“I heard you’re not related by blood, but you’re a very similar pair of brothers.”
Laurentz, who had gone around to the back of the mansion, heard the thunderous sound emanating from Luzer and felt he resembled Jared greatly. He had heard that it was Luzer who instilled a will to fight in Jared. Perhaps he should have thought Jared resembled him, then.
“Lord Laurentz, preparations for the intrusion are complete.”
“Understood. Let’s go, then. Suppress the enemy as quickly and quietly as possible. However, do not kill the students; chances are high they are being controlled.”
“Understood.”
“Thank you.”
He exchanged a few words with the middle-aged man leading the soldiers and they infiltrated the mansion. Normally, he would find being addressed as “Lord” by an elder bothersome, but Laurentz had no time to think about such trivialities now.
Holding his breath, they searched the mansion room by room. The soldiers split up individually. Laurentz was to act alone, so as planned, he would search for Olivier first. If she could be found, Jared’s shackles would be removed.
It didn’t matter if it was the soldiers or himself, the priority was to retrieve the hostage. Leaving the first floor to the soldiers, Laurentz proceeded to the second floor. As expected of a separate residence of a Marquis family, the mansion was large and had many rooms. It was truly vexing. Determined to find her, he hurried to check the rooms, as quietly as possible. However, a sound he heard made him stop.
“—They’re here.”
When he stepped into the corridor, he saw familiar faces. They were students from Weathered Royal Academy. They were crammed into the wide corridor, which could have easily accommodated their outstretched arms. All of them had vacant eyes and moved in unison, like dolls. Frankly, it was unsettling.
“Can you hear my voice?”
There was no reply. Like dolls programmed to perform a task, the students advanced towards Laurentz, reaching out their arms.
“—Damn it. It’s like they’re ghouls.”
He couldn’t cast magic. He didn’t want to harm his classmates, who for some reason, didn’t seem to be trying to use magic despite being controlled. He couldn’t even be sure if they could create a barrier. In the worst-case scenario, he might kill them.
“Even though I received combat training from Lord Tres and Lord Adelina, I can’t subdue this many people without magic.”
He might have been able to handle up to three. He had trained against Court Mages, who excelled not only in magic but also in combat techniques. Even Laurentz, who was not adept at physical combat despite his basic magical training, would not have been completely defenseless.
However, the situation was dire. He desperately didn’t want to hurt them. They, on the other hand, showed no regard for his circumstances. If the situation allowed, he wanted to shout at them to stop messing around.
“I’m sorry—but I have things I must do. I will hold back, but I can’t offer any more consideration. If you resent anyone, resent yourselves for being swayed by sweet words.”
Imbuing his staff with magic power, he struck the floor. Instantly, numerous clubs rose from the floor and the walls on either side, charging at the students. The students were struck all over their bodies and sent flying backward. However, as if they felt no pain, they stood up and charged again, their arms and legs bent at unnatural angles.
“This is troubling. Any further attack will make more noise. More importantly, I might kill them…”
Originally, the attack would have produced numerous stone spears from the floor and walls, impaling the enemies. By rounding the tips and turning them into clubs, he had intended to reduce their lethality, but it seemed to have little effect.
“There’s no other choice… I’ll have to escape for now.”
He retreated into a nearby room, and the students followed, groaning. Roughly twenty students in total reached out their hands in turn, but Laurentz deliberately grabbed their outstretched hands instead of dodging.
“I apologize for what’s coming, but please forgive me—”
Then, he forcibly pulled their arms and hurled their bodies towards the window with all his might. The window shattered, and their bodies flew through the air. One after another, their classmates were flung out the window. The sound of Luzer’s shouts could be heard from outside. He inwardly scoffed with a mix of amusement and apology that they had arrived at such a convenient time, and decided to leave the handling of the students thrown out of the mansion to him. He was scratched on his arms and face by a few of them, but without sustaining further injuries, he succeeded in throwing them all outside.
“Now I can focus on my search.”
“—I won’t let you.”
“You’re still here.”
He tensed up, hearing a proper response for the first time. Standing before the door was a girl he knew well.
“You’re—Brenda Campbell.”
“Oh? How honored that a future Court Mage remembers my name.”
“I know you well. I used to admire you.”
Brenda Campbell—a girl with flaxen hair cut short like a boy’s. She was one of the scholarship students at Weathered Royal Academy, participating in duties for the Royal Knights in lieu of attending classes. Although rumored to be a strong candidate for Court Mage, her name had never been put forward until now.
“Really? I’m happy, but in the end—I wasn’t even named as a candidate for Court Mage. Instead, you, who are not a scholarship student, are the one who becomes a Court Mage candidate.”
“No way—is that the reason?”
“Half correct, half incorrect. I am confident that I have the ability to become a Court Mage. Far, far stronger than Jared Murphy or any other scholarship student. Lord Leonard said so too. That’s why I want to prove it.”
“Prove what?”
“That I am stronger. Jared was pathetic and captured, but by defeating you and other Court Mages, I will make the Mage Association and the Royal Palace recognize that I was the one who was worthy.”
Laurentz was speechless. He couldn’t believe she was siding with those who had rebelled against the country for such a reason. It might not be “such a reason” to her, but if she wanted to test her strength, she could have found another way.
“First, it’s you, Laurentz Herring. You were apparently chosen as a Court Mage Candidate with the recommendation of two Court Mages, but do you truly have that much skill?”
“Are you intending to test it right here, right now?”
“Yes, of course. That’s why I went to all this trouble to join forces. Now, let’s have a match. Who is stronger, you or I—betting our lives!”
As she raised her voice, Brenda unleashed earth-attribute magic, her magic power surging.
