Chapter 5: The Mage of All Elements

Chapter 5: The Mage of All Elements

I need to get out of here, the mercenary thought. I know that the confidential files I need are hidden in a secret room that only opens on the night of a full moon, but I’m out of time. Waiting for the full moon isn’t an option anymore. Though she wasn’t able to obtain the confidential information, she was sure that Dustour would agree that an escape was necessary to avoid the worst-case scenario of being caught and forced to reveal her employer.

“Come on. Walk. Even the horse can follow instructions better than you,” the mercenary sneered, tugging on the reins of the horse that walked beside them.

“Professor Arle, none of the nobles in Daryth will let you off scot-free for setting up a dark magic circle in the institute,” Alicia hissed.

The mercenary barked out a laugh. “Me? Professor? That’s hilarious. Did you really believe I was a teacher? My lessons were so boring. All I ever did was read the textbook out loud, and you call me a teacher? Ah ha ha!”

Alicia clenched her teeth, realizing she had no choice but to finally muster up the courage to accept that this was reality—that the safety she had for so long associated with this school was little more than an illusion.

“Well, you were always dozing off in class, so of course you wouldn’t realize the truth,” the mercenary mocked. “I’m not a real professor. I was hired to infiltrate this school.”

“That’s...” Alicia was at a loss for words.

Noble children from all over Daryth gathered at this institute, children who came from all the myriad ranks of nobility, from those who owned territory to those who oversaw judicial or administrative posts. Planning a conspiracy against Kirsch meant risking the ire of all the nobles of Daryth.

Graduates of Kirsch went on to take up many posts in the political and economical world. Even among the commoners who couldn’t use magic, there were a few who made use of the connections they made after graduation to start up big merchant companies. These graduates would then go on to donate large sums of money to the school, ensuring the school was able to remain self-sufficient despite its remote location.

Guards always stood watch at the gate, monitoring who passed through the campus’s sturdy walls. Alicia could never imagine Kirsch, the heart of Daryth and home to the children who would usher in its future, being infiltrated by anyone malicious.

“You don’t really think you’re going to get away with this, do you? There are guards at the gate,” Alicia challenged.

“That’s where you come in. If I have you with me, they might be a little more lenient with the rules. You and that one duke’s son are very special people at this school, you know.” The mercenary didn’t break her confident stride, marching onward towards freedom.

Beyond the sports grounds, a path winded its way between two lecture buildings leading to the main gate, beyond which lay their destination.

“You will do as I say in front of the guards, Your Highness.”

“Do I look like I’m about to take orders from someone like you?” Alicia said after a moment of hesitation.

“Think before you speak, all right? If you act recklessly, who knows what consequences will befall the nobility of Daryth? That would be quite the sight.”

It didn’t matter who the little girl that caught her etching out those magic circles was. What mattered was that she was harmless. If it had been Headmaster Morozov or the former Royal Knight he’d hired, the mercenary would have had to whip out her wand and fight to the death. But no amount of royal blood would change the fact that this witness was nothing more than a little girl who knew some parlor tricks. The mercenary had nothing to worry about.

“You think you can get away with treating me like this?” Alicia said, raising her chin in defiance.

“Of course I can get away with it. You’re just a little girl. You can’t do anything.”

There was still something that made the mercenary uneasy, though; she could not for the life of her figure out who had destroyed her magic circles. At first, she thought it was the headmaster, the elderly man of whom she was the wariest while undercover. But she’d kept a close eye on his every movement, going as far as becoming a teacher to be closer to him. She knew his schedule like the back of her hand; today would be no different. Right now, he should be out in the forest until noon for his daily check for any disturbances there.

“If I suddenly disappear without good reason, it’ll cause an uproar,” Alicia argued.

“Why, yes, Your Highness. You are the school’s precious foreign student, after all, so I’d expect nothing less. That is, however, if they notice your absence to begin with. I expect we have until about noon before anyone notices, at the earliest.”

Alicia was silent for a moment. “You’ll be a wanted criminal everywhere in Daryth. There’s no way you can escape.”

The mercenary chuckled darkly. “Are you worried about me? Don’t worry. They can’t catch someone who doesn’t exist, wouldn’t you agree?”

It couldn’t have been the former Royal Knight Loco Moco Highland who overwrote the magic circles either. He didn’t have the skill in magic for that; his strengths lay in combat compared with other Royal Knights. Perhaps he could destroy a magic circle, but he didn’t have the finesse to reconfigure one.

Who overwrote my magic circles? Instead of destroying them all outright, they took the effort to leave behind reconfigured magic circles in some places. They must be trying to provoke me. They’re trying to make me think they’re more powerful than I am.

“You... Just who are you?” Alicia asked.

“I am the Faceless Woman. An ignorant little girl like you probably wouldn’t know of me, but I’m very well-known in the underground, you see.”

No, I should stop thinking about who this mystery person is. I’m getting nowhere. The mercenary broke that train of thought. After all, I am going to disappear. I will wipe any and all memories I made during this mission from my mind and move on to the next. That is my principle as a mercenary.

●

Every week, Charlotte sent a report to House Denning about my life at school. Charlotte would monitor what kind of classes I took, whether I handed in my homework, and what my reputation was like in the school. House Denning would then send a reply every month in response to the reports Charlotte poured her heart into.

“Master Slowe, please take a look at this.” I was eating breakfast in my room for once when Charlotte approached, taking out a rolled-up parchment from her pocket and showing it to me. “A letter arrived from the House this morning!”

As for why I was eating in my room and not the dining hall... Well, sometimes I want to have breakfast at my own pace.

“That’s why you were so restless,” I commented. “What did they write this month?”

“Oh, I haven’t read it yet. I’ll check it now. Hmm... Hmm? Hmmm? Huh? That’s awful...” Charlotte began to tremble and the color left her face as she read, her mumbles setting alarm bells off in my head. I have a bad feeling about this.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. I never read the letters from my family. I’d tried to read one of them once, but there were so many reprimands aimed towards me that it all just blurred together to me. Charlotte was the one who dealt with the letters each month, and I had a lot of respect and gratitude for her because of it.

“Um, well...they’re really mad and told me off, saying that I shouldn’t write lies. They wrote that the idea of you making any friends at all, much less a female friend, is ‘about as believable as a dragon putting on an apron and cooking.’ And that if I wrote such nonsense again, they will cut my pay. ‘Are you being threatened?’ ...Oh, that last part was addressed to me...” Charlotte’s shoulders slumped in dismay. She was a pitiful sight, the complete opposite from when her eyes had shone with excitement only moments ago.

“What did you report this month, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Um...” Charlotte trailed off in thought. “I wrote that you’d reflected on your past actions and turned a new leaf. That you started working out to lose weight and went down a size for your uniform... Oh, and I also wrote about how you made a friend! And how everyone in Kirsch was happy about your change... Well, I might have exaggerated some things...”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. None of that is nonsense. It’s all the truth! They really have no faith in me at all, huh?

“It’s all true, though...” Charlotte teared up. “I thought they’d praise me! I was so sure...!”

Oh, dear. Charlotte sank onto a chair and collapsed onto the table, her motivation visibly draining from her. She pressed her cheek against the table as she drew meaningless patterns on its surface with a finger. It was a rare sight. Charlotte was usually very composed. She probably really thought she would be praised as my retainer for all the changes I’ve made. We were both rarely praised by my family, and Charlotte probably craved it.

“Charlotte... It’s okay. Cheer up,” I consoled her.

Silence.

Oh wow. She’s really depressed about this, huh? I need to cheer her up somehow. Finishing off the large portion of breakfast I’d requested, I stood up and took a bottle from the shelf. I chugged the nearly empty bottle in a single shot and thumped it on the table.

Seeing that, Charlotte seemed to regain some life in her eyes. “Oh! You’re nearly done with the weight loss potion. I’ll have to make more.”

“I’ve been drinking it every day. I started drinking it at noon too, recently,” I said. The adaptability of humans was a scary trait. I could down the weight loss potion without so much as a twitch now.

“Master Slowe, I’ll brew you a new weight loss potion immediately! Please leave it to me!” Charlotte puffed out her chest.

I’m glad you’re happy again, but...I just heard a very sinister word... “Huh? A new one?” I asked with growing dread.

“I researched the contents of the weight loss potion you got at the speed-eating contest and made a monumental discovery,” Charlotte declared.

“You analyzed the contents? Charlotte, you’re able to do that? Wait, the bottle shattered, didn’t it?”

“I got someone to tell me. I went to ask the company that made the weight loss potion, and at first, they wouldn’t talk to me and told me I was being ridiculous. Once I told them I was a retainer from House Denning though, they were very cooperative. What I learned was amazing! I found out that the weight loss potion has a monumental secret!” Charlotte exclaimed.

Wow. She has so much initiative. A realization dawned on me as I registered exactly what Charlotte had just said. Wait a minute. I mean, I had an inkling that Charlotte sometimes uses the name of House Denning to her benefit, but it’s definitely confirmed now. That’s my retainer for you! She’s a shrewd girl, I thought with pride.

“So, uh, what’s this secret?”

Charlotte panicked suddenly. “Oh... I can’t say. I just remembered that the people at the company said to ‘tell no one.’”

That made sense. The weight loss potion was a revolutionary product; it would be disastrous if a rival company got its hands on that information. I don’t actually care about the secret of the weight loss potion. I’m just glad Charlotte cheered up.

“I see. Well, I’m done with breakfast, so I’ll head off and torture the fat off my body with some training,” I joked.

“Good luck, Master Slowe,” Charlotte said. “Oh, I need to write another letter. I need to send one out immediately to tell them that I’m not lying! May I write it here?”

“Go ahead. I’ll see you later.” I left her to write her letter in my room, stepping out into the corridor. It had been a peaceful morning, and I had a feeling that today would follow that pattern. Surely, it would be a peaceful day lit by the warm sun with very little wind.

I’d started my Tae Bo workout routine all alone that morning, but after a while, I started to feel many incredulous eyes on me. Are they all weirded out because I’m sweating buckets and making incoherent sounds, working hard to lose weight?

Apparently, word on the street was that I was preparing for some ritualistic curse and that this was the only explanation for my sudden change in behavior. Students initially sent out scout teams in hopes of figuring out my motives. How rude! I scoffed inwardly. There are so many insensitive people in this school. I wouldn’t curse anyone.

A few weeks had passed since I decided to lose weight. From what I could tell by the whispers of students around me, it seemed that the people of Kirsch were starting to accept that there were no ulterior motives behind my change. I hadn’t even realized that people could entertain the notion that I was being genuine until now.

“That Piggy Duke is still going,” I heard a student mutter.

“I won the bet. The Piggy Duke didn’t immediately call it quits, so you owe me fifteen shilling coppers. Fork up,” his friend demanded.

“Damn.” The first student clicked his tongue in annoyance.

Students had even started betting on how long I could persist with my weight-loss routine. These people are way too easily entertained, huh? Following my every move like this... They should just call me the Best Entertainer in all of Kirsch—no, in all of Daryth.

When Lord Pauper told me about the bets, I’d said that he should bet his entire fortune on my success. However, he was astoundingly poor despite being from an earl household, so it wasn’t like he actually had a fortune to wager in the first place. I couldn’t help but pity him.

I refocused my attention on my jog, panting. I was more fit than when I began working out, so I’d been taking a new route on my jogs. I started from the side of the research building, then did a lap around the sports grounds and headed towards the main gates. Once there, I’d tap the wall once before retracing my steps all the way back.

“Oh, good morning, Lord Denning. Please teach me magic again sometime,” someone called out to me, huffing.

It was Tina. She was struggling with a stack of hay in her arms so big that I could only see half of her face above it.

“Hard work in the morning, huh,” I commented. “Yeah, sure. Let’s practice together sometime.”

“Yay, thank you!” Tina said happily as she walked past me with the hay.

Tina worked part-time in the stables feeding the horses in the mornings. Commoners like Tina worked hard at part-time jobs to be able to afford the expensive tuition and their own living expenses on top of that. Tina had once told me, “The jobs here are very different from the ones in town, so I’m actually having some fun, surprisingly.”

After I had passed a relatively deserted area, I reached the open and spacious sports grounds.

Everyone spent their mornings differently in Kirsch. Some commoners practiced with their swords and their wands in an open area that had been flattened by earth mages, and some students chose to read books with fancy covers like stereotypical mages-in-training. As for me, I carried out my routine for losing weight as usual.

But I knew that this peace was fragile, for someone had infiltrated this school.

If the students heard that there was a spy in here, the school would be thrown into complete chaos. Some of the noble students would start to look for the spy in a bid for glory, while many other students would hole up in their rooms out of fear. Stirring the pot was her specialty, and I’d bet money that she would seize the chance to sew further discord for her own gain.

Damn that mercenary. She’s so overpowered. I’ll definitely bring the full force of my anime knowledge to bear against her! I thought with conviction.

I had managed to deal with almost all the magic circles she’d set up around the school over the last few days. It was only a matter of time before she noticed something was off.

Now, it all depends on how she reacts. Her first priority should be getting confidential information, but in an unexpected situation like this, she might plan an escape.

And so I’d made...preparations.

I’d ordered the guards to report to me if anyone wanted to leave the school unexpectedly due to urgent business. Normally students couldn’t order soldiers around, but my status from being from House Denning had its perks. My father and the other dukes are in charge of the soldiers in this country, and my father’s name is very effective when it comes to dealing with them. I’ll use the name of House Denning if I need to. I’ve come this far; I can’t let her escape.

I’d also asked to talk with the headmaster later tonight so that I could report back on the magic circles. I’d done everything I could to prevent her escape; now all I could do was wait.

“Oink, oink...” I panted, jogging along as usual. That was when I noticed something. “Hm? That’s...”

I spotted a girl walking with an aloof expression on her face. It was Alicia, and she walked with a staff member I’d seen around campus a few times and a horse in tow. She carried herself with arrogance and entitlement as she made the staff member follow her like a retainer. That’s probably what the blackhearted Piggy Duke looked like to everyone else. Thinking that, I sighed.

●

Though she was familiar with her surroundings, a surreal feeling clung to Alicia and she couldn’t shake it off. It was like a nebulous cloud hung over her, painting the world awash with muted colors and separating her from reality.

Alicia remained silent for a long while.

Being a member of the royal family, Alicia existed to be protected. Her only future was supposed to see her wedded off to a powerful noble or into the royal family of a foreign country. Fighting was never supposed to be a part of her life, and so accordingly, she was never taught how to hold her own in battle.

If she had been in a mage school somewhere, anywhere in Cirquista right now, she would have called out for help. In her country, many nobles wouldn’t hesitate to put their lives on the line for her sake.

But this wasn’t Cirquista. This was Daryth.

If a noble of Daryth died as the result of Alicia’s request for aid, Cirquista would be indebted to Daryth. She couldn’t afford to let that happen, especially since she was the one who’d made the unreasonable request to enroll in Kirsch in the first place. She was only here because she had managed to pull through with that ridiculous request.

Alicia thought back on when she first came to Kirsch.

A foreign princess like Alicia was bound to attract attention in a foreign school with no familiar faces. When she started her first year, everyone treated her like she was some kind of freak show. Or, on the flip side, they resorted to flirting with her; she lost track of how many times she’d been hit on. It was at this point in her life, when Alicia had been overwhelmed by everything at this school, that she chanced to meet a strange boy. The redhead had accidentally shattered an expensive vase sent by her family that first meeting, bumping into her and knocking it out of her hands.

This boy barged into Alicia’s world and forcefully made a place for himself there. And now this dumb, mysterious, energetic boy who didn’t go anywhere without his crystal ball, this boy who worked so hard to repay the debt he swore he owed to her, this boy who had a special place in Alicia’s heart—Shuya Newkern—stood before her and called out to her.

“Hey there, Alicia. Where’re you going with that horse?”

Alicia didn’t actually care about the money and never intended to ask Shuya to pay her back. Shuya, however, was adamant in his desire to repay her for the loss. He had a strong sense of responsibility, one befitting a noble of Daryth. Alicia didn’t have a retainer here at Kirsch, unlike back when she was in Cirquista, so he made a perfect errand boy. Now that she thought back on it, she’d bossed him around for nearly half a year.

“Shuya,” Alicia answered evenly, “something urgent came up and I need to leave campus.”

“Huh? Did you fill out the permission form for it?” Shuya asked, puzzled.

“No, I didn’t, but it won’t be a problem.”

“Oh really? Well, you’re a princess, so I guess it makes sense they’d bend the rules for you,” Shuya said with a shrug. “Did you want me to go with you?”

“Huh? But...” Alicia was taken aback by his offer.

“I’m a little worried about you.” Shuya paused for a moment. “I’ve heard some shady rumors lately, you know?”

For the past few days, Shuya had been acting strangely. Ever since the day he suddenly ditched class, he’d been walking around with an agitated look on his face, and he avoided all of Alicia’s questions when she asked what he was doing.

Does Shuya suspect that there’s a spy here in Kirsch? Alicia thought. Whether he suspected it or not, she wouldn’t be able to confirm that with him. A wand dug into her back even now, silently threatening her. Alicia thought back on the woman, on the way she made the magic circle, and how she snatched Alicia’s wand with practiced ease. This woman was a powerful mage and most likely an outlaw. She was not to be trifled with.

“Shady rumors? Well, I suppose.” Alicia brushed his question off. “Besides, don’t you have Potions this morning? I remember you complaining about having a hard time preparing for that class a while ago.”

Shuya froze. “Oh, crap, I forgot about the Potions homework! Thanks for reminding me, Alicia!” he said as he hurried off.

You impulsive simpleton, Alicia thought fondly. I can’t drag you into this.

“My, my, what a considerate friend you are,” the woman jeered. “Keep up the act, Your Highness.”

Alicia harrumphed, putting up a front. Just as she did that, she spotted him. The obese piggy, who was by far the biggest problem student in Kirsch’s long history and her former fiancé...the Piggy Duke.

However much she may have tried to forget it before now, his past as a prodigy was still deeply ingrained into Alicia’s mind. She could never forget what he’d said to her the first time they met.

“It is nice to meet you, Your Highness. I have heard many things about you, but this is the first time we have met in person. Please allow me to give you a tour of the Denning lands. Our territory is said to be the most dangerous in this country, but you needn’t fear. You are safe with me. Now please, take my hand, Lady Alicia.”

With a small, desperate hope in her heart, Alicia raised her chin.

●

“Wait,” a voice commanded.

Keeping up a steady pace was essential for successful jogging. Every time he paused, the urge to collapse and rest on the ground only grew, so normally pausing for even a moment was out of the question.

But with one word from her, I broke my rule and stopped dead in my tracks without thinking. It was rare for her to start a conversation with me; in fact, she’d avoided contact with me pretty much at all costs up to this point.

“What do you want, Alicia?”

Being the former fiancée of such an unappealing person as the infamous Piggy Duke, Alicia had suffered much not-so-discreet harassment back in Cirquista. It really made me wonder why she had chosen to enroll in the mage school of Daryth in the first place, despite me being here. It wasn’t even revealed in the anime why she came to Kirsch.

“Are you still trying to lose weight?” Alicia asked.

“Of course I am. Can’t you tell? I’m jogging. It’s one of the fundamental weight-loss exercises. I’m much thinner compared to before, don’t you think?” I replied.

According to Tina and Lord Pauper, I was losing weight incredibly fast. I inspected my figure with the big mirror in my room every morning in my underwear, and they were right. I was a whole new person compared to that pig ready for slaughter. I could even proudly declare that I had gone down two sizes. Alicia scrutinized my body, looking up from head to toe and back again.

“It looks like it,” she agreed. “You’re always pranking everyone and causing trouble for us all, so I thought you started your diet on a whim. I honestly didn’t think you’d last this long. I’m very surprised, Slowe.”

There wasn’t any reason for Alicia to talk to me anymore. In her eyes, I’d already lost my place as the rightful heir of House Denning. Traditionally, the heir of House Denning would marry a daughter of a powerful foreign noble or foreign royalty. They were duty bound to secure strong ties with other countries to combat Dustour.

But in my case, my infamy was international, and there was absolutely no way I could force myself back into the running to become the next Duke Denning. The mere mention of me was taboo even in House Denning, which made it even more improbable. I mean, I have no intention of pursuing that particular title, but, well...honestly, the position doesn’t really matter to me, anyway.

In any case, I was the worst contender imaginable for the fiancé of Cirquista’s princess, since I had no chance of becoming the heir.

“Fine, whatever you say. What about you? Did you stir up any trouble? You look very tense.” I paused in thought. “Bingo, I’ve got it. You got into a fight, didn’t you? You’re currently on your way to Yoram to buy expensive medicine by way of an apology. Am I warm?”

Alicia hesitated. “Well...something like that.”

Kirsch’s main gate led to a road that cut through the forest, stretching all the way to Yoram, a town in the southeastern region of Daryth. It was the third-largest town in this country and was about a two- to three-hour journey by horseback. I’d heard rumors of young noblemen students in Kirsch who left for Yoram on the weekends to hit on the girls there.

“Wait. You’re riding with a staff member? I know you can’t ride a horse by yourself, but you’re not riding with Shuya this time?” I asked.

“Shut up. I can do whatever I want,” Alicia snapped. “Besides, Slowe. Have you forgotten the fact that you are the one with the reputation for causing trouble up until now?”

I nodded. “Can’t argue with that.”

“—Apologies, Lord Denning, but we are short on time,” said the staff member, cutting into our banter. It sure was a familiar face. I’m sure I did stir up trouble for her quite a few times, among others. I thought. “We need to return before nightfall. Your Highness, we should take our leave.”

Alicia was silent for a moment. “Slowe,” she began, “a bad wind is blowing on campus today. You should be careful. You’re pretty obese, so you might injure yourself if you trip and fall.”

“You sure? It’s a beautiful summer day out here today. There isn’t any wind at all.” I paused, just to be sure. “Nope, not even a breeze.”

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you, Slowe,” Alicia said.

“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the warning. I’ll keep that in mind, thank you very much. See you, Alicia.” Having said my piece, I started jogging again.

Just as I passed her, I reached for the holster at my waist, and—

●

One step. Another. And another.

With each step, Alicia felt her anxiety morph into fear. Did she really have a way out?

With every step she took into the sports grounds, it took her farther away from everyone in Kirsch. If she walked on any farther, she would reach a point of no return.

Please.

Please, she begged in her heart. Please realize what I was trying to say.

Alicia was robbed of her wand. She had never trained for combat, and without it, she was no different from a commoner. Grasping at straws, Alicia turned back.

“You seem to be bad at following instructions even outside of class, Your Highness,” No Face said irritably from behind Alicia. Does she not understand the position she’s in? Even though she’s royalty? she thought with ire.

No Face looked in the direction her hostage turned to. There stood the problem student of Kirsch, and she jeered. “He’s Slowe Denning. What can the Piggy Duke do? Nothing.”

Despite that, Alicia had turned back anyway. Please, Alicia pleaded inwardly. Please realize. You should be able to tell. I used code words only you would understand.

And there, before Alicia’s eyes, the boy was pointing his wand in her direction. Alicia could not tear her gaze away from the sharp look in the boy’s eyes.

The time has now come for his debut battle.

“Alicia...” he began slowly. “...take two steps back.”

No matter where the stage may be, it’s always nice to start the show with a surprise. The flashier the first attack, the greater impact it will have on the audience.

Alicia leaped backwards. Seeing that, the boy gave his black wand a wave with a flick of his wrist.

A large wall of earth appeared with a deafening rumble, separating Alicia from the staff member. The enormous wall seemed like it would reach ten meters long before it finally stopped growing. Startled by the sudden noise, the horse pulled its reins free and galloped off with a panicked whinny. That a seemingly whimsical wave of his wand could conjure such an incredible result bordered on the miraculous. This was magic, the power granted by the invisible spirits of this world.

“He was able to summon this much earth without uttering so much as a word?!” No Face’s eyes widened in shock.

Considering the enormous monument of earth that appeared before her out of nowhere, her shock was understandable. Though she was still reeling from shock, No Face wasn’t a seasoned mercenary for nothing. Quickly, she pulled herself together, taking out her wand and beginning to chant. In response to her call, water gushed out from the ground and sliced the wall diagonally in two. It crumbled.

And so it begins, this tale of a boy beloved by spirits, and his boundless rise to greatness.

●

My knowledge of Shuya Marionette wasn’t the only thing I knew about this world. I had memories of when I met Charlotte in the forest when I was young. I had memories of when I was chosen as the heir of House Denning. I had memories of the two talented knights assigned to me and the time I spent with them.

I had all of it—all my memories from the time I was the Prodigy of Wind to the time I became the blackhearted Piggy Duke and came to Kirsh.

Alicia often came to visit and have fun in Denning lands under the pretense of getting to know me better. Cirquista was part of the Great Southern Alliance, and House Denning was powerful enough in Daryth to arrange a marriage between their son and the Cirquistan princess.

House Denning was so powerful that we had targets painted on our backs, danger lurking on all sides. Within Daryth, many tried to seize power from us. From outside Daryth, many countries targeted us too, and many times, they tried to tempt us into declaring independence from Daryth or abandoning this country for theirs.

Right now, the world was restless, enough for rumors to circulate about the very large Dustour Empire in the north preparing for an invasion. Knowing that, House Denning had made all kinds of inconspicuous preparations for the day that scenario came to pass.

The use of code words was just one of the aforementioned preparations. We Dennings were often called the Clan of Wind because of our affinity to wind magic. Because of that, we often compared people to the wind. I’m surprised she remembered, though.

It was a calm, sunny morning. There was no actual wind anywhere. Just now, Alicia had used the word “wind” as a code word for a person.

“She’s that far away already...?” the staff member muttered, astounded. Alicia had escaped with lightning speed. The staff then turned to me in fury. “How dare you get in my way,” she hissed. I turned to face the staff member who’d threatened Alicia right before my eyes.

“You made a big mistake, choosing her as your hostage,” I said. Alicia left me many hints in our conversation. The main heroine isn’t to be trifled with. She is very quick-witted, even in difficult situations.

The staff member paused. “I thought you two were like oil and water, but it seems that I was wrong.”

Alicia wasn’t an idiot, and neither was I. There was no way I could let the culprit escape right in front of my eyes. I was a Denning, after all.

“Nope, you were right. We don’t get along at all,” I quipped. “Our conversation earlier was so weird that I’m actually pretty grossed out.”

I looked at the dark spirits that were gathered around the woman before me. Unless you’re using a powerful dark spell to change your appearance, those spirits wouldn’t be there!

“No Face,” I declared her name with conviction. “Didn’t you know? Alicia never misses the opportunity to call me a pig!!!”

●

A large earth wall appeared in the middle of the sports grounds, only to be destroyed the next moment by a water spell. The students in the area were dumbstruck, and in an instant, the illusion of peace shattered. One after another, students having a leisurely morning just a moment ago raised their voices in a frenzied panic.

“Wh-What in the world?!”

“The Piggy Duke’s got his wand out! He cast the earth spell! Dang, I thought he’d finally calmed down lately! What does he think he’s doing?!”

In Kirsch, unless you had permission, everyone was banned from casting spells against other people if it could cause bodily harm. If the teachers found out about this, there would be consequences. But surely even the Piggy Duke knew this and wouldn’t act that recklessly.

All eyes moved from the Piggy Duke to the woman standing across from him. The truth of the situation became chillingly apparent; the Piggy Duke wasn’t the threat here.

“Someone call a teacher!” one student yelled. “That woman is using very powerful spells even though she’s not a noble! She’s definitely an enemy!”

“Out of the way, first-years!” another student barked. “I intend to join the army, so this is a perfect chance to fight! The monsters in the forest have been boring me!”

Some of the students whipped out their wands one after another in the chaos, aiming towards the woman. Though they may have been mere teenagers, they were unmistakably still the honorable noblemen of Daryth, and the sense of duty to protect the common folk had been ingrained into them since childhood. Each of them glared at the woman with their wands out.

“Commoners who can’t use magic, get back! This is a problem we nobles ought to deal with!” a noble student shouted. The nobles, who grew up with magic, realized that she couldn’t possibly be a commoner considering how powerful her spells were. No commoner could wield water the way she was, reducing an enormous wall of earth to little more than mud. She was their problem.

With a wave of the woman’s wand, dozens of sharp icicles and ice spears appeared in the air. The ice spikes zoomed towards the boy with shiny black hair at lightning speed; if they struck true, they could very well maim or even kill the Denning brat.

“She’s a water mage! Be careful!”

Before they could hit their mark, a gust of wind blew the spikes off their course, instead striking the ground at the feet of several of the students who were out for blood. The cold air radiating off of the remnants of the spell immediately cooled the hot-blooded students’ heads. Realizing that the woman was using spells with a lot more precision and speed than what they could cast in Practical Magic, the bystander students who’d gathered to see the commotion fled the scene.

“H-Heeelp!!!!!” Screams echoed over the field. The students’ hostility evaporated in place of fear. One student even had a trail of blood trickling down her cheek from a cut caused by one of the icicle spikes.

“Damn it! Don’t just stand there! Get out of there, all of you! We can’t fight her!” a student snapped at the ones who remained. “Only a professor could face her!”

The woman sighed. “Oh, deary me. The most important part of my mission was anonymity. I really screwed up... That’s strange though, I was aiming for the chubby brat, not those students...” she trailed off.

No ordinary gust of wind had blown her spell astray; that was a wind spell. The near-miss had only served to scare the students off, leaving behind only one as the rest fled in terror. What a shame, she thought. They would have made perfect hostages.

“Now, then...” she muttered as she turned to the only person left. He stood there with his wand raised; it was clear that he still wanted to fight her.

I’d heard that the Piggy Duke used to be engaged to the princess. That must have been some sort of code they used with each other earlier. None of those thoughts mattered now, and the mercenary instead focused all her attention on the brave boy in front of her. A gentle breeze blew and rustled his cape, which only noble students wore.

“That woman is dangerous!” someone yelled in the chaos. “Someone go and get Professor Loco Moco!”

Her infiltration was busted, and there were too many witnesses for her to dispute otherwise.

He was right. I shouldn’t have chosen the princess as my hostage, No Face admitted to herself. I thought she would have been the perfect hostage to secure my passage to Yoram. I figured that the girl didn’t have many friends due to her quick temper and her high status as royalty. Though she is popular among the boys, not many people can approach her casually like that Newkern boy did earlier, so she wouldn’t have an opportunity to seek help. That was my mistake.

No Face smiled wide with derision in her eyes. “Lord Denning, you know you’re not permitted to point your wand towards people outside of class,” she jeered. So what? He might have caught me off guard, but that doesn’t change anything.

It didn’t matter how many students pointed their wands at her; No Face wouldn’t be fazed. They were merely students—young, immature nobles whose only accomplishments were defeating weak monsters ranked lowest in threat by Adventurers’ Guilds across the continent. These students posed no threat to her. They were cowards who fled with their tails between their legs and were running even still.

She was a seasoned mercenary, and she had the experience to go with it. She’d succeeded many times at assassinating commanders by infiltrating deep into enemy camps on battlefields much harsher than Kirsch. Kirsch couldn’t even compare to the brutal environment there. She was a legend among mercenaries, and rightfully so. She had never once failed a single mission, and she succeeded at escaping every single time.

Until now. Now she was in a bind, and with only herself and the Denning boy left behind, she had to find herself a way out.

“Lord Denning?” she called out cautiously.

The boy in question had his eyes closed as he pointed his wand towards her.

The enormous earth wall the boy had summoned earlier melted into mud with a wave of No Face’s wand. The ground itself became muddy along with it, and the area around them transformed into a swamp.

“Lord Denning, are your ears working?” No Face repeated. Finally, the chubby boy opened his eyes.

“A regular commoner staff member using magic? Casting a water spell powerful enough to melt a magically made wall of earth?” The boy’s lips curled upwards, seemingly amused and finding humor in her statement. “You should really look for a new job. People would pay good money to hire a commoner who could use magic. I’d personally recommend becoming a mercenary.”

“A mercenary, huh? That’s not a bad idea. I’d definitely earn more money that way,” No Face replied. She wasn’t having this conversation out of haughtiness—she was just buying time. She’d already snuck an item into her free hand. No Face had many magic artifacts hidden up her sleeve, literally and figuratively; never let it be said that the legendary mercenary wasn’t very well-prepared.

“So you want money, then? Too bad for you,” the Denning boy declared.

“What is?”

“Too bad for you that your journey ends here. I won’t allow you to pass, no matter what your reasons are.”

“Oh, really?” No Face replied with an amused tone. “I’d like to see you try.”

Smoke poured from No Face’s clothes, spreading out into a thick fog that quickly rose high into the air. In mere moments a thick white fog covered an entire section of the school’s campus.

“Wha—! What the hell?!” a student exclaimed.

“My eyes!” another student wailed. “It hurts!” The students, who’d been watching the standoff from a distance, clutched at their eyes and were rooted to the spot.

Ah, yes. Same old, same old, the mercenary thought. Nobody can see a thing in this fog, let alone move. I just have to wait for hysteria to spread, and then I’ll change my appearance where nobody is around. After that, I’ll get out of here before the chaos settles and my escape will be successful. No Face let a smile creep onto her face, assured of her victory as she was. That sense of assurance didn’t last long; her smile froze and immediately disappeared the next moment.

A gust of wind swept through the grounds, blowing away the fog.

“Wha—!”

A windstorm ran rampant with gales so strong that anyone in the area could scarcely keep their feet, its eye centering around the sports grounds. Within seconds, the skies were clear once again.

A wave of the boy’s wand had caused this powerful wind spell, summoning the howling gales. “Unfortunately for you,” the boy began, “I expected that.”

“What did you just do?!” No Face exclaimed.

“I summoned a refreshing breeze, fitting for a clear, sunny day like today,” the boy said lightheartedly. “It’s just a gentle breeze.”

“A mere breeze can’t disperse my magic artifact!” No Face spat in frustration. “That thing cost me a fortune!”

“Well, let’s put it this way, then,” the boy said mildly. “It was a slightly strong breeze.”

“You arrogant Denning brat!” she cursed him. “You’ll pay for this!”

I still have many more cards up my sleeve. Smiling haughtily at that thought, No Face waved her wand.

Water vapor in the air gathered and froze, forming infinite sharp blades of ice. Swarming like a hive of angry wasps, the ice blades soared through the air as they honed in on the boy. The scene was brutally one-sided; everyone saw the disaster in the making, and some screamed with fright and dread.

Though the boy was scorned by many, he was still one of them. The students could not bear to watch.

A moment of silence hung tense in the air.

“Who would have guessed?” a small mumble rang out into the silence. “Huh, I can move better than I thought I could. All of that weight-loss training is paying off.”

No Face’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

The hail of icy blades littered the ground around the boy, and he didn’t have a single wound, his uniform prim and perfect as if nothing had happened. He stood even as the ice melted to water, leaving little more than a puddle at his feet.

She couldn’t believe it—every single one of her spells had missed.

No Face flipped a switch in her head. She recategorized Denning in her mind. Slowe Denning was no longer a student that she’d grown somewhat fond of, but a clear threat.

Both Slowe and No Face raised their wands. The two were primed to strike, a ticking time bomb about to blow. Nobody dared to move. All the onlooking students watched the scene unfolding before them with their hearts in their throats.

Watching them from the corner of her eye, No Face chuckled with glee in her mind. Dueling with spells was always the last resort for her, but she could easily take one of the students hostage and wriggle out of her current situation instead. However...

“—Do it, Professor Loco Moco!” her opponent yelled. “Don’t worry about me!”

The air shimmered as if in response, and a giant, translucent dome rippled as it enshrouded the sports grounds.

“Wait, this is...” No Face scoured her surroundings. “Damn it! I’ve been had!” At the edge of the sports grounds, a man with a distinctive untamed curly mane pointed a wand at her.

No Face couldn’t suppress a click of her tongue in displeasure. “That stupid Royal Knight dropout!” she spat. It’s a barrier infused with an enormous amount of mana. This will be hard to break. For the first time, No Face’s composure failed her. There’s no way out.

Loco Moco Highland was definitely a tough opponent. She might not lose in a one-on-one fight against him, but No Face knew very well from experience that the battlefield was unpredictable. The only option that surfaced in her mind was escaping, despite all the odds. To do that, she’d need to get past the Denning brat first.

“Out of the way,” she ordered the third son of House Denning, the problematic second-year student. “I said, get out of the way!”

He didn’t reply. He didn’t seem fazed by her at all. Though he was only a student, somehow he’d figured out her real identity. And yet, he was so calm before her despite knowing how dangerous she was. Was that because of courage, recklessness, or confidence?

I’m not done yet. No Face clenched her teeth. I’ve gotten out of worse situations than this. “Denning brat!” No Face pointed her wand, hollering. “If you don’t want to die, get out of my way!”

Howling winds grew to a tempest within the barrier, and she nearly recoiled from the force of it. “If you don’t—” She gave a last warning.

Playtime was over. Things were about to get real, with their lives at stake.

Just like that, an extraordinary clash of spells began.

●

Loco Moco Highland gripped tightly on to his wand. “Kiddos! Don’t jus’ stand there, go get the headmaster!” he yelled. “The old man is near Cassula Pond in the forest! I’ve taken y’all there countless times durin’ Practical Magic!”

Sharp blades of counter-magic collided head-on with glimmering ice. Neither side slacked on their offense, channeling up a storm of attacks. Loco Moco’s barrier struggled to keep up with the incredible exchange of spells, and he channeled all his focus into preventing it from collapsing.

“Just how many spells are they firin’ off?!” Loco Moco tightened his grip still further. “They’re keepin’ me in place?!”

Spells flew around wildly within the barrier, crashing against the barrier walls. If Loco Moco let any spell slip out, it could hit a student. That could only end in catastrophe.

“Move, kiddos, move!” he urged. “Run! That woman is an enemy! Denning’s keepin’ her at bay for now, but he won’t last long! If that happens, you’ll all be killed!”

At first, none of the students heeded his warning. They couldn’t, transfixed by the mystical scene before their eyes as they were. Commoner students were the first to snap out of it, fleeing as Loco Moco’s warning sank in. The noble students, however, did not move. They chose to stay of their own free will.

“Tsk! You’re just little brats; you don’t have to act so much like nobles! Fine, if you’re not runnin’ for the hills, get your wands out and make ready for when she gets out!” Loco Moco ordered. “That woman is definitely an infamous criminal. I’m willin’ to bet that she has a large bounty on her head!”

Truth be told, Loco Moco was impressed by the kids’ bravado, and he certainly didn’t judge them for sticking around. If it’d been him in their shoes back when he was a student of Kirsch, he wouldn’t have run off either, even if his life was on the line. “If you don’t want to run, then protect yourselves! I’m not takin’ responsibility for anyone who gets injured!”

Inside the barrier created by the former Royal Knight, the two combatants brandished their wands while keeping their distance from each other. Every spell could be fatal. Each and every spell clashed with each other, vying for victory.

From a distance, Loco Moco felt his lust for battle rise sharply as he watched the two fight in the heat of combat.

After all—

“Well, I’ll be damned. That Denning brat really had us all fooled! ...Newkern, listen up and stay right where you are! The old man expected you to find the mole, not fight her! He wouldn’t ask anything unreasonable from you!” Loco Moco barked.

—even Loco Moco Highland, a former Royal Knight, could tell that the battle within the barrier was a real battle. A fight to the death.

●

Shuya Newkern didn’t need to be ordered to stay put by Professor Loco Moco. In truth, he didn’t dare to move an inch from where he stood.

He’d been intimidated by the blades of ice that flew in his direction, but he refused to run with his tail between his legs. He was one of the few students who chose to stay.

“How did the Piggy Duke figure out who the traitor was...?” he muttered to himself questioningly. It was obvious that the woman locked away in the barrier was the spy. Shuya also clearly remembered her as the school staff member following Alicia earlier.

Shuya clenched his jaw. “I was supposed to save her, and yet, I...”

Over the past few days, he’d walked all over the campus day and night following the guidance of his crystal ball. He’d even secretly followed the Piggy Duke around because he’d been acting a little off. But Shuya was completely in the dark; there was no way he could have known what the Piggy Duke was doing in the grass in all those deserted places.

“Damn it,” he swore. I should have realized that she was the spy, but he was the one who did, and now, he’s fighting her, he thought, frustrated.

“—Lord Slowe is amazing,” Valjean muttered nearby.

“Hey, Greatlorde,” Shuya called out to him, “you know a lot about Denning, right? The headmaster called him the Prodigy of Wind. What does that mean?”

The battle within the barrier was way out of Shuya Newkern’s league. Shuya could only stand there watching awkwardly with his crystal ball in his left hand and his wand in his right.

“You must be kidding me, Newkern,” Valjean replied, incredulous. “Have you never heard of Lord Slowe’s past?”

Slowe Denning was once the Prodigy of Wind. Shuya didn’t know what that meant, and he couldn’t help but feel frustrated at his own ignorance.

●

Is this reality? What am I doing?

“I must be dreaming!!!” she screamed hysterically. There’s no way this is real. This is impossible. This can’t be happening! “You’re supposed to be a student!!!”

I am a seasoned mercenary. I’m sure of that, No Face thought feverishly. She specialized in infiltration, assassination, and dealing with intel, but she was no pushover when it came to magical combat. She’d succeeded at getting herself out of a battle with the Royal Knights once. She’d even recently put her life on the line facing monsters in the depths of a dungeon alongside a party of highly skilled adventurers, all for the sake of money.

“Ice Lance!”

Headmaster Morozov and Loco Moco Highland were supposed to be the only threats on this mission. Even so, she was confident that she could worm herself out of a straight-up confrontation against the two of them if push ever came to shove. Everyone else was small fry.

Even as she thought that, a blade of ice failed to materialize beneath Slowe Denning’s feet as she commanded.

“You neutralized my spell before it could manifest?! You impertinent brat! I’ll have you know that I’ve experienced countless battlefields before!” she exclaimed, seething with fury.

She’d cast all of her spells with the intent to kill the chubby boy so that she could make her escape. She was sure of it.

“O darkness, call—” she began.

“You’re very predictable, you know,” Slowe said, cutting off her chant with a counter-spell. “But admittedly, you’re pretty graceful with your wand.”

Yet another spell was foiled. “Tsk!”

Slowe Denning was just a student and an underachiever at that. House Denning had given up on him and sent this good-for-nothing lout to Kirsch. Then why? Why?!

Slowe Denning certainly is talented, and it showed in class. No Face admitted to herself. He is a member of House Denning, and they place a lot of importance on fighting skills. He probably trained hard as though his life were at stake from the moment he could hold a wand. Compared to other students, his skill in magic is certainly extraordinary.

But casting spells in classes is very different from fighting with spells!

A fight to the death is a balancing act on a knife’s edge. Lose your focus for even a split second and it can spell your defeat. No Face glared at the boy before her. This brat hasn’t lost his composure even once. No matter how many times I tried to distract him or purposefully fake an opening for an attack, he doesn’t take the bait. Is that even possible?

“No!” she yelled aloud. “There’s no way that can be possible!!!”

No Face had found herself in life-and-death situations countless times before, and she had the skills to show for it. Yet, a mere student wouldn’t fall for her traps.

“Ice Drift, Fleur!” she chanted.

It was generally accepted that what determined the victor in a battle between mages was precision, not power. Blindly firing off dozens of fireballs was pointless; a meticulously aimed gust of wind to knock the wand out of the enemy’s hand, on the other hand, was enough to secure victory.

The fireballs tactic would certainly work against commoners, but it wasn’t very effective against fellow mages. Due to this, students often paired up and cast spells against each other in Practical Magic class. There, they would learn how useless it was to cast spells without aim.

However, No Face did not wholeheartedly agree with that philosophy. All great mages had precise control over their spells and couldn’t win with precision alone. The real deciding factor in combat between two mages was concentration.

That was all the more reason why No Face was so frustrated at how stoic her opponent was.

“Your chants are very refined,” Slowe noted. “Were you a noble at birth or something?”

She was the one losing her composure in this match. She’d been unflappable, cold, and unmoving as ice right down to the core, but now, for the first time in her life, she was out of her depth.

“You damned pig!” she hissed.

Anger cost her her spell control. Her precision was dropping. A glacier she’d summoned sailed past her target, shattering into splinters as it crashed against Loco Moco’s barrier.

“This can’t be happening!” she screamed.

No Face knew that spirits lent their power to those with blood they fancied. If she didn’t know any better, she’d think that all the spirits in the area were lending their powers to the boy before her, what with how the battle was playing out.

By now, she had lost count of how many spells she’d hurled at him. Large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, and she panted heavily at the exertion. She’d never lost her breath during a magic battle before, not even once.

“Blanket everything in rose and snow—” she began chanting, mustering up the last of her strength in a last-ditch effort. One last spell—a dual-element spell of dark and water. The air turned frosty within the barrier, and No Face prepared to encase her enemy in a tomb of ice. “—Rozen Aias!!!”

However...

No Face’s inner turmoil ended without warning. A gust of wind seized the last of her backup wands, rendering her utterly powerless to attack any further. Her spell fizzled out with nary a sound.

“This is checkmate, No Face.” With cold and unflinching eyes, the student pointed his wand towards her. The mercenary realized now just how dangerous Slowe was. The battle-hardened woman knew when she’d been bested.

“I have no intention of taking your life,” Slowe continued. “Show your true form.”

She raised both of her hands, and her appearance warped and shifted as the glamor fell away. The woman before Slowe was beautiful and refined, but there was something wild about her.

“It’s my loss,” she admitted. How did I lose? No Face wrestled with that question. Her mind started a cycle of internal debate. After much contemplation, she arrived at an answer.

She should have known. It was a fact that everyone in this country knew of.

Once upon a time, this pig had been the pride and joy of House Denning. The whole world had known him as the Prodigy of the Wind...and somewhere within this pig, that prodigy still lived on.

Headmaster Morozov arrived on the scene, pushing his way through the crowd as he was led by a handful of frightened students.

“Loco Moco, what happened?!” the headmaster exclaimed.

“You’re late, you old coot!” Loco Moco shouted. “You’re asking me what happened?!” Gone was Loco Moco’s usual laid-back drawl, though there was no denying the hint of exhilaration in the former Royal Knight’s voice.

“Can’t you tell?” Loco Moco gestured broadly at the scene before them. “The Denning brat caused all of that.”

Headmaster Morozov followed the line of Loco Moco’s gesture.

The sports grounds were a complete mess. Holes littered the ground, leaving it pockmarked by something—or somethings—razor-sharp and enormous. Whatever parts of the ground that weren’t full of holes were reduced to little more than a muddy swamp. Students stood rooted to the spots upon which they stood, as if time had ground to a halt. Even the noble students were stunned into silence—a most unusual occurrence, indeed.

“I see now why we weren’t able to find the mole. That woman’s quite the big fish,” Loco Moco said.

The headmaster took in the scene before him in silence, a long moment stretching before he spoke. “Who is she?”

At the heart of the mess of the sports grounds stood a boy, who aimed his wand at the throat of a woman who held up both hands in surrender. This woman could be none other than the mole who infiltrated the school.

What Morozov couldn’t understand was why she had caused such an uproar. She had gone through such great lengths to cover her tracks up until now. Why would she blow her cover so spectacularly?

“Don’t have a heart attack when I tell you the truth,” Loco Moco joked.

“Don’t be silly. Answer me.”

Only a vicious barrage of spells from combat could have caused the amount of damage to the area. The exhaustion on Loco Moco’s face from upholding the barrier for so long to contain the damage there made that fact very clear.

“That woman changed her appearance,” Loco Moco spat.

Many of the students around them nodded, still half numb from shock.

“What?! Changed her appearance? That kind of spell requires very powerful dark magic!” Morozov said, shocked.

“As it turns out, the legendary mercenary is surprisingly pretty good-lookin’. She might be my type.”

The headmaster froze. Legendary mercenary? “Wait, you mean—”

“Yeah. No Face is our intruder.”

Headmaster Morozov never thought he’d hear that name here of all places. He looked up at the sky and heaved a heavy sigh. Silence blanketed over the gathered crowd once more.

Headmaster Morozov wasn’t an ordinary headmaster; he was a powerful mage, one who earned the title of Archmage in Minerva. The surrounding students suddenly noticed this great man’s presence, and what time seemed frozen now appeared to flow once again.

“No Face... That’s No Face!” one student muttered, breaking the silence.

In the next moment, all hell broke loose.

“I’ve heard of her!” one student exclaimed. “She’s the faceless woman who can change her appearance. They say she’s a mercenary who even escaped the pursuit of Royal Knights!”

“That’s No Face! The mercenary with a bounty of five hundred gold coins! She’s one hell of a bounty!”

The atmosphere changed completely, and the initial excitement quickly grew into a roaring flame of exhilaration. Cheers of delight rose from the clamor until they spread all over the school into a celebration more heated than the weekend festivals.

“It’s Denning! The Piggy Duke! He captured her!!!”

The calm and quiet of the morning recess hour was no different than usual, which made it all the easier for the commotion to spread like wildfire to the far reaches of campus. Students peeked from classroom windows, wondering what was going on, and they all rushed outside upon seeing the aftermath of the battle. The students who had fled from the terrified screams also raced back to the epicenter of the noise.

These bystanders didn’t know what happened, but that sort of noise could only mean one thing: a celebration, surely. Something fun. Something like that was sure to attract people with the promise of a party.

“What is it?! What happened?” a student yelled.

“Someone infiltrated the school, but the Piggy Duke caught them! And they started dueling with spells! Forget about prepping for your next class!” another yelled in reply.

For that one moment, there was no difference between nobles and commoners as they all rushed to squeeze themselves into the decimated sports grounds. Teenagers craved spice and entertainment in their repetitive everyday life, so they were very eager to find out what happened.

One student began to recount the dramatic battle between No Face and the Piggy Duke. Another waved their wand and tried to re-enact the battle with their own magic. Though their spells were much less sophisticated than what actually happened, the show was enough to send other students into a frenzy.

“I knew he could do it! The Piggy Duke’s a Denning! Plus, he’s the Prodigy of Wind!” one shouted excitedly.

“Did you see that?! He was so cool!”

Caught up in the heat of the moment, the students seemed to forget everything he had done as the Piggy Duke—and how much they had bad-mouthed him—and started singing his praises.

“He used a light spell to counter one of her darkness spells!”

“I’ve seen him use a darkness spell in Practical Magic before!”

The boy in question didn’t bat an eye at all the comments thrown around about him, instead keeping his wand trained on the woman. He was no longer the pig he used to be, figuratively or literally; he’d shed two sizes, and the people of the school knew how hard he’d worked to get there. No longer was he the blackhearted Piggy Duke, but a boy worthy of the Denning name. The students, who all lived in Kirsch with him, had witnessed his change with their own eyes.

“The rumors were true! The Piggy Duke isn’t a dual-element mage nor a triple-element mage! He’s even above that!”

Let us now toll the bell to announce his rise from the ashes of shame.

This young hawk, the prodigal son who fell from grace, soared once more, high up into the boundless sky.

“He’s a mage who can use all elements—” a student started excitedly.

His first big impact was a resounding success. On this day, he was able to bring the legendary mercenary’s infiltration at this school of Daryth to an end.

“—an elemental master!!!”

The princess of Cirquista, the glamorous main heroine of Shuya Marionette, could only stare with disbelief written all over her face at the scene unfolding before her.