Genius Wizard Conceals His Origins

“A feint strategy?”

“Yes. Currently, we’re about eight or nine people short, and it seems realistically difficult to catch up with this score difference with this number of people.”

“Alright, explain this strategy of yours in more detail.”

“I’ll personally eliminate the enemy king.”

“What?”

“When a king eliminates the enemy king, it’s an immediate victory. We’ll use this rule to form a small team of three or four people. I’ll be part of it and directly eliminate the enemy king.”

“You mean to switch to offense to create a disturbance and secretly deploy the small team during that time?”

“Exactly. Since it’s a victory regardless of the score, it doesn’t matter if it’s a reckless offense. We can afford to be eliminated as much as needed.”

“Hmm… Alright. I think the strategy itself is fine. But one thing.”

Johannes held up one finger.

“We didn’t choose not to use that strategy, we couldn’t use it. How are you going to eliminate the enemy king? Junior Julia won’t be an easy opponent, you know.”

I quietly answered.

“Julia… She’s not good at using magic.”

With that, the conversation concluded. My plan had been adopted.

And now.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah. We weren’t detected.”

The infiltration was successful.

I could hear the sound of faction students reciting activation phrases nearby. It was evidence that we hadn’t infiltrated very far yet.

But the route we chose was the relatively low-lying hillside.

We managed to break through the enemy front line without being detected by anyone.

But it was too early to rejoice.

“Now the real operation begins. Eugene, stay alert. If you get taken out, we lose for sure.”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

Right after, the three soldiers and I began our search operation.

Befitting the Federal University of Magic, which occupies the largest site in Frauzen, the hill behind the campus is not an ordinary mound.

Therefore, even though we broke through the front line, the king wasn’t immediately visible.

“They’ll probably be relatively close so as not to be vulnerable to surprise attacks, but hidden.”

It was just as he said.

At least to the naked eye, she was hardly visible.

Since the formation had been reset once, the scout’s information had also become useless.

Had she already moved? In the place the scout had pointed out as where he found the king, there were only a few footprints left instead of people.

Among those footprints, I found one unique mark.

A small, round mark.

It was the trace of a cane being pressed.

“…”

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Let’s go forward again. The formation must have been pulled forward…”

Following his words, I resumed my halted steps.

As befitting an ambush team, we advanced while muffling our footsteps and repeatedly taking cover here and there.

Bang and BABAM sounds echoed from far away. It seemed the front lines of both sides were still engaged in fierce battle.

We need to find the king before our allies are completely wiped out.

With the mindset of a hunter tracking its prey’s footprints, I slowly moved forward, following the footprints and cane marks.

After advancing a few dozen yards like this…

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

“These bastards, it seems they’ve moved the king’s position too much.”

Over how many yards of range are these traces left now?

My expression turned serious.

Julia’s [Walk Assistance] magic is not yet perfect.

Since there wasn’t enough time to practice operating it instinctively like a normal person’s gait, she’s probably still taking steps half-consciously.

It wouldn’t be easy to move around this much on such uneven terrain as a mountain.

Moreover, Julia can walk, but she’s not capable of free movement. I knew this fact well.

Hadn’t I seen with my own eyes her collapsed near the library?

I felt strange.

“…I need to end this match quickly.”

When I muttered that…

“—[Shoot]! Alright, got him!”

An ally, who had been scouting ahead while spread out, shouted in joy.

Then, he shouted at us.

“That guy, he was guarding the king but seems to be heading to the front line for reinforcement! The king must be nearby!”

“Great! Eugene, focus on defense for now, I’ll call you when we find the king.”

The remaining soldiers beside me also began to spread out one by one. 

It was certainly good news. [Only on Galaxy Translations! / Axiomatic]

If I could just eliminate Julia now, it would be an immediate victory for the Silver Arrow faction.

But.

Why do I feel so uneasy?

That feeling made me move my feet.

While the three allies started investigating every rock shadow and high ground they could find, I instead went down to the low-lying trail.

I first searched places where it would be common to sit and replenish energy rather than hide.

Not long after, I was able to find Julia before the three allies.

“Ah.”

A short exclamation escaped involuntarily.

Julia was lying face down in the middle of a thicket, her brown hair scattered.

At first glance, it looked like she had fallen.

…But without moving at all.

<…Hmm.>

Blink.

She opens her eyes. The surroundings are mountains with trees and thickets.

Right now, she was completely alone. All four or so guards had rushed forward to support the front line.

She sat down in the thicket, having no more strength to walk.

She had only intended to pretend to participate, but to think it would become this strenuous…

She must have been too excited.

In the scent of greenery, feeling the sweat flowing like a waterfall soaking her front…

Julia Müller heaved a deep sigh.

“No one knows…”

It wasn’t an intentional sigh. Her heart rate was dangerously high, and she exhaled rapid breaths.

Yet she continued her thoughts.

It was literally true. No one knew about the Müller family.

If she had said this in front of people, they would have all tilted their heads in confusion.

After all, people praising the Müller family as one of the top three prestigious families in Frauzen or lauding Klaus Müller’s research achievements were everywhere.

However.

Klaus Müller is a neglectful parent who has no intention of coming out of his study or laboratory, whether some faction runs wild using his name or his daughter does something with a strange man.

Wilhelm didn’t know that Julia Müller was a problem child who couldn’t even use basic magic, let alone walk, until just a month ago.

The funny thing is that Julia also doesn’t know her father.

Would he really stay cooped up in his lab even if he heard that his daughter had collapsed?

She made a rough prediction.

Maybe about 50-50.

Even that was funny. One might think what father would stay still when told his child had collapsed, but the probability was close to half.

He probably didn’t even know yet that Julia had become able to walk.

So, instead, Julia recalled the image of another person.

The image of a young man who had lifted her up countless times when she was about to fall.

That gray-haired young man knows her. He knows that she’s a bundle of pretense with a twisted personality and that she is a problem child who can’t use magic.

“…”

Last time, when I was in the library.

You nonchalantly reached out your hand and lifted me up.

Will you do the same this time?

As she harbored such thoughts, Julia’s eyes lost focus.

I found the king.

However, I didn’t fire a [Shoot] spell right in her face as per the original plan. Because the king had already fallen.

In the end, it came to this.

“…Damn it!”

I immediately ran to the thicket and turned Julia’s fallen body face up.

Then, I checked her condition.

Unconscious.

Rapid, weak breathing.

Ice-cold hands.

Is it a simple faint or a blackout? If I could judge that, I would have dreamed of being a doctor, not a magic scholar.

The only thing certain was that her condition looked quite bad.

My mind was racing.

I’m not a doctor. Therefore, the only medical knowledge I had was disease names written in an encyclopedia published decades ago. Fainting due to anemia. Asthma attack. Strange conditions arising from heart and brain problems…

I don’t know which one it is.

But I knew how to deal with it.

I remembered the head maid’s request.

Emergency medicine.

I don’t know what medicine to give her, nor can I shove medicine into the mouth of an unconscious person.

No. Before that, I didn’t bring any.

“Then…”

The infirmary.

Without hesitation, I supported Julia’s thighs and back and lifted her body.

Around that time, the three allies who had returned empty-handed looked towards me and shouted.

“Huh? That’s the king!”

“Be quiet.”

“Did you eliminate her? If not, hurry and do it! The front line is almost completely wiped out, and about a dozen are rushing this way!”

I shouted.

“Be quiet!”

Only then did the three become dumb as oysters and opened their eyes wide.

They seemed to roughly understand the situation.

“D-Did she collapse?”

Without the leisure to answer, I just nodded roughly, then passed through the gap between the three people. They let me go without even thinking of stopping me.

Where should I go?

The infirmary is right next to the main hall.

The fastest route was to go down the slope, but it was such a steep incline that if I took a careless step, we’d end up rolling down.

Should I use [Levitation]? No. Although convenient, it’s too slow, and there are two people. If we fall midway due to magical power depletion, it would be a disaster.

My footsteps naturally headed towards the path prepared for those leaving the battlefield. That was the safest and fastest route.

The path was decided.

I kicked off the ground.

“Damn it, it was a feint?”

“That’s what I’m saying! The king isn’t in their formation! They’ve sent everyone to the front line except for a few.”

“ This is it. They’ve pinned their hopes on this.”

The melee had ended.

The Silver Arrow soldiers were completely wiped out. However, 17 Black Shield faction members had survived.

They were all rushing back to their formation together.

They had just nearly annihilated the Silver Arrow formation. Victory was almost certain, but the fact that there was still a possibility of defeat made them anxious.

It was then.

“…What’s that?”

Just as they were running towards their formation, there was a figure charging towards them from the opposite direction.

They were running towards each other.

The speed at which they were approaching was very fast.

Soon, most of the faction students identified who it was.

“It’s the gray-haired one!”

“…Wait. He’s carrying someone?”

“Who cares? Shoot!”

Someone shouted.

At the same time, more than a dozen people began to recite the [Shoot] activation phrase.

“Wait. Something’s off!”

A few people who still had some discernment looked at the front in confusion.

“The person that gray-haired guy is carrying is that Julia Müller?”

The muttered voice was drowned out by the sound of [Shoot] being cast just before it reached those around.

Fwoosh—!

Twelve beams of light rushed toward Eugene.

It takes about five seconds to cast [Barrier]. Until the beams had flown a considerable distance, Eugene showed no sign of casting magic.

We’ve eliminated the king.

Just as the Black Shield faction people’s lips curled into smiles filled with such certainty.

BABABABAM—!

An explosion erupted.

Not the characteristic dull impact sound of [Shoot] hitting a body, but the distinctive noise of being blocked by [Barrier].

Right after, Eugene ran through the dust cloud.

One student, dumbfounded, muttered to himself.

“H-Huh. He blocked that?”

Soon, he stopped reciting the activation phrase.

However, five or six others who were blinded by victory continued to fire [Shoot].

BABAM!

In the blink of an eye, they were all blocked by multiple [Barrier]s cast simultaneously.

An impossible casting speed.

By the time people opened their mouths wide in amazement, Eugene had brushed past them right through the middle of the group without even glancing at them.

Only then did the entire Black Shield faction confirm.

The kings of both factions were running somewhere, abandoning the mock duel.

Had a king eliminated the other king? It was unclear.

What was certain was that the end of the mock duel had fizzled out.

Regardless, Eugene’s running didn’t stop.

He went down the hill.

The student affairs staff and those who had been eliminated from the battlefield, whiling away their time there, also saw Eugene and Julia limp in his arms, and all opened their eyes wide.

But that wasn’t all.

In the twilight, as the sun was setting…

Students who hadn’t left school yet, intoxicated by the atmosphere of the end of the summer semester, and a few professors wandering around the campus, all tilted their heads at this unexpected scene.

Eugene ran towards the infirmary, pushing through more than a hundred people.

Students, staff, professors, everyone saw this sight.

Including those with different-shaped badges engraved on their chests.

A research building standing tall in a corner of the campus.

A building where undergraduate students dare not approach casually and where hundreds of researchers, including professors and doctoral students, always reside.

Among them, Building 3 had a particularly solemn atmosphere.

Since the design of the buildings was all the same, the reason for the different atmosphere must be purely due to the people inside.

On the top floor of Building 3…

A doctoral student swallowed hard before knocking on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Although it must be summer, a bone-chilling cold enveloped the doctoral student.

He counted the seconds. One, two…

And after seven seconds.

—What business do you have?

A response was heard from inside.

The doctoral student, trying hard to hide his nervousness, parted his lips.

“Yes, Professor Müller. There’s something you need to come out for…”

T/N

Hello! Axiomatic here.

Thanks for reading this set of five! See you tomorrow for the next!