Rusiel sipped at his tea. “That aether’s got to be a concern. If she uses it to cast a hugely destructive spell, how are you gonna counter it?”
“That’s a possibility, huh? And probably the biggest problem I’m gonna have to deal with. I dunno how I could fight back if she goes all in.”
In many of his previous battles, Arcus had used surprise attacks in the form of spells that would baffle his opponents. But since this was a duel between students, there would likely be rules in place. It was quite possible that those rules would bar him from his usual tricks.
“Lady Susia,” Lecia began. “What sort of combat style does Lady Claudia favor?”
“Magic all the way. She’ll probably use the spells unique to her house.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yeah. It’s a famous portfolio, and she’s used it tons of times to shut down her opponents.”
“Oh, yeah,” Rusiel said. “I heard she likes to pick a lot of fights.”
“Right.”
“Has she ever picked one with you, Sue?” Arcus asked.
“No, maybe because we’re equals. But if she did, I’d totally crush her!”
“Yikes...”
“That sounds most impressive, Lady Susia,” Charlotte remarked.
“Is Lady Susia more skilled than Lady Claudia?” Lecia asked.
“I sure am. I doubt she could beat me.”
In Sue’s case, all she’d have to do would be to tap into her huge supply of aether to cast an arsenal of destructive spells. Apply enough pressure, and Claudia would be helpless to fight back. Besides, Sue had an advantage that Arcus considered frightfully unfair.
“Sue’s magic comes out more powerful compared to a normal cast,” Arcus explained to Rusiel.
“Huh? Sometimes a spell can come out weaker, but I’ve never heard of it coming out stronger.”
“Right, which is why it’s unfair. There’s gotta be something wrong with the nobility in this country. They’ve all got these weird skills...”
“You’re not kidding...”
“Speaking of ‘weird skills,’ Arcus,” Charlotte said, turning to him. “Didn’t you say you had something of the sort yourself?”
“Uh... I might’ve done that.”
“Or are you trying to deny it again?”
“It’s not that, I just...”
Rusiel frowned at him. “Is that true?”
“Yes and no...”
“It’s your memory, right? How you remember everything you see?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah...” Arcus nodded quickly, grateful that Sue had misunderstood. He had never really seen his memory as an overpowered ability, but he supposed it made sense. It fit the bill more than a dream he’d had about another person’s life, at least.
“Huh?” Rusiel blinked at him.
“You remember everything?” Setsura asked.
“He does,” Lecia replied, a hint of pride in her tone. “I am confident that he remembers every utterance of our conversation thus far.”
It was because of his powers of recall that the grudge he held against Joshua and Celine had not faded the slightest bit—but this was not something he wanted to point out in front of his sister.
Setsura shot to her feet. “What the heck?! That is so unfair, Arcus! No wonder the written exam was a cakewalk for you! They shouldn’t have bothered giving it to you in the first place!”
“Stop shouting with your mouth full! It’s rude!” Arcus shoved another salty snack into her lips.
“Mmph!”
She started munching on it immediately, clearly more motivated to eat than to continue her point. It did the job and kept her quiet.
“That’ll be one of the reasons you came out on top, then,” Rusiel said.
“Convenient, right?” Sue said. “It means he’s just gotta learn a spell once and it’s in his head forever.”
“It does mean I don’t get stuff mixed up,” Arcus said.
“Now if only you had some more aether, you’d be set!”
“Yeah, I know...”
“You do not possess the same ability, do you Lecia?” Charlotte asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Arcus mused.
“I have my own ability,” Lecia said. “Passed down through the Raytheft bloodline.”
“Wait, you do?”
“I do. I am resistant to burns and I excel at handling fire. I believe the same holds true for uncle.”
“That would make sense,” Charlotte said. “Well, if I ever find myself at the site of an unexpected fire, I know who to call on!”
“And call on me you may!”
“I guess you’re an exception then, Arcus?” Sue said.
“Guess so. I’m pretty sure the only thing I inherited was my hair and eye color.”
“Um...” Rusiel began. “I think we’re getting off topic again...”
“Oh, yes!” Charlotte agreed. “Where were we?”
“The magic of House Saifice,” said Arcus, “and how Lady Claudia uses it in a lot of these duels. But then, hasn’t anyone tried to copy it?”
“It’s their magic,” Sue replied. “Even if someone else copied the incantation and tried to cast it, they couldn’t.”
“Wait, that’s a thing?”
“It’s a pretty common thing. Especially among royalty from other countries.”
“Ah!”
Arcus recalled hearing that the imperial family could use magic unique to their bloodline. Likewise, the Crosellodes’ inherited lightning magic was difficult to control without the right genetics.
“Is it not that they have a unique way of imbuing their spells with aether?” Lecia asked.
“I thought it might be that, too, but it doesn’t look like it. Their magic isn’t offensive, but that doesn’t make it easy to counter,” Sue said.
“What’s it like, then?” Arcus asked.
“I’m a bit fuzzy on the details. What I can tell you is that it seems to lessen the power or effects of the opponent’s spells.”
“That sounds...kinda reactive? I mean, it relies on the opponent casting something first.”
“The trick is that it lasts a long time. Its effects will remain in place for a few volleys.”
“So this magic is cast over a certain area, rather than a single person?”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case either. Otherwise it’d have a negative effect on Claudia’s spells too.”
“Tell me again why this magic hasn’t been outlawed yet?”
“It would seem that our immediate course of action should be to think about what form Lady Claudia’s magic takes,” Lecia suggested.
“Right, and that’s our biggest problem. If we can figure that out, we can figure out how to counter it,” Sue said.
The girls fell into thought, and although Arcus joined them, he couldn’t come up with a satisfactory answer. They didn’t have enough information to go on right now.
“Also, you’re not allowed to use spells that could seriously injure your opponent in these duels,” Sue added.
“Which is a pain,” Arcus said, “since what I’d really like is to run through as much of what I’ve got as I can with Lady Claudia so I can get a proper picture of what the heck her magic actually does.”
“Do you have any spells that are duel-appropriate?”
“Sure I do. Why?”
“I feel like most of your magic is meant to make sure people die and stay dead.”
“Don’t go there, Sue. I don’t want people to think I’m some psycho.”
“Is Arcus’s magic really that dangerous, Lady Susia?” Setsura asked.
Sue’s expression turned as grave as if she were telling a ghost story. “You bet it is. The mechanism behind his murders is known only to him, and his magic leaves no traces.”
“If you’re planning to write a thriller novel about me, don’t.”
“This isn’t fiction. Unless you wanna tell me I’m wrong?”
“Well, you’re not...”
“Right?”
And now everyone thought he was a crazed murderer. As if he needed that on his plate as well.
“What’s this killer magic of yours like then, Arcus?” Setsura asked.
“I can make my opponent explode.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Or shoot stuff right through them.”
“Okay.”
“Or stop them breathing.”
“Right.”
“Or shoot out a beam of light that immediately pierces them.”
“Wait, Arcus, are you a professional hit man or something?”
“Nope. I’m just an ordinary, innocent kid.”
“No such child would possess an Order of the Silver Cross,” Charlotte pointed out.
He paused. “Quite so, My Lady.”
“I think I get it now,” Setsura murmured. “You used all these spells on the battlefield...”
“Huh? Hey, Setsura, what’s wrong?”
“Huh?! What?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing! I was just thinking how great these snacks are!”
“Well, don’t eat them all. Lady Charlotte and Lady Susia’ll get mad at you.”
“Arcus!” Sue whined. “You make me sound so greedy!”
“You’ve made yourself look greedy. Look at all this stuff...”