It’s been a week since I started practicing on my own with the Third Knight Order.
Thanks to my efforts during and after lessons, I feel like my spell activation has gotten a bit faster than it was at the start. The effectiveness too. According to the knights, not only has the interval between my spell casts shortened, but the amount of HP restored by ‘Heal’ has increased as well. The commander noticed it too and praised me.
“You’ve improved quite a bit.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re progressing faster than I expected. Have you been practicing outside of lessons?”
The commander smiled as if he already knew. It seems my practice with the Third Knight Order has been found out. I grinned back, like a kid caught pulling a prank.
“Just a little.”
“You seem to be working very hard. Do you have some kind of goal?”
“A goal? Not really…”
His question made me hesitate. A goal, huh? Well, I’ve been getting a little competitive with the commander, who casts spells so effortlessly beside me. And then…
“Maybe because there might be a request for subjugation support eventually…”
When I said that, the commander’s eyes widened. I’d talked about this with the director before, but recalling the results of the last couple of subjugations, it feels like a real possibility. If my magic manipulation improves, it’d probably shine most during a subjugation. Like at the hospital the other day, if it’s just healing after they return, there’s not much need to cast quickly.
“Are you planning to join a subjugation, Lady Sei?”
“Well, if there’s a request, yes.”
“If there’s a request? No other purpose?”
“Purpose? Not particularly…”
“Then, is there some other benefit?”
Benefit? I tilted my head at the commander’s words. A benefit… What would that be? Since it’s not part of my usual duties, maybe a special reward or something? More than that though, he looks surprised. Didn’t he train me with the intent of sending me on a subjugation? The practical lessons took this form because of his policy that just mastering magic control isn’t enough. Since it’s a method that seems useful in real combat, I’d assumed he was preparing me for a subjugation, but maybe I got it wrong? When I asked, this time it was the commander who tilted his head.
“You weren’t training me for a subjugation?”
“Well, no, that wasn’t my intention…”
“Then why?”
“One reason is that just controlling magic isn’t enough on its own, but I also wanted to observe your magic, Lady Sei.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
The reason he gave so matter-of-factly was unexpected. Because he wanted to observe my magic… Sure, he’d said he’d observe during lessons, but I didn’t think that was the main point. I couldn’t help but feel a bit deflated.
“But you’re right, there might be a support request eventually.”
He said that after a thoughtful gesture. I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d just dug my own grave.
“So it does seem likely?”
“We have a few holy attribute magic users here, but their levels aren’t that high.”
“Can’t you use it too, Commander?”
“I can, but during subjugations, I’m usually on the attack.”
Right. There’s probably no one with a higher holy attribute magic level than me. And I can’t help but sense a bit of a musclehead vibe from the commander. He’s the head of the Court Mage Corps, right? If he’s mostly attacking, does that mean he’s not directing the mages?
“If a request comes, it’ll likely be for the western forest.”
“The western forest?”
“With your level, Lady Sei, the western forest shouldn’t be a problem.”
“But that place…”
Hearing the destination, my brows furrowed. The western forest is where the salamander appeared, a place that produced a ton of casualties in the last subjugation.
“The miasma’s thick in the western forest too. I’m curious how much your magic affects it. And also…”
Oblivious to my unease, the commander was already lost in thoughts of research in the western forest. From my perspective, the damage from the last two subjugations felt massive, and the idea of going there scares me. But judging by his demeanor, he doesn’t seem to see the western forest as anything special. The knights had said it’s rare for that much damage to happen there, so maybe it’s not usually that dangerous? Still, they say if it happens twice, it’ll happen a third time…
Translator’s Note
“If it happens twice, it’ll happen a third time” (二度あることは三度ある, Nido aru koto wa sando aru) is a Japanese proverb akin to “things come in threes,”
“Is something wrong?”
“No… um…”
I was mulling it over while watching the commander mutter to himself when our eyes met. He must’ve noticed my gaze. Should I tell him I’m worried about going to the western forest? I hesitated, unsure if it was okay to say, and fumbled my words. Maybe my thoughts showed on my face, because he started talking about the western forest.
“As I mentioned, with your level, Lady Sei, a subjugation in the western forest would be a cakewalk.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ve been there plenty of times myself, but lately, it’s started to feel too easy…”
“Huh.”
“The other day, it seems a ton of monsters had built up, so if I’d joined, it might’ve been fun, but unfortunately, I was bedridden.”
“…”
“With what happened last time, the next subjugation probably won’t be too far off. The number of monsters might be normal or even fewer. It’d be a good debut for you, Lady Sei.”
He wrapped it up with a smile meant to reassure me. Maybe he really is that strong if he can say he might’ve enjoyed a subjugation that caused so much damage. Having seen the knights after that mission, I’m not entirely convinced by his take. But I can agree with his guess about the next subjugation. They said last time the monsters piled up because there’d been a gap since the previous one. If that’s the case, the next western forest subjugation probably won’t be too far off. I’d gone quiet to sort my thoughts, and maybe he thought I was still worried, because he added more.
“Don’t worry. I’ll go with you on the next subjugation.”
“You’ll come with me?”
“Of course. I won’t let a single scratch get on you. I’ll protect you.”
I gave an awkward smile in response to his words. For someone else, hearing “I’ll protect you” from the commander might make them swoon. But I couldn’t take it at face value. It’s not my fault I couldn’t. I mean, it felt like I heard a subtext of “(For research purposes) I won’t let a single scratch get on you.”