Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

I had no ill feelings toward the Princess.

No, rather, I had nothing but a good impression of her.

Wasn’t it the Princess who funded the expansion of the Orphanage? I wasn’t sure how she got involved in national affairs at such a young age…

But the reason I wasn’t raised getting beaten and used for begging was all thanks to the Princess.

As I stood at attention, trying to be as respectful as possible, Lumia, who had persuaded the examiner, looked this way.

Our eyes met. Then, the knights standing behind her took a step forward and issued a warning.

“Show some respect.”

“–Stand down. You should expect what’s reasonable.”

“…?”

It seemed I wasn’t supposed to make eye contact. I quickly lowered my head, and immediately the opposite command followed.

“Look up. I haven’t come here to receive your greetings.”

“Yes.”

Due to the difference in height, I had to look up slightly.

Lumia looked me up and down and asked,

“Dersia’s student, your name?”

“I am called Jern.”

“‘Am called’? Hahaha…”

She let out a soft laugh and wiped the corner of her eye as she offered advice.

“Drop the pointless formal speech. If you want to properly address me with correct etiquette, you’d need to study for at least three more months.”

“Ah, yes.”

“As I said, I didn’t come here for that kind of thing.”

She walked up boldly and poked me in the chest with the baton she was holding.

“Do you know about me?”

“Yes. Princess Lumia.”

“Right. Even a commoner should know of me. But what I’m asking is, what do you know about me?”

“I received a great kindness from you. I hold deep gratitude.”

“…What?”

To Lumia, who made a slightly puzzled expression, I conveyed my thanks.

“To my knowledge, it was Your Highness who ordered major support for the Orphanage. As I was raised an orphan, I received a great deal of help. Therefore…”

“Ah, no…”

“Ahem…”

Mid-sentence, I noticed the knights’ reactions were unusual and realized I’d made some kind of mistake.

The knights stood with their mouths agape, looking at me like I was some crazy bastard. The Princess had a face like, “What’s with this guy?”

It was Lumia who broke the awkward silence.

“…That was something my sister did.”

“…Ah.”

“You’ve got some guts. Praising my sister’s achievements in front of me.”

“I apologize. I didn’t know.”

“No, no. This is amusing…”

Chuckling, Lumia turned and walked to the center of the arena.

Then she gave an order to the staff member who was practically kneeling.

“Prepare.”

“Yes, ma’am!!”

“You said your name was Jern.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

I was marked.

It seemed I’d stepped on a landmine. Lumia’s voice was slightly lower now. Though she kept smiling at me, I could see her lip was slightly twitching.

“Your teacher, Dersia, was originally supposed to be my teacher.”

“…I see. I didn’t know.”

“But she refused me, saying she must walk the Path of Magic.”

As the staff member dashed out of the arena, Lumia suddenly raised and opened her right hand.

A flame ignited in her palm. I knew it almost instinctively.

This wasn’t just a flame. It writhed in agony, almost as if alive, then looked at me and started laughing.

How could a flame laugh? But that’s really how it looked.

“I understand. If she’s that level of wizard, she’d have no reason to take on an apprentice. Being an Elf, she’ll live a long time too…”

Mumbling to herself, Lumia looked at me.

“But the one she chose after abandoning me was you?”

This time, she wasn’t speaking as royalty, but as a person.

I chose my words as carefully as I could.

“No, of course, in terms of talent, someone like me, a lowborn commoner, could never be compared to Your Highness, but my master…”

“Do not place me on the same level as others. I acknowledge your talent.”

“…Pardon?”

“Surpassing elemental magic at your age proves it. Even if we searched the Empire’s history, there would be few with such an achievement.”

“Ah, thank you.”

It was a much more generous evaluation than I’d expected.

Though she was likely speaking without knowing the true nature of Growth, Form, Remove.

“However, your teacher made a mistake.”

“…A mistake, Your Highness?”

“Yes.”

Lumia responded with a snort.

“No matter how exceptional you are, if she abandoned me, then she should never have become anyone’s teacher. It was a foolish decision. I will make your teacher realize that.”

“Hmm…”

She wasn’t wrong.

However, after a brief silence, I bowed my head.

“Forgive me, but may I make one request?”

“Hmm, speak.”

“Please retract that statement.”

“…Oh?”

At those words, the Princess looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.

“Why?”

“As for me… well, I’m nothing special, so you may insult and criticize me all you want. I also believe that, if we’re being honest, my master’s judgment was flawed.”

“Then there’s no issue, is there?”

“However, I believe it’s wrong to insult my master in front of the one she chose.”

“…I see.”

I met the Princess’s eyes.

For quite a long while.

The staff member, trembling, raised his hand.

“Then, try to make me retract it.”

Lumia, with a deep smile, didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of backing down.

I raised my hand and asked a question.

“Excuse me, wait a moment.”

“Do you have more to ask? You won’t be able to run…”

“It’s not to Your Highness. I have a question for the staff member.”

“?”

I cautiously asked the staff member, who looked bewildered as if caught in the crossfire.

“Um… casting magic before the match starts, isn’t that grounds for disqualification?”

The staff member responded without a second’s hesitation.

“No. Begin!”

What backing.

At that moment, two stars sparkled in Lumia’s eyes.

Two in number.

2-Star. I didn’t know much, but I knew that was a level one should not reach at her age.

It wasn’t ordinary fire. Blue flames flared up.

That was a small relief. Fire was the weakest type of magic.

Because it merely existed as a phenomenon. It could be put out with water, with wind, and with anything around here.

“Don’t even think about going easy. If I see you doing so-”

“Excuse me!”

I kicked the ground with all my strength.

Sand flew toward the Princess’s hand. She had been channeling flame magic with her right hand the entire time, so I assumed it was some kind of controlling magic.

“…I see, I was worried for nothing.”

Whoosh!

The sand was caught before it even got close.

By a hand made of flame.

“…”

Crackle… The sand instantly burned or melted as it fell away.

The heat was no joke. But more than that, the frightening thing was that the flame had form.

Several massive hands extended naturally from the Princess’s back, moving with eerie fluidity.

Lumia proudly looked up at those hands.

“Flame Spirit Manifestation, originally, manifesting it against a 1-Star wizard like you would be considered attempted murder.”

“Um, wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous for you, then?”

“And who would punish me?”

She’s out of her mind.

The Princess let out a dry chuckle as the Flame Spirit Manifestation clenched its fist.

“Don’t pretend to be weak. You can handle it.”

“I can’t-”

Boom!

It struck the ground right in front of me.

“Gah.”

I bounced a few times and crashed into the ground.

The impact itself wasn’t too severe. Getting hit by Dersia hurt far, far worse, so I quickly regained my senses.

The problem was the heat. My skin was stinging.

I immediately threw all of my mana into flame resistance. I could actually be roasted alive at this rate.

As I stood up with a hardened expression, I asked,

“Do you really have to do this?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t particularly want to fight you, Princess. Whether I win or lose, there’s nothing to gain.”

“You’re assuming victory in a duel with me? You’re getting more interesting by the second.”

“…You’re the one who chose this.”

From that moment, I started keeping track of time.

I readied my stance.

It would’ve been best if things ended with words, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

Lumia began approaching with a crooked smile.

…So that’s how it is. The range of her magic is short. She traded it off for destructive power.

If I keep running around.

Fwush-!

“…No.”

Before I could even finish the thought, the Flame Spirit Manifestation scooped up the surrounding sand.

She had already predicted what I was planning to do. I sighed.

This is cheating.

“Take this.”

Fwoooosh! The melting sand completely filled my front view.

“Tch…”

I couldn’t dodge. I wrapped wind around my hands to reduce contact as much as possible and deflected the attack.

Some of them inevitably hit me. Even though I had activated Remove:, it still felt like drops of melted wax falling on me, it was unpleasant.

The assault didn’t end there. At some point, the flaming fists had closed the distance and began hammering down on the ground without pause.

I could maybe handle the melted sand, but taking a direct hit from those would mean I was out.

I gritted my teeth and kept running. In the end, Remove: only works against opponents using blockable magic.

While I was doing nothing but running away, the Princess mocked me with a smile.

“After talking big, all you do is run?”

Running away still served a purpose.

I was keeping my breathing steady. That meant I wasn’t shaken even in a real battle. I was achieving my goal.

“That won’t do.”

“What-”

Thud.

I came to a sudden stop as I felt the edge of the arena under my foot.

“…You mean this.”

Damn.

I’d thought she was just swinging wildly, but she wasn’t.

She had been steadily herding me into a corner.

The Princess smiled and curled her right hand.

“Not once has anyone of equal skill to me ever defeated me in the arena.”

“With that power, I suppose you’re close to invincible in a confined space like this.”

“There is the option of surrendering. Though, it would be unfortunate for you to leave without showing anything.”

“Hmph.”

I shrugged.

If she leaves this feeling unsatisfied, she’ll try something like this again.

It’d be better to leave a solid impression now.

“Then well… come at me.”

“…”

The Princess’s eyes widened slightly at my attitude.

Then she smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s more like it.”

Boom-!

*

“Oh dear, should we not stop this?”

“No.”

Dersia replied lightly to Rohimdal’s amused question.

Unlike her, the others in the waiting room were watching the execution-like match with slightly sympathetic eyes.

“There’s no point. Why would Her Highness do something like this…”

“The difference between 1-Star and 2-Star, and the opponent is none other than Princess Lumia, this is just bullying.”

“Shh, she might hear…”

Some expressed concern for the child, who had only recently experienced Awakening Fever, now facing off against the Princess.

“Wow, Princess Lumia’s Flame Spirit Manifestation has improved even more!”

“She’s confirmed her Unique Magic at 2-Star, hasn’t she? That’s incredible!”

“Too bad for that kid, though. Ahem.”

The rest were simply celebrating the Princess’s rapid growth.

No matter how execution-like the duel seemed, one side was an orphan commoner, and the other was a Princess. There was no reason to stir up unnecessary trouble.

Of course, the title of being Dersia’s student did carry some weight.

“…”

But the one who should have reacted the most, Dersia, had only glanced at the arena at the beginning and then sat reading a book ever since.

She seemed to have no interest in her student. Even when Rohimdal occasionally updated her, she responded with what was close to indifference.

Naturally, people didn’t look at her kindly.

“…Even if she only chose him for his talent, he’s still her student.”

“To let him suffer for her mistake, tsk…”

“Elves really are…”

They didn’t say it to her face.

If they were foolish enough to pick a fight with a wizard who possessed nine Astral Wheels, they wouldn’t have made it this far in the first place.

“…Hmm.”

It was Rohimdal who felt awkward.

He had known she wasn’t particularly interested in her student, but he hadn’t expected her to ignore him to this extent.

‘I was going to put her in her place…’

No matter how talented he was, someone who had only recently gone through Awakening Fever couldn’t beat the Princess.

That’s why, he had intended to say, “The Princess you discarded shines far brighter than the commoner you chose. You made the wrong decision.”

But if the person in question was like this, the entire point fell apart.

While Rohimdal sighed, Dersia spoke to him.

“Sir Rohimdal.”

“…What is it?”

“Is Princess’s training progressing well?”

“Ah, of course it is!”

So now she finally shows jealousy.

But I had no intention of backing down, not even a little. Before Rohimdal could say anything in response to that thought.

“Then, it would be unacceptable for Princess to lose to my disciple, who only experienced Awakening Fever a few months ago.”

“…?”

Dersia cut him off.

Rohimdal blinked a few times, then nodded.

“Of course, that goes without saying.”

“You seem confident. Shall we place a bet?”

“Huh? A bet…? What do you mean?”

“Yes. If Princess fails to defeat my disciple, then retire from the position of Imperial Court Wizard.”

“W-What?!”

“In return, if Princess wins, I’ll take responsibility and tell you how to reach 8-star.”

“What are you talking about, do you even know what 8-Star is?!”

“I reached it. If you don’t want to, then there’s nothing more to say.”

Dersia shifted her gaze back to the desk and resumed reading, as if she wasn’t the least bit concerned.

“…”

Rohimdal stood frozen, his fingers twitching, then hurriedly turned back to watch the match.

–Boom!

“…!”

The commoner was still doing nothing, taking repeated hits from the flaming fists, getting pummeled down.

It was so one-sided that it was hard to even follow what was happening.

A turnaround at this point was impossible.

Even if there were a thousand commoner-class wizards like him, none of them could break through Flame Spirit Manifestation and reach the Princess.

“…”

Rohimdal quickly began calculating.

Of course, the idea of quitting as a Imperial Court Wizard was absurd.

He had gone through countless hardships to reach this position.

But at the same time, if he could learn how to reach 8-Star, it would be a position worth giving up.

As he hesitated for a moment, what pushed Rohimdal into action was a sound nearly like an explosion.

–KWAANG!!

The commoner, who had been grazed up until now, took a direct hit this time. One of the gems in his necklace shattered, it was visible even from here.

At this rate, the match would be over. Rohimdal rushed back to Dersia and grabbed her desk, answering.

“F-Fine, I’ll do it!”

“Are you sure? Everyone is watching. You should take your time and decide carefully…”

“No! I won’t go back on my word after it’s over!”

Dersia, looking into Rohimdal’s eyes burning with desperation,

“…Hmm. Is that so.”

She smiled slightly.

*

“…Ptooey, kuh…”

I spat out blood-stained saliva.

It landed right next to my face. Because I was lying down.

Looking up at the clear blue sky, I let out a sigh, and then a voice filled with disdain came.

“That’s enough.”

Hearing Lumia’s voice, I got up from the ground.

The heat was intense. The fists were hovering right beside me.

Only one gem remained, and it had a crack in it.

It didn’t seem to be absorbing the impact properly either. Most likely, it was designed under the assumption of beginner-level magic battles, so it probably didn’t reduce damage from 2-Star magic well.

And on top of that, heat was seeping through even my Remove:.

I didn’t even want to imagine how I looked right now.

The Princess frowned and sighed.

“Well, I guess this is your limit…”

“…”

“If all your magic is about endurance, I don’t understand why she chose you… but anything more would just be bullying.”

“…”

“Your loyalty to your master was evident. I don’t wish to torment you, so I’ll end this now.”

The flaming fist clenched.

It came down to destroy the last gem,

“…?”

And then.

Mid-swing, the fist suddenly vanished.

The Princess wore a “confused expression” and brought down another fist on me, still lying flat on the ground.

That one disappeared too.

Without any sign or trace, as if it had been erased.

“What is this… urk!”

The flame floating in Lumia’s right hand wavered violently.

She stepped back in a flash, preparing a defensive stance with the flame fists.

I saw every part of that clearly from where I lay.

“Haah, now I can finally breathe…”

“What-”

I exhaled the breath I had been holding and lifted my upper body, which felt like it might shatter. I pulled one knee in and rested my elbow on it.

I looked almost like a corpse. I could see that.

I could see myself.

But that wasn’t all. The confused knights, the sword sheathed at their waists, the twitching legs, the audience seats, a fallen scrap of paper, the grains of sand in the arena, the broom placed far away, the dustless marble floor…

Everything.

All of it had entered the range of my current sense.

Thump-

Of course.

Thump- thump- thump-

Even the Princess’s heartbeat, slightly quickened from tension.

“You…”

The Princess furrowed her brows.

It seemed she had realized who was responsible for the current situation.

“What did you just do?”

“Hmm.”

A completely different stance from just moments ago, where she hadn’t even considered me an opponent, now shifted to full defense.

Feeling a refreshing clarity, I twisted my lips into a smile while still seated.

Now that I’m back, I understand.

I really do belong in this world.

“5 minutes. I timed it precisely.”

“??”

Even though I gave her a clear answer.

The Princess didn’t understand a single bit.