Chapter 29

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

A white bear walked slowly.

Dragging its blood-red feet, it occasionally knocked down trees, a painful and fierce sight. The bear, which resembled a monster native to this land, possessed a strange magical flow.

It was a great power.

A pure, great power, the kind that only gods and spirits could wield.

Did it think this power should be in its hands? Did it believe it was the rightful master of this power?

A man in a white robe, with golden hair, stealthily positioned himself behind the bear.

The man's golden hair, which shone through the light, was truly beautiful. In the midst of the white trees, his golden hair sparkled, and his fiery golden eyes were a common feature among the mages of the land of magic.

The man could only see the bear in his eyes.

Driven by the desire to obtain the great power, the arrogance of believing he could control it, and the vengeful heart to avenge his defeat, he was a sorry sight.

Such a person is the most troublesome and difficult to deal with. Communication is impossible.

The man, who could handle a different language from ordinary people, emitted light and drew out his staff.

The staff, like incantations, was an important item to amplify magic and stabilize its use. While there were those who could use magic without a staff, the man was apparently not one of them.

No, not that it's bad. A convenient tool should be used as much as possible. Thinking that not using it is cool is, in fact, uncool. If the result is the same, the simplest and fastest method should be chosen. Especially in battle.

However, the fact that a mage of this caliber was challenging the bear, thinking he could win, was simply ridiculous. He should be sent back home to face reality.

The magical power began to stir.

"Roar of the dead from the abyss, breath of freezing cold,"

The incantation began.

He was no amateur. First, he created a defensive barrier around himself, then proceeded to cast a high-level spell, drawing the next magical formula. However, if one knew a powerful witch who could unleash high-powered zero-point attacks without the need for a defensive barrier, one might think, "Impressive, indeed." The poor mage's skill in handling high-level spells only made him more pitiful. Ah, if he didn't have such talent, he wouldn't have deluded himself.

The magical power swelled, cutting into the skin in small, sharp slices.

It seemed to be quite powerful. Ah, if he didn't have such talent, the same would apply. The world is truly unpredictable.

"Aditya Blade!"

The magical power was released with a roar.

A blue, glowing mass of magical power easily blew the bear away.

The bear, lying on a broken tree, drenched in blood, told the story of the spell's power.

Despite the injuries and broken trees, the bear, with its blue eyes piercing the man, struggled to stand up, swaying.

The man, trembling, smiled confidently, believing his magic had worked.

He must have been delighted that his proud magic had affected the bear.

After all, the last time, the bear had only been injured in the leg, and the man had been defeated. The bear, which had not been attacked by humans for centuries, had lost control in anger, muddied its magic, and grown to a massive size. The man had fled in terror.

This time, the man laughed, determined not to let the bear escape.

"I'll show that man a thing or two."

The man, unable to contain his laughter, began the next incantation.

The multiple defensive barriers indicated that the spell was a large-scale one that took considerable time to cast.

The bear, too injured to flee, raised its front paws, but was knocked back to the ground by the defensive barrier.

The man, pleased by this, continued his incantation with a grin.

Then, a huge magic circle appeared in front of the bear.

The pale, gray magic circle shook the air ominously. The bear, lying on the ground, tried to escape but couldn't move.

"Uaaaaaahhhhhh!"

A loud scream echoed.

The deafening sound indicated that the spell was working as intended.

The man couldn't stop smiling.

The magic stone he had taken out. The large power would enter this magic stone, which was transparent like a glass ball! He would obtain the power of the gods! The man was about to complete his incantation.

"Hah!"

The man's body was blown away as if by a strong wind.

Sophie, who had once observed a knight's training, was unfazed by this. She snorted and watched the man fly away.

"Unfortunately, that was an illusion. The real one hasn't been injured at all."

When Renetta waved her finger, a faint red light scattered, and Azwelo, looking annoyed, appeared, shaking his ears.

Azwelo, snorting, waved his front paw.

"I won't fall for such a low-level magic!"

"The ability to deceive even the flow of magic and magical power was only possible with Azwelo's cooperation. Thank you."

Renetta bowed, and Azwelo, blushing, rubbed his face with his front paw. He must have been flattered by the gratitude. What a cute god.

The man, who had been blown away, staggered to his feet, his golden eyes burning with hatred.

"Kuni-goroshi...!"

Kuni-goroshi.

Did he say "Kuni-goroshi"? What was he talking about? Sophie tried to look at Renetta, but at that moment, the man was blown away again. His body, which had flown to the other side, now flew back toward them. Welcome back.

"Who said you could speak? Huh? Know your place. Do you even realize you're a criminal?"

Vaiz, walking over, stomped on the man's body, which was trembling as it tried to stand up. In response to the man's groan, Vaiz replied, "Shut up," with extreme malice.

Incidentally, the one who first blew the man away was Livio, and the one who blew him back was Vaiz. It was a terrible game of catch.

The man, whose feet were crushed by Vaiz's leather boots, looked up at Vaiz's extremely displeased face and screamed.

"Why, why are you here? You should be on the road...!"

"Ah, so I was the target."

That's obvious, Vaiz thought, stomping harder on the man in the white robe. The man groaned, his white robe now dirty, as he flailed his arms and legs.

"Shut up! You're not my country's enemy!"

"What? So, it was the king's order? Ah, how boring. You must be bored, right?"

Laughing, Vaiz stomped harder on the man's back.

In response to the man's groans, Vaiz replied, "Shut up," with thorough malice. Indeed, he was a king. Impressive.

"Damn it, damn it, me! What did I do!"

"That magic circle was designed to rewrite the magical power of the target. To contaminate it with your own magic and seal it in the magic stone. That was the spell, wasn't it?"

Renetta, speaking calmly, was looked at with burning eyes by the man.

"Shut up! Shut up!! What do you know, you little thing!"

"I know. I'm a witch."

"Witch! What witch!!"

The man's face, laughing, was filled with the intent to belittle and hurt Renetta.

It was impossible to believe he was looking at the princess of his own country. Even the way he spoke was disrespectful.

"You are a calamity! You are a stain! You are a curse!!!"

Those words said it all.

He didn't consider Renetta human, let alone a princess.

Despite being subjected to such negative emotions, Renetta, without changing her expression, tilted her head.

Sophie, listening, felt the urge to cry and yell, clenching her fists. But it was fine. Vaiz stomped on the man's back even harder, so there was no need to worry. The force in his stomping was filled with emotion, which was very good.

"We are a calamity, a stain, a curse. That's fine. I understand. So, what's your point? Why involve Heika?"

"Hah,"

Even after being stomped on, the man had the energy to laugh. Sophie, impressed by the resilience of the mages of that country, felt a strange admiration. Just give up already.

"You started a fight with our country. Without this man! You wouldn't have the audacity to think such things!"

With a strange cry, the man rolled over. Vaiz had kicked him.

He spun beautifully and landed on the ground again, where Azwelo stomped on him. It was a great team play.

"Are we keeping him alive?"

"He still has his uses."

Azwelo, nodding, placed both front paws on the man's body and then his face on top. Sit. The man's unpleasant scream echoed, but no one paid attention.

If it were the Sophie from a few days ago, she might have changed her expression, but this Sophie, who couldn't tolerate the man's insults toward Renetta, was just a regular person.

More concerned about whether Renetta's heart was hurt by the man's words than the man's dirty white robe, Sophie glanced at Renetta's face.

Renetta's unchanged expression blinked and stepped forward in front of the stomped man.

"How many of your companions are there?"

"Never, I'll tell you!"

"Where are the others?"

"...Even if I die, I won't tell!"

Vaiz, of course, laughed menacingly.

"Brave, aren't you? Do you still think you have the upper hand? I can commend your spirit, but you seem to know nothing about war. Understand this: those who misjudge the situation die. Even those who do nothing die. Even good people and bad people die when a gun is pointed at them. That's war."

Didn't you know? Vaiz laughed. Ha, it was genuinely funny, a pure anger. The man he had stomped on had mocked his country.

The mage, who thought he had everything in the palm of his hand, knew nothing. Good. He seemed light-headed. It would be easy for him to go on a picnic or a trip. Even in war, being light-footed is a good thing. Right?

"You speak of war differently, usurper king."

"What do you mean?"

Well, where that final destination is, Sophie didn't know.

"Since one country is challenging another, it's a war, isn't it?"

...

Work is busy, and the update might be delayed tomorrow...

I'll do my best, so please look forward to it...!!