Chapter 20
“ALRIGHTY THEN, we should be finished tomorrow sometime before the time we discussed.”
“Sure thing. Then I’ll come by tomorrow to pick them up.”
The pair once again confirmed that Mira would hand the remaining monster-repelling amulets over to Wallenstein after she’d finished dealing with them.
And when that was done, they’d both be going their separate ways.
“Thank you, Miss Mira. You helped a lot.”
“Likewise. Thanks to you two, we managed to get everything sorted out smoothly.”
If they hadn’t met Barbatos when they had, then she and Meilin would’ve had to fight the whole battle by themselves. And so, Mira had been extremely lucky to have had both of their help.
And so, with this final exchange, the two parted.
Wallenstein and Barbatos used their warping magic to instantaneously return to their base, while Mira looked on jealously. Finally, as if she’d given up, she leaped atop Pegasus and flew off.
After meeting up with Bruce on Filz Isle, Mira headed toward the entrance to Valhalla while listening to what’d happened on Bruce’s end.
They’d run into some monsters while they were on the road, but they had more than enough combat strength to repulse them without issue.
And so, they arrived at Etoto’s home. Apparently, Etoto’s mom was both an incredibly cheerful woman and a strong one. Bruce had a very high opinion of her. He said that while she might’ve been distressed about everything that’d befallen Etoto, the beautiful woman was instead so stouthearted that she laughed off all of it.
One could only assume that having such a mother was what caused someone in Etoto’s situation to still grow up to be kind. Indeed, Bruce seemed to have been quite impressed by her.
“I’d like to meet her sometime myself.”
Just what kind of woman was she? Curious, Mira began thinking that she’d say hello if she were ever to visit Wallenstein and his companions’ base. Furthermore, she began plotting that when she did, she’d definitely have them teach her how to warp herself.
“Oh ho, so you’re going to participate in the tournament? That sounds like fun!”
And so, in the midst of this chat, Mira learned just why Bruce had been in Nirvana.
Apparently, he’d gone there to test out his skills by taking part in the tournament. That said, since he was going through all the trouble of participating, he wanted to do well. And so, he was trying to acquire the Valkyrie evocation that all summoners longed to possess.
Hearing that Bruce was going to participate in the tournament was like music to Mira’s ears.
Having been forbidden from fighting in the tournament by Nirvana, Mira had been invited to be a commentator, and she was therefore unable to compete.
And so, her dreams of showing the world the wonders of evocation at the tournament had been utterly dashed. Yet, right then, Bruce, the new savior of evocation, had shown up.
There was no doubt that he was considerably skilled. Not only that, having secured a contract with Helknae and her sisters, he would most definitely fare well in the tournament.
In other words, now that Bruce was there to promote evocation in Mira’s stead, a brand-new avenue was open to her.
Straightening up, Mira looked at Bruce with a very serious expression and said, “In that case, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
Detecting a shift in her tone, Bruce straightened his own posture before answering, “I’m at your service.”
Mira then explained to Bruce how she hadn’t been allowed to compete because she’d been invited as a commentator. She then continued that the tournament was an excellent opportunity to showcase the wonders of evocation.
“That’s where you come in. People from all over the continent will be watching the tournament, so can you imagine what it’d be like if a summoner absolutely blew through the competition…? You catch my drift?” Mira whispered as if it were some big secret, in spite of the fact that the two of them were traveling alone together.
The tournament would see mages and warriors of every age from every corner of the world come together to fight and see who reigned supreme. There were sure to be many competitors seriously vying to come out on top, which meant they could very well use it to improve how people perceived evocation.
Mira’s words implied as much, and the look on her face looked positively fiendish.
Bruce looked surprised for a moment. “I see… If a summoner could succeed in mowing down a whole bunch of tough competitors… I might’ve expected as much of you, Miss Mira. Is that what you’re thinking of doing? At a tournament this chock full of powerful competitors from all over?” Bruce whispered, smiling with the same expression as Mira.
There were sure to be a good deal of elite competitors, and what’s more, Bruce seemed to think that he might as well showcase evocation, since his objective was to test out his skills.
Bruce was a comrade who hoped to see the art of evocation restored to its former glory. Therefore, he picked up on their new chance which Mira was alluding to. There was, after all, no better stage on which to showcase evocation.
“But I…”
And yet, lacking the skills which would even warrant him thinking this far, Bruce worried as to whether he could even put up the kind of fight that would change anyone’s perception of evocation.
What Mira truly wanted of Bruce was something like him taking the place of one of the Nine Wise Men and then doing a phenomenal job in the tournament. Thanks to his studies, combat experience, and research, he was fairly confident in his evocation abilities. And yet, finding himself compared to the Nine Wise Men, his confidence went right out the window.
“Don’t worry. Knowing you, you’ll do fine. And that’s because you’ll be even stronger after next week!” Mira said, smiling brashly.
Figuring that she didn’t want to waste even a small amount of time as they made their way through the cave, Mira began teaching him while the two walked.
“It’s a combat tournament, so you won’t have anywhere to run. That means the weakness of evocation will be clear from the beginning.”
Normally, summoners fought from a distance, assessing the battle situation while giving the optimal and most appropriate orders as they deployed the forces necessary to take on their opponents.
However, in a combat tournament, they’d have to fight on the very same stage as their opponents. In short, they’d need to fight at a much closer range than they otherwise would, in which case they’d very easily come within range of their opponent’s attacks.