Cheat Magician Life That Started From Being Judged Useless

Camilla Riesenburg, aka Princess Evil, was in the commander's office of the Rastok garrison.

About the same time we arrived in the commander's office, three knights entered the room.

I recognized one of them, the knight who had beaten up Funayama yesterday.

The three of them aligned themselves in front of Camilla, who was at her office desk, and reported upright and unmoving.

'We have finished disposing of the body as you instructed!

Mm, thank you...

The disposal of the body is a shipyard thing, isn't it?

You've seen this through, haven't you?

"Yes, into the belly of the goblins no doubt...

Okay, that's it.

I was about to jump out of the shadows, but Reinhardt held me down.

'Let go! Let me go, Reinhardt, I'll kill that b*tc*!

"No, Master Kent, now is not the time, now is not the time to be patient.

"Goooooooooooooooo........

I bit down on my back teeth as if they were going to shatter and stared at Camilla from the shadows.

I will not forgive this woman alone, I will surely kill her one day.

After the report of the body disposal, the three of them all bowed their heads together and apologized.

'Camilla-sama, I am sorry.

What's your apology for that?

Yes, I failed to follow your instructions to hurt him enough not to kill him to make an example of him.

Hmm, I think you people have mistaken me for someone else.

Did you not know what you were doing, sir?

'Yes, what is there to mourn over the death of one monkey like that? What do you need to be reminded of? That's a trivial, insignificant detail.

Is that so...?

In front of the three puzzled faces, Camilla stood up from her chair leisurely and said: "You guys have to prioritize the interests of the Kingdom of Riesenburg.

You guys have to prioritize the interests of the Riesenburg Kingdom.　If Sal is dead, make the most of that fact.　If you want to make an example out of him, just use another monkey.　You won't get rid of your people over a trivial matter.

Oh, thank you.

Hmph, don't be so hard, the important thing is that you're just getting started...

They all bowed their heads together to the three of them, and Camilla even smiled.

'Listen, that monkey's death will spread rebellion among the monkeys, but don't show any weakness.　Tell those monkeys who try to skip training that if they don't want to train, I'll let them move on to the actual battle in the Demon Forest right away, and imagine being eaten alive by the demons...

I'm awestruck, sir!

''Well, if the monkeys still rebel, let them get together and taste the real battle in the Demon Forest.　If they bite off one of your limbs, they'll wake up.

Yes, sir!

All right, get back to your post and think about what you have to do for Riesenburg. I'm counting on you.

'Yes, I'm sorry!

Camilla watched the three of them leave the room with a satisfied look on her face.

Then the chairperson's caretaker woman appeared.

'Excuse me, Camilla-sama, but the saint has fallen.

Well let him rest and then resume his treatment.

'Camilla, no matter what, things are too hard right now.

Hmm, you're no help to me, Erna. I always tell you, don't be merciful.

But...

The chairwoman's caretaker seems to be named Erna.

Camilla waved her hand to interrupt Erna's insistent words.

'Look, saints and brave women certainly have excellent qualities.　They have them, but they are only slaves, a useful tool, if you will.　Make them understand that they need to be cared for so that they can show their abilities, but if they can't be used, then we'll just get rid of them.

But, Lady Camilla.

"Look, if the saint wants to go on fooling around, tell her we're going to round up all those who oppose us just like you and send them into battle.　If you don't hone your healing skills, tell her how many people are going to die.

Oh no...

Don't get me wrong the interests of the Kingdom of Riesenburg are paramount.　Don't surrender your affections to the slaves.

Okay, okay....

Erna bowed and left, though she didn't look completely convinced, as if she thought there was no point in talking any further.

After seeing that off, Camilla moved to the map on the wall.

'We must hurry...'

After leaking a mutter, Camilla pressed her left fist against the left side of the map, to the west of the Riesenburg Kingdom.

Even though I followed her gaze from the shadows, she seemed to be looking at the area where she placed her fist.

''Reinhardt, what kind of country is the west side of Riesenburg?''

When we were alive, the Empire of Barshania lay across the desert.

"Desert? Is there a desert?

Yes, the Dabeela Desert, a barren strip of rock and sand, where few crops can be grown.

It's pretty big in there, isn't it?

"Yes, there are roads for carriages, but it takes four days to get there in one piece of road, and more than a week in the event of a sandstorm, and many people are lost.

Camilla stared at the map for a while, then returned to her desk and went back to her office as if nothing had happened.

The sight of Camilla, with Funayama dead, really acting like nothing happened, makes me angry again.

I want to retaliate somehow, but to do so, I need to be vulnerable.

I look again at the map that Camilla was staring at, and I notice something.

''Could it be this...?''

"What is it, Mr. Kent?

'You've seen a map of Riesenburg when Reinhardt was alive, haven't you?

'Yes, I have, but what is it?'

'Look at that map,' he said, 'did you see that the border of the Davila Desert was like that? Where was the line?

"Oh! No, Master Kent, when we were alive, the border with the desert was much further west.

"Desertification from the west is what's happening...

On the western side of the map that Camilla was staring at, there are a number of lines drawn to mark the border with the Davila Desert.

This is probably the portion of the desert that has been expanded was redrawn anew.

''I see, this city of Rastock didn't exist when Reinhardt and the others were alive, right?

''Yes, this area is a wasteland, and it's a place where demons appear.

"Hey, is the west side of Riesenburg the breadbasket?

'Yes, there are fields of wheat and potatoes and so on.

'The desertification of the west side of the country has been going on, so they cleared the east side, and then the desertification has gone on again...'

Now you want to cut through the Devil's Forest?

Maybe... we were brought in to work on the labor force for that purpose.

If the cultivation of the Demon Forest was Camilla's objective, the probability of Volzard being attacked was low.

But at the same time, it also means that Volzard's help in rescuing his classmates would be unavailable.

And even if I understand Camilla's purpose, I don't know what to do with it.

''Hmmm.......I still feel like I don't have enough information.　Hey, have Reinhardt and the others ever been to the royal capital of Riesenburg?''

"Yes, we have, the three of us, many times, not only in King's Landing, but also in the vicinity of the Dabeela Desert.

'Okay, Basten, I'm sorry, but can you take a look at the current situation in Riesenburg? I'd like to know how the desertification is progressing and, if possible, the situation of the royalty and nobility...

"Leave it to me, I'll take a peek deep into the castle if it's time to hide in the shadows.

Fred, you will continue to monitor this place and Reinhardt, you will continue to guard it.

Copy that.

"I'll handle it and I'll let you know if I need anything else...

Since there didn't seem to be anything I could do even if I stayed here, I decided to go back to Volzard for once.

On the way, I took a peek at the training ground, I didn't feel any difference from the previous one, but the words of the reprimanding knight had changed.

''Ora! If you don't want to train, you can train in a real war, if you don't want to. You want to be eaten alive!

Run, run! We'll get rid of the ones we can't use! There are plenty of other ways to replace you guys!

I was also concerned about the chairman's condition, but since I had already treated him, I decided to have Fred watch over him.

Then I decided to take care of another thing that was bothering me.

We headed to the entrance to the Demon Forest from the Riesenburg side.

After checking out the surroundings, Reinhardt and I stepped out of the shadow world to the surface.

''It was a forest like this... it was dark when we came here...''

"Master Kent thought it was just a forest, didn't he?

Yeah, I didn't expect a demon.

If you look closely, you'll see that the wagon ruts have been left close to the forest, with new hoof prints, and a few footprints.

We follow the footprints along the path that leads into the forest.

The footprints break off after less than 50 meters, leaving a trail of grass along the side of the path.

Following the footprints, after another 20 meters, there was a pool of blood and a piece of meat left behind.

''Those goblins are so mean, they take it to the bone.''

I knelt down and clasped my hands together as I listened to Reinhardt's words.

Even though he was such a jerk, I couldn't stop crying.

If I hadn't been blessed with two attributes, the dark and the light attribute, I would have suffered the same fate.

And I couldn't shake the thought that if I had cast a healing spell on Funayama yesterday, none of this would have happened.

''I will definitely avenge you, I'll get everyone out of this, so.......take it easy and get some rest....

After offering a silent prayer to Funayama, I moved to the Demon Forest's training grounds in the shadows.

''Kent-sama, I think we can rest today...''

Yeah, I was going to, but I just can't afford it anymore...

I was trying to get my armor out of the shadow storage when I suddenly had an idea.

''Yes ... the Dark Shield ...''

I imagine the access to shadow storage, which used to be through the shadows of myself, buildings, etc., as if I were connecting it to the empty space in front of me.

I imagine a round hole, which leads to storage, and when I stick out my right hand, a black hole appears.

It leads to the space where I put the armor, just as I imagined.

Yeah, I think I can make a shield with this, and I think I can make something more than that.

But I'll have to practice that practice another time, right now I have to move my body or I'll go crazy.

I put on my armor and faced Reinhardt.

''Well then, Reinhardt, please take care of me.

"Master Kent, anger will not make you stronger.

'Yeah, I know, I don't know how much of this can be practiced, but I understand what Reinhardt is trying to say.

Well, in that case, I guess that's as good as it gets.

Hey!

I raised my wooden sword and went in with all my might.

The special training continued until the evening, with a lunch break in between.

I rounded up when my energy, stamina, and magic power for self-healing was almost at the bottom.

After all, I haven't been able to hit Reinhardt with a single effective hit today.

I asked Reinhardt as I lay in a large figure on the training ground, looking up at the sunset-red sky.

''Ha... haha... hey, Reinhardt, how long do you think it will take you to train like this and be able to beat the knights of Riesenburg?

''That's a difficult question.......Kent-sama's current ability is only a hair's breadth from a novice adventurer.　It hasn't even been two weeks since I started training, so it's quite an improvement, but if you continue training, it doesn't necessarily mean that your ability will improve smoothly.''

Does that mean you're a failure or a limitation?

'Yes, sometimes it can grow all at once, and sometimes it can come to a head with a lot of effort.

So what if my qualities are normal?

As I've told you before, it takes about three years to become useful as a normal soldier.

No matter how hard you try, it will take two years, and even if you take full advantage of your self-healing abilities, as Master Kent does, it will take at least a year.

'That's until you're a regular soldier, right? If that's the case, I guess I'll need at least three years of training to be able to beat a strong knight?

'Well, I suppose you'll need at least that much.

I feel like I've been able to regain my composure pretty well thanks to the physical exertion of my eyes against Reinhardt.

Camilla reminded me disgustingly that she doesn't think of us as people, she thinks of us as monkeys or as tools.

And I also realized that if I got angry about it and lost my cool, I would not be able to beat her.

'Camilla Riesenburg's weakness...'

"His words and deeds suggest that the disadvantages of the kingdom are his weaknesses.

'Yeah, I'm sure of it but, you know, I don't feel comfortable involving citizens who don't know anything about it.

"To us, Master Kent and his friends look like rude citizens.

'Yeah, that's true too, but since they did it, I feel like if we were to do it back at the same level, we'd be killing each other endlessly.

''Well, the easiest thing to do would be to defeat him, but that won't be possible with Master Kent and his men holding the way back to their world.

'That's what it's about, but... if everyone who came with me decided not to leave, I wouldn't hesitate to kill Camilla...'

What she did to me, what she did to Funayama, the situation her classmates are in right now, it's all her fault, and I will make sure she gets what she deserves.

Have you ever killed anyone before, Kent-sama?

'What? No, there isn't, there's no such thing, we live in a country that's so peaceful that there's a word for it, 'peaceable'.

"Then leave it to me to kill the princess.

'Thank you, Reinhardt, but no, I'm going to ask the goblins to take care of that task for me.

'Well well, I'll ask you again when the time is right.'

I think Reinhardt is trying to make sure I don't fall to the so-called dark side, but when it comes to Camilla, there's no level of forgiveness I can tolerate when I try to keep my head down.

We broke up our training and bathed in the water before getting dressed and heading back to the boarding house.

After dinner, I refused to tell Amanda that I would rest early and holed up in my room.

I asked Reinhardt to stay behind and joined Fred at the Rustock garrison in the shadow transfer.

We went to the infirmary to see the chairman of the committee, who was most anxious to see him.

The Chairman was treating some of his classmates who had been injured in training.

'Are you okay? Is there anything else that hurts or doesn't feel well?

"Thanks, I'm only bruised, so I'll be fine, you shouldn't push yourself too hard, Asakawa-san.

Yes, thank you, we'll definitely get out of there alive.

'Yeah, yeah ...'

During the day, the chairman of the committee, who was like a Noh mask, hugged a girl in his class and shed tears.

After that, he continued to treat each one of them carefully and by talking to them.

As far as I can see, they look good and seem mentally stable, but they also seem to be in some danger.

Then, as soon as the last one was finished, the expression on the chairman's face slipped from his face.

''Thank you for your hard work, Saintess.

When Erna, the caretaker, calls out to her, the chairperson not only doesn't respond, she won't even look at her.

Erna's expression is cloudy as the chairperson proceeds to clean up in silence.

It looks like she's caught between Camilla and the chairman of the committee, and she's wondering what to do.

'Saint........Yuika, listen to me, I.......'

The chairperson gave Erna a horrifyingly cold glance as she tried to complain about something, and then left the examination room.

Erna, who was left behind, covered her face with her hands and began to sob.

Erna seems to be a decent thinker among the people in this garrison, but I guess she can't disobey Camilla's orders either.

She seemed to have a good relationship with the chairman when she came to scout last week, but Funayama's death must have put a definite crack in their relationship.

Leaving the examination room, I decided to take a look at my classmates' quarters.

There's a somber air in the quarters.

I think it would be more lively if there were others of the same age together, like on a school trip or during study time, but perhaps because of the Funayama thing, I can only hear them talking in a whisper.

When I listen to what they are talking about, all I hear is resignation and backward-looking talk.

"Are we going to be able to survive if we can't even beat the goblins now?

I don't know, but I have to do it, right?

I don't know if I can get away...

What's the point of running, you idiot?

'What? Adventurers and...?

Fool, they told me that as long as I'm wearing this bracelet, I can't register as an adventurer.

Uh... can't we take these off?

'How can you remove it when you're stuck just trying to break it? Do you want me to chop off your arm?

Don't kid yourself. I'm left-handed. I'm not gonna let him cut off my hand.

Hey do you really think we'll ever get home?

It feels like an impossible task...

d*mn........if only I had a rare ability that Shuichi didn't.

'Shelia, right? Are you serious about doing all you can?

'Shit....'

Hey, where do you think you're going?

Toilet. Toilet!

Oh, I'm gonna...

It's a bit of a relief conversation for me, who hasn't been too fortunate to get a cheat ability, but I still feel like the slave bracelet is going to be an obstacle to the rescue mission.

''Hey Fred, I think there's a spare slave bracelet that everyone wears somewhere, can you find it and steal it for me?''

We'll take care of it.

"Oh, wait a minute... well, I guess I'll just have to steal it...

"Master Kent...?

'Fred, while you're looking for the slave braces, could you make a floor plan of this garrison and list what items are placed where?

"Copy that... and I'll look into it...

''Also, check out the roles of the knights, including the three in the daytime, and their personality traits.''

"Mr. Kent you will fight back....

"Yeah, if I can.

We leave the boys' quarters and now we take a look at the girls' quarters.

It's because I was curious about Ayako-sensei, but she's being comforted by all the girls.

''Eeeeeee.......sorry, gobennasai........''

It's not Aya's fault, she said it wasn't her fault.

Yes, it was their fault, Aya, they were doing their best.

Because, because, because, because Funayama-kun...

Aya, you did your best.

Yes, I did my best, and hey, don't cry...

I'm sorry...............................

Ayako-sensei is probably five years older than us, but she's petite and has a baby face, so the girls she's consoling look older than us.

As Ayako-sensei, who was at the same training grounds as Funayama, I still feel a lot of responsibility for her.

Even though she is a trainee, she's still a teacher, so it's even more so.

I was going to ask Ayako-sensei to be our liaison, but it's going to be a little difficult under the current circumstances.

What do you think? Fred

"We'll see how it goes...

"I know...

I was only briefly curious about how the limp-wristed brave man was doing, but I'd get angry if he was flirting with the noumenal, so I decided to pass today.

I also don't want to see Camilla's face tonight, so I decided to pass on this one too and go back to Volzard.

"I'm home, Reinhardt.

"Welcome back, Amanda and her friends are rested.

"Amanda's an early bird,

"Will you rest, Master Kent?

'Hmmm ... maybe I should practice my magic for a bit.

Now, shall we go to the training grounds?

"No, no, no, I'm good right here, the Dark Shield...

In the daytime, from what I've tried, it looks like you can open an entrance that leads to a shadow space anywhere.

The entrance to the space that I'm using for storage will open up to another space, and it will function as a shield because attack magic of another attribute cannot enter there.

''I see, as expected of Kent-sama.''

''No, no, I've only just figured out how to do it, and I don't think you'll be able to use it until you practice the speed, range and location of how to activate it.''

'I see, but Master Kent is a quick practitioner of the art of war, so I'm sure he'll be able to master it quickly.

'Yeah, I hope you're right, but actually, I've got a few more things on my mind.

"Oh, and what's that?

"Yeah, it's a way to use your opponent's attack, but I guess I'll have to get the Dark Shield first.

"You wish to take advantage of their attacks? That's also interesting, let me know when you've finished it.'

That night, we continued to practice the dark shield until the date changed.

At first, I felt like I had to specify the location and size of the shield very carefully to be able to make it successfully.

I was able to make it much smoother if I just made a certain size in a certain place.

It still takes about five seconds to activate it, but it's faster than chanting.

I'm going to practice this until I can get it out in no time, in the position I want, and at the size I want.

It's going to take me some time to grow as a knight, so I'm going to raise my cheat level even further in the surgeon part of the game in preparation for the rescue mission.