Chapter 66

"Ah—"

Stretching a huge yawn, I get up from the bed.

I am Lloyde Di Salam, the seventh prince of this country.

In my previous life, I was a poor magician who loved magic, but now that I have been reincarnated, I am fully utilizing my position to conduct as much magical research as I want.

"Good morning, you slept well, didn't you, Master Lloyde?"

My palm opens wide.

This is a demon, Grimoire. I call it Grimo.

After various events, it became my familiar and now resides in my palm.

"Damn, even though I try to take over the body whenever I get the chance, whether you're sleeping or not, there's no way to exploit the abnormally high density of its magical power. The strong magical barrier it always wraps itself in is like armor. But I will definitely make that body mine someday. Hehehehe."

It's muttering something and laughing, but it's too small to hear clearly.

While it knows many things and is useful as a demon, its occasional crude laughter is a bit of a sore point.

As I get up from the bed and start to change, I hear a knock on the door.

"Come in."

When I invite them in, a maid in a maid's uniform quietly opens the door and enters.

A girl with purple hair and eyes and brown skin looks at me intently.

This girl is Ren, a born ability user called 'Cursed,' who once belonged to an assassin guild.

However, I ended up saving them, and as a result, I was made the boss of the guild. During this process, Ren became particularly attached to me.

Since then, while the other assassins work elsewhere, she stays by my side as a maid.

"Lo... Lord, I'm here."

"You can speak normally when it's just the two of us."

"Really...?"

When I nod, Ren looks around and enters the room.

Then she takes a deep breath.

"Phew, thanks, Lloyde. Speaking in an unfamiliar way makes my shoulders stiff."

Ren stretches widely.

It seems she still hasn't gotten used to behaving as a maid.

"Anyway, teach me the assassin's techniques."

Early in the morning, I had Ren come alone for this very reason.

To learn the assassin's techniques.

Their way of using magic is unique, and there's a lot to learn from it.

"Okay, I understand. Um, yesterday we taught you how to block magic, right? How was it? Did you get the hang of it?"

"Yeah, mostly."

I close my eyes and concentrate.

Magic blocking is a technique to block the magic that leaks from the magic pores all over the body and completely erase one's presence.

Incidentally, the reason I'm sleep-deprived is because of this.

I practiced magic blocking until late last night.

To show Ren, I start to close the magic pores all over my body and block the magic.

"Wow, Lloyde! You can already do it!?"

"It's not perfect yet. Magic still leaks from various parts of my body. I can't match Ren."

"No, it's only been one night since I taught you! It took me about a month to be able to do this! ...Sigh, maybe Lloyde is just good at using magic because you're a magician. I'm getting discouraged. At this rate, you'll surpass me in no time."

Ren sighs.

Still, there's a lot to learn.

There's no time to stand still.

"So, what are you going to teach me today?"

"Hmm, let's see. Today, I'll teach you an advanced technique of magic blocking."

Ren regains her composure, clears her throat, and extends her hands in front of me.

I can tell that the magic surrounding Ren has completely disappeared in an instant.

"Can you tell that I'm blocking my magic now?"

"Yeah, it's impressive."

Unlike mine, her magic blocking is perfect, with not even a trace of magic leaking.

Moreover, it's done quickly and smoothly.

I can't do that yet.

"From here, I'll release magic from just one part...!"

Ren says this and opens the magic pores only in her palm.

Wow, that's skillful. ...The magic in her palm feels particularly strong.

"Hehe, did you notice? That's right, by releasing magic from a part of the body while blocking the rest, you can generate more magic than usual. It's not very useful for us who can't use magic, but Lloyde can probably make good use of it, right?"

Ren says this proudly and sniffs.

Indeed, the principle is the same as narrowing the water outlet to increase the pressure.

Usually, when I use magic, I just gather a lot of it in my palm and release it.

But by reducing the release point and increasing the output, I can use magic more efficiently.

"How about it? Is it useful information?"

"Yeah! This can be used in many ways! Thank you!"

I take Ren's hand and nod vigorously.

Using this, the destructive power of simple attack magic will skyrocket, and it can also be used for large-scale magic that requires a tremendous amount of magic.

Yeah, you've taught me something good.

The technique of concentrating magic in one point in the body... maybe it could be called 'magic concentration.'

Holding her hand for a while, Ren's face turns red for some reason.

"Um... "

"Sorry, I just got excited."

"No, it's not that I didn't like it. Just, um, I'd be happy if you patted my head... Hehe."

"Sure, no problem."

"Then, um..."

I place my hand on Ren's head and pat it gently.

She looks pleased and grins.

Is she happy? I'm not sure.

"Still, Lloyde is amazing. To learn the techniques of us assassins so quickly... But if I keep this up, I'll run out of things to teach you soon... To prevent that, I have to train hard! Alright, I'll do my best! If I can continue to be useful to Lloyde, I can stay by your side forever! Then maybe Lloyde will start to notice me a little... Hehe."

Ren mutters to herself, swaying her hips for some reason.

"Hehe, Master Lloyde is quite something, isn't he?"

Grimo is laughing in a crude voice.

What's with you guys.

"Master Lloyde, are you awake?"

"Ah!"

At the voice from outside, Ren jumps and quickly moves away from me.

"Excuse me. ...Oh, Ren is here too. Coming before me, that's quite commendable."

The one who entered is the silver-haired maid, Silfa.

She is my bodyguard and caretaker, and her sword skills are quite remarkable.

"Silfa...san..."

Incidentally, she is Ren's senior.

Judging from Ren's reaction, she seems quite scary. Well, Silfa is quite strict.

I've been pushed to my limits in sword training too.

"Breakfast is ready, so please come immediately. Ren, you too."

"Y-Yes. ...See you later, Lloyde... I mean, Master."

Ren runs off to Silfa.

And so, another day begins.