“No problem. I shall show you in practice.”
When I answered thus, perhaps not expecting me to reveal my abilities so easily, Ord looked bewildered but told me to go out to the courtyard. However, no matter how spacious it was, using magic in the courtyard might destroy various facilities.
I requested to use magic on the highway instead.
When we went out to the highway, the viscount house’s knights and mage corps lined up surrounding Ord. Next to Ord was also Katy, who displayed open hostility. It seemed that calling them out to the highway instead of the courtyard had heightened their wariness.
“…Let me warn you, if you use magic that causes damage to us, I will consider it a hostile act.”
“I wouldn’t do such a thing.”
With a wry smile at Ord’s misplaced threat, I stood in the center of the highway and looked around. Some soldiers were cowering, while some magicians had openly mocking expressions. Among them were also young people who seemed interested in magic.
It seemed that similar situations occurred frequently in Maple Leaf. Perhaps the problem was the healing magic supremacism and the environment where it was difficult to compare magical standards with other countries.
While thinking such things and observing the audience, I exhaled lightly and relaxed my shoulders.
“Then, first, fire magic.”
Saying this, I raised one hand toward the sky. I could feel the tension in the area increase dramatically, but I ignored it and opened my mouth.
“Inferno.”
The moment I muttered this, a fist-sized fireball appeared above my palm. There were sounds of bitter laughter and snickering from around me, but the next moment, those turned into screams.
Flames spread across the sky as if eroding space itself. The surrounding temperature rose like a sauna all at once, and the flames ascended higher and higher into the sky accompanied by updrafts.
Originally, I could move the flames freely in any direction my palm faced, but this would be sufficient for now.
Making this judgment, I extinguished the flames midway. The flames that had been dyeing and illuminating the surroundings red disappeared with a flash, leaving a large hole in the clouds in the sky. While thinking it looked like a lake had formed in the sky, I turned my gaze back to my surroundings.
When I confirmed the situation around me, I could see that the previous atmosphere had been completely blown away. The soldiers and magicians who had been laughing now had their faces twisted. Even those who had been watching with interest had turned pale and were trembling.
And the important Ord remained motionless with his brow furrowed. Katy had her eyes wide open, but perhaps it would be faster to demonstrate everything at once.
“Next, water magic… White Lady.”
The moment I cast the magic, localized heavy snow reaching ten meters in height occurred above my head. The snow swirled violently and gathered toward the center. Then, a shape resembling a woman in a dress faintly emerged.
While everyone’s eyes were drawn to the giant humanoid figure that appeared in the white snow, the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly.
Then, the White Lady slowly waved one hand. Suddenly, the snow that had gathered in the center became countless icicles and was fired in all directions like a shotgun. Away from the highway toward the distant meadow, the icicles were shot one after another. With ground-shaking impacts, the icicles pierced the ground, creating a scene resembling a giant bed of spikes.
Seeing the ice bullets with the power to penetrate castle walls, the audience froze, unable to even make a sound.
In this way, I also demonstrated earth magic and wind magic. Finally, it came time to demonstrate healing magic.
At this stage, I should have been able to show quite enough already, but Maple Leaf was abnormally obsessed with healing magic. If so, it would probably be safer to demonstrate healing magic as well.
“Now, I will perform healing magic last, but is anyone here injured?”
When I asked this, naturally everyone’s gazes gathered toward the bearded knight wearing a cloak and toward Ord.
“…You can really use healing magic as reported?”
When Ord spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice, the gazes then gathered on me. It seemed that Ord had received reports from Katy or someone else. In other words, like Gem, he must have convinced himself that anything he couldn’t understand or anything outside his common sense was lies or nonsense.
I looked straight into his eyes and nodded.
“Yes. I believe I received high praise from Balbrea-san and Awad-san.”
When I answered, Ord showed signs of wanting to say something, then closed his mouth again. I didn’t know what words he had swallowed, but it seemed he was struggling with various conflicts.
Then, instead of the silent Ord, Katy opened her mouth.
“…That’s a lie! No matter what, even healing magic…!”
Katy shouted while denying my words. I tilted my head and answered.
“Both of them acknowledged that it was magic equivalent to that of saints and holy maidens. You’re welcome to confirm this with them directly. And my healing magic is something anyone can learn to use.”
When I answered thus, Katy too became unable to say anything, and silence dominated the area. Seeing Katy’s frustrated expression, I felt a little sorry for her.
“…Of course, if you want to learn, I will teach you healing magic. It’s healing magic based on my self-study, but since anyone can use it, it should be easy to handle. Let me show you briefly.”
After saying this, I cast magic while looking around.
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“…Life Wind.”
The moment I murmured the spell name, wind spread in a circle centered on where I stood. The wind, accompanied by a faint light, was set to affect a wider range than when I had used it before. The healing magic I cast enveloped the people around me, immediately treating both small wounds and major injuries.
However, since there were probably no seriously injured people here, there wouldn’t be dramatically visible effects.
However, being knights and magicians of Maple Leaf, they seemed to understand that the healing magic was properly taking effect.
“How wonderful…”
“To heal this many people in an instant…”
The voices of astonished magicians and the growing commotion among the knights. And the figure of Katy, frozen and unable to speak. Quietly observing these, Ord looked at me.
“…I understand that you have the ability to back up your words. No, I can see that it’s even more than that. However, that doesn’t mean the world of nobility is so sweet that everything can be resolved by the statements of a Fidic Academy instructor. If you have such ability and will have a great influence on our country in the future, it would certainly serve as a deterrent. However, that is not permanent, and the situation will change over time. Indeed, if that influence were to wane, what would remain would be only the structure of a viscount house that opposed the high nobility.”
Saying this, Ord exhaled deeply. Katy still seemed unconvinced, glaring at me with a wary expression.
“…It seems that relationships among nobles do have strong hierarchical relationships.”
I voiced such an impression and sighed as if infected by it, then raised my face.
“So, what did Gem-san say?”
Since Ord was being so reluctant, I wondered if some serious threat had been made. When I asked with this thought, Ord opened his mouth without much resistance.
“It’s not that he said anything coercive. He simply presented a good marriage proposal for Shenley. However, that marriage proposal was from Gem-kyou himself, and moreover, anyone would agree it was a good match. It may be a noble way of thinking, but refusing it would be like clearly declaring an adversarial relationship.”
A marriage proposal. At those words, I blinked my eyes.
“…Shenley-san is fourteen years old, isn’t she?”
Saying this, I turned around, and Shenley nodded while looking bewildered.
“I turned fourteen this year.”
Hearing this, I turned back toward Ord.
“Isn’t that too early?”
I couldn’t help but confirm. However, Ord raised one eyebrow and tilted his head.
“No, as a marriage proposal, it’s average. If anything, it might even be late. Normally, one would introduce them to influential people from a young age, and if there’s talk of a marriage proposal with someone who might become the head of a high noble family in the future, it could be decided before age ten.”
“…Ten years old.”
Hearing about the reality of young marriages, I was speechless. While no such talk ever came to me, to think that Shenley was already on the verge of engagement… In my confused mind, my common sense and noble common sense clashed violently.
I didn’t care about marriage myself, but perhaps this was normal for ordinary noble children. No, perhaps it was common sense among all nobles to marry early. Certainly, in terms of ensuring the continuation of the family, marriage was undoubtedly very important.
Hmm. When I thought about it this way, perhaps I was the abnormal one at Fidic Academy, which was full of nobles.
For some reason, I felt like I was starting to get a headache, but I endured it and continued the conversation.
“That marriage proposal—it’s not with Gem-san’s son or something, is it? No, Gem-san is in his fifties or so, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to have grandchildren.”
Considering the earlier conversation, if the first child was born at eighteen and grandchildren were born by forty, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have grandchildren around Shenley’s age. Well, it wouldn’t not be strange, but it wasn’t impossible.
While I was thinking about such things in circles, Ord glanced at Shenley’s face and answered.
“It’s with Gem-kyou himself. That is, a marriage proposal with the current head of the Westmeath Marquis family. For a viscount family, it would undoubtedly be the best possible marriage proposal. Gem-kyou currently has about ten wives, but with that number, having children is certainly possible.”
He said this as if it were nothing unusual.
At that moment, I felt my eyes narrow with anger.
“Gem-san and Shenley-san getting married? I cannot accept such a thing. First of all, it’s about the person’s feelings. If Shenley-san wants to marry Gem-san, I won’t stop her, but—”
I voiced my opinion with slightly roughened speech and turned to look at Shenley. There I saw Shenley with a drained complexion.
When I stared intently into Shenley’s eyes, she trembled and shook her head left and right.
“I, I …”
She wanted to say she didn’t want to get married. She couldn’t say it to the end, but I think Shenley was certainly trying to say that. As a noble daughter, she absolutely couldn’t refuse a marriage from a higher-ranking noble. Not because of Shenley’s personality specifically, but because of her position as a noble.
“Shenley-san says she doesn’t want to get married. Please refuse that marriage proposal.”
After confirming Shenley’s attitude, I immediately turned back to Ord. If it were a family internal matter, I had intended not to interfere, but if they were going to force an unwanted marriage on the reluctant Shenley, that was a different story.
I would absolutely prevent it.
While I was glaring at Ord with flaring nostrils, Katy came at me with triangular eyes.
“What are you saying? She’s a noble, so of course! Rather, a marriage proposal with the head of a marquis family is beyond her station…”
“Then, why don’t you marry Gem-san yourself? If you want to so badly, Gem-san would probably be delighted.”
I reflexively interrupted Katy’s complaint and said such a thing. Katy’s face flushed red and she was trembling. Perhaps that was too childish of me.
In response to such conversation, Shenley timidly opened her mouth.
“Um, that would be rather pitiful…”
Since Shenley said this sympathetically, I nodded deeply as well.
“You’re right… Gem-san hasn’t even proposed marriage to her.”
“Ggh… this woman…!”
I agreed with Shenley, looked away from Katy, and looked at Ord.
“Well then, I will explain common sense to Gem-san on my end. Yes. It will be somewhat rough, but I will definitely correct his character.”
To reassure them, I declared this forcefully.
For some reason, it seemed like the faces of everyone present twitched, but no one seemed to have any objections.
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