What kind of cheat is that wand?
Well then, it has been three days since I made the wand. Now that my magic has recovered (it takes a long time to recover when you’re almost out of magical power), I’m thinking of sealing the wand.
This time, I won’t be sealing one magic spell, but I will be trying to seal all general incantations, so it will take some time, but I won’t need as much magical power as I needed to to make the wand.
“~~♪”
I chanted the incantations as if singing and sealed them into the wand. Then, the colorless magic sphere got tinged with color and the magical power circling within the wand sharpened. And when all was said and done, the colorless magic sphere was shimmering with various colors.
“Mhm… that’s pretty good, it looks like it worked.”
As I picked up the wand, I realized that this was beyond my imagination. My magical power, which was already high, has increased by at least 30%. Normally, I’d say that it shouldn’t increase even by 10%, but with the amount of magical power I have, 30% would be enough for several Sorcerers.
“Princess, may I ask you to spar with me now that your wand is completed?”
“Mr. Albert, I cannot shoot magic at people.”
It seems that someone was waiting for me to finish my wand. Mr. Albert is the leader of the kingdom’s royal guards, so he’s often by my father’s side. Sometimes, his eyes look dead, but he is said to be the second most powerful person after Father.
“Ha, ha, ha, I’m not so weak to be hurt by you, Princess.”
“I can’t do it.”
I don’t even have to think about it, I don’t want to aim my offensive magic at people, even if it’s just for training. If I fail to control my magic, I can easily kill people, and if Mr. Albert dies, I won’t be able to apologize to his daughter, Fier.
“You are still the same… However, this is a royal order from His Majesty. You don’t have the right to refuse. Princess, you are royalty so you need the power to protect yourself at the very least… no, you need to have the willpower.”
“… I understand.”
This is the first time that my father had come at me so forcefully. Now I understand why he has been strangely avoiding me since this morning. If he was around, I would ask him to cancel his orders, and he would do it because he’s too soft on me. That’s why he stayed away from me, so that I wouldn’t be able to refuse this royal order. I’m the second in line to the throne, but I’m in a position where I have to comply with the royal order, because if I refuse it, I’ll damage my father’s authority.
Mr. Albert and I came to the training grounds. The place looks like the Colosseum. It’s also the place where the biennial competition is held, so it’s quite spacious and there are even spectator seats.
“Well then, Princess. The condition is that you must connect at least one attack on me today or the sparring won’t end.”
How strict. I don’t get what my father is thinking since even my older brother wouldn’t be able to land a blow on him.
“Got it.”
But no matter how you look at it, Mr. Albert is serious. No matter how much I cry or scream, this training would never end. I don’t know what to do.
“Well then, let’s begin!”
The soldier acting as the referee announced the start, and Mr. Albert approached me at a speed that I could barely follow with my eyes. Although he was holding a training sword in his hand, the sword was still made from iron and it would definitely shatter my bones if it hit me.
“Protect.”
I managed to defend myself in time, but I was blown at least five meters together with my wand. It didn’t hurt but it was still bad since he didn’t hold back a single bit.
“Princess! Everyone is capable of defending themselves and even His Highness would come swinging at me without hesitation!”
“… Fireball.”
I cast a spell, but the fireball didn’t reach Mr. Albert as it disappeared instantly.I know the cause, it’s because I can’t concentrate.
“Princess! You won’t be able to end this like that!”
In the blink of an eye, Mr. Albert’s iron sword blew me away.
“Guh…”
It hurts, although it didn’t hurt before, the lack of concentration of my part weakened my Protect spell. I can’t be too careless, but even if I can’t use offensive magic, I’ll use other means to neutralize Mr. Albert.
“Light Ball.”
I waved my wand and flashed multiple light balls linked in a chain, stopping Mr. Albert’s movement.
“Bind my enemies with the power of the earth! Earth Prison.”
The uplifted earth caught Mr. Albert and buried him from the neck down.
“A great idea. But something of this deguuoooooh.”
“I won’t let you. Power of stars, seize my enemy and crush him with your power, Gravity Press.”
It seems that even Mr. Albert can’t move when I use intermediate magic that manipulates gravity to a limited extent. But I can’t move either, and if I make a mistake while using this spell, I would end up hurting Mr. Albert. There are spells on a level where Magicians need to concentrate so much that they cannot move, but Mr. Albert wouldn’t stop if I didn’t make use of these two spells. Namely the intermediate level Earth Prison with the strength of an advanced level spell, and the advanced level Gravity Press.
“Guuh, I can’t move! It’s my loss!”
“The victor of this match is Princess!”
I got rid of the magic when the referee declared my victory… the earth returned to its place and I made my way to Mr. Albert.
“Are you okay…?”
“Nugugu… as one would expect from His Majesty’s daughter. I never thought I would lose right from the start.”
“!! I will heal you right away so stay still.”
Mr. Albert had only some scratches, but he was injured nonetheless. I rinsed him off with magic and then healed his wounds.
“… Are you afraid of hurting people?”
“I am… people die too easily, after all.”
“You don’t have to look so pale, injuries of this extent are a daily occurrence for soldiers like me.”
“Wounds like these might get infected if left alone, so you cannot overlook them.”
This world’s medical care is based on magic, so the causes of diseases have not been researched thoroughly, which makes me nervous all the time. Father and brother are leaving their scratches alone, and the knights do not even clean it properly, letting it grow into serious illnesses which I have to heal every time.
“I apologize, but the morale of the knights is higher than usual thanks to your nursing, Princess. After all, it’s unheard of in foreign countries to be treated personally be their princess… no, it’s something that happens in our country, so the youngsters have been practicing in high spirits in hopes of meeting you, Princess.”
… This country’s knights are all fools. I will certainly heal their injuries, but they will be chased by the avatars of jealousy that are my father and older brother…
“It’s done. Please don’t forget that thoroughly cleaning your wounds with clean water when injured can make a difference.”
“Thank you very much. I will convey your thoughts.”
Saying that, Mr. Albert left the training grounds.
Albert’s Point of View
I bowed to the princess and left the training grounds’ arena and made my way towards the training ground’s royal seats, which were naturally accessible only to the royalty, so no sound would leak to the outside.
“Your Majesty, we have finished.”
I reported while performing a vassal’s bow.
“What do you think of Alicetia from what you have seen…”
“She’s honestly skilled, one of the spells was an intermediate level magic spell that was close to an advanced level magic spell in terms of power. The last spell was most likely an advanced level spirit magic. I don’t know how Princess knows, but she seems to realize how much power to exert to not hurt me. However, she was stubborn about not using offensive magic and stopped my movements instead, so if this was a battle against a magician on an equal level as the princess, she would surely lose.”
What is usually classified as advanced level magic is a spell that kills, heals, or supports, but that was different. If she used that magic on the battlefield without restrictions, she could kill hundreds, maybe even thousands at once. It was a tactical level spell no matter how you look at it, but it was controlled so as not to harm me, and as a result, the princess could not even move. If there was more than one enemy and she did that in a real situation, she would be in big trouble.
“I think so too… Alicetia being born in this era might have been a mistake. Her talent would shine more in time of peace, but how many inventions she made for the sake of the citizens and our country… many of them are still in the verification stages, but if they work as intended, our country will only get wealthier. But Alicetia is indifferent to the praise she should by all means receive, and dedicates her power to the country because she believes it is her duty as the royalty.”
That certainly might be true. The princess’ kindness and wisdom would be deserving of an era of peace, but… still.
“I am unable to discern Princess’ power. Her kindness and ideals have been strongly inherited from Your Majesty and Her Majesty the Queen, but she does not have the heart to fight. This might leave Princess open to be used by everyone around her.”
“That’s right… Alicetia might be actually afraid of herself. She was born with powers and responsibilities that are unfit of her small stature. However, because tremendous power only creates fear, she wants to protect the place where she belongs. She… she has been offering all of her wisdom because people won’t fear her if she’s useful to the country. But we can’t let her do so much! The country is important, but I cannot let my daughter abandon herself for it…”
Saying that, His Majesty slammed his fist into the table. The wooden table couldn’t withstand the blow of the man who was renowned as the strongest and broke into pieces.
Even I can understand His Majesty’s feelings a little. We might potentially get too reliant on the princess, and as a result, she will rush her life. To show off her value… but.
“Princess herself doesn’t seem to realize, but there is no one in this country that is afraid of her. Princess will treat anyone who gets injured. The townspeople are always looking forward to Princess’ visit.”
In fact, Princess is very popular both in town and in the Knights Order. She is proud of her birthrights, but that is because she respects her family and as such, she shows no fragments of arrogance. She doesn’t forget to be polite and show gratitude regardless of her superior status. The reports of her helping those in need often reach my place.
“Yeah, I better talk with Alicetia a little… sorry, I have placed you in a role that might get you resented by Alicetia.”
“If I had to say, I think she’s more upset with you than me.”
We have been together for a long time. I have served His Majesty since the time he was still an adventurer, so I can sometimes get talkative like this.
“Nuu… did she not come to hate me? What do I do!! I can’t continue living if I get hated by Alicetia! If that time comes, I will abdicate to carry out favor with her.”
“That will make her even angrier. Abandoning your responsibilities is what will infuriate Princess the most.”
“Nugugu…”
“Now then, there’s one more problem.”
There’s one more thing that’s bothering me which I have to report to His Majesty.
“Hm?”
“It’s about Princess’ wand.”
It’s normally impossible to use advanced level magic in close combat. The incantations of such spells are considerably long so you need to be protected by allies while chanting, but Princess’ incantations were either pathetically short or even chantless.
“That thing, huh… I don’t understand it quite well either, but she did not seal magic but incantations instead. It can apparently shorten the incantations of all general spells.”
“I advise to not show that wand too much to the public, or it will catch the sight of some fool…”
Only other magicians could deal with that much magic being cast in such a short amount of time. And it’s not just a wand, by the looks of it. That wand has an intimidating feel to it, like a dragon was right in front of you. Even if you don’t use it against others, they could read its structure.
“No problem, no one except Alicetia can touch that wand to begin with. She herself said that she did not intend it, but it appears to have some kind of a defensive mechanism that even I got electrocuted when I tried to hold it.”
“Huh?”
A defensive mechanism on a wand? Is it some kind of permanent magic?
“Alicetia said it was the Spirit of Earth’s doing.”
The princess certainly has spirits around her, but were spirits beings that did things of their own accord like this? To my knowledge, spirits obey those who they grant a blessing, but I’ve never heard of a spirit doing anything so selfish.
“It appears that it’s not only Alicetia that is an oddball, even the spirits around her are strange.”
I and His Majesty both let out a sigh. It has always been the case that the princess was doing something with the spirits, but we may have made a mistake with her education.