17

Ains casually swung his right hand and sent the black flame flying.

In the direction it flew was the indoor lamp Lydia had been using as a trigger, and Ains burned it to nothing in an instant.

“Don’t tell me you noticed…”

“Your gaze, you see. It was far too easy to read. It seems you are still not used to fighting sorcerers.”

The study, with its light extinguished, was lit only by the faint glow of the mana overflowing from Ains and the moonlight shining in through the window. Even so, there was enough brightness to clearly make out both of them.

Ains released the black flame that had stretched from his chest to his right arm.

The black haze wrapped around his right arm returned to Ains’s chest, then quietly vanished.

With that, the defensive sorcery that had made Lydia lose her will to attack was gone.

(But the crucial trigger is gone.)

Lydia could not attack Ains using sorcery.

Amid that, Ains lifted the index finger of his right hand as if pointing at Lydia.

“Pseudo-Release: ‘Load Assessment (Gravity).’”

Ains quietly lowered the finger that had been pointing at Lydia’s face.

“! Gah!”

Immediately after, a powerful pressure bore down on Lydia’s body from above. Her knees buckled, and even with both hands on the floor, it was all she could do to lift her own head.

It did not feel as if one point on her back was being pressed, but rather as if her entire body was being pushed down from above with even force.

Perhaps the area around Lydia, who had fallen prostrate, was also under pressure, because the floor creaked and formed depressions.

“What… is… this…”

If Lydia relaxed the strength in her arms, abdominal muscles, or back muscles even a little, she would immediately end up licking the floor under the pressure from above.

Naturally, she could not move from the spot either.

“I could have used the ‘Golden Word (Noble Order)’ I learned recently, but that one requires a price, so it is a little inconvenient to use.”

Lydia desperately endured the pressure while her limbs trembled in small motions like a newborn fawn.

“If this is a duel, then it cannot end unless victory and defeat are made clear. For you to try to go back on that…”

Ains passed mana through the ring on his left hand and opened his item box. From inside, he took out a single worn-out sword and gripped it in his left hand.

“Well, even so, it was a good lesson, wasn’t it? Good for you. I hope you can make use of it next time.”

He held the rusted blade beside Lydia’s defenseless neck.

“With that much… power… What is… your goal…?”

Sweat dripped from Lydia due to the overuse of her muscles.

As Lydia looked up at Ains too, she thought this: the man before her was on a different level. She would be troubled if anyone lumped her together with this man under the lukewarm framework of sorcerer.

The power to distort laws—sorcery. Ains handled multiple sorceries, and on top of that, he handled even the sorcery of others as if it were his own.

Lydia, who recognized herself as an enemy of the kingdom, thought that there was no way someone like this should be allowed to exist in this country, in this world.

(How many countries could this guy destroy all by himself…?)

Was she going to be killed by such a crude weapon? Lydia bitterly regretted her own actions, which had stirred up trouble she should not have touched.

“My goal? That has not changed at all since long ago. For that purpose, I explore sorcery. The exploration of sorcery is merely a means to achieve my goal.”

Ains chuckled and added, “Though I do sometimes treat it as entertainment, like now.”

Ains raised the rusted sword. The brown blade did not shine in the moonlight.

“Well then, goodbye. Take the lesson you gained this time and go on your next journey. Hopefully, you will blossom into a lively discussion of sorcery with the next me.”

“Next… journey…? What… are you…”

Lydia feared, bracing herself for the second death in her life, something she had experienced only a few times.

It was not the fear of being cut by a sharp famous blade, but of being chopped apart by a sword like a dull steel bar. The blade of the sword Ains held would probably not cleanly slice through Lydia’s soft flesh. Her flesh would be torn, her bones crushed, and her life would end beyond an intense dull pain.

(Rubelmel, I’m counting on you… You’d better follow my instructions properly! Otherwise, I’ll haunt your bedside!)

Ains swung the dull sword down toward Lydia’s neck.

“Limited… Release… ‘Mirror… Passage.’”

At death’s door, Lydia manifested her sorcery with all her strength.

Immediately after, Ains’s rusted sword cut through empty air.

The place where Lydia had been until moments ago had caved in under the pressure of Ains’s sorcery, and only the puddle of sweat she had dripped remained.

“Oh… So you can escape even from that situation.”

Ains tossed the rusted sword into the spot where Lydia had disappeared.

The mana that had been erupting withdrew into Ains’s body, and his right arm dissolved into space and vanished.

“A-Ains-sama…”

Sophia called out to Ains in a hoarse voice.

Ains did not react to Sophia. He picked up the white glove that had fallen to the floor and fastened it to his shoulder.

“But was that really all right? You let a precious opportunity slip away. Clinging to a vulgar life means your spirit is still immature.”

Ains continued.

“Even though you could draw closer to □□ beyond death. Even though you could truly face yourself before abundant anguish, to miss that opportunity…”

Ains’s expression was not reflected in the study window where the glass had been shattered.

“…The sorcery of someone like you, with no such aspiration, must be seized along with its restriction for the sake of my goal.”

Ains’s murmur mingled with the wind blowing in through the window and vanished without reaching anyone.

After driving Lydia away, Ains and Sophia left the study and decided to rejoin Arabetta and Talidge.

Ains and Sophia appeared unharmed before Arabetta, who had evacuated to the garden together with many servants.

“Ains-dono… I am glad you are safe.”

Arabetta let out a relieved breath.

“I am sorry. It dragged on. Also, I made quite a mess of the study…”

Ains timidly met Arabetta’s eyes as he said that.

“Ains-dono…”

“N-no, that is not it! It was not all my fault, all right! She, she kept moving around, and there was nothing I could do… Besides, at that time, I told her, ‘You will be paying for the damage to the study,’ but she ran away. Goodness, it truly is troublesome, is it not, Sophia?”

“Yes, Ains-sama did nothing wrong.”

At Arabetta’s indescribable expression, Ains apparently misunderstood something and rapidly lined up excuses.