to explain later. Skilled mages are often nobles since they have more opportunities for education.

Especially for someone capable of large-scale attack magic without being a high-ranking adventurer, it’s easy to be mistaken for a noble.

‘Come on, Lady Iriya ! Let’s join in! These things can be fun, and you might meet interesting people.’

‘It seems he’s after noble-related information. Consider it part of your work, Iriya .’

‘…Well, you’re not wrong…’

Ekvar  scratched his head awkwardly after Belial pointed it out. He’d invited me cheerfully but had an ulterior motive.

I tried to think of ways to refuse, but the conversation progressed regardless.

‘I’ll provide the attire!’

‘No, I’ll prepare her dress and accessories. Leave the rest to me.’

…Belial had a dress prepared for me, even though I had no intention of wearing it? Instead of feeling flattered, it was a bit unsettling.

Ekvar  borrowed some clothes from the duke’s son since he didn’t have his own.

Not wanting to reveal my identity, Ekvar  created a plausible backstory. Belial was a noble from a foreign land traveling incognito, I was his court mage, and Ekvar  was the bodyguard. Being incognito, we wouldn’t provide names.

But honestly, it was almost the truth.

That night, we stayed at the duke’s mansion. I had an in-depth discussion with Hannes about magic and summoning. It had been a while since I had such a satisfying conversation, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

On the day of the garden party, the maids helped me with a bath, makeup, and an updo for my hair. Although the party was in the afternoon, the preparations took the entire day.

In Egdoarm, there were only saunas and showers, so soaking in a bath was a novel experience. I quite liked it, though.”