Radshausen?

　To my surprise, Patrick frowned in disgust.

'They all make fun of me...'

　Patrick calms his anger and grimaces again, as if he is mending.

'Even the Healer knew the name of King's Landing Rashausen?

　That's not what surprised me.
　Mr. Anold had a son, as I recall, and also said that he was studying at Heilkwaite.
　If that's the case....

'I am the real son of Arnold Radshausen, the current King of Radshausen. I'm the prince and I'm advising you, and it would be better for you if you listened to me quietly.

　It seems to be so.
　Anyway, what is this bad behavior?
　It's still hard to believe that they don't look alike.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.

I see. I thought it would be interesting to see how he would fare since he claims to be Mr. Arnold's son, but it's not what I expected at all. He's overconfident and arrogant. A typical little boy, you might say.
Mr. Arnold? .....

　Patrick was startled by the way I talked to him, as if he felt uncomfortable.
　But he quickly snapped back to his condescending stare, as if his expression was deceiving.

"You ... you bring up the name of your king and talk about him as if you know him better than I do ... you're a fool.
...What?
You think I'm an idiot, don't you?　You think you can't get away with it as long as I'm out there playing badly!

　When has this guy ever played a bad hand?
　But even so, since a while ago, this guy's attitude is uncomfortable.
　It's almost as if he's not used to being bossy.

"Get out there!　Let me tell you how out of place you are!
You must wait, Mr. Patrick.

　Sierra got between me and Patrick.

'Hey, what are you,'
My name is Sierra Eckalert.
'I know that, I was just introducing myself.
"My name is Sierra Eckalert, and I am a Knight of the White King. My name is Sierra Eccarlato, and I'm here by permission of King Arnold. The king himself has granted us permission to enter the academy.
"....not only in the name of the King, but in the name of the White King.

　Patrick began to tremble with anger.

'Don't do it, Patrick, you're not allowed to use magic to cause harm, and you're not allowed to get into trouble with it, are you?

　A few classmates also begin to intercede.

'This isn't a struggle. I'm saying I'm going to teach you. But yes it is....

　Arrogance is refreshing in the extreme.

'You can't do that here, I'll teach you on the exercise field. Then what's the problem?
Training grounds...

　I looked down at the grin as if it were a high-pitched grin.
　Patrick's angry expression spurred on.

'Well, I don't mind,'

　Let me tell you a little about the one who doesn't know his place.

I'll tell you which one.

　The exercise area was a dome-shaped gymnasium.
　In other words, indoors.
　With the high ceiling, there was a sense of liberation, as if you could play baseball in it.
　It's just that they are an advanced school, and money is being spent.

You're spending a lot of money.
Can't a commoner understand that?

　Patrick was a sarcastic guy at every turn.

'So what are you going to do?'

　Facing each other in the middle of the field, Patrick began to explain.
　The other students were gathered in the audience, even the guy who was interceding seemed to be waiting for them now or later.
　Of course, Toa, Sierra and Nem were there, too.

The use of magic and mock battles are allowed here. I'll train you now. Thankfully, it's your first and last.

　Students from other classes begin to appear here and there in the audience.

''What........''
This is the power of the prince. This is the power of the prince. They're a real pain in the ass.

　Patrick looked at the audience as if he were proud of them.

'Master!　I don't want to beat up on people like that...

　I could see that Nem was flailing about with Toa holding his mouth down.

'Leave the academy when this is over.
What if I win?

　Patrick laughed as his belly gushed out.

'Don't worry, that's not going to happen.'

　You think you've accomplished something just by being royalty.
　I'm sorry Arnold-san, but I'll give you a little moxie.

　The buzzing auditorium gradually becomes quiet, and a single gunshot is heard there as a signal--.

'We'll start with elementary magic, for starters! --Fire!

　Patrick's hand lights up and a single fireball is released.
　I move a little to the side to avoid it.
　Not that it would do anything to me if it hit.
　The fire scorched the ground right next to me, and then it was gone.

"You're going to need to avoid that much.

　It seemed slightly larger than a normal fireball, but I guess that means this guy is also excellent in a way.
　But it felt different from Zeke's.
　It's something more fundamental.

''《Fire (Fire).

　The same one flew again, now multiple.
　Patrick was chanting over and over again.
　As I thought, it was the difference between him and Zeke, heaven and earth.
　This was also avoided without using skills such as 《God's Speed》 in particular, just physical abilities.

　Patrick's expression begins to cloud over.

''【Great Flame (Freya)!

　Continuing on, an even bigger fireball flew next.
　I show it to them by avoiding it as well.
　It's too slow, too slow.
　It's a level where it appears to stop.
　I didn't think it would make such a difference depending on the wizard's ability.

　Now I can see how good Zeke was at using it.
　In other words, this guy's magic isn't at the actual level of battle at all.
　It's the height of arrogance.
　But what this guy is saying is not a lie either.
　I'm sure the students of this academy are excellent.
　But first you should simply think about hitting the opponent.
　You are concentrating too much on chanting.
　If you don't hit it, this is just a magic trick.

'You're in a hurry, aren't you?　I can't hit it after all this. But, well, this is what your level is like.

　With that word, Patrick's eyes changed color.

''【Divorcade of Flame (Devolcade)』----!

　A red magic circle appeared at Patrick's feet, and a giant fireball appeared above his head.
　I've seen this magic before, too.
　I found out later, but I'm sure it's something called advanced magic.
　At that moment, the audience cheered.
　Everyone was excited about Patrick's game.
　But I'm sick of it. Sierra and Toa would have noticed.

How about it!　This is my magic!　This is what a healer can do!
I can't do it, I guess.
'.....' Patrick looked more triumphant than ever.
'Throw it at me, I won't dodge it this time.
You gotta be kidding me.
'I'm not kidding, this is a one-man fight. Then you should finish it. No reason to hesitate. Come on, just throw it. I won't die if I hit you.
Shh....

　A glimpse of anger in his strong face.

'What's the matter, just throw it up!　You're going to beat me and get the recognition of that stupid prince's abilities and all that!

　He was suddenly running his mouth about such things.

'--Fool!

　Patrick was swept away by my provocation and let loose with his giant fireball.
　The heat is palpable.
　But--'

It's clearly out of the question.

　I lightly shook off the fireball with my left hand and repelled it.
　The fireball was erased and scattered, and the barrier-like membrane interfered with the audience and completely disappeared.

I knew it was the membrane for that.

　Patrick froze in place with his mouth hanging open.
　The auditorium was silent, and the exercise area, which seemed to have been filled with cheers, was silent.

''Well I expected some since you say you're Mr. Arnold's son. That man bought me a drink and taught me about the academy, so I thought I'd give you a moxie as a way to repay him. But.........
Patrick completely admitted his defeat.
'It's not a school play, can I just say well done?　What's the point of sloppy magic that only threatens?
....
'Maybe it certainly wasn't my place to come either, looking at you, I guess. I'm not here to learn to play. And I have no use for your cheap pride.

　I turned my attention to the audience.

'So do you guys, you're going to laugh at this guy behind his back after this anyway, aren't you?　So what were you so excited about earlier?　If that's the case, you're just like him. You can give up the dream of being a mage and become a magician. In real life, you'll probably be killed in an instant.

　I turned my back on it and left the exercise area.
　Neither Patrick nor anyone else said a word.



　The three of them caught up with us as we were leaving the training grounds.

''We're covered in enemies.

　Toa laughed.

'....maybe.
Master was cool!
Completely bad, though. Well, let's just say I've paid my debt to Mr. Arnold with this.
But you couldn't have done it any other way?
"Sorry Sierra, I'm a klutz.

　The three of you understand.
　Then that's all I ask.
　I won't ask for anything else.

"This place has a library too, right?
It's a school, so it must be there.
So why don't you come along for a little while and help me find some healer magic?
'That's fine, though. I don't know how you can switch back and forth after what happened.
No, it's not a big deal.

　Here is the key to keep the Toa from dying.
　The key to save.
　That's all I've been thinking about since I saw the prophecy in Artemias.

　Then I came to the library, and while I couldn't read, I found a certain book.


　In one place there was an adventurer.
　The adventurer was the best adventurer in town.
　One day, the adventurer stole something that his best friend treasured.
　The adventurer doesn't want to apologize for his actions.
　But the best friend forgave the adventurer.

　One day, the adventurer made a friend, the Serpent.
　The greedy adventurer arrogantly walked away with the Serpent.
　The Serpent stole the adventurer from his best friend.
　The adventurer still refuses to apologize to his best friend.
　The best friend forgave the adventurer nonetheless...

　----.

　---.

　The adventurer betrayed his best friend.


　It was the nameless adventurer, that book in which the abyss appeared.