MTLNOVEL Chapter 13 - You Pass
With the sound of clicking heels,
A red-haired bob-cut girl appeared at the entrance of the Inspection Headquarters.
Her identity was none other than Ead Ferche, the Inspection Department team leader who had returned after carrying out a blood purge in a count’s family.
“It’s been two weeks. Ahem ahem.”
After clearing her throat a couple of times, Ead, with her hands behind her back, entered the headquarters.
Among people moving quickly, Ead moved exceptionally slow~ly.
For reference, Ead herself was walking at full speed.
But due to her short stature, no matter how fast she walked, she couldn’t help but be slower than others.
Click clack.
Chubby cheeks, cute face, tiny figure.
Wrapped up in high-heeled shoes and a black coat, she looked like a young lady from a noble family.
Anyone might be tempted to smile and speak to her.
Yet no one passing through the Inspection Headquarters corridor dared to do so.
Or more accurately, they couldn’t.
Everyone pretended not to see Ead with clouded eyes and gritted teeth.
Of course, not everyone pretended not to see.
“Little one~ This isn’t a place for children.”
A male rookie from the Support Department who had recently joined the Inspection Team spoke to Ead.
“Oh my.”
“Oh dear.”
People around sighed and quickly left their spots.
“Little one?”
Ead silently stared at the man in front of her.
As the man was puzzled by this,
“Get lost.”
“??”
Such words come from that face?
The man was flustered.
However, the male rookie who spoke to Ead.
Isn’t this the time when his shoulders are high with pride at becoming a member of the Imperial Inspection Team?
How dare you… talk back to an adult?
The man decided to give this young girl a good scolding.
“Little one. Where did you learn such rude words..”
Ead frowned and swung her tiny left hand sharply.
Swoosh! Bang!
Something that sliced through the air collided with the wall.
The man’s pupils dilated greatly.
Then, what his eyes saw when he looked back was.
A flaming sword stuck in the wall.
As Ead pulled her hand as if snatching a ball, the flaming sword stuck in the wall moved on its own and returned behind her.
Ead, who retrieved the sword, leisurely disappeared beyond the corridor.
The flaming sword followed behind her, maintaining a certain distance.
“Crazy..”
These were the words the man uttered after Ead disappeared.
A moment later, the Support Department chief in charge of building management discovered the sword mark on the wall and screamed.
Which bastard did this!
The Inspection Department team leader..
Ah.. I see?
It was a few days after this that Inspection Department Team Leader Ead encountered Loen on her way to work.
“She’s a kid, so she came holding an adult’s hand. Is there a problem?”
Loen’s answer following Ead’s words.
Silence fell in the Inspection Department office.
The seniors tightly shut their mouths and buried their heads in their desks.
No problem.
Loen said inwardly.
Of course, outwardly she kept her mouth shut.
Ead looked up at Loen and said.
“Since we came to work together so nicely, shall we have a personal interview?”
“Yes..”
“Follow me, Loen.”
Team Leader Ead turned and left the office.
Loen tilted her head.
If it’s an interview, why are we going outside..?
Ria and Gilbert raised their heads at the word ‘interview’.
And they met each other’s eyes.
We thought she’d cause a scene…
But she’s starting with an interview?
“Let’s follow.”
“Good idea.”
Team Leader Ead’s personal interviews are interviews in name only.
In reality, they’re closer to ‘skill checks’.
Ead Ferche, who pursues extreme efficiency.
There’s only one thing she expects from team members.
Strong power.
Even the mighty authority of the Inspection Department can only be wielded if one has power.
That’s why Ead held the principle that members of the Inspection Department should have power befitting their position.
‘I’ll see if they’re qualified to dare call me a kid.’
This was also the reason why Ead didn’t cause a scene.
If they pass the standard, she’ll let it go, but if they don’t…
Well.
Click clack.
Loen, Ria, and Gilbert followed Team Leader Ead as she crossed the corridor.
Meanwhile, the department head coming out of his office encountered them.
“Team Leader Ead? Where are you taking your team members so early in the morning?”
Ead nodded her head towards the department head.
“I’m on my way to have a personal interview with the rookie.”
“I’ll come along.”
“..?”
The department head joined the group hurriedly upon hearing the word ‘interview’.
I can’t be the only one to suffer.
What’s with the department head?
A question arose in Ead’s mind.
The group, which suddenly grew to 5 people, slowly headed to the training ground matching Ead’s pace.
Before entering the training ground, Ria whispered to Loen.
“Loen, with your strongest magic.”
“Pardon?”
Ria patted Loen’s shoulder and gave her an expectant look.
Loen was somehow reminded of the time she headed to the training ground following the department head.
What’s this? The situation seems similar to that time?
Ead and Loen stood facing each other in the center of the training ground.
Ead, with her hands behind her back, raised her chin and spoke.
“Loen. I hear you repelled a 5-star magician in one go?”
As soon as Ead finished speaking, two flaming swords appeared in mid-air.
The swords drew small circles around Ead, scraping the ground.
Scrape.
Eventually, a round circle surrounding Ead was drawn on the ground.
“If you push me outside the circle, I’ll forgive the rudeness you committed on your way to work. If you fail to push me out. You’d better look forward to it.”
Ead said with a fierce smile.
The seniors tightly shut their mouths.
To hold back the laughter trying to escape.
The department head looked at the team leader and the circle drawn on the ground with a wistful gaze.
It should be drawn wider.
“Understood.”
After answering Ead’s words, Loen increased the distance further.
The first meeting with the team leader that went awry.
‘I mean, I didn’t know the person who bumped into the car would be the team leader. This is too forced.’
But what can I do.
Since it’s come to this.
I have no choice but to do my best at this opportunity.
“I need some time for casting, is that alright?”
“Take as much as you need.”
Loen glanced up slightly.
The height is sufficient.
Loen, who started casting magic while drawing all the magical power in her body.
She closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
She imagined a ‘spear’ in her mind.
A long spear that would pierce through everything.
As always, she imbued the gathered magical power with light and dark attributes.
Next, property assignment.
Concentration, to make the magical density harder.
Summoning, for the spear to appear in mid-air and fall down under the force of gravity.
Finally, she added impact and penetration properties to further enhance the mass and penetrating power of the magical spear.
As the property assignment was nearing completion.
A magical storm whirled around Loen.
The magical power condensed beyond its limit broke through her body and disturbed the surrounding air.
“Hmm.”
The department head let out a groan.
Is this magic used by a 4-star magician? It’s absurd.
“At this level, isn’t she really a world tree in a greenhouse?”
“You shouldn’t say such things about people.”
Ria and Gilbert also whispered.
Lastly, Team Leader Ead Ferche, who had to block Loen’s magic.
The smile disappeared from her face.
The chin she had raised high returned to its original position.
She also released her hands from behind her back.
Ead moved her hands to cross the two floating flaming swords in an X shape.
At that moment.
Loen opened her eyes wide, raised one hand high towards the sky, and shouted.
“Judgment.”
A huge spear about 3-4 meters long was summoned above Loen.
A magical spear rippling in gray, with light and dark attributes mixed.
Then, as Loen brought her hand down, the huge spear plunged down like lightning towards Ead.
A loud explosive sound rang out as Ead’s flaming swords collided with the spear Loen created.
The power struggle between the spear and swords continued.
The two swords slowly being pushed back.
The spear advancing little by little.
Ead, who had been quietly watching this scene, suddenly bowed her head deeply.
“Well, this.”
Ead’s shoulders, with her head bowed, shook.
Everyone’s gaze focused on her.
Why is she doing that?
Meanwhile, the spear continued to push back the swords and advance little by little towards Ead.
Suddenly, laughter burst out of Ead’s mouth.
Her laughter spread in all directions, piercing through the collision sound of the spear and swords.
It’s beyond expectations?
Ead, who had been laughing as if sobbing, abruptly raised her head.
Then she strongly clenched and crossed her two hands.
The flaming swords then burned as brightly as the sun and instantly cut Loen’s spear into three pieces.
Loen’s spear, having lost its momentum, finally turned into particles and scattered into the air.
“Eh?”
“??”
Question marks floated above everyone’s heads.
Wasn’t she just defending?
She’s suddenly getting serious?
“…”
Ead, who had stopped laughing by now.
She looked at Loen and announced the result.
“You. Pass.”
The department head who heard those words thought inwardly.
Crazy woman.
After the team leader’s skill check ended, Loen was dragged to the department head’s office.
“You’re going to have a hard time from now on.”
“Pardon?”
“It seems Team Leader Ead has taken a liking to you.”
“Ah..”
By the way, after the inspection dispatch, the department head’s perception of Loen had completely flipped 180 degrees.
From an arrogant noble’s child running wild with family influence,
To a rookie with deep loyalty to the empire and capability.
The biggest cause for this change in perception was her achievements during the inspection dispatch.
Especially the part about repelling a high-ranking official of the Red Band touched the department head’s heart.
Since the department head had never hidden his hatred for the Red Band, this incident greatly changed his perception of Loen.
Thanks to this, the department head even made jokes he usually wouldn’t, showing friendliness to Loen.
“More than that, you should be careful when going around now. Assassins sent by the Allied forces might attack you.”
The department head gave a compliment disguised as a joke about achieving results worthy of the Allied Nations’ attention.
The problem is that Loen didn’t notice the change in the department head’s perception at all.
Loen took the department head’s words at face value.
What? Assassination?
I need to be careful when going around from now on?
Her expression naturally hardened.
The department head looked at her with satisfaction.
Not even a hint of change in expression.
Is this saying the Allied Nations are none of my business?
That’s right. A rookie in the Inspection Department should have this much spirit.
The department head who once disliked her for being arrogant now liked her for being spirited.
“And there’s one piece of good news. The director has granted you reward leave.”
“!!”
The department head continued.
“You must have accumulated a lot of fatigue as the matter grew bigger than expected, so take a few days off to rest and recover.”
“I understand.”
Loen, who came out of the department head’s office.
“Sudden leave, huh.”
This worked out well.
I was planning to visit my family home anyway.
After experiencing the incident at Viscount Felon’s territory,
She keenly felt the need to become stronger.
Of course, it’s true that she easily defeated the Knightly Order and the elf magician at that time.
However, the reason this was possible was…
Because the opponents let their guard down.
What if the knight commander had attacked straight away without unnecessary words?
If she had faced off directly with the elf magician who had dual casting ability?
“I would have lost. With quite a high probability.”
It’s the same with the match against Team Leader Ead.
Although the team members were surprised by Judgment, that was only possible because the team leader waited.
In a real situation, her head would have been cut off by flying flaming swords before she could do anything.
Anyway.
Despite quite some time passing since reaching 4-star, the path to 5-star magician is still not visible.
Then, the immediate way for me to become stronger is…
Dual casting.
To learn that ability.
It’s not something anyone can learn just because they want to, but..
I should at least seek advice from father.
Therefore.
Loen decided to visit her family home to see her family’s faces and seek advice on ‘dual casting’ from her father.