And as Laplace watched her go, she grew certain that she had made the right call.
“Yes, just like that... As a Mage, no matter her ability, her spellcasting was always going to be inefficient. Incantations waste time, and energy conversion wastes mana. But as a Magi-Knight, she can convert her vast supply of mana and precision spellwork into sword skills at no cost.” Laplace giggled and put a finger to her lips. “Oh, Tanya... how I love your spirit.”
Meanwhile, Tanya quickly closed the gap between herself and the Wyvern and leapt into the air. Laplace’s kiss had stimulated her internal mana supply and optimized it for her new class. Then, before Tanya’s brain could catch up, Laplace had forged her a sword from the raw materials lying around.
“You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were already at the max level for a Magi-Knight,” Laplace had giggled, without even stopping to address the fact that she had just forced a kiss on someone. Her personality was both exhausting and exasperating.
But as it turned out, this sword felt more at home in her hand than a staff ever did. The difference was so dramatic, she could scarcely believe it.
Tanya focused her strength and Wind Magic into her legs—and jumped.
“Haaaah!”
She rocketed straight into the air, over the rampaging Wyvern’s head, and let gravity pull her back down as she aimed squarely for the beast’s neck. A feat no ordinary human could hope to pull off.
Amused, Laplace did a somersault in mid-air as she watched the fireworks from afar. “Oho... She’s using Wind Magic to give her acrobatics a boost. Impressive.”
Tanya summoned up all the mana in her body. Yeah, I’d say this is more than enough to slay a dragon.
“RRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
As she prepared to use her favorite Arcane spell, Explosion, she could feel the mana flowing directly into her blade.
I can do this... I can use this mana-imbued sword to fell the Wyvern!
With her confidence restored, Tanya shouted: “Eat this! Exploding Slash!”
It felt like she was cutting through paper. There was a fountain of blood followed by a magical explosion as the mana in her blade detonated. The Wyvern plummeted to the ground without so much as a final roar.
As the dust settled, all that remained was a pink-haired Magi-Knight wielding her Not-Excalibur and an ancient Sorceress gleefully applauding.
“I did it... Hah... I really did it...!”
“Hahaha! Bravo! Fresh out of my prison and already I’ve made a wonderful discovery!”
“You and me both,” Tanya muttered.
Levitation magic, portable force fields, weather manipulation, and now she can rewrite people’s mana circuits? “Unconventional” doesn’t begin to cover it! God only knows what sort of revenge I could exact with her on my side...
Laplace was so far removed from common sense that it was actually kind of concerning.
“Oh man... What am I in for...?”
✦ ✦ ✦
When the time came to return to Ode, only then did Tanya realize:
“We’re gonna stick out like a sore thumb if we go back!”
“Hmm? Why’s that?”
“I don’t know if you know this, Laplace, but most people don’t float in mid-air!”
The Sorceress tilted her head. “Maybe not most people, but I certainly can.”
Is she doing this on purpose, or is she just a total ditz? Tanya sighed. “Okay, well, the sword will draw its fair share of attention, too.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because female Knights are practically unheard of. Everyone’s gonna take notice.”
“What?”
“Plus, it’s so massive it looks like it was made for a giant. I guarantee you people are gonna stare at us. And not in a good way.”
Laplace tilted her head even farther. “Hmmm... I’m not sure I understand. Why have female Knights become so rare? They weren’t back in my day.”
“Huh? Well...” Tanya fell silent.
Come to think of it, she’d never stopped to consider why women generally never chose the Knight class. To her, it was just the way things were. Even the Mage class was 90% male. Not only were female adventurers the minority to begin with, but most of them were Healers.
“Good question, actually... Knights make a decent living, so I’m not sure...”
“Oh well. The answer isn’t that important, so never mind. Anyway, you don’t mind if I keep floating, right? C’est bon?”
“Where did you get that idea?! Look, just put on my spare pair of shoes. You can walk in heels, right?” Tanya yanked Laplace down out of the sky and handed them to her.
“Are you serious? I have to wear these? You’ve got to be kidding. Is this a prank? Or some form of torture?”
“Neither. I promise you, they’ll look great with that frilly black dress you’ve got on.”
“Oh, this is so embarrassing... Don’t watch me put these on, okay?”
As requested, Tanya turned away and waited, though frankly she didn’t see what was so shameful about putting shoes on. Then, once a reasonable amount of time had passed—
“Okay, Laplace, are you ready to—PFFFFT!”
As she turned back around, the sight that awaited her instantly made her start pointing and laughing.
“HAHAHA! Oh my god! What is the matter with you, Laplace?!”
“D-Don’t laugh at me! I can’t do it! My feet hurt! These shoes are barbaric!”
There stood Laplace the Great Sorceress, looking like a bow-legged fawn.
“Hee hee hee! That’s one hell of a look, Laplace! Do it again!”
“Rrrrgh... Mocking me already, I see. And it hasn’t even been a full day since I was unsealed... Personally, I’d rather be un-heeled! Posthaste!” Pouting her lips, Laplace floated up into the air once more.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry for laughing. Seriously though, have you never worn heels before?”
“These things didn’t exist back in my day. And for good reason! They’re impossible to walk in! Then again, I haven’t had much walking experience.”
“...What?”
“My father was the Court Grand Mage, and my mother was a former shrine maiden at the Temple of the Dragon God. I made a name for myself as a child prodigy fairly soon after I was born, and from there I had a very sheltered upbringing to the point that I never needed to walk on my own two feet. With my innate magical talent, I got everything I ever wanted. Then, once I learned levitation magic, I grew obsessed with it... All in all, it’s really not my fault that I never had the chance to walk.”
“You can humble-brag all you like, but I’m not impressed.”
“I’m not bragging! I’m gorgeous and I hail from an influential family—these things are simply facts!”
“You just can’t stop talking about how hot you are, can you?”
In the end, the two women agreed on a compromise: Laplace would wear the heels and pretend to walk while floating a few centimeters off the ground. This was the condition under which Tanya permitted her to appear in public.
I’ve really got my work cut out for me, don’t I?