Volume 1 - CH 40

“… Haa…”

Once the dinner party was over, I practically ran away.

If the General actually comes over and talks to me, I could really die. I consider my days numbered from the moment I saw him.

“No, no, why am I being so pathetic?”

I was once one of the Great Three Demon Kings.

I should learn from Maki-chan and have the courage to take out the enemy even if I had to commit suicide and die together with him.

That said, my chances of winning against the Hero are probably a little better than the gambling tables. Though my MP has increased, I have lost nearly all the spirit contracts I had back when I was the White Sage. Recently, some spirits have sensed my power and come to me, but it is still reckless to go into a full-on battle with so few contracts.

Well, one of the more critical things I should probably do is to gauge just how strong he actually is now.

I press my hand against the wall of one of the many long hallways within the Royal Palace and take a deep breath, trying to calm my pounding heartbeat.

Just then.

I sense killing intent behind me, and a sudden spike in magical power.

“… !?”

An iron thread.

A fine thread with an iron tip soundlessly crept up and attacked me. However, Thanks to Fan Trom’s protecting me with its 180-degree field of view, the thread had been blown away by a fairly sharp gale.

“…”

At first, I thought it is the Hero coming for my life, but soon realised it is someone else.

“Who is it?”

A mage is hiding somewhere along this long corridor. Though I might look weird for calling out to someone in this empty-looking corridor, this is not the time to worry about such little details.

“Haha… so, it is true that Your Highness could use White Magic.”

“You are…”

A person appears from behind a marble pillar. It is Tommaso Esta, a famous Royal Mage. He must be one of the Queen Consort’s pets.

“… Tommaso. Are you still coming for my life? On the Queen Consort’s orders?”

“Fufu… Adalzeza-sama doesn’t intend to give up yet.”

“Surely there’s no point in killing me? It is all but decided that Honourable Uncle shall be king. Is it even worth the effort of biting me…”

Had the dinner party ruined the Queen Consort’s mood or something? I am a little, no, quite a bit annoyed by this situation.

Goodness.

I am really not in the mood to deal with this now.

“Fufu… Your Highness, you really shouldn’t be complacent just because you’ve learnt a bit of White Magic. Did you take up White Magic because you heard that it is powerful enough to destroy the technological weapons of enemy nations? Well, well, I supposed I should allow you to demonstrate the terrifying might of your magic. Although, I expect you shall die once you learn just how feeble your power is.”

“……”

Aaah, I hate this.

I am getting really angry now.

I am barely hearing Tommaso’s crappy villain lines. In fact, I don’t really hate Tommaso, he’s just annoying and has the worst timing.

Right now, the issue of General Kanon (aka the Hero) occupies most of my mind and mosquito-like beings such as Tommaso barely even register on my radar.

“Look, I’m sorry but I really don’t have time for this right now.”

Like a drop of water falling onto the surface of a quiet pond, magic ripples out of me. I have been doing my best to hide my magic and erase my existence as much as possible. However, I couldn’t care less about being careful right that moment.

He had found me, therefore, there is no point hiding anymore.

Tomasso’s relaxed smile suddenly drops and he is glancing around confusedly.

That annoying sluggish attitude is suddenly gone, replaced by fear and dread.

A cold line of sweat slips down his cheek.

“You did say it, did you not? That you wish to see the terrifying might of my magic? Well then, allow me to demonstrate.”

White Magic was my creation.

Right now, I am frustrated, annoyed and angry.

He is right here and as for me…

“First Magic Formation… Second Magic Formation… Third, Fourth Magic Formation open. Establishing Contractual Circuit… summon forth the Tenth Commandment… show yourself, Fan Trom!”

My right hand is held high above my head and countless magic circles form around me in an instant as I calmly summon the Spirits. These magic circles are the reward costs of summoning the Spirits I have contracted with.

“W-What…?”

An ordinary mage could only use one or two magic circles to summon Spirits. However, I can call up to 10 magic circles for a single Spirit. From the look on his face, it looks like he had never seen such a thing before.

When 10 magic circles are connected in a circuit, the Spirit it could summon would gain a divine form and become a terrifying existence. The gentle magic surrounding Wind Element Fan Trom transforms into something huge, strange, covered in light and radiating ominous magic.

This is the 10th Spirit form.

“Speaking of which, your Contract Spirit is the Golden Spider ‘Tarantella’, isn’t it? As far as I can tell, you have only accessed the 1st Summoning Stage. White Mages nowadays only understand the basics of Spiritual Contracting. Don’t you know? There are 10 Stages of Summoning.”

“Th-that… wh-what…? But, only one person in the whole of history could… could…”

Tommaso’s eyes must reflect myself and my Summoned Spirit. However, who exactly is he seeing?

I suppress the hollow feeling inside my chest and push my hand higher.

I know.

I know I should not use White Magic or Spirits in this way.

That is why I have been dabbling in ‘Magic that might as well be cheap tricks’ as Prince Ulysses.

I love the Spirits and love their sweet and cute little forms.

White Magic is Good.

I want this to remain true. I want it to remain a soft and gentle form of magic.

However, that can no longer be so. I shall have to start all over again.

The thought is hateful and terrible. With such terrible thoughts in my mind, I commandingly slash down my hand.

[Gumihou: Okay, that really escalated…]