Chapter 71
Chapter 26 The Real Genius (2)
“I—I didn’t mean it that way. I was wondering if we might seek your advice.”
The chancellor wilted under Jade’s deep, icy gaze.
At the Royal Academy, the chancellor wielded absolute authority, but his title was only that of a viscount.
Moreover, Jade was currently the person who might be the strongest in the Kingdom of Polstein, so the chancellor immediately bowed his head.
“I can give you some advice. But it won’t solve the problem all at once.”
“That alone would be more than enough! Thank you, Marquis!”
“Thank you!”
Following the chancellor, the head of the Department of Spirit Studies, who had not managed to say a word until then, also bowed his head.
It was certain that any advice Jade offered would be valuable, since he had seen through the department’s problems at a glance.
Perhaps because of that, both men’s expressions brightened at once.
Practical training began immediately after the lecture.
Since everyone had already formed contracts with spirits, they continued discussing how to use them.
They did so while summoning the spirits they had contracted.
“Aren’t there any sparring matches?”
“None of them can control their spirits perfectly yet, so we generally refrain from that. Their affinity with their spirits isn’t very high either.”
The head of the Department of Spirit Studies answered Jade’s question.
He knew more about such matters than the chancellor did.
After all, he was a spirit summoner himself.
“They won’t improve that way. Safety is important, but they won’t be able to use their spirits in battle like this.”
“Their mana reserves are still insufficient, so for now, we’re focusing on affinity and mana cultivation techniques.”
Arellia clicked her tongue as well.
Being cautious was good, but the practical training seemed to be conducted with excessive emphasis on safety.
As with swordsmanship, spirit arts improved dramatically only when one trained as if in actual combat.
“The head of the department has a point. They could get hurt if something went wrong.”
“More precisely, it’s because there’s no one who can properly mediate a sparring class.”
Flinch!
The shoulders of the head of the department and the professors with him twitched.
They had reacted involuntarily to that pointed remark.
“Then we might as well try it now. Our children seem curious about the abilities of the students in the Department of Spirit Studies.”
“The students probably feel the same way.”
Arellia wore an amused expression.
Though it was only for a moment, she had clearly seen it.
The challenging looks with which the students had stared at the children Jade taught.
“Y-you mean right now?”
“If it doesn’t work, we can’t help it.”
“It will work!”
The chancellor shouted in place of the stammering head of the department.
He knew all too well that such an opportunity was rare.
He was also personally curious.
He wanted to see how skilled the twenty students Jade had taught were.
‘He said ten of them had been personally recruited from his marquisate.’
The former mercenaries did not particularly interest him.
The fact that they had worked as mercenaries meant they already possessed a certain level of skill.
But the ten Jade had personally taken in were different.
Since they had begun learning spirit arts at around the same time as the students, the chancellor was curious about their abilities.
“Since the numbers are similar, let’s start with individual matches and have one team match as well. Five against five or ten against ten.”
“A team match?”
“A team with spirit summoners is even more formidable.”
“Understood.”
Though it was an unexpected arrangement, the chancellor readily accepted it.
He thought it would help the students as well.
It might even lead to an unimaginable mishap.
‘If the students of the Department of Spirit Studies defeat the children taught by Marquis Jade, it will cause an enormous stir. At the same time, the department’s reputation will soar dramatically.’
A what-if thought began to stir in the chancellor’s mind.
Becoming strong oneself and teaching others were similar, yet different things.
There were many people who trained well themselves but were unable to teach others.
That was especially true of geniuses, so the chancellor thought it was worth a try.
And even if they lost, neither he nor the Department of Spirit Studies would lose anything.
“Let’s inform Professor Ulman first.”
“I’ll tell him.”
At the chancellor’s glance, one of the professors promptly turned around.
He was going to convey what had been discussed.
“I’ll take care of informing our side.”
“Understood.”
The practical training was suspended.
But no one complained.
Everyone knew that the two sides were aware of each other.
They were also curious about each other’s abilities.
“This should be fun.”
“In a way, we’re all citizens of the same kingdom.”
“We still have to win. We can’t disgrace Jade.”
Kkyuuu!
Whid flapped his wings.
He had been cheering for the children while nestled in someone’s arms.
Ged was not the only one among the children; Moikan was there as well.
From what Jade could make out, Moikan was strongly urging them not to lose.
“We’re ready!”
“Good.”
“But what are the rules……”
“The rules are simple. Use every method at your disposal to subdue your opponent. Of course, killing is forbidden. Don’t worry about your opponent getting hurt.”
Sssshk!
Four elemental spirits appeared on one side of the training ground.
The intermediate spirits revealed themselves in forms ordinary people could see, and everyone’s eyes widened.
The professors and students of the Department of Spirit Studies were especially astonished.
They had been summoned without anyone even calling their names.
“Wow!”
“Four intermediate spirits at once!”
“As expected of Marquis Jade!”
“Those children will serve as referees.”
The chancellor, the head of the department, and the professors all nodded at the display of a truly high-ranking spirit summoner.
Now they understood why Jade had confidently told them not to worry.
There were many professors, but none of them was a high-ranking spirit summoner like Jade.
At most, Professor Ulman, who had the greatest ability among them, could summon two intermediate spirits simultaneously.
“What’s the order?”
“It’s all decided.”
Ged returned after giving the children some instructions and wore a meaningful smile.
Moikan beside him wore the same expression.
“So you intend to seize the initiative.”
Jade let out a dry chuckle.
That was because Farzali was the one stepping into the center of the training ground.
“That’s right. Rather than showing them something halfheartedly, I thought it would be better for the students to learn the difference in our abilities clearly.”
“Did you learn that at the academy?”
“Yes.”
Ged grinned broadly.
He had also graduated from the Royal Academy’s Department of Knight Studies, so in a sense, the students of the Department of Spirit Studies were his juniors.
That was why he had no intention of going easy on them.
“A spear?”
“……”
Meanwhile, the oldest boy among the students in Class One walked toward the center of the training ground, wearing a startled expression.
He found it strange that a spirit summoner was carrying a spear.
Moreover, the aura he gave off was completely unlike that of an ordinary spirit summoner.
Rather than a spirit summoner, he had the air of a warrior, which made the boy tilt his head in confusion.
“I’ll referee. Well, it looks like all I’ll do is announce when it starts and ends, but someone has to do it.”
“Are we allowed to carry weapons?”
“Jade said you could use every method at your disposal. He only said you couldn’t kill anyone.”
Flinch!
The boy suddenly flinched.
For some reason, Arellia’s words had struck him as chilling.
They felt even more chilling because she had said them with a bright smile.
“I’m telling you this for your own good, but you’ll have to give it your all from the very beginning.”
“Ah, yes.”
Arellia said this to the frozen boy with a wink.
But the boy did not think deeply about her words.
He assumed it was merely the sort of advice people routinely gave.
“Are you ready?”
“I’m ready.”
“Me too.”
“Then begin.”
Arellia looked back and forth between Farzali and the boy before ordering them to start.
The spear shaft shot down like lightning and struck the boy’s shoulder.
“Urk!”
“W-what!”
The boy crumpled from the sudden strike without even summoning a spirit, startling not only the watching students but the professors as well.
They were shocked that a student had been defeated with spear techniques rather than spirit arts.
“What in the world happened?”
“Jade must have told you. You can use every method at your disposal.”
“But this is a spirit arts match! This is the Department of Spirit Studies, not the Department of Knight Studies!”
“Do it again.”
Unable to bring himself to argue with Jade or Lloyd, the head of the department protested to Arellia instead.
Seeing that, Jade spoke as though he had expected this reaction.
“Yes.”
“This time, use spirit arts only.”
“Understood.”
However, neither Jade nor Farzali was surprised at all, as though they had anticipated this reaction.
Since the others had never experienced actual combat, such a response was only to be expected.
Perhaps because of that, Farzali calmly took his stance again.
“If it’s too difficult, another student may take your place.”
“I’m fine.”
Though his shoulder was still throbbing, the boy answered Jade with a resolute expression.
The unexpected blow had knocked him down, but it had only made his fighting spirit burn even hotter.
He was filled with the desire to crush Farzali completely.
“Tell me when you’re ready.”
“I’ll do it now.”
“Then begin.”
Arellia offered him a chance to prepare, but the boy refused.
Instead, he summoned a spirit the moment the word begin left her lips.
“Sylph!”
The low-ranking wind spirit Sylph appeared in response to the boy’s call.
But no sooner had it appeared in midair than it was torn apart.
The Sylph summoned by Farzali brutally tore the boy’s Sylph to pieces.
Not only that, the Gnome summoned at the same time buried the boy, leaving only his head aboveground.
Swish.
The spearhead descended before the eyes of the boy, who had been buried in the ground in an instant.
Farzali had approached before he knew it and was pointing his spear at him.
“Are you still dissatisfied?”
“I-I lost.”
The boy answered with both eyes squeezed shut.
He knew perfectly well that he had suffered a complete defeat in spirit arts.
“Gasp!”
“I understand that young man only recently began studying spirit arts……”
The professors all stood with their mouths hanging open at how quickly the match had ended.
All they could do was marvel at a skill that was no worse than their own.
Moreover, his spear techniques were anything but ordinary.
The professors wore shocked expressions at this sight, so completely unlike that of a typical spirit summoner.
“Next.”
But that shock was only the beginning.
As the students suffered one defeat after another in the matches that followed, the professors’ faces grew rigid.
It was not even a close contest; every one of them was defeated completely, causing the faces of the professors and even the head of the department to darken gravely.
They were so completely outmatched that they could not maintain their composure.
“Hmm!”
Some of the professors even closed their eyes altogether.
It was as though they could no longer bear to watch.
“Huh?”
Meanwhile, Jade had been watching the inevitable result with an impassive expression when his eyes suddenly snapped open.
His spiritual perception picked up an extraordinarily dense scent of spirits.
-Incredible!
Silestin seemed to sense it too; those already-large eyes widened even further.
Such was Silestin’s shock.
Sensing an affinity with spirits even stronger than the elves’, Silestin tugged on Jade’s collar.
“Why?”
“I have something to take care of. I’ll be right back.”
“Something to take care of?”
“Yes. I’ll return shortly.”
Lloyd, who had been watching the spirit arts matches without taking his eyes off them like everyone else, wore a deeply puzzled expression.
He found it strange that Jade had been watching so attentively and then suddenly said he had something to do.
But Lloyd soon nodded.
He already knew that Jade had come to the Royal Academy to look around the Department of Magic, not the Department of Spirit Studies.
“I’ll have someone show you the way.”
“That won’t be necessary. I’ll be back soon.”
“Ah.”
Lloyd’s eyes suddenly widened.
He wore an expression that suggested he understood what Jade’s errand was.
Then he smiled meaningfully and nodded.
As if telling Jade to leave things to him.