.298

“Wow...”

Amelia stopped singing, her wide gaze drawn to the spectacle of an explosion above. I was no better. With an aria and Amelia’s singing, I was able to simultaneously cast twice as many spells as usual.

“Amelia,” I called.

“Wh-What is it?”

“Could you sing again, please? There’s something I’d like to check.”

“Of course. As you wish, Your Majesty.” Amelia swiftly set her fingers over the zither and once again filled the air with her melodious voice.

I was overcome with the same invigorating sensation, and my body brimmed with strength just as it had moments ago. The sensation was still fresh in my memory, so naturally, this wasn’t what I was curious about.

I cast a furtive gaze to Amelia—it didn’t seem like she was emitting any sort of power.

My multicasting capacity increased significantly with her song. Several reasons came to mind, the first of which was that her song contained some sort of power that I’d absorbed. However, that didn’t seem to be the case. I sensed no such thing from Amelia, be it mana or anything else. Her voice was immaculate as always, but I felt no sort of “actual” power from it.

Once again, I chanted an aria. Since this was just a test, I used Magic Missile instead of Power Missile. It was much weaker and harder to simultaneously fire more of it, but the result was essentially the same: 199 magic arrows collided in the air, causing a loud explosion and forming a smoke cloud up above.

This time, Amelia paid the explosion no mind and continued singing. I had to signal for her to stop; I’d already checked what I needed to.

“Thank you very much, Amelia,” I told her.

Her song paused, and her hands lifted from the zither. “Are you done?”

“Yes. This is enough...” I trailed off. “Hmm, but... This is very strange. Your voice produces no mana yet amplifies mine. This is a first for me.”

Amelia cocked her head. “Really?”

I nodded. “I’m not entirely sure what’s causing this. You?”

“I’m afraid not... I couldn’t possibly know something about magic that you don’t, Your Majesty...”

“Oh... Right.” I felt kind of bad for making Amelia say that. I just wanted to ask her for good measure, but clearly that was a mistake. I struggled to think of what to say next to shake off this awkwardness. “Er... Th-Thank you again,” I blurted out lamely.

Amelia raised her downcast face, and our eyes met.

That moment, the words I’d been racking my brain for suddenly yet naturally tumbled out of my lips.

“You’ve introduced me to new horizons.”

Her expression pinched in a mix of humility and guilt. “That’s—”

“It’s true!” I insisted, and her eyes widened in surprise. “It’s true. I mean it. This has opened the door for me to an entirely new world. It’s unlike any research and training I’ve ever done. I’m... Urgh. I’m not sure how to explain this.”

“Tell her it’s akin to learning to sing a round for the first time,” Lardon suggested. I had no clue what that meant, but Lardon’s advice had never failed me, especially when it came to matters outside of magic.

“It’s like learning to sing a round for the first time,” I told Amelia. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise before she nodded in understanding, proving once again that trusting Lardon was the right call.

“I see... So, I was able to be of help?”

“Very much so.”

“Thank goodness...” Amelia hung her head, though her cheeks turned slightly rosy and her lips curled into a bashful smile.

I mentally expressed my thanks to Lardon. Thanks to her, I’d managed to smooth things out. Now we could keep the conversation going.

“So—”

“Um—”

We accidentally spoke over one another. In fact, our words overlapped so perfectly that I—no, both Amelia and I physically reeled back in shock.

“S-Sorry!”

“No, I apologize too...”

“Um, Amelia... You can go first.”

“Oh, I couldn’t. You may speak first, Your Majesty.”

“Er...”

“Ah...”

After that flustered exchange, the words on the tip of my tongue became a tangled mess in my head. Amelia seemed to be the same. Whatever it was she wanted to say, I could see from her expression that we were suffering the same dilemma.

As panic festered within me, Lardon suddenly manifested by my side with a huff. “Good grief.” She propped her hand on her hip. A single look at her face, and I could tell how exasperated she was.

“I have a suggestion.” She turned to Amelia. “You. Move into this country.”

Lardon caught us both off guard. In my case, it was because she took the words right out of my mouth. Amelia was my favorite songstress, and her song amplified my mana. I had every reason to want her to hang around more, but I’d lost the chance to bring it up.

Gosh, I need to thank Lardon for saying it in my place...

But suddenly, Lardon turned her exasperated gaze to me. “As for you. She wishes to move in. Well?”

I blinked. “What?”

My mind failed to keep up. It took me quite a bit of time to realize that Lardon had spoken not only for me, but also for Amelia.

.299

A new house was being built in the city the very next day. With the giants as our main workers, other monster races worked together and capitalized on their strengths to speed up the construction work.

I watched them from a short distance away. “Looks like we’ll wrap up by tomorrow,” I muttered under my breath.

Though I was pretty much just talking to myself, Amelia picked up on my words and visibly wilted. “I’m so sorry...”

“What for?”

“For troubling everyone with my request...”

“Please, Amelia. It’s nothing. Besides, the monsters aren’t doing this just because of my orders.”

The songstress turned to me in surprise. She seemed to be under the assumption that the monsters would go to the ends of the earth so long as I, their king, gave the word.

“It’s all thanks to your concert,” I explained. “Your voice made a huge impression on them. They were more than glad to help you move in.”

“How could that—”

Before she could humble herself as always, two adorable slimes began bouncing around her feet.

“Amelia’s song!”

“We love it lots!”

“Oh...” Her expression softened. Their endearing encouragement slowly washed away the befuddlement on her face.

I returned my gaze to the partly constructed house.

Until now, Amelia had been a guest—a state guest, in fact—as I, her host, was none other than the king of this nation and her biggest fan. But things would be different moving forward—though not the part about me being her fan, of course. Since she had agreed to move in, it simply wouldn’t do for her to keep borrowing a room in the reception hall. So, we all got together to build her a home.

Incidentally, Asuna, Jodie, and Scarlet lived nearby. They had long grown accustomed to life in this city of monsters, but Amelia was still a new citizen. It only made sense to let her live near her fellow humans. Even if she wanted to relocate in the future, this was an ideal spot for her first home.

“Is there anything you need?” I asked her. “You never planned on staying long, after all. There must be a few things you’re missing now that you’re moving in permanently. Let me know, and I’ll have it all prepared. Whatever we don’t have in this city, my brother can procure for us.”

“Er, but...”

“Please, no need to hold back.” Sensing her hesitation, I added, “My brother is a merchant, so he’d be more than glad—grateful, even—for the extra business.”

That seemed to do the trick. With just some lingering reluctance, Amelia slowly spoke up. “I do have...one request.”

“Go on.”

“It’s, um... It’s about this city’s magic.”

“Hmm? Do you mean our spells for day-to-day life...?”

Amelia nodded gravely. The reluctance in her expression was replaced by a mix of discomfort and embarrassment.

“What’s wrong with them?”

“Well, until now, the maids have been casting them for me...because I cannot do it myself.”

“What? You can’t?”

“No. Apparently, I cannot use magic at all.”

“Not a single spell?”

“I’m afraid not...” Amelia hesitantly nodded. Now, the embarrassment was most stark in her expression.

“Strange,” I muttered. “It should be usable to even those unpracticed with magic... I made sure of it.”

Truth be told, there were two types of spells incorporated into our magic infrastructure. The first were vital ones like the Liamnet, which I made sure only my familiars could cast. The second were those for day-to-day use like Light—also vital in a different sense—which I made so anybody could use. And by “anybody,” I really meant anybody—even those who’d never wielded magic before.

We could compare it to lighting a fire. Skilled survivalists could light a fire with just some dried twigs, but most people couldn’t. Give them a flint, and more people could manage. Toss in a fire striker, and it became even easier. What I did with our magic infrastructure spells was basically preparing all three tools to ensure everyone could start a fire.

“Don’t tell me...” I whipped my face to Amelia, who looked back at me in confusion. “Amelia, may I have your hand, please?”

“Er, like this...?” She reluctantly offered me her hand.

“Excuse me.” I held her hand between mine and closed my eyes.

“Y-Your Majesty?!”

I scanned her body, and my suspicions were immediately confirmed. I opened my eyes and met Amelia’s gaze. For some reason, her cheeks were flushed. “It seems you have no mana.”

“No mana...?”

“Yes. It’s a rather rare case. Most people still have a minuscule amount of mana even if they can’t use magic. Hmm... This may not be the best example, but think of it like a canteen. Even if you empty it, some moisture would remain inside.”

“Oh...”

“But you, Amelia... Your canteen has nothing. It’s completely empty.”

Amelia visibly wilted in disappointment. “Then I suppose I cannot live here... I apologize for—”

“So,” I told her, “I’d like you to carry this with you.”

From my item box, I took out several grape-sized beads and offered it to her. Though surprised, she held her hand out palm facing upward, where I dropped around ten pieces.

“What are these?” she asked.

“A little something I’ve prepared for such cases. I’ve read about manaless people before, you see. Crush that, and it will provide just enough mana to moisten your canteen.”

“Wow...” She stared at the beads in a daze.

“Go on. Give it a try.”

“L-Like...this?” She crushed one. Immediately, her surroundings lit up thanks to the spell Light. She broke out into an equally bright smile. “Oh! It worked!”

“It did. There should be no problem, then.” I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Since she was a guest, I hadn’t realized that she’d been relying on the elven maids for these things. It was a weight off my shoulders to have fixed this issue so soon.

.300

A day passed. In the early afternoon, I was practicing magic in my room as usual when Dyphon suddenly dropped by and asked, “Do you like that woman?”

I turned to her with an arched brow. “What?”

“Do you like that woman?” she repeated, unhelpfully.

“Which woman?”

“You know, that singing woman.”

“Oh, Amelia? Well, of course I—”

“Do you like her? Since you’re both humans... Will you get married?”

“—like... What?!”

Between like or dislike, Amelia—my favorite songstress—obviously fell into the “like” category. It was Dyphon’s second question that caught me completely off guard. The “like” that I felt for Amelia wasn’t quite...marriage-worthy.

“Wh-Why do you ask?”

“Because if you do, then she and I need to have a little talk.”

“Huh?! H-Hang on!” This was taking a really concerning turn. “A-Amelia’s just an ordinary human. You can’t be rough with—”

“It’s just, I’d hate it if you like her yet she doesn’t like you back. I don’t mind the other way around, though.”

“Huh...?” I blinked widely. By this point, Dyphon had lost me completely. “Uh... What do you mean?”

“Well, she’d be so lucky to be liked by you. It’d really annoy me if she didn’t reciprocate.”

“Oh... Hmm? I guess I kind of get the idea...” My words came out mumbled and hesitant.

After hearing Dyphon’s explanation, I tried placing myself in her shoes. If Amelia liked someone who didn’t care for her in return... Yeah, I think I wouldn’t like that either. So, I understood what Dyphon was saying—but I still couldn’t entirely relate to her feelings.

“So?” Dyphon prompted. “Do you like her? Or love her?”

“Oh...”

Another difficult question. I definitely liked Amelia, but love? That was a quick and easy no. That being said, the boundary between “like” and “love” was a bit of a blur, so I was still a bit troubled on how to answer.

In the end, I settled for, “No, it’s not love.”

Suddenly, I heard Lardon’s stifled chuckle. She sounded more amused than ever before. “Lardon?”

“You wouldn’t like it if that girl liked someone who didn’t like her back?”

“Of course.”

“Hah!” I heard another bout of stifled laughter. “Ah, it’s nothing. Forget it.”

“Uh...” Was my answer really that funny? What was—

“Hey! Stop chatting with her! Eyes on me!” Dyphon suddenly grabbed my face and forced me to look her way. Our eyes locked, and our faces were close to touching.

Her attitude took a nosedive... Dyphon had had such a breezy and unbothered air about her while we were talking about Amelia. But now, with Lardon in the picture, she wasn’t even bothering to hide her displeasure.

I’d wondered if she started asking about Amelia out of jealousy, but that didn’t seem to be the case. This looked a lot more like jealousy.

And all over a quick conversation with Lardon... It was a testament to how much the three dragons were constantly at each other’s throats. Dyphon reacted far more strongly to them than to some measly human girl.

“Uh, sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, darling. I bet she was just amused by you again, or whatever.”

“Well...you’re right about that.”

“So, she’s the problem. I’ll definitely kill her someday.”

“N-Now, now...”

I placated her with an awkward smile but made no genuine effort to stop her. History had proven that an argument between Lardon and Dyphon was no actual cause for concern. After all, the animosity between them spanned years and was beyond human comprehension. It was a huge thing, sure, but there was no need to panic right away.

“So?” Dyphon asked again. “You don’t love that woman?”

“No, I don’t. I respect her. It’s not love.”

“It’s just respect?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. Guess I’ll try to be nice to her, then.”

“Sure. That’d be great.”

Having gotten the answer she came for, Dyphon finally left my room.

I watched her leave before my gaze turned half lidded in exasperation—ever since Dyphon grabbed my face, Lardon had been laughing hysterically in my ears. Now that Dyphon was gone, I asked her, “Okay, seriously. Did I say something weird?”

Holding back her laughter, Lardon replied, “You said that the girl’s love being unrequited is intolerable in your eyes, yes?”

“Huh? More like I just wouldn’t like it... Well, I guess it’s the same thing?” She just asked me the same thing as earlier... Well, her wording changed a bit, but my answer remained the same.

“And strength is needed to punish intolerable violations, yes?”

“Well... I guess so.”

Lardon chuckled. “Splendid... It appears you can still grow much, much, much, much, much stronger.”

“Uh...”

That was five times. Lardon wasn’t typically one to jabber like this—how unlike her. Her growing amusement contrasted starkly with the confusion swirling in my head.

.301

The next day, just past noon, Scarlet and I sat at the round table in the palace.

“This concludes my report on the Duchy of Parta’s first reparations,” she said. “I have confirmed that the amount has been paid in full.”

“Great. Financial matters are all in your hands.”

“Understood.”

“One thing from me,” Lardon said.

“What is it?”

From my response, Scarlet immediately knew that Lardon had spoken. She straightened her back. Her respectful demeanor grew more apparent whenever Lardon was involved.

“Ask her how much leeway she thinks Parta has. An estimate will suffice.”

“Lardon’s asking approximately how much leeway you think Parta has.”

Scarlet deeply bowed, then straightened her back once more. “The reparations were paid fully in gold coins.”

“Hmm. And that is relevant to my question in what way?”

“She’s asking how that’s relevant to her question.”

“It is common practice to store money as gold coins, which are smallest in size. Thus, gold coins are also typically used when paying in large amounts,” Scarlet explained.

“I see...”

“Okay. Go on,” I prompted, instead of passing on Lardon’s words. Though Lardon had asked the question, I was also pretty curious now.

“Had they not enough gold coins saved,” Scarlet continued, “they would have had to gather funds from other sources. In which case, they wouldn’t have been able to pay fully in gold coins.”

“In other words, fewer gold coins in their payment indicates their shrinking savings?”

“So, fewer gold coins means fewer savings?”

Scarlet bowed. “Precisely.”

Lardon seemed satisfied with her answer. To be honest, this was also pretty eye-opening for me, so I was glad she’d asked.

“Very well. They still have much leeway, then, as we expected. Continue cornering them.”

“Uhh... She said...” I relayed it all verbatim. Since this was Lardon’s order, I figured it was best to pass it on exactly.

“Understood.” Scarlet bowed deeply then left the room, and with that, I was done with my official business.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Though I was king of this country, I didn’t usually have much work on my plate. Most of the time, Scarlet and Reina—sometimes even Gai and Chris—would drop by to report, then I’d just assign the task to them, and that was that. Case in point: the meeting I just had with Scarlet.

Now, I could get back to thinking about magic like always.

Amelia had shown me new horizons. There were so many possibilities awaiting discovery with the combination of her song and my aria now at my disposal. All that was left was for me to think of specific ways to utilize it.

I was able to cast 199 spells simultaneously... What else can I do with it?

“New horizons, hmm?” Lardon suddenly remarked.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Shall we have a little talk?”

I tilted my head, perplexed at her sudden proposition.

Some time later, I left the city and revisited the concert hall. With me were two girls. One was Amelia, standing right by my side. In front of us on the opposite end of the stage, arms folded, was Lardon.

“Er...” Amelia turned to me with a bewildered look, casting Lardon a quick few questioning glances too. “What are we doing here, Your Majesty?”

Her confusion was understandable. I’d told her that I needed her help and brought her here, but I didn’t actually know what I needed her help with. I was just doing as Lardon said.

“I’m not sure either,” I admitted. “Lardon, what’s going on?”

“Well, I thought you would better understand in practice,” she explained. “Power Missile should suffice as a start. Fire as many as you can at me.”

“Uh, okay... Sure.” I turned to Amelia. “I’d like to cast some magic. Could I ask for your cooperation?”

“Oh, of course...” Though she still looked as lost as me, Amelia assented to my request. Lardon had said “as a start,” so we both figured it was best to go step by step.

She approached her eighty-eight-string zither that had been left on the stage and set her fingers over the strings. Soon, the venue was filled with a melodious mix of the zither’s colorful notes and Amelia’s smooth voice.

Sensing the rise in my mana, I chanted an aria under my breath then cast the spell exactly as Lardon ordered it. “Power Missile, 199 rounds!”

Before the dense rain of magical arrows, Lardon didn’t move an inch. Just as I was starting to get worried, she finally held out her right hand and unleashed a cluster of mana. It looked like a power missile, but it was clearly much denser and more compact than mine.

That single power missile and my rain of power missiles clashed in the air, kicking up a huge explosion that shook the entire venue and swallowed the stage in a smoke cloud.

“Eek!”

“Amelia!” I hurriedly put up an Absolute Force Shield in front of her to protect her from the shock wave.

Eventually, the blast died down and the smoke cleared, revealing Lardon standing with her arms folded once more. “Well?”

I blinked. “Huh? Oh, uh... That was amazing.”

Her single attack canceled out my barrage of 199 power missiles. It was an impressive show... But I already knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Lardon was amazing. Naturally, I had to wonder what else this was all about.

Before I could ask, however, Lardon continued, “My singular strike and your multicasted spells were evenly matched.”

“They were,” I agreed.

“What of your singular strike?”

“Huh? What do you—”

“Allow me to share some facts with you.”

“Uh, sure...” What was it this time?

“Most mages can use an aria.”

“Well, yeah.” It was a simple ritual that boosted mana, after all.

“However, only one in a hundred—no, a thousand can multicast.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“In that case, what do most mages chant arias for? Hmm?”

“They... Oh!” I finally understood what Lardon was getting at. I slapped my cheeks with a groan. “Ugh. Am I an idiot?”

Lardon chuckled in amusement, whereas Amelia looked at me strangely. “Your Majesty...?”

With a laugh of disbelief, I cursed my own foolishness. This concept wasn’t even entirely new to me. Yet at some point, I’d somehow begun equating “more mana” to “more quantity” only.

But I could also use my amplified mana on just a single spell. It took much more to reach this realization, and for some reason I’d been averting my eyes from it—but without a doubt, there were just as many new horizons awaiting on this side as well.

.302

“Thanks, Lardon. I’ll make sure to work in this direction too.”

Lardon chuckled as she propped a hand on her hip. “I’m eager to see what you come up with.”

Normally, that pose would come across as haughty and especially bizarre on a young girl, but it looked exceedingly natural on Lardon. I’d say it even added to the air of dignity about her.

As I was entranced by her figure, another thought came to mind.

“Guess I’ll have to come up with proper criteria, then.”

“Criteria?” Lardon cocked her head. Coupling that with the hand on her hip lent her a quite lithesome and elegant bearing.

“Well, counting the number of spells is a straightforward way to check my progress, right? It’d be much harder to judge the difference for a single, fully powered spell.”

“Hmm... Fair point. So, you wish to set clear parameters to gauge your spell’s power.”

“Right.” I nodded. “I can compare it to multicasting to a certain extent. For example, it’s easy to tell when I jump from the equivalent of two simultaneous spells to eleven. But the power difference between two and three spells isn’t as easy to spot.”

“Indeed. The stronger you become, the smaller your growth increments.”

“Uh-huh. That’s why I want a proper criteria.”

“Any ideas?”

“Well, maybe...”

For starters, I tried emitting a fair amount of mana and condensing it into a manastone—a bloodsoul. Then I chanted an aria to amplify my mana and once again converted it into a manastone. This one was ten times bigger than the first.

I held one in each hand and showed Lardon. “If I give it a tangible form, the size directly translates into the amount of mana. So, I guess I can try using the weight as a reference point.”

“True, but will there not be some mana lost along the process?”

“Ah... You’re right. It’s like rolling a ball of dirt. You exert more effort and move your hands differently when you want to make it bigger. Some gets stuck on your palms too.” It wasn’t the best comparison, but they were similar enough.

“Shall I gauge it?” Lardon offered.

I turned to her with an arched brow. “You?”

Still in her pompous pose, she said, “Fire your mana at me, and I can gauge it for you.”

“Well, sure... But would you be able to gauge it the same way each time?”

Lardon frowned. “Hmm... I suppose not.”

Humans had their good days and bad days, and apparently so did dragons. Although, I doubted a human could tell the difference—dragons were just that much stronger.

But the point was, dragons were subject to varying physical conditions too. Even if Lardon could swat away an all-out attack from me no matter her condition, the feel of it against her skin—or scales—could vary depending on how she felt that day and consequently affect her feedback.

I hummed. “I want something more...objective.”

“An objective criteria, hmm? I concur.”

“Problem is...I can’t really think of one.”

Lardon and I were both racking our brains. She looked a lot more troubled than earlier.

“Um...” Suddenly, Amelia spoke up. She’d been keeping quiet all this time but seemed concerned to see us both so lost.

“What is it, Amelia?”

“Well, I’m not very well-versed in magic,” she began, “but Your Majesty, I’ve heard that you are skilled in creating spells. Could you not craft a spell that gauges mana?”

I felt like a hammer just hit me on the head. Her meek, innocent suggestion was a heavy blow, and certainly threw me for a loop.

Amelia panicked at my reaction. “C-Could I have been mistaken?”

Lardon chuckled. “No, not at all. He’s in shock that he’d missed such a blind spot.”

“A blind spot...” Amelia gasped as she realized what that meant.

Lardon nodded. “You made a most excellent suggestion.”

“Yeah!” I chimed in. “Thank you so much, Amelia! It’s a great idea!”

“N-Not at all. I was just...”

“Indeed, we were the fools this time around.”

I nodded firmly. “We sure were.”

Though solving everything with magic was my thing, this new ground I was treading thanks to Lardon swayed me from how I usually thought of things. But that was no excuse. It was such a simple solution—there was nobody but ourselves to blame for failing to think of it much sooner.

“Thank you very much, Amelia.”

After one last bow to express my gratitude, I steered my thoughts toward my new mana-measuring spell.

.303

A ways from the magic city, but still within the promised land, was a forest that didn’t usually see any visitors. Today, however, I dropped by on my own in search of a certain something.

“What are you looking for?” Lardon asked after a while in the forest.

“A snake.”

“Hmm? What for?”

“I’ve got a plan for that mana-measuring spell, but I want to see a snake in person to solidify my mental image.”

“Oh? Interesting. Then I shall not spoil myself the fun.”

Lardon chuckled in amusement and refrained from asking more questions. I wasn’t so sure I could meet her expectations, but I went ahead with the search anyway.

After walking for a while, I heard rustling from the shrubbery. I froze in place, waited a while, and...bingo! A snake emerged from the bushes! From the shape of its head, it looked like a venomous snake. Just what I was looking for.

“Nice...” I approached it with slow and cautious steps, until I remembered that I could just use magic. “Time Stop!”

This spell couldn’t hold for long, so I made a dash for the snake. This would typically be a struggle, but in this frozen world, I easily grabbed it by the base of its head before releasing my spell.

“Oh? You stopped time?”

“I didn’t want it to escape.”

“Ah. Then it’s certainly safest this way.”

With one hand grabbing the snake’s head, I used the other to grab its tail. It took a few tries now that it was flailing around, but I had a firm grip on its head, so it was only a matter of time.

Finally, I forced its maw open and made it bite its own tail. A strange liquid oozed from its fangs and seeped into the open wound.

“Venom?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded without taking my eyes off the snake, practically boring a third hole into it with the intensity of my gaze. I focused on the liquid seeping into the snake’s body, as well as its consequent reaction—or lack thereof. The snake showed no response whatsoever to the venom—just as I expected.

“Nice.” With a nod, I let the snake go. It bolted straight into the bushes.

“Are you done?” Lardon asked.

“Yep. I’ve seen what I came to see. My mental image is solid now.”

“Hmm. And what was it you wanted to see?”

“Well, I’ve heard long ago that venomous snakes don’t succumb to their own venom.”

“Indeed. I know that as well.”

“Thing is, I’d never seen it for myself. It’d help fortify my mental image if I did, so I had to look for it personally.”

“It’s certainly not a common sight.” Lardon chuckled. “So? What now?”

“I’m gonna start with a preliminary test.” I closed my eyes.

“Very well.”

Lardon fell back into silence, set on observing as she had earlier. She understood that she’d be better off watching than asking.

I amplified my mana and, like kneading dough, emitted it all onto one spot until it materialized. I’d been doing this a lot recently, and with the mental image from the snake still fresh in my mind, it took me no time at all.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing face-to-face with another me, made of mana.

“Good.” I spun on my heel and took some distance. Once I was dozens of steps away, I stopped and turned back around. “Amelia Emilia Claudia... Atomic Blast!”

Though I hardly used this spell, it was the most powerful singular attack in my arsenal, now further enhanced with an aria.

I unleashed it toward the other me. Instantly, it got swallowed up by a huge upward blast. Flames rose to the sky like a pillar, scorching the surrounding trees and vegetation till they were pitch-black.

“Huh. Was this spell that strong?” I wondered to myself.

“With you casting it, I expected no less.”

“Really...? Uh, anyway...”

The flames gradually died down, leaving behind a vast patch of blackened land—and at its center stood the other me, completely unscathed.

“I see... That’s why you sought out a venomous snake,” Lardon mused, finally realizing what I was up to.

I nodded. “Venomous snakes don’t die from their own venom. In a similar vein, I wanted something that wouldn’t be destroyed by my mana.”

“Hmm... A barrier would simply repel your mana. What you needed was something to receive the full brunt of your attack and still escape unscathed.”

“Exactly. It’s also easy to visualize myself being impervious to my own power. This way, I didn’t have to worry about controlling my strength.”

Lardon chuckled. “A most fascinating idea. Impressive.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. That cleared the first stage of making my mana-measuring spell.

.304

In the lush forest, my replica and I stood face-to-face.

Appearance-wise, it was a lot like the clone I always summoned with Contract Summoning. However, my usual clone was another me who could think and act for himself, so he felt like a proper human being. But this thing just stood there, eerily still.

“There was a time when human nobles were fond of wax figures,” Lardon suddenly said.

“Wax figures?” I arched a brow. I wondered what brought this up, though I’d find out just a moment later.

“Yes. Life-sized wax figures made in human likeness. They were worlds more eerie than that thing you just made.”

“Ohh... I’ve never heard of those.”

“It was a trend that quickly died down due to its lack of practicality. I would say yours has far more practical use than wax figures.”

“Practical use? This thing?” Those wax figures certainly sounded as useless as Lardon said, but I couldn’t really see how this replica of mine was any better.

Lardon let out a mischievous chuckle. “Imagine it ended up in someone else’s hands. If they just added a handle on the back, it could serve as the best shield against you, could it not?”

“Oh!” I snapped my fingers.

The image popped up in my head of someone—Lardon, for some reason—carrying my replica around to block all of my magic. It definitely made for a surreal image, but I couldn’t deny that it functioned very well as a shield against me.

“Well, I’m glad it’s more useful than a wax figure.”

“It has other uses too. For example, you could use it on her.”

“‘Her’? You mean Dyphon?” She didn’t specify a name, but I could pretty much pick up on who she was talking about.

“She would want a doll that looks exactly like her beloved. But knowing her, she would not be sated for long and go after the real deal with an even greater vigor.”

“Oh... Well, I wouldn’t want that.”

While leisurely chatting with Lardon, I continued firing off magic missiles at my replica. Just as a venomous snake was immune to its own venom, that thing was immune to my magic.

Meanwhile, my mind wandered to thoughts of how to make this mana-measuring spell. I had several ideas, which I arranged into a mental list—first by how difficult they were to make, then by how cumbersome they were to use.

Hmm... Actually, I should prioritize making its usage easier. After all, I only had to make it once, but would have to use it hundreds of times thereafter. It was worth choosing the most difficult crafting method if it produced the spell that was easiest to use. Basically, suffer now and take it easy later. Of course, the hardest crafting method might not necessarily produce the simplest spell.

After a while, I collated all my ideas and—

“Ah.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Well, I’ve figured out my mana-measuring method. I want to give it a whirl...”

“Very well. Go ahead.”

“Uh... But I need to get rid of that thing first...”

After a brief pause, Lardon snorted—then burst into laughter. “Aha ha ha ha ha! What a conundrum indeed!”

“Yeah...” I chuckled awkwardly.

I had to get rid of that thing, and my only means of doing so was with magic. After all, it wasn’t like I had many other means at my disposal. But my magic...didn’t work on that thing. I was thinking of getting rid of it by blasting it to smithereens or something, but it was totally impervious to everything I could dish out. I was essentially powerless against it.

Basically, I couldn’t clean up after my own experiment.

“A surprising pitfall,” Lardon mused.

“I totally didn’t think this through. Could you lend a hand, Lardon?”

“Very well.” Lardon emerged from within me.

A cute young girl walked forth with overflowing grace until she stopped right in front of my replica. Then, she reached out, grabbed its face, and crushed it in her grip. The replica that had remained unscathed before an entire bombardment of my mana fell swiftly under Lardon’s petite hand.

“Oh? It collapses, just like that? Not even a shock wave? Turns out it’s no better than a wax figure after all,” Lardon remarked.

I chuckled dryly. I didn’t quite know how to feel, seeing her crush something that looked like me so brutally.

After that, Lardon easily blasted away what remained of my replica.

.305

Lardon stayed in her physical form, now standing just a step away from me with her hand on her hip in case I still needed help. As I would definitely need it, her consideration was much appreciated.

Chanting an aria, I closed my eyes, focused, then held my hand out and emitted my amplified mana, constructing ninety-seven mana replicas in the clearing in front of me.

“Oh? So many at once?” Lardon asked.

“For adjustments,” I supplied. “Usually, you can immediately tell when my experiments fail, but this time, even the failures look perfectly fine on the onset.”

Lardon paused. “Ah, I see. You’re adjusting the cleanup method.”

I sighed. “Exactly.”

Making the replica by itself posed no issues, so this was a rare scenario where everything looked good to go right from the development stage. But as things were, I couldn’t even clean up after myself. What kind of spell would it be if I had to ask someone else for help every time I used it? Naturally, I had to improve it first.

“What are you planning?” Lardon asked.

“Well, for starters... Oh.”

Before I could answer Lardon’s question, one of the ninety-seven replicas suddenly burst open then dissipated with a pshhh.

“Welp. That’s a fail.” I sighed. Sensing Lardon’s curious gaze, I explained, “You see, I thought of giving these a time limit. They were set up to disappear after some time regardless of whether I did anything to them.”

“Ah, I see. Yes, that’s a safe choice. Then...” She cast a sideward glance as three more replicas began to dissipate. “Those are failures too, yes? They disappeared far too soon.”

“Yeah. It’s also a failure if they linger for too long...”

Lardon and I watched the replicas for a while as they dissipated one after the other, until only half—around forty-six—were left.

“These ones are taking their time,” Lardon remarked.

“I think they’re failures. They probably won’t dissipate at all.”

“Hmm. Shall I erase them, then?”

“Yeah, please do. There’s no point in waiting any longer.”

With a nod, Lardon raised her slender arm and curled two fingers upward. Magic bombarded all the remaining forty-six replicas and swiftly blasted them to smithereens.

After thanking Lardon, I went ahead and chanted an aria once more to make another set of ninety-seven replicas—the most I could make by myself—on the land that had been scorched by Lardon’s attack. We waited once more.

Pshhh... Pshhh... Pshhh...

Again, the replicas started dissipating one after the other, until none were left.

Lardon nodded. “Just after one round of adjustments? Impressive as always when it comes to magic.”

“No, I’m not done yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to do it again. Just watch.”

“Very well.”

I chanted an aria and summoned ninety-seven figures for the third time. Ten seconds later, they all began to dissipate. Psh! Psh! Psh! One after another they went, with no more than three seconds between the first and last.

Lardon arched a brow. “Oh?”

“Since this is specifically for measuring my mana, I figured this is just the right amount of time.”

“I see. So this is what you were working toward.”

“Yep. And...”

I repeated the process for the fourth time: Chant an aria, summon ninety-seven figures, and wait. Finally...

Pshhh!

Everything disappeared at the exact same moment with a single, harmonized sound.

“Nice!”

Lardon hummed. “Amazing... Some discrepancy is inevitable even when setting a time limit, yet you managed to make them all dissipate with such precise timing.”

More praise from Lardon. Succeeding made me happy, but hearing that from her felt just as great.

“My earlier slipup was pretty embarrassing,” I admitted. Honestly, there was no excuse for that. I would’ve been totally helpless if not for Lardon.

Lardon chuckled. “Really now? Somehow, you don’t sound very embarrassed.”

“Well, you’re the only one who saw it.”

“Hmm? And that makes it acceptable?”

“It’s not your first time seeing me being lame, after all. Probably won’t be the last either.”

“Ah, true. You’re quite hopeless outside of magic.”

“Right?”

I felt like I wasn’t quite this hopeless before I became Liam, but I had to admit, these days magic was all I was good for and not much else. Not that I had any complaints. More than anything, I was just really happy that I got to learn and practice it as I did now.

“Thanks for always supporting me,” I told Lardon.

“Think nothing of it.” She chuckled. “There’s never a dull moment with you. Consider it my entertainment fee.”

I smiled. Her praise feels great, all right.

.306

I summoned a replica of myself around ten meters ahead and immediately fired a magic missile at it. The mana projectile flew in an arc before crashing against the replica, whipping up a huge explosion of dust and smoke.

My replica didn’t budge an inch. The smoke gradually cleared, revealing my unscathed replica—and a number “7” floating right in front of it.

“So, it quantifies the amount of mana you used?” Lardon asked, still standing behind me with her hand on her hip.

“Yeah. Specifically the amount of mana that hit the figure.”

“Hmm...?”

I threw her a glance over my shoulder. “I mean, it’s not like all the mana you consume forms part of the spell, right?”

“Ah... I see. Humans are like that.”

That caught my ears. “Huh? What do you mean?” I turned around completely to face her. I was just giving her a quick explanation, but the implication behind her response caught my interest.

“Living beings have varying, hmm...mana conversion rates, or mana-to-spell cost ratios. Whatever you may call it.”

“Oh, really?”

“Even when using the same stove, pots of different materials boil water at varying speed, yes?”

I nodded. “That’s true. The purer the iron, the faster the water boils.”

“Magic follows the same logic. Some beings use a hundred units of mana to cast ninety units worth of magic—others ninety-five, and others much more. If I recall correctly, humans have an eighty percent efficiency. They consume mana twice over, after all.”

“And you?”

“I have a hundred percent efficiency. Ah, and before you ask, because I know you will—the other two are the same.” Because she was in her human form, her bitter frown looked like a cute, sulky pout—but I didn’t touch on that.

“Guess I should aim to raise my eighty percent, then.”

“No,” Lardon said immediately.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“For some reason, your soul is special—that is why I am able to dwell within you. At present, you are already at ninety-nine percent efficiency.”

“Oh...” Lardon had told me all the way back when we first met that my soul was special, and I actually had an inkling as to why. This didn’t come as much of a shock to me.

“As far as I am aware, you are second to only us divine dragons, and naturally the top among humans.”

“Wow... Guess I’ll just work on that remaining one percent when I get the time, then.”

Lardon chuckled. “Still, you wish to work on it?”

“Eventually, yeah.”

Getting from eighty to ninety sounded easy enough, but closing the final gap from ninety-nine to a hundred might actually become a lifelong undertaking. At the very least, it wasn’t something I could get over with on the spot. I decided to store it into the back of my head as a long-term goal.

Anyway, let’s get back on track.

My mana replica had already disappeared. I summoned another one and fired a power missile at it. The number displayed this time was “20.”

“Hmm... Yep. It felt like a twenty to me too.”

“What if you go all out?” Lardon asked.

“Let’s see.”

I chanted an aria and fired off my most powerful single-hit spell at the new replica. The ground shook with tremendous force, but as always, my figure didn’t budge an inch.

The number read “4,096.”

I nodded. “Seems about right.”

“Indeed,” Lardon agreed.

With this, my mana-measuring spell was complete...but...

“Hmm...”

“What’s the matter?”

“Well, I was just thinking... While I’m at it, why not make this usable for others too?”

Lardon chuckled. “Ambitious as always. Indeed, that sounds like quite the useful spell. But would that not require different features than this one you made for yourself?”

“It would. I’m thinking of just making it an entirely new spell.”

“Yes, that does sound like the best move.”

With Lardon’s seal of approval, I decided that my mana-measuring spell was complete. Now it was time to apply revisions and adjustments to make a separate spell that would work for others.

“Do you have anything in mind?” she asked.

“Three ideas,” I answered.

“Let’s hear the most feasible one.”

I pursed my lips. The most feasible one...was a little hard to bring up.

“What’s the matter?”

“Er, well... About that... There’s kind of a problem at the early stage...”

“Oh? It’s rare to see you so hesitant about magic.” She chuckled. “Go on, say it. I look forward to all your magical endeavors. I shall help you with anything you need.”

“Anything?”

“Yes, anything.”

“Then...” I gulped. “I need your help...as well as Dyphon’s and Paithon’s.”

Instantly, Lardon’s easygoing smile disappeared and all expression fell from her face. That, too, was kind of cute...but I once again refrained from voicing my thoughts.

.307

Lardon glared at me with furrowed brows and pouted lips. Finally, after much deliberation, she wrung out, “Is there really no other choice?”

I stared widely at her. “Huh?”

“What?” Lardon scowled. “Why so surprised?”

“I mean, it’s just not very like you.”

“Not like me? This may sound strange coming from me, but our relationship is—”

“No, no. That’s not what I’m talking about,” I cut in. “Don’t you remember? I said I had three ideas.”

For a moment—and really, it was for the most fleeting moment—I could’ve sworn I saw Lardon’s face flush.

Now that’s new, I thought to myself. But the reason for it was clear, even to me.

She was embarrassed for asking something so obvious. Like I said just now, it was my most feasible method among three options—of course it wasn’t the only choice. It seemed the mention of Dyphon and Paithon had thrown her mind into disarray.

Lardon took a deep breath to regain her composure. “Did you do that on purpose...? No, I cannot imagine that being the case.” With one final sigh, she returned to her usual expression. “I apologize, but that won’t be—”

“Oh, darling!”

Suddenly, I felt a small impact against my back and a pair of arms wrap around me from behind. I whirled around and found none other than a certain dragon.

“Dyphon?!”

Expectedly, Lardon’s expression warped yet again. I decided to set her aside and focus on Dyphon first. “What brings you here all of a sudden?”

“You called me!” she crowed.

“Huh? No, I didn’t...”

“Eheh heh...” She circled around in front of me, looking up with a soft and bashful smile. Right now, she looked every bit the innocent young girl. “This is just another one of my bodily modifications.”

“What?”

“Don’t you remember? We can morph our bodies to suit our partners.”

“Oh, right. You did mention something like that before.”

Apparently, the three dragons could morph their bodies to match the partner with whom they wanted to have a child, be they a human, goblin, slime, or whatever else. When I’d first heard about this, I’d touted the superiority of their race, but Dyphon had responded with a sulky pout and said, “That’s not it at all, darling!” According to her, it had to do with a...maiden’s heart? Not that I would understand anyway, so I’d stopped listening after that.

The point was that they could morph their bodies for their desired partners. In Dyphon’s case, that would be me.

“My body just knows that my darling needs me!”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh! The area below my navel just starts tensing up.”

“Oh, wow...”

Just then, Lardon let out a cynical huff.

Dyphon’s passionate rambling instantly came to a stop as she turned a cold and frigid glare her way. “What?”

“You appear tragically ignorant, so allow me to enlighten you: You are what we would call a stalker.”

“What did you say?!”

“You’re fortunate he doesn’t mind. Most others would start avoiding you entirely.”

“Cut the nonsense!”

“I’m merely stating the truth.”

“Oh yeah? Sounds to me like you wanna die!”

“And it sounds to me like you’re all bark and no bite.”

Their glares clashed, and their veins popped. For the briefest of moments, the situation was seemingly on the verge of exploding—and then it did. In that instant, they hurled their power at one another.

“Urgh! Th-This is way too much!” This whole area would be burnt to a crisp the moment these two went all out. I jumped in to stop them, right at the center where their surging powers would meet. “Amelia Emilia Claudia... Wormhole!”

Space warped, giving way to several holes that sucked in both torrents of energy and redirected them through an upward-facing hole.

“Ugh... It’s not enough!”

This spell absorbed and redirected power, but the holes got smaller every time something passed through, weakening its effect. Fortunately, this wasn’t an issue for long. Thanks to my intervention, Lardon and Dyphon swiftly withdrew their power. Whatever was left, my spell just barely managed to clean up.

“Darling! Are you okay?!” Dyphon cried.

“I’m fine.” Using so much mana at once took its toll on me—my body felt sore, like muscle pain—but this was worlds better than having taken a direct hit.

“Sorry... Did I give you a hard time?”

“No, it’s all right.”

“I’m so sorry...” Dyphon wilted—then, in a sudden flip, she whipped her head up with a bright smile. “Oh, but you were amazing! You blocked both of our attacks! Wow!”

“Blocked? No, not really. I just used spatial magic to divert them to—”

“Indeed,” Lardon cut in. “I unleashed that power with the intent to kill. Only you could handle such an immense force from me. I would expect no less of you.”

Just moments ago, they were so eager to kill each other... Now here they were, happily praising me in turn. I looked at them both while caught between feeling impressed and exasperated.

.308

Fortunately, Lardon and Dyphon seemed to have settled down. I sure as heck wanted it to stay that way, so I took the initiative to steer our conversation.

“There’s something I wanted to ask you two.”

“What is it, darling? Ask away!” Dyphon crooned, eyes sparkling.

Lardon only stared at me, waiting patiently.

“Well, it’s about how you two fight... From what I’ve seen, it looks like you always use your powers to clash head-on. No tricks, no schemes—nothing of the sort.”

“Obviously.”

“Indeed.”

They both answered at almost exactly the same time.

I nodded. “So I was right.”

Dyphon harrumphed. “What other way is there? I mean, I can kill her whenever I want. Why resort to tricks and schemes?”

“It is all I need to crush a weakling underfoot,” Lardon similarly remarked.

“Wow, look who’s getting ahead of herself!”

“Oh? It appears you fail to discern bluff from fact.”

“What did you say?!”

I jumped between them again. “Okay, okay. Both of you, calm down!”

We were never going to get anywhere like this. I’m starting to regret it already... Should I give up asking them about this?

“Sorry, darling...”

“Oh, uh... It’s okay.”

“Say... Can you hug me?”

“What?”

Dyphon stood in front of me, then spun on her heel so her back was facing me. Then, she pressed her back against my chest, took my hands, and made me hug her from behind. “Like this. Okay?”

It didn’t get any clearer than this. I did as I was told and kept my arms wrapped around her.

Dyphon gingerly set her small hands over mine and giggled sweetly. “Your hug calms me down.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hmm. Hug me tighter.”

“Okay...” Basically, she was implying that I should keep hugging her so she wouldn’t act out. I was honestly really grateful for this.

“Anyway,” I continued, “I imagine you don’t always clash from a distance like this. Don’t you also take attacks head-on sometimes?”

“Yep. Sometimes.”

“How do you withstand those, then?”

“Hmm...” Dyphon, still in my embrace, tilted her head for a while. “With willpower?”

“Willpower...?”

“Yep, sounds about right. I’d never lose to— Oh, don’t worry, darling. I’m not gonna argue right now.” Dyphon cleared her throat. “I don’t wanna lose to her, so I make sure to bear with it all the way through.”

“To elaborate, when filled with fighting spirit, we can surpass the limits of our flesh,” Lardon added. “Since she is only slightly infer— Ahem. Since we are approximately equal in power, a boost in willpower is enough to bridge any gaps and allow us to withstand each other’s attacks.”

Lardon was also being careful with her words for me.

“Oh...” I hung my head in thought. Their answers weren’t quite what I was expecting. I was hoping for a more...technical answer. Something more objective.

Lardon, Dyphon, and Paithon were all equally strong. This was my own personal assessment, as well as a fact that had been proven throughout history and—perhaps most importantly—acknowledged by the dragons themselves. After all, how else could a fight between them last for days, if not months? Sure, they already did everything on a grander scale than humans, but a fight could never go on for so long with a significant gap in strength between them.

Not to mention they were always fully intent on killing one another. I assumed they’d been devising all sorts of ways to end the others, so I was hoping to ask about those techniques. The answer turned out a lot simpler than I’d expected...and not the one I wanted. But I was still impressed.

“Wow... So you can keep up a pure head-on clash for that long?”

“Why do you ask, darling?”

“Well... Oh, I guess I better bring you up to speed first.”

I proceeded to tell Dyphon about my most recent project—my mana-measuring spell—and how I wanted to make it usable for everyone in the city too.

“But to do that, I need to solve one problem first,” I continued. “Those with little mana would use it all up just to cast the spell. Essentially, the less mana someone has, the harder it’ll be to measure.”

“Uh-huh... That’s true.”

“So, I was thinking of making them a magic item instead. We can set it up in the city.”

“Ooh! That’s a great idea, darling!”

“It’s easy to make a spell that won’t break under the caster’s mana—I’ve done that already. But with a magic item, it won’t be as simple.” I looked between Lardon and Dyphon. “That’s why I wanted to know if you had some means of withstanding immense power.”

I finished my explanation with a frown. After all, it didn’t sound like they had the sort of thing I was looking for. I doubted Paithon would have given a different answer had she been here.

After a short silence, Dyphon slowly freed herself from my arms and turned around. Her bright eyes firmly met mine. “Well, actually...”

.309

Dyphon’s sudden change in demeanor caught me off guard.

“You see, darling... We had a huge fight in the past, right?”

“R-Right...” The dragons had a rather stormy history—which I was already well aware of. So what is she bringing it up for...?

“Back then, we all genuinely wanted each other dead. Not like they had much actual strength to back it up, unlike me.”

“O-Oh...” I risked a glance at Lardon, afraid that she would be enraged at Dyphon’s jab—but surprisingly enough, not a hint of anger surfaced on her expression.

That’s...also kind of concerning, actually.

But before I could pursue the thought, Dyphon continued. “Actually, our clashing powers back then created something weird.” She threw Lardon a glance over her shoulder. “You remember, don’t you?”

“I do. It was a strange new type of matter... To this day, I wonder what it was.”

“Was it some sort of metal?” I asked her.

“No. It was much purer.”

“Mm-hmm.” Seemingly satisfied by Lardon’s answer, Dyphon turned her gaze back to me. “I’ve never seen that kind of material before either. It was super tough. Like, tough enough to withstand our power—all three of us.”

“Really?!” If that thing could withstand the three dragons’ powers, then it was practically indestructible. So this is why she brought up their fight! “Where is it now?”

Dyphon shrugged. “No clue. All of it was flung somewhere amid the chaos of our battle... Do you know?”

“No, I do not,” Lardon replied plainly.

“Eh, figures.”

“Oh...” I hung my head.

“But don’t worry, darling!” Dyphon chirped, clenching both hands into fists. “If we made it once, we can make it again. For you, I’ll give it my all!”

“Oh...!” Her show of determination was kinda cute, but I immediately paused. “Wait. Doesn’t that mean...you’ll have to try killing each other again?”

“Yep! For you, darling, I’ll give my all to kill her—and come out on top, of course!”

So I was right... They had to fight to the death again. My gaze drifted behind Dyphon, where Lardon simply stood with an unreadable smirk.

“So, to make this material, the intent behind your powers matters?” I clarified.

“Probably. I’ve never held back when trying to kill her, but that material’s never popped up again. It must be ’cause the malicious intent behind my attacks wasn’t up to snuff.”

Well, that doesn’t bode well... I’d seen them butt heads a handful of times, and if their malicious intent during those arguments wasn’t enough, then I dreaded what kind of malice would make the cut. It seemed that reenacting the historical Tri-Draconic War was the only way to re-create this indestructible material.

Then my answer was obvious: “Please don’t.”

“Hmm? Why not, darling?”

“One of you is certain to die. Heck, we might even be risking both of you dying. It’s just not worth it.”

“Oh, darling...” Dyphon’s eyes grew moist before she threw herself at me. “I love you!”

Dyphon’s blunt expressions of love often left me at a loss for words, but this time I was simply grateful that she was so willing to withdraw.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked.

“Yeah. Magic is a miraculous power, so there’s bound to be another way. I just need to find it.”

“So cool! That’s my darling!”

Dyphon nuzzled closer to me, and I just let her be. If this is what it takes to calm her down...

“Hmm, but...” Lardon slowly began walking my way. “Is that not the best way?”

“At present, yeah.”

“Then shall we give it a try?”

“Darling said no. So, no.” Dyphon hugged me tighter and stuck out her tongue. She was clearly unwilling to fall for Lardon’s provocation.

“You see,” Lardon continued darkly, “all your brainless mockery has already left me rather irked. And I’m intrigued enough by what he has in store to cross the final line.”

Dyphon huffed. “Well, I’m not doing it.”

“Oh, you will. And I only need one move to make you.”

“I said I won’t, so I—”

Out of the blue, my vision turned dark—because Lardon brought her face close to mine and suddenly kissed me. It happened way too fast for me to move out of the way.

I heard Lardon chuckle. “Well? I do it better, yes?”

“Huh? Uh, I—”

Before my mind could process what just happened, much less figure out how to react...I heard a frighteningly ominous snap from the girl in my arms.

.310

“Dy—”

Before I could even call her name, something massive—almost like a tidal wave—slammed against me. The ground disappeared from underneath my feet, and a bizarre floating sensation enveloped my body.

It took me a split second to realize that I’d been flung into the air like a rag doll.

“Urgh! Gravity!”

With gravitational magic, I swiftly pinned my body to the ground and firmly rooted myself like a tree. This gave me some space of mind to regain my bearings. My gaze immediately turned to the source of the ongoing surge of power—the two dragons who had begun fighting.

Lardon had returned to her dragon form, whereas Dyphon remained in her human form, her pigtails fluttering wildly behind her. Their powers clashed violently, trampling their surroundings with shock wave after shock wave. That must’ve been what had sent me flying.

“Wow...”

I was overcome with awe. Only seconds had passed since the start of their fight, yet the surrounding terrain had already been leveled. Trees had been blasted away, and the ground was littered with craters and crevices, exposing bedrock underneath. In no time at all, they had stripped the land bare of all its vegetation and life.

But this was just the beginning.

“Ugh...” I winced.

Thanks to my gravitational magic spell, I was able to get by without being impacted by the shock waves and blasts. As I was getting used to it all, I managed to detect something amid the onslaught of chaos: pure, boiling malice. It was neither a physical attack nor mana, yet the torrent of raw killing intent emanating from those two was so dense, so heavy, that it nearly felt tangible.

This was all so new to me. It sent cold sweat running down my back.

“They’re going at it...”

“Whoa! P-Paithon?!” I jolted at the girl who suddenly appeared before me. “When did you get here?!”

“I came ’cause I sensed them fighting,” she mumbled. “They’re annoying me.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to kill them.”

“What?! Stop, stop! Hang on a second!” I hurriedly grabbed her arm. It was so slender that my hand fully circled around it, my index finger and thumb even touching.

Contrary to her looks, however, this girl was one of the divine dragons, and the hatred she felt for the other two was just as intense. Things would get even more out of hand if Paithon jumped into the fray. I couldn’t stop her fire once it got blazing, so I needed to stop it from igniting at all.

She turned to me. “Hmm?”

“If you join them, I’ll, uhh... I’ll never help you sleep again!”

“Oh no...”

“So please, could you just stay back this time?”

Paithon hung her head. “Fine. I won’t fight.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. She just got here, but I was already exhausted dealing with her. At least I managed to stop her, though.

“Why are they fighting?” Paithon asked.

“Oh, uh...”

I wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it, so I settled for recounting everything from start to finish. After all, my judgment for matters outside magic was incredibly poor. It was probably better for me to give her an objective summary than my own subjective explanation. Ultimately, letting others do the thinking always proved most effective—this was a method that I’d learned to adopt from all my time with Lardon.

“So, basically...” Paithon hummed. “They’re kind of like suitors fighting for your love and affection?”

“No!” I exclaimed by pure reflex, then paused and blinked. “Wait... Maybe?” My eyes swirled in confusion. That...wasn’t entirely off?

“I’m joking,” she said impassively. “Anyway, I really do hate her.”

“Uh... Which one?”

“Lardon.”

“Why?”

“She acts so high-and-mighty. Always hits where it hurts,” Paithon muttered. “Dyphon really wants to have your kids. That’s why she took on a human form. Look—she stays that way even in this fit of blind rage. Lardon messed with you because she knew that would make Dyphon really mad. Mad enough to wipe a dozen or so countries off the map.”

“Th-That’s a very catastrophic fit of rage...”

“But Lardon still made sure to prod Dyphon in a way that ultimately benefits you,” Paithon continued. “She’s a nasty one.”

I sensed her anger bubbling back up as she spoke. I’d felt that way before too, knew how it was—but I couldn’t let her act on it. “Hey, remember what you promised,” I hurriedly cut in.

Paithon was silent for a concerningly long moment before finally muttering, “I know.”

I sighed. “Is it really that annoying to you?”

“The same thing happened to you recently. It’s human nature to get angry when something precious to you is trampled on.”

“Oh...” She was, I realized quickly, referring to how I snapped when the Duchy of Parta forced Amelia to seduce me.

“Dyphon’s trying her best to be as human as she can—even modifying her own body and brain—so she can have your kids. She’s learning from you. What that singing girl is to you, you are to Dyphon.”

“Hmm...” I had to admit, it was all starting to make sense to me. I guess she would feel like destroying a few countries after what Lardon pulled earlier.

.311

“What now?” Paithon suddenly asked. “Need my help?”

“Huh? You’re willing to help?” Paithon, volunteering help? Now that was unexpected. Naturally, a certain possibility came to mind. “Are you just trying to come up with an excuse to fight them?”

“No,” Paithon said breezily. “I don’t need an excuse to kill them. I can do that whenever I want.”

“O-Oh...” Well, that was awfully blunt—but also very much like her. “All right, then. So, why...?”

“No reason. You’re in trouble, so I wanna help. Then I can ask for a better pillow as thanks.”

A very Paithon-like reason. That drew a dry chuckle out of me. “Thanks. But I’ll have to decline.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I think things will end faster if I step in myself.”

With Paithon’s help, we could probably form that strange material much sooner, but it also risked all of them getting too riled up and losing sight of the original goal. No matter how casually Paithon was planning to fight, I could easily see things escalating into a three-way struggle anyway. In other words, we’d be welcoming round two of the Tri-Draconic War. While I was grateful for Paithon’s offer, I’d much rather she didn’t stick her neck into this.

“What will you do, then? Fight them yourself?” Paithon asked.

“Me?”

“I think even you would have a tough time dealing with both of them at once.”

I chuckled dryly. “Now that’s the understatement of the century... I’d have to be a special kind of arrogant to actually believe that.”

I appreciated her sugarcoating it for me, but saying I’d have a “tough time” against them was putting it far too lightly. In actuality, Lardon and Dyphon were so much stronger that it was near impossible for me to get in the way of their fight to the death.

Paithon tilted her head. “So?”

“I’m going to support them,” I told her. “Lardon did all this for me. Instead of putting a stop to it, we should see it through to completion.”

“Mm-kay. Will you give them shields or heals?”

“No... I’m not going to provide defensive support.” I’d been debating this ever since we started our conversation, but the longer I dawdled, the closer those two got to killing each other. So, I made my decision. “I’m going to provide offensive support.”

Paithon looked at me in confusion, but I no longer elaborated.

I turned away from her and chanted an aria. Ideally, I’d first call Amelia over to sing for me and amplify my mana to its limits, but I didn’t want to drag her to this hellscape. I had to manage this on my own.

Once my mana was sufficiently boosted, I cast a wide-area spell. It enveloped our surroundings within a kilometer radius, including the two fighting dragons.

“Boost Converter!”

The power surging from Lardon and Dyphon jumped significantly, further ravaging the already devastated terrain. A single step into the vicinity would kill an ordinary human, but the two dragons continued to clash without a care. Despite everything, this tremendous sight left me in awe.

Paithon, meanwhile, didn’t so much as bat an eye. “You boosted their strength?”

“I did.”

“Was that a good idea?”

“We’re doing this to produce something from their clashing powers. We may as well go all the way for good measure than to hold back and waste all this effort.”

“Hmm... Makes sense.”

“I just hope it goes well...”

“But what about after that? I don’t think they’ll stop.”

“Oh, well—”

Before I could answer her, a change came about the battlefield.

Amid this clash that left nothing but destruction in its wake, something was born. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me—but then I saw it again, and again, and again, sparkling in the air like snow on a cold winter’s day. The devastated terrain was blanketed by these strange, fluttering particles that seemed entirely unaffected by the storm of powers all around.

There was no mistaking it.

“There it is... That’s the thing Dyphon was talking about!”

.312

The sparkling particles quickly blanketed the ground like snow and piled up to my ankles. From my experiences playing outside in the winter, this would’ve been enough to make a snow mound—in other words, certainly enough for me now.

“Time to stop them.”

I took a deep breath to steel myself. Stopping an argument sounded simple enough, but when the ones arguing were two enraged dragons? This quickly escalated into a life-threatening endeavor. I had to get my head in the game before making any moves.

“Are you okay?” Paithon asked.

“Yeah... I’m good.” I slowly nodded before starting with a spell: “Covenant Summoning: Liam!”

Another me appeared.

“Hmm... Is that an original spell of yours?”

“Oh, you can tell? I just revised it from a preexisting spell, though.”

She nodded. “It’s more well-made than the average spell.”

“Oh. I’m glad to hear that.”

Covenant Summoning was an upgraded version of Contract Summoning, a spell I’d frequently used back when I first learned magic. Contract Summoning created a clone of the selected target, but it wasn’t quite as strong as the original. Meanwhile, in exchange for cutting the spell’s duration in half, the new version’s clone now drew from the same pool of stamina and power as the original.

Notably, because this spell allowed the clone to use the original’s strength, I couldn’t just summon others’ clones willy-nilly like I used to with Contract Summoning. In actual practice, Covenant Summoning was a spell exclusively for summoning my own clone.

My clone and I looked at each other and nodded.

“I’ll take Lardon,” I said.

“Dyphon’s mine, then,” said my clone.

We were essentially one and the same, so no more words were needed.

“Another World!”

Our voices overlapped as we simultaneously cast a spell each to craft a pocket space. Our plan was to split Lardon and Dyphon into separate spaces and deal with them individually.

However, the portals were quickly thrashed amid the chaos of the dragons’ battle. Just the subsequent blasts—not even direct attacks—were enough to shatter our spells.

“Wow... That’s crazy.”

“What do we do? Our spells didn’t even come close to touching them.”

“Hmm... Guess we gotta use that next.”

“Right.”

With identical nods, we began to stock up on more mana from Another Dimension. Once that was done, we chanted an aria to further boost our mana before finally casting another spell.

“Time Stop!”

This spell had been tried and tested on the dragons—I already knew that it worked on them. Amid the frozen world, we finally captured Lardon and Dyphon into our alternate spaces.

When time unfroze, they were both gone, leaving only the wintry landscape in their wake.

“I’ll head to Lardon,” I said.

“And I’ll take Dyphon,” said my clone.

With that, we jumped into our respective pocket dimensions.

Another World grew in proportion to the caster’s mana. In the beginning, this space could only hold a small house, but now there was more than enough room for Lardon to run wild.

Instantly, our gazes locked.

Seize the initiative!

I couldn’t afford to give up the first strike to Lardon in battle. Time Stop had granted me the perfect opportunity—I couldn’t waste it.

“Amelia Emilia Claudia... Atomic Blast!”

This was the most powerful singular spell in my arsenal, yet Lardon leisurely turned her gaze to the approaching attack. Slowly, she opened her mouth, then unleashed what looked like a ball of pure power.

That’s no ordinary fireball. It looks more like...highly condensed light!

Our attacks clashed, shaking the entire space.

“Urgh!”

I managed to stay rooted against the initial blast, but the subsequent shock waves were a completely different story. They were fully loaded with the mana that had shattered and dispersed from our attacks.

I couldn’t put up a barrier so soon after that huge spell. The most I could manage was crossing my arms in front of me. The mana that was blasted alongside the shock waves was so dense that it slashed my skin like tangible blades, littering my arms with countless little cuts.

Mana residue leaving physical cuts?! But there was no time to be shocked. I hurriedly mustered my mana to prepare for the next incoming attack—

“Contending with my full power, hmm? I would expect no less from you.”

I froze. “Huh...?”

Lardon sounded...incredibly calm. Almost as if she hadn’t just been wildly fighting Dyphon to the death just moments ago.

I looked up, shocked and agape.

Though Lardon was in her dragon form, I could see a clear smirk on her face. Finally, she returned to her human form.

“Have you...calmed down?”

“Hmph. You underestimate me.” She approached me with leisurely steps, then flicked my forehead with only as much force as you’d expect from such a small hand. “I am not so foolish as to involve an innocent for no reason. She is the only one I wish to kill. With her out of my sight, of course I would calm down.”

“O-Oh... Er... Sorry, then.” I guess it was pretty rude of me to assume that she was just running wild like an unintelligent beast. “Wait, so... You were just defending yourself because I attacked first?”

“Yes.”

“Ack! I’m really, really sorry!”

“I do not mind,” Lardon said, and she seemed to mean it.

Now that Lardon was back to normal, my nerves also wound down, and I finally noticed something strange about my body. “Huh...?”

“What is it?”

Actually, nothing had changed—and that was the weird part.

“My mana hasn’t decreased,” I muttered. “I used Covenant Summoning, so I was expecting for each of us to use half of my mana...but the other half is untouched.”

Weird. Dyphon is as strong as Lardon. How could my clone have dealt with her without using any mana...?

Lardon shrugged. “I’m not surprised.”

“What?”

“She wishes to bear your offspring. Why would she raise a hand against you?”

“Oh...”

Well, that would certainly explain it. Dyphon must’ve settled down immediately—and since she was in her human form unlike Lardon, my clone must’ve noticed right away.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. All’s well that ends well. Now, all that’s left is to collect those crystals outside!

.313

On the other side, Liam’s clone entered Another World after Dyphon. Though she looked like no more than a cute girl on the outside, she was the dragon who’d been fighting Lardon to the death just moments ago. He braced himself for a hard battle ahead—

“Oh, darling!”

“Huh?”

“My daaarling!”

—but it immediately proved unnecessary.

Dyphon rushed to Liam’s clone, running just a bit faster than an ordinary girl would, and jumped onto him. The clone caught her in a panic, taking two steps back to regain his footing as the girl wrapped her arms around him.

To Liam’s clone, however, this hug hadn’t surprised him as much as Dyphon’s bright mood. “Are you...okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, uh... I thought you were still worked up,” he said, carefully choosing his words.

Arms still wrapped around his back, Dyphon leaned backward to look up at him. “Psh. Darling, you don’t get me at all.”

“Huh? Um... What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t just blindly rampaging. I was trying to kill her, and only her.”

“Oh... I see now.”

Lardon, Dyphon, and Paithon were enemies. Actually, that was an understatement. They were sworn nemeses. They threatened to kill each other at every chance they got, and Liam’s clone knew—especially after that catastrophic battle—that none of them were bluffing.

This intense malice made their bond special...in a bad way, of course. While Dyphon was dead set on killing Lardon and Paithon, she was utterly ambivalent to everything else.

“Darling, you’re amazing.” Dyphon giggled sweetly. “You’re the only human who could stop our fight. Nobody’s ever done that, not even in the past few centuries.”

“Oh... Really?”

“Say, darling... Was I able to help you?”

“Ah... Yeah. You helped a lot.”

Liam’s clone swallowed the “probably” right at the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t know for sure until he actually tried putting that new material to use, but Dyphon had given her all and even cooperated with Lardon just to help him out, so he was sure it would turn out just fine.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Then, I want a reward... Hug me! As tight as you can!”

“Oh...” Liam’s clone cast a glance at the entrance. If this was to be her reward, then she’d be happier getting it from the real him. A fake shouldn’t be deceiving her after she lent them a hand. “You should ask the real me later.”

“No, I’m fine with you.”

“Hmm?” Liam’s clone blinked. It sounded like Dyphon had already seen right through him. “Wait... Did you know from the start?”

“Uh-huh. You’re a magical version of my darling, right? Made with a new, original spell, no less!”

“Wow. You can tell that much?”

“Of course!” Dyphon’s lips curled into a smug grin as she nuzzled against him.

Liam’s clone looked down at her in shock. “So, you asked me for the reward while knowing?”

“Yep! Because you’re real, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“Sure, you’re a clone. But your life force, mana, memories, and knowledge are all drawn from the same place in the present.”

“R-Right... Huh? You know that too?”

“Duh!”

Liam’s clone stared at her, stunned. He hadn’t been expecting her to analyze the details of Covenant Summoning so quickly. But perhaps he shouldn’t have expected any less of Dyphon.

“With that many similarities, you’re practically the real thing—just like a severed arm!”

“I’d prefer a less gruesome metaphor...” Still, Liam’s clone thought her reasoning was sound, so he went ahead and gave her a tight hug, just like she wanted.

“Eheh heh...” Dyphon smiled blissfully in his arms and hugged him back. Her grip was only as tight as a human’s. It was almost hard to believe that she’d been wielding the power to blast mountains off the map just moments ago.

“Is this enough?”

“A bit longer.”

“Sure.”

“By the way, darling... How many kids do you want?”

“Huh...?”

“I took on a human form because I love you a whole lot. So, I can bear around ten children for you. But if you want more, you’re gonna have to ask someone else too.”

“More...? You think I’d want more?”

“Huh? The number of kids shows off a male’s strength, right?”

Liam’s clone fell speechless.

“And darling, you’re suuuper awesome, so I think you should make at least a thousand kids.”

“Uhh... I’ll, um... I’ll give it some thought next time.”

“Really? All right, then. Ten is my max, okay?”

“Ah... Okay. Noted.” Liam’s clone wore an awkward, exhausted smile.

Dyphon looked no different from an ordinary girl. Her warm body, her soft skin, and her sweet smile were all very human. But at the end of the day, this girl giggling innocently in his arms was undoubtedly a being beyond human comprehension.

.314

Now that Lardon had calmed down, I decided it was time to head back out. Well, I guess she was calm from the start, but anyway...

“I shall withdraw here,” Lardon said suddenly.

“You’re not going back out there?”

“We’ve accomplished our goal. There is no point in facing her again.”

“Oh, all right.”

Lardon chuckled. “Actually, there is one more thing I quite like about you.”

I turned to her, wide-eyed. “Huh? What is it, all of a sudden?”

I wasn’t sure what she was praising me for. If this were about magic, it would’ve made sense—actually, I would’ve welcomed that with open arms, anytime, anywhere. But since it wasn’t...then what was this about?

“You never ask us to get along.”

After a quick smile, Lardon faded away and returned inside me.

I scratched my cheek with an awkward laugh. Let’s just leave it at that...

I stepped out of Another World just as my clone and Dyphon did. Dyphon was clinging onto my clone with a look of pure bliss. When she spotted me, she let go. Her smile never once left her face.

Well, somebody’s in a good mood... I wonder what happened.

“I’m undoing the spell now,” I told her.

Dyphon nodded. “Sure!”

Covenant Summoning had adapted all of the original version’s helpful features, including the one that transferred all of my clone’s memories back to me once the spell was undone. The events that transpired inside my clone’s Another World were relayed to me through this.

“Wow, Dyphon. Impressive.”

Dyphon hopped in joy. “Hee hee! My darling praised me again!”

“Moving on...” I swept my gaze over my surroundings.

Now that we’d spent some time in Another World, the world outside had settled down significantly. Though the scars of Lardon and Dyphon’s battle remained fresh on the land, dust and smoke no longer filled the air, and the winds felt calm and stable. The particles produced by the dragons’ clash had all fallen to the ground, reflecting the sunlight and creating a beautiful, shimmering scenery.

I’d better start with gathering them all up.

After a bit of thought, I cast the wind magic spell Cyclone. It whipped up a whirlwind, which I then sent on a lap around the vicinity to gather up all the particles. Once I undid the spell, I had in front of me a pile of sparkling particles about as tall as a person.

“This is quite a lot,” I remarked.

“Is this enough for you?” asked Dyphon.

“Should be.”

“Great. Let me know if you ever need more.”

My lips curled into an awkward smile. “Sure.”

Basically, she was saying that she’d gladly try to kill either of the other dragons again. After that bloodcurdling battle, I knew better than ever that she meant it too. It seemed I had to use these very carefully, and not just because they were a precious material.

“Next up... I need to meld it into one piece. Can’t really use it like this.”

“How?”

“Hmm... Well, since it’s a lot like iron sand... Salamander! Gnome!”

A flame and earth spirit appeared. Despite their adorable outward appearances, they held mastery over their respective elements. I grabbed a fistful of the particles and held it out to them.

“Gnome, wrap this in earth. Salamander, heat it up.”

The spirits heeded my orders. The Gnome wrapped the sand-like particles in my hand into a round mold and made it float in the air, which the Salamander smoothly slithered into. The air warped around the mold as it warmed, and after a while, its surface turned red-hot.

“It really is impressive...” I muttered.

Dyphon’s eyebrow arched in intrigue. “Huh? What is?”

“When you do this the normal way, like when making charcoal, heat would end up escaping through the gaps—both the one you have to make to heat it up and other unintended spots too.”

“So, this lack of holes is great, huh?”

“Yeah. A bit of heat leaking out is no big deal when making charcoal, but some things need more heat. An airtight mold like this is impressive, if you ask me.”

“Well, you thought of this, darling. So you’re impressive!” Dyphon crowed. “A lot of idiots out there would only ever think of using spirits in combat.”

“Indeed. The idea would never even come to most.”

“Really?”

If both Dyphon and Lardon said so, then it had to be true...but I still found it strange. Using two spirits in tandem wasn’t some huge eureka moment for me. Of course, I never would’ve thought of it before I’d reincarnated as Liam, since I couldn’t use magic back then... But now that I could, and summon a bunch of spirits to boot, why wouldn’t the idea come to me?

Anyway, the Salamander eventually emerged from the ball of earth...but with a rather perplexed expression on its face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

It couldn’t answer, but it seemed to be trying to tell me something.

“Did something happen? Hmm... Gnome, open up the mold.”

The Gnome did as it was told and unfurled the mold. The particles came fluttering out exactly as I’d put them in earlier.

“What...? Nothing changed?”

I watched with a narrowed gaze as the particles piled up over the ground. The spirits should have heated them up at an extremely high temperature, yet there they were, completely unaltered.

For good measure, I took out a sheet of paper from my item box and dropped it over the pile. Just because it didn’t look any different didn’t mean it wasn’t hot—I’d learned that lesson way before becoming Liam, when I’d burned myself on an iron pot. Sure enough, the paper instantly caught fire and turned to ashes.

So it’s scorching hot. It just hasn’t changed forms...

“Wow... This thing’s crazy.”

“Well, it’s exactly what you ordered,” Dyphon pointed out. “Something that won’t break under any type of power.”

“Oh... Right.” I sighed.

Come to think of it, that was what I wanted. In fact, that was the whole point of getting Lardon and Dyphon’s help. I wanted something that wouldn’t break even as all the monsters in the city attacked it one after the other. If a single Salamander’s heat had successfully warped it, then this material would be useless to me.

Guess I’ll have to come up with another way to meld it together...

While I was thinking of one, I noticed the Salamander and Gnome looking terribly glum. “Oh... Thanks, you two. And don’t be sad. You helped me realize how tough this stuff is,” I told them as I released the spell.

Now, it was time for Plan B. I already had something in mind.

I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and chanted, “Covenant Summoning: Liam—threefold!”

With a flash of magical light, three more of me appeared before my eyes.

.315

“Darling...?” Dyphon looked at me and my clones in confusion for a second, before her eyebrows shot up with a gasp.

I gave her a quick smile, then spun on my heel and began taking some distance, just as my three clones did. We stood in four different directions with the pile of particles in the center.

We all nodded at once and chanted, “Amelia Emilia Claudia...”

And then—

“Huh...?”

“Darling?! Oh, thank goodness you’re okay!”

What... What happened?

My head swirled in confusion as I heard Dyphon’s voice shift from concern to relief. She threw herself onto me—and only then did I notice that I was lying on the ground. I pushed myself up, Dyphon’s arms still wrapped around me, and took a look around.

The scenery was devastated, littered with scars from Lardon and Dyphon’s battle. It was no different from how I remembered it, meaning I was still in the same place. Looking at the sky, it seemed not much time had passed either.

“You passed out for a minute or so,” Lardon supplied.

I recalled what I was trying to do before passing out—and suddenly, it made sense. “Oh...”

“What’s the matter, darling? Why did you suddenly pass out? I was so worried!”

“Sorry about that. I used too much mana.”

“Huh? After that measly spell?!”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“That can’t be! I know you unleashed your full strength—and you looked really cool, by the way—but how was that any different from your usual? Why would you pass out from that?”

“It was...a careless mistake,” I admitted sheepishly. “I was thinking of simultaneously replenishing my mana with Another Dimension, but using four times my full strength was a bit much... Before I knew it, I completely ran out. I should’ve known...”

Wielding my full strength already placed a huge burden on me, but doing that with four of me? Why didn’t I realize sooner that it’d be a problem? It was like knowing that I could just barely jump from the second floor unscathed, yet choosing to jump from the fourth floor anyway.

I have to keep in mind that with Covenant Summoning, my clones and I all draw from the same mana pool...

I gasped. “Oh, right! What happened to it?!” In the first place, I was doing all this so I could meld all those particles together.

Dyphon drew back from me with a bright smile. “It went exactly as you planned, darling. Take a look!”

She moved aside so I could see the lump of metal behind her. This was the result of that pile of particles being pressed with immense power from four sides. Though a bit warped, it had properly formed into one cluster.

“So it worked...”

“Mm-hmm! That’s my darling!”

“Great. Now, I just need to work on this thing. Fix its shape, then apply magic to—”

“Take a rest for today.”

“You should just rest today!”

Somehow, Lardon and Dyphon spoke up at exactly the same time. Dyphon had no clue since she couldn’t hear Lardon, but Lardon knew—and I could feel that she wasn’t very happy about it.

“I mean, you collapsed. You can’t just brush that off,” Dyphon continued. “You even used four times your full strength! That’s like...over-over-over-overdoing it! That can’t be good for you.”

“Well... I guess you’re right.”

I nearly laughed when she started stringing “over” together so many times, but I got her point loud and clear. Dyphon—and Lardon, who likely wanted to say the same—wasn’t wrong at all. Besides, I also wanted to observe how this burden affected my body.

“All right. I’ll end here for today.”

“Good!”

“Let me just put this away...”

“You can do that tomorrow! It’s not like it’s gonna break.”

“Ah, I guess that’s true.” After everything we just did, I knew this wasn’t the sort of thing I had to worry about leaving out for a single night.

“Let’s head back, then. Hang on to me,” Dyphon said, but took the initiative to cling onto me instead.

“Huh? Oh—”

Suddenly, we were flying upward. She must have been doing this to make sure I didn’t use any more magic today. We soared through the sky as we headed straight back to the city.

“Anyway...” Dyphon muttered.

“Hmm?” I turned to her, but our difference in size and our current position hid her face from my view. Still, I could tell that her voice was much smaller than usual. She almost sounded a little meek, even.

“You were...really amazing back there, darling. For just a brief moment, you were stronger than us all.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to her praise. Now, I didn’t think she was exaggerating—I’d actually felt that strong for that split second. But I hardly remembered it. That split second was like a dazzling moment that fizzled out right away. How could I accept her praise for an achievement that served no actual purpose?

Is there some way to fix this...?

I pondered on it more as we made our way back to the city.

Eventually, Dyphon gently set me down on the palace’s front yard, then took one step back from me. “Guess I’ll leave you here, then. Have a good rest, darling!” With that, she ran off into the distance.

Once her back disappeared from view, I turned around and returned to the palace. I’d only made it one step in when an elven maid approached me with hurried steps.

“Master!” she called. “Ms. Scarlet was looking for you.”

“Really? What happened?”

My mind failed to process what she said next.

“Apparently, the Duchy of Parta is on the verge of collapse.”

.316

Later that night, Scarlet came to me in my room and promptly bowed her head. “My sincerest apologies, Master.”

“What’s going on?”

“I surmise that...we cornered Parta too far.”

I cocked my head in confusion as I tried to review the past sequence of events in my head. “Well, our plan was to corner Tristan, wasn’t it?”

“Yes...”

“I approved that plan as well,” Lardon reminded me.

“How is it you went too far, then?”

“Allow me to explain.” Scarlet took a deep breath and smoothed her expression. “Our efforts to corner Parta’s Grand Duke Tristan have been very effective. At the rate we were going, we would see results in less than a decade. However...” She sighed. “The counts and barons beneath Tristan knew this as well. They feared that they would soon suffer the consequences too.”

I hummed, trying to process her words.

“Basically, Tristan was likely to raise their taxes to pay the reparations,” Lardon supplied.

“Ahh, I see.” I nodded.

Scarlet knew that I received supplementary explanations from Lardon during these types of discussions, so she always made sure to pause every now and then. Naturally, she didn’t find it odd whenever I replied to Lardon.

“The reparations are wholly the grand duke’s responsibility,” Scarlet continued. “It has nothing to do with the nobles beneath him.”

“So, they wanna run away before they get dragged into it?”

“Precisely. And therein lies the problem. Nobles ranked as counts and below do not tend to act independently. It is possible, but unlikely. More often than not, they situate themselves under the protection of a higher-ranking noble.”

“And their new backers would be...”

“From Quistador and Jamille, from the looks of things.”

“I see... So, what happens next?”

“The Duchy of Parta will probably collapse. Within the foreseeable future, the seat of grand duke will be reduced to a throne lathered in debt and bereft of actual power. From there, Parta’s territories will be absorbed into the neighboring Quistador and Jamille.”

“Whoa... Sounds complicated.”

“Not necessarily,” Lardon cut in.

I arched an eyebrow in question. Scarlet considerately pursed her lips for a moment.

“You may liken it to a father incurring heavy debts, causing his sons to cut ties and marry into other houses.”

“Oh... That does sound simple enough.”

Some debt collectors out there would probably demand the children to pay for their parents’ debts, but that’d get a lot harder to do if the children preemptively cut their ties.

Coming up with such a great analogy on the fly... That’s Lardon for you.

“They are cheating the system in a way, but their logic is incredibly sound,” Scarlet continued. “Thus, I’ve come seeking your instruction.”

“Mine?”

“Yes.” Scarlet nodded, the apologetic pinch in her expression giving way for seething anger. She almost looked like she was staring down her parents’ murderer. “At this rate, Tristan’s demise will come in one fell swoop, when our original plan was to subject him to prolonged suffering.”

“Oh...”

So, this was our main topic of discussion for today. We no longer had to lift a finger to get rid of Tristan, but in Scarlet’s eyes that was too quick and easy an end for him. After all, she was even angrier than I was about everything Tristan did to me.

I gave it some thought, humming as I tilted my head left and right.

“Master...?”

“Well,” I said finally, “I don’t really care.”

“You...don’t?”

“Nope. Surprisingly.”

“Is that so...?”

Back when I first learned what Tristan had done to Amelia, I’d gotten so mad that my vision turned red, but her voice that night had washed away every thought I had of him from my mind. He didn’t matter to me anymore.

I heard Lardon chuckle. “How very like you.”

“Really?”

“I’d suspected things would turn out this way. I sensed no obstinacy in your wrath.”

No obstinacy in my wrath...? I didn’t get what she meant by that, but Lardon couldn’t be wrong.

“Before a new magical endeavor, that incident and the wrath you felt in that moment mean nothing.”

“Well...yeah.” I knew myself. Between revenge against Tristan and a new magical pursuit, I wouldn’t hesitate to go for the latter. I turned to Scarlet again and asked, “Can’t we just leave Tristan be?”

“Very well. If that is your order, Master, then I shall obey.”

Lardon chuckled. “Our actions have led to Parta’s collapse and dissolution... This seems like an opportune moment to withdraw.”

Though they’d initiated this whole plan to corner Tristan with much vigor, Scarlet and Lardon both easily backed off now.

I had no doubt in their assessment of the situation—that the Duchy of Parta would likely come to an end soon enough. This was how our long, long dispute with the duchy finally came to an end... However, the same couldn’t be said for the dispute between the human nations.

Just a few days later, Sheila of Quistador came to visit me for the first time in a very long while.

.317

After lunch, I returned to my room for a postmeal exercise—magic practice. My goal was to increase the amount of mana I could use instantaneously.

Until now, I’d only ever worked on increasing my total mana capacity and refilling my reserves with manastones and Another Dimension. The latter, in particular, practically served as a bottomless supply of mana, so I’d never run into any wall or obstacle just doing things this way.

But here I was now, faced with a new problem: Instantaneously using four times my full capacity with Covenant Summoning caused me to black out. It was like...being able to cross tens of floors when taking the stairs, but getting badly hurt when jumping down three floors in one go.

Anyway, now I was trying to find a way to use a huge burst of mana without passing out. It wasn’t an urgent issue, but there was no reason not to try adding it to my repertoire either.

A quiet knock from the door cut through my thoughts.

“Come in,” I called.

Reina the elven maid stepped into my room. “Excuse me.”

“What’s up, Reina?”

“Princess Sheila Austrom has sent a letter.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Sheila?”

Sheila Austrom was the nineteenth princess of Quistador Kingdom and the active head of the Austrom house. If I had to describe her simply, she was a much more proud and passionate woman than even Scarlet.

My gaze fell to the letter set upon the ornamented tray in Reina’s hands. “She didn’t strike me as the letter-writing type... Did the messenger say anything?”

“No, Master. Only to make sure it gets to you.”

“Well, that’s a given...” I took the letter. “Anyway, thanks.”

“Of course.” Reina performed a deep bow, then quietly left the room with the tray.

Once I was alone, I opened up the letter.

“Even her handwriting’s full of confidence...” It immediately caught my eye. Now, I wasn’t a handwriting connoisseur or anything, but it wasn’t hard to sense Sheila’s zeal from hers. Well, maybe it’s also because I just know her in person.

“Anyway...” I proceeded to read the actual contents of the letter.

Her message was simple: “I’ve grown much stronger. Allow me to show you next time.”

“‘Also,’” I read aloud, “‘this letter will automatically combust once you finish reading’— Whoa!”

The moment my eyes trailed over the last line, the letter burst into flames in my hands. In no time at all, I found myself staring at a pile of ashes.

“Gosh, that startled me...”

Lardon chuckled. “An interesting trick.”

“Yeah... This must have been embedded with a spell that detects my gaze on the letters—no, the ink. It was set to combust once my gaze passed over all of the ink.”

“Oh? You analyzed it that quickly?”

“The logic is simple enough. I can imagine it wasn’t easy to embed the spell into the ink, though.”

“Hmph. Well, knowing that lass... To her, any effort is worth it if it means catching you off guard,” Lardon said, her amusement clear in her voice.

“Oh yeah. You were there when we met.” Anyway, she might be right. I wasn’t the best at reading other people, but Sheila’s intense and straightforward personality didn’t really leave much room for misinterpretation. “So, she did this to catch me off guard...?”

“Indeed I did.”

I drew in a sharp breath at the sudden and unexpected voice. Before I knew it, a blade was drawing near my eyes.

“Haaah!”

There was no time to cast a spell—I just unleashed a burst of mana to push it away. It was terribly inefficient compared to setting up a proper barrier, but this was all I could manage in that split second.

Wasting no time, I kicked the ground and leaped backward to take some distance—

“En garde!”

—but I heard the voice behind me once more, followed by a swift slash.

Fortunately, that brief moment was enough time for me to regain my bearings and prepare a barrier. The slash collided with it, sending a shock wave across my room and shattering the windows.

I whirled around and jumped backward again—and there, where I’d been just a moment ago, stood Sheila. Her stance was elegant and graceful, yet haughty and imposing. With an ominous sword in her hand, she looked at me with a leisurely and confident gaze.

“Sheila!”

“Good day. It’s been far too long, hasn’t it?”

“What’s with the sudden visit?”

“Oh? I’ve already given you prior notice via letter, haven’t I?”

“I literally just read it!”

The girl giggled. “It appears my frontal surprise attack was a success, then.”

I sighed. “Seriously, you...”

Gosh, this girl never changes... What even was a “frontal surprise attack”? It shouldn’t have made any sense, yet she somehow managed it anyway—in very typical Sheila fashion, might I add. I couldn’t even be mad.

“Now, let us continue! En garde!”

Sheila’s figure disappeared from my view as she once again charged toward me.

.318

“Tsk!”

Sheila’s sudden disappearance had my body moving before I could even think. By my hand, dozens of barriers—both magic and physical—layered over me, ready to block any type of attack.

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!

Successive explosions rattled by my ear. It was the sound of all my shields being shattered in an instant.

“How—?!”

I wasn’t looking down on Sheila. Far from it, I’d even deployed extra barriers for good measure. But she still broke through it all somehow.

Unfortunately, there was no time to stop and analyze my opponent. I redeployed my barriers up front in an alternating pattern, like stacking dozens of ingredients on a sandwich.

“A crafty little trick!”

Beyond my barriers, Sheila stopped for a moment—making herself visible again—to brandish her sword. Then, she charged in and once again shattered all my barriers, rattling the air with a series of loud explosions.

Absolute Force Shield and Absolute Magic Shield were, as their names suggested, ultimate barriers against physical and magical attacks respectively. In exchange for serving as the absolute defense against one type of attack, they were utterly useless to the other. The physical barrier was useless against magic, and the magic barrier against physical attacks.

When arranged in a pattern like so, you could only break through them by constantly swapping between magical and physical attacks—yet my efforts hardly seemed to have stalled Sheila in any way.

The hows and whys escaped me as of now, but the fact of the matter was that Sheila was alternately dishing out physical and magical attacks at a high speed. Not only could she wield both types of attacks, she could even use them both as freely and naturally as breathing.

Before all my barriers were shattered, I launched a quick magical counterattack with Magic Missile. Sheila cut down all forty-seven of them and parried my singular follow-up, Full Impact.

But I hadn’t thrown those out for naught. While she was busy dealing with those spells, I’d managed to strengthen myself with enhancement magic—just in time to engage in close-quarters combat.

“You’ve gotten much stronger,” I remarked as we exchanged blows.

“Oho ho ho ho! But of course!”

“Then how’s this? Amelia Emilia Claudia...”

I mustered all of my amplified mana into one spell—Time Stop. Sheila might be fast, but that meant nothing if time was frozen. Not even the dragons were immune to this spell. It was my go-to for tricky battles like these.

BAM!

Suddenly, a heavy impact ran through the top of my head. My vision turned white, and for a second, I completely lost my bearings. That single blow had caught me off guard and thrown me into disarray.

“Dodge.”

I jumped back again, my body moving sooner than I could think. Something sharp just barely grazed the tip of my nose, but I managed to save the rest of my body.

“Thanks,” I quickly told Lardon as I healed myself with magic.

When I turned my gaze forward, I saw Sheila bearing down on me, her eyebrows arched in surprise. “Oh my... I thought I had you just now,” she muttered before moving too fast to see again.

“I’m not done yet.”

“So it would seem. Good, good!”

With one more aria, I cast Another Dimension to replenish my mana. Though Time Stop hadn’t fully activated, it still cost me some.

BAM!

My head was subjected to yet another heavy blow—though after the first, I saw this one coming. My vision flashed white, but I bore with it through gritted teeth and immediately healed myself.

“This is nothing!”

“I suppose the same trick wouldn’t work twice,” Sheila said breezily. “But what of it? This changes nothing.”

“Yes, it does.”

“What did you say?”

Though I could hear Sheila, I still couldn’t see her. She moved too fast for my eyes to follow while breaking my barriers. Conversing with someone invisible to me was a strange experience, but I kept talking anyway—it bought me some precious time.

“After two hits, I’ve pretty much gotten the gist of it... You’re using magic that reacts to large amounts of mana, aren’t you?”

There was a notable pause from Sheila. “Impressive...” She sounded a little bitter—which meant my assessment must be correct.

“That’s my line,” I replied. “That magic is extremely reactive. It can stop a spell the moment it consumes a large amount of mana. In practice, that makes it as fast as my time-stopping spell.”

A beat later, Sheila revealed herself. Her expression showed no hint of the bitterness I’d previously heard from her voice. “Oho ho ho ho! Precisely. This is my new technique, my very own secret weapon! Superior speed... So simple, yet so powerful. And so frighteningly effective—as you now know firsthand, I’m certain.”

“Definitely.”

“Oh my, what’s this? You’re awfully meek today. May I take that as a declaration of surrender?”

“No. I think I can do something about that.”

“Oh...?” Sheila narrowed her eyes. Her lips were smiling, but her eyes were dead serious. She seemed to be challenging me, daring me to do just that.

Challenge accepted.

“Covenant Summoning: Liam!”

The sight of my clone caused a subtle twitch on Sheila’s eyebrow.

This spell didn’t cost enough mana to trigger her secret weapon. My clone and I chanted an aria, our voices meshing as one, and simultaneously cast Time Stop. My clone was blasted away—and Time Stop activated.

I knew it—that magic of hers can only react to one thing at a time!

My clone finished the spell just a smidge earlier than I had. By using him as a decoy, I was able to cast mine. With time suspended, I casually walked forward, circled around Sheila, and brandished my hand over her back.

Finally, time resumed.

Sheila solemnly closed her eyes.

“Well played,” she said, readily conceding when she realized that she’d been bested.

.319

After our quick bout, I took Sheila to the reception hall. It was fully available now that our most recent guest, Amelia, had officially moved in to her own place. It was in one of the parlor rooms here that I sat facing Sheila as the elven maids waited on us—but I couldn’t bring myself to start the discussion.

“Uh... Are you just going to leave that there?”

“Hmm? Leave what?”

“That.”

I pointed to the side where a single sword lay discarded on the floor, almost like an old tool in a farmer’s shed. The elven maids had balked at the sight of it when they first came in, but Sheila remained poised on her seat without casting it so much as a glance.

Her attitude baffled me. After all, that was her sword—the very one she’d been using in our battle.

“Why, of course. Leave it be,” she said snobbishly.

“Really...?”

“It is currently receiving punishment.”

“Punishment...?”

Who in the world punishes a sword? I cast a dubious gaze back to the abandoned weapon, only to pause in shock. Its blade was pulsating with a faint glow, almost as if responding to Sheila’s words. Come to think of it, the first time we met, she was wielding a sentient weapon...

“Is that...another magic sword?”

“Oh my. You remember?”

“Not how it looks. Just that it possessed a unique kind of power.”

“Ah, how very like you,” Sheila mused as she crossed her legs. “You are correct. This is my new magic sword, Crimson Rose.”

“Wow... But, uh... Why the punishment?”

“You see, it boasted that it would serve me well, only to turn out quite useless. Naturally, such a failure calls for a punishment.”

Crimson Rose’s blade once again responded with a pulsating glow. I felt clear sentience from it. In fact, from the mana leaking out of the sword, it almost seemed...

“It’s...happy?” I blinked, turning to Sheila in utter confusion.

“Oh? You can tell?”

“From its mana, yeah... But I must be wrong.”

“Not at all. You sensed correctly.”

“Huh?”

Sheila sighed. “Once again, it rejoices at its punishment... What a useless, depraved weapon. It appears I must prepare an even harsher punishment later.”

“Uh... ‘Again’?”

“Yes. Again.”

Well... At least it sounds like I didn’t misunderstand.

Among magic swords were those known as “intelligent swords.” They possessed sentience and the ability to communicate with their wielders. Though I knew nothing of how Sheila and Crimson Rose had met, it sounded like this was far from the first time the sword derived joy from Sheila’s punishments.

“So, that’s a punishment...” I hummed. “If you won against me, would you have rewarded it?”

“But of course. Rewards and punishments go hand in hand. Had I won our little bout, then I would have stepped on it as promised.”

“Stepped on it...?”

“Yes.”

“You would have...stepped on it?” I asked again for good measure.

Sheila nodded breezily as she crossed her legs the other way. “Indeed, I would have.”

I tried imagining Sheila stepping on Crimson Rose. What? How is that a reward?

Lardon’s chuckle pulled me out of my swirling confusion. “Pay it no mind. This is something you will likely never understand for as long as you live.”

Why does she sound like she’s enjoying this? Though, I had to agree. This didn’t feel like the sort of thing I could ever wrap my head around. I decided to take her advice and just ignore this matter entirely.

“Anyway...” I turned my attention back to Sheila. “Did you just come to spar?”

“Heavens, no.”

“What brings you here, then?”

“Two matters,” she replied. “First, I have taken in defecting Partan nobles. Two counts and six barons.”

“Oh...” So this was about that thing I’d heard from Scarlet—about how nobles were defecting from Tristan. This was my first time hearing some specific numbers. “Wait... Did they come begging you to take them in?”

“Not quite. I reached out to them myself, as I surmised now would be the best chance to strike an easy bargain.”

“Ah, well... They are in a tight spot.”

“Certainly.” Sheila’s lips curled into an elegant smile. “Some of them have been rather traumatized by your magic.”

“Human Slayer, you mean?”

“Ah, is that what it’s called? I have heard that it is quite the frightening spell. The nobles call the grand duke a fool for antagonizing you despite having experienced it firsthand, and so they can no longer stand by him. Hence, I took the chance to take them in for cheap.”

“But...how does this benefit you?”

“That, my good sir, brings us to my second agenda today.”

So the two matters that brought her here were interconnected in some way. “All right.”

“You are aware that I am among the dregs of Quistador’s royalty, yes?”

“Ah, right... You said you’re the nineteenth princess, right?”

Sheila smiled. “Indeed. I’m honored that you remember.”

“I recall you’re also the active head of your house.”

“Correct. In fact, that is relevant to the current topic. You see, besides my status as princess, I desire a proper nobility title.”

“Hmm? A proper nobility title...?”

“And so,” Sheila continued, her eyes blazing with more charisma and ambition than they had in battle, “I’ve decided to take this chance to seize the seat of Parta’s grand duke.”

.320

“Pray tell, what do you think makes a state?”

“Uh?” I blurted out lamely. That came out of nowhere. I had to wonder if I’d missed a sentence or two before that.

“Well?”

“Oh, uh... Hmm...”

For now, I decided to give her question some thought anyway.

What made a state? I guess I could try referencing my situation. After all, humans called us a nation of monsters.

Officially, this nation was called Liam-Lardon... It was ruled by me, the Monster King... It was situated in the promised land... And ninety percent of it was monsters.

After going through all the details in my head, I crafted an answer for Sheila’s question. “Land...and people?”

“You are sixty percent correct.”

“Huh?” What’s that supposed to mean?

“In other words, you are two-thirds the way there.”

“Oh...” I got it now. She was saying that I had two out of three correct answers. Well, even villages needed land and people, so these answers came fairly easily to me.

One more, huh...?

“What’s the last one? Money?”

“Not quite. Many states out there are drowning in debt. Parta, for example.”

“Hmm, that’s true...” I racked my brain a bit more, but no dice. “So? What’s the last one?”

“Oh? Giving up already?”

“Sure. I have no clue.”

“How awfully humble of you. Very well, then. The last one is...authority.”

“Authority?” I cocked my head. How did that fit into the equation?

“Yes, authority. Specifically, the authority of a duke or higher.”

“I see...”

“Is that not why you call yourself the Monster King?”

“Not really... Everyone just started calling me that.”

“Oh... Is that so?”

Suddenly, Lardon piped in with a chuckle. “Why not call yourself the Dragon King, then? I will permit it.”

Ah... People called me the Monster King—even though I was a human—because monsters served under me. By that logic, I could also be called the Dragon King... This kind of wit was just what I would expect from Lardon.

“Lardon just told me I could call myself the Dragon King,” I told Sheila.

“That, too, is authority,” she replied. “In fact, that is how titles of nobility came to be—because someone stepped forward and named themselves as such. In time, the title was passed down, gained more value, and garnered the people’s awe and respect. They were then incorporated into the system. Now, a ruler with the title of duke, king, or emperor—basically, anything above a duke—is necessary to form a state.”

“Ooh...” A lot of this was still flying over my head... I guess the main point is that you need a duke, king, or emperor to be a state? Guess we do fit the bill after all.

“Now, on to the main topic,” Sheila continued. “I want to be the grand duchess of Parta. With that title in my grasp and the Partan nobles brought under my wing, the Duchy of Parta would essentially be mine.”

“I get it now. But why do you want an entire country?”

“I have two reasons,” she began. “First, rising from the lowly position of nineteenth successor all the way to a nation’s ruler is incredibly exhilarating. Do you not agree?”

“Ahh... I guess so.” I suppose I could see where she was coming from, to a certain extent. In fact, this made more sense to me than all that “authority” talk earlier. “Wait... Have you been planning this from the start?”

“Oh? And when was that?”

“When we met,” I answered. “Back then, you introduced yourself not just as the princess, but also as the head of your house, right?”

Sheila’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You remember?”

“Well, yeah.”

She’d left me quite the impactful first impression, after all. Her first visit had been just as sudden and bold as today’s, not to mention she’d challenged me to a duel back then too.

Another reason was that her attacks were fierce yet evidently lacking in any actual malice. My recent exposure to the dragons’ murderous auras made Sheila stand out in my memory as a swordswoman whose skills didn’t rely a whit on such intimidation factors.

“So, you remember...”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Mm... Yes, you are correct.”

For a second, I thought Sheila’s expression looked rather subdued, but I must have been seeing things. The next thing I knew, she had the same bold and fearless smirk on her face again.

“Gaining independence from my country has always been my goal. Thus, I come here today seeking your cooperation,” she continued. “The debt chained to the grand duke of Parta rests entirely in your grasp. Whether I obtain that seat by rightful or forceful means, a discussion with you was merely a matter of time.”

“Ahh...” So this was bound to happen. Hmm... Let’s see...

The human nations had been messing with us a lot recently. Actually, it wasn’t just recently—it’d been going on ever since we settled in the promised land. But if one of the main culprits, the Duchy of Parta, were to fall into Sheila’s hands, then I could trust her not to take after their negative fixation on us. That alone made it more than worth it to lend her my hand.

“Do you need my help for this?”

“Most certainly.”

“All right,” I answered right away.

Sheila was incredibly bold and assertive, and she treated her magic sword rather roughly, but I didn’t hate her frank and straightforward personality. Add in the merit I just mentioned, and there was no reason for me to hesitate.

Come to think of it, she mentioned two reasons...

Before I could ask for her other reason, however, Sheila already continued, “Now, let us talk compensation, shall we?”

“Huh? Oh, sure...”

“What would you like in return?”

“Er...”

I’d completely lost the chance to ask. Just like that, our discussion swiftly proceeded to the next stage.

.321

“Please, no need to be shy. Tell me what you’d like.”

“Uhh, that’s a good question...” I gave it some thought, tilting my head left and right, but nothing really came to mind.

Suddenly, Lardon suggested, “Why not ask for a marriage?”

“A marriage?!” I gasped—Sheila’s expression turned dubious at my outburst. “Ah, I was talking to Lardon just now...” Unlike Scarlet or everyone else in this country, Sheila wasn’t very familiar with how Lardon sometimes piped into our conversations.

“Lardon... You speak of the divine dragon?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm... Is that the divine dragon’s counsel? I understand... But are you certain?”

“Huh? About what?”

“As stated previously, I am a virgin. I highly doubt that I can satisfy the Monster King’s desires.”

“Ah... Uh, yeah...” Just like before, I had no idea how to even react to that information.

As my head swirled in more confusion than ever, Lardon emerged from me in her typical young human form. She took a seat perpendicular to both me and Sheila.

“Divine Dragon Lardon,” Sheila greeted.

“I have heard your plight, lass. My suggestion was not made to ‘satisfy the Monster King’s desires’ or from any such base motives,” Lardon clarified. “I was suggesting a political marriage—an alliance.”

Sheila’s eyes blew wide in shock, like she couldn’t believe what she’d heard.

“Hmm? Is it so shocking?”

“Quite,” Sheila replied after a pause. “Never had I expected a divine dragon to be so well-versed in human politics.”

“After all this trouble they have caused us, I’ve naturally given it some thought.” Lardon sat even more pompously than Sheila. “We crush them time and time again, yet our three neighbors always come crawling back for more trouble like brainless buffoons.”

“So this stems from your pride,” Sheila surmised.

“I have been entertaining the idea of simply crushing the entire nation and placing a controllable ruler at the top.”

“And that would be me?”

“You are certainly one of the more reasonable humans.”

“Hmm...”

Lardon’s and Sheila’s gazes clashed. Lardon’s speech was haughty, but her demeanor was leisurely and composed. On the other hand, there was a tense touch to Sheila’s features. She seemed to be feigning composure to stand on par with Lardon.

“What do you demand in exchange for the alliance?”

“Oh? Does the alliance not balance the scales already?”

“If anything, I feel as though I’ve been slapped with a wad of bills.”

“You’re mistaken. This is plenty of reimbursement for providing me entertainment.”

“Entertainment...?”

“You see, I am rather fond of this lad. There isn’t a dull moment when watching him develop his magic. Never in history has anyone possessed more magical talent than him, among humans...and us dragons.”

“Lardon...” I muttered, moved by her praise. Hearing her compliment my magic always put me in a good mood.

“Watching him from a front-row seat keeps me entertained,” Lardon continued. “Alas, he is human. His lifespan is mortal, his time limited. It irks me to waste a prodigy’s limited time on such inane power struggles. As a noble, you must understand, yes?”

“I do... Though, you strike me as more of a noble than myself now.”

“Pay it no mind. What I mean to say is that this is a meager price to pay to end that country’s incessant interruptions.”

“I see...” Sheila slowly lowered her head, deep in thought, before once again raising it to look me in the eye. “Are you fine with this?”

“Sure,” I agreed with a quick nod. “I’ve never gone wrong trusting Lardon’s advice for this sort of stuff.” That was how it’d been till now, and that was how it was going to be from here on out as well.

Besides, in this particular case, I wasn’t just blindly trusting Lardon. All of Parta, Quistador, and Jamille’s stunts had been getting on my nerves too. Lardon said she wanted them dealt with so I could focus on magic? Well, so did I. I basically had no reason to object.

“There you have it,” said Lardon. “I only need your word that you will not turn against us once you ascend the throne.”

“You...” Sheila narrowed her eyes. “You’ve grown more favorable toward him, haven’t you?”

Lardon smirked. “Hmph... I suppose so, compared to the last time you visited.”

Sheila turned to me with a conflicted expression.

“You look as though you’ve only now realized his true worth,” Lardon mused, her bright chuckles ringing in the air.

.322

After a short pause, I turned to Sheila and admitted, “It’d honestly be a huge help if you became the Grand Duchess of Parta.”

“Oh?” Sheila’s eyes glinted with intrigue as she urged me on with her gaze.

“Well, even if you were to someday betray me, you’d at least come straight for my neck rather than use some convoluted scheme.”

“My, my. Are you sure you want to say that? I will have you know that I can use an underhanded trick or two. In fact, that is my specialty.”

“Hmm... Well, that may be so...” I looked Sheila in the eye, our battle still fresh in my mind. “But I still think you’d come at me directly.”

Lardon hummed. “On what basis?”

“I felt it during our clash earlier.” I clenched my right hand, recalling the sensations. “Recently, I’ve noticed that I can sense a bit of a person’s personality from their mana... I know that’s not the most convincing reason, but I just feel like you’re the type to approach me head-on, Sheila. That’s all.”

“And you are fine with that?” Sheila asked.

I shrugged. “Sure. Compared to what the three nations have been doing, I’d appreciate a more straightforward approach for once.” I’d much rather my enemies come directly to me than target the dragons like they had with Dragon Slayer, or take hostages like Amelia’s parents. “So, like I said—I’d love for you to become the grand duchess of Parta.”

Lardon hummed. “I see... In that case, I shall concur.”

“But how are you going to take over Parta?” I still wasn’t entirely sure where I came into play in this whole plan either.

“I’ve obtained half of the grand duke’s historic followers.”

“Historic followers...?” I cocked my head at the unfamiliar term.

However, Sheila just continued. “I had a family tree made for me. It shows that my ancestor two centuries ago was related to the grand duke of Parta.”

“Oh, wow. You were related?”

“I had it made.”

“Hmm...?”

Lardon huffed. “She means to say, it is a new ancient document.”

“Precisely,” Sheila replied with a smirk.

I looked between them. “Huh? What does that mean?”

“It is a common human tactic to forge blood relations into existence to serve as pretext for legitimacy,” Lardon explained.

Sheila nodded. “With this, I shall have the counts insist that I am the rightful duchess. From there, we will wage a war.”

“Will that work?” I asked.

“As long as we win, of course.”

“No, that’s not what I meant... Won’t they insist that the document’s a fake?”

“Oh, they will certainly think it’s fake—but they shan’t voice their doubts. Everybody already knows that it’s mere pretext, so hardly any backlash will result of it. All that matters is that we win in the end.”

Lardon nodded. “Moreover, many are eager to cut ties with Tristan. Nobody would bother to point out that it’s fake.”

“Of course, I would gain more allies with an authentic document. However, even with a falsified one, nobody will say a word till the outcome of the war is clear.”

I hummed. “So, it’s better if it’s real?”

Sheila looked a bit taken aback by my question. “Well... Yes. Of course.”

“What do you have in mind?” Lardon asked.

“I’m thinking...that we can make an authentic document.”

Lardon and Sheila looked at one another with identically perplexed expressions.

A while later, Sheila came back into the room with a sheet of parchment. “Will this suffice?”

By the way, she’d made sure to take Crimson Rose with her when she left the room earlier...only to toss it into a random corner when she came back. Is she being careful with it or not? I can’t decide...

Anyway, I looked over the sheet of parchment that Sheila handed to me. It detailed exactly what she’d said earlier: her family tree tracing all the way back to her “relation” to Parta’s grand duke. It looked as official as could be.

“Hmm... It looks really new.”

“Of course. It is a very new ancient document.”

I chuckled dryly. Although I got what she meant, a “new ancient document” just sounded so ridiculous.

But anyway... “All right. I’ll work on this parchment, then?”

“Yes... That’s why I brought it over. But just what will you do?”

“Dust Box.” I stuck my hands into my dust box and took out a single barrel.

“What is that?” Sheila asked.

“Grape juice I prepared after you left.”

“For making wine?”

“Yep.”

The moment I lifted the lid, a rich scent wafted through the air.

Sheila sniffed. “This smells like...wine? Huh? But you just made it...”

“Yep. In this dust box, a year passes by in an hour. So...” I stored the parchment into the box. “We’ll put this in here for nine days to make it a two-centuries-old document.”

Sheila gasped.

Authentic or not, with this method, we could make it into an actual two-centuries-old ancient document!

.323

Ten days later, Sheila dropped by again. We found ourselves back in the reception hall sitting face-to-face like last time.

“The appraiser was rather stunned,” she told me.

“Uh, sure...” I replied absently, my attention straying from her words and instead drawn toward a spot on the floor.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well... Is that okay...?” I decided to ask.

Sheila followed my gaze to where Crimson Rose was lying on the floor just as it had been ten days ago. It almost looked like a piece of clothing that someone forgot to load into the laundry basket. Had this been a bedroom, I could imagine it being buried under the owner’s other belongings.

“It failed to suggest any good countermeasures in ten whole days, so it is being punished,” Sheila explained plainly.

“Oh...”

During their last visit, Sheila had challenged me with Crimson Rose as her weapon. It seemed the magic sword had failed to redeem itself since then. Well, I guess that’s just how they are... Best to leave them be. The glow of Crimson Rose’s blade was pulsating sadly like a puppy abandoned in the rain, but I decided to ignore it.

“Anyway...” I cleared my throat. “What were you saying? Something about an appraiser?”

“Ah, yes. The ancient document you gave me yesterday—I showed it to an antique appraiser, and they were exceedingly impressed. I was told that the parchment and ink showed clear signs of age. They couldn’t imagine the family tree contained in it was fabricated.”

“Well, it did age two hundred years.” After two hundred hours in the dust box, the document came out two centuries old. Things went exactly as planned—I couldn’t help feeling a little giddy over it. “Did you try appraising it for magic?”

“Of course. Forgery through magic is always the first suspect, after all.”

“And it sounds like...we’re in the clear?”

Sheila nodded. “Certainly.”

Once again, all according to plan.

Our goal was to make Sheila’s fake family tree look real. When presented with something unbelievable, it was only natural to check its authenticity on all fronts—including magical forgery, for example.

Now, it wouldn’t have been too hard to ask Sheila for the usual method of appraisal, then craft a spell to circumvent it. The dust box in itself, however, was already a safe bet in that regard. It didn’t directly alter its contents with magic—all it did was speed up their time, which meant the document in our hands was, in fact, a genuine two-centuries-old item. I’d even confirmed long ago, from all the times I’d made alcohol with it, that the dust box left no traces of mana on the things stored inside it.

All in all, I was right to place my bets on it. It was exactly what we needed!

“Sounds like that document will prove useful, then.”

“Certainly. This has boosted my legitimacy by leaps and bounds.”

“Great to hear.”

“It is all thanks to you,” Sheila said. “Allow me to offer you my own personal thanks at a later date.”

“It was no big deal. You don’t have to.”

“Unfortunately, I am not such an ungrateful brute.”

Uh, nobody’s saying you are. It’s not that serious...

“Let her,” Lardon cut in. “Her pride will not allow her to incur too many debts at once.”

Somehow, that helped everything click into place for me. Sheila was a prideful woman. If she felt the need to repay me, I’d be doing her no favors by refusing.

“All right, then. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Please do. My predecessors have preached that distant debts are to be repaid tenfold.”

“Distant debts...? What does that mean?”

“The idea goes as such: When family and friends do you a favor, you can simply thank them. But when strangers and outsiders do you the same favor, you must repay them properly and generously.”

“Ohh...” An interesting and very understandable take. The less associated you were with someone, the more grateful you had to be for their offered help. It just felt right that way. “Though that also makes it sound like incurring debt with outsiders is inefficient... Hmm?”

“What’s the matter?”

Something just came to me. Instead of responding to Sheila, I dragged my gaze to the side, where Crimson Rose lay on the floor like a discarded weapon.

“Hmm? What about that thing?” Sheila asked.

“You might...” I muttered, slowly turning my gaze back to her. “Sheila, you might be able to get even stronger.”

The girl’s eyes sparkled. “Please, do elaborate.”

She looked far more eager to hear about this than she had been to create her ancient family tree, the so-called debt she’d incurred. That was very like her. But also, I felt like—

“Hah... Among the humans, she must be the most compatible with you,” Lardon mused, putting into words exactly what I was thinking at the moment.

.324

“What exactly do you have in mind?” Sheila asked.

“From our battle earlier, it looked like your magic sword sends you power, which you then wield yourself. Is that right?”

Her eyebrows shot up. “My... Color me impressed. I hadn’t realized you could analyze that in the midst of our battle.”

“Well, I’m pretty good at sensing mana.”

“You say that as if it’s so simple...”

“Between the sword passing you its power, and you unleashing it, much energy is needlessly lost between the processes. I’m sure you’ve noticed this, since you also use it yourself,” I explained. “If I had to make an analogy... Hmm... It’s like pouring alcohol from the barrel into a bottle, then again into a cup. Each time the alcohol passes through a new container, some of it spills out or gets left behind in the previous vessel.”

“I see... I understand now.”

“And since you specialize in speed, it’s not like you can prevent this waste by going slow and careful.”

“Correct,” Sheila replied. “My, this is all rather eerie. It feels as if you’ve seen through every minute aspect of my combat.”

“Oh, uh... Sorry.”

Sheila chuckled. “Oh, you silly boy. I wasn’t complaining.”

“You weren’t?”

“Not at all. The strong are always worthy of my respect.”

Respect...? Has she been showing me respect? I cast a sideward glance at Crimson Rose, the poor magic sword that had been discarded in the corner. Well, compared to that thing... I guess Sheila has been treating me respectfully.

“Relax. When it comes to humans like her, the absence of condescension is already a show of respect.”

Well, if Lardon said so, then I guess that was that.

“Now then,” Sheila said. “That is my current situation, yes?”

I nodded. Since my goal was to tell her how she could improve, it was important to first lay out the problem with her current way of doing things.

“Pray tell, what must I change?”

“Picking up from my earlier analogy... You have to eliminate the waste by drinking directly from the barrel.”

“Hmm... And how exactly must I go about that?”

“By removing the process of passing power entirely.” I stood in front of Sheila, held out my hand, and cast the spell I’d been using a lot lately—Covenant Summoning: Liam—to manifest another me.

“A magic clone?”

“It’s a little different from my usual spell. Originally, my clone utilizes the mana I used to cast the spell. If we split up while facing enemies, he would run out of mana much sooner, especially if he ended up facing the tougher bunch.”

“I doubt that would happen with you...but I do understand your point.”

“I could replenish his mana or resummon a clone, but I’d only be wasting more mana along the process.”

“Ah, just like me.”

“Yep. That’s why I made this new spell. This clone draws from the same pool of power as me, so there’s no need to pass it to and fro.”

“So, instead of passing power from one to another...it’s as if you’ve become one.”

“Right. Also, it seems like you’re better at applying magic to yourself, whereas the sword is better at unleashing it outward. If you two link up, you should be able to unleash your mana through your magic sword with much more efficiency.”

“My, this sounds far too good to be true. Is it really possible?”

“I’ve got two methods in mind.” I already had these sorted out in my head, so all that was left was to explain them to Sheila. “The first is body modification. We can practically merge you with your magic sword by making the veins in your body—the ones that carry your mana—more like Crimson Rose’s. The second is simply to connect you both with a pathway.”

“It seems like there would be much difference between these two methods.”

“Yeah. The former will keep you constantly connected. With the latter, you only need to connect yourselves during battle.”

“The latter, please.”

“Wow. That was fast.” She answered so quickly. Did she even think it through?

“Of course. Ah, I believe I’ve yet to mention this to you... You see, my current goal is to defeat you as I am now—with this human body. I’d rather not become part magic sword.”

“Oh... But you’re fine with me helping you now?” I got a little worried. Wouldn’t a prideful woman like Sheila actually be against this?

“Receiving your help and winning against you as I am now are not mutually exclusive.”

“Ah...” That was certainly an interesting way to look at things. She wasn’t really wrong either. “All right, then. Give me some time to make a spell.”

“Of course.”

I put some distance between us. The spell was already constructed in my head, so all that was left was to craft it into existence in one fell swoop. At their core, learning and making spells were both about trial and error—and by multicasting, I could get through all those trials and errors at once. Of course, I didn’t forget to boost the number of spells I could cast at once with an aria.

After four to five rounds of simultaneously casting the spell a hundred times, I compiled it into an Ancient Memoria ring for Sheila to learn from and handed it to her. “Here you go. Use this the same way as you would a grimoire. Any questions?”

“None. This should suffice. Allow me to stay the night.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I shall learn this overnight.”

“Can you?”

“Who do you take me for?” Sheila propped a hand on her hip and puffed out her chest. She looked like the very epitome of confidence.

However, I knew very well how hard it was to learn a new spell from scratch. I thought back to when I hadn’t learned multicasting yet—to when I’d just mastered my first spell—and I couldn’t help but take her words as bravado.

Still, there was no issue with letting her stay till she got it. I decided not to be a stick-in-the-mud and instead wished her luck.

Much to my surprise, however, Sheila splendidly lived up to her word. In just a single night, she was already wielding her mana much more efficiently. And the first thing she did after that power-up was charge straight into my room and attack me in my sleep.

“I suppose surprise attacks and winning with her own body are not mutually exclusive either,” I heard Lardon muse as I frantically gathered my bearings.

.325

Sheila’s surprise attack—which, by the way, wrecked half of my bedroom—signaled the start of our battle. I flew out of the gaping hole in the wall and up into the sky, using a barrier to both block her attack and fling her away.

“Amelia Emilia Claudia... Full Impact!”

As I withdrew, I prepared my strongest single-hit spell and loaded it with my amplified mana. It was a deadly blow, but I hurled it at Sheila without a moment’s hesitation.

The girl simply stood with an elegant smile and cast a glance at her magic sword. “Go on,” she told it.

The blade trembled in excitement as a magic barrier manifested in front of Sheila, perfectly blocking my massive attack.

“Magic Shield?!” I exclaimed in surprise.

The barrier that Sheila—rather, Crimson Rose just put up was undoubtedly Absolute Magic Shield. That explained how it completely blocked my fully loaded spell.

Fine. If quality won’t work, then how about some quantity? With my strongest single-hit spell shut down, my next bet was my most numerous spell.

“Amelia Emilia Claudia... Magic Missile, a hundred and onefold!”

“Child’s play!” Sheila spat as she cut them down one after the other with her magic sword.

Swordsmanship and speed were her expertise. Clearly, my barrage of magic missiles meant little before her masterful slashes.

I gritted my teeth. “Urgh...”

“Allow me to impart you some advice.” Sheila’s lips curled into a smirk before her figure blurred and disappeared from sight.

By reflex, I put up magic and physical barriers all around me—the ultimate defense that would protect me no matter the attack waiting on the other side.

“You are overly reliant on magic!”

Sheila’s voice was followed by a series of explosions—the sound of my physical barriers up front shattering one after the other. Before I could even blink, she had gotten right in arm’s reach.

“And might I remind you that those magic barriers...only ward off attacks!”

Suddenly, Sheila lunged and threw her entire weight at me. Caught by surprise, I stumbled back all the way until I found myself outside my barriers.

“Haaah!”

“Tsk! Time Stop!”

I froze time and escaped from Sheila’s grasp. I’d put enough space between us just in time for the spell to lose its effect.

Sheila blinked. “I see... So this is how it feels to have time stopped up close and personal.”

I swiftly held up my hand to launch a counterattack—then froze.

I couldn’t think of what to use.

“You are overly reliant on magic!”

Sheila’s words echoed in my head. She’d blocked my strongest attack with a magic barrier and easily cut down a whole barrage of my magic. Faced with Absolute Magic Shield for the very first time, I was at a complete loss.

There was no time to think, however—Sheila was closing in, Crimson Rose firmly in her grasp. It felt like my reflexes were a beat slower than usual because I was too conscious of her Absolute Magic Shield. Add Sheila’s insane speed into the equation, and I clearly couldn’t spare any time for brainstorming or strategizing.

Just then, inspiration struck.

“Contract Summoning: Liam!”

Sheila froze, stunned by my clone’s sudden appearance. She was clearly confused as to why I’d used this spell.

Without pause, I fired off a series of magic missiles at her, which she proceeded to cut down with her magic sword just like earlier.

Why did I summon my clone? Well, if I had no time to strategize because she was too fast, then I figured that she should also have no energy to spare for a second opponent. So here I was, drawing her attention with an unending wave of magic missiles while my clone fled out of her reach. Her eyes constantly darted between us.

A minute later, my clone yelled, “Hit her with something—indirectly!”

Since we were essentially the same person, I immediately understood.

First, I unleashed Full Impact. This wouldn’t take her down, but even Sheila couldn’t just ignore it entirely.

While she was dealing with that, I jumped back to make some room for my next move.

“Gnome!” I chanted, summoning the earth spirit. “Drop a boulder on her!”

The cute earth spirit heeded my command and created a huge boulder right above Sheila. She clicked her tongue and leaped away—where I was already waiting, fully trusting her to dodge the boulder.

“You don’t have an Absolute Force Shield ready, do you?” I muttered as I hit her with one final blow—my checkmate.

The girl huffed. “No, I do not,” she admitted, conceding.

This was how I managed to win our bout. My lips twitched into a smile, but not because of my victory.

“I’m overly reliant on magic, huh...?”

Rather, I was happy to have walked away from this battle with a new goal to work toward.

.326

After our fight, I looked Sheila in the eye and told her sincerely, “Thank you.”

“Oh? Whatever for?”

“You made me realize that I’ve been hyperfocused on magic. This was the best way I could’ve found out.”

“Dear me... It sounds like I’ll be in for quite the struggle in our next rematch.”

I nodded. “You bet.”

Though I had no intention of telling her this, I did have physical attacks I could’ve fallen back on when she’d pointed out my overreliance on magic. I had plenty, in fact, besides summoning a Gnome.

As a recent example, I had set up some blue ant beads up in the sky, where they were still absorbing power from the sun even as we spoke. The moment I released the power that was suspending them up there, blazing orbs would come crashing down from the heavens. Naturally, Sheila’s magic barrier would’ve been useless against them.

All in all, I had many cards up my sleeve—if only I’d had the time to think things through. Unfortunately, time was a sparse resource when fighting against a skilled and speedy opponent like Sheila.

When pressed and cornered, my instinctive go-to was always magic. After all, magic was all I had. Sure, I was capable of dealing physical attacks, but I still needed magic for that—like tossing a huge boulder with my mana, for example. When the battle called for decisiveness and flexibility, these kinds of indirect, convoluted means just wouldn’t do.

My battle with Sheila just taught me that I had to fix this, and I very much planned to do so by her next visit.

“Wait, are you leaving already?” I asked.

“Yes. I must work on the finishing touches of my plan to obtain the duchy.”

“Oh...”

Sheila’s lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Goodness. Could you be missing me already?”

“Yeah,” I answered bluntly, causing her to look at me in surprise. “You’re the only person I know who’s on eye level with me.”

“Oh my...” Realizing that I was being serious, Sheila replaced the playfulness in her expression with curiosity. “What does that mean?”

“Lardon and the dragons give me tons of helpful advice, so they’re more like teachers to me... They are superior beings, after all. Meanwhile, the monsters and humans in this city call me their king. They basically place themselves below me.” I shrugged. “But you, Sheila... You act all high-and-mighty, but we interact on the same stage, if that makes sense. We see eye to eye and think similarly. I really appreciate having you around.”

“Have you forgotten that I’ve been attacking you nonstop this entire time?”

“Even better, actually. Thanks to you facing me head-on, I get to notice all the flaws I’ve never realized about myself. I wouldn’t have accepted my weaknesses so openly had it been anybody else.”

Had the monsters been the ones to challenge me, I would’ve just brute-forced my way through with magic. In the dragons’ case, I would’ve just accepted my loss because, well, who’d ever expect to win against them? Only with Sheila as my opponent could I have arrived at this fruitful conclusion.

“Is that so...?” Sheila hummed. “My. I feel rather good about myself now.”

“Oh, yeah. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Hmm? Whatever do you mean?”

“Anything that can help you get stronger,” I clarified. “Aren’t you planning on preparing a new ace up your sleeve for next time?”

“Naturally.” Sheila propped her hand on her hip. The haughtiness suited her perfectly.

“I was wondering if I could help in any way. You don’t have to consider it as my thanks or anything.”

Lardon chuckled. “You seek to nurture your rival with your own hands?”

Oh, that’s a good way to put it. In a sense, Sheila had also “nurtured” me by pointing out my overreliance on magic, so I was simply doing the same for her.

Rivals nurturing one another... I might have been seeking this type of relationship all along. After all, what better way was there to stimulate my magic growth?

“Hmm... In that case, I do have something in mind,” Sheila said.

“Sure. Hit me with it.”

“I would love to learn that cloning spell of yours.”

“Oh... Contract Summoning?”

“Yes. From what I’ve gleaned, it appears that the clone’s memories and experiences are all transferred to the original once the spell is undone.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, I would like to return home...and leave my clone here to observe you.” Her lips once again curled into a playful, devilish grin. “To find your weakness.”

“I get it... Sure. I recall this spell is in my Ancient Memoria... How long does it take to learn again...?” I dug through my memories, but it had been ages since I first learned this spell, so my memories were a little hazy.

“Will it take some time?” Sheila asked.

“Quite a bit, I think.”

“A shame, then. Let us save it for next time. I will make sure to open up my schedule.”

“No, hang on.”

I held up my hand, signaling her to wait as I racked my brain for a method to help her learn this right away. Sheila had to go home soon, so we didn’t have much time left. I needed a way for her to learn this spell in that short time frame... No, before anything, I needed an image to craft that spell.

My string of thoughts spilled from my lips as incomprehensible mutters, while my gaze fell vaguely on the ground. Eventually, I collated all my thoughts and looked up to meet Sheila’s gaze once more.

“Sheila,” I called.

“Yes? Have you thought of something?”

“Yeah. Could you try killing me?”

The girl blinked, her eyes wide as saucers. “Pardon?”

.327

Sheila stared at me wide-eyed for a long, tense moment...until she cocked her head in befuddlement. “Sorry, come again?”

I nearly stumbled from the anticlimactic response. Well, I guess it did come out of nowhere...

“I want to see my life flash before my eyes,” I clarified. “You know, that thing that happens when you’re on the verge of death.”

“Whatever for...?”

“I need to experience it firsthand to craft a new spell.”

“Ah... Hence why you asked me to try killing you, yes? Not to actually kill you... Very well.” With a hum, Sheila adjusted her grip on Crimson Rose.

But before she could do anything, Lardon suddenly emerged from within me. Sheila winced.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

“I shall protect the lass.”

“Huh? From what?”

“From her,” Lardon answered. “I do not know what you’re planning, but one thing is for certain: This lass will be wiped from existence if she happens to stumble upon this scene.”

“Ohh...”

Naturally, she was talking about Dyphon.

I hadn’t thought of that at all... Lardon made a very good point. Dyphon liked me a lot—even calling me “darling”—and was rather impulsive to boot. If she spotted Sheila’s “attempt” on my life, she would probably fly into a fit of rage and kill Sheila on the spot. There’d be no stopping her then.

Well, I could probably manage as long as I mustered all my strength, but that wasn’t exactly possible while on the verge of death. But Lardon could definitely do it. For better or for worse, she knew exactly how to handle Dyphon. With her on the lookout, I could rest easy.

“Thanks. You’re a huge help.”

Lardon chuckled. “Think nothing of it. This is a small price to pay for the interesting show you are about to put on.”

Meanwhile, Sheila seemed more at ease now that she knew the reason for Lardon’s sudden appearance. “What shall I do, specifically?”

“Aim for his abdomen,” Lardon instructed, drawing both our gazes. “He wants the full near-death experience, yes?”

“I’ve never heard anyone say that before... But yes.”

“For that, piercing his abdomen is your best choice. You could also slice through his waist to sever his top half from the bottom.”

“Hmm, I see... I’ve heard that those executed in such a manner take several minutes to die.”

“Correct. It is an injury which causes a slow death by bleeding out. It’s exactly what he wants.”

“Very well.” Sheila faced me. “Are you ready?”

I nodded.

Sheila bent her knees and held her sword ready at waist-level. Then, in one sharp motion—yet much slower than usual—she thrust out the blade. I neither dodged nor put up a barrier, so her sword cleanly stabbed me through the gut.

“Urgh!” I gritted my teeth. “T-Take it out...”

The blade slid out, and a searing pain began to permeate my body from the wound in my abdomen. I staggered briefly but just barely managed to stay on my feet.

“Ah. Here she is.”

I heard Lardon’s muffled voice, followed by tremendous explosions—the sound of immense power clashing in the distance. A shock wave struck my body, flinging me into the air and sending me rolling over the ground.

Endless pain assaulted me from two united fronts. The wound in my abdomen and the bruises all over my body combined worked together to blur my vision and muddle my thoughts. Sounds filtered into my ears, but my mind failed to comprehend them.

Finally, it happened. Just as I’d been hoping for, my life flashed before my eyes.

The days I’d spent before becoming Liam flitted through my mind’s eye in a flash, and the experiences I’d accumulated after becoming Liam blitzed past even faster. The speed at which all these memories replayed made the world around me feel sluggish in comparison.

What a bizarre sensation...

I could still feel time passing, albeit at a painstakingly slow rate. I’d sometimes felt time pass like a sludge on lazy and uneventful days, but it was nothing compared to this.

Once my life finished replaying in my mind’s eye, I felt time speed up once more, signaling that the end was nigh. By now, I’d already gained the very experience I’d wanted, so I finally mustered my energy to cast a healing spell on myself. The magic swiftly sealed the wound in my abdomen and returned clarity to my consciousness.

“Darling!”

The first thing I saw was Dyphon’s face. I took a look around and found that I was lying flat on my back, with Dyphon sitting beside me and peering down at me from above.

I slowly pushed myself up.

“Oh, darling— Agh!” Dyphon wasted no time throwing herself on me, but was held back by Lardon before she could even curl her arms around my neck. “Hey! What’s the big idea?!”

“Leave him be. He’s still healing.”

“Urgh...”

Lardon turned to me. “Well? Have you gained the experience you sought?”

“Yeah. I’ve got the image down pat. Thanks, Sheila...” My gaze wandered a bit in search of the girl, only to find her grimacing a short distance away. “Huh? Sheila? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing...” she mumbled.

“Fret not. She simply received the full brunt of this one’s wrath,” Lardon explained, glancing at Dyphon. “Consider it a necessary fee.”

Taking a better look around, I realized that the terrain had been totally reformed. The devastation quickly reminded me of Lardon and Dyphon’s recent fight to the death. It was easy to see that things had panned out exactly as Lardon had predicted.

“Sorry for putting you through that,” I told Sheila.

The girl harrumphed. “Wh-Whatever do you mean?”

She had every right to be afraid of a divine dragon, but she seemed too embarrassed to admit it anyway. The look that Lardon was sending me affirmed my read, so I figured that I’d best drop the topic entirely.

“In any case, I find you both terribly amusing.” Lardon chuckled. “You, for coming up with such an idea. And that girl, for simply accepting it and stabbing you with no hesitation whatsoever.”

“Really now?”

“Indeed.”

“Why are you guys laughing?!” Dyphon snapped. “Darling! Don’t you ever do something this dangerous ever again!”

Lardon huffed. “It’s pointless. He will do anything for magic. Nothing will stop him.”

“Ugh. Acting like some know-it-all...”

“If you wish to stay by his side, you had best learn to simply watch over him. Or do you want to stop him?”

Dyphon stuck out her bottom lip in a pout and whipped her face away. “Hmph!”

Now that Dyphon was calm, I proceeded to create my new spell while the near-death experience was still fresh in my mind.

.328

“Phew...” I let out a heavy sigh and wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand, but there was so much that it just dribbled down my wrist instead.

Dyphon looked up at me in concern. “Are you okay, darling? Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine... Wait, you can tell?”

“Tell what?”

“That I just finished making a spell.”

“Uh-huh. Of course!”

“Wow. I guess I shouldn’t have expected any less of a divine dragon.” I’d made the spell while the sensations of that near-death experience were still fresh, though it took a lot more time and effort than usual. It seemed like Dyphon had seen right through me all the while.

“No, that’s not right,” Dyphon said, much to my surprise. “It’s not because I’m a divine dragon. It’s because I’m watching you closely. You always look really happy whenever you finish a spell.”

“Oh...” I thought that she’d picked up on the flow of my magic or something, but it turned out she was just watching my expression. I gave my cheeks a few pats. Am I really that expressive?

“What will you do now?” Lardon asked. She was standing a short distance away.

I turned to face her. So did Dyphon, though her eyes were narrowed into a sharp glare, which Lardon breezily brushed off. Sheila looked a little unsettled by the tension between them.

“Oh, right. Sheila, come with me—and bring your magic sword.”

“Very well.”

“Also... Ice Needle!” I cast a beginner spell, stabbing a pillar of ice as thick as a withered tree into the ground. Exposed to the wind, it slowly began to melt and trickle to the ground.

“Good. Next up...” I took a deep breath, gathered my focus, and cast another spell. A door-like spatial rift manifested right before my eyes.

Lardon hummed. “Is it Another World?”

“Not exactly, but it is based on it.” I turned to Sheila. “All right, come on. Follow me.”

“Understood.”

“And you two, please wait outside,” I told the dragons.

“Very well.”

“Good luck, darling!”

With Lardon and Dyphon seeing us off, Sheila and I entered the door that looked a lot like Another World’s. The inside was also much like the original—it was nothing but a wide, empty space.

Sheila looked around. “Where are we...?”

“This is a magical space that’s segregated from the outside. What happens in here will stay in here.”

“My. How convenient.”

After backing away from Sheila, I turned back around to face her. “Sheila.”

“Yes?”

“Come at me with everything you’ve got.”

“I don’t mind...but why?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Sheila huffed. “Very well, then.”

After a short moment of hesitation, Sheila brandished Crimson Rose and charged at me. Her swift speed and sharp slashes were fiercer than ever before. But this time, there was no surprise attack. I was fully braced for her attacks—mentally and magically.

For just a bit under an hour, our battle continued. With no secrets or surprises in store, dozens of clashes came and passed with no clear conclusion.

Finally, Sheila leaped back and asked, “What is the meaning of this? We are hardly getting anywhere. There is little we can gain from a rematch at this early stage.”

“Ah... I guess you’re right. Let’s head back, then.”

“What?” Sheila lowered her sword, knitting her sleek eyebrows. For the first time, suspicion and frustration seeped into her expression. Her gaze was subtle yet prickling.

She looks like she wants to ask what we even came here for...

“What have we even come here for?”

Oh, there it is. “It’ll be easier to explain outside.”

Sheila’s face scrunched up momentarily, before she begrudgingly conceded. “Very well.”

We stepped back out together, where Lardon and Dyphon greeted us.

Lardon hummed, calm as ever. “Oh? Back already?”

“Welcome back, darling!” Dyphon crowed, clinging to me with oozing affection.

In contrast to them both, Sheila followed behind me with a pinched expression. “So? How does being here answer my question?”

“Take a look at that,” I instructed, pointing to the side—to the icicle I’d made.

Sheila stared at it for a while, until realization finally dawned on her. “The icicle...hasn’t melted?”

As she said, the icicle was still majorly intact—even though an hour had passed since we entered the space.

Sheila quietly gasped. “Wait, don’t tell me...”

I nodded. “Lardon, Dyphon, how long has it been since we went in?”

“Hardly ten seconds,” Lardon answered.

Sheila’s wide eyes turned to me in disbelief.

I simply nodded again. “With my near-death experience, I made this space where time flows differently from the outside.” It was the opposite of Dust Box, and it could allow living beings inside to boot. “I guess you could call it...a space for living in the moment.”

With this, Sheila could take all the time she needed to learn a new spell.

.329

I stood a short distance from the spatial rift as I waited for Sheila to come out. Lardon was already back inside of me, while Dyphon was standing right by my side.

After a minute or so, Dyphon suddenly said, “Darling, you shouldn’t let humans use that too much.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“They age much faster inside. I doubt that side effect can be rectified through any sort of revisions.”

“Ahh... I guess you’re right.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself. This was actually an issue I’d noticed while making the spell.

In a way, this spell helped people learn something “instantly.” Sheila could step inside and take all her time learning Contract Summoning with hardly any time passing outside. But for a human to cultivate a skill, they needed to physically experience growth. Thus, for this spell, I couldn’t just nullify the passage of time for the human body. As Dyphon said, it wasn’t a matter of revising the spell—it was just a fundamentally unavoidable side effect.

“She’s a young human girl,” Dyphon continued. “A few times won’t do much harm, but she might regret it down the line if she overuses it.”

“Oh... I see.” Now this issue, I hadn’t thought about at all. Sheila was a beautiful young woman, so it only made sense that she wouldn’t want to age so soon. “Got it. If she ever asks for it again, I’ll make sure to explain the risks first.”

“Mm-hmm.” With that, Dyphon walked away like nothing ever happened. She seemed to have lost all interest in what we were doing here now that I wasn’t on the brink of death.

“I never would’ve noticed that if she hadn’t pointed it out...”

“Me neither,” Lardon agreed.

“Really? You too?” I was a bit shocked. I mean, it didn’t take much explaining for me to understand. How could Lardon not have thought of it before me?

“Aging is a human concern,” Lardon explained. “That one is becoming more human in order to bear your child. It stands to reason that she understands such matters better than me.”

“Oh, I guess so.” Though I still found it kind of funny that Lardon was as lost as I was for once.

Soon, Sheila emerged from the rift. She’d spent around five minutes in total there. “Apologies for the wait.”

“Have you learned it?”

“Yes. Look.”

Sheila held up her hand and cast Contract Summoning: Sheila, summoning her clone—a perfect copy of herself. The only striking difference was her clone’s lack of a magic sword.

The two identical girls looked at one another.

“It appears to have worked,” Sheila mused.

Her clone hummed. “Indeed. What a...fascinating sensation.”

“Oh? Whatever do you mean?”

“You should understand once we return to normal...right?” Sheila’s clone turned to me.

I nodded. “That’s right. All of your clone’s memories and sensations will be shared with you once the spell’s undone. You’ll know sooner or later, Sheila.”

“Then I suppose there is no need to ask now.”

Now that Sheila was content with that explanation, it was time for me to get an explanation of my own. “Why did you wanna learn this spell?”

“I plan to leave my clone here.”

“Here? In this country?”

“Indeed. She shall serve as my proxy.”

“What for...?”

“For two reasons,” she began. “First is to serve as the diplomat of my nation-to-be. After all, who better to trust as a plenipotentiary than myself? In case of trouble, ‘I’ would be right here to handle it. Most importantly, delivering information to myself will now be a simple matter of undoing the spell.”

“Wow... When you put it that way, it almost sounds like this spell was made for this.” I was genuinely impressed. Much time had passed since I first learned it, but it never came to me to use it this way. “What’s the second reason?”

“To observe you from up close as you develop cutting edge magic.”

“Cutting edge...?”

“She is not wrong,” Lardon mused, though Sheila couldn’t hear it herself. “That is what keeps me entertained day by day.”

Well, I guess Lardon did seem to be enjoying herself all the time. Entertaining a divine dragon... Is that all it takes for magic to be classified as “cutting edge”?

“Hence, I shall leave myself behind for my own growth,” Sheila continued. “To learn from you, to steal from you, and finally...to develop countermeasures against you.”

“I get it.” That was Sheila for you.

“With all that said...” Sheila and her clone exchanged a look before turning to me with identical grins. “We look forward to bearing witness to your grand magical endeavors henceforth.”

.330

Later that day, we gathered at the outskirts of the magic city to see off the original Sheila.

“Till we meet again,” she said as she straddled her white horse, straightened her back, and rode off into the sinking sun beyond the horizon. Not once did she look back, as if she had accomplished everything she’d come for and left without any lingering regrets. It was an incredibly refreshing sight.

“Well, somebody’s in high spirits,” I mused, mostly to myself.

“But of course,” answered her clone. “Once she wraps up the finishing touches to her plan, she can finally deal with the grand duke and become the ruler of an entire nation.”

“True. Should I help?”

“How so?”

“I could send Gai or Chris over. Or both, if you’d like.”

“I must respectfully decline,” Sheila’s clone replied instantly.

“You sure?”

“Who knows what kinds of accusations we will be subject to should we borrow the Monster King’s soldiers?” The sunset dyed her playful smile with a warm, leisurely glow. “Personally, however, I am quite amused by the thought of fighting alongside the Monster King’s forces.”

I hummed. “They’d slander you for that? I didn’t know.”

“Of course, I would be glad to deal in weapons instead.”

“So, weapons are fine, but not soldiers...?”

“Is that strange?”

“Well...kinda,” I admitted. Weapons and soldiers... What’s the difference?

“Why, I must agree. What utter nonsense, hmm?” she replied, much to my bewilderment.

Lardon chuckled. “This wouldn’t be the first time humans were a bundle of contradictions.”

If even Lardon agreed, then that must mean... “Is there some stupid reason behind it?”

“Indeed,” Sheila answered.

“All right. Then I won’t ask any further. Basically, I’m free to give you some weapons, right?”

“Of course. What do you have to offer?”

“Nothing, actually. But I can make something for you. What do you want?”

Sheila’s clone stared at me for a good while. “Hmm...”

“What about a magic sword?” I suggested.

“No, that won’t do,” she replied swiftly. “You cannot single-handedly shift the tides of war with one. You are the only human who could accomplish such a thing.”

“Oh...” I couldn’t quite tell if that was a compliment or a jab.

“In any event, not many in my army can make use of a magic sword, so there is little point in it. I’d prefer a simple and fairly strong weapon for the common soldier.”

“A simple and fairly strong weapon...”

“Yes. Ideally a long-range weapon that the ordinary soldier can wield with little to no training.”

“Basically, something like a bow?”

“Why, I will have you know that archery is a fairly difficult skill. Imagine something more akin to...throwing stones.”

“Oh, really?”

While mentally revising my impression of archery, I began to brainstorm the simple weapon that Sheila’s clone was asking for. Struck by an idea, I swept my gaze across my surroundings and picked up a pebble from the ground.

“How’s this, then?”

I casually tossed the pebble and—as it leisurely traced an arc in the air—summoned a magic missile at its location. To the uninformed observer, it would look as if the pebble transformed into a magic missile in midair.

“That’s just how it would look, anyway...” I turned to Sheila’s clone. “Well? Since you mentioned throwing stones, I was thinking of a magic tool that’s as light as a stone and shoots out a magic missile when thrown.”

“I see... That would make it more akin to a bomb, then.”

“Ah, fair point. You really make better analogies than me.”

A fireball-loaded orb was probably easier to imagine than a magic missile-loaded rock. I must’ve been too fixated on Sheila’s previous mentions of bows and throwing stones... Maybe an explosive orb was a better weapon.

“Ah, but yours is certainly more practical.” Sheila’s clone looked me in the eye. “A stone that summons a magic missile... Could you make this weapon for me?”

“Huh?” So, the magic missile-loaded rock is more practical, even if the image isn’t as obvious as a fireball-loaded orb? “Well, just making it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“And what of mass-producing it?”

“What?”

“I am saying that I would like to purchase these magical ‘arrows’ of yours. Let me see...” Sheila’s clone briefly dropped her head in thought. When she raised it again, she looked me dead in the eye. “Though it would depend on the price, I would like to order around a million of these.”

My eyes blew wide at the unexpectedly huge number.

.331

“Do you really need that many?!” I exclaimed, stunned.

In contrast, Sheila’s clone looked as calm as could be. “But of course. Arrow stocks always fluctuate as they are in quick and constant use, but it is ideal to have at least a million in store.”

“Why so many?”

“Is it really so strange? We’re speaking of arrows, yes? Imagine I send out a thousand archers into the front lines. How many arrows do you suppose each would use in a single battle?”

“Well, ten...sounds too little. Maybe fifty?”

“Very well. Let us say each archer uses fifty arrows. How many arrows would they all use in total, then?”

“Fifty thousand... Oh!”

Sheila’s clone nodded.

I get it now. A thousand soldiers could easily exhaust tens of thousands of arrows in just a single battle. Maybe even a million! Okay, that’s a pretty big leap, but the idea still stands.

“We might need more, then,” I muttered.

“Oh? Why so?”

“Well, ordinary arrows can be retrieved after a battle, but magical arrows would only be single-use.”

“Ah, you make a good point. I am grateful for your magic expertise.” Sheila’s clone smiled. “That being said, I’m afraid that hardly changes my order quantity. My reason for asking for a million does not lie there.”

“Why, then?”

“For the soldiers’ peace of mind,” Sheila’s clone answered. “I’d like to ensure the soldiers do not waste any mental space worrying about saving arrows as they battle. There is a big difference between having just one extra zero, as opposed to two.”

“Ahh. Basically, you don’t want to be stingy with their attacks.”

“Precisely.”

“Uh-huh... Makes sense.” I nodded, impressed.

Actually, I could kind of relate. Early on, there was a time when I always had to worry about my mana, which was why increasing my mana capacity had been my priority when training. It was only after Dyphon taught me how to draw mana using Another Dimension that I stopped caring all too much. Having spares in stock really put you at ease.

“Got it. I’ll make a ton of them.”

“You have my gratitude.” Sheila’s clone hummed. “How much would it cost me?”

“Well, if we need to produce a million, I’d like to gather some helping hands first. We can discuss the price after that.”

“Very well.”

Hmm... I’ll need helpers who are good at magic and have some free time on their hands... Maybe the elves?

I started brainstorming ways for the elves to help me craft these magic arrows.

As we were on our way back to the palace, I spotted someone running toward me—it was Reina, the head of the elven maids and one of my executives.

“Master!” she called.

“Ah, perfect timing, Reina. I need the elves—”

“We have an emergency!”

“—huh?” I swallowed my words at the grave expression on Reina’s face. Sheila’s clone beside me looked just as perplexed. “What’s wrong?”

“A new type of monster has come seeking your protection!”

“Really? Where are they?”

“This way!”

With a nod, I hurriedly followed after Reina. Sheila’s clone chased after us just a beat later.

We dashed through the main road from the front of the palace, making a beeline for the entrance on the opposite end of the city. There, we found a crowd of monsters gathered around something from a distance.

“Open the path,” Reina commanded.

The monsters’ gazes were drawn toward us. I heard scattered voices calling out to me in different ways—from “Lord Liam” to “Master” and even “our king”—as the crowd began to part as instructed.

The area was swiftly cleared, revealing a figure draped in a tattered robe and crouched over the ground.

“Are you okay?!”

I jogged the rest of the way, knelt down by the figure, and was immediately baffled by what I saw. It was a grisly old lady... No, that might not be the right word. It was a humanoid monster that looked like an old lady with creepy, twisted features.

I heard Sheila draw in a sharp breath from behind, clearly more startled than me because she wasn’t surrounded by monsters all day like I was. Besides, I’d already heard from Reina that it was a monster looking for me.

“Are you okay?” I asked again.

The monster opened her mouth, only to let out a long, unintelligible groan. Needless to say, I had no idea what she was saying.

Do I have a spell that can translate its speech...?

“It is a banshee,” Reina supplied immediately.

“A banshee? What’s that?”

“They are...somewhat similar to pixies, yet different. While pixies reside in nature, banshees often dwell in human houses.”

“Oh...” I turned my gaze back to the old lady—to the banshee. Her mouth was closed and her gaze set on me. It felt like she was trying to tell me something.

Once again, Reina spoke in her place.

“The humans have begun hunting the banshees.”

.332

“What? Why?!” I exclaimed, subconsciously taking a step closer to Reina.

“W-Well—”

“Stop,” Lardon interjected. “The reason can wait. I doubt this one is the only victim.”

I gasped. “You’re right! Reina, are there any other banshees?”

“Yes, across the Redline...”

“Where?!”

In Reina’s place, the banshee hesitantly raised her hand. Turning her body halfway, she pointed down a path that led to the outskirts.

“Got it!”

I kicked the ground and leaped into the air, taking to the skies with flight magic. I flew along the main road that we’d paved for our trade with Bruno and other humans. In no time at all, I shot right past our national border—the Redline—and entered foreign soil.

Here, I cast Monster Search. This spell wasn’t an original—it had been in the first Ancient Memoria I ever received and was typically used by those who hunted monsters. With it, I detected two clusters. The larger one was behind me, from the magic city and all the monsters living there. The other was a small cluster of just over a dozen monsters. It was a short distance to my front, though a bit off to the side.

“There they are!”

I aligned my flight path toward the smaller cluster, straying off of the main road and veering straight into what looked like a recently ravaged flower field. On the other side was a fairly large lake.

It was there that I finally spotted a group of banshees. They were cornered against the shore, desperately fighting off a mob of armed humans, but clearly they were outnumbered. There were forty to fifty humans, easily three times the number of banshees.

“Stop right there!” I yelled.

The humans and banshees all whipped their heads toward me.

“Don’t waste your breath. Suppress them with force first.”

“Gotcha!” Following Lardon’s instructions, I ramped up my speed.

“Who the—?!”

One of the humans was only halfway through his question when I was already right under his nose, slamming a power missile into his stomach point-blank. The man’s body bent in half as he coughed up blood and went flying across the shore.

The humans watched the guy tumble over the ground, but around half of them had the presence of mind to immediately snap their heads back to me.

“Start with them,” Lardon advised.

You read my mind. I went after these sharper ones first, knocking them all out with power missiles.

At this point, my bouts with Sheila resurfaced in my mind. Moving even faster, I darted from blind spot to blind spot—sometimes circling around behind them, other times crouching down low—as I sent the human assailants flying.

“Spread out! Surround him!” somebody yelled.

Those still standing reacted immediately. They pulled back and started fencing me in from a distance.

By a quick estimate, I’d say there were only a bit over a dozen men left—less than half of what they started with. But as their numbers dwindled, so did their rage boil over and senses sharpen. Weapons in hand, they crept closer to me, their gazes constantly flicking back and forth to one another.

It looks like...

“They’ve repositioned themselves. Now, they can swiftly cover for any fallen allies.”

Yeah, I figured.

They were countering my strategy of aiming for their blind spots, which I’d been doing from the start. Worse yet, among the twenty or so men I’d defeated earlier on, around five or six had come to and were now struggling against their injuries to rejoin the battle.

“Perhaps you should have stuck to your usual style,” Lardon teased.

“Maybe,” I admitted. “I just wanted to give it a shot.”

My recent battles with Sheila made me want to try mimicking her combat style. She specialized in exactly what I was lacking, so I’d been thinking that I could try learning from her to acquire a new form of magic combat.

But where did that land me? Right here—surrounded by enemies who were now slowly regrouping.

“Sounds like a new training agenda.”

“Yeah. I’ll work on it.”

With that, I reassessed my surroundings. Thirty men now surrounded me. They’d replenished their numbers, but they remained just as vigilant. Clearly, they had no intention of letting their guards down again.

“Thirty... No, that’s not enough.”

I chanted an aria; I could hardly unleash enough attacks without any preparation, so I boosted my mana first. Then, I raised my hand, firing off 101 power missiles into the air—more than enough to cover all my sides and take out every single human surrounding me.

They collapsed on the spot, falling backward like shards of a shattered glass cup.

.333

I approached the banshees after defeating all the men, but they all huddled closer together and backed up farther against the shore.

“Don’t worry. I’m not your enemy.”

Unfortunately, it seemed my reassurance had little effect.

“In their eyes, you are just another human. I cannot blame them for their mistrust.”

“Oh, I see... Yeah, neither can I.”

“You mustn’t linger beyond the border for too long. Instead of pleading your case here, you had best just drag them back to the city by force first.”

“Got it.” That idea hadn’t come to me at all. Just like always, it was best to trust Lardon when it came to matters outside my expertise.

I cast a constraint magic spell called Bind. Naturally, they all tried to struggle against it, but to no avail.

I gave them a quick word of reassurance—though it no doubt had little effect—as I lifted them all up with flight magic. Together, we took to the skies and followed the main road back through the Redline, all the way until we reached the city outskirts.

“Master!” Reina called out. She was right there to welcome me back, along with Sheila’s clone and the first banshee I met.

Once we landed, I undid my spell and set the banshees free. The first banshee approached the rest of her kind, whereas Sheila’s clone and Reina rushed over to me—almost like an exchange.

“Welcome back, Master,” Reina greeted.

“Oh my. Did you have a bout, perhaps?” Sheila’s clone asked.

“Yeah. The humans had them cornered, so I took them down and got the banshees out of there.”

“Did you reveal your identity?”

“Huh? Not really... Why?” Was this relevant to the matter somehow?

“Hmm... I suppose it was evident either way, but it helps that you didn’t introduce yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we certainly wouldn’t want them to claim that the Monster King trespassed their territory and laid hands on their people.”

“Oh, right... Lardon said something like that too.” I was starting to get the picture here, but at the same time, a bit of anger welled up in me. “But this all started because they were attacking the banshees!”

“Even so,” Sheila’s clone responded breezily. She looked caught between exasperation and amusement. “Monster hunting is legal; the Monster King trespassing is not. Such are the rules made and set by humans.”

“Really...?”

“These rules are effective for two reasons: power and precedent. By the latter, I refer to traditions and norms.” Sheila’s clone chuckled at my bewildered expression. “There’s no need to think too hard on it.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I did mention power as another reason, yes? You could stand firm and claim that you couldn’t overlook the injustice against the monsters. Whatever comes of it would hardly be a problem for you.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes... Hardly.”

“Hmm...” Then I guess I could just leave it at that. This was outside of my expertise anyway, and I was sure I could take Sheila’s clone—an actual noble—at her word.

“Pardon me, Master...” Reina spoke up. “Might I suggest accepting the banshees as your citizens and turning them into your familiars?”

“Oh... With Familia?”

“Yes. With them as your citizens, your rescue operation would become more justifiable.” Reina cast Sheila’s clone a glance, seeking her opinion.

“A brilliant idea,” Sheila’s clone affirmed.

“Really?” I asked.

“Indeed. It makes a lot of sense. Not to mention, it would serve as a good weapon—not for you, but for this lady who’s tasked with diplomacy.”

“I see. Then let’s do it.” I agreed in a heartbeat. There was no reason to refuse if it would make Reina’s job easier.

Reina bowed, her upper body practically parallel to the ground. “Thank you very much, Master.”

She immediately went to fetch the banshees. After some time back together with their friend—the one who’d fled to our city—the banshees no longer looked afraid.

“I have a proposal,” I told them. “Do you want to become my familiars? It’ll put you under this city’s protection and apparently help Reina out a lot.”

Lardon burst into laughter. “You are truly hopeless at negotiations and persuasion.”

Usually, she just chuckles... Is it that funny?

Before I could ask, though, the banshees responded to my question...but not with words. They just began groaning and keening unintelligibly.

“Er... Is there something wrong with their throats?”

“No. That is simply how banshees speak,” Reina answered.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, right. Come to think of it, many monsters couldn’t speak in human tongues before Familia.” I hadn’t contracted any new races recently, so it completely slipped my mind. “Can they understand me, though?”

“They can.”

“All right.” I turned to the banshees again. “You guys can just nod or shake your heads in response. Will you become my familiars?”

The banshees all nodded without hesitation.

“Great.”

I mustered my mana and cast Familia on the banshees. They accepted the spell without any resistance, their figures slowly morphing. From old ladies in tattered robes, they now looked more like elves—but there was one very noticeable difference.

“Their skin... It’s so dark.”

These newly evolved banshees had pure white hair and dark skin—the complete opposite of the elves. They had evolved into dark elves.

.334

In the palace’s meeting room, Scarlet, Reina, Sheila’s clone, and I were all gathered at the round table. I sat at the chief seat with Scarlet and Reina on either side, while Sheila’s clone was all the way on the other end of the table.

Naturally, we were here for a discussion, but Reina seemed to be bothered by the presence of Sheila’s clone. “Are you sure about this, Master?”

“Yeah. I’d like Sheila’s opinion too.”

Reina and Scarlet were regulars in these meetings, whereas Sheila’s clone was a special guest by my invitation—as per Lardon’s instruction, though only I knew this part. She’d told me that things would proceed much quicker if I said that it was my decision.

Honestly, I didn’t think Scarlet or Reina would have any issues with abiding by Lardon’s advice, but I just did as I was told without putting much more thought into it. I’d never gone wrong listening to what Lardon said.

Reina bowed. “If that is your will, then I shall abide.”

Meanwhile, Scarlet turned to Sheila. “Is this acceptable for you, Princess Sheila?”

“Oh? Whatever do you mean?”

“Unlike me, I believe you are hoping to establish your own state. Would this not pose any problems?”

“Not at all. Besides...” Sheila’s clone smiled brightly. “I am not the real Sheila. Who in their right mind would demand a magical clone to take responsibility for their words and actions?”

Scarlet pulled her lips into a pinched smile. “Impressive.”

Lardon chuckled. “That lass certainly has a way with words.”

“Now, let us formally begin.” Reina cleared her throat. “The dark elves, now named by and contracted to Master, are temporarily staying in the reception hall. Their houses are currently under construction and should be completed by tomorrow.”

“How are they all doing?”

“Physically, they have fully recovered thanks to the Familia contract. But mentally, they are spent. I believe we had best give them a good night’s rest.”

Scarlet hummed. “It sounds like we cannot ask them for more details yet.”

Reina shook her head. “Some of them appear to be energized after their instant recovery, but we’ve determined that they are still mentally and emotionally unstable.”

“Certainly... They could somehow cause harm to Master in that state.”

“Agreed. Hence why I suggested they rest for one night.”

“A good call.”

“Still, the problem remains,” Reina continued. “Master may have saved the dark elves—rather, the banshees near our borders, but many remain in foreign lands. Without a doubt, they are suffering from persecution as we speak. If possible, we should ask for them to be handed over to us.”

“That may prove difficult.”

“What makes you say that, Lady Scarlet?”

“Such a demand may be misconstrued as intent to interfere in their domestic affairs. It matters little that they see the monsters as foes.”

“I would say that the bigger problem is that it would give them a convenient excuse against you,” Sheila’s clone piped in.

Scarlet solemnly nodded. “Princess Sheila speaks the truth. Though they would be splitting hairs, even forced logic would be plenty of ammunition against a nation of monsters like ours.”

“You could also use that to your advantage—incite them to make the first move,” Sheila’s clone suggested.

“We would certainly emerge victorious with Master on our side, but many more banshees may be sacrificed as we battle.”

“A fair point... That play is best avoided if you wish to minimize sacrifices.”

As Sheila’s clone and Scarlet continued exchanging ideas, Reina piped in with a hum. “Lady Scarlet, what do you suggest we do?”

“It should suffice for us to declare that our nation is actively accepting banshees. In other words, it’s a simple announcement of our stance, rather than a direct diplomatic plea.”

“And with that, we can expect the banshees to make their way to us... Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“But is that not too passive? There is a high likelihood that other banshees will continue being persecuted in the meantime.”

“Hmm... Perhaps we could seek the aid of Master’s brother, or even Princess Sheila,” said Scarlet. “If she takes the initiative to gather up the banshees in her territory and relinquish them to us, then we could demand the same of other nations. All the better if we make this turn out favorably for her along the way.”

“Oh, no need for that. I’ve already received much from you,” Sheila’s clone remarked.

“That would certainly send a stronger message.”

Things were slowly starting to take shape. Scarlet and Reina went back and forth, with Sheila’s clone piping in every now and then. I wasn’t really following the entire time, but there was nothing new about that.

Eventually, Sheila’s clone turned to me. “You haven’t spoken for a while now... Is this all fine with you?”

“Of course,” I answered in a heartbeat. This was her first time participating in one of these meetings, so she had no idea that this was how things always went down. I hardly participated. “Magic is my forte. Everything else, I leave to them. It’s not my place to butt in.”

Sheila’s clone hummed. “So you’re that type of ruler, I see.”

“Huh? What type?”

“Reigning without governing... It is what rulers of old have always aspired to.”

“Okay...?”

It sounded like she was complimenting me, but I really couldn’t figure out why. All I could do was stare at her in confusion.

.335

“Master.”

Once I finished talking with Sheila’s clone, Reina called out to me. I turned to her and found Scarlet looking at me too.

“Hmm? What’s up?” I asked her.

Scarlet said, “We seek your approval to station some giants and wolfmen along our borders, as we foresee that more banshees are likely to come to us in the near future.”

“That goes without saying. It’s all up to you.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Additionally, Master...” Reina piped in. “Would you like to set some parameters? For example, will they be permitted to cross the border? And how far can they interfere?”

I gave it some thought. “I’d like them to save any banshees they can see.”

If I were one of the giants and wolfmen to be stationed at the border, the worst thing I could imagine was watching powerlessly as the fleeing banshees were slaughtered just a stone’s throw from our border. The banshees off at who-knows-where were one thing, but those right at our doorstep? We definitely had to save them to the best of our abilities.

“They can save the banshees as long as they’re within sight, borders be damned. They can fight the humans too, if that’s what it takes.”

My final decision marked the end of the meeting. Scarlet went to announce our new policy, while Reina left to pass the orders to Gai and Chris.

Left alone in the meeting room, I was racking my brain for any way that magic could help us with this whole banshee conundrum.

“I got nothing...”

“Oh? What are you up to?” Lardon asked, speaking freely now that we were all alone.

“I’m trying to see if magic can somehow help us out here, but I have no idea where to even begin.”

“Hmm... It appears you can think of a handful of magical means to address immediate issues, but the problem itself is outside your field of expertise.”

“Exactly... Gotta hand it to you, Lardon. You always pinpoint the issue so quickly.”

“Well, there is no need to think on it too deeply. In fact, it may be better that you remain as you are...” Lardon chuckled darkly.

“What does that mean? And what’s with that laugh...?”

Lardon sighed. “Oh, I was just thinking. Had someone else... For example, that Sheila lass. Had she been here, she would have called me self-indulgent for advising you this way.”

“What...?”

“A preventive approach is safer than a reactive one. However, I am advising you to take the latter, for you are quite able to solve most things with your magic, and dealing with matters spontaneously trains your quick thinking. It does mean acting only after the damage has been incurred...but it makes you an amusing watch.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant by ‘self-indulgent’...”

Lardon chuckled again. “Precisely.”

It did sound like she was recommending a reactive approach despite knowing the risks only to humor herself. That being said, she wasn’t going to see me argue about it. It was just as Lardon said—preventive measures weren’t my forte at all. I was better off improving my reactive measures instead.

Just as we were wrapping up our discussion, I heard a quiet knock from the door.

“Who is it?” I called.

“Excuse me, Master.” An elven maid entered the room, put her hands together, and bowed. “You have a visitor. Er... Ms. Grace, I believe? She wishes to meet you.”

I drew a blank for a second, as this was my first time hearing that name from others, but I quickly remembered who she was talking about. “Grace” was the name I’d given the first banshee—now dark elf—who had come running into our city.

“Grace? Is she feeling better already?”

“She said that she wishes to express her gratitude.”

“All right. Let her through.”

The elven maid bowed once more before leaving the room. Grace then entered, standing where the maid had been just earlier.

From a banshee in a tattered robe, she’d now become a dark elf in a black dress. It was the type of formalwear I’d seen on the noblewomen who came to our city for Bruno’s business. On a dark elf like Grace, though, the dress made her look more like a witch than a noblewoman.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked her.

“Yes,” she answered. “Thank you for helping us.”

“It’s all good. How’re the clothes?”

“Huh? O-Oh...” A little puzzled, Grace looked between me and her own outfit. “I was taken to a place with lots of clothes and told to pick anything... But I wasn’t sure what would suffice, so I just chose a monochrome dress... Was it a bad choice?”

“Hmm? Not really. You can pick out something else next time. Or not. Whatever floats your boat. If nothing catches your eye, we can even ask Bruno for other designs.”

“R-Really?”

“Sure. As long as you’re in this country, you’re just like the rest of the monsters. You guys can do everything as everyone else does.”

Surprise was evident on Grace’s expression. Her wide eyes darted over my face, like she was probing me for some hidden intentions. “Er... Shall we do something in exchange...?”

“Huh?”

“Well, humans... They...” Grace fidgeted awkwardly as she struggled to find the words. “They usually...ask for something in return.”

I cocked my head in confusion. Lardon, however, seemed to understand what Grace was getting at—I heard her laugh in my head.

“Do you get what she means, Lardon?” I asked out loud, ignoring how Grace was startled as I waited for Lardon’s response.

“Do you recall that banshees dwell in human houses?” she asked, a pleasant tone to her voice. “They must have spent much time observing humans. And many humans offer their help in exchange for a woman’s body.”

“Oh...” I blinked. Well, that explained it... Still, I had no such intentions. “You don’t need to pay me back or anything.”

Grace looked more shocked than ever.

.336

The next day, I stood at the city gates with Gai, Chris, and the banshees they’d just rescued. They looked just like Grace’s group had yesterday, covered from head to toe in tattered robes.

Beneath the robes, though... “Looks like they’re uninjured.”

“We swiftly jumped to their rescue from their pursuers,” Gai explained, his chest puffed out proudly.

“Get a load of this meathead, talking like he did all the work,” Chris jabbed. “Did you forget that it was a close call? Where’s our thank-you, huh?”

I turned to her in surprise. “It was a close call?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Even with you and Gai there? Their pursuers must’ve been terribly strong...”

I found it a little hard to believe. Gai and Chris were two of our country’s executives and our top fighters. When it came to combat, nobody else even came close. How could they have had such a close call?

“Oh, Master, you’ve got it all wrong. The meathead was so slow that he nearly didn’t make it in time to save them. That’s all.”

“Ah...” Well, that made more sense.

“M-Master, you see...” Gai anxiously spoke up. “I merely hesitated for a moment! Because we rarely cross the border!”

“Oh yeah? Well, you must’ve been ‘hesitating’ every step of the way, then, huh?”

“Grrr...!”

Well, this is new. Gai was hardly fighting back against Chris. Normally, by now he’d be biting back with whatever comeback he could muster—whatever it took to get in the last say. But this time, it seemed he was too ashamed of his—

“I am different from you, boar woman!”

Whoops. Spoke too soon. Gai snapped back at Chris just in time. The fight hadn’t left his eyes just yet.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Chris drawled.

“Does your memory fail you already? The humans went running the moment I entered the fray.”

“Urk... Th-That’s...”

This time, it was Chris on the back foot. She gritted her teeth in frustration.

“What do you mean?” I asked Gai.

“It appears my infamy among human society grows evermore,” Gai answered. “The ruffians engaged in battle with the boar woman...yet fled the moment they saw my countenance.”

I turned to Chris. “Is that true?”

She couldn’t raise any objections. All she could do was bitterly grit her teeth. “Those guys just happened to know him. I’m an SSS-rank bounty too, I’ll have you know!”

“Oh? Then tell me, boar woman... Have you ever made humans flee in fear at the mere sight of your face?”

“S-Sure have. Just sometimes...but it happens!”

Gai was playing into his strengths. Now Chris was the one struggling for a counterargument.

Honestly, I could watch these two bicker all day...

At the same time, my mind wandered back to that “SSS-rank bounty” that Chris had mentioned. Apparently, both their bounties had gone up leaps and bounds since the last time I’d heard about it.

“They must have given the last war their all,” Lardon remarked. “No doubt they are now seen as the Monster King’s loyal subjects, willing to go to the ends of the earth to fulfill his orders.”

“Oh... And that raises their bounty?”

“Certainly.”

Shrugging it off, I then turned to the banshees and did a head count. Gai and Chris had managed to save twenty banshees—just a bit more than yesterday’s group.

“E-Excuse me...” called a new voice.

I turned and found Grace the dark elf approaching us from the city. She was wearing the same black dress as yesterday, with beads of sweat dotting her forehead. She must have come running.

“I was notified of their arrival, but I still don’t know my way around the city...”

“Well, it’s only been a day. You could’ve just told me via the Liamnet.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry... I didn’t think of that...”

“Ahh.” Of course. They did just get here. I’d made sure that they knew how to access the Liamnet, but getting used to it and learning to rely on it was another matter entirely. That’d take some time. “Well, don’t sweat it.”

“O-Okay.” Grace looked significantly less tense now.

With that, I turned back toward our new batch of banshees. “Here are our new refugees. Could you brief them on how things work around here, and also about Familia? It should be fine since they made the trip themselves, though.”

“All right.”

Grace started talking with the banshees. Faced with the dark elf, their first reaction was wariness, but once she started explaining Familia, their mood shifted to disbelief and hesitation.

Among them, a particularly curious banshee volunteered to become my familiar first. The sight of her evolving into a dark elf cleared away all their suspicions, and the rest of the group then willingly followed.

In the meantime, the other dark elves gathered around and watched their fellow former banshees. Soon, we had a grand total of nearly thirty dark elves in our midst. They crowded together and chatted leisurely, relieved at having found their brethren after being subjected to persecution.

“Um...” Grace broke from the group and approached me. “Thank you...very much.”

“Like I said, don’t sweat it.”

“Is there really nothing we can do for you in return...?”

.337

I folded my arms and hummed. I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head, but I refrained from telling her that right away. This was Grace’s second time asking now—she must have really wanted to repay me. It might be best to just have her do something after all.

“First, ask her what she is good at,” Lardon advised.

“Oh, you’re right!”

Grace blinked. “Huh?”

“Ah, don’t mind me. Let me ask you first: What can you do? What are you good at?”

Grace fell silent in thought. A while later, her brows furrowed as she apologetically hung her head. “I’m...not sure. We look completely different now... Nothing is the same.”

“Oh... Of course.”

“I’ll come up with something—”

“No,” I cut in. “Let me.”

“Y-You? No, I couldn’t trouble you—”

Suddenly, a new voice cut into our conversation. “I advise you to leave it all to Master.”

Grace whipped her head around. “Huh? Y-You’re...”

Following her gaze, I found Reina the elf standing elegantly in her maid uniform, a soft smile on her lips. When did she get here...?

“You are new here, so I understand that you are still unfamiliar with our ways. However, you must know that our master isn’t so easily offended.”

“But—”

“Right now,” Reina continued, “Master is thinking of a way to assess your talents. Our job is to wait patiently and lend him our aid as needed.”

“R-Really...?”

Reina nodded firmly. “Yes.”

“Thanks, Reina,” I said. “You explained it a lot more simply than I ever could.”

“I am glad to have been of help.”

I turned back to Grace. “Well, you heard her. Just give me a sec. I feel like I’ve had this thought just recently... Oh!” I suddenly snapped my fingers, making Grace flinch. “I know! I should make a newcomer version of that thing!”

Reina and Grace looked at me in confusion. “‘That thing’...?”

All I gave them in response was a wide and cheeky grin.

Leaving our new batch of dark elves to Reina, I took Grace with me to the other side of the city. Many monsters—like Sli and Lime, for example—approached me along the way, greeting me and making small talk.

The sight seemed to leave Grace stunned. I guess she hadn’t been able to take her time strolling through the streets just yet.

“Aren’t you...”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you...the king?”

“Well, yeah. Pretty much.”

“But they’re all approaching you so casually...”

“Because I always do the same to them.” I laughed. “Not very kingly of me, huh? I get that a lot.”

Grace’s expression turned a tad pinched. A king admitting he wasn’t very kingly—how was she supposed to respond to that?

Soon, we made it all the way to the other side of town. This side of the city was filled with bungalows and had recently been developing into a sort of “human district.” In this district’s open plaza was a bronze statue of me.

A man was standing in front of that statue. I could recognize him instantly, even from the back. When I called out his name, the man—Alucard—turned around and performed a prim bow, almost like a noble.

“Were you testing your strength?” I asked.

“Yes. I took the chance before duty calls once more.”

“How’d it go?”

“My combat ability is 1,023.”

“Huh... How good is that again?”

“It just barely ranks me at fifth. Needless to say, I am nowhere near Gai and Chris.”

“Hey, don’t let it get to you. It’s natural they keep surpassing their limits the way they do, with how much they try to one-up each other in these rankings.”

“Of course...” Alucard’s gaze strayed behind me. “Oh? And who might this be?”

“Ah, this is Grace—a dark elf. She’s new to town.”

“I see. Will you be needing this, then?”

I shook my head. “Nope. We won’t be using it.”

Alucard had been measuring his power right here using this bronze statue of me, which I’d recently made with the indestructible material born from Lardon and Dyphon’s clash. As per everyone’s request, I ended up making it in the form of this bronze statue of me propping my hands on my waist and puffing out my chest.

When I asked them why they wanted this specific pose, they answered, “Beholding your grand and imposing figure drives us to muster our strength and live up to your expectations.” There had been much debate before they reached this conclusion. Honestly, I wasn’t so sure what the best choice was... But the final decision had been unanimous, so I figured I’d just do as they all wished.

Since then, the monsters had been unleashing their full strength on this bronze statue of me to gauge their power.

.338

“You won’t be using this?” Alucard asked again.

“Nope. I’m gonna make something new.” I smiled as Alucard looked at me with a mix of confusion and intrigue. “You see, this thing isn’t exactly what I need. It measures power, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, this time, I need to gauge skill.”

“Ah, I see... To use on the newcomers?”

“You got it.” I nodded. “If only I could figure out how to make it work... I’d like it to analyze someone’s strong points when touched, but there are just way too many skills and talents out there... I thought coming here might give me a flash of inspiration, but no dice.”

Alucard hummed. “May I share my thoughts?”

“Huh? Oh, of course. I’m all ears.”

“As you said, it may be difficult to analyze and display someone’s strengths. However, what of temporarily boosting their best talent?”

I gasped. “That’s genius!”

His suggestion was so good that it almost felt like a revelation. What I had in mind for this spell or device was for monsters to touch my bronze statue and get feedback in return. For example, my three executives would get “muscles,” “speed,” and “internal affairs” as their results.

But humans and monsters possessed more talents and skills than I could ever hope to know. How could I make a spell that analyzed something of which I had no knowledge?

Alucard’s suggestion was so much simpler to execute. After all, humans and monsters alike were greatly sensitive to their own body’s changes. A spell like this would probably make Gai’s body brim with power, or for Chris to feel like she could run forever. Basically, the spell would amplify the target’s greatest strength to bring it to their attention.

“I think I can manage this... You’re a lifesaver, Alucard.”

“I’m honored to have been of help.”

I turned to the dark elf, who’d been silent all this time. “Grace, could you wait a bit?”

“Huh?” She blinked, then nodded. “Oh, of course.”

I directed my consciousness inward as I formulated a spell to boost the “best thing” about the target. That’d be mana, in my case... But this had to work for anyone, regardless of their strong point. That was vital to the spell—I had to make sure to get it right.

“Alucard, Grace, step back a bit.”

“Understood.”

“S-Sure.”

Though their responses were as different as they could get—Alucard’s being immediate, and Grace’s hesitant—they both did as I’d asked.

Now, the first step was to cast magic on myself.

“Mana Break.”

This spell decreased the target’s mana and magic success rate. It was usually used on one’s opponents to give yourself an edge in battle, but I cast it on myself this time.

My mana levels rapidly dropped. It was a temporary effect, but this would do for now. The point was to learn how it felt for mana to not be my strong point. This would help solidify my image to craft the spell—the same thing I did back when I nearly died to make a spell for Sheila.

Now that I knew how it felt for mana to be my strong point and not, I undid the spell and returned my body’s mana levels to normal.

I clenched my fists to get my head in the game. “All right... Let’s do this.”

With an aria, I amplified my mana and mustered it all to multicast this new spell. Learning a spell and making a new one were both essentially about repetition. I went through hundreds of failures and revisions in one fell swoop.

In no time at all, the new spell was ready.

“Strong Point!”

.339

Grace looked down at her hands in shock. They were glowing, just like the rest of her body. “Th-This is...”

“Can you feel one of your abilities being boosted?” I asked.

“Y-Yeah... I can. Very clearly too.”

Alucard looked at Grace curiously. “Is it that obvious?”

“It should feel something like this.”

To answer Alucard’s question, I took out some molding clay from my item box—the type that’s baked to make pottery. This had been sitting in my item box since the early days of my magic-learning journey, back when I did all sorts of stuff with Gnomes and Salamanders.

I held up the ball of clay for Alucard to see. It wasn’t a perfect sphere—there were some bumps and dents here and there. I pointed at one protruding spot.

“Think of this part as a talent. It sticks out from the rest, but not too obviously.”

I pinched the protruding spot and rolled it between my fingers. Now, there was a noticeable spot on the warped ball of clay where a pointy tip was surrounded by a slightly sunken surface.

“And this is what the spell does. So, yeah. It should be pretty obvious.”

Alucard nodded. “I see now... That’s quite the effect.”

I turned back to Grace. “Now then, you should have a pretty good idea of your talent now, right?”

“Y-Yeah. I think it’s...magic.”

“Nice.” I smiled. It sounded like I could offer her lots of help, then.

“Oh... The light’s fading...”

“This spell forcefully drags out your latent ability. Keep it up for too long, and it’ll essentially poison your body.”

“Oh...”

“Let’s see...” I took a ring out of my item box and handed it to Grace. “Here you go.”

She accepted it by cupping her hands together, then looked at it in confusion. “What’s this?”

“It’s called an Ancient Memoria. Try using it to learn a spell. We can decide the next step from there.”

“All right... Thank you.” Grace bowed, then left.

We went from Grace saying she wanted to repay me for my help, to finding and fostering her talent, and now finally handing her my Ancient Memoria to learn some magic.

“Now, what else is there to do...? Should I turn Strong Point into a magic tool too? Nah, that sounds pointless... Each person only needs to use it once.”

“I concur,” said Alucard. “Unlike this apparatus, with which we regularly check our progress, a spell for determining one’s talent only needs to be used once. It should suffice for just a few of us to learn this spell—I believe the three executives would be good candidates. They can simply use it when a promising talent appears.”

Since this was my area of expertise, I immediately understood Alucard’s explanation. “You’re right. Sounds good.”

“Will this solution suffice?”

“It’s not like this spell uses the caster’s mana to boost the target’s talent. It just allows the target to tap into a bit of their latent power. Even someone with weak mana like Amelia could use this spell to determine that my talent is magic...though she’s a bit of an extreme example,” I added. Who knew if Amelia could even cast the spell... Well, it was just an example, so there was no need to complicate it.

“Hmm... What would happen if you cast it on yourself?” Lardon suddenly asked.

“Me?” But what was the point? My talent was already clear as day.

“Are you not simply assuming? Who’s to say that magic is not merely your second-best talent?”

“Oh...”

“What is Lord Lardon saying?” Alucard asked. Our sudden conversation hadn’t startled him, but it seemed to pique his curiosity.

“She’s wondering what’ll happen if I cast this spell on myself,” I replied. “Apparently, it’s possible that magic has been my second-best talent all along, leaving my actual best talent undiscovered.”

“Aha. A blind spot, I see.”

I smiled awkwardly. “I guess I can’t deny the possibility.”

I’d been so fixated on magic because it had been my dream since before becoming Liam, so now that I had the chance, I wanted to learn as much of it as I could. I certainly had the talent for it—but that didn’t discount the possibility that I had even better talent elsewhere. Who knew? There might be something else that I was actually more talented in.

“Might as well give it a try,” I decided.

Alucard quietly took a few steps back to give me some space.

I held out my hand, cast Strong Point on myself, and then—

“Urgh! O-Oh no...!”

“Master?!”

“Get back, Alucard!”

Mana swelled exponentially within me the moment I’d cast the spell. I whipped around and unleashed it all on the bronze statue. Any later, and this torrent of power would’ve shredded me from the inside.

“Ah...”

“G-Goodness me...”

Expelled from my body, this massive power instead blasted my bronze statue—a statue made of the indestructible material born from Lardon and Dyphon’s clash—into nothingness.

.340

The next afternoon, I found myself in the palace’s front yard evolving a new batch of five banshee refugees into dark elves. They were stunned by their transformation but calmed down when other dark elves nearby approached them for a talk.

Among them, Grace—our very first dark elf—walked over to me. “I... I don’t know how to thank you again...”

“Don’t worry about it. This is just the same as always. More importantly, how’s life in the city coming along?”

Grace blinked widely. “Huh?”

“It’s been a few days since you moved in—just about enough time for you to notice any issues with life here for you,” I explained. “Most of our residents spend their first day or two still feeling like guests. But by the third or fourth, they usually notice a few things that they were too restless to think of before. Well, many of our residents are humanoid like you, so there shouldn’t be much issue... Still, let me know if anything comes to mind.”

Grace slowly nodded. “O-Okay.”

Besides helping the dark elves settle in, I was also thinking of designating a leader for them soon—until Lardon stopped me, saying it was best to wait until the influx of dark elves settled down first. Since she insisted, I knew that it was in my best interest to heed her advice.

Basically, at this point, I had nothing to ask of Grace.

“Oh, right,” Grace suddenly said. “I learned a spell.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Look.” Grace swept her gaze around, looking for a place to fire her spell.

Ah, right. I handed her an Ancient Memoria for Magic Missile. “Fire it at me.”

“What? But—”

“Magic Missile, right? Don’t worry. I’m the safest target you could possibly shoot.”

“O-Oh... All right.” After a brief moment of hesitation, Grace did as she was told. She took a few steps away before spinning back around to face me.

The nearby dark elves must have heard us. They dropped their conversation and eagerly watched us both, bringing an instant of silent tension to the yard.

Grace slowly pointed at me with her left hand. “Magic Missile!”

An arrow of light shot from her hand and flew toward me, drawing a loose curve in the air. Before it could hit its mark, I drew in a breath then exhaled sharply—unleashing a burst of mana that dispersed the magical arrow.

The dark elves’ murmurs of awe and some scattered applause reached my ears. For some reason, Grace looked just as stunned as the elves sounded.

“Incredible, Grace,” I told her.

“Huh? M-Me?”

“I can totally feel your talent. Your chant was clear, and your mana was pieced together perfectly. Not many can cast magic the way you do.”

“R-Really...?” Grace looked a little bashful. Her flush was evident even against her dark skin.

“Yeah, really. How do I explain this... Ah, I’ve got just the thing!” I snapped my fingers. “It’s like cooking without wasting any ingredients. When children cook for the first time, they’re often very clumsy and wasteful, right? But they get better and more efficient as they practice.”

“Oh... S-Sorry, I’ve never cooked before...”

“Ah... I guess not. Hmm, what’s another good analogy...?”

“It’s fine, no need! I get that you’re complimenting me... Thank you.”

“You sure?”

“Y-Yeah.” Grace nodded, still a little flushed.

She didn’t actually get my analogy, though... Ah, but come to think of it, I didn’t always understand people’s explanations and analogies either. As long as she understood that she was good at magic, I guess.

“By the way, how’re the rest of the dark elves? Are they also talented at magic?”

“Huh? Oh... I’m not too sure about the new ones today, but we’ve already checked everyone else—and yes, they’re also good at magic. A few have already learned Magic Missile.”

“Really? Wow... Talent really helps you learn faster, huh?”

Though they hadn’t checked the newest batch yet, my intuition told me that it was safe to assume that they all had the same specialty. In which case...

We should foster that talent as best as we can!

I dug through my earliest magic-learning memories for any tips and tricks that might be helpful for them.

“Why not incorporate this into your other plan?” Lardon suggested.

I cocked my head. “What other plan?”

“Oh? Have you forgotten already? Weren’t you supposed to make a million arrows?”

“Oh, that? I haven’t forgotten. What’s that got to do with this, though?”

Lardon chuckled. “So, the idea hasn’t come to you... You must have been planning to do everything yourself. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Er...”

“I am suggesting you have the dark elves produce the arrows for you.”

.341

“Ooh...” I snapped my fingers.

“You really hadn’t thought of it...” Lardon’s exasperation was evident in her voice.

“Because it’s a job that I accepted. There are a lot to make too.”

“And that is why you were planning to do it by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

Lardon chuckled. “I see, I see.”

Before I could ask what was so funny, I felt her presence withdraw further within me. She didn’t plan on continuing this conversation.

“Um...”

“Huh? Oh.” I turned my attention back to Grace. “Sorry ’bout that. I didn’t mean to ignore you... I might have a job for you sometime soon, actually.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. Until then, I want you to get used to life here and make sure you’re ready to work soon.”

“Got it!”

Grace broke out into a bright smile. She looked elated to finally have the chance to repay me. It seemed Lardon was right after all—I’d best assign this job to Grace and the dark elves.

I left the dark elves to Grace and told her to call me if more banshees came. After returning to my room in the palace, I took out a blue ant bead from my item box and stared at it intently.

“How do you plan to use that?”

“I don’t, actually. But it can serve as a reference. I’m trying to come up with a way to store magic, just like how this stores heat...” Come to think of it, there was something I’d been wanting to ask Lardon. “Do you know any material that can do that?”

“Unfortunately, no,” she answered. “A blue ant’s nest is already a rather miraculous creation, to be able to store heat—in other words, pure energy—inside it.”

“I guess so...”

“Magic is far more complex than just pure energy. Yet you wish to make something that not simply emits mana upon touch, but casts a spell on demand? And it must be simple enough for the dark elves to craft?” Lardon chuckled. “Greedy, are we?”

“I wouldn’t call it greedy...” I cocked my head. “Think about it. Sheila ordered a million of these arrows. Shouldn’t we make the crafting process as simple as possible?”

“Fair point. Any ideas, then?”

“Seven, actually, if we’re just talking methods.”

“Oh? I should’ve expected no less of you.”

“But the problem is figuring out which is the simplest.”

“There are two types of simplicity,” Lardon began. “For example, if you were told to sing a song that would move people’s hearts, what would you do?”

“Huh? Um... That’s impossible for me.”

“What of that lass, Amelia?”

“Amelia? Of course she could do it.”

“And there you have it. Some matters are simple for all, whereas some are simple with the right people.”

“Oh, I get it. Well, my choice is obvious—I need the former.”

Our task at hand was to mass-produce a million magical arrows. Naturally, I needed a crafting method that anybody could use.

A spell that will store offensive magic like Magic Missile...

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

“Well, come to think of it...”

I slowly rose to my feet and took a look around my room. It was minimally furnished, with no more than the bare necessities like a table and a couch, because I spent a lot of my time in here just thinking about magic and testing my spells.

I stood at the center of the empty space and raised my hand. “Ice Needle!”

An icicle—only as thick as a finger and as long as a leg—stabbed into the floor.

“What is that for?”

“Well, it just came to me... Some spells can create tangible objects, right?”

“Certainly. Just like that icicle.”

“Well, I was actually considering two methods. One was to materialize the spell Magic Missile itself...but now I realize it might be better to just make a magic tool for it.”

“Aha, I see. A blind spot, but not so unconventional. However...would that be simple to make?”

“No idea.”

“Oh?” Had Lardon been standing in front of me, I could imagine her raising an eyebrow.

“I just came up with the idea, so I won’t know till I try.”

After a pause, Lardon chuckled. “I suppose not.”

“Time to give it a go.” I chanted an aria to amplify my mana. Working from the spell of Magic Missile, I visualized a new spell—one that would make a magic tool for Magic Missile. “Magic Seed... Hmm?”

“What’s the matter now?”

“I... I did it. That was surprisingly easy.”

It was anticlimactic, even. The moment I chanted the spell, a palm-sized ball manifested in my hand. It was just the perfect shape and size for throwing, exactly as I’d visualized it.

I threw it into the air, where it transformed into a magic missile and flew off.

The spell’s complete. Now all I need to do is...

“Magic Seed!”

By night of the next day, just half a day after I’d introduced this new spell to Grace, she managed to make the exact same thing—a ball containing Magic Missile.

As it turned out, this spell was as easy for Grace to use as it was for me.

.342

Another day passed. In the early afternoon, I stood in the palace’s front yard with Sheila’s clone. Around twenty elven maids were lined up a short distance away, each with a cart carrying around ten Magic Missile balls each.

“Can we start?” I asked Sheila’s clone.

“Go right ahead,” she said.

After receiving my signal, the elven maids each took a Magic Missile ball from their cart and tossed them forward as thoughtlessly as they would a pebble—exactly as I’d instructed. Between the lackluster launch and the parabolic trajectories, it was hard to say if they would even reach ten meters.

However, at the peak of their course, the balls flashed brightly and transformed into magical arrows, flying straight ahead almost as if they’d been shot from a master archer’s bow.

Twenty arrows flew through the air. Before they even landed, the elven maids threw a new batch of Magic Missile balls, repeating the process and creating a new wave of arrows.

Once all the balls were spent, the maids turned to me.

I nodded. “That’ll do. Great work, everyone.”

The elven maids beamed at my praise.

Meanwhile, I redirected my gaze to Sheila’s clone. “Well? How does it look?”

She blinked silently for a while. “Goodness... This goes beyond my expectations.”

“Really?”

“Of course. The magical arrow alone is astounding, but the speed at which it can be rapidly fired took my breath away. By my estimate, this could replace ordinary bows and arrows, while showcasing three times their speed—and that’s by a conservative estimate.”

“That much, huh?”

“Compared to taking an arrow from the quiver, nocking it onto the bow, and pulling the string back... Yes, throwing this magical arrow takes much less time.”

“Oh, that’s true... It’s way more efficient, isn’t it?”

“Moreover, with an ordinary bow and arrow, the archer gradually loses the strength to pull their string. The string itself wears down as well. Much sooner if used to shoot in rapid succession.”

Sheila’s clone looked increasingly fascinated. The two hundred magical arrows fired off by the elven maids had reduced a large boulder—the one we set up—to smithereens. Its power alone was impressive, but she seemed far more enamored by its capacity for rapid firing. Not quite the reaction I had in mind, but overall it sounded like she was greatly pleased.

“Whatever the case, this means it’s all good, right?”

“Yes. I have no complaints whatsoever.”

“Nice. We’ll go ahead and mass-produce these.”

What I didn’t tell her was that I was planning to make the first few thousand for her myself. The dark elves were still busy settling into the city, after all.

“Hmm... May I have a word?”

“Huh? Is something wrong? You look serious all of a sudden.”

“Truth be told, I have a request. Allow me to be frank.”

“Uh, sure... What is it?”

Sheila’s clone—well, Sheila was the last woman in the world I’d ever expect to beat around the bush, yet she went out of her way to warn me for this. What could this possibly be about?

“I’d like you to sell these balls—no, these weapons exclusively to me, at least for the meantime.”

“Exclusively to you? Well, sure... But why?”

Sheila’s clone looked at me in shock.

“Huh? Did I say something strange?”

“My, my... You really have no clue?”

“Er... Am I supposed to know? Is it that obvious?”

“Yes, well...” Sheila’s clone slowly nodded.

What could it be? She said it should be obvious, but I really had no idea.

Lardon chuckled. “Forget it. This is impossible for you.”

“Is it now?”

“Indeed. Besides...” I could hear a playful smirk in Lardon’s voice. “As I always say, you are fine as you are.”

I cocked my head, more lost than ever before. I could tell that Lardon was in a bit of a mischievous mood, but the way she said that only confused me even more.

On the other hand, Sheila’s clone was a lot more straightforward. She answered me very clearly.

“This is an incredible weapon. Imagine—so powerful, so easy to wield, and available only to you. Quite the huge advantage, no? In a conflict, if both sides possessed it, the damage would be catastrophic.”

“Ohh. That’s why you want me to sell it only to you.” All right, I get it now.

Sheila’s clone nodded. “Please, I implore you. If you would allow me exclusive purchasing rights...I am willing to do anything.”

She had a frighteningly serious look in her eyes as she firmly met my gaze.

Sheila’s Dream

“World domination.”

Thus did the girl proudly declare in this spacious, lavishly furnished room.

It was a most absurd phrase to hear from the mouth of a child who had just turned six, but the middle-aged man with her did not seem the least bit perturbed—no matter if the question at hand was “What is your dream for the future?”

Where any decent adult would be troubled by the girl’s response, the man simply looked at her with a wide and smitten smile as he replied, “I see, I see!”

The man, clad in garments far more luxurious than the girl’s own dress, showed absolutely no intention of scolding the girl. Nor did any of the maids in the room with them—naturally, as they were far lower in status.

Though his expression now was loose and indulgent, the man’s features were typically a bit sharper and sterner—much like that of the girl he was speaking with. This resemblance was enough to prove that they were indeed father and daughter.

Still smiling kindly, the man bent down to the girl’s eye level and gently patted her on her head. “You’re such a clever girl, Sheila.”

“Father, I hadn’t meant that as a joke,” said the girl, Sheila. Her eyes were clear and sharp, unlike her father’s in this moment. “Someday, I shall rule the world.”

“Mm-hmm. I can’t wait to see it. Ah, but when will that be? Could you do it before I become a grandpa?”

Sheila’s father was entirely convinced that his daughter was joking. And who could blame him for it? Without a doubt, this was the proper response upon hearing such a declaration from a six-year-old. He might have had to admonish her if she insisted on something more realistic—perhaps, that she wished to murder someone—but world domination was far too preposterous a notion to ever take seriously.

“That would depend on you, father.”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“If you willingly submit to me, then I shall treat you cordially.”

“Huh?” Sheila’s father blinked widely for a moment before throwing his head back and bursting into laughter. “Aha ha ha ha ha! Of course, of course! I’d be an obstacle in your quest for world domination, wouldn’t I?”

“Naturally.”

“I see... Then, when that time comes, I will submit to you and watch pliantly from the sidelines as you take over the world.”

“That would be in your best interest.”

“Pinky promise?”

The girl glared at the man’s pinky. “Very well,” she eventually conceded, offering her right pinky in return.

The contents of their conversation aside, this sight alone—of a father and daughter linking pinkies for a promise—painted a most wholesome picture.

“Your Majesty, it is time,” said a maid.

“All right.” The man withdrew his pinky and rose to his feet. With one last gentle look at his daughter, he told her, “I’ll drop by again.”

Sheila nodded. “Okay.”

Her father exited with his maids, soon leaving Sheila alone in the room.

“I will do it... I swear it.”

The girl’s quiet, resolute words were heard by none but herself.

There were three things of note regarding this scene.

First, Sheila was being dead serious. Her dream for the future was genuinely—without exaggeration nor jest—world domination.

Second, despite her firm resolve in her childhood days, the girl was gradually crushed under the weight of reality as she grew older. In time, she settled for simply establishing her own household—a dream far more befitting of her station in life.

And third, this girl would soon meet someone who wouldn’t simply brush off her dream...while also possessing the power to potentially achieve it.

What would this meeting bring about? And how would it influence her long lost childhood dream?

Alas, the answers to these questions remained to be seen.

Afterword

Light novels are written by humans to depict human lives.

Hello, everyone! It’s nice to meet you, or maybe it’s “long time no see” for some? I’m Nazuna Miki, a Taiwanese light novel author. I sincerely thank you for picking up a copy of I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic Volume 9.

We were able to publish the ninth volume thanks to your support. Now, we’re only one book away from having a two-digit number of volumes. I couldn’t have gotten here without you all. I truly cannot thank you enough.

The anime, too, is a product of everyone’s support. Have you already watched it? At the time of writing, I myself have yet to see the completed work. But from the staff’s enthusiasm and hard work, I can guarantee you that it will be a wonderful adaptation. It’s got to be at least five times more enjoyable than the original work, and that’s putting it lightly. Props to all the amazing staff and workers involved. If you haven’t watched the anime yet, then please give it a try!

Lastly, my words of thanks:

To Kabotya the illustrator, thank you as always!

To my editor and TO Books, thank you for publishing the ninth volume. Thank you, thank you!

And to everyone who picked up this book, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I now set my pen down while praying that this volume will sell well so I can bring you the next one too—and finally reach a two-digit number of volumes for the first time in my life!

Sincerely,

Nazuna, August 2024