Chapter 112: The Duel Begins

Chapter 112 of “Mastering Magic in an Otome Game Part 3 (Magic Academy)”

I was aware that the Duker family had a complicated family background, but the current relationship between the two brothers really was the best example of this.

The main wife’s child was Johann, and the concubine’s child was Nicholas.

The concubine had given birth to a boy six months ahead of the main wife, so he seemed to be bemoaning it…The fact that the father’s favor was tilted toward the concubine also accelerated the distortion.

Wouldn’t it be dangerous to have a child from such a complicated family environment as an aide? Some people had that opinion.

But when I met him as a potential aide, I saw the eyes of a lost puppy…It couldn’t be helped after that.

I chose Johann because I had the feeling that this child needed support.

I didn’t expect that his brother would go to Gabriella afterwards…

“I must be going crazy. Isn’t this one going to have to be a duel now?”

“……”

Rubbing the wrinkles between his eyebrows, Ray-sensei muttered weakly, “The headmistress should take the responsibility…”

***

“Now then, let the duel begin!”

When Headmistress Ortensia, who raised a loud voice, said this, the students who had gathered around shouted enthusiastically.

The mood must have been like watching a festival event. The courtyard was filled with people, with senior students also mixed in.

“This duel is not a matter of punishment, nor does it determine the outcome of the exam that has already been decided. Rather, this is a fight for honor!”

H-Hey, don’t stir things up too much because it’s going to bring about more trouble…With a distant look, I stared at the circular white line drawn in the courtyard.

If you stepped outside the white line, you would lose, just like in a sumo ring…I’m not sure why, but Headmistress Ortensia looked like she was watching a professional wrestling match for some reason.

“Whether you win or lose, there will be no hard feelings. This is an honorable duel held in front of the public. You will know for sure if there is any injustice…Now then, first challenger, step forward!”

Following the voice of the now play-by-play commentator (Headmistress Ortensia), two figures stepped forward.

And who were those two people?

“Hah…why do I have to do this…?”

The one who muttered in annoyance was the pretty boy Kirche.

“I won’t forgive you…I’ll bite you to death…” (***T/N: Lol, anyy ‘Katekyo Hitman Reborn’ fans here? Fun fact about me, my phone ringtone is the Hibari Kyoya theme song. Such a catchy piano riff)

The one who muttered something boisterous and kept an eye out was, to my surprise, Faneer.

When this duel had been decided, Faneer was the first one to come forward. According to him, he wanted to redeem his honor.

I glanced at a corner of the courtyard, where I saw a dusty blonde in the shadow of the planting—Probably Connie, who had rushed over to worry about me, but was too startled by the crowd of nobles to come over. I guess that’s what happened.

But above all, Faneer seemed to be concerned about the destruction of his group membership card.

He was also angry with Nicholas, but it seems that it was Kirche who lost the group membership card, and he was quite angry with that as well.

“The rules are simple. If you step out of the white line, you lose, or if you are deemed unable to fight, you lose…If you ignore the cries of restraint, you will be disqualified, and any excessive pursuit is also forbidden. This is a duel, not a fancy fight, okay?”

Whether they heard it or not, the moment Faneer-kun, who had bared his guru and canine teeth, and Kirche, who hummed and sniffed, stood inside the white line, Headmistress Ortensia gave the order.

“Then—begin!”

“Grawr!”

Faneer-kun roared and jumped out, kicking the ground and pouncing on Kirche.”

Then Kirche chanted a short spell.

“<Ivy facing the heavens, now unleash>”

In that moment, grass grew out of the ground with a loud noise.

It was more like a small wall of miscellaneous weeds tangled together rather than an aggressive attack. However, Faneer-kun, upset by the sudden creation of a wall in front of him, jumped back and shifted his path, stopping his rush.

“Oh, what’s going on?…Come on over here and I’ll play with you…little doggy.”

Faneer pounced on Kirche once again after he blatantly provoked him.

Kirche looked on with an expression that suggested he had a plan to spare, but his complexion changed instantly.

He pulls out his athame and caught something with a snapping sound.

“Huh…’

At the end of Kirche’s line of sight… was a sharply extended claw.

“Eh!? Wh-What’s that?”

Lucia, who had been staring at the duel, shouted out in surprise. I was surprised too, but I had seen a scene before in my previous life.

“Partial physical enhancement…?”

Wow Faneer. That’s really cool. If you worked hard enough, maybe you’d even be able to learn how to assassinate someone by plucking out their heart without any blood—just like a certain clan! (***T/N: First Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and now…HunterXHunter???)

That’s what I was thinking…but the beast-children spoke up.

“Physical enhancement…?! How do you do it?”

“Magic? Isn’t that kind of like storing magic?”

“How cool!”

Really? Isn’t that kind of physical enhancement supposed to be common?

Despite such an exchange, the duel situation accelerated.

“Huh!? What the hell is that?…Ugh, stop it!”

“Gawr!”

Faneer-kun swung his sharp claws towards the upset Kirche, but Kirche responded with a, “<Blow forth, O’ wind!>” The moment he shouted, Faneer was distracted by the wind that wrapped around  his body in a breeze and kicked him away.

“H-Hah…you’re doing something strange…It’s disgusting!”

Kirche, who had now abandoned his fake polite tone, waveringly set up his Athame and started to run forward.

“Faneer-kun! Avoid it!”

The moment I shouted that, I felt like I saw Faneer-kun grinning.

“<Crawl on the ground, water deprived of its flow>”

As soon as he heard such a voice, whether he could hear it or not, Kirche threw himself wide open.

When I looked, I saw that there was a spot  of ice the size of a puddle where Kirche had stepped on.

“What?!”

As it was, he rolled and tumbled away…all the way outside the white line.

“Eh…”

As the spectators were buzzing, Headmistress Ortensia shouted in a loud voice.

“Winner, Faneer!”

[Original Author’s Note] I can’t really write battle scenes, but I’ve always wanted to try…it’s fun.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T/N: Lots of battle and anime references in this chapter as the competition goes from 1-0 in Alice-chan’s favor! Btw, here is a picture of Kirche again from the manga:

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