“Ahahaha! By the way, mister! It’s been ages! How have you been?”
“Yeah. Long time no see. How have you all been?”
“We’re always the same~. It’s not easy dealing with our master~.”
With a slippery smile, Yuria waved her hand, and Kanon, despite his indifferent expression, looked glad to see them.
As they rushed over to Lee Hyun, Lena was flustered.
‘D-Do the master and those two know each other well?’
What happens when someone like Lena meets a friend’s friend she doesn’t know? The answer is simple.
She just shrinks away.
Even if she has something to say, it’s hard to jump in when they start talking about things she doesn’t know. So, Lena sat crouched in a corner near Lee Hyun, quietly eavesdropping on their conversation.
“I was thinking about you two when I saw Bella in Greenhild. Why are you two here? Are you participating in the magic competition?”
“Yep! They say we can’t just sit still in the Red Academy while the Blue Academy is competing~.”
“Hmm. We can’t fall behind the Blue Academy.”
Since ancient times, the rivalry between the Red and Blue Academies of the Ivory Tower has been famous.
It’s so serious that they even cause a ruckus over the name of the annual magic tournament between the two.
The Red Academy calls it the Red-Blue Tournament, while the Blue Academy calls it the Blue-Red Tournament.
It’s said that even mentioning the Blue-Red Tournament in front of a Red Academy mage will make them faint and leave the room.
“But about what Lena just said… Is that true?”
“Yeah. Lena is my apprentice.”
With a cute head tilt, Yuria looked at Lena.
As Lena awkwardly nodded her head from behind Lee Hyun, Yuria’s expression brightened even more.
“Wow! What a coincidence! If you’re the master’s apprentice, it means your skills are proven, right? Can’t you really aim for the championship?”
“That’s exactly the plan. I made a bet with Rice.”
Lee Hyun told them about the bet he had with Rice.
Listening intently, Yuria clenched her fist.
“We can’t let the Blue Academy take you away, mister! Lena! Kanon! Let’s go practice!!”
What a stormy girl she is.
As soon as she entered the café, she dashed out without even placing an order, causing Kanon to let out a small sigh and wave his hand.
With Kanon following her out, only Lena remained in the café.
Seeing her at a loss, Lee Hyun lightly patted her back.
He had sent them to find party members, and they really found good ones.
‘With Yuria and Kanon, I can trust them.’
Not to the extent of Lena, but they were also highly talented.
And having learned under Bella, their basic skills would be solid too.
“Are you not going?”
“Ah. Ugh. M-Master.”
“Hm?”
“How… do you know Yuria and Kanon?”
How does he know?
Lee Hyun nodded nonchalantly.
“Since they are Bella’s apprentices.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s it.”
“Well, you call him mister… You all seem really close…”
“Well, we’ve done a lot of things together.”
“A lot of things…?”
“I took them on a few ruin explorations.”
Lee Hyun recalled the past, back when he was running around with bugs.
When he had something he wanted from the Ivory Tower and was dealing with Bella, she had requested him to take those two with him.
It wasn’t particularly difficult, so Lee Hyun had gone on a few ruin explorations with Yuria and Kanon, and after that, they had become close.
As he shared that, Lena tilted her head.
“Oh, then… Why are you still a novice magician despite going on ruin explorations?”
“They’re kids that Bella is seriously training. They can use multi-magic and Shadow Spear too.”
“Heeee…”
Lena, who thought multi-magic and Shadow Spear were her own specialties, showed interest in her eyes.
Lee Hyun, tapping her forehead, took her hand and led her outside.
“But they’re not as good as you. They’ve barely done about ten things.”
Also, while Lena developed her skills in Shadow Spear and multi-magic by herself, those two were different.
They learned through Bella’s brutal training and systematic practice.
That training meant their growth was a bit slow considering their talent.
That’s why, although it had been years since they became Bella’s apprentices, they were still just novice magicians.
“You always say this, right? You’re my pride.”
“Hehehe…”
“So, can I expect great things?”
“Ugh. Ah… I-I’ll work hard.”
“Good.”
Lee Hyun lightly patted Lena’s back as they went outside together.
*
“Then let’s start with a simple novice magic duel!”
The magic competition is a 3 vs 3 survival match.
If the first one to go wins, the rest can continue to fight.
“The Blue Academy mage, Rice’s apprentice, Lowyn is not to be underestimated. He participated in the subjugation of the Great Demon Diabolos and was chosen by the mighty artifact, the Grimoire of Power.”
Sometimes, artifacts with their own consciousness appear.
These artifacts choose their owners. The Grimoire of Power is no different.
It had been used by Valtron, a faithful subordinate of the Great Demon Diabolos, but when the Diabolos was defeated, the grimoire chose Rice’s apprentice, Lowyn.
“The Great Demon Diabolos…”
Lena shot a glance at me.
Seeing that, Yuria nodded.
“Yeah. The Great Demon subjugation battle that mister participated in. Lowyn was there too.”
“To say ‘participated’ would be more accurate to say he got caught up in it.”
Diabolos suddenly emerged, and there was no time to pull him out.
Anyway, that is not what’s important, so I returned to the main topic.
“The Grimoire of Power provides the user with an absurd amount of mana.
In return, it drains their stamina, but even considering that, it’s an attractive ability.”
“Then how do we deal with him?”
“He doesn’t have any weaknesses. Even though he has the Grimoire of Power and possesses immense mana, it can only be used for novice magic. So…”
“We can overpower him with skill.”
When Kanon chimed in, Lena let out a sigh of relief.
In that case, it felt manageable. Seeing her reaction, Kanon raised his finger.
“But don’t underestimate the power of each shot. I hear Lowyn’s Magic Arrow is as big as a pillar.”
“Hyeeeek…”
The others on Lowyn’s team seemed indifferent.
Yuria casually raised her hand.
“Alright! Then should we test our skills? Since mister is here, let’s have him be the judge!”
When she looked at me, I shrugged.
It wasn’t like I had anything else to do, and I figured it would be good to see Lena’s level.
I was also curious about how much they’ve grown.
Setting up in the open space next to the café, the first two to step up were Kanon and Lena.
“I won’t go easy on you!”
“I-I’ll do my best!”
“Then, start!”
No sooner had the words left my mouth than Kanon raised his staff.
In that moment, a dozen Magic Arrows appeared, targeting Lena one after another.
Now, what will she do?
I had my expectations, and Lena didn’t let them go to waste.
_[Whoosh!]!!_
In an instant, dozens of Magic Arrows created by Lena countered Kanon’s Magic Arrows.
No, it wasn’t just a counter.
Lena made even more Magic Arrows than Kanon and aimed right at her.
Whoa. Moving magic implemented as multi-magic.
Not bad at all, right?
“Hehe~! Mister! Mister!”
While I was watching the duel between Lena and Kanon from my seat on a box in the open space, Yuria approached me, keeping her signature smile.
Curious about what was going on, I looked at her, and she slyly jumped up and sat on my lap.
“Ah~. This is the best seat, huh~.”
“You little brat. Aren’t you a kid?”
“Yep! So?!”
With her personality always being like that, Yuria was filled with cheerful vibes.
Maybe that’s why? She tilted her head slightly and smiled like a cat, leaning her back against my chest.
“Mister doesn’t let me do stuff like this.”
“Bella is quite strict, isn’t she?”
She really has no mercy when teaching kids.
Watching her teach once really made me flinch.
“S-S-S-S-S-Sensei!?”
At that moment.
While Lena was in the middle of her battle with Kanon, she shocked me by looking in our direction, her face filled with horror.
What’s going on? Was Yuria curious as well? She tilted her head, and in the middle of the arrow that shot towards Lena, she got hit and collapsed.
“Oops?! Are you okay?!”
“Ughhhh… I-I’m okay but…”
“Then next is me!! Kanon! Bring it on!”
“Huh. I’m ready whenever you are.”
Yuria jumped off my lap and headed towards the open space. As she was preparing, Lena approached me, looking quite resentful.
“Why?”
“H-How could you…”
“What’s up?”
“…M-My master…”
From her mumbling, it seemed like she was unhappy about Yuria sitting on my lap earlier.
What’s going on here?
No matter how talented she is, guess a kid is just a kid after all.
I hugged the pouting Lena and sat her back on my lap.
“Alright. Is this better?”
Finally, Lena quieted down.
Raising a child is no easy task, huh?
It’s tough when they get jealous over the smallest things.
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