Chereads / RE:MASTER MAGIC / Chapter 77 - CHAPTER 81-85

Chapter 77 - CHAPTER 81-85

CHAPTER 81 - GRAIN, CONCLUSION

「DON'T SCREW WITH MEEEEE!!」

「 While screaming, Grain fired a Red Sphere and I absorbed it with Ainbelle, and at the same time I swung the sword, cast Time Square, and chanted Red Sphere twice.

「Red Sphere Triple!」

As a counter attack, I shot a tremendous flame sphere which engulfed Grain, burning him.

However, the flickering shape of a person inside the flames still looked healthy.

「Gaaaa!」

Although the fireball was immediately erased together with his scream, the magical light surrounding Grain also disappeared and his coat was burnt black.

Grain, who had an anguished expression, jumped back while firing Red Bullet.

I countered with Blue Bullet and when I immediately tried to pursue him, Grain once again clad himself with magic.

Damn, he did it again.

To break his guard, even Triple magic won't suffice.

(Ain, I want you to listen for a bit)

(What?)

I expressed my thinking to Ain, who looked doubtful.

(...I was thinking we would go with this plan)

(WHAT!? Impossible! Nope, nope . Nope! There's no way that kind of thing will work!)

(But, this is the only way to defeat that guy. Lend me your power)

When I said that, Ain pondered for a bit, and after that she gave a small reply.

(.....I understand. In exchange, you have to definitely win!)

(Of course.)

After the discussion, I looked over at Grain, who began chanting a spell.

「Oh God of Red Magic, teacher of Red Magic and Seeker of Truth of the farthest regions...」(Grain)

Is this chant, Red Zero?

As the strongest of the Red System Grand Magic's, it releases all the user's magical power, has a long cast time, and furthermore it is difficult to use in a person-to-person battle due to leaving the user defenseless after firing, but if the user does manage to invoke it, it is quite difficult to dodge or defend against it using ordinary methods.

That is based on the theory, but if a Dispatched Magician has high defense due to inherent magic and a method to recover, then tactics are probably nothing to them.

However, I won't allow him to cast that spell.

When I tried to attack Grain before he finished chanting, I realized in the moment I chanted, that my own magical power had decreased by a lot. It was the magical power from my body that was being absorbed by Ainbelle in order to maintain her form.

While I summoned Ain, I felt that a miniscule amount of magical power was consumed, but after she became a sword, the deduction became a lot more obvious.

With this, I can't attack properly, so I drank a magical restorative medicine in one gulp.

「Grant me the power to reach…..」(Grain)

After I finished drinking the magical restoration medicine, Grain almost finished his chant and I quickly cast Time Square.

Will I make it...?!

I cast Time Square, and chant Red Crash and Black Crash. And I enchanted Pyro Crash in Ainbelle's sword form. Pyro Crash was absorbed into the ruby in the handle of the sword.

(Nn....!)

The ruby charged with Pyro Crash at the same time Ain groaned a little.

「…..Together with this spinning blade of crimson, destroy my enemies!!…..Red Zero!」(Grain)

While I was still putting my preparation in order, Grain's chant ended and Red Zero was invoked.

This isn't good…..!

A sword of blazing fire stretched out from Grain's hand and approached right before my eyes.

(Damn, I'm not ready….!) (Zeph)

The instant I was going to cast Time Square, Claude stood in front of me, with a shield ready to stand in the way of the spell. The sword of blazing fire directly hit Claude, who showed an anguished expression as she stopped the blow.

「Claude!?」

「Hurry up, that guy…..!」

「…..You saved me!」

I said a small thanks to Claude who was enduring Red Zero, and then I dashed towards Grain. While he was irritated that the flame sword passed through as Claude appeared with the smoke, Grain clicked his tongue.

「Magical invalidation....It's you again!」(Grain)

「I guess I'm a good comrade」(Claude)

Appearing suddenly at my chest, Grain prepared with his shield to catch my sword blow. I slide away and took some distance. After that, I released the Pyro Crash that was charged in the Divine Sword Ainbelle. simultaneously I chanted—

(Time Square!)

Time stopped and I cast Blue Crash and Green Crash.

Red, Sky, Blue, Green, the four colors of magical energy were now being combined and blended together, molding into a golden color. It was at this moment that I slashed at him with the Divine Sword Ainbelle; a swirl of golden magic was fired towards Grain.

「Tetra Crash!」

From the innumerable amount of converging light spirals, one beam cut Grain and tore off the magic armor around him into shreds.

「Gohok...!」(Grain)

Grain had a huge cut on his chest, he coughed blood from his mouth and a little of it got on my face. When I pulled out the sword, blood kept dripping onto the floor. Grain collapsed and fell on his knees, looking at me with vacant eyes.

He seemed to have no idea what just happened.

「...It's over」(Zeph)

I positioned Ainbelle and swung her downwards toward Grain. I aimed for his neck, but as I swung downwards, my sword was deflected to the side as a metallic sound resounded. Instead, blood gushed out of Grain's shoulder. I cannot be careless before I take his life.

Both Grain and I had an expression of confusion. What blocked my sword was the same sword that Grain was holding before. The person who did it was...

「Azalea!?」(Zeph)

「…..Senpai?」(Grain)

「I'm sorry, Zeph-kun, but would you mind putting away your sword?」(Azalea)

Why is Azalea here?.....She probably came to save him, but will she just leave after it's done?

「Likewise, I'm sorry, but Grain nearly killed us so many times. I won't accept an "Ah I see, is that so?" as an excuse to let him get away with this」(Zeph)

「I understand. Naturally I intend to severely punish this man. …..Furthermore, don't you have people who would be sad if you dirtied your hands?」(Azalea)

The faces of Claude and everyone else reflected in my view. But this guy tried to kill my comrades. There's no way I could forgive him for that.

「I feel like you will say you won't be satisfied with that. ...…First, I will bury into Grain Ravens body seven species of magical bugs. These bugs coil themselves around the magical power lines in his body, and every time he attempts to use magic, they will damage a part of his body and rampage around inside it. Naturally it comes with intense pain, and in the worst case, death. He probably won't be able to use magic any more. Moreover, his title of "Dispatched Magician" will be revoked and he will be exiled to the island where criminals live.」(Azalea)

Grain heard those words, which were like a death sentence to magicians, and had a shocked face. To a magician, there is nothing more painful than never being able to use magic ever again. Furthermore, in the island of criminals, a Dispatched Magician like Grain will probably be considerably hated.

Even though this guy is a piece of trash who exposed everyone to danger, if he is to be punished to that extent, then...

「....I understand. That's fine, I leave the matter concerning Grain to you.」(Zeph)

「I am grateful. Truthfully, we received several reports of Grain's problematic behavior from various adventurers.  However, I had unexpected difficulties obtaining evidence.」(Azalea)

Did Grain do similar things to other adventures as well?

He's a demon.

Azalea formed a magic ring which shackled Grain's body.

Is that another type of their characteristic magic?

While Grain was muttering something with his head hung in shame, Azalea was creating a portal.

Come to think of it, I had something I needed to say to Azalea.

「Azalea, I did you a favor, you know」(Zeph)

「Fufu, is that so? I won't object to the matter concerning Silverie…..will this suffice I wonder?」

Ugh, looks like my connection to Silverie has been exposed.... Regarding the Growth scroll, it's because the time we used the stolen item made it seem like we were accomplices. I tried to make her indebted to me, but looks like I brought up something bad instead.

「Well then, I'm heading off」(Azalea)

While laughing with a chuckle, Azalea entered the light of the portal and disappeared.

CHAPTER 82 - VICTORY

Azalea and Grain disappeared at the same time. I was left behind in this place as I tried to catch my breath when fatigue suddenly rushed over me.

Damn, my whole body is worn out.

Because the bleeding was severe and I used up my magical power, I was completely exhausted.

While my blood was still trickling out, I was barely holding onto Ainbelle and finally let her go, and at the same time, she became a particle of light and disappeared.

At the moment she disappeared, I felt like I heard her voice say "You worked hard today".

However, as Ain is quite big now, I wonder if she'll be like that from now on.

When she changes into Divine Sword Ainbelle, the magical power consumption is abnormally huge, and it looks like making her change for a long time will be difficult.

And furthermore, she was cheeky. But then again, it was because of Ain that I was able to win.

At any rate, Quadruple magic by using Time Square and Divine Sword Ainbelle, huh?

Looking at how Triple didn't do that much damage, even Quadruple couldn't guarantee defeating him. It was a gamble, but the method of combining Red, Blue, Green, and Sky, the four colors of Magic, came out from that experience.

As a result, it produced a golden light and brought forth a magic strong enough to defeat Grain. The reason why the spirits did not mix together was because the other three colors had bad compatibility, however, well, I intend to eventually get around to testing out mixing them.

Anyway, right now, I'm tired.

My strength left my whole body, my legs buckled and I sat down on the ground.

「Zeph-kun!」

Claude came running and embraced me all her might. She brought her face close and her eyes were a little moist. When I tried to hide my embarrassment by gently stroking her head, she rubbed her face on my shoulder, wiping her tears.

「Thank goodness…..You didn't really die...」(Claude)

「Do I look like the type to fall behind in a magician battle? By the way, what happened to Milly and the others?」(Zeph)

「I placed Milly-san and the others in a shelter, and from there I saw the fight, but because I heard the chant for that huge magic, I gathered arrows and shields...」(TL note: "I gathered arrows and shields" is a Japanese saying that means "I cannot hold back the feeling of wanting to do something")

The chant for Grand Magic is long, but there are many cases where firing this magic once decides the victor in interpersonal battles. In actuality, if Clause was not there for me in order to defend against Red Zero back there, I wouldn't be able to have enough time to cast Tetra Crash, in a situation where my magical power restoration was insufficient, I don't know what I would have done.

「You saved me, Claude. If I were to take on that attack, it would have indeed been awful」

「It's a given that I would do such a thing」

Claude said that, and maybe because of the Red Zero before, but her clothes were burned all over and her shield completely cracked. If I remember correctly, she said that it was an important shield that she received from her mother. When she looked at the broken shield, Claude noticed the crack and looked a little lonely.

「Ah, it's fine. It is an important item, but because I was able to protect Zeph-kun, Mother would have been happy」

Although she smiled when she answered, her eyes were clouded slightly, and as expected, it did bother her. Of course, although she was expelled from the house, nevertheless, it was still an item she received from her mother.

「However, since you specifically brought out the topic, may I ask for a brand-new shield from Zeph-kun?」

「...You sure are shrewd, Claude」

I spoke sarcastically and she giggled. That was a completely bad way to dodge the question.

Although she has the ability Screen Point, Claude is not completely resistant to magic. Therefore, her clothes get burned and torn, and she cannot defend until the next side effect. Red Zero….And also a Dispatched Magician, there's no way to take both of them on and not be injured.

All things considered, the fact that Claude's shield was completely destroyed while she was still in her side effect is very terrifying.

「I'll lend you my shoulder. Let's go back to where Milly-san and the others are」(Claude)

「I'll leave it up to you」(Zeph)

Claude helped up my injured body and while I borrowed her shoulder, we tottered to the place where Milly and the others were still sleeping comfortably.  When Claude and I looked at their carefree faces, I burst out laughing.

「Looks like I have once again been useless at the most important moments...」(Milly)

With a gloomy atmosphere, Milly laid face down on top of the bed. Safely leaving behind Wanaruta Ruins, we returned to the lodge and prepared to have a review meeting in Milly's room.  Sitting next to the Milly who was on her stomach, Lydia gently stroked Milly's back to comfort her.

「There…..there, I too was useless this time....」(Lydia)

「That's not comforting me, Lydia」(Milly)

According to Claude's story, they were waiting by the entrance and then all of a sudden, the two of them fell down, and while she crouched down to wake them up, she sensed Grain's presence. Claude realized that a sleeping spell was cast on them and the moment she saw that it was his doing and sensed that she couldn't win by herself, she pretended to sleep until I came.

「But Clau-chan, I'm surprised that you thought of such a thing in that kind of situation」

「In the past, there were many times I gambled on that move. Especially during the times, I was dressed as a woman」(Claude)

When Claude said that and laughed loudly, everyone backs up a little. I don't know how I should respond to that. Claude's life was a grand solitary journey after all. In any case, we were saved by Claude.

「However, I'll be troubled if you forgot my achievements」

From behind me, a voice could be heard and with a light, Ain appeared.

Oi Oi, the grown-up Ain can now appear without me casting Summon Servant now?

Claude was looking at the fluttering Ain, but Lydia and Milly were surprised and stared in wonder at the new changed form.

「Um...who is that?」(Milly)

More precisely, it seems like they don't understand what's going on. Ain looked a bit offended at Milly's voice.

「Aah! That ribbon, could you be!」(Lydia)

Lydia noticed the ribbon and raised her voice. She's the same as me... Ain's eyes now became more and more scornful.

「Ain-san, the way you fly, you've grown, haven't you?」(Claude)

「Muuu….」(Ain)

When Claude petted Ain's head, maybe Ain didn't like it, but she sulked a little.

「Ain had a big part in this battle. Let me correct myself, you were really helpful to us」(Zeph)

I said that and followed up with placing my hand on her shoulder. Ain looked embarrassed and looked to the side.

「....For the time being, I'll say it again, I'll be in your care」

She said that and together with a light, she completely disappeared. Oi Oi, she can disappear on her own as well? She won't just disappear on her own in the middle of a battle, right?

Suddenly, a golden light shone and could be seen from the bag that I was holding. By chance, this light is….. I opened the bag, and when I checked the contents, the high-quality media had completely disappeared. If I'm not mistaken, there were supposed to 500 of them.

「...Did she just eat everything?」(Zeph)

「Because she became that large, she probably needs to eat that much…..」(Claude)

While Claude held her chin with her hand, she was deducing such.

If she is going to eat that much at once, then won't I need a substantial amount of money to sustain her eating expenses?

Kyururururu.....

While I was troubled at this new fact, I heard the sound of a grumbling stomach from Milly's direction. When everyone noticed that, Milly suppressed her stomach and blushed.

「H…..hey, aren't you guys hungry?」(Milly)

「Yes. I am starving」(Claude)

「Fufun, I thought you would say that...so I brought some lunches~!」(Lydia)

I don't know when she prepared these, but Lydia unwrapped her specially-made lunches.

「Originally I had planned to bring these for lunch when we went hunting, but I had completely forgotten about them」

Lydia stuck out her tongue.

「Let's dig i-n♪」(Milly)

「Let us dig in」(Claude)

「Go ahead」(Lydia)

「Well, then, let's eat up」(Zeph)

As I continued to fill my mouth with Lydia's lunch, I happily munched down. I'm glad I was able to protect everyone from Grain. I felt that way from the bottom of my heart.

CHAPTER 83 - LYDIA CAPTURED , THE FIRST PART

「The Dark Wraith is still roaming about Wanaruta City Ruins. We had better not go near that place anytime soon」

Milly nods her head side to side.

The three of them understood how dangerous the Dark Wraith was, their expressions were serious.

Several days after that, while healing from the battle with Grain, they searched for a new hunting ground.

Though, because there weren't any good hunting grounds in the area surrounding Wanaruta City Ruins, they were forced to undertake a great migration.

「Since we are in need of some good equipment, I think we should leave here and go back to the capital. What do you think?」

In the capital there are tons of different stores lined up, and what we have here cannot compare to the variety of items that are there.

What's more, the Wizard's Society Headquarters is there.

I have mastered roughly all of the magic currently available to the public, but the amount of magic that Milly has acquired is fairly minimal.

It's also a good environment for Milly to learn magic.

Also, Claude's shield was broken and I'd promised to buy her a new one.

「The Capital? I've never been there, you know.」

「I lived there a long time ago!」

Me too, Milly affirmed, raising her hand.

Come to think of it, Milly's father was the awesome mage who developed Scout Scope.

If he's the great mage, it's also no wonder that she once lived in the capital.

The two of them were relatively eager, but Lydia seemed a little torn.

「The Capital…huh? That's pretty far, isn't it… I guess, since my shop and dad are over here so…」

「Won't you come with us?」

「I really want to go, but…」

With a troubled expression, Lydia smiled back as Milly made a sad face.

「Yeah…I'm concerned about my father after all, ….I mean, if a pretty shop girl such as myself left, and since that old man is doing business alone, won't he go out of business before long?」

「It seems that your dad was managing before you were born, Lydia, and it's not like you can never ever go back, right?」

「That's true…but still…」

I can understand her reservations, but it's surprising that she would be worried now.

The always-indifferent Lydia seemed panicked.

Lydia leaving at this point would totally disrupt the balance of the team, and everyone would be sad about that.

Even I would be bothered by Lydia leaving.

Of course, there's nothing we can do if she stays behind, but it also seems as if Lydia wants to go with us too.

There's no getting around it, I have to help figure this out.

「…understood. Why don't we persuade your dad?」

When he said that Lydia stood up flustered.

「You…you can't do that! My dad is extremely scary!」

「Oh? He's not an easy-going guy?」

「Umm…well actually he's usually a nice dad, but….」

In our confusion, Lydia begins to explain the situation.

According to her story, a while ago Lydia apparently became an adventurer and planned to leave home, and then her father, who was opposed, said to her[If you have become strong enough to beat me you can go].

Lydia, who accepted that demand, battled her father but, as usual her strength was no match for him, and it seemed as if her arms and legs wouldn't perform.

That isn't all of it, but she feels like she would be no match in battle.

「Wouldn't it be good if you, could fight using my enhanced magic? If you strengthen your speed and offensive abilities, I think you would be able to win 」

「 There's no way! I won't win even if I do that! Nope~ he's like a god of war…」

Lydia and I are training together practically every day and even if I enhanced myself using the magic I don't feel like I could beat her even with the added help. I should probably consider her father to be in this kind of level when compared to her.

「Do you think that I will ever be able to beat my father? Zeph-chi?」

「Hmm…. you're not alone anymore, Lydia. Don't you have our guild? It depends on whether we can convince your dad but」

「Yeah~ but I really think it's not possible」

「He won't even try to talk to me ? Maybe I could manage somehow in a way you don't expect! 」

「Mnn~…If you go as far as saying that then…」

Lydia reluctantly gave in. She's absolutely terrified of her father.  I've heard that a parent who protects a child shows tremendous strength, but should she really be that scared?

Claude, who was driven out of her home around the age of 10, and Milly who lost her parents at a young age, were perplexed. I was the only one who left home willingly. At any rate, I will try to talk to him.

We go to Lydia's house, and upon entering we saw the figure of her father cheerfully serving customers. Inside the store was bustling, and compared to the time when Lydia was there, the number of patrons hadn't changed.

By the look of things, even if Lydia wasn't here, I don't think the shop would go bankrupt any time soon… When her father's eyes met hers, a broad smile with white teeth appeared. He's the typical happy father.

「Welcome! Hello, well isn't it Zeph-kun, Milly-chan, and Claude-chan! What's going on? Need to restore some weapons or something? 」

Like a typical merchant that was good at selling goods, his voice could be heard from far away. Sometimes he'd fought with Lydia, but even with this physique he could easily keep up with Lydia's speed.

「Actually…..Dad, I want to talk to you about something…」

「Oh, that's quite unexpected. Ah! Did you want a discount for everyone goods and negotiate a price?! 」

「No, that's not it…」

「Well then, is it about armor? As you know, this is a weapons shop. You know we don't have great armor, don't you? 」

「Aha ha (awkward laughter)…..Like I said that's not…」

Lydia stammered. She was truly afraid of her dad.

Sheesh, she's really hopeless. Without hesitation, her dad came over and looked right at me. Our eyes met, and I had to look straight up, he was that tall.

「The truth is, I was thinking about moving our base to the capital.  Would you mind if we wanted to bring Lydia along?」

And with my brief comment, the atmosphere changed in an instant. Lydia had a shocked expression, she was astonished, but anyhow it was something that couldn't go unsaid. However, I understood why Lydia had been afraid of her father up to that point. Claude and Milly, completely taking in the aura that Lydia's father was putting off, felt totally insignificant.

「Zeph-kun, to be honest I have a really good impression of you but you know.... Those words you just spoke, I will pretend that I have not heard them, alright? 」

Lydia's dad smiled at the last moment, but his expression was a bit stiff.

Nevertheless, I had no plans to back down.

「Being over protective and overly doting as a parent can be unbeneficial you know? Wouldn't it be better to let her go on an adventure?」

「The end result of letting her travel, if Lydia were to die, are you, Zeph-kun, willing to take responsibility?」

「If that happens, then I will likely be dead as well. Until then, I will protect her with all my might.」

「Even if you die, Lydia can't come back home.」

It's useless. The conversation isn't going as planned.

I mean it was true that Lydia has been in danger multiple times and been exposed to many perils, but up until now she hasn't died.

「If you want to force the matter, then you can do is if you are able to defeat me」

For some reason or another, it ended up going in the direction where I had to defeat her father.  Why has it come to this I wonder? No the reason that he is doing this is because as a father he truly worries for Lydia. I should be considerate of her father's feelings I suppose?

「…Understood. That's fine.」

「Zeph-chi?!」

「Well…In that case I will keep Lydia with me. Defeat me, and you can take Lydia away.」

「Hyahh!?」

When he said that, he picked Lydia up and put her over his shoulder.

「Zeph-chi~」

Lydia miserably raised her voice. It sounded as if she'd lost hope. I have no choice but to act.

「It's going to be okay. Without fail, I'll show you that I will win.」

When I said that, Lydia's father glared at me with sharp eyes.

「Once the shop closes, let's fight anytime.」

「In that case, I will come back after. Just you wait.」

Once I said that I left Lydia's house.

CHAPTER 84 - LYDIA CAPTURED, PART 2

「What the heck were you thinking!?」

On the way back from Lydia's home, Milly's shout caused people walking by to turn around.

「Weren't you just going to talk!? Why did it naturally turn into a duel!? And on top of that, why was Lydia taken away!?」

「…But isn't this like a duel to rescue a captured princess? … It's fine. 」

Right beside Milly, who was raising her voice, there was Claude, who for some reason was fascinated with this aspect.

「Now then Milly, wait. I won't accept a match if I don't have any chances of winning. Didn't we talk about how Ain leveled up and got stronger?」(Zeph)

「Now that you mention it, that's true. But is Ain-chan that strong?」(Milly)

「With Divine Sword Ainbelle, I can use quadruple magic. That is certainly powerful」

Aye.

If I were to strengthen speed enhancement magic four-fold, then surely even if it's the father, he won't be able to catch me.

「Uu… I too want to hurry up and use Summon Servant… Just a little bit more then I think I can use it…」

「Just letting you know, because in the Divine Sword form I get real~ly hungry, so I leave that part to you」

Ain talked in a voice that only we could hear. If I'm not mistaken, at that time, she completely ate 500 high-quality media that each cost 1000 rupees. A grand total of 500,000 rupees. That amount is equal to a whole week's worth of hunting. It's not that I won't be able to use her, but I probably won't be able to abuse the power.

「....Well, do you think you can use it this time? 」

But a whole week's worth of hunting.... But for Lydia's sake, it can't be helped. If her father is going that far to cut the tanker, then it would be stupid of me to think that I can hold back.

「Her father is definitely strong, but if it's three vs. one, then it'll probably work out」

When I said that to the other two, they turned and looked at me suspiciously.

「What the heck are you saying?! Zeph is going to be fighting by himself! If you're a man, then you have to take responsibility for your own actions! 」(Milly)

「That's right! Zeph-kun will fight by himself, and if he doesn't exert himself to him, then it's pointless! 」(Claude)

While their eyes were sparkling, they complained about me.

What are they getting so excited for?

「Oi Oi, winning would be more reliable if the three of us fought. 」

「No good! This is an issue where you must fight by yourself! 」(Milly)

「That's right! If Zeph-kun doesn't fight 1 on 1, then it's pointless! 」(Claude)

I was overpowered by their fierce attack.

Why are they getting so worked up?

…It can't be helped, looks like I must do it myself.

(The old man is having a hard time) Ain spoke, trying to comfort me.

Just saying, Ain, but aren't you also someone who is stuck in the middle of this hard time.

When it was the store's closing time, I went to Lydia's store and by that time, there were no longer customers. Well, that's a given. With her father's imposing stance behind the counter, the sense of intimidation was relentlessly circulating around.

It's at the level where if you were just a normal person, you would immediately leave if you saw his figure. Last time when I checked Scout Scope on him, her father doesn't have any magical power. Is this ambition or fighting spirit? …Either way, it's something of that sort.

As an adventure who specialized in dexterity, there are groups of those types that can clad themselves in that kind of aura. When I check on Scout Scope, her father's level was 90.

It's probable that when he was around 50 years old, he retired from hunting. Stopping around that level is not that rare. Still, it was at the extent that Lydia was afraid. I probably have to challenge him with all my power. Her father noticed me, and he easily jumped over the counter and landed in front of me. The floor shook from the thump, and Milly and Claude recoiled a little.

「You came, Zeph-kun. Well, let's do this right now. 」

「I understand. …By the way, I don't really see Lydia anywhere. 」

「Aah, she's locked in her room. If Zeph-kun wins, I intend to hand her over. 」

Oi Oi, what a dangerous thing. Aren't you concerned that Lydia might escape? Anyway, I just need to focus on winning this. I was led by her father to the backyard where Lydia and I always trained.

When we moved away from each other a little and took our stances, I saw and understood her father's strength. Even though Lydia's stance has no useless points, her father's even more flawless in his stance. Usually when I trained with Lydia, I always clad myself with Magenta Coat and fight, but even then I was still at a disadvantage.

(This doesn't look easy to win if I were to go without Ain's help)

(Food~! FOOD~!)

Inside my head, I heard Ain's voice that had no sense of tension, and responded.

(Eat as much as you like, Ain!)

(Waai!)

When I thrust my hand inside the bag, the high grade media I bought disappeared, all consumed in an instant. I cast Summon Servant, and Ain appeared in her Divine Sword form. From the beginning, should I reveal this trump card?

「Oh, you will use a sword? I will be fighting with my bare hands, you know. 」

「Well even if you say that, I will still be using this sword 」

I said that and brought forth fire from the palm of my hand. If my opponent was a normal human, elementary magic would be sufficient, but this is a situation where I will need to directly hit a trained adventurer with middle-class magic until I can finally overcome my battle incapability.

Though hitting Lydia with magic was extremely difficult. And her father is someone who mastered even higher levels of combat. However, if I were able to use four-fold strengthening magic...

I used Time Square and cast speed enhancement magic Black Boots twice on Divine Sword Ainbelle. I cast Time Square at the same time I brought the sword down sideways.

And with imperfect timing, I once again cast Black Boots twice.

「Black Boots, Square!」

The result of the four-fold cast was, I reasoned, a 16-fold increase. Done correctly, I can move my body to the point where even I'm surprised by how lightly my body moves as intended.

「Mu!?」

Her father opened his eyes widely. He saw from my movements that my conditions have clearly changed. Looks like this will work. When I cast Summon Servant and Ainbelle disappeared, I had half of my magical power left. Her father looks like his attacks are powerful, and if I were to be hit with that, I probably won't get away lightly.

「Protector of the earth, clad this body and become the armor to protect me」

「Safe Protection!」

With this, I probably can take a hit. Her father once again saw this change. Looks like he's giving me the first move.

(For the time being, I'll try going for it…!)

I lightly kicked off the ground with my feet and headed towards her father. After the feeling of flying quickly, my body gave off a creaking sound. The burden on my body is not something to be taken lightly. I don't think I can move with all my power if I'm in this kind of condition…!

(I need to finish this quickly!)

I cut through the air and moved in an instant in front of her father's face. Her father looked like he was going to grab my body with his right hand, but I smoothly escaped and went around to his back. In that moment, I cast Red Crash towards that huge back.

「You're naïve. 」

The same time I heard her father's voice, I felt a strong impact on my guts and I flew into the air.

CHAPTER 85 - LYDIA CAPTURED, CONCLUSION

My consciousness was about to be blown away.

Was I caught the instant I had cast my magic?

I clenched my teeth so that the shock of the impact wouldn't blow away my consciousness.

Since I had cast Safe Protection beforehand, the damage wasn't that great, but if I were to receive it directly, I wouldn't have been as lucky.

As soon as I touched the ground, I stepped back and once again cast Safe Protection upon myself.

Her father didn't seem like he intended to attack from the other side, so I concluded that a long chant posed no problem.

「What's wrong? I can't hand over Lydia if you're only at that level. 」

He said that and beckoned me toward him from the other side.

How am I supposed to deal with his speed?

Nonetheless, if he shows even higher speed, than the burden on my body will be too much.

While I was meditating, I was surrounded by thoughts, but it seemed like I wouldn't have any chance winning in close combat.

I'll try to mix magic here.

While running across, I cast Blue Bullet, and fired several tens of water balls to assault the father.

Each of the water balls' hits were synchronized with the movements of Lydia's father, and yet he narrowly dodged them all.

How does such a huge body move like that?

「Red Sphere, Lock」

I predicted where his movements would land, and laid a Red Sphere.

However, at the moment of the orb of fire's impact, he had brandished his arms.

「Haa! 」

He knocked it back with all of the strength he possessed.

His fist broke through the flame and the ball was shattered right down the middle, completely disappearing.

His arm was a little burnt but there didn't seem to be much damage.

Oi oi, breaking magic with the law of physics, isn't that absurd?

I have seen skilled adventures who used a weapon to clear away magic, but this was the first time I saw someone do it with their bare hands!

I have been found out. I'm certain of it.  Lydia's father noticed me hiding in the shadow of the flickering ruins of the flaming Red Ball. It's too late. In this moment, he is about to kick this area.

(Time Square!)

In an instant, time was suspended. I thrust my arm to his kick. I was lucky I made it with the timing of the kick. While I was being impressed, I chanted Sleep Code. The time suspension canceled, and his eyes became blank.

Sleep Code: a magic to forcibly bestow a sleep condition.

Typically, with this magic, you wouldn't receive any effects unless at point-blank range, the person affected was looking at the caster's eyes and hearing the caster's chant. However, if the spell is cast against a person who doesn't have any magical power, then it is certain that the person will fall into a sleeping state.

There are many weak points, but if I use Time Square, it's possible to use this spell during actual combat.

While I collided with the wall towards which I was kicked, her father fell on his knees almost simultaneously.

When I pulled out my head, which was buried in the wall, fragments of the wall lightly fell around me.

「It's Zeph's win~!」

Milly raised one hand and proclaimed my victory.

「Iyaa! I lost! I lost! As expected of Zeph-kun, the man I anticipated. If it's you, then I can entrust Lydia's safety to you with peace of mind! 」

Her father's good mood was apparent. He was laughing lively. *Gahaha*

What?! I thought he didn't want Lydia to go at any cost, but because I won, he was easily sending her out?

I don't understand this guy.

「She's in the room on the second floor, so do whatever you'd like. I won't mind. 」

「We'll be waiting downstairs. 」

Her father showed me a face with unknown meaning behind it. Although I had questions, I climbed up to the second floor and knocked on the door that seemed to be Lydia's.

「Are you there, Lydia? I beat your dad. He has given you his permission to go to the capital. 」

「Eh, you beat my dad!? For real!?」

「Aah, it's just as you said. He really was strong. 」

He was a formidable opponent. If I hadn't strengthened my speed four-fold, I probably would not have been successful.

「Well now, what's with standing around talking through the door? Can I come in? Lydia? 」

「Waa! No No NO! You still can't enter, no~! 」

I could hear a noise from inside the room.

「What? Are you putting your room in order? 」

「You're wrong, but… Uh~… It's fine… Enter. 」

Lydia's voice sounded like she had somewhat given up.

Which reminds me, her father did say that he had Lydia locked up, but is this related to that?

I opened the door without turning the key. Could it be that she's tied up?

I opened the door and entered Lydia's room. There was Lydia's figure in the corner of the room, wrapped up in the futon and crouching.

Well, it's not exactly a particularly strange state to be in.

Lydia looked at me with a troubled face, and laughed.

「Th… thanks for coming to rescue me… 」

「Of course I would. You're our comrade after all. 」

「Zeph-chi… 」

「Hey, let's go. 」

「It's… it's no good! I'll go afterwards, ok? 」

When I approached Lydia after she said that, her face was bright red for some reason. She quickly rejected me.

「What could it possibly be? 」

「Don't worry! I'll come laterrr~ 」

「What are you so embarrassed about? It's fine, so come on. 」

「Wai…Kyaaaa!? 」

When I grabbed Lydia's futon and forcibly pulled it up, Lydia instantly closed her eyes in resignation.

What came out after pulling off the futon was Lydia, wearing a pure white dress.

The dress had a long skirt arranged with shining silver ornaments. Around her neck hung a jeweled necklace.

Where did she get the appearance of a princess?

I was captivated by Lydia, who usually dressed in a totally different way.

「… It's weird, right? That's why I didn't want to be seen like this. Dad… made me wear it… 」

Lydia turned bright red as she muttered these words.

「No, No. It's not that strange. Rather, it looks good on you. You're beautiful, Lydia. 」

「…Really? 」

Lydia looked like she doubted my fascination with her. She continued to stare at me.

Perhaps I sounded like I was lying, because Lydia seemed suspicious.

「I'm not lying. 」(Zeph)

「Muu… 」(Lydia)

As she wasn't used to being told such, Lydia was still doubtful. She covered her chest with her hand and turned to the side to avoid looking in front of herself. Is simply wearing clothes that you usually don't wear that embarrassing?

However, she slowly became a little more accustomed to the idea and sat on the bed.

「My dad; He said that since Zeph-chi would come to rescue me, I needed to change my clothes and wait in my room just like a captured princess would wait for her prince…」

I began thinking back on what her father was saying before that I hadn't understood. This is probably what her father was saying.

「Your father is surprisingly romantic, huh?」

「Aahaha! Maybe that's true. He seems like he has a splendid romantic side. My mother died a long time ago, but he never chose to remarry. 」

While that may be true, making Lydia dress this way and locking her up is extremely bothersome.

「Still, I was watching Zeph-chi's fight from up here, but I think I understand the sentiment. I'm… a little moved. It's a joyful thing; a boy coming to rescue me. 」

「Don't worry about it. Rescuing a comrade is to be expected. 」

「… Yeah, Zeph-chi is always like that. 」

I was a little embarrassed by Lydia's modest words.

In order to hide my embarrassment, I turned my back toward her.

「Come on, let's hurry up and go! I said that everyone's waiting. 」

「That's true. Ah, Zeph-chi, wait! 」

I turned around when Lydia called out, and felt a soft sensation on my lips.

Right before my eyes was Lydia bending down to match my height.

「…Thanks! 」

Lydia smiled sweetly as she thanked me, and went down the stairs.

Continuing with the story, while everyone was making fun of Lydia's charming figure, her father brought me to an inner room and bowed his head.

「I entrust Lydia to you, Zeph-kun! She has an irresponsible side to her, but she's a good daughter. 」

「I know, I'll definitely protect Lydia, so rest assured. 」

「I thought you would say so! 」

*Gahaha* Her father laughed heartily.

Regardless of his antics, he's a good person.

「By the way Zeph-kun, I wouldn't mind if you called me "Dad." 」

「…I'll consider it. 」

Upon my reply, his giant hand slapped my back.