Chapter 43

On top of the team battle arena.

As we started to climb up, murmurs erupted from the VIP seats.

“Oh, isn’t that Sharine Sazarith, the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord?”

“Whoa, a bigshot has arrived!”

“Hmm, didn’t they say she’s an adopted daughter?”

“What does that matter? She’s got the title of Magic Arts Top Student and ‘Miryun’ to boot!”

Of course, the most mentioned name among the guests was Sharine.

Her eyes, known as Miryun, were regarded as the pinnacle of a sorceress’s talents.

Having been born with such an incredible gift, Sharine easily overshadowed any talk of her being an adopted child.

Though.

“…Hmph.”

Sharine did not seem thrilled about themention of her adoption.

Her eyes poked into the back of my head, almost like she was blaming me.

It must be because of something I said when I dragged her into the team.

The bit about teaching her how to deal one to her adoptive father, the Magic Tower Lord.

At that time, I didn’t press further, but it’s likely a sore spot for her.

“But why isn’t Sharine the team leader?”

“Hanon? Never heard of him.”

“But those eyes and hair…?”

Before I knew it, the gaze of the guests shifted from Sharine to me.

My hair and eye color were strikingly similar to Iris’s, who just appeared earlier.

This meant they’d likely traced my bloodline back to the Duke of Robliju.

From there, they would infer my lineage.

However, my surname isn’t Robliju; it’s Airei.

It seemed some were questioning that fact.

“Interesting.”

Except for one person.

The woman with the bright yellow eyes peering at me looked exceptionally intrigued.

Her hair was as white as snow, and her oddly shaped eyes had a strangely twisted charm.

Dressed in a flowing cloak that accentuated her captivating figure, she was clearly enjoying the show.

In the Haishirion Empire, there are precisely four dukes.

She is one of the eastern duchies.

The Whitewood Duke.

The oldest duke who has been around since the inception of the Haishirion Empire.

“I expected you to take an interest in me.”

Even from this distance, an incredibly dangerous aura radiated from her.

The steel within me trembled instinctively.

It felt like a warning to avoid the Duke of Whitewood’s gaze at all costs.

Thinking of what might come, I knew I couldn’t let my fears get the best of me.

I turned my back on the Duke’s gaze and stepped into the arena.

As I did so, the weight of all those observing vanished, thanks to the magic surrounding the arena.

“It’s even more fascinating once you’re in here.”

Sharine was looking around, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Don’t deactivate it.”

“What do you think of me?”

Capricious.

With Sharine being unpredictable, I raised my head.

“Seron.”

“Ah, yeah, why!”

Seron, clearly tense, gripped his axe tightly as he replied.

Unlike me, Seron was looking at another spot.

There stood a middle-aged man who looked just like him, grinning from ear to ear.

He was holding a banner that said “Go, daughter!”

It was clear he was nervous because he assumed his dad came to watch.

“We’ll take care of the first five demons on our own.”

There are a total of ten demons in the team battle.

Each demon round has ten rounds, of course.

Since the difficulty of the demons increases toward the later rounds, it’s most efficient for Seron and me, with our stamina, to handle the early ones.

I looked back at Seron with a grin.

“If you’re nervous, just say so. I can swap you out.”

Veins popped up on his forehead.

“Who’s nervous!”

He swung his axe threateningly.

“Princess Goomba, I’ll finish this faster than you can blink!”

So much for taking it easy.

“Card, Grantoni, you two stay ready. Sharine, wait for my call.”

“Do well!”

“Hehehe, this is going to be fun!”

“You should have practiced a bit more!”

Listening to everyone’s responses, I rolled up my sleeves.

As soon as I raised my hand,

BOOM!

With a rumble, a gigantic bull-shaped demon appeared.

Round 1.

Water Bull Demon.

Tick tock!

Simultaneously, the clock counting the battle time started ticking.

Seron and I dashed toward the Water Bull Demon.

Like with Iris earlier, the Water Bull Demon puffed its arms, clearly refusing to be one-shot.

It then threw a punch at me as I reached it.

A fist larger than my head came barreling down.

I tilted my head just in time to narrowly dodge the punch.

I could feel the weight of the fist as it whooshed past overhead.

Did Iris really take that thing down with a single strike?

Once again, I felt awe at Iris’s strength.

While I was dodging, Seron dove into the water bull demon’s embrace.

Suddenly, a stream of water erupted from the demon’s mouth.

“Ack, argh!”

Seron hurriedly carved through the water spray with her axe, splattering water everywhere.

Thanks to that, Seron ended up looking like a drenched rat.

Her fair skin and thin clothing were revealed under her wet clothes.

“Moo!”

The water bull thrashed around and suddenly expelled a loud puff of air.

Wham!

In an instant, I jumped and grasped the water bull’s head with my hands.

Seeing it expel air made me feel oddly disgusted.

The bull demon flinched and glanced at me through its fingers.

Who would’ve thought a bull could have such bright, glimmering eyes?

Magic Seal, Fire.

Fwoosh!

At that moment, the magic seal engraved into my steel-like skin activated, unleashing a wave of high-temperature flames.

Crack!

I twisted the bull’s head with the heat and force of my grip.

The bull, now headless, struggled no more and fell silent.

Taking a light breath, I turned to glance at Seron.

She seemed to have water in her mouth, spitting it out.

“Ugh, what’s with the salty taste?”

“Probably milk. But more importantly, dry yourself off. I’m not into seeing your underwear.”

Seron belatedly noticed her wet clothes and shrieked.

“No, it’s not underwear, it’s my shirt! What are you thinking?”

“I’m not thinking anything.”

“…Hey, that’s also infuriating, you know?”

As we exchanged pointless banter, the second demon began to emerge.

The demon had a human torso but spider legs below it—it was a Spider Demon.

There was no time to mess around with Seron.

Noticing this, Seron pouted and gripped her axe tightly.

“Let’s keep going.”

With that, Seron and I charged forward again.

* * *

Outside, while Hannon’s team was in the middle of their match, those sitting in the VIP seats showed a waning interest.

“When will Sharine make her move?”

“Looks like everyone besides those two has been staying on the sidelines since earlier.”

Maybe it was because Iris’s earlier battle had too much impact.

Even though Hannon and Seron were organizing the demons faster than most third-year students, everyone seemed rather apathetic.

It was probably because they couldn’t help but compare them to Iris.

Hannon and Seron were performing well.

While they didn’t take down demons in a single blow like Iris, they managed to defeat the second demon in no time.

From the third demon onwards, Card and Grantoni stepped up to the plate.

Card specialized in Shadow Magic.

The shadows beneath him executed deadly attacks while Seron and Hannon fought their battles.

Grantoni showcased outstanding support with his corpse manipulation skills, providing platforms for Hannon and Seron to leap from.

They even bound the demons, restricting their movements.

The synergy between them was excellent.

Especially, Hannon’s commands were aptly delivered every time a new demon appeared.

It was as if he had a thorough understanding of every demon that showed up.

Of course, it was due to the third-year students and Iris’s team preceding their match that all demons had already shown up.

Given the time, it made sense he would have thought of ways to handle the demons.

Nonetheless, Hannon’s approach to taking down the demons was optimally executed.

“Hmm?”

Among the guests, someone started realizing Hannon’s unique skills and sent him a curious glance.

Hannon appeared far from your average second-year student in terms of his deep knowledge and experience regarding demons.

“Boring.”

“I was hoping to see some of Sharine Sazarith’s magic.”

But not everyone was clued in.

While Hannon was undeniably defeating demons in an optimized manner, it was devoid of flair to anyone not in the know.

This opinion mainly came from those who lacked the experience of witnessing magic firsthand or hadn’t been to the Magung Academy.

As sharp contenders filled the ranks, others managed to insert themselves due to sheer luck of circumstances.

Before long, the VIP seats began to divide into two distinct groups.

And of those, one stood out, her eyes gleaming with intrigue like a fox.

“Heh, heh, an interesting boy.”

Known as the Whitewood Duke, she was the oldest duke and a living testament to the empire.

She was now watching the match with an even greater sense of interest than when Iris was around.

Golden light danced around in her eyes as she became enamored by the unfolding scenes.

“Your Grace, do you take such delight in the youths’ fervor?”

Then a one-eyed attendant by her side spoke up.

Listening to him, the Whitewood Duke tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“The energy of youth is always delightful to witness. Just like how a blazing fire captures the eye.”

“Still, you seem especially entertained today.”

Indeed.

The Whitewood Duke was sporting a broad smile today.

And it was all thanks to a certain boy reflected in her eyes.

“The Steel Empress.”

She muttered quietly, her eyes glimmering.

Having served as a duke since the time the Haishirion Imperial Family was established, she had seen her fair share of mystical entities.

Such beings were rare, but they did exist.

Yet once in a while, something odd would pop up.

Just like this moment.

“Huh, heh heh.”

In her delight, she chuckled as she watched Hannon, who conjured flames from his fingertips.

What kind of lunatic would consider inscribing a magic seal directly into their own skin to use?

Especially when those magic seals had long been deemed a relic of the past.

‘Magic seals and mystique share a bizarre harmony, don’t they?’

Having lived for so long, this profound knowledge brought a smile to her face.

‘Did he know what he was doing or was he oblivious to it?’

Whatever the case, something interesting had come to light after quite some time.

Thinking to check on how the renowned 3rd Princess had grown, unexpectedly, she found a new thrill in her sights.

The Whitewood Duke nodded her ankle, deep in thought.

‘Now then.’

How much value can you prove?

The 1st Prince and the 3rd Princess.

Even now, she hadn’t shown herself to either, yet she couldn’t help but smile faintly, sensing newfound worth.