Mightiest Melee Magician

Irene Prius.

I’d heard of her through rumours.

The ‘Seiki Women’s Residential College’, which competed for first place against the continent’s strongest magic school, ‘Raynac Magic Soldier Training School’.

The representative of this all-girl’s school was this very Irene Prius.

One of the 11 children that was selected by the Fire King Teron himself.

And a genius amongst geniuses that was at the cusp of becoming a 5th-class Master Magician at the age of 16.

I was surprised for a different reason.

‘For her to be a 5th-class Master.’

She was already a 5th-class Master.

Rumours were usually inflated, but for it to be downsized like this.

But why was that woman here?

And…

<Quantum Mechanics of Swords and Spells>

Why was she after a book with such a weird title?

“Let go.”

Her voice had a clear intention that she wouldn’t let go of the book, and as a weird curiosity swelled within me, I instead pulled the book towards me.

“I grabbed it first.”

“……”

Then, Irene let out a small sigh and said this.

“Seeing as you have the Ignit Magic Academy’s lightning insignia, you must be an attendee of the Grand Festival. I’ll introduce myself. I’m Irene Prius of Seiki Women’s Residential College.”

“I’m Ruin Ardell.”

“Yes. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but you’ve found the object you’re looking for, and you were just looking for something else to buy… But this book is the reason I’ve come to this place today. I don’t know why you would need a book like this, but if it isn’t too important, could you yield this book to me?”

“……”

Even while not trying to eavesdrop, it seemed she had listened to my and the owner’s entire conversation.

However, if she laid out her case like this and asked this politely, I had nothing I could say.

As I hesitated for a bit, Irene asked me in a straightforward manner,

“So, why do you need this? It’s not a book you would look for under normal circumstances.”

I turned my gaze towards the book.

<Quantum Mechanics of Swords and Spells>

Just glancing at the title, it wasn’t hard to figure out what this book was about.

Mana was the main focus of magicians, and the sword was a knight’s signature identity that could handle aura.

Just looking at these two, they were impossible to mix.

Most blades couldn’t respond to mana and only reacted to a knight’s aura.

However, the ‘magic swords’ the demons used could uniquely respond to mana.

This book was probably about these ‘magic swords’.

However, the reason I picked the book was for a different reason than my curiosity about magic swords.

It was because, in the <Player’s Eye>, the rarity of the other items in the antique shop was normal. 

However,

<High Rarity>

Among the other normal books, this was the only one to show high rarity.

Was this a diamond in the rough?

Or a headache that’s a useless item, and was only rare for rarity’s sake? 

I just wanted to check with my own eyes.

But as Irene Prius insisted on this, I became even more curious than before.

“Then, why do you need this?”

“…Do I have to tell you?”

“If you really want this book, I want to hear your reason.”

“……”

At my request, Irene closed her mouth shut.

She looked embarrassed to answer my question, and after trying to dodge the question for a bit, she said one word.

“…homework.”

“Homework? What homework?”

“It’s personal homework. It’s too troublesome to tell you anymore, so please don’t ask.”

“……”

Personal homework…

It didn’t seem like homework from her magic school.

Who did she get it from?

The way she talked that brought curiosity from curiosity wasn’t to my liking.

But there was a name that I thought of.

‘Fire King Teron…’

She was one of the 11 children selected by the King of Magicians, Teron.

Was it homework she received from Teron?

It was a plausible story.

I wanted to ask a bit more, but I shrugged my shoulders and stopped there.

“Take it.”

“……What?”

As I coolly handed her the book, Irene instead looked a little confused.

She probably thought I wouldn’t hand it over so easily.

“You said it’s important to you. Take it.”

“Ah… Thank you.”

She then bowed her head after receiving the book.

She was pretty polite.

As I was turning my back, Irene grabbed me again.

“Just… one thing.”

“…Yes?”

“You didn’t answer my question yet.”

“What question?”

“Why did you try to buy this book?”

“……”

No, she’s pretty petty.

I replied with a flat tone,

“It looked valuable.”

“…it looked valuable? Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“How would you know if a book is valuable or not just by reading the title…?”

“It’s too troublesome for me to explain more as well. So please don’t ask me anymore.”

“……”

I returned the same words she said to me.

At that, she couldn’t say anything and could only shut her mouth like a goldfish.

“Well, whatever. It looks like you need it more than me, so take it.”

It wasn’t even an artifact.

Just because it was rare didn’t mean it always would be useful.

Looking at just the title, it had a high probability of being useless for me.

I was only a little curious.

“…I understand then.”

Irene nodded her head, and after buying the book from the owner, she left the antique shop.

Rather than that book with the weird title, I ended up buying a small hairpin that Straang pointed out by saying ‘Oh, that’s pretty!’ and left the shop too.

Irene was walking further down the road, but after walking for a bit, I realized we were going the same way.

‘What the… It’s the building right next to ours.’

Irene Prius’ lodging was positioned right next to our <Warm Noon Inn>.

* * *

* * *

“Who did you say you met?”

“Irene Prius…”

“Really? Wow! Where? How? Why? What did you talk about?”

“…Can you ask those one at a time?”

As soon as I arrived at the inn, Jason started making a fuss.

Understandably, it was because ‘Irene Prius’ was one of the next generation magicians that the entire continent was excited about.

Thanks to this, the 1st-floor cafeteria was filled with a rumour that said ‘Ruin met up with Irene Prius’.

“It wasn’t anything special. We just exchanged names and—”

“Woah, that’s insane! How is she? Pretty? Ack! My dream is to grab Miss Irene’s hand just one time! You enviable bastard!”

Irene Prius.

She was famous as both a talented magician and a beauty at the same time.

It was enough for Jason, who went crazy over any pretty woman, to place her in the top 10 women he wanted to meet the most.

At that, having seen Irene Prius at the last Magic Festival due to participating, Hankus spoke as if he were familiar with her.

“Irene Prius? It’s been a while since I last saw her… Did she prepare enough this year?”

“What? You know Miss Irene?”

“Heh! Of course, I know her. Unlike you, I also attended last year’s Magic Festival. Even though I’m like this, my friend’s friend’s acquaintance goes to Seiki Women’s Residential College…”

“A friend’s friend’s acquaintance? Isn’t that a total stranger?”

“Hmhm. That’s not all. In last year’s opening ceremony, the one who sat next to the guy next to me was THE Irene Priu—”

“Stop acting so close. You didn’t even talk to her once.”

“……Ehem.”

Hankus continued to speak after clearing his throat, despite having only seen Irene Prius’ face from afar.

“In any case, that woman, even though she’s so strong, she’s second place every year. The dominant first place is none other than Raynac Magic Soldier Training School’s Doom Prime. They say she gets really stressed getting destroyed by Doom Prime in the Magic Festival every year.”

At that, Jason, having coined himself as the ‘Irene Prius Superfan’, said in a fit of rage,

“Doom Prime? Is that an instrument? How dare he mess with our Irene…”

“It’s not an instrument. He’s at the top of the Magic Soldier Training School. Do you know what that means? It means he’s the most respected magician in our age group. He’s also the wielder of the artifact ‘Sword of Brilliance’.”

“Sword of Brilliance?”

“……”

Sword of Brilliance.

As soon as I heard it, my brain lit up.

‘Ah, so it was that.’

The reason Irene Prius needed the <Quantum Mechanics of Swords and Spells>.

That was,

“Didn’t you know? That Doom Prime guy. He’s a magic swordsman.”

To defeat the one called a magic swordsman, ‘Doom Prime’.

Magic Swordsman.

The magic swordsman we know of who could wield both magic and sword aura freely didn’t actually exist.

That was because the mana of magicians and the aura of knights could never combine, and instead showed an ‘extreme dispersion’ reaction.

However, ‘magic swords’ that responded to mana instead of aura existed, and they could be used as a medium in place of a staff, wand, or magic ring.

The magicians who could wield magic swords were commonly known as ‘magic swordsmen’.

The Sword of Brilliance Doom Prime was known to use a type of magic sword.

However, he wasn’t perceived well.

“Magic Swordsman? Isn’t he just a magician who swings a sword around and pretends to be a knight? It’s not like he can utilize aura anyways.”

The magic amplification of most magic swords wasn’t that much better than other magic instruments used by magicians.

But it was also unsuitable for knights to use effectively.

Meaning, it was dubious for both sides to use.

To bring out the full potential of a magic blade, they needed an understanding of swordsmanship that was at least Rank 7 while also possessing a great talent for magic.

But how many magicians in the world could fit this criteria?

Most magicians used magic rings rather than swords.

And magic swords disappeared into history.

However, if I followed what Hankus said, Doom Prime was a little different.

“Doom Prime is different. The Sword of Brilliance is an S-rank artifact. On top of that, he systematically learnt swordsmanship from a young age. They say his swordsmanship instructor was a Rank 8 Swordmaster… His swordsmanship alone is enough to make him a decent knight.”

They said he has a genuine magic sword and had also learnt extraordinary swordsmanship.

Even his magic talent was enough to be one of the best on the continent.

Jason understood all this and said in a dejected tone,

“He has an artifact, is good at swordsmanship AND he’s better at magic than me…? This enviable bastard.”

“Do you think that’s all? His family is beyond impressive. They are rich, good looking, and also really popular with the ladies.”

“So, people who own the world do exist. Ugh… I don’t have anything.”

“Yea. I hope you get at least one thing in your next life.”

“Shut up.”

I had a light smile while looking at Jason and Hankus who looked more and more like close friends.

My smile, however, was because I solved my curiosity regarding Irene Prius.

‘The thing she meant by personal homework… So, it was to defeat Doom Prime.’

I suddenly became curious about those two.

Irene Prius, who had exceeded her rumours and mastered 5th-Class Master magic at only 16-years-old.

And Doom Prime, the magic swordsman who wielded the Sword of Brilliance and defeated this monster called Irene Prius every year to obtain victory.

If I were to fight against these magic geniuses who had shaken the foundation of the continent’s magic world,

‘…Could I win?’

I didn’t know.

Director Tiron said I was a hidden weapon, but I was still ‘someone they haven’t seen or heard of’.

A weakling that no one paid any attention to.

Right.

It was definitely like that until today.

However,

“Ruin! Now’s not the time for you to be here like this!”

“Eh?”

“The schedule for the 1st competition of the Grand Festival on the day of the opening ceremony was just announced.”

“……”

“Everywhere in Altein is noisy because they’re excited by the match list!”

It would change after tomorrow.

——