Ellente (2)
"Since it is a proper magic sparring match, there are more restrictions than you might think. Above all, since it is a match observed by many nobles, you must at least maintain a minimum level of dignity."
Derrick always wore a serious expression.
Calmness was contagious. Ellente felt ashamed of herself for having responded emotionally just moments ago. No matter how cornered she was, whether in body or mind, a noble young lady had to always remain calm and maintain her dignity in any situation.
However, Derrick did not seem to mind at all.
"Still ... I hate to admit it, but Young Lady Aiselin is one step above me."
"She is not one step above in every aspect. You just need to find the part where you are one step above, Miss Ellente."
Derrick spoke as if stating absolute facts, without the slightest hint of hesitation or anxiety.
It seemed as if even Ellente snapping at him like this had been entirely within his expectations. Ellente felt that Derrick, who was nothing more than a commoner, looked like a seasoned veteran.
"Do you think all the magic training we have done, pushing you to the brink, was meaningless? It was all groundwork necessary to defeat Young Lady Aiselin. Now, only the truly essential process remains."
"W, what? You prepared something separately?"
"... Did I not say that I needed to confirm your resolve, Miss Ellente?"
When Derrick looked at her with even more serious eyes, Ellente swallowed her dry saliva once.
Contrary to such a reaction, Derrick spoke plainly.
"From now on, it will be real hell. You must follow properly."
If this was real hell from now on, then what on earth had everything up until now been?
Ellente began to see the boy in front of her like a reaper holding a scythe.
But after making such a fuss, it was no longer a situation where she could back out.
*
If you ride a horse and run along the vast plains of the Belmiard County, you can easily see tenant farmers working their fields from early morning. Wheat fields that had just entered the harvest season were spread wide across the great plains.
After crossing the Boleron Plains, the largest granary in the western part of the continent, for quite some time, a huge fortress could be seen beyond the horizon. Since it governed the entire southwestern coastal border region, the magnificent military fortress was well maintained.
–Dadadak, dadadak.
Pelmier rode his horse for a long time like that.
Since that mercenary fellow would be exclusively in charge of teaching magic for the time being, he had no role anyway.
It was only a brief deviation. Since things had turned out this way, he stopped by the Belmiard territory to take care of overdue work and to meet the Count to report on recent matters.
Unlike when riding through the fields, as you approach the fortress, the atmosphere begins to grow tense.
Along the ridgeline that follows the southern coastline, there were watch posts, and once the massive mountain range began in earnest, you could see flagpoles lined up along the roadside and soldiers patrolling with long weapons in hand, wearing indifferent expressions.
Riding along the entrance of the fortress like that, the lined-up soldiers were about to stop him, then hesitated.
–Neigh! Neigh!
–Tadak
Heading toward the spire in the deepest part of the fortress, a man could be seen looking down at the soldiers who were busy training for a parade ceremony for a festival day.
He looked quite young for his position. Fine wrinkles told of the years he had lived, but compared to nobles of other territories, there was still vigor in his eyes. His broad shoulders and sturdy build proved that he was still active.
He was Tristan Anelt Belmiard, the Count of this territory.
He was a figure whose name was highly renowned in the western part of the Empire, to the extent that even most Counts from the capital would bow their heads and show respect before this Margrave.
"Oh, Pelmier! You have returned from Ebelstein!"
"Have you been well, my Lord Count. I thought you would be at the main house, but you are out at the fortress."
"Am I the kind of person who stays cooped up in a room playing with a quill? Sometimes, I need to move my body too."
Count Belmiard was generous and cared for his subordinates, but as a former soldier, he was also a man born with charisma. He took good care of his own people, but thoroughly punished those who opposed him.
"It has been far too long since I last saw my daughter Ellente's face. When I lived with that treasure by my side, there was not a day without laughter. Has she been well in Ebelstein?"
"Yes, of course. Recently, she has been taking on many challenges, saying she wants to focus more on magic training."
After a moment of hesitation, Pelmier decided to put off reporting about the mercenary named Derrick for now. He only explained things vaguely.
He had no idea how the Count would react if he found out that Young Lady Ellente was learning magic from a mere mercenary. Pelmier thought that Ellente learning magic from Derrick was nothing more than a temporary deviation.
In the first place, Young Lady Ellente had hired such a mercenary largely because of her competitive spirit toward Young Lady Aiselin, and no matter what, the fact that she was being pushed back by such a commoner and had paused her magic lessons was nothing more than a personal embarrassment.
"That is truly a relief. I happened to have some business visiting Ebelstein because of the customs issue on the southwestern trade route. I was thinking of sending a letter in advance through my high-ranking retainers, but since Pelmier came here in person, there is no need."
"I, is that so?"
However, contrary to Pelmier's intentions, Count Belmiard was already preparing to visit Ebelstein soon.
It was not that strange for a high-ranking noble of the southwest to visit Ebelstein from time to time, but such a sudden visit was quite rare.
"No, there is no need to inform her in advance. Sometimes, giving my treasure Ellente a surprise gift is not bad either. There is no need to notify her separately. Just help me think about what gift to bring."
"Still, if you tell her in advance ... Miss Ellente will be very happy."
"I also want to check whether Ellente is adapting well to life in a foreign mansion. A father's worries are all like that, are they not?"
Count Belmiard had visited the noble district of Ebelstein several times.
On the surface, it looked splendid and like a noble paradise on earth, but once you looked a layer deeper, it was not hard to feel how much mental warfare people had to engage in with each other there.
It was hard not to worry after sending his daughter to such a place. He often sent various gifts, supplies, and capable retainers to help his daughter's life, but from a parent's perspective, it did not feel like he had fulfilled his duty with just that.
Ellente, who came to the main house and brightly talked about what had happened in Ebelstein, looked as if she had no worries at all.
But Count Belmiard already knew well that his daughter was mature. It was not impossible that she was forcing herself to look cheerful so that he would not worry about her living in a foreign land.
From the Count's point of view, he could not help but worry. Although she had long since become an adult rationally, emotionally she still had too many childlike aspects.
If the Duke of Duplein was a solemn and heavy family head, Count Belmiard was a generous and straightforward person. He was the type who would not hesitate to adjust his schedule just to check on his daughter's condition, becoming a fool whenever it came to matters related to his daughter.
"Since things have turned out this way, let's move the schedule up. On the day I head to Ebelstein, Pelmier, you will accompany me."
"... I, is that really all right?"
Pelmier could not help but make a troubled expression.
*
『Time really is like a flying arrow, Derrick.』
That was how the first line of the letter sent by his master, Katia, began.
Derrick quite liked that expression, that time was like a flying arrow.
Just like an arrow that has left the bowstring flies straight ahead, time moves straight forward without ever turning back. And when you come to your senses, a day, a season, a year have all passed, making it feel like that expression perfectly summarized his life.
The feeling he had while teaching Young Lady Ellente was quite similar. Before he knew it, about half a month had already passed.
Derrick said he would make her able to defeat Young Lady Aiselin, but in the end, the most important thing was her own will. So whether she had handled Derrick's lessons well or not was something that still remained to be seen.
–Clatter, clatter.
Leaning the back of his head against the wall of the swaying carriage and quietly reading the letter, he caught sight of Young Lady Ellente lying sprawled out in the corner of his vision.
It was not the noble carriage she usually rode, but a shabby carriage used by mercenaries, and it was full of dust.
Inside such an old and shabby carriage, something a Count's daughter would never have anything to do with in her lifetime.
Instead of the frilled dress she always wore, she was dressed in light, comfortable clothes with a robe thrown over them.
If passersby saw her, they would wonder if this girl was really a noble at all, as she lay sprawled out in a completely ruined state, gasping weakly. In fact, her status as a noble was being kept strictly secret.
Derrick glanced sideways at such a Young Lady Ellente, then turned his eyes back to the letter.
『It feels like it has been almost two years since you left Ebelstein, and my contact came too late. After coming to this Elvester territory, I had a mountain of work, so only now do I feel like I have a bit of breathing room. The Count's daughter Freya, whom I am personally in charge of, has more academic zeal than I expected, so for a while I think I lived focusing only on teaching magic.』
『Now that I have some leisure and think about it, I feel that the days when I taught you magic while strolling through the Tavern District of Ebelstein were more free. Back then, even if we could not live comfortably like now, we could go anywhere we wanted.』
"You look like you're reading a love letter or something."
"Are you awake?"
"W, what are you saying. I've been awake the whole time."
Ellente was trying to keep her pride, but she could not get up. It was understandable.
Over these two weeks, Derrick had taken Young Lady Ellente around to clear the labyrinths on the outskirts of Ebelstein. It was not an experience you would give to a noble young lady even as a joke.
The labyrinth, which was the source of monsters, was a place where even veteran adventurers had to make thorough preparations to reach the deepest part.
Although the places Derrick took her were only from the entrance to slightly deeper inner sections, even just those experiences were enough for Ellente to feel something close to deathly terror.
Of course, if there were any casualties, it would be impossible to deal with the aftermath, so Derrick brought along Jayden, who was a far more veteran mercenary than himself, and just in case, Felnine also had to go in and out of the labyrinth together. Derrick alone could probably clear the entrance area without much trouble, but he was just being cautious because of the slight chance of something happening.
Even so, what Ellente saw during those two weeks was hell itself.
'…..'
In truth, the method to turn Ellente into a master of real combat was simple. Just give her real combat experience.
What Derrick wanted to instill in Ellente was the raw scenery of that brutal field that sheltered noble ladies would never experience in their lives.
Simply killing some monster tribes that appeared around the outskirts of Ebelstein and diving into the labyrinth that was their source to slaughter them were completely different things.
A brutal scene where blood was splattered and axes and swords flew.
No matter how many layers of defensive magic you wrapped around yourself before leaving the mansion, when you directly witness the wretchedness of that nauseating scene, your eyes are bound to tremble. That was a separate issue from the fact that Ellente's own safety was guaranteed.
In the end, what Derrick wanted to cultivate was Ellente's 'eyes'.
More precisely, the breadth of her vision.
The vast difference she felt in her sparring with Derrick originated precisely from that vision.
In Derrick's eyes, who had stood firm in all kinds of desperate battles, a sparring field like this, where everything was perfectly prepared and people cared about dignity, was nothing more than a dirt playground for children.
When a person experiences a wider world, they often achieve the accomplishments of the lower realm in an instant.
Someone who can run 1000 meters can naturally run 100 meters. Of course, what you need to be mindful of when running 100 meters may be subtly different, but the fundamentals are inevitably already ingrained from long ago. That was the difference between Derrick and Ellente.
However, naturally acquiring those fundamentals that look easy on the surface is never easy.
The process of acquiring them is not something that refined noble young ladies can handle.
That was why he asked Ellente over and over again, and confirmed it. Whether she was prepared.
On the first day, Ellente vomited when she saw the blood-soaked scenery inside the labyrinth. She supported herself against the wall with trembling hands, but when she saw the pus stuck there, she turned pale.
The second day was the same, and the third day was the same. She could do nothing for a full three days.
For a noble young lady who had lived her whole life in a mansion full of elegant artworks, walking through such a blood-soaked scene was nothing more or less than hell. It was practically shock therapy.
Even so, Ellente did not give up. In fact, at this point, it was closer to the fact that she could not give up.
By around the fourth day, she could grit her teeth and use magic to attack the monster tribes, and on the fifth day, she killed a monster for the first time.
The sight of Ellente staring at the dark blue blood with trembling hands was impressive. She was a noble young lady, but she finally came to understand how even the lowest mercenaries killed monsters.
Five days, six days passed ... and although she gradually showed signs of adapting, on the seventh day, when she saw a huge minotaur that appeared in the labyrinth, she had to swallow back tears again.
When Felnine saw a noble like her become this broken, she laughed for a long time at the tavern after it was over. In front of Ellente she acted like a seasoned mercenary, but inside she seemed quite happy to see nobles being ruined like this.
Even in the midst of that, Ellente did not give up and diligently waited for Derrick every morning, then put on her robe and left the mansion. Without even allowing the servants to accompany her, she mixed into the Tavern District and learned what the real bottom-level battlefield was.
By the time they reached the present, Ellente had become someone who could at least manage to overcome the entrance area of the labyrinth.
Of course, after fighting all day, she could not help but be exhausted.
"Miss Ellente. I brought some water."
"Th, thank you ... you are very kind ..."
When Felnine, who was in the corner of the carriage, smiled with the gentlest expression in the world and handed her cold water, Ellente quickly took it and gulped it down.
Perhaps she found it enjoyable to see such an exhausted Ellente, Felnine giggled. To someone who did not know her, she might look like a kind girl, but Derrick knew her true nature well, and could only click his tongue.
Derrick turned his gaze back to the letter.
『How much has your magic achievement progressed? Perhaps because I am your master, I sometimes find myself thinking about such things. No matter what anyone says, you were the most talented mage among those I have seen in my entire life. As a magic master, there must be many who would covet a disciple like you.』
『It is unlikely, but have you perhaps learned even higher-rank magic? That might be too excessive a guess, but I feel that you might be able to do it. Recently, the Count's daughter Freya has become able to completely master 1-star magic. When I saw her rejoicing, I was reminded of your childhood, and my heart felt warm.』
『If we meet again, be sure to show me your magic then. If I have business to visit the western part of the Empire someday, I will contact you. Your long-time master, Katia Flameheart.』
Master. I am also living my life teaching someone, just like you.
With such a monologue in his heart, Derrick quietly put away the letter and sank into thought.
Teaching and guiding someone was, of course, a rewarding thing, and surprisingly, it was also having a positive effect on Derrick's own magic achievement.
Just reviewing things he already knew was a big help, and when he tried to make his disciple handle magic more skillfully, his own magic also became more refined.
The 1-star magic Ice Spear and Flame Arrow felt like he was devising more sophisticated ways to use them himself while teaching Ellente.
Is teaching someone also an act of teaching oneself?
With such an unexpected realization, Derrick felt like he understood why those called magic masters were so obsessed with good disciples.
"Miss Ellente."
Of course, it was not really a situation where he could be having such warm monologues.
"There are two days left until the sparring match."
"How do you feel?"
Ellente, who had been lying sprawled on the carriage, stared quietly at the swaying ceiling, then answered with difficulty.
"Certainly, just like you said, Derrick, I feel like I've built up a lot of ridiculous experiences over the past few days. As I've trained endlessly, I feel like my magic level has become more refined than before."
"…."
"Still ... I don't know if I can win."
Young Lady Ellente could not help but show signs of anxiety.
It was true that Derrick was rapidly increasing her mastery of magic, but he could not be sure whether she had become skilled enough to defeat Aiselin.
At least among the young ladies of the noble district, no one would be able to be sure.
Still, all Ellente could do right now was trust Derrick completely. The sparring match was already close, and at the very least, the master who understood Ellente's inner self the best was probably only Derrick.
Ellente lay there, catching her breath. Now, it was the sparring match with Young Lady Aiselin.
Derrick, who had begun to close his eyes while leaning against the wall of the carriage, did not seem to have any worries at all.
*
"Miss Aiselin. It is time for your watercolor lesson."
The maid politely knocked on the door of Aiselin's private practice room.
However, no answer came from inside. There was a presence, but it seemed she was concentrating and deliberately not responding.
The maid hesitated for a moment, but since she could not make Aiselin late for the next schedule, she decided to be rude.
"Excuse me, I will open the door."
As she opened the antique wooden door, the inside was revealed with a creaking sound.
Inside, Young Lady Aiselin was blankly looking at the sky while chanting an incantation. There was a strange aura about her.
The maid, who had served Aiselin since she was young, was about to raise her voice, but her words got stuck in her throat.
The room was filled with bluish mana, and in contrast, her jet-black hair was swaying as if floating. The traces of mana gathered in her clear eyes looked as if they were embodying a great sea.
The room was littered with many Discipline School Magic Books. For a room belonging to Young Lady Aiselin, who usually kept her surroundings neat, it was rather messy. That was how much the girl was concentrating on the mana spread widely in the room.
Her eyes did not seem to be looking at the ceiling, but at something far beyond.
It was the sky. The sparkling feast of mana spread through the room seemed to be forming a starry sky.
The girl was a model student among model students who had read Discipline School Magic Books until she was sick of them.
Countless quotes and theoretical insights of Adelbert, the Great Mage in history who was the patriarch of the Discipline School and the first to define the magic star-rank system, were alive and breathing in her mind.
She had read those countless insights over and over again and accepted them as her own knowledge, and now they were manifesting at her fingertips.
It was said that Adelbert, the first Discipline School mage, devised the magic star ranks by looking at the Big Dipper in the sky. It was the opening chapter of Adelbert's biography that the girl had read when she was young.
That magic system, disciplined like the stars, warned against disorder and emphasized the consistency of organized theories. The magic he systematized became the foundation not only of the Discipline School but of all magic.
Within that well-established discipline, the flow of mana that appeared in the girl's eyes gathered and then expanded.
Born with a good Bloodline, endowed with outstanding talent, and having steadily accumulated effort, the girl's mana eventually turned into the Milky Way of that starry sky.
–Hwaaaak!
The mana that had gathered in the girl's hands spread out into the room again, and the sound of a grand orchestra began to fill the room. It was Young Lady Aiselin's favorite symphony.
The sight of such a huge ensemble being heard in such a small practice room was enough to make one doubt their eyes.
However, that magnificent sound seemed to continue for a moment ... and then, along with a sound as if it were withering away, it subsided again.
It seemed that the girl still felt burdened using mana on this scale. It was magic that she could not yet use fully.
"Haah ... haah ... I failed again."
Only Young Lady Aiselin's calm mutter remained in the now-quiet room.
The maid who had been watching that scene could not help but widen her eyes.
What the girl had just manifested was the 2-star Illusion-type magic 'Auditory Hallucination'. It was the same 2-star magic that Derrick had first self-taught when he was fourteen.
"Oh my, it's already this late. I was a bit distracted. It would be rude to be late, so I should hurry out."
Only then did Young Lady Aiselin notice that the maid had come in, and she was startled.
As she quickly tidied her dress and went out of the room, the maid could only stare quietly at her back.
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