Mightiest Melee Magician

The Capital’s force of 3200 left Ardell, and Seta returned to his home country of Oyota as well.

But I didn’t immediately leave Ardell like them.

After all, I really did need a good rest.

As I took a step back and rested, I watched Ardell change rapidly.

“Put more strength in!”

“Huack… Huaah!”

“Tsk. Your stamina is terrible…”

“O-one thousand… Huak… I did a thousand.”

“Three minutes rest!”

“Th-thank you!”

Hansen, who had sworn to become a sword of Ardell, was receiving hellish training every day from Sir Bolvar.

If someone who didn’t know Sir Bolvar saw this, they would think he was a cruel and vicious person.

But Hansen trained with a joyful heart. Not a hint of dissatisfaction was on his face.

I asked Sir Bolvar in a half-joking tone,

“Aren’t you being too merciless? He’ll collapse if you keep going on like this.”

“He should still be fine. I was also able to withstand this much when I was his age.”

“Well, isn’t that possible for you because you are you, Sir Bolvar? I really don’t think normal people can survive this.”

At that, Sir Bolvar seemed amused as he replied,

“No, this child might become even greater than me. So he’ll definitely be able to handle this.”

“Eh?”

“On top of that, since he’s the sword that’ll bring you great help in the future, Young Master, I need to nurture him with utmost care.”

“…”

He’ll become even greater than Sir Bolvar?

Was Hansen’s talent that great?

Although I did confirm that he was nearing the level of a 5th-rank Knight, I didn’t expect Sir Bolvar to make such a statement.

“In any case, thanks to you, my final years as a knight have become much more enjoyable. I didn’t even think of having a disciple, but it ended up like this.”

“Haha… I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying this.”

“Everyone is. Since our youngest knight just turned 40 last year… it’s been a while since a new soldier entered our ranks. Of course, I can’t know this for certain, but I am still certain that everyone sees Hansen in a favorable light.”

Hansen, Sir Bolvar, and even Sir Bordo, who had been the ‘youngest’ despite turning 40…

It was good for them all.

“We’ll have to regroup the guard squads, and might as well reorganize the knight order during this time.”

The knight order of Ardell consisting of only three people before Hansen came would be reorganized as well.

We were overflowing with weapons, and our financial position had continued to improve.

We could have a pretty decent knight order not too long into the future.

No. Not ‘could’.

I was certain.

“…We’ve already got more than 30 volunteers.”

Because the news that the Spear Saint Bolvar Patten was in Ardell had started to spread, knights would start to gather here like moths to a flame.

Deciding to go somewhere else, I headed outside the city borders.

“Old-man Paison!”

“My goodness, Young Master!”

The Red Plains.

No…

Since the owners of the land had changed, we needed to call it by its old name again.

The place, once called The Red Plains and now Ardell Valley, became new community center for the people of the territory.

“How’s the work going?”

“Oh my, Young Master, you don’t even have to ask. There’s no end to it no matter how much we dig. Isn’t this a treasure trove?”

The mud created from the hardened forms of the thousands of mudmen became outstanding bricks, and houses and buildings were built with these as a base.

Even after all that, there was still an overflowing number of them left, to the point where they could just be sold.

After this quarrying was finished and the land of Ardell Valley was cultivated, the open sea could be used to our hearts content to revitalize the fishing industry here.

And due to the recent boom in Ardell’s status, there were a lot of people who wanted to move here.

Maybe…

“Continuing like this, we might even want to build a port here. The placement is perfect.”

“Yes, we should.”

A port might be created here not too far in the future.

South Mountain to the east.

Oyota to the west.

The ocean to the south.

The Ardell that had been ‘cut off’ in three directions could open up a new avenue for business.

If everything went as planned, the weaknesses we had struggled through all this time might transform into strengths.

‘The Great Trade City, Ardell.’

An all new territory, but still the same name.

I was happy just thinking about it.

“Ruin, I made up my mind.”

“What?”

“From now on, outside of cleaning hours, I’m going to focus on training every day.”

“Eh? Don’t you need time to go on dates?”

“Ruin! I’m being serious right now.”

“Keke. Alright, alright.”

Jason had also perfectly melded with the territory.

With his charming charisma and excellent cleaning abilities, he received the nickname of ‘magician of the street’ from the people of the territory.

His skills in street cleaning were miraculous. But he didn’t seem to want to stop with just that.

“The day you return, I’ll already be a 4th-class magician, so look forward to it.”

“Oh, looks like you’ve resolved yourself?”

“Yeah, so don’t ever slack off.”

Yeah, I never intended to, either.

“Alright! My special training starts today!”

“…”

In any case, he seemed to have steeled himself to get stronger after the recent battle.

Well, it was understandable, since he nearly died without having dated once.

“What’s that look in your eye? You made fun of me in your head, didn’t you?”

“Pft. Noooo…”

I’m sorry for making fun of you, Jason.

Love you buddy.

In any case, it wasn’t just Jason who perfectly melded into the territory.

Irene Prius.

She had also finished getting completely used to the territory.

Although she said it was fine, it was a bit of a shame.

One of the strongest magicians in the continent, a genius who mastered 5th-class magic at the age of 17…

“Here. Starlight is safe.”

“Kyaaa! Thank you, miss! Hwaaah… Starlight, are you ok?”

“…”

…was using her magic to rescue a cat stuck in a tree, or helping with moving heavy objects.

Of course, I wasn’t saying that these things weren’t important.

They were very important, and the territory and I were very thankful to her.

But…

…She’s Irene Prius.

She was someone who could wield enormous amounts of power in the Empire, who could be on the blood-soaked battlefield splitting open orc heads in a single blow.

Smack!

But she was splitting open pumpkins instead.

“Do you want some?”

* * *

* * *

“…No. I’m fine.”

“It’s tasty.”

“…”

Wasn’t this a massive waste of military power?

Wasn’t I tying her down here just because of my own desires?

As these thoughts filled my mind, I asked,

“Is it fine?”

“Is what?”

“Life in Ardell. Are you uncomfortable with anything?”

“Not at all.”

“…”

“I felt like this is what it feels like to have a family, and...... Are you really not eating?”

Irene pushed a split-open pumpkin toward me.

“…I’m fine.”

“It’s really tasty.”

“But I don’t think you’re supposed to eat them raw. You might get sick if you do.”

“Ah, really?”

Irene’s expression said she had no idea as she summoned a fire and started to cook the pumpkin over it.

“It’s fine now, right?”

“…”

Aah…

The amazing magician that should be leading the next generation… had become a household magician instead.

Maybe she didn’t know how I was feeling, since she kept eating, but then she spoke.

“I’m happy right now, so don’t think about sending me away.”

“S-sending you away? I’m just thinking—”

“That girl that’s always with you.”

“That girl…?”

Eh? Girl?

Who was she talking about?

“Yes. Short, with long black hair.”

“Ah, you mean Straang?”

“So her name is Straang… Yes, that girl. You two hang out together a lot these days.”

“…What about Straang?”

She bluntly asked in an uninterested tone,

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“Eh?”

She stared at me with narrowed eyes.

Unlike her uninterested tone, her eyes and mouth were twitching a little.

What? Was she nervous??

I hurriedly lifted my hands and said,

“Ah, haha, not at all. We’re not able to have a relationship like that in the first place.”

However, Irene lunged at this opportunity as if she was expecting it and continued her questioning.

“What do you mean ‘not able to have a relationship like that’?”

“Eh? Ah, that’s… So… Our relationship isn’t one where we can date and whatever.”

“What kind of relationship is it?”

“How do I put this… The relationship between Straang and I is maybe that of… partners? Maybe closer to symbiotic…?”

Hearing my explanation, Irene looked absolutely appalled.

“Partners? Symbiotic?”

“…”

It’s really not what you think.

“Those are very suspicious words. From what I hear, you guys travel together too?”

“…”

That’s because she’s not a girl but a ‘feminine entity’.

But how could I explain this all to her?

Uwaaaaaaah!

That stupid anthropomorphosis!

Maybe she should’ve just stayed in her cute teddy bear form!

“Th-that’s…”

As I shut my mouth after not explaining it properly, Irene seemed disappointed and pouted.

Yeah.

I’m pathetic.

What was my relationship with Straang?

If I didn’t have any feelings toward Irene, I could’ve just glossed over it and been done with it.

But I didn’t want to do that.

Even though I already knew why Irene was asking me these questions, I was still avoiding answering her.

I really did feel pathetic for not being able to give her a clear answer.

Irene probably realized how I felt.

“…The one who speaks so brazenly in front of the Crown Prince and the Fire King isn’t able to say anything in front of me.”

“…”

Her expression still held a trace of that same playfulness from before.

To her, I slowly and steadily started to talk.

“I’ll make it clear now. Straang and I are most certainly not in the kind of relationship you’re thinking about, and we won’t ever be in the future. You can trust me on that.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. Really. So…”

“So?”

Ah, what’s so difficult about this?

I finally opened my mouth and spoke the words that threatened to run away.

“S-so...... wait for me.”

Uwah!

You idiot!

Was that all you could say after thinking that hard?

It’s obvious she’d ask what she needs to wait for me for.

But Irene, seemingly very satisfied with this answer, nodded lightly.

“Ok. I’ll wait for you.”

“…Eh?”

“I said I’ll wait for you.”

“…”

And then, smiling playfully, she continued to say,

“Did you know? That the girls who continue to wait for someone start to expect more and more the longer they wait.”

“…”

“I’ll wait for an even cooler speech from you next time.”

And then, she went off by herself while muttering, “I should learn how to cook pumpkins.”

I collapsed down onto my chair and put my clenched hand over my heart.

Why was it beating so fast?

Then, a dark shadow appeared from under the table and spoke.

“You’re so stupid.”

“…”

Ruina?

Why did you appear from there?

No…

How long were you under there?!

——