Chapter 4 – Catching the Bread Thief (4)

Original magic (膏腴魔道) is a general term for magic techniques, chants, methods, and ceremonies with their own magic system in addition to the white magic and black magic established by the Seven Magic Towers.
The family that created the unique magic is itself awarded at least a third-class medal and a rank of earl or higher.
In addition, the head of the family is given a second name based on the title of duke, meaning respect and reverence.

Currently, there are a total of five archdukes in Penheim.
Among them, the ice and snowman of Rochear was renowned for his beautiful appearance and extremely clean magic power.
Even after the Great War was over, her people showed her respect for her as she remained in Helzeb with her husband, Whiblett, and dealt with the remnants of her demons.
It was often said in taverns in the royal capital of Thessalon that Ice and Snowball was stronger than Terra Ernesten, who did not even appear in Horus’ Lighthouse.

But strangely, or unfortunately, her younger sister —— Adela Sylvester de Roche Ard—didn’t see any of her older sister’s outstanding qualities.
Some professors at the Magic Tower and the Academy had high hopes for the second daughter of the Roshyar family, who had not been seen in social circles, but that was just for the time being.
In just two days, or rather, from her entrance exam, people noticed that she was unusual.
Adella had no talent for magic at all.

“Oh, what? “Did you really bring it?”
“Yes. “I didn’t get caught this time, hehe.”

Where is that? Look at the way he smiles as if a screw is missing from his head.
An Sen-eun was the perfect childish person to take advantage of, and the moment she walked into the salon she ran, she was confident that her life at the academy would become quite comfortable.

Her appearance seemed plausible.
When the North Sea people’s unique cold and noble appearance was combined with an innocent, clumsy smile, her beauty was indescribable.
Plus, her head was like a flower garden, so no matter how hard the task was, she couldn’t refuse even the slightest threat.
It seemed like it would be easy to massage that green body to my heart’s content if I wanted to.

“Okay? Good job. “Give it to me.”
“Here you are!”

One question was why Rochear neglected her.
The only attendant Adela brought with her was an old butler. She has no knights or wizards to guard her.
Nobles of the Count’s rank often stayed in villas or hotels in Parenzia instead of dormitories, but this was not the case.

‘Well, if the daughter of the family is like this, you might want to look away.’

From what I heard, she said that she had never even entered the social world. This part roughly showed what her reputation was within the family.
A half penny that I am embarrassed to show to others——

“Uh, over there… “So now I can participate in the prom?”
“Well? As you know, Farencia’s social circle is dominated by the lord’s daughter. Well, I’ll just say it first…”

So what should we order this time? Oh right. Now that I think about it, there will be a magic competition with second years in a little while, right?
This year, many children from prominent families, including the princess of Fenheim, came in, but it would be a shame for the family if the master she serves were to lose.
In that case, at least in a way that holds back the same team…

“Hey.”

Just as Ansen was letting her imagination run wild, someone approached them behind her teacher.

Dull, shaggy black hair.
Plain outfit of thin tunic and shorts.

“Where did you get that bread?”

The person who dragged his worn-out slippers in was the store owner.

***

Why are these bastards stealing items from other people’s stores and using them for their own dating business?
Is this a new way to confirm love in the royal capital? Even so, theft was a serious crime.

‘Fuck, they really eat a flea’s liver.’

If you think about it, they were all nobles, and I was a commoner, but I was closer to being an untouchable person, not even having a proper proof of identity, let alone a title.
The gap between status and capital is enormously wide.
From their perspective, wouldn’t I, who makes money selling bread every day, be closer to a beaver than a human?

Therefore, I fully understood the feelings of the beaver family whose logs they had painstakingly cut were taken away for dam construction.
In fact, the person involved did not reflect at all.

“Hey, what is it? “You said you didn’t get caught?”
“That…”
“It’s okay. Hey, man. He stole bread? “Do you have any proof?”
“What is that in your hand?”
“Oh~. This?”

Ansen dropped the bread in his hand on the floor and trampled on it. Adela’s shoulders trembled.
He sarcastically calmly collected the dirt at his feet and covered it with bread.

“I can’t see where it is. “I don’t know what you’re talking about?”

I was dumbfounded and just watched the scene blankly.
Honestly, I don’t understand what these guys are thinking when they do this.
But at least I know for sure that, as a proud nobleman, he has no intention of admitting guilt.

I trudged past Ansen.
He then approached Adela, who flinched every time he made eye contact with her, and stretched out her hand.

“It’s old. Can you see it now?”

Chin. Another loaf of bread came out of her outer pocket. Ansen’s mouth opened slightly as if she hadn’t expected that.

“Oh, no. Why on earth are you… ! I made sure to bring only one…”
“Ha, I brought one for myself…”
“One?”

Thuk, thud, thud.

When I grabbed her by the neck and shook her, a lot of bread fell out from inside her clothes.
If I had stolen just one loaf of bread, would everyone have followed suit?
It didn’t take more than a second for Adela to sweep away all the bread on her stand.
I would say that the hand technique is truly a work of art.
We had a hard time because we didn’t have the necessary thief for the warrior party, but if Adela had been born 10 years earlier, we would have recruited her right away.

“…”
“…”
“…”

A silence that never ends.
Finally, after observing her silence for a long time, Ansen quietly took off her gloves and took out her sword.

“… She dared to touch the body of the daughter of Rosh Arga and a student of the prestigious Fenheim Kingdom Academy. “As a knight, I can’t just pass her by.”
“Stop talking back, you idiot. “It’s true that it was stolen.”
“Take it. “I challenge you to a duel to regain the honor of a nobleman.”

She responded by dodging her gloves flying towards her, but Ansen seemed to show no signs of backing down.
She was so intent on blocking my mouth that she even threw the sword she was wearing at her waist.

“Do you know the rules for duels within the academy?”
“No, you are first year students, right? “Just pay compensation and be done with it before handing it over to the student council.”
“The magic used is limited to three. If one side admits defeat or suffers a life-threatening injury, the initiate decides the winner. In this case, it would be Lady Adela over here.”

I’m fucking speechless. I just sat down and said what I wanted to say.

How great it would be if all nobles were like Baron Greenwood.
Adela, the cause of this situation, was picking up bread that had fallen on the ground and dusting it off.
Speaking of Roshe Ar, she didn’t seem to have any intention of stepping in and mediating the situation.
Rather, it looks like you’re trying to put that back in your mouth?

“Do you know how to use magic? Hehe.”

A halo of light formed on Ansen’s sword.
At the same time, a sphere made of water appeared in her other hand, and a protective shield surrounding her body was also created.

〈White Magic Sword: Light attribute ⌜Holy Enchant⌟〉
〈White Magic Blade: Summon Water Ball ⌜Water Ball⌟〉
〈White Magic Blade: Lesser Shield ⌜Shield⌟〉

Three magics that appeared in an instant.
Even though the completeness was different, the speed of implementation was excellent.
He himself did not hide his smile as if he was confident in his own skills.

“Why are you scared? Especially when it comes to going first. But don’t think about running away.”

What the hell. He carries a long sword, throws a secondary weapon used for self-defense at me, and has a long tongue.
I clicked my tongue and picked up the sword.

The heavy texture that I felt for the first time in a long time suddenly reminded me of old times.

‘Houblett, is a duel really that honorable?’
‘Of course.’
‘Why? ‘I’ve never thought that way while cutting?’

Terra approached me as I wiped away the blood of the demon and held my sword body up to the light.
Eris, exhausted from treating the large wound on her back, was already lying on her side.

‘Well, it’s different from fighting demons. A duel is not a war. What is in front of you is not an enemy, but an equal opponent.’
‘What difference does that make?’
‘Simple. This means that there must be respect for the other person.’

It was still a puzzling statement. Nova, who was boiling herbs next to her, also remained silent.

‘It’s not just about clashing swords, it’s about sharing techniques. Acts such as losing strength or attacking from behind in an attempt to be considerate of the other person are the greatest insults.’
‘Well, to a third party, it may seem old-fashioned, but~. ‘There are so many magics in the world, so how can you only use three?’

That’s right.

I looked at my physical condition. It wasn’t like before either.
As Ansen said, he was not well-versed in magic, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t use it at all.
I can only use a maximum of three technologies at a time, and two of them were currently running at all times.
One of them was the end of the magic that had been activated when he grabbed Adella’s wrist before—a magic that turned the magic that touched the body into nothingness.

Dear White Knight: A noble’s duel must be honorable. Staring at someone is a very insulting act.
I decided to do my best without putting too much strain on my body.
Perhaps because it was my first time holding a sword in a very long time, I couldn’t shake off the awkwardness.

“I can only use one magic.”
“Oh, really? Commoners are amazing. Just give it a try. “I’ll start by correcting your speaking habits.”
“Are you sure this is what you told me to do? “Even if you get hurt, I don’t know.”
“Under! Presumptuously, who said who… Uh?”

〈Goyumado: Bonfire to the Black Sun ⌜Eclipse·Solitaire⌟〉

Fuck you, die.
It was a blow that contained Bieber’s vengeful spirit.

***

Kwaaaaang———!!

‘Where did it go?’

Liv looked around to find the missing stall owner.
But when the sky suddenly darkened, I thought it was going to rain, so I came back again.
All that’s left are countless students waiting to be counted.
A suspicious roar was heard from afar, but everyone thought it was an explosion caused by someone’s failed experiment and ignored it.

“Ah… Well, over there…”

In the midst of countless gazes, she opened her mouth, swallowing her saliva.

Lunch time is almost over.
I obviously asked for leftovers from yesterday, but the bread I held in my hand was still warm from the freshly baked warmth.

“Would you like to calculate?”

A small return for a favor.
It would be okay to look at the store for a little while——

A while later, Liv returned to the dormitory after organizing the coins piled up in the money box and putting up a sign saying business was closed.
He wouldn’t show it, but it robbed him of time he could have used to study.
She also had to rehearse for next week’s practical exam, so she had bought extra copies of the Litweis exam papers.

[Experiment on measuring the relativity of mana and karma]

She spread out the book she had borrowed from the library next to her and took out a stack of test papers from her bag.
She was quite cautious because it was an object that reacted very sensitively to those it touched.

‘Huh? ‘Isn’t it enough?’

However, the bundle of paper that was supposed to contain twelve clearly contained only ten sheets.
Did I count them wrong? But the strings were tied from the beginning?
Thinking she might have dropped it in her bag, Liv reached out and checked her side pockets and her bottom.
Fortunately, she missed it and was able to get the rest of the test papers out.
However–

“Uh?”

The two test papers turned black as if they had been burned and were on the verge of crumbling.