I Broke Off My Engagement and Got a Job at the Academy

95. Reasons to Fight

Pfft! The blade of cold began to slash at me.

I created a shield to block it, but the spirit in front of me snickered at the sight.

“You can’t control the great power of magic with just your will, so you stack several spells to amplify your power. The idea is good, but spirits are beings that control the magic that exists in the natural world. You should know that you can’t handle it with human magic.”

“This is fucking crazy and I’m falling over.”

I focused on cursing and building a defensive barrier. My opponent would have a limit to his magical power anyway. Of course, if he had completely turned into his true self, it wouldn’t matter, but since he was relying on the summoner, it was natural.

“Hey, I’m pretty confident in my magical power, but do you want to keep fighting over magical power?”

Although I am now a baron from a fallen family, when I was young, I was the successor to a great family that ruled the empire. Naturally, I ate all the elixirs I could and built up my magical powers since I was young.

Giselle, like me, must have gained magical power in a good environment, but she is still only sixteen. Compared to me, who has reached the level of High Expert and is twenty-one years old, it is only natural that her magical power is lacking.

There is no answer in a head-on confrontation, but if I endure, endure, and endure again, and go to war at length, I will win. I thought to myself as I gripped my staff tightly.

And then, at those words, the spirit made a sound.

“I see, that’s right. Similar to this girl’s… No, even more so than this girl’s. It’s definitely an incredible amount of magic.”

“Yeah, so… .”

“Then there’s no need for me to deal with you. It’s annoying.”

With those words, the cold air subsided in an instant. And then suddenly, wind and rain began to blow.

“If you’re just going to hold out like that, why should I fight you? Just play with the mid- and low-level spirits.”

“What the heck… .”

I frowned. What should I do? Should I just let him get away from me and then call someone to help him? That would be safer for me. But… somehow, I felt like I shouldn’t do that.

I looked at Giselle, who was trapped in an ice crystal next to the spirit. Her face was frozen with her eyes closed, showing her pain.

… Yes. Let me just think about myself. Even if I try to save Giselle on my own, the odds of defeating that spirit are slim. Isn’t that a higher-level spirit that only appears in legends?

And you’re willing to risk your life for Giselle Irkali? Think rationally, Eden Cainus. Do you think anyone would understand that? Of course not. Maybe, just kill Giselle like this…

As I was thinking like that, I looked at Giselle’s frozen figure. Her face was still beautiful and smooth. But why did I feel so much pain?

I walked through the wind and rain created by invisible spirits and approached the fallen spirit.

“Stop playing pranks that aren’t even funny.”

“Ha, who was it that hid like a turtle and trembled in fear before you started talking like that? You’re talking nonsense… I guess you’ve made up your mind now, huh?”

The spirit that was saying such things, ah, made a sound and said.

“This girl must be very important to you. Isn’t she?”

… No, that’s not it. I just.

“She was a very foolish girl. She was really very stupid. It was very easy to get into her mind by offering sweet words of help and pretending to show her the way for a while. Well, that kind of girl deserved the ‘bracelet’.”

“…bracelet?”

“Yes. It’s a bracelet that increases your affinity for nature and weakens your mental barrier. In addition… it’s also a sign of the human that I will sacrifice, prepared by those who said they would help me.”

“…you.”

“How foolish. Not knowing that what was before my eyes was a trap, and easily deceived by the good intentions wrapped up, I ended up like this. Ah, it was truly a sight to behold. My soul was so lonely and dangerous that I could collapse at the slightest touch, yet I had such strong magic power.”

The spirit burst into laughter.

“This is a perfect sacrifice for me. Its beige color is just right. I plan to keep it as part of my collection until it is completely destroyed.”

Come to your senses, Eden. That’s just to tease that girl to provoke you. If you lose your senses and act recklessly here, you’ll be putting yourself in danger.

Was it worth taking risks in the first place? Were you, a human being, a saintly person who would risk your life for the daughter of your enemy? Since when?

Yes. Anyway, the nature of the people in this country is not much different from that of the many people around us. Let’s run away. Once we get out of that spirit’s sphere of influence, why don’t we bring someone to help us?

“Hmm, you’re more rational than I thought. And you’re also… ruthless. Well, that doesn’t matter. If you’re just going to waste time like that, then there’s no need to deal with you any longer. Since taking control of High Mountain is enough with just mid-level and lower spirits, I don’t think there’s any need to waste any more time.”

When I heard that, I instinctively realized that if I were to throw her out now, Giselle, that girl, would definitely not be saved anymore. She would continue to be a collection of spirits, and eventually her soul would break and she would die.

“Yes, human. You’re a more intelligent human than I thought. You don’t seem to want to take risks for this girl, do you? So… how about we just part ways here?”

When I heard the spirit’s words, I found myself approaching the spirit.

The question, “Why?” lingered in my mind. And then, the question was simply shattered.

Not because it’s worth doing.

Because I have to, I am moving forward.

Why did I save Giselle when she almost died during the entrance exam?

Because I already knew from the beginning.

It doesn’t matter if she’s the daughter of an enemy or not. Things like that weren’t even worth thinking about from the beginning.

Before her background. Before my feelings for her. Isn’t it just too pathetic that I can’t even save a girl who is suffering so much because of my own selfish desires?

It was the political machines that had lost their sense of human emotion that killed my father.

I am human. And I will remain human. I have no intention of moving in the same way as my enemies who walk the path of inhumanity.

The reason why he tried to give up Giselle by considering pros and cons is clear.

Because of those memories: when Giselle came to me to ask me to teach her magic, when I taught her magic, and when I held Giselle’s hand when she was suffering from magic exhaustion.

Because of that experience of holding hands and sharing warmth.

It was just that I tried to avoid it because I didn’t want to admit that I was having a relationship with my enemy’s daughter as a human.

What do you mean, ‘I won’t care about being the daughter of my enemy’? I couldn’t even properly control my own emotions, so I avoided them, buried them, and turned away from them.

…no more avoiding it.

In other words, what I am about to do is not beneficial, and rather, it is full of danger. But the reason I am doing it is… because it must be done, and that is enough.

Isn’t it too shameful to be cowed by a spirit that sees humans not as humans but as tools?

That’s why I opened my mouth.

I opened my mouth because I was human and could not understand or respect the being before my eyes.

“Come on, you piece of shit. Stop whining.”

At those words, the spirit looked at me quietly with her purple eyes. Those eyes were just like Ariel’s, and it made me feel bad.

“…Why?”

The spirit asked as if he truly did not understand.

“Yes, it is true that I mocked you. But… is that a reason to oppose me? This girl may be precious to you. But she is essentially another person. Is it worth risking your life for?”

“…It’s not worth risking your life for.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Don’t you know that you’re making a stupid choice? But why…?”

“That’s stupid talk.”

I let out a laugh.

“I just don’t want to grow up to be a crippled person who can’t even save a child.”

Just a moment ago, I was glaring at the spirit, and the spirit was laughing at me. But now, I am laughing at the spirit, and the spirit is looking at me as if he doesn’t understand me.

I began to compose the formula. It was so familiar, so many times I had seen it. It was taking shape so naturally.

“Yeah. You don’t like the sight of me just defending, do you? Alright. Come on. Now… I won’t do that kind of thing.”

I said so and completed the ritual.

“Governor, activate.”