Black Iron Magician

「Light… spears…?」

The spectators, who got caught in the Glint Ball and are finally able to see again, are squinting at the light emitted by a large number of light spears. Their purpose is not to blind the opponent, but they are dazzling enough. On the other hand, Therese doesn’t turn her back on Chinatsu’s magic, but confronts it head-on.

(It’s the light spear that Chinatsu-san is good at desuwa. The number is 10 and I have confirmed in the previous exploration that it has considerable power… But, don’t think that this much can defeat me desuwa!)

Therese repositions her shield.

「Here I go, Staff Fortress Coalesce! Show me your true of true form!」

「T-true of true…?」

It’s the construction of the fortress that Therese showed in the Gibeon Ruins. The gray soil that emerged from the staff piled up on the surface of the shield, and then the staff fortress was created. However, it appears to be the same as before. Chinatsu doesn’t understand what Therese meant by the true of true form.

「Fufu, it seems that you can’t understand, Chinatsu-san. But don’t worry! This is where the Staff Fortress Coalesce will reveal its true of true form――」

―――― Whoosh!

Chinatsu suddenly shot her Glitter Lance. ‘She’s explaining right now, but I guess there’s an opening?’ she was attacking while thinking so. Although she felt guilty, she just thought that it can’t be helped since they are in the middle of a match. While causing a blast, the light spears pierced Therese’s shield and the stage around her.

「Ohohoho! My defense is perfect even when I’m talking. That’s me, Therese Batten desuwa! That was a good attack! Feel free to attack me even when I’m talking or laughing!」

However, Therese is unexpectedly unharmed.

「I knew about it, but you are tougher than I imagined…」

「That’s the best compliment desuwa. I’ve been analyzing my own strengths and devised strategies. There are still too many things I’m lacking, but I can say it with confidence that the toughness of my body is the best at the graduation festival and my mentality is close to Haruna-san!」

「That’s too much trouble.」

「Ufufu, then I’ll continue desuwa! This is a new secret technique of the Batten family that I devised! A new technique that I can do after I learned magic desuwa!」

At Therese’s words, the students in the surroundings suddenly make a commotion.

「M-Magic!? Did Prez say that she learned magic just now!?」

「N-No way… That Prez, who pushed aside everyone’s opposition and used all of her skill slots for defense, learned magic!?」

「Therese… Finally, you finally understand the importance of magic! Sensei is so happy…!」

The spectators who don’t know Therese well are having question marks on their heads, but the people involved in the academy are seriously surprised. Some teachers are so moved that they are crying.

「W-Well… So, what is Therese-san’s magic?」

Affected by the mood of the surroundings, Chinatsu unintentionally asked so.

「I’m glad you asked! Well then, everyone! Please look carefully!」

「Kuh…!」

Magic power swirls in the left hand of Therese. Sensing that something will happen, Chinatsu became even more vigilant.

「――Ment!」

「……!」

The left hand of Therese glows slightly.

「………」

「………?」

「Fuu…」

「…Eh? Eh, um… is it over?」

Therese smiled with satisfaction, so Chinatsu checked again for any abnormalities. But in the end, her detection skill didn’t seem to detect any magic that would come attacking her or one that would hinder her actions. Therese’s left hand certainly glowed faintly. However, there doesn’t seem any change.

「Err, what is Ment…?」

「You don’t know? Then, I will tell you. Ment is――」

――『Ment』. It’s earth magic that can be learned at level 1, a basic magic among basics. The effect is insignificant, giving a small amount of nutrients to the soil it touched, but since it can be learned at level 1 and earth magic is a hidden related skill of the job 『Farmer』, it is a magic that is in demand by those in that field. However, it is rarely useful in battle.

「T-Therese-san, don’t tell me…」

「Yes, that’s right. In order to prepare for this day, I polished my Staff Arts

using the training methods that Deris-san taught me. My efforts paid off, I managed to master it and my job leveled up. However, the schedule for the graduation festival was suddenly accelerated and I was busy with the management work―― so, I couldn’t even begin to train my earth magic! My earth magic still hasn’t reached even level 10…! My original plan was to visit the homes of the farmers around this time, giving them the potions and helping them by using this magic on their fields…! Also, I was planning to hold a community exchange potato stew party…!」

It seems that the negative effects of holding the graduation festival so early also showed up in this way. Chinatsu couldn’t solve Therese’s problem during the match and could only pity her.

「However! That didn’t make me disheartened! Using Ment, the only magic I learned, it led the Staff Fortress Coalesce to its true of true form――」

Therese explained that when she applied Ment to her beloved staff Coalesce, the soil that came out of the staff became of good quality and the durability increased slightly. It’s small, but it certainly increased. It’s something that she discovered by chance. Therese passionately talked that she used this as the beginning of her new self. At the end, she passionately talked that the Batten family’s heirloom connected them with their people.

「――That’s it!」

When the speech was over, the spectators erupted in applause. Many of them were deeply moved and stood up unintentionally, and the teachers were crying that they couldn’t see ahead because of tears. Are the spectators here to watch the match or to hear the speech? The situations became incomprehensible. Even Weerel, Deris, and Nell were dumbfounded by this.

(I-I ended up listening until the end…)

Chinatsu had resolved herself, but she couldn’t attack Therese in this situation. Even if she attacked, a half-baked one will be defended, and above all, she would receive booing from the spectators who were listening to Therese’s speech. This situation was quite difficult for Chinatsu.

「Um… Can I attack now?」

「Yes, please come with your all! I will take everything desuwa!」

Then, the match became the longest match of the graduation festival.

The attack from the wooden sword and light magic, which lack in means of attack, couldn’t deal decisive blows on Therese, and if she got too close, she would receive a painful counterattack by the shield bash. The match venue was also full of Therese’s air, and Chinatsu’s nerves were worn out with considerable momentum.

As for Therese, she was overwhelming in the war of words. But in the first place, there’s no way to catch up with Chinatsu in terms of status and she couldn’t land a hit with her shield. Even if she could, unless it’s a fatal wound, someone like Chinatsu could heal the wound instantly. There’s aim would be to defeat her with a single blow, but it was almost impossible for the cautious Chinatsu.

With all these factors, it’s inevitable that it was being an equal match. In addition, they didn’t have the means to get each other out of the stage. It took about 30 minutes since the match started. Therese could no longer withstand the minor damage she had accumulated and then fell to her knees on the stage. Then, she said her give-up declaration. The end of the heated battle was met with screams from some who had become fans, and cheers from those who were absorbed in watching.

「Wheeze…. A-As expected of Chinatsu-san. Please do your best for my sake too…!」

「Haa, haa… I’ll do my best…!」

The two of them shook hands while being out of breath. The spectators gave a standing ovation and applauded again.

「What the hell is this…?」

「This is… something I can’t imitate…」

Deris and Weerel unintentionally muttered so.