Chapter 17 – Yuuki’s Perspective
“Hey, Kachel Miegen.”
“Yikes!”
As I called out, Kachel’s face turned pale, and he flinched.
“Respond, Kachel Miegen. Tutor.”
“…Y-yes.”
“I couldn’t hear what you said earlier. Say it again. What did you say about my family?”
“Ugh! Gah! Noooooo!!”
Instructor Kachel was desperately clutching his arms.
“Speak up. You’re a teacher, right? Answer the child’s questions.”
“Y-you! You bastard! You bastard!!”
“I’m not talking about that.”
I kicked off the ground again, doubling my Boosted state. Instructor Kachel raised his arms, trying to deploy a barrier to stop my dagger. But he was too slow.
“Yaaaaahhh!!”
My dagger slipped past the barrier and sank into Kachel’s left arm. He continued his incantation despite the injury. Before his magic could activate, I leaped back.
“What did you say about my family earlier? I want to hear it again. That’s the conversation we’re having. If you don’t want to say it, just tell me it’s a waste of time, Tutor.”
I readied my dagger once more.
“Wait!”
I heard Princess Iris’s voice.
“You mustn’t kill him! Yuuki Glossalia!!”
“…Why not?”
“Instructor Kachel may be a follower of the Sacred Domain Church, which is considered taboo! We should keep him alive to extract information—”
“This guy insulted my family.”
In my past life, I could only protect Lyle and the others—my family—by disappearing. In this life, I can use Ancient Magic. So anyone who uses, insults, or harms my family will be dealt with without mercy.
“He tried to hurt you too. That’s why he has to go.”
“Y-you! What do you mean by using my brother!!”
Blood flowed from Kachel’s arm as he shouted.
“Your brother looks down on you! The illegitimate child!”
“That’s something you instigated.”
“Your brother insults you and tries to put you beneath him!”
“Siblings fight, you know. We’re human.”
In fact, he fought seriously against a Nosferatu. Brother Zeros is surprisingly broad-minded.
“But you? You crossed the line when you tried to use my family. I can’t think of any other way to deal with you but to kill you.”
“Ughhhhhh!!”
Clang.
My dagger was caught by Instructor Kachel’s magical barrier.
“I’ve already completed the incantation and the sigil. Activating Ancient Artifact Replica. Summon—Catalyst!”
Instructor Kachel threw something gray onto the ground. A magic circle unfolded around it. I focused on the gray fragment. That was a monster’s wing.
I recalled my memories. What kind of wing was that? I had seen it several times in my past life. A winged monster. Cockatrice? No, it was bigger.
“A Griffon!?”
“Correct, kid!!”
A massive magical barrier formed in front of Instructor Kachel. This is troublesome!
“I didn’t expect to use my trump card here! This is the wing of a Griffon that was controlled by a priest of the Sacred Domain Church. I’ll kill you all here and make the princess my captive!!”
“Everyone! Draw your swords!! Protect Her Royal Highness!!”
The soldiers formed a line and drew their swords. Princess Iris unleashed her Ancient Magic, Ifrit Blow. Yet, Kachel’s barrier held firm.
…Did Instructor Kachel have this much magical power? If he was this strong, it wouldn’t be surprising if he were a high-ranking sorcerer in the Magic Guild. Why was he just a tutor for a baronial house?
“Now, my familiar! Rampage through the soldiers and bring the princess to me!!”
“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!”
A Griffon emerged from the magic circle. Incredible. Ancient Magic can summon such monsters.
The Griffon had the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a lion. Its size was about that of a small house, and when it spread its wings, it was even larger. Its beak and claws were fearsome, and it could attack from the air.
“Go! Slaughter the soldiers!!”
“Giiiiiiiiii!!”
Kachel had somehow mounted the Griffon’s back, and it began to ascend.
“Listen! The Griffon’s weapons are its beak, claws, and hind legs! When it’s carrying someone on its back, it can’t use its beak effectively! The claws can only attack in front, and the hind legs can only strike directly behind! The center of its body is the only place where both attacks can’t reach. Attack from right beneath the base of its wings!”
“W-why do you know all this, Yuuki Glossalia!?”
“I heard it from an acquaintance!”
“Amazing! You have that much knowledge… Understood! Soldiers, form a square formation! Shields outward. Attack with swords through the gaps! I will cast magic to attack!!”
“Yuuki Glossaliaaa! What are you doing!!”
Gaiin!
The Griffon’s claws struck the soldiers’ shields. However, the soldiers’ formation held firm. They were all tightly packed, covering each other.
“You! The illegitimate child! Those who don’t even know their origins always get in the way!!”
“I don’t care.”
The Griffon’s feathers were materials for magic. So, I had researched them in the past. Naturally, I had hunted them too. Don’t underestimate the Undying Sorcerer Nosferatu.
“I’m going in! Ifrit Blow!!”
“Protect Princess Iris—!!”
As the Griffon dove, the princess unleashed her magic, and the soldiers raised their swords. But they couldn’t hit the Griffon. Hitting a fast-moving enemy is incredibly difficult.
“See? This is the legacy of the Sacred Domain Church!! To consider it taboo is the height of foolishness! If you disagree, try to defeat me!!”
“Got it. Come on, Dick!!”
“Master────!!” “Kiki!” “Giggigii!!” “Gigi!!”
Four Bats gathered around me. The sigil for Ifrit Blow drawn on their wings had faded. It consumed too much magic power. But the sigil for Boosted remained.
“Yuuki Glossalia!? What are you planning to do!?”
“Don’t make me say it again.”
I told Princess Iris. She looked at me, her silver hair swaying.
Alice… no, Princess Iris. Even our names are similar. My past life is following me even here. Humans really are troublesome creatures.
“I’m going to kill Kachel. You’re the one I’m protecting. Out of duty to my family and my past. Also, I’ll borrow the backs of the soldiers.”
“…Huh?”
There was no time to wait for an answer. I dashed up the back of a soldier, leaping into the air.
“You fool! Just because you can use Ancient Magic, you think you’re above me!!”
The Griffon flapped its wings, changing course to the side. It was trying to escape to a position where I couldn’t reach it.
But I had anticipated that.
“Gather, my familiars!!”
“『『『『Master────!!』』』』
At my signal, the four Bats clustered together, forming a platform. With Boosted, their strength was sufficient.
“Hold on, Dick!”
“Understood!!”
Thud.
I used the Bats’ bodies as a foothold and leaped sideways.
“W-what is that!? Who are you!?”
“You said it yourself. Someone who doesn’t even know their origins. That’s correct, Tutor!”
I plunged my dagger into the Griffon’s neck. At the same time, I pressed my left hand against the monster’s belly.
My Boosted state was activated using the bracelet and the sigil on my right arm. My left hand was free. So I drew the sigil earlier.
“Magic should be used to ensure it hits without fail. Activate Ifrit Blow!”
“Yeeeeeeeeee!!”
With a loud bang, the Griffon exploded. The fire magic activated at point-blank range incinerated the Griffon from the inside.
“Yaaaaahhh!!”
The flames that pierced through the Griffon also scorched Instructor Kachel.
The flaming Griffon let out a scream as it fell from the sky, still carrying Kachel on its back.
“────Gugahhh!”
The Griffon crashed to the ground. Kachel’s body bounced and rolled across the earth.
I used my “Flight Skill” to slow my descent and landed on the ground.
…Phew.
This was my first aerial battle in this body, but I managed somehow.
“Yuuki Grossaria-sama… amazing!”
“To use ‘Ancient Magic’ while so close?! How can he do something like that…?”
“What a terrifying child. Few possess such talent even in the ‘Magic Guild’…”
“To have a familiar at such a young age… where did he learn magic?”
The soldiers were in an uproar.
Let them be. I have something to deal with first.
“…I need to take care of Kachel.”
“There’s no need for that. He’s already finished.”
Princess Iris interrupted my words.
“He’s still alive, but… your magic has severely injured him. Besides, he doesn’t have the magical power to summon such a familiar. If he forced the summoning, he should be on the verge of exhausting his magic. That could very well threaten his life.”
“Don’t kill him?”
“That man will be summoned by the ‘Magic Guild’ and face punishment. A promising sorcerer isn’t worth getting his hands dirty over. That’s all there is to it.”
Princess Iris was staring straight at me.
…With a face that resembled Alice, the girl I took care of two hundred years ago.
…Humans really are unfair, aren’t they?
“…As you wish, Your Royal Highness.”
“That’s not something to say while clicking your tongue, Yuuki Grossaria.”
I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.
“…’Ancient Magic’──’Spirit Summoning’──I summon the esteemed Ninth Priest of the ‘Sacred Domain Church’ here!”
“Kachel!?”
He was still alive.
Thrown from the Griffon, he rolled on the ground, his arm bent at an unnatural angle.
Even so, he was moving his fingers, trying to activate ‘Ancient Magic.’
“…What does it matter that he has no magic? Just because he could only find work as a tutor, what of it? I have… already prepared countermeasures. Do you think I became Zeros Grossaria’s tutor for nothing? He… at least has the capacity for magic…”
“Ugh, aaaaaahhh!!”
Suddenly, I heard a scream behind me.
When I turned around, there was Burns, carrying a pale-faced Brother Zeros on his back.
Next time, Episode 19 is scheduled to be updated tomorrow evening.