Chapter 74
One generally had to be intelligent in order to skip grades. Therefore, it was somewhat predictable that she possessed magic-related talents. The ability to use magic instantly without any casting was definitely a highly-valued skill.
She probably had the intelligence to understand magic and also talent related to mana operation, which meant that No Casting was just one of her many skills.
‘She truly deserves the Number 1 spot.’
“They say it’s magical talent, but similar to a supernatural power. They don’t fully understand what it is. It seems to be both a supernatural power and a magical talent.”
Ellen and I nodded along in agreement. I wasn’t surprised that there could be a supernatural power related to magic, yet it was still quite surprising for me that a supernatural ability that I had not specifically placed in the setting actually existed.
Then again, there had been no need, nor any reason, to set boundaries to define what supernatural powers could exist in this world in the first place. So, on second thought, it was only natural that there would be supernatural abilities in this world that were unknown to me.
Nonetheless, the ability to use No Casting in combat was immensely powerful. Depending on how it developed, she had the potential to become an incredibly formidable individual later.
Rudina sighed while eating her ice cream.
“But what’s the use if I don’t have sufficient mana to support it? All you get is, at best, something no better than a portable lighter.”
Even if one was gifted with a phenomenal ability, without the mana to utilize it effectively, it amounted to nothing more than a mere cigarette lighter.
Magic was the most convenient and powerful ability. Just take Eleris, a supreme archmage, for example. She could teleport, disguise, attack—there was barely anything she couldn’t do. A mage was much like a jack-of-all-trades.
That was why becoming one required many essential prerequisites.
Being smart was a basic requirement, but one also needed the talent to develop vast magic power, the talent to control that power, and talent in the specific field of magic as well.
Of course, these were the conditions necessary for achieving the greatest possible outcome. However, if one was deficient in one of these aspects and didn’t have all of these, that person would find it difficult to attain true mastery.
The best example I knew of when it came to the importance of mana capacity was Eleris. She possessed such tremendous mana stores that she was capable of conjuring the Mass Teleport spell several times consecutively. Additionally, although it was currently in my possession, the Flame of Fire seemed to allow her to summon flames and use them without any casting process. Which meant that as long as her mana supported it, she had access to pyrokinesis freely.
Rudina seemed to have a strong talent for the use of magic itself and appeared to be quite smart as well—as evidenced by her skipping grades—but she seemed to have a relatively low amount of mana.
Even if one knew how to use magic, they could not activate the magic with insufficient mana.
“It’ll get better with practice. You’re still young, after all.”
‘You can’t complain about your mana being too low when you’re only fifteen!’
“That’s what they all say...”
Rudina sighed as if unsure, and ate a macaron. No matter how much she complained, it only came off as cute to me.
Seeing a fifteen-year-old kid holding immense talent in their hands and wondering what to do about it was beyond ridiculous.
“Do you want me to tell you something that will cheer you up?”
“Huh? What? Why would it make me cheer up?”
She looked at me quizzically, as if wondering what kind of cheerful story I might conjure up out of the blue.
“People are, by nature, fickle creatures. When they hear about someone worse off than themselves, they think, ‘Oh, thank god, at least I’m not that bad.’ It’s a common reaction.”
It was similar to the concept of catharsis.
“... Feeling better because of that makes me seem like a bad person, though.”
“No, that’s just human nature, I’m telling you!”
I myself had gone through an education system that always invited us to compare our lives to the lives of the extremely poor and got us thinking that we should be glad we were living a better life than them. Some countries even used this approach in their public education system, offering the same response to the many social issues: “Hey, at least your life is going better than those people over there, so be grateful and live without complaints!”
“I’ve heard that there are those in the world born with the talent of immense mana, but don’t have the aptitude to utilize it.”
Rudina went pale and even dropped the macaron she was holding.
“W-What? What did you say?! Someone born with incredible mana, but no aptitude to utilize it? That’s a lie! How could that even happen?”
It was indeed a ridiculous notion. It was as absurd as saying someone was born with immense muscle mass, but lacked the tendons to actually make use of that strength.
Rudina frowned dubiously as if she thought I was lying.
“It’s true. He’s talking about Kaier Vioden from our class.”
That was Ellen, who had been silent until then.
“... Really?”
“Yes.”
It was surprising enough that Ellen had answered, but even more astonishing was that she remembered Kaier’s talent.
“Wow, you actually remember that?”
“... You’re the one who told me about it before.”
Oh.
I recalled mentioning Kaier on the first day at the Temple, and how he was born with an enormous mana aptitude that he was unable to utilize. It seemed Ellen had remembered that conversation.
Rudina, perhaps struck by the absurdity of Kaier’s story—one who was born with an overpowered talent, yet cursed with unsuitable ability—stared blankly for a while, with her mouth hanging open.
It was true.
Kaier was born with the incredible talent of a giant mana pool, innately possessing a massive amount of it, and his mana growth was phenomenal. However, he had a poor aptitude for utilizing it, and was unable to draw on it at will. That was why, even though he was in Class A, he was firmly ranked Number 10, and it was also why he had a significant disdain towards those in Class B, since it was the only place he could boost his sense of self-esteem.
He was like a dam without a gate.
“I... I feel so bad for him!”
Rudina’s face was pale as she started to worry about the cursed talent of one of her juniors.
“So anyway, your situation isn’t that bad, right? Now, did all your worries disappear as soon as you heard that? Did you think for a moment, ‘Phew, I’m glad that’s not me?’”
Hearing about Kaier made Rudina realize that she was in a much better situation. She had undoubtedly felt a sense of relief upon hearing of someone in a situation worse than her own, and with it, a likely twinge of guilt as well.
Rudina gaped at me blankly for a moment, then her face turned bright red.
“You vile scumbag!” she yelled. “You really are a bad person!”
She shrieked at me for simultaneously despising a classmate and teasing my senior.
***
Rudina seemed to be wandering around the Temple alone, visibly upset because most of the other classmates had gone back home while the school was on a break. Since she continued to hang out with us even after finishing dessert, she probably found it boring to be alone.
“It’s incredibly quiet.”
With so many having left the Temple, Rudina was unaccustomed to the eerily deserted surroundings.
“It must be because of that incident.”
To be precise, it was because of my incident.
“Right...”
Not only had people left, but there were hardly any students on Main Street. We had been the only ones at the dessert cafe.
“Do you think the Demon King has been resurrected and is taking revenge on us?”
All sorts of crazy rumors were floating around, and the situation seemed to encourage everyone to let their imagination run wild.
Rudina was probably not the only one with the notion that the Demon King might have been resurrected and was looking for vengeance against humans.
“That’s something we can’t know for sure,” I said.
Rudina looked up at me, her eyes wide and filled with fear, and I could fully understand the anxiety that filled her gaze.
The incident made it abundantly clear that even the imperial capital was within striking range of the demons.
“What do we do if that’s actually the case? Artorius is dead. Who’s going to defeat the Demon King, then?”
“...”
Only a handful of Temple students knew that Ellen was Artorius’ sister—myself and Vertus, and at most, maybe Charlotte. Artorius was beyond a hero; he was almost a god to the people.
Once someone reached such a stage of heroification or deification, they were no longer discussed in the same way as ordinary folk. They were usually treated as if they were not mere human beings.
Although Rudina referred to Artorius as the hero of humanity, Ellen would think of him as her brother.
Did Ellen think that her brother was merely being treated as a weapon to confront the Demon King?
Our eyes met, and I couldn’t be sure what emotions were hiding beneath her calm gaze. However, she didn’t seem pleased.
Clutching the teddy bear to my side, I blurted out, “Then we’ll all just go down together.”
“That’s ridiculous!”
Rudina kept going on about what we’d do if the Demon King had been resurrected and invaded the empire, while Ellen remained silent.
It was an ironic situation.
The Demon King was dead, but here was a Demon Prince, who did not wish to become the Demon King.
Artorius the hero was dead, but here was the sister of the hero, who didn’t want to be the next hero either.
Just as I was ultimately considered Charlotte’s enemy, I was struck anew by the clear fact that, in the end, I was also an enemy to Ellen.
The realization that these two, who were the closest to me in the Temple, would have the hardest time accepting it when I told them the truth about me sent a sudden chill through my heart.
***
Back at the Royal Class dormitory, Rudina hugged Ellen tightly, thanking her for the teddy bear.
“Thank you, sweetie! I’ll cherish this teddy bear!”
“... Please do.”
Pat, pat.
Rudina was probably trying to enact a wholesome moment where a senior gives a junior a comforting hug, but it looked more like she was the one getting hugged by Ellen. After ‘hugging’ Ellen, Rudina gave me a sour look, then lectured me as if she had once again realized what a strange person I was.
“Reinhart, you really need to break the habit of being so harsh.”
“Maybe I’ll try that in my next life.”
“Ugh! You’re just the worst!”
Zap!
Rudina grew enraged and unleashed a No Casting electric spell right against my cheek. The tingling sensation made me jump on the spot.
“Ouch, that hurts! Did you just use magic on a freshman?”
“Beat it! Be thankful it was only that much!”
Rudina seemed ready to give me a real electric massage if I continued to tease her.
She flashed me a mischievous smile. “Anyway, thank you too, Reinhart. I’ll buy you dessert sometime!”
Then she clomped up the stairs on her short legs, hugging the teddy bear tightly in her arms.
There I was, successfully forcing a person who was too nice to not only speak harshly to me, but use magic on me as well.
“Um. I think I must have a talent for making nice people angry.”
It was the same with Ellen, Adriana, and now Rudina.
It felt like I was setting a record for being annoying until I got a scolding or a smack, even though it was all pointless since there were no actual achievement points for it.
“So you’ve only just realized that,” Ellen said.
“So what?”
Ellen looked at me with disbelief, her gaze fixed on me. “Just saying.”
We returned to the first-year Class A dormitory. As we walked along the corridor on our way back, Ellen quietly called out to me.
“Reinhart.”
“What is it?”
“If the Demon King really has been resurrected...”
It seemed she had been contemplating that thought for a while.
Ellen stopped and looked at me.
“Do you think I’ll have to fight the Demon King eventually?”
While Rudina had whined, she had never actually considered the scenario in which she would have to fight the Demon King. However, Ellen had been continuously pondering that possibility on her own.
Rudina naturally assumed that Artorius was the one who was supposed to fight the Demon King, which was a reasonable assumption that an ordinary person would have. In their eyes the hero fighting the Demon King was a given.
However, Ellen knew that she herself possessed capabilities and qualities superior to those of Artorius.
Therefore, if the Demon King were to be resurrected and war broke out once again, and if it became known that Ellen was Artorius’s sister, the people would naturally expect Ellen to fight the Demon King. They would believe that no one else but Ellen could face the Demon King.
Although she might not be ready yet, the people would hold the firm belief that Ellen would eventually be the one to defeat the Demon King.
Ellen did not want to risk her life for the sake of the world. However, she understood that it would be expected of her, that it would be something imposed upon her. That was why she asked if I was thinking along the same lines as Rudina.
In a way, Ellen’s question could be seen as being arrogant, since it implied that she was confident she had the qualities necessary to defeat the Demon King. Since she actually did possess those qualities, I suppose it technically didn’t count as arrogance.
“I sure hope you don’t.”
“Why?”
Ellen seemed curious about the reason.
“I won’t have anyone to eat with if you’re not around.”
Ellen narrowed her brow slightly as if telling me to stop making ridiculous remarks.
“... I’m being serious right now.”
“I’m serious too, you little punk.”
“...”
I exhaled a sigh and, with my arms crossed, gazed out at the view of the Temple, bathed in the light of the setting sun.
“Trust me, I don’t plan on eating with you for the rest of my life. But not having you around at all doesn’t sit right with me.”
‘I don’t want you to die.’
That was essentially what I meant.
Ellen stood facing me, with the sunset at her back. Her silhouette was backlit, so I couldn’t make out what expression she was wearing.
“So, you’re saying the reason you don’t want me to die is because you find me of some use to you?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with that? There are people out there who would ask you to die for them, so isn’t it okay for someone to ask you not to die for them?”
I couldn’t see Ellen’s expression, but she seemed, perhaps, to be smiling.
“And besides, you’re going to stomp the Demon King. You should feel sorry for him!”
“... Don’t overestimate me too much.”
“No, I’m certain. You’d utterly crush him, Ellen.”
After all, she was beating up Reinhart, the next Demon King, every single day!
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