[V3C7] The Director’s Suggestion
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful BrothersFrederik’s spear pummeled Oliver into the ground. Even with the leather cover on its tip, it had to hurt quite a bit.
Oliver tried desperately to parry the blows, but Frederik’s spear had the force to bat Oliver’s arms away.
Tia shrieked “Pyie!” That had to hurt. Your wingtips were a fragile part of your body.
Oliver’s hand that was hit loosened its grip on his spear. At that moment, Frederik swung his spear upwards, sending Oliver’s spear flying out of his hands.
Oliver’s spear danced through the sky, spinning—in the brief seconds it took to reach the ground, Frederik connected five thrusts. One of those made contact with the bridge of Oliver’s nose, and blood began to spray from his nose.
(It’s the ‘Red Rain’……)
With blood flowing from his nose and mouth, Oliver collapsed to the ground.
Standing above his brother, Frederik grumbled.
“……..How kind of me, to beat this useless loser half to death before he gets eaten all the way to death by a Monster.”
His windswept hair flopped back to its original position, and a smile returned to his face.
However, only his mouth formed the shape of a smile. His eyes weren’t smiling at all. This was a man who smiled when he was mad.
“You know, there was another Monster sighting yesterday……They have clearly expanded their range of activity. I can’t let dead weight into the Extermination Office at a time like this, you understand?”
Tia gulped.
She felt a deep, dark hatred in the word ‘they’ that Frederik said.
“Unless you want to act as bait for Monsters, pack your things and go home.”
“……I’m not going home.”
Growling in a low voice, Oliver slowly stood back up.
Even though he was beat up and bruised all over his body. Even though he looked to be in so much pain. Even though his spear had been thrown so far away.
No matter how much he was beaten, he would stand back up. Staring down his brother, Oliver made the face of a strong creature.
Still spitting blood, Oliver shouted.
“I am Oliver, the man who knows no fear!! No matter what Monster appears before me, even if my Brother scolds me, I shall not take one step back!”
Instantly, all emotions drained from Frederik’s face.
“…….Excuse me?”
His words were emotionless and flat. This was the sort of calm that preceded his intense anger truly boiling over.
Tia’s shoulder blades unconsciously twitched. Her instincts told her to flap her wings and get out of here. There was a scary, scary, scary creature here.
Sevil also unconsciously placed her hand on the hilt of her curved sword. Wren hid behind Sevil and shook violently.
Frederik muttered, without any intonation in his voice.
“……You’ve got some nerve to say something like that in front of me.”
Most likely, something out of the words Oliver had said struck a nerve in Frederik.
Frederik chanted the incantation for flight magic. His body started to float off of the ground.
Then, he continued to chant. This was probably some type of attack magic.
(The wind is getting pretty fierce around the tip of Frederik’s spear.)
Having seen enough of this, Sevil rose her voice.
“The fight’s over! Stop it right there! Both of you, put your weapons down!”
Frederik didn’t even bother to look in Sevil’s direction.
Emotionlessly, the light cast a red glint in his eyes, as Frederik bared his spear.
“…….So you will never say such stupid things again, I will crush your throat, then I’ll shatter the bones in both your legs and send you home.”
Frederik accelerated. This was bad. If this hit landed, it would not end nicely.
Tia shouted.
“Oliver! Run!!”
Oliver did not move. His face showed no signs of fear, and he continued to stare down his brother with a sharp glare.
Frederik thrusted his wind-sheathed spear at Oliver.
“…..What is the meaning of this. Could I get an explanation, you?”
The sound of an object hitting something solid rang out; Frederik’s spear had been blocked.
After accelerating and putting his weight into the charge, Frederik lost his stance for a bit, but he recovered quickly without dropping his spear.
Then, he made eye contact with the person who deployed a defensive barrier to protect Oliver.
Upon seeing the straight-cut blond hair, round glasses, and tall stature of Guidance Officer Director Hegelich, Tia and Wren raised their voices.
“Piyo!! Director Hegelich! Wow, it’s the Director!!”
“That’s our Director! Awesome!”
“You two are from Hütter’s class, aren’t you? Good grief, you’re in rather good spirits after encountering a Monster just yesterday.”
“Just in time~!” Behind Hegelich, the red-haired fuzzy one—meaning Rose—wiped the sweat off of his fuzzy beard. It seemed like he’d been the one to call Hegelich over here.
Hegelich redirected his gaze from Tia’s group back towards Frederik and Oliver.
“Frederik Lange, of the Extermination Office. Is it standard educational practice in the Extermination Office to beat Apprentices senseless, I wonder?”
“I’m not a member of the Guidance Office, so I don’t do education. I just want to teach this Apprentice to learn his place.”
Frederik deactivated his flight magic, and spoke calmly, as if nothing had happened.
He hid all of that murderous rage and anger that had frightened even Tia, a Monster, within that tall, thin body of his.
“He’s a student of Ms. Röhm, isn’t he? He sure is blessed. That person is quite strong.”
“Young Oliver is in Sombart’s class, you.”
“Sombart? …….Who’s that, again?”
“……………”
Hegelich slowly exhaled through his nose, and spoke with a stern expression.
“I will have to report this incident to the Extermination Office Director.”
“Feel free.”
“At that point, I may suggest that you schedule your rematch in the form of a Magic Battle.”
“…………………Come again?”
Frederik’s confident demeanor crumbled.
(Magic Battle……umm, we learned about that in group lessons…..)
That referred to a battle that was fought within a specialized barrier that only allows the use of magical attacks.
Inside a Magic Battle barrier, physical attacks are nullified, and only magical attacks that utilize mana—including magecraft, magical devices, magic swords, or attacks from contracted spirits—will be effective.
When receiving damage, one will not be hurt, although they will still feel the pain of the attack. Instead, their mana would decrease proportional to the damage received. The rules stipulate that the first to lose a specified quantity of mana loses.
Given the benefit that one will not be physically hurt even if they are hit by a magical attack, it is often used for training practical magecraft.
Wren fearfully posed a question.
“Does that mean…….Oliver will have to fight his brother again, in a Magic Battle?”
“Naturally, it will not be one-on-one. I intend to have all twelve of you Apprentice Mages put your strengths together. Some will participate in the actual fight, some can put together strategies, and some can prepare tools and traps to aid you in the fight. Think it through, and divide your roles accordingly.”
Even when told he would be pitted one against twelve, Frederik didn’t react.
However, he clearly looked like he would rather do anything else.
Hegelich declared with finality.
“This is a perfect opportunity to learn the gap that exists between yourselves and a true professional! On top of that, I want you to consider ways to overcome that gap—This is part of your training!”
Hegelich lifted his round glasses and laughed.
“I have a duty to guide the Apprentices. I must thank you for providing me such a wonderful opportunity to do so, you know, Frederik Lange?”
Frederik leaned his body weight on his spear.
Then, he sighed, and spoke without hiding his exasperated expression.
“……What a bother. In a Magic Battle, physical attacks are nullified, so I won’t be able to break that good-for-nothing’s legs……Very well. I will think of ways to break his heart instead.”
With narrowed eyes, he cast a glare towards Oliver.
“So that that good-for-nothing will never again say he wants to join the Extermination Office.”
Leaving it at that, Frederik headed back towards the Second Spire: Golden Needle.
Watching him from behind, Tia unconsciously rubbed her arm. She was still covered in goosebumps after watching him.
(Frederik is a strong, scary person. Even in my Harpy form……I probably can’t beat him.)
With his spear in one hand, Frederik ascended the staircase back to the second level. There, a silver-haired woman sobbed uncontrollably.
She was his peer in the Extermination Office, Helena.
“Ah, it’s so sad, it’s so sad…….My peer is such a rampaging barbarian who keeps hitting things……”
“I didn’t hit ‘things,’ I hit a person.”
“How sad for me that this thing is treated as a human just like me…….Please give up on being human and start calling yourself ‘trash’…….”
“Then I’ll be the sad one!”
This was Helena’s usual attitude, so Frederik responded without much thought.
As he entered the room, he saw the tan-skinned, small-irised Rikard had just brought in a set of cleaning implements.
Without saying a word, Frederik took a broom from Rikard and stepped back out into the hallway.
In said hallway, Helena was still crying.
“Ah, it’s so sad……..why can’t you brothers get along…….”
“I don’t have any brothers. My little brother died when he was eaten by a Monster.”
As he swept away the crumbled bits that had fallen off of the wall, he recalled Oliver’s face.
Even after oppressing him with such a murderous aura, those eyes of his showed no fear or hesitation. He wasn’t just braving through it either, Oliver truly showed not a shred of fear.
“I am Oliver, the man who knows no fear!! No matter what Monster appears before me, even if my Brother scolds me, I shall not take one step back!”
(Knows no fear, you say? Give me a break.)
His gritted teeth chattered loudly against each other.
He tightened his grip on the broom.
(Especially when I’ve always been so, so, terrified.)