[V4C29] Even the Harpy is Appalled
Translated by Jodas 4: Flying Through the SkyWren claimed that, the moment he heard the rules to a magic battle, he realized a clever method of defense.
“Piyo… How do we do that?”
To Tia’s question, Wren pushed his glasses up and answered.
“We’ve got numbers, right? We’re just gonna have everyone bring a lot of huge, light shields. That’s it.”
Sevil was the first to question his plan.
Sevil spoke with a contemplative face, furrowing her brows.
“A huge and light shield? You’re not talking about iron shields, I assume?”
“Correct. It’ll work just fine if we get a big ol’ sheet of wood and stick a handle on it. What’s important isn’t the strength, but the area and weight. — Physical attacks won’t work in magic battles, right? Then the strength of the shield is irrelevant!”
The first to mutter “I see, that makes sense.” was Rukiye. Gerald and Sevil followed shortly after.
Neither Julius, Roswitha, nor Ella had any particular reaction. Those three knew the most about magic battles, so they’d probably reached the same conclusion as Wren.
Naturally, Tia didn’t get it.
Along with Tia, Finn and Sophie didn’t understand either.
“Pirorororo… Um…?”
“Aww… I’m sorry, I don’t really get it…”
“I don’t know much about magic battles, so…”
In addition, the two adults nodded along.
“Sorry dude! I don’t get it either!”
“I would appreciate an explanation.”
Once Oliver politely requested for him to elaborate, Wren looked like he was trying to choose his words carefully.
Before he could talk, Rukiye stood up and walked in front of the blackboard.
“Can I answer this one? I’d like to see if I’m thinking of the same thing you are. If I’m wrong, let me know.”
Saying that, Rukiye looked at Julius, Roswitha, and Ella, who knew the answers.
Confirming that all three nodded, Rukiye continued.
“The barrier of a magic battle protects not just people, but the surrounding objects to an extent as well. For instance, the trees of the forest we’ll be fighting in. It would be a problem if fire spread to those trees, wouldn’t it? That’s why it’s often suggested to fight by hiding behind the trees and rocks of the battle arena.”
“Oh, right! Now I get it! Trees and shields work the same way~!”
Sophie clapped her hands together.
“That’s right.” Rukiye nodded.
“Just like the trees of the forest, shields and similar objects will be protected within the magic battle barrier. On top of that, since physical attacks are nullified, the strength of the shield is irrelevant. Ideally, we want a shield that covers a large area and is easy to carry around.”
Rukiye drew on the blackboard with chalk.
She drew an image of all the Apprentices gathered together, holding up shields in a big circle around them.
A few people were placed in the middle, and those people would guard against attacks from above, creating an almost flawless defense.
And without having to use a defensive barrier at all.
Since the magic battle barrier would protect their shields, all they had to do was hide behind their shields.
“I can think of a couple potential weaknesses: it wouldn’t defend against wide-area lightning-element attacks; a gap could open up if wind magic knocked you off your feet; and you could be frozen in place if someone froze the ground with ice magic… but otherwise it seems quite effective as a defensive strategy.”
With that explanation, Rukiye glanced at Ella and the others.
“…That is my assumption of what Wren’s plan is. Obviously, someone had to have figured this out already, right? This loophole in the rules.”
Ella nodded firmly, and laid her hands on a small table they’d brought from the break room.
“I’ve confirmed this with Director Hegelich already. There is a restriction on the size of shields we can bring into the magic battle… each person can only bring one shield about the size of this table.”
At that size, the best you could hope for was to cover half of your body.
Of course the Instructors had already realized that loophole in the rules.
“Aww…” Finn and Rose made a sound of disappointment. Beside them, Oliver quietly spoke up.
“The idea of bringing shields isn’t bad by itself. You can still reduce the available target area, and it can help bring up the morale for those who can’t use defensive barriers.”
Tia had an idea and energetically raised her hand to speak.
“Piyopp! What if Oliver and I brought a shield while we’re flying together?”
“But, depending on how you’re riding on his back, wouldn’t both of your hands be occupied? Would we have to implement the carrying strap?”
At Wren’s suggestion, Tia waddled up to the front and borrowed the stick of chalk.
Then, just as she was about to start drawing on the blackboard, she hesitated. She wasn’t confident that she could draw very well.
“Rukiye, draw a person here. Like Oliver!”
“Like this?”
Rukiye tapped the chalk against the board as the picture took shape. It was a simple image, but easy to visualize.
“Um, so we get one shield a person, right? Then, if you put my shield and Oliver’s shield like this… and attach them like that…”
On top of Rukiye’s drawing of Oliver, Ria drew squares over his chest and groin. Those squares were supposed to represent shields.
“Pefufu! Then Oliver will be totally safe!”
Wren’s glasses slid off of his nose.
“You’re teammates with a pretty boy, aren’t you! Put some more care into aesthetics! If Oliver’s flying around with shields stuck to his upper and lower bodies why carrying you around, it’ll look way too lame!”
Wren’s cheeks shook, like he was trying to suppress his laughter.
Rukiye, standing in front of the blackboard, considered Tia’s proposal more seriously, with a straight face.
“Supposing we did make use of the carrying strap, Oliver’s hands would be freed up… If he had shields in both hands, it might be possible for him to keep away our opponent’s attacks. It wouldn’t be very useful for doing damage, though.”
At the moment, Oliver and Tia had no means of attack.
As a result, Tia though this wasn’t such a bad idea, but Wren disapproved.
Oliver, the man in question, addressed the image on the blackboard with stern eyes. He seemed to be considering how this would work in the actual battle.
Then, Rose spoke up in a bright voice.
“Oh, right! At times like this, why not go for that!”
“Piyo? What do you mean by that?”
“How about fighting by setting a defensive barrier in front of you, then flying into the enemy at top speed to blow them away! It would count as a magical attack, so it would do actual damage!”
The classroom fell into utter silence. Then, in the next moment, utter chaos.
Primarily, this consisted of shouts to the effect of “What the heck is this guy talking about!?”
The first to raise her voice was Sevil.
“Rose, you understand you are talking about a suicide attack?”
“Eh? No, I was just thinking it could be a way of attacking… maybe?”
Rose replied haltingly, prompting the more magically-inclined Roswitha and Julius to comment.
“You think flying straight at your enemy with a defensive barrier deployed is a method of attack? What, are you stupid or something?”
“Kuku… Such an act would be unthinkable for a sane man. These things aren’t as simple as you imagine. Be it flight magic or defensive barriers, both require extremely advanced techniques.”
Following, Ella spoke in a restrained manner, while Rukiye leveled her ruthless criticism.
“Um… I’m not sure about that idea… It’s just way too dangerous… Um, you were joking, right?”
“Sounds like the work of a fool who has too much faith in his abilities.”
Wren had an exasperated expression, and Gerald’s eyes were hidden, but both of them were intensely critical as well.
“That’s just a pointless and needlessly complicated way to self-destruct. Can’t you think of a way of fighting that’s more suited to a pretty boy’s companion?”
“That’s a suicidal charge. I’m firmly opposed to it.”
On top of that, even Sophie and Finn looked at Rose with a hint of fear in their eyes.
“Eeek… Rose, why do you have to say such scary things?”
“I think that’s… a little…”
With the criticisms pouring in, and having struck terror into the two youngest members, Rose nervously looked around. “Huh? … Huuuh?”
Oliver and Tia, who would be the ones actually using flight magic, lined their heads up vertically, with Tia on the bottom and Oliver on top, and approached Rose.
“Um, Rose… Flying with the Magical Flying Device is really hard, okay? Slamming into someone like ‘kaboom!’ hurts and is scary, okay?”
“Rose, even though physical attacks will be nullified during the magic battle, should we crash into a tree or fall to the ground, we would still receive damage.”
“Pevu! Pevu! That’s why, if we tried hitting something with a barrier up, in order not to crash, we’d have to fly the other way the moment before we hit!”
“Indeed. Unless you can use flight magic to the level my brother can, and unless you know how to use defensive barriers perfectly, it would be impossible. Without that, it’s just plain suicide.”
Ramming into something with high-speed flight was a reckless and dangerous act that even a Harpy wouldn’t be willing to try.
Cornered by Tia and Oliver’s serious expressions, Rose withered and hunched his large body over in his chair, crestfallen.
“Um…. Well…. I’m sorry….”
Post-script
Fighting by crashing into your enemy with barriers is a highly dangerous activity that appalls even Harpies.
Be a good kid and don’t try this at home!