Episode 12: Sniping
For now, I’ll ignore the conversation between Getrude and the military officers.
I continue to activate my “Detection Magic.”
Normal “Magical Power Detection” isn’t strictly magic. It’s more like a subconscious check nobles use to see if there are any Stella-Class individuals nearby.
Therefore, it can only detect within a radius of about two hundred meters.
“We’ve heard rumors about Minashiro-sama, but they’re mostly about you gallivanting around the town. Could it be that…”
“Indeed, Minashiro-sama himself likely spread those rumors. If his true power were to be revealed, it would not only alert the enemy but also sow seeds of caution within the Zakrian Empire.”
“To think you had such profound intentions! As expected of Minashiro-sama!”
They’re still talking. And I don’t remember spreading any such rumors…
I feel like these military officers are becoming yes-men. I’m starting to get a little scared that they’ll say “As expected!” no matter what I do.
Getting back to the point, the nobles’ “Magical Power Detection” is so overused that they seem to think, “There’s no way it can be improved now.” So, it hasn’t been expanded academically, i.e., into the realm of magic.
That’s why I developed “Detection Magic,” which expands “Magical Power Detection” over a wider area and enables more accurate spatial recognition. And now, the preparations are complete.
“Release the ‘Magical Power Wave.'”
I unleashed a single, powerful, completed Magical Power Wave.
The Magical Power Wave spread out concentrically from me at several times the speed of sound, exposing anyone with magical power.
“Found them.”
In my mind, a 3D mapping of space with height, width, and depth was reproduced in sync with the Magical Power Wave. I confirmed the coordinates of particularly large magical powers about ten kilometers southeast and another about fifty kilometers northwest.
The former is unknown, but the latter is undoubtedly Barbat.
“All of you, step back. I’m releasing the ‘Intimidation Orb.'”
When I gave the order to the military officers, they immediately obeyed and retreated behind me.
I positioned both hands in front of me, one above the other, and created something like a colorless, transparent, distorted sphere of air in the palms of my hands.
“W-what is that…?”
“That’s probably a secret technique that only Minashiro-sama can use. Everyone, be sure not to breathe a word of it to anyone.”
Getrude said with a solemn face to the sweating military officers.
I call this magic “Intimidation Orb.”
It’s a crystallization of effort, created through serious research into magical power, but I won’t elaborate here.
“Barbat, I won’t let you go to my grandfather.”
Based on the 3D mapping I created in my mind, I precisely launched the “Intimidation Orb.”
◇◇◇◇
Fifty kilometers northwest of the hill, the Kingdom of Naia’s army was marching at high speed, emitting a red aura.
“Nephthys, how much further?”
The man in black armor riding at the head of the army had refined features and golden hair fluttering in the wind, making him look like a prince on a white horse.
The man asked the middle-aged man, his aide, who was riding alongside him.
“We should be able to see Fort Ronchant in about an hour.”
Nephthys, the middle-aged man also in black armor, replied to his master in a flat tone.
“Even so, was it really okay to leave behind an army of ten thousand? A Stella-Class who isn’t even an adult shouldn’t be able to do much more than delay us, even with five thousand soldiers. We could have just crushed them before coming here.”
“Your Highness, you must not underestimate Stella-Class individuals. We cannot allow the operation we’ve been planning for years to be stopped by some Guardian of Ortenos.”
The man called “Your Highness” was Barbat von Naia, the second prince of the Kingdom of Naia.
Nephthys calmly replied to Barbat’s crude words.
“Tch, you’re as stiff as ever. More importantly, your prediction was wrong. Instead of the ‘Head of the Family,’ a Guardian named Shalka came, and he’s just a pre-adult boy (brat).”
“It’s enough that we were able to lure out one Stella-Class. We’ve confirmed with our collaborators that the Head of the Family is holed up in Ortenatris. This means that no Stella-Class reinforcements will come to Ronchant.”
Basically, nobles and royalty refer to Stella-Class individuals involved in succession, such as the current head, the next head, and the previous head, as the “Head of the Family,” and everyone else as Guardians.
From Nephthys’s point of view, the Ortenos Stella-Class have been divided, so the operation is going smoothly.
They’ve already marched about fifty kels, so it’s impossible to catch up now.
“It would have been nice if Elmia, the next head of Ortenos, had come. If that had happened, this magnificent self could have defiled a descendant of royalty, a supremely exciting development.”
“…Your Highness, please refrain from making statements that acknowledge the authority of the former royal family.”
Nephthys, who knew Barbat’s tastes, felt disgusted but only offered a word of caution to his master.
Barbat didn’t seem to care and grinned, his mouth curving into a crescent shape.
“How can I not be interested? Elmia is said to be the spitting image of Princess Illumina, whom Naia failed to capture sixty years ago.”