Chapter 143
Cyril and Raul's duel was to take the form of a magic battle, held in the Roseburg family's Thorn Forest.
The Thorn Forest, managed by the Thorn Witch's family for generations, was once said to have had an extremely high concentration of magic. Monsters, spirits, and dragons drawn to that magic were said to gather there.
For that reason, the Thorn Forest was often described as a creepy, dark place even in the daytime, but when they actually stepped inside, it was an ordinary forest.
Fresh green leaves flourished on the trees, and simple wildflowers and wild strawberries grew at their feet.
"Yeah, this looks like a good spot."
Raul, who had been leading the group, stopped in a slightly open area of the forest.
The sunny spot was dotted with flowers in spring colors, making it perfect for a picnic.
In fact, Isaac had borrowed picnic supplies from the Roseburg family's servants and was skillfully spreading out a picnic blanket and preparing tea.
When Claudia sat down on the blanket, Isaac promptly offered her a lap blanket.
Isaac's knack for making arrangements had been especially apparent when they traveled from Southdoll to the Roseburg estate, too.
He'd arranged a luxurious carriage built with the latest technology to minimize jolting, scheduled frequent breaks along the way, and never failed to check on everyone's condition.
His attentive care in every regard was exactly what one would expect from a first-rate attendant.
As Monica watched Isaac out of the corner of her eye, she used a tree branch to draw a magic circle in the dirt.
The special barrier used for magic battles required all sorts of preparation and effort. On top of that, it took at least two mages to maintain it.
(Aike and I can maintain the barrier for a magic battle together, but... surely there's no way we can remove the pain, too...)
A magic attack in a magic battle wouldn't cause an injury, but it would still hurt. There was a spell to remove the pain, too, but maintaining it required an enormous amount of effort.
By a simple calculation, it would take at least five or six high-ranking mages.
(If only the 〈Star Lance Witch〉 were here. She can maintain seven spells at once, so she could remove the pain, too... Ugh.)
Monica didn't want either Cyril or Raul to get hurt, and ideally she would have incorporated a pain-removal spell, but that wouldn't be possible this time.
Monica drooped her shoulders dejectedly, finished the magic circle, and looked at Cyril and Raul.
Raul had said, "If we're dueling, I have to look the part!" and had unusually donned his Seven Sages' robe and gripped his staff.
Unfortunately, he was wearing his usual work clothes under the robe, but with his resemblance to the first Thorn Witch, the beautiful robe alone made him look all the more imposing.
"The barrier for the magic battle is ready."
At Monica's call, Cyril nodded. "Understood." Then he spoke to Ture and Pike, perched on his shoulders.
"Ture, Pike. You two wait here, too."
At those words, Ture and Pike raised their tails straight up and looked at Cyril.
"Huh?"
"Why?"
Ture and Pike weren't the only ones surprised.
Monica was surprised, too, and even the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 cried out, 'What?!'
Raul scratched his head and said to Cyril,
"Cyril, both dragon breath and Pike's ice are imbued with magic, so they're valid in a magic battle, you know?"
Using one's contracted spirit in a magic battle wasn't against the rules. Having a contract with a spirit was part of a mage's ability, after all.
For example, in the Seven Sages' selection trials, a contracted spirit might be barred from participating so they could judge the mage's own ability. But in this case, both Monica and Raul had assumed Cyril would naturally use Ture and Pike's help.
Otherwise, the difference in their abilities would be far too great.
Raul Roseburg, the fifth Thorn Witch, was a rare mage who hadn't learned any offensive magic.
But even without offensive magic, he had immense magical reserves and the ability to control thorns.
To put it simply, he could build a fortress of thorns, hole up inside, and wait for his opponent to run out of magic. That alone would let him beat most opponents.
But Cyril spoke as though it were only natural.
"Monica created the contract spell with Ture, and Lady Melissa cast it. My contract with Pike was made unilaterally, and I had nothing to do with it."
Cyril was saying it wouldn't be fair for him to borrow Ture and Pike's power.
Ture and Pike, perched on his shoulders, tugged at his collar and hair as they replied to Cyril.
"Cyril, I'm bound to you by a subordination contract. If you order me to, I'll fight."
"We're not in the snowy mountains. Even with our help, you'd only be on equal footing. You can't beat those thorns on your own."
Pike had faced Raul directly in the snowy mountains.
The snowy mountains, filled with magic, were a place where the ice spirit Asshel Pike could use their full power. Meanwhile, Raul's thorns, which were weak to the cold, had lost several times their strength.
That was how they'd fought to nearly a draw. There was no way an ordinary person like Cyril could take on one of the Seven Sages head-on and win.
But Cyril didn't take back what he'd said.
"I've been working on a strategy since we set out. It won't be a problem."
Raul and Monica were at a loss in the face of Cyril's stubborn insistence.
The 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 said nothing. But it was obviously silent out of confusion.
Cyril hooked a finger around the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 as he spoke.
"Also, I shouldn't risk damaging you, so I'll hold onto the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉, too..."
"You can't do that, Cyril."
Isaac, who had finished preparing the tea, gently placed a hand over Cyril's.
Then, wearing a smile that was far too beautiful for the situation, he spoke not to Cyril, but to the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉.
"Since you came up with this trial, you have to watch Cyril's performance from the front row... right?"
'What about my rights!?'
"Human rights for a tool? That's a funny joke."
His smile was gentle, which only made the chill in his eyes all the more frightening.
Isaac silenced the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉 with a cold glance, then turned back to Cyril.
"Cyril, do your best. I have high hopes for you."
A flush quickly spread over Cyril's tense face.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
As Cyril's eyes sparkled, the 〈Knowledge Keeper's Key〉—which had finally realized it had stayed too long—groaned, 'Aba-ba-ba...'
＊ ＊ ＊
Cyril and Raul faced each other from about ten paces apart while Monica began her final check of the magic circle. The two weasels watched it with keen curiosity.
Isaac was watching from a short distance away when Claudia crept up behind him and whispered,
"'I have high hopes for you'... Even after what happened, you still say that."
"Cyril would be more hurt if I didn't expect anything from him."
It was far better to tell him, "I have high hopes for you," and stop him if he started pushing himself too hard.
Above all, Isaac's feelings—his high hopes for Cyril—were genuine.
Still facing forward, Isaac spoke in a voice only Claudia could hear.
"You called Cyril 'easy to brainwash,' didn't you?"
"…………"
"You don't come across someone as difficult to handle as he is every day. He gets depressed if you don't expect anything from him, but if you do, he works until he damages his health. He seems to understand what I want, then takes it in a slightly unexpected direction and goes off the rails..."
For Isaac Walker, that had been quite a miscalculation.
At first, he'd thought Cyril would be easy enough to handle, but Cyril Ashley was just as difficult as his younger sister, if not more so.
"...Then why did you make this difficult person your vice president?"
"Do you remember when Cyril and Elliot played chess against each other?"
"...I spent ages helping him practice, too."
Back then, Elliot, who was always finding reasons to pick on Cyril, challenged him to a game of chess one day.
Cyril wasn't completely unfamiliar with chess, but he was no match for Elliot, who'd been honing his skills since childhood.
After soundly defeating Cyril, Elliot leaned back smugly and said,
'How can you call yourself an Ashley when you can't even play chess properly?'
Those words lit a fire under Cyril.
After that, Cyril cut into his sleep to study chess. He got dark circles under his eyes, and his already pale face grew even paler.
That was exactly how Cyril had looked when he came to visit Monica's home in Southdoll.
"Back then, while Cyril was studying chess, I asked him, 'Want me to teach you a strategy for dealing with Elliot?'"
Elliot hated upstarts, so he absolutely avoided promoting pawns.
He also had a habit of wanting to bring his queen—the most powerful piece—into play at crucial moments.
As long as you knew that, there were any number of ways to prepare a counterstrategy.
But Cyril shook his head at Isaac's offer.
—"I truly appreciate your kindness. But... unless I win through my own efforts, I can't stand before you with my head held high, Your Highness."
Isaac had thought helping Cyril would make him easier to win over. And, to be honest, he'd also wanted Cyril to beat Elliot.
But Isaac's plan had failed.
Cyril Ashley was truly honest, sincere, and serious to a fault.
So Cyril challenged Elliot to a rematch using only his own abilities. He drove Elliot into a tight spot, but halfway through the match, he collapsed face-first onto the chessboard. It was obvious to everyone that exhaustion and lack of sleep were to blame.
Isaac was utterly exasperated. Cyril had developed Excessive Magic Absorption Syndrome by pushing himself too hard in his magical training, yet it seemed he hadn't learned a thing.
"There are two reasons I chose Cyril as vice president. The first is that he's genuinely capable at the work. And the second is..."
Watching Cyril challenge Raul to a magic battle alone, without the white dragon and spirit who would have been powerful allies, Isaac smiled faintly.
"Because he's someone who can't bring himself to do anything underhanded. I can do something underhanded all too easily, you see. Having an aide who's a stickler for the rules is just right."
At that moment, Monica looked up from the magic circle and hurried over to Isaac.
The two weasels followed a moment later.
"Aike, it's ready! I'm going to activate the special barrier for the magic battle, so please help me."
"Understood, my master."