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Chapter 27. [Sariel]

Seeing the demon boars emerging one after another from the ground, it seems that each individual was aware of the others' situation. When one boar in the herd was taken down, the entire group immediately turned hostile.

Elixira barely managed to block the first attack from the demon boar with a hastily activated defensive spell, but then she fainted. I understand being shocked by a giant boar appearing right in front of her but fainting in the face of an enemy. That makes no sense.

"I'll help you."

Ivy, who sped past me, stood to protect Elixira and swung her greatsword. The slash, infused with magic, effortlessly cleaved the giant boar, showering the area in blood. At the same time, the surrounding herd of demon boars charged at Ivy all at once, but she just smirked suspiciously.

"[Sariel]"

As she muttered the word, her shadow extended and simultaneously pierced the approaching demon boars. The spell activated instantly without any sign of a magic circle being used. It was undoubtedly a grimoire.

The demon boars, seeing the shadow spears easily impale ten of their kind, hesitated. The opponent they thought they could overpower with numbers now seemed like a monster that could kill their comrades in an instant. It was a quick judgment typical of magical beasts living by the law of the jungle. But by the wild's rules, the moment they considered fleeing, the outcome was already decided.

"I can't handle them all, so I'll leave the rest to you."

"Uh, sure."

The black shadows, which had stretched out like spears, retracted into Ivy's body and formed wings on her back. As the boars retreated, the wings transformed again into spears, piercing the remaining herd.

Even from a distance, the speed of the shadow's shape-shifting was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, they impaled the demon boars from head to tail. However, there seemed to be a limit to their range, as a few boars managed to escape unscathed.

My task was to calmly and precisely take down the fleeing boars. Using a spell to shoot magical needles, I pierced the boars' vital points. The spell was originally developed for assassination, according to the grimoire, but it proved effective in killing fleeing targets in this situation.

"...You really are a skilled person."

"How about Elixira? I thought she'd perform better than expected."

"Yes, she's somewhat too weak in actual combat, but her skills are sufficient. Anyone can improve with more experience in real battles."

Having taken down all the boars, I approached Ivy, observing her grimoire. She smiled and answered my question without concern.

I now understood Ivy's grimoire. The ability of [Sariel] allows her to manipulate her shadow freely. Normally, it forms wings on her back, and during attacks, it transforms into spears to pierce enemies. The extendable range seemed to be about five times her height, roughly seven meters. I wasn't sure what else it could do, but as long as one stayed cautious of her shadow, the grimoire could be managed.

"...Hey, wake up."

"Huh!?"

I watched Ivy retract the wings formed by her grimoire while I roused the unconscious Elixira. Fainting just from nearly being attacked by a demon boar—it's a problem beyond becoming a magic knight.

"The enemies! The boars!"

"They're all taken care of... mostly by Ivy."

"Hehe."

Though she used a grimoire, her physical agility and magic control justified her rank of fifth. Just the slash that split the demon boar in two demonstrated that.

She had observed me using magic, but what she thought of my actions was unknown. Asking her directly felt uncomfortable, so I refrained.

"So, have you decided whether to join my faction?"

"Yes. The request was just an excuse; I just wanted to see you in action. I intended to join from the start."

See? She's not that nice, is she?

The one she wanted to see in action was probably Elixira. If it were me, Ivy wouldn’t have intervened to help Elixira. She could have just watched me fight the demon boars.

I don't know what criteria Ivy used to assess Elixira, but it seems she passed. Whether it was because she used a grimoire or displayed unexpectedly powerful magic... most likely, it was the grimoire.

"That makes three in the faction... isn't that too few? Shouldn't you recruit more people?"

"It'd be troublesome if we got someone difficult. Honestly, I'm only looking for competent individuals who can cooperate without issues."

As the faction leader, I understood her concern, but I never intended to rely on others from the start. I only used Elixira’s Bifrans family name for convenience. I recruited Nina and Ivy because I saw benefits for myself. I never planned to make the faction overwhelmingly powerful to control the academy.

"If that's the case, there's an interesting student you might want to know about."

"Oh? Who?"

"A male baron ranked 56th."

A baron... the head of a family? Not an heir or son, but the current head? Can a student be the head of a family?

"Baron Garndi?"

"Oh, you know him, Elixira."

"He's a famous new noble... I didn’t know he was at Chronos Magic Knight Academy."

So he's famous. But that’s within a noble society, right? It doesn't concern me as a commoner... wait, wasn't Ivy a commoner too? How does she know so much about a famous noble? Could she actually be from a noble family?