Volume 1 Chapter 17 Mean Villainess, Touching Attack Magic
"Does the explosion of past seeds mean that Elena was abused in the past?"
"Mr. Rudger, how could you do such a thing to Lady Elena! Don't you have any delicate consideration!?"
Rudger is being scolded by Ms. Parsley.
Since this is a sight I often see lately, I am no longer surprised; it almost feels like a lively background music.
"I don't remember being abused. Don't worry, Ms. Parsley; I was suspected of abuse by the teacher too, so Rudger is not the only one who came to that conclusion."
When I said that, everyone present widened their eyes for a moment.
If something happened in my not-so-long life, it is only natural to think it must have been when I was even smaller than I am now.
"Elena's family consists of her father, mother, and elder brother, right?"
Leve says.
"Yes. No one is the type to abuse. Well, though my father and elder brother told me some strange lies like 'it was not mother who gave birth to Elena, but me,' that doesn't count as abuse, right?"
What was that strange lie about? Everyone is laughing a bit too.
"Is your elder brother also attending this academy?"
To Ms. Percella's question, I shook my head sideways.
"My Elder Brother and I are slightly apart in age, so he has already graduated. He said he wants to study a bit more, but where did he say he is right now?"
He lets me know his current location through letters, but he's moving around so much that I can't keep track of it all.
In the most recent letter, I think I read something about a library or a museum, something like that.
And while I'm sharing this cheerful family talk, there's one girl who looks quite gloomy.
"Um... Lady Elena, it wasn't my mistake that caused the explosion..."
"Even the best fortune teller at this academy said it would explode, so it's not your mistake, Ms. Natalia's. In fact, since I got a result similar to that teacher's, Ms. Natalia is quite promising."
The girl who looks gloomy is Ms. Natalia.
Yes, the reason I'm bringing up this topic about the seed explosion again is that Ms. Natalia is really downcast and looked so desperate facing the seeds that we all tried to do something to help her.
"Promising for the future... But, but Lady Elena, I...!"
"There's no need for Ms. Natalia to worry so much. But if you really want to know, I hope you can one day find out what flower the sprout the teacher made is going to become."
In the end, I was so annoyed that they said it was interesting to watch that I didn't even get to find out what kind of bud it was.
"I understand, Lady Elena. I'll do my best!"
"Yes, please. I'll do my best too, with my stone reading..."
It was me who had to do my best.
My stones were still emitting fierce light and wouldn't even let me look at them directly.
"Elena's stones are not in a state to be read..."
"Hey, Mr. Rudger!!"
Mr. Rudger was being scolded by Ms. Parsley...
As I absentmindedly stroked the leather pouch containing the stones, Leve muttered softly.
"I wish Elena could read my fortune..."
"I'll read it for you when I can, Leve. But I don't know when that will be..."
I took a quick glance inside the leather pouch, and as expected, a light like Attack Magic was leaking out.
It's no good.
I can't even take them out of the bag.
* * *
Later that afternoon.
"Oh, Ellie (Elena-chan)."
I was stopped by Sir Lorentz as I stepped out into the hallway. It was impossible for Sir Lorentz, who was in a different grade, to pass by my classroom by chance, and it seemed that he had been waiting for me.
"It's been a while, Sir Lorentz."
"I have something to discuss. Do you have time?"
"Now?"
Judging by his much-improved complexion compared to the last time I counseled him, it seemed that he wasn't seeking counseling today.
"I'm not planning to take too much of your time, but... if today doesn't work, how about tomorrow?"
I was just thinking of stopping by the library with Rolus today, and I have plans to play games with Leve tomorrow.
Yeah, tomorrow won't work.
"Today works for me. Oh, but... ah! Rudger, come here! Could you do me a favor and let Rolus, who should be by the front door, know that I'll be a little late?"
I called out to Rudger, who happened to be passing by.
After glancing briefly at Sir Lorentz, Rudger nodded with a face that showed no particular interest.
"Sure, got it."
"Thanks. I'll repay you next time."
"With cookies."
A smooth request, and I said, "Okay."
"Well then, shall we go, Sir Lorentz?"
"Yeah. Is the same backyard as the other day okay?"
"Yes."
* * *
In the backyard we arrived at, I was endlessly excited about the consultation that Sir Lorentz had mentioned.
"Thanks to Ellie, my magic power has increased, but I'm really struggling to win."
As I listened to Sir Lorentz's words, I read through the textbook he handed me.
"I see, I see! There are things like illusion soldier techniques in the Attack Magic class, huh!"
"Yeah. In the next match, I absolutely want to win.... I want to discuss Attack Magic with Ellie, a girl, but I thought maybe you could give me some advice."
Well, it's true that there aren't many girls who learn Attack Magic,
What's written there is a technique called Illusion Soldier Technique.
It seems like the technique involves summoning illusion soldiers with magic and having them fight by bestowing magic upon them.
It sounds incredibly fun.
In other words, it's like creating my favorite avatar and having it battle, like a fighting game.
It's nothing short of incredibly fun.
The size of the illusion soldiers is flexible, the number is flexible, and the magic to be bestowed is also flexible.
Whether I want to create a giant-class soldier or a lot of small soldiers, it's entirely up to me.
However, if they are too big or numerous, I'll need to pour a lot of magical power just to create the soldiers, which might be a bit wasteful.
"What kind of illusion soldiers will Sir Lorentz create?"
I ask Sir Lorentz while summoning an illusion soldier the same size as my height, looking at the steps outlined in the textbook.
What I've created is a translucent illusion soldier, but it seems I can also give it a light coloring depending on the magical power I invest.
It's just too much fun.
With his eyes wide open at the illusion soldier I quickly made, Sir Lorentz doesn't back down and creates his own illusion soldier.
The illusion soldier he created looks like an armored knight.
Of course, it's also translucent.
"Shall we have them battle?"
"Ellie, are you sure it's okay to use such a cute illusion soldier?"
"Since it's an illusion, the important part is not its appearance but the magic that's bestowed on it."
I decided to have my phantom soldier, which is like a twin of myself, wield a large scythe.
The image of a girl holding a big weapon is quite thrilling.
If I do say so myself.
Since I don't know what kind of magic Sir Lorentz will grant the phantom, for now, I wrapped the scythe in fire magic and swung it around.
I can't contain my excitement as the phantom moves exactly as I imagined in my mind without a controller.
"W-Wow"
Despite being flustered, Sir Lorentz started to move his own phantom.
I thought a knight in armor would fight with a sword, but it seems his strategy involves throwing fireballs instead.
No, no, no, is that sword at his waist just for show?
While having this mental commentary, I temporarily extinguished the flames I had wrapped around the scythe and re-applied water magic.
Then, while extinguishing the incoming fireballs with water magic, I closed the distance and ultimately jumped to circle behind the armored knight, slicing him in half.
I'm regretting not selecting Attack Magic due to just how much fun this is.
"I-I lost..."
Oh, I really messed up.
"Thanks to Sir Lorentz gentle demonstration, I realized that the key to this phantom soldier technique is the type of magic granted, and then there's imagination, right?"
"Yeah. Fortunately, it was worth holding back! ...So, the type of magic granted and imagination?"
I almost accidentally shredded Sir Lorentz's pride to pieces.
With my follow-up now, I probably avoided total destruction.
Just a bit of a prick.
That was close.
"Sir Lorentz, do you know the type of magic that your opponent, whom you want to win against in the next match, is good at?"
In response to my question, Sir Lorentz tilted his head for a moment, but his expression turned slightly grim as if he remembered the opponent he wanted to defeat.
"That guy is called the Ice Prince. His specialty is ice pillars."
"Ah, so that's why Sir Lorentz was casting fireballs. But fireballs are ranged attacks, and it feels like a waste of magical energy if they miss."
It uses magical energy just to summon illusionary soldiers, so if you're wasting magical energy with missed shots, no amount will be enough.
"That's true. I've certainly lost before due to running out of magical energy after missing multiple times."
If you're running low on magical energy from wasted shots, then fireballs aren't the way to go.
After all, knights should fight with swords like knights.
"So, how about trying to envelop that knight's sword in flames, like I just did?"
I change the equipment of my illusionary soldiers from scythes to swords.
Then I envelop the swords in flames.
This way, even if ice pillars drop, he can melt them as they come.
"Oh, it's easy to fight with and looks cool too! My opponent sometimes uses lightning magic; do you have any good countermeasures for that...?"
"For lightning, how about creating a soil wall that doesn't conduct electricity well? Build a soil wall in front of you and your opponent, and ultimately, stab the opponent's illusionary soldiers with the flaming sword along with the soil wall."
In everything, the type matchup is important.
My game brain is saying this.
After the two of us thought about a strategy to some extent, we decided to do some practical training, since it's a rare opportunity.
I infused my phantom soldiers with ice and lightning magic, and Sir Lorentz countered with fire and earth walls.
In terms of type advantage, Sir Lorentz had the upper hand, but it seemed I had more magical power, so it wasn't going to be an easy win for him.
As we got more into it, Sir Lorentz launched a bigger fire magic attack that, for some reason, was aimed directly at me.
Not at my phantom soldiers, but at me.
"Lady!"
Before I realized it, rather than dodging or extinguishing the flames, Rolus had come out of nowhere and hugged me protectively.
My view was blocked by Rolus's chest, but I quickly understood he had been burned from the acrid smell that filled the air.
"No, Rolus!"
I slipped out of Rolus's arms and moved behind him.
Then, instead of checking the severity of the burn, I cast the strongest healing magic from the textbook on healing magic.
"Ellie"
"Lady! Lady!"
The strongest healing magic apparently uses a significant amount of magical power.
As I felt my strength draining away, my vision gradually faded to black.
I wanted to at least confirm Rolus's safety before collapsing, but I couldn't do that.
However, I could hear Rolus's loud voice, so I knew he would be okay.
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