Grimoire Master Ch. 148

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7178ek/152/

Happy Thanksgiving folks.

 

Chapter 14
Section 12: Duel

I pushed the other students who had gathered around the sports grounds aside and forced my way to the front of the pack. 

[Iris]: “E-Excuse me!! Please let me through! Pardon me!!” 

I could just barely make it out from Litzreich’s room. Two people were standing at the center of the grounds. That was definitely Lou-chan and Grides-san.

[Iris]: “Excuse me! That’s my friend in there!”

These girls had been listening to Lapris’s stories so zealously. Now that somebody was having a duel, they couldn’t help but to rush over so they could watch.

(Aren’t noble ladies meant to have more graceful hobbies than this!?)

My image of what an aristocratic lady is has undergone a tremendous evolution since I first started attending this school.

[Iris]: “L-Lou-chan!!”

After forcing my way through the crowd, I finally managed to see Lou-chan standing at the center of the circle. She was holding a book underneath her arm and was staring at Grides-san who stood about a dozen meters away.

A wind blowing through the field brushed through her hair as she stood straight up.

“Ah, Calvafon-san! You came.”

Turning next to me I found some of the girls from my class standing nearby. They all looked about as worried as I was.

[Iris]: “Haa, Haa……. What……is going on? Why is Lou-chan dueling Grides-san…….?”

“I-I’m not sure. Just as I was about to board my carriage, I heard Konfiks-san start yelling in the courtyard…….”

“It seems like Grides-san insulted Konfiks-san. She is from a baron’s family, and apparently Grides-san was ridiculing her for it.”

“I heard it was Calvafon-san that was insulted, and it made Konfiks-san furious.”

Yeah, I can’t really understand what everyone is saying if you all talk at once. But I could tell that they were all sincerely worried for Lou-chan. Honestly, everyone is so kind.

[Odette]: “From here on, we shall commence with the duel between Lu Voux Konfiks and Grides Montifi. I, Eleonora Academy teacher Odette, will bear witness.”

[Iris]: “Eh…..Sensei? She isn’t going to stop this?”

I thought Odette-sensei would surely come and put an end to this, but she seemed more than happy to stand at the side and officiate their duel.

“Once a duel has begun, nobody, not even the people themselves, have the right to stop it.”

“Once a duel has been declared, if the other party accepts, it cannot end until a conclusion has been reached.”

[Iris]: “Eh…….”

What is that? Is this kind of thing normal in the world of nobles? As the daughter of a bookstore owner, it’s a world I cannot understand.

And yet that world is now spread out before me now. And one of the people involved is my friend. There is no way I can walk away and pretend this has nothing to do with me.

[Odette]: “The reason for the duel is because of disparaging comments Grides Montifi made about Iris Calvafon’s birth. After demanding she retract those statements, Lu Voux Konfiks applied for a duel which Grides Montifi accepted. Does either party wish to refute these circumstances?”

[Lou]: “No”

[Grides]: “It is all as you say.”

So I really was the cause of all this. That timid Lou-chan is now staring down Grides-san. She no longer looks like the small animal I met my first day here.

[Odette]: “If Lu Voux Konfiks wins, Grides Montifi will withdraw her previous comments and apologize.”

[Grides]: “Agreed”

[Odette]: “And in return……I’m sorry, but as your teacher, I must ask you again Konfiks-san……are you sure about this?”

Odette-sensei looked to get confirmation from Lou-chan.

[Lou]: “Yes. It doesn’t matter.”

And Lou-chan nodded her head without hesitation.

[Odette]: “…….I understand…… Then, should Grides Montifi win this duel…….”

Odette-sensei on the other hand looked at a loss over what to do. However after a moment passed, she finally finished what she was going to say.

The condition that would make the referee Odette-sensei hesitate and even ask for secondary confirmation is……

[Odette]: “Then Lu Voux Konfiks will leave this school.”

[Iris]: “What……..”

The same exact word passed through my and my upset classmates’ mouths. 

[Grides]: “For you, a mere baron to be trying to get an earl like me to bow my head. I would call you insane if you weren’t prepared for at least this level of risk. I will confirm it one more time, but you are prepared for this yes?”

[Lou]: “Of course. There is no point in me staying in this school if I can’t stop someone from making fun of my friend.”

[Grides]: “……Hmph. Odette-sensei. You heard her. Now, let’s get this over with.”

Grides-san was also holding a book in her hand. The both of them are witches. It’s easy to guess that they’re spellbooks. 

[Odette]: “……this duel is not to the death. If one of you surrenders, the other will immediately stop. Also, as the duel’s witness, I will reserve the right to decide when it becomes meaningless to continue further. In that case, you will both immediately stop fighting as well. You understand?”

[Grides]: “Yes”

[Lou]: “I do”

[Odette]: “……well then, fight on with no regrets, putting your sense of justice and pride on the line.”

Odette-sensei raised her hand into the air.

From this point forward, the duel between these two will begin. Everything is moving forward so fast I can barely comprehend it. All I could do was stand there and watch together with my other classmates.

[Odette]: “Begin!”

Both of them moved as the signal went off.

[Lou]: “Awe-inspiring knight of wind who overlooks the world. Penetrate my foes upon your proud spear!!”

Lou-chan was the first one to make a move.

Quickly reciting her aria, Lou-chan raised her spellbook and shot out a bolt of purple lightning from her hand towards Grides-san. 

[Grides]: “Hard and tall rock castle walls, rise up and protect me from harm.”

But after Grides-san finished her own aria, a mound of rock and soil rose up in front of her and broke the lightning apart.

The rock wall quickly crumbled away after it had done its job. And this time, Grides-san began casting her own spell first.

[Grides]: “Continuously tranquil, who quickens the stream into a raging river?”

[Iris]: “――!?”

I know that spell. It’s the wind spell I failed to cast during my very first day of magic training.

[Lou]: “Hard and tall rock castle walls, rise up and protect me from harm.”

Noticing the same thing as me, Lou-chan cast a spell and created her own earthen barrier.

[Grides]: “Ooh, will you abandon thy name and memories of the past? Then give them to me. That precious name……..shall be called to life!!”

Lou-chan always scores highly in her magic classes. According to Lapris, she has more mana than most other hyurians and is very skilled at handling it.

In fact, the barrier she just made looked perfectly crafted. It surrounded her on all sides, and it would be difficult to break through.

[Grides]: “Connected with rusted chains, wind’s sharpened blades, mince my enemies!!”

But, Grides-san continued her aria and put even more magic power into her spell. Then, after finishing her chant, a storm of wind blades blew through the air the same way it did during class.

“KYAaaaa!!”

“T-This wind……is so strong!!”

Even us, who were standing a distance away from the fighting, felt like we were about to be blown away from the wind.

And that wind was now chipping away at the wall Lou-chan built.

I turned my gaze towards Odette-sensei.

She was silently watching as the duel continued on. She didn’t have any intentions on stopping this just yet.

[Lou]: “Awe-inspiring knight of wind who overlooks the world. Penetrate my foes upon your proud spear!!”

Lou-chan wasn’t out of this fight yet. 

Opening her spellbook for the first time, she repeated the same spell she had started off with. 

[Lou]: “Reach out to me from the far off sky. Lend me your brave and noble spirit”

[Grides]: “…….”

Grides-san looked at her and frowned. She then opened her own spellbook and turned a couple of pages. 

“Konfiks-san and Grides-san are fond of using wind and earth element spells. So Grides-san’s spellbook must consist of one of those elements.”

Each spellbook holds a dozen different spells inside its pages. We all waited with bated breath to see what kind of spell Grides-san would choose.

[Grides]: “O wild progenitor of life. That what comes forth from you.”

“Fire!?”

One of my classmates shouted out their surprise. And it wasn’t just her, but even Odette-sensei looked as if she couldn’t believe what was happening.

[Grides]: “Heh, I can’t have you thinking I’m only able to use two magical attributes forever now.”

We only had to hear Grides-san’s voice in response to our amazement to know that she was smiling right now.

[Grides]: “Cross the far off seas to where humans dwell and grant us our small desire.”

Flames began mixing together with the still howling wind that had already worked itself up into a tornado.

“Konfiks-san!! Hurry!! Before Grides-san is able to finish her spell!!”

[Lou]: “Uu……with hundreds of your courageous spears, my enemies.……”

Casting a powerful spell means dealing with a longer aria and increasing the quality and quantity of the mana you are putting in to the spell.

Lou-chan is an excellent witch. However, Grides-san is better at increasing and kneading together her magic power.

[Grides]: “Too late”

Grides-san finished casting her spell. Her mana was converted into flames, and those flames literally exploded outwards.

The sweltering flames coiled around and whipped outwards along with the violent winds and accelerated the rate at which Lou-chan’s wall was being chipped away.

[Lou]: “Aa……Aaa……”

Until now, Lou-chan had continued trying to mold together her mana without ever breaking her concentration. But at the very end, a flicker of hesitation crossed her face.

Maybe she was trying to decide whether she should continue forward with her attack or rebuild her barrier. 

Either way that hesitation delayed the completion of her spell.

And the result…..

[Odette]: “That’s enough!”

Just as the fire and wind burst through the wall completely, Odette-sensei shouted out.

In that instant, the pillar of flames was snuffed out. Grides-san herself had managed to completely erase her spell.

[Grides]: “……it is my win.”

Grides-san declared her victory.

[Lou]: “Aah, uu…..”

It was in stark contrast to Lou-chan who had fallen to her knees.

I couldn’t stand by any longer, so I ran toward her.

Chapter 147 ⊥ Chapter 149