MTLNOVEL Chapter 9
Chapter 9
At six in the morning, Clarice, humming cheerfully, shook me awake and brought me to the Golden family's secret training ground while I was still in my pajamas.
It was an open space in a forest about thirty minutes by carriage from the hospital, surrounded by a ten-meter-high wall to prevent training from being seen. It was about the size of a baseball stadium, with trees dotted around, two-thirds of it flat ground, and the rest consisting of rocky and watery terrain. It seemed to be designed for various types of training.
"Why is it so heavily guarded?"
Even if it's called a secret training ground, isn't this wall overkill?
"If other families learn our techniques, it would be disastrous."
Clarice responded as if even this level of secrecy was insufficient.
"It would be disastrous if they found out?"
"Of course. It could affect the outcome of the Magic Battle Tournament."
"Are you going to participate in that Magic Battle Tournament too, Clarice?"
I asked, not really expecting it.
Then the old maid seemed to find it hilarious and began laughing—Oh ho ho ho ho, oh ho ho ho ho, oh hoh ho ho.
"O-oh, Miss! Someone like me, who can only use weak magic, could never participate. Well, I did try a few times in the general division when I was younger, but I lost in the first round every time. It was just youthful misjudgment. Oh ho ho—"
From there, Clarice's machine-gun talk about the Magic Battle Tournament began.
Apparently, the Magic Battle Tournament is held once a year, with a general division and a noble division. For nobles, it holds tremendous significance.
Incredibly, if you win in the noble division, you gain territory; if you lose, you lose territory.
In short, it's a battle-style game of territory capture.
The highlight is one-on-one magical duels, where the winner takes the loser's territory.
The Magic Battle Tournament features three events: "One-on-One," "Team Battle," and "Individual Performance." As a national-scale event, it apparently becomes a huge festival every year. New legends and heroes of the tournament are born annually.
Indeed, with your own territory on the line, it's only natural to become intensely passionate.
In modern terms, it's like competing over your salary and annual income.
It's exciting. Rather, I want to win no matter what it takes.
By the way, the legendary beauty Amy ranked in the top ten for "Individual Performance." She's stunning, kind, can use magic, and has a great figure. She's practically overpowered—a cheat.
As we talked, Clarice set up a long desk beside me, cheerfully carrying books from the hospital room in both hands.
She precisely recreated the arrangement from the hospital room, even laying down a sheet so the books wouldn't get dirty if they fell—attention to detail and quick execution. Could it be that Clarice is actually an incredibly competent maid?
"A maid's duty is to assist so that any research can be conducted smoothly."
"Now, Miss, please proceed without hesitation."
"Wah!"
Silently appearing next to Clarice was a man dressed as a cook, in pure white pants, shirt, and apron.
He looked middle-aged, with a deep scar on his cheek and sharp eyes, giving off an intimidating aura. He looked like someone who'd suit a black suit and sunglasses more than a white cook's outfit.
"I apologize, Miss. My husband insisted on coming along, so I had no choice but to bring him. If you dislike it, I will send him back immediately."
Her husband, huh.
"What are you saying, Clarice? I never insisted!"
The cook-yakuza—no, Clarice's husband—glared sharply at her.
"Who was the one sitting cross-legged at the entrance saying, 'I'm going too! I won't move unless you take me!' huh?"
"Ugh......"
"Why do you suddenly get so sharp about magic stuff, like Phantom Thief Zezemeri?"
"It's because you were so excited and asked me to make you a bento! Anyone would notice something's up!"
"I wasn't excited at all."
"You even hummed badly—how can you say that with a straight face?"
"You kept yelling, 'I'm going! I'm going!' like a child! Normally you act all high and mighty, saying things like 'I'm the world's best chef, Barry Damian!' Even though you're not the best!"
"What did you say?!"
"Stop it, both of you."
I stepped between the two arguing people.
No, to be precise, I didn't so much step in as wedge my thick body between them and pushed them apart.
"If you keep arguing, I'll have both of you leave."
"We're sorry."
"We're sorry."
Shunned, the two looked down.
Are you kids or something?
"Clarice, um, did you tell Barry about that thing?"
Judging from the conversation, Clarice's husband seems to be named Barry.
I've always been good at remembering people's names.
Being able to instantly recall and use someone's name is crucial for a salesperson. I taught the trick to many colleagues and juniors who struggled with it, but only a few ever managed to learn.
"I have not told him, as per our agreement, Miss."
The fewer people who know about the lightning spell, the better.
You never know where the information might leak from.
As I crossed my arms and thought, the intimidating Barry leaned in close to my face.
"Miss. I am a man who can do nothing but cook. No matter what training you are doing, I will keep it absolutely secret. Even under torture, I will not speak. Please, do not worry and proceed with your training."
For a moment, I thought he was swearing a yakuza-style oath and was startled, but Barry's eyes were dead serious.
When I looked at Clarice, she seemed to trust him on that point too, and gave a polite bow, saying, "It's fine."
"Alright, Barry. But you absolutely must not tell anyone. Not even when you're alone with Clarice—don't talk about the lightning spell. Got it?"
"Understood." Barry took off his chef's hat, placed it over his chest, and bowed his head. "I swear by Oath God Diagois to keep my promise."
"Very well."
I don't know who this Oath God is, but it felt like a vow that must not be broken, and Barry didn't seem like the type to break a promise, so I nodded, reading the mood.
I sat in the chair Clarice had prepared and opened the final page of the diary to review the spell for "Thunderbolt."
The soft morning sunlight illuminated the diary.
Clarice swiftly opened a parasol and stood nearby.
"Thunderbolt—separating the two fated to meet, the sky's fury descends from the heavens, transforming all emotions into dreams, returning the earth to its rightful form with a flash, and bringing truth to the beautiful miniature garden."
Just thinking I might be overwhelmed by that sensation again made me nervous.
I'm not the type to get nervous easily, but I felt a mix of excitement and anxiety at this unknown experience.
At just the right moment, Barry handed me some tea.
It was gently warmed to a perfect temperature.
I gratefully drank it all and stood up.
"Here I go."
I steeled myself, imagined that feeling of power surging through my whole body, and focused my mind.
"Um... Miss, your staff?"
"Don't need it."
I focused even more, inhaled, exhaled, inhaled, exhaled, and began the chant.
"Separating the two fated to meet——"
It felt different from yesterday. Controlling it was much easier.
Power surged from below my navel, slowly enveloping my whole body. With this, I could probably activate the spell even mid-chant.
Instantly realizing that, I stopped the chant midway, visualized lightning striking the ground about thirty meters ahead, and unleashed Thunderbolt all at once.
Crackle crackle crackle——
BOOM!
With a roar, Thunderbolt struck the ground, sending shockwaves and dust flying.
"It seems I don't need to finish the chant after all."
When I walked over to where Thunderbolt had landed, there was a hole big enough for Ellie to lie down and hide in. It was pretty powerful.
When I looked at Clarice as if to say "how about that," she and Barry were both trembling.
"O-o-o-o-o..."
With expressions of awe as if they'd seen their god, the two sank to their knees, crawled toward me, and grabbed the pants of my pajamas.
"M-M-Miss... how..." Clarice murmured.
"Miss! Miss!" Barry shouted.
The two looked up with tear-streaked, contorted faces.
"The lightning spell... it's divine..."
"Oboudaba! Oboudaba!"
Clarice and Barry were bawling with such force they seemed to be expelling every bodily fluid from their faces. Barry even had snot and drool dripping, looking like a defeated yakuza mourning a fallen comrade.
Both of them, forgetting themselves, kept tugging on my pajama pants.
I'm five seconds away from flashing my underwear!
Let go!
"And... without a staff!"
"Wifoutta staff!? Oboudaba!"
"Pants! Wait, the pants!"
They kept tugging forcefully and wouldn't stop bawling.
"No staff! Thunderbolt! Miss Elliiieee!"
"Bufyooozoa!"
"Stop! Hey!"
The two stretched their arms straight as they put their entire weight into tugging on the pajama pants.
Ugh! The pajamas are about to tear!
"Mish Elliebe... I... Iiiiii!"
"Bejoooozoaaaah!"
"Hey! Stop that! Ah!"
At last, the pajama pants were yanked down.
Overcome with emotion, the two buried their faces into the pants and wailed. Barry was so far gone, nothing he said made sense anymore.
A chubby girl, with her underwear fully exposed, had driven an old maid and a scary-looking chef to their hands and knees in tears.
From the outside, it was a terrifying scene.
"Clarice! Barry! Let go!"
"We won't let go, Miss!"
"Jubozubii!"
Struggling to get the yanked-down pants back, I flailed around, but maybe because I was fat, I ended up falling on my butt. Even so, the two gripped the pants tightly with both hands and refused to let go.
After five minutes of me kicking at their heads, telling them to stop, Clarice and Barry finally came to their senses.
"Both of you, sit down right there."
With my underwear still exposed, hands on hips, I scolded the magic-obsessed old maid and the scary-faced cook who were kneeling on the ground. They were deeply remorseful about their outburst, but the excitement of having witnessed the lightning spell firsthand didn't seem to fade—they still had stars in their eyes even as they were scolded.
I declared that if they did it again, I'd blast Barry with Thunderbolt until he was crackling. He leaned forward and shouted, "By all means!" I sighed.
Chirp chirp——
A refreshing morning breeze blew through the secret training ground, and little birds happily flew past the dangling underwear.
In front of the kneeling old maid and middle-aged man, a bird performed a courtship dance and then flew off somewhere.
"Anyway, Thunderbolt is a secret! Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
The two saluted for some reason while still sitting in seiza.
"So, there's something I want to ask you."