[V12C9] Roar of Blue Gray

Glenn Dudley had been staying at the Magic Corps headquarters, practicing multiple reinforcement formulas. However, he had been sternly advised by his master Louis to refrain from depleting his mana during training.

They had no clue where Gluttonous Zoe would strike next, so Glenn was one of their reserve forces, as well as an important messenger. Spending all his mana on training might render him immobile when he was needed.

As a result, Glenn put his training on hold whenever he fell below half of his mana capacity. Then, he switched to studying the formulas.

One day, after spending the daytime hours training, Glenn hunched over a desk at night.

Magical formulas were made from intricate calculations, involving numerous variables such as the spell’s attribute, shape, potency, directionality, etc. All of this was required to complete a single spell.

Even if a mage performed the chant and mana manipulation correctly, not understanding these formulas would lead to a failure somewhere down the line.

Until now, Glenn had been brute-forcing his spells by pumping in additional mana. He was essentially using his mana to patch up the holes in his understanding.

This method ended up working for simple spells, but not the more complex and intricate ones.

Multiple reinforcement formulas worked by compressing the mana of the initial spell and covering it with another layer of offensive magic.

The hard part was making the membrane covering the compressed mana. It had to be just right. Too thin, and the fireball would explode immediately. Too thick, and it would fail to explode upon striking the target.

Glenn had failed this part several times, causing his fireball to explode and leaving him with minor burns.

Right now, he was rewriting the magical formula with the quill in his bandaged hand.

The first time he saw the formula, he couldn’t even comprehend half of it. In fact, there were still parts he didn’t understand. Nevertheless, by looking at the spell every day, he eventually got an idea of what each part did.

“Oh, is this the part where the potency is added up…?”

Glenn circled a portion of the formula with his quill. The black-haired boy sitting next to him, Norman, who had been analyzing a different spell, looked over at Glenn and nodded.

“Right, that’s the part for calculating potency. It’s required for Sections 2-5 and Section 7, so it’s embedded in two locations.”

“Do we really have to skip Section 6? Can’t we just move that to the beginning or the end?”

“Doing that will cause the formula to collapse.”

“Hmm… No good, huh…”

The twelve-year-old Norman seemed kind, earnest, and sensible. Honestly, he was the complete opposite of his master Hubert.

Despite being much younger than Glenn, his talents were already exceptional. Apparently, he was even aiming for the scholarship spot at the Minerva Institute for Mages.

Several years ago, Glenn had also attended Minerva as a scholarship student.

However, that was not due to his talents. Glenn’s vast mana reserves had been recognized by the nation’s foremost prophet, the Starseer Witch.

The innocent young Glenn had simply rejoiced at this fact. Being born with so much mana made him feel like he was the chosen one.

His classmates didn’t recognize him, so he delved into magic beyond his abilities. This led to Glenn causing a mana outburst and getting confined as punishment.

Apparently, Norman aspired to become a researcher in magical tool development and contribute to the development of his hometown.

Glenn had become an apprentice mage on a whim, while Norman knew exactly what he wanted to do. These differences made Norman a good stimulus for Glenn, as both a study companion and a rival.

“Wow, Norman, you already understand all these equations?”

“Well, understanding the equations isn’t enough to actually cast the spell…”

Norman was acting humble, but Glenn had seen him compressing mana. It was only a matter of time before Norman mastered the multiple reinforcement technique.

On the other hand, Glenn was able to perform multiple reinforcement one out of every three tries. Even this was a significant improvement to earlier, when his attempts at compression caused the fireballs to blow up in his hands.

Just a bit more training, and he would be able to use multiple reinforcement at a practical level.

But unfortunately, Glenn was not going to be given the time to do so.

Their study session was interrupted by a knock at the door.

In came a young man with curly brown hair tied at the back. It was Hugo Galletti, the disciple of the Artillery Mage, Bradford Firestone.

Hugo addressed Glenn in a voice tinged with urgency.

“Sorry to bother you so late at night, Glenn-kun. The Barrier Mage is asking for you to come right away!”

Glenn clenched his bandaged hands and stood up from his seat.

His secret weapon of double reinforcement was still incomplete. Even so, Glenn had no intention of running away.

＊　＊　＊

Glenn headed into the command room by himself, but Louis was not the only one waiting for him. The Artillery Mage and the Fifth Thorn Witch were also sitting at the round table.

The Starseer Witch was currently in a coma, and the Abyss Shaman, Silent Witch, and Dragon Slayer Mage were in Sazandol. The remaining three Sages were all gathered in this room.

In other words, the situation was that urgent.

Louis had been reading through a document while tossing candy into his mouth, but he looked up once Glenn entered the room.

Even after his hair was stolen by Gluttonous Zoe, Louis had done nothing to fix his unevenly cut hair. This seemed strange, seeing as Louis always maintained a perfect appearance.

However, leaving the hair as is probably gave the highest chance of returning his hair to normal once he reclaimed it.

——The same also applied to Elianne, who had her hair and skin taken away.

Until they reclaimed everything, they could do nothing about her cut hair or rotting skin.

(…Elly.)

A cracking sound snapped Glenn back to reality.

It was the sound of Louis crunching down on the hard candy in his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, Louis delivered the news.

“Theodore Maxwell has used Gluttonous Zoe in Sazandol, resulting in massive casualties.”

Glenn gasped. Monica and Lana lived in Sazandol, and Isaac often visited Monica’s house. Glenn also had several other acquaintances in Sazandol.

Without any mention of Monica’s safety, Louis continued explaining the situation.

According to Louis, Sazandol’s gates were blockaded and water dragons had flooded into the harbor. All the citizens were trapped in the city.

In other words, it was time for the final showdown. Glenn clenched his fists.

“So in other words, we’re sending everyone into Sazandol! Right?”

“That was our intention, but we had to adjust after a report from the Library Society. There is a chance that Gluttonous Zoe may cause dragon disasters throughout the entire Kingdom of Ridill.”

Louis pushed forward a thick envelope and stared right at Glenn.

“Glenn Dudley, I order you to deliver a message to Sazandol. You will report to the Sages in Sazandol regarding Gluttonous Zoe’s abilities, our prediction for the large-scale dragon disaster, and the verification of the shadow removal spell.”

Glenn stepped forward and took the thick envelope.

“…What should I do after delivering this?” Glenn asked.

Louis grabbed three light-red candies from the small bottle at the edge of his desk, tossing them into his mouth.

Then, he locked eyes with Glenn from behind his monocle.

“I don’t expect much from an amateur like you to begin with. After delivering the message, you are free to do as you please.”

Do as you please? Glenn raised the corners of his lips, understanding the true meaning behind those words. This made the burn on his cheek stung, but he didn’t mind one bit.

“Master. What if I happen to bump into Gluttonous Zoe?”

“If you are really my disciple, then you shouldn’t have to ask that question.”

Louis Miller crunched down on all three candies, then flashed a wicked smile as he continued.

“Crush it.”

“Roger!”

＊　＊　＊

Once Glenn left the room with the envelope, Louis took another candy from the small bottle and tossed it into his mouth.

These candies contained more than just sugar. They had been specially enchanted by the Fifth Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg, to quickly restore the mana of anyone who ate them.

Now that the shadow clinging to Louis’s neck was gone, his mana would no longer be absorbed by Gluttonous Zoe. In which case, he needed to replenish his mana in preparation for the upcoming battle.

Crunching down on the hard candy caused the syrup within to spread throughout his mouth, along with the scent of roses. A sophisticated taste, to be sure, but Louis honestly thought it was like eating perfume.

“Thorn Witch-dono,” Louis said. “Next time, make it into a jam instead of candy. That will allow me to chug it down faster.”

“Barrier Mage. Jam isn’t a drink,” Bradford retorted in exasperation.

At times like these, Raul would usually respond with a cheerful smile. Currently, however, he looked surprisingly stern.

“Sorry, Louis-san, but I don’t have the time to make jam right now. More importantly, we need to decide which of us is going to Sazandol.”

It was quite unusual for this carefree man to behave so seriously.

Louis gave Raul a suspicious glance as he rolled the candy fragments across his tongue.

Louis had always hated people who relied on innate talent instead of honing their skills. As a result, he did not have a high opinion of the Fifth Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg.

Raul possessed the highest mana capacity in the country, yet he didn’t even try to learn offensive magic. Instead, he wasted all his time researching magically enhanced plants.

Even worse, when asked about his reason for not learning offensive magic, Raul smiled and said this:

——Because using offensive magic with so much power would make people scared of me.

Louis thought this was utter nonsense.

As someone who was often underestimated due to his appearance, Louis believed it was more convenient to be feared.

Consider the two talented witches who Louis respected: Carla Maxwell the Starspear Witch, and Monica Everett the Silent Witch. It could be argued that they wasted their talents some of the time, but both undoubtedly spent a lot of effort honing their skills.

Raul lacked all of that. His handling of the Rose Fortress was mediocre. He lacked the ability to use offensive magic or Spirit King Summoning. The only reason he joined the Seven Sages was because he came from the prestigious House Roseberg.

In short, Louis had desperately worked his way up to the Seven Sages, so of course he hated the carefree idiot who got the same position without bothering to try.

But now, that same man was staring at Louis with a serious expression.

Louis swallowed the remaining pieces of candy, then voiced his thoughts.

“You seem a bit different today, Thorn Witch-dono.”

“Is that so?”

Raul closed his eyes, as if to reflect on his inner feelings.

This brought out the beauty he inherited from the First Thorn Witch, along with a glimpse of his hidden intelligence.

“Well, I am one of the Seven Sages… I wanted to do a proper job fit for the title. That’s what I thought after watching my friend work so hard.”

To think someone could actually convince this man to be serious! Louis shuddered at the thought of how mature this “friend” must be.

Meanwhile, Bradford burst into laughter.

“Sounds like you’ve got yourself a good pal, Thorn Witch.”

“Yeah!”

Hearing this, Louis put on a mischievous smirk.

“If you really want a job befitting a Sage, then let’s send you into the most dangerous location.”

Despite the reckless suggestion from Louis, Raul put on a broad grin.

His confidence was truly befitting for a Sage.

“Leave it to me. I’m invincible when fighting for my friends!”

＊　＊　＊

Elianne Hyatt kept her eyes shut, remaining motionless under her blanket.

The servants kept telling her to eat, but Elianne was afraid to leave the bed and open her eyes.

The moment she did so, the ghastly sight of her festering skin would inevitably enter her field of view.

She once had the flawless hands of a lady who never performed manual labor, with meticulously manicured nails. Now, they were completely discolored and rough to the touch.

Even if she covered everything with gloves or bandages, this reality could not be overturned. Her hair and skin were never coming back.

(…I want to die.)

In fact, she was already as good as dead to the Hyatt family.

All of Elianne’s value lied in her bloodline and appearance. The role of a noble lady was to marry into a prestigious family and create heirs.

But who would want to marry Elianne now that she was so ugly?

Even if a miracle were to restore Elianne’s hair and skin to their original state, the rumors would never stop. By now, everyone had heard about her getting scarred by an ancient artifact.

(…Maybe I’m better off dead.)

Even if she wanted to die, death was too scary. Her longing for death and her fear of it clashed within her heart.

Both feelings were completely genuine. Elianne felt like she might impulsively thrust a knife at herself if she had one.

She let her vacant blue-gray eyes wander, finding a window through a gap in the blanket.

Which floor was this room on again? It should have been reasonably high.

Elianne did not know the exact time, but the sun had set long ago. Only the dark night sky was visible outside the window.

She absentmindedly stared at that darkness. Perhaps it might suck her in if she reached out to it.

(Would I die if I fell from there…?)

Her desire for death surged for a moment, causing Elianne to move forward with unsteady steps as her blanket fell to the floor.

Elianne approached the window with her bare feet and reached out toward the night sky.

“Elly!!”

A loud voice from beyond the door put a brake on her thoughts.

She recognized this voice.

Elianne wanted to scream, “Get away!” and “Don’t look at me!” but all her words melted away into sobs.

“Hng… Waaah… Uwaaaaah!”

Elianne collapsed to the floor in tears.

Her fear of death won out in the end.

(I’m too scared, Glenn-sama. What am I supposed to do anymore? My life has no more value, but I’m too scared to die…)

Slam! The powerful knock on the door reverberated in Elianne’s chest as well.

“I’ll get back everything they took from you…! Just sit there and wait!” Glenn shouted.

This was followed by the pounding of his receding footsteps.

Glenn was heading out to fight for her sake. To reclaim what was stolen from her.

“Hng… Uwaaaah…”

Though unable to stop the tears, Elianne approached the door and grasped the doorknob. She opened the door slightly, just enough to peek into the corridor.

The corridor was dimly lit with the light of candles, but Glenn was nowhere to be seen.

It was always like this. Whenever Elianne tried to reach out a hand, Glenn was already long gone, leaving her in the dust with his flight magic.

“Sniff… Ugh…”

Elianne crouched down against the door. Meanwhile, a young man with curly brown hair approached her with a troubled look.

“Um, Glenn-kun said to give this to you…”

The young man handed Elianne a chunk of jerky, leaving her utterly speechless.

“He says eating meat will make you feel better… or something…”

Elianne felt an anger boiling up from the bottom of her heart.

Meat! Of all the things to send as a get-well gift, he would send meat to a lady! Even a single flower would have been sufficient!

(Why…!? Why did I have to fall for him…!?)

Elianne tried to take a bite of the jerky. It was too hard for her to chew properly.

Even so, she continued gnawing to the best of her abilities.

“Ugh! Ugh…! Glenn-sama, you idiot…!!”

These complaints needed to be shouted directly into his face.

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