Chapter 25 – Bets and Matches

“Firestorm!”

As Talcott shouted, a vortex of flames erupted near the center of the group. Screams rose from the surroundings.

Firestorm was a difficult magic to handle due to its ambiguous directional control. It wasn’t considered suitable for chaotic battles.

But the vortex remained stationary at the center.

Indeed. As expected, he seemed capable of controlling it. I had been prepared to activate wide-range water magic or other countermeasures, accepting that some injuries might occur if the damage threatened to escalate… but this should still be manageable.

“How about that, you lot? Look at this! I don’t need life magic!”

Talcott laughed with a triumphant expression. The vortex of flames wavered along with his laughter. This looked rather precarious. If he didn’t have the leeway, he should focus more, I thought.

If I were to harvest his consciousness now, I couldn’t be certain how the flames would behave. That said, leaving things as they were made it unclear how long he could maintain the vortex in that position.

There was no guarantee that the Firestorm wouldn’t come our way once control was lost. To prevent any accidents, I had to extinguish these flames first.

Pushing aside the trainees in front of me, I extended my hand to activate the magic I had prepared.

“Flame Absorb.”

The flames were drawn into the dark sphere released from my hand. Anyone standing in the straight line connecting the flames and the sphere would be engulfed in fire. While I could absorb ignited flames, burns would still occur if someone touched the fire before absorption.

That’s why I needed to get closer before using the magic on the pillar of flames.

Only the heat remained. Everything else had cleanly vanished.

“Wha—what?”

Talcott stared at me with wide eyes. It didn’t seem like he was going to fly into a rage and attack, at least.

“What magic did you just use?”

Apparently, Talcott didn’t know about Flame Absorb.

As for Travis… ah, no good. He’s shrinking back.

A Tower magician specializing in life magic. By any measure, he wasn’t a combat-oriented person. It would have been impressive if Travis could firmly discipline Talcott here and explain the importance of life magic, but if that’s impossible, so be it. Since I’ve already stepped forward, I’m a party to this now. Well then, what should I do?

“…It’s a countermeasure against flames. Why would you do something so foolish?”

I formed magic circles for Magic Shield in my left hand and Air Bullet in my right, holding them in a state ready for activation as I spoke.

Though I do think the optimal solution would be to harvest his consciousness without any discussion. Somehow, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Talcott himself lacked awareness that he was “acting violently.”

When someone goes this far with reckless behavior, it actually piques my interest instead. It’s just too far outside the scope of what my thought processes can imagine.

For instance, regarding Ashley’s situation, perhaps because Kennel was doing what needed to be done, it remained inconspicuous and few rumors reached my ears… but bad reputations tend to stand out.

I’ve heard various stories about him and the Cardiff County household.

That he’s injured several servants and territory residents using magic.

That his father made mistakes with agricultural methods, causing the residents of the territory to flee to neighboring areas and reducing tax revenue itself.

The scandals certainly reached my ears. Conversely, that means I only know him through gossip.

His way of thinking is just too different from mine… I wondered if judging him solely based on hearsay might be inappropriate if the information was distorted. While it’s true that disgust comes first when he reminds me of half-brothers…

They say his fiancée’s injury wasn’t that serious… but what if he hurt his fiancée and was tormented by self-blame—?

“Huh? Are you stupid? Didn’t you understand what I said? Why are you getting in my way? Depending on your answer, I’ll make sure you regret it!”

Or so I thought.

Talcott seemed thoroughly pleased with having proven his power, with no sense of desperation from being cornered or anything resembling self-reproach for potentially hurting others. Instead, he was asking me questions with a puzzled expression.

He probably always pushes through with his opinions like this… But doesn’t he understand what would happen if he did this outside?

If so—his earlier display of dissatisfaction was likely protest against his abilities being underestimated and against being told to learn control.

He might have been unwilling about the injuries caused by the misfire… but that unwillingness probably stems more from having caused an unintended misfire rather than from having injured people themselves. He wanted to do something flashy as a path to redeeming his tarnished reputation.

They say he has magical talent but is a ruffian. Among the territory residents, he’s called… no, not a watchdog. Ah, I remember. He’s the second son known as “Cardiff’s Mad Dog.”

“I don’t know the extent of your control abilities.”

“…What did you say?”

Talcott looked furious. Ah. He’s not mistaken in interpreting this as doubting his control abilities. Before he takes any more rash actions, let me steer the direction a bit. There are children smaller than me here too. It would be troublesome if he started rampaging.

“—In short, you believe that those who excel at handling magic are superior. That’s what you think, right?”

“Obviously! That old man over there was acting all high and mighty, but look at him now. I’ve always been this way!”

Not a watchdog, but a mad dog.

His purpose is to be set loose. That means—he’s being expected by his father to serve as a convenient instrument of violence to suppress the residents of the territory through force. Well, I mostly understand now.

I suppose if you only know your household and territory, this is how you might turn out. If people around you praise you just for being able to use magic. Regardless of him… Count Maurice is rather indefensible though.

It’s all quite disheartening, but perhaps I still hold too many illusions about nobility. That noblesse oblige is just idealistic theory… Well, as someone who basically acts for my own benefit, I probably shouldn’t be lecturing about nobility either.

Termwills is a martial land. The tendency and values that prioritize those who are capable in times of crisis… well, they certainly exist. Count Maurice was probably a combat-oriented magician in his youth too… but Talcott’s case isn’t quite the same.

But well. If that’s how it is, this will be straightforward. In a way, his way of thinking is easy to understand.

Since I used Flame Absorb, he seems to think I’m worth listening to.

Since he’ll keep bothering me unless I convince him anyway, and if he operates on the logic of power, then let’s make the power relationship clear to avoid future complications.

“…Understood. Shall we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“Have a match with me. If you lose—no matter what treatment you receive from the academy, you will diligently study noble education and classroom subjects. At that time, you won’t voice any complaints like earlier. But if you win—”

“If I win?”

“I’ll… teach you this.”

Smiling meaningfully, I deployed a magic circle on my palm.

Even without hearing his response, I could tell from his expression that he was hooked. If he envisions violent applications for magic, this must be quite appealing. It makes intermediate magic chantless and enhances control abilities.

Well, that’s only if he can beat me, and either way, Talcott will likely face some punishment.

The fact that he could control it to some extent. That no actual harm occurred. Talcott’s age. That he’s from a Count’s household. Termwills’ spirit and expectations for combat-oriented magicians in the future.

Considering all these factors together… it’s somewhat hard to predict what degree of punishment he’ll receive. Well, it depends on the thinking of those handing down the punishment, so I won’t count on that.

That said, the bet and punishment aren’t really related.

You can study anywhere if you have the motivation. It’s only a matter of whether Talcott can fulfill a promise related to something he’s staked his pride on.

“…With those bet conditions, I can’t kill my opponent. Advanced magic would actually be a hindrance. That means—”

“The main focus will likely be exchanges of lower-level magic without chanting. Since it’s a match.”

That would be typical for magical combat. For lower-level spells, being chantless is slightly faster than using magic circles, and even that level of magic can sufficiently disable combat capability if it scores a direct hit. So in a one-on-one situation between magicians facing each other, quick casting is basically advantageous.

There’s also the aspect that using this to win when I’m offering the magic circle as the bet’s prize…

“So this time, I won’t use circles. Let’s say the victory condition is making your opponent say ‘I yield.’ Of course, fainting or fleeing also count as loss.”

“Fine.”

A smile appeared on Talcott’s lips. He seemed confident in chantless exchanges.

“Theodore-sama, this is…!”

People had gathered, perhaps having heard the commotion. Grace was among them.

“I’m fine here. It’s just a match. But you two should watch out for stray shots.”

“Understood. Leave this to us.”

Grace nodded. For just a moment, the outline of her shadow writhed.

“If anyone gets injured… I think I can help too.”

Ashley said, placing her hand on her chest. I nodded to Ashley before turning back to face Talcott.

We moved to a slightly more distant location and faced each other.

Talcott drew his staff and assumed a half-body stance. Still, a non-lethal, chantless magic exchange, huh. Reminds me of PvP from the early operational days of BFO.

“Without a staff… are you looking down on me?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I don’t have a magic staff… but bringing a long weapon to the academy would just be troublesome.

Besides, the focus this time is control ability. So rather than crushing him with staff martial arts… it would be easier for Talcott to understand if I showed him tactics available when one properly trains control ability.

Talcott gritted his teeth, made the tip of his magic staff glow, left a pale magical power sphere in place, and began running counterclockwise around me.

Magic Slave. By leaving a mass of one’s own magical power stationary, one can use it as a magic firing battery through remote magical power manipulation. Since it can simply increase the number of attacks, it’s probably a technique combat-oriented magicians should learn.

I can use it too if I’m not in a circulating state… but Battle Mages are magicians who excel at close combat. So they compensate for attack frequency through other methods.

“Air Bullet!”

What was released from Talcott’s staff was a white, mist-like projectile of wind.

Well, it’s the correct choice for non-lethal anti-personnel attacks. Because it’s hard to see. But—.

“Air Bullet.”

Reading the approximate trajectory from his movements and timing of the continuously fired wind bullets, I returned fire with the same magic to shoot them down. The residual effects of the magic I fired reached him, making Talcott’s hair and clothes flutter violently in the strong wind.

“What!?”

Talcott’s eyes widened. It was obvious that my Air Bullet was more powerful. While my magic has shorter range and its power decays faster than normal magic when somewhat distant… at this distance, and for interception purposes.

Since wind magic is somewhat hard to see, if you’re going to dodge, you need to do so with some leeway. It’s easier to either defend head-on or shoot them down. And if the opponent is running around for a shooting battle, I just need to close in straight along the shortest distance and land effective blows.

“Tch!”

Perhaps because I casually closed the distance, Talcott thought I had plenty of close combat options, so he continued running while firing Air Bullets one after another to maintain distance.

When it comes to chantless shooting battles using lower-level magic, the basic approach is to continuously fire the same spell unless countermeasures are devised. Because switching magic without chanting requires re-concentration for control each time. In that regard, with the same magic, you can maintain a certain rhythm while firing continuously.

I—shot them down as if matching my breathing. Magic cancellation through trajectory reading. Something I repeatedly did in PvP.

While firing magic toward me, Talcott’s gaze wandered.

If he looks in a direction, both his aim and timing become obvious.

I fired a first-tier fire magic, Cracker Bomb, toward his hovering Magic Slave. From diagonally behind, the wind bullet approaching from the Slave collided with the red magical bullet I fired and burst into sparks. I shot down the magic coming from the front with Air Bullets.

“Double Spell!?”

If it’s chantless, continuously firing one type of magic—that’s only the basic approach.

Just like you can drive while having a conversation. Just like playing piano involves different movements with left and right hands. Doing different tasks simultaneously becomes nothing special once you’re used to it. The same applies to magical power manipulation.

Consciously manipulating one magic while manipulating another as naturally as breathing, that sort of thing… Now that I think about it, life magic would be perfect for Double Spell training.

Air Bullet from the right hand. Cracker Bomb from the left hand. My number of attacks simply doubled.

Talcott tried to dodge the approaching red bullets that couldn’t be canceled—but failed.

“Gwah!”

An Air Bullet scored a direct hit, sending Talcott’s body tumbling across the ground.

At the very least, he should have continued returning fire while dodging. Because focusing solely on dodging means not being able to cancel magic either.

The rest is deflection shooting—crossing my arms, predicting Talcott’s movement direction, and shooting through with wind magic.

The moment his counterattacks completely stopped, I kicked off the ground and closed the distance in one motion.

Getting behind Talcott as he tried to get up, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a cross. Not a BFO combat skill. Just a simple sleeper hold.

Perhaps having never anticipated close combat at all, Talcott couldn’t properly react before his carotid artery was locked.

“Guh!?”

Chanting wouldn’t make it in time, and having just taken an Air Bullet, he couldn’t concentrate for chantless magic. Especially in a situation where his neck was being constricted.

If I rendered him unconscious, he wouldn’t be able to think, so naturally there would be no magical counterattack, and this completely satisfied the match’s victory conditions.

“Sleep tight.”

With a child’s slender arms, it’s easy to apply the lock. Within mere seconds, all strength drained from Talcott’s body. Well—that’s that.

Talcott is practically unharmed. The rest is up to the academy to provide an appropriate resolution… but with Count Maurice involved, who knows what will happen.