Chapter 40

"......"

"......"

"Ah! This young man is Alfred's disciple, the hero who defeated the Ancient Dragon! Indeed, you have an air about you that doesn't allow for complacency at your age!"

"(Um, Brantark?)"

"(He's still as overbearing as ever.)"

"(He's a big shot, isn't he?)"

"(Yes, he's the Chief Mage of the Royal Palace.)"

The day after we all went shopping in the commercial district, I was suddenly pushed into a carriage by a messenger from the royal palace and several knights, and taken to a military base on the outskirts of the capital.

It felt like a kidnapping, but since the knights had an order from His Majesty, it wasn't a kidnapping.

After all, I was a vassal of the kingdom, loyal or not.

This base is usually used by the capital's garrison for training.

It had simple log cabins, watchtowers for surveillance, and large tents.

It was built to fit the image of a military base in a fantasy world.

The kingdom maintained a surprisingly large army, even amidst the current trend of military reduction.

It was also a measure to provide relief for the unemployed noble children.

However, if there were just too many, they would be labeled as useless eaters, so the training was always rigorous. Even if the entire army couldn't do it at once, it had become a regular practice for the capital's garrison to take turns conducting field exercises in the suburbs.

The carriage I was in arrived in front of one of the log cabins in the base.

When I was prompted by the guards at the entrance and went in, there was the familiar Brantark and another middle-aged man, over two meters tall, waiting for me.

Moreover, this man, despite being a mass of muscles, was wearing a robe and holding a very large and sturdy staff.

In other words, he was a mage, not a martial artist or a warrior.

He looked like the type who could kill enemies faster with that staff than by using magic.

Fortunately, he was proven to be a mage by Brantark, who had been brought in earlier.

Moreover, he was the Chief Mage of the Royal Palace.

I was speechless at the sudden appearance of this muscular, martial mage.

He was in a completely opposite position to my master.

"(Chief Mage of the Royal Palace? Brantark?)"

"(That's...)"

What's the difference between a mage and a mage?

If asked this, it seems to be just a difference in terminology.

However, there is a significant difference between the two.

A mage is an ultimate elite among the mages chosen to serve the kingdom.

To someone who doesn't see the greatest value in serving the royal court, it might seem ridiculous, but from the public's perspective, there is no one with more social credibility than a mage.

Even the nobles who serve as ministers have very high social credibility, but mages are considered to be even higher.

Moreover, it's possible to become a mage even if you're not a noble.

In fact, you need magical talent, so even if you're a noble, you can't become one without it.

Therefore, they are respected by the public.

Moreover, the man in front of me is the Chief Mage of the Royal Palace.

His greatness and importance were immense.

Despite his muscular appearance.

"Perhaps you're nervous? There's no need to be. We will be fighting together from now on."

"Are we going to fight?"

"Yes, to further the development of the kingdom, we will liberate the Palkenia Grasslands, which have been occupied by Grade Grand for a long time."

Grade Grand in the Palkenia Grasslands.

Sadly, I understood why we were called yesterday when I heard the details from my brother Ehrlich.

However, it should be unfair to summon a twelve-year-old minor to fight monsters.

Minors are not allowed to enter the territories inhabited by monsters.

That's why we are training and hunting normally at the preparatory school.

"Um, I'm a minor..."

I was thinking of refusing the Grade Grand extermination mission on the grounds of being a minor.

After all, my battle with the ancient dragon was only because I had to protect myself while on the magic flying ship.

It was self-defense, an emergency measure.

The wording doesn't matter, but I would like to be spared from a second dragon battle for now.

Who would willingly be called out to fight a dragon?

At least, I'm not a masochist.

"That worry is completely unnecessary!"

"Um... What do you mean by that?"

The overly enthusiastic man declared that it was no problem for me to be a minor.

"Indeed, it is against the rules for minors to enter the territories inhabited by monsters! However! The young man is a noble, so there is no problem!"

"Oh, I see..."

It seems that Brantark, who was also participating, had some idea.

He briefly turned to me and showed a look of sympathy.

"The young man is the head of the Baumayster Baronet family! Nobles, even minors, must serve in the military when ordered by His Majesty! This Grade Grand extermination is a military operation ordered by His Majesty to the capital's garrison!"

"..."

What the muscular man said seemed to be very correct from the perspective of a kingdom noble.

It was a bolt from the blue for me, who had just received my title.

"Give up. I also received a military order through the manor."

Poor Brantark also received an order through the Count of Breichreider and couldn't refuse the Grade Grand extermination.

"Brantark also seems to be having a tough time, doesn't he?"

"Maybe the monk's misfortune has rubbed off on him."

"What? It doesn't sound like a joke..."

"Half of it is serious."

"..."

With no escape, I was once again going to fight dragons with Brantark.

Is it wrong to wish for someone to take my place?

"Hahaha! It's still as big as ever!"

"Big..."

"It's smaller than that ancient dragon, but it's still big."

One week after my fateful encounter with the muscular master, Brantark, Armstrong Master, and I were flying over the grasslands in the center of the Palkenia Grasslands using the flight magic.

This operation involved the kingdom's army mobilizing one-sixth of the capital's garrison, about ten thousand people, who prepared the necessary supplies at the base in the suburbs and set up a camp near the territory.

This was because if the army entered the territory, it would stimulate many monsters and lead to large-scale battles, so the plan was not to enter the territory until Grade Grand was defeated.

Even if Grade Grand were defeated, the number of monsters wouldn't change, but Grade Grand is like a boss that oversees the territory, not only reigning at the top of the food chain but also controlling other monsters through fear.

So, once Grade Grand is defeated, the monsters will no longer engage in group battles, making it possible for the large army to safely defeat them one by one.

Still, it wouldn't be possible to avoid all casualties, but it would be much better than when the boss is still alive.

Moreover, unlike forests or mountains, the grasslands allow for the deployment of a large army, which is advantageous for group battles, and the monsters in the Palkenia Grasslands are relatively weak.

For a small group of adventurers, it seems to be a relatively beginner-friendly territory.

"Well, let's send Grade Grand to the afterlife as quickly as possible!"

We were already in a position to look down on Grade Grand using the flight magic, but Grade Grand seemed to be very displeased with us.

He was warning us with a roar that could rupture our eardrums.

"Master?"

"Then, let's begin! It's a clash of power!"

Ultimately, the plan was for the three of us to defeat Grade Grand, and the plan itself was not very complicated.

It was impossible to have a detailed plan against the overwhelming violence in front of us.

The reason the two thousand adventurer mercenaries temporarily recruited by the Adventurer Guild headquarters, who were with the capital's garrison outside the territory, did not participate in the dragon battle was to avoid unnecessary casualties.

A dragon's breath, regardless of its attribute, would kill a human instantly if they were hit directly.

So, if someone without the means to counter the breath participated, it would only increase the number of unnecessary deaths.

We were to challenge Grade Grand as a small, elite team of assassins.

Incidentally, El and the others, as my vassals, were also participating in the monster extermination as the Baumayster Baronet family's army, for reasons related to the complex nature of nobility.

While preparing for the mission at the base, my brother Ehrlich visited and asked for funds to form and deploy the Baumayster Baronet family's army.

Additionally, Ehrlich was participating as a deputy commander and advisor, so I entrusted him with about a hundred platinum coins, thinking it would be easier to leave it to him.

If it's Ehrlich, he wouldn't misuse the money.

"The young man should focus on storing the magic power for the Cutting Tornado! Brantark, be ready to inject magic power at any time!"

"Understood!"

"Leave it to me."

Now that it has come to this, there's nothing left to do but resolve to defeat this enormous old attribute dragon.

According to the plan, I was to maintain a constant distance from Grade Grand using the flight magic and cast the strategic wind magic, Cutting Tornado.

Actually, the names of magic in this world are quite ambiguous.

Since talented mages can materialize phenomena they imagine in their heads by consuming their magic power, it's natural that the names are ambiguous. However, since this has been the case for tens of thousands of years since the ancient magic civilization era, a considerable number of spells thought up by past predecessors are recorded in ancient books.

For example, it's rare for a mage to not think of Fireball in the fire magic category.

Others might think of fire arrows, fire walls, or fire snakes.

Those with magic power can obtain magic in the way they find easiest, referring to the numerous slightly different descriptions left behind or the teachings of their masters.

When casting magic, some do it without incantations, some chant the spell names, and some recite poetic-like short verses.

Some even perform elaborate dances or poses.

In short, they materialize magic in the way that suits them best.

Incidentally, I belong to the non-incantation school.

Previously, I tried embarrassing, flashy poses and pseudo-otaku-like poetic incantations, but the power was lacking due to the embarrassment, so I no longer use them.

"I answer your guidance, burning the enemy with the crimson flames~" — I was a proper otaku patient at twelve.

"Non-incantation is the best. It doesn't reveal the nature of the spell to the opponent."

"I can't say such embarrassing lines. The magic power drops!"

Since both my master and Brantark are non-incantation, I chose correctly by becoming their disciple.

We are, in a sense, part of the non-incantation school, though whether such a school actually exists is another matter.

To return to the topic, our opponent, Grade Grand, is an old attribute dragon of the earth element, as its name suggests.

In this world, there are four basic elements of magic: fire, water, earth, and wind, with holy and dark elements, which are rarely used and considered more of a legend, respectively.

Excluding special elements, there is a relationship of strengths and weaknesses among the basic four elements, similar to rock-paper-scissors.

Fire is weak against water, water against earth, earth against wind, and wind against fire.

Since Grade Grand is an earth element attribute dragon, I planned to use the high-power strategic wind magic, Cutting Tornado, to defeat it quickly.

This was actually Armstrong Master's plan.

"The young man's magic power is already more than mine. Since my magic power is only slightly more than Alfred's, I will leave the final blow to the young man."

Before the operation began, I was listening to the plan from Armstrong Master at the field base where the garrison was stationed.

"The young man will use the maximum wind magic to defeat Grade Grand in one go."

"That's reasonable. You're the monk who sent the undead ancient dragon to heaven with that dense holy light. There's a good chance of success."

"I'm glad Brantark agrees."

However, this magic takes time to store.

If the final blow fails, it would be counterproductive. I stated that I needed at least two minutes.

In fact, it was more advantageous to store magic power on the magic flying ship last time.

"Two minutes?"

I calculated that it would take two minutes to deploy the Cutting Tornado to ensure the defeat of Grade Grand.

Moreover, if I received attacks like breath during the process, the magic power storage would be delayed due to the deployment of magic barriers.

During the battle with the ancient dragon, I was mentally much more relaxed because Brantark guaranteed the protection of the magic flying ship.

"If two minutes are enough, I can fight with all my strength without any problem. The