Chapter 15

Released:

“Kuhaa~! Life feels great these days!”

“Hey, Duncan. You’ve been in an unusually good mood lately. Did something happen?”

Duncan, who was drinking with some of his old companions at the local tavern, had been looking cheerful lately, but he seemed especially happy today.

“You know that disciple I mentioned before?”

“Oh, the one you said was incredibly talented.”

Duncan had boasted endlessly about Theo to his companions when he first started teaching him and stayed in the village for the first time in a while.

It was a long-standing habit of Duncan’s. He only ever showed this kind of pride when he found a disciple who truly captured his admiration.

“Yeah, Theo. That kid finally mastered all my techniques today.”

Earlier that day, Duncan had jokingly told Theo there was nothing left to teach him and that it was time for him to leave.

Though his tone had been playful, Duncan had meant every word.

It had taken Theo just six months—a mere half-year—to learn everything from Duncan, who was once a famous swordsman.

“What? He mastered all your techniques? You haven’t even been teaching him for that long!”

“Yeah, it’s only been six months. But in that short time, he’s already absorbed everything I had to teach.”

Duncan couldn’t help but feel proud of Theo.

“I haven’t taught that many people in my life, but I’ve had my fair share of students, right?”

“Of course. You’ve trained a few that caught your eye and sent them off to the Academy, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, and all of them made a name for themselves in the field of swordsmanship.”

Every one of Duncan’s carefully nurtured disciples had already graduated from the Academy and earned a reputation in the world of swordsmanship.

Some had become adventurers, just as Duncan and his companions once had, while others had joined the Imperial Knights and secured positions within the imperial court.

“But even compared to all of them, there’s no one quite like this kid. The things that took the others years to master, Theo absorbed in just half a year. He’s a true prodigy among prodigies.”

It seemed, however, that Theo himself wasn’t fully aware of his own worth.

Perhaps it was because Duncan, not being the most friendly or expressive teacher, hadn’t been able to convey just how exceptional Theo’s talent truly was.

Even so, Duncan was certain that one day—no, very soon—Theo would come to understand the extent of his own abilities.

“Because with talent like that, it’s inevitable.”

If he didn’t realize it…

Well, then he’d just be an idiot, right?

Those were the kinds of thoughts running through Duncan’s mind.

***

Just as Duncan had felt about teaching swordsmanship to Theo, Estelle, who had been teaching him magic, found herself experiencing something similar.

Theo’s magic… it’s getting faster, and stronger.

The speed of his progress was overwhelming.

It was no exaggeration to say that the power and speed Theo demonstrated were impossible to achieve in just half a year of learning magic. His ability to master it was extraordinary.

When I think about how he didn’t even know he had magical power until recently… it’s unbelievable.

What made it even more baffling was that Theo wasn’t someone who had been handling magic all his life.

If he had been someone who casually used magic in his daily life, it might have been easier to make sense of it, or at least attempt to understand. But this wasn’t the case.

Even so, Estelle was still confident that, for now, she remained ahead of him.

Though it was only a matter of time before he caught up.

“Ice Slasher!”

And that was why Estelle, without realizing it, let her guard down.

“Ugh, Shield!”

She had let her guard down and because of that, she was a moment too late in casting her Shield spell. She was left vulnerable to the magic that slipped through and even suffered an injury.

“Ah! I got hit on my arm a little.”

In reality, it was more than just a minor injury to her arm, as she made it sound.

For an ordinary person, it might have been serious enough to be life-threatening. But she wasn’t just anyone; she was the Saintess.

“Huh? Are you okay, Estelle?”

Before it could cause any real alarm, she used her divine power to heal her arm.

Flash—

“Yeah, I’m fine! A little healing magic, and it’s good as new!”

She said it with a playful smile, but for a moment there, her arm had been trembling uncontrollably.

The power behind that spell had been intense, leaving her with the feeling that her arm might freeze completely and even snap off at any moment.

Ice Slasher was typically a basic attack spell, meant to hurl a chunk of ice to cause light wounds or minor damage.

But the Ice Slasher Theo just used had a freezing effect that could immobilize its target.

Putting a freeze effect powerful enough to freeze someone to death in a simple spell wasn’t an easy thing to do.

It was a feat that required the skill of a high-level mage capable of wielding magic with complete mastery, yet Theo had already managed to accomplish it.

I thought I had some understanding of his talent, but this doesn’t seem like the level of ability we were aware of.

Estelle’s healing ability fueled by her divine power was so strong that she was often referred to as a Saintess, and it allowed her to heal easily. However, if this had been an ordinary mage facing such a high-level spell, he might not have been able to withstand the strain and might very well have coughed up blood from the backlash.

“Are you hurt badly?”

“No, I just let my guard down a bit.”

This situation had arisen because of her momentary lapse in vigilance combined with the fact that Theo was growing at a rate far beyond what anyone had expected.

I want to recruit Theo as my personal knight or mage, but Estelle would probably oppose it, wouldn’t she?

Iris, who had also been observing the situation closely, couldn’t help but conclude that Theo’s abilities were far beyond what an Academy education could provide. In fact, he wasn’t just suited for the Academy; he already had the skills to join the Imperial Knights, or even to serve as her personal knight or mage.

But still, I want to enjoy the academy together with him.

The academy years were an irreplaceable experience, something that could only be cherished during that fleeting phase of life.

Because of this anticipation, Iris decided to put off hiring Theo as her personal knight or mage for the time being. She was instead looking forward to spending their time together at the Academy.

It might not be such a bad idea to extend the time we enjoy together as a trio with Estelle.

If this had been at the beginning, she would have wanted to keep him all to herself. But now she found herself looking forward, just a little—maybe as much as the dirt under a fingernail—to the everyday moments she shared as a trio with Estelle and Theo.

“Estelle, are you all right?”

Iris, who had arrived late, asked about Estelle’s condition.

In reality, she wasn’t particularly worried.

Estelle possessed an extraordinary amount of divine power, enough to heal others with unparalleled skill. It was exactly this that earned her the title of Saintess in every sense of the word.

“Of course! You know how strong my healing is, so why even ask?”

Estelle responded in her usual cheeky tone; she seemed to be no different from her normal self. But Iris noticed that the arm Estelle had healed with her divine power was trembling slightly.

…I see. This is something that could definitely leave behind trauma.

Trembling caused by trauma was something even divine healing couldn’t fully erase.

Estelle was doing her best to hide her trembling hands.

If Theo noticed, he would definitely feel guilty.

Her efforts to hide the trembling made her movements seem slightly unnatural, but Theo was rather oblivious and failed to pick up on anything unusual.

***

A day passed since Estelle had been injured.

At last, it was the day of the Academy’s Commoners Entrance exam.

The Commoners Exam was being held at the capital’s Academy branch, and since it took three hours by car to get there from home, everyone had been rushing since early morning.

“Ugh, why are you in such a hurry?”

But this damn Saintess didn’t seem inclined to move on time no matter.

“I mean, I can’t take the exam unless I get to the Academy!”

Eventually, I ended up raising my voice.

“And I’m saying, so what? It’s not like it’ll take more than a minute to get there.”

“What are you even talking about, Saintess, dear Saintess? No matter how you say it, it’s a three-hour drive from our house to the capital!”

I felt like my temper was about to boil over, but I did my best to explain calmly while tidying up my clothes.

“Wow! Theo, you look so cool today!”

Iris, who had returned the night before to prepare for her role as an audience member at the Academy’s Commoners Entrance Exam, wasn’t around today. It was a relief that I only had to deal with this lazy Saintess now.

“If you don’t get dressed and ready to leave while you’re busy throwing compliments around, I swear I’ll leave without you.”

Although there were still thirty minutes left, anything could happen on the road, so it was important to start moving as quickly as possible.

“Theo, don’t rush so much. I can use teleportation magic and get us there in a minute.”

“Huh? Teleportation magic? Is it even possible to cover that kind of distance with it?”

Since my own teleportation magic was limited to crossing from one end of a field to the other, I couldn’t help but ask in shock.

“Yes, it’s possible. When I first came here, I used teleportation magic to travel straight from my room in the Holy Empire.”

“You’re kidding me. You mean that kind of distance is possible?”

Wow, so that’s what it takes to be considered a high-level mage, I thought that when something suddenly occurred to me.

“Wait a second. Then why have you been staying at our house all this time?”

“Uh…?”

She had insisted on staying with us until she started at the Academy and complained that the journey was too long and tiring, so we ended up offering her a guest room…

“You little…so you’ve been hiding the fact that you could travel easily this whole time?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

Seeing Estelle desperately avoiding my gaze, I could only let out a deep sigh.

Why on earth would she leave behind such a comfortable room to live in this inconvenient countryside house?

I really couldn’t understand her.

4 responses to “Chapter 15”

  1. JimmyJohns05 Avatar
    JimmyJohns05

    man he didn’t think about it very hard. that said, there’s a million excuses that could’ve worked and she just blanked lol. oh well

  2. Pe551 Avatar
    Pe551

    Thanks for the chapter

  3. Baku-Nawa Avatar
    Baku-Nawa

    *****
    “Well, then he’d just be an idiot, right?”
    *****
    If only Theo’s master know how dense an OP MC with harem tag is. 😆

    1. aborednerd Avatar
      aborednerd

      A God of Strength once swung an enchanted pickaxe made of an alloy of carbon, tungsten, and unobotanium at the head of an OP MC of a harem story. The god and the pickaxe have never been seen since. In response to this the MC said, “huh?”

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