I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince

T/N: This bonus chapter is sponsored by Apple (1/1). If you enjoy reading and are willing to help me catch up to the latest chapters faster by sponsoring bonus chapters, see my Ko-fi.

The evaluation duels at Luminor Academy had set starting distances depending on the discipline, naturally because different disciplines had advantages at different ranges.

For the Martial Arts Department, it was 5 meters apart (T/N: ~16.40 ft.). For the Swordsmanship Department, 7 meters (T/N: ~23 ft.). For the Spearmanship Department, 8 meters (T/N: ~26.25 ft.).

For the Archery and Magic Departments, they went into the double digits, typically starting at 20 meters (T/N: ~66 ft.) and 30 meters (T/N: ~98 ft.), respectively.

This distance allocation felt particularly unfair to me, personally. While my magic skills weren’t bad, my fighting style didn’t rely solely on magic to begin with.

Of course, even if I complained, the academy wouldn’t change the rules just for me, so unfair as it was, I had no choice but to find a way to adapt my combat style.

In a mage versus mage battle, I had to close the distance and prevent the opponent from responding with magic—that was the strategy I adopted for this evaluation duel with Agnes.

Whoosh!

I rolled through the air once more to dodge Agnes’s flames, somehow managing to close the distance between us by a few more meters.

To an outsider, it might look like I was desperately dodging Agnes’s magic while attempting ineffective attacks. I didn’t mind if they misunderstood it that way.

What I was doing wasn’t about engaging Agnes in a one-on-one magic duel, but rather a process to draw this battle into close combat from the beginning.

The official name for the Final Evaluation Duel between Agnes and me was the ‘Magic Department Evaluation Duel’, not a ‘Pure Magic Duel’. There was no reason to engage solely with magic just because it was a duel between Magic Department students.

If using something other than magic was an issue, I would have been called out last year when I used a dagger in my evaluation duel with Luke. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

My aim was singular. I somehow needed to close the distance to turn the match with Agnes into a close combat match, then destroy Agnes’s Arcane Barrier with my magic and finish with the dagger.

…The fact that I had to stab that petite body with a dagger was a bit unsettling, but the academy’s evaluation duels had Death Prevention Magic cast to prevent people from holding back.

Moreover, I needed to show this level of desperate resolve to convince the public that Agnes and I weren’t on good terms. Of course, the broken friendship between Agnes and me wasn’t real; it was just an act.

“Burn! Explode! All flames, endlessly incinerate that damn fat lump of a woman!!”

…That’s part of the act, right?

I moved forward step by step, dodging Agnes’s fireballs as she unleashed her fire magic, even changing her incantation.

Even though Lilith’s physical abilities were good, that was only good for a Magic Department student. It was impossible to dodge all the incoming fireballs with physical ability alone.

Crash!

While moving, I constantly cast Arcane Barriers to defend against fireballs that were impossible to dodge.

[Dangerous, Lilith.]

For fireballs I couldn’t block, Sei naturally altered their paths with wind magic. Not by pushing the fireballs with wind magic, but by pushing my body with wind to dodge the fireballs.

Normally, when wind magic meets fire magic, it only intensifies the fire magic. Considering this, Sei used wind magic solely on my body without letting it touch the fireballs. Although usually quiet and languid, moments like these showed that Sei was undoubtedly an intermediate-level spirit.

Whoosh!

After somehow breaking through Agnes’s barrage of fireballs and closing the distance, there were now less than 10 meters (T/N: ~33 ft.) between us.

It was close enough to reach Agnes with a thrown dagger when I said I’d finish with something other than magic, but I didn’t take that gamble.

If I attempted such a clumsy move, my dagger would likely be blocked by Agnes’s Arcane Barrier, wasting a precious opportunity to attack.

I had to achieve both the destruction of the Arcane Barrier and the finishing blow with the dagger in a single moment. If possible, on the first attempt.

“Blazing flames! Agonizing screams!”

Whoosh!!

With Agnes’s next spell, scorching flames erupted from the ground around me—the so-called ‘Flame Fortress’, a Fourth Circle spell.

‘What, Fourth Circle already? Talk about feeling inadequate.’

For reference, excluding Mana Blast, my strongest offensive magic spell, Energy Bolt, was Second Circle magic. In contrast, the Quick Fireball that Agnes had been using since the start of the battle was Third Circle Magic.

We hadn’t even finished our second year, yet Agnes was already freely using Third and Fourth Circle Magic. I’d have to save my envy for later; right now, I needed to escape the wall enclosing me. If things continued like this, the wall of flames surrounding me would gradually close in and roast me alive.

“I’ll burn you, Lilith! Your plump, fat chest! And everything from head to toe!!”

…She’s not really angry, right?

Agnes was closing in the wall of flames around me with what felt like sincere cursing.

The speed at which the flames approached the center wasn’t particularly fast, but escaping the meticulously tightening Flame Fortress was impossible. The height and thickness of the flames shooting up from the ground were certainly worthy of being called a ‘fortress’.

To avoid becoming a scorched and well-done Lilith, I had to find a way to escape before Agnes’s flames converged on me. …Or, I could alternatively end it right here in this state.

“Hazy mist, and blurry light!”

As Agnes’s Flame Fortress began to close in around me, I hurriedly used Blurred Light on Agnes. No matter how well she was protecting herself with an Arcane Barrier, she couldn’t block Blurred Light, a spell that simply obstructs vision.

Of course, this alone wasn’t enough to stop Agnes’s Flame Fortress. In fact, the wall of fire she created was still steadily closing in around me. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

Just blocking her vision was enough. After all, the act of obstructing Agnes’s vision itself was what mattered to me right now.

With Agnes’s vision blocked, I shouted the incantation that would help end this fight as loudly as possible. That is, the incantation for Mana Blast, the ultimate and sure-hit technique of the mage Lilith.

“Mana!! Respond to my call!!”

Assuming I completed Mana Blast inside this Flame Fortress and fired it at Agnes, it would probably be more than enough power to finish her off.

It would likely be sufficient to shatter the Arcane Barrier protecting Agnes and even retire Agnes herself.

No matter how much her vision was obstructed by Blurred Light, as long as Agnes’s position remained the same, my Mana Blast was a sure-hit technique that would never miss.

“Arcane power! Condensed mana bomb!!”

Currently, Agnes’s Flame Fortress was slowly closing in around me, but at this rate, my Mana Blast was likely to be completed first. It seemed Agnes had made the flames enclose me a bit more generously, considering my physical abilities.

Normally, I wouldn’t use Mana Blast unless conditions were right because it left me defenseless while casting, but ironically, this seemed like the most efficient situation to use Mana Blast.

After all, the Flame Fortress that Agnes was using was also a channeling spell. Even Agnes couldn’t possibly concentrate on a Fourth Circle spell while simultaneously using another spell to check me.

In other words, if my Mana Blast was completed like this, the evaluation duel would be my victory. And the Agnes I knew wasn’t the type to quietly accept such a ridiculous defeat.

Hiss…

“B-Burn!”

Judging that this wouldn’t do, Agnes immediately stopped casting Flame Fortress and hurriedly fired a fireball in my direction. She was choosing a practical victory over a flashy finish.

She probably figured that since I was using Mana Blast, I couldn’t dodge, so even a First Circle spell could finish me off.

…And this final judgment of Agnes was her mistake.

Because I never had any intention of finishing with Mana Blast from the start.

Whoosh!

“……”

After lightly dodging the fireball that flew to where I had been standing until just now with a jump, I quickly leapt into the hazy mist surrounding Agnes.

I held a dagger in my right hand for the finishing blow and prepared mana in my left hand to break the Arcane Barrier.

Mana Blast? I never even started chanting such an inefficient spell. I just pretended to chant by only saying the incantation, without releasing even a drop of mana to cast it. Using Mana Blast in a one-on-one battle was practically suicide. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

When I fought Luke, I used Mana Chains to bind her when her only attack option left was close combat and then hit her with Mana Blast. But using such an arrogant spell like Mana Blast against a fellow mage like Agnes would likely result in a counterattack like just now.

Using Blurred Light on Agnes before using Mana Blast was just to make her believe I was using it. As I thought from the beginning, finishing with a dagger thrust was the surest method.

“Sei!!”

[Yes. I know.]

At my call, Sei used wind magic to blow away all the hazy mist that had been surrounding Agnes and me.

The figure of the red twin-tailed mage finally came into view within that mist, and I charged at her defenseless body with all my might.

Crash!

“…Ah!!”

Surprised by the sound of her Arcane Barrier breaking, she turned towards me, but my right hand, holding the dagger, was already flying towards her heart.

My short dagger plunged into Agnes’s chest, free of cumbersome obstacles, accurately piercing her heart.

STAB!

“…Ugh!!”

“…I don’t have any particular ill feelings, Miss Agnes.”

…Perhaps feeling guilty at Agnes’s pained voice, I blurted out words that were neither an excuse nor an apology.

“I-Is that so…?”

“Considering your circumstances, I’d like to concede the victory, but… a match is a match, after all.”

“…I had ill feelings, though.”

“…Pardon?”

Thud.

While I was confused about what Agnes was saying, the staff she had been holding until the end plunged between my breasts, and Agnes quietly uttered her final spell even as her heart was pierced by the dagger.

“Flame… Explo… sion…”

“…Ah.”

Right after Agnes’s final spell was cast, the fire magic deployed from the tip of the staff in her hand engulfed both her body and mine.

…That day, the Death Prevention Magic was activated twice in the first evaluation duel of Luminor Academy’s Magic Department.

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Quite the chapter this was! I now have to keep track of even more spells that could pop up in the future; I’m really hoping I stay consistent with those.

In other news, I’d like to announce that James B. has sponsored yet another set of 14 Bonus Chapters via my Ko-fi! I’ll be editing the schedule to reflect this and I am always grateful for your continued support. At this rate, I’ll probably be reaching the 300s soon.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow!