Black Knight – Chapter 25

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Preliminaries, Day 3, Magician Corps

Royal Family Exclusive Seating Area

After lunch, we watched the Magician Corps’s matches.
As I thought, the light that appeared whenever they used magic was really cool.

“Whoa! Magicians use many magic items other than staves! It’s so cool, Elder Brother-sama!!”

“Ah, it seems like there are many types of staves, but there are also many different accessory magic crystals attached to them.”

The prince and princess were having a conversation next to me.

As they had said, magicians used different types of magic items to support themselves.
The staves could be taller than me or shorter than a pen.
The magic items could also take the shape of folding fans, bracelets, rings, and necklaces.

It all depended on the individual’s preference.
Even people with magic power, who didn’t need to use magic items, still used them to some degree.
Also, even if everyone had an individual elemental attribute, it was necessary to have a dedicated magic formation to cast spells of other elements.
I only had the Darkness attribute, so I also needed to use a magic formation to cast spells of other elements.
However, since the magic formation for summoning magic was inscribed into my soul, I didn’t need to carry it around.
On the other hand, I absolutely needed a magic formation to create a light in the kitchen or bath, or to unlock the door to my room.
By the way, those types of magic formations were sold cheaply at the shopping district.
They were extremely convenient for daily life.
Blue magic crystals were also sold cheaply for the same reason.
Magicians weren’t the only ones who bought these magical support tools; people with little to no magic power also bought them.
In this world, not everybody was born with magic power.
Rather, the people who had little to no magic power were an overwhelming majority.
Everyone in the Archer Corps used magic, but they amplified and enhanced their attributes by using magic stones and magic formations.
Since the Magician Corps consisted of people born with an abundance of magic power, they were the smallest corps in the army.
Only one or two of them were dispatched to each village or town.
There were excellent magicians among the civilians, but since we couldn’t unreasonably conscript them into the army, we were constantly short-handed.
Magicians who could use all elements were usually misanthropic hermits who secluded themselves in the wilderness.
That was why I had devoted my attention to strengthening the magicians.
The main reason was that, apart from Amy and the vice-captain, they didn’t have any physical strength!
……
Anyway, back to the auxiliary magic items.
They came in all shapes and sizes.
The magic crystals were made to take the shape of something that symbolized the element.
The shapes were: Diamonds for the Earth element, Hearts for Water, Spades for Wind, Clubs for Fire, the Sun for Light, and the Moon for Darkness.
There were other special shapes, but for the most part, it was those six shapes.
Crystals with these shapes were embedded into the Archer Corps’s bows.
Since the Long Blue-haired Ikemen had a rare element, his bow had two magic crystals embedded in it.
In his case, Hearts and Spades for Ice.
Non-elemental magic like healing or summoning magic could use normal, unprocessed magic crystals.
People who had strong magic power and two or three elements had several crystals embedded in their equipment, or had each crystal embedded into an accessory.
That was why there were some gaudy people.
Either way, magic crystals just amplified your magic power to the limit. Anybody could cast simple spells if they just had a magic formation.
Whenever I thought about this, I was reminded that I was from a different world.
The power that I received from Amaterasu-sama only changed my magic power a little bit.
I had the same amount of magic power as the Demon Lord, but my original elemental attribute had not changed.
I thought, wouldn’t my element be affected by both the Yin(moon) and the Yang(sun)?
Of course, Yin was associated with Darkness, Water, Earth, Plants, Females, Winter, Stillness, Cold, and the Moon.
Yang was associated with Light, Fire, Sky, Animals, Males, Summer, Motion, Heat, and the Sun.
Haha… I couldn’t believe that my Otaku knowledge was useful here.
Anyways, putting that aside, that’s how it was.
Of course, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t use other attributes, but the effects of Fire, Wind and Light were all much weaker.
In the case of Wind, I thought it fell under the category of Sky.
I could use Fire to the point where cooking wasn’t a problem. I could make a gentle breeze with Wind; and with Light, I could only cast “Raitoree” to the degree where it could barely illuminate a book for reading.
If one used it to read books, their eyesight would deteriorate.
That was why if I just wore the armet, I could avoid using Magic Crystals.
However, nobody wanted to see somebody in pajamas wearing an armet.
Anyway, other than Darkness, I also had an affinity with Water and Earth.
Even though I had the Darkness attribute, that didn’t mean that I could cast original magic. It only meant that I could use Advanced Magic without a magic formation.
Judging from that, rather than having the Darkness attribute, I might actually have the Yin attribute.
It wouldn’t be strange if the body the Sun Goddess made for me had the Yang attribute, but my affinity for the Yin attribute could be due to me being female, or because I possessed it from the start.
Maybe I needed to examine this body a little more carefully.
However, this Yin Yang philosophy came from China… well, it wouldn’t be strange for the philosophy to have spread to Japan when people immigrated to Japan from the mainland.
(TL: Amaterasu is the Sun Goddess, so her power is Yang.)
(ED: “Raitoree” is probably just “Lightly”, but the TL didn’t like how it looked, and I agree.)

“Chie? What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

“!? Aiie!”
(TL: Exclamation of surprise.)

The prince called out to me, who was lost in thought.

The emperor, empress, and princess also looked worried.

No good, no good. I was still on escort duty.

“I am very sorry. I was just thinking about something.”

”Thinking about something?”

“It’s a personal matter, please don’t worry about it.”

The Royal Family and the surrounding servants tilted their heads.
No, no, no, this wasn’t good. I couldn’t let the people of this world know what I was just thinking about.
It was good that the Prime Minister wasn’t here.
He disliked me, after all.

“Hey, what’s Chie’s attribute?”

At this moment, the princess’s carefree attitude interrupted us and saved me from replying.
Honestly, it was the best moment to change the subject.

“My element is Darkness.“

“Darkness, huh~. It really fits Chie!”

“Is that so?”

I was slightly surprised by the Princess’s words.

“Uhh, it’s because Chie’s armour and sword are both black, and even your eyes and hair are black. You’re also accompanied by a black unicorn. It sounds scary, but if it’s Chie, it’s really cool!”

The princess said with a big smile.
That was the first time somebody had said that about me, so I felt rather shy embarrassed?.
I was always called princess-like, or for better or worse, meek.

“Ah, that’s true. The way you make calm judgements, how you excel at analyzing what is the best course of action, and precisely deal with every situation…the serene Darkness element suits you much better than the Light element.”

The prince also gave me his evaluation of me, agreeing with the princess.
The day after I had been spoken of so harshly by Conrad and the others, the Royal Family, my superiors, showered me with praises.
H-huh? My face feels warm?
That was strange. It was supposed to always be comfortable in the armor.
As the Royal Family continued to shower praises on me, I felt hotter and hotter.

It seemed that being showered with excessive praise might be a problem.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Tournament Grounds, Magician Corps’s Finals

It was finally the finals.
I didn’t like being in public.
However, as the Captain, I couldn’t not do my best!

“Al…phon…se, I… won’t… go easy… on you…”

“Understood.”

The current Vice-captain of the Magician Corps, Alphonse Balcon, who was clad in a slender, dark-green robe, held out his right hand.
He wore a bracelet on his arm and a ring on his middle finger.
The bracelet had a Club Magic Crystal and the ring had a Dia Magic Crystal.
He had an affinity to both Fire and Earth elements.
Although he was the Vice-captain, he was slightly different from other magicians.
I couldn’t be negligent.
I waited for the starting signal.
He also wielded a staff with a Hexagram magic crystal.
(ED: We used full suit names earlier to clarify, but we will be switching back to the original names going forward.)

“Ready, begin!!”

At the referee’s signal, we both casted a spell.

““Flame!””

Bang!

The fire magic that we both cast collided with a loud bang.

The first step was to cast a chantless spell while moving to find the opponent.
Alphonse had a similar train of thought.
I circled around him, wary of his right hand.
There was nowhere to hide in this empty arena.
I could make my own walls, like the Archer Corps did, but if I had to maintain it while casting magic, my magic power would quickly run out.
Even if I had more magic power than a normal person, it still had a limit.

“Stone Edge!”

Alphonse’s Dia shone, and a sharp stone blade came flying.
I held out my staff.

“Sylph Shield.”

I created a shield of wind and stopped the rock.
The shield dispersed, and

Goro! Goro! Goro!

The rock fell to the ground

Since I protected myself, I avoided what would have been an instantly fatal wound, but I would have been injured if it had hit.
Up until now, I had incapacitated my opponents in one hit, but it seemed that I couldn’t do that with Alphonse.
Now then, what element should I use?

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Military Personnel Exclusive Seating Area

“You can tell why the Black Knight kept emphasizing physical strength, based on the matches up until now.”

Celestia nodded at my words.

By the way, Conrad appeared to be watching the matches, but his gaze seemed to be unfocused, so we left him alone for the time being.

“Yep, especially the finals. This is the climax.”

The finals were going on right before our eyes.
The two competitors were moving around so as to avoid being hit, while alternating between attacking and defending.

“But, isn’t the outcome clear? Amy has an affinity with all the elements anyway.”

Adelbert spoke, as if it was a done deal.
In response:

“”Haah~””

We all sighed in amazement.

“H-hey! What is it! You all did it again!!”

Adelbert raised his voice.
He reacted badly.

“That’s why you’re Stupid Swordsman.”

Celestia held her head while saying that.
We all agreed with her.

“You, I know that you don’t want to acknowledge the results of the training thought up by the Black Knight, but at least, as the captain of the Swordsman Corps, pay attention to Alphonse’s current strength.”

“Guh…”

The Stupid Swordsman fell silent.
These sorts of exchanges had become more frequent recently.
Since a long time ago, whether it was due to excessive self-consciousness or a superiority complex, he often underestimated his opponents.
That was also the case when we first met the Black Knight.
The blood had rushed to our heads, but that had not been the case for Adelbert.
Despite that, he didn’t reflect on the fact that calmly evaluating the opponent was key.
(TL: Since the editors got confused – Albert wasn’t acting on impulse like the others during that incident in Chapter 8.)

“Listen, just because somebody has all the elements doesn’t mean that they will definitely win.”

“Huh?”

Adelbert made a strange face.
This guy really didn’t get it, huh…

“Adel, no matter how amazing the technique is, it’s meaningless if it doesn’t hit, right?”

“I know that!!”

He raised his voice in response to Celestia.
Wasn’t this guy older than Celestia?
Were their mental ages actually reversed?

“That’s why Black Knight-dono told them to build their physical strength.”

“Why is it like that!?”

Hey, hey, don’t just give a half-hearted explanation. I would also get angry.

“Just get it into your head that you need to raise physical ability to be able to avoid attacks!!”

Celestia, who was running out of patience, finally started yelling.
Adelbert widened his eyes in surprise at her angry voice.

“In other words! When Black Knight-dono saw that the Magician Corps’s ability to evade attacks was low, he put all his effort into strengthening them through unprecedented muscle training! Also, training one’s body has other merits. Didn’t Black Knight-dono say that? Strengthening the body leads to strengthening the mind. I heard from Amy that magic wasn’t only about magic power, but also using the mind to manifest the technique. That’s why the Black Knight’s training is very efficient.”

As Celestia said, magic consisted of magic power and an element.
However, the more difficult magic also required strength of mind.
Chanting helped in increasing the strength of the mind.
It was possible to make up for magic power and the element with magic items, but there was no way to strengthen the mind.
Looking back on it, the Black Knight’s training methods were on point.

---

A day in the life of the Magician Corps (Oni game)

“HAHAHA!! ORAORA, you can’t move anymore, right?!!”

GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

---

……

Yea, they were trained, in various senses of the word.
No really, if I were chased by a pitch black armor wielding a sword, my mind would also be strengthened.
Also, the Black Knight seemed to be laughing with delight during practice.
He appears evil at times.
Why was he even chosen by the Unicorn?
On one side of me was a dazed Conrad, and on the other, Adelbert was being lectured by Celestia.
It felt weird to watch the finals as all of this went on around me.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

Tournament Grounds

There seemed to be a commotion of some sort in the military seating area, but I needed to focus on Alphonse.
I gradually raised the power of my spells, but I didn’t hit Alphonse at all.
Unlike other magicians, Alphonse was good at dodging.
He was originally a farmer from the countryside.
He had more strength than the average commoner, which was unusual for a magician.
Even after all the other magicians had collapsed, he was the only one who kept up with me.
I had confidence in my strength, since I had trained with Celes even before I became a Captain.
However, I had a close match with him in the preliminaries four years ago.
At that time, the Captain and Vice-captain were retiring, so the match was to decide the new Captain and Vice-captain.
The rest of the army, without exception, believed that Alphonse would be the next Captain.
Alphonse and I were practically evenly matched in strength.
Alphonse also had the advantage of experience.
The reason I still won was due to my training with Celes.
My slight advantage in evading attacks helped me to win.
If I hadn’t trained with Celes then, I wouldn’t be who I am now.
Today, I faced off against a stronger Alphonse.
After training with Black Knight-san, his movements became harder to follow.
However, he should also be thinking the same thing of me.
After all, I had never missed a day of training.

“Wrap around him! Sylph Bind!!”

The wind circled around Alphonse, sealing his movements.

If it were a non-elemental Bind spell, magicians with higher magic power would instantly dispel it.
If I used Earth Bind, roots would come out of the ground and try to wrap around him, but the agile Alphonse would instantly evade it.
Fire, Water, Light or Darkness were good for offensive spells, but weren’t good for restricting opponents.
Therefore, I decided that a Wind element Bind was the best option to keep him in place.
Besides, Wind was basically air.
Even though it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, that power filled the world.
It was also easy to form an image of it, since we experienced it often.
That was why I could strengthen the Bind holding my opponent in place as much as I wanted!
Alphonse desperately tried to escape from the Bind.
However,

“You can’t… escape!”

I used the opportunity to chant.

“Oh Wind that blows around the Earth, bear my grudge and rip my enemy to pieces! Sylph Sonic!”

I casted the intermediate spell Sylph Sonic, and a blade of wind hit Alphonse.

“Gah!”

Due to the Protection, he wasn’t maimed, but he was sent flying with great force.

“Winner, Amy Arnold! The winner of the Magician Corps bracket is Amy Arnold!!”

Woooooooooo!

The crowd cheered at the referee’s declaration.
I walked over to Alphonse.
He seemed dazed, but was uninjured.

“U…Uhm, he isn’t injured……I think, but… Please…… bring a stretcher.”

I immediately approached the referee to arrange for the stretcher.
Uuu, I could speak clearly when chanting, but I still ended up pausing a lot when I talked to other people…
I was really bad with people, so I wanted to leave this place as soon as I could, but I couldn’t just leave Alphonse there.

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

In a certain part of the slums

Gakin!

“Tch”

“……”

I was in the middle of investigating Chie’s request, but a blunder had led to a fight.
He seemed like an assassin, but I couldn’t recognize him.
He was agile, wearing an assassin’s preferred attire of a sleeveless shirt and gauntlets.
He wore black like me, and his body was completely covered, excluding his eyes.
The man was taller and more slender than I was, but I could clearly see his muscles.
He used weapons like mine, a dagger and darts.
As an assassin, being as light as possible was important, so we used those.
Anyway, this guy was skilled.
It wouldn’t have been strange if he was well-known in the underworld, but unfortunately, I didn’t recognize him.
This guy was a hinderance.
While clashing daggers, I looked for an opening of some sort.
I threw darts from a distance, but he blocked them all with his dagger.

“You bastard, who do you work for?”

The assassin suddenly started to talk.
I didn’t answer his question.
The fact that I am Chie’s… the Black Knight’s subordinate, was a secret to most of the world.
In order to keep it covert, as the title of Imperial Covert Investigator says, only Chie, His Majesty, Conrad, and Alice knew.
That was why I didn’t say a thing during my missions.
It wasn’t only because it was my job, but it was also to protect my best and close friend.

“I see, you’re quite a skilled assassin, huh.”

I kept silent at the assassin’s words.
Since I had met Chie, I had never assassinated anyone.
The main mission was to investigate, then to subjugate with Chie.
I was once an assassin, but my line of work was now completely different, so I didn’t want to be associated with them again.

“I was thinking of having someone torture you, but it looks like you won’t talk, even if you die.”

The assassin prepared his dagger.
I took out three of my few, remaining darts.

“It can’t be helped, don’t blame me for your death!”

He leapt forwards, closing the distance instantly.
‘Shoot!’ I thought, as his dagger swiped at my face.
I couldn’t dodge it from this close.
I immediately held the darts in my right hand to my face.
This would take all my strength.
I readied myself for the blow.

Bashi!

Something hit the man’s hand, and the dagger tumbled out of his grasp.
We didn’t know what had happened.

“Shadow Smoke!”

We heard a voice above us, and we were wrapped in a pitch black smoke, unable to see anything.

Toh!

“Here.”

That person landed behind me, grabbed my left hand, and started to run.
Wait a minute! That voice is!!

“Wait! Wha!?”

“Shh! Run first!”

Once we snuck out of the smoke, I was able to see.
Their figure was hidden by a robe, and they wore a black leather glove.
However, I recognized that voice.
I knew it well enough that it was impossible for me to be wrong.
We kept running until we arrived next to the shopping district.

“We should be fine here. We don’t have to worry about him chasing us.”

“Y-you…”

I was a bit flustered.
Why wasn’t she wearing her armour!!

“Hurry and wear your armour! Isn’t it bad if others see you without it!?”

I spoke to the robed figure, Chie, in a hushed voice.
I didn’t say her name as a precaution.

“It’s fine. This voice is my normal voice, and no one saw my body through these robes and gloves.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Didn’t Alice mention it before? About my occasional outings like this. If I always wore armour, I’d get tired of it.”

If she said so, then… I relaxed with a sigh.

“Haah, whatever. More importantly, why were you there?”

I asked.
I had heard that she went to bed earlier, since tomorrow was the final day of the tournament.

“Ah~, well, I felt a strange presence and had a bad premonition, and since my armoured figure would stand out, I dispelled it after I left the castle gates, and went looking for you. When I saw you, you were about to be cut, so I grabbed a rock, jumped, and threw it at the opponent’s hand. Then, I cast a smokescreen spell, and all that led to the present.”

“You’re as unreasonable as always.”

I shrugged and made a bitter smile.

“Anyways, thank you, you saved me.”

“……”

The edges of Chie’s lips raised.

Anyway.

“You said you followed a strange presence, but…”

“Ah, the assassin that was your opponent, it seems like he was holding onto something.”

“That guy? What in the world was it?”

Chie shook her head in response.

“I don’t know, since I was focused on you, I didn’t see clearly.”

“Is that so?”

“But I do know one thing.”

“Ah, me too.”

We both nodded.
Somehow, that assassin was involved with whatever we were investigating.

To be continued…

Afterword
Here is Chapter 25.
I was able to update earlier than I thought.
This time was the Magician Corps, while also having an explanation of how the magic works.
Well then, there are five more matches in the long preliminaries.
It will finish in about three chapters.
As soon as I finish that, the real tournament begins!
Please take care of me next time too!

TL: Thanks for reading! Please do visit my other site at http://elephantno5.wordpress.com I translate something else there! This tournament is really long… And to those who read the april fools chapter, sorry for my non-fluent grasp of Indonesian writing… My parents tell me that since I only speak it, I suck at writing it…

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