Gahariet’s appearance had reached the point of absurdity. His legs now began where his knees used to be, and because of Lam’s spell, his torso had grown longer and filled in his lost height—he was as tall as he’d been before. But as a result, he currently had a really, really long trunk and really, really short legs, to the point where he struggled to walk. His voice was also as high-pitched as that of a small bird—courtesy of Lam, once again.
And yet, he hadn’t tried to improve his behavior in the slightest. His determination was impressive, in a way.
“Perhaps he’s just unaware of his flaws,” Lam suggested.
Her words struck a nerve in Char. He, too, had once judged everything through the lens of his own worldview, unconsciously assuming that the Mercures’ sense of values was the standard. It wasn’t until Lam pointed it out that he understood how skewed his perspective had been.
But Gahariet wasn’t the type of man who could easily be reasoned with, even if someone laid his flaws out at his feet. To be fair, Char might have completely disregarded his wife’s advice as well if the timing had been different.
“Char, I’ll help you deal with the captain and his men. Ah. I can hear hooves approaching.”
Just as Lam said, it seemed that several horses were trotting their way.
“They made their move sooner than I anticipated,” Char commented. “We were just talking about Gahariet, and look who’s coming at us.”
As there was no tree coverage around, both parties would lay eyes on each other at the same time. Their enemy would make their move soon, no doubt about it.
Char purposefully went to stand out in the open so that the knights would spot them. After a few minutes, several sharp whistling sounds pierced the air.
There they are.
Right as Char detected their opponents’ hiding spot in the nearby bushes, something nudged into his side before dropping to the ground. Crouching down, he picked up the object, which turned out to be exactly what he’d been expecting.
“Arrows—and not just any arrows: special ones that have been made specifically for the hunting tournament. I protected myself with magic, so nothing happened, but I assume they were trying to kill me and make it look like an accident caused by their guests of honor.”
Barre and Fouet, who had also repelled the arrows, seemed to have reached the same conclusion; annoyance was plain on their faces.
“How cowardly of them to conceal themselves and launch an ambush. They could at least give us the courtesy of showing themselves,” Fouet said.
“I know, right? They’re all bulky and rugged, yet they settle for sneaking around.”
“Mm-hmm. You’re so right.” Lam nodded.
Either way, Char knew what they had to do. He glanced in the direction of the bushes from which the arrows had come, and, sure enough, members of the Royal Knights emerged from them, Gahariet standing in the middle of the group with his arms crossed. Before him, bound with ropes, was Thibault. The knights pushed him forward, and the journalist stumbled to the ground.
No way... They caught him? Good grief; what a pain that man is.
The twins must’ve shared his thoughts as they both winced and let out exasperated groans.
“And here I thought knights were supposed to be noble and chivalrous,” Char said. “A hostage, really? Are you that desperate?”
Gahariet burst into laughter, as if he were mocking Char.
“You’re still green, rookie! How do you expect to make it as a Royal Knight with such an immature mindset? If you value his life, don’t even try to resist. The second I spot you or your friends trying to use your creepy powers, I’ll make his head roll!”
Still restrained, Thibault paled at Gahariet’s threats.
“Keeping that deadweight around was a huge mistake on your part! This is where you die!”
Die? Char couldn’t even fathom how they could lose this fight. Hostage or not, they still had their magic.
There must’ve been a million better options for him to gain the upper hand in this fight. He’s the one who made a mistake by settling for taking a hostage. What a sad, sad man, Char thought.
All of a sudden, Thibault stood up despite his restraints.
As they didn’t try to stop him, the knights must’ve deemed he wasn’t a threat, but then Thibault did something that no one expected: Despite being unable to move his arms, he hurtled headfirst toward Gahariet.
“I’m not deadweight! Rrraaah!” he screamed as he ran without stopping.
His head rammed into the captain’s long torso. With Gahariet’s legs being so small, the force was enough to push him off-balance.
“Aah!”
The man careened backward with a loud thud, but Thibault wasn’t done just yet. Using the excess momentum from his charge, he jumped onto Gahariet’s stomach, thrashing as much as he could.
“Ugh!”
“I... I... I’ll prove that I can be useful too!”
Gahariet attempted to stand up, but the proportions of his body made it difficult, and he struggled to right himself.
Good work, Thibault, thought Char.
Speaking up for the first time since the knights arrived, Ves stepped forward. “See, Thibault? You can do it if you try. It’ll be a pain to deal with the others all at once, so I’ll handle it, all right?”
In the blink of an eye, he teleported Thibault over to their side.
“You...” Char began.
The spell he had used was the same one that Lam had taught Char and the others.
Not only can he recognize spells from five hundred years ago that have been lost to time, but he can also use them? I had my suspicions, but still—I can’t believe that someone other than Lam can use these spells in this day and age.
Utterly flabbergasted, Char couldn’t look away from the scene in front of him.
You’re kidding me...
Who in the world was Ves? Char definitely would need to stay alert around him.
Without Char and the twins having to lift a finger, Gahariet had been defeated, and Thibault had been secured under their protection.
We just need to deal with Gahariet’s minions now, Char thought.
But before he could follow through on his plans, Ves raised a hand and unleashed a flurry of sparkling spells at the enemies. Each of their weapons bloomed into a blossom.
“What the hell...? Flowers?!” the men squeaked pathetically.
A spell that transforms matter. It’s a complex compound technique made by combining Wood Magic with Light or Dark.
The only reason Char was familiar with the spell was because Lam had taught it to him. It was incredibly difficult to cast, requiring precise mana control to retain the flower form of the objects.
Lam said that she learned that spell from her teacher. So why can he use it?
Char couldn’t wrap his head around anything that was happening.
Gahariet attempted to stand up again, but Ves leaped forward, closing the distance between them.
He set a hand on Gahariet’s shoulder. “Checkmate.”
The captain’s legs all but disappeared beneath him, shrinking until his ankles met his hips. With Gahariet’s current proportions, supporting his long torso was impossible; he couldn’t even take a single step forward. He grabbed at Ves but tripped over himself, falling to the ground. Unable to get to his feet, all he could do was screech in his unnaturally high voice.
Ves said, “In this type of situation, the key is to render the strongest opponent powerless first. Might as well deal with the minions too while I’m at it. I’ll make it so none of you can ever misbehave again.”
He must’ve felt quite indignant about the way Gahariet and his posse had treated him so far. A smirk tugged at his lips, and an eerie atmosphere enveloped the forest. The ground under the knights’ feet began swelling, and the nearby trees squirmed and wiggled, seemingly about to swallow up the knights, causing them to squeak in terror.
“Ooh, looks fun,” Barre said as he began helping Ves. He sure was fast to switch gears; he’d been arguing with the man mere minutes ago.
He used magic to transform the ground beneath the knights into viscous sludge, effectively locking them down and preventing escape.
“I’ll lend a hand too,” Fouet chirped, happily jumping on the bandwagon. His usual lazy self had vanished into thin air.
Just like Ves, the two of them must’ve been quite irritated by the knights’ behavior, especially Fouet. He really was the type to hold grudges; Barre, not so much.
“H-Help us!” the knights shrieked as the trees encroached on them, engulfing Gahariet along the way.
“Well, you heard their request. What should we do?” Barre asked, exchanging looks with Fouet and Ves.
“Let’s see... If they promise never to commit any mischief ever again, I suppose we could grant them mercy,” Fouet replied, purposefully putting on airs.
“Agreed.” Ves nodded.
“Good. Let’s use this opportunity to reform the Royal Knights, then, shall we?” Lam interjected from behind them.
Barre pouted, as if the mere thought of it was a hassle. “You say that like it’s nothing, but...”
“Can’t we just change things like I did at the schoolhouse?” Lam asked.
“It’s not that we can’t, but this is on a completely different scale altogether. It’ll likely take much longer than it did for the schoolhouse, and we won’t be there to make sure things go without a hitch,” Fouet said with an awkward smile.
“You make a good point,” Lam said. “Ves doesn’t plan on staying either... Then I suppose I will cast a punishment spell on these knights for the time being.”
“A punishment spell? I’ve never heard of that before,” Ves said, a puzzled look crossing his features.
“Let me give you a demonstration: Shining, uh...Dance!”
With that, she replaced the sludge spell with one that compelled the knights to dance uncontrollably for a set amount of time.
She just came up with that name, didn’t she?
Char didn’t know why, but his wife liked to unnecessarily name her spells.
Lam’s magic slammed into the knights, and they began dancing all at once, their limbs writhing to perform strange gestures. Even Gahariet was forced onto his tiny legs to join the performance.
What kind of dance even is this...? Char thought, speechless, as he watched the spectacle.
The moves weren’t something one would witness at a royal ball or any formal gathering. It was more reminiscent of the way commoners danced during celebrations. Knowing Lam, it might even have been an actual dance from five hundred years ago.
“I’ll have you all turn on a new leaf,” Lam said. “Today, you will stand before the people of the palace—no, the entire kingdom, and confess your sins. If you refuse or lie, I’ll make it so that your body is compelled to dance for three hours at noon every day!”
As always, Lam’s ideas went way beyond Char’s wildest expectations.