(What the hell happened to ......?)



　Marianne could not believe her eyes.



　The facts of what had happened were clear to her.

　Lias, his self and his weapons enhanced, attacked Hurt faster than any human being. Hurt dodged the rush by flying upward and lightly poked Lias in the back of the head with the tip of his wooden sword.



　But this was only on the surface. There were a number of puzzling points in this sequence of events.



　The first thing that is puzzling is the difference in ability.



　Lias's current magic level is 9, and the amount of his magical power is about 20 times greater than that of Harte.

　The power of magic is directly related to the amount of magic power. The amount of magic power affects everything related to magic, such as the activation time, power, duration, and parallel activation of magic.

　Therefore, it was impossible for Rias, who was far superior in magic level, to be caught off guard.



　He must have been caught off guard. We underestimated him, that's for sure.

　But Raius has enhanced muscle strength, increased agility, self-lightening, increased reaction time. He also added armament enhancements and optimized his chanting at almost the same time.

　At only nine years of age, he had shown glimpses of his formidable talent, and he intended to overpower him with overwhelming force.



　With his magic level 2, Harto would not have been able to react in time to counter with defensive magic, and would have had one of his legs broken.



　The reality, however, was the exact opposite.



"I told you so, Your Highness. ," he said.



　I pick up a tweet from right next door.



"Uncle Gordo, what the hell is he ......?"



　Marianne is so upset that she forgets the distinction between public and private.

　Gordo responds.



"You're right to be surprised. I have no idea what he's doing.



"What?"



"I don't see any evidence of magic, yet he is moving his body more than if he had strengthened himself with magic."



　Harto, whose magic level is extremely low, has been practicing swordsmanship in the hope that he will be able to play a more active role in the future, but the only other person in the castle who could properly cross swords with him was Gordo.



Traces......... yes. When did he invoke his magic?"



　Even if he had cast a self-enhancement spell beforehand, he would not last a minute at magic level 2. It is impossible for him to cast more than one spell at a time.

　After confronting him, before Rias?　That's impossible. He was not chanting. Unchanted activation cannot be done at a magic level in the single digits. It depends on the type of magic, but it has to be at least 30.



I don't know."



"Yeah. ......"



　It seems futile to me to try to figure it out when my father, with whom I have spent ten years of my life, doesn't know.

　But it is also true that only magic can explain his movements.



"He flew and dodged, didn't he?　And then didn't you stop in mid-air?"



　There was no preliminary movement at all. Flying magic?　Again, impossible. It is a B-rank magic that can only be used with magic level 30 or higher.



"That's not magic either, is it?"



I don't know.



"But he must be using some kind of magic. Otherwise ......"



　Marianne shifted her gaze to Hurt.

　Lias had just stood up and swung his wooden sword at him. He swung it again and again with a sword speed that would have fooled an adult, cutting through the wind with each swing.



"d*mn!　Why? !　I can't hit it!"



　Raius swings his sword with a face as if he is about to cry.

　Hurt, on the other hand, is fluttering and dodging, as if he is really bored. He was so unmotivated that he looked like he was about to yawn.



"Ah!　See, Uncle, that movement was unnatural, too. You changed the direction of movement in mid-air, didn't you?　I mean, you've been floating for a while now, haven't you?　You're not even moving your feet, you're gliding along the ground!"



"Yeah, it doesn't look that way to me."



"No, definitely. It's funny, isn't it?



It's funny, isn't it?



"You don't think it's strange?"



"It is strange. I pointed it out to him several times during practice and asked him what he had done, but he did not seem to understand. So I decided to think of him as "that kind of thing.



　The Count of Gordo Semphis is a powerful man who is said to be unrivaled in the country in the field of earth magic. <, is no exaggeration.

　Marianne respects him for forming a special unit with Princess Flash and defeating the Demon King.



(She still respects him, but ......)



　He was also rather rough around the edges.



"Look, Marianne. Hurt is moving his feet. Nice footwork."



"...... you can hear our conversation, can't you?"



"...... might be."






　The distance and volume are such that only those with good hearing can hear them. I don't know what's going on anymore.



(What the hell is this ......?)



　I want to find out the secret, but I have no idea how.



"d*mn!"



　Lias takes an agonizingly large swing. It was successfully avoided. He is so overpowered that he loses his balance and falls down. His fine clothes and handsome face were covered in dirt, and he looked nothing short of <>.



　Lias," he said, moving his mouth in a small gesture as he lay prone on the ground.

　Chanting.

　It was a swordfight, but that was--....



"Lias, stop!



　Gordo noticed and tried to jump out. But he couldn't get out in time.



"Take that! Fireball!"



　Raius's right hand is pointed at Hurt, who is standing right next to him.





☆☆☆☆☆





　Now, the conversation between the princess and my father has been overheard since a few minutes ago.



　I was too lazy to move my body, so I was secretly flying around, but I guess people who see you can see you. My father gave up a lot of things, but I shouldn't have done it in front of strangers.



　The reason I can move more than the magically enhanced Raius is, of course, thanks to the warding magic. The wards that cover my body function like a power-assist suit.

　However, I can only move a little roughly, so I get tired of it and want to float in the air. I would like to upgrade it so that it can be strengthened cell by cell.



　Well, I don't mind if they know I'm using strange magic, but I'm sure they'll look into it and ask me, "Isn't this the prince you threw away ten years ago? >>I don't want people to suspect that I have a problem.

　At best, I'll just say that you're physically strong, that's great.



　I tried to keep my feet on the ground and act like I'm doing my best to avoid them.



　I mean, can't this be over soon?

　I don't want to be attacked by the little bastards and pretend I'm beaten now. Well, I'll just wait until he runs out of magic and gives up.



d*mn it!



　Raius, with his last ounce of strength, swings his wooden sword down from the top bunk.

　He dodged and fell down.

　What a mess! So impolite!



　That's disgusting!　I'm not actually going to do it. I'm not really supposed to do that.



　Hmm?　Mr. Lias is prone and mumbling.

　Oh, the chanting.

　You've made up your own rules, and now you want to take a shot at us with a flying stick. The incantation suggests a fireball.



Raius, don't do this!



　At this angle, it would hit the wall of the castle if you dodge it. You can always take it and defend against it. .......



"Take that! Fireball!　............ that?"



　Shin, shin.

　The courtyard falls silent.



"What? Why?　Fireball!　Fireball uuuuuu!"



　Raius stretched out his hand, calling out the magic name, but there was no change in the appearance of his hand.



"Raius, your magic power has been exhausted.



　Sister Marianne came over.



"No, no!　I'm not ready--what?



　Lias looked me in the eye and made a funny noise.

　You know what I'm talking about, don't you? You know that you've successfully invoked the magic (・・・・・・・).



　I had created a flat field just in front of Lias' right hand. The fireball he shot was sucked into it and disappeared.

　Somewhere other than here.

　I don't know where the hell he went across dimensions.



"Are you saying I'm next, ......?"



　A frightened Lias utters unintelligible words.



"Marianne, this is--"



"Enough!　You break the rules you set for yourself, and now you want to make things even uglier.



"Ggh, ugh. ......"



　Lias was escorted by his father and his knight guards to the guest room to rest.



　That was the end. We have wasted our time.

　As I turned on my heel to go back to my room, I was stopped.



"Excuse me, my brother. By the way, are you sure your magic level is ......2?






"...... that's right?"



　That was the only conversation I ever had with my sister.