Laurentz recognized the furious woman before him.
Michaela Gielen, Vice Commander of the Royal Mage Corps. She was a renowned young magician, a direct subordinate of Commander Leonard. Her skills were officially certified, and she had participated in numerous monster subjugations.
She was in her late twenties and an alumna of the Wethered Royal Academy of Magic.
He didn’t recognize the man standing beside her, but he was likely Michaela’s aide. Given the clear hostility directed at him, there was no doubt he was an enemy.
They were both clad in white uniforms, which he knew to be combat uniforms. Vice Commander Michaela’s uniform had been modified, featuring a shorter skirt and a thinly made jacket. It was a uniform that had shed all the formality of the standard issue.
Her slender legs were healthily tanned, and she wore red heels. It was hardly the attire of an officer serving the nation. It would be more suitable for meeting friends at a shopping street in town.
A whip hanging from her waist belt told him she was a combatant.
Her impression was made by her short, neatly trimmed brown hair and her sharp, almond-shaped eyes, but her otherwise composed features were contorted in anger as she glared at him as if trying to shoot him dead.
The man wore a standard uniform, his feet clad in sturdy boots. His well-built physique strained the uniform from within, looking tight. His reddish hair was cut short, and his eyes, with their sharp gaze, were directed at Laurentz with anger, just like Michaela’s.
Though he uttered no words, Laurentz could tell without hearing him that he was angry about Leonard’s refusal.
“To bring the Vice Commander of the Royal Mage Corps and a subordinate to deal with a child—how childish.”
“—Hah. I wouldn’t dare underestimate a Court Mage Candidate like yourself.”
“Should I consider that an honor?”
“No, I have no intention of conversing further with a cheeky brat.”
Michaela unhooked the whip from her waist and swung it with practiced ease.
—The stone floor of the corridor was scored with a cracking sound.
“Magic alone is not enough to survive in the field. I’ll teach a noble brat what real combat is. And—I’ll kill you, a magician who fawns over non-magicians, and send your corpse to your parents.”
“Such crude words—I’d like to meet your parents.”
Laurentz snorted, partly to provoke, and the female vice commander’s face clearly contorted.
“You dare say that…”
“It seems I misspoke. I apologize.”
“I won’t forgive you. Someone like you, who has lived without hardship simply because you were born a noble—”
He could understand from her words that she had gone through hardships. However, Laurentz also felt anger.
“It’s true I was born a noble. My parents are alive and they love me—but that doesn’t give you the right to call me ignorant of the world. I have my own worries and struggles!”
“Silence—!”
The whip whizzed and lunged at him. —But it was instantly blocked by a barrier he had erected.
A whip was a troublesome weapon, but it wasn’t impossible to defend against. While magic was another matter, ordinary attacks would not break through his barrier.
“Lars, now’s your chance, you should escape.”
“But—”
“Please. If this turns into a fight, our opponents are the Vice Commander and her subordinate from the Royal Mage Corps, and I won’t be able to maintain composure.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hey, wait, Lars!”
After exchanging a few words with Laurentz, Lars grabbed Crysta’s arm and turned to run.
“You won’t escape!”
“We won’t let you pass!”
He threw several fist-sized rocks at Michaela, who was about to cast magic.
The magic-infused rocks flew towards her with a sound, but she dodged them. The rocks, having lost their target, crashed into the stone floor, shaking the corridor.
“You can use it to some extent even without incantations—very well, after I kill you, I’ll kill those brats too.”
“—Wait a moment.”
The man who had been observing intervened, stopping Michaela, who was glaring at Laurentz with a ferocious expression and looked like she was about to pounce.
“Michaela-sama’s objective is not him.”
“—Tch. That’s right.”
“I will take care of this boy, so please, go after him, Michaela-sama.”
“Wait!”
Laurentz interrupted the conversation between the Mage Corps’ superior and subordinate.
“Aren’t you two after me?”
“While you are indeed a target, you are not the only one. Now, leave the rest to me.”
A husky, low voice answered Laurentz, urging his superior.
Michaela glanced at Laurentz and then said,
“I hate nobles, but even more than that—I hate royalty!”
She unleashed a voice and emotions dyed with hatred.
“Having heard those words, I won’t let you go, no matter what. If you want to pursue them—do it after you kill me.”
His friends were no longer in the corridor. He felt a sliver of relief that they had entered the school building.
Now, he just had to buy them time to reach the staff room by preventing pursuit, but he also had his anxieties.
—Would the Royal Mage Corps obey the academy’s orders? No, they would likely ignore them.
Michaela, who had declared her hatred for royalty, knew his position. Yet, she intended to target him.
This was hardly the behavior of a member of the Royal Mage Corps. It was abnormal. It was treason.
“That spirit is commendable. However—you are incapable of facing both of us.”
As Laurentz glared at the rebels, his thoughts racing, the man’s low voice reached him.
Instantly—an invisible pressure descended, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to resist in the slightest.
“…Wh-what…”
The attack was so sudden that he couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.
“Michaela-sama, please leave this to me. Even as a Court Mage Candidate, he is still a child. He is not a threat.”
“I thought so too. Unfortunately, I’ll leave this place to you. However, he was chosen as a Court Mage Candidate for a reason—do not let your guard down.”
“Of course.”
Michaela snorted at her subordinate, who gave a slight bow, and then stamped her heel, stepping over Laurentz.
“W-ait.”
He reached out his arm, determined not to let her pass, but
“I won’t let you obstruct Michaela-sama.”
He was stepped on by the man and couldn’t reach.
He glared at her as if trying to shoot her dead, but the oppressive pressure did not lift.
He gritted his teeth and put strength into his limbs.
“Guh—Ooooh!”
“Impossible… Even while exerting this pressure, he’s trying to stand up.”
As Laurentz tried to move his body, as if to crush his molars, he desperately searched his mind for a way to overcome the invisible pressure.
It wasn’t gravity. Even ancient magic couldn’t manipulate such a thing.
Then what was it? Think, think. —It’s the wind.
In modern magic, the invisible was wind. While there were earth attribute mages like Jared, generally, mages were divided into fire, water, wind, and earth attributes.
He couldn’t feel any wind, but since he was being subjected to invisible pressure, the answer should be simple. He could think of something else if this was wrong.
“Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!”
He released his magic power directly from within his body, not as magic.
He felt the man who had been stepping on his arm retreat.
If the wind was applying pressure from above, he just had to release magic power and push it back. It was a brute force tactic without much thought, but he had learned something from fighting Court Mages.
—Technique is important, but in battle, simple and powerful things are necessary.
That was Laurentz’s conclusion, having been repeatedly thrown to the ground by overwhelming power without even being given time to chant.
